Gamay Noir at 40 Knots

Gamay Noir at 40 Knots: A bit of History

Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc originates back to the 1300s, with first traces found out of the Burgundy region of France.  Its DNA shows that it is indeed a descendant of the Pinot Noir noble grape.  

After the Gamay grape revived the Burgundy economy during the Black Death Plague, The Duke of Burgundy “Philip the Bold”, banned its production in the 1300s, citing that Pinot Noir was a more elegant and sophisticated choice.  This forced the migration of Gamay to the southern French region of Beaujolais. 

In the 1980s, Gamay Noir was center-stage as producers and growers alike reveled in the demand for Beaujolais Nouveau wine’s, and held parties to celebrate the young wine before aging.  If you haven't taken in a Beaujolais Nouveau celebration, watch for the release on the third Thursday in November every year. 

Nowadays, most plantings are found in Beaujolais and the Loire valley with remnants remaining in Burgundy.  In Canada, it can be found in Prince Edward County, the Niagara Peninsula, The Okanagan Valley and here on Vancouver Island. 

Gamay is gaining respect and interest as a serious wine.  Styles vary across wine regions in the world, as well as flavors.  Some are kept in stainless steel and some are oaked.  Warmer climate regions tend to produce Gamay Noir with bubblegum and cotton candy notes whereas cooler climates like ours offer a tart, red fruit component.

40 Knots Gamay

40 Knots grows the Gamay clone 509.  This rootstock was purchased from France in 2007 and 2008.  Although there are currently 38 Gamay clones in France, this particular 509 clone is known to produce more full-bodied, balanced and aromatic wine that some other Gamay clones.  It thrives in cool climate regions like ours here in the Comox Valley, has large clusters, and is a bit less fussy to grow than Pinot Noir. 

thick, juicy Gamay Noir grape clusters from the 40 Knots 2019 harvest

At the 40 Knots cellar door, the newly released 2018 vintage has a hint of spice on the finish, something not seen in previous years.  Boasting naturally acidity and uncomplicated notes of raspberry, sour cherry, and white pepper, this rustic wine is perfectly paired with a wide variety of dishes, including roast turkey and salmon and is served best with a light chill.  If you like red wine but don’t enjoy heavy oak and harsh tannins, this wine is most certainly for you!

 

Winter Vine Pruning

Winter Vine Pruning

With the crocus’s emerging, we wait indoors and anticipate warmer days and longer daylight hours.  Now is the time to trim back our 40 Knots vines in preparation for the Spring budburst! There are numerous styles of vine pruning that suit many different regions. The vineyard layout, climate and soil composition will help determine the appropriate method for proper vineyard structure.  

Cane Pruning 

Cane pruning is the main style found in the 40 Knots vineyard. This is the best option for #cooler climate regions with minimal growth left out in the elements and reduces the opportunity for negative effects of cold winter weather. A selection of last year’s strongest canes will replace growth from the year before with one cane left on either side of the crown of the vine. In most cases, it is important to leave a couple of canes on either side as insurance against the cold.  This insurance vine can be cut back in the Spring when there is no more threat of frost damage.  

Depending on the location and the climate, pruning one or two weeks later could potentially push budburst later into Spring. This is especially helpful for cooler climate regions where the exposure of late frost is a strong likelihood.

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In some parts of the world, vines are considered weeds- they are incredibly hardy and can withstand up to -28°C degree temperatures with roots shooting down 15-20 feet. Good news for you backyard growers concerned about making a wrong move! 

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With the pruning complete and more that ¾’s of the growth cut back, the vines will look rather bare.   The cane that is left over will be tied down along the crown of the vine and to the bottom "fruiting" wire on the trellis system, with a twist tie, thin wire, or the old school way- by slowly and carefully twisting the cane to hold it into place. The canes will snap if manipulated too quickly, so patience is a virtue in this case!

 

 

With a great turnout to our Community Pruning class here at the 40 Knots Winery, we have some informed backyard growers going home a little wiser!

 

Join me next time, when I dive deeper into one of our estate red wine's and focus in on our Gamay Noir.  How it grows, how it drinks and what food to pair with it!

Cheers

Grapevine Dormancy

Grapevine Dormancy

*FREE community pruning workshop.  See below for further information*

At the dawn of a new decade, we welcome a fresh start in the 40 Knots Vineyard. With 2019 behind us, we look forward into 2020 with revitalized hope, energy, and enthusiasm for a fabulous new vintage. Just like winter hibernation, the 40 Knots vines are in their dormancy stage and await the new spring sun. Winter dormancy occurs after the last autumn leaf has fallen and carries forward until early Spring.  

