Wino Wrestling Federation #4 VESSELS
WWF Lineup ~ APRIL 2021
Lets get into the nurture…
Thanks once again for joining us on our voyage to taste rad wine, we are really happy to have y’all here. This month we are focusing on how wine is aged (Elevage is the classic term) in the winery before bottling. Every grape varietal has its own character and sometimes that character can be enhanced or manipulated based on what vessel the wine matures in. Just like us, wine is a product of its environment. We have 4 wines that represent a few of the options that winemakers choose to “raise” their wine in. Oak, Steel, Clay and Concrete. The main thing to note about aging vessel is its permeability and how it “breaths”. Also akin to us, wine is both enhanced and destroyed by oxygen. Winemaker’s control how much oxygen a wine interacts with to reach the desired character.
Lets start with the most restrictive aging vessel, that being Steel. With its complete lack of permeability steel can preserve a wines freshness. Many white wines are aged in steel so that the bright fruits and aromas don’t volatize out. Steel has many benefits! It is infinitely reusable, easy to clean, durable and air tight. Some wineries have glycol jackets on their tanks to keep wines at specific temperatures during fermentation and aging. A winemaker has a gnarly amount of control over the fate of a wine when using steel. That said steel does have its set backs, not all wine benefits from that lack of oxygen interaction. When a wine is made anaerobically reduction can occur which leads to some volatile sulfur compounds. It’s that flinty, matchstick eggy smell that happens when you first open a bottle. Splash your wine or decant it and it should blow right off.
Oak barrels and foudres, it’s the thing most of us think of when it comes to wine. It’s one of the most widely used vessels out there. Oak is also the vessel with the most amount of oxygen exchange. Oak also comes in many variations from wood type (French, American, Hungarian), size and whether the oak is new or neutral. I will be honest, I am not the biggest fan of new oak, its the siracha of the wine world, oak a wine and it taste like oak, no judgement just my opinion. But as a barrel is used over time it losses the flavor it imparts upon the wine (usually 4+ years) and becomes a really awesome choice for elevage. You can impart a lot of character by having that extended time in barrel and make for a really “serious” wine.
Concrete is cool, it is porous but doesn’t impart any flavor to the wine, even a neutral oak barrel will leach out some tannin and oak vibes, where concrete you get that middle ground. Concrete is also reusable almost infinitely. Ergonomically, concrete can be a little troublesome and a winery would have to sort of be built around the use of concrete tanks, unless you can afford a concrete egg (usually around 14k for a 450 gal tank). I will say almost every wine making region has its share of producers who use concrete, stay on the lookout!
Clay is the oldest vessel for fermentation and aging. It has been around since the Neolithic era with the oldest vessels found in Georgia where it is still used today. Perhaps drinking Georgian wine is the closest link to the ancient world of wine we have. Quevri (kway-vree) is how our wine club pick is fermented and aged. Its usually buried in the ground, sometimes even in the vineyard rows so you can throw the grapes directly in. By burying these large earthenware pots one can keep the wine cool as fermentation tends to get very hot in confined spaces and makes for a very natural way of temperature control. Qvevri are similar to concrete in that they are flavor neutral and have about the same amount of oxygen exchange.
Lets us drink
- Addam
Concrete:
De Fermo - Concrete Rosso 2019 - Montepulciano
Varietal: 100% Montepulciano
Region: Loreto Apruntino, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Italy
Colour: Garnet
Nose: Violets, Strawberry,
Taste: Cherry, Iron, Plum, Pepper
Soil: Calcareous clay
Farming: Biodynamic
Vinification: Concrete Rosso comes from across all four of De Fermo's certified-biodynamic Montepulciano parcels where vines are about 25 years old; the fruit is hand-harvested later than that for Le Cince rosato and earlier than for the aged Prologo red. The bunches are destemmed, crushed and macerated for only 4-5 days, with the goal of a younger-drinking version of this very tannic grape. Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts and no temperature control. The wine is aged in concrete tanks--hence the very literal name--for up to a year and bottled without fining or filtering; sulfur is used judiciously during racking but never at bottling.
