Preparing Older Wine for Drinking

Preparing older wines for drinking requires a little different treatment than younger wines. These guys need very little breathing time. For argument’s sake, let’s say a wine is older, regardless of the year on the bottle, when examined in your storage space and appears to be cloudy, hazy, has sediment floating it or stuck to the side. Bring it out and let it stand undisturbed for 4-5 hours. When ready to drink it and no sooner, open very carefully, so as to not disturb the sediment. Decant it against a source of light and stop pouring when the sediment reaches the lip of the bottle. Throw away what remains. Don’t run it through a coffee filter or metal strainer to get what’s left. Then pour yourself a glass and enjoy.

Terroir

The term “terroir” in wine is an interesting concept. You often hear it referred to when talking about a wine’s character. This all- encompassing word generally refers to the climate and geography where a wine is grown. More specifically, it takes into account amount of sunlight, temperatures, degree days, rainfall, exposure to the sun, soil composition and lay of the land. All of these elements are part of what makes a particular wine taste the way it does. Wines grown on one, small piece of land, a “single vineyard”, exhibit the most unique terroir as their ultimate character is a direct result of a single growing locale. Wines blended from many different locations or vineyards exhibit less. Now you know!

Grape Families

All grape varieties fall into families or species, sort of like a social class system. The upper class or aristocracy is Vitis vinifera. Most, like Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet, are European, have a long history and make the best wine. Hybrids are the middle class. These crosses of native North American vines and vinifera were created to be hardier and higher yielding. Such varieties as Seyval Blanc, Vidal and Marechal Foch produce less elegant and shorter lived wines than vinifera. Considered the lower class, Vitis labrusca were found growing naturally in this part of the world. Varietals like Concord, Delaware and Niagara, although not great for wine, make great jams, jellies and grape juice.

Red Bordeaux in China

China is a huge market for many major commodities, and perhaps most surprising, red Bordeaux. Traditionally, the Chinese are not big wine drinkers, so why the boom? Reasons include a burgeoning middle class with a developing taste for Bordeaux, the recent abolition of the 40% import tax making it cheaper to import wine and the Chinese business custom of giving face to important clients by providing extravagant gifts. This is welcome news for many French producers who’ve been struggling because of the global economic crisis, the decline of sales in the North America, intense competition from New World countries and the slowdown in consumption in France.

Italian IGT Wines

Looking for quality Italian wine that won’t break the bank? Then look no further than IGT wines. This stands for Indicazione Geografica Typica. These are quality table wines with geographical descriptions, not unlike Vin de Pays from France. Many of the country’s, famous Super Tuscans fall into this category, as producers find the boundaries of DOC and DOCG too restrictive with regard to grape varieties, oak usage and length of time aging. This category, started in 1992, allows for more creativity with lots of experimentation, rendering some pretty darn good wines. So do yourself a favour and check out IGT wines from Italy. You’ll find some real gems. Buona fortuna.