Imagine my surprise when my friend promised to fetch me a bottle of Cuvée Dom Pérignon 1976 for drinking on Christmas day. This wine had been given to him by a family member decades ago and he had carefully kept it in the cool and dark. When I opened the bottle there was very little partial pressure of carbon dioxide waiting to push the cork out. The shrunken cork had to be twisted and pulled but it came out with little difficulty, which is not always the case with an older champagne. There was none of the hissing our popping sound when a younger vintage is opened. The wine had been chilled to the perfect temperature and the bottle had not been shaken during transport but I was expecting some gas to come out of the bottle; there was nothing that I could hear or feel. We poured the champagne normally and the gas really started to fizz in the glass. All of the carbon di-oxide had dissolved within the wine over its long period of cellaring. The wine produced very fine bubbles. During its maturation the champagne had turned almost golden in colour. It had the typical yeast and bread scent on the nose. It tasted fantastic; it was youthful and fresh with a medium to full body and with well integrated acidity to keep it as fresh as when it was first bottled. The flavours were complex and concentrated; more concentrated than any other vintage champagne I have tasted. For me it had a creamy and nutty flavour. This champagne was a real honour and treat to open and drink. 1976 was a very hot year but the grapes obviously were able to maintain sufficient levels of acidity to keep this wine fresh 35 years later.
Drinking this made the wine tasting year for me and I shall remember the flavour for a very long time.
Later, for dessert, we drank a bottle of Benoît Lahaye Brut Essential Non -Vintage Champagne as a comparison. This up and coming champagne is much finer tasting and although it will not age as gracefully as the Dom Pérignon it still shows all the typical attributes of a Montagne de Reims appellation.
To buy a bottle of Cuvée Dom Pérignon, now, it will cost you around four hundred pounds. So this wine has appreciated considerably in value over 35 years; but is it worth it ? I think so. It could be kept as an investment. But, surely, wine was made to be drunk and eventually all wine becomes either past its best or ruined from a drinking point of view? There are many thousands of cases hidden away as investments which will never be appreciated by drinkers whilst the wines are at their peak. The 1976 Cuvée Dom Pérignon is now at its peak and we should be able to enjoy it.
Please consider this: expensive personal computers do not improve with age they only deteriorate and quickly become obsolete: they are destined to be thrown away. This is not so with a good bottle of wine.
A good bottle of Montagne de Reims vintage champagne can be bought from a maker such as Benoît Lahaye for much less than one hundred pounds and if it is kept in a cool dark place for twenty years or so it will improve in both flavour and complexity. That is where the true value for money lies. A good wine can also be appreciated across the generations. Patience truly is a virtue as far as some wines are concerned and it could save you a lot of money. Patience will enable you to appreciate the finest wines at a fraction of their cost as a long term monetary investment. So select wisely and keep your wine carefully.
The current retail price for Cuvée Dom Pérignon is around 95 pounds. What will it be worth in in 2037? It will certainly be worth drinking.
Wednesday 28 December 2011
Tuesday 27 December 2011
Blind Tasting
It was the week before Christmas and we were back in France to celebrate a birthday party. At lunch one afternoon my brother- in- law put us to the test trying to identify the wine. We were eating free range roast chicken and had downed half a bottle of Mercurey Les Montelons 2008. He then produced another bottle of red wine but with the label covered. We had to guess the wine. As the shape of the bottle was the same as a Burgundy we were already getting some clues. My wife and I were then invited to smell the wine first but not to taste it. The wine had a slightly vegetal scent which led us to believe that it might have been another red Burgundy. We then tasted it and immediately we could sense the spicy flavour of Syrah grapes and the wine was very tannic. All the time my brother- in- law was trying to lead us astray by mentioning the pope. Châteauneuf-du-Pape usually contains Syrah in its blend but this wine had an overwhelming taste of Syrah. We correctly guessed that it was from the northern Rhône region. My wife and I could not narrow it down further. The blind tasted wine was in fact Domaine du Pavillon Mercurol Crozes-Hermitage 2006. This wine was a good example of a northern Rhône appellation with red fruit, spices and lychees on the palate coupled with a slightly vegetal and floral aroma on the nose. The wine also was well structured with good strong tannins which were now starting to soften.
We had done quite well to identify where the wine had come from and the wine itself had shown good regional character. It is also a special tribute to my wife's palate as she has never had any formal education in wine tasting.
Tasting wine blind and identifying where the wine comes from is one of the most difficult things that I have ever done and whenever I have taken wine exams very few points were awarded for specifically identifying the wine. It is almost impossible to identify a wine unless you have drunk lots of it. Whilst doing my wine courses as an amateur in the company of industry professionals I have seen some of my colleagues making some bizarre choices during the tasting exams. One of my colleagues mistook a Tawny Port for a Rutherglen Muscat fortified wine. This happened because he was under extreme pressure and had temporarily lost his sense of taste and reason under the examination conditions; something which he never would have done whilst playing a game of spot the wine in the living room. Our senses cannot always be perfect and this is what makes wine tasting and assessment very difficult. One of my teachers, a Master of Wine, was unable to spot that a wine we were tasting was corked. Her excuse was that some days she was less sensitive to trichloroanisole and tribromoanisole which are the two chemicals responsible for the musty cork taint of spoilt wine. It was probably true but just goes to show that Masters of Wine can be just as fallible as the rest of us.
Mercurey Les Montelons 2008 can be obtained from Carrefour for around 10 Euros a bottle and it is a jolly fine wine it too.
Domaine du Pavillon Mercurol Crozes-Hermitage 2006 can also be obtained in Carrefour for 6 to 7 Euros a bottle. It is great wine with regional character and it is even better value for money.
We had done quite well to identify where the wine had come from and the wine itself had shown good regional character. It is also a special tribute to my wife's palate as she has never had any formal education in wine tasting.
