Definition of Wine

8/13/2019 Definition of Wine

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A classical definition of wine is very simple: "Wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of

juice from freshly gathered grapes, the fermentation taking place inthe district of origin according to local tradition and practice".

Fermentation is the process by which sugar is converted to alcohol by yeasts. Atits simplest, wine is made by crushing grapes and allowing the natural yeastspresent on the skins to come in to contact with the natural sugars present in the

juice. o other human intervention is needed: crushed and fermented like this,any grapes will make wine.

!he winemaker, of course, intervenes in this process in many ways to affect theuality of the wine that is produced. #e must choose the best uality of fruit, he

must ensure the operation is carried out with scrupulous hygiene, he must ensurethe final product is bright, clear and fit for consumption. $eyond these simplesteps however, the winemaker can influence the wine in many other ways, takingcertain decisions and actions that affect the style of the wine and how it will taste.We will look at these actions in detail later in the course, but they include: theselection and mi%ture of grapes used, the method of fermentation and thetreatment the wine is given as it matures in his cellars.

!he rules vary from region to region, but most authorities allow the addition ofcontrolled uantities of certain other ingredients in the making of wine:

&ugar is allowed in many areas, especially if there is insufficient sun tofully ripen the grapes

&ome strains of yeast perform better than others, and the introduction ofspecific yeasts is allowed

'f the grapes do not have enough natural acidity to keep the wine freshand appetising, the addition of natural fruit acids is permitted in some

regions &ince winemaking began, small uantities of sulphur have been used tosanitise wines.

The origins of wine obody knows who "invented" wine. 'ts discovery was probably accidental. After

harvesting, some grapes were left in a container over the winter and the naturalyeasts and sugars converted the juice into wine.From earliest times, the process of winemaking developed and was encouraged.Apart from the taste, and the "magical" effect wine had on drinkers, it wasgranted religious, even mystical properties. !he (reek (od )ionysus and the*oman (od $acchus were high ranking (ods of wine. !he +hristians used

sacramental wines: the miracle of the conversion of water into wine and the useof wine to represent +hrist s blood in the communion service, are e%amples of itsimportance in the +hristian religion. !he wine industry would not be flourishing in+alifornia today had not the +hristian missionaries planted vines there forreligious purposes.Although archaeologists have traced the origins of wine grapes - Vitis viniferaback tens of thousands of years, the first evidence of wine having actually beenmade from grapes comes from a clay pot found in /ersia -now 'ran dating fromaround 01,111 years $.+. 2ur understanding of how vine growing andwinemaking grew, spread and flourished has been pieced together.&eparate waves of the great, ancient, seafaring cultures took the vine and thesecrets of winemaking on their travels along the shores of the 3editerranean and

beyond. !he (reeks introduced vines wherever they set up colonies, from Franceto 4gypt. !his 4gyptian wall painting shows each stage of the winemaking process,


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from gathering the grapes, to drinking the finished product. 'n turn the*omans spread their vineyard lands throughout France and to their othercolonies throughout 4urope, including (reat $ritain. Where is Wine Made? !he climatic conditions needed for growing uality vines are strictly defined. 5inesneed cool winters when the vine can "sleep" and gather strength for theproduction of the ne%t summer s crop. !oo cold though, and the roots of the vinecan be damaged by frost leading to the death of the plant. &pring must be warmand wet, though not too wet, so that the plants can bud and produce the tinyflowers that will eventually become bunches of grapes. &ummers should be long,sunny, and hot, but again, too much heat is counter6productive, leading toscorched fruit that ripens too uickly and doesn t have enough uality. !heautumn must be gentle and relatively dry so that the grapes can reach fullmaturity and the harvest can be completed before e%cessive rain or cold damagesthe mature grapes.!hese re uirements e%clude much of the northern andsouthern latitudes, as these are too cold and have too little sun. !he e uatoriallands are also e%cluded, as they are too hot, with no period in which the vinescan rest.5ines flourish in two uite narrow bands of latitude appro%imately 716819 northand 716819 south of the e uator.

2nly here arethe climaticconditions rightfor wines of thehigheststandard. Winesare made onthe margins ofthese latitudes,

but they arerarelyconsistent or ofreal uality.

Conditions for growing vines nlike most agricultural crops, the grapevine does not re uire rich, fertile soil to

thrive. 'n fact, soils which are too rich, too full of nitrogen and nutrients, mightproduce abundant grape crops, but these will be grapes suitable for eating, notfor making wine. !he fruit will be too simple and sweet and lacking in comple%minerals, sugars, acids and flavours. !he world s finest wines are invariablyproduced from poor uality soils where few other crops would be worth planting.!he great wines of $ordeau% are produced from soil composed largely of graveland pebbles, on a base of clay or chalk. !he great $urgundies come from acidic,granite soil on a base of limestone.!he reason for this anomaly 6 poor land producing great wines 6 is that thethinness of the soil naturally restricts the uantity of the crop, so that fewergrapes are produced, but of higher uality. !his is the same principle that a pri;erose grower might adopt: thinning the bush to encourage the blooms that remainto reach a higher uality. Also, poor, free draining topsoil encourages the vine tosend its roots deeper in search of water and nutrients. As the roots reach furtherdown, comple% minerals will be absorbed that will add comple%ity to the grapeand, eventually, to the wine. 5ineyards tend to be situated along river valleys, ongentle slopes where they have ma%imum e%posure to the sun, where the soil isfree draining, and where, historically, the rivers could be used for transport.

Grapes and Wine


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+uriously, wine rarely tastes or smells of grapes. !he grapes from which wine ismade, however, are the most important factor in taste. Wines made from thechardonnay, for e%ample, are said to have a taste of peaches, lemons or butter.Wines made from the cabernet sauvignon are reckoned to have flavours ofblackcurrant, plums or chocolate. #istorically, old world producers stressed theimportance of where the wine came from on the label, rather than what was inthe bottle:

$ordeau%, $urgundy, +hablis, &ancerre, *ioja, /ort, &herry.

