On Jul 27, 12:20*am, Emery Davis > wrote:
> On 07/27/2011 08:07 AM, AyTee wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jul 26, 10:22 am, Emery Davis > wrote:
>
> >> Another dreamer we met briefly was Elodie Aubert, the young owner of
> >> Clos des Cimes in Merindol les Oliviers. *Her wines are made with no
> >> sulfites added at all (to reds)... and although she has no certification
> >> (doesn't believe in labels, etc) this is as close to fully organic wine
> >> as you can get. *The flagship spends 37 months in open topped barrels,
> >> fully exposed....
>
> > That is remarkable. Forgive my skepticism, but did you actually see
> > wine aging in open barrels? The danger is not mere oxidation, but, I
> > believe, certain development of volatile acidity -- ethyl acetate,
> > which gives the wine an unpleasant chemical solvent odor, and acetic
> > acid, (vinegar).
>
> She had a photo album and there was a picture of her with a colleague.
> I can't remember whether they actually had their hands in the barrel or
> not, but there were several barrels stood on end, open.
>
> The wine was certainly clean.
>
> Her response to my "Wow, I never heard of that" was "I'm not surprised."
> *Her oenology degree is from Switzerland, I wonder if this is a
> traditional Swiss technique or something.
>
> Bizarre to me, too.
>
> -E

Fermentation in open containers is not new or unusual. The issue is
"37 months in open topped barrels, fully exposed." Once fermentation
is complete -- a matter of weeks usually, not years -- no CO2 is
produced to protect the wine from oxidation or microbial spoilage. Are
you sure you didn't misunderstand what is happening in the Clos des
Cimes cellar? There is a video on their website <http://
start1g.ovh.net/~closdesc/blog/?p=62> that shows Elodie Aubert (I
presume) punching must by hand in an open barrel. But it is clearly
must -- fermenting grapes -- not wine.

Andy