[Joe Dobbes] New techniques in viticulture & winemaking; is wine getting better?

[enobytes]

We will kick off our second monthly Vino Exchange discussion the second week of August.

Our topic this month is (drum roll please): "New techniques in viticulture and winemaking - is wine getting better?"

Joe Dobbes, a twenty-year veteran of the wine industry will lead the conversation. He apprenticed at Wiengut Erbhof Tesch, in the German Nahe region and at Domaine G. Roumier and Domaine Comtes Lafon in the Burgundy region, France, with winemasters Christophe Roumier and Dominique Lafon. In Oregon, Joe Dobbes has produced wine for Elk Cove Vineyards, Eola Hills, Hinman/Sylvan Ridge, Paschal Winery, and Willamette Valley Vineyards including the Griffin Creek and Tualitan Estate labels.  In 2002, Joe created Wine By Joe, LLC, producing three distinct Oregon labels: Wine By Joe, Jovino Pinot Noir, and Dobbes Family Estate.

Joe will weigh in on our new topic in August. Join us to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge Joe brings to the table. Joe is eager to participate in stump the expert experiments and it's an opportunity to converse with a well-known industry wine leader one-on-one, so we strongly encourage participation and interaction!

[enobytes]

Attention forum members: Joe will kick off our forum discussion on Sunday, August 10.  We will keep the discussion open through Sunday, August 17.  It should be a very interesting and educational discussion! 

[jdobbes]

Good evening.  Joe Dobbes here testing to see if I am doing this correctly..

[smudgedglass]

Hello Joe it is a privilege to have the opportunity to interact with someone of your legendary wine experience and innovation in the industry. My question is this - Has the current state of the economy and explosive shipping charges had much effect on how winemakers are doing business and forecasting future plans?

[jdobbes]

Good evening Enobytes bloggers.  This is my debut on a blog, so here we go. 

New techniques in viticulture and oenology do not, in my opinion, evolve quickly in comparison to other fields such as medicine and specifically medical procedures.  In winemaking and viticulture the new techniques are more of an improvement upon previous techniques and equipment that evolves, or has been used in other fields and then applied to the winery, or vineyard. Often these new applications take some time to catch on in the wine business and are expensive to get into.

One of the most recent "new" techniques and "wow" factors in winemaking is the recent approval by the FDA and TTB of the use of Velcorin in wine. Velcorin is best known for eliminating Brett just prior to bottling.

I have seen way too many wines on the market, some by accomplished and well known winemakers that have Brettanomyces (Brett) explosions in them.  Critics will often not recognize the spritziness and wet dog characters of a Brett infected wine and sometimes chalk it up to the winemaker going to bottle too early with excess CO2 and refer to the Brett characters as earthiness, or maybe sulfides.  Bottling wines, especially red without filtration and careful monitoring for Brett is suicide in winemaking.  There are two kinds of wineries those that do not yet have Brett and those that will.

Velcorin has long been used to protect fruit juice, sports drinks, ready-to-drink teas and non-carbonated juices. The Food and Drug Administration approved its use in wine in 1988.  Although it has been approved Velcorin as a magnificent product that allows the winemaker to put their wines to bottle without having to sterile filter them.  Velcorin is injected in line as the wine is on the way to the bottling line, or sometimes prior to bottling during the aging process. 

Velcorin is considered very effective at low dosages against a broad range of yeast, bacteria and molds. It is non-persistent, meaning it breaks down completely into small amounts of CO2 and methanol. It can remain active for several hours, helping to eliminate contamination from bottles, closures or filling equipment, and according to its manufacturer, it in no way affects wine taste, bouquet or color.

Velcorin controls a wide range of microorganisms, yeast, mold fungi and bacteria, all of which can lead to juice contamination and spoilage. Velcorin can be used to replace or decrease the amount of sorbate used in wines with residual sugar. Wines containing residual sugar are susceptible to re-fermentation in the bottle, leading to haze, off-odors, off-flavors and effervescence.

