Enologist

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“Enologist related Frequently Asked Questions by expert members with job experience as Enologist. These questions and answers will help you strengthen your technical skills, prepare for the new job interview and quickly revise your concepts”



48 Enologist Questions And Answers

21⟩ Tell me does one year or one vintage come to mind when you think about one of the best Pinot Noirs that you've made?

Yes, my 2007. It's a beautiful Pinot Noir. It's what I call my 'go to' wine at the moment. If I'm running out to lunch or dinner with somebody, I often will bring a bottle. People seem to really enjoy it and, if I just like my wine that's good but, if I drink one of my wines with other people and they like it, it makes it even more enjoyable for me.

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22⟩ Tell me is an enologist the same thing as a sommelier?

Enologists should not be confused with sommeliers, which the Oxford Companion to Wine defines as a “specialist wine waiter or wine steward.” Sommeliers are typically employed by restaurants, distributors, or other retail entities to advise consumers on wine purchases at a specific establishment. It is not uncommon for sommeliers to determine a wine list for a restaurant or to advertise food and wine pairings based on the restaurant’s menu and available wine selection.

Education in a sommelier certificate program focuses on introductory viticulture and winemaking knowledge; a broad overview of terms and basic production practices (i.e., how to make a white wine versus a red wine). Their focus will feature global wine producing regions (e.g., regions within France like Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Loire, etc.), wine styles and the characteristics associated within specific regionally (terroir-driven) produced wines. Written knowledge is supplemented with educational tastings, and most sommelier and sommelier-like programs have a unique tasting method that is taught and practiced by all pupils. Additionally, some sommelier programs feature education on the various types of spirits produced internationally and the sensory evaluation thereof. Sommeliers understand how to interpret wine regions and what to expect stylistically from a wine that is presented to them. Despite the depth of knowledge in these areas, sommelier training does not focus on actual production techniques. A sommelier is not trained in a wine processing facility, nor taught the scientific component to winemaking, and their approach to wine tasting often differs from those in production. I have often found that sommelier’s evaluation of a wine can supplement that of the winemaker in a positive way, and emphasizes how varied sensory perceptions of wine truly are based on one’s training and experience.

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23⟩ Tell us what do you like best about your job?

I like that I get to work inside and outside and that on any day it might go either way or both. I like the smells of my job - the smells of the vineyards and of the winery. I like that there is science, craft and art all blended together. I like that throughout the year I do different things at different times. It's not the same thing every day. I like the lifestyle and I meet a lot of interesting people. Ultimately, at the end of the year, I like that I have something tangible to show for what I did all year. Even after we sell the wine I can still watch it as it ages, I'm still in touch with it.

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24⟩ Tell me at what point in the winemaking process do you decide on what you’re aiming at regarding style?

In the vineyard. Taking large leaps early on in the growing process has helped shape our direction in the cellar. Going all in with a particular goal. We’ve found that half-assing it only leads to half a result. It starts long before pruning, but we’ll start there. Don’t fear the late spring frost. We train cordons to where we want to be as far as shoot positions. We prune to where we want to be. We shoot thin to where we want to be. We green harvest to where we want to be. Leaving extra stuff as back up confuses your vine.

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26⟩ Tell me what is the difference between viniculture and viticulture?

While “viticulture” refers to the science, study and production of grapes, “viniculture” refers to the same thing, but for grapes specifically for wine. I think that the terms are used somewhat interchangeably—many schools have degrees in viticulture that are specifically geared toward wine grape production.

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27⟩ Tell me how do you grow grapes for wine?

Planting:

☛ Plant dormant, bare-root grape vines in the early spring.

☛ Construct a trellis or arbor before planting. ...

☛ Most grape varieties are self-fertile. ...

☛ Before planting grapevines, soak their roots in water for two or three hours.

☛ Select a site with full sun. ...

☛ Space vines 6 to 10 feet apart (16 feet for muscadines).

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28⟩ Explain me about the harvest process?

As a winemaker, the first thing I do during harvest is walk through vineyards where I know the grapes are starting to get close to ripeness. They are already delicious by that point but are not ready to be picked. I walk through a vineyard with a baggie and pick a random sample of the grapes, one berry at a time, until I have half a baggie full of grapes. In the meantime, as many grapes as I'm putting in the baggie, I'm eating to taste how ripe the grapes are. On any given day during harvest I eat hundreds of grapes.

At the winery, I squeeze the baggies of grapes and analyze the juice to see what the numbers say about the acidity and sweetness. I use those numbers as guidelines and when I'm in the range of the numbers I want, I spend the last few days in the vineyard just tasting grapes. When they taste right, it's time to pick them.

We pick the grapes on the day I feel they are ready. With white grapes, the first thing we do is get rid of the stems with a machine and then squeeze the grapes. We take just the white grape juice and it goes into either a tank or to a barrel. We then add yeast and start fermenting it.

