Not long ago, four of us sat down to taste through various barrel lots of our 2008 Pinot Noirs. Such tastings are always a learning experience, and this was no exception. I must say that at the end of it, I thought my feelings about barrels are justified.

I used to buy Burgundian oak barrels from a variety of different coopers, made from different forests at different toast levels. Those sorts of combinations can multiply rapidly. Through the years, I’ve undergone a honing-in process in barrel selection. I’ve found that, depending on the individual wine, usually a particular barrel (one forest, one drying regime and one toast level) from each cooper works best.

I simply ask myself, which barrel enhances the wine best? If you try to use several different barrels to build a wine – this one enhances the entry, this one builds up the middle palate, that one fills in … More…

If you ever wonder what winemakers do early in the calendar year besides hosting dinners, well, one major responsibility is blending. For me it’s a two-month season that begins in late January and continues through March. There’s a personal timeline I must adhere to – I’m in a rush to get all the blends done before allergy season kicks in.

I will taste all of the components at least twice, and I’ll taste them blind; that is, I will know that I’m tasting various lots of our 2007 Pinot Noir, for example, but I won’t know which lot is which. It’s just a way of eliminating any prejudices and expectations, conscious or not, I may have about a given lot of wine. During this period, I’ll do the … More…