The sounds of fine wine

Golden Hills, Hawkeshead and Kaituna. Photo / Supplied

As the harvest gets under way across the country, rather than picking grapes and plunging tanks I'm gathering sounds from the vine's foliage and dunking microphones into barrels of noisily fermenting must. While wineries are making wine, I'm recording it for an installation I'm creating that explores its often overlooked fifth dimension, that of its sound.

OK, so our ears are not the most obvious organs we use when engaging with wine. But walk through a vineyard when the wind's rustling the vines and the bird scarers are blasting, a winery where the vats are bubbling, or at home when a bottle is poured and glasses clinked, and it's clear that wine is far from silent.

I'm certainly not the first wine-cum-music lover to tune into the sonic resonances of wine. Austrian winemaker, Will Opitz noticed that different grape varieties have their own distinctive sounds when fermenting, which he recorded and released some years back on a CD entitled The Sound of Wine.

Across the border in Germany, experimental rock band, Einsturzende Neubauten downed the power tools they once used to make music and cracked open some bottles for their Weingeister release. In this sonic symposium, the group was recorded live enjoying wine in a series of pieces named after the individual wines they were drinking.

These documented the pop of the corks, through the glug of the bottles as the were poured, the fizz of track two's sparkling moscato, the chime of a toast, the tinkle of an accidental breakage to the slurping and swallowing noises emanating from the drinkers themselves. The band injected a melodic and harmonic element to proceedings by creating that dinner party classic of making tones through rubbing a wet finger around the rim of wine glasses they had tuned with different volumes of wine.

This is something also employed by Australian musician Tony King, who crafted the more conventional compositions on his album, Wine Music , entirely from arranging the sounds he'd made from wine-related objects. King again harnessed the sonorities of different sized stemware, also fashioning tunes from blowing across the tops of bottles and beating out rhythms on barrels.

It hit the right note with listeners to ABC Classical FM across the ditch, becoming for a time its most requested piece of music, according to King.

Even closer to home, Dunedin-based artist Alastair Galbraith is one of a number of experimental performers to coax tones from wine glasses in his work. However, he's taken the idea one step further in creating a treadle-powered glass harmonium inspired by the instrument invented by 18th century statesman and scientist, Benjamin Franklin.

In this, glasses of different diameters are mounted horizontally on a spindle turned by a foot pedal, which allows the performer to play 10 simultaneously. "I love its ethereal, sweet but melancholy tone," says Galbraith.

My favourite wine sound at the moment is that of a malolactic fermentation. Placing an ear or microphone up to the barrel's bunghole, a veritable symphony of cracks, pops and hisses can be heard as the wine undergoes this second fermentation.

These sources may not produce what's traditionally considered to be music, but the reverberations of both vineyards and vessels can be channelled to create some tonally rich and aurally exciting soundscapes. Wine never sounded so good!

LOVELY RING TO IT

BRIGHT DEBUT
Golden Hills Estates Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2009 $19.90
Impressive first release from Nelson estate, Golden Hills. Punchy capsicum and basil flavours are paired with flinty smoky notes and a vibrant grapefruit acidity in this wonderfully textured wine. A real find. (From www.goldenhillsestates.co.nz)

A GRACEFUL GRIS
Hawkshead Gibbston Valley Central Otago Pinot Gris 2009 $24.95
The cool climes of the Gibbston Valley have helped produce this elegant gris, with its subtle quince and apple fruit, underpinned by fresh citrus and attractive minerality. (Stockists include Blend, Caro's, The Wine Vault, Village Winery, Waiheke Wine Centre, Meadowbank Wines & Spirits, selected Liquorlands, Merchant of Taupo, Merchant of Tirau.)

HIDDEN TREASURE
Kaituna Valley Kaituna Vineyard Canterbury Pinot Noir 2007 $39-$42
On Banks Peninsula is one of New Zealand's oldest commercial pinot noir vineyards, which has doubtless contributed to the concentration and complexity of this pinot with its layers of dark cherry and berry fruit laced with spice and a dusting of fine tannins. (From www.kaitunavalley.co.nz)