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Q: Why are there so many kinds of Pinot?
A: Pinot is a family of grapes that’s prone to mutation; in addition to Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris in France), there’s also Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier (which is used in making Champagne). Pinot Noir is the father of the group, but even it is prone to variety; some “clones,” as they are known, produce heavier, more tannic wines, some tend toward lightness, etc. As if it wasn’t a difficult grape to deal with in the first place.
Occasionally a new planting of Pinot Noir will produce white or pinkish grapes, and this is how Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, respectively, seem to have evolved.
Once they mutate, their characteristics can vary a lot from their parent, so if you like one kind of Pinot, it doesn’t mean you’ll like them all. However, they are all capable of making high-quality wines, so don’t hold back from checking out one just because you didn’t like another.
Q: What are the most planted grapes in the world?
A: Grapes are, in fact, the most planted fruit crop in the world, but not as many as you’d think go into wine. In California, for example, only 47% of the grapes grown are wine grapes; the majority is for table grapes or raisins.
The three most planted white grapes are surprising: Airén (756,300 acres), Chardonnay (432,900 acres), and Ugni Blanc (338,400 acres). Chardonnay, sure; there’s so much Chardonnay out there that its detractors have formed groups dedicated to drinking ABC – Anything But Chardonnay. But what are Arién and Ugni Blanc? Airén is Spain’s most plated grape, and given that country’s vast vineyards, it grabs the #1 spot for acreage; however, it is not widely sold in the United States. Ugni Blanc is grown in Italy, Argentina, and France. The former two make it into generally simple white, crisp wines, but in France it is distilled together with a few other grapes to make Conganc. It is very prolific, and despite the smaller acreage, probably produces more wine than even Airén.
Red grapes are less surprising: merlot leads the way at 647,800 acres, followed closely by Cabernet Sauvignon (633,800 acres), and Grenache (513,400 acres). If the last one surprises you, you can blame Spain again, as well as France and Italy. In the New World it was originally planted as a blending grape for Syrah, but more and more wineries are giving it its due on the label.
Q: Why are wine lovers so down on Merlot?
A: Post-Sideways, presumably. Paul Giamatti’s character Miles has some unprintable things to say about the grape in the movie. In the 90s merlot was the “It” grape; in some ways it lends itself to soft, fruity wines that converted a lot of new winedrinkers. However, it has far nobler origins; 40% of the vines in Bordeaux are Merlot – almost twice the percentage of the more respected Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, in Sideways, Miles’ most treasured bottle – a 1961 Ceval Blance – is actually 50% Merlot.
Which brings us to another side of Merlot’s personality: it plays well with others. If a winemaker feels his Merlot is a bit soft and simple, he can take refuge in the fact that it will blend well with other grapes that can fill in the gaps. In Bordeaux, Merlot’s most common partners are Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. In California a more consistent climate makes it easier to make a good unblended Merlot, but even there some producers blend their wines in the Bordelais manner – these wines are often called a “Meritage” (rhymes with “heritage”).
Q: Why are French wines named after the region and not the grape?
A: Wines in France – really in almost all of Euope – had developed their styles over the centuries; a grape (more often a blend of grapes) was eventually found to suit an area – or even better, express the area. To know where the grapes are grown is to know the style of the wine. To know much about the grapes them- selves was wine geekdom, only necessary for professionals.
However, in the 50s and 60s California introduced a “what?” approach to contrast with France’s “where”. Frank Schoonmaker, making wine for Almaden, began putting the grape names on the bottle to help consumers, since we didn’t know what Napa, Russian River Valley, or Paso Robles tasted like. The varietal name could stand in and give the wine buyer some idea what the wine would taste like. Grapes are the new thing.
Q: What is the difference between Syrah and Shiraz?
A: It’s all the same grape, but the name gives you a clue what the winemaker did with it. Syrah is a red traditionally grown in the Rhône Valley of France. Since then it has spread to many places around the world including California, Argentina, and more recently, South Africa and Washington. The place that has taken the grape to heart is Australia. But in Aussie fashion, as the barbecue became the “barbie,” so syrah became “shiraz.: The name stems from the belief that the grape’s original home lies in the town “Shiraz” in Iran.
Nowadays, you’ll find Shiraz used outside Australia as well. Generally, if the producer has labeled the wine Shiraz, you can expect a big fruity style – the Aussie way. “Syrahs,” on the other hand tend to emphasize earth and spice. Try them both; can you tell the difference?
WINE FAQ: Serving Wine:
Q: What is the ideal temperature to serve white wine?
A: Serving white wine around 50-55 degrees is refreshing, and allos the wine to express itself. However, most of us don’t keep a thermometer around, so here’s an easy trick. Take your wine out of the fridge about twenty minutes before you plan to serve it. Once you open it, keep it on ice if you like, but not in ice, and especially not in an ice and water bath. Save that for Champagne.
