Hire Your Own Winemaking Consultant

08/15/2012
By Olin Schultz

Chances are you have never thought about a winemaking consultant for your hobby winemaking. You should. It is cheaper than you think and the results can be amazing. Allow us to introduce you to our friend and winemaking consultant Shea Comfort.

Shea Comfort helped us start the MoreWine! brand starting back in 2000. That begin with learning the craft of winemaking through making a lot of wine over several years with an extreme attention to detail. If you know Shea you know what extreme detail means! Shea begin to do trial winemaking for Lallemand wines testing yeast strains, malo-lactic cultures, and additives side-by-side in controlled experiments. Shea left MoreWine! in 2004 to begin work at a commercial winery as the head winemaker. In 2007, Shea returned to MoreWine! to become the winemaker for our own winery, Olin Wines. In addition to making our wine during that time, he researched and wrote most of the articles and MoreManuals! you will find on our site. Over the past few years Shea has been busy representing Lallemand at shows, talking at the Winemaker Conference and other shows, continues to make Lallemand's trials, and has worked part time with MoreFlavor! in consulting positions.

Shea also starated his own consulting business, as The Yeast Whisperer, a few years ago working with homewinemakers and small wineries. We love the name. In the past some customers have wanted something a little more – a consultation or one on one tutoring relationship outside the scope of what MoreWine! can offer. In its simplest form this can be one dedicated hour of phone time to ask him all your questions, a meeting at your home or winery, or an ongoing relationship to fine tune your winemaking skills over time.

If you are serious winemaker who aspires to really learn the craft of winemaking this is almost like cheating. We have never met anyone who knows more about winemaking and can instantly recall it on demand.

Shea advises on all aspects of winemaking including:

• Balancing/correcting musts pre-ferment
• Using oxygen to shape/structure wines
• Yeast & Bacteria pairing
• Improving fruit profile, colour stability,
overall complexity and positive mouthfeel
characteristics
• Improving wines during ageing!
• Guided tasting trials
• Blending

Approach/Philosophy

“Over the past 10 years, I have made wine in lots ranging from 1-gallon jugs to 1,600-gallon tanks. Wine volume does not equal level of importance. Whether we are working on a single carboy or a cellar full of tanks and barrels, my goal will always be the same: helping you to make the best wine possible. For any topic or technique we cover, I will always make sure you understand the steps needed from a theoretical and practical point of view so you can confidently use this knowledge on your own. “ – Shea A.J. Comfort

Some History

• 2000-2004 Shea helped start the MoreWine! division. Over these four years Shea did intensive fermentation research on yeast, oak, MLB, tannins and oxygen (up to 40 lots per season), created and taught an amateur winemaking program, educated the company staff and created a series of technical "how-to" manuals.

• 2004-2006 Helped start-up Sterling Albert Winery (5,000 cases) as head winemaker

• 2001 to the present Contract winemaker for Lallemand, creating yeast and MLB trials each year to be used by Lallemand’s in-house staff and at various winemaker seminars both in America and throughout Europe.

• 2007 to present Consultant-Winemaker for Olin Wines.

• 2007 to present Wine Consultant with humous name of The Yeast Whisperer

• 2010 to present Speaker for Lallemand at various industry seminars

• 2009 to present Speaker at the Winemaker Conference

A Few Client Responses

"If you want to get your wine making to a new level, meet with Shea, you will compact into a few hours the results of his decade or more of trials with every aspect of winemaking. This experience is not to be missed, brings lots of note paper!" - Dan B, Concord CA

"I have been making red wine on and off since 1987. Recent focus is on Syrah: a half ton each year for the past four years. I telephoned Shea Comfort last year and we chatted for an hour or so on how I could improve my outcomes. As a result, that vintage (2008), is the best I have ever made. Fellow winemakers call it spectacular. My CPA, a wine collector, compares it to some of his reds from the Napa Valley. I am delighted. I owe it all to advice from The Yeast Whisperer."
- Joseph B, Tacoma WA