Tasting wine blind and identifying where the wine comes from is one of the most difficult things that I have ever done and whenever I have taken wine exams very few points were awarded for specifically identifying the wine. It is almost impossible to identify a wine unless you have drunk lots of it. Whilst doing my wine courses as an amateur in the company of industry professionals I have seen some of my colleagues making some bizarre choices during the tasting exams. One of my colleagues mistook a Tawny Port for a Rutherglen Muscat fortified wine. This happened because he was under extreme pressure and had temporarily lost his sense of taste and reason under the examination conditions; something which he never would have done whilst playing a game of spot the wine in the living room. Our senses cannot always be perfect and this is what makes wine tasting and assessment very difficult. One of my teachers, a Master of Wine, was unable to spot that a wine we were tasting was corked. Her excuse was that some days she was less sensitive to trichloroanisole and tribromoanisole which are the two chemicals responsible for the musty cork taint of spoilt wine. It was probably true but just goes to show that Masters of Wine can be just as fallible as the rest of us.
Mercurey Les Montelons 2008 can be obtained from Carrefour for around 10 Euros a bottle and it is a jolly fine wine it too.
Domaine du Pavillon Mercurol Crozes-Hermitage 2006 can also be obtained in Carrefour for 6 to 7 Euros a bottle. It is great wine with regional character and it is even better value for money.
Friday 2 December 2011
Rise in liver disease
Once again we are reading about some alarming statistics regarding liver disease in the young. In former years cirrhosis of the liver was largely confined to late middle age drinkers who had subjected themselves to a life time of abuse. Now this dangerous disease is spreading to heavy drinkers under the age of 35. Despite the blandishments and warnings of the government, the health service and organisations such as Balance the problem seems to be increasing. It is now time for the individual to take responsibility for their own health in the respect of drinking. If you drink too much alcohol over an extended period of time you will damage your health. How much you can drink without damaging your health is subject to much debate but if you stick to the government recommendations, you as a healthy person will continue to keep a healthy liver. Some people who have had other forms liver disease or who cannot control their drinking or mood when they imbibe should really not touch alcohol at all.
Over the last 30 years or so I have seen a complete change in our drinking habits. When I was young, men mostly drank beer which was around 3.5 % alcohol. Two pints a day would take you up to the government's recommended limit but of course most people did not drink everyday and most people did not drink at home. Party time was usually limited to Friday night. When I was young women drank much less than men. The price of a pint of beer or a shot of whiskey was much more expensive in comparison to wages. Supermarkets did not sell wine , spirits and beer and there were no special offers. Even though the average person drunk less than today there were still plenty of alcoholics. One of my best friends was killed by alcohol and no amount persuasion or pleading by me or his family would stop him drinking . He was an intelligent man and knew what he was doing to his body. I estimated that he drank more than the equivalent of a bottle of scotch a day. Think about it: a bottle of scotch contains 30 units of alcohol. The average healthy man can eliminate 1 unit of alcohol per hour so this meant that his blood was awash with alcohol all day every day. Alcoholism is a terrible addiction and, from a social point of view, it probably does more damage than smoking.
A couple of years ago I worked in Bournemouth, a university town, where young people were out every night. Once or twice a week I would go out for a pub meal with my colleagues. In the centre of town the pubs were full of students and young people having mid-week parties. All of these young people were friendly, intelligent and responsible, in my opinion. When I talked to them about their drinking they all told me that they drank before they arrived at the pub. When I went back to my flat at about 1030 or 11pm the same students were off to clubs. This was in the middle of the week! Their behaviour was confirmed by the taxi drivers who took me home. Many students were taking taxis from their digs to the pub at about 8 pm in the evening already "tanked up". At weekends whenever I stayed over and my wife came to visit me, we often saw students and young people piling out of buses at 11pm to go to the all night clubs. We were going to bed! Of course, my wife and I did this sort of thing when we were young but we could only afford to go to all night clubs once a month or so.
Times have changed so much and the sort of drinking that I saw was far in excess of recommended limits.The health professionals would probably blanch if they really knew how much alcohol is being consumed by the young on a daily basis.
No one, it seems, takes any notice of the recommended limits. But everyone should realise that if you drink too much every day you will become an alcoholic and you will seriously damage your mental and physical health. You will also damage your relationship with your friends and loved ones.
Consider this, if you drink cheap alcohol at home before going out to a pub and then on to a party and do this only a couple of times per week you are almost certainly drinking too much. Why not give your liver a rest for two consecutive days a week to allow your body to flush out the alcohol completely. Drink higher quality wines but drink less. Severely limit your consumption of alcopops or fore go them completely. Drink cask conditioned beer at low alcohol levels. Only drink spirits on special occasions and stick to higher quality. You can buy a really good bottle of wine for less than ten pounds and if you limit yourself to half a bottle a day five days a week you can enjoy your drinking safely and save money. Do not drink plonk just for the sake of it. Every now and then you can allow yourself to drink a little more without endangering your health. What could be worse than not being able to drink the beverage of the the gods because you have become an alcoholic or your damaged liver can no longer take alcohol .
Of course, excessive drinking is not confined to the young as the middle aged are now doing something similar, but at home. My recommendations still apply, so forget the cheap plonk and buy yourself a good quality bottle of wine then share it with your friend or spouse over a good meal. Above all, limit yourself to the safe consumption of alcohol. It will save you money in the long run and could even save your life.
Here are the drink aware recommendations:
"The government advises that people should not regularly drink more than the daily unit guidelines of 3-4 units of alcohol for men (equivalent to a pint and a half of 4% beer) and 2-3 units of alcohol for women (equivalent to a 175 ml glass of wine). ‘Regularly’ means drinking every day or most days of the week".
I am naturally a sceptic and have my own views on this. But when I add up the amount that my wife and I consume it is actually less than this. Two or three days a week we do not drink at all and when we do open a bottle of wine with a meal we only drink half the bottle and seal it. This is simply a commonsense and comfortable approach for us but for others it may be different. We are not averse to drinking more when we have friends around for dinner as there is no need to be sanctimonious about enjoying a few glasses of wine or guilty about exceeding the pronouncements of doctors and health officials.