Q: What does it mean to let a wine “breathe?” Is it important?
A: “Letting a wine breathe” means exposing it to oxygen before drinking. For most wines – especially whites - it’s usually not necessary. However, it sometimes improves young red wines; after “breathing” the wine should be smoother, more aromatic, and even a bit less tannic than if you just poured it into your glass. It’s a little bit like aging the wine in the cellar, but faster.
The simplest thing is to just open the bottle an hour or so before you plan to start drinking it. Pouring it into a glass will quicken the process; the agitation of pouring and the greater surface area exposed to air in the glass helps.
And to get even more benefits of breathing; invest in a decanter; pour the whole bottle in and let oxygen do its thing. There are lots of decanters out there, and you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a good one; those with flat bottoms create lots of surface area. Serve from here, and if you don’t drink it all, simply pour the wine back in the bottle, recork (this time you want to get as much oxygen out and we suggest using one of the winesavers or vacuum pumps) and store.
A tip for those dinner or parties when you know you’ll be opening a second bottle ore more. Don’t wait until the first is gone; open your second bottle of wine as you open the first or as you serve the first course. This way, the wine has had a chance to breathe and is ready to drink at the same time as your and your guest.
Q: After opening a bottle of wine, what is the amount of time we have to drink it?
A: Traditionally, you have about 2 days and this is extended using a “vac-u-vin” or nitrogen system. You should always control the elements of heat, light and air.
Q: How many glasses are in a bottle?
A: There are 20 oz in a bottle of wine. The average wine glass is 8 – 10 oz, filling the glass half way will give you 4 – 5 glasses.
WINE FAQ: Food & Wine
Q: What foods go with sparkling wines?
A: All foods, this is the most versatile wine as the “bubbles” clean your palate each time you sip the wine allowing you to enjoy both the food and wine.
Q: What is the difference between a sweet wine and a fruity wine?
A: Fruity wines have concentrated flavors that represent the fruit in the wine and are sometimes perceived as sweet. Sweet wines that display and contain a higher level of residual sugar (sugars that did not ferment to dry) and have a sweet to very sweet finish.
Q: What gives some red wines that “pucker” in your mouth when you drink them?
A: Tannin. This comes from the skins, the barrels and the seeds.
Q: What kinds of red wines work when pairing with fish or fowl?
A: One of the classic combinations is Salmon and Pinot Noir. Actually, depending on how the dish is prepared I often enjoy Pinot Noir, Chianti, and deep roses with seafood and chicken.
Q: What wines work well if people are eating different foods?
A: When everyone has their own entrée in front of them – a steak here, fish there, vegetarian pasta, chicken – it can be hard to open one bottle of wine that will balance well with everything: Cabernet goes great with steak, but overwhelms the sea bass. Or Pinot Grigio complements the shrimp, but seems flavorless with the lamb. The most cooperative wines in cases like these are lighter-bodied, low tannin reds, or rich, full- bodied whites. Pinot Noir, for example. Red, but generally lighter; it’ll stand up to steak but won’t overwhelm the fish. It also tends to have higher acidity than say, a Cabernet, which means it will complement a tomato sauce and fish (think of the acidity in that lemon you squeeze over your salmon). On the white side, those big California Chardonnays are powerful enough to balance with a steak, but the flavors don’t cover the subtleties of chicken or halibut. These wines may not highlight each dish perfectly but they won’t ruin anybody’s meal, either.
WINE FAQ: Wine Making
Q: How many grapes, approximately, go into making one bottle of wine?
A: The saying is 2 bottles of (ultra premium) wine on a vine. There was a study once that referenced approximately 177 grapes (of average size) to make a bottle of wine. If this isn’t correct I can assure you it is a bunch.
Q: What is terroir?
A: Soil, climate, drainage, sun exposure, local winds the French have a word for all of it, and the word is “terroir.” Ultimately it’s about environmental factors that can affect how grapes grow and therefore, how a wine tastes. Clay soils, for example, can have a cooling effect on the vineyard, which can help maintain higher acidity in some kinds of grapes (but other grapes that really need heat may have trouble ripening completely).
Wines that come from a specific place – a single vineyard, for example – tend to represent that places’s terroir, whereas a wine that uses grapes from a broader area is more likely to represent the flavors and character of the grape. Both can make good wines. What’s exciting about “terroir” wines is the tremendous amount of variety available – there are millions of vineyards out there.
Q: If a wine isn’t aged in oak, what is it aged in?
A: Almost all wine is aged for at least a short time before it’s bottled, and there are basically three options: New oak, old oak, and stainless steel. Usually when someone talks about oak, they mean new oak barrels. The wood allows a small amount of oxygen to the wine which helps smooth the rough edges, and the wood Itself will impart a variety of flavors: vanilla, clove, smoke, caramel, etc. “Old oak” means barrels (sometimes much larger barrels) that have already been used for a few vintages, so they no longer have any flavors to add to the wine; the winemaker uses them instead to smooth out the wine’s texture and mouthfeel.
