One great thing about living in the Sonoma Valley is that you get to enjoy the country life style but you’re only an hour away from the multitude of fine dining options to be found in the City By The Bay. Deerfield has made a commitment to only sourcing fruit locally, from within a 20 mile radius of the winery. We always like to do business with like-minded companies, which is why we’re excited that our wines are on the menu at the new San Francisco eatery Locavore. The restaurant was founded on principles of nourishing people with foods and beverages that are organic and produced locally. All the ingredients used by Locavore were produced in a 100 mile radius of their Mission District location.

They’ve been open for about two months now and San Francisco residents resonate with these ideas and have flocked to the spot. Next week they’re celebrating the successful opening with their first event. Ryan Rugg and I are heading down to pour some wines and help them kick it off.

Tuesday, January 18^th from 5pm to 7pm we’ll be hanging out at Locavore located at 3215 Mission St. San Francisco. More info.

Our 2006 Merlot Cuveé was selected by executive chef Jason Moniz for their locally crafted wine list because of its versatility and ability to pair with a diverse course selection. In order to offer guest more for the evening we’ll be bringing with us the newly released 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and everyone’s favorite, Red Rex.

See you there!



Every day during harvest, the lab tech goes to each fermenting batch of wine and tests the level of Brix (a measurement of the percentage of sugar).  As the wine ferments the Brix steadily drops until it reaches zero, indicating that all of the sugar has been converted by the yeast to alcohol. But occasionally during the fermentation, the chart hanging from the tank where the tech records posts the readings shows the same result day after day. That’s when you know you’re dealing with a stuck fermentation. The yeast has died off, become less active or stopped multiplying. Without treatment, the result would be syrupy sweet juice. It can be scary, but with the right techniques, a skilled winemaker can save the day. Our gold-medal-winning Buchigniani/Garcia Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel gets stuck every year because it comes in at such high Brix.

High Brix means high sugar and sometimes that creates a situation in which the yeast has made so much alcohol that before its finished consuming all the available sugar, the alcohol is high enough to kill the yeast. There are other reasons that primary fermentation can get hung up though. Sometimes the problem is as simple as the tank is too cold for the yeast, and they slow down quit doing their job. Occasionally a harmful bacterium from the vineyard such as Acetobacter or a mold such as Botrytis is producing acetic acids, increasing the volatile acidity and thereby disturbing the yeast. Sometimes there are not enough nutrients in the juice to sustain the yeast. In all cases, as soon as the winemaker has discovered that their wine is stuck, they immediately press the wine off of the skins so that they can better control the process.

Additionally, secondary fermentation (or malolactic fermentation), in which bacteria converts harsh malic acids to softer lactic acids, can outstrip the pace of the yeast. This is often the case with stuck fermentations and the procedure is to let the beneficial bacteria Oeonococcus and Lactobacillus run their course, at which point the primary yeast fermentation can be restored. The wine is then racked off of its lees before restarting the regular fermentation. Rice hulls (which are like the husks of rice grains) are added to neutralize harmful toxins in the juice.

The process of restarting fermentation varies from winemaker to winemaker. At Deerfield we begin by taking some of the wine from the tank and making a mixture of 50% wine, 50% water, fresh yeast, yeast food, and other nutrients which we then allow to start fermenting. This mixture is then added to the tank which is kept at 70⁰F and carefully monitored. When the Brix drops by half of what it was when it became stuck another mixture is prepared. This time the ratio is 75% wine and 25% water. Again when the Brix halves a final mixture is readied. The last mixture includes just wine from the tank and the remaining nutrients the yeast needs. The idea is to slowly acclimate the yeast to the environment of the wine so that it is happy, healthy, and well prepared to do its job. Usually this will resolve the problem and the fermentation will finish.

Maybe we can all learn something from the yeast: When you get stuck, take a bath, give yourself a fresh start, then slowly ease back into it and you’ll solve the problem in no time!

Living in the wine country, you meet plenty of oenophiles. It doesn’t take very long to realize that people who love to drink wine come from all walks of life. As a member of the Millennial Generation, it’s exciting to see so many young people becoming passionate about wine whether or not they’re in the industry. The process of discovery never ends. Throughout your life you can find new wines you adore, refine your palate and explore new sensuous gastronomic experiences. There is something magical however about the emergence of a nascent palate: The rebirth of a formative wine drinker into the Covenant of Dionysus.

During these tumultuous economic times, the wine industry has been on unsure footing. After all, as much as some of us think of wine as a necessity, in reality, it is a luxury product. Despite the tenuous atmosphere, the Wine Market Council reported last Friday that wine consumption grew in 2010, making this the 17 consecutive year of growth in the United States. Baby Boomers are drinking more wine and their choices are becoming more sophisticated, yet the driving force of the new growth is the younger generations. According to the Council’s 2010 Consumer Tracking Study, Millennials are drinking 34% more wine than in the past. Perhaps their palates don’t yet require wines from the upper echelons of price and quality. What is important is that they’ve discovered wine and what’s more, they like it a lot!

The Millennials are also interesting in that they’ve broken from historical patterns. They are increasingly choosing to drink wine over beer at a younger age than previous generations. While many Generation Xers are beginning to diversify in their wine buying habits, the Millennials’ tendency to show a willingness to try new things is leaving people wondering if tastes will quickly shift to higher price points. A Nielsen study of 7500 Millennials conducted in 2010 showed that generally they are more likely than other groups to equate product cost with quality.

Everyone knows that Millenials are the generation that is hooked in, with more people owning smartphones and having active social network accounts than any other segment. This should matter to wineries not just because of new tools available to them to spread the word, but because Millenials are more likely to plan their purchases in advance, which is a good fit for online buying.

The Wine Market Council expects continued growth in wine consumption this year, continued to be driven by younger generations. Deerfield stays on the cutting edge with an employee dedicated to reaching out to wine lovers around the world through the web. Deerfield has wines from $18 to $125 a bottles so that everyone can enjoy handcrafted luxury wines.