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WINEMAKING the extraction of anthocyanins, but wines that have been subjected to the process also hold their color longer. Given that flash technology is so new in the U.S., winemakers are still trying to figure out its best uses. "Everyone wants a recipe, but that can't happen yet," says Rick Jones, a winemaking consultant who is working with Della Toffola. In its early years in Europe, the equip- ment was used primarily for lower quality grapes with problems that needed to be "fixed." Flash offered the benefit of consistency by mitigating the effects of a bad vintage. But use of the technology gradually expanded, and proponents like Gnekow argue that "it's applicable to all levels of the business." Winemakers still learning Pyrazine reduction is an obvious use, as is intensifying color in certain reds. It could perhaps be used to create fruitier styles of wine. At this point, winemakers are still learning which grapes will benefit from the treatment and tweaking of fermenta- tion techniques to get the desired results. Gnekow says he's used the process on overripe grapes to remove a raisined char- acter. He didn't think initially that flash technology would remove those flavors. He says, however, "I have the flash water to prove it." He has even used flash—thought of pri- marily as a tool for reds—on Chardonnay and says it seemed to intensify the fruitiness. "You start discovering all these differ- ent options," Clifton says. Turning flashed grapes into a stand- alone wine is a possibility, but most wine- makers see it as a tool for creating blends. As Bisson puts it, "It's something on your spice rack to blend back with." But it's not a panacea. Flash extraction won't produce stellar wines from bad grapes. "It's not loaves and fishes. You can't create something that isn't there," Gnekow says. Instead, like other winemaking tech- nologies, it's a useful tool for specific vin- tages, specific vineyards and even specific wine programs. "It's an adjunct to traditional winemak- ing," Jones says. "It's not a replacement for traditional winemaking." QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #1134 42 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2011 A resident of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Laurie Daniel has been a journalist for more than 25 years. She has been writing about wine for publications for nearly 15 years and has been a Wines & Vines contributor since 2006. To contact her or comment on this article, e-mail edit@winesandvines.com. QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #Gg