A Technical Guide for Wine Producers

RECENT ARTICLES   |   WYNBOER HOME COOL CLIMATE VITICULTURE P van Rensburg, Institute for Wine Biotechnology and Department Viticulture & Oenology, University of Stellenbosch For two and a half weeks I had the privilege to visit regions in Canada and New York State. I would like to share this experience first by focussing on the cool climate regions of Canada and thereafter in part 2 on the New York State regions. The experience enriched me with interesting facts and new perspectives. PART 1: CANADA HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Canadian wine industry dates back from the early 19th century. In 1811 a retired German corporal, Johann Schiller, domesticated the labrusca vines he found growing along the Credit river west of Toronto and planted a 20-acre vineyard. In 1866 the country's first major winery Vin Villa was established at Canada's most southerly point, on Pelee Island on lake Eyrie. By 1890 there were 41 commercial wineries across the country. Prohibition, which began in Canada in 1916, spurred the wine trade. Thanks to some fancy political lobbying by the grape-growers, wine was exempted from the general interdiction against alcohol. By the time the great experiment was brought to an end in 1927, 57 winery licences had been granted in Ontario alone. In that year another experiment began, the creation of the provincial liquor board system, government monopolies which still control the sale and distribution of all alcoholic beverages sold in Canada and collect millions of dollars in tax revenues. Until the mid 1970, Canadian wines were sweet, highly alcoholic products made from Labrusca varieties and labelled Sherry or Port, depending on the colour. The advent of the boutique winery was signalled in 1975 when Inniskillin, near Niagra Falls, was granted the first commercial licence since prohibition. This coincided with a shift in public taste towards drier, less alcoholic, table wine. The wineries that followed in Ontario and British Columbia were dedicated to the proposition that Vinifera grapes could be grown in the right soils in spite of the harsh winters and unpredictable springs. Fortunately, lakes have major influences on the climate. The lakes absorb and store vast amount of heat which they release whenever the surrounding air and land are cooler than the lake. This continuous airflow over the surface of the land moderates winter temperatures and also reduces the risk of spring frost. THE REGIONS AND CLIMATE Canada can be divided into 4 primary grape production regions: Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia. The production can be divided into; 85% Ontario, 14% British Columbia, 1.5% Quebec and Nova Scotia the remainder. The total vine production is about 6000 hectare and they only export about 3000 hl of wine, mostly to England. Canada is considered a cool climate viticulture region, as are Burgundy, Germany, Oregon and New Zealand. These regions are suited for the growing of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Wines from cooler climates are characteristically higher in acids and highly aromatic. Climatically, the Niagra region is similar in many respects to Burgundy. Both are far from maritime influence and are affected by a continental climate. The annual rainfall of both is approximately 700 to 800 mm and each can experience unpredictable September and October rains. Click here to see Table. Ontario The climate, similar to the Finger Lakes region in New York State, is ameliorated by two bodies of water, Lakes Ontario and Lake Erie. An escarpment, the shore of an Ice Age lake, further protects the concentration of vineyards around the Niagra Peninsula. This buff above the vineyards encourages onshore winds, which dissipate fog and minimise frost damage. In the Ontario region I visited the famous Inniskillin's winery. Inniskillin produces wines from the classic European grape species (Vitis vinifera). Several wines are also produced from French hydrid grape varieties. Examples of Vitis vinifera are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Cabernet Franc. Examples of the hybrids are Marechal foch, Vidal and Seyval Blanc. In 1991 Inniskillin competed against 4100 wines from across the world in Vinexpo in Bordeaux, France, and captured the Citadel D' or Award, the highest award, given for its 1989 icewine. Quebec Some parts in Quebec can experience extreme winters. At the Orpailleur wine estate the temperature can sometimes go as low as -40°C and therefore to protect the grapevines against the cold, they bury them in winter times. They also experience frost in springtime and therefore they use little oil heaters to protect the vines, but it can be expensive, because the heaters can use up to 2 litres of oil per hour. To reduce the cost they now burn artificial wood blocks. I also visited the Dietrich-Jooss wine estate, which was founded in 1986. The first grapevines to flourish in this Richelieu valley, were Marechal foch, De Chaunac for red and rosé and for white, Seyval and Cayuga White. Overall in Quebec wineries struggle to produce hybrid wines and produce a little Chardonnay along the American border around the town of Durham. Seyval Blanc is the main white wine variety. British Columbia It is centred on the arid Okanagan valley in the south east of British Columbia were the deep Okanagan Lake warms the vineyards in the winter. The emphasis is mainly on white varieties such as Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Ehrenfelser, Bacchus and Chardonnay. The style of winemaking here tends more towards the German model