The visit to Red Hook Winery did not parallel any past experiences I have had so far with wine. So much of what I know of wine has been from the back seat, in a way. The opportunities we were given at the winery to see, touch, hear, smell and taste the various steps in making wine was an experience. To see firsthand the machines and the minds that transform bundles of fruit into wine was quite eye-opening.
The most intriguing part of the tour was trying the different wines at different stages. It is a stark contrast of juice and wine. A few scientific processes and a lot of patience can yield a great tasting bottle of wine from a simple batch of fruit juice. However, as I saw, wine making is no simple task at all. Mark and all the crew at Red Hook Winery have become adept at understanding and analyzing the various stages of wine. Mark was able to explain every part of the wine making process, seamlessly exuding his abundance of knowledge to our novice minds. Some things that Mark mentioned that particularly stood out me were the occurrence of oxidation and reduction, the occurrence of natural evaporation called ‘angel share’ and the constant presence of yeast, dead and alive, throughout the whole fermentation process.
Another part of the experience that stood out to me was when we tried the skin fermented, or orange wine and when we tried the Abe Schoener Bordeaux blend. Both of these wines were quite unique and atypical. Their unique flavor profiles were due to the modern, new age take on wine making that Abe Schoener practices. It was fascinating to me how his decisions during fermentation manifested themselves in the taste and character of his wines.
I totally agree the orange wine was truly something new to me. And I did enjoy the glass.
I share the same experience as well; the most intriguing moments of the tour was the actual tasting of the wine and the reflection of different flavors in comparison to the next.
I wasn’t a fan of the skin fermented wine, it had a bitter after taste for me; but that comes with the lack of experience of enjoying wine.
Hopefully after next week class project I will have a better understanding of what it is to look for in acquiring a different outlook of variety of wines.. I hope after this class I will be more comfortable to ordering a variety of wines.
I share the same experience as well; the most intriguing moments of the tour was the actual tasting of the wine and the reflection of different flavors in comparison to the next.
I wasn’t a fan of the skin fermented wine, it had a bitter after taste for me; but that comes with the lack of experience of enjoying wine.
Hopefully after next week class project I will have a better understanding of what it is to look for in acquiring a different outlook of variety of wines.. I hope after this class I will be more comfortable to ordering a variety of wines.
“Machines and minds” well stated. Wine needs both as well as “place”. These wines would not be what they are if derived from another vineyard/AVA/state and so on. The simplicity of a wine is not a result of the simplicity in wine making, I am thrilled you learned this on this day.