Our Take:
Bold but not bracing, It is what you want from an Italian wine. Juicy fruits that are on the riper side of just right, with a little bit of those tertiary herbs riding the wave. Fresh and rustic… would be cool to revisit this vintage in a few years.
Producer Notes:
“The farm is located in Loreto Aprutino (Abruzzo), halfway between the Adriatic sea (20km) and the southernmost European glacier (20km).
In the vineyard, which covers 17 hectares at 270-320 meters of altitude, biodynamic principles are applied since 2009.We do not add or use selected yeasts and we don’t control fermentation temperatures. We do not fine and/or filter wines.
We grow biodinamically also olives, legumes, cereals, vegetables, herbs and animals.
We produce olive oil, flours, pasta, bread, vegetables and cheese.”
- Stefano Papetti Ceroni
OAK:
Bott Frigyes - Unfiltered Olasrizling 2019
Varietal: 100% Olaszrizling
Region: Južnoslovenská, Slovakia
Colour: Golden Straw
Nose: Ginger, Orange Rind, Pear
Taste: Pear, Sencha Green Tea, Almond, Coriander
Farming: Organic, converting Biodynamic
Soil: Clay on volcanic bedrock
Vinification: Half open vat fermented for a week in three layers: foot trodden, whole clusters, and destemmed and half whole bunch pressed and aged 1 year in Hungarian oak.
Our Take:
This is so F**cking good. Super electric acidity (you’ll see what I mean) It’s dynamite neon sunshine cream. The winemaking process here is just super cool and everything about this wine is cool. I’d drink this anywhere, with anyone, any day, any time . That’s my professional take on it. Sue me. Great texture, great fun.
Producer Notes:
After WWI, Hungary lost around 71% of its territory to Romania, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia (Slovakia), Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia) and Austria. Over 3 million ethnic Hungarians found themselves outside of Hungary with significant outcome on the grapes and traditions that never stopped or are now coming back to life beyond the present day borders of Hungary. On the southern slopes of the Mužsla Hills in Slovakia surrounded by the river Garam, Danube and the Ipoly rivers, is one such example: Bott Frigyes. Even the neighboring village of Béla is where Judit and József Bodó of Bott Pince began their winemaking career (ethnically Hungarian but born in Slovakia) before moving to Tokaj. Long story short, a whole bunch of things all came together with Bott Frigyes coupled with great farming, honest winemaking, and delicious wines.
Bott and his son Frici cultivate 10 hectares of vineyards next to the River Garam, at 250 metres above sea level. They are growing Furmint, Hárslevelű (Lipovina in Slovakia), Juhfark, Kékfrankos, Kadarka (cuttings are incidentally from Balla Géza in Romania who is also ethnically Hungarian), Tramini, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sárfahér and Olaszrizling. The soil is clay on top of volcanic bedrock, which is also rich in limestone and minerals
The winemaking is certainly structured in terms of technique, although all fermentations are native, there’s zero temperature control, longer lees aging, natural settling, all oak barrel (some amphora), and bottling unfined and unfiltered with a small amount of SO2 at bottling as the only addition. For the reds, they do use the “Hamberger” method which is essentially alternating layers of whole cluster (foot stomped), topped with whole cluster, then topped with a destemmed and hand crushed layer. This achieves a semi-carbonic quality to the wines without developing too much of the banana or bubble gum often associated with carbonic. For the skin contact whites, it’s often no more than a week, and they are careful to keep it worked over to prevent VA and other flaws. The winemaking overall is tied to tradition but with a nod to modern hygiene in the cellar.
