Tim Benedict

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act became a requirement for many wineries in 2018. It is the first major legislation since 1938 to address food safety and food defense. Although wine, beer and cider are not susceptible to most foodborne illnesses, there are food safety issues related to the making of these products that come under the authority of this legislation. Tim presents a practical guide to help you put in place some of the procedures and documentation required to create safe products and to be in compliance with FSMA.

Morten Hallgren and Fred Merwarth

Many Eastern winemakers are discovering that with oak vessels, “more can be less” when it comes to surface-to-volume ratio and the resulting oak impact on the wine. These two Finger Lakes winemakers will discuss their use of larger oak vessels for red and white wines.

Tim Benedict and Josh Trimboli

“Cleanliness is a basic condition for quality. The whole of enological science would be to no avail if the work itself were done in places that were dirty.”     – Emile Paynaud

This session will provide an introduction to enzymatic detergent in the wine industry. As the industry continues to move toward eco-friendly alternatives and safer products, enzyme based detergents are gaining popularity over traditional caustics. As demand has grown so has the ability to safely and effectively combat contamination on equipment, giving a wide range of advantages to the new technology. The constant growth of wineries has led to more sophisticated membrane filtration systems. By introducing enzymes instead of caustic cleaners, winemakers can now extend the life of their expensive crossflow units while increasing flow rates. Enzyme technology is a cost-effective option as cost of membranes continue to increase. Biofilms in the wine industry are not often thought of or understood. Ensuring that a facility remains contamination-free is essential to crafting uniform batches. By first knowing what to look for, a vintner can address the problem swiftly.

Peter Bell and Fred Merwarth

Most wine experts agree that balance is central to the idea of quality in all wines. Riesling is the perfect wine to explore the idea of optimal balance. In addition to the obvious components of sugar and acid, good winemakers pay attention to alcohol, phenolics (and other textural components), botrytis (or its absence), and even lees contact in their quest for a perfectly balanced wine.

In this session, winemakers Peter Bell and Fred Merwarth, both of whom have decades of experience with Riesling, will talk about their respective philosophies for making Riesling wine in various styles, and elucidate techniques they use to achieve them.

Christine Vrooman

In 2008, high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Amherst County, VA, a small vineyard of Pinot Noir was planted by the Vrooman family of Virginia Beach as a family project, with the goal to push the boundaries of what was deemed possible on a site that was very different than the majority of vineyards in Virginia. The project was a leap of faith, and the outcome led to Ankida Ridge being invited to present their Pinot Noir at Oregon’s famous IPNC. Christine will discuss site specifics, the sustainable viticulture practices that embrace the French expression, La Lutte Raisonnée, along with the supplementation of some biodynamic practices, and the vinification practices and protocols that winemaker, Nathan Vrooman, implements in the cellar. 

Corry Craighill & Vijay Singh

Cap management can be a simple yet effective step in the process of creating a balanced wine. Conventional management utilizes pumparound or mechanical punch down. While these techniques break and moisten the cap they do not adequately homogenize the fermenting must leading to temperature gradients, resulting in a cap that is much hotter than the bulk must. These temperature gradients in turn lead to yeast stress and often reductive aromas. Vijay will present data showing how the use of the GOfermentor device reduces these gradients by squeezing the must using air-inflated bags. 

Altering the level of tannin extraction, expressing various aromatic and flavor identities, or helping to create a healthy environment for fermentation are all factors that a winemaker can consider when choosing how to treat the cap. Corry has experimented with cap management on Merlot to better understand how to achieve specific goals for each vintage. She’ll discuss her findings.

Matthieu Finot and Joy Ting

Some vintages like 2020 can be challenging in Virginia. Because of rain and/or late ripening, some varieties, such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, stall in Brix accumulation but still present other markers of maturity (varietal character, ripe seeds and tannins). With this in mind, the Virginia Winemakers Research Exchange undertook a study to examine the effect of three chaptalization rates on the perception of ripeness in Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The study examined the effect of chaptalization rates of 30 g/L and 60 g/L with sugar, along with a control batch with no chaptalization. Matthieu and Joy will share the results.

Darren Michaels

As consumer preferences have shifted to organic or low chemical input wines, winemakers have become creative in controlling outcomes with fruit negatively affected by disease, from the usage of enological tannins to proactive inoculation of non-sacchromyces yeast strains.  This talk will dig into current applications, both classic and novel, and discuss ways to achieve positive outcomes and maintain consumer preference for low-chemical input wines while maintaining wine quality. Join us for a talk on current options winemakers have in choosing strategies that include low or no SO2 additions.

Barry Gump, PhD

The capacity to monitor the chemical status of wine gives the winemaker important information on how the winemaking process is proceeding. Barry will cover improvements and advances in winery laboratory analyses including advances in MLF paper chromatography, introduction of enzyme analysis test strips, volatile acidity measurements, advances in iodine titrations for sulfur dioxide, pH measurements using the pH electrode, and phase-contrast microscopy.

Robert Crandell

This session will provide wine makers with the latest advancements in barrel selection, oak adjuncts and barrel alternatives for oenology based on chemical composition and flavor profiles. This will take place by conducting a sensory demonstration of the use of an array of adjuncts / barrel alternatives on regional wines.