My first crush

My hands were a sticky mess. The room was loud with the sounds of machine and classic rock. Everyone concentrated on their tasks, but regular laughter highlighted the cacophony that was fall crush on Oct. 22 at Coeur d'Alene Cellars.

Crush, the process of crushing grapes to make wine, has come a long way since Lucy hiked up her skirt and stomped barefooted in a giant French barrel. While stomping is still used at some wineries, others use a motorized crusher and de-stemmer.

Picture a stainless steel, two-story unit: above is a loader where crates of clustered, dark purple, syrah grapes on stems are loaded and gently raked onto a conveyor belt. At Coeur d'Alene Cellars, trained volunteers sort through the grapes by hand, removing leaves and other natural debris before the belt carries them to a de-stemmer. Once inside, the grapes travel down to the "must pump," like a tiller, while the stems are spit out the side of the machine and into a large bin. "Must" is a term referring to crushed grapes.

Now picture me, raking the loose stems to the side to make room for the continuing flow. Don't worry; stems and errant grapes aren't wasted. They're spread on local fields as food for birds and other critters.

As the separated grapes fell to the rotating pump, volunteer Robin Chisholm and I sprayed them with sulfite (used for centuries to kill bacteria and wild yeasts) and a yeast enzyme (to extract color by breaking down skins). Winemaker Warren Schutz insists this is done by hand and bit by bit, just one of the details that contribute to better quality wine. Some wineries sometimes just dump the stuff in bulk at the end.

Once the must pump does its work the grapes are pushed into a hose, slowly traveling forward by the pressure of preceding grapes into a big plastic bin. This is where things really start to heat up. Literally.

Once a special wine yeast is added the grape-y juices heat up to 80 degrees (for red wines; lower for whites) as they ferment over the next five to 10 days (depending upon the grape). Fermentation occurs when yeast breaks down the grapes' natural sugars into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. The high molecular activity generates heat.

At one point I saw Warren carrying a big jug of what looked like orange juice. Assistant Winemaker Brian Logan explained that it was actually a viognier (white wine) in the making. At first the suspended yeast cells can make the wine look milky; as it ages they settle and the color clarifies. Finally the grapes are machine-pressed and remaining skins removed; then the wine is stored in oak or steel barrels for at least 18 months. The wine is "racked" quarterly to remove sediment from the barrels.

Wonder about tannins? In wine they mostly come from the grape skins, although tannins are also found in seeds and stems. Tannins are natural antioxidants and give wine body. Because white wine is made differently (the skins are removed immediately, less oxygen exposure, and ferment longer at a cooler temperature) whites have much less tannin content. As any wine ages, the tannins soften and become less noticeable.

I asked Warren (over wine and group lunch) what factors, other than grape, most influence how a wine tastes. His answer was barrel type (e.g., steel vs. oak, or French vs. American wood) and time.

What a time I had. Thanks for excellent vino, Warren.

Sholeh Patrick is a wannabe-wino and columnist for the Hagadone News Network. E-mail sholehjo@hotmail.com