Off to #WBC14 and @SBCWines & @PasoRobles #Wine

I'm off to attend the 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference, held in Buellton, Santa Barbara County, California and sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association. Santa Barbara County consists of five AVAs (Happy Canyon, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, Ballard Canyon and Sta. Rita Hill); has more than 200 wineries and 20,000 acres of vineyards; and grow over 60 grape varieties. I tasted a few of these wines a couple weeks back in the Santa Barbara #WBC14 Preview on #Winechat. A ton still to learn. In addition, I will be participating in the Paso Robles pre-excursion - sample 100 wines 24 hours. Thanks to the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance for sponsoring that whirlwind tasting. And that's not all. There will be dozens of wineries from around the world (I'm particularly interested in Wines of Georgia,  New Wines Of Greece and Wines of Portugal) and I'll catch up with favorites such as Cornerstone Cellars, Jordan Winery, Westerly Wines, Gypsy Canyon Winery, and many more.  Then there are the after-parties. I'm bringing some Virginia Wine to share (Horton Vineyards, Hiddencroft Vineyards, & CrossKeys Vineyards & Estates), but I'm also looking forward to all the other local wines other participants are bringing. Then there's the more formal gatherings like Austrian Wine USA and Blue Danube Wine Company pouring Blaufrankisch and Gruner Veltliner at Cold Heaven Cellars. Jordan Winery and J Vineyards are sponsoring a reception as well and I hope they have Jordan's hilarious videos streaming. And our friends at Nomacorc are in the house. Follow the action on twitter @WineCompass, #WBC14, @SBCWines, & @PasoRobles. And below are maps of the area cities as found on theCompass Winery, Brewery, & Distillery Locator. Cheers.

Hungary's Etyek-Buda Wine Region & Nyakas Pince

One of the wines we tasted while learning about oxygen management during my trip to Nomacorc was 2012 Nyakas Budai Chardonnay.  I immediately noticed this Hungarian producer because many of their wines are available in the Washington D.C. market. The winery focuses exclusively on white wines and is located in the northern part of the Etyek-Buda wine region. This is a newer regional designation with the Buda inscription reference the rolling Buda hills with the regional spreading westward towards the settlement of Etyek, only 19 miles from the capital city.

The region's wine making history is quite fascinating. It is speculated that Romans planted grapes along the Buda Hills, but the first documented evidence starts in the 13th century when Serbian immigrants arrived, having been chased from their land by the Ottomans, and planted red varieties, probably Prokupac and Kadarka. At the time, the Buda wine region flowed along the Danube from Szentendre to Tétény. The Ottomans eventually reached Buda and Pest in the early to mid 1500s and ruled for a 150 years. Once the Turks were expelled, German immigrants were imported to resettle the area and they brought along many white grape varieties. After the phylloxera epidemic, many of these vines were replanted and their success led József Törley to establish his sparkling wine Törley House in the region. Other factors, of course, include the chalk and limestone soils as well as sharing the same latitude as Champagne. The Budafok sub-region now accounts for 70 percent of Hungary’s sparkling wine production.

The rest of contemporary Etyek-Buda is comprised of boutique wineries, mostly small family plots, and because of it's proximity to Budapest, wine tourism is a growing industry. White wines still dominate: Irsai Olivér, Olaszrizling (Welschriesling), Szurkebarat (Pinot gris), Zold Veltelini (Grüner Veltliner), Rizlingszilvani (Müller-Thurgau), Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Although not common, some red grapes are planted, particularly the indigenous Kadarka and Pinot Noir.

Getting back to Nyakas, I've tried many of their wines in the past. The Chardonnay was tasted at Nomacorc imparted different sensations based on the corc used - but the flavor itself was very reminiscent of the Chardonnay grape. Their Sauvignon Blanc was very kiwi-ish in the sense of lemon grass flavors with nice acidity. I always enjoyed their Irsai Olivér and Müller-Thurgau with the former portraying that muscat aroma and the later a nice young wine.

So if you find yourself in Budapest, head West into the hills to enjoy some whites and sparkling wine. Here's a video to give you an idea of the land - and a chance to learn Hungarian. Cheers.

