15.10.2024
What Happens When the Grapes Get to the Winery?
A chat with... winemaker Jakob Gasser
Reading time: 7 '
As long as the grapes are hanging on the vines, it’s enough to look over the winegrower’s shoulders. But what happens as soon as they disappear into the winery? We asked the young winemaker Jakob Gasser the simple question of how (good) wine is made from grapes and found out: the question may be a simple one, but the answer is not.
Jakob Gasser has enormous shoes to fill: this year he took over from Hans Terzer, a veritable institution in Alto Adige winemaking, as the winemaker at the St. Michael-Eppan Winery. The generational change was introduced cautiously, and there will be no major break. After all, Gasser views himself as being just as committed to tradition as he is to innovation. And, as the young winemaker puts it himself, to “controlled non-intervention.”
Jakob Gasser has enormous shoes to fill: this year he took over from Hans Terzer, a veritable institution in Alto Adige winemaking, as the winemaker at the St. Michael-Eppan Winery. The generational change was introduced cautiously, and there will be no major break. After all, Gasser views himself as being just as committed to tradition as he is to innovation. And, as the young winemaker puts it himself, to “controlled non-intervention.”
Mr. Gasser, the grapes from the first harvest that took place under your responsibility are in the winery. What happens to them there?
Jakob Gasser: At the very beginning, a visual and analytical test of the grape material is carried out. For instance, a visual check is performed to make sure that the grapes have been harvested cleanly. Through analysis, we then determine the sugar, total acidity, and pH values. Once that is completed, it is important to process the grapes quickly and gently.
Is this processing the same for red wines and white wines?
Gasser: No. White wine grapes go right into the press, where the juice is separated from the stalks, skins, and seeds. Red wine grapes are just destemmed, so only the stalk structure is removed, while the juice goes into the fermentation tank together with the skins and seeds. The skins give red wines their color, while both the skins and seeds provide the tannins. So those tannins that are produced during fermentation are extracted by the alcohol and become a part of the red wines.
So the secret lies in fermentation? That’s what turns grapes into the Alto Adige wine that we can enjoy?
Gasser: We can only make wine from grapes with the help of nature. Within that context, we are assisted by yeasts, which convert the sugar in the grapes – that is, glucose and fructose – into alcohol. In addition, this conversion also produces fermentation by-products, which we perceive as aromas in the wine. The entire process takes place naturally, but constant monitoring is crucial.
How does it work with the aging of the wines? What criteria do you use to decide which wines to age for a long time and which are to be drunk fresh?
Gasser: That depends on the grape material. The higher the quality of the grapes – that is, the smaller the quantity of the harvest – and the better the location and the older the vines, the more advantageous a long maturation in the cellar can be, because it helps the full potential of a wine to unfold. If the harvest quantities are somewhat higher and the vines somewhat younger, then the wines go into the bottle fresh and fruity.
So in the end, the decision is already made in the vineyard?
Gasser: Yes, right at the beginning of the winegrowing year. The vineyard must be worked in such a way that the yield and quality targets can be achieved. After all, we can't increase the quality of the grapes in the cellar with any techniques or machines. Rather, we can only get the wines into the bottle in the best possible way.
And as a young winemaker, what are you doing differently from your predecessor?
Gasser: Basically, the goal is always the same: to make wines that reflect our vineyards in San Michele-Appiano. This is only possible if we focus even more strongly on viticulture. It is for that reason that I spend a lot of time in the vineyard with our viticulture consultant, Norbert Spitaler.
And in the winery?
Gasser: What fascinates me in the winery is the combination of innovation and tradition. At St. Michael-Eppan Winery, a lot has been invested in recent years in new technology. For example, in a grape transport system with a gravity cellar. In addition, we are experimenting with new vinification methods and the most varied of materials for wine aging. And we discuss the results as a team. When it comes to tradition, I rely upon aging in large wooden barrels, whereby what stands in the foreground in the winery is “controlled non-intervention.” And because there are no fixed recipes that tell you how to make wine, in the end it will always be my palate to decide.
