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Barometer's Rising
Posted January 9th, 2010 | 0 Comments
STUDY SHOWS – WHEN THE BAROMETER'S RISING – THE WINE'S FERMENTING
A new study by Home Vintner client Edie Moehrle appears to confirm what many Home Vintners have long suspected – that there is a definite link between barometric pressure, and the actions of wine.
Mrs. Moehrle, along with her husband Art (who is, incidentally, involved in scientific research at the University of Calgary), noticed that their wine seemed to behave differently when the barometer was high, or was rising. They thought the fermentation action was more vigorous, and the wine was able to clear much more quickly. It also appeared that the reverse was true – that fermentation and clearing were both much slower when the barometric pressure was either low or falling.
So the Moehrles decided to apply sound scientific principles to a casual observation. Over the course of several months, they took barometric pressure readings 3 times a day, and, at the same time, they recorded the fermentation time of their wines with a stopwatch. Their study recorded barometric swings from a low pressure reading of 98.85, to a high pressure reading of 103.36. They charted the information – and what they found was that there appears to be a clear correlation between the action of the wine, and the pressure of the atmosphere.
Now, this information may not come as a complete surprise to experienced Home Vintners – after all, Calgary's weather changes are certainly unique in Canada, and perhaps in the world. And those interested have long suspected a link between the barometer and a variety of conditions – including such things as migraines and aching joints. Certainly, Home Vintner Paul has noticed – that a significant change in the barometric reading means an increase in the number of phone calls from people wanting to know what's happening to their wine.
So, the obvious question is, how do you translate this knowledge into usable information. Well, the first thing you can do is refrain from putting sulphite in your airlocks, if you're making wine in Calgary, because the large variations in pressure and the temperature can cause that sulphite to be drawn back into the wine. And, if you know there's a connection between pressure and temperature – and fermentation and clearing, you can make better judgements about your wine, and the time you need to allow from start – to bottling.
Paul is grateful to the work done by Art and Edie Moehrle – work that fits nicely with The Home Vintner philosophy of providing solid scientific information to confirm those intuitive casual observations.
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