The Most Important Question In Winemaking
updated: 08/10/2023
I’ve been answering beginner questions on WineMakingTalk for years, and have long since determined the most important question in winemaking.
The question doesn’t mention fruit or yeast or racking or anything specific. It’s so generic that most people won’t think about it.
The question: Why?
Winemaking doesn’t have a single path. There are many choices, and some of those choices are completely contradictory. Yes, two choices that completely contradict each other can both be perfectly valid and reasonable choices.
This confuses the heck out of beginners. Honestly, it confuses the heck out of experienced winemakers.
It doesn’t confuse me. Why? Because I ask “why?”.
Nope, this is not an Abbott & Costello routine. [If you have no idea what this means, launch your favorite search engine and search for “Who’s on First?”.]
I ask myself why someone is recommending a course of action. What positive result will that action produce?
Following is a couple of examples:
Example 1: Rack every 3 months
I was taught to rack every 3 months during bulk aging. This is a common thing, as many people in diverse areas were taught the same thing. If asked why, most people respond, “because that’s what I was taught.” It was my answer as well — I didn’t know why the rule existed.
In recent years I’ve researched gross lees, fine lees, sur lie, bâtonnage, and other winemaking terms. I asked myself what value is achieved by racking every 3 months, and realized there is none. Gross lees is eliminated quickly, fine lees doesn’t hurt the wine, and racking a clear wine with no sediment is counter-productive, as it wastes wine (every racking produces some volume loss) and the wine is exposed to air.
By questioning the rationale behind racking every 3 months, I realized there is no value to it, so I stopped doing it. I rack only when an objective is achieved, such as removing gross lees or preparing to bottle.
Example 2: When to move wine to secondary storage
Ask a question of 10 winemakers, you’ll get at least 11 answers. When to press fruit and/or move wine into secondary storage is a prime example of this. Answers include:
- Rack/press at SG 1.030 to preserve aromatics.
- Rack/press at SG 1.010 so there’s some activity left to avoid air in the carboy.
- Rack/press at SG 1.000 as the wine is nearly done.
- Rack/press after 2 days of no activity if the SG <= 0.998.
- Rack/press 14 days after fermentation is complete for a short extended maceration.
Unlike Example #1, all of the above options are completely valid. Which to choose depends on the situation, e.g., the first makes sense if fermenting white grape or light fruit wines, while the last applies when making a heavy red. The three middle options could apply to any wine.
The answers to “why?” may not be clear cut — the course of action depends on the situation and what the winemaker wants to achieve.
While I could add other examples, I expect my point is well enough illustrated — when determining a course of action, don’t follow advise blindly. It doesn’t matter if the advise is coming from a well known “wine expert” or a faceless person behind a blog, forum post, or video. Ask questions and when necessary seek second opinions. Think before doing.
There are things that happen in any pursuit that once observed are assumed to be true. They get passed along and eventually become gospel. If they are in fact true that’s a good thing. But often they are not. People believe the myth because it has been repeated often.
I made my living as a guitar tech for more than a decade. One of the myths concerns adjusting the truss rod. For those of you who do not play, the truss rod controls the amount of relief, or curvature in the fingerboard. The curve is necessary because a string vibrates in an elliptical pattern. If the fingerboard is completely straight and level the strings buzz against the frets. Buzzing is noise and therefore bad. In most cases.
The myth: Never turn the truss rod nut more than one quarter turn per day.
The rationale: It takes time for the neck to acclimate and settle into the new shape.
The answer: Sort of. It can take a day or two for the neck to cooperate. But it is almost always instantaneous and stays that way.
The accepted rationale: The truss rod will break if the nut is turned more than one quarter of a revolution per day.
The real answer: Only if the truss rod nut is at the end of the threads. It will be very tight. If turned it will squeak. Stop! Which can be a problem for people who don’t use hand tools. The fix is to add a washer or two to the end of the rod and continue adjustments. If the neck continues to behave this way, the problem lies elsewhere.
The ridiculous rationale: The neck will explode into a million pieces. Or at least crack.
The answer for ridiculousness: Given that a guitar neck is roughly one half of a baseball bat and the truss rod is a 3/16″ piece of cold steel, the chances of the neck cracking, let alone exploding, are negligible.
Guitar repairmen, builders, and techs turn the truss rod nut until the neck achieves the proper relief. That takes mere seconds. It’s true that sometimes the wood in the neck will return somewhat to the original curvature. That is remedied by making a second adjustment.
Think about it. If the myth were true it would take days, sometimes weeks, to make the very first adjustment when setting up a guitar. Guitar shops all over the planet would be out of business in less than a month if the myth were true. Yet, techs and repairmen spend a lot of time explaining all of this to their clients, many of whom will never believe them. They will continue to believe the misinformation that their buddy told them or they found on the internet. At best, they never trust the repairman after that. At worst, they tell all their friends that the shop is run by hacks and charlatans.
The thing is, people who believe the myth never ask, “Why?”
There is a scene at the end of the movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in which Ransom Stoddard, played by Jimmy Stuart is being interviewed by some newspaper reporters. He tells the truth. He did not shoot Liberty Vallance. The newspaper reporter replies, “When the facts don’t fit the legend, print the legend.”
Well stated. Especially the last paragraph. Great Movie BTW.