IN PURSUIT OF FLAVOR
Historic ToKalon vineyard
The IPOB Crowd
I am guessing some of you remember the I.P.O.B. (In Pursuit of Balance) campaign from the early 2010’s. In short, a group of winemakers bandied together ideas to market the idea of “wine balance”. Instead of allowing a more diverse interpretation or definition of what wine balance is, they prescribed a narrow meaning… and, surprise, it reinforced and correlated perfectly to their wine style. Therein lies the issue. They defined the term balance to fit their narrative, and they espoused that a wine can only be balanced if it was lower in alcohol, higher in acidity and appealed to the more sophisticated palate.
Lesson Learned
During a short period at Mondavi, we had our IPOB moment, but back then the axiom was “food friendly” wines. Pick earlier, keep acidity high, talk about terroir. We embraced the small contingent of wine industry professionals who supported our cause, knowing they were ever pressing to see their version of balance become more mainstream. The moment was brief, however, as consumers and critics alike wondered where the flavor went. Well, the flavor never developed in the vineyard. After learning our lesson, Mondavi hired Michel Rolland to reinforce the house style.
What is Balance?
I have my own idea of balance. Balance can be created along all areas of the wine style spectrum; some lighter styled wines, with less alcohol, can be in perfect balance, while others are innocuous, lean and lacking flavor. Richer, more concentrated wines can find balance as well, but many are tired and heavy. Balance isn’t defined by ripeness, but if your style embraces richer, more flavorful wine, you need to build concentration, derived from the vineyard. For my taste, I prefer wines that are rich, complex, layered — and balanced.
If you want wine balance, start in the vineyard. To tell the story of the vineyard and create balanced wines, you have to create flavor. Just as in winemaking, every step of vineyard farming in consequential -- you have to get it right, and notably, you have to do it at the exact right time. To complicate matters, each vintage is different and the timing of vineyard operations needs to match the influence of the growing season. When to remove shoots, when and how often do you hedge, when and how many times do you thin your crop? All of these have consequences. Most important is creating conditions for your vineyard to express itself. That necessitates establishing a balance between vine vigor and crop. I find the best path for balance is to create low vigor vines with low yields. Each cluster needs the perfect ability to ripen, and having cluster sovereignty (each cluster hangs freely and not touching another) provides the conditions to perfectly ripen that cluster. Ripening doesn’t just mean accumulation of sugar, but also proper sunlight penetration for tannin, texture and flavor ripening. Ripening the canopy is another critical element. There are countless other factors that promote vineyard expression and balance. Once harvested, a winemaker can only take away from this vineyard expression, and their winemaking techniques need to be gentle and exacting. Suffice it to say, to retain vineyard expression and balance, winemaking needs to relentlessly honor what the vineyard provides. More on that in another episode…
Let the Consumer Decide
When Walt Wines began, the IPOB crowd, while small, was gaining momentum. I knew better than to follow them down that rabbit hole, but instead, devised a slogan and promoted IPOF – In Pursuit of Flavor. Bold, flavorful and balanced wines. Don’t get me wrong, I applauded the IPOB efforts — why not use whatever marketing tools you have to push your wares. But, for the sake of diversity, which benefits wine consumers, we should celebrate the vast array of styles in the market and encourage more.
