Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/513570
WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT 44 WINES&VINES June 2015 if we want to slow it down or continue for another day." All of the winery's fermentation tanks are connected to a hot and cold glycol system to provide any necessary heating or cooling. An RTI system controls the entire network of tanks through a monitor in the winery lab, and Owens said he'd soon be able to access the network remotely. "Say you want two more hours of extraction after tasting the tank," he said. "You actually don't have to stay here for two hours. You can just go home, set your alarm clock to cool it down at 1 o'clock in the morning or what- ever. Kind of an extreme example, but it just gives you that much more control." The 2013 vintage provided an abundance of color and tannin. Owens said it seemed the wines were changing by the hour, and extrac- tion happened quickly. "We pressed really, re- ally, really early in 2013," he said, "like at 12° to 16° Brix. And we're ending up with some really nice, full-bodied wines with skyscraper like texture. Not lacking any tannin or body whatsoever." The winery is equipped with a Europress bladder press that handles both reds and whites. Even if he presses relatively sweet, Owens said he lets the wine finish in a tank before its racked into barrels. "I wouldn't put anything down to barrel that's too sweet, so it has to always be at zero or negative Brix." About 18,000 square feet of caves run from the winery building through the adjacent hillside to the tasting room. Steltzner first dug the cave system, which then under- went a complete overhaul by The Cave Co. of Napa after PlumpJack bought the prop- erty. Owens uses tight-grain French oak for the Odette re- serve and estate wines, and some of his preferred coopers are Tonnellerie Taransaud, Tonnellerie Sylvain, Tonnel- lerie Orion and Tonnellerie Atelier. The cave can store about 1,000 barrels, and when the wine is ready, Owens has a 3M/Cuno filter if he thinks the wine would benefit from filtration. Bottling is done onsite through Ryan Mobile Bottling, and the finished wines are packaged in Demptos bottles with Amorim corks. Just like PlumpJack's other top wines, the Odette reserve is sold in two-packs contain- ing a bottle sealed with a cork and another with an Amcor screwcap as part of the wine company's long-standing trial to explore the differences between the two closures. Tasting through barrels destined to become reserve and estate wines, Owens says the goal from the vineyard through the cellar to the cave is always managing the wine to show off its power and full range of flavors without losing any of its delicate notes. It's not unlike improving an old estate without ruining what made it great to begin with. "I'm really trying to express that ultimate expression of power and finesse," Owens said. "The wines here can be bold yet elegant as well, so whenever I think about capturing all that color, having the tannin provide the frame- work for the particular wine, I want all of that to be in place, but I don't want the wines to ever be heavy, syrupy or cloying. Big but yet finessed." A living roof helps keep the winery cool, and solar panels provide additional power. SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AND SAVE. Print + Digital Magazine 12 monthly issues a year for $28 winesandvines.com/subscribe The right pH meter Easy-to-use, easy-to-choose meter kits specifically prepared for wine applications. Whether measuring pH or dissolved oxygen in wine, we have the perfect meter kit to ensure quality results time after time. makes all the difference © 2015 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved. • thermoscientific.com/fermentation