Smell Up

In February, winemaker Clarissa Nagy and I attended Alexandre Schmitt's Olfaction Seminar in Napa. She had seen him do a short presentation previously, and told me she learned more in that few minutes as a winemaker than any other seminar. We signed up as soon as we could.

I'm going to brag a little here: Clarissa and I have amazingly detailed and exact palates. When we taste together, we both pick up minute details that most people wouldn't, and since we're both foodies, too, we love to use analogies and make pairings as we do so. In fact, I would put our palates against those of almost anyone in the county as far as identifying flavors and nuances in wine. The cool thing is, the two of us work well together because we pick up different things. Because I cook so much, my knack for noting spices and savory food flavors is impeccable, whereas her strengths are unparalleled in flowers and fruits. Seriously, she nails it almost every time, even if she's unsure. It's remarkable.

Through two days of building a sensory library, which included scents from oils of specific things but also certain chemical compounds that are found in wine, our noses were exhausted. But it was intriguing, and left us wanting more. We committed to meeting once a month to do more sensory evaluation, and made that happen recently.

Even smelling some of the same scents you've smelled before is challenging: they fade or become more concentrated, and smelling them in a different environment changes everything. Your mood or what you had for breakfast affects it, too. We take over the VIP room and surround ourselves with 300 tiny pieces of paper, each with a different scent, and talk like geeks. "Is it resiny?" she'll ask. "Definitely dry and woody," I'll respond. It goes on like this until we get tired, usually about an hour.

All in a day's work, for sure.

Clarissa Explains It All

Well, harvest is officially over for Riverbench Winery. The vineyard still has another week until all of the fruit is picked, but for the most part things are starting to calm down as cool weather approaches. And while I didn't get to work nearly as much as I wanted to with the fabulous Ms. Nagy (the day job got in the way), every moment was full of new things to learn. Here's a recap of the highlights:

Inoculations! Not only is it a cool word, but it's a cool thing to do. Clarissa explains that while native yeasts (those which occur naturally in the vineyard) are beneficial, they're not always predictable or constant. So if you truly want the best quality wine, it is best to inoculate with yeast which, by the way, is not man-made, but the real thing just produced in bulk. Adding it helps prevent stuck fermentations and other problems in a wine's baby stages.

I loved learning to inoculate, and I especially loved mixing the warm yeast/juice slurry with my hands. It smells amazing, and made me feel a little like a mad scientist.

Punchdowns! I didn't have time to do my usual kickboxing some mornings, but punchdowns more than made up for it. Clarissa showed me how to stand on top of a wooden plank balanced across the fermenter and then use a punchdown tool to mix the red destemmed grapes and juice. This keeps the color strong throughout and releases the most intoxicating smells of fermented wine. I find it super therapeutic, and man, your arms and back ache after! I not only got to do these by hand, but also got to "drive" the pneumatic punchdown tool this year, too. "Laura has the cleanest punchdowns ever!" See, I knew there would someday be a perk to having OCD.

Sorting! Again, the OCD makes me good at this, I think. Clarissa uses a very efficient sorting/destemming machine with a long conveyor belt which allows someone to stand over it and pick out pieces of vine, raisins, and leaves. Then off it goes to remove the stems from the grapes. I LOVED this- you have to work fast or it will get away from you, and it involves grabbing handfuls of grapes and picking out what shouldn't be there. Ultimately, this helps remove what could lead to undesirable flavors in a wine before you even start letting it ferment. With a new sorting table at our facility, this is the first year Riverbench has really been able to do this.

Overall, what can I say? Actually doing a little harvest work this year was pretty invigorating, exciting, and nerve wracking, but also so much fun! And Clarissa is truly an outstanding teacher. She explains things clearly and without being pretentious. She's calm and patient, the mark of a truly great winemaker. I learned so much just watching her and asking her a million questions. She is one of the most inspiring people I know, not only in the way she approaches her work, but in how she lives her life and shows such kindness to others. That, and she kicks ass and takes names in the cellar.

Harvest Begins: My First Day As A Cellar Rat

A few months ago, winemaker Clarissa Nagy agreed to let me shadow her this harvest. Her enthusiasm is catching, and immediately got me giddy. When she told me we were to pick Pinot Noir for our rose sparkling wine on Friday, August 24, I started to get nervous. So many things I've never done before! Those butterflies in my stomach felt like bats.

Before he left, my husband reminded me not to trip on or fall into anything.

Jim, our vineyard manager, asked if I would wear a microphone so he could, presumably, laugh at my inevitable complaints.

What can I say? I'm smiling at the fact that the men in my life are used to the girly girl in me.

But I think that's kind of the beauty of it. See, I noted on Friday that winemaking is not as easy as so many people make it out to be. Making wine, like making cheese, is an art but also very scientific. Pictures will explain this better.

Here's the fruit- seriously, aren't these gorgeous? I've seen a lot of grapes in my day, but these stand out.

We tasted the juice all through the press process, which took about two hours. It's amazing how color and flavors change as the grapes are pressed. This year's vintage comes from the Mesa block, which usually presents a darker color; we'll have to remember to notice if the finished 2012 Cork Jumper rose is a little pinker!

The free-run juice is put straight into tank to settle for a few days, with one exception. Last year, two barrels were filled with the last of the juice and apparently they contributed some really outstanding colors and flavors to the final blend, so we did that again. Two lots were put straight into neutral oak, and Clarissa showed me step by step how to inoculate them. I won't bore you with a long description of the process, but let's just say that the yeast and juice mixed together to make a cocktail of heady deliciousness that was poured right in.

As a note, cheesemaking has been a solo pursuit of mine, as my area doesn't have any local professional cheesemakers. I've destroyed a lot of milk and ruined plenty of cheese. So it's pretty cool to be learning at the hands of someone like Clarissa, who explains things clearly. The woman knows her stuff, but she's not pretentious or condescending, and she has no ego. It's refreshing. I owe her a huge, huge "thank you" for letting me tag along for this adventure. It's a bit of a bucket list thing for me to finally work a harvest after eight years in California.

So...overall? Successful day! I didn't break, spill, or fall into anything. And I can't wait to go back for more.

Inspired

There's nothing like surrounding yourself with inspiring people to make you feel, well, inspired.

And for the past week, that's exactly what I've done.

I took an exam a few weeks ago, and received feedback from my professor recently. Since the tests are graded blindly, he had written something to the effect of: "I don't know who you are, but please tell me, because you are an outstanding writer." On exam essay questions?! For realz?

Those who know me know I'm terrible at compliments, and this one was no exception and caught me completely off-guard. Sure, I like writing. But only in the past few years have I thought about actually being decent at it.

Which took me to the next thought: I have so many amazing things to say about Riverbench and the wine country lifestyle, and I'm not sharing them because I've always treated this blog like my own personal cheese making complaint platform.

So from here on out, things change. This becomes the official Riverbench blog, containing accounts from my exciting sales trip visits, my "apprenticeship" with winemaker Clarissa Nagy this fall, winery updates and goodies, and, of course, the ongoing saga of being an amateur cheesemaker and beekeeper on the property.

I can't wait to share it. And Dr. W, (along with the others I have just been ignoring for a while) thanks for being my inspiration!