Mathematics and the Mystery of Wine A Guest Editorial by Barry Fleaujacques, Cellarman

Ah!! The profound mystery of mathematics. Few of us ever pause to ponder the sort of arithmetical acrobatics that winemaking necessitates. Imagine: 50,000 gallons of wine-all kept separate varietally, in tanks ranging from 1,468 to 6,287 gallons in size- to blended together--once again, in a series of tanks ranging in size from approximately, 1,500 to 6,000 gallons--equal in proportions, leaving no tank partially full. You'll put a little bit of this here, say 525 gallons, and a little bit more over there...in this case, maybe 629 gallons. Eventually you've dug yourself a statistical pit, ensuring that each tank used for the blend ultimately contains precisely the same wine as the others.

Now, consider this common Cline Cellars scene: A lone, brave-hearted cellarman perched atop 25 feet of folding ladder, one hand clutching his mini Mag Lite (the winemaker's most indispensable tool), the other gingerly cradling a Black & Decker tape measure dangles deep in the darkness of towering stainless steel into which our courageous cellarman peers, carefully measuring to the eight of an inch the number of inches dry, from the surface of the wine to the top of the tank. From this number--for our purposes, say -83 3/8'-- the winemaker will calculate the exact number of gallons of wine in a given tank by working backwards, already knowing the shape and volume of the tank and the number of gallons per inch of fill.

I realize that his sounds like simple geometry, and to a certain extent it is. Meanwhile, the constant amount of quick calculator work required to keep a complicated blend on track--a blend such as our 1996 Cotes d' Oakley Vin Blanc. Blends at Cline traditionally take on a perilous complexity, owing to the nature of our style... seeking balance and synergy. Often times, large blends- Cotes d' Oakley Vin Rouge or California Zinfandel, for example --can last a full 12 hour day... or, sometimes even two.

We pride ourselves in our precision, and never settle for event the slightest margin of error. The balance of our wines must be perfect, and we guarantee that each bottle of a specific Cline Cellars vintage will be consistent.

Cline to Release

1996 Zinfandel- California

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