The great wine filtering debate

For years I have been inviting wine makers and wine professionals to debate the process of filtering and fining wines. Specifically, what is wrong with filtering and or fining, that leads some wine makers to eschew it.

The question first came up, at least for me, due in no small part to a book written by Kermit Lynch back in the late 80s called "Adventures on the Wine Route."

Kermit, who is a wine importer, and since the book, a very successful one, made his name by importing wines that had not been filtered. He went out of his way to have the wineries make special unfiltered releases just for him.

This captured the imagination of the public, and a new marketing ploy was born. Unfiltered/Unfined wines. These wines were presumed to be of better quality, because they had not had some part of them stripped out.

I have always had a problem with this theory. My skepticism came from a series of blind tastings that I conducted with wines that were available both from Kermit, and in a filtered form.

There was a huge difference in the wines, although not the difference that Mr. Lynch was no doubt hoping for. The panel concluded that the unfiltered wines were "dirtier" and exhibited more flaws.

I have never been a huge fan of Kermit Lynch imported wines for this very reason. No question it is a matter of taste. There are those that appreciate the minor flaws of some wines, saying that it adds complexity.

I tend to find that the people that say this are either making flawed wines, or grew up drinking them. Technology has cleaned up wine, even since the 80's, but the unfiltered debate still rages.

I recently was fortunate enough to draw Greg La Follette of Tandem Winery into a round of discussion. Some of his wines (notably the top tier) are unfiltered, others are not.

Greg is considerably more schooled in the science of winemaking that I could ever hope to be, and so his answers to my questions tend towards the very technical.

Here are my original questions:

----------------

My opening question is:

No less an authority than Emile Peynaud, the renown Bordeaux oenologist, states in his "Knowing and Making Wine" - "It may be stated that that the mechanical action of filtering has never had a negative influence on quality. To suggest the contrary would mean conceding that the foreign substances in suspension and their impurities that form the lees, which filtration is precisely designed to remove, have a favorable taste function."

Is it your contention that indeed these foreign substances that would normally be removed by careful filtering add positive tastes to the wine? And if so, what are these substances and what size are they that they could not be allowed with the proper filter system?

If it is not your contention that there are flavors that are lost due to filtering, what is lost?

My second, and related question is:

Filtering and fining are tools. Like any tool they can be misused, or used with great skill. I realize you do not eschew filtering and fining as a matter of course, but when you do elect to avoid these steps is it because you feel that no matter how carefully used, fining and or filtering have sensory consequences for the wine? If so, what consequences?

Thirdly:

In those cases where you elect not to fine, does this lead to additional racking? If so how do you balance the sensory consequences of inherent oxidation during racking vs. any consequence of fining? If there is no increase in racking when you do not fine, what method of clarification are you using? Are you worried about creating wines that are not brilliantly clear (as is the modern expectation)?

Finally:

What is your stance on sterility of wine? If you believe a wine should be sterile when bottled, what are you doing to achieve this in those instances you do not filter. If you are not concerned with sterility, why not?

----------------

Greg's reply was:

There has been a huge body of research done since Emile Peynaud's time on macromolecular level of influence of fining and filtration. Fining is frequently based on charge association; filtration also has a charge association with it as well as direct elimination of a large number of macromolecules that could not have been forseen [sic] in Emile's time.

Rose-Marie Llaubers (Canals) has done a lot of work on this out of the University of Bordeaux II on this area and the upshot is this: filtration does remove some macromolecular components that, in and of themselves, may not have a direct mouthfeel component, but these macromolecules help to stabilize flavor and texture and do in fact contribute to this important area of wine organoleptics. This is only one area of the contribution of textural and flavor components affected by filtration. Other researchers are Ferrari, Feuillat, the University of Dijon the AWRI.

----------------

While this response sent me into a researching frenzy, and taught me a lot in the process, it didn't really answer my questions. I responded with the email below, but Mr. La Follette's attention seems to have been diverted elsewhere, and I never got a follow up.

Here is the email I never got an answer to (if Greg does ever follow up again, I will post his response).

-------- My response --------

First off, you didn't answer my questions about racking or whatever techniques you are using to clarify. Specifically, is there any down side to your clarification methods, and is the risk so minimal as to make them worth the risk vs. fining/filtering. Please review the other original questions below [now above - ed.], and take a stab at them when you can.

These related questions are important because there is a risk assessment issue, which I suspect you take into consideration, since you do filter and fine some of your wines.

Makes perfect sense what you are saying about Charge Association. Is it possible, and or has it already been done, to create a fining system that changes polarity of the charge, or other technical approaches to dealing with the charge association?

When you say that there are some macromolecular components that have a positive organoleptic effect, what are the components specifically, and what is the effect for a trained taster?

Is it possible to have positive effect on the wine by filtering above the threshold of the macromolecular components, or are they larger than the other (e.g. colloidal matter) components you may want to remove?

Fining, as you point out is frequently based on charge association, what about this, if anything do you object to? Is it the lack of precision in being able to target specific particles? Is there something inherently destructive to the mouthfeel or other organoleptic sensations?

