We have noticed over recent years the growing influence of the up-and-coming young winemakers in our denomination – many from outside the region. With them comes, not only new, updated winemaking techniques, but also new ideas of what an albariño should be. It seems that the latest trend in Rias Baixas is actually to do with the manipulation of the flavour profile of the finished wine, giving it a much riper, more exotic, almost tropical fruit. Of course, Galicia is almost as far removed from the tropics as you can get (especially at this time of year), but at least now our wines are going to reflect a bit more of a ‘sunshine personality’ in the future.

So how do we achieve this new style? Well, the answer is quite simple, and has actually been available to us for many years now. It’s down to the strain of yeast that we use during the alcoholic fermentation. I always mention to our visitors that the salesmen who arrive at our door these days, selling our wine making products, now offer up a complete catalogue of different active dried yeast each with it’s own distinct flavour profile. For white wines the choice is quite extensive and includes apple, pear, grapefruit, pineapple, butter (more for chardonnay based wines I think) and even banana. It would appear that the taste of the grape variety is almost secondary to the equation these days!

So, after much soul searching, and a couple of years of experimentation, Angela and I have finally succumbed to this new market trend. From the 2015 vintage we will be offering a range of three new fruit flavours – grapefruit, pineapple or another that we will simply call ‘tropical fruit’ (made from a blend of different tanks). I should add that we drew the line at banana flavour, which, whilst it had a certain appeal, was probably too far removed from our traditional albariño.

Over the next few weeks we will be in contact with our customers to get an idea of their preferences before we start our first bottlings, probably in May.

Well, roughly a month after the first grape was picked in anger, we have tanks that have completed their fermentation and can now clearly be called wine, rather than must or grape juice. Of course they are not ready for sale by some distance, as there are many processes that they have to undergo, not least of all a period of lees ageing. Fine lees are the exhausted yeast cells left over from fermentation that help to intensify our wines by adding richness, flavour and aroma complexity. Specific proteins are released naturally during lees contact, and it is these that create a creamy, silky smooth mouthfeel, and texture to the body of the wine. The lees also enhance stability and increase the ageing potential of our wines.

So now it is time for the tanks to simply rest, and the only time that they will be disturbed over the coming months is when we taste them on a regular basis. I will give more details on their progress, and of course my tasting notes, in the coming weeks, but as they have just been sulphured, now is not really a good time to pass judgement.

One of the unique events that took place during this year’s harvest, were a couple of PR/customer visits. Under normal circumstances we are far too busy, and the cellar is in far too much disarray to welcome people through our doors, but this year we made a couple of exceptions. The first was a small group of sommeliers and shop managers from the UK, a visit set up by our D.O. office by way of PR and education. Second was our very long-standing importer from Venezuela. Of course it could be that we made these two exceptions as the visitors were from Angela and my respective home countries, or maybe that is just a coincidence…. Suffice to say that we hope both groups enjoyed their time with us. (By the way, Angela doesn’t normally wear a baseball cap in the bodega, but the cap is actually designed in the colours of her National flag!)Well, roughly a month after the first grape was picked in anger, we have tanks that have completed their fermentation and can now clearly be called wine, rather than must or grape juice. Of course they are not ready for sale by some distance, as there are many processes that they have to undergo, not least of all a period of lees ageing. Fine lees are the exhausted yeast cells left over from fermentation that help to intensify our wines by adding richness, flavour and aroma complexity. Specific proteins are released naturally during lees contact, and it is these that create a creamy, silky smooth mouthfeel, and texture to the body of the wine. The lees also enhance stability and increase the ageing potential of our wines.

So now it is time for the tanks to simply rest, and the only time that they will be disturbed over the coming months is when we taste them on a regular basis. I will give more details on their progress, and of course my tasting notes, in the coming weeks, but as they have just been sulphured, now is not really a good time to pass judgement.

