Posts Written ByTom Mansell

Fermentation Winespeak

By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Have you ever smelled grape juice? Not Concord or Niagara juice but grape must that's about to become wine? It doesn't smell like much. It's kind of like fresh mown grass. How does this relatively un-aromatic juice evolve into complex, aromatic wine?  Most everybody's grapes are in (except for the ice wine grapes) and it's now time for winemakers to figure out how best to turn their grapes into quality wine. Surprisingly, magic is not involved.  Now in the spirit of Harvest Winespeak last month, In this edition of Winespeak, we'll explore some terms and…

Giving Hybrids Some TLC Could Lead to Better Breeding

Artists' rendering of the methyl anthranilate molecule, responsible for "foxy" aroma in grapes and wine By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Interspecific grape hybrids (hereafter: hybrids) were initially bred in the late 19th century in response to phylloxera, an American grape pest that migrated across the ocean to Europe and began to decimate the less-resistant vinifera vines, almost wiping out wine production. Since an American pest was the problem, breeding vinifera with American vines was a potential solution (rather the American way, eh? Screw something up halfway around the world, then try to fix it?), and the result was original French…

Harvest Winespeak Defined

 A destemmer awaiting clusters (Photo courtesy of Ramón Mira de Orduña Heidinger) By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Anyone with any involvement in wine knows that the world of wine has a unique vocabulary.  In a wine context, words like flabby, austere and even "mineral," take on meanings far from their dictionary definitions. Additionally, like in any trade, specific techniques for producing wine lead to specific names for such techniques.  While many people in the trade read this blog, I'm willing to bet that the majority are interested wine drinkers. In this edition of what I hope will become a recurring…

Bird Management at Harvest Time

  By Tom Mansell, Science Editor In my last post, I mentioned bird netting and how exposed grapes need to be protected from birds, especially once they are ripe. Birds, like people, love to eat wine grapes. They also seem to have an uncanny ability to determine when grapes are ripe and, if left uncontrolled, decimate a vineyard's grape supply.   It got me thinking about several different methods that growers use to keep their yeast food from becoming bird food.  A short sampling: Shiny Objects Occasionally in orchards, you will see pie plates and shiny mylar tape tied to a…

Leaf Pulling and Canopy Management: Let the Sun Shine In

Buried grapes in the research vineyards at Cornell Orchards, Ithaca, NY (left) and grapes more fully exposed to the sun at Peconic Bay Winery, Peconic, NY (right) By Tom Mansell, Science Editor As I checked my Twitter feed over the past few days, I noticed lots of tweets about the upcoming harvest from winemakers and growers.  See the following from Lucas Vineyards winemaker Jeff Houck and Fox Run Vineyards owner Scott Osborn: Apparently many places are doing some post-verasion leaf removal, as recently discussed on this site. It got me thinking about what's actually happening inside the grape when all…