Harsh Weather Causes Stress Which Delivers Superior Crop

Three central Oklahoma vineyards have contributed chardonnay, merlot and shiraz grapes to Tidal School Vineyards’ 2003 crush. Four 1,100-gallon fermentation tanks were added at the Tidal winery to accommodate the Oklahoma grape harvest.

 Harvest!

The wine grape harvest is from Oklahoma ’s prime grape-growing area in Lincoln County and will comprise Tidal’s first vintage to have 100% Oklahoma grapes. Tidal has been importing from California and Oregon until this harvest. The final harvest was Merlot from the Greenfield Vineyard north of Chandler, Okla.

“This was a very challenging summer for our vineyard partners,” said Roger Wilson , winemaker for Tidal. “Even though it’s hard on the growers, stress on the vines from harsh weather conditions brings complexity to the fruit and makes the best wine. We’ve had plenty of weather related stress this growing season and it looks like we’ll have some terrific product.” 

This year’s harvest is coming off of three-year-old vineyards, which means the production next year is expected to nearly double.  In 2004 brothers Tom and Jerry Kroutil expect more than double this year’s Chardonnay harvest, which was hit hard by a late frost that cut production sharply.

After weeks of having winemaker Roger Wilson in the vineyards testing sugar, ph and acid levels, the crop was finally declared ready for harvest.  Each crop must meet specific standards of those three variables plus fall within production limits per acre in order to determine the final value of the crop. 

Gathering 20 or so friends and family at daybreak seemed to be an easy task for the vineyard owners.  Two hours later the grapes were picked and on their way to the winery for crush, while the volunteers were hosted to a country breakfast brunch at the vineyard. 

Contact the Lincoln County Grape Growers at www.lincolncountygrapes.org for more information about establishing and managing a vineyard.

Crush !

All grapes were delivered to Tidal School within three hours of picking.  A conveyer belt was constructed to deliver the crates of grapes from the truck to the crusher/de-stemmer.  As the name implies, this machine begins the crushing process and removes the stems.  This grape and juice mixture called “must,” is pumped into a tank. 

Press !

The remaining processes are slightly varied according to the variety of grape.  The main difference is that red grapes receive extended skin contact, while white grapes have little or none.  The chardonnay must was allowed to sit in the tank with the skins for eight hours.   SO2 was added to kill wild yeast before pumping into the press to press out all juice and discard skins. 

Fermentation!

Then it’s back to the tank with yeast added to begin its primary fermentation.  The must is checked twice a day for temperature and specific gravity.  Specific gravity indicates the changing of sugar into alcohol.  Once the winemaker determines its readiness, the must is transferred into barrels, a process called ”racking” to begin the secondary fermentation.  It is at this point that the must can be considered wine in its roughest form.  Several rackings will be done to clarify the wine as needed.  When the wine has completed its fermentation process, bentonite will be input for protein stability (called “fining” the wine) and then it will be cold stabilized before bottling.  Typically, chardonnay takes about six months to complete this process.

Tidal also received chenin blanc grapes which were processed very similar to chardonnay except they were not allowed any extended skin contact as we were trying to retain all the fruit flavor.  Also, it should complete the fermentation process in about three months.

The shiraz and merlot grapes were transferred from the crusher to a tank to begin primary fermentation.  After approximately a week-long fermentation period, the must was transferred to the press for the skins to be removed and all juice pressed out.  The secondary fermentation begins in the big tanks, with the wine being transferred after about two weeks to barrels to complete the process.  Red wines take considerably longer to ferment, usually at least one year and sometimes up to two years.  Often, wine is also bottle-aged to help break down tannins and make a softer wine. 

Making wine isn’t all that hard.  Making good wine usually takes lots of experience, good grapes, and a little bit of artistry.  In fact, a good description of wine-making is a scientific art form.

 

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