My Doctorate is in Solid State Electrical Engineering: fabrication, measurement, and simulation of quantum transport devices. At the electron device level the lines between electrical engineering, physics, and chemistry blur. This is a field where attention to detail is extremely important and this extends to my winemaking techniques. I followed this education with a Certificate in Enology & Viticulture from UC Davis: the sciences applied to winemaking and winegrowing. Having already completed a Doctorate the scientific journals presented here were much less intimidating. Winemaking is a fascinating mix of subjects. Whether fully realized or not there is a tremendous amount of art and science behind great wines. One example is the oxidation-reduction reactions that occur in wine and which are extremely important in wine aging (check out my blog: http://www.SettembreCellars.com/Blog-Oxygen). We all know this one: leave a bottle open overnight and it will oxidize. Oxidation-reduction are the loss-gain of an electron. In device physics one routinely calculates the quantum probabilities of electron transitions (loss-gain). In chemistry, and in winemaking, one often measures the redox potential (which is related to the macroscopic probability of oxidation-reduction reactions). Traditional winemaking choices influence the probability of these reactions. The right combination of oxidation-reduction adds complexity, too much of either adds flaws. Played out right an exquisite wine can result, and thus I pay very careful attention to my wines using science and engineering to help choose timing of otherwise very traditional winemaking techniques. This being said, even though many aspects of winemaking are understood through science, even more are completely unknown: enter art. And in this case, my eyes, nose, palate, instincts, creativity and experience guide the winemaking decisions. I like this. Applying Ohms Law in electrical engineering, equating moles of acids and bases in chemistry, and calculating the pressure variation in a stainless steel tank with temperature fluctuations using the ideal gas law in physics all apply and reliably give the expected result. Attempting to build a world-class wine chemical-by-chemical doesn't reproduce the original wine. For me, this is part of what makes wine fascinating. And of course the ultimate goal: sitting back and enjoying the allure of one of the world's oldest and most fascinating beverages. But, until then: off to apply some very basic fluid dynamics: moving the 2009 Chardonnay into French Oak barrel for fermentation. I have goals of making this my most exquisite Chardonnay yet!

Cheers!
-Blake.

My Doctorate is in Solid State Electrical Engineering: fabrication, measurement, and simulation of quantum transport devices. At the electron device level the lines between electrical engineering, physics, and chemistry blur. This is a field where attention to detail is extremely important and this extends to my winemaking techniques. I followed this education with a Certificate in Enology & Viticulture from UC Davis: the sciences applied to winemaking and winegrowing. Having already completed a Doctorate the scientific journals presented here were much less intimidating. Winemaking is a fascinating mix of subjects. Whether fully realized or not there is a tremendous amount of art and science behind great wines. One example is the oxidation-reduction reactions that occur in wine and which are extremely important in wine aging (check out my blog: http://www.SettembreCellars.com/Blog-Oxygen). We all know this one: leave a bottle open overnight and it will oxidize. Oxidation-reduction are the loss-gain of an electron. In device physics one routinely calculates the quantum probabilities of electron transitions (loss-gain). In chemistry, and in winemaking, one often measures the redox potential (which is related to the macroscopic probability of oxidation-reduction reactions). Traditional winemaking choices influence the probability of these reactions. The right combination of oxidation-reduction adds complexity, too much of either adds flaws. Played out right an exquisite wine can result, and thus I pay very careful attention to my wines using science and engineering to help choose timing of otherwise very traditional winemaking techniques. This being said, even though many aspects of winemaking are understood through science, even more are completely unknown: enter art. And in this case, my eyes, nose, palate, instincts, creativity and experience guide the winemaking decisions. I like this. Applying Ohms Law in electrical engineering, equating moles of acids and bases in chemistry, and calculating the pressure variation in a stainless steel tank with temperature fluctuations using the ideal gas law in physics all apply and reliably give the expected result. Attempting to build a world-class wine chemical-by-chemical doesn’t reproduce the original wine. For me, this is part of what makes wine fascinating. And of course the ultimate goal: sitting back and enjoying the allure of one of the world’s oldest and most fascinating beverages. But, until then: off to apply some very basic fluid dynamics: moving the 2009 Chardonnay into French Oak barrel for fermentation. I have goals of making this my most exquisite Chardonnay yet!

Cheers!
-Blake.

Could you elaborate on this sentence?

"His Doctorate and Electrical Engineering degrees provide an ideal background for the chemistry side of wine making."

'doctorate' in what? I'm a EE and I'm not sure my one chemistry class is ideal for wine making – drinking, sure!

Thanks for the fun article and have fun out there in the big time!

Cheers, Mark