Oxygen's Role in Aging Wine: Nomacorc - Part II -> Oxygen Management

After leaning about how Nomacorc manufactures their corcs and market share of closures (See Part I), the subject turned to an issue that I was on vaguely familiar - oxygen management. And this is a subject Nomacorc takes seriously> yes, their raison d'être was eliminating wines tainted with TCA; but they quickly pivoted to helping winemakers eliminate wine faults due to the (mis)management of oxygen.

In general, winemakers practice "reduction" techniques where they attempt to eliminate oxygen in most phases of the process. Small amounts of oxygen are needed at the beginning of fermentation as  oxygen encourages the yeast to multiply, but afterwards oxygen may encourage the spread of acetic acid bacteria or turn the wine off-color. Thus, winemakers try to eliminate oxygen elsewhere in the process by using sulfur, inert gases and stainless steel tanks and then topping off barrels lost to the angels. Usually winemakers are successful, but as this graph shows over a 5 year average,  about 5% of the wine were characterized as faulty due to oxygen (mis)management. And a similar study from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Composition found 2.4% of the wines were faulty due to O2 management.

These oxygen (mis)management faults can be introduced in all phases of production, but this chart on Oxygen Management Objectives shows that the biggest variation in optimal oxygen exposure result from bottling, with smaller non-optimal exposure in materation and bottle aging. This chart was an eye-opener; I've witnessed some poor bottling techniques and I'm sure these wines aged poorly.

In order to assist winemakers to determine how much oxygen is imparted into a bottled wine, Nomacorc created the NomaSense™ Oxygen Analyzer System. These sets measure that amount of oxygen exposure in headspace of the bottle as well as the dissolved oxygen in the wine itself. Pretty cool.


Getting back to out Nomacorc sessions, first Vice President, Strategy & Innovation Malcolm Thompson presented Oxygen Management Strategy & Objectives - by showing how different closures provide different Oxygen Transmission Rates (OTR) which usually lead to different tasting wines. At the extremes these different rates can create oxidized or reduced faults, but in the median arbitrary transmission rates lead to different tasting wines - even when opened from the same case.  Wes Ward, Technical Sales Manager, Americas & South Africa, then lead a session on Oxygen as a  Winemaking Tool describing the chemistry and actual senses perceived due to different OTR. 

Nomacorc initially handled oxygen transfer rates by creating a closure that imparts a consistent rate for each and every Classic corc - all a result of their co-extrusion technology.  They eventually leveraged this technology to launch a new product line called the Select Series, which allows different (but consistent) oxygen transfer rates into the bottled wine. The Select Series consists of four corcs (100, 300, 500, 700), which will provide less to more transfer rates as the series progresses higher. But what corc should a winemaker choose for each varietal wine?  Nomacorc has automated this decision making process by creating the Noma Selector - as software application that guides the winemaker through the decision making process. Thus Nomacorc is confident that by utilizing their NomaSense™ analyzers with the Select Series, winemakers can improve and extend the shelf-life of every bottled wine.


But does it matter to the consumer which Select Series is utilized? Our final session of the visit tested this question by tasting a white and red wine bottled with three different Select Series corcs. We started with the 2012 Nyakas Budai Chardonnay by blind tasting three versions, and even with the short bottle aging, produced three completely different wines. The first glass was very light, citrus, with a lemongrass-acidic finish; whereas the second was more Burgundian with more minerality and depth.  The final glass was funky and the 500 series corc closing this wine had allowed the most oxygen to transfer. The first glass was corked with the 100 series and the second with the 300 series.

Our red blind tasting consisted of the 2009 Clos des Cordeliers Cabernet Franc which had been bottled with three different corcs in April 2011; providing three years of bottle aging. The first glass was a fruity wine, with plenty of cherry flavors and dusty tannins. The second glass was earthier, still a nice cherry flavor, finishing with smoother tannins. The final wine was musty, acidic, and not pleasing. Once again, three completely different wines, all bottled on the same day, but aging distinctly due to the Select series corcs utilized (300, 500, 700 in this instance).

The trip to Nomacorc was extremely informative and these sessions on Oxygen Management were a revelation in a noma-sense; another topic to discuss with winemakers on future visits.  And winemakers now have the tools to decide the proper closure for their wines. Some may choose to continue with natural cork; others like Jordan Harris of Tarara Winery will use strictly screwcaps. And others like Ben Mayo of Eberle Winery will continue to utilize Nomacorc Select Series in order to optimize oxygen transfer rates. Cheers

The Rise of Synthethic Corks: Nomacorc - Part I -> The Plant Tour

The last few years have witnessed a debate on the proper wine closures - whether natural cork, synthetic corks, and screw caps. This debate has sometimes been serious, other times completely hysterical - but a debate that will continue indefinitely.  Natural cork, made from the bark of Cork Oaks, remains the traditional closure choice (60%), but carries some baggage in the form of "cork taint" (3% of wines closed with cork are affected by TCA), expense, and uncontrollable rates of oxygen transfer into the wine - at the most extreme leading to oxidized wine.  Screw caps are a rising player and close 27% of wines - all of New Zealands and most from Australia.  I appreciate the portability and ease of opening these closures, but on the flip side there are arguments about how long a wine closed with screw caps can age and since these closures allow practically no oxygen to permeate, these wines are susceptible to reductive attributes. Synthetic corks are the third major player, and whereas we all can agree that the hard injected molded plastic corks are disagreeable, I will feature the world's world's leading producer of synthetic corks, Nomacorc.

Last week Nomacorc hosted myself and five other wine bloggers and writers (Ben Carter, Cath Monahan, Michelle Locke, Luke Whittall, and Mads Jordansen) to their Zebulon, North Carolina plant for a tour and a presentation of their products.We learned quite a handful over these two days, starting with the company's background.  It all started when businessman and wine connoisseur Gert Noël opened several bottles of wine that had been tainted with TCA. With his son Marc, they used their experience in foam extrusion technology to develop a synthetic cork that consists of  a foamed core and an outer skin. Marc officially formed Nomacorc in 1999 as they released their first corc - Classic. Over the years, the company has grown to hold 13% share (2012) of the total wine closure market (2.2 billion corks) while adding several new corcs to their portfolio - all designed to to allow winemakers different options in oxygen transfer rates. This topic requires it's own post - coming soon.  

Our visit began with introductions and an overview by President and CEO Lars von Kantzow. He also described the uniqueness of Nomacorc's corcs.  They are produced by a patented co-extrusion technology where The skin is flexible yet provides a tight neck seal that eliminates leaking and protects the core foam from crumbling. This foam core has a uniform cell structure that provides a "consistent, predictable oxygen permeation that eliminating off-flavors due to oxidation, reduction, or cork taint".

We then dressed for the plant tour - hair nets, gowns, ear plugs and radios in order to communicate over the running machinery. But before entering the plant itself, we stepped into the Sensory Laboratory, which is one phase of the company's quality assurance implementation. Antoinette Morano, Sensory Services Lab Manager, described to us how the lab is intended to "ensure that their wine closures are completely sensory neutral". The lab is a controlled non odorous environment where her team evaluates the raw materials and finished goods. This process also includes inspecting delivery trucks and pallets.  The laboratory also evaluates wines closed with Nomacorc closures to ensure that the corcs are not affecting the character of the wines they protect.

We then entered the physical plant and yes, the ear plugs and radios were necessary. There is a wall that contains a display case of wines closed with Nomacorc closures as well as samples of the raw materials, co-extruded synthetic material, and the finished product.

How are the corcs manufacured?

"First, raw materials are mixed, melted, and extruded to create a long, foamed cylinder, forming the closure’s core. Then a second extrusion process applies a flexible outer skin, which is thermally bonded to the inner cylinder. The shape is stabilized in cooling water before our high-speed cutting operation cuts the closures to the proper length."

As we witnessed, this process is continuous, leading to a consistent product - no variations or inconsistencies due to batch processing. The machinery was quite fascinating - I always wonder how they even build the machinery that makes the machinery and so on down the line. The process from inputting the raw materials to the co-extrusion itself, where the outer skin and foam core are extruded together, was rather anti-climatic. The most interesting parts did not occur until after the co-extrusion process where a laser controls for size and shape and when the corcs are cut into exact lengths. And I did notice one set of corcs failed and rejected by the laser. Another interesting aspect was their ink adhesive process where the company can now stamp their corcs on both ends as well as the standard sides.