Shorter winter days kick-off two phases of dormancy. 

Endodormancy: (Greek word endo meaning inside) during this first stage, the grapvine become cold hardy. The plant growth regulators inside the bud prevent each grapevine from growing, even in favourable environmental conditions. Endodormancy is usually complete by the end of December. 

Ecodormancy: An external force that follows environmental conditions. In the Northern Hemisphere, the ecodormancy stage starts around February. In this stage, the vines await higher temperatures to proceed with budburst. With ecodormancy and climate change, vine growers must be vigilant to monitor low temperatures as to not kick off budburst too soon. This is where our #coolclimate region in the Comox Valley has a leg up!

With the vines seemingly lifeless and naked without leaves, the activity underneath the soil is charged in preparation for the new year with energetic vines sending out new roots. This “root flush” (think tiny hairs at the bottom of carrots and beets) reaches downward in search of nutrients from the soil. Internal starchy carbohydrates build inside the roots, trunks and cordons in autumn and until the first frost, and this stage is critical for proper flower, leaf and bud grapvine growth development for the following season.

Above the soil, the vines will dehydrate themselves as water contracts and glides into intercellular spaces. This phase almost steels the vines from the inside out, avoiding freezing during these chilling winter temperatures.  Sugar and protein compounds come together to bind water, serving as cryoprotectants. So strength DOES come in small packages!

Join us for a FREE community pruning workshop

Calling all viticulturists, farmers and outdoor enthusiasts interested in learning vineyard pruning methods for both cane and spur vines. We are hosting a complimentary community pruning workshop on February 1st from 1-4pm at 40 Knots Winery.  Click HERE to RSVP.

Unable to attend? Read about how much fun we had in my next blog post where I discuss winter grapevine pruning.

Happy New Year, from the crew at 40 Knots and me,

-Megan 

Amphorae, Oak, Tank

Amphorae, Oak, Tank

Aging wine in the cellar before bottling is a process that takes patience, diligence and the knowledge of one’s terroir. Grapes grown in cooler climate regions will need a different aging process than those from warmer climates. The trick for quality though is to know which vessel suits which varietal, and how long each one needs to rest before bottling. In the 40 Knots cellar, we age our wine in three different vessels: Amphorae, french oak and stainless steel tanks.

 

Amphorae

Remnants of these ceramic style terra cotta pots have been spotted as far back as 6000 BC, with archaeologist having found remains in the Republic of Georgia.  Once the amphorae reached the Mediterranean, ancient Greek’s and Romans used them as the main transportation and storage of wine. A huge benefit of amphorae is the stabilization of temperature through exceptional thermal insulation. With a porous surface, the wine stabilizes through slight oxidation; double the oxidative effects of oak!  In today's wine world, there has been an insurgence of amphorae in wineries that farm organic or biodynamically.  In following this biodynamic route, amphorae pots found in our 40 Knots cellar have been growing in numbers over the last year.   All three of our amphorae come from Artenova in Florence, Italy.  

40 Knots wine aged in amphorae:

 

Oak Barrels

The oak barrel is thought to be created by Spanish Celts around the fifth century BC. Embracing oak over amphorae around the 2nd century AD, the Romans and colonizing Europeans chose this transportation method for small goods and liquids. Most of the wine oak barrels that you’ll see around the world nowadays typically come from five main forests in central France or California and some of the eastern states. Wine flavors showcased from oak aging are spices, earthiness or a toasty characteristic and sometimes sweeter flavors of vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch. The barrels that you will find stacked in the 40 Knots cellar are from various areas in France.

40 Knots wine aged in oak: 

 

 

Stainless Steel Tanks

With the creation of stainless steel in the early 20th century, winemakers began the journey of aging wine in stainless steel tanks. Unlike oak, a wine created in these airtight, neutral vessels imparts no flavors and undergoes no oxidation.  Wine flavors formed to display the truest nature of the fruit, boasting crisp, clean and fresh characteristics.  The 40 Knots cellar is filled with Italian tanks from a company called Albrigi out of Italy. 

Look for these crisp, fresh wines in our portfolio.  Unlike some other terroirs, there is no need to oak these beautiful whites as they are naturally full with lots of juiciness, and far from flat.