Here is a way of calculating the unit equivalent of alcohol:
Strength (%) x Volume (ml) ÷ 1000 = number of units.
A 175 ml glass of wine at 14% alcohol by volume therefore contains 175 x14 /1000 = 2.45 units. There is some food for thought here. 175 ml is about a quarter of a bottle.
Over the last 30 years or so I have seen a complete change in our drinking habits. When I was young, men mostly drank beer which was around 3.5 % alcohol. Two pints a day would take you up to the government's recommended limit but of course most people did not drink everyday and most people did not drink at home. Party time was usually limited to Friday night. When I was young women drank much less than men. The price of a pint of beer or a shot of whiskey was much more expensive in comparison to wages. Supermarkets did not sell wine , spirits and beer and there were no special offers. Even though the average person drunk less than today there were still plenty of alcoholics. One of my best friends was killed by alcohol and no amount persuasion or pleading by me or his family would stop him drinking . He was an intelligent man and knew what he was doing to his body. I estimated that he drank more than the equivalent of a bottle of scotch a day. Think about it: a bottle of scotch contains 30 units of alcohol. The average healthy man can eliminate 1 unit of alcohol per hour so this meant that his blood was awash with alcohol all day every day. Alcoholism is a terrible addiction and, from a social point of view, it probably does more damage than smoking.
A couple of years ago I worked in Bournemouth, a university town, where young people were out every night. Once or twice a week I would go out for a pub meal with my colleagues. In the centre of town the pubs were full of students and young people having mid-week parties. All of these young people were friendly, intelligent and responsible, in my opinion. When I talked to them about their drinking they all told me that they drank before they arrived at the pub. When I went back to my flat at about 1030 or 11pm the same students were off to clubs. This was in the middle of the week! Their behaviour was confirmed by the taxi drivers who took me home. Many students were taking taxis from their digs to the pub at about 8 pm in the evening already "tanked up". At weekends whenever I stayed over and my wife came to visit me, we often saw students and young people piling out of buses at 11pm to go to the all night clubs. We were going to bed! Of course, my wife and I did this sort of thing when we were young but we could only afford to go to all night clubs once a month or so.
Times have changed so much and the sort of drinking that I saw was far in excess of recommended limits.The health professionals would probably blanch if they really knew how much alcohol is being consumed by the young on a daily basis.
No one, it seems, takes any notice of the recommended limits. But everyone should realise that if you drink too much every day you will become an alcoholic and you will seriously damage your mental and physical health. You will also damage your relationship with your friends and loved ones.
Consider this, if you drink cheap alcohol at home before going out to a pub and then on to a party and do this only a couple of times per week you are almost certainly drinking too much. Why not give your liver a rest for two consecutive days a week to allow your body to flush out the alcohol completely. Drink higher quality wines but drink less. Severely limit your consumption of alcopops or fore go them completely. Drink cask conditioned beer at low alcohol levels. Only drink spirits on special occasions and stick to higher quality. You can buy a really good bottle of wine for less than ten pounds and if you limit yourself to half a bottle a day five days a week you can enjoy your drinking safely and save money. Do not drink plonk just for the sake of it. Every now and then you can allow yourself to drink a little more without endangering your health. What could be worse than not being able to drink the beverage of the the gods because you have become an alcoholic or your damaged liver can no longer take alcohol .
Of course, excessive drinking is not confined to the young as the middle aged are now doing something similar, but at home. My recommendations still apply, so forget the cheap plonk and buy yourself a good quality bottle of wine then share it with your friend or spouse over a good meal. Above all, limit yourself to the safe consumption of alcohol. It will save you money in the long run and could even save your life.
Here are the drink aware recommendations:
"The government advises that people should not regularly drink more than the daily unit guidelines of 3-4 units of alcohol for men (equivalent to a pint and a half of 4% beer) and 2-3 units of alcohol for women (equivalent to a 175 ml glass of wine). ‘Regularly’ means drinking every day or most days of the week".
I am naturally a sceptic and have my own views on this. But when I add up the amount that my wife and I consume it is actually less than this. Two or three days a week we do not drink at all and when we do open a bottle of wine with a meal we only drink half the bottle and seal it. This is simply a commonsense and comfortable approach for us but for others it may be different. We are not averse to drinking more when we have friends around for dinner as there is no need to be sanctimonious about enjoying a few glasses of wine or guilty about exceeding the pronouncements of doctors and health officials.
Here is a way of calculating the unit equivalent of alcohol:
Strength (%) x Volume (ml) ÷ 1000 = number of units.
A 175 ml glass of wine at 14% alcohol by volume therefore contains 175 x14 /1000 = 2.45 units. There is some food for thought here. 175 ml is about a quarter of a bottle.
Thursday 24 November 2011
Tour of France
My wife and I thought it was time to drive through France to visit family and friends and to appreciate some fine scenery and taste some fine wine and food. We started our trip on the 11th of November with the expectation that the weather would not be very good. We were mistaken as apart from some fog at the beginning it was sunshine all the way with unseasonably warm temperatures south of the Loire valley. We even had some days at 23 degrees celcius.
It was a long hard drive from the Eurotunnel shuttle at Calais to Royan which is a pleasant seaside resort situated on the North East tip of the Gironde Estuary. We arrived in the early evening just before the sun was setting over the mouth of the Gironde and quickly found a pleasant Hotel, The Foncillon, we booked ourselves a comfortable room for a reasonable price overlooking the estuary. The resort had a fifties flavour as it was re-built after the city centre was raised to the ground, in 1945, by allied bombing which was seeking to remove one of the enclaves still held by the Germans months after D Day. The resort is well worth visiting if only for the five beaches and the view over the estuary and it is a perfect place to start a wine journey through the Médoc.
