In Postmodern Winemaking, Clark Smith shares the extensive knowledge he has accumulated in engaging, humorous, and erudite essays that convey a new vision of the winemaker's craft—one that credits the crucial roles played by both science and art in the winemaking process. Smith, a leading innovator in red wine production techniques, explains how traditional enological education has led many winemakers astray—enabling them to create competent, consistent wines while putting exceptional wines of structure and mystery beyond their grasp. Great wines, he claims, demand a personal and creative engagement with many elements of the process. His lively exploration of the facets of postmodern winemaking, together with profiles of some of its practitioners, is both entertaining and enlightening.
Clark Smith is winemaker for Diamond Ridge Vineyards and his own WineSmith Cellars. He consults with hundreds of winemakers, is an Adjunct Professor at Fresno State University and Florida International University, and lectures widely on wine chemistry fundamentals. His Best-of-Appellation evaluations panel at AppellationAmerica.com explores the emerging wine regions of the United States and Canada, and his column “The Postmodern Winemaker” has appeared since 2009 in Wines & Vines magazine. He was awarded the 2016 Innovator of the Year at the Innovation + Quality (IQ) Forum, presented by Wine Business Monthly.
Table of Contents
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE. PRINCIPLES 1 The Solution Problem 2 Creating the Conditions for Graceful Aging 3 Building Structure: The Basic Tool Kit 4 The Seven Functions of Oak 5 Vineyard Enology: The Power of Showing Up 6 The Vicinal Diphenol Cascade: Red Wine’s Defi ning Reaction 7 Redox Redux: Measuring Wine’s Oxygen Uptake Capacity 8 Speculations on Minerality 9 Winemaking at High pH 10 Integrated Brettanomyces Management 11 Harmony and Astringency: Nice and Rough PART TWO. PRACTICES 12 Winemaking’s Lunatic Heroes 13 Gideon Beinstock’s Mountain Magic: Handling Extreme Terroir 14 Randall Grahm: California Dreamer in Search of the Miraculous 15 Bob Wample: Thinking Like a Grape PART THREE. TECHNOLOGY 16 Pressing Matters: A Postmodern Tale 17 Some Like It Hot 18 The New Filtrations: Winemaking’s Power Tools 19 Flash Détente: Winemaking Game Changer PART FOUR. PHILOSOPHY 20 Spoofulated or Artisanal? 21 Science and Biodynamics: The Limits of Rationalism 22 Natural Wine Nonsense 23 Yeast Inoculation: Threat or Menace? 24 New World Identity and Judging Reform 25 Liquid Music: Resonance in Wine Appendix 1. Winemaking Basics Appendix 2. Navigating the Postmodern Calendar Notes Glossary of Postmodern Terminology Index About the Author