Celebrate New Year's Eve, or any other time that demands emphasis of flavor on the celebration, with our "in bottle" fermentation, French Traditional style bubbly!

 

Gift baskets made to order or pick one up today in our store.  Got your Christmas cards out yet?  Pick up one of our gift cards or we can e-send off!  No expiry and may be used for purchases, vineyard tours, premium tastings and picnics.

Back by popular demand, check out our gift of Pinot box -  Pinot Noir sale

 

!!!HUGE SALE ALERT!!!

From December 20 to December 24, you'll receive $25 off a case of wine!  Just mention "I read about it on Megan's Blog"

 

Give us a call for Canada wide shipping options 855-941-8810, or visit us in the tasting room today.

                                                

Christmas hours: closed December 24 at 3pm, CLOSED ALL DAY December 25 & 26

New Years hours: closed December 31 at 3pm, CLOSED ALL DAY January 1 & 2

 

Thanks for following my blog posts for 2019! I look forward to picking up again next year in 2020. Please email me if there are topics you would like me to blog about, or if you ever have any questions about the blog.  Or even better yet, stop in and see me at the winery!

 

To Age Wine or Not to Age, That is the Question

 

To Age Wine or Not to Age, That is the Question

“Just like a fine wine, you keep getting better with age”.  We’ve all seen this Birthday Card for sale on the rack. The common misconception is that all wine surely does get better with age. This statement, however, is only true for a small number of wine types found around the world. 

It is estimated that 90% of the wine is meant to be enjoyed within a year of production, and 99% of wine within 5 years.

 

For some of you, the goal is to drink wine when in the prime of its life. For most of you, it’s as soon as you bring it to an awkward family dinner party. Back in the day, the Old World regions (aka. Europe) were notorious for releasing wine that demanded a minimum 5-10 year lay down (think astringent, high tannin Barolo’s). Nowadays, you will find more and more European styles following New World regions (aka. anywhere that isn’t Europe) with wine that is ready to drink now. 

Studies have shown that the average person waits 21 minutes between purchasing and opening a bottle of wine. 

 

              

Tannin and acidity are structural elements that act as naturally occurring preservatives, allowing the wine to evolve without falling apart. Sugar and alcohol also factor in, but the body must be supported by tannin and acidity.

Because white wine grapes rarely go through skin contact after harvest, the lack of grape skin tannin is your first clue that white wine doesn’t have much age-ability (with the exception of Orange Wine). Many Chardonnay’s, however, have seen some barrel aging. This adds tannin from the oak barrel and creates the potential to lay that bottle down for several years. Because of current wine trends, an unoaked style of Chardonnay is quite popular in today’s market. 

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40 Knots White Wine

With all of our white wine grapes grown right here on Vancouver Island, our crisp and dry style white's are a perfect pairing with anything that comes out of our local ocean.

USUALLY BEST IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS

ONE FOR YOU AND FIVE FOR THE CELLAR, ENJOYABLE EVERY YEAR FOLLOWING

 

 

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40 Knots Red Wine

Unlike wine from warmer climate regions, our estate reds are light in body and have soft tannins and moderate acidity.

STICK THIS ONE IN YOUR CELLAR!  

Drinkable now and try on each year for the next 6-8 years.  Prime is expected 3-5 years after vintage year.

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DRINK NOW OR SAVE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.

Sparkling bubbles will become very refined and soft with a baked brioche flavour, Trie Emily will be soft and deeply luscious, drink Safe Haven in 10 years while you sink deeply into your armchair and reminisce.

 

 

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Stall Speed Collection Red Wine

These reds boast grapes coming in from the Okanagan Valley where the climate is slightly warmer. 

DRINK NOW!

At 40 Knots we have already done the aging process for you, with vintages ranging between 2008 and 2011.

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If you DO decide to lay something down for a period of time, be sure that it is away from sunlight, vibrations, and temperature fluctuations. A cool basement emulates a cellar, so this is your best bet. 

Ready to cross some Christmas gift purchases off of your “to-do” list? Visit us in the tasting room and get your custom gift basket- wrapped with your choice of goods, to your price point.

To barrel or not to barrel, to amphorae or not to amphorae: what are the different aging techniques BEFORE a wine is bottled? Stay tuned for my next blog post.  

Natural Wine

Natural Wine

With the demand for natural consumer products on the rise, the pursuit of natural wine has become increasingly mainstream. With more and more negative effects being felt from consuming additives and unknown ingredients, the need for transparency has people delving deeper into what they are pouring into their glass.