than the French. VINTNERS QUALITY ALLIANCE - VQA This is an Appellation of Origin system by which consumers can identify wines based on the origin of the grapes from which they are produced. The VQA officially started in 1988. Each region maintains several unique rules and regulations that are specific to it, just as Burgundy and Bordeaux do. The VQA recognises within Ontario three designated viticultural areas (DVA): Niagra Peninsula, Pelee Island and Lake Erie North Shore. In British Columbia, the VQA recognises four DVA: the Okanagan Valley, the Similkameen Valley, the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island. A stringent code of regulations governs the right of vintners to use these highly specific geographic designations on their labels. Only Vitis vinifera varieties may be used. The wines must be produced from 100% grapes of the region. For varietals, 85% of the wine must be made from the variety named on the label and must exhibit the predominant character of that variety. Minimum sugar levels have been set for vineyard designated and estate-bottled wines, as well as dessert and icewine. They also expect that no water should be added. If you do not put the VQA label on the bottle you can add water, sugar and acid to the wine if you wish to do so. ICEWINE Originally developed in the cool climate wine regions of Europe, but the production of icewine is ideally suited to the Canadian's climatic conditions. The grapes are left on the vine well into December and January. The ripe berries are dehydrated through the constant freezing and thawing during these winter conditions. This remarkable process concentrates the sugars, acids and extracts in the berries, thereby intensifying the flavours and giving icewine its immense complexity. Normally the entire vineyard is carefully covered with netting to protect the sweet ripe berries from ravaging birds. Some of the crop is also lost to wind damage. The grapes are painstakingly picked by hand in their naturally frozen state, ideally at temperatures of -10 to -13°C, forcing them to sometimes pick in the middle of the night. Yields are very low, often as little as 5 to 10% of the normal crop. The frozen grapes are pressed frozen and much of the water in the juice remains frozen as ice crystals during the pressing and only a few drops of sweet concentrated juice are salvaged. The juice is then fermented very slowly for several months and stops naturally at approximately at 10 to 12% alcohol. My overall impression of the Canadian wine industry is that they have improved quite significantly over the past 10 years and will continue to produce more and more world class wines. PART 2: NEW YORK STATE In this second part on cool climate viticulture I will focus more on New York State in America. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND New York state grape and wine production dates back to the 1600's when vineyards were established in Manhattan. Isabella and Catawha, both Vitis labruscana types, quickly became the mainstays of the early plantings, since they produced fruit that was considerably less foxy than the native vines growing in the state. Early attempts at cultivating Vitis vinifera varieties had failed due to fungus disease problems and the devastating effects of the winter minimum temperatures. Although it came late to the Finger Lakes, commercial wine production quickly flourished. The Finger Lakes became the primary wine producing region in the state, as it is today. Prohibition, which began in 1919, nearly wiped out the grape industry. The surviving wineries did so by making sacramental wines and grape juice. After the Prohibition ended in the 1930's, New York wineries were slow to recover as New York's laws made it difficult for new wineries to become established. Port and sherry-type wines, sparkling wines and sweet table wines became the mainstays of the New York wine industry, in part because the Vitis labrusca-type grapes that were grown were best suited to these wines. The 1960's brought about the beginning of the more modern wine production era, when inter specific hybrids and limited scale Vitis vinifera wine production began. In the mid 1970's, state laws changed, making it easier for farm wineries to establish and the new movement towards smaller production, higher quality, and drier wines began. The first commercial vineyards were also established on Long Island in the 1970's. Today about 130 wineries exist within New York State. Most are small, with production less than 50 000 cases of wine annually. THE REGIONS AND CLIMATE New York can be divided into 4 grape production regions: Lake Erie, Finger Lakes, Hudson River Valley and Long Island. Each of these regions have one common factor, their climate is modified by a body of water that protects the vines from spring and fall frosts, and from severe winter low temperatures. The New York wine regions are located between 43 and 41° - comparable to the wine regions of northern California and further south than Champagne, the Rheingau, Bordeaux and Burgundy. These regions are ideally suited for the growing of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and rare icewines. There are about 990 family-owned vineyards in New York state covering about 13000 hectares. The annual harvest is about 175 000 tons of which 655 are used for grape juice, 33% for wine and about 2% for fresh fruit. New York state contains about 125 wineries of which 106 were established after 1976. Lake Erie The Lake Erie viticultural area is also known as Chautauqua, the largest grape growing county outside of California. Although it has