The Truth About Winemakers

Winemakers are scientists at heart, as Winemaker Nicole Marchesi reveals in our latest blog post.

I have a secret to share about winemakers. We’re really not as cool as you think we are. Deep down we’re just a bunch of geeks. Ok, so maybe we’re a bunch of geeks who have the really cool job of making wine.

Tasting wine and making blends is not the only thing that excites us. Graphs and charts and statistical analysis get us going too. A perfectly straight standard curve can be almost as alluring that first sip of Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon. Our Chardonnay looks almost as tempting in an Erlenmeyer flask as it does in a broad Burgundy wine glass. Almost. While the science behind winemaking is not quite as pleasing as enjoying the finished product, it is still allows our inner geeks to have a lot of fun!

Allow me to elaborate. Recently, my fellow winemaker, Greg, and I were in the lab with our enologist huddled around her computer screen. We were discussing the standard curve calibration for an enzymatic assay to measure malic acid (read: words, words, science, words, math, more science, etc.). One of us made a comment about the concentration of one of the standards, and all three of us burst out laughing. (It was funny, I swear!) A member of our hospitality team happened to walk by the lab and asked what was so funny. He looked at the computer screen and said, “Oh…numbers.” Yep, we’re geeks.