The Gironde region is of course famous for its cuisine and above all its wine. After a long drive we needed both food a wine and food ourselves a good restaurant which was full of people - "Le Pavé Bleu". We had chosen well; some of the neighbouring restaurants were empty but the food and service here were very good even if the decor was a little tatty. My wife had an Assiette Fruits de Mers and I had oysters which we washed down with a half bottle of bog standard Entre-Deux-Mers white. This wine was bone dry and refreshing and tasty with hints of lemon and grapefruit and went down perfectly with the sea food. Afterwards we washed down Bavette steaks with a half bottle of bog standard Côtes de Bourg red. The steaks were perfectly cooked - rare. The wines complemented the food very well. Overall this was enjoyable start to our stay in France. On some websites Le Pavé Bleu does not get good reviews. The diners complained about the slow service and lack of quality of the food. Our experience belied these opinions. Perhaps things improve late in the season. In fairness, this was the only restaurant in the vicinity which was full and this is usually a good sign that the quality of the food and service is good. On that particular night not everyone was a tourist despite the fact that it was a public holiday; it was armistice day. Sometimes it is better to make your own judgements than to rely on comments on restaurant internet sites.
We still had no idea where we were going to visit next. The primary reason for our trip was not to taste wine but what better way to continue our trip the next day with a run through the Médoc on our way to stay a few nights on the Bassin D'Archachon. We caught the Bac which is a type of roll on and roll off ferry from Royan to Verdon which is situated on the northern tip of the Medoc peninsula. It was a pleasant twenty minute journey with a warm southerly wind. We drove down through the Médoc amidst the fresh smelling pines to Lesparre-Médoc which is a small unassuming town where we stopped for lunch. We found a very small restaurant, Les Baines, in the centre of town which again was nearly full and we were the only tourists. The restaurant was very basic and the decor was nothing to right home about but the service was quick and friendly. The service might have been unpretentious but the food was excellent. My wife ordered an Omelette with Ceps. The mushrooms were delicious. I ordered a Blanquette de Veaux which tasted home made. The quality of the food was great. The waitress recommended a pichet of Vin Rouge de Médoc which had been matured in oak. 50cl of this excellent wine cost 7 Euros and it was full of fruit and tasted of vanilla and cloves but the taste of the wood was not overpowering. The wine had a feel of velvet on the tongue just like some of the wines from Volnay in the Burgundy region. The wine was as good as any other everyday drinking wine that I have tasted; and at 12 Euros a bottle was exceptional value for money. The wine and food in this restaurant was the best value for money during our trip.
Why can ordinary wine from the Médoc be so good? The gravelly soil has got something to do with it. The soil is often filled with gravel to a depth of several metres but this gravel can be mixed with sand, limestone marls and clay. The soil in parts of the Médoc is perfect for viticulture. The climate is almost perfect for viticulture as well. The Médoc peninsula is bounded by the Atlantic to the West and the Gironde to the east so both these bodies of water moderate the climate and keep the it and the weather temperate. The Médoc is also protected from harsh winds from the Atlantic by the pine forests along the coastal strip. Viticulture and wine making is a way of life here and the wines are produced to match the famous cuisine of the area. To understand the quality of the wine you have to understand the way of life of the people in the area. A visit to the Médoc should be on every wine lover's list. Equally a visit to Burgundy and Champagne is important to make comparisons between the maritime climate and the semi-continental climate of Burgundy and Champagne. The climate does not just influence the wine, it influences the people too.
Of course, good and bad wine can be found everywhere and some Médoc wines can be rather coarse and rustic if you are unlucky enough to find a bad one.
From Lesparre we made our way down to Arès to the Hotel Grain de Sable which I recommend highly. Arès is situated on the North East of the Bassin D'Arcachon. The flood plain of the Bassin is full of Oyster farms and I am about to eat my fair share Oysters.
It is only two days into my trip and sunset over the Bassin D'Archon is particularly attractive especially as it is shirt sleeve weather on the 12th of November. We are now feeling relaxed. Time now to sample the local oysters after a long walk along the edge of the Bassin. The restaurant San Marco, just down the road from the Hotel is another unpretentious restaurant with good quality food and service. For main course my wife ordered Lingue or Ling, in English , and I ordered Magret de Canard. The waiter recommend a bottle of Entre-Deux-Mers to wash down the food. Blanc de Lisenne Entre Deux Mers can be obtained on a retail website for just over 5 pounds a bottle. The price for the 2009 at the restaurant was 15 Euro. This is the sort of mark up I would expect. The wine was of perfectly acceptable quality. It went down well with the oysters that we had for a starter. The wine is crisp and dry with a hint of lemons and grapefruit and a perfect accompaniment for oysters, fish and Magret de Canard. You do not see Ling on the menu very much in Britain. I was brought up near the fishing port of Milford Haven in West Wales. There was so much Ling available that it was regarded as a poor man's cod and was looked down upon. It is rather a delicacy in my mind. When I was young it was unheard of to drink wine with fish. Wine was regarded as a rich man's pursuit. How times have changed. But a cup of tea still goes down better with kippers than any sort of white wine.
Entre-Deux-Mers is rather a misnomer for the wine, as the district is situated between two rivers, rather than two seas, to the east and south east of Bordeaux. The two rivers are the Garonne and the Dordogne which form the Gironde river to the north. The grape varieties used to produce the white wine are Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. These grapes thrive well in the alluvial soils between the two rivers. Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle are also used to make the sweet dessert wines in Sauternes and other areas such as Barsac. Sweet wines of course are produced by different viticultural methods. Just like Muscadet from the Loire region and Chablis from Burgundy, Entre-Deux-Mers white goes so well with fish.
The Entre-Deux-Mers district is now becoming renowned for inexpensive but good value reds, so watch out for them as well.
