Page 94 of Red Mountain Burning
“Honey, you’ve been working at the winery what? A couple months? Let’s not pretend you’re an expert. It’s a beverage. Sometimes the men in this room get a little carried away.”
“I think Emilia knows exactly what she’s talking about,” Jake said.
Carmen scoffed. “Oh God, Jake. This is getting absurd.”
“Carmen…” Jake pressed his mouth together, holding back a temper. After an uncomfortable stare down, he said, “You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to. Why don’t you take a walk?”
She didn’t like that and hissed, “This is just as much my winery as it yours.”
With finality, he said, “Don’t belittle my daughter. She’s earned a right to sit at this table.”
Everyone but Carmen and Jake suppressed smiles.
Carmen crossed her arms in disgust and nearly lasered two holes in the table with her eyes.
After a long uncomfortable pause, Jake said, “Moving on…”
Brooks took the hint. “So here’s the deal. Angeline is the heart of the vineyard. Using her as a base, how do we make her sing even more?” He turned to Emilia. “As natural winemakers, we can’t and don’t want to add any acid or water, or anything else for that matter. So we have only one way. That’s blending.”
Brooks pointed to the samples. “All these lots and varieties are our spice rack. Merlot for roundness. Petit verdot for color. Cabernet sauvignon for spine. The earliest-picked sangiovese for acidity and texture.” He clapped his hands. “Now comes the fun part. Time to create our blends. Then we’ll see who comes out on top.”
In the hour that followed, they worked on their own, tasting through every lot, playing around with percentages of the different varieties and testing different theories. Brooks was trying not to dwell on Carmen coming in and out of the room as he dove into the experience.
Eventually, he felt that he’d found the perfect blend. He’d tried quite a few different ideas, but in the end, he’d settled on a sixty-percent syrah, twenty-three percent cabernet sauvignon, ten percent merlot, and then a smattering of other varieties for enhancement. There were so many things to consider in this blend. Balance and flavor, of course, but also age-ability. He and Jake wanted their wines to live for decades, while at the same time being approachable earlier on for those who didn’t have the means to cellar wine.
Pak collected everyone’s final blend and took them into the next room to prepare for the blind tasting. Brooks and Emilia grabbed a rack of clean glasses and set four down in front of each person.
“I’d like glasses too,” Carmen said, shocking everyone. “Don’t worry. I just want to smell them.”
Emilia got another set for her mom, and they all took their seats.
Pak returned and began pouring. “From left to right, A, B, C, D.”
As the final tasting commenced, Brooks decided to first eliminate any outsiders.Aseemed to stand out in a less than appealing way. The others all had wonderful Red Mountain character, and the choice was almost impossible. But as he went back and forth sniffing, and then sipping and spitting,Dbegan to stand out.
If there was one thing Otis had impressed upon him more than any other, it was to let the science go, and listen. To put your ear to the ground and let Red Mountain speak.
Brooks smiled, knowingDwas his blend, and it spoke even louder once he leaned into its quiet whisper. There was something so savage and alive about this wine. Brooks wrote his choice down, hoping he’d defeat Jake, who’d won last year.
He waited until everyone else was done. “Who wants to go first?”
“I’mDall day long,” Pak said, showing what he’d written down, reminding Brooks why he liked having Pak on board.
Brooks held a poker face as Carmen said, “I likeA.”
Jake made a show of looking around the room. Smiling, he toyed with them, reaching for each glass and then stopping.
“C’mon, Dad, which one did you pick?”
With a final grin, Jake picked up his piece of paper showing a big fatD.Brooks tried not to gloat but couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.
Jake turned to his daughter. “Em?”
She held up aDas well.
Brooks laughed and showed aD.“Almost unanimous.” He looked to Pak. “Whose was it? Sure does taste like mine.”
Brooks was about to smile in victory when Pak glanced at his notes and announced, “Dis Emilia’s blend.”