been the largest area planted with vines, about 700 hectares, more than 90% of the grape production is from Concord and Niagra, most of which is used for unfermented grape juice. A few wineries do exist in this region, although most are quite small. Wines are made from Vitis labruscana, Vitis vinifera, and inter specific hybrid varieties. Lake Erie has a growing season of about 200 days. Moderating influences are Lake Erie and the Allegheny Plateau, which traps moderating effects. Finger Lakes This is the largest wine grape-producing region with grape plantings of about 4000 hectares. The vineyards and wineries are clustered along the slopes of the larger lakes in the region, primarily Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga lakes. The growing season is about 190 - 205 days long. The moderating influences are the lakes with the sloping hillsides, which increase "air drainage". Vitis labruscana varieties still account for slightly more than half of the total hectares today, some of which is used for grape juice although a significant amount is used to produce sweeter table wines. Of the remaining hectares inter specific hybrids account for roughly one third of the area planted, with essentially all of this being used for medium priced blended and varietal table wines. Vitis vinifera varieties still account for only about 10% of the total plantings, but this continues to increase. Riesling is rapidly establishing itself as the region's premier white wine, while Chardonnay accounts for most of the other white production. Reds account for much smaller amount of the plantings, with Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir appearing to take the lead at this time. In the Finger Lake region you will find the Canandiagua Wine Company which is a leading producer and marketer of more than 125 national and regional beverage alcohol brands. This company is the second largest US producer of wines, with brands that are leaders in all three categories including table wine, sparkling wines and dessert wines. The 15 leading producers of the region are Dr Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars/Chateau Frank, Hunt Country, McGregor (Keuka Lake); Anthony Road, Fox Run, Glenora, Herman J. Wiemer, Lakewood, Lamoreaux Landing, Prejean, Standing Stone and Wagner (Seneca Lake); King Ferry, Knapp and Swedish Hill (on Cayuga Lake). Most wineries are primarily boutiques, with low levels of production, typically up to 10000 cases. Unsurprisingly, Chardonnay, in its several styles, has become the central vinifera focus. Riesling is close behind, followed distantly by Gewürztraminer and then, among the courtier grapes, popular quasi-vinifera expressions of Cayuga White and French-American hybrids: Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc and Vignoles. Splendid and promising reds are increasingly turning up: Lamoreaux Landing's 1993 Merlot and 1994 Cabernet Franc; Standing Stone's 1994 Cabernet Franc, voted New York's number one wine in a 1995 state wide competition; Dr Frank's 1995 Merlot and 1993 Pinot Nior. Unfortunately, red grape production is not always consistent, therefore Glenora wine cellars will buy some red grapes in California and drive it by truck for 4 days to the cellar to produce wine. Although only a handful of serious wineries have committed themselves to sparkling wine programmes, today s best results, have sharpened an awareness that the region can make light, lean bubbly - like Champagne - not the rich, fruity California sort. Most winery's do not have a salesman on the road or spend money on marketing because they can sell more wine in one day in the tasting room than they can in a month in New York City. Hudson River Valley The oldest commercial district in New York, it is also the smallest in terms of planted area with about 300 hectares. The climate is modified by airflow that migrates up the Hudson River Valley from the Atlantic Ocean. The growing season consists of about 180-195 days. Plantings include a wide spectrum of varieties from Vitis labruscana types, to interspecific hybrids to Vitis vinifera. Long Island The most temperate of New York's wine growing regions, Long Island's climate is modified by the Atlantic Ocean. The growing season consists of about 215-233 days. The vineyards, totalling about 550 hectares are low in elevation with only slight slopes. Production is almost entirely from Vitis vinifera with the leading varieties being Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Merlot and Riesling. Production continues to increase, although it is limited somewhat by high land cost and urbanisation. We tasted some excellent wines from the Paumanok wine estate, where they use the traditional dense planting of the vineyards to produce more concentrated fruit and therefore higher quality wines. For their wines, only estate grown grapes are used and production is limited to fewer than 5000 cases. EONOLOGY As in the most parts of the world, winemaking practices differ within the state, reflecting differences in fruit chemistry, as well as regional and winery style. Winemakers are allowed to add water (sometimes up to 40%), sugar and acid to the juice and wine. The introduction of other varieties and improved production practices that resulted in better grape chemistry as well as improved cellar practices has allowed New York wineries to produce dry table wines that frequently rival the best from most other parts of the world. They also produce some icewines by natural freezing on the vine, while others are produced by cryoextraction.

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