One of the unique events that took place during this year’s harvest, were a couple of PR/customer visits. Under normal circumstances we are far too busy, and the cellar is in far too much disarray to welcome people through our doors, but this year we made a couple of exceptions. The first was a small group of sommeliers and shop managers from the UK, a visit set up by our D.O. office by way of PR and education. Second was our very long-standing importer from Venezuela. Of course it could be that we made these two exceptions as the visitors were from Angela and my respective home countries, or maybe that is just a coincidence…. Suffice to say that we hope both groups enjoyed their time with us. (By the way, Angela doesn’t normally wear a baseball cap in the bodega, but the cap is actually designed in the colours of her National flag!)

This may well be my last post relating to the 2015 harvest – not because our fermentations are complete, but mostly because there is not much more that can be said about the winemaking process. At this point we are merely observers, monitoring progress by measuring the density of the must/wine, and then, according to what we see, perhaps making one or two subtle adjustments to the temperature control. The idea is that we have a slow, smooth transition from grape juice into wine and at this point the only form of control that we have is temperature. If the fermentation starts to move too quickly then by reducing the temperature by a decimal place or two, then we can slow things down just a touch. Conversely, if the fermentation looks as though it might be sticking, putting too much stress on the yeast, then we can help it along by increasing the temperature. Once all the sugar has been consumed and the fermentation has come to an end, we simply add a good dose of SO2 to inhibit spoilage and kill any unwanted bacteria (e.g. malolactic bacteria). Et voila, done!

The first tanks that we seeded are not too far from completion now and are almost at a point where they are starting to reveal the true character of the vintage. Until now the natural fruit sugar has been quite dominant, albeit that by tasting we can still judge the concentration, style and overall balance of the developing wine. The result is that we are quietly confident that this year’s wine will be very good, and the fact that we started with some excellent quality, healthy fruit was certainly an essential element in this outcome.This may well be my last post relating to the 2015 harvest – not because our fermentations are complete, but mostly because there is not much more that can be said about the winemaking process. At this point we are merely observers, monitoring progress by measuring the density of the must/wine, and then, according to what we see, perhaps making one or two subtle adjustments to the temperature control. The idea is that we have a slow, smooth transition from grape juice into wine and at this point the only form of control that we have is temperature. If the fermentation starts to move too quickly then by reducing the temperature by a decimal place or two, then we can slow things down just a touch. Conversely, if the fermentation looks as though it might be sticking, putting too much stress on the yeast, then we can help it along by increasing the temperature. Once all the sugar has been consumed and the fermentation has come to an end, we simply add a good dose of SO2 to inhibit spoilage and kill any unwanted bacteria (e.g. malolactic bacteria). Et voila, done!

The first tanks that we seeded are not too far from completion now and are almost at a point where they are starting to reveal the true character of the vintage. Until now the natural fruit sugar has been quite dominant, albeit that by tasting we can still judge the concentration, style and overall balance of the developing wine. The result is that we are quietly confident that this year’s wine will be very good, and the fact that we started with some excellent quality, healthy fruit was certainly an essential element in this outcome.

The good news is that all the hard physical work of the wine making is now finished, all the tank additions are done and pumping over (to mix them thoroughly) has been completed. All that remains are a few cleaning jobs – clearly we can’t do any real cleaning in the tank room until the fermentations are complete, and all the tanks are tightly sealed. It might be obvious to most, but the tanks have to be left open at this stage to allow carbon dioxide to escape (a by-product of the fermentation). Consequently, our blowers and extractors have to work overtime to remove all the extremely dangerous CO2 and replace it with fresh air. We are now reaching a point when we can start to talk about our 2015 ‘wine’, as the grape sugar is slowly transformed into alcohol, although it is still months away from being the finished article.

On a couple of occasions during the wine making process we have found the need to call upon the services of Alberto. Now, Alberto is not our secret wine maker or special advisor, but is actually a machine! And why do we call him Alberto? Quite simply because he is liquid counter – measuring the amount of liquid that we move between tanks. OK, so you have to be a cycling enthusiast to understand this one….. The Spanish for counter is ‘contador’, so his name is Alberto Contador (a very famous Spanish cyclist)!The good news is that all the hard physical work of the wine making is now finished, all the tank additions are done and pumping over (to mix them thoroughly) has been completed. All that remains are a few cleaning jobs – clearly we can’t do any real cleaning in the tank room until the fermentations are complete, and all the tanks are tightly sealed. It might be obvious to most, but the tanks have to be left open at this stage to allow carbon dioxide to escape (a by-product of the fermentation). Consequently, our blowers and extractors have to work overtime to remove all the extremely dangerous CO2 and replace it with fresh air. We are now reaching a point when we can start to talk about our 2015 ‘wine’, as the grape sugar is slowly transformed into alcohol, although it is still months away from being the finished article.