&ome producers, on the other hand, used brand names for their products: #irondelle, $lack !ower, 3ateus *os Atfirst, the ew World competed by simply "borrowing" famous names from the 2ldWorld: "Australian $urgundy" and "+alifornian +hablis" became commonplace.'nternational law soon caught up with this practice however, ruling that $urgundyor +hablis can only be made in $urgundy or +hablis. &o even though the ewWorld producer could use identical grapes and identical methods to produce ahigh uality version of one of these famous wines, he couldn t use any name thatthe consumer would recognise.*ather than battle against tradition and prejudice, the solution the ew Worldarrived at was to use varietal labelling. !hey attempted to change the whole waywe thought about, talked about, selected, chose between, and most importantly,bought wine. !hey educated us in the grapes from which the wine was made bystressing this, rather than the place of origin on the label. &oon we got used tothe idea of buying a bottle of chardonnay, a bottle of sauvignon blanc, a bottle ofmerlot or a bottle of pinot noir.!his is perhaps the biggest change ever in the way wine is regarded byconsumers: ordinary people learned to recognise wine by the grape variety used.'n turn this lead to a willingness to e%periment: to buy and e%perience the type ofwine they like, no matter where it was made, ew World or 2ld World. 4venFrance has recognised that they must move in to this modern world in order tocompete and survive. 3aybe not in the great, classical regions, but in the simplercountry wines the naming of grapes on labels is now as common in 4urope asanywhere in the winemaking world.Although the ew World has altered the whole way we buy and think about wine,they have always acknowledged that the 2ld World 6 France in particular 6 had ahuge amount to teach them. France has a combination of many factors whichmean it is still at the fore6front of uality wine production:

an ideal location -latitude a highly suitable range of soil types suitable weather conditions generations of knowledge long established vineyards a well established set of wine laws -appellation contr?l


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'n other countries around the world winemakers have taken the grape varietiesand techni ues used in France and have attempted to create their own versionsof classic wines.$elow is a table with 7 columns:

0. gives the name of some of the "classic" French wines@. gives the principal grapes from which they are made3. shows some of the countries around the world who are making successful

wines in a similar style:

Wine Grapes New world competitors

Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,Cabernet Franc, etit !erdot

"S#, #ustralia, Sout$ #%rica, C$ile,Bulgaria, &omania, Spain, 'tal(,)ebanon

Burgund(*red+ inot Noir

"S#, New ealand, #ustralia,Sout$ #%rica

Burgund(*w$ite+ C$ardonna(

#ustralia, New ealand, "S#,Sout$ #%rica, C$ile, #rgentina,Spain, 'tal(, Bulgaria, -ungar(

Nort$ern&$ ne S(ra$ *s$ira/+

#ustralia, New ealand, "S#,Sout$ #%rica

#lsace Gewur/traminer, &iesling New ealand, #ustralia, "S#

Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc New ealand, C$ile, "S#, Sout$#%rica

C$ampagne C$ardonna(, inot Noir,inot Meunier "S#, #ustralia, New ealand

!he challenge for the newer producers is to create wines that have the uality ofthe "originals" from France and will have the staying power to keep them beingbought and enjoyed by wine lovers around the world for generations. For us, thisresults in a wider choice of wines than ever before, from a wider variety of places.'t also means 6 with some wines of $ordeau% and $urgundy now costing upwardsof 081.11 per bottle 6 that we have a chance to e%perience a glimpse of whatsome of the world s greatest wines have to offer, at a reasonable price.

White wine

The grape

!o begin to understand how any wineis made we must first look at thecomposition of the grape. 'f you takeany grape 6 black, red or green 6 andslice it through the middle it looksmuch the same:The stalkis woody and full of a substance calledtannin. !annin is a preservative with abitter flavour.

The skinis covered in a whitish bloom which is a dusting of wild yeasts and bacteria. !heskin itself contains more tannin and, in black grapes, a colouring pigment.The pips


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contain bitter oils and are never desirable in white winemaking.The pulp is the most interesting part of the grape in white wine making. 2ver B1C of thepulp is just water, but the remaining 71C contains most of the elements whichgive a wine character, flavour and interest. !hese elements include various fruitsugars and acids, trace elements absorbed from the earth and pectin, a gellingagent. !he pulp of almost all grapes is the same colour: a pale greenDyellow.&ince the juice of almost all grapes is the same pale, almost clear colour, whitewines can be made from any colour of grapes. 'f using black grapes to make awhite wine, the winemaker must separate the juice from the skins immediatelyafter pressing and before the fermentation stage so that no colour is picked upfrom the skins. &ome e%amples of white wine made from black grapes are+hampagne, blanc de noirs and white ;infandel. 3ost whites are actually madefrom green grapes. !here is, therefore, no hurry to separate juice from skinssince there is no danger of them picking up colour, but most winemakers preferto separate anyway, to prevent tannin leaching from the skins into the juice.!hough there is an insignificant group of black grapes whose flesh and juice isactually dark, almost all red wines e%tract their colour only from the skins ofblack grapes. *ed wines therefore, can only be made from black -or red grapes.Making white wine!he first priority with freshly gathered white wine grapes is to get them to thepresses as uickly as possible. !his avoids o%idisation of the grapes as they sit onlorries, e%posed to the sun and air.

