Bottled Palate Cleanser Under Development

The song talks about putting time in a bottle, but two Cal Poly students had another idea, to develop a palate cleanser in a bottle, to be consumed between wine tastings. Under the headline, "Wine Notes: Cal Poly Alums Create 'Palate Cleansing Beverage' Aimed at Winemakers," San Luis Obsipo Tribune Reporter Janis Switzer writes:

"Five months after receiving their diplomas, most college graduates are looking for a job, looking for a place to live, and just generally looking for a direction in life."

"Not so with Andrew Macaluso and Nicole Chamberlain, who are traveling California test marketing and selling the innovative new product they developed while working toward their degrees in enology and viticulture in Cal Poly’s wine and viticulture program."

"The product they created is SanTásti, a “palate cleansing beverage” that they hope will help winemakers evaluate their wines more accurately, as well as help tasting rooms better represent their wines to often overwhelmed consumers."

"The concept is simple, but there is no other comparable product on the market right now, and Macaluso and Chamberlain have already filed for a patent."

"They’ve already started the framework for a company they plan to expand into other innovative products."

"Neither of the partners initially started in the Cal Poly wine program. Macaluso was a chemistry major and Chamberlain a biology major."

'They met during their first year in chemistry class, but two years later they decided that the lab was not for them."

"They changed majors in their junior year, and found themselves analyzing the effect of enzymes and bacteria on wine quality."

“One thing that we just decided to look at out of the blue was the quality that was assigned to the wine based on the order the wine was tested,” Macaluso explains."

"It was then that the couple saw a pattern that indicated palate fatigue played an important role on how a person evaluates wine quality."

“It was things like that that really piqued our interest,” Macaluso says."

"So one night watching television at home, they decided to try to come up with a “palate cleanser.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

2008 Stories We Should Have Covered #3

Number Three on our List Of Stories We Should Have Covered in 2008, but didn't quite get around to it, is a actually a two-parter. This is a very thorough survey of Colorado's Wine Country by the Wine Curmudgeon. It covers the state's terroir, wine history and viticulture. Under the headline, "A Look at Colorado Wine, Part I," the Wine Curmudgeon wrote:

"This is the first of two parts looking at Colorado wine. Today is an overview..."

"Guy Drew, who owns the self-named winery outside of Cortez in southwestern Colorado, insists the high desert in that part of the state will eventually produce world-class wines. And he isn’t alone in that optimism, either. Talk to growers and winemakers throughout Colorado, from Grand Junction in the west to the Front Range in the east, and you’ll hear the same thing. Colorado is a wine phenomenon waiting to happen."

"Says Horst Caspari, the state viticulturist: “One day, we’ll be so popular, you’ll see Hollywood celebrities buying land here and opening wineries.”

"Colorado is not there yet, of course. Save for a handful of producers, the wine isn’t on the level of New York, Missouri or Texas, let alone California or France. Their owners and winemakers -- an eclectic assortment of lawyers, venture capitalists, oilmen, geologists, and even a former British army commando – are still struggling to find the right grapes to grow and the right methods to use for Colorado’s peculiar weather and soil."

"But the state has more than 70 wineries, a number that has increased 13-fold since the early 1990s. And what they lack in consistency, they make up for in enthusiasm and determination. “Yes, we have a long way to go,” says Drew, who was a trucking and shipping executive before opening his winery in 1998, buying 155 acres on a hay farm. “But we’re going to get there.”

"Don’t worry if you’ve never thought of wine and Colorado. Until the mid-1990s, almost no one else had either. The state had just six wineries until 1993, and very little history of winemaking. And why should it have had either? At first glance, Colorado is too cold in the winter, too warm in the summer, too dry year round, and way too high in the mountains to grow grapes. Grand Junction, for example, in the Grand Valley viticultural area, has 21 wineries despite its 4500-foot elevation (and some of the wineries are even higher than that). Compare this to Napa Valley in California, where the land is mostly less than half as high."

"Yet today, Colorado's wineries are in areas as diverse as Cortez; Grand Junction and Delta and Montrose counties to the southeast; the Front Range in and around Boulder and Denver; and even a couple in the Rockies in what is otherwise ski country. What makes a difference in Colorado is something called a microclimate -- a climate within a climate."

"How microclimates work involves entirely too much physics to discuss comfortably (it’s the same process by which icebergs float), but what it means is that some locations in a Colorado valley – like Drew’s -- can support wine-quality grapes, while a spot a mile away is either too cold or too hot."

"On a normal spring day, the temperature can be 80 degrees at Drew’s property and 90 degrees farther west along Highway G. It also helps that even when temperatures reach 100 degrees in the summer, they cool off as much as 50 degrees at night, something grapes like (though the industry is still working its way around the shorter growing season and early frosts typical of high altitudes)..."

"Hence wineries located amidst scenery that is as distinctive as anything in Burgundy or Bordeaux. Canyon Wind Cellars, east of Grand Junction near Palisade, sits on a rise along the Colorado River, with the Book Cliffs perched to the north and sandstone bluffs all around. And if you ask owner Norm Christianson, a geologist, he can even explain how the bluffs came to be, moved hundreds of miles by Ice Age glaciers."

You can read the rest of the overview here.

2008 Stories We Should Have Covered #5

Number 5 in our "Top Seven Countdown of Stories We Should Have Covered" was written by The Daily Wine. It is a tour of the Grand Valley AVA and a leisurely interview with several wine makers, including State Enologist Stephen Menke. Under the headline, "Landscapes and Lifestyles in Colorado’s Wine Country," The Daily Wine wrote:

"Getting to Grand Junction from Denver International Airport is easy. Whether you drive through, or fly over the mountains, the trip is worth the effort. Or, if time is not your concern, you could take a leisurely Amtrak train. Go west through Colorado’s world-class ski resorts. Continue through the snow capped peaks and passes."

The Wine Makers Dr. Stephen Menke, Parker Carlson, Glenn Foster, and Jenny Baldwin

“When were you planning to clip those vines, Glenn?” Parker asks. “I just did them today.” Glenn responds, grinning. The two continue the conversation, both smiling and jesting about their neighboring vineyards and the longstanding, friendly competition that has become their lives."

"The conversation flows as freely as the wine at Il Bistro, a downtown Grand Junction favorite for its hand made pasta and authentic Italian cuisine. The table is full of wine and food as we try award-winning varieties perfectly matched, course by course, from Plum Creek Winery, the Colorado Wine Room, Confre Cellars, and Carlson Vineyards. Looking around the table, I realize that the winemakers have spent long years developing the scene we enjoy tonight."

"Grapes were first planted in the Grand Valley in 1881. Since 1991, the industry has enjoyed a 750% growth. In recent years, Colorado has become a contender in many Wine Competitions, often surpassing California wines and finding their footing with Cabernet Franc, Late Harvest Sweet Categories, Rieslings, Sangiovese and Port. Additionally, fruit wines and meads (honey wines) enhance the wine makers repertoire, using the valleys orchard fruit for superb peach and plum wines."

"The day after our dinner, Colorado’s wine expert, Enologist Dr. Stephen Menke, led me through Palisades, a small town minutes from the heart of Grand Junction. As a classic bon vivant, he shares readily, with a quick smile and earthy presence. What’s your favorite wine Steve? I ask. “The one in front of me.” he responds. I laugh, relieved that I don’t have to live through an uppity expert on this trip. It just wouldn’t fit the scene anyway—extreme mountains, desert, contrasted with budding vineyards and sun—it is as if the landscape itself decided that pretenses wouldn’t fit here."

You can read the rest of the article here.

One Local's Paean to Yeast

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel is singing a love song for yeast, or more specifically, fermentation in the wine making process. Under the headline, "At This Stage, My Syrah Offers Only Noises, Bit of Heat and Glorious Smells," the Sentinel wrote:

"Once or twice a week, I slip down the stairs into Sal Sassano’s basement where our 2008 syrah is sitting in glass carboys, perched on wooden shelves like choir boys peeking down from the loft."

"The wine still is fermenting and there’s not really anything for me to do, so I just watch it bubble slowly and hope it turns out drinkable."

"Fermentation takes a while. After the grapes are crushed, the winemaker adds some yeast to kick off fermentation and for the first week or two, the activity is amazing."

"You can hear the snap and pop of fermentation and feel the heat as the yeast bugs attack the sugar. One of the glorious smells of winemaking, admittedly one you either enjoy or hate, is the smell of the fermentation turning grape juice to wine."

"The initial blast of yeast bugs eating sugar is done in a week or two and then the wine is pumped out of the fermentation tanks into storage vessels for the final fermentation. Depending on the wine and whether the winemaker wants to tweak the wine’s natural flavors, that storage might be oak barrels, glass jars or stainless steel tanks or a combination."

"Fermentation, where the yeast bugs convert the grape sugar to alcohol, might be the most delicate of the winemaking operations."

"Fermentation happens everywhere, as you know after leaving a jug of milk on the counter for a day or two."