On a couple of occasions during the wine making process we have found the need to call upon the services of Alberto. Now, Alberto is not our secret wine maker or special advisor, but is actually a machine! And why do we call him Alberto? Quite simply because he is liquid counter – measuring the amount of liquid that we move between tanks. OK, so you have to be a cycling enthusiast to understand this one….. The Spanish for counter is ‘contador’, so his name is Alberto Contador (a very famous Spanish cyclist)!

It seems a little strange that we have some tanks in our cellars that are more or less half way through their fermentation, whilst out in the vineyards some other bodegas are only just gathering the last of their fruit. Of course this is the difference between those who picked before the storm, and the many who didn’t even start to pick until after. The only consolation is that the weather since the storm has been good, but then the obvious downside is that the warmth of the sun only helps to promote rot. Despite this burst of late sunshine it will not really help the overall concentration of the must caused by the volume of water absorbed by the fruit (which was quite considerable).

To prove my point, we did manage to take a few photos in a neighbouring vineyard (see today’s picture) after the rains, and the damage caused by rain and subsequent humidity is plain to see. Even if the bodega concerned uses a sorting table in their grape reception, they are going to be losing a considerable percentage of fruit. It must be soul destroying to see half of your year’s work end up in the bin….. Thank goodness it wasn’t Castro Martin!It seems a little strange that we have some tanks in our cellars that are more or less half way through their fermentation, whilst out in the vineyards some other bodegas are only just gathering the last of their fruit. Of course this is the difference between those who picked before the storm, and the many who didn’t even start to pick until after. The only consolation is that the weather since the storm has been good, but then the obvious downside is that the warmth of the sun only helps to promote rot. Despite this burst of late sunshine it will not really help the overall concentration of the must caused by the volume of water absorbed by the fruit (which was quite considerable).

To prove my point, we did manage to take a few photos in a neighbouring vineyard (see today’s picture) after the rains, and the damage caused by rain and subsequent humidity is plain to see. Even if the bodega concerned uses a sorting table in their grape reception, they are going to be losing a considerable percentage of fruit. It must be soul destroying to see half of your year’s work end up in the bin….. Thank goodness it wasn’t Castro Martin!

In today’s post I feel like I should be saying “Move along, nothing to see”, as the police might do at the scene of an accident. The reason I say this is because whilst we are supremely busy in the bodega, the jobs that we are doing don’t really lend themselves to very interesting photographs. At the moment we are systematically adding bentonite to the tanks, which involves some re-hydration (bentonite comes in sacks of dull, grey, dry granules), and then adding this to the tanks and mixing it for an hour or two. It would make a very boring video, just a shot of pumps and hoses spread around the floor, thereby leaving me scratching my head wondering what picture I could use to illustrate today’s task. In the end I have opted for something completely different.

Yesterday night there was a lot of interest in the supermoon or blood moon, which, owing to the vagaries of the Galician weather, I didn’t see. Apparently the skies were clear, but regrettably on the Ria where I live, we were shrouded in thick fog…. typical! Indeed, my only glimpse of said ‘supermoon’ occurred when I arrived at the bodega early this morning (see photo) – what a disappointment, I guess I’ll have to wait another generation to get a better view!In today’s post I feel like I should be saying “Move along, nothing to see”, as the police might do at the scene of an accident. The reason I say this is because whilst we are supremely busy in the bodega, the jobs that we are doing don’t really lend themselves to very interesting photographs. At the moment we are systematically adding bentonite to the tanks, which involves some re-hydration (bentonite comes in sacks of dull, grey, dry granules), and then adding this to the tanks and mixing it for an hour or two. It would make a very boring video, just a shot of pumps and hoses spread around the floor, thereby leaving me scratching my head wondering what picture I could use to illustrate today’s task. In the end I have opted for something completely different.