At the winery, the grapes go through amachine called a crusher6destalker. !hismachine breaks the skins of the grapesbut doesn t press them, and removes allstalks and some of the pips.!he resulting mash of broken grapes isimmediately poured into a press. A gentlepressing is re uired for white wines.!here have been many improvements onthe original heavy stone presses,including the screw press which is like agiant mincing machine, and pressing byinflating a bag inside a tank, so that thegrapes are gradually s uee;ed againstthe sides.!he pure juice that is collected from thisprocess is poured directly into thefermentation tank. &ome producers willleave the skins in during fermentation toadd some e%tra dimension to the wine,but most do not.After fermentation most white wines arerun into stainless6steel tanks for a periodof settling. A few months later they arefiltered and bottled. &ome wines willundergo a further period of maturation inoak casks before bottling.


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!emperature has always been the bugbear of white wine makers. #ottercountries simply could not make uality white wines as these re uire long, coolfermentation -at around 089 +elsius to allow flavours and comple%ity to develop.!he act of fermentation itself creates heat, and in a hot climate, with uncontrolledtanks, the result is a very violent fermentation with temperatures rising to 789 ormore and the yeasts dying off uickly. !his produces a rather rough andunbalanced wine. /erhaps the greatest innovation in the history of white winemaking has been the introduction of temperature controlled stainless steel tanksfor fermentation. 'ntroduced first in Australia and +alifornia, these huge,refrigerated tanks have taken the winemaking world by storm. 4ven in thehottest climates, white wines of distinction can now be produced. +ountries like&pain, (reece and southern 'taly can, for the first time, produce whites of worldclass uality.!his use of new technology has also led to a new breed of e%pert, known as the"flying winemaker". =argely from Australia and +alifornia, these winemakerstravel the world to advise old6fashioned wineries on new technology -likestainless steel that can bring them up to date.&ome white wines are fermented in old wooden vats. !hese will also have some

method of cooling applied, such as being surrounded by a coil of pipes throughwhich cold water is pumped. !hese vats are less reliable than steel, but somewinemakers swear that fermenting in oak is the only method to use.3any of the greatest white $urgundies and sweet white &auternes are fermentedin small oak barrels with stunning results. !his labour intensive techni ue isusually reserved for the highest uality wines, especially those built for longageing.2nce fermentation is complete -taking between 0 and E weeks or so most whitewines are considered complete. !he wine is simply run off into clean steelcontainers to settle before bottling.

!he alternative is to mature the wine in small oak casks -often referred to as"barri ues" 6 the original $ordeau% name . 3aturation in oak is much morecommon in red wines, but chardonnay and semillon in particular seem to marryvery well with the uni ue vanillaDbuttery flavour that oak imparts to wine.

3aturing wine in barrels is an e%pensive and labour intensive process, as we willsee ne%t week when we look more closely at the process in relation to red wines.2ften, the taste we notice most in a chardonnay has come from the oak, not fromthe grapes. 'n the cheapest chardonnays, handfuls of oak chips are added to thewine to impart a commercially desirable oaky flavour. Whilst tasty, these winesare rarely subtle or sufficiently well6balanced for ageing and further developmentin bottle.Finally, prior to bottling, the wine must be filtered to leave it crystal clear. !hisprocess can be carried out by many methods. se of filters and centrifuges toeliminate all solid matter are effective, but some people claim these methods alsoremove body and character from the wine. A more traditional method is fining.Fining uses a gelatinous substance that is stirred into a barrel of wine. !he finingagent gradually sinks to the bottom of the barrel, dragging all particles with it.!raditionally, fining is done with whisked egg whites. 2ther common substancesare bentonite -a clay and isinglass -made from fish bladders . 2nce the wine isperfectly clear and bright it can be bottled, labelled and shipped.Wines might also undergo a process of "cold stabilisation" before filtering, whenthey are chilled in order to force tartaric acids naturally present in the wine toform into tiny crystals. !hese crystals can then be removed during filtration. !hisis done mostly for cosmetic reasons: white wines that are not stabilised mightthrow these crystals naturally during storage or transportation. When theconsumer sees tiny white crystals in the bottom of a bottle it can be very off6putting, though in fact they are harmless and tasteless.


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Factors affecting the styles of white wine+learly, one important factor is grape variety. Whilst some grapes, such as thechardonnay, are "all rounders" 6 capable of being moulded into a variety of styles6 others, such as the gewGr;traminer, have a very distinctive and individual tastewhich asserts itself in every decent bottle. Fermentation and maturation in oak isanother important aspect. !his is a complicated area: oak trees from differentforests impart different flavoursH new barrels have more impact than barrels oneor two years oldH barrels can be toasted on the inside before they are filled andthe degree of toast will affect the flavour. We will look more closely at oak andbarrels in relation to red wine.!he winemaker can also decide how much residual sugar to leave behind in thewine. 'f fermentation is stopped early, before the yeasts eat all the sugars, then acertain amount of sugar is left behind. For very ripe wines from hot climates it isperfectly possible to produce a wine that has 07 or 0E degrees of alcohol yet stillhas some residual sugar. 'n some countries the addition of e%tra sugar is allowedduring the fermentation stage 6 a process known as chaptalisation 6 but this isdone to boost alcohol to a minimum standard, not to sweeten the finished wine.3alolactic fermentation is a natural biological process that occurs after alcoholicfermentation if the wine is kept at a slightly increased temperature. !his is achemical change, whereby harsh malic acid -such as that found in tart greenapples is converted into lactic acid -found in milk . !his has the effect ofsoftening the wine and reducing obvious acidity, so the winemaker may choose toencourage or avoid malolactic fermentation according to his re uirement for aspecific style of wine. !his is acheived by inoculating the wine with relevantbacteria.3aturing the wine "sur lees" 6 keeping the skins and dead yeast cells in contact inthe barrel 6 can add a creaminess and comple%ity to a wine. Again, this is done atthe winemaker s discretion and is a process that re uires care and attention: the"soup" of wine and lees can spoil if scrupulous hygiene is not practised.White wine and grapes - styles and characteristics!here are many varieties of grape used in the production of white wines. #ere is alist of the most important varieties along with a description of their generalcharacter and some of the tasting terms commonly applied to them:+hardonnay 6 full, soft, buttery, fruity 6 peach, pear, pineapple, citrus, melon, butter, vanilla&auvignon $lanc 6 invigorating, dry, grassy, acidic 6 grass, gooseberries, asparagus, green beans, cat pee, flint*iesling 6 vividly fruity, lively acidity, oily 6 apples, limes, passion fruit, minerals, petrol&emillon 6 round, smooth, honeyed, toasty 6 grass, citrus, lanolin, honey, toast(ewur;traminer 6 exotic, spicy, perfumed, oily, rich

