A Thirsty Spirit

You may have heard malolactic fermentation described as a secondary fermentation.  While it never precedes the primary, alcoholic fermentation (sugar+yeast=alcohol+CO2+heat), it’s not a true fermentation.  The process is carried out by bacteria (lactic acid bacteria), not yeast.  It is sometimes shortened to MLF or to the French la malo, and it is the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid. 

Malic comes from malum, Latin for apple and this type of acidity is found in nearly all fruits and berries.  It’s used commercially to acidify food and beverage in industrial processes.  Lactic acid is named after lactis, Latin for milk and is one of the milder acids found in wine. 

Is it a good thing?  Well, that depends.  If you have a wine with excess acidity, like a red wine from a cool climate, then yes.  It can also add additional flavor and complexity to both red and white wines as well as prevent the process from happening later on once these wines are bottled.  If, however, you have a wine from a warmer climate or a hotter vintage and you want to preserve its zip, then no. 

Some grapes, especially Chardonnay, take better to it than others.  Producers of Riesling or Chenin Blanc usually avoid it (through maintaining cooler temperatures and using sulfur dioxide), even though these grapes are naturally high in acidity. 

So, what can you expect if a wine’s undergone the process?  A rounder, fuller mouthfeel – some would say buttery.  The buttery-ness is from diacetyl, which is a by-product of the process.  If the diacetyl is not kept in check, it can be overpowering in the wine, even coming across as rancid butter.  Some winemakers think that if the malolactic fermentation happens while the wine is in the barrel, the fruit and oak flavors will be better integrated.

Sounds more exciting than “vinified pink”, don’t you think?  As promised, it’s time to talk about winemaking and I thought rosé would be a fun place to start. 

Let’s back up for a moment, though.  Whether you start with grapes that look like this:

Riesling

Or like this:

Spätburgunder aka Pinot Noir in Germany

The juice and pulp of all grapes are clear, meaning the color in wine comes from the skins of the grapes. 

If this is a new concept to you, it might be helpful to think about Champagne.  The pink stuff aside, most of the Champagne we see on the market is white.  Two of the three permitted grapes for Champagne production, however, are red (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier).  The winemakers are careful to quickly separate the liquid from the grape skins, preventing any color from being imparted into the juice.

So, what to do when you want wine whose color falls somewhere between a white and a red?  Here are a few options:

1. A short maceration of the juice with the skins.  For our purposes, you can think of maceration as skin contact.  Technically speaking, it’s the extraction of phenolics (think tannins and flavoring compounds) from the grape skins, seeds and stem fragments into the juice and it’s affected by temperature, agitation and time.  The soak usually lasts 2-3 days, depending on the style the winemaker is going for – the longer the skin contact, the more darkly colored the rosé will be.  The skins are then discarded and fermentation proceeds as for a white wine.

2. The Saignée method – French for bled or bleeding the vats.  In this process the winemaker will collect free-run juice from just-pressed dark-skinned grapes after a short, prefermenation maceration.  Coincidentally, this concentrates the remaining red wine, imparting more tannin and color because the ratio of liquid to grape solids has been reduced through bleeding the vats.

3. Blending.  This is just as it sounds – blending finished red wine into finished white wine.  You’ll get a pink wine, but you won’t get the nuances achieved through maceration.  Believe it or not, Champagne is one of the few controlled appellations where this is allowed.  I guess the thought is that the second fermentation and resulting carbonation will provide enough interesting character to the rosé. 

I’ve also read that pink wines can be made by using charcoal treatments to remove the color from red wine.  This makes me a little suspicious – if the winery doesn’t want to sell it as red wine, why would I want to drink it pink?

Doing some house cleaning today (don’t make fun), I found an apron that I hadn’t seen in a while.

Instead of suggesting that you kiss the cook or that too many brews spoil that cook, this apron offered something even sillier – a six-step recipe for fine wine – not that it’s necessarily wrong.  In coming weeks I’ll write more about wine-making.  I can’t make it this easy, but I’ll do my best.  Stay tuned.

far from California

One of the highlights of the trip was when the winemaker from Schmitges took us on a stroll up through the Ürziger Würzgarten vineyards in the Mosel. 

Despite the ominous clouds and the steep incline of the trail, it was a wine nerd’s dream. 

I’ve seen the name “Ürziger Würzgarten” on bottles of Riesling for years and being able to see it in person helped shed some light on why these bottles are so expensive.

First, check out the terroir:

yes, they're referring to rocks as soil - the famous slate of the Mosel

some sections have slopes up to 70 degrees

the signs mark who owns the vines

the Mosel River is in the background

not a good photo op for those afraid of heights

sweet success!