Getting Funky with Reductive Wines

When it comes to wine jargon, buzzwords come and go. However, the term reduction, particularly "positive reduction", has seemingly stayed, making a home for itself in the daily vocabulary of industry folk worldwide.

So what exactly is positive reduction and how does it translate into wine? For these three global winemakers below, the concept straddles a dangerous line, though when executed properly, can lead to phenomenal final bottlings.

For Rajat Parr of Sandhi Wines, positive reduction is only applicable in the world of white wines. "Reduction is the absence of oxygen in some form and way, in either juice or finished wine," he explains, noting that most winemakers in the world tend to steer away from it. Parr explains how the discussion around reduction is a rather recent phenomenon. "Twenty years ago, when I was a sommelier, the word never came up. It's a very new word used among people over the last five years. More people are realizing what it is."

Parr goes on to say that, in white wines, positive reduction can lead to aromas of curry leaf, gun flint, or matchstick – though its negative form can show aromas reminiscent of rotten eggs. He also highlights the distinction between reduction and minerality, noting that the two should not be confused with one another. "Reduction happens due to fermentation, it's a byproduct. So minerals can make an affect on it, but it's not a smell of minerals. When people say 'Oh yeah, this wine has a lot of minerality' because it has reduction, that's an incorrect statement." Parr also emphasizes that reduction naturally occurs from long fermentations, due to yeast cells dying and producing natural sulfites.

However, at times, winemakers can take matters into their own hands, by adding sulfur onto existing lees, an act which Parr finds to be a slippery slope. "If you try too hard, you lose the point of the wine," he says. A third possibility for obtaining reduction in wines, which he cites as the most dangerous, is through excessive sulfur sprays in the vineyard. "If you spray too much sulfur before picking, because of rain or rot, the sulfur can stick inside the cluster and produce elemental sulfur, which can definitely produce mercaptans. Those are dangerous."

At his West Coast wineries, Parr admits that there was a time where he strived for reduction in his wines; now, they simply let the fermentations be and see what happens. He's noticed that the winery generally gets more positive reduction when new barrels are used, as well as when nitrogen levels are low in his wine. Though through it all, using native yeasts is key. "Anyone who adds yeast will never get reduction. Reduction comes from ambient, slow-acting yeast, and slow fermentations," he explains.

For Parr, the best form of reduction occurs naturally. "Sometimes you get reduction if you don't add any sulfur at all, and it's magical. It's hard to replicate it." He shouts out the wines of Loire producer Richard Leroy, who he deems to show the "epitome of good reduction". But at the end of the day, like anything else, maintaining a balance of reduction in wine, along with many of its other key components, is the most important.

In Central Otago, Francis Hutt, winemaker at Carrick Winery, also supports positive reduction. For him, great examples tend to show stone, flint, and "semi-industrial" flavors. "In wild fermented Riesling, when it is just a lick, [reduction] adds another dimension to the aromatic profile, which could be said for other varieties, too," he says. "Mostly, it reminds me of taking a couple of gulps from a garden hose at 6 a.m. on the way home from a good party." Carrick notes that he doesn't always seek out reduction in his wines, though encourages it within juice that feels one-dimensional or lacks texture. In agreement with Parr, Carrick sees both positive and negative sides to reduction. "Reduction adds mystique, [but can also] cloud pristine fruit."

Abe Schoener, winemaker at Red Hook Winery and founder of the Scholium Project, explains that identifying reduction generally always starts with smell. "In the nose, it can have so many different characteristics; for me, when reduction is associated with flaws, [the aromas] fall on the side of something burning – think burnt hair, burning rubber." On the positive side, for Schoener, notes of roasted coffee, chocolate, dark and savory notes, to notes of rocks, hot stony surfaces, ocean, and even notes of animal excrement, can bring positive, layered characteristics to a wine. "These reductive notes aren't negative in themselves; they're negative, like so many other things, when they're out of proportion."

Schoener also notes that wines can smell reductive, then lead to a palate of reductive-free flavors, and vice-versa. "You might not taste anything related to the things that you've smelled, or in rare cases, you don't smell anything like reduction, but you'll taste something that makes you think of reduction." He notes that when he says he tastes reduction, he's generally referring to flavors that remind him of rocks or sea salt. "But sometimes, these notes really and truly makes me think of what it'd be like to put a rock in my mouth, or something rocky that can break up, like an oyster shell."

As with Carrick and Parr, Schoener believes in positive reduction, so long as it's kept in balance. "The negative aspects of reduction are anything that smells like burnt hair or burnt rubber. We're never happy to smell that. Sometimes, we smell this in wines that are still young, and it's not worrisome, because we know it has the opportunity to turn into something else." Schoener again emphasizes reduction's positive aromatics, so long as it exists in harmony with other components of the juice.

Unlike Parr, Schoener also finds positive reduction in red wines, noting that the characteristics manifest themselves differently within the two. He recalls the first situation in which he really dealt with red wine reduction back in 2003, during the fermentation of Petite Sirah. "The brix had dropped a lot over the previous night and we came in and smelled the wine the next morning – because the yeasts were so stressed out, due to rapid fermentation, they produced a lot of hydrogen sulfide, which smelled like a campfire, verging on burnt hair. I was in a panic." However, a fellow winemaker at the custom crush facility where he worked reassured him not to worry, as his wines were undergoing long fermentations, therefore, had ample time to positively evolve.

We didn’t do anything – we didn't attack [the must] with copper sulfate, we might have increased the amount of pumpovers to aerate the whole must, simply to make the yeasts happier and healthier, he explains, noting that the simple increased frequency of pumpovers allowed the reductive qualities to still be sensible, yet in a more balanced and positive way.

"After that experience, we started encouraging reduction in all of our fermentations, not just whites, but red wine fermentations, too," says Schoener, explaining that his team purposely seeks out a sense of reduction in all wines. "We rarely take any steps to avoid reduction. It's only when it seems like it's getting out of balance that we'll take steps of aeration", which he notices generally comes from early-harvested fruit, where pHs are low.

Schoener believes that reduction can add complexity to all wines, though in excess, can take away from the juice's other elements. When reduction becomes too apparent, particularly on the winemaking front, Schoener finds it to be distracting rather than elevating. "Being forced to think about technique isn't negative, but when it dominates your thinking, by virtue of that dominance, it becomes so." Parr echoes this, noting that reduction in wines, when excessive, can take away from a wine's sense of place. "I think it's cool to have it, but the wine becomes very much a 'producer' wine as opposed to a 'place' wine," he says, reiterating that a little reduction is interesting, yet here, too much of a good thing can in fact exist.

Like reduction in itself, Parr eventually sees the discussion blowing off. "Reduction is a trend and it's going to go away like any other," he says. Schoener, to a degree, agrees. "Two or three years ago we didn't think about reduction and maybe in two or three years, we won't have to be so explicit about it."