6 ginger, cinnamon, lychees, nivea cream !he search is on amongst the big, commercial wineries to find a successor tochardonnay. 3arket watchers have noted that some people are showing signs ofbeing fed up with over6oaked, big, blowsy chardonnays and are looking for adifferent taste. 3ost of the grapes above are too distinctive to fit the bill, andmight not be so widely accepted. &ome other grapesDwines that have been lesscommonly seen in the past are starting to become more evident on supermarketshelves:3arsanne I *oussanne 6 honey, tropical fruit, luscious5iognier 6 flowery, peachy, delicate, fresh/inot $lanc 6 oily, perfumed, minerals, citrus, rich+henin $lanc 6 straw, flowers, honey, can be dry or sweet

White wine tasting terms and descriptorsWine tasters have their own vocabulary or jargon, just like other groups ofenthusiasts: computer geeks, trainspotters, ballroom dancers, etc. !here can be a


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make a far greater number of decisions, when making a red wine. !he process isessentially the same as the white wine process: gathering the grapes,fermentation, maturation and bottling. At various stages the winemaker canintervene to change the style of the wine he is making.

!he grapes are crushed, but aproportion of the stalks may beleft in place. !he resulting mashis run straight into thefermentation tank withoutpressing. nlike white wine, theskins are part of thefermentation. Fermentationtemperature varies betweenaround 0K9 and @K9 celsius, asdoes the length of fermentationbetween a few days and si%weeks. !he fermentation vatsmay be concrete, steel or,

traditionally, oak.!he high uality "free run" wineis poured straight into barrels orstainless steel to rest andmature. !he remaining mulch of

juice, skins, and stalks ispressed, to e%tract a strong,tannic li uid known as "press6wine", a proportion of which isoften blended back in at a laterstage to add body, tannin andstrength to the finished wine.

3ost of the great red wines arematured in oak barrels. !his isan e%pensive and labourintensive process. 2ak fromancient French forests isgenerally agreed to be the finest,imparting a subtle vanilla, toastyflavour. 4ach @11 year old treeproduces only @ barrels, so theyare e%pensive at 781.11 each.!he forests are managed with are6planiting policy.

American oak is also very popular and is cheaper. 't is regarded as imparting a"bigger", less subtle, spicy flavour to wine. 2ak from the kraine, /oland and&lovenia is very old and fine and is the cheapest of all, but many e%perts find it isnot flavourful enough./rior to bottling the wine must be cleared. !raditional fining is widely practised,but use of filters and centrifuges to remove absolutely all micro6solids from thewine is highly controversial. Wine is a living thing. !iny biological changes takeplace over years as the wine matures in the bottle and many people believe thatheavy handed filtration destroys the wine s ability to age and improve. !his iswhy many red wines must be decanted before serving: to run the wine off fromsolid deposits.Factors affecting the styles of red wineAs ' have said, the winemaker has a great deal of freedom to make choices inmaking a red wine. #is decisions will be affected by the style of wine he is aiming


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to make, and the raw materials the vintage has given him to work with. &ome ofthe options open to him are listed below:

'n most areas the vineyards may be planted with a variety differentgrapes. &ince many of the great red wines are blends of one or moregrape variety -$ordeau%, +hLteauneuf6du6/ape, etc. he first can choosethe proportion of each grape he will plant and use

#e can choose the proportion of tannic stalks to include in thefermentation

#e can "cold soak" the grapes 6 crush them lightly and allow them to sitfor a week or two at a temperature too low to ferment, but still allowingcolour and tannin to leach from the skins

#e can choose cement, steel or oak for fermentation tanks #e can choose the temperature and length of fermentation #e can choose when to remove stalks and skins during fermentation #e can choose how to mature the wine -if in barrel, taking into account all

the variables of type of oak, level of toast, age of barrel, etc. #e can choose the length of maturation -usually between K and @E

months, though some fine wines 6 sherries and *iojas for e%ample 6 canspend up to E1 years in oak #e can add some of the press6wine back in to the blend #e can blend the wines from different grapes and different casks #e can choose the method of fining andDor filtration.

Special considerations in making a fine red wineAs well as offering a world of choices to the winemaker, red wine also offers e%trachallenges and complications he must overcome to make a great wine.

Firstly he must balance the colour and tannin e%traction of the wine withits fruit and freshness. Wines made with too much tannin may never reacha peak where the natural fruit and flavours of the wine re6emerge as the

tannins subside +arbon dio%ide given off during fermentation causes the skins to float to

the surface of the tank and form a "cap". !his must be regularlysubmerged to ensure the wine keeps e%tracting elements from the skins.!his can be achieved by "pumping over" juice from the bottom to the topof the tank, by manually pushing down the cap, or by fitting a mesh filterbelow the surface of the wine

#e must judge the correct levels of newDold oak and toast level For all the time the barrels are in the cellar the wine must be "racked":

wine is drawn from one barrel into a clean barrel. 2nly around M1C of thebarrel is drawn off, the remaining 01C is full of dead yeast cells and isdiscarded. !his process is carried out every 7 months or so and the fresh

barrel must be topped back up to 011C with reserved wine 3alolactic fermentation must be induced )ecisions must be taken on blending, fining and filtration.

