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July 2016 WINES&VINES 61 WINE EAST WINEMAKING P.O. Box 540, 8 Ashfi eld Road, Rt. 116, Conway, MA 01341 Call us for a catalog 800-634-5557 www.oescoinc.com GRAPE EXPECTATIONS Protect your crop with SmartNet from OESCO Bird exclusion netting • Insect netting • Deer exclusion netting • Trellis supplies Use our QR code to order anytime Natural Corks Champagne Corks Twinline Corks Bartops VISION Synthetic Corks G-Cap® Screw Caps Sales Representatives: Chris & Liz Stamp info@lakewoodcork.com lakewoodcork.com 4024 State Route 14 Watkins Glen, NY 14891 607-535-9252 607-535-6656 Fax PIONEER INNOVATOR PARTNER cuts (collecting in a separate vessel); the hearts (middle) and tails (end) of the process are com- bined as one base spirit. The cuts separating the hearts and tails of the spirit are made during the second distillation. This process remains the same regardless of the product's intended use. The original 125 gallons of wine will yield about 25-30 gallons of spirits, with alcohol levels of about 40-50 proof. The process will be repeated until Wilber reaches the desired quantity. Because of the stability of the distil- late, the second distillation might not occur for months or even a year. Storage takes place in 275-gallon stainless steel tanks. Wilber plans up to two years ahead in determining his distil- lation needs. He currently has about 1,400 gallons of sherry and 1,500 gallons of red port in barrel storage, and he plans to distill this year to add to his inventory. "When we come to the second distillation," Wilber says, "it depends on what our end use will be." For fortification spirits he will make only one cut of the hearts, and then the tails will be sepa- rated, carbon treated, filtered and distilled a third time. If the base wine used was relatively low in aromatics and phenolics, he can still use some of the tails in the fortification spirits. Wilber adds carbon powder to clean up the aromatics and, prior to the third distillation, runs the spirits through a 1-micron bag filter. OPPORTUNITY TO REPURPOSE ODD BATCHES OF WINE D erek Wilber of Swed- ish Hill Vineyard employs "blends of oppor- tunity" for both economic and stylistic purposes. Sometimes a particular batch of table wine will not offer the character he wants, and that wine can be distilled to be part of a higher end product. He noted that such wine can also be utilized in a sherry, offering further "insurance" for the winery. Swedish Hill is also experiment- ing with the distillation of Cornell hybrids such as Valvin Muscat, Traminette and Aramello to add to the aromatic character of the distillate—particularly for its Eaux de Vie. Derek Wilber stands next to Swedish Hill Vineyard's 600-liter alembic-style copper pot still that is surrounded by a brick wall to help maintain constant temperatures while distilling. RAY POMPILIO