You mention stabilizing flavors, since this is a test over time, how long has the research into this been going on? You mention that they do not have a direct mouthfeel component, so it is not a haptic sensation, is there indeed a direct organoleptic trait, or is it something more nebulous, such as preserving flavors over time (and if so how is this effected by the TA)?

----------------

I still have some pretty good questions that have gone unanswered, if anyone wants to take up the gauntlet and return to the debate, you know where to find me.

With many thanks to Greg La Follette for his time in answering my original volley.

An Aspen Food&Wine Classic Pariah

It seems like yesterday, but the very first Aspen Wine Classic took place 25 years ago. Back then, the Classic was a more personal affair. Winemakers were greeted at the airport by their local host/ess who would then put their guest up in their own homes.

I was a fledging wine geek in 1982, and it would be a few more years before I started to show at the event. Over the decades I exhibited around 20 times, but that is now all in the past. I am no longer welcome at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic.

My booth was always a haven for wine education, amongst the scores of tables hawking their wines. While I was promoting my wine school and other services, I was mostly conducting component tastings, for free.

A component tasting is one of the most valuable tools anyone can avail themselves of, especially right before a three day marathon of wine tasting. The concept is simple, I take a neutral wine and force it out of balance by adding tannin to one bottle, acidity to another, oak, and so on.

In just a few minutes your palette is has been calibrated, and you are ready to taste each of these components in wine. While the out of balance wines are not much fun themselves, what you can learn makes the rest of the tasting that much more enjoyable.

Some years ago the Classic was sold to American Express Publishing, the publishers of Food&Wine magazine. The upshot of this change was a new policy that excluded me.

The new official party line is "We feel strongly that the Grand Tasting Tent is not conducive to educational seminars or booth [sic] of that nature."

As well "exhibitor booths at the F&W Classic in Aspen are based on advertising pages in the magazine. This requires a minimum of 3 full, national pages of advertising."

I could still submit an application for a booth, as long as I don't intend on conducting any educational seminars. That is, if I were able to spend a small fortune on advertising.

To be fair they have also offered to sell me a booth, but "Applicants are hand-selected by us in early
spring based on availability, after all our advertisers have first been confirmed." For the last several years, I have not been among those selected.

So, you will not be seeing me behind the table at an Aspen Wine Classic any time soon. And while I will greatly miss the opportunity, it is their game now, and they get to set the rules.

Rather than dwell on sour grapes (any more than I have) let me pass on a few tips for those of you that are going to attend the Classic, or any other large tasting event.

Some of this has been covered in the past, but rather than make you search for it, here is a quick summary of what I do to maximize the benefits of a wine tasting.

1. I always taste in the same order


2. I always bring my own wine glass


3. I never eat anything at the tasting


4. I always spit


5. I take careful notes

Let me address these one by one, and how they might pertain to you.

1. By tasting in the same order you are reducing the variables of the tasting, this is true for all of the hints. I taste Pinot Noir first, and then increasingly tannic reds, up to Cabernet Sauvignon. I then taste Chardonnay and whites with increasing amounts of sugar, up to the dessert wines.

I do it in this order not only because it works for me, but to reduce palette fatigue. You don't have to do it the same way, but having a consistent order, and a plan you stick to, will really help.

2. Every wine glass makes you perceive a wine slightly differently, some are even dramatic. I use specially designed wine tasting glasses, that show off the flaw of the wines. You do not have to go to this extreme, but if you taste out of a glass you are used to, you can once again reduce the number of variables you need to overcome.

3. There is a saying in the wine trade: When you are selling wine, serve cheese, when you are buying wine, avoid food. Food changes the way wines taste, and cheeses in particular, can hide flaws in wine, and reduce your ability to detect subtlety. Ideally, eat an hour or two before the tasting, so you are the slightest bit hungry, but not starving.

4. Spitting is hard for some people to do. It is always one of the first things my students have to get over on the initial day of my school. If you are attending the tasting to enjoy the inebriation, then ignore all of my tips, and have at it. If you want to remain even the slightest bit objective, you have to spit. Even with spitting, I start to loose my objectivity around 40 - 50 wines, and that is only because I am well practiced.

5. It is a pain to take notes at a large tasting. You are walking around with a wine glass in one hand, and there is rarely a good place to set it down. Personally, I take my notes into a small recorder. This works great for me, but if you want a low tech solution, bring a friend. Then she can jot down your dictation while you taste, and vice versa. On a related note, it is easy to share a glass with someone else, there is almost always more wine in a glass than you need for a good taste.

Large tastings are great fun, but not always the best place to take serious notes. The Aspen Food&Wine Classic is a great example.

The tastings take place in a tent with a grass floor, and there is any amount of food being cooked at every turn. Combine these with a thousand people, and as you may guess, it is rather hard to get a good idea of the taste, much less the smell of a wine.

Personal grudges, difficulty in tasting, and large crowds aside, the Aspen Food&Wine Classic, and the other large national events are well worth attending, if they fit into your budget.

As for the many of you out there that have written and emailed me to ask why I no longer am at the Classic with your favorite booth, feel free to direct your inquiries to those that are in power to do something about it. Gail Simmons is the one in charge. If you do email her, please, no flames. She was polite in her response to me, and I would hope that anyone who writes her would show the same courtesy.