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May 2018 WINES&VINES 83 WINE EAST WINEMAKING Feeding the catalyst As cold-climate grape growing comes of age, so, too, should the approach to the yeast that goes into the juice, said Cook, a veteran wine- maker and sales representative for Sonoma- based Scott Laboratories. But the choice of yeast type is not always the most important step. "In a lot of cases it doesn't matter what yeast you use if you don't feed it properly," Cook said, adding that that is particularly true in colder climes. "In California they don't even talk about nitrogen levels this high." She recommended vintners measure yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) early and often, even before picking, "because a lot of YANs are in the skins." YAN is one of several factors in calculating how much yeast to add — along with sugar, temperature, oxygen and pH — and yeast nutrient requirements include nitrogen, carbon (sugar), minerals, vitamins, oxygen and limpids. Nitrogen is particularly important be- cause it has a significant influence on fermenta- tion rate and cell population, and because yeasts consume organic nitrogen more quickly than ammonia nitrogen. What's beneath our feet As important as yeast might be, nothing in the wine world matters without suitable soil. ISU's viticulture specialist Mike White pointed out, "in the last 10 years, everything is going toward soil health because that solves a huge amount of problems." In his work with the university's extension program, White said he has assessed many acres of land that farmers might want to convert from two of Iowa's primary crops, corn and soy, to vineyards. At these sites, he studies only the top 12 inches, "and all my assessments are chemical and physical, not biological. If you have the chemical and physical where you want it, you can work on the biological." White cited worm castings as "fantastic fertilizer" and said he has become more open-minded about Biodynam- ics, which he "used to think was weird as hell, and it still is, but about 60% of it makes sense." Speaking of weird, White talked up experi- ments that ISU has been running: burying men's briefs and then digging them up weeks later. Since soil microorganisms need carbon to sur- vive and the skivvies are high in carbon, the better soils spawned "Tighty Whiteys" that were in tatters, as White's Power Point slides showed in what might have been a TMI moment for some onlookers (see the winesandvines.com article: "Underwear Goes Underground."). The point, though, is to get microbes working in the soil. After all, White said, "there are more mi- croorganisms in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on earth." Forging an identity In his keynote address, Frost, one of four peo- ple worldwide with both Master Sommelier and Master of Wine certification, posited the question, "Is there a Midwest wine identity?" His answer: not yet. "When I say 'Cabernet,' people know what it is," Frost said. "But when I say 'Le Crescent,' people, even those in this room, can't say exactly what it is." He praised the establishment of the Upper Mississippi Valley AVA and efforts to create more AVAs in cold-climate regions, citing an earlier revelation by Paul Tabor, of Tabor Home Winery in Baldwin, Iowa, that bottles with the AVA on the label sold more briskly and for $1 more than others. "Tell me who you are and where you come from. That helps," Frost said. "You need to think not just about who I'm sell- ing it to but who I'm making it for." Increasingly, he said, that would be a Millennial generation that eats out more often than any other age group. Getting local wines into these restau- rants is essential. "Farm-to-table restaurants should work as farm-to-glass," Frost said. "That has not been happening in the Midwest." Bill Ward retired as the wine columnist for the Minne- apolis Star Tribune in 2014 and now devotes his time to freelance wine and food enterprises. He lives in Hopkins, Minn., and has a wine website: decant-this.com. 251 Gambee Road, Geneva, NY 14456 Phone: 315-759-2118 Toll free: 888-234-6752 Fax: 315-789-1848 Email: cjennings@vancemetal.com Website: www.vancemetal.com Quality Rugged 12 gauge, Custom & Stock Stainless Tanks Catwalk Systems • Pump Over Carts • Custom Hoppers, Chutes & Bins PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA