The science of the vine

Platte Amstutz came to U.Va. as a springboard diver, but when he graduates this spring he’ll be diving into something new: the world of wine-making.

Amstutz (Environmental Sciences ’04) was recruited by U.Va. coaches who saw the potential for collegiate greatness in the All-American high school diver from Michigan. They haven’t been disappointed. In the 2001-02 season, he earned All-ACC honors and was named U.Va. Diver of the Year. This year, he’s a team captain, and in a January 17 meet against N.C. State, he set new school records on the one-meter and three-meter boards.

But as he was closing in on his final year at U.Va., Amstutz knew he couldn’t make a living off diving when he graduated; he needed to think of a way to put his environmental sciences degree to work. With a background in plant ecology, he was considering doing research with aquatic plants. He knew he wanted to go to graduate school, but he couldn’t settle on a path of study.

Then, about a year and a half ago, the Geneva native had an epiphany while traveling with his family to visit relatives in Europe. “One of my uncles owns a distillery,” he said. “I came upon this idea: I realized I can use my background in plant ecology and study viticulture and work on a vineyard.”

This fall, Amstutz will enroll at Ecole d’ingénieurs de Changins, a renowned Swiss school for future wine-makers located near Lake Geneva. The course of study covers the two core components of wine-making: viticulture, the science of bringing grapes from the soil; and oenology, the art of turning grape juice into wine. It’s a four-year program that includes field work in the vineyard and course work in advanced biology, chemistry and physics.

“You learn the trade,” Amstutz said. “You learn the different sciences that are involved and the machinery. You develop your palate in tasting classes. You have classes to learn about maturing grapes, alcoholic fermentation, the bottling process and how wine is involved in economy. In the fourth year, you write a thesis.”

It’s not just the science of viticulture that interests Amstutz; it’s the full soil-to-bottle progression of wine-making. “It takes something that’s made by nature — grapes — and adds human ideas, and in the end you come up with this product we call wine. The process intrigues me.”

Leading the outdoorsy life of a wine-maker might sound appealing, but Amstutz knows it won’t be all rosé and chardonnay. “Every day of the year there’s work be done,” he said. “It’s not a 9-to-5 job. It can be 60- to 75-hour work weeks. You have to make sure the soil has the right pH level; you have to make sure the leaves don’t have too much potassium. During harvest, it’s a lot of hard work.”

But after all the effort, when the wine finally flows into the glass, the wine-maker can bask in a certain parental satisfaction. “It’s like watching a child grow,” Amstutz said. “You nurture it the whole way. You’re proud of it.”

The definitive point of pride for Amstutz is the stuff of every oenophile’s dream: “My ultimate goal in life is to have my own vineyard and winery. That would be the top.”

But to get to the top, he first has to get through Ecole d’ingénieurs de Changins and, more than likely, several years of hard labor in other people’s vineyards. When the opportunity comes to run his own vineyard, it may happen in Switzerland, or — who knows? — maybe it’ll happen here in Albemarle County.

“It would be neat to come back to Charlottesville,” Amstutz says. “As long as it’s profitable.”

Profitability has to be a consideration for every wine-maker, but success doesn’t always come easily, particularly in the fickle climates of central Virginia. As a U.Va. student and Charlottesville resident for the past four years, Amstutz has taken note of how one local entrepreneur — and University founder — struggled to produce wine in the unforgiving soil of Albemarle.

“I’ve read about how Jefferson spent much of his time with difficulties with the soil and the weather,” Amstutz said. “Virginia is not quite north, not quite south. It’s humid, but it has clay soil.”

Still, Amstutz notes that Jefferson-the-perfectionist was able to capitalize on his design genius in the one element of wine-making that lies completely within the wine-maker’s control. “His cellar was perfect,” Amstutz said.