Attended Excellent UC Davis Course

Today I went to UC Davis' course, Successful Smallscale Winemaking. Reknowned winemakers share winemaking techniques and lessons learned about specific varietals. The speakers are well respected within the industry. Scott Harvey, the founder and winemaker, Folie à Deux, spoke about 30 years of making zinfandel.

Some key takeways were:

• Some varietals press early. John Skupny from Lang & Reed presses his Cabernet Franc at 2 Brix. This guarantees protection for the wine- blanketed with CO2 and also allows for a slight barrel fermentation which increases the mid-palate. Tom Stutz from Radcliffe Cellars also presses his Pinot for the same reasons. Last harvest, I pressed my Syrah- York Vineyard early in this style.
  
• Use minimal SO2.
  
• Pick Zinfandel when grapes in the middle cluster start "golf balling".
  
• To increase complexity in wines, use multiple yeast strains and barrels from different regions and forests.
  
• Zinfandel tells you where it is from. It expresses its terroir.
  
• "Make what the vineyard gives you." Scott Harvey

Who is Scott Harvey?
In the 1970's, Scott Harvey reestablished Amador County as one of California's best Zinfandel growing regions.

Having grown up there, he returned to the Sierra Foothills and attended California State University at Sacramento before he began practicing enology at Montevina winery in Amador County. After further training back in Germany, Scott returned to Montevina as Assistant Winemaker for the 1976 and 1977 harvests. In 1978, Scott became winemaker for Story winery, also in Amador County. Scott went on to develop a winery for the Santino family and eventually started Renwood winery which operated out of Santino. Finally in 1996, Scott signed on as Winemaker for Folie à Deux. from: Folie à Deux website