The Vintner's Apprentice: An Insider's Guide to the Art and Craft of Wine Making, Taught by the Masters

208 Pages·2011·115.02 MB·English

by  Eric Miller

THE
APPRENTICE

© 2011 by Quarry Books First published in the United States 1. Wine and wine making. 2. Vintners
of America by Quarry Books, a member of I nterviews. I. Title.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may Quayside Publishing Group
be reproduced in any form without written 100 Cummings Center TP548.M62652011
permission of the copyright owners. All Suite 406-L 663'.2-dc22
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the artists concerned, and no responsibility Fax: [phone] ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-657-3
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printer for any infringement of copyright or
Digital edition: 978-1-61058-124-0
otherwise, arisi ng from the contents of th is 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Softcover edition: 978-1-59253-657-3
publication. Every effort has been made to
ensure that credits accurately comply with Library of Congress Design: Paul Burgess: Burge Agency
information supplied. We apologize for any Cataloging-in-Publication Data Artwork: Peter Usher: Burge Agency
inaccuracies that may have occurred and Front cover photos: shutterstock; Brian
will resolve inaccurate or missing informa Miller, Eric, 1949- Pi per Photography; Eric M i Iler/Chaddsford
tion in a subsequent reprinting of the book. Vi ntner's apprentice: the insider's guide to Winery; shutterstock; University of Min
the art and craft of wine making, taught by nesota, David L. Hansen
the masters I Eric Miller. Spine photo: Stone Hill Winery
p. cm. Back cover photos: Serge Bois Prevot;
Includes bibliographical references and istockphoto.com; Penfolds
index.
Printed in China
TO MY WIFE AND CO-AUTHOR
LEE MILLER, BECAUSE THERE
ARE THOUSANDS OF WONDERFUL
WINES I WANT TO TASTE AND
SMELL AND FEEL, BUT ONLY
ONE LEE.

THE VINTNER'S APPRENTICE
FOREWORD
MY FIRST VISIT TO A WINERY AND VINEYARD WAS TO
BENMARL, THE HIGHLY ACCLAIMED WINERY IN THE HUDSON
VALLEY OF NEW YORK RUN BY ERIC MILLER'S FAMILY, A DAY
THAT LIVES INGRAINED IN MY MEMORY. I SAW ROW UPON
ROW OF BEAUTIFUL VINES RISING UP AND DIPPING DOWN
THE VALLEY'S FLOOR. I SAW THE BIG METAL TANKS AND
WOODEN OAK BARRELS. SINCE THAT DAY I HAVE WANTED TO
PLANT VINES AND MAKE WINE. ERIC HELPED ME PLANT MY
FIRST VINEYARD WHEN I WAS 23, AND HE HELPED ME PLANT
MY MOST RECENT ONE FOUR YEARS AGO. HE HAS ALWAYS
BEEN THERE FOR ANY OF MY "FARMING QUESTIONS," AND
NOW HE HAS WRITTEN THE BEST BOOK ON GRAPE GROWING
AND WINEMAKING FOR ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS.
FOREWORD
Growing grapes and making wine, espe While Eric has written extensively about The book is full of fascinating and useful
cially great wine, is not an easy endeavor. the art and process of winemaking, he has information in a down-to-earth approach
And most books available on these subjects also interviewed winemakers from South with such things as The Winemaker's Tool
are extremely technical, almost taking Africa, France, the United States, Italy, Box, The Vintner's Marketplace, and solv
the fun out of the process. The Vintner's Chile, and Germany, which gives the reader ing winemaking problems. The Vintner's
Apprentice is the first book on winemak great insight into winemaking around the Apprentice even tells you how wine barrels
ing that I have ever read that keeps the world. If you are like Eric and me, who and corks are made and how they help in
romance of wine balanced with the techni have found our passion for growing grapes, aging. The joy of harvest, the excitement,
cal aspects of th is art. The prol iferation of making wine, and (of course) drinking it, emotion, and exhaustion of crush time, to
vineyards and wineries in the "New World' and are considering this kind of lifestyle for the disappointment of some harvests with
is unprecedented. I n the United States yourself, you must begin your journey by the threat of rain, frost, or hail-it's all
alone there are now 6,000 wineries, which reading the stories of how the great wine here.
is up from a mere 200 forty years ago when makers of the world began their journey.
I first met Eric. You read real stories from real winemak So how do winemakers make wine? From
ers, the up side and the down side, while Missouri to St. Emilion, France, from the
always maintaining a sense of humor and Old World to the New World, everyone has
enthusiasm, supplemented with beautiful a unique take on the process. This book
photography. This should be everyone's is all about the journey of grapes from the
go-to book to understand where to plant vineyard through the winery to the wine on
grapes (soil types, weather and wine condi yourdinnertable! Eric Miller makes this
tions), what grapes to plant (Vitis vinifera, wine journey easy, simple to understand,
Vitis labrusca, hybrids), and what you can and enjoyable, and I am honored and proud
expect to achieve in the final product. to introduce this book to you.
KEVIN ZRALY
Author and educator, Windows on the
World Complete Wine Course