French tradition insists that the chemical composition of the soil, especially its mineral content, can contribute to the taste of a wine. Reluctantly, some New World growers are beginning to agree.
"Look at the flinty, mineral character of Chablis, the earthy-gravelly flavors of Graves, or even the slaty taste of Mosel," say the French. Modernists, predominantly New World producers, don't accept the link between soil and flavor, and it has to be said that scientific inquiry hasn't given a lot of support to the traditional view. But New World producers are coming around to it. You should hear riesling producers in Australia's Clare Valley talking about the differences in the soils and the taste of the wines from Watervale and Polish Hill.
What no thinking winemaker now doubts is that the physical properties of the soil have an enormous influence on wine quality and broad style. To produce wine of quality, vines are generally better served by relatively poor soils that encourage the roots to grow, rather than fertile soils that promote foliage growth, ultimately at the expense of fruit-ripening.
Water and heat
Vines need soils that are well drained, but which are capable of holding water at depth for the roots to draw on when necessary. Where irrigation is essential (as it is in much of Australia and South America), this water-retaining capacity is likely to be even more crucial. In the northern hemisphere and other cool regions, the soils also need to be able to store heat - something which stony soils do well. It's no empty coincidence that the chalky Champagne soils, the limestone of Burgundy, the Haut-Medoc gravels, and the clay and gravel layers of Pomerol all fulfill these criteria. Europe, of course, has had centuries to get to know its soil types. Growers didn't necessarily know the science behind the successful soils, but they knew which ones, in which climates, suited which grape varieties, and which parts of which small slope produced particularly fine results. Of course, most of that knowledge is now enshrined in individual appellation controlee rules.
Looking for terroir
In the now more soil- and geology-conscious New World, growers are making up for lost time, exploring new regions, identifying prime sites, and seeing where one grape variety does better or less well than another. These growers are seeking, in the first instance, cooler, less easy climates; but, as the climate becomes more difficult, so the soil has more bearing on vine-growth and quality potential. New World growers may not be using the word terroir, but they are increasingly beating the same drum.
torsdag 23 december 2010
tisdag 21 december 2010
Understanding Pinot Noir and Wine
Pinot noir has caused more grief to more growers and winemakers than any other grape, but still they persist with this tantalizingly fussy and fickle variety.
Producers in all corners of the world attempt to grow pinot noir because it is the grape of red burgundy - the grape behind Romanee-Conti, Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot, and all the other great Cote d'Or reds - just as chardonnay is the variety behind the great white burgundies. But, while chardonnay will settle almost anywhere, pinot noir is frustratingly persnickety about its climate, its soils, the way it is handled during the growing season, and the way it is handled once the grapes are picked and the wine is being made in the cellar. As the Burgundians say, there is far more to their wine than mere grape variety.
Pinot noir can be coaxed into giving reasonably deep color and significant tannin, but generally it produces light to medium-colored red wines with relatively low tannin and acidity. It takes well to French oak, judiciously used, but not to the more robust, spicy flavor of American oak. In too cool a climate -perhaps an off year in Burgundy or Alsace - it ends up thin and pallid. In too warm a climate - which includes many of the places it has been tried in the New World - it becomes jammy. But, when everything goes right, it has the most seductive of perfumes and silkiest of textures. Raspberries, strawberries, and cherries mingle with roses, violets, incense, and hints of oriental spice. In burgundy, with time, some of the sweet fruitiness gives way to richer, more savory, game and truffle flavors - a gout de terroir, or local taste, that has almost entirely eluded the New World.
Some of the finest red burgundies from the Cote de Nuits need several years to reach their peak and then, gratifyingly, stay there for a long time; but most pinot noirs are ready to drink more or less as soon as they are bottled and don't last nearly as long as cabernet sauvignon of equivalent quality.
Among the New World regions making headway with pinot noir are Oregon, cooler areas of California (such as Carneros, Russian River Valley, and Santa Maria), and New Zealand (including Martinborough, Marlborough, and Central Otago regions). Australia has had some success in the cooler regions of Victoria (for example, Yarra) and in Tasmania, but much is used, as it is in Champagne, to produce sparkling wines. South Africa and Chile are both having a try.
Aside from France, the European countries that take pinot noir most seriously are Germany (where it appears as spatburgunder) and Austria (under the name of spatburgunder or blauburgunder). Pinot noir has also spread across eastern Europe, but the Burgundians need not lose any sleep over that.
Producers in all corners of the world attempt to grow pinot noir because it is the grape of red burgundy - the grape behind Romanee-Conti, Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot, and all the other great Cote d'Or reds - just as chardonnay is the variety behind the great white burgundies. But, while chardonnay will settle almost anywhere, pinot noir is frustratingly persnickety about its climate, its soils, the way it is handled during the growing season, and the way it is handled once the grapes are picked and the wine is being made in the cellar. As the Burgundians say, there is far more to their wine than mere grape variety.