The next day was a Sunday and our morning walk to find some croissants and coffee was unsuccessful. Most places were shut but we found Tanya's tea rooms. When travelling in Europe I really miss a very well made cup of tea but I am not one for bringing supplies with me. There were no croissants on the menu but I was offered tea and scones by the waitress who only seemed to speak French. Scones first thing in the morning, why not they are after all made of flour and butter just like croissants? The tea and scones were just like back home and tasted great. I should have guessed it, Tanya was from Yorkshire. After forty years travelling to France I had finally found a place where they knew how to make tea; a little oasis in a sea of coffee. If you are desperate for a real cup of tea in France then it is worth the trip to Arès.
After a long and muddy walk across the marshes we were ready for supper; but not before we had engaged a friendly, french octogenarian on the hunt for some Ceps. Apparently the Médoc has its own particular variety. The woods around the Bassin area were just full of giant Ceps .
Guess what ? most of the restaurants in the centre of Arès on a Sunday evening in mid -November are shut. Our hotel did not have a restaurant but recommended the Incontournable which was a ten minute walk away just outside of town. I am always a little wary when I see restaurant walls plastered with photographs of celebrities who have never eaten in the place but we had little choice and we were in no mood for driving to the next town as we both felt that we deserved a few glasses of wine after our walk. We ordered oysters of course then Ceps with rice for the wife and Ceps with roast lamb for me. The food was much better than I thought it would be especially the mushrooms. The main courses needed a red wine so I settled for Château Nodoz 2008 Côtes de Bourg red at 19 Euros a bottle. I did not know this wine but as luck would have it I had fallen upon a good one. This wine was a fine example of the district with soft tannins even though the wine was only three years old. It had the typical flavours of Bordeaux red - plums, cherries and tobacco boxes. Even with the restaurant mark up I considered this wine to be excellent value for money. If you are ever in the Côtes de Bourg it will probably pay you to visit the vineyard to obtain a good quality wine at a reasonable price or alternatively try this http://www.chateau-nodoz.com/visite/. The Côtes de Bourg lies to the east of the confluence of the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. The soil consist of sand, clay and gravel overlying a limestone sub soil so it is very good for growing vines. The Côtes de Bourg is more hilly than the Médoc and the vines are less protected from the effects of the westerly winds. The district produces mainly red wine which is very good value for money and these wines are worth searching for at your local winery or supermarket. I recommend Château Martinat; their 2005 was exquisite with soft tannins, after several years on the rack, and very good value for money. The "house" also produces Château les Donats (Premier Côtes de Blayes ) which I can also highly recommend. For UK wine lovers both are available from Wine Discoveries.
The Côtes de Blayes is to the north of Côtes de Bourg and the wines from this district are also some of my favourites as they are exceptional value for money. The wines of the Côtes de Blayes and the Côtes de Bourg are ones to look out for in the future; the reds are made from predominately Merlot so they mature quickly and the tannins soften earlier than is generally the case in wines from the Médoc . Try these websites http://chateau-martinat.fr/ and http://www.winediscoveries.co.uk/.
It was a long hard drive from the Eurotunnel shuttle at Calais to Royan which is a pleasant seaside resort situated on the North East tip of the Gironde Estuary. We arrived in the early evening just before the sun was setting over the mouth of the Gironde and quickly found a pleasant Hotel, The Foncillon, we booked ourselves a comfortable room for a reasonable price overlooking the estuary. The resort had a fifties flavour as it was re-built after the city centre was raised to the ground, in 1945, by allied bombing which was seeking to remove one of the enclaves still held by the Germans months after D Day. The resort is well worth visiting if only for the five beaches and the view over the estuary and it is a perfect place to start a wine journey through the Médoc.
The Gironde region is of course famous for its cuisine and above all its wine. After a long drive we needed both food a wine and food ourselves a good restaurant which was full of people - "Le Pavé Bleu". We had chosen well; some of the neighbouring restaurants were empty but the food and service here were very good even if the decor was a little tatty. My wife had an Assiette Fruits de Mers and I had oysters which we washed down with a half bottle of bog standard Entre-Deux-Mers white. This wine was bone dry and refreshing and tasty with hints of lemon and grapefruit and went down perfectly with the sea food. Afterwards we washed down Bavette steaks with a half bottle of bog standard Côtes de Bourg red. The steaks were perfectly cooked - rare. The wines complemented the food very well. Overall this was enjoyable start to our stay in France. On some websites Le Pavé Bleu does not get good reviews. The diners complained about the slow service and lack of quality of the food. Our experience belied these opinions. Perhaps things improve late in the season. In fairness, this was the only restaurant in the vicinity which was full and this is usually a good sign that the quality of the food and service is good. On that particular night not everyone was a tourist despite the fact that it was a public holiday; it was armistice day. Sometimes it is better to make your own judgements than to rely on comments on restaurant internet sites.
We still had no idea where we were going to visit next. The primary reason for our trip was not to taste wine but what better way to continue our trip the next day with a run through the Médoc on our way to stay a few nights on the Bassin D'Archachon. We caught the Bac which is a type of roll on and roll off ferry from Royan to Verdon which is situated on the northern tip of the Medoc peninsula. It was a pleasant twenty minute journey with a warm southerly wind. We drove down through the Médoc amidst the fresh smelling pines to Lesparre-Médoc which is a small unassuming town where we stopped for lunch. We found a very small restaurant, Les Baines, in the centre of town which again was nearly full and we were the only tourists. The restaurant was very basic and the decor was nothing to right home about but the service was quick and friendly. The service might have been unpretentious but the food was excellent. My wife ordered an Omelette with Ceps. The mushrooms were delicious. I ordered a Blanquette de Veaux which tasted home made. The quality of the food was great. The waitress recommended a pichet of Vin Rouge de Médoc which had been matured in oak. 50cl of this excellent wine cost 7 Euros and it was full of fruit and tasted of vanilla and cloves but the taste of the wood was not overpowering. The wine had a feel of velvet on the tongue just like some of the wines from Volnay in the Burgundy region. The wine was as good as any other everyday drinking wine that I have tasted; and at 12 Euros a bottle was exceptional value for money. The wine and food in this restaurant was the best value for money during our trip.