 

                   

 

So, what is natural wine? Simply put, it is a wine that has nothing added and nothing is taken away. Our mission at 40 Knots is to follow natural winemaking techniques while continuing to meet European natural winemaking requirements. This pursuit guides us from the vineyard to the cellar and right into the bottle. The process starts in the vineyard. Natural wine is made with grapes that are organically or biodynamically grown. Our biodynamic practices help us achieve this first step. In the cellar, there must be little to no intervention. Much natural wine created will not undergo fining or filtration, leaving the wine cloudy. Some winemakers will wait until all the sediment has fallen to the bottom of the tank, barrel or amphorae. For fining in the 40 Knots cellar, organically certified bentonite or compostable filter sheets are used to produce wine with a clear, un-cloudy appearance.

In contrast, conventional farming and winemaking have only been taking place for a few decades. With the need to uphold brand loyalty through consistency, there are adjustments that can be made to create a similar tasting product vintage to vintage. While all wine naturally contains low levels of sulfites, conventional wine allows for the addition of significantly more sulfites to help preserve the wine. Conventional methods actually allow up to 72 legal additives!  Organic wine can still allow the same additions as conventional methods, as long as they are certified organic.  40 Knots assures above organic standards with natural quality and minimal intervention, from every vintage to every bottle.

As winemakers forge this naturally approached path through the love of the land; this will undoubtedly become a clear road carved out for future generations.  While no legal definition of a "natural wine" currently exists, as the natural product market rises, so will awareness.  This will surely connect us further to our surroundings, Mother Nature and life itself.

 

Want to impress your friends and family over this upcoming holiday season with something special!? One interesting style of trending natural wine produced at  40 Knots is the L’ORANGE. Never heard of an Orange method wine? In a  nutshell, it is white wine grapes made in the style of a red. Long term skin  contact and amphorae ageing with 0 grams per litre residual sugar is enough to make any Keto dieter sing. Stone fruit and orange zest on the nose yet the pallet boasts a spirit type quality. Think Grand Marnier without the sugar!   Found at our cellar door during opening hours. We warmly invite you to visit us and taste.

 

 

Ever wonder how long you should cellar that bottle of vino?  Or what ageing wine will do to the flavour components?  Catch me next time, when I delve deeper into wine ageing techniques.

 

 

 

40 Knots grows and crafts high quality, ethical, clean wines that are distinct to Vancouver Island.

 

Wine Alcohol

Wine Alcohol

With harvest behind us, the 40 Knots cellar is a bustle of activity as our grapes now begin their journey to become wine.  With a hands-off approach to winemaking, Layne's job is to coax natural fermentations where yeasts now convert natural sugars into alcohol.

The amount of alcohol in our wine is actually determined by the sugar levels in the grapes at the time of harvest.   40 Knots is known for the soft, easy-drinking wines with naturally lower alcohol levels, avoiding "hot"  and unbalanced wine.  Our styles are reminiscent of old-world natural wines.  We allow a natural fermentation process converting sugars into alcohol, and finishing at the point of natural balance. 
 

                                                                

Over the last few months, I have posted about the main components found in wine – acid, tannin, sweetness and alcohol. I close off my four-part series now with Alcohol.  So how do we decide on how much alcohol should go into the bottle? Well, we don’t. The natural fermentation process will carry on through converting sugars into alcohol, and quit at the point of natural balance. If a winemaker so chooses, there are techniques to add alcohol, including a process called fortification*. This will create a dessert wine of high alcohol and high sugar. Fortified wine’s include sherry, brandy and port*. There are also ways to reduce alcohol, such as boiling it off. This, however, will drastically reduce quality. If a winemaker decides to cultivate a wine with naturally low alcohol, the grapes can be harvested earlier when less sugar has yet to form.
 
 
So how do we test the alcohol level in our lab?  Seen in the picture below is a traditional instrument, invented by the French, called an Ebulliometer.  An Ebulliometer measures the current boiling point of water and then matches that with the boiling point of the wine in question. With the orbital slide calculator, you determine the % ethanol.  

 

                                        

 

 
               
 

 

The proper alcohol percentage is essential for balance and structure of the final product. With all components in harmonious balance, you will find a wine of wonderful drinkability. At 40 Knots, we thrive upon balance both in the vineyard and the cellar. With our minimal intervention approach, we aim to craft wine of natural quality. This is our continued 40 Knots promise.
 