Red wine and grapes - styles and characteristics!here are just as many flavour profiles amongst red wines as white. &omegrapes, like the cabernet sauvignon take uite easily to a variety of growingconditions, whilst others, such as the pinot noir, seem unhappy anywhere outsidetheir home in $urgundy. A few places are starting to produce credible pinot noirs,notably in cool climates such as 2regon on the northwest coast of the nited&ates and on the south island of ew Nealand.+abernet &auvignon 6 the classic $ordeau% wine grape. A "serious" wine, withintensity and ageing potential which marries very well with the flavour of oak.blackcurrant, cedar, pencil shavings, peppers, mint, chocolate, tobacco


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3erlot 6 the @nd great grape of $ordeau% 6 most $ordeau% is a blend of these @grapes along with small amounts of some others. 't is a very rich, plummy, spicygrape which lends softness to the sometimes rather serious cabernet.

plums, roses, spice, fruit-cake, blackcurrant, pencil shavings /inot oir 6 !he great red grape of $urgundy. 't is a very fragrant and should besilky with heady fruit and sometimes gamey comple%ity.raspberries, strawberries, cherries, violets, roses, game, compost, manure &yrah 6 the great red grape of the *hone. /lanted outside France it is known asthe &hira;. #uge and comple%, rich, spicy and "manly".raspberries, blackberries, pepper, cloves, spice, leather, game, tar! 2ther important red wine grapes include:+abernet Franc 6 green peppers, blackcurrant, leaves, chocolate! (amay 6 the grape of $eau%olais! $eau%olais style wines employ a uni&ue methodof fermentation called Carbonic 'aceration, or whole berry fermentation, which

produces light bodied and coloured wine that is fruity, low in tannin and made forearly drinking!&angiovese 6 the grape of Chianti! #ull, firm, dry, spicy, tobacco and herbs!!empranillo 6 the grape of io%a, usually with plenty of spicy, vanilla oak!

Ninfandel 6 uni&ue to California! ts origins are a mystery, but it is believed to bedescended from the talian primitivo! #ull blooded, spicy, powerful, alcoholic! Red wine tasting terms and descriptors!here are even more words for taking about red wines, largely because red winescan cover such a variety of colours, te%tures, aromas and tastes. A few e%amplesare listed below:Austere 6 tannic* lacking fruit! +he wine is too young, or too severe in style$aked 6 from a hot climate! ot necessarily bad, but can mean not fresh +oarse 6 rough and ready - should be cheap)ense 6 positive! olid colour and packed with flavour 4arthy 6 tastes of earth but can also mean simple and rustic Finesse 6 used for wines of high &uality, showing a silky and refined nature

Firm 6 a positive term for a wine with a good balance of tannins and acid Flabby 6 not a compliment! +he wine is over-oaked, or lacking acidity (reen 6 raw . un-ripe, often a characteristic of cabernets from poor years(rip 6 used as a positive term for young wines with good tannins#eavy 6 full bodied and alcoholic, usually means too alcoholic/ out of balanceOammy 6 not a compliment! +oo obviously fruity without great finesse3eaty 6 rich . full-bodied, maybe literally with an aroma of meat &ilky 6 smooth, velvety mouth feel! 0sually the sign of a &uality wine&talky 6 bitter tannins evident! 1 fault in some pinot noirs and cabernets&tructure 6 very positive! s balanced, well made and will last!!hin 6 lacking some flavour and usually some weight in the mouth! #ere are some descriptive words often used to conjure up the flavours and scents

of red wine:$lackcurrant 6 along with cedar, the classic $ordeaux2cabernet taste+abbage 6 mature $urgundy! +his cabbage smell is a positive aspect3+offee 6 comes from well integrated oak, associated with top &uality wines(reen /epper 6 a distinctive note of the two cabernet grapes=eather 6 classic shiraz, tough, big, spicy =i uorice 6 many full bodied, tannic young wines2lives 6 usually slightly under-ripe cabernet sauvignon or cabernet franc /epper 6 hone wines are often very peppery on the tongue&pice 6 many big reds, including hone, zinfandel and io%a&trawberry 6 $eau%olais . lighter $urgundy !ar 6 a heady, rich wine, probably from a hot climate!obacco 6 a lovely rich, warm taste from good $ordeaux 5anilla 6 oak ageing


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Sparkling wine

All sparkling wines start life as still wines and have the sparkle added later.!he crucial factor in the uality of every sparkling wine is how the fi;; isadded.!he fermentation process naturally produces carbon dio%ide gas -+2 @ 6 thewaste product of the yeasts devouring the sugars. 'n still wine making thisgas is allowed to escape. 'n sparkling wines, the +2 @ is retained, dissolvingwithin the wine the wine which is kept under pressure. When it is released,the +2 @ bubbles to the surface. !he method for producing a wine filled with+2 @ varies from the very time6consuming and e%pensive +hampagnemethod of natural, secondary fermentation in individual bottles, to theine%pensive and easy method of s uirting industrial +2 @ into cheap, stillwine.The Champagne method!he +hampenois are justifiably proud of their wines and the age old methodsused in their creation. =egend has it that the method was invented by a monkand winemaker named )om /


