Greg Sherwood MW: Nature versus nurture, in wine as in life

In our own lives, like in the modern world of winemaking, people are forever looking to answer the questions of what, where, how and why. Are we, like the wines we produce, an expression of nature and what has been gifted to us through centuries of natural development, with our characters and expressions ultimately being a predestined course, set in our genes and merely being launched on a course to fulfilment? Or are we neutral, unshaped individuals, like neutral base wines, that one sets off on a voyage of life, being shaped by decisions we take and by decisions made by others on our behalf?

As adults, are we the expression of our environment, enriched or adulterated, like our base wine that was once clean and neutral, but that has evolved through direct actions, into a generous, round, complex Burgundy or into a bitter, acidic, thin and lean wine that is ungiving and lacking in character, heading for an unredeemed and unfulfilling destiny? I maintain that we are primarily products of our environment, being created perhaps not all equal, but given the opportunity, with the correct decisions along the path of development and construction, to evolve into masterful creations, worthy of praise and a long enjoyable evolution.

While no one can claim that everyone is born equal, it is true that many of us have the same opportunities and choices in life. Not every winemaker has vines grown on perfectly draining soils with the ideal balance of nutrition and minerals, but corrections to soil can be made and vines can be planted. Many of our greatest vineyards are located on sites once thought to be unsuitable for growing vines. Indeed, were it left to nature, there would be no first growth Clarets like Mouton Rothschild or Lafite Rothschild as Bordeaux would still be a waterlogged swamp. But actions by brave, adventurous individuals corrected the drainage problems of the Aquitaine region and allowed vignerons to plant and establish some world class vineyards.

World-class vineyards they may now be, but without the correct understanding of how to cultivate and plant a vineyard, a wine’s true potential can never be met. So too in life, as children we need parenting and guidance, that shapes us and teaches us the skills we will need to prosper. There is no question of leaving your children to their own devices and expecting the expression of nature to shape them into balanced, expressive, complex, mature, responsible individuals.

Like parents, winemakers establish and cultivate a vineyard, caring for the vines and acting upon threats of diseases or frost. The ever-present dangers in our society loom large and strict guidance and action from viticulturalists can ensure spring frosts in April are prevented by the oil lanterns and chimney stacks of Chablis when vines are considered at their most vulnerable and exposed. So too, can terribly destructive vine funguses and diseases be prevented by considered and well timed interventions like the spraying of Bordeaux mixture or sulphur. These actions change the course of events in a vintage and with decisive pruning and adequate support from correctly chosen trellising systems, vines can prosper.

But it is when vines start to bear fruit that they need the most attention and nurturing. No parent can run the risk of raising well adjusted children only to decide to leave them to their own devices once they become teenagers or when they leave school. These become even more uncertain times where wrong decisions, as in a vineyard close to harvest, need careful management and considered attention and monitoring in order to know exactly when to harvest and proceed with vinification.

Like raising children and growing up, winemaking is about stages of change and acting upon the correct stimuli to make appropriate choices. After all, the attention in viticultural terms, harvesting fruit and proceeding to the winery is the start of another journey, where wines will be created and where actions taken in the vineyard four or five months earlier, will have direct consequences on wine quality.

Fermenting grape must is exposed to many risks and winemakers need to nurture the juice and monitor it closely. Staying the course and standing firm in this process will lead to successful wines. Allowing nature to intervene can result in stuck fermentations, over extraction or biological spoilage. The must cannot be left to its own devices. Delicate whites need controlled temperature fermentation and protection from exposure to oxygen. Red wines, like some individuals in life, are more hardy, less oxidative, and more robust, but still needing care and attention to detail to ensure tannins are achieved at a desired level, colour is extracted correctly, and the fruit is preserved and protected.

Those who believe nature is the ultimate determining factor in our lives, will expect some individuals to follow an almost preordained path in life, something that has been predestined, based on the way we follow certain innate, deep-rooted instincts and drives that cannot be resisted or denied. However, like our winemakers, nurturing their wines into a style he or she wishes to achieve, through methods they believe to be the most effective, we as individuals are exposed to environmental circumstances that will shape our lives for the future.

Ageing our nurtured wines in barrels, be they expensive French oak or cheap old foudres used year after year, is sometimes the comparable difference between some students going on to study at Oxford or Cambridge and some of us having to settle for the local college. A lot more will be expected from the wines enriched and matured in new French oak barriques, while the wines in the old foudre or fourth fill barrels need not be any less exciting, complex or expensive. Many of the finest Norther Rhone Syrahs never see new oak yet achieve great heights of elegance, structure and ageworthy balance. Great white Rieslings from Germany’s Mosel or Rhinegau regions bare witness to this pure style of varietal expression in winemaking.

At the end of our lives, we will be mature enough to look back on our evolution and judge where we made mistakes and where we succeeded. No two vineyards are the same, just as no two cultivars are the same. There is always an aspect of development that cannot be predicted. Even for wines from the same winery and vineyard, each vintage will be an expression of time and place and the decisions of the winemaker. Like a parent’s children, no two will be alike despite similarities.

We are products of our environment and the love and care, or lack thereof, given to us over the course of our upbringing. It can only be hoped that the decisions made will have resulted in wines of character, complexity and expression, being produced from the fruits we cultivated in our vineyards. Elegance, harmony, structure and balance being the secret to all great wines with longevity.

• Greg Sherwood was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and as the son of a career diplomat, spent his first 21 years traveling the globe with his parents. With a Business Management and Marketing degree from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Sherwood began his working career as a commodity trader. In 2000, he decided to make more of a long-held interest in wine taking a position at Handford Wines in South Kensington, London, working his way up to the position of Senior Wine Buyer. Earlier this year, he moved across to South African specialist merchant Museum Wines to become the Fine Wine Director. He qualified as a Master of Wine in 2007.