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Posts Tagged ‘fermentation’Cold MacerationSaturday, September 24th, 2011
Vietti Winery 2011 Most of us are well familiar with the term maceration, the process by which the “phenolic” components of the grapes, the tannins, anthocyanins (color), and flavinoids are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. Essentially, maceration is the process that lends red color to red wine. In white wines, maceration is either avoided or permitted in a very limited manner. Sparkling WineMonday, December 6th, 2010OK…..let’s make this easy……….sparkling wine is any wine that bubbles and froths when poured into a glass. The bubbles we so enjoy emanate from a carbon dioxide build up in the bottle under pressure and dissolved in the wine. If the wine is designated as Champagne, it must, by French law derive from the Champagne region and resource only Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes depending upon the style. While the gold standard of sparkling wine is Champagne from the namesake region of France, many regions throughout the world, including other regions of France, produce excellent sparkling wine. The Samur region of the Loire is renown for its sparkling Vouray from the Chenin Blanc grape. In the United States, sparkling wines are produced in many states with some of the finest deriving from Schramsberg in California (www.schramsberg.com) and Gruet from our next door neighbor New Mexico (www.gruetwinery.com). Spain produces Cava, it’s version of sparkling wine from non-Champagne grapes while Italy boasts Prosecco and Brachetto d'Acqui, Asti and Lambrusco and Australia, Sparkling Shiraz. Germany and Austria produce their version (Sekt) and even Russia produces a “Soviet Sparkling wine.” Sparkling wine can be bottled as either vintage or non-vintage. The latter represents the majority of the wine produced and is predominated by a base of current vintage blended with some prior vintage wine. While the "blanc de blancs" (white juice from white grapes) is always 100% Chardonnay (be it Champagne or sparkling wine), the "blanc de noirs" (white juice from from black grapes) version is a bit more fuzzy. If designated as Champagne, the wine must contain only the pressed juices from Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier grapes. If designated as sparking wine, it may contain some Chardonnay. This diversity in production style results in a wines that may display nearly any color, depending upon the grape used and contact of juices with the skins (in the case of reds). Most commonly, the wine is light golden or pink (Rose) but can be red as with Bourgogne Mousseux or sparkling Shiraz. The level of sweetness can vary as can the alcoholic strength and even degree of fizziness. According to EU regulations, the level of sweetness on any EU wine must be displayed on the label. Those produced outside of the region are not subject to the regulations. Grapes to Wine: The Process of FermentationMonday, October 19th, 2009Quick, who discovered the process of fermentation? I’ll share the answer at the end of this article. Suffice it to say, the concept has been known for just over two hundred and fifty years. Let’s go back to first year college or perhaps even high school chemistry as fermentation is, in essence, just a chemical reaction. Fermentation is the process of converting sugar (from grapes) to ethanol (ethyl alcohol) through the metabolism of yeast. The process is anaerobic (oxygen free) and generates heat in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). In fact, sugar that has been infused with yeast, looks like it’s boiling as it releases carbon dioxide. The true chemical equation is: A PC For the AgesMonday, June 15th, 2009I am referring here to the Fifth Growth Bordeaux, Pontet Canet (PC), a wine that has risen to prominence in the international Bordeaux markets over the last 10-12 years. Best of all, it sports the balance and depth of a First Growth while priced at a fraction of the price. An added advantage for those starting or building their Bordeaux collection, is that this wine, with proper storage, offers the aging potential for a good 20 years! First a little history on the estate. Jean-Francois de Pontet, the royal governor of the Medoc on the left bank of the Gironde, combined several plot of vineyards in the Pauillac region in the 18th century. Many years later, his descendents added still more vineyard land in Canet. Fast forward to the 19th century when the infamous 1855 Bordeaux classification recognized Pontet Canet as a worthy addition to the elite. It wasn’t long before Hermann Cruse, a key Bordeaux shipper, purchased the estate in 1865, infusing large amounts of money into the winemaking facilities and building a highly respectable estate. For the next 110 years, the Cruse family owned the estate, selling it in 1975 to, ironically, another shipper, Alfred Tesseron, whose sons now run the estate. Wine Acidity = FreshnessTuesday, May 5th, 2009Have you ever taken a sip of a steely crisp white wine such as a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or a Chablis and been delighted with its clean and refreshing character? That’s the treat of acidity at work. Wine is inherently an acidic drink. Even wines that taste sweet to the consumer are very high in acid; the residual sugar simply masks the acidic character. One of the key characteristics of a sweet German Ries-ling is the “racing acidity” underlying the sweetness, providing an ideal balance. |
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