Exposure

There's a winery that we happen to like that puts a fair amount of data in its rear label. In particular, we get the required information such as percentage of alcohol by volume and the Surgeon General's warning that appears on all wine bottles in the US. But, we also get data about the particular vineyard or plot from which the grapes were picked, the elevation of that vineyard, the AVA in which that vineyard sits, a description of the soil, and the exposure.

Who cares, right? Interestingly, for a wine drinker who knows little about the particular wine, that information can be the key to pairing the different wines with foods. But, we need to understand it.

Diligent readers might recall that when we visited Napa Valley, albeit vicariously, we spent a lot of time talking about diurnal temperature shifts. If you read it, you probably went to sleep, but I persevered.

However, for those who read on, you'll recall that more pronounced diurnal shifts result in higher acidity while smaller shifts allow for more brix development meaning higher alcohol potential or earlier harvesting.

Again, so what?

Well, recently, we had two different Pinot Noirs from the same vintage from this winery. Both are from the same relatively small American Viticultural Area (AVA), but from different vineyards at similar elevations and with similar soil makeups. While it didn't appear on the label, the technical specifications tell me that each wine used the same clone of Pinot Noir. Yet, the wines were markedly different.

The first wine of the two showed that it had eastern exposure. The wine was more reserved. One might think of it as a wine that we could drink when the proper pairing is a white wine, but we're really in the mood for a red. Light and bright, it would probably pair well with Thanksgiving turkey served with plenty of cranberry sauce.

How did this happen? Eastern exposure means that the grapes get morning sunlight. So, the morning are warmer than might otherwise be expected with the afternoons cooler. Harvested early, the wine was quite reserved.

The second wine had southwestern exposure. That means the mornings are quite cool and often laden with a fog coming off the nearby river. Dew rests on the plants. But, the afternoons are quite warm. The large diurnal temperature shift resulted in a wine with near racy acidity. This is a wine that will age well (this was not our only bottle) and has the structure to handle a somewhat heavier cut of meat. Despite its limited tannins, it could handle some cuts of steak quite well.

The only real difference is the exposure to sunlight. And, that explains why we should care.