Yesterday night there was a lot of interest in the supermoon or blood moon, which, owing to the vagaries of the Galician weather, I didn’t see. Apparently the skies were clear, but regrettably on the Ria where I live, we were shrouded in thick fog…. typical! Indeed, my only glimpse of said ‘supermoon’ occurred when I arrived at the bodega early this morning (see photo) – what a disappointment, I guess I’ll have to wait another generation to get a better view!

I am not quite sure why, but now that the actual picking is finished, we seem to be working harder than ever. OK, the hours are not quite as long, as we can accomplish most of what we need to do within ‘normal’ opening hours, but the physical demands are quite exhausting. We seem to spend most of our day on the staircase between the lower and mid levels of the bodega – in other words, between the top of the tanks and the bottom of the tanks. And then there is the seemingly back breaking job of seeding the tanks. I say back breaking because of the system that we use for preparing the yeast – all done very carefully by hand. We use large 300 litre containers, firstly to re-hydrate the yeast, and subsequently to add grape must to the mixture to slowly lower the temperature, until it is cool enough to add back to the tank. For example, the yeast is re-hydrated at body temperature, around 38°C, whilst the temperature of the must at this time is nearer to 15°C. If we simply poured the warm yeast mixture into the cold must, then the shock alone would probably kill most of the yeast and render it useless. That’s why we have to reduce the temperature of the yeast mixture in a very slow, controlled fashion, and all the time bending over what is essentially, a big bucket!

As I mentioned in a previous post, owing to the two breaks that we had during the picking, this year’s cellar ‘routine’ will also be disrupted. Usually there is pretty much a natural ‘flow’ as our attention moves from one tank to the next, but this year it is already much more disjointed, and obviously will be spread over a longer period. Today we have just finished the last of the seeding, and will shortly start on adding Bentonite for protein stabilisation and to clarify the wine (although technically it not wine as yet). As you can see from today’s photo, Angela is quite partial to tasting the yeast, although her stomach is not quite as keen!I am not quite sure why, but now that the actual picking is finished, we seem to be working harder than ever. OK, the hours are not quite as long, as we can accomplish most of what we need to do within ‘normal’ opening hours, but the physical demands are quite exhausting. We seem to spend most of our day on the staircase between the lower and mid levels of the bodega – in other words, between the top of the tanks and the bottom of the tanks. And then there is the seemingly back breaking job of seeding the tanks. I say back breaking because of the system that we use for preparing the yeast – all done very carefully by hand. We use large 300 litre containers, firstly to re-hydrate the yeast, and subsequently to add grape must to the mixture to slowly lower the temperature, until it is cool enough to add back to the tank. For example, the yeast is re-hydrated at body temperature, around 38°C, whilst the temperature of the must at this time is nearer to 15°C. If we simply poured the warm yeast mixture into the cold must, then the shock alone would probably kill most of the yeast and render it useless. That’s why we have to reduce the temperature of the yeast mixture in a very slow, controlled fashion, and all the time bending over what is essentially, a big bucket!

As I mentioned in a previous post, owing to the two breaks that we had during the picking, this year’s cellar ‘routine’ will also be disrupted. Usually there is pretty much a natural ‘flow’ as our attention moves from one tank to the next, but this year it is already much more disjointed, and obviously will be spread over a longer period. Today we have just finished the last of the seeding, and will shortly start on adding Bentonite for protein stabilisation and to clarify the wine (although technically it not wine as yet). As you can see from today’s photo, Angela is quite partial to tasting the yeast, although her stomach is not quite as keen!

Under normal circumstances our harvest would be divided into two distinct and separate phases – out in the vineyards collecting the fruit, and then moving inside to convert our fruit into delicious albariño. This year however, has been a little different, mainly thanks to our fleeting brush with hurricane Henri.

