Tasting wine and learning new words.

So, Henri the enologist was here today, so we tasted all the wines, which works out perfectly since one eager reader recently asked me what the wines taste like at this point. So, thanks for the excellent question EagerReader1119. With the heat in this area, the wines can go through malolactic fermentation pretty quickly, so the white and the rose have to have sulfur added pretty early to stop malo and retain the freshness of the wine. At this point we have one cuve of Grenache that has finished malo, the sans soufre cuvee is still fermenting, the Carignane has finished fermentation but is still on it's must and hasn't started malo yet. The cabernet has all been pressed and racked and should start malo soon. So, the white and the rose taste pretty finished, although they still have to settle and clarify, and there's still more co2 than there will be in the finished wine. The reds are funny at this point. The Sans Soufre which isn't finished yet still tastes sweet, but it's developing more power and depth, the wines that are finished with primary fermentation but haven't yet started malolactic have definite varietal identity, but are still very lean. The Grenache is great, supple and fruity, concentrated. Awesome. Gourgonnier had a small harvest, and Henri says that everybody else he works with has had the same issue. The harvest is small, but there is good concentration and acidity in the wines.

So, for a little while there, I was thinking that Fred was a little annoyed by me. Fred is Eve's uncle, and does most of the day-to-day winemaking stuff in the winery. Now I'm just thinking he takes a little longer to warm up to new people, because he's been very pleasant and chatty with me, and taking the time to explain what's going on in the winemaking process, even when it takes an extra minute when I don't understand. Fred's a funny guy, he's a slight-built man, not more than 5'6", with glasses and less hair than he must have had when he was younger. His stature makes for a funny sight sometimes when he's moving around some of the larger winery equipment. He looks like a kid who's trying to reach something on a shelf that's just a little too high. He's got that look of confidence like he knows he can do it, with his tongue stuck out to the side in concentration. With the help of Fred, Arnaud, and Eve I learned some new words today too. Ecuruil is a squirrel, which isn't a particularly important word, but apparently they are fairly rare in this area, because Fred and Eve were both excited to see one. I also learned a new phrase, which translates to 'to put flies up your ass' which basically means to be anal retentive. I also learned another saying, which translates to "when the river runs red, it's time to take the muddy road." I will let you interpret that as you wish.

That's about it for me today, I gotta get a shower before dinner.