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122 W i n e s & V i n e s n O V e M B e r 2 0 1 4 Winemaking W hen grapegrowers and winemak- ers hear the words "challenging environment," most think of regions that have extreme temperatures or precipitation. Those conditions lead to further consequences once grapes travel from the vineyard to the winery. Winemak- ing for Challenging Environments, a sympo- sium held this summer during the national conference of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture in Austin, Texas, addressed both the viticultural impact of difficult growing conditions as well as the winemaking problems that can result. For a review of the vineyard management tactics for stressed locations, see "Surviving Chal- lenging Environments" in the August 2014 issue of Wines & Vines. grapes harvested from vineyards that have experienced less than optimal growing conditions can present a range of problems for the winemaker, including grapes with green, herbaceous flavors; high pH; high acidity; and color and phenolic issues. In the winery Vinification problems in challenging re- gions can come from a variety of factors, according to Misha Kwasniewski, assistant research professor and enology program leader at the University of Missouri. Some problems begin in the vineyard as a result of disease pressure or weather-related is- sues such as spring frosts or too much rain. In other cases, the cultivars being grown can be challenging in and of themselves. Kwasniewski cited Norton as an example of a varietal having "abysmal fruit chemistry" with both high pH and high acid levels. growers and winemakers—and, importantly, researchers—often don't know much about the basic chemistries and other important aspects of the new varieties of grapes now being grown in difficult regions, and fre- quently these grapes don't act like vinifera varieties. There are different solutions or interven- tions to improve problematic wines. Some are analysis driven; others are based on equipment choices; some can be solved by additives or with processing solutions. Winemakers can know more now about their wines through either in-house analyses or from laboratory services, and knowing what went right in one year can help the winery figure out what went wrong in a bad situa- tion. In these environments, wineries need to know what occurred in the vineyard from its establishment to how the grapes were handled for each season. The next question is what type of wine the winemaker is trying to make. These are far more critical questions in such re- gions, because the grapes probably are not going to hit the "optimum" or "textbook" numbers. As Kwasniewski noted, we need to start to understand the entire system of what is going on with grapes and the wines made from them. "We have a lot of Band-Aids," he stated. "There are many ways—using equipment, biological means or through additives—to start our wine at a good place. The question is, where will this take the wine? Worst-case scenario, you've got some terrible grapes. What can you do with it? First step, remove the worst stuff that you can. Sort it, clarify it (if it's a white wine), and get it as close to what you want as possible. Maybe some of the enzymatic interventions can help. If it's already bad, you might as well take a heavy-handed approach. Activated charcoal is not a way to make premium wine, but is a way to make drinkable wine. Then you've (got) some options of adding something back that the consumer may want, whether WineEast Wine East HIGHLIGHTS • This article will look at ways winemakers can improve must and wine quality, as presented by speakers at the AseV conference. • new varieties being grown in difficult regions often don't act like vinifera varieties. • One expert recommended using the double-salt method while adding calcium carbonate to prevent potential tartrate crystallization. Vinifying Grapes From Difficult Climates How to deal with fruit that has green flavors and acid/pH issues By Linda Jones McKee The grape variety Norton can have both high pH and high acid levels. These can be remedied by a carbonate deacidification followed by a tartaric acid addition.