Pinot noir can be coaxed into giving reasonably deep color and significant tannin, but generally it produces light to medium-colored red wines with relatively low tannin and acidity. It takes well to French oak, judiciously used, but not to the more robust, spicy flavor of American oak. In too cool a climate -perhaps an off year in Burgundy or Alsace - it ends up thin and pallid. In too warm a climate - which includes many of the places it has been tried in the New World - it becomes jammy. But, when everything goes right, it has the most seductive of perfumes and silkiest of textures. Raspberries, strawberries, and cherries mingle with roses, violets, incense, and hints of oriental spice. In burgundy, with time, some of the sweet fruitiness gives way to richer, more savory, game and truffle flavors - a gout de terroir, or local taste, that has almost entirely eluded the New World.
Some of the finest red burgundies from the Cote de Nuits need several years to reach their peak and then, gratifyingly, stay there for a long time; but most pinot noirs are ready to drink more or less as soon as they are bottled and don't last nearly as long as cabernet sauvignon of equivalent quality.
Among the New World regions making headway with pinot noir are Oregon, cooler areas of California (such as Carneros, Russian River Valley, and Santa Maria), and New Zealand (including Martinborough, Marlborough, and Central Otago regions). Australia has had some success in the cooler regions of Victoria (for example, Yarra) and in Tasmania, but much is used, as it is in Champagne, to produce sparkling wines. South Africa and Chile are both having a try.
Aside from France, the European countries that take pinot noir most seriously are Germany (where it appears as spatburgunder) and Austria (under the name of spatburgunder or blauburgunder). Pinot noir has also spread across eastern Europe, but the Burgundians need not lose any sleep over that.
måndag 20 december 2010
How to Serve Wines
Efficient equipment, serving wine at the appropriate temperature, and choosing the right wine for the occasion all play their part in enjoyment of wine.
It's possible to spend an alarming amount of time and money on wine paraphernalia, but don't be persuaded that you need to. After all, the only essential for opening a bottle of wine in a civilized way is a corkscrew - and the only essential for drinking it, in an equally civilized way, is a glass. Some corkscrews and glasses are better than others, but that's about as far as it goes.
Aeration
An awful lot of - doubtless very enjoyable - effort has been expended on trying to find out whether wine needs to "breathe" (to aerate it), and whether it should be decanted. As there have been no incontrovertible conclusions, no doubt a lot more selfless effort will go into the study of it in future. I fully intend to do my part. What is unarguable is that opening a bottle to let the wine breathe commits you to drinking it, but makes very little difference to the wine, because far too little is in direct contact with the air.
Advocates of decanting believe that the wine exposed to air in this way undergoes an aroma-enhancing, softening, mini-maturation process. The arguments against decanting are that the same aerating process will take place anyway once the wine has been poured into the glass, or, simply that the effect is negligible. My own view is that decanting can help to "open up" high-quality, concentrated, young wines - sometimes even white wines such as burgundy - and it can help to soften rather tannic, young reds, such as Barolo, Ribera del Duero, and Californian cabernet sauvignon.
Suiting the occasion
Food is not the only consideration: season, time of day, and occasion can all point you in particular directions. A 14.5 percent-alcohol zinfandel is not often the best of lunchtime wines, nor the best wine to serve to someone who normally only drinks fairly neutral Italian whites; Vinho Verde can lose its appeal on a cold winter's evening; and the backyard on a summer's day is not a good place to serve a venerable bottle - its precious aromas will waft away in no time. Something like a New Zealand sauvignon would be much more suitable.
It's possible to spend an alarming amount of time and money on wine paraphernalia, but don't be persuaded that you need to. After all, the only essential for opening a bottle of wine in a civilized way is a corkscrew - and the only essential for drinking it, in an equally civilized way, is a glass. Some corkscrews and glasses are better than others, but that's about as far as it goes.
Aeration
An awful lot of - doubtless very enjoyable - effort has been expended on trying to find out whether wine needs to "breathe" (to aerate it), and whether it should be decanted. As there have been no incontrovertible conclusions, no doubt a lot more selfless effort will go into the study of it in future. I fully intend to do my part. What is unarguable is that opening a bottle to let the wine breathe commits you to drinking it, but makes very little difference to the wine, because far too little is in direct contact with the air.
Advocates of decanting believe that the wine exposed to air in this way undergoes an aroma-enhancing, softening, mini-maturation process. The arguments against decanting are that the same aerating process will take place anyway once the wine has been poured into the glass, or, simply that the effect is negligible. My own view is that decanting can help to "open up" high-quality, concentrated, young wines - sometimes even white wines such as burgundy - and it can help to soften rather tannic, young reds, such as Barolo, Ribera del Duero, and Californian cabernet sauvignon.
Suiting the occasion
Food is not the only consideration: season, time of day, and occasion can all point you in particular directions. A 14.5 percent-alcohol zinfandel is not often the best of lunchtime wines, nor the best wine to serve to someone who normally only drinks fairly neutral Italian whites; Vinho Verde can lose its appeal on a cold winter's evening; and the backyard on a summer's day is not a good place to serve a venerable bottle - its precious aromas will waft away in no time. Something like a New Zealand sauvignon would be much more suitable.
söndag 19 december 2010
Wine Grapes Information - Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet sauvignon is to red wine grapes what chardonnay is to white: successful, adaptable, widely traveled, and enduringly popular.