Stainless steel tanks, on the other hand, are basically neutral: they let the various elements of the wine integrate and combine, but don’t add anything to the process themselves. Almost all red wines are aged in some kind of oak, new, old, or a combination of the two. Fuller-bodied white wines can also benefit from oak-aging, but light, crisp whites usually spend a short time in stainless steel before they’re ready to be bottled.
Q: Are all grapes picked at the same time?
A: Not at all. First of all, each region has different weather patterns, so Napa may pick before or after Santa Cruz, or before or after the Loire Valley, or before or after Tuscany (For that matter, the wineries in the Southern Hemisphere pick in March or September, and in Venezuela they have two vintages each year).
The other difference is the grape. In fact, grape differences are the secret to Bordeaux. Cabernet Sauvignon ripens late, so it’s planted on the warmer, more gravelly soils (the stones hold heat and let cooling waters drain off) and picked later. Merlot and Cabernet Franc, however, ripen early, so they can be planted on cooler soils and picked earlier. One of the reasons to belend is insurance: if the weather is bad during one part of the harvest, only one of the varietals will suffer, and the other grapes can smooth over any problems.
WINE FAQ: Common Tasting Terms
Aciditiy: Without acidity, you have grape flavored Kool-Aid™, with too much acidity you get vinegar. This important trait will slightly zing your tongue at the tip and sides with your first sip.
Aftertaste: Simply the flavor left after you swallow. A great wine will leave an enjoyable but fleeting flavor.
Amaro: A bitter wine.
Austere: Often used to describe young wines heavy in tannins, creating a slight bitterness that alleviates with age.
Backward: Too young, not ripe….austere.
Balance: The perfect blend of qualities…flavor, acidity, tannins, and texture.
Bead: The bubbles in sparklings and champagnes.
Bite: The kick or tang in wine.
Blind Tasting: Tasting without knowing.
Body: The full dose of flavor, tannins, alcohol, etc.
Brickling: Golden red color, not unlike a red brick, that says a wine has aged.
Brut: It’s dry.
Closed: Lacking in flavor and fragrance, most often a wine that has lost the blush of youth and awaits the wisdom of age – a teenaged wine.
Confected: A sweet, but processed flavor.
Corked: A wine whose cork has become mildewed and negatively flavored the wine.
Demi-Sec: Semi-Dry.
Dolce: It’s sweet.
Domain: A wine estate.
Doux: Sweet.
Dry: Lacks sweetness, but can be somewhat sweet. Also refers to dryness left in the mouth.
Dulce: Sweet.
Entry: Your first tasting impression.
Extracts: Solids used in wine making that add both color and flavor.
Finish: What you taste immediately after swallowing.
Forward: The wine is developing very rapidly unlike a backward wine.
Hollow: Not much flavor or character here.
Ingrated: A wine that is losing flavor as it ages.
Legs: Swirl; if you see tears inside your glass, this wine has legs.
Midpalate: After the entry and before the swallow – when the wine is held in the mouth.
Mousse: How much fizz is present. Soft, not too much; harsh, practically foams.
New World: Australian or U.S. Wines.
Nose: The wine’s smell or fragrance.
Old World: European wines.
Sec: Dry.
Structure: You’ll taste tannins and acidity that give the wine a fuller flavor.
Toasty: You can taste and smell toast, really.
Weight: The body or heft of a wine.
WINE FAQ: Color Terms:
Bianco: White
Blanc: White
Blanc de Blanc: White wine from only white grapes.
Blanc de Noir: White wine from only black grapes
Blush: Pink
Branco: White
Noir: Black
Rose: Pink
Rojo: Red
WINE FAQ: Other
Q: What do the different shapes of wine bottles represent? Do they refer to varietal or type in any way?
A: Bottle shapes generally do represent the region or varietal to some degree. A Bordeaux bottle, for example, is narrow and has defined “shoulder,” where it quickly slopes in to the neck. Contrast that with a Burgundy bottle: fatter and curvier, it gradually slopes into the neck so there’s no definite spot where the neck begins and the body ends. In Europe, bottles just evolved that way out of tradition. In the New World, most wine- makers honor their European ancestors by using the bottle that matches with the grapes. However, there are plenty of exceptions. A winemaker may just decide to use a different bottle for the heck of it, so you’ll always need to check the label to confirm what the bottle’s shape tells you.
Q: What are sulfites?
A: Sulfites are sulfur-based compounds contained in all wines, white and red. Some of the sulfites occur naturally – they come from the grapes – but winemakers also add them as a preservative during the wine- making process to stave off oxidation. The government requires a sulfite warning on wine bottles because a very small portion of the population has an allergic reaction to them.
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