Conscious Intervention

Wine is a great medium because it is infinitely variable in its expression but familiar in its form. It is living, inimitable, and malleable; tolerant of a wide variety of techniques that solidify into traditions over centuries. It is also a great teacher, requiring multiple disciplines both scientific and not to better grasp its whole. In this way, it exposes incongruencies in any singular method of thought and humbles us in what we think we know. It was from this continuous revision that Conscious Intervention came to be instrumental in how I think about wine. If science is deductive thought, and art is inductive thought, then conscious intervention is driven by abductive thought—or the combination of the two.

Deduction

Darkness is the absence of light, and science, like a lantern, reveals what is hidden. To navigate confidently through the unknown, science uses deduction—a systematic method of breaking down complex ideas into their simplest components. Over the last century, this meticulous process has made leaps and bounds, uncovering truths that have rapidly transformed wine’s landscape. From decoding vine genomes to transcribing yeast metabolism, science has manifested a plethora of tools at the modern winemakers disposal, therefore raising the quality of wine around the world.

However, there are limitations to how much and science can explain, and the complexity of wine far exceeds what we can currently measure. As scientific research progresses, the scope of its light naturally becomes much more focused on single components. This ever-narrowing lens is a powerful tool, but is subject to losing sight of the bigger picture. While useful, deduction alone doesn’t capture the full essence of winemaking.

“Science isn’t the truth, science is finding the truth. When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you, it learned more.” - Brene Brown

Induction

Over millennia, winemakers have relied on intuition and tradition, observing patterns and shaping practices tailored to their terroir. This inductive reasoning is deeply human—recognizing connections and forming conclusions from experience. The cultural and emotional bond between producer and land has shaped some of the greatest wines in history.

Yet intuition, like science, has its limits. It is subject to bias and constrained by individual experience. It slows the exchange of knowledge and keeps others in the dark. A reliance on induction alone hinders progress and innovation.

Abduction

The combination of deductive and inductive creates abductive reasoning—a way of thinking that synthesizes knowledge and intuition to find the most probable solutions. In winemaking, this dynamic approach enables creativity and adaptability, allowing producers to navigate the “grey” areas that exist between absolutes.

For example, phenolics analysis, a cornerstone of our laboratory work, provides an objective framework for understanding how key compounds affect a wine’s structure, aroma, and flavor. By characterizing the relationships between phenolic families and sensory, we can refine decisions around key winemaking variables like timing, temperature, movement, and oxidation—balancing science with intuition to create wines of place.

“After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well.” - Albert Einstein

Conscious Intervention

To me, winemaking is not simply the combination of science and art; it is the intersection of the two. At the core of premium winemaking is the intention to express terroir, a process that involves moderating any influence that obscures a wine’s nature. This is a challenging line to toe because wine as we know it would not exist without us, yet there is something true to wine that unfolds through fermentation that we inevitably want to preserve.

Modern winemakers have a plethora of tools at their disposal, but many of these tools come with strong limitations and unintended consequences. While they can solve specific problems, overuse detracts from the craft, introducing side effects that obscure the wine’s potential. Wine has been made for thousands of years without these tools, and while they can be valuable, they should be used sparingly and with full awareness of their limitations. By prioritizing good sanitation and careful use of attention in preventative practices, we stay grounded in the fundamentals of winemaking. This approach keeps us curious about the potential of our fruit and skeptical of shortcuts that might compromise our greater vision: creating authentic and expressive wine.

We must embrace uncertainty and approach wine with humility. The best winemakers are not those who seek definitive answers or security but those who remain open to learning and evolving. In the end, wine teaches us that the only universal truth is, “It depends.” Conscious Intervention is my way of embracing that truth, navigating the balance between science and intuition to make the best wine possible.