Whilst we picked for only five days, the time lapse between our first day and the last actually extended to a period of nine days, with two breaks in between. The result being that the first grape must was ready for fermentation even before the last grapes had entered our door. I guess that, depending on the size of the property, or perhaps the number of different grape varieties involved, this might be common practice for many bodegas, but in the case of Castro Martin there is usually very little, or no overlap between the two different phases. Often it is more or less like a cascade effect, meaning that once we start seeding our first tanks we continue, without a break, until the last one is completed. This year our ‘cascade’ will not be quite as regular – more of a stop, start affair.

In my opinion winemaking is by far the most interesting part of the year – we have our raw material that will ultimately determine the quality, but our winemaking will certainly dictate the style of albariño that we make. I liken it to cooking, when the chef shows his skill and creativity using the ‘ingredients’ that nature has provided, making a ‘dish’ using his or her own interpretation. Thankfully, not all albariños taste the same!Under normal circumstances our harvest would be divided into two distinct and separate phases – out in the vineyards collecting the fruit, and then moving inside to convert our fruit into delicious albariño. This year however, has been a little different, mainly thanks to our fleeting brush with hurricane Henri.

Whilst we picked for only five days, the time lapse between our first day and the last actually extended to a period of nine days, with two breaks in between. The result being that the first grape must was ready for fermentation even before the last grapes had entered our door. I guess that, depending on the size of the property, or perhaps the number of different grape varieties involved, this might be common practice for many bodegas, but in the case of Castro Martin there is usually very little, or no overlap between the two different phases. Often it is more or less like a cascade effect, meaning that once we start seeding our first tanks we continue, without a break, until the last one is completed. This year our ‘cascade’ will not be quite as regular – more of a stop, start affair.

In my opinion winemaking is by far the most interesting part of the year – we have our raw material that will ultimately determine the quality, but our winemaking will certainly dictate the style of albariño that we make. I liken it to cooking, when the chef shows his skill and creativity using the ‘ingredients’ that nature has provided, making a ‘dish’ using his or her own interpretation. Thankfully, not all albariños taste the same!

In terms of activity inside the bodega, this is without doubt, our busiest time of year. It’s not just a question of throwing a bit of yeast into the grape must and waiting for something to happen – it is slightly more complicated than that. Apart from monitoring the tanks on a very regular basis, there are all sorts of additions and processes to be carried out, some that require the tank to be pumped over, and others that don’t. Pumping over is simply a method that we use for thoroughly mixing any addition that we make to a tank – Bentonite for example, a natural product which is added to clarify and stabilise the wine. Once the Bentonite is added we simply attach hoses to the top and bottom of the tank, and pump the grape must over from top to bottom in a cyclical motion. This is just a mixing process (which differs from the pumping over in red wine making where it is done as part of the process to help extract colour from the skins). Clearly, this doesn’t apply to white wine making.

Despite all this activity, there’s really not that much to see. A visitor to the bodega might see a bit of mixing, and perhaps the odd pump connected to a tank, but nothing that interesting to look at. Inside the tank there is a bit of foam and some bubbles, but as we mentioned a day or two ago, putting you head into a tank of fermenting wine is not recommended. As a keen photographer I have been trying to find some interesting pictures to add to my post, but to be honest most potential examples are pretty dull and don’t really show too much. By way of compensation I have made a small collage of various tank shots, and as you will see it does not make the most colourful compilation….

In terms of activity inside the bodega, this is without doubt, our busiest time of year. It’s not just a question of throwing a bit of yeast into the grape must and waiting for something to happen – it is slightly more complicated than that. Apart from monitoring the tanks on a very regular basis, there are all sorts of additions and processes to be carried out, some that require the tank to be pumped over, and others that don’t. Pumping over is simply a method that we use for thoroughly mixing any addition that we make to a tank – Bentonite for example, a natural product which is added to clarify and stabilise the wine. Once the Bentonite is added we simply attach hoses to the top and bottom of the tank, and pump the grape must over from top to bottom in a cyclical motion. This is just a mixing process (which differs from the pumping over in red wine making where it is done as part of the process to help extract colour from the skins). Clearly, this doesn’t apply to white wine making.

