Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/111102
they like only red wine, I ask them why they are here, then I feel sorry for them," Sarah said. "I want a T-shirt that says: 'Obnoxious whitewine maker.' " EXPERT ADVICE Despite Sarah's joke, the Troxells remain humble, even as their accomplishments mount. They have always believed in paying for good advice, good equipment and deferring to experts – usually. The most important outsider to Galen Glen's success is Volker Schneider, consultant and friend. He's also been a sort of coach, changing their understanding about making wine. The Troxells have learned from Schneider that more work in the vineyard means less work in the cellar. This year, they purchased a Collard E1100 3P air defoliator for leaf removal. Galen found that it solves a problem unique to grüner veltliner: Part of the flower tends to remain attached in the growing clusters, which can lead to rot problems. The collateral air from the defoliator blows those petals out. Schneider has also helped Galen Glen develop a style. Sarah said she is beginning to see the distinctiveness of the different grüner plots and would like to make a series of grüners similar to those of seminal Austrian producer Domaine Wachau, known for its dry, mediumbodied wines. All grapes are handharvested and transferred from lug to 350-gallon insulated bins. While these are used by fish hatcheries, they are not unlike macro bins. Sarah ferments the grüner with some skin contact and hyper-oxidizes, clarifying by flotation. The cellar has many flex tanks and variable-capacity tanks, but no barrels in use. The Troxells used to have as many as 25, but came to view them as too labor- and capitalintensive. Today, when Sarah wants oak character in the cabernet franc or merlot, she uses oak boards of various toast levels as early as the fermentation stage in order to stabilize color. The philosophy is non-intervention. Even racking, Sarah said, harms aromatics and flavor. If H2S develops, she deals with it then. "If you ferment clean juice, you don't need to rack," Galen said. "Every time you rack, you lose fruit." A veteran vintner in the same region, Brad Knapp of Pinnacle Ridge Winery, has watched Galen Glen's evolution. "Like many of us, they started with little direct winery experience," he said. "But they had common sense and technical backgrounds. They got good help and trained their palates. They are making superlative whites." Someone else who has watched Galen Glen from the beginning is daughter Erin, 24, who grew up in the vineyard and could not be talked out of studying wine. She's in her second year of the Vinifera EuroMaster program offered by a consortium of European universities, and counts among her friends and contacts the best and brightest winemakers on several continents. When she originally studied enology, viticulture and plant pathology at Cornell University in New York, the Troxells could see their daughter perhaps taking over the winery someday. "I think she may be overqualified for Galen Glen," Galen said. "I guess it depends on what she wants to do." David Falchek is a regular contributor to trade publications such as Vineyard & Winery Management and Beverage Media. He also writes a regular consumer wine column for The Scranton Times-Tribune, in Scranton, Pa. Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwmmedia.com. 50 V I N E YARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | Mar - Apr 2013 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m