Championed by pioneers in the New World since the 1960s, cabernet sauvignon has put down roots in almost every winegrowing country. Despite this globetrotting, its homeland is undisputedly Bordeaux, its reputation established by the cms classes of the Medoc and Graves and the fine, long-lived wines from such chateaux as Lafite, Latour, and Margaux.
As its spread suggests, cabernet sauvignon is an adaptable variety, although it is not quite as forgiving as chardonnay. Because it ripens late, it fails to mature fully in climates that are too cool, producing thin-bodied, "green," herbaceous wines. It is rare in the Loire, even rarer, mercifully, in Germany, and needs nurturing in New Zealand. Equally, in too hot a climate, it can give jammy, simple flavors.
Those areas aside, one of the marks of cabernet sauvignon is that, wherever it is grown, it remains true to itself. A Pauillac (Bordeaux), with its mineral, cedary, cigar-box flavors, is very different from a Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon from South Australia, with its big, incisive cassis, menthol, and clove flavors. But through these regional styles cabernet sauvignon retains its distinctive personality.
This is partly a question of flavor: the blackcurrant, veering to sweeter black fruits in warmer regions; the cedar or pencils of Bordeaux; the mint or eucalyptus that often signal Coonawarra, Langhorne Creek, and Washington State; the green pepper that typifies cooler climates; and the chocolate and clove or licorice of warmer areas. But it is also a question of structure, the feel of the wine in the mouth, and it is the characteristics of the berries that determine this.
Cabernet sauvignon grapes are small, thick-skinned, dark, and bluish. They give deep-colored wines and, because of the high proportion of pits and skins to juice, wines that are naturally tannic and potentially long-lived. With assertive flavors and a tannic framework, the wines are suited to aging in oak barrels, especially French; so the flavors of new oak - vanilla, toast, spice, chocolate, coconut - are frequently part of the profile of the wine.
Another element is the blend. Even where it takes all the glory, cabernet sauvignon is often a blend with softer, juicier varieties, notably merlot and cabernet franc in Bordeaux. In the New World, it stands alone more often, but producers are increasingly trying out Bordeaux blends to add complexity.
Championed by pioneers in the New World since the 1960s, cabernet sauvignon has put down roots in almost every winegrowing country. Despite this globetrotting, its homeland is undisputedly Bordeaux, its reputation established by the cms classes of the Medoc and Graves and the fine, long-lived wines from such chateaux as Lafite, Latour, and Margaux.
As its spread suggests, cabernet sauvignon is an adaptable variety, although it is not quite as forgiving as chardonnay. Because it ripens late, it fails to mature fully in climates that are too cool, producing thin-bodied, "green," herbaceous wines. It is rare in the Loire, even rarer, mercifully, in Germany, and needs nurturing in New Zealand. Equally, in too hot a climate, it can give jammy, simple flavors.
Those areas aside, one of the marks of cabernet sauvignon is that, wherever it is grown, it remains true to itself. A Pauillac (Bordeaux), with its mineral, cedary, cigar-box flavors, is very different from a Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon from South Australia, with its big, incisive cassis, menthol, and clove flavors. But through these regional styles cabernet sauvignon retains its distinctive personality.
This is partly a question of flavor: the blackcurrant, veering to sweeter black fruits in warmer regions; the cedar or pencils of Bordeaux; the mint or eucalyptus that often signal Coonawarra, Langhorne Creek, and Washington State; the green pepper that typifies cooler climates; and the chocolate and clove or licorice of warmer areas. But it is also a question of structure, the feel of the wine in the mouth, and it is the characteristics of the berries that determine this.
Cabernet sauvignon grapes are small, thick-skinned, dark, and bluish. They give deep-colored wines and, because of the high proportion of pits and skins to juice, wines that are naturally tannic and potentially long-lived. With assertive flavors and a tannic framework, the wines are suited to aging in oak barrels, especially French; so the flavors of new oak - vanilla, toast, spice, chocolate, coconut - are frequently part of the profile of the wine.
Another element is the blend. Even where it takes all the glory, cabernet sauvignon is often a blend with softer, juicier varieties, notably merlot and cabernet franc in Bordeaux. In the New World, it stands alone more often, but producers are increasingly trying out Bordeaux blends to add complexity.
fredag 17 december 2010
Where to Buy Wine?
Whether you're in a store, a restaurant, or overseas, price is almost always a consideration, but there is more than that to buying a good bottle.
Buying wine ought to be one of life's pleasures, and yet navigating wine shelves and restaurant wine lists can be a daunting experience. Even a supermarket may have as many as 600 different wines from more than 20 countries - and no one with any wine knowledge on hand to give advice. If you don't want or need help, that's fine, but, if you do, there are probably better alternatives.
Stores, merchants, and mail order
In many countries, most wine is sold through supermarkets. In Britain, for example, they generally offer large lines of well-made, ready-for-drinking wines at competitive prices. Increasingly, they have wines made for them to their own specifications - modern, easy-going, fruity styles made by itinerant Australian or Australian-influenced winemakers (so called flying winemakers). Supermarkets also focus on mass-market, heavily promoted wine brands, on which profit margins are generous. What they can't offer to any very useful extent, because of their size and the nature of their business, is wines from small, independent producers, wines that are daringly innovative or idiosyncratic, and wines that need aging - although some offer a few token wines of these kinds in their flagship stores.
