Champagne Styles

New Year’s is just around the corner and no vino says celebration like Champagne. Several styles exist. Non-Vintage has no year on the bottle and is a blend of many years. Vintage is a blend of many wines, all from the same year, wearing that year on the label. Rosé utilizes some skin contact from red grapes for colour. Blanc de Blanc is made from white grapes only while Blanc de Noirs is made only from dark grapes. Single vineyard means the fruit came from one property. Cuvee Prestige or Grand Marques is the best wine a house produces. Grand Cru means the fruit came from the best, highest rated vineyards and Ier Cru, from vineyards 2^nd best. Much of this terminology spills over to other bubbly as well.

Toasting Barrels

You probably know that the toasty aroma and taste in many wines comes from barrels used to either ferment or age in. But do you know why? When a winemaker orders barrels from a cooperage, he or she can request the barrels be toasted on the inside to his or her specifications. The barrels are actually turned upside down over an open flame and charred on the inside. Choices available are light, medium or heavy toast. Usually light toast is not enough to impact on the wine and heavy is too much, often resulting in a smoky note. What most producers tend to request is medium toast, that when combined with length of time wine spends in it, results in satisfactory oak complexity.

Why People Buy Certain Wines

People use different criteria for purchasing wine. At the top of the list – price! We all want an inexpensive wine that delivers decent quality. Since our school days we’ve been hung up on scores and grades, so critical acclaim is important. High scoring wines by critics can really sway us. Where a wine comes from might affect some folks. Specific wine regions like Burgundy or Napa are held in higher esteem than others. Reputation and consistency of a producer often plays a big role. For some, rarity of a wine is important. Finally, ethical responsibility definitely motivates some people. Organically produced wines show environmental responsibility and a commitment to quality.

Pressure Caps

Ever open a bottle of bubbly, not finish it and wonder how to close it up again? The cork that came out of the bottle usually mushrooms out and can’t be used again. If you put a regular wine cork in the bottle, the pressure within spits it out after a bit. What you need is a “pressure cap”. Usually made of metal, it’s a specially designed closer that has a plastic or rubber plug and arms or clamps that come down the sides to grip the lip of bottle, preventing the plug from being spit back out. Simply pull up the arms or clamps to reopen. Available at most stores that sell wine gadgets, it’s the only way to reclose a bottle of sparkles. For some reason though, I don’t seem to need one at my house.

Wine for Red Meat

If you’re a lover of red meat like beef or lamb, you’ll need particular red wines to match them. This may sound weird but the reason red wine and red meat go so well together is because the blood or protein in the meat meshes nicely with tannin in red wine. So if you like grilled or roasted red meat more rare, you’ll want a red wine with more tannin. Varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Pinotage and Nebbiolo or styles like red Bordeaux and Meritage can provide the necessary tannin to work well. Often younger vintages do a better job. Well-done red meats and stewed versions possess less protein or tannin, so softer reds or older vintages are good choices. Enjoy.

Wine as an Investment

Considering investing in wine to make a profit? Probably NOT a good idea! Far too many variables like storage conditions, previous history, bottle variation, agibility, insurance and its evolution while in your possession, can affect it. You might pay less for wine when it’s younger but its intrinsic value may not necessarily increase with age. However, stocking up on wine and maturing it yourself, if applicable, is an exciting and convenient proposition as you always have a decent stash to draw from without having to run out to the store. If you’re a wine lover, there’s no finer pleasure than retrieving a special bottle from your own cellar to enhance a meal. Consider it an investment in good taste instead.

Virtual Wineries

Ever dreamed of owning a winery but couldn’t afford it? Well, you can. It’s called a virtual winery. You strike a deal renting space and equipment in an existing winery, and fund grape growing and winemaking instead. This way cash flow focuses on what really matters…the product. Legalities and government regulations are fewer as you operate under an existing winery’s licence and are viewed as another label under the winery's umbrella. You market and sell the wines yourself, via the Internet, phone or word of mouth. Far less risky and expensive, your product could have a pretty good reputation by the time you’re ready to go big time. Certainly something to think about over a glass of vino!