With red grapes, again we take the stems away and this time we pump the grapes, skins and all into a tank. The juice of red grapes like Cabernet, Zinfandels and Pinot Noirs, is clear as water so we let the juice steep with the skins. With red grapes, it's the skins that have all the color and flavor. So the skins and juice steep together and then we add yeast to that and it ferments. When it's done fermenting, we drain the wine out of the tank and squeeze the grapes to get the last little bit of wine out. The harvest is pretty much over at that point. Of course there are a lot of little details in there but that's basically what we do.

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29⟩ Tell me do you think of wine as expressing something? If so, what?

Well the obvious is that it expresses a place. But it also can express the artist’s hand. I’ve always considered myself a fish out of water in the so called Metal Music scene. I’ve always been more into The Byrds, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits. I think that shows in my wines. My wines are far more Pink Floyd than they are Metallica.

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30⟩ Tell me what are the steps from harvesting to bottling?

After harvest, once the wines ferment, the whites are either in stainless steel tanks or in barrels. The wine that's made in tanks ages for three to five months and then it gets bottled. After fermentation, the white that is in barrels, which is mostly chardonnay, gets aged from about seven to ten months before it is bottled. The red wines, right after fermentation, go into barrels. If it is a light red, like a Pinot Noir, it might get bottled as soon as just before the next harvest. If it's a bigger, heavier wine like Cabernet it stays in the barrel for about two years.

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31⟩ Tell me do grapes grow in India?

Total area under grapes in India is about 40,000 ha, distributed mainly in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Economic importance: At present, grape is the most important fruit crop grown commercially with the objectives.

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32⟩ Tell me how much do wine cellar workers make?

Winemakers will earn average salary of $95,263 this year, according to a salary survey of the wine industry conducted by Wine business. More senior winemakers (who supervised other winemakers) will earn an average of $121,774.

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33⟩ Do you know how much does a viticulturist make a year?

Depending on the size of the winery, vineyard managers reported average salaries of between $81,000 and $89,000 in 2011. The highest average salary, $88,279 per year, was reported by vineyard managers working for very large wineries that produce 500,000 or more cases of wine per year.

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34⟩ Tell me how do you know when you've got a good vintage?

It all has to do with weather. Once the grapes are planted in a vineyard and grow up on their trellises, if the same farmer grows them, really the only thing that changes from year to year is the weather. When I say the weather, it's from when the grapes start growing, which is usually around mid-March, to the time they're picked in September and October. If the weather throughout that period is ideal, if it's not too extreme during the growing process - too cold or hot, too rainy or dry, too windy - it's going to be a good vintage.

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35⟩ Tell me what does an (o)enologist do?

Being an enologist does not necessarily indicate that that individual is also the winemaker. In the book, “How to Launch Your Wine Career,” the authors explain the two arms associated with wine production in California: the winemaker and the enologist. For a head winemaker position, one typically has to work up the ladder from assistant winemaker, and may find themselves in several assistant winemaker positions prior to holding a head winemaker position. The enologist position develops through a different ladder within the winery: from a crush (or harvest) intern to a cellar worker to a lab assistant and finally a cellar master before reaching the enologist position. Note that this development may not always be the case in smaller, commercial wineries.

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36⟩ Do you know what does Nomology mean?

Nomological network is a representation of the concepts (constructs) of interest in a study, their observable manifestations, and the interrelationships among and between these. The term "nomology" has been derived from the Greek, meaning "lawful", or in philosophy of science terms, "lawlike".

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37⟩ Tell me how does your approach differ from other winemakers in Colorado?

Writers always ask this question. My approach is probably the same as many other winemakers in the world. I work with the grapes I’m given (blessed with) and guide them along the journey into the bottle. I want the wine to stay true to it’s origin. I’m not making a “Napa Cab” or a white Burgundy. I’m making a Colorado Cab and Chardonnay. I want the wine to be an expression of the grapes origin.

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38⟩ Do you know how much do enologist make?

Enologist Salaries. As of 2011, wine industry magazine Wine Business Monthly reports that workers with the specific title of enologist earned average salaries of $51,000 to $55,000 per year. Median salaries for enologists working at most wineries were around $50,000 per year.

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39⟩ Tell me how long does it take for grapes to ripen?

Most grapevines give you fruit in their third season. Your backyard grapevine can take up to three years to produce viable grapes, but that timeline is based on several environmental factors as well as how you care for the plant. Sunlight and well-drained soil are key to grape production, as is proper pruning.

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40⟩ Tell me what is your favorite wine that you've made and what makes it your favorite?

Throughout my career the wineries I've worked at have been mostly Cabernet oriented wineries and I've made a lot of really good Cabernet. When I make a reserve style Cabernet from a great vintage and it turns out just right, I'm really proud of that. But what I like the most is when I make a really good Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is a tricky wine to make and I probably drink more of it than any other kind.

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