Unsupported by sales of laundry detergent and pet food, prices in chain stores and wine warehouses tend to be higher, but the best of these retailers list more of the world's interesting, limited-production wines and are staffed by people with enthusiasm and at least some knowledge.
For the most individual selections of wines, together with personal service and passion for the subject, you need to seek out independent wine stores, some of which are partly or wholly mail-order businesses. They are also the principal retail source of the finite volumes of sought-after, sometimes cult, wines that are allocated around the world and which sell out almost as soon as they are offered. Some retailers also put on tasting events - fun, educational, and intended to encourage you to buy more wine.
Mail-order wine clubs are a variation on the theme, often with more club events, newsletters, and so on. They range from one-man operations to large enterprises. Either way, they should be offering wines that aren't available in the big chains -either because quantities are too small, or, conversely, because the club is big enough to buy up all available stock or has its own winemakers in the regions. Buying wine online is yet another variation on the theme, but one that has yet to catch on significantly, even among the established mail-order wine companies who have added cyberspace as another avenue.
Buying wine ought to be one of life's pleasures, and yet navigating wine shelves and restaurant wine lists can be a daunting experience. Even a supermarket may have as many as 600 different wines from more than 20 countries - and no one with any wine knowledge on hand to give advice. If you don't want or need help, that's fine, but, if you do, there are probably better alternatives.
Stores, merchants, and mail order
In many countries, most wine is sold through supermarkets. In Britain, for example, they generally offer large lines of well-made, ready-for-drinking wines at competitive prices. Increasingly, they have wines made for them to their own specifications - modern, easy-going, fruity styles made by itinerant Australian or Australian-influenced winemakers (so called flying winemakers). Supermarkets also focus on mass-market, heavily promoted wine brands, on which profit margins are generous. What they can't offer to any very useful extent, because of their size and the nature of their business, is wines from small, independent producers, wines that are daringly innovative or idiosyncratic, and wines that need aging - although some offer a few token wines of these kinds in their flagship stores.
Unsupported by sales of laundry detergent and pet food, prices in chain stores and wine warehouses tend to be higher, but the best of these retailers list more of the world's interesting, limited-production wines and are staffed by people with enthusiasm and at least some knowledge.
For the most individual selections of wines, together with personal service and passion for the subject, you need to seek out independent wine stores, some of which are partly or wholly mail-order businesses. They are also the principal retail source of the finite volumes of sought-after, sometimes cult, wines that are allocated around the world and which sell out almost as soon as they are offered. Some retailers also put on tasting events - fun, educational, and intended to encourage you to buy more wine.
Mail-order wine clubs are a variation on the theme, often with more club events, newsletters, and so on. They range from one-man operations to large enterprises. Either way, they should be offering wines that aren't available in the big chains -either because quantities are too small, or, conversely, because the club is big enough to buy up all available stock or has its own winemakers in the regions. Buying wine online is yet another variation on the theme, but one that has yet to catch on significantly, even among the established mail-order wine companies who have added cyberspace as another avenue.
torsdag 16 december 2010
Wine Grapes Information - Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet sauvignon is to red wine grapes what chardonnay is to white: successful, adaptable, widely traveled, and enduringly popular.
Championed by pioneers in the New World since the 1960s, cabernet sauvignon has put down roots in almost every winegrowing country. Despite this globetrotting, its homeland is undisputedly Bordeaux, its reputation established by the cms classes of the Medoc and Graves and the fine, long-lived wines from such chateaux as Lafite, Latour, and Margaux.
As its spread suggests, cabernet sauvignon is an adaptable variety, although it is not quite as forgiving as chardonnay. Because it ripens late, it fails to mature fully in climates that are too cool, producing thin-bodied, "green," herbaceous wines. It is rare in the Loire, even rarer, mercifully, in Germany, and needs nurturing in New Zealand. Equally, in too hot a climate, it can give jammy, simple flavors.
Those areas aside, one of the marks of cabernet sauvignon is that, wherever it is grown, it remains true to itself. A Pauillac (Bordeaux), with its mineral, cedary, cigar-box flavors, is very different from a Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon from South Australia, with its big, incisive cassis, menthol, and clove flavors. But through these regional styles cabernet sauvignon retains its distinctive personality.
This is partly a question of flavor: the blackcurrant, veering to sweeter black fruits in warmer regions; the cedar or pencils of Bordeaux; the mint or eucalyptus that often signal Coonawarra, Langhorne Creek, and Washington State; the green pepper that typifies cooler climates; and the chocolate and clove or licorice of warmer areas. But it is also a question of structure, the feel of the wine in the mouth, and it is the characteristics of the berries that determine this.
Cabernet sauvignon grapes are small, thick-skinned, dark, and bluish. They give deep-colored wines and, because of the high proportion of pits and skins to juice, wines that are naturally tannic and potentially long-lived. With assertive flavors and a tannic framework, the wines are suited to aging in oak barrels, especially French; so the flavors of new oak - vanilla, toast, spice, chocolate, coconut - are frequently part of the profile of the wine.