 40 Knots French Traditional sparkling wines have naturally lower alcohol percentages as the grapes are harvested earlier than for still wine, with lower brix levels.  With sparkling wines, this style goes through primary fermentation in a stainless steel tank and secondary fermentation in the bottle.  First fermentation results in a lower alcohol, so when secondary fermentation takes place, it will not drive a high alcohol content, and thus resulting in a balanced wine.  Spindrift, as an example, results in less than 10% in the primary fermentation, and finishing at a elegant 11% alcohol.  Chardonnay for still wine is then harvested later in the season, with higher brix and pH which can result with the same alcohol percentage as our finished sparkling wine.
 

As an example, in our cool climate, a brix sugar level in our grapes of 20 will convert to just short of 11% alcohol.  In a region such as California, with their big reds, where their grapes may exceed 30 brix when they harvest, this converts to an excess of 15% alcohol.  Some wine in California even goes through a de-ethanization process to reduce the amount of alcohol.
In some styles of wine, usually where a very high residual sugar level is desired, such as a sweet dessert wine, the natural sugars from the grape may be retained in the bottle without adding sucrose, by stopping the fermentation early.  Traditionally and today in Portugual, their port wine and our port-style, uses high percentage spirit addition that stops the yeast in the fermentation process.

*fortification is the addition of a spirit while fermenting wine is still naturally high in sugar, thus halting the fermentation process by keeping the sugar levels naturally high. Our *port style dessert wine is a delicious accompaniment to dark chocolate. But don't take my word for it, come try it out for yourself!  Our 40 Knots tasting room is open all year round. Come enjoy a glass of port while taking part in our Music Trivia Nights, every Saturday night at 6:00pm.

But don't take my word for this.  Check out our balanced wine for yourself!  We are open all year for you to come and taste these wines for yourself, or bring your friends and join us in our Music Trivia Nights, every Saturday night at 6:00 pm.

with the growing demand for natural wine, have you ever wondered what in fact it actually is?  Check out my next blog post to find out!

Wine Tannin

 

Wine Tannin

Wine, Wind and Sea.

With harvest well underway, the bounty of our 40 Knots vineyard is welcomed in the bucket loads, as the hard-working harvesters continue to snip our biodynamic grapes off of our naturally healthy vines. White wine grape varietals are typically put through a de-stemmer and grape press right after harvest. The ageing process for white wine generally happens in stainless steel tanks (with the exception of some Chardonnay’s and our Orange style wine). Rose's are pressed after 24 hours of skin contact.  Red wines, however, are not pressed for 6-8 weeks. This allows the juices to be in contact with the grape skins/stems and pips (seeds) to create a tannin structure. Following this, the majority of reds are aged in amphora or oak barrels to add further this tannin structure along.  In this vessel found below, the grape skins are floating on top of the juice where a wine cap punch down tool is used to mix up the skins with the juice, adding natural tannin.

Tannin is a naturally occurring phenolic compound, which gives the feeling of astringency and bitterness. This “drying” feeling taking place on the sides of your tongue and front part of your mouth and when well balanced with sugar, acid and alcohol levels, creates a wine of quality and age-ability. 
 
40 Knots use Burgundy oak barrels to impart tannins.  Other wineries may use a more affordable approach through the addition of oak chips or staves or adding a tannin powder. Oak tannins integrate into a wine quicker than naturally occurring tannins found from the skins. So, when putting a light-bodied, naturally lower tannic red like Pinot Noir into oak, it can create a wine of overwhelming tannins, especially when young. This can be avoided by using neutral oak barrels or a vessel that doesn’t impart further tannins.

 
Come in to 40 Knots and try the difference.  Taste our uncloaked un-oaked Chardonnay and our lightly kissed by oak Chardonnay.  Try our Pinot Noir fully amphora aged next to our burgundy aged.  Try our shortly aged in oak Gamay against our Carmabolage with high tannin grapes and extensive ageing in Burgundy oak.  

Belong to a Wine Lover's Group?  Take a couple of our Burgundy oaked reds to taste against a commercial wine that uses staves.  

Do you want to learn more about wine?  Practise, practise, practise.  And join us for one of our classes that you can find on our events calendar.  

To finish off my four part series, my next blog post will be on alcohol in wine! 

Wine Sweetness

Sweetness in Wine

The Summertime in all its sweetness is drawing to a close.  The leaves are changing colour and the first day of harvest in our 40 Knots vineyard has begun in our Schoenberger block.

