I'm interested in planting Syrah, Barbera and Zinfandel and I'm trying to find specific info on clonal characteristics with no avail. Suggestions? I'm looking for a Syrah clone with a more fruit forward approach (Australian) as opposed to the French peppery approach. Also looking for Zin that's more likely to result in a good late harvest wine if conditions are appropriate.
Clone selection does have some influence, but have you considered:
Not sure about zin clones for late harvest wine, but the fall rains will have a large impact on bunch rot (zin having very tight clusters promotes this), and the summer night time temperatures will make or break your acid balance and pH, so where you live is a strong consideration. You want cool (50-ish deg F) night time temperature for best acid balance.
On the Syrah (and reds in general), the pepperiness has a lot to do with picking the grapes at a specific ripeness when the pyrazines are at a maximum (typically 23.5 to 24 deg Brix). If you let the fruit mature more (25-26 deg Brix) you get past the pepperiness and into the ripe fruity/jammy flavors. Also, the winemaking style (fermentation temperature and yeast selection) have major impact on fruitiness of the wine. Cooler fermentation promotes fruitiness.
Gene
Elpac Eparg wrote:
I have to agree with the previous post regarding Syrah; in my experience, vineyard management practices, harvest decisions, and vinification techniques have more to do with the fruit forward character of Syrah than the clone.
The Australian methods that produce such rich wines depend, IMHO, on a few key vinification techniques; ripe harvesting ('damn the acid, get the sugar up'); acid adjustment right at the outset of primary; lots of oxygen throughout primary ferementation; and rack-and-return (delestage) which again increases oxygenation, but also gets the seeds out earlier, reducing tannins. The Aussie's also seem to prefer American oak over French, although some of the most interesting south australian wines I've had recently have been unoaked (such as the Torbreck 'Juvenile').
I got my own Syrah vines simply by going to a vineyard from which I was familiar with some of the resulting wine. I offered to help prune - and in return, was allowed to keep a load of cuttings, from which I self-rooted the cuttings. If I were to do so now, I would graft such cuttings on to existing rootstock in the vineyard. Don't know the clone #'s.
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