When I become bewildered by the many things in front of me, I have learned to go back to what I do that nobody else in my company does: grow grapes and make wine.  It has been an incredibly successful run over the last few years here at Fabbioli Cellars and one of the keys have been that we have great people working here so I can focus on quality all of the time, making sure we make the best wines possible.  Here are a few of the tools, techniques and decisions that I used this year to make what I hope to be another high quality vintage.

One of the challenges of having limited capital is that you have to think more to solve the problems.  This year during fermentation, we had a cold wave roll through in October.  Although it did not freeze, our bins of grapes were destined for slow fermentations and lighter extraction from the skins, due to the wind and rain associated with the cold wave. I ended up making a heater for the fermentation bins and a tented, heated area for the bins to keep the temperatures up and the fermentations moving.  It was not rocket science, but it helped a lot at the time so my fermentations finished quicker and with better extraction.  This allowed me to press off the skins and fill the bins with the next batch of grapes.  So this solution helped both quality and production timing.  

Another new thing I did was in the vineyard.  One of my new wines is Tannat.  It is a rustic, full-bodied red that is becoming popular in Virginia.  The vines produce large clusters and a lot of them.  To achieve some different styles with this wine, we did two harvests.  In late September we harvested the clusters that were shriveling and bee bitten.  These were ready to harvest and would not last another couple of weeks.  We then picked the rest in late October.  The wines were kept separate and will probably be blended together after aging to add complexity to the blend.  I learned this technique in California when we dealt with Zinfandel.  Both Zinfandel and Tannat have large, fruitful clusters that ripen at different times.  I am sure I will use this technique again.  

One of my other techniques that we started in 2008 is called co-fermentation.  When the Chambourcin grapes come in for processing, we add grape skins from another variety to the fermenter.  Having the tannins from these extra skins helps build the structure of the wine as well as stability of the color.  Chambourcin will always be a softer tannin wine but it should not be flat.  Managing the tannins will add to the balance and drinkability of this grape.  Other winemakers may purchase tannins or other products to help make the wine balanced, but I always prefer to work with what I have.  

I know that other wine makers read my column.  Some may think that I am giving away trade secrets.  I am a firm believer in the word “coopitition.”  I want all of our wineries to continually to improve their wines so our region continues to grow in reputation for quality.  I have learned techniques from other winemakers and it is my duty to continue the spread of knowledge for all of us.  Remember those thoughts this holiday season.  Greed and Ego get in the way of great work and the successes of the greater good.  Think of the other guy, put the guard down, and think of where we can be a few years from now…together.  Cheers and share some VA wine with the family.

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