Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/70673
WINEMAKING As large wineries adopt flash and small ones do not, the marketplace will expe- rience an explosion of diversity as con- sumers are offered expanded choices. No doubt much blood will be spilt in cyber- space sorting out the moral imperatives. Flash Détente is a shot across the bow of the increasingly dysfunctional three-tier system. If one result of its influence is an increased appetite for un-doctored wines produced by the large number of small wineries now struggling to make friends, then God bless the flash. Unknown country Rick Jones proposes to hand out T-shirts that say, "Yes, we have The Flash—No, we don't have the answers." Guy Noir of our industry, he articulates some of flash's per- sistent questions. 1. In healthy musts, how much juice should you pull off with a dejuicing screen and leave untreated? Are enzymes added back benefi- cial for hyper-oxygenation in whites? 2. What are the effects of high and low temperature maceration and of dwell time prior to flashing? 3. Since no method is available for sepa- rating skins from seeds, we don't know how important skins are in the fermenta- tion. Is it possible that mechanical seed ex- traction or pomace milling could provide an add-back material that could replace solids in the fermentor? 4. Absent fermentation on seeds, liquid- phase wine color is curiously unstable. At present the problem remains unsolved. Transcending tradition In 2008 my Appellation America survey of Monterey was entitled "That Ain't No Termato—That's My Wine!" I was poking fun at the Monterey "pyra-noia," because we had just tasted 126 Monterey wines and not a single one had a textbook case of the veggies. But we did see something else. In ex- amining the winegrowing and winemak- ing practices required of the wineries, we saw a preponderance of long hang times, whole-berry fermentations, oak chip addi- tions and other practices aimed specifically at combating veg. Like a refugee from a bad marriage, Monterey winegrowers have fixed their fo- cus on a single target for 30 years. Enough already. If Flash Détente is the magic wand that frees them to explore the positive nu- ances of their region instead of fighting the terroir, I can't wait. Flash enables large wineries to provide a rich, generous, fruit-driven style of wine Rotary Lobe Pumps Macerating Technology innovation Boerger at Home in the Wine Industry! Boerger, the most efficient, sustainable and maintainable heavy duty pump for your operation. Rotary Lobe Pump Macerating Technology Multicrusher Multichopper Applications include: Mash, Must, Lees, Pomace, Yeast and Whole Grapes Technical Features: Reversible Operations, Low Shear/Gentle Handling, Reduced Life Cycle Costs, Dry Running capability, Solids Handling, Replaceable Rotor Tips, Casing Protection Plates Maintenance In Place All fluid wetted parts are replaceable onsite through the front cover without removal of pipe or drive systems. Boerger, LLC | 877.726.3743 | www.boerger.com | info@boerger.com Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 2011 73