Notes From The Winemaker

Pre-Emptive Minimalism

I was running an errand today that took me into the tasting room/offices of another local winery. As I was leaving, the fellow manning the tasting bar stopped me to ask how the vintage was progressing (as well as may be expected) and how I was managing the ferment on my Pinot Noir (hmmmm). A brief discussion followed, after which he asked me "how would you describe this approach?"

People who work in tasting rooms are always looking for a good sound bite. I gave him the contrast between "minimalist' an "interventionist" winemaking, and "traditional" winemaking versus some hideous amalgam of technical, modern, New World, score-driven production.

It got me thinking as I continued my rounds for the afternoon -- and after some cogitating upon my personal take on winegrowing, I have decided that my approach is one of pre-emptive minimalism within a traditional worldview.

Whatever that means. Lately I find myself resisting doing anything to the vineyard or to the wine unless I am 100% sure it must be done -- 99.9% sure is not good enough. If I am not 100% certain, I wait. Sometimes I wait so long that my window of opportunity to do a particular something closes, and I do nothing. This is minimalism.

I can get away with this because I practice a certain amount of pre-emption -- everything I do is geared to eliminating the possibility of creating the need for intervention later. Actually this mindset started in the vineyard -- where management is basically all pre-emption of undesirable results -- and has carried over into the cellar.

And the mindset I maintain is one of adherence to, for lack of a more precise term, tradition. I'm not going to do anything just for the sake of doing something new, or because "everybody is doing it", or just because "the market is asking for it".

Today the Pinot Noir ferments are mostly complete. One tank out of five still has a tiny bit of sugar to use up. The caps are still up on all, but losing buoyancy. Right now my plan is to drain on Friday and press on Saturday.

posted 9/19/2007 05:37:00 PM