Wine 101 #2-Brix

I took grape samples today. The Copeland Vineyard Chardonnay and Syrah are 17.8 and 18.2 brix respectively. This means we are a still a few weeks away from harvesting as we like to see roughly 25 Brix (less for white wines) when we harvest (this is not a hard number as we also look at acid and flavors when determining harvest).

When taking brix readings in the winery we always get a lot of questions from guests about what exactly a brix is.

That said I thought this a good occassion to hold the second Wine 101 "class." Brix is a scale used to measure the percent of dissolved sugar in a solution at 20 degrees celcius. This scale was developed by Adolf Ferdinand Wenceslaus Brix and is used primarily in winemaking and fruit juices (brewers use the Plato scale; why I have no idea). Simply, a brix is a way to quantify how sweet the grapes are.

While the juice is still juice (ie not fermenting) we use a refractometer to measure the brix. For pure simplicity and functionality's sake this is my favorite tool we use. Very simply the refractometer measures the sugar through the degree at which light going through the solution is bent. The more sugar a solution has the more the light will be bent. So simple. I love it.

This is a refractometer.



Although blurry this is what one sees when looking into the refractometer. There is a numbered scale in the middle and where the blue crosses is how many brix you have.

Absolutely nothing to do with wine

This video is in no way related to wine but I found it to be pretty cool. It did make me think that if sheep farmers (I guess that is what they are called) have this much time on their hands maybe herding animals is not that bad of a career choice.

Wine 101 #1-Veraison

As we get lots of questions about grape growing and winemaking we thought from time to time we would would do an eduactional posting centered around what is going on in the winery or vineyard.

That said here is Class #1 in your very own Wine 101 class. Veraison is the topic of the day. We are going through veraison as we speak. What is veraison you ask? Very simply this is when the grapes begin to change color. Veraison is a french word/term for "changing color."

During verasion the grapes stop cellular growth and start the process of ripening (which is good as otherwise would not taste very good). Sugars begin to accumulate in the berries as the flow of water into the berry begins to slow relative to the amount of sugar. The rate at which sugar accumulates is directly related to the amount of canopy the vines have as photosynthesis creates the sugar.

In addition to sugar accumlation the the acids in the berries begin to drop off. There are two main types of acids in grapes, Malic acid and Tartaric acid. The malic acid degredates much quicker at this point and leaves tartaric acid as the perdominate acid in the grapes.

The grapes physically change color through the formation of anthocyanins and xanthophylls. Methoxypyrazines, the herbal green flavor compound, also begin to breakdown as well during veraison.

It is also interesting to note that what exactly triggers veraison is unknown. It is widely thought this process is triggered through hormonal changes or signals the plants send out but the exact reasons are still a mystery.

This picture is of Merlot in veraison last year. I will post some pictures of this year's veraison on Facebook.

TMW Visits the South

I am in South Carolina tonight. I have come to the South to meet with our new distributor in South Carolina as well as visit Erin. My meeting is tomorrow, and it will be good to finalize launch dates and strategies.

It also been great to see Erin. She is helping immensly with 'market research' by showing me all of the popular watering holes and restaurants in Columbia. We had dinner last night at Motor Supply Company Bistro, http://www.motorsupplycobistro.com/. The pork porterhouse with duck sauasage cassoulet was fantastic.

After dinner we met several of Erin's friends to do some more 'market research.' I am having an enjoyable time 'learning' about the market and got some great insight from two of the locals:

I was informed that my attire did not quite fit in and that I was very clearly a Yankee. It was suggested that a Yankee could hide their geographical origins by wearing:

• Pastel (preferably pink) polo shirt with popped collar
• Shorts from Vineyard Vines (with the little whales or anchors or what-have-you embroidered on them)
• Croakies
• Visor
• Boat shoes
• And most importantly- a list of the people your father says he knows (the more important the people on this list are the better; ie judges, senators, etc)

Now that I have been informed of proper South Carolinian male attire I will be better prepared for my next visit. It has been a worthwhile trip, and we are excited about having wine here soon.

Although hot and humid, Columbia is an interesting city. Good restaurant scene, fun bars, very friendly people (so much so they were willing to tell me what to wear so I could fit it in more) and generally a good feel.

A Much Needed Reminder

We had a pallet of wine leave for Japan today and it reminded me, which I need from time to time, that our wines are actually consumed by real people. I sometimes forget our wines are consumed in a context outside of our winery.

It is inspiring to know that roughy 40,000 times a year someone choose our wine to make their dinner with friends, or family, a little more special or to end the occasional 'day from hell.' To be honest, your support not only helps to justify my overwhleiming-love-bordering-on-fetish for Excel spreadsheets but makes those long dusty days on the tractor and seemingly endless cold October nights working the press all worth it.

Plus, without being able to chase the four-wheeler the wine dogs would all be a little more 'healthy' (read fat) than they currently are. I think without the constant attention Gus gets from tasting guests he would have holed up somewhere thinking nobody loves him, painting his nails black, wearing a studded collar and listening to death metal.

Thanks for the inspiration.

It is hot!!! I am not sure what else to say. The wine farm is a little slow with the heat as the crew is going home at 10am to avoid getting cooked. Luckily the winery is a refreshing 65.

We are spending a lot of time right now working on the 'darkside' of the wine business. Finishing budgets for the next fiscal year, working distribution alotments and generally getting caught up on inside jobs (not all bad with heat). We do not expect a big impact on the vines from this heat but are keeping a close eye on everything. A little water does wonders to keep the vines moving and healthy.

If you live in the Seattle area we are doing a tasting at Picnic (Phinney Ridge) tomrrow from 5:30-7:30. More information at http://www.picnicseattle.com/. We will be pouring Riesling and Rose (both of which we are out of in the tasting room) as well as a few reds. Perfects wines for hot day. Hopefully we will see you there.

Catching Up and Summer Update

Well we have been not so good about posting on a regular basis but hope to do a better job moving forward.


Life on the wine farm has been very busy for the past three or four months. The grapes are growing like mad, actually we just now starting to slow them down. We expect to begin to see verasion (when they change color) in another two to three weeks and will be begin harvest in 60-75 days. Thus far the growing season has been good at the heat spell we are in experiencing is a good thing (provided it does not get much hotter).

Crop loads look great and we anticipate another stellar year for Washington wine. However, prayers, animal sacrifices, knocking on wood, voodoo dolls or anything else you feel might help would be much appreciated. When Mother Nature is at the helm one never knows for sure.

The crew is finishing up with leaf stripping and will get a much needed break very shortly to rest up for harvest.

We will soon be bottling the 2007 vintage and from what Matt has let me taste thus far I am excited to get these wines into a bottle. Matt is busy putting the finishing touches on the final blends and will start fining and filtration very soon.

TMW is excited to announce our wines will now be distributed in the greater Chicago area as well as the state of South Carolina. If you live in or are visting either of these locations just ask your favorite wine shop or wine steward and they can get them for you. Your support is much appreciated.

The annual Chalk Party to benefit The Pegasus Project was huge succes and we, as well as the children your Rose' purchases support, cannot thank you enough. In fact we are down to the last five cases so be sure to pick some up. This photo is of this year's winning drawing, which will be the label for the 2009 Rose'.






If you are looking for one more fun thing to do this summer there are still a few tickets left for both of the Dinner and Movie showings. August 1st and September 5th we will open up the lawn, break out the barbeque and projector and enjoy the wonderful summer evenings Mother Nature gives here in wine country. More information and tickets available at http://www.twomountainwinery.com/ or 509.829.3900. FYI limited tickets available.



We hope you are having a wonderful summer and will hopefully see you soon.

Promising to be better about posting,

Patrick T. Rawn