Hello and welcome to my Wines and Spirits Blog

Welcome to the world of wines and spirits. Over the coming months you will find news and articles relating to Wines and Spirits ranging from Buying through Making your own to Storing. Occasionally there will be articles on general Food and Drink topics. Please enjoy our journey together.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wine — Glossary: Words For The Perplexed

Acetic: vinegar-like taste or smell from exposure to air. Vinegar is acetic acid.

Acidity: wines contain acids, which vary in concentration.

Appellation: French system regulating authenticity; applies to region where the grapes were grown.

Astringent: high tannin content produces dry, puckering effect.

Balance: relative degree of fruity quality, acidity, tannins, alcohol and other characteristics.

Bouquet: complex of aromas, usually from aging.

Cooked: prunish flavor, usually from excessive heat.

Cooper: a maker of casks or barrels.

Corked: a kind of spoilage, smelling of cork, usually from cracked or seeping cork allowing introduction of air or fungi.

Dry: opposite of sweet.

Fruity: aroma or flavor of apples, grapes, currants, pears, etc.

Green: wine made from unripe grapes, producing tart flavor.

Honeyed: smell or taste reminiscent of honey, characteristic of wines affected by 'noble rot' (Botrytis cinerea).

Length: a lingering aftertaste.

Madeirized: oxidized with a brownish color and stale odor. After the island of Madeira where wine is intentionally produced in open air vats.

Noble: a classification of grapes that produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Riesling

Nose: aroma. 'Off-nose' refers to odors indicating defect.

Nutty: nutlike aroma, such as found in sherry or aged whites.

Oakey: aroma from aging in oaken casks.

Oxidized: spoiled from over-exposure to air.

Sommelier: a specialist in selecting and serving wine.

Sparkling: wine containing carbonation, such as champagne.

Sulphur: an anti-oxidant introduced in some wines in small amounts. Fermentation creates minute amounts naturally.

Sweet: having residual sugar from fermentation, from grape sugar incompletely converted to alcohol.

Vintner: a winemaker.

Viticulture: the art and science of growing wine grapes.

Vitis vinifera: plant species encompassing most traditional European wine grapes.

Woody: having the aroma or taste of aging barrels.

Yeasty: smelling similar to bread. Yeasts are introduced to carry out fermentation and can be incompletely removed.

Ten Major Grape Varieties —

(1) Cabernet Sauvignon: grows in a variety of climates, but most closely associated with Bordeaux, France. Produces wines usually high in tannin.

(2) Chardonnay: from Burgundy, France. Classic and popular.

(3) Chenin Blanc: from France's Loire valley. A white grape, grow in climates too warm for many vinifera types.

(4) Grenache: Spanish grape with raspberry-like flavor and fruity aroma.

(5) Merlot: produces deep colored, high alcohol wines with low tannin. Sometimes chocolaty.

(6) Nebbiolo: from Piedmont, Italy in the northwest, produces Barbaresco and Barolo. High in acidity and tannins.

(7) Pinot Noir: difficult to grow, low in tannin, prone to rot.

(8) Riesling: a traditional German grape from the Mosel region.

(9) Sangiovese: produces herby, spicy Italian wine from Tuscany, Italy.

(10) Syrah/Shiraz: from France's Rhone valley, but more recently Australia and New Zealand. Spicy, sometimes reminiscent of black pepper. Not to be confused with Petit Sirah, a California grape.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Wine — Ancient Art, Modern Science and Global Business

In one form or another wine production has been carried out for thousands of years. Pottery discovered in Persia (present-day Iran), dated at 5,500 BC show evidence of grape use for winemaking. Jars from Jiahu in China containing wine from wild grapes date to between 6000 and 7000 BC.

But whether ancient or modern, many of the same conditions are required and similar techniques used. The chemistry of grapes is eternal.

Wine grapes grow, with few exceptions, only in bands delineated by latitudes 30-50 degrees North and 30-45 degrees South of the equator. Unlike most crops, grapes don't require fertile soil. The thinness of the soil restricts the quantity of the crop, producing fewer grapes of higher quality.

Paradoxically, soils too rich in nitrogen and other nutrients —highly beneficial for most plants— can produce grapes unsuitable for winemaking. Fine for eating, but lacking desirable quantities of minerals, sugars and acids.

The best wines are produced from soil that would be considered poor quality for other agricultural purposes. The stellar wines from Bordeaux are made from grapes grown in gravelly soil, atop a base of clay or chalk. Fewer grapes are grown, but high in quality. The pebbly earth allows for good drainage — grapevines require access to adequate, but not excessive, water. As the roots reach down further, more complex minerals are absorbed.

Vineyards are most often founded in river valleys, with slopes that provide abundant sunshine. Vines there are most often of the European species vitis vinifera, from which many common wines are made, such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

Viticulture, the practice of growing grapes for wine, is today one of the most complex agricultural undertakings. A master vintner (today, sometimes called an oenologist), must be an expert in soil chemistry and fermentation, climatology and several other ancient arts and modern sciences.

In addition to categorization by variety, the products of these vines are classified by vinification methods - sparkling, still, fortified, rosé, blush — or by region — Bordeaux, Burgundy and Alsace — and of course by vintage, as well as a dozen other methods.

After the farmer, chemist and manufacturer have had their say, the businessman must take over. In 2002, 595 million gallons of wine were sold in the U.S. alone, representing over $20 billion in consumer spending. France led the pack with 22% of export volume, with Italy a close 20% behind.

The bold artists of wine must possess a sensitive nose and palette and balance dozens of time-sensitive factors such as when to harvest, how long to ferment and age, when to bottle. And that's before considering modern manufacturing and marketing requirements, not to mention legal restrictions.

An art, a science and a business definitely not for the timid.