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WINERY tannin and extract character. At Buty, I utilize air to break up our caps. All the skins are homogenized daily this way, achieving full wine and skin mixing. Additionally, oxy- gen enters directly into the wine for yeast health, while positively affecting the tannins by building more generous body and richness. This approach requires fewer tools to achieve a full mixing twice a day on any number of tanks, no matter how large. The future texture of a wine is the balance of the alcohol with acids and tannins. Texture is the overall impression that completes the character of a wine, beyond the fruit and oak and freshness aspects. Higher-alcohol wines can carry more tannin or more acid, but not both. And by contrast, lower- alcohol wines will necessarily need lower tannins or acids for textural balance. At Buty, we do not need to make additions to our juices, since our tannins are ripe before we achieve sugar and acid balance in east- ern Washington. Additionally, we don't add tartaric acid to our wines because our organic acids range from 6 grams in hot years (for late cabernet sauvignon) to 9 grams in cool years. If you are adding acid, do so early and with restraint. Review your juices with high-per- formance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which reveals the true total malic and tartaric acid in the juices to know the full vol- ume of acid you have. AGING AND BLENDING Though we of ten only employ modest new oak at Buty to achieve our overall stylistic goals, I don't con- sider good new-oak-barrel tannins to add more than a 10% increase in tannin feel. The best new bar- rels can lengthen the mouthfeel and supple- ness index by adding a level of sweetness to the wines. While older barrels do not add tan- nin, they do improve the supple texture due to micro-oxidation. This said, their micro-oxi- dation benefits come with a flavor effect. Textural balance is an important stylistic goal for Buty wines. One of the fundamental goals of blending is textural balance. Aro- mas and flavors shift over time, but texture is built in the first year of aging. Having worked with some of my vineyards for two decades, when vintages are more or less acidic, experience has shown me that blending can perfect this tex- tural balance. I initially blend dif- ferent cuvées together as soon as the ferments are complete and the acidities are finished by malolactic. This allows time for the differing textures to marry and integrate into 80 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT JAN - FEB 2012 a cohesive whole before you man- age tannins in the final blend. STYLE For my guide to red wine bal- ance in tannin management, I turn to Emile Peynaud's "Suppleness Index" as described in his book "Knowing and Making Wine." For Peynaud (and for me), the alco- hol and sugar sweetness must be balanced with the acidity and tannin of the red wine. To this idea, I would add that this balance must be achieved through careful control of both the volume and the quality of these ingredients. More than just producing stable wines, good tannin management practices give you control over style, and help you achieve consisten- cy year after year as you balance the alcohol with the acids and tannins. Knowing how each step in tannin management – from the vineyard to the cellar and during blending – shapes and informs the end result, which wi l l give you mastery over the entire process. It will also help you to develop and pre- serve the best qualities of your wines. Caleb Foster is the owner-winemaker for Wal la Wal la-based Buty Winery, which he established with Nina Buty Foster in 2000. Prior to founding Buty, Caleb worked as a professional winemaker on three continents, at such noted winer- ies as Woodward Canyon, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Bookwalter Win- ery in Washington state, Rapaura Vintners in New Zealand and Quoin Rock in South Africa. Comments? Please email us at feedback@vwm-online.com. WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM