Sulphites in Wine

Sulphur Dioxide in wine has been the subject of much debate in recent years, with many consumers arguing that it contributes to hangovers as well as numerous other health problems, including breathing difficulties for asthmatics, sneezing and swelling of the throat.

All wines contain sulphur dioxide in various forms. Even if it isn't added as part of the wine making process, wine will naturally contain up to 10 milligrams per litre. It is only a legal requirement to state on the label that the wine Contains Sulphites if there is more than ten parts per million in the finished product. This isn't much help to consumers as nearly all wine contains more than 10mg/l.

SO2 is added to wine as an anti-oxident but often more SO2 is added than is necessary. Under EU law up to 160mg/l is allowed for red wines, 210mg/l for white/rose wines and 400mg/l for sweet wines. As a supplier of organic wine we are restricted to 90mg/l for our Silent Pool Rosé but always try to use less.

This year we are aiming to produce a small batch of biodynamic wine with no or very little added sulphur. At the very least we will restrict it to 40mg/l, which is the level generally accepted by the Natural Wine Movement which is gaining momentum throughout Europe and the New World.

Our first taste of Albury Estate sparkling

Together with winemaker John Worontschak, and Stephen Skelton MW, I excitedly tasted the very first bottle of Albury Estate sparkling wine earlier today, a NV blend of wines from the 2011 and 2012 vintages.

It was only bottled earlier this year and has therefore just been through secondary fermentation to give it it's fizz. It will continue to rest on the yeast in the bottle (known as sur latte) for at least another year to develop it's character.

It's far too early to make a final judgement but I was delighted with the results so far. Stephen commented "Whilst the wine was still young and heavily influenced by the evident yeast sediment, it had good structure, with a fine, slightly creamy acidity and good length. Given another 12 months on the yeast, and with the right level of dosage (sweetening wine), I am sure it will be excellent."

Sometime next summer we will decide whether to release it for Christmas 2014 or wait until the summer of 2015. Not sure if I can wait that long!

Veraison and the Harvest

We are probably still 5 weeks away from the harvest as veraison is late this year. It started week beginning 26th August with the Seyval, week commencing 2nd September for the Pinot Meunier with the Pinot Noir a week later. Last week the Chardonnay were still pretty green.

Grapes have two distinct growth phases. The first phase is when the cells divide and expand and the grapes begin to swell and fill out the bunch. Veraison is when they move to the second phase, when the acidity decreases and sugars are accumulated which gives them colour.

The level of sugar accumulation in the berries is dependant on leaf photosynthesis, which is why we could do with some more sun! As we have a lot of fruit on the vines this year its going to be quite a struggle to get them ripe and as a result the harvest is likely to be in the second half of October or even early November. The later it gets the more prone we are to botrytis bunch rot.

As the fruit begins to ripen it becomes more attractive to the birds (and the pheasant) so we have started to deploy the Hawkites and will be netting parts of the vineyard.

There's always something to worry about on the vineyard!

 

A Biodynamic quartz tonic for the vineyard

Alex dynamising 501

We were up very early today preparing biodynamic preparation 501 to spray on the vineyard.

Biodynamics is based on organic practices but also uses natural energy forces (like those generated by the moon), medicinal plants (such as yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle and dandelion), as well as mineral and natural cow manure composts. This strengthens the vines and produces healthier, more vital wines, reflecting the character of the vineyard.

501 is made using crushed powdered quartz which has been stuffed into a horn of a cow, buried in the ground in spring and dug up in the autumn. Like horn manure (preparation 500) it is dynamised in rain water and then sprayed over the vines. Preparation 501 is used to enhance growth and to help prevent fungal diseases. At this time of year it needs to be sprayed as near to sunrise as possible for maximum effect and to prevent burning of the leaves.

Alex thinks that I'm completely bonkers but we will see! Some of the best wines in the world practice biodynamic farming, including  Coulee de Serrant, Domaine de Romanee Conti, Domaine Laflaive, Beaux Freres in Oragon and Henschke in Australia. In Burgandy alone there are more than forty biodynamic estates.

Leaf Removal

Leaf Removal using a Collard machine

Around this time of year it is important to remove some of the foliage around the forming bunches of grapes. This opens up the canopy which improves airflow and reduces the risk of disease. It also allows the grapes to be exposed to more sunlight which improves flavour characteristics. Those of you interested in more detail should read Dr Richard Smart's excellent book Sunlight in Wine.

Last year we removed the leaves by hand but now that we have 21,000 vines it's too much work to do manually and so this year we decided to use the services of Andy from Upperton Vineyards who has a machine made by Collard to do the job.

Rapid pulses of relatively low pressure air literally shake the leaves to pieces and blows the debris out of the canopy leaving the grapes more exposed to the sunlight. The process only took about a day and a half for the whole vineyard.

Bunches exposed after leaf removal

35.8C on the Vineyard!

A Sunny Albury Organic Vineyard in the Surrey Hills

The temperature on the vineyard reached 35.8C yesterday at around 2.00pm as we completed the wire lifting on Block B. We were wilting but the vines are very happy with flowering, and now fruit set, throughout the vineyard.

Now that I'm a farmer I find that I'm generally always complaining about the weather, but the current sunny warm spell couldn't be better for the vines. This hopefully bodes well for a good harvest later in the year. If the warm weather continues we could pick around 20-25 tonnes of fruit which would be around seven times more than last year!

Still I mustn't get too excited as much still needs to be done (more wire lifting, tipping of the vines, leaf plucking and weeding) and we will also need to avoid disease and the birds when the fruit begins to ripen. And then there is Alex to contend with who will be keen to pull off some of the bunches so as not to stress the vines!

Flowering and Fruit set

The beginning of flowering (Seyval)

Flowering has at last started on the vineyard, with most of the Chardonnay and Seyval showing around 25% flowers. The Pinots are a bit behind but with the current warm weather we hope that most of the vineyard will be in full flower the end of the weekend. The vines are several weeks behind their normal growth cycle because of the cold weather earlier in the year.

This is a critical time on the vineyard; immediately after flowering comes pollination and fruit set which is a major factor in determining how much how much fruit we will harvest later in the year. Vines pollinate themselves and for this to happen effectively we need a period of warm dry weather. For the last two years our summers have been wet and windy which meant that many of the grapes weren't fertilised properly. This resulted in straggly bunches which the French call Coulour or Millerandage.

Fingers and everything else crossed for the hot weather to last for a few more weeks.