WINEMAKING AT KEEGAN CELLARS

"Great wines are made in the vineyard". Wow, what a cliché. But you will read those words elsewhere when viewing this web site. Again, I cannot over emphasize the importance of this. As I continue to make wine (2003 will be harvest number 10 for KEEGAN CELLARS and harvest number 27 for me) I have come full circle. When I first became interested in the world of wine it was as a consumer of vin ordinaire. My family always had wine at dinner. Both of my parents have backgrounds that include agriculture in Sonoma County, specifically Russian River Valley, although it was not officially called that at the time. My early interest in grapes was just a youthful exuberance for two great interests of mine, the enjoyment of wine and the personal comfort in a natural setting. But soon, the mystery and the magic of the conversion of grape juice to nectar had completely lured me into its embrace.

I think that winemaking is mostly a philosophy of and about the wines we would like to make, and the dedicated effort to guide the entire process to its very best outcome. Sometimes that outcome and the philosophy are preclusive, mostly they are wary allies, and occasionally they are one in the same.

Keep it moving.

Veterans of the industry will say that there are three things that make great wine; the vineyard, the winemaker, and the facility. Vineyards and winemaker are discussed elsewhere, but not the facility. In an ideal world one would have enough money to build the perfect little jewel of a winery to accommodate exactly what the winemaker had in mind. Each lot would have its own tank and there would never be a shortage of happy workers who were not tired, equipment would never break down, etc. But even money cannot buy all of that. One of the evolutionary changes that has occurred in the wine industry over the past twenty years is the business relationship called ‘custom crush’. Each winery that offers the service of ‘custom crush’ has a slightly different bent on the rules and offerings. I am very fortunate to do my custom work at Benessere Vineyards in St. Helena.

Chris Dearden handing out forklift lessons.

I first met Chris Dearden in the late 80’s when he was making wine in Carneros. He soon shifted gears and began selling barrels for Seguin Moreau. It is their custom, and now that of other barrel sellers, to have trained enologists on their staff. What a help to the winemaker! Chris and I became fast friends when he and his wife Paige were heading off to Costa Rica for a vacation. I had spent a month there just the year before and was full of ideas, addresses, journal notes, travel books, etc. Of course I made certain that Chris knew the best locally brewed beer, Bavaria. He returned from his trip with a 6 pak of Bavaria brewskis that we enjoyed over lunch along with the usual set of amusing to hilarious travel stories. At this point Chris was also ready to make an employment change. The job of winemaker/general manager at Benessere was well suited to someone who had both a degree in fermentation science and a masters degree in business.

But what is ‘custom crush’? It is the leasing or renting of excess space in a winery facility to individuals who want to make their own wine without having to make the financial investment needed for a winery. The beauty of this arrangement is that the winery has the space, in the form of excess capacity as they grow into their eventual size AND the winery is state of the art. This allows an artisan to have access to a first class facility that they would otherwise not be able to afford. And then there is the camaraderie.

Leo Martinez on winemaking's best friend: The Forklift.

A number of clients usually work out of one facility and at almost any time of the day or night during harvest there is one or more winemakers running around (literally!). This leads to serious professional support and conversation. In the winery where I make wine there are several of the finest winemakers in the valley, a modern design for wine movement by gravity, and an ability for me to leave the area and have a highly qualified staff looking after the babies. That staff includes Chris Dearden, Leo Martinez, Jorge Campos, and Laurie Wolfe. Simply put: I could not make wines of this quality without the sensitivity and cooperation of the individuals who work with me at Benessere.

 

Dutton-Jewell pinot noir starting fermentation.

PINOT NOIR grapes are picked first thing in the morning to preserve the natural coolness of a Russian River Valley AM, foggy with temperatures as low as 50 degrees F. Grapes are picked into 40 pound lug boxes and then transferred into 1/2 ton plastic bins. Intensive effort is made in each vineyard to insure that no imperfect raw material finds its way to the winery. This culling includes pulling leaves, removing seconds, under ripe and/or over ripe fruit, rot or mold, or any cluster that just does not look right.

