This Woman Knows How to WINE

Most everyone I know has made a volcano from paper mache with vinegar and baking soda to create the magma; but, how many of us, at the age of nine, tried to make wine using their grandmother's grapes? Sharon Fenchak did just that. (Oh! And she also made the volcano.)

"I've always been fascinated with fermentations," says Fenchak, one of the two Winemakers at The Biltmore Winery for nearly 15 years, "and the idea that yeast and bacteria can change things." That led her to eventually obtain a Bachelors in Food Science from Penn State, and a Masters from U.G.A.

Her early fascination with the science of transformation was further enhanced while stationed in Italy during a stint in the Army. Her family in Pennsylvania weren't really drinkers, so it was a bit of an eye-opener to see most folks in Italy drinking wine regularly with meals.

Sharon, with fellow winemaker Bernard Delille

But that just adds to the complexity of this woman. She is petite, physically fit, a huge football fan (you have to be if you've gone to both Penn State and the University of Georgia). She is not what one would picture as a winemaker at the most-visited winery in the U.S. .  One probably pictures Bernard Delille quite easily; after all, wine making is almost genetically encoded in older men from France, right?

The Biltmore Estate Winery

I am asked most everyday I work in the Biltmore Winery Tasting Room what my favorites are; Fenchak can't really name favorites, since she learned early on that wine is meant to go with food, and a favorite would all depend on what's cooking. "I am currently very pleased with our Biltmore Blanc de Noirs," speaking of The Biltmore Wine Company's award-winning Pinot Noir-based sparkling wine (methode champenoise). It recently received a 97-pt rating from the Beverage Tasting Institute, to go along with Golds at Lodi and Monterey competitions and a Double Gold at the Taster's Guild International Wine Competition. Impressive credentials, great sparkling wine, and at a great price (~$24.99).

Also on her "currently enjoying" list is the Biltmore Limited Reserve Malbec. Personally, I enjoy this rich and intense, yet smooth wine with a nicely seasoned roasted chicken.

When I asked Fenchak about creating a particular style in the wines (e.g. a South American or French Malbec), she quickly points out that the grape tells her what style it wants to be. These aren't South American grapes or French grapes, but Californian.
"The quality of the wine is the quality of the grape," Fenchak added. I took it that she also meant that for the particular style that is achieved.

 

A typical day for this winemaker is never typical. It all depends on the season. Imagine being a winemaker with not only 94 acres and six varietals to work with, but one that travels to California and Washington (among other areas in the U.S.) regularly to source the best varietals in order to offer over 30 wines in quantities approaching two million bottles a year! That is a lot to do, and she and Delille do it very well.



I hope, as I'm sure Fenchak and the entire Biltmore Wine Company hopes, that she will be continually fascinated by the transformation of making all these different wines for all the different people who cross over this special threshold in Western North Carolina.




Special thanks to the Biltmore Company for providing these photographs.

Labeling Yourself As A Label Buyer?

Face it, our brains are wired to look at attractive faces, cute animals, and stunning views. Marketing professionals have known this fact for ages and have played us for fools countless times. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of buying wine based on the label or fancy bottle! As in relationships, look past the trappings and get down to the substance of what's inside.

Here are some tips to help you:

1. Have an idea what you are searching for -- red or white isn't enough to go on.

2. If a gift, ask the wine merchant if they know what wines your friends like.

3. Read the back label! Many wines now have brief descriptions of the juice that lies within the bottle. There are also some that even have pairing suggestions.

4. The laws of the country of origin will dictate what information must appear on the label. Look for vintage information. If the year of harvesting is not listed, then it is a blend of more than one year. That doesn't signal a "cheap wine" necessarily -- champagne is typically listed as "NV" or non-vintage to indicate that the best of a couple of years' harvests have been used. Other wines will show no information as to year or NV.

5. What grape(s)? A common misconception is that blends are bad. Au contraire! Some of the world's best wines are blends of a few or many grapes. This one below is a great example:

This is a beautiful "baby" Chateauneuf du Pape! A customer of mine described the label as looking like it was made on MS Word, yet it is a perfect example of a somewhat cheesy label with a crazy good wine behind it. 

6. The sad truth is that a label is no indicator of quality. The cute, the absurd, the profane, the comical have all been used to bite the buyer's wallet. Use common sense and get all the info you can. Ask the merchant, ask your friends, Google it!

 

This must be what you turn to after tiring of Barefoot Cellars.

 

Opening & Closing Thoughts part 1

Do you remember the corkscrews of old? They screwed right into the cork just fine, but required a deft hand and considerable strength to yank the stopper out without damaging the cork, bottle, or your guests at the table. I even had one on my first Swiss Army Knife.

Did they really think you could pull a cork with that? Don't get me wrong -- it is a valuable addition to a survival kit and has many real uses beyond cracking open a Barolo while camping.

The corkscews/openers of our modern age have evolved by leaps and bounds. Here a few examples:

The basic "waiter's friend"

Finally! Some engineer/wine drinker got tired of using the non-leverage version and came up with something that almost always works.

Even better is the hinged prong version that stresses the wrist less.

This is my new favorite (thankful to Elizabeth and Bennett for the re-gifting). If you're opening bottles regularly, this is well worth the money. For starters, the base can be suctioned to the counter using the black plate as a pump. The two horizontal bars gently grasp the bottle neck while you perform a simple over and back maneuver with the single bar on the right. Voila! The screw is inserted and removed with little strain or effort. Remove the bottle and then repeat the clasping and over and back to remove the cork from the screw. I love this thing! A nifty foil cutter fits neatly into a small space in the upright.

Next week I'll cover closures.

Wine, Words, and Why It Matters

I was listening recently to a book (Audible.com is a great way to fit books into a busy lifestyle and I find they stretch my mind and sharpen my focus), Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking by Michael Gelb. My first thought was that this was someone's attempt to justify their drinking habit, but I was quickly drawn in by the compelling evidence that the two subjects go hand-in-hand. Gelb's research seemed thorough and convincing -- that wine goes far beyond a mere chemical process in the body and brain, and attains a transformational awakening of the soul and it's voice.

I listened to that voice -- the one on the audiobook and the one in my head, as well as the one I always trust, that of my wife! Hence, this blog commences with the conviction that wine needs words. Those words can be about anything two or more people want to share while they enjoy a glass of God's gift of grapes' divinity; those words can also be the simple description one reads in Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast, or just on the back label of many newer offerings.

Have you ever been with a friend or loved one and come across a view so spectacular that neither of you could find the words to describe it? A few wines, too few in fact, can have that same effect; but, one word is often uttered quietly yet with great feeling..."wow!"

In an attempt to help you find the right words, I will offer a few tips and suggestions in my experience as a wine geek, wine seller, wine pourer, etc.

Tip 1: Tannins are present in both red and white wines, but since they come from the skins, stems and seeds, they are more present in reds. Tannins give great wines longevity and not-so-great wines a better chance to survive. Welcome the mouth-coating sensation as you would a scary movie on this Halloween -- you know it's coming, so just hold on and enjoy the moment.