Photo: Notice the intense copper color of Pinot Grigio.

2008 Harvest Report: Pinot Grigio/Gris: The cooler vineyards of the Columbia River Gorge produce the finest Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer this side of Alsace. The only attribute not presently found in the Gorge is that the Alsatian climate allows botrytis. Crisp acid and low pH make these grapes ideal for fresh early consumption. They will Grigio with the very best of Fruili. Besides covering the acid with sugar, you can achieve a less acidic wine with the following procedures or a combination of the two methods.

Frozen juice creates a separation of the water and sugar. Freezing also affects the solvency of tartaric acid. When subjected to cold, or alcohol, the tartaric acid combines with potassium to form cream of tarter. A portion of the tartaric acid becomes a granular sediment on the bottom of the grape pail. In most cases it is important to combine this acidic sediment with your juice / grapes. If there is a high acid in the frozen juice, minimize stirring before removing juice from the newly thawed pail. Carefully harvest the sediment into a separate container. Be sure to have all the sugar with the juice while keeping a good portion of the cream of tarter separated. This process will reduce the acid in your juice / grapes to the point you can test your juice for acid. You can then do a malolactic fermentation if the acid is still higher than you want (0.75 TA or below will not benefit from a malolactic fermentation). If you have reduced the acid to 0.6 TA or below, add some of the recovered cream of tarter till you achieve 0.7 TA. If you start at 0.75 or lower, add lysozyme and ferment the wine without a malolactic fermentation. If a malolactic fermentation is conducted, the malic conversion to lactic acid may reduce the acid content significantly, even requiring a tasteful acid addition.

Recommended Yeast: 71B; 58W3; Uvaferm SVG