Veraison in the Vineyard

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We wrapped up July with the last bottling of the year. I can now confirm that the Snobby Bitch is back in the tasting room! Getting the flavor and aromatics just right, is essential for everyone’s favorite sangria. Snobby Bitch best pairs with pool parties and days at the beach.  

With harvest prep complete Jason and I are focused on the vineyard. Veraison, the color change in grapes marks the start of looking for ripeness, will begin soon and it won't be long before we start harvesting our first fruit of the season. Determining a proper pick date is based on the style of wine. For our Albariño Verde, we focus on the slight green flavors, a lower Brix, and a tinge of acid that will leave your mouth watering. For Viognier we look more at a physiological ripeness. Meaning, we focus on the flavors and colors of the juice. Remember, we look for cantaloupe, honeydew, and a bit of mango character in our Viognier to determine ripeness.  

As our fruit nears ripeness, Jason and I will begin pulling in “berry samples” for lab testing. At Chrysalis we focus on 3 types of lab results. The first is pH, which helps determine the concentration of acidity or alkalinity of a wine. This is especially important when attempting to balance acids in white wine. Red wines trend towards the 3.3-3.8 range for bottle aging and silkier mouthfeel. Whereas “crisp” white wines are in a pH range of 3.1-3.4.

Hand in hand with pH is TA or “total acidity”. This is a measurement of the quantity of acid found in the juice or wine. This helps us make decisions on determining ripeness for various varieties. Producing great rosé isn’t just about the color, there should also be a touch of acid on the tip of your tongue. Understanding TA also aids in determining what wines to blend together. Our Estate Bottled Norton has a terrific mid-palate simply because we adjust the TA with Tannat, which has less acid and more structure.  

Most commonly discussed is Brix or the degree of sweetness. Identifying the sugar levels in grapes allows us to estimate the overall alcohol percentage in our wine. For instance, we arrest the fermentation of our Sarah’s Patio Red to retain those natural sugars. This improves the fruitiness of the wine. Stylistically, we wouldn’t want a white wine to appear “hot” on the palate due to excessive alcohol.

2020 is shaping up to be another promising vintage. Jason and I will continue to monitor the fruit from the lab. This is only the first step though in producing quality wine!