[Growwine] What are others doing with Briana?

[Mark Hart]

Denise,

I have only tried making wine from Brianna once, and got a mild, but  
noticeable labrusca flavor.

However, Ed Swanson who owns Cuthills VIneyards in NE Nebraska, and  
was instrumental in popularizing Brianna and getting it named, passed  
on some of his wisdom earlier on another forum, and I feel comfortable  
sharing his words with you.  My only caution is that these are a  
couple years old, and he may have new insights since then - you could  
contact him, he is quite helpful.

He wrote in 3/06:
    'Brianna makes one of those wines that has, what I call "The Yummy  
Factor". Here it  needs to be picked somewhere between 16 to 18 brix  
or it starts getting very heavy flavors, and at those higher brix  
levels it will brown quickly. On the lower end, the flavors can be  
subdued and taste very much like a good Vouvray. I did a tasting with  
Joel Butler From Diagio(Beaulieu, Guinness, etc..) a few years back  
and when he tasted the Brianna he said it tasted like the Vouvray they  
handle( B & G I think), and the next night we tasted that wine and  
sure enough, it did. For the most part though I make more fruit  
forward wines, which is what the public wants. In 2004 the grapes were  
picked at 17 brix, pH 3.17, TA 8.5 grams/liter. The flavors for the  
2004 were very tropical with pineapple on the finish and a very  
pronounced grapefruit nose. In 2005 brix was 17.5, pH 3.5, TA 1.05.  
The flavors in 2005 were tropical with a pronounced pineapple in  
finish and nose. The difference, I believe between the two was in July  
2005 it was extremely hot and dry and it ripened too quickly.'

Further, he wrote in 9/07:
'Brianna is one those grapes where you can throw brix readings out the  
window and pick strictly by pH. If the pH gets too much over 3.4 its  
going to get some heavy Labrusca flavors and smells and lose the  
wonderful tropical notes it is very capable of. Like other Labrusca  
types that pH reading could be at 16 or 22 brix depending on where its  
grown and in what year. Our 2003 vintage was very much like a  
Sauvignon Blanc, whereas the 06 was overripe pineapple with some  
strangeness I cant describe.
   In the vineyard it is pretty much bullet proof here, with only  
slight black rot in extremely wet years. Most plantings of it are  
extremely vigorous in Nebraska, approaching and sometimes exceeding  
any other Swenson varieties. Clusters avg. 150g, cylindrical,  
sometimes single winged, tight. berries up to 2.5g, green to golden  
( overripe for wine for my taste ).
  Ed'

Mark Hart

On Jul 18, 2008, at 6:15 AM, Dcimmarr at aol.com wrote:

> I currently have  acre of Briana in a 17 acre vineyard and since  
> this is Briana's third season, we will have a partial crop. Not  
> wanting to let the Labrusca traits come through in the winemaking  
> process, I aim to harvest early. I am wondering what others on the  
> list may be doing with this variety to make a nice, aromatic white  
> without labrusca notes. What are numbers  to aim for at harvest. I  
> heard 16 degree brix is the point where labrusca notes are still  
> hidden but never having used this as a varietal before, I wanted to  
> hear what others are doing with it first. I would like this as a  
> varietal, no blending.
>
> Denise Cimmarrusti
> AcquaViva Winery
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