Home winemaking update: 2005 Niagara (long, rambling)

Ever since becoming a home winemaker in 2001, I have time and again been convinced of the value that first-hand experience can bring to one's understanding of wine. And yes, even one's mistakes - including those that initially appear to be fatal flaws! - can evolve into surprisingly useful situations that in time show you that all hope was in fact not lost. Such a situation affected the dry Niagara that I made in 2005.

I had posted notes on the progress of my '05 dry Niagara on the Netscape forum shortly after the move of WLDG to those digs but since that time the winemaking folders have been withdrawn, so I briefly pick up where I left off - including the long hiatus in the history of this wine's development - and post my thoughts here.

<table align="right" valign="top"><tr><td><img src="http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/userpix/70_05niagaras_1.jpg" border="1" align="left"></td></tr></table>In late September 2005 I drove down to the western part of the Niagara Peninsula to pick Niagaras from a small property that was advertising the availability of grapes to the home winemaking public. Commercial wineries are rather sparse in the western part of the Peninsula just south of Grimsby. It could be that lake effect doesn't quite kick in there yet. Whatever the reason, there are many acres of old-vine labruscas there, and you can't drive down the sideroads without seeing many gnarled, twisted old trunks. Initially they don't draw much attention ... until you see the characteristic foliage during the growing season and realize that those old vines are native vines.

I wrote above of the educational value of so-called fatal flaws, and that's what I thought had happened to my Niagara after I brought it in from cold stabilization a year ago. Having filtered the wine (something I don't normally do as isinglass typically takes out any minor hazes, but this was a high-pH must from the start), I made the miscalculation of adding far too much sulfite, rendering the wine painfully sharp and initially undrinkable. Having deemed it a lost cause, I decided nevertheless to leave the wine in a large carboy with considerable headspace with a simple rubber stopper inserted in the neck. I moved the carboy into the basement and pretty much forgot about it, checking on it every now and then and finding almost no change in the wine's condition.

Many months passed, and still I had no idea what to do. Every now and then I would draw some wine out with a makeshift wine thief (i.e. a piece of clear plastic tubing from Home Depot - "why pay more?"), and noticed that the wine was less and less sharp, and still very clear and youthful in the glass. That gave me hope. In fact, it gave me enough hope that I bottled a full bottle's worth and took one to NiagaraCool last year.

Again, months passed and the carboy sat there. A new vintage came - it was the fall of 2006 and I had decided to make a dry Cayuga. The Cayuga is currently in cold storage; it has cold stabilized and has been given the isinglass treatment. It's super clear, has a gorgeous peachy aroma and will be bottled soon. Now, with two different wines ready to be bottled, I finally realized that this was the deciding moment for the seemingly ill-fated '05 Niagara.

<table align="right" valign="top"><tr><td><img src="http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/userpix/70_05dryniagara_1.jpg" border="0" align="left"></td></tr></table>I drew some of the Niagara into a glass yesterday, and - lo and behold - not only has it not oxidized or deteriorated otherwise, it is actually very pleasant to drink right now ... it has not significantly changed colour, is still perfectly clear and still fully identifiable by its varietal aroma. Now I know for sure that I have to bottle the remaining quantity. A very strange year of exposure to headspace had actually helped this badly sulfited white come into its own.

And, so, here I sit as I type, sipping on my '05 Dry Niagara. It's clear medium-straw in colour and forms legs readily with swirling. The aroma is all Niagara: floral jasmine and acacia with lemon rind and lemon-candy-accented musk. There is just a faint hint of Niagara's usually heavy petroleum/diesel-oil character, however - these grapes never had much of it to begin with (2003 was petroleum heaven by contrast). The wine is crisp and completely dry, with very balanced, moderate acidity and a warming texture. It finishes clean with only a slight bit of sulfur noted in the finish; all the bite is completely gone. The finish is long, floral and warming; there is very little musk, again, unlike in '01 and '03. I believe I had chaptalized the must to yield 13% final alcohol, and that is what it tastes like to me. I am drinking it at room temperature right now.

In short, what looked like certain failure has turned into a success ... and I got a free bit of education from the experience to boot.

Paul, I had the same problem with to much sulfite added to my '05 Riesling, and the burnt match aroma has reduced over time. While still noticeable, it is no longer objectionable and I have hopes for a long-lived wine.

Paul B, you did a smart thing by keeping the wine in bulk (in a carboy). The carboy is more or less considered an oxidative environment, and hence you gave the wine time to dissipate some of the extra sulfite (potassium metabisulfite) you mistakenly added. I have found over the years that depending upon my cellar conditions I can loss something like 8 ppm of free SO2 in wines stored in some of my barrels. Imagine if you choose to bottle that wine and what would of happened, especially if your cork was of high quality and provided an "almost oxygen free" environment in the bottle? This of course wouldn’t be a good thing. Some of that SO2 could be converted into elementary S and “bigger sulfide” problems could arise. I’m sure you heard the saying that “ites” are a winemaker’s friend and “ides” are a winemaker’s enemy.

Salute