Velcorin added to wine during bottling can help prevent re-fermentation. Velcorin can also be used to decrease the amount of sulfur dioxide used in early-to-market wines.

There is not much worse than opening a bottle of wine that you have been saving for the right occasion and finding it undrinkable because of Brett.  The next time you hear a winemaker say he does not mind a little bit of Brett in wine, ask him if he minds having a little bit of Brett in his wines?  If he/she knows what they are doing, they will know that a little bit of Brett today will be more and more in the future.

Velcorin has allowed me to make my wines as well as my client's wines without filtration and with long term guarantees to quality.

[jdobbes]

Hello Joe it is a privilege to have the opportunity to interact with someone of your legendary wine experience and innovation in the industry. My question is this - Has the current state of the economy and explosive shipping charges had much effect on how winemakers are doing business and forecasting future plans?

The explosive shipping charges have not had an effect on how we are doing business with regard to shipping of wine to customers via internet orders.  Unfortunately it is just the cost of doing business and has to be passed onto the customer.  We do try to encourage those that order on line to join our Dobbes Family Circle wine club, as they can save 20% off the top which takes away the increased shipping charges.

To date the current state of the economy has indeed had an effect on how I am forecasting growth for this coming vintage.  Although our Dobbes Family Estate and Wine by Joe sales are up over last year by 10 and 32% respectively year to date, I am at this time forecasting only at 10% increase for next year.  We still have time however to amend those growth figures based upon the pull in the marketplace. 

[Rex]

That was an illuminating reply I appreciate your heartfelt efforts.

[Rex]

Hello Joe it is great to sign in and converse with someone of your wine knowledge and reputation for making great wine. I have enjoyed your wines on many occasions. We are talking about techniques tonight and I wondered if you would elaborate on some of the unspoken, unscrupulous wine making techniques that have made the industry suspect. When consumers receive products that have been handled in a less than acceptable manner and manipulated to last about a week after they are sold well maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration but I think you know what I mean. What can the industry do to prevent this sort of somewhat fraudulent behavior?

[jdobbes]

Hello Joe it is great to sign in and converse with someone of your wine knowledge and reputation for making great wine. I have enjoyed your wines on many occasions. We are talking about techniques tonight and I wondered if you would elaborate on some of the unspoken, unscrupulous wine making techniques that have made the industry suspect. When consumers receive products that have been handled in a less than acceptable manner and manipulated to last about a week after they are sold well maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration but I think you know what I mean. What can the industry do to prevent this sort of somewhat fraudulent behavior?

Rex,
Either I am naive, or uninformed.  Please elaborate more on some of these fraudulent behaviors and I will be happy to be straight with you.

[karen]

rex, I think you need to start buying wines at legitimate places - stop buying your wines at trader joes!

[enobytes]

Hi Joe! What do you think the most formidable hurdle will be for winemakers in your area for the 2008 harvest?

[Craig Camp]

Hi Joe - Not so many years ago a vintage like 2007 might have been a disaster, yet it looks like the 2007 vintage will be a banner year in Oregon. What has changed over the last years to cause such a dramatic shift?

[johnj]

Hi Joe! I have not heard of Velcorin but it certainly seems to play a significant role in the winemaking process. Thanks for the information.

When we talk about new techniques in viticulture, can we make the assumption that one reason why wine is getting better is because winemakers in America are focusing on terroir, meaning that they are paying more attention to matching grapes to the region, e.x. planting Pinot instead of Zinfandel in a cooler climate region?

[eyedoc47]

Joe, Thanks for your time and expertise. Last month Craig Camp discussed the difference between Old and New World wine. The opinion was that Old World was made to be consumed with food and New World was made as a cocktail wine.Do you feel that the trend in the New World is changing in that wine makers are making wine to be more food friendly, less fruit and alcohol bombs?
                 Thanks again ,
                                   Eyedoc