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to a finished wine, but instead of taking place in bottles, the wine is held underpressure in large sealed tanks so that the e uivalent of several thousand bottlesre6ferment at the same time. !he wine is cleared of sediment and bottled underpressure, directly from the tank. !he bubbles are a little larger and disperse more

uickly, but the tank method can produce good results.The transfer method!his is a less common system for creating a sparkling wine. #ere, secondaryfermentation takes place in individual bottles 6 like +hampagne 6 but instead ofthe e%pensive remuage process, the wine is cleared by filtration and is thenpumped, under pressure, into clean bottles.Sweet (or dessert) wines =ike sparkling wines, there are a variety of methods for making sweet wines.!hese vary from cheap and easy, to some of the most labour intensive ande%pensive processes in the wine making world. We are talking here about fullysweet wines, often drunk with desserts, though the French like to partner thefinest foie6gras with a luscious &auternes 6 perhaps the king of sweet wines.=ike so many aspects of wine making, the discovery that grapes left on the vineuntil they rot can produce beautiful wines, was probably yet another accident. $otrytis is a fungus which may attacksgrapes, usually in the cool of late autumn. 'toccurs in the early morning mists which formin vineyards sited near large bodies of water.!he fungus wraps itself around the grapesand spores puncture the skin, drawing offwater and leaving the grape shrivelled.'f left unchecked, botrytis will kill grapes andcan be a big problem to vine growers. 'nsome uni ue locations -&auternes in France,parts of (ermany and Austria for e%amplethe vineyards are sited such that they alsoget ma%imum e%posure to the sun.

/hoto P +ephas'n good years, the warmth of the sun as it rises kills off the fungus, leaving thegrapes shrivelled and unsightly, but tasting delicious: full of the sugar andglycerine which was left behind.5ineyards for botrytis wines are harvested by hand, so that only those individualgrapes affected by the "noble rot" are selected. 2ften the same area will bepicked over several times so that grapes can be picked in ideal condition. !hewine is then made using the normal method for white wines, but the high sugarand glycerine content means that the wine is sweet, luscious and full6bodied.$ecause grapes high in natural acidity are used -s


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grapes leaving only the sugars and acids behind in the pulp. A wine is made fromthis which is very luscious and sweet.Another group of sweet wines are sweet because fermentation is stopped at afairly low alcohol level. At that point, there is still plenty of natural sugar that hasnot been consumed by the yeast, so the resulting wine is naturally sweet.Fermentation is usually stopped by filtering out the yeasts, but in some wines thefermentation is stopped by adding spirit to the tank: this is the basis of the greatsweet, fortified wines such as /ort and 3adeira, as we shall see in the ne%tsection.!he cheapest method of making a dessert wine is simply to add sugar. 'n thebest cases this will be natural grape sugar, in the worst, sacks of cane sugar.Although these wines are sweet 6 and may please some palates 6 they are usuallylacking in balancing acidity and interesting flavours.Fortified wines !he term fortified indicates that the wine s alcoholic strength has been boosted bythe addition of spirit, usually a grape based spirit, like brandy. Fortified wines canbe sweet or dry, depending on whether the spirit is added during or afterfermentation of the base wine. !he family of sweet fortified wines include /ort,3adeira, 3almsey, 5ermouth and 3uscat de $eaumes de 5enise. Again, the

uality of these is only as good as their components: a good base wine and agood uality spirit.About half way through fermentation -with an alcohol level around 89 a measureof spirit is added to the tank. !his immediately raises the alcohol level. Jeastcannot survive in alcohol levels much above 07D0E9, so the fermentation stopsand all the unfermented sugar is left in the wine. !he resulting wine is bothstrong and sweet. 't is normally transferred to oak barrels at that point forageing.&ome of the world s great fortified wines include:Port2riginating from the )ouro valley of /ortugal, port comes in various styles and

uality levels. 'n particularly good years -usually two or three per decade a"vintage" year is declared and a vintage port is released. 5intage ports are thearistocrats of the port world and often take around 71 years after release todevelop into truly great wines. !hese should not be confused with =ate $ottled5intage -or =$5 ports: these are ports which have been matured for longer thanordinary ruby or tawny ports in the shippers cellars, but they are not true vintageports of a great year. =$5s are ready to drink when they are released.MadeiraFrom the island of the same name, 3adeira is uni ue in that after being made 6in much the same way as port 6 it is cooked. !he wine is placed in very hot vats-over 819 centigrade for M1 days. 2nce again this was an accidentally discoveredtechni ue 6 3adeira wines being shipped in the holds of sailing ships on long

voyages were kept in very hot conditions which seemed to caramelise the wines 6a flavour that people seemed to enjoy.Vermouth!his fortified wine -usually manufactured on an industrial scale in the north of'taly is flavoured with wormwood or other herbs.Sherry&herry, from Oere; in &pain, is perhaps the greatest wine made by the post6fermentation method. 'n other words, unlike port, the spirit is only added afterfermentation is complete. All sherry therefore, starts life as a completely drystyle. 5arying amounts of sweet reserve wine are added back in before bottling,according to the style of sherry being made. Another unusual feature of sherrymaking is the "solera" system of ageing. 'n the solera system, wine from many

vintages is matured in the cellars in separate casks. !he casks containing theoldest sherry are constantly topped up with wine from the second oldest casks.!hese in turn are topped up with wine from the third oldest casks, and so on until


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the newest casks 6 from the current vintage. 'n this way, the style of sherry canstay much the same from year to year as all sherry is a blend of several vintages.Fortified wines typically range from around 0Q9 to @79 of alcohol 6 about doublethe strength of ordinary wines.Sparkling! sweet and fortified wine tastes and styles!here is a huge variation in terms of style and taste amongst these groups ofwines. #ere are a few pointers:Champagne/Sparkling winescan be made white or ros


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4atch out for sauces and dressings that can make nonsense of these guidelines/if wine has been used to cook the dish, it is often an excellent solution to drinkthe same, or similar wine along with it! Another tip is to drink a wine from the same region as the food: red $urgundywith boeuf bourguignon or 'talian red with pasta dishes, are e%amples of verysympathetic local foodDwine combinations.&ome foods are regarded as "problem" foods for wine matching: eggs, tomatoes,vinegar, salad dressings and lemon are some e%amples that spring to mind, butagain it s all down to personal taste.'f forced to choose just one wine to match with a variety of different dishes, aros< might fit the bill nicely. 2therwise, a medium bodied, medium dry white isprobably the safest choice.