Another element is the blend. Even where it takes all the glory, cabernet sauvignon is often a blend with softer, juicier varieties, notably merlot and cabernet franc in Bordeaux. In the New World, it stands alone more often, but producers are increasingly trying out Bordeaux blends to add complexity.
onsdag 15 december 2010
Wine Grapes Basic Riesling
Riesling is as unfashionable as chardonnay is fashionable, but there's no question that it is one of the world's supreme grape varieties.
Riesling is not nearly as accommodating as chardonnay about its vineyard environment, but in the right, cool German climate it produces extraordinarily intense, yet fabulously light and elegant, fruity wines; wines which, because of their acidity, can age over many years and still taste fresh. The wines span the spectrum of sweetness, from modern, bone-dry rieslings to the very sweetest Trockenbeerenauslese, made from grapes concentrated by botrytis cinerea, the benevolent fungus known as noble rot.
Rieslings also span the alcoholic range: more so than any other variety. The classic semisweet German styles (Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, and so on) are often 8 percent alcohol or less, while the new dry wines may be 12 percent. Dry Alsace and Austrian rieslings are around 12 percent, while some dry Australian rieslings reach 14 percent, although the norm is lower, especially in the top riesling regions of the Eden Valley (part of the Barossa) and the Clare Valley.
Riesling is not as tractable as chardonnay in the winery either. It doesn't like oak - but there again, it doesn't need to. Its wines have such inherent aroma, structure, and balance, they don't need the added flavor, depth, or richness that new oak barrels give. In fact, new oak destroys riesling's essential integrity.
The hallmark flavors in German riesling range from floral notes, crisp green apples, and slate (especially in the Mosel), to riper fruit (peach and apricot) and spice in the warmer Pfalz, to lemony, mineral characters in the Rheingau. The sweet wines often have aromas of honey, and mature German riesling develops a telltale gasoline smell (which sounds odd but isn't). Alsace rieslings tend to have an appley, steely, mineral character. Australian rieslings are appetizingly lime-scented and become toasty with age (although they are not oak-aged). Australia also produces good botrytis-affected, honeyed, sweet wines, as does New Zealand. California makes sweet, late-harvest rieslings and Canada makes intensely concentrated, sweet icewines.
If riesling is so wonderful, how has it attracted such opprobrium? Although there are some poor wines, the damage has largely been done by wines that have become mistakenly associated with riesling, and by wines posing as riesling. Liebfraumilch and the other very cheap, sugary, watery German wines are mostly made from second-rate varieties entirely unrelated to riesling. Similarly, cheap, semisweet wines from eastern Europe, now labeled laski rizling and olaszrizling, but in the past spelled riesling, have nothing to do with the real thing.
söndag 12 december 2010
What is Fortified Wine?
Fortifying wines - adding alcohol, usually grape spirit, to them - is another way of making them sweet. The alcohol incapacitates the yeasts, leaving unfermented sugar.
Occasionally, the alcohol is added before the grape juice even starts to ferment, the best-known example being the Cognac region's Pineau de Charentes. Usually, it's added part way through fermentation. France's vins doux naturels, such as Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Rivesaltes, and Banyuls, are made in this way, as are port, Madeira, Marsala, and Mala Sherry and Montilla differ in that fortification takes place after fermentation, which means that they begin as dry wines, although they may be sweetened afterward.
Sherry
Fortification is only one aspect of the great fortified wines. The other essential and distinguishing element is maturation. Sherry is aged through a "solera" system of fractional, or serial, blending: as it ages, each row of barrels has sherry from the next, younger, row blended into it. This constantly "refreshes" the maturing sherry. As a very rough average, on each occasion a quarter to a third of each barrel is moved to the next stage. Some solera systems date back more than a century.
The other distinctive feature of sherry is flor, a yeast that grows : layer on the surface of the young wine. If the growth is vigorous (looking rather like porridge), the wine will be classified as a fino (or manzanilla) and only lightly fortified. If there is little or no flor, the wine will be fortified more strongly and will be classified as an oloroso. The other sherry styles, such as amontillado and palo cortado, fall between fino/manzanilla and oloroso.
Medeira
Madeira has an equally distinctive but entirely different aging process. It is either heated in large tanks for about six months (the estufagem process), or it is aged in warehouses at the ambient temperature. This varies from about 66-76¡ã F (18-25¡ã C) through the year and is considerably warmer than is advisable for other wines. The effect, either way, is to give Madeira its characteristic burnt tang and to make the wine incredibly long-lived, if not virtually indestructible.
Port
Port is aged more conventionally, but in two different ways. Tawny or wood ports are aged for many years in barrels and are ready to drink when bottled and sold. Vintage, single-quinta, and vintage-type ports are aged for a much shorter time in barrel and then need to finish their development in bottle. In the case of true vintage port, this may take decades.
Occasionally, the alcohol is added before the grape juice even starts to ferment, the best-known example being the Cognac region's Pineau de Charentes. Usually, it's added part way through fermentation. France's vins doux naturels, such as Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Rivesaltes, and Banyuls, are made in this way, as are port, Madeira, Marsala, and Mala Sherry and Montilla differ in that fortification takes place after fermentation, which means that they begin as dry wines, although they may be sweetened afterward.