Why can ordinary wine from the Médoc be so good? The gravelly soil has got something to do with it. The soil is often filled with gravel to a depth of several metres but this gravel can be mixed with sand, limestone marls and clay. The soil in parts of the Médoc is perfect for viticulture. The climate is almost perfect for viticulture as well. The Médoc peninsula is bounded by the Atlantic to the West and the Gironde to the east so both these bodies of water moderate the climate and keep the it and the weather temperate. The Médoc is also protected from harsh winds from the Atlantic by the pine forests along the coastal strip. Viticulture and wine making is a way of life here and the wines are produced to match the famous cuisine of the area. To understand the quality of the wine you have to understand the way of life of the people in the area. A visit to the Médoc should be on every wine lover's list. Equally a visit to Burgundy and Champagne is important to make comparisons between the maritime climate and the semi-continental climate of Burgundy and Champagne. The climate does not just influence the wine, it influences the people too.
Of course, good and bad wine can be found everywhere and some Médoc wines can be rather coarse and rustic if you are unlucky enough to find a bad one.
From Lesparre we made our way down to Arès to the Hotel Grain de Sable which I recommend highly. Arès is situated on the North East of the Bassin D'Arcachon. The flood plain of the Bassin is full of Oyster farms and I am about to eat my fair share Oysters.
It is only two days into my trip and sunset over the Bassin D'Archon is particularly attractive especially as it is shirt sleeve weather on the 12th of November. We are now feeling relaxed. Time now to sample the local oysters after a long walk along the edge of the Bassin. The restaurant San Marco, just down the road from the Hotel is another unpretentious restaurant with good quality food and service. For main course my wife ordered Lingue or Ling, in English , and I ordered Magret de Canard. The waiter recommend a bottle of Entre-Deux-Mers to wash down the food. Blanc de Lisenne Entre Deux Mers can be obtained on a retail website for just over 5 pounds a bottle. The price for the 2009 at the restaurant was 15 Euro. This is the sort of mark up I would expect. The wine was of perfectly acceptable quality. It went down well with the oysters that we had for a starter. The wine is crisp and dry with a hint of lemons and grapefruit and a perfect accompaniment for oysters, fish and Magret de Canard. You do not see Ling on the menu very much in Britain. I was brought up near the fishing port of Milford Haven in West Wales. There was so much Ling available that it was regarded as a poor man's cod and was looked down upon. It is rather a delicacy in my mind. When I was young it was unheard of to drink wine with fish. Wine was regarded as a rich man's pursuit. How times have changed. But a cup of tea still goes down better with kippers than any sort of white wine.
Entre-Deux-Mers is rather a misnomer for the wine, as the district is situated between two rivers, rather than two seas, to the east and south east of Bordeaux. The two rivers are the Garonne and the Dordogne which form the Gironde river to the north. The grape varieties used to produce the white wine are Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. These grapes thrive well in the alluvial soils between the two rivers. Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle are also used to make the sweet dessert wines in Sauternes and other areas such as Barsac. Sweet wines of course are produced by different viticultural methods. Just like Muscadet from the Loire region and Chablis from Burgundy, Entre-Deux-Mers white goes so well with fish.
The Entre-Deux-Mers district is now becoming renowned for inexpensive but good value reds, so watch out for them as well.
The next day was a Sunday and our morning walk to find some croissants and coffee was unsuccessful. Most places were shut but we found Tanya's tea rooms. When travelling in Europe I really miss a very well made cup of tea but I am not one for bringing supplies with me. There were no croissants on the menu but I was offered tea and scones by the waitress who only seemed to speak French. Scones first thing in the morning, why not they are after all made of flour and butter just like croissants? The tea and scones were just like back home and tasted great. I should have guessed it, Tanya was from Yorkshire. After forty years travelling to France I had finally found a place where they knew how to make tea; a little oasis in a sea of coffee. If you are desperate for a real cup of tea in France then it is worth the trip to Arès.
After a long and muddy walk across the marshes we were ready for supper; but not before we had engaged a friendly, french octogenarian on the hunt for some Ceps. Apparently the Médoc has its own particular variety. The woods around the Bassin area were just full of giant Ceps .
Guess what ? most of the restaurants in the centre of Arès on a Sunday evening in mid -November are shut. Our hotel did not have a restaurant but recommended the Incontournable which was a ten minute walk away just outside of town. I am always a little wary when I see restaurant walls plastered with photographs of celebrities who have never eaten in the place but we had little choice and we were in no mood for driving to the next town as we both felt that we deserved a few glasses of wine after our walk. We ordered oysters of course then Ceps with rice for the wife and Ceps with roast lamb for me. The food was much better than I thought it would be especially the mushrooms. The main courses needed a red wine so I settled for Château Nodoz 2008 Côtes de Bourg red at 19 Euros a bottle. I did not know this wine but as luck would have it I had fallen upon a good one. This wine was a fine example of the district with soft tannins even though the wine was only three years old. It had the typical flavours of Bordeaux red - plums, cherries and tobacco boxes. Even with the restaurant mark up I considered this wine to be excellent value for money. If you are ever in the Côtes de Bourg it will probably pay you to visit the vineyard to obtain a good quality wine at a reasonable price or alternatively try this http://www.chateau-nodoz.com/visite/. The Côtes de Bourg lies to the east of the confluence of the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. The soil consist of sand, clay and gravel overlying a limestone sub soil so it is very good for growing vines. The Côtes de Bourg is more hilly than the Médoc and the vines are less protected from the effects of the westerly winds. The district produces mainly red wine which is very good value for money and these wines are worth searching for at your local winery or supermarket. I recommend Château Martinat; their 2005 was exquisite with soft tannins, after several years on the rack, and very good value for money. The "house" also produces Château les Donats (Premier Côtes de Blayes ) which I can also highly recommend. For UK wine lovers both are available from Wine Discoveries.
