Tannin Manipulation

[Roy Hersh]

I don't like to get too geeky here and do my best to avoid it, but I was asked by email to discuss this topic by a "lurker" and it will be good to get further insights from the rest of you.

With the emphasis on "easier approachability" in Vintage Ports and some that are specifically "designed" (I hate the word -- engineered -- in this context) to drink much sooner than is typical ... besides tannin manipulation, what else is done to create this style.

There are some ways to create easier to appproach wines and here, specifically VPs. Here are a few that I can think of, some of which DO fall into tannin manipulation:

a. Instead of crushing the grapes in whole clusters, triage is done on the sorting table to remove not only bad berries, but destem the grapes. The stems are one of the significant characters that possess tannins.

b. Whole berry fermentations - by not crushing the grapes before the first fermentation, the seeds (called "pips" in the UK) are not crushed and they too contain lots of tannins.

c. Allowing a cap to rest atop the juice instead of pumping over or using a macacao to punch down ... either in stainless steel tanks or lagares. IMHO, this should ONLY be done if the winemaker finds his juice to be so overtly tannic that the finished product will suffer. (remember in regular winemaking there is always the option to fine and filter which will remove much of the particulate which will concentrate the tannins ... with VP they don't do that!).

Will this finally bring some of you Port winemakers out of the closet to offer an opinion?

I'd love to hear some more thoughts on this ...

[Al B.]

Roy,

What about the move back to foot treading? Perhaps this is covered already by your comments on whole grape fermenting and no longer pumping over, but I would suggest that the move back to foot treading might be making the tannins that are in the wine less aggressive and more approachable in their youth.

Alex

[Frederick Blais]

My palate was not able to taste wines made in the 60's and 70's to compare with what is being done today. This topic can be applied to all the wines, not only the fortified ones. But is Port much more approchabled than it was 30 years ago? I am not so sure...

Let me explain!

The 2 main technologies or transformation used in the wine business to soften the tannins and give a smooth texture to your wine is microoxygenation and malolactic fementation. To my knowledge both are not used with port production. The first one because they want the oxygenation process to be slow and they control it by changing the size of the barrles according to the type of Port and the 2nd one will never occur since the Port is a fortified wine.

So why we do think that Port is more approchable than it was? Can it be because our tolerance to big wine has been increase with all those Californian wines big fruit bomb, new Priorat tiny productions or Australians jammy shiraz.

One thing is sure, winemakers around the world do know more and more about their vineyards and cellar as the time pass. Yes they do buy new press, yes they are now better aware of when to pick the grapes and yes they have a precise technology to assist them during winemaking. An another thing to consider is that since the 80's Port companies now have the right to buy their arguadente from the source they want increasing the quality and the balance a port can achieve.

If we look at a Vintage like 2003, yes the wines are big, but its not because of techniques used, it is the weather, just as in 1994 that did it all. I do believe that Portugal, especially with their VP, is one of the place in the world where manipulation of the product happens the less.

One thing that do give harsh tannins and unbalanced wines is unripe grape clusters. Especially the stemps can give green and acid tannins. Still many producers do include stem when producing Port, especially for VP. Now with technology, they have better weather forecast, so if the grape are not ripe they can judge better if they can wait or not before picking them. In the past they could often harvest too early just to be sure to not loose money waiting for the rain to pass.

One thing that I'm aware producers are doing to get softer Port, showing more fruit is to age the Port in stainless steel for some year before transfering it in wooden vats. It is often used for ruby and LBV.

Now if you ask me if I believe Port winemakers are trying to release easy to approach Port in their youth? I'd say no. They are down to earth with their ancestor's roots using today's technologies to perfectly increase the quality as in the past it was often associated with luck. This is why today in "lesser years" port is still so good. Yes, some producers are trying to, but it is not a thrend and they are heavily critiscised by their peers.

[Roy Hersh]

The 2 main technologies or transformation used in the wine business to soften the tannins and give a smooth texture to your wine is microoxygenation and malolactic fementation.

Actually long before either of those "processes" are employed to engineer wine ... the MAIN technological advance has truly been the bladder press. There are also other types of extraordinarly precise presses that gently press, rather than crush the grapes.

The crush methods of yesteryear, were so forceful by comparison, that it was difficult at best, to control the pressure. Today, the degree in which the press operator is able to dial in the exact PSI of pressure is amazing and has far more to do with how Port is able to remain somewhat softer than the old days. Not only softer but preventing some green or stemmy tannins from getting into the juice. The two methods you mentioned have little to do with Port at all.

[Frederick Blais]

Roy I think you read too fast my text because I did say that to my knowledge, those 2 techniques where not used for Port but mainly for dry wines. Malolatic fermentation is being used in Bourgogne for a very long time already. These 2 techniques are used to give rounder and more accessible wines. They are not used in Port and will probably never be used because they are not trying to get softer and rounder wines.

I agree with what you are saying. Today they do control better what kind of tannins they put in the Port compared to a few years back. So in my opinion, they are not trying to do softer and more accessible Port, they are just trying to emulate what was going on a few decades ago with feet threading.

Yet I have not visited a Quinta that was destemming grape cluster for Vintage Port. All acessed that stems tannins where a necessicity for quality Port. This is why they harvest only grapes with fully ripe stem.

Now if the Ports a few decades ago where showing green tannins or where unbalanced because they where using technologies not ready for the fabrication of the products, or just not adapted like auto-vinification tanks are still today. It is unfair to say that they are trying to make softer more approchable Port in their youth. Could it be that the Port are more pure? I would believe so.

I do believe that they are more aware of what they are doing right now and they wish they could have controlled the technologies as good as they are doing right now in the past to emulate the best extration possible. I see Port today as an accomplishement not as a change in philosophy of making Port.