Sherry
Fortification is only one aspect of the great fortified wines. The other essential and distinguishing element is maturation. Sherry is aged through a "solera" system of fractional, or serial, blending: as it ages, each row of barrels has sherry from the next, younger, row blended into it. This constantly "refreshes" the maturing sherry. As a very rough average, on each occasion a quarter to a third of each barrel is moved to the next stage. Some solera systems date back more than a century.
The other distinctive feature of sherry is flor, a yeast that grows : layer on the surface of the young wine. If the growth is vigorous (looking rather like porridge), the wine will be classified as a fino (or manzanilla) and only lightly fortified. If there is little or no flor, the wine will be fortified more strongly and will be classified as an oloroso. The other sherry styles, such as amontillado and palo cortado, fall between fino/manzanilla and oloroso.
Medeira
Madeira has an equally distinctive but entirely different aging process. It is either heated in large tanks for about six months (the estufagem process), or it is aged in warehouses at the ambient temperature. This varies from about 66-76¡ã F (18-25¡ã C) through the year and is considerably warmer than is advisable for other wines. The effect, either way, is to give Madeira its characteristic burnt tang and to make the wine incredibly long-lived, if not virtually indestructible.
Port
Port is aged more conventionally, but in two different ways. Tawny or wood ports are aged for many years in barrels and are ready to drink when bottled and sold. Vintage, single-quinta, and vintage-type ports are aged for a much shorter time in barrel and then need to finish their development in bottle. In the case of true vintage port, this may take decades.
lördag 11 december 2010
Tips on Buying Wine in Restaurants
Most restaurants have far fewer wines to choose from than any wine store or supermarket, but that doesn't mean it's easier to make a decision, especially if you're choosing for people eating different things. Even if matching the food isn't a problem, it's easy to be discouraged by horrendous prices and unfamiliar and hard-to-pronounce names. In an ideal world, there is a friendly, well-informed wine waiter at the ready - not to mention a varied range of wines with modest markups, interesting house wines, wines by the glass, and half-bottles. But restaurant life isn't always like that, and along with other shortcomings, the lists themselves can be woefully inadequate - chaotically organized and lacking vital information such as vintages or producers' names. If the waiter doesn't know, ask to see the bottle(s) and check such details yourself.
Interpreting prices
Even leaving restaurant prices and individual countries' taxes out of the discussion, do you get what you pay for? There are no hard and fast answers, but, very broadly speaking, at under $10 a bottle in the US you get more or less what you pay for, whereas at over $10 you may also be paying for such things as rarity, fashion status, and the producer's unalloyed ambition. At over $20, you are almost certainly paying for some of these things - nowhere more obviously than in the wave of new, tiny volume, "superpremium" wines emerging all over the world. Sometimes these wines are created jointly by two high-profile producers (often one European and one New World) who save their greatest creativity for the pricing. All these wines prove is that, if you make something in small enough quantities and price it highly enough, some people will form a line to buy it.
Price and quality
Ignoring fashion and egos, elements that make one wine more expensive than another include high land prices (in Burgundy and California's Napa Valley, for example); ground that is expensive to work (such as the steep, rocky slopes of Priorato, in Spain); and low crop levels. The latter may occur because the vines are old (but give beautifully-flavored fruit), the soil is infertile, and the climate cool, or because the grower is pruning deliberately to limit the crop. Another factor that affects price is the grape variety: some, such as viognier and pinot noir, are temperamental; others, such as chardonnay, will do anything for anyone anywhere. And those are only the vineyard variables. Winemakers can increase their costs enormously by buying expensive, high-tech equipment and new French oak barrels annually, by maturing the wine in oak for a long time and aging it further in bottle, and by any number of other time-consuming, skill-demanding techniques. At the other end of the scale, especially in the southern hemisphere, there are areas where sunshine is plentiful, land is cheap to buy an cheap to work, vines are grown in such a way that they produce huge crops and wines are made and sold within a matter of months.
Interpreting prices
Even leaving restaurant prices and individual countries' taxes out of the discussion, do you get what you pay for? There are no hard and fast answers, but, very broadly speaking, at under $10 a bottle in the US you get more or less what you pay for, whereas at over $10 you may also be paying for such things as rarity, fashion status, and the producer's unalloyed ambition. At over $20, you are almost certainly paying for some of these things - nowhere more obviously than in the wave of new, tiny volume, "superpremium" wines emerging all over the world. Sometimes these wines are created jointly by two high-profile producers (often one European and one New World) who save their greatest creativity for the pricing. All these wines prove is that, if you make something in small enough quantities and price it highly enough, some people will form a line to buy it.
Price and quality
Ignoring fashion and egos, elements that make one wine more expensive than another include high land prices (in Burgundy and California's Napa Valley, for example); ground that is expensive to work (such as the steep, rocky slopes of Priorato, in Spain); and low crop levels. The latter may occur because the vines are old (but give beautifully-flavored fruit), the soil is infertile, and the climate cool, or because the grower is pruning deliberately to limit the crop. Another factor that affects price is the grape variety: some, such as viognier and pinot noir, are temperamental; others, such as chardonnay, will do anything for anyone anywhere. And those are only the vineyard variables. Winemakers can increase their costs enormously by buying expensive, high-tech equipment and new French oak barrels annually, by maturing the wine in oak for a long time and aging it further in bottle, and by any number of other time-consuming, skill-demanding techniques. At the other end of the scale, especially in the southern hemisphere, there are areas where sunshine is plentiful, land is cheap to buy an cheap to work, vines are grown in such a way that they produce huge crops and wines are made and sold within a matter of months.
