Almost Fall
| Fall is my favorite season of the year. The summer hothouse gives way to drier, cooler nights. Birds begin to change their daily patterns, and my wife finds our swimming pool too cold in September except during really hot days. We have three remaining small harvests, Cabernet Sauvignon on September 7, Merlot after that (we will need a small amount of outside help for Merlot), and some late-ripening Tempranillo. Of course, we continue to harvest and receive donations of pears from surrounding farms and homes. Right now, much of the grapevine foliage in the fruiting zone is gone revealing beautiful clusters of blue-purple cab and merlot grapes. If you want to see classic grapevines with mature grapes on them, the next two weeks will be the best time to visit. As our sun travels through the fall equinox, the late afternoon light picks up more yellow and red hues passing through greater amounts of our planet’s thin atmosphere, my thoughts turn to fires on the patio, hunting with my daughter, and watching shooting stars in a crisp night sky. My heart turns to you and the magnificent creator of this glorious mess to say “thank you” for another terrific year. Bob Wickizer, Winemaker  |
| Retail Sales Our newest salesperson, Jetaime Holloway, joins us in September. On summer weekends she tends the bar at Barnacle Bill’s Marina on Lake Tenkiller. Jetaime will cover Tulsa and to the west. She loves wine. Her favorite Pecan Creek wine is Purple Martin. Jetaime will be lining up public tastings and wine dinners, so call the winery 918 683.1087 or email us at info@pecancreekwinery.com.  |
| Recent Bottling Bottlings in September include:
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| Bio-Control There are hundreds of species of yeast in the world. A few cause nasty human infections, a few others have been selectively bred by humans for the past few thousand years to ferment the sugar in grapes into alcohol. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the workhorse of the wine industry. But grapes on the vine are not just the food you like to eat or drink. On average, each berry is covered with about 50,000 micro-organisms, bacteria and yeast. Many of them are bad guys and will do bad things to your wine. This is why so-called “native yeast” or “ambient fermentation” using these field-borne yeasts is so dicey. Some years the bad guys will win, and you will not have good wine. So, the safe, “conventional wisdom” way of winemaking is to clean and sanitize all your equipment, and then add enough sulfite to the grapes coming in that you wipe out (kill) all the microorganisms in your harvest bin. Then, the winemaker can start with reliably clean, fresh fruit, already loaded with sulfites. Last year we tried some experiments with this stuff. This year, we’re all in. This concept spins the whole ‘kill ‘em all” concept on its head. We still clean and sanitize everything, but instead of sulfites, we add two other species of yeast that used to be considered “spoilage yeasts.” We spray our equipment and the incoming fruit with our “Non Sacc Yeasts.” We deliberately infect our fruit and equipment in a way that is more like a vaccination. Our two Non Sacc Yeasts (NSY) out-compete other microorganisms for nutrients. They also reproduce faster so that within an hour or so, the juice or fruit going to the fermentation step is completely colonized by only these two NSY species. Everything else, including all the unwanted bad guys is gone, vanished, nada. Here’s the cool part. Our NSY yeasts don’t make any significant amount of alcohol, nor do they affect the flavor or aroma of the wine. They have a very low “alcohol toxicity” so that when our good yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) comes galloping in after the winemaker addition, it raises the alcohol level in fermentation to the point that kills the NSY yeast. The fermentation proceeds as desired, and the winemaker does not have to worry about potential downstream spoilage (at least not as much as before). Let’s raise a glass to our laboratory scientists who have figured out how to work with Mother Nature taking something that was considered a spoiler before and making it a hero. |
| Wine Education Corner – “Wine and Food” Lots of books have been written on this subject so I will keep this short and focused. Sweet wines can be paired with hot, spicy dishes from Mexico, India, or Asia. Today you can do an Internet search to figure out good pairing strategies. Unlike beer and distilled spirits, wine actually helps you taste and digest food. The acidity in the wine releases more aromas and flavor molecules from your food thereby enhancing the experience of eating well-prepared food. The tannins in red wines help your mouth breakdown fats and oils which is why red wines are the classic pairing for steak and barbecue. Tannins will also stimulate your mouth to produce more digestive enzymes, so that before you even swallow your food, it is already in better shape for your stomach. Wine has been part of human civilization for thousands of years. Diluted wine and water were part of the Roman soldier’s daily hydration and may have contributed to the long-term success of the world’s oldest military. The psalmist declares that “wine gladdens the heart.” Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding. I’m still working on that one. Until I do, I’ll have to use grapes. |
Outside Winery Events
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Future Winery Happenings
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| Staying at the Winery Our four-bedroom Air BnB house next door is now open and available for overnight guests. The house is completely furnished and accommodates up to eight people in four bedrooms. We have already had two different groups stay with us. Both gave very positive reviews. We also have eight 50-amp electrical hookups for RVs. Four of them have water available as well. We love our guests and visitors from all over the world stopping for a great winey experience right here, in Oklahoma. |
| WE SHIP TO 38 STATES! Wine makes a GREAT gift! did you know that we ship to 38 states, making it an easy gift to send to your loved ones? Ordering is easy on our website! We ship to the following states: AK, AZ, CO, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY |