Bach in the vineyards, Puccini in the cellar: At Winemaker's CUT, classical music makes for elegant wine
Works by greats like Mozart and Haydn can be heard in the vineyards and cellar at this Okanagan winery
Winemaker’s CUT winemaker Michal Mosny says classical music helps vines grow to be healthy and strong. Photos by Winemaker’s CUT
GROWING UP IN his native Slovakia, B.C. winemaker Michal Mosny studied violin. Throughout his time in Europe, he was never far away from classical music, whether it was catching public announcements that were broadcast daily in small villages and that always began with a piece of music or listening to masterpieces while working in the garagiste-style winery in Častá in the country’s southwestern corner, which he ran with his wife, Martina.
About 30 kilometres from Častá is a hamlet called Dolná Krupá, which Beethoven visited and where he allegedly wrote some of his works, including “Moonlight Sonata”. The town is also home to some of the largest wine cellars in Central Europe. Mosny never lost sight of those facts, seeing them as connected not by mere coincidence.
The couple took a leap of faith and moved to the Okanagan in 2012. They brought their love of classical music with them. At Winemaker’s CUT, the winery they own and operate just south of Oliver, classical music infuses every aspect of the wine-making process.
Amid the property’s gently sloping vineyards overlooking Deadman Lake on the traditional territory of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) First Nation are 13 simple, black 50-watt speakers. The sweet symphonies that emanate from them are neither blaring nor too soft, but rather just loud enough for the growing grapes to hear. Inside the cellar, more rousing operatic pieces can be heard.
The Mosnys swear by the positive and profound influence of classical scores on their wines. The music, they believe, helps the vines grow healthy and strong. It enables the grapes to ripen earlier than they would without exposure to sonatas and suites, with more balanced and complex flavours. The pair uses sustainable practices without any herbicides, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers and harvest their grapes by hand.
Michal Mosny grew up playing violin and has always loved classical music.
“Every wine I ever made in my life was always exposed to classical music,” Mosny tells Stir. “In the vineyard we play mostly Mozart and Bach. Vineyard vine is a bush, so naturally we want to calm it down. In the cellar we switch to operas and piano concertos. That is where we are creating stories for each wine, and all the emotions and frequencies are influencing the yeast and atoms and molecules in our wine.
“Even the winery owners I worked for in the past thought I was crazy,” he says. It’s part of my passion. And when there is no passion in wine, it’s just a product. There simply has to be more behind wine than just the label and the sensory profile. Wine has to fill us with happiness, and give our life a greater sense of joy.”
The winery’s name was derived from the term “director’s cut”. Just as an edited version of a film reflects a director’s unique point of view, Winemaker’s CUT wine is influenced by the Mosnys’ distinct philosophy.
The winery itself is off-limits to visitors; the couple has shown it to a few customers and friends over the years but prefer to keep it a sacred place, with its own microclimate and life. Mosny is in the process of replacing the older speakers with a single, larger one that has better quality sound. He plays music throughout the growing season, from March to late October, for a few hours each day.
What he loves about classical music is that every single member of the orchestra has to play with emotion. There are no electronics to fill the gaps.
“As far as wine is concerned, by exposing winemaking to classical music, I experienced more steady fermentation kinetics,” he says. “Fermentation is finished when the wine is perfectly balanced. We are focusing on elegance in our wines, and classical music is allowing us to achieve incredible depth and elegance.”
Winemaker’s CUT has several labels, including the Estate series. Elegant, fresh, and whimsical, the Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2019 isn’t your typical Sauvignon Blanc. “I am often asked what style is this: New Zealand or Old World,” Mosny says. “It’s the Okanagan four seasons captured in one wine.”
The expressive Estate Syrah 2018 is rich, spicy, and peppery.
The Bohemian Cuvée Rouge 2019, meanwhile, is a second-vintage premium blend made with Bordeaux varietal, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. To be released just before Christmas, it has gorgeous hints of pepper, herbs and smoke—“Old World elegance made in the Okanagan”.
Winemaker’s CUT offers free shipping on orders of six or more bottles. The Mosnys are also working on a new line of sparkling wines. You can expect notes of Haydn or Brahms.
“Classical music is part of us,” Mosny says. “I really believe in the effect of classical music on the vines in the vineyard and wines in the cellar.”
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