Despite all this activity, there’s really not that much to see. A visitor to the bodega might see a bit of mixing, and perhaps the odd pump connected to a tank, but nothing that interesting to look at. Inside the tank there is a bit of foam and some bubbles, but as we mentioned a day or two ago, putting you head into a tank of fermenting wine is not recommended. As a keen photographer I have been trying to find some interesting pictures to add to my post, but to be honest most potential examples are pretty dull and don’t really show too much. By way of compensation I have made a small collage of various tank shots, and as you will see it does not make the most colourful compilation….

The dreaded chore of cleaning is well under way, and there are areas of the bodega that are already returning to their more usual appearance – clean and well ordered. The space that bears the initial brunt of the annual harvest onslaught, our grape reception, is already clean, albeit that the 2,000 odd plastic cases we use for gathering our fruit are still piled high at the back of the building, awaiting their turn to be blasted with our jet washers. These cases and our grape reception actually have one thing in common – they are both only used for about one week out of every year, the rest of the time they simply gather dust!

Meanwhile, inside the winery, more tanks have now been seeded at the start of their alcoholic fermentation. As we all know, this is the process that converts the grape juice into wine, but one of the things that we cannot afford to forget is that winemaking not only creates alcohol, but also produces significant amounts of carbon dioxide. For this reason, our bodega is fitted with a powerful extraction system that blows air through the cellar at a rate of knots – once switched on the constant background hum of their motors serves as a subliminal reminder that fermentation is in progress. They are not switched off until the last tank has finished its transformation. Of course carbon dioxide at these levels, is a killer, and very occasionally, even putting your face too close to the top of a fermenting tank will take your breath away, and leave you gasping for air. Perhaps in a slightly more sinister fashion, concentrations of as little as 7% to 10% (which are largely odourless) can cause eventual suffocation. Symptoms begin with slight dizziness and headache, leading to visual and hearing dysfunction, and finally unconsciousness. This can all happen in less than an hour, which is why we have to remain very vigilant throughout.

TRAGIC FOOTNOTE: This is really quite odd, and extremely distressing. Only a few hours after posting this story I have learned of the tragic death of a young winemaker, caused by carbon dioxide suffocation. In the D.O. of Bierzo (which borders on Galicia), 25 year old Nerea Pérez died when she was overcome by this odourless gas and fell into the vat. She was discovered by her uncle, himself a well-known winemaker from the region, but unfortunately she could not be saved. We send our deepest sympathies to her family.

The dreaded chore of cleaning is well under way, and there are areas of the bodega that are already returning to their more usual appearance – clean and well ordered. The space that bears the initial brunt of the annual harvest onslaught, our grape reception, is already clean, albeit that the 2,000 odd plastic cases we use for gathering our fruit are still piled high at the back of the building, awaiting their turn to be blasted with our jet washers. These cases and our grape reception actually have one thing in common – they are both only used for about one week out of every year, the rest of the time they simply gather dust!

Meanwhile, inside the winery, more tanks have now been seeded at the start of their alcoholic fermentation. As we all know, this is the process that converts the grape juice into wine, but one of the things that we cannot afford to forget is that winemaking not only creates alcohol, but also produces significant amounts of carbon dioxide. For this reason, our bodega is fitted with a powerful extraction system that blows air through the cellar at a rate of knots – once switched on the constant background hum of their motors serves as a subliminal reminder that fermentation is in progress. They are not switched off until the last tank has finished its transformation. Of course carbon dioxide at these levels, is a killer, and very occasionally, even putting your face too close to the top of a fermenting tank will take your breath away, and leave you gasping for air. Perhaps in a slightly more sinister fashion, concentrations of as little as 7% to 10% (which are largely odourless) can cause eventual suffocation. Symptoms begin with slight dizziness and headache, leading to visual and hearing dysfunction, and finally unconsciousness. This can all happen in less than an hour, which is why we have to remain very vigilant throughout.

TRAGIC FOOTNOTE: This is really quite odd, and extremely distressing. Only a few hours after posting this story I have learned of the tragic death of a young winemaker, caused by carbon dioxide suffocation. In the D.O. of Bierzo (which borders on Galicia), 25 year old Nerea Pérez died when she was overcome by this odourless gas and fell into the vat. She was discovered by her uncle, himself a well-known winemaker from the region, but unfortunately she could not be saved. We send our deepest sympathies to her family.