Grapes arrive at the winery by around 9AM and are weighed, destemmed but not crushed back to picking bins and then loaded into 2-5 ton stainless steel fermentation tanks. The cool fruit is placed into the chilled tanks, the must is held for 5 days at 45-50 degrees F with a light punchdown each morning. The ‘cap’ is covered with a CO2 blanket and the tank is sealed with a ‘rubegoldberg’ hot tub cover, custom made to fit the tanks.

After 5 days the chillers are turned off and the must is allowed to return to ambient temperatures. Within 72 hours an indigenous yeast fermentation begins. This lasts for 6-10 days, nutrients are added on an as needed basis. Punchdown is twice daily mixing for both skin exposure to juice, as well as to promote the circulation of ‘hot pockets’ to achieve uniform temperatures.

At 2-5 degree Brix the free run is drained to barrel and the remaining skin, seeds, and pulp are moved to press. The press juice is kept separate. All lots are then inoculated for malolactic fermentation. Pomace is removed to the vineyard compost pile.

The next day the wine is gravity fed to barrels, 70% new from coopers Seguin Moreau, François Freres, Damy and Louis Latour. During the primary elevage the wine rests in barrel with bi-monthly stirrings and toppings. In late May the wine is racked off its gross lees and returned to barrel refreshed. The month of June is designated blending month and by the first of July a second racking occurs with the first assemblage returning to barrel. Final rack and blend, if needed, is in August when the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Two critical concepts of winemaking are presented in this procedure that are somewhat controversial and risky. The first is indigenous yeast fermentation.

All grape skins carry a large number of yeasts indigenous to the vineyard.  In addition, there are thousands of yeast spores in the winery environment and left alone fermentation will take place. There is a lot of competition for food amongst the many yeast genera. However, within the vast population there are ‘good’ yeast and what are called ‘spoilage’ yeast. But one man’s funk is another man’s treasure. The need to be watching, smelling, and listening to your fermentation is paramount. The defecate of the yeast and its smells will guide your decision-making. A well done indigenous yeast fermentation is usually cited as a cause of greater complexity in wines.

The second is the decision to filter or not to filter. It is much easier and safer to filter all wines. The chemistry before and after is not altered. But to my palate the rich, sweet polysaccharides, and the denser, weightier molecules are removed. The result is a lesser mouth feel. The result can also be some secondary activity in the bottle.

 

Poplar/Ritchie Chardonnay in the press pan.

CHARDONNAY grapes are picked at first light to insure cool berries upon arrival at the winery. Whole clusters are dumped immediately into the press and juice is moved to tank. The juice sits in a chilled tank overnight to settle out the gross lees. The following day the juice is gravity racked to barrel. Indigenous yeast fermentation begins within 72 hours. Wines are inoculated for malolactic fermentation at around 5 degrees Brix. Finished wines rest in barrel, sur lees, for approximately 16 months. Wines are stirred and topped every other week. After 16 months the wines are racked off their primary lees, the blends are made and the wine is returned to barrel. Over the next 4 months the new blend is allowed to marry in barrel. Wines are racked from barrel to tank and bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Indigenous yeast fermentation and filtration were discussed when talking about pinot noir winemaking. Here is a good place to discuss malolactic fermentation.

There are three positive reasons to utilize this enzymatic process. The first is deacidification. The word malolactic comes from the conversion of L-malic acid to L-lactic acid. The result with respect to deacidification is less titratable acidity and an increase in pH. This is referred to as malolactic conversion. From a sensory point of view this is an exchange from the tart acid of a pippin or Granny Smith apple to the mouth coating lactic acid of buttermilk.

The other aspects of the complete cycle include greater wine stability brought about by an uptake of micronutrients during growth, and flavor changes brought about by formation of end products. The stability aspect allows the wine to be bottled unfiltered. The flavor changes include taste perceptions of layers of vanilla wafer and crème brûlée but can also go overboard and be that of butterscotch and rancid popcorn butter.

There are as many ways to make wine as there are winemakers making it. My goal is to do the most significant work in the vineyard such that the winemaking process starts with clean, healthy, balanced berries. A low tech, hands off approach suits my sense of being a non-interventionist in the cellar and allows each vineyard site to makes its own statement.

Welcome - Vineyards - Winemaking - Current Wines -
Library - Journal - Order - Contact

Copyright © 2002 KEEGAN CELLARS.