Winemaker Journal: February 2010

Jeff Herinckx

What's happening at the winery
We are in the process of finishing most of our whites. The Pinot Gris is the only white that is not yet ready to finish; it still needs to be cold stabilized and filtered. The other whites - Gewurztraminer, Niagara, Riesling, Marechal Foch and Frambrosia - are done fermenting and are currently being held in stainless steel storage tanks or barrels until we're ready to bottle them. These white wines could sit in these stainless steel tanks and barrels for up to two years, if we needed them to, but we don't like to do that. After waiting that long in the tanks, the wines would begin to lose some flavor. We try to make just as much of each wine as we plan to sell in a year.

At the end of January, I traveled to the 2010 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California. I had been to this show about 15 years ago, and I was amazed by how much it has grown since then! This show presents a fantastic opportunity to check out everything that has to do with wine, and is a place to see great equipment displays. We would ultimately like to get all new crush equipment, so that we'll be able to de-stem our Pinot Noir right into the bins. Our most immediate need is a new sorting table. Sometimes, in Oregon, our crop sees a lot of botrytis, which is an over-ripening of some of the grapes, and a new table that facilitated easier removal of these grapes before crush would greatly improve the quality of our wine.

Pinot Report
We completed malolactic fermentation in January, adjusted the SO2 levels, and will now let it rest in the barrels for a while. Later this month, we will probably taste from some of the barrels.

What we're doing in February
We will be busy bottling many of our white wines this month. The Gewurztraminer is ready, but we need to order the labels for the bottles, so we may not get to that variety for another month or two. The Frambrosia and the Niagara will likely be bottled during February. We are also thinking about making a Blak Berree this month.

February marks the beginning of the wine festival season here in Oregon. From February through April, there are many festivals and my travel schedule is very, very busy. The first one of the season is the Portland Seafood and Wine Festival. Later this month, we'll be at the Astoria Seafood and Wine Festival. The festivals are a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to them. Hope to see you there!

That's it for now...talk to you next month.

Jeff Herinckx
Winemaker

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