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SEPTEMBER NEWS Winemakers Blind Taste Trials Unusual event in Napa Valley shows dramatic results regarding techniques S t. Helena, Calif.—Rarely do winemakers get the opportunity to blind taste their colleagues' experiments with wine quality, particularly examining the effects of various winemaking techniques in a controlled, peer-reviewed environment. A recent event called The Winemakers Tasting helped fill that vacuum for members of the Napa Valley Vintners. About 60 winemakers came to The Culinary Institute of America, Greystone, to blind-taste 21 trials involving harvest methods, yeast selection, fermentor type, extended maceration, oak types, closures and more. The results were dramatic in some cases. The winemakers' votes favored machine-picked Cabernet Sauvignon over hand-picked by a 3:2 ratio in one trial. And they preferred hand sorting almost 4:1 to optical sorting for the same Cabernet grapes when they were all picked by hand. In a trial of barrelfermented Cabernet with six different ex- Cameron Vawter tastes through blind trials at The Culinary Institute of America, Greystone. tended maceration times from 15 to 135 days, the sample with the shortest time got the most votes, and the sample with the longest maceration got the lowest marks. Kristin Belair of Honig Vineyard & Winery is one of six winemakers on the advisory board for The Winemakers Tasting. "We decided that if sharing the wines from vari- ous trials we've done could help us make better wine, we would do it," she said. The other board members are Sara Fowler, Peju Winery; Kimberlee Nicholls, Markham Vineyards; Ted Henry, Jarvis; Joe Shirley, Trinchero Family Estates; and Jeffrey Stambor, Beaulieu Vineyard. Cooperages 1912 sponsored the venue, food and other logistics. "We know that winemakers love to experiment," said Jason Stout, sales director. "But few wineries have the resources to do all these trials themselves. By pulling them all together in one place, The Winemakers Tasting provides a new way winemakers can learn from each other in addition to learning from us suppliers." The May 10 tasting was by invitationonly for area winemakers to ensure the wine trials were relevant and the peer review was valuable. Stout said the tasting went well enough to consider expanding to other California regions in the future. —Jim Gordon Try Before you Buy – conTacT your local rep Today FREE Take advantage of this risk-free offer to try our new TankJet 55 barrel cleaner in your winery. You'll experience benefits like these: TRIAL OF OUR NEW • Powerful cleaning using low flow rates to prevent toast removal and reduce water and chemical use TANKJET® 55 • Fast cycle times enable cleaning of multiple barrels in minutes BARREL CLEANER Superior Spray. SeriouS reSultS. TankJet 55 barrel cleaner for cleaning barrels up to 5' (1.5 m) in dia. • Durable construction and use of wear-resistant materials extend service life • Easy to use – compatible with most pumps and pressure washers Try the TankJet 55 today! Call 1.800.95.SPRAY or visit TankJet.com. Win es & Vin es SEPT EM B ER 20 13 19