Part 6: Buying serving and storing wineWine #ppreciation Course. 0 1om Cannavan, 2 456777. Wine is one of the great success stories of the late twentieth century. World6widesales are booming, wines from many new countries are on the shelves, prices forwine are as low in real terms as they have ever been, choice is enormous andavailability is e%cellent. &upermarkets and high street chains have revolutionisedthe way we think about and purchase wine. A bottle of wine with dinner at theweekend is now the norm for many "ordinary" people. !wenty or thirty years agoin $ritain it would have been unthinkable, but nowadays many of us are as likelyto pick up a bottle of wine with our weekly shop, as we are a loaf of bread. Aswell as developing our knowledge so that we can choose wines with confidence,our enjoyment of wine can be enhanced by understanding the basic rules forcorrect storage and serving so that the wine can be e%perienced at its best.%uying wine - understanding the la$el !he world of wine labelling is confusing. 't s not that there isn t enoughinformation on labels, it s just that each country 6 and often each wine regionwithin a country 6 has its own system for presenting important information on thelabel. =et s look at a few e%amples from around the world of wine: !his label is atypical French label. with all the information you need to establish the ualitylevel and origins of the wine:

+ru $ourgeois is an officialclassification for $ordeau%.+hLteau =amothe $ergeron is thename of the wine.0MKK is the vintage date -the year ofproduction .0@C is the alcohol level of the wine,and opposite, the bottle volume!he Appellation +ontr?l


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proprietor, not blended by a thirdparty. sually a good sign.

!he label below comes from the *ioja region of &pain:=a *ioja Alta is the producer.5ina Ardan;a is the name of thewine and below, the e uivalentof 3is en $outeille au +hLteau:bottled by the proprietor.*eserva is the ualityclassification of the wine 6 thereare strict rules for what is plain*ioja, *ioja *eserva, and *ioja(ran *eserva.)enominaci n de 2rigen+alificada 6 the official stamp of

uality in *ioja.

(erman wine labels are notoriously difficult to read. Apart from the problems

(ermany brought upon itself during the 0MB1s and K1s by bottling huge amountsof over sweetened, cheap wines for the T market, it has always had anotherproblem with the consumer: its obscure and complicated labelling.

3osel6&aar6*uwer 6 specifiedregion of origin.0MKMer 6 year of vintageAvelsbacher Avelsbach is the5illage and #ammerstein thevineyard from which the winecomes.*iesling 6 grape variety.Tabinett is a degree of ualitywithin the Sualit tswein mit /r dikat category, which is(ermany s highest category.=esser wines are marked simply,"Sualit tswein" or "SbA". $elowthis comes "!afelwein".A/ number 6 strict legal tests havebeen completed on this wine.4r;eugerabfGllung 6 the e uivalentof "3is en $outeille au +hLteau"again 6 producer bottled.

Wine pricing

!here are obviously many factors that affect the amount any of us will pay for abottle of wine. Apart from the differences in how much each of us can afford tospend on a lu%ury item like wine, we are likely to pay a lot less for our "everyday"wine than for a bottle to celebrate a special occasion. &upermarkets haveincreased their share of the wine retailing market dramatically over the pastdecade or so. With their relentless pursuit of price6cutting to out6do thecompetition, wines are now as cheap in relative terms as they have ever been.!he average supermarket stocks wines in the rough price range of 7.11 to

[email protected]. A detailed look at the proportion of each and every bottle that is made upof non-wine costs might be uite surprising:

0. #3 +ustoms I 4%cise )uty 0.0Q


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@. &hipping7. $ottle, +ork, +apsule I =abelE. Wine 3erchant s 3argin&ub !otal5A! U 0B.8C$otal

[email protected]@.701.E1

% '()

With every bottle costing over @.B1 before a drop of wine is put in it, it stands toreason that paying @.MM for a bottle means you are actually buying only 71pence worth of wine 'n the past year or so the great psychological consumerbarrier of 7.11 has been e%ceeded: few of us e%pect to pay less than 7.11 for abottle, and the only @.MM wines left on the shelves are either discounted stock,or "loss6leaders" used as promotional gimmicks.

!here is still a great pressure on "mass" wine retailers -supermarkets and chainsto offer sub 7.81 wines however 6 the ne%t psychological barrier. ' firmly believethat the wise wine lover really benefits if they can up their basic spending level bya pound or so. At around E.MM a whole new range of possibilities opens up, withwines made by producers who are not so constrained by impossibly low margins,and have a chance to add real character to their wines. As a general rule, ' wouldalways spend my money on three genuinely interesting E.MM bottles, than foureasy6drinking, but probably dull, 7.EM bottles.

!he price of fine wines 6 particularly those from $ordeau% and $urgundy 6 is like arunaway train at the moment, fuelled by speculators and far6eastern buyers whoare willing to spend fortunes in auctions at &otheby s and +hristie s to secure thegreat names. !hese wines are now out of the reach of many ordinary wine lovers:top $ordeau% of the 0MMQ vintage fetched @,111 per case, or 0Q1.11 per bottle.

&uperb though these wines are, there are plenty of alternatives in purely value6for6money terms: e%tremely well made, comple%, delicious wines in the 86 01price bracket that are also of the uality necessary to merit longer term cellaring.From the "lesser" regions of France, 'taly and &pain, and from new worldcountries such as Australia, +hile, &outh Africa and the &A, come a host ofindividual and profound wines 6 many of which can rival "prestige" bottles attwice the price. As your interest in wine grows, you may become tempted to visitsome specialist wine retailers rather than supermarkets.

