The Wine Divine.....: 2012

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

WINETECH.......

Jordan Vineyard & Winery

From trellis to table with iPad.

Classic winemaking, new technology.

Making fine wine requires a delicate blend of tradition and innovation. At Jordan Vineyard & Winery in California’s Sonoma Valley, tradition means decades of expertise in growing, harvesting, and fermenting grapes to make world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. And innovation means using iPad in every sphere of the winery’s operations, from managing soil to managing sales.

“Old-world artistry and attention to detail are not incompatible with the adoption of new technology,” says John Jordan, Owner/CEO of Jordan Vineyard & Winery. “iPad and apps enable us to do a better job at our winemaking as well as making workflows more efficient throughout the winery.”

iPad in the Vineyards

All great wines begin with the most elemental ingredients: soil, water, sun, and vines. Tasks like pruning, weeding, pest control, soil amendment, and monitoring climactic conditions require constant attention. Using iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G and a web-based app called AgCode, Jordan staff can now manage and log these duties wherever and whenever they occur.

“The viticulture philosophy we have here at Jordan is ‘precision agriculture,’” says Viticulturist Brent Young. “Mother Nature plays such a big role in the growing season, and we have to react fast. Because we have iPads right there in our hands in the vineyard, we can make decisions on the fly.”

Jordan’s customized AgCode app enables Young and his colleagues to flag specific problems, issue work orders to resolve them, log and review field data, and manage workers and equipment — all without having to return to the office.

In the past work that was needed after an inspection of the vineyard was documented on a clipboard. Then input in a computer back at the office. “With iPad, we can make adjustments and amend work orders right there in the field,” Young explains. “We have more information, and we can complete tasks faster. Our vineyard manager, Dana Grande, completed a week's worth of timecards in 20 minutes — where before, it’s taken hours to complete that task. Now she has so much more time to spend on other parts of her job.”

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Piedmont: Valleys, Wines & Slopes

Piedmont:
Valleys, Wines & Slopes

History and Tradition

Piedmont, in Italian, means at the foot of the mountain. It was originally inhabited by Celtic tribes, which were later absorbed by the Romans. When Hannibal destroyed the Celtic capital, Taurasia, the Romans rebuilt it in the same location giving its streets the grid pattern that that still characterize Turin today

With the fall of the Roman Empire, Piedmont underwent the fate of much of Italy – by a sequence of invading hordes from the east and north. Among them, the French feudal family of Savoy occupied Turin briefly in the 11th century. The Savoy house was back again in the 13th century and ruled for about 500 years, until the French Republican army defeated it. They returned to power after the fall of Napoleon's empire and remained the ruling family until the end WWII and the birth of the Italian Republic.

Piedmont was one of the first Italian regions to embrace the industrial revolution and in 1899 the automotive giant Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino or, Automotive Italian Factory [of] Turin) was established here, generating a modernizing trend that involved even the most isolated communities and attracted workers from other Italian regions.

The region's traditional festivals and celebrations have strong military elements reflected in the numerous sword dances performed in many communities. Other festivals have the tradition of the badie, or abbeys, which, despite the name, were historic lay male organizations that used to be armed and were charged with citizenry peace-keeping and the organization of public events.

The Wines

With 46 different DOC and four DOCG areas, Piedmont is the region that produces the largest number of best known, noble, and world-appreciated prize-winning wines, such as Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Grignolino, Malvasia and Asti Spumante among others.

Another distinguished characteristic of Piedmont is that most of its wines are produced on family estates made up of relatively small parcels of land.

The main grape grown here is the distinguished Nebbiolo, which is the base for the famed Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara among others. Its name derives from the word nebbia, or fog, because of a velvety, whitish coating over its berries in addition to the fact that it grows in an area where, at ripening time in September, heavy morning fog is a given and the humidity that it provides gives the grapes an ideal habitat.

The production of strong reds is predominant in this landlocked, mountainous region and are the perfect complement to the rich and hearty cuisine featuring white truffles, fonduta, which is a variation of the Swiss cheese fondue, rice, meats, pastas and stuffed vegetables.

That said though, among the whites the Asti Spumante achieved national fame thanks to Carlo Gancia, who learned the Champagne method in Rheims, France, and applied his newly acquired knowledge experimenting with Moscato grapes. This wine is perfect with the rich pastries and fine chocolate products such as the spumone piemontese, a mouse of mascarpone cheese with rum or panna cotta, a smooth rich cream, and the gianduiotti, the lingue di gatto, (cats tongue), and the baci di dama(ladys kisses).

Friday, September 14, 2012

Asti Spumante-----

Asti (formerly known as Asti Spumante) is a sparkling white Italian wine that is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont but is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. Since 1993 the wine has been classified as a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) and as of 2004 was Italy's largest producing appellation. In fact, on an average vintage more than ten times as much Asti is produced in Piedmont than the more well-known Piedmontese red wine Barolo.Made from the Moscato Bianco grape, it is sweet and low in alcohol, and often served with dessert. Unlike Champagne, Asti is not made sparkling through the use of secondary fermentation in the bottle but rather through a single tank fermentation utilizing theCharmat method. It retains its sweetness through a complex filtration process. Another wine called Moscato d'Asti is made in the same region from the same grape, but is only slightly sparkling (frizzante) and tends to have even lower alcohol.

Asti is a city and subregion of Piedmont, in the northwest of Italy. The famous sparkling wine produced here was once known as Asti Spumante, but was shortened to just Asti (probably to dump the baggage of its mass-produced past) when it became a DOC in 1994. As a region, it also spills into parts of Cuneo and Alessandria.

Asti is made from the Moscato grape, and is slightly sweet. For a long while, as Asti Spumante, it was produced even sweeter on purpose, and imported pretty cheaply. But Asti has grown up a bit, with more of its natural acidity brought to the fore when produced with care.

Most commercial Asti is produced in the Charmat method, which means the grape must is stored in steel tanks in frigid temperatures to avoid fermentation. Then it is activated with yeast at a later time, but the tanks are kept sealed to avoid carbon dioxide loss. When the alcohol and residual sugar levels have met requirements (which vary by producer), it is chilled down again to stop the fermentation. Then it is filtered, bottled and corked. But some Asti wine-makers have taken to producing it in the Metodo Classico, or Champagne method, with second fermentation in the bottle.

Moscato d’Asti is the sweeter wine produced in the same zone as Asti. The fermentation process is stopped earlier than with Asti, which retains its residual sugars and also keeps its alcohol levels lower.