Best Climate for Growing Grapes
As far as climate is concerned, the classic European wine regions are mostly near to the margins of successful wine cultivation - where vines are most at risk from the weather.
The growing season in Europe can be a nail-biting experience from start to finish. Too much rain dilutes the flavor of the grapes; too little sunshine results in unripe grapes. Hazards such as spring frost, poor weather when the vines are flowering (preventing the fruit from setting satisfactorily), hail, mildew, and fall rot are always in the cards. Sometimes even drought can be a problem, especially in those regions where irrigation is frowned on, and largely banned, because of the potential to use it to increase yields and thus dilute quality.
It's not only Europe that suffers: this vineyard, in Mendoza, Argentina, was stripped of its foliage by midsummer hail.
Mesoclimates
The Old World grower tends to look for sites where the severity of the climate is moderated in some way -for example, near a body of water that warms the adjoining land, on a slope sheltered from the prevailing wind, or in a frost-free pocket above the valley floor. Sites such as these are described as having a mesoclimate (a climate within a climate). And if previous generations haven't disclosed which vineyard or slope is the most favored, and which the least reliable, experience will soon reveal all, as it does for any other kind of farmer. Yet, however well a site is selected, and however carefully the vines are tended through the seasons, there will always be difficult years in these marginal regions, resulting in disappointing wines.
Climatic extremes
Warm regions are not without their threats. Argentina suffered badly from El Nino in 1998; the Hunter Valley in Australia is prone to harvesttime rain; Western Australia and New Zealand sometimes suffer the effects of passing cyclones; and a variety of abnormal weather conditions made 2000 an unusually difficult vintage for some of South Australia's key regions. But these are the exception, not the rule. Whereas the Old World hopes for good weather, the New World expects it. The latter's problem is more likely to be too much warmth too soon, resulting in grapes that are ripe before they have developed much flavor.
So, the Old World grower looks for an extra degree of sunshine or frost protection, while the quality-oriented grower in the southern hemisphere and California increasingly looks for the cooler site up in the hills, the one that catches chilling sea breezes or morning fogs, or the one where the temperature drops lower at night. The result of all this is that the world's finest wines tend to come from the warmer years in favored northern Europe vineyards and, increasingly, from those vineyards in the New World that are cooler and more European than the average.
The growing season in Europe can be a nail-biting experience from start to finish. Too much rain dilutes the flavor of the grapes; too little sunshine results in unripe grapes. Hazards such as spring frost, poor weather when the vines are flowering (preventing the fruit from setting satisfactorily), hail, mildew, and fall rot are always in the cards. Sometimes even drought can be a problem, especially in those regions where irrigation is frowned on, and largely banned, because of the potential to use it to increase yields and thus dilute quality.
It's not only Europe that suffers: this vineyard, in Mendoza, Argentina, was stripped of its foliage by midsummer hail.
Mesoclimates
The Old World grower tends to look for sites where the severity of the climate is moderated in some way -for example, near a body of water that warms the adjoining land, on a slope sheltered from the prevailing wind, or in a frost-free pocket above the valley floor. Sites such as these are described as having a mesoclimate (a climate within a climate). And if previous generations haven't disclosed which vineyard or slope is the most favored, and which the least reliable, experience will soon reveal all, as it does for any other kind of farmer. Yet, however well a site is selected, and however carefully the vines are tended through the seasons, there will always be difficult years in these marginal regions, resulting in disappointing wines.
Climatic extremes
Warm regions are not without their threats. Argentina suffered badly from El Nino in 1998; the Hunter Valley in Australia is prone to harvesttime rain; Western Australia and New Zealand sometimes suffer the effects of passing cyclones; and a variety of abnormal weather conditions made 2000 an unusually difficult vintage for some of South Australia's key regions. But these are the exception, not the rule. Whereas the Old World hopes for good weather, the New World expects it. The latter's problem is more likely to be too much warmth too soon, resulting in grapes that are ripe before they have developed much flavor.
So, the Old World grower looks for an extra degree of sunshine or frost protection, while the quality-oriented grower in the southern hemisphere and California increasingly looks for the cooler site up in the hills, the one that catches chilling sea breezes or morning fogs, or the one where the temperature drops lower at night. The result of all this is that the world's finest wines tend to come from the warmer years in favored northern Europe vineyards and, increasingly, from those vineyards in the New World that are cooler and more European than the average.
4 Common Grapes for Red Wines
Gamay
The grape famous for one wine: Beaujolais. No other region makes gamay with the same fresh intensity and the lively, sappy, strawberry fruit achieved in the granitic hills of Beaujolais. Just to the north of Beaujolais, in the Maconnais, gamay is the grape behind most (rather dull) red Macon and some basic Bourgogne Rouge. It also appears in Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains, a blend with pinot noir that finds its echo in Switzerland's Dole. In and around the Loire Valley, it produces such wines as Gamay de Touraine, Coteaux du Giennois, Cotes du Forez, and Cote Roannaise. Wines labeled gamay in eastern Europe and California are usually, respectively, blaufrankisch and pinot noir.