- Eric Danch, Danch and Granger Selections
Steel:
Dolores Cabrera Fernandez - La Araucaria Rosato 2018 - Listan Negro
Varietal: 100% Listan Negro
Region: Valle de La Orotava DO, Tenerife, Canary Islands
Colour: Fuchsia
Nose: Cranberry, Yogurt
Taste: Red and Black Brambles, Parsnip, Nectarine, Peppercorn,
Farming: Organic
Soil: Volcanic
Method: 100 year old vines on the slopes of Mount Teide. Vines are trained in the unique cordón trenzado (“braided cord”) method. The grapes were hand-harvested between late September and mid October, destemmed and skin-macerated for 12 hours before bleeding off the juice (without pressing) into steel tank. The wine then fermented and rested on fine lees for 7 months, with bottling in the spring using natural (vegetal protein) clarification and a light filtration and minimal added SO2.
Our Take:
I’ve had very few interactions with Listan Negro, but each time I am into it. Upon opening this bottle you can tell that it had been hidden away from oxygen in steel with its reductive matchstick nose. Be not afraid after a few swirls in the glass it starts to open up and you can start to really smell the fruit. As Jasper, one of our team members, said upon it revealing its true nature “This is a serious rose” and he is not wrong. Its well structured and nuanced. One to open at the beginning of a meal, preferably something with some char on it, and taste through the evening.
Producer Notes:
Dolores Cabrera is a long-time farmer working in the Valle de la Orotava, Tenerife. Her vineyards have always been worked organically, with a portion of the parcels being certified organic. After selling her grapes to larger producers for many years, Dolores started making and bottling her own wine in 2013. The product of her efforts is La Araucaria, a singular and natural approach to the Listan Negro grape, the predominate grape of her region.
The D.O. of Valle de La Orotava is located in northern Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, and named after its historic town. Wine-growing dates back to the Spanish conquest of the 15th century, and this is the oldest of the 5 appellations on the island. The valley is shaped by Pico del Teide, the 3rd largest active volcano in the world with its peak at 3715 meters. The hot maritime climate is moderated by the cool, humid trade winds blowing off the coast throughout the year.
Clay:
Kortavebis Marani, - Rkatsiteli 2019
Varietal: 100% Rkatsiteli
Region: Kekheti, Georgia
Colour: Whiskey, yup Whiskey
Nose: Raisin, Honey, Apricot
Taste: Orange Marmalade, Bruised Pear, Quince
Farming: Organic
Soil: Clay and stony soils
Method: 9 months on skins, no stems, in qvevri followed by a 9 month elevage in qvevri.
Our Take: I’m always the sad guy who cracks open a bottle of wine, pours then realizes it’s too cold. Thankfully orange wines are versatile, and this Georgian skin contact wine is no exception. It’s the kind of wine that you can pull out of the cooler and eat string cheese and potato chips with because it offers that bright crisp acidity when it’s cold. Real magic happens when the bottle starts to sweat. Pleasant and light sherry like oxidation hit the cheeks, silky texture and the aroma of orange marmalade start to take over. That’s when it hit me, this is either Duck or Chinese food wine. Shit, why not both? The caramelized orange flavor pairs amazingly with a take-out roast duck and boas. This isn’t the kind of wine that creates new flavors with food, somehow when paired with fatty meats it actually brings out tannin you might not have noticed before.
- Alex Schildgen, RSB
Producer Notes:
Kortava Cellar is located in Eastern Georgia, in the Kvareli region of Kakheti, near the historic Gremi fortress. This region, particularly the Kindzmarauli zone, is renown for having a climate favorable for viticulture.
”Our cellar was established in 2014 and spans 2 hectares of traditional and rare grapes. In our vineyards only organic ingredients are used; during the winemaking process we never employ chemical additives.
Two methods are used at Kortava Cellar to produce wine: traditional “Kakhetian style” where the pomace is added to Qvevri (clay jugs), and “European methods” where wine is matured in clay jugs or oak barrels. We offer new wines from both traditional Georgian grapes and exciting mixtures with European varietals.”
- Tamuna Bidzinashvili
