In fact I am with Jim on his next article ! It refers to a speaker in Sacramento at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium who called Russian River Valley Pinot Noir big and chunky in a negative way.
I feel this argument will never end and is in fact an eternal wine maker's argument. I like to call it the Green vs the Brown School of wine making. We could call it the Californian vs the European but that identifies the origins and not necessarily the styles. One could come from Europe and adopt the Brown style or come from California and adhere to the Green style.
The European or Green style has been a style born out of the fact that weather in Europe is generally less warm. The grapes have less sugar at the end of the growing season, because of the cooler climate, and have been traditionally harvested at lower sugars compared to California vineyards. The argument for the Green School has always been that the most important factor in a wine's stability over the years is the acidity of the wine at bottling! As grapes ripen and the sugar content rises, the acidity or PH also wanders higher and is less acid. The Green School argues that wines made over about 24-25 brix will result in acidity that is too high and the resulting wine will have a shorter bottle life. They feel this is a disservice to the wine collector as the wine will fall apart and it's aging potential will be compromised.
The Brown School or California style has evolved out of the fact that here in California we have much more heat and the because of this we can ripen fruit to much higher sugar levels. They argue that the flavors are much more enjoyable. The fruit at 22-25 brix has more vegative flavors while the fruit at 26-30 brix has more cherry, blackberry and rasberry fruit flavors. These flavors are the ones that consumers seem to enjoy more. This direction is one the wine critics seem to be favoring based on the ratings they have been giving to wines of this style. The longevity of these wines, because of less acid, may be compromised according to the Green School. I have posed this problem to Brown School wine makers who claim acidity can adjusted by adding fruit with lower brix in an amount that does not affect the overall flavors but lowers the PH.
The point I would like to make is illustrates the wonderful art of making wine! It is the reason it is an art as well as a science. Because there is no right or wrong, just the Wine Maker's belief in what they feel their wine should be! This is the zone, inbetween these two extremes, that wonderful wines are made!
The fact that these wine makers are so passionate about their individual perspectives is what makes them great wine makers, as they choose and adhere to their individual styles. They are making wine that is authentic to their own style and adheres to that style year after year! This is what makes wine an eternal journey. One never knows what one might happen onto in the search for the next fantastic fermentation!
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