'f buying older wines -say reds with vintage dates more than E years old, whitesmore than @ years old , it pays to check the condition of the bottle: someretailers do not look after wines on their shelves ade uately, keeping themstanding upright in hot, dry conditions where the wine can maderise -in otherwords, "cook" . !ell6tale signs of this include seepage from beneath the capsule,running down the side of the bottle, corks pushed out so that they strain againstthe capsule, and low fill6levels where some wine has evaporated. Avoid suchbottles, or if you risk one, keep the receipt and don t be scared to return it if itproves unacceptable.

Storing Wine

Jour wine "cellar" might be anything from a proper, underground cellar filled withe%pensive rarities, to a few bottles kept on a rack in the kitchen. 'n either case,there are certain re uirements for maintaining wine in good condition that you

should know. 'n modern, centrally heated, well insulated houses, some of theseconditions are hard to find, though this is only really a problem if you have winesyou intend to keep for the mid to long term 6 say 7 to 01 years or more.


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What to #ellar*

First of all, not all wines are suitable for longer term storage. 'f stored correctlyalmost all red wines will stay in good condition for @ or 7 years after release,whereas most white wines are best drunk within a year or so. $eyond that, onlycertain wines are considered worth "laying down". With such wines, we hope thatnot only will they keep for 01 years, but that they will evolve positively in thattime, gaining comple%ity and subtlety as they mature.

+ed wines suita!le for mid to long term storage,2nly those red wines with sufficient tannins and acidity will last longer than acouple of years. !his rules out lighter wines -like $eaujolais or most wines fromthe +?tes du *h?ne, for e%ample and most of the cheaper red wines, such asthose from +entral 4urope. As a rough guide, wines costing under Q.11 or B.11are unlikely to stand up to longer storage. Among the best bets for red winessuitable for laying down are:

5intage port-but not =$5 or "ordinary" ruby or tawny ports*ed $ordeau%-perhaps only those costing more than 01 from this e%pensive area2ther +abernet &auvignonD3erlot based wines-from the &A, Australia, +hile, etc.*ed $urgundy-but only the finest, of /remier +ru level or aboveWines of the orthern *h?nesuch as #ermitage, +?te6*otie and +ornasFrom &pain, better *iojas and from 'taly, better +hiantis, $arolos and$arbarescos.

White wines suita!le for mid to long term storage,!he vast majority of white wine is made for short term drinking 6 within a year ortwo of vintage date. A few whites can reward patience, and those include:

Fully sweet white wines-particularly botrytis wines of &auternes in France, and (erman wines of Auslese,$eerenauslese and !rockenbeerenauslese uality$etter chardonnays-again, maybe only those costing over 01.11 as a general rule of thumb5intage champagnewill cellar for several years, but it is usually best to buy this as you need it.

Storage conditions

!he wines on the left are shown lying in thecellars of a French producer. !his cellar is cool-around 019 6 0@9 celsius , has no wildfluctuations in temperature, is dark and is freefrom vibrations. 'n addition, it is relativelyhumid: that s what has caused thecharacteristic mould to grow on these oldbottles.


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!hese are the ideal conditions for cellaring wines, but they are conditions thathumans would find uncomfortable. 3odern homes are rather unfriendly places inwhich to cellar wine.

otice that the bottles are placed hori;ontally into racks. !his is vital for all winesthat are being stored for more than a month or two. Teeping the bottleshori;ontal means that the cork is kept in contact with the li uid, preventing itfrom drying out. 'f the bottles are left upright, the cork will eventually shrink,allowing air to enter and uite uickly spoiling the wine. 2ne of your firstpurchases should be a simple rack that will let you store your bottles on theirsides. )espite the inhospitable environment outlined above, it is possible to find aplace with ade uate -if not ideal conditions in a modern home, if a few simplepoints can be observed:

+onstant temperature is far more important than absolute coolness. 'deally, anunheated cupboard where the central heating will not be constantly raising andlowering the temperature. 'f you can keep the temperature down below around0B9 celsius -most living rooms are around @09 6 @79 , so much the better.(arages and sheds are not a good idea, as these free;e in winter and over6heatin summer.

)ark conditions will avoid the wine s fine colour being spoiled, so again an under6stairs cupboard might be a possible choice, but in any event try to ensure thewine is not in direct sunlight.

Freedom from vibration is important. +onstant agitation doesn t give the winetime to "rest" and mature slowly. )on t site your wine rack ne%t to the washingmachine or spin6dryer

A humidity level of around K1C is ideal for wine, but feels positively damp forhumans. 'f your wine is kept for a long time in too dry a place the cork can dryout, which might prematurely age the wine.

&trong smells can taint the wine over long periods of storage 6 another reasonwhy the kitchen, garage or coal6cellar might not be the ideal space for very finewines.

Another aspect that you should learn more about if you plan to build up your owncellar, is the effect that vintage conditions play on the suitability of wines forlaying down. 3any wine books publish vintage charts that show the uality andthe "ageability" of each vintage for each of the important wine regions. For

e%ample, 0MM1 was a superb vintage in $ordeau% and many of the wines will lastfor @1 years or more. 2n the other hand, 0MM0 was a wash6out: many of thewines from the same producers are best drunk in the first half do;en years oftheir life.

'f you can pick a space bearing most of these points in mind then buy a fewsuitable bottles, you have a cellar

Ser#ing wine

!here can be a lot of pretension surrounding the "correct" serving of wine. &omepeople make too big a show of having wine at e%actly the correct temperature,

served in e%actly the right glass. 2n the other hand, there is no doubt that there


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Documents

Definition of Wine