4 - Vins Doux Naturels Flashcards
vins doux naturals or VDN
- category of french wines made sweet by the addition of spirit during fermentation
- is a number of PDO’s
- Roussillon 80% of the production
- Languedoc
- southern Rhone
Climate
-generally the climate in all the VDN PDOs is Mediterranean
- Roussillon
- warmest and driest region
- the tramontane wind (dry cold wind coming from north of Pyrenees) which leads to greater transpiration from the grapes during the end of ripening and hence a greater concentration of sugar
- beneficial meaning less spirit is needed to fortify
- wine to a certain level of alcohol while retaining a certain level of residual sugar
- reduces juice yields
Grape varieties
The majority of VDNs are produced from muscat
-muscat blanc a petit grains
-muscat most widely plant in France
-smaller grapes than muscat Alexandria
-have a great intensity of aromas and flavours
-tolerant to dry weather and therefore is
suited for Mediterranean climate
-susceptible to powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot and mites
-planting are increasing in number mainly due to the popularity of the dry wines
- muscat of Alexandria
- bigger grapes
- achieve high sugar levels
- tolerant dry weather
- susceptible to powdery mildew and botrytis bunch rot
-planting decline as it is through to produce wines less refined
Grape varieties
The majority of VDNs are produced from Grenache noir
- late ripening
- good drought resistant
- suitable to Mediterranean climate
- produce high yields
- but can relatively pale in colour unless these are controlled
- accumulates sugars quickly because of this is suitable for production of fortified wines
- susceptible to couloure at the fruit, downy mildew, phomopsis and botrytis bunch rot which can reduce the yields
-grenache blanc or macabeu and grenache Gris may also be part of the blend for VDNs in Roussillon
Vineyard management
- shady canopy is required to reduce the chances of sunburn and excessive grape shrivelling
- yield maximum is generally 30. hL/ha
- by law the grapes must be picked with minimum of 14.8%abv potential alcohol
- sometimes grapes are picked slightly riper but overall producers generally want to retain as much acidity as possible to balance the residual sugar in these wines
- grapes tend to be hand-harvest
- there may be several passes through the vineyard depending on the ripeness of the crop
- late harvest or botrytis characters are not desired
Winemaking
- VDNs are produced by adding grape spirit to stop fermentation early to give a sweet fortified wine
- spirit is added when the fermentation reaches 5-8%abv to make wines of 15-18%abv
- neutral spirit 95-96%abv is used for not to compete with the character of the based wine
- only 5-10% of the volume of the wine is made with fortifying spirit
- minimum concentration of residual sugar depends on the individual appellation
- muscat-based wines range 100g/L to 126g/L
- grenache-based wines range 45g/L 200g/L
-
VDNs made from white grapes
Stainless steel
Fermentation Temp15C to protect the fruit Ester aromas
- pressed and the must fermented off the skins
- period of skin contact 6-24 h prior to fermentation may be used to extract greater aroma from the skins of the grapes
- winemaker may choose to blend press juice with run juice for extra body and texture or keep separate as desired
- unaged VDNs the must may be chilled and stored for a period of months and fermented based on demand
- ensure the wines produced are as fresh as possible
- this style must and wine will also be protected from oxygen through the winemaker process
- agin to retain fresh primary aromas
VDNs made from black grapes
Stainless steel
Fermentation temp 28C promote extraction but retain fruity aromas
-typical for the must to be fermented and fortified whilst in contact with the grape skins
- addition of the fortifying alcohol increases the extraction of colour
- flavour and tannins
-all of which are important for wines that are to undergo extensive ageing
- maceration on the skins can continue for a couple of weeks past the fortification date to maximise extraction
- cap management techniques such as pumping over and punching down are used to maximise extraction
Maturation
- style of fortified wines
- decision made during the maturation process have a significant impact on the style of the wine
- young unaged wine
- undergo oxidative maturation
-labelling terms in each of the application are used to signify the style of the wine produced
Youthful unaged wine
- released for sale a few months after fermentation
- stored in closed stainless steel vessel at cool and constant temperature
- protected from the oxygen (blanketing with inert gas)
- displaying primary aromas
- muscat will display floral, grapey, peach, pear, honey
- grenache will display blackberries, raspberry, plums
Oxidatively aged wine
- matured in a variety of vessels
- over a period of several years
- old oak barrels
- barrels are typically not topped up during the maturation which encourages oxidation
- demi-johns or bonbonnes
- not quite full, un-stoppered and left outside in the sun to speed up the ageing process
- the wines can be directly bottle for sale
- be transferred and matured further in barrels
- or be used as a blending component with oxidatively aged wines from barrels