"In most cases, that milk is tossed out, although some (people) cultures enjoy the product of yeast cultures. Yeast makes sourdough starter, but you control how much fermentation takes place when you refrigerate the starter between batches."

You can read the rest of the article here.

Bottle Shock: Could Colorado Ever Pull Off Its Own "Judgment of Paris?"

The wine buzz surrounding the movie Bottle Shock is probably the greatest since Sideways. And with reason. For starters, there aren't too many good movies about wine...the documentary Mondo Vino comes to mind, as does John Cleese's wittily instructional Wine for the Confused. But Google "wine" and "movie" and the filmography you return is surprisingly slim.

Bottle Shock tells the story of the now fabled 1976 blind tasting, the so-called "Judgment of Paris" where California wines dominated over French wines. It put Napa and Sonoma on the map. But the question is, could tiny, artisan Colorado wineries ever dominate California or French wines in a blind competition? To be sure, the medals lining the walls of many of our state wineries attest to their quality. But a shut out? Our terroir is kinder to whites than red, because the growing season is so short, but we don't have the rots and blights of warmer climates. Although we can medal in specific categories, Colorado can not match the breadth or volume of California wines. Sheer acreage determines this, as much as anything. It's like we're a tiny country at the Olympics competing against a massive, well funded country like America or China. Just being in the competition is an honor. Anyway, go see the movie and celebrate by cracking open a bottle of Colorado wine afterwords.

In the Houston Chronicle, Dale Robertson writes:

"Bottle Shock tells an important tale. As every oenophile knows by now, "The Judgment of Paris" (the headline Time put on George M. Taber's story about the tasting) gave California its rightful place on the world's wine map. The 1973 Château Montelena Chardonnay and the '73 Stag's Leap Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon defeated some of the greatest wines Burgundy and Bordeaux had to offer in this 1976 blind tasting, organized by Parisian wine merchant Steven Spurrier at the Intercontinental Hotel (which resembles not at all the picturesque ruin of a chapel where the movie places it).

"California's rise to global prominence was perhaps inevitable. The Napa-Sonoma terroir was perfect, and the best American winemakers at least as skilled as their French counterparts, not to mention hungrier. But the tasting's surprising outcome — the judges all were members of France's wine elite — surely fast-forwarded the process.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Meet Stephen Menke, State Enologist

The Grand Junction Free Press has written a very nice profile of Stephen Menke, the "new" enologist hired by the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board. Besides being a really decent guy, Menke teaches for CSU’s horticulture and landscape architect department.

Menke is also part of a dynamic duo researching Colorado varietals at the Western Colorado Research Center on Orchard Mesa, the other half being state viticulturist Horst Caspari.

Under the headline, "Grand Valley-Based Enologist Tracks, Promotes Colorado Wines," Free Press Reporter Sharon Sullivan writes about Menke's unique ability to taste and smell wines.

Sullivan goes on to write, "As the state enologist, Menke studies and tastes wine. It’s all part of the job. Menke travels a few thousand miles a month visiting wineries around Colorado, surveying the quality and flavor of wines and advising vintners about wine-making and business practices.

"Menke was hired by Colorado State University last February to research the unique characteristics of Colorado grapes and help develop the Colorado wine brand.

Great story, Sharon! You can read the rest of the article here.

Colorado Mountain Winefest Helps Fund State Enologist

Reason Number One you should attend The Colorado Mountain Winefest, September 18-21, 2008: It is more than just another wine and cheese event. It is even more than simply a showcase for local foods and appellations. There are dozens of other festivals fitting that bill all over the state.

You should come to Winefest because it is the premier fundraiser for Colorado winemakers and for the trade organization of state grape growers, the Rocky Mountain Association of Vintners & Viticulturists (RMVAA). All Winefest funds go towards education, seminars, research, and equipment purchases to improve the grape growing and winemaking of Colorado wines. If you like Colorado wine, coming to Winefest will literally make it better.

2007's funds went towards hiring a state enologist, or a scientist who studies all aspects of wine making.

According to a RMAVV press release, the proceeds from last year’s event supported the hiring of Dr. Steve Menke, the new Colorado resident enologist. Menke currently researches the unique characteristics of Colorado grapes, helps develop the Colorado wine brand and teaches enology classes at Colorado State University's Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.

“Having our own enologist working with grape farmers to ensure they are growing the right grapes enables the small family farms to stay in business,” says Guy Parker, president of the RMVAA.

So, not only will Winefest be fun and an indulgence of the senses, it is the best way to support Colorado wines other than buying and drinking them.

See the full release here in Steamboat Magazine.