Wine in Cans

Believe it or not, wine in cans is in our future. The Aussies have been using them for years. Environmentally friendly, they have half the transport-related CO2 emissions of glass, are completely recyclable and back on the shelf within 60 days. They’re cheaper than glass to produce, lighter, unbreakable and more compact, reducing transportation and shipping costs. More mobile and quicker chilling, they can go places that bottles aren’t allowed like picnics and other events. They even come in single serving sizes. Concerned about the aluminum affecting taste? Not to worry! Like beer in cans, they’re coated inside so no metal taste exists. The only drawback may be a perception or image issue.

Wine for Game

If you’re a fan of game like venison, bear, elk, wild duck, wild boar, etc, then you know their flavours can be aggressive. Light wines simply don’t match. You need equally, aggressive, full-flavoured wines, sometimes with a slight sweet note. The match further depends on whether the game is wild or farm-raised. Wild game tastes more aggressive so the biggest of all possible wines will be required. In fact, making a sauce reduction with some fruit and utilizing the wine of choice, will help pull the overall combo together. Look to varietals like Syrah/Shiraz, Pinotage, Nebbiolo, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir or styles like Amarone, red Bordeaux, Portuguese reds and slightly sweeter whites.

Homogenization of Wine

Homogenization can be a potential problem in the future for wine. Modern winemaking technology and skill are so advanced, that poorly made wine will not be an issue. However, with everyone using new oak and many countries blending in non-traditional varietals, it’s robbing wine of its indigenous character. More and more, European wines are tasting like New World selections and vice versa. If this continues we’ll be swimming in a sea of well-made vino, but it will lack country, region or even stylistic character. This is not a good thing. The reason we buy specific country or regional wines is because of their specific character, taste and food affinity. If this is void, then wine’s unique charm is lost.

Back Label Descriptors

Back label descriptors indicating a wine’s taste and possible food matches are helpful. By reading these, you can decide if you’ll like the wine and if it will work with a desired meal. However, far too often, these are created by marketing folks who’s sole purpose is to sell wine but often don’t really know it very well. How many times have you read a back label that said “crisp, clean and fresh…goes with chicken or fish” or not actually experienced any of the tasting notes described? Probably lots! With all due respect to marketing folks, this important back label information should be created only by the winemaker for tasting notes and by a chef and the winemaker for possible food matches.

Generic Labeling

Ever buy a wine from some country, other than the original, that called itself Champagne, Port, Burgundy, etc., but it wasn’t? This generic labeling of wine is problematic as they often have little or nothing to do with the original. Certain similarities to the original may exist but different grapes or production practices may have been utilized. Sometimes back labels will specify, other times not. Only those wines produced in the country and region of origin under strict control qualify to wear those special names on the label. All others are a product of marketing. EEC countries forbid this type of labeling, but it runs rampant in the New World. Something important to keep in mind when shopping for wine!

Tasting Etiquette

Public wine tasting events usually draw a mixture of folks, from beginners to oenophiles. When at a public wine tasting, there are a few rules that should be abided by. First and foremost, don’t wear smelly perfume or aftershave as this interferes with the wines’ aromatics. It may not matter to you but others certainly will not be happy. Secondly, depending on how serious the event, excessive talking is usually frowned upon as negative or positive comments can directly influence others’ opinions of a wine to be tasted. While actually tasting, silence is generally the norm. If you want to discuss a wine with a fellow taster, simply step away from the tasting area. Finally, it’s best to use a spittoon. Don’t swallow.

Quality in Wine

The concept of quality in wine is interesting and usually objective. Generally speaking, a wine’s structure is at the heart of quality and balance is its foremost aspect. A quality wine usually has all elements working together in harmony. The sugar and acid, or sweet and sour components, mesh. Alcohol is not too high so as to render the wine hot. Oak usage, if utilized, does not overwhelm the fruit. Tannin, in a red wine, is not too hard, unripe or bitter. With these things intact, subjectivity can then play a part and personal likes or dislikes prevail. Often, we’ll dismiss a wine as poor simply because we don’t like the style or flavour even though it’s well made. Keep this in mind when tasting.

