Source: Forever a Dreamer

Andrew Jefford wrote a brilliant piece in Decanter this week (http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/opinion/jefford-on-monday/jefford-wine-is-also-a-dream-286343/) which really resonated with how I view wine and how Our Fathers came about.

Blind tastings amongst the public often suggest that without context, there is no clear consensus that “better” wine is preffered over cheaper, more obvious wines. Wine therefore needs its context to maximise its appeal.

The appeal of wine for many people is its ability to inspire dreams. That wine contains alcohol is a great help in this regard but as Jefford elucidates, wine has an ability “to induce reverie, to inspire aspiration or hope, and to promise (even if it finally fails to deliver) exceptional sensual gratification”

I’d go one step further and suggest that some winemakers have an ability to imagine the pleasure and appeal of a wine long before it is even made.

Though I’d hardly include myself in the echelons of the world’s great winemakers, I do think that I have an ability to see and taste both food and wine before it has been cooked or made.

The merging, synergistic power of our senses can give a surprisingly clear and accurate vision of what is still to become.

Take Our Fathers 2014 for instance. Though I’d never picked fruit from that vineyard before, nor even tasted a wine made from it, I had an innate sense that it needed to be light of frame, savoury, aromatic and pure in order to convey its best attributes. As a result, I avoided the temptation to equate old vine with power and concentration, choosing instead to pick early to retain the energy and freshness that exists even in fruit from very old vines.

Likewise, without precedent, I visualised the flavour and texture profile brought about by including the stems in the ferment, by using a certain cooper for the barrels and for the length of time in the barrels.

Its all the more gratifying therefore when the end result is eveything I visualised. Considering the nightmare that gave rise to Our Fathers, its comforting that now a dream has been realised.