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WINEMAKER INTERVIEW July 2017 WINES&VINES 37 in the blending process. From the perspective of a CEO or CFO, the highest cost of goods in a bottle of wine is the grape cost, so having a tool that allows for a non-sensory assessment is extremely important. For the vineyard man- ager or director of grower relations, they can have a tool to compare appellations and grow- ers inside the same appellation, vintage effects on phenolic intensity, data to illustrate the real effects of virus, and an evaluation tool to compare clones and rootstock, even yield ef- fects on phenolic intensity. Finally, for the production winemaker, we have the ability to monitor macerations by the day or by the hour, ensure that maceration protocols are being followed by the cellar, and adjust to yearly variations of the grape supply. Perhaps the two most important points to remember are that phenolic concentrations vary yearly and so do their extractabilities. We have approximately 70 clients in the United States and Italy, with most of them in California. Q Once you and the client have the data, how much advice do you provide on how to proceed? McLeod: It's very client-specific. Some clients have worked with phenolic results but never had a way of having the data quickly enough for actionable implementation. So they have a strong baseline but just need to see the results. Other clients are not very aware of the use or understanding of phenolic results, so we spend more time in the initial phase, and then they are off and running. But every client we have has really embraced the technology and im- proved their winemaking and/or the under- standing of their winemaking, cellar, vineyards, growers, processing equipment and the differ- ences in the vintages. Q Can you give us some specific ex- amples of how clients use your services? McLeod: One area that we focus on is macera- tion management, as the process is a partial extraction of a partial extraction. When you think about it, we start with a ton of grapes (2,000 pounds), and 30 days later we only have 1,300 pounds of wine. Over a third of the mass is lost. But what is really the concern is that we are only able to remove perhaps 50% to 75% or less of the available color in grape skins and (thankfully) about 5% to 15% of the available skin and seed tannin. So a tremen- dous amount of money is at risk each year, and we have found that some wineries are better at maceration management than others. In some cases, a grower might be penalized, or even dropped, based on a finished wine assess- ment, even though their grapes may have been poorly managed in the fermentor. To this point, one of the first things we look at is the total phenol (iron-reactive phenolics) of a given sample set. For example, this could be all Cabernet samples from the same AVA or county, from the same year. Since the total phenol value is a record of the total extraction, it is a great way to see the adherence to the winemaker's maceration protocol as performed by the cellar master and cellar staff. When we see variances of 30% or greater, that means that pumpovers are not being performed on schedule, or that temperatures are not being uniformly maintained across the cellar, or even the simple truth that most wineries have too A grower might be penalized, or even dropped, based on a finished wine assessment, even though their grapes may have been poorly managed in the fermentor. The French Leader in Barrel Alternatives Over 1000 wineries in France and hundreds worldwide benefit from VINEA enological oak quality, consistency, and performance. Jean-Christophe Varron, the owner and founder, pioneered barrel alternatives in France and has over 20 years of experience in adjuncts. VINEA French oak adds volume, length, and layered flavor/aromatic components to your wine for elegant barrel-like results. Guaranteed naturally air-dried Available in VINICERAM ™ ceramic radiant or classic fire toast, VINEA offers a complete collection of alternatives to address your needs at any point in the winemaking process: tank staves • segments • barrel inserts • chips For more information on the VINEA range of oak tools, pricing, and to obtain samples for trial, please contact: THE BOSWELL COMPANY (415) 457-3955 staff@boswellcompany.com www.boswellcompany.com NAPA Contact us today! 575 ird St. Bldg. A Napa CA 94559 707-255-6372 | napafermentation@aol.com www.napafermentation.com Your One-Stop Shop Since 1983!