The Côtes de Blayes is to the north of Côtes de Bourg and the wines from this district are also some of my favourites as they are exceptional value for money. The wines of the Côtes de Blayes and the Côtes de Bourg are ones to look out for in the future; the reds are made from predominately Merlot so they mature quickly and the tannins soften earlier than is generally the case in wines from the Médoc . Try these websites http://chateau-martinat.fr/ and http://www.winediscoveries.co.uk/.
The next morning Tanya's tea rooms were shut so there was no choice but to have my cup of tea at the Hotel, no offence to the Hotel but the range of teas was simply not the same, so I missed out on the perfect cup yet again. However, the day was sunny and warm yet again so we drove to Cap Ferret to walk along the sand dunes and to photograph Europe's highest sand dune, the 100 metre high Dune de Pilat, from the headland. This dune is truly magnificent and is built up from 60 million cubic metres of sand which overlooks some of the finest coastal scenery in Europe. http://goeurope.about.com/od/bordeauxguide/l/bl-dune-du-pilat-map.htm
A three mile walk across the dunes near Cap-Ferret set us up nicely for lunch at the Mirador Restaurant just up from the beach at the headland. We enjoyed a delicious Assiette Fruits de Mer which included some oysters from the Bassin D'Arcachon and because we were driving a half bottle of Château La Commenderie de Queret Entre- Deux -Mers 2009. This wine was well recommended as it matched the shellfish perfectly. We followed the meal with Ossau Iraty cheese from the Pyrenees; one of my favourites. Once again this restaurant receives many un-favourable reviews from travel websites , mainly from french people who seem to be very fussy about the prices. I can understand complaints about the price but even though the pound has fallen so much against the Euro, we did not find the meal especially expensive. My wife is french and she is just as fussy about food as her compatriots but she thought the sea food was excellent and that is good enough a judgement for me. We have had the good luck to try good restaurants all over the world, usually as a result of travelling for work, but the food here compared favourably in terms of price and quality with most of the ones we have eaten in. I do not think being on holiday spoilt our judgement.
In the evening most of the restaurants were shut but in the town centre we found a pizzeria L'Agora - a good basic pizza was washed down with 50 cl of Medoc red which was a great way to finish off our stay in the Bassin D'Arcachon. I thoroughly recommend a trip to the region to enjoy some of Europe's finest scenery and to drink some of the world's best red wine which is found just on the door step. And best of all you do not have to pay high prices to enjoy good quality wine; a carafe of anonymous wine can be delicious.
The next day we decided to make our way down to Pau using the D roads and stopping off for lunch somewhere along the way. We drove down through the forests of the Landes to find a small town called Roquefort with fortified walls on the river l'Estampon. It is a charming little town but is nothing much special as a tourist destination. We found a small brasserie on the square which was full of local people so you can expect the food to be good. They only had one dish on the menu which was Boudin Noir which is a kind of black pudding made out of pork and pig's blood. Neither my wife nor I could face this after a long drive but we persuaded the patron to make us Bavette steaks. We ordered a carafe of vin rouge which I suspected was Côtes de Gascogne . This wine is quite tannic being made from Tannat, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc but it goes down well with rich food such as Boudin Noir. Roquefort is in the heart of rugby country and is close to the Côtes de Gascogne district and the Armagnac town of Condom. It does not produce cheese. The Cafe de la Poste gave us great food and wine and lots of chat about world cup rugby for a peppercorn price so we were in the heart of the real France.
So now onto our friends in Pau another rugby town and bordering on the appellation for some of the finest sweet wines - Jurançon. The commune borders on Pau and reaches out to the foothills of the Pyrenees. Jurançon late harvested wines are subjected to noble rot and the grapes are picked into late October and early November. The predominant grapes made to produce Jurançon sweet wines are Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng and Courbu ; these grapes are mostly found in South West France. One of my favourites dessert wines is Château Jolys which is rich and sweet with tastes of honey and citrus fruits. It is readily available in the UK. The vines are late harvested by hand. Henry IV of Navarre was reputed to have been anointed with this sweet wine when he was christened at Pau castle. No wonder that he showed religious tolerance and was concerned about the welfare of his subjects.
Our friends greeted us with some small glasses of L'apéritif du Roy - 2009 which does not quite have the same class as Château Jolys but it is perfectly agreeable and we were not on trip to taste or discover the top "crus". http://www.vin-cuisine-eleclerc.com/blancs-moelleux/le-sud-ouest/l-aperitif-du-roy
And so to the Le Palmorium Brasserie in Pau which has an exotic african flavour as did the food. This was not classic french cuisine but more like fusion food. My wife decided upon a Wok de Magret de Canard and the rest of us had Dorade or Sea Bream. We selected a dry white wine which was a blend of whites from the south west region. Lionel Osmin's Villa Beau Rivage 2009 at 14 Euros a bottle. It was basic wine which was fresh and fruity but obviously did not have a flavour typical of a particular district or region. The New World "trick" of blending wines from different regions was probably copied from the French.
The next day we headed off to the mountains and the Col du Portalet. It was a beautiful sunny day and even at 1794 meters the temperature was still 8 degrees at lunch time; not bad for the 16th of November. We drove over the border to eat in Spain. My wife and her friend both drank Sangria, ugh, this is not my favourite drink even on such a sunny day. I stuck to water as it is safety first on the mountain roads and you really need your wits about you on the steep bends. On the way back to Pau we stopped at Laruns to buy some delicious Ossau Iraty cheese straight from the producers and afterwards we stopped at the Cave de Gan to buy some Jurançon Sec and AOC Béarn Rosé to drink with supper. Rosé is not my favourite wine but the AOC Béarn seemed to be reasonable. Jurançon Sec is acceptable as an everyday drinking wine but it has nowhere near the quality of the sweet wine. We had a very agreeable stay in Pau ; the town, Château Jolys and the Cave de Gan are really worth visiting to appreciate some great wine and cuisine and to learn some history about the region and its relationship with the rest of France and Northern Spain.
