COFERMENTS ARE COOL AGAIN: LEARN ALL ABOUT THIS ANCIENT WINEMAKING TECHNIQUE THAT'S MAKING A COMEBACK
In my decade working in wine - which makes me feel old AF by the way - I’ve started to get better at honing in on what I believe to be are lasting trends and what are just flukes. I knew the whole “blue wine,” craze was a bunch of BS. And I knew skin contact would be here to stay. More recently I’ve been seeing a lot of wines that are called “Coferments,” popping up left and right. And I think Coferments are going to be here for a long time.
You wanna know why? Because Coferments have BEEN with us for a long time. They’ve been with us so long they’ve just never been a thing. Read on and I’ll explain more.
WHAT ARE COFERMENTS?
We know that all wine is a product of fermented grapes and yeast. The yeast eats the sugars in the grapes and essentially poops out alcohol, which is the fun stuff that gets us drunk. There are different types of wines - single varietal wines where one grape is used, and blends.
Typically when a wine is a blend - or a cuvée - the single varietals are vinified separately then blended together at the end in different ratios. When a wine is “cofermented,” it’s made exactly how it sounds. The different types of grapes are all fermented together, yielding a brighter and juicier wine.
The most classic example of a coferment would be a Côte Rôtie from the Northern Rhône. Côte Rôties are composed of Syrah - a red, gamy, powerful grape - which is cofermented with Viognier - a white floral, oily, viscous grape. The act of fermenting them together gives the finished wine loads of complexity, resulting in wines that channel major blood and flowers vibes. (In a good way, I promise you.)
Field blends are also all cofermented. In the old winemaking days before we were able to identify different grapes, all the different grapes just grew together in a field. So what was the solution? Throw ‘em together in a pot and ferment ‘em. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, right?
WHY DO WINEMAKERS COFERMENT?
Winemakers choose to practice cofermentation for a variety of reasons. One of the most attractive aspects of cofermenting a wine is the fact that you can literally coferment WHATEVER YOU WANT.
Nowadays, especially within the natural wine world, you’ll see coferments that feature apples and grapes, or herbs, or other crazy things like that. Essentially, cofermentation allows for beautiful chaos to occur, and honestly? That’s cool as fuck.
Another reason winemakers choose to coferment is because of color. Cofermenting a wine - especially if you’re doing red and white grapes - often turns wine a really pretty purple color. Cofermentation also softens a wine and makes it more gluggable and chuggable. Last year we discussed the popularity of Glou Glou wines, which don’t seem to be going anywhere at the moment. Cofermented wines definitely have many “glou glou,” qualities.
So be on the lookout for Coferments. These lighter-than-air blends are perfect for chillable summertime sipping.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Ruth Lewandowski “Feints” Red $30.00
Can someone say “pizza wine?” The Ruth Lewandowski Feints is an absolutely stunning coferment of four Italian varietals: Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera and Arneis.
These varietals were sourced from Mendocino County up in Northern California (some of which were suitcase clippings.) It’s a love letter to Italy in a bottle.
I don’t know about you, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Italian vines grown in California. I feel like the warm sun and heat makes them fatter, friendlier, and dressed down compared to their European cousins. Think casual Friday.
Feints is no exception. I’ve been drinking Feints for years now, and Feints is the perfect chillable Summertime red. There’s plenty of fruit balanced with salinity and mineral - perfect for you Chianti fans out there. It’s got major cherry vibes and the ultimate easy breezy Summer red!
Hit this bad boi up with some pizza from your fave takeout spot (or make it yourself,) and have it with some grilled, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus.