here are times when I envy Californian winegrowers. Do you think they ever get bored with all those dry cloudless days of perfect grape ripening weather? Have you ever heard a Californian talk about rain, much less hurricanes, during harvest? Rain during the latter part of the growing season can have a negative effect on the quality of the harvest. A little bit of rain may not be too bad, but add the wind and the torrential rainfall from the remnants of a hurricane and a season long effort to produce premium wine grapes can be washed or blown away.That is why I spend the nearly two and a half months of the harvest reading tea leaves, gazing into crystal balls (the bottom of beer bottles), pulling up the weather forecasts on the internet and studying hurricane tracks. In fact, I often have folks ask me how to tell when the grapes are ripe and ready for harvesting. The surest way I know to predict when the grapes are going to be ripe is to forecast a hurricane to hit anywhere on the Eastern seaboard. All of our Chåteau Morrisette growers let me know real quick their grapes are at the peak of ripeness, and please have the truck there tomorrow to pick up the fruit. Well, not really, but Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Gaston, Ivan and Jeanne certainly did liven up the harvest period this year.
Fortunately, our dedicated growers are spread throughout the Commonwealth from the northern tip of northern Virginia to the state line in Southside and from the hillsides of the Shenandoah Valley to the mountains of far Southwest Virginia. This widespread dispersal of our grape acreage dilutes the effect of some of Mother Nature’s curve balls and her named storms.
All in all, the 2004 harvest was surprisingly excellent! Our Chardonnay and Vidal grapes from all parts of the Commonwealth came in before most of the storms with very good sugars, balanced acidity and great flavors. Despite the rain in some areas, many of the reds (Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chambourcin), have the potential to be some big wines - full of color and flavor. Our own vineyards produced a record amount of grapes, thanks in part to vineyard manager Stevie Vansutphin and his excellent staff. Our Niagara harvest was the largest ever, even with 14+ inches of rain in September. Chåteau Morrisette’s family of growers also had some outstanding yields this vintage making 2004 our largest harvest on record. We are bulging at the seams with good wines for your enjoyment.
Cheers and many thanks to all our great ChÂteau Morrisette growers: Jeanette Smith (our traveling grower representative and viticulturist extraordinaire); master of all (winemakers) - Dan Tallman; asstistant winemaker/fermentation king - Rick Hall; the transportation and logistics team of Chad the Man and Tiffany (aka AC -Assistant Chief); Leigh; Seth; Daniel; Willie; Mike; Pat; Jon; Tim; John and all others who helped with what was a very successful 2004 vintage!
— Bob Burgin, Vice President
ver the years our customers have asked many excellent questions about our wines. We are pleased to continue this series of newsletter articles aimed at answering these questions. This time we will look at some basic guidelines for proper wine storage.Wine is a complex product which can undergo many changes during the time it qui-etly sits in the bottle. The various components can slowly interact to produce new characteristics and complexity. These natural processes can be helped or hindered, depending on the storage conditions. Wines typically approach and attain a peak of quality, after which quality can begin to fade. This “lifespan,” and the length of time it will take to reach the peak, can vary greatly.
The nature of aging wine is a topic best covered in a future article, but for now it is useful to note that the most important factor increasing the ability of a wine to age well over a long time is significant tannin content. All red wines have tannins, to varying degrees, while most white wines have low tannins. This means that most red wines have the ability to be stored longer than most white wines.
Long-aging wines may improve for many years before ever beginning to decline. While they are already good when released for sale, those who know wine will want to age the wines that will improve, allowing the full potential of the wine to develop.
Other wines are less able to age gracefully. These are simply wines without the same level of protection from tannin, and are intended to be consumed “fresh”. These are typi-cally white and blush wines. When released, they are essentially near or at their peak and should be consumed relatively quickly (within in a couple of years or less). Certain white wines, like barrel fermented and aged Chardonnay, have integrated some tannin from the barrels, so they last longer than a typical white table wine.
The conditions of storage have a tremendous influence on the aging and character of the wine. Taking simple steps to help the storage conditions will go a long way toward maximizing your enjoyment of the wine. Fortunately, there are just a few factors to keep in mind: Temperature and temperature swings, humidity, bottle position, light exposure, and motion.
Much discussion centers on the proper storage temperature for different wines. While specific, exacting temperatures are often given, they will be fine around 55-65 degrees. If you wish to be somewhat more specific, whites do better at the cool end of this range, reds at the warmer end. Constant temperature is important; repeated swings of warm and cold are to be avoided. Excessive warmth can lead to a haze or other instabilities, while exces-sive cold can cause the natural acids to crystallize out of the wine. Humidity is important, mostly for the cork. If the cork were to dry out, it would shrink somewhat and allow exces-sive amounts of oxygen in, quickly ruining the wine. Bottles using natural cork should be stored on their sides, or inverted, keeping the cork wet. Bottles with synthetic corks may be stored in any position. Even daylight can cause detrimental changes to flavors and aro-mas. Colored wine bottles help with this, but wine is best stored in the dark. Finally, wine should be stored without frequent movement or vibrations, as these can interfere with the linking of tannins and pigments, an important part of aging.
While proper wine storage is often portrayed as a difficult or expensive thing, all we need to do is keep the basics in mind: constant, cool temperature, with the bottles on their sides or inverted, kept still and out of the light. This, coupled with tasting with friends, will help you enjoy the wine to its fullest.
— Rick Hall, Assistant Winemaker