Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/62409
WINEMAKING As I was totaling up the numbers, it occurred to me that all the additives anyone could imagine using would end up costing less than the bottle the wine goes into, and it turns out that's the same comparison used by José Santos, business director for Enartis Vin- quiry. "The cost of following a full winemaking protocol using Enartis products would be around 50 cents per liter, less than the cost of packaging materials." From the winemakers I talked to, the highest per-bottle estimate was 60 cents—from Steve Pessa- gno, who sells those bottles for $35 and up. The fact that processing aid costs are modest on a per-bottle basis, however, doesn't mean that wineries don't give them any thought. Aside from the preferences of individual winemakers, producers of a million cases of $8 wine are likely to approach these expenditures differently than a 2,000-case producer of $40 wines. "Color enzymes aren't just for color, they also get flavor and aroma compounds from the same place as the color, from the vacuoles of the skins." —Peter Salamone, Laffort Zack Scott of Scott Labs says that for the truly large producers of mass-market wines, every cent counts, and so the decision to spend money has to be justified by either the potential to increase quality or lower costs. An investment in enzymes, for example, can increase juice volume and reduce refrigeration costs. At the large end, being cost-conscious doesn't automatically mean scrimping; high-production users are focused on consistency and standard- ization in their product lines and will pay good money to keep it that way. José Santos says that the biggest customer in the world for Enartis' second-highest-priced enological tannin, costing $700 per kilo, is a large Portuguese winery whose flagship bottle sells for less than $5. The small-to-medium tier of wineries, which Zack Scott thinks of as 20,000 to 200,000 cases, are the "heart and soul" of the business, and are dedicated to making the best wine they can. If their wine programs need a bag of something, they go get it, and hang the price. The smallest wineries include some who zero in on the quality of their fruit and practice hand-crafted winemaking, using fewer additives, and some for whom the initial cost of cer- tain products—no matter how few pennies a bottle they add—can run up against a cash-flow barrier. motivations OK, winemaking additives won't break the bank, but still, why use so many of them? Weren't they mostly developed to cure problems with fermentations that had to use bad fruit—over- cropped, under-ripe, diluted, nutrient-poor, moldy stuff? Does anyone really need all these vinous aids with clean, balanced, ripe fruit? In California, for example, do we really have color problems in most of our red grapes? Does the rest of the world laugh at California wines for their wimpy color? Would Napa Cabs look like Provençal rosé except for the enzyme injections? I expected the supplier reps to say their products were useful, and they did just that. "These are tools of the trade and are wide- 20 Years Experience in Stainless Steel Manufacturing • Cross-flow Systems • Sheet Filters • Lenticular Filter Housings • Cartridge Filter Housings & Micro-filtration Plants • Lees Press Filters • Combination Filters • Pressure Leaf Filters • Tank Washers • Catwalks and Stairs VINTNERS SUPPLY COMPANY™ P.O. BOX 153 ST. HELENA, CA 94574-0153 TOLL FREE: 800-366-6809 • FAX: 707-584-7902 www.vintnerssupply.com QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #510 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2012 133 "The cost of follow- ing a full winemaking protocol would be less than the cost of packaging materials." —José Santos, Enartis Vinquiry ly used to bring out different expressions and varietal attributes from the grape," says Rodger Pachelbel of Gusmer. "Some help to facilitate processing, some help with stability, some help to hone flavor, aroma or mouthfeel. They are a means to assure the quality of the wine and make sure it shows at its best." All the suppliers I talked to agreed that sometimes, some folks may not need all the supplements they toss into their wines. But for the most part, they see their customers as motivated by some com- bination of four factors: 1) fear—prevention of stuck fermentations and spoilage; 2) concern for efficiency—settling wine more quickly, turning tanks, shorter malolactic fermentation times before major sulfur additions; 3) stylistic control—including steering the same lot of grapes in more than one direction; and 4) sheer routine—the relief that comes from not having to think through every new batch of fruit from scratch when it comes into the cellar. This last consideration—the power of routine—deserves a special highlight. Winemakers are used to these products and see them as tools for consistent, known-quantity wines that get to the bottle under their control. It usually takes some kind of VintersSupply_acciai_Dec10.qxp 11/10/10 10:38 AM Page 1