The Perfect Shade of Pink
Last week the very first hand-picked Malta-grown Syrah grapes from the 2013 vintage rolled into the Delicata winery. Syrah or Shiraz is one of Malta’s most widely grown international black-skinned grape varieties. However, they were not destined for the making of red wine as one would expect but for the vinification of pink wine.
In fact, any winemaker who would want to make a robust, concentrated, full-bodied red wine out of them would have been wise to let these Maltese Syrah grapes hang on the vine for longer. But when sourcing grapes for the making of rosé wine, grapes with characteristics that are almost the opposite are required.
This first lot of Syrah bunches was therefore harvested earlier, on 13th August from family-run vineyards in Bidnija. By this time the grapes had already accumulated enough natural sugars so as for the winemaker to achieve the desired level of alcohol. But they also still contained a fair degree of natural acidity high enough for him to make the desired crisp style of rosé wine.
These early-picked Syrah grapes coming from Delicata’s domaine of pocket-sized vineyards need to produce a crisp and fruity, easy-drinking pink. The right amounts and ratio of natural acidity and grape sugars are more of a concern than the readiness of the tannin which are not wanted when producing a rosé. These tannin (natural components found in red grape skins) get extracted when making red wines and are by large responsible for their dry taste which is an unappreciated trait of rosés.
In the photographs (posted online in Delicata’s Vintage 2013 reportage) you can see the quality of the perfect, disease free Syrah grapes on arrival at the Delicata winery after having gone through the very initial stages of governmental D.O.K inspection and accreditation.
Next all grape bunches are de-stemmed, grapes crushed and flash-chilled to preserve their freshness, flagrances and flavour, and then transferred to the Willmes press.
At first the free-run grape juice that simply seeps from the crushed grapes without the help of any mechanical pressure is lovely, light-coloured pinkish. Although the juice of red-skinned grape varieties is generally translucent, there is so much colour in the skins of Syrah grapes that 30 minutes of contact with the juice is enough to taint it almost reddish.
It takes great skill and expertise to extract the right aromas, flavours and colour whilst predicting the way the final wine shall taste and look.
As for its taste, at this stage the Barbie-pink juice is sweet like a glass of freshly squeezed forest fruits, cranberries and redcurrants. This pure fruit juice will continue to go through the fermentation process in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and finally become one of Delicata’s perfectly pink quality wines.
