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Nevada Wines, Part I
By Barbara
Keck
“Visiting
the experimental winery at UNR is a must.”
There’s
a groundswell of interest building in Nevada wines, and this is in part
due to the work being done by Dr. Grant Cramer at University of Nevada,
Reno, and in part by intrepid vintners and winemakers in Fallon and Genoa.
For now, we are going to offer you a glimpse of the wonderful work in UNR.
Parts two and three will focus on Nevada vintners and wineries, which you’ll
see in future columns.
What
can be done on two acres of vineyards in arid Reno? A lot. That’s
being proven by Dr. Cramer’s eonology and viticulture crew. Each
Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. you, too, are invited to the wine tasting and
study at UNR’s Valley Road Greenhouse. It is in a blue metal building
behind the Nevada Genomics Center, 910 Valley Road. When the sliding gate
is open, go on in.
In the
winery, you’ll find 30 to 40 folding chairs set up on the winery
floor, and a smiling Dr. Cramer and his student assistants. No doubt you
will be greeted by Kitty Spreeman, an extremely knowledgeable lab technician
who makes it all run smoothly. Take a seat as near to the front table as
you can. Pay your $10 class fee, and take a little extra cash because you’ll
no doubt want a Nevada Wines baseball cap or polo shirt. I did, and I’m
proud to wear it, too.
Settle
in for a wonderful tasting experience of 12 to 14 different bottles each
week. The Experimental Winery makes its own wines and blends on site. They
have a library of wines going back to 2003, and they often do vertical
tastings of the same wine from different years, and comparisons of wines
from well-(sufficiently)watered vines and drought-stressed vines. Sometimes,
the event features blind tastings or comparisons to commercial wines. Regardless
of what you taste, you’ll be asked to fill out a tasting sheet so
that the winery can collect evaluation data of the wines as they age.
The wines
are all estate wines; they come from grapes planted as long ago as 1995
on the two acres on Valley Road at the Agricultural Experiment Station.
The wines made include reds such as Pinot Noir, Lemberger, Merlot, Cabernet
Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Meunier; and whites such as Chardonnay,
Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Semillion and Sauvignon Blanc .
The vineyard
is itself an experiment. Vines are growing under conditions of well-water
and drought-stressed. There is an ongoing study to see if drought-stressed
vines increase the amount of resveratrol, which is now considered to be
a heart-healthy element of red wines. “Resveratrol might be a key
ingredient in red wine that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces
bad cholesterol and prevents blood clots,” says a news note from
the Mayo Clinic. The grapes from these vines at UNR are tested for many
things (Phenolics, brix) and the buds of the vines undergo scrutiny, too,
including testing for different hormone levels. It’s all very sexy
for the wine lover.
If you
want to taste these wines, you must come to the Winery. By Nevada law,
the college is not allowed to sell its wines in Washoe County. Upcoming
tastings are Pinot Meunier on March 11, Pinot Blanc on March 18, Cabernet
Franc on March 25, Semillon on April 1, Cabernet Sauvignon on April 8,
Chardonnay on April 15, Syrah on April 22, Riesling on April 29 and Lemberger
on May 6. In addition to tasting these types of Nevada wines, you’ll
be treated to a discussion on such topics as pruning and trellis design
in the vineyard, and vineyards of the world.
Dr Cramer,
Kitty and the crew would love to see you there. For more information, visit
www.ag.unr.edu/cramer.
Or, e-mail Kitty Spreeman for more information at spreeman@unr.edu.
Follow
Barbara’s blog at winebiznews.blogspot.com.
Contact her at barbara@winebizpr.com. |