The Crafting
of Norton Wine—A PrimerBy Tim Pingelton
It is often said that a wine’s color, aromas, and flavors
(“organoleptic” impressions) begin in the vineyard, and this is true. However, a Norton producer makes several decisions throughout the growing, harvesting, and vintning process that can affect sensory impressions in the final product. Here are a few items to look for as you taste the results of decisions made in the vineyard and the cellar.
Trellis System
Research in the last 50 years has shown that Norton vines grown on trellis
system that allow for even sunlight distribution helps produce wine
with nicely balanced acids. Norton vines are very vigorous, and vines
should not be trained on a trellis that allows branches and leaves
to shade or cover leaves and clusters.
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: Tart, bitter wine.
Pruning
Proper winter pruning of mature vines prevents Norton vines from over-production.
If a vine is not pruned, it will produce more berries than it can ripen
to make good wine. Unpruned vines lead to small berries (grapes), small
clusters, and inadequate sugar in the berries. Pruning also improves
air flow, reducing harmful mildew.
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: Herbaceous, “weedy” wine.
Unbalanced sweet finish if a large quantity of sugar was added to compensate
for lack of sugars in the berry.
Harvest
Norton berries start out as yellow-green blooms which soon grow into
hard, extremely tart green balls. About 2 months after bloom, they
start to get their dark pigmentation. This period (called véraison)
is when the sugars and acids begin to accumulate in the berries. Norton
is usually harvested in late September or early October, when the berries
are sweet and sugar and acid levels are perfect making a wine with
an alcohol level of the winemaker’s choosing.
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: Herbaceous, “weedy” wine. Unbalanced sweet finish if a large quantity of sugar was added to compensate for lack of sugars in the berry.
Cold Soak (Cold Maceration)
This is the process of letting the crushed grapes soak in their juice
before fermentation begins. This is done to extract pigmentation (which
comes from the skins) and flavor (tannins) into the juice. To prevent
fermentation, the “must” is cooled in stainless steel tanks
to 40 to 50°F.
Lack of a cold soak: under-pigmented wine (not a fault in a blush) or astringent wine (lack of tannin or phenolic compounds).
Chaptalization
This is simply the addition of sugar before or during fermentation, usually
to compensate for under-ripe fruit. While illegal in some grape growing
regions (including California and Italy), it is not uncommon in to
chaptalize with Norton fruit (especially in colder climates or with
overproducing vines). This does not make the wine sweeter but produces
higher alcohol because the sugar is fermented.
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: “Hot,” alcohol aroma and taste; unpleasant mouthfeel (heavy); acutely defined “legs”; unbalanced sweet finish.
Fermentation Temperature
Norton ferments great at room temperature, but the fermentation process
escalates the temperature if uncontrolled, sometimes up to 100° Fahrenheit.
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: Cabbage, rotten-egg, or “cooked” smell (hot, fast fermentation); browned, spoiled wine (overly slow fermentation, open to bacteria); “horsey” aroma (slow fermentation permitted wild yeast to ferment rather than specialty added yeast).
Malolactic (ML) Fermentation
Malic acid is the 2nd most abundant acid in grapes. ML fermentation sometimes
occurs spontaneously in wines, or a winemaker can add ML bacteria in
hopes of converting harsh malic acid to smoother lactic acid. In white
wines, ML fermentation produces buttery flavors, and in Norton it tames
harshness.
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: Harsh, tart, “mid-palate bite” (no ML fermentation); buttermilk taste (full ML fermentation in low-acid juice).
Aging
Many Norton vintners feel that Norton needs to be aged in oak barrels.
This dramatically adds complexity to Norton, which is often overly “tight” and
boring without oak. American oak (the vast majority from Missouri)
is considered to be more aggressive than French oak. Oak barrels are
not completely hermetic, and, over time, barrels “breathe,” and
alcohol and water evaporate through the tight pores.
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: Brown wine (wine was exposed to excessive oxygen); simple, un-complex wine (not oaked or under-oaked); strong Port-like flavor (unsanitary barrels, overextended aging).
Alcohol Content
Yeast converts sugars into ethyl alcohol in winemaking. The amount of
alcohol produced depends on the level of sugars in the berries (time
of harvest), amount of sugar added, the type of yeast used, and if
fermentation was allowed to complete to dryness (lack of residual sugar).
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: Too high: “hot” wine with a heavy mouthfeel. Too low: unbalanced, grape juice wine.
Residual Sugar
Most Nortons are fermented to the point where little sugar remains (a
dry wine). Some yeasts do not allow fermentation to dryness, and some
winemakers prefer to stop fermentation before dryness or add sugar
to a dry wine (rare with Norton). Most Nortons have residual sugar
readings of 0 to 0.75% of total composition. Growing conditions ideal
for Norton do not usually permit excessive sugar levels to develop
in the berries, so a Norton fermented to dryness will usually have
an acceptable alcohol level.
Fault if Incorrect Decision is Made: None: usually fine if other decisions have been made correctly. Over 1%: an off-dry to sweet wine. This is uncommon for Norton because (assuming an acceptable alcohol level) it probably means that the grapes developed an oddly high sugar level on the vine or that sugar was added. This condition creates a highly off-balanced Norton, with the sugar tasting distinct from the other flavors.
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Tim Pingelton is production manager at Westphalia Vineyards in Missouri and Midwest correspondent for AppellationAmerica.com.
50% of the proceeds from this historic event will
be donated to the Missouri Historical Society.
