But no, it seems they are quite serious about utilizing this new wine technology and are proud to spill the beans about it as well. After reading about what this process does to the grapes, I am not so confident that their client wineries will be quite so forthright about using flash extraction.
Here is a quote from the article, lest anyone think I am exaggerating:
"Flash-Détente, which translates roughly as “instant relaxation”, involves a combination of heating the grapes to about 185ºF, then sending them into a vacuum chamber where they are cooled. The cells of the grape skins are burst from the inside, allowing for better extraction of anthocyanins and skin tannins. Flash-Détente creates steam that goes into a condenser, and the condensate is loaded with pyrazines and other aromatic compounds, like the aromas associated with rot or mold. (The heating process also sterilizes the grapes.) Bayle acknowledged that some fruit aromas are also found in the condensate. “You smell the green first, and a tiny part of the flavor,” Bayle said of the condensate.
Because vapor has been removed, the sugar level is increased in the remaining must. The winemaker can either work with the higher Brix level; add back the condensate; discard the condensate and add water; or a combination."
Apparently the color is much darker with the 'flashed' wines. But I ask, is color a problem that needs to be fixed in California Zinfandel?
Also, big surprise here, it was noted during sampling the resultant wines, that the 'flashed' wines had lost some of their varietal flavor characteristics.
Monterey Wine Company states that this process is best used on "substandard, low quality and problematic grapes". Sounds delicious.
This is another perfect example of why there has been a growing interest in natural wines over processed wines.
9 comments:
Hi Amy: Monterey Wine Co. isn't Gallo but they are a big "value" wine producer. Even before bringing in this technology they were not making the kinds of wine you or I would really enjoy drinking.
The reality is that by volume, the largest fraction of wine made in the world - by at least a couple orders of magnitude - is made from grapes that I would consider "sub-standard." Artisanal wines, much less what you and others describe as "natural" wines, will never be more than a drop in the bucket because they can only be made from special vineyards.
I don't have a problem with the big producers employing technologies that help them make "better" wine from the materials they have available to them. I'd also like to point out that one's technology is another's religions requirement: flash-detante is very similar to the flash pasteurization required in the production of Kosher wines. And I recall that a related process - thermovinification - was in vogue among some high-end European producers a decade ago.
Great point John. And I agree that realistically not all wine can be made from high quality grapes and in an artisanal manner.
But I do wonder if wine consumers are aware that most wine is processed and if so, what that process is about. Especially since wine is often marketed as a 'natural' product.
And yes, there have been similar observations about loss of flavor with the flash pasteurization of kosher wines.
Sounds like industrial process employed in almost any mass-production of food. As John said, this is hopefully not something wine artisans would use.
Higher sugar is an interesting note. Aren't several California wineries "secretly" having to de-alc wines due to already-too-high brix?
Hey Joe,
Exactly the point, this and similar processes is how many mass-produced wines are made. But these processes are rarely openly discussed outside of winemaking conferences, etc.
Yes, I have heard that some CA wineries de-alc their wines due to high brix...would be interesting to hear them explain why themselves though.
It seems that letting grapes hang too long can cause a host of problems...
As a practical matter in todays world of high volume industrial production for mass consumption, this may be an innovative improvement or efficiency. It may be that this does not quite result in a product that is the wine equivalent of a heavily processed food.
For me, we as humans need to begin to step back from such heavy processing of products produced using petroleum derived fertilizers and unsustainable industrial agricultural techniques. So while this may be excused for not being a method of producing fine wine, it is still something to be questioned as we try to figure out how to exist
on this planet without ruining it. Granted this is a small thing in a very big picture but each thing adds up.
Hey!
I can't wait 'til they come up with a way to make wine without grapes, wouldn't that be great (uh..wait...already being done)?!
What will they think of next to bring us further away from what nature intended...
After reading this I'm wondering what they'll do next in the winery......Soon they will set the grapes on fire with a blow torch and then trow them into a cryogenic freezer for full flavor and color extraction! I'm sure this is what God intended for grapes. Cheers~
Hi Amy,
This is just another technology being used in a long line of intervention already utilized by wineries. At least this producer admits to using it. There is spinning cone technology, reverse osmosis and micro-oxygenation being used in significant numbers (and has been for years) but what's interesting is that all of the winemakers deny using any of it, but state under their breath that many others are using it.
This also begs the age-old question: is using oak barrels intervention in winemaking? Is using non-indigenous yeast, etc. ad nauseam? No one I know can answer these question definitively - it's a personnel choice to buy processed wine or anything else we consume. Even though there are no label law enforcement mechanisms yet, I'm pretty sure there will be in the years to come.
Part of the problem unfortunately is warming temperatures around the planet. Your comment about letting grapes hang too long is definitely an issue that is on every winemaker's mind these days. However when grapes are harvested by sugar content alone, often we taste the results as having phenolics that never matured, which is also a problem; drinking an otherwise nice wine with very dry tannins is not appealing either.
In any case mass production of wine is moving toward getting wine to appeal to people who would rather drink Coke than wine. Ultimately, if people choose not educate themselves about the products they consume, they will continue to be led by technology created for marketing purposes.
Best Regards,
David
classof1855.com
Yes, this is the stuff that nightmares are made of! I just don't want to think about it or have anything to do with it!
As mentioned above, the natural wine market will always be a minority (though hopefully an ever larger one) and the mass market for wines (and other products) will manipulate and adulterate the product endlessly in their quest to reduce costs and gain an extra cent on their profit margins.
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