 

 
 
At this stage of the grape growing cycle, sugar levels are monitored to decide if the grapes are ready to harvest by units called Brix.  The volume of sugar levels can be measured with a small contraption called a refractometer by dripping the grape juice onto its detection lens.
 

 

One Brix equals 1% of sugar found in a liquid solution and usually equates to half of the alcohol in the final product.   This means that a grape harvested at 20 Brix should equate to roughly 10% alcohol in the bottle.  
 
 
Once the grapes are harvested and the juices start to ferment, the term Brix is no longer used and the residual sugar level is the unit of measurement.  As a wine ferments, the sweetness drops and the alcohol levels rise.  The term residual sugar is the sugar left over once the fermentation is complete.  Wineries describe the residual sugars found in wine as grams per liter, this can be confusing as liquor retail shops use a “sweetness code” to rate the sugar levels found in wine.  Here’s a handy charge to help better distinguish how much sugar is actually found in finished wine:

                         

There are many different styles of sweet wine and different methods to achieve higher sugar levels if the natural sugars don't do so.  Fortififying a wine is the addition of a grain or a grape spirit to halt the fermentation, keeping the natural sugar levels high, and our port style dessert wine is just that.  Late harvest wine is achieved by leaving the grapes on the vine for a longer period of time to allow the grapes to bring on a good rot called botrytis.  Our Trie Emily is a late harvest Sauterne style that is created with our Pinot Gris grapes. 

Want to learn how to harvest grapes without a huge commitment?  Come join me for a harvest tour!  Learn about the terroir, climate and growing stages of the vineyard, join the crew for a half-hour hand harvest session, and come inside for a refreshing glass of wine and a picnic lunch!
 

 

Wine Acidity

ACIDITY IN WINE

When looking at the quality of a wine, the most important step is to decipher if the wine is well balanced. Tannin, sweetness, acidity and alcohol are all key considerations. Over my next four blog posts, I will be touching on all of these components, what they mean, and how you can upgrade your palate by knowing what to look for.

In my previous blog post, #rootedincool, we discussed climate and acidity levels. Generally speaking, cooler climate regions produce wine of higher acidity. Winemakers follow the PH levels to rate acidity levels. If a wine has a high PH, that will mean that the acidity levels are on the lower end. Red wine, for the most part, has a lower acidity than white wine. Usually, if the wine is sweeter, the acidity levels will be high to match it. Acidity can be felt on the sides of your tongue and produce a mouth-watering feel.  There are three main acids found in wine:

 

Tartaric Acid

This is said to be the most important of the acids. Rarely found elsewhere in plant material, it hosts itself well in grapevines. It is a prominent component in maintaining chemical stability and also affects the color of the wine. Ever found small glass-like substances at the bottom of your wine glass? These “wine diamonds” are tartaric acid that has crystallized to become free-standing. Typically, winemakers will put the wine through a cold stabilization to encourage these tartrates to expel before bottling. 

 

Citric Acid

Added during primary fermentation to increase acidity, citric acid is naturally found in very small quantities in wine grapes. The addition of citric acid in old world regions, aka. Europe is prohibited. Cooler climate regions like ours in the Comox Valley requires less addition of what is naturally occurring, allowing us to leave the addition of citric acid out of the equation. 

 

Malic Acid

Malic acid is found in all fruits and berries.  Its Latin translation is “apple” and its duty is to transport energy throughout the vine. Malic levels are at their highest just before the onset of sugars in the grape and this slowly dispels as the grape becomes riper. The trick is to harvest when the levels are just right!

 

If a winemaker chooses to decrease the levels of malic acid, wine can undergo a process called malolactic fermentation, or MLF, which is the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid.  This will soften out any harsh acidity found in the wine.  All of our 40 Knots red wine undergo MLF. This process in white wine is usually reserved for the Chardonnay grape. Chardonnay that does not undergo MLF would be considered a Chablis style (crisp and fresh), and our Uncloaked Chardonnay is just that.

                                                                                 

Next blog post we will discuss sweetness in wine!

 

Two weeks away until our 2019 harvest folks! Want to get your hands dirty and take part in our harvesting without an entire day's commitment? Join us on a harvest tour! Get picking with the rest of our harvest crew as well as learning about our terroir, climate, and then learn how to harvest the grapes, pick with our pickers for 1/2 hour and join us up by the winery for a charcuterie lunch and a glass of wine. Plan for 1 ½-2 hours. Wear proper footwear, a hat and bring gloves if possible.