Grenache
Until a few years ago, the world's most widely planted red grape, grenache, was not a name seen much on labels. If people had heard of it, it was usually as the most important of the 13 grape varieties that are permitted, but rarely all used, in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Grenache found favor in the late 1990s, when full-bodied red wines with spicy, ripe fruit became fashionable. Not that all grenache - or garnacha in Spain, where it is even more important than in the south of France - has this character, or the signature raspberry and white pepper flavors. Young grenache vines, and vines allowed to overproduce, give high-alcohol but pallid wines. Both Australia and California grow it on a large scale for cheap, high-volume wines; but, in Australia especially, old grenache vines are now being diverted to the production of big, fruity, characterful reds. Grenache is also a good variety for rose, or rosado.
Malbec
Like syrah/shiraz and grenache, malbec is a grape variety on a roll. At least, it is in its adopted country of Argentina. In Argentina, and on a much smaller scale also in Chile, malbec produces full, richly fruity, spicy reds with flavors of mulberries and blackberries. In its native Cahors in southwest France, it is better known for harder, leaner wines with dry tannins, higher acid, a mineral, pencil-shavings character, and restrained blackberry fruit. Small amounts of malbec are still used in Bordeaux and other reds from the French southwest, and a few Californian winemakers incorporate it in their Meritage wines (Bordeaux blends). Just recently, a handful of producers in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, have started to use malbec with more conviction in their - mostly merlot - blends, and with success.
Mourvedre
Called monastrell in Spain, the robust, dark-berried mourvedre has always been one of the key Spanish varieties; but it was little talked about under its French name in France or anywhere else until recently. Mourvedre was known, if at all, as the principal grape of the long-lived, but rather obscure, Provencal red wine Bandol, and as a bit-part player in a few other southern French reds. Its fortunes changed when it was recommended as one of several "improving varieties" throughout Languedoc-Roussillon, recognized for its firm-structured wines with their concentrated, gamey, leathery, black-fruit flavors. As mataro, it languished on the sidelines in California and Australia for many years; but, since Rhone grapes and other southern French varieties have become the vogue, mataro has been rehabilitated as sought-after mourvedre.
The grape famous for one wine: Beaujolais. No other region makes gamay with the same fresh intensity and the lively, sappy, strawberry fruit achieved in the granitic hills of Beaujolais. Just to the north of Beaujolais, in the Maconnais, gamay is the grape behind most (rather dull) red Macon and some basic Bourgogne Rouge. It also appears in Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains, a blend with pinot noir that finds its echo in Switzerland's Dole. In and around the Loire Valley, it produces such wines as Gamay de Touraine, Coteaux du Giennois, Cotes du Forez, and Cote Roannaise. Wines labeled gamay in eastern Europe and California are usually, respectively, blaufrankisch and pinot noir.
Grenache
Until a few years ago, the world's most widely planted red grape, grenache, was not a name seen much on labels. If people had heard of it, it was usually as the most important of the 13 grape varieties that are permitted, but rarely all used, in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Grenache found favor in the late 1990s, when full-bodied red wines with spicy, ripe fruit became fashionable. Not that all grenache - or garnacha in Spain, where it is even more important than in the south of France - has this character, or the signature raspberry and white pepper flavors. Young grenache vines, and vines allowed to overproduce, give high-alcohol but pallid wines. Both Australia and California grow it on a large scale for cheap, high-volume wines; but, in Australia especially, old grenache vines are now being diverted to the production of big, fruity, characterful reds. Grenache is also a good variety for rose, or rosado.
Malbec
Like syrah/shiraz and grenache, malbec is a grape variety on a roll. At least, it is in its adopted country of Argentina. In Argentina, and on a much smaller scale also in Chile, malbec produces full, richly fruity, spicy reds with flavors of mulberries and blackberries. In its native Cahors in southwest France, it is better known for harder, leaner wines with dry tannins, higher acid, a mineral, pencil-shavings character, and restrained blackberry fruit. Small amounts of malbec are still used in Bordeaux and other reds from the French southwest, and a few Californian winemakers incorporate it in their Meritage wines (Bordeaux blends). Just recently, a handful of producers in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, have started to use malbec with more conviction in their - mostly merlot - blends, and with success.
Mourvedre
Called monastrell in Spain, the robust, dark-berried mourvedre has always been one of the key Spanish varieties; but it was little talked about under its French name in France or anywhere else until recently. Mourvedre was known, if at all, as the principal grape of the long-lived, but rather obscure, Provencal red wine Bandol, and as a bit-part player in a few other southern French reds. Its fortunes changed when it was recommended as one of several "improving varieties" throughout Languedoc-Roussillon, recognized for its firm-structured wines with their concentrated, gamey, leathery, black-fruit flavors. As mataro, it languished on the sidelines in California and Australia for many years; but, since Rhone grapes and other southern French varieties have become the vogue, mataro has been rehabilitated as sought-after mourvedre.
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