What to do when things don’t go as planned…
Welcome to harvest 2009! The fruit at first came in slowly, but then SLAM! It came in fast and furious filling every nook and cranny in the winery. At this point we have over 50 Macro bins (3/4 tons of fermenting fruit in each) and every tank filled and fermenting. We’ve already barrel down the Dusi Ranch Zinfandel and the St. Peter’s Church Zinfandel. Both are still a touch sweet and fermenting slowly. Some of my best wines are those that take 6 months or more to ferment in barrel (The Impostor, Fess Parker’s Vineyard and The First Date). Does this give me anxiety? Yes and No. We all want our wines to go dry, but we need patience. As the saying goes, a watched pot never boils. At this point my fermentations of both Dusi and St. Peter’s Church are on a small break, not stuck, but just kicking back and reenergizing their yeasty buddies, getting ready to finish the job.
Slow fermentations produce great wines, but are slightly nerve-wracking. You just have to believe in magic, your gut instinct and in the end science. I like to think this gives wines more character and complexity. What to do when things don’t go as planned? In the case of slow fermentation…you watch and wait. Things will eventually turn around and new opportunities will reveal themselves.
