Grapes, the only fruits on the Planet that become more interesting after
they have been squashed under foot . Fermentation of the wine begins
with the crushing of the grape.
Aging and Storing Wines
Once a wine is purchased and leaves our care, it needs to be looked after in a way that will ensure its quality is maintained for as long as possible. When transporting wine, it should not be exposed to extreme heat, such as being left in a car in the sun for extended periods. Once you have brought your wine back home, it should be kept at a temperature which prolongs its life for as long as possible. Ideally, a temperature around 50°F would be perfect. This, however, may not always be feasible. The most important aspect of keeping wine is not so much the ultimate temperature at which it is kept, but the fact that the temperature should remain as stable as possible (not fluctuate).
It is the extreme change of storage temperatures on a repeated basis that does wine the most harm. As a general rule, the cooler the wine is kept, the slower it will age and mature. Therefore, if you do keep your wine at room temperature, don't expect it to last as long as it will if kept at a cool cellar temperature. This simply means that the wine will be reaching its peak quicker at a warm temperature, and should therefore be consumed sooner. It is difficult to forecast when a particular wine or vintage will reach its peak, and such matters can only be determined by trial and error.
As a general rule, fruity, aromatic and crisp wines will keep their characteristics for maybe up to two years, whereas white wines aged in oak (for example, Chardonnay), and most red wines, will reach their best at possibly three to four years. Heavy-bodied sweet and fortified wines (ports, sherries) may be aged for a much longer time (possibly up to 50 years in extreme cases). Bottles should always be kept lying down or—if wine is kept in cases and stacked—upside down. The reason for this is that the cork remains moist at all times, since a dry cork will lose its ability to seal the air out from the wine, and wine will very rapidly spoil due to oxidization. Once a bottle of white wine of opened, it should be consumed preferably the same day, since air will quickly deteriorate the quality of the wine.
Red wines are a little more forgiving and may be kept for a day or so after they have been opened.
The use of devices that expel air from a partly empty bottle (Vacu-vin, etc.) can prolong the storage time for open bottles.
| Is it Rosé or is it Blush? |
Rosé wines are traditionally made by taking a red skinned grape, such as Pinot Noir, and letting it ferment on the skins for a very short time, usually several hours to one or two days at the most. This will extract a relatively small amount of red pigmentation from the skins, thus resulting in a light coloured wine—a rosé! (Rosé is the French word for pink.) Pinot Noir grapes are even used to make white wines, notably Champagnes, and are then known as Blanc de Noir.
Another method of making a rosé coloured wine is by skillfully blending selected red and white wines to arrive at a pleasing and well-balanced flavour and colour. The types of wines that can be used in this process are virtually limitless and the results can be very interesting.
Some of the best known rosés are Anjou from France, and Faisca or Mateus Rosé from Portugal. The latter two are slightly sparkling and this effervescence can be achieved by a secondary bottle fermentation or even a malo-lactic fermentation. Malo-lactic fermentations happen when a type of bacteria similar to the one responsible for souring milk converts malic acid into a somewhat weaker lactic acid (milk acid). The fermentation also results in the production of a small amount of carbon dioxide gas which, if captured during the fermentation, can result in a slightly sparkling or crackling wine.
The residual sweetness of rosés may vary from very dry to significantly sweet (say, sweetness code 03). Therefore, you have quite a selection of rosé/blush type wines, all the way from dry to sweet, and from still to sparkling.
In recent years, the appearance of White Zinfandel coincided with the appearance of the term “Blush”. White Zinfandel, termed a “blush wine,” is a wine made from the red Zinfandel grape by giving it minimal skin contact to produce a rosé wine.
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Sulphites in Wine |
The public often equates organic wines with “sulphite-free” wines. This is inaccurate. Let us try to clear it up for you.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SULPHITE-FREE WINE
Sulphite-free wines do not exist; but wines low in sulphites or free of added sulphites do. Let us explain. Sulphites are a natural by-product of the fermentation process. Fermenting yeasts present on all grape skins generate naturally occurring sulphites in amounts ranging from 6 to 40 parts per million (PPM).
According to Professor Roger Boulton, Ph.D., University of California at Davis, Department of Viticulture and Enology, even if no sulphur dioxide is added to wine, fermenting yeasts will produce SO2 from the naturally occurring inorganic sulphates in all grape juices. Thus, says, Boulton, it is impossible for any wine to be completely free of sulphur dioxide.
WHAT ABOUT ADDED SULPHITES?
Although technical advances permit the industry to add much less sulphur, most serious winemakers and enology professors concur that to make a consistently stable wine, some sulphites must be added to those naturally present. A handful of winemakers go beyond that; they use no added sulphites at all. However, sulphite agents, when properly handled, are not intrinsically toxic to humans or to the environment, and many feel they are essential in order to prevent oxidization or bacterial spoilage. Therefore, American and European organic wine making standards allow for the addition of strictly regulated amounts of SO2.
WHY DO WINEMAKERS ADD SULPHITES TO WINE?
Sulphites have been used as a preservative in wine making for thousands of years. To prevent wine spoilage, European winemakers pioneered the use of sulphur dioxide (SO2). Unfortunately, freshly pressed grape juice has a tendency to spoil due to contamination from bacteria and wild yeasts present on the grape skins. Not only does sulphur dioxide inhibit the growth of moulds and bacteria, it also stops oxidization (browning) and preserves the wine's natural flavour.
SULPHITES IN OTHER PRODUCTS
According to Mitchell Zeller of the Washington, DC based Centre for Science in the Public Interest, sulphites exist in a wide variety of products at levels that are comparable to, or in excess of the concentration that is found in wine. The presence of sulphites ranging from 6 to 6,000 PPM is found in products such as fruit juices, dried fruits, fruit concentrates, syrups, sugar, jams, gelatins, cake toppings, baked goods, pizza dough, frozen and dehydrated potatoes, processed vegetables, cheeses, as well as in many prescription drugs.
WHO IS AT RISK?
The FDA says only about 0.4% of the population, or about a million people in the US, is considered highly allergic to sulphites. According to Dr. Vincent Marinkovich, an allergist and clinical immunologist who has performed extensive research on SO2s, sulphites pose no danger to about 99.75% of the population; the highest risk group are asthmatics (about 5% of the population) and only about 5% of this group is allergic to sulphites. |
reprinted by permission from Larch Hill Winery Hans and Hazel Nevrkla
Terroir, french for soil, refers to the type and quality of soil, and more broadly to the microclimate and overall environmental
conditions, of a vineyard or winemaking region. All these factors impart a unique flavour to the wine.
Red grapes need a longer growing season than white grapes. Many BC wineries have vineyards in the southern Okanagan region for their red grapes.
Loius Pateur discovered that when too much oxygen was allowed to contact wine, vinegar bacteria formed and spoiled the wine but small amounts of oxygen made the wine mature.
Acidity in a wine is desirable only to a certain degree. Alll wines have a certain amount of acidity. White wines have more acidity than reds and overly acidic wines will have a tart tast.
Page 2 Toasting Etiquette