... And probably the market too. Are there any new trends in wine consumption to which you need to adjust in the winery?
Gasser: At the worldwide level, wine consumption is moving more and more in the direction of fresh wines and, above all else, towards white wines, which already account for 80 percent of our production here at San Michele-Appiano. In the winery, that means that it is important to very precisely control the use of wood and to age the wines in such a way that they are easy to drink and enjoy.
One last question: What will the 2024 Alto Adige vintage be like? We only need two or three key words for the white wines and the same for the reds ...
Gasser: I would describe the white wines as fresh, and being wines that are full of energy. The latter also holds true for the reds, in our case Pinot Noir, which are also fruity and have a great deal of power.
Jakob Gasser: At the very beginning, a visual and analytical test of the grape material is carried out. For instance, a visual check is performed to make sure that the grapes have been harvested cleanly. Through analysis, we then determine the sugar, total acidity, and pH values. Once that is completed, it is important to process the grapes quickly and gently.
Is this processing the same for red wines and white wines?
Gasser: No. White wine grapes go right into the press, where the juice is separated from the stalks, skins, and seeds. Red wine grapes are just destemmed, so only the stalk structure is removed, while the juice goes into the fermentation tank together with the skins and seeds. The skins give red wines their color, while both the skins and seeds provide the tannins. So those tannins that are produced during fermentation are extracted by the alcohol and become a part of the red wines.
So the secret lies in fermentation? That’s what turns grapes into the Alto Adige wine that we can enjoy?
Gasser: We can only make wine from grapes with the help of nature. Within that context, we are assisted by yeasts, which convert the sugar in the grapes – that is, glucose and fructose – into alcohol. In addition, this conversion also produces fermentation by-products, which we perceive as aromas in the wine. The entire process takes place naturally, but constant monitoring is crucial.
How does it work with the aging of the wines? What criteria do you use to decide which wines to age for a long time and which are to be drunk fresh?
Gasser: That depends on the grape material. The higher the quality of the grapes – that is, the smaller the quantity of the harvest – and the better the location and the older the vines, the more advantageous a long maturation in the cellar can be, because it helps the full potential of a wine to unfold. If the harvest quantities are somewhat higher and the vines somewhat younger, then the wines go into the bottle fresh and fruity.
So in the end, the decision is already made in the vineyard?
Gasser: Yes, right at the beginning of the winegrowing year. The vineyard must be worked in such a way that the yield and quality targets can be achieved. After all, we can't increase the quality of the grapes in the cellar with any techniques or machines. Rather, we can only get the wines into the bottle in the best possible way.
And as a young winemaker, what are you doing differently from your predecessor?
Gasser: Basically, the goal is always the same: to make wines that reflect our vineyards in San Michele-Appiano. This is only possible if we focus even more strongly on viticulture. It is for that reason that I spend a lot of time in the vineyard with our viticulture consultant, Norbert Spitaler.
And in the winery?
Gasser: What fascinates me in the winery is the combination of innovation and tradition. At St. Michael-Eppan Winery, a lot has been invested in recent years in new technology. For example, in a grape transport system with a gravity cellar. In addition, we are experimenting with new vinification methods and the most varied of materials for wine aging. And we discuss the results as a team. When it comes to tradition, I rely upon aging in large wooden barrels, whereby what stands in the foreground in the winery is “controlled non-intervention.” And because there are no fixed recipes that tell you how to make wine, in the end it will always be my palate to decide.
... And probably the market too. Are there any new trends in wine consumption to which you need to adjust in the winery?
Gasser: At the worldwide level, wine consumption is moving more and more in the direction of fresh wines and, above all else, towards white wines, which already account for 80 percent of our production here at San Michele-Appiano. In the winery, that means that it is important to very precisely control the use of wood and to age the wines in such a way that they are easy to drink and enjoy.
One last question: What will the 2024 Alto Adige vintage be like? We only need two or three key words for the white wines and the same for the reds ...
Gasser: I would describe the white wines as fresh, and being wines that are full of energy. The latter also holds true for the reds, in our case Pinot Noir, which are also fruity and have a great deal of power.
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