Kinder, Gentler Reds
To many Americans, “red wine” means a rough, astringent, bitter drink--something that will only smooth out after years of cellaring, if then. Not surprisingly, most of the wine consumed in this country is white.
In southern Europe, however, where people drink five times as much wine as the average American, almost all wine is red. There are two basic reasons: Southern Europeans have grown up with red wine, and the wine they drink is made for immediate consumption. We may not grow up with red wine around here, but at least our winemakers can do something about making more approachable reds.
Pinot Noir was the first red wine to be made in the United States without strong tannins. Around 1985 we began to see a much lighter hand with the variety. Restaurants increasingly found that Pinot Noir was a grand alternative to raw, young Cabernet Sauvignon. Soon Merlot was being made in a lighter style, and now we are seeing the same thing in Zinfandel and Cabernet.
Since tannin comes from the skins of red wine grapes, most winemakers reduce astringency by limiting the amount of time the wine is in contact with the skins.
Geyser Peak Winery winemaker Darryl Groom, who made the great Grange Hermitage wines for Penfolds in Australia before joining Geyser Peak in 1989, says the secret to softer red wine is removing it from the tank before the fermentation is complete. When some of the natural sugar still remains in the grape juice, Groom drains the tank and allows the fermentation to finish in small oak barrels.
He says California grapes are so fruity the wine should accent that element. “In some areas (of the world),” Groom says, “you need to extract all the stuffing out of the (grape) skins, but not here.”
A great example of the benefits of this technique is his 1990 Geyser Peak Merlot, a bargain at $9. The wine’s fullness of flavor, blending cherries and a trace of nutmeg, is enhanced by a marvelous softness on the palate.
Groom has two more red wines (to be released early next year) that are stunning examples of his new style: the 1990 “Reserve Alexandre” ($20), a superb blended red wine, and the 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon “Reserve” ($13.50). The former is more complex, with exotic scents of cherry, spice, sandalwood and a toastiness from French oak; the latter is richly fruity and herbal with a blackberry aroma.
Both wines offer early drinkability, yet they are deep and powerful enough to grow great with years in the bottle. A few cases of these wines are being pre-released. (For details, call (800) 255-9463.)
Matt Cline, winemaker at Cline Cellars, uses a technique slightly different from Groom’s. “We keep the wine less time on the skins,” he says, “and we ferment some of the grapes as whole clusters, to retain fruitiness. Some people accuse us of having sugar in the wine, but it’s dry; there’s nothing but fruit.”
Specializing in the Rhone grape varieties, Cline uses fruit from a ranch in Oakley, in Contra Costa County, which he owns with his brother Fred. The best example of Cline’s style is his 1990 Cotes d’Oakley ($7.50), a blend of 65% Carignane and other Rhone grapes. The wine is floral and fruity, with little oak to rob it of its intriguing scents of roses, oranges and berries.
Cline’s 1989 Oakley Cuvee ($12) is fuller and bolder, yet still soft in the finish. The wine is 53% Mourvedre with 18% Zinfandel, to give it a little spice.
Another splendid wine made in much the same manner is 1991 Cotes de Sonoma ($6) from Pellegrini Bros. in Sonoma. This wine is a blend of Carignane and Pinot Noir, and its generous fruit is simply delicious.
Treating the unfermented juice-and-skin mash more gently is another technique to make softer wine. Scott Harvey, winemaker at Santino Vineyards in Amador County, says he recently quit pumping red wine from tank to barrel and barrel to tank the way he used to. He says pomace pumps, which are designed to move liquids as thick as wet concrete, can beat up the grapes, tearing the skins and leaving the wine with harsher tannins.
On the other hand, Bill Dyer at Sterling Vineyards thinks Cabernet Sauvignon needs aeration early in its aging to lower the roughness. He thinks tannins can be removed by merely exposing them to oxygen. “We splash the wine around early in its life,” he says.
Van Williamson at Greenwood Ridge Vineyards and Linda Trotta at Gundlach-Bundschu Winery are among those who believe the astringency in red wine is a product of both tannin and acid, so they have sought lower acid levels in their red wines. The 1990 Greenwood Ridge Zinfandel ($14) and 1990 Gundlach-Bundschu Merlot are excellent examples of soft, generously flavored wines. The former is spicy with red currant scents, a wine with charm and depth; the latter is deep and blackberry-scented.
Other winemakers, such as Forest Tancer of Iron Horse Vineyards, believe the key to softer red wine is in leaving the wine in the vat longer, permitting the tannins to combine. This merging of tannins produces softness, he says.
Alcohol tends to break down grape skins, releasing more tannins. The newest theory, backed by winemakers such as Ken Burnap, owner of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards, is that harvesting grapes earlier to get less sugar creates less alcohol and, theoretically, lower tannins. None of the wines made by this technique have been released yet.
Other winemakers use different techniques to lower tannins. One method is the use of fining agents, such as beaten egg white, diatomaceous earth, or gelatin, which are added to the wine. The fining agent falls to the bottom of the tank, collecting particulate matter, including tannin, along the way. Later it is removed from the wine.
A good example of a delicately fined wine is the 1990 Seghesio Winery Zinfandel ($7.50), an attractive, lighter-styled wine that winemaker Ted Seghesio fined with the equivalent of half an egg white per barrel.
“It’s the first wine I’ve fined in eight years,” said Seghesio, “and it did a nice job of smoothing out the finish.”
Interestingly, California winemakers who have visited the cellars of Bordeaux recently say the French are trying similar techniques for making softer, gentler wine. The debate among them is whether the “new Bordeaux,” as they are calling it, makes for better wine or merely one that is different. One California winemaker said he felt this new style of Bordeaux was responsible for more consistency--fewer flat-out disaster vintages such as 1963, 1965, 1968 and 1969--but also fewer truly great vintages.
Only time will tell, I suppose, but we surely know that wine buyers are finding more approachable wines than ever.
Wine of the Week
1991 Canyon Road Chardonnay ($4.75) --I didn’t believe this wine when I first tasted it, and I still don’t believe it: It’s too cheap. The Canyon Road label is the second brand of Geyser Peak, and, since most stores will have it for $3.99, it may be the best Chardonnay value on the shelf today. The fresh-fruit aroma is perfectly varietal, with hints of citrus and pears, and there’s a creamy, complex texture. Winemaker Daryl Groom bought fruit from Monterey County and treated it the way he would fine wine, with cold fermentation and aging the wine on the lees. A small amount of the wine was even aged in French oak barrels for added complexity. The first Canyon Road wine, made in 1990, was sold only to restaurants. The 1991 will be widely available in retail stores as well. Also worth trying: 1991 Geyser Peak Chardonnay ($8), all barrel-fermented and aged in oak and loaded with complexity. Groom, formerly an Australian winemaker, is doing amazing things at Geyser Peak.