Wine Defects

How do you know when a wine is bad? Since wine appreciation is about 75% nose, most defects are perceived through smell, rather than taste. So if you’re picking up essence of dirty sneaker on a wine’s nose, there’s something wrong with it. Defects can come from several sources - from sulphur containing compounds, through the action of bacteria; winemaking errors; using moldy or infected fruit or oak; or improper handling and storage. Aside from simply not liking the taste, if you think a wine you’re sampling, either from a shop or in a restaurant, is bad, return it to the store or address the issue with your server or sommelier. They can confirm your suspicions. Life’s simply too short to sip bad wine.

Unfiltered Wines

Filtering wine before bottling removes any minute, suspended particals like yeast and renders it clear. Other than something like pulpy orange juice, we like our liquids this way. However, some producers, in their wisdom, decide not to filter certain wines before bottling, claiming that the process removes some of it’s character. You’ll see this more in red wines than white and these unfiltered selections generally throw their deposit in the bottle over time, requiring them to be decanted before consumption. It will often say somewhere on the front or back label that the wine has not been filtered. Sometimes a selling point and other times not! Funny, but unfiltered wines always seem to cost more!

Noble Rot (Botrytis)

What’s the magic responsible for such sweet vinous delights as Sauternes from France, Tokaji Aszu from Hungary and Trokenbeerenauslese from Germany? That would be Noble Rot or Botrytis. This fungus attacks the grapes eating out the pulp, drying them up and concentrating the sugar and acid within. Wines made from them are unctuously sweet and delicious with gobs of rich fruit and bees wax honey. Interestingly, this phenomenon can’t really be planned. Certain parts of the wine world naturally have conditions for this fungus to thrive while others don’t. Occasionally, it materializes elsewhere. So do yourself a favour and try a noble rotted wine. They’re quite simply heaven in a glass.

Zinfandel

What’s the quintessential grape of California? That would be Zinfandel. This grape produces a big, rich, jammy, spicy, brambly- fruited, red wine with lots of character. However, many young wine consumers are only familiar with it in its “blush” or “white Zin” format, the result of over production one year when an enterprising winery decided to turn its surplus into rosé. That style became mega-popular and remains so today. But make no mistake, Zin in its purest form, is a delight. Delicious with grilled red meats, stews, and hard, seasoned cheeses, look to producers like Ridge, Rosenblum, Ravenswood, Renwood and Turley for fine examples. One taste and you’ll be hooked. Cheers!

Tannin in Red Wine

If you like red wine, I’m sure you’re familiar with tannin. That’s the bitter, puckery sensation experienced on the gums when sipping. Tannin in red wine comes from their skins because they’re utilized in the winemaking. White wine doesn’t use the skins so it contains very little if any. Oak barrels can also provide some wood tannin but they are not as aggressive. One of the main reasons red wine is aged after purchase is too soften these grape tannins making them more palatable. However, sensitivity to tannins varies from person to person. What you find tannic, another may not. So the next time you taste a red wine with someone else, compare notes and see where your tannin sensitivity lies.

Sabring Champagne

I’m sure at some point you’ve seen in the movies or on TV someone sabring the top off a bottle of bubbly with a sword. Let me explain how this came about. Back in Napoleonic times, victorious, French soldiers returning from battle picked none other than Champagne to celebrate with and quench their thirst. But boys being boys, instead of opening the bottles properly, they simply whipped out their sabres and lopted the tops off. Impetuous devils! Today, this dramatic procedure, with some alterations, is sometimes performed for pomp and ceremony. A word of advice though…don’t try this at home. If not done properly you could seriously hurt yourself, someone else or end up with shards of glass in your sparkles.

