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a pump is connected to the bottom tank valve after primary fermentation to circulate wine and stir lees off the bottom. Regarding other benefits, Jordan's Miller said mannoproteins from yeast cells help prevent potassium bitartrate crystals from forming. Jordan still cold-stabilizes the wine to remove tartrates, but without extreme temperatures, chilling at 40°F. Similarly, Bridenhagen said, "Yeast cell components help with heat and cold stabilization to eliminate aggressive fining down the road." COMPARING BATONNAGE METHODS River Road Family Vineyards and Winery in Sebastopol, Calif., ferments 100% of its estate chardonnay in French oak, with sur lie aging and batonnage, with wine in barrel nine to 10 months. Batonnage begins after primary fermentation, with stirring once a week. Frequency is adjusted based on how the wine is showing and whether more lees character is desired. The winery had used a rotating headstirring rod for manual lees stirring, but in 2012 began experimenting with rolling several barrels on Barrel Master racks. A full barrel is easily rolled by hand, first in one direction, then the other, to loosen lees from the barrel's side and resuspend them in the wine. "It's still early in our evaluation, but so far, I like what the roller racks give us," said River Road winemaker Joe Freeman. "There is a finer texture in the resulting wine – it seems a little softer and more integrated." Since the barrels can be rolled without removing the bung, excess oxygen is less of a concern, which provides an option for more frequent stirring. The wine goes through full ML without a problem with both stirring methods. Freeman said he will continue using both methods and evaluate the differences over several vintages. "The biggest rationale for using the roller is that it can create another nuance of flavor and texture," 66 V I N E YA R D & WINE RY MANAGEM ENT | he said, "giving us additional tools to play with when we blend our final wine." BEYOND CHARDONNAY Sur lie elevage and batonnage are used on white varieties such as sauvignon blanc, pinot blanc, pinot gris and white Rhone varieties. La Follette has used it with arneis, which can be hard and acidic, to improve mouthfeel. "It can be used with any white variety when you want more mouthfeel, or to give the wine a richer style, but the caution is that you can lose some varietal character," he said. Carol Shelton of Carol Shelton Wines in Santa Rosa, Calif., uses batonnage for her white Rhone blend Coquille Blanc, made with grenache blanc, roussanne, marsanne and viognier. Each variety is barrel-fermented separately in 3- to 4-year-old French oak and left sur lie seven to eight months. After primary fermentation, the lees are stirred, SO2 is added, and the barrels are topped. Batonnage is performed with a stirring rod every 10 days to two weeks, and the barrels are topped monthly. Shelton said, "Batonnage helps release compounds that add to flavor, aroma, texture and mouthfeel attributes." She also noted, "It helps better integrate oak into the wine. Even though we're using older barrels, the wine seems oakier than it actually is, because the process gives the wine a creamy oak character." She believes the wine benefits from oxygen during batonnage. "These varieties tend to have a little more tannin than chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, so oxygen helps reduce tannic character," she said. The separate lots are racked off the lees, blended and bottled within 10 months with no ML. At MacRostie, pinot noir is fermented in 1.5-ton bins; the free run is bled off into barrels, while retaining plenty of lees for sur lie. All the pinot noir sees at least two rounds of batonnage before racking off the lees after five months in barrel. "Heavier wines will get more stirring to develop rich mouthfeel and concentrate anise and earthy aromas," Bridenhagen said. La Follette likes to barrel pinot noir "sweet" with up to 8 °Brix to complete primary fermentation and begin sur lie. "Stirring in barrel helps the wine finish wild-yeast fermentation and start ML along with lees contact and elevage," he said. He tries to keep the pinot on lees up until bottling, if they remain clean and viable. La Follette has used sur lie and batonnage with sangiovese, often an acidic and tannic variety, to produce a gentler, more drinkable wine. To watch a video of Jordan winemaker Rob Davis describing his philosophy on batonnage, see http:// blog.jordanwine r y. c o m / 2 0 1 1 / 0 2 / batonnage-an-oldworld-winemaking-technique-preserved-each-winter/ Ted Rieger , CSW, is a writer and photographer based in Sacramento, Calif., and has been a contributing editor for V&WM since 1990. Winemaker Carol Shelton of Carol Shelton Wines uses batonnage for her white Rhone-style blend. Jan - Feb 2014 Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwmmedia.com. w w w. v wm m e d i a . c o m