Gene Pierce & Steve DiFrancesco with “The Egg” Courtesy: G.W.

     A little while ago I reblogged a post from Glenora Winery on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes that dealt with their newest acquisition, a concrete fermentation tank A.K.A. “The Egg”.  I was curious how things were going with their venture into this rediscovered method of winemaking that has long been used in Europe but is now catching on here.  One reason that it took so long for the idea to take hold here was that the only producers of these vessels were in Europe and it was cost prohibitive to ship.  Now that there are manufacturers on this side of the pond the idea has more appeal to winemakers because of the more manageable prices making them comparable to oak.  Wine Spectator published a short article on concrete fermenters in last months edition or visit my original reblog of January, 2014 “Great Egg-spectations” if you would like to read more about them.  I would attempt to summarize what the winemakers at Glenora Winery told me but I wanted to be totally accurate on their experience so I am posting their response as follows verbatim “The project is still in progress, but we anticipate an early July release of the three Pinot Blancs.  During fermentation, the wine began to take on personalities of their own.  The micro-oxygenation that occurred using the egg and barrels helped to open up and develop flavors from both the fruit as well as the yeast interaction during fermentation. However, the concrete egg contributed no additional flavors to the wine the way the oak did.  The stainless steel is very inert, contributing little to the wine.  However, dead corners in the stainless steel tank slowed down aging and development of the fruit derived flavors.”  

     Thank You to the winemaking team at Glenora Winery for your help and I will continue to post updates about the “Egg Wine”.