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TECHNICAL REVIEW 2 0 1 4E M N I FI IN G WIN U AK ED Chardonnay lots are fermented with 100% new oak, while others only receive about 40%. Finished wines are neither fined nor filtered and racked out of barrel with Bulldog wands. The same tanks used for white settling also are used for the final blending. Bottling is conducted with a line that Hobbs owns in partnership with nearby Lynmar Estate winery. Hobbs said the line is used for bottling wines from other wineries, but he gets first pick on bottling dates. He said the set up gives him enough control over bottling and avoids the capital investment in an expensive piece of equipment. While the Chardonnay ferments in oak, Hobbs doesn't feel the need for any of his red wines to see oak prior to completing primary fermentation. He said he understands that very light reds could benefit from oak tannins, but the fruit he's working with doesn't require much help. "We prefer keeping the barrel out of the equation until after the grape itself—all the parts, the skin, the seeds and everything—have had most of their chemical reactions complete, or the first large molecules formed, before we integrate oak into the equation." With that strategy in place, Hobbs doesn't add oak dust or chips during fermentation. He said he doesn't use any enzymes or other additions either. "You want to see our chemical room? It's got (only) bags of tartaric acid," he says with a smile. Understanding vineyard variability These tanks are used for Chardonnay settling and blending. The topic does trigger a moment of reflection for Hobbs, prompting him to mention that he's still trying to understand what drives vineyard variability. The 2013 growing season was nearly perfect— enough so that Hobbs says the weather could be removed as a factor of variability, yet he still encountered different levels of pH and TA. "I think one our biggest challenges today is how to manage the pH and TA of the fruit, the raw material coming into the winery, because we still don't have a very good understanding of how soil, climate, clone (and) varietal interact to come with a certain pH," he said. "We see with certain vineyards a high pH, and then not too far away another vineyard with low pH, and we don't have a good handle on why yet." He said he'd like to get some research going with the UC Davis and some other interested wineries to really examine the issue of consistency and uniformity in each harvest. "This question really came to a head this year," he said. The comment represents perhaps another example of how Hobbs has achieved success: The global winemaker who has reduced variability to ensure consistent quality on different continents and at different price points is still striving to understand the estate vineyard he's been tending for years. America's Choice For Vineyards, Wineries & Orchards Since 1986 Vineyard Supplies No Vines... No Wines... Just Everything In Between! Wholesale Supplier for: Trellis Supplies • Training/Tying Supplies Wildlife Control Solutions Harvest Supplies And So Much More! www.orchardvalleysupply.com • 888-755-0098 You focus on making great wine... Let us take care of the cooling. PaCkaged glYCol Chiller SYStemS ProChiller.com 76 W in e s & V i ne s january 20 14 800-845-7781 See us at Unified booth #1808