I had read other visitors comment about the amount of water used to cool the synthetic material - but in my opinion - it wasn't out of the ordinary of similar cooling operations and Plant Manager, John Wojcik, stated that the water is sent to the sewer in better shape then from the tap. 

After we finished the plant tour we listened to Ben Mayo of Eberle Winery in Paso Robles describe his customer experience from using several Nomacorc closures over the past ten years. He said they turned to Nomacorc because of supply issues from natural cork and experiencing a 2-3% return rate from TCA. And during the past decade he has never had one of his customers complain or even mention the closure. Mayo feels strongly that the Nomacorc closures slow the aging process and he has never witnessed cord dust or a crumbling cork in his wines.  We then sampled the Eberle 2003 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon closed by Nomacorc's Classic corc. And yes, it had held up, it seemed like a young wine - plenty of blackberry and dark cherry aromas and flavor with no signs of reduction - just smooth chewy tannins. Mayo explained that these characters are a result of the closure's oxygen management - which we will turn to in Part II.

The Beer Scene in Raleigh: Trophy Brewing Company

This week I spent a couple snow covered days in Raleigh, North Carolina as a guest of Nomacorc, the world's leading producer of synthetic corks. In between a factory tour and seminars, I discovered that Raleigh has a decent beer culture with a fair number of breweries located within city limits. Big Boss Brewing Company is one I've encountered before and during lunches and dinners I was able to sample their Hell's Belle Belgium ale, Bad Penny dark brown ale, and Blanco Diablo Wit ale. All nailed their respective styles and were quite pleasant.


On my last day I had a couple hours free and planned to walk to a few that were closest to the hotel. However, because of the snow storm two were closed(Natty Greene's Pub & Brewing Co and Crank Arm Brewing Company), so using theCompass mobile app I sloshed my way to Trophy Brewing Company, a 3 barrel nano brewery and pizza joint.  The restaurant was lively with all bar seating taken - as were most tables. Finding a seat, I immediately noticed the shelves of sports trophies - donated by generous patrons.

I ordered a four beer sampler and soon was Casanova Export Stout, Best In Show “American Saison”, Slingshot Coffee Porter, and Loner Berliner Weisse. The later is a low abv wheat beer, brewed to be tart and sour with very little of hop bitterness. Their version was true to form, although it is also brewed with peaches and ginger and I really didn't pick up on those flavors. The Slingshot was true to its name with the coffee sourced from local Slingshot Coldbrew Coffee. I definitely enjoyed the inter-play of the chocolate and coffee in the palette.  In a similar fashion, the Casanova had a nice balance between the chocolate roasted malt flavor and hop bitterness. However, once again I failed to notice the additives, this time the vanilla notes as described on the chalk board. My favorite of the four was the Best In Show - a very appropriately named farmhouse ale. From the citrus nose to the bitter tail, this beer was completely enjoyable - well done. Next time, I'll try the pizza and expand my visit to the other breweries. But when in Raleigh, pair any of these breweries with American Aquarium. Cheers

The United Grapes of America - North Carolina - Shelton Vineyards Riesling

One of the many benefits of attending the annual conferences is exchanging wine with friends from other states. One of the wines I received was from our friends at Nomacorc, who brought along a wine from their Tar Heel state - the Shelton Vineyards 2011 Yadkin Valley Riesling ($12.99).   The Yadkin Valley is Carolina's premier wine growing region, located just south of Virginia along Highway 77 and has successfully transitioned from tobacco to grapes.  Closing in on their 15th anniversary, Shelton is "the largest family-owned estate winery in North Carolina" and a popular Yadkin Valley destination. The Riesling is made off-dry and exudes a flavor profile of apricots and peaches. The one area lacking is acidity, would like to see more acid to balance the sugar. Maybe the valley is a bit too warm. In any case, this is a decent wine, affordable, and one I'd quaff down again. Cheers.
DrinkLocalWine.com

StarChefs.com: The United Grapes of America