Riesling – The Versatile Alternative

What’s the most versatile white grape variety in the world? That would be Riesling, of course. With its crisp, aromatic, peachy, floral, citrus character, it never sees oak so what you get out of the vineyard goes into the glass. From bone dry to sweet, still to sparkling, and even Icewine, there is no other grape variety that has so many faces and matches food superbly. Dry versions make great aperitifs and work well with fish, seafood, poultry and mild cheeses. Medium-dry styles compliment goose, spicy dishes, soufflés and exotic fare. Medium-sweet offerings mesh with strong cheeses, paté and fruit-based desserts and Icewine, dessert by itself, is divine with most rich, decadent goodies. Check out Riesling for a nice change of pace. Enjoy!

Bottle Variation

It’s the hope of every winemaker that all bottles in a case of the same wine taste equally good. However, this is often not so. Some bottles may be excellent, some good, others not quite up to snuff and the odd one even “off”. This is called “bottle variation” and can result from being bottled at different times, on a different bottling line, from a different batch or maybe stored in a different place at the winery. Any of these extraneous conditions can influence the wine and affect its perfection. As a rule, wines from better producers show less bottle variation. So the next time you order a case of wine and discover that not all bottles in that case taste exactly the same, you’ll have a pretty good idea why. Cheers!

Care for Your Glassware

Like wine, the care and storing of your glassware is extremely important. A dirty, smelly, hot or cold glass can ruin the best of wines. Try not to use detergent when cleaning glasses. Use only extremely hot water, perhaps utilizing rubber gloves. Don’t turn them upside down on a towel or paper to dry as this traps funky aromas within. Don’t chill or heat stemware before use as this will affect the wine poured into them. Never hang glasses upside down directly above a food prep area as cooking smells will get trapped inside. Finally, don’t store your stemware around cleaning products, chemicals or other aromatic foods. Remember, a clean, room temperature glass is a happy glass.

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The Hangover

Where there’s wine, there’s hangovers. I’m sure most of us have experienced this – the furry sandpaper tongue, endless drum solo in the head, queazy stomach, slitted light-sensitive eyes, and foggy thoughts. Not a lot of fun! As for remedies, there are no magic solutions. Everything from “hair of the dog” to downing concoctions with raw eggs and other unusual ingredients don’t work. Although eating the morning after seems impossible, food helps replace lost nutrients and speeds up metabolism, Yogurt and milk soothe the belly and water hydrates helping flush toxins from the liver and kidneys. So until science creates an anti-hangover pill, the only practical solution is to not overindulge. Sip responsibly!

Warm Weather Sipping

The BBQ is all fired up and I can smell those burgers sizzling? The key to warm weather sipping is simplicity. No need for complex, delicate or aged wines here! What you want are young, fruity, fresh, robust wines with little, if any oak. For whites, try varieties like Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Muscadet and Sauvignon Blanc or styles like Verdicchio, Frascati and Soave. For reds, check out Gamay, Merlot, Malbec, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Baco Noir and Zweigelt or styles like Beaujolais or Valpolicella. Even rosé makes a nice change of pace and most are made to be consumed young. Finally, serve all wine a little cooler than normal, try to avoid using plastic glasses, drink responsibly and enjoy.

Tipping in Restaurants

Aside from ordering wine in restaurants, tipping creates the most tension for diners. In America, eateries consider a tip discretionary, while in Europe, it’s automatically added to the bill. Although wait staff depend on them, a tip is a privilege, NOT a right. So if you’re demanding of your waiter, requesting substitutions or special dishes, asking about ingredients or have children with you, they work harder and should be tipped accordingly. Of course, great service should be awarded. However, if your waiter is rude, brings you the wrong order, spills something on you or is never to be found when needed, you might reconsider. As for how much to tip, do so according to your means. Cheers.

Single Vineyard Wines

Single vineyard wines are very special. This means the fruit comes from one particular plot of land, so no blending together of fruit from several properties exists. As a result, they possess more character. Why? Wines made from fruit from several vineyards mesh together characteristics of many locations and generally are more homogenous. A single vineyard wine is very unique as it echos only a specific site, soil composition and environment. They tend to be more diverse in character from year to year, as blending from several sources can iron out rough edges. Easy to recognize as the vineyard name, like Rockhill Vineyard, appears on the label, they are the ultimate expression of a particular terroir.

Barrel or Tank Samples

Ever hear of barrel or tank samples of wine? These are wines that are still in their respective fermentation and/or aging containers. In other words, they are unfinished wines where certain processes are still going on. The components are not yet harmonious, oak appears rough, and even tannins in reds can be devastatingly aggressive. Most folks don’t get to taste these as they’re very difficult to access and get a handle on. Winemakers, because it’s their job, do this regularly and can make something of them. Often journalists get to taste wines in this format as well. With more tasting experience, they can at times, project what the finished wine will be like and pass it on to the consumer.

Art in Label Design

Aside from what’s in the bottle, the label is a window to a wine’s content. Of course labeling laws dictate exactly what information has to be displayed on a wine bottle. Beyond that, it’s all about art. Millions of dollars a year are spent on label design. Graphic and fine artists are often hired to create distinctive, works of art for wines. Many, like the labels of 1^st growth, red Bordeaux, Mouton Rothschild, have become collector items and the original works of art worth a fortune. Numerous wine competitions actually have an award or medal for best label design. The truth of the matter is a poor label can negatively affect wine sales as many consumers buy their favourite imbibe by what the label looks like.

Music & Wine

Some recent research suggests that music can alter wines’ taste as to how aggressive or soft it comes across depending on the type of music played while sipping it. I’m not sure if the results are conclusive enough, but perhaps what we can conclude is that certain grape varieties and wine styles will probably be enjoyed more with certain types of music because of similarities. How about Champagne or bubbly with classical, Sauvignon Blanc with rap, Riesling with folk and Chardonnay with pop? Or what about Cabernet Sauvignon or red Bordeaux with rock & roll, Syrah or Shiraz with heavy rock, Merlot with jazz and Pinot Noir or red Burgundy with opera? I believe some serious research of our own is in order here.

How Restaurants Can Increase Wine Sales

Certain restaurants are just more wine savvy than others. They do many things to help improve sales. First of all they have regular tastings with their wait staff so they can taste the wines and discuss food matches off their menus. Sometimes they feature a wine of the week at a special price. Often displays around the eatery showcase specific selections. Occasionally, tent cards placed on every table or flyers slipped into menus promote some. A great way is to actually put wine suggestions next to each item or entrée on the food menu. As most consumers are intimidated by ordering wine in a restaurant, anything an eatery can do to make the job easier is welcome and will increase sales.

Wine & Global Warming

Global warming seems to be THE buzz topic these days. A reduced ozone layer is playing havoc with our weather worldwide, not only altering normal conditions, but providing extremes. Like so many aspects of agriculture, wine growing is also affected. Normally, grapes for wine grow between 30º and 50º, north and south of the equator. Now, those boundaries are being stretched. Places that couldn’t grow grapes at all, now can. Varieties previously not able to grow in certain parts of the world, today flourish. Perhaps most affected are alcohol levels as grapes’ higher sugar content result in substantially higher alcohol in the finished wine. What’s next…wines being grown in Alaska!

Old Vines

Occasionally a wine label will state that the wine within is made from old vines, like “Old Vine Zinfandel”. What up with that? After grape vines reach a certain age they start to produce less fruit, but the quality of that fruit is better. Most of the time they are pulled up and new ones planted, because they produce so little and the additional work required to maintain them, just doesn’t make it worthwhile. Some producers, however, choose to keep these vines and continue to make wine from them and since the quality of fruit is better, so is the wine. But guess what? The limited production and excess work involved is passed on to the consumer in the cost of the wine, so they’re more expensive.

Malbec

What’s one of hottest wines on the planet at the moment? That would be Malbec. This flagship varietal from Argentina is very undervalued in the market today. One of the traditional grapes used in red Bordeaux blends, Malbec has characteristics that fall somewhere between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It has a deep colour almost like inky blueberry, softer tannin, and a particular blackberry/plum. mocha, spicy character. It’s reasonably priced and is generally not real long-lived, but it is extremely food-friendly. Check it out with beef; pork; grilled tuna, salmon or halibut; roast poultry or spicy Mexican dishes. Great with empanadas! Guaranteed to please, try it once and you’ll be hooked. Enjoy!