The next day we drove north through Gascony to Villeneuve sur Lot to visit relations for a couple of days. On the way we stopped off at Auch which is the historic capital of the region. The birthplace of D'Artagnan , Lupiac, is nearby. There is a statue in his honour just below St Mary's cathedral. The Tower of Armagnac indicates that we are in the district of the famous brandy. Armagnac competes admirably with Cognac and it is one of my favourite and occasional after dinner tipples. We ate lunch in the Bartok restaurant it was excellent food even if the service was a little slow. We drank Côtes de Gascogne rouge with Rumpsteak and Côte de Veau aux Pleurotes (oyster mushrooms). The Côtes de Gascogne is more renowned for its Vins de Pays white wines, made from a blend of Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng, Columbard, Sauvignon Blanc and Ugni Blanc grapes. These wines are also distilled to produce Armagnac. White wine makes up more than 80% of the wine production. The red wine of this area has improved from the rustic wine used to wash down the rich local cuisine. Our pichet of vin rouge, was rich and fruity and more akin to its Bordeaux neighbours but at a more reasonable price. The Bartok was good value for money and fitted in well with the intention of our trip which was primarily to visit friends and family rather than splash out on expensive food and wine. The Bartok could not really be faulted.
On the way to Villeneuve sur Lot we drove through the the Côtes du Brulhois district just south of Agen. Côtes du Brulhois is little known outside of France and I have never seen it in a British supermarket or wine merchant. These wines , however, are up and coming and are achieving quality levels approaching those of their neighbours in the Bordeaux region. Once considered to be rustic these wines are becoming finer and I expect them to be promoted from VDQS to AOC or AOP status in the near future. The red wine is produced from Malbec, Tannat, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot grapes. There is also some production of a Côtes du Brulhois Rosé which I have not tasted.
We arrived in Villeneuve sur Lot in the early evening to stay with my sister and brother in laws' hotel. Villeneuve is situated on the Lot river some 22 kms north east of Agen and about 80 kms west of Cahors. It is a fortified town built on 13 th century ramparts. There are many mediaeval period houses within its walls . It is a small and very attractive town. See http://voyage.viamichelin.fr/web/Destination/France-Aquitaine-Villeneuve_sur_Lot. The town is not famous for wine but it is surrounded by the high quality wine producers of Bordeaux to the west, Bergerac to the north, Cahors to the east and even the Côtes du Brulhois to the south. It is renowned, however, for its plums and prunes and its south west cuisine. Truffles are readily obtainable. There is a vineyard at Thezac in the Lot valley which produces a favourite wine of mine - Vin du Tsar Cuvée du Millénaire which is red wine matured in oak barrels. It is very fruity and keeps well and it is reminiscent of the more famous Cahors wines to the east.
We were greeted by a fish stew and a bottle of of Château de Navailles 2008 AOC Jurançon Sec which I think is one of the better dry wines from the region. It shows well balanced acidity to go with a tangy lemon flavour. It was an ideal prize winning accompaniment to fish. The next day we ate Poulet aux Carottes and drank Chateau La Rose Gadis 2009 rouge which is a medium bodied fruity wine but in true Bordeaux style from south of the river Dordogne. And so to the final evening of our trip when we dined at La Galerie restaurant. For once the comments on the restaurant websites agreed with me. The food and service were excellent. I enjoyed a plate of Confit de Canard with my wife and her sister and brother in law. We had sampled a good few wines from Bordeaux and the south west so why not finish the trip with a Dordogne wine. Domaine L'Ancienne Cure Pécharmant red wine is produced by a family run business near Bergerac. Pécharmant is one step up from Begerac AOC and this wine was fruity and silky with hints of spice and oak vanilla. It was medium bodied and you could mistake it for a Saint Emilion. Domaine L'Ancienne Cure also produce Monbazillac the sweet dessert wine of Bergerac. La Galerie was the perfect way to end our trip by enjoying good company, good wine and good food.
Our trip back to the UK was an arduous affair we ate at a motorway cafe and only drank water and coffee. But with every sip of mineral water I could recall each of the high quality but medium priced wines that we had drunk. What a perfect way to spend a holiday.
Tuesday 11 October 2011
Louis Jadot Mâcon Rouge 2009
This wine is produced by one of my favourite négociants or wine merchants - Louis Jadot. It was fruity with a taste of cherries and red fruits but it had a slightly rustic edge. All the same, half a bottle went down quite well with some roast chicken one evening and some roast duck the next. It went better with the duck which was stronger tasting and had more body than the chicken. The slightly rustic flavour of the wine reflects the assumption that the Gamay grape, which is also used to make Beaujolais further to the south in the Burgundy region, does not suit the limestone soils in the Mâconnais area. The Mâcon rouge is made primarily from the Gamay grape rather from the Pinot Noir of its Burgundian cousins further north in the region. This wine was not of the same class as a Beaujolais or a Cote D'Or but it is good value for money when paired with duck or goose.
The Mâconnais is more renowned for its white wine production and I particularly like Poully- Fuissé and St Veran which are both chardonnay based wines more suited to the limestone soils of the area; there are no rustic undertones with the white. They are also excellent value for money. The Mâconnais produces more white wine than the rest of Burgundy put together.
Négociants perform the function of assembling their own label wines from grapes, grape must or even wine from small vineyards who do not have full commercial access to the retail market. It may not be economically viable for a small grower to make his own wine so he sells his product to a négociant who blends wine produced from many parcels of land into an appellation product for the retail market. Some négociants including Louis Jadot own their own vineyards and produce wine of the highest quality. Another favourite of mine is Joseph Faively and his Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru is one of the finest wines I have ever drunk but this is of course not a blended wine! It is also very expensive.
Négociants are not just limited to Burgundy; some of the most renowned names in Champagne make blended champagnes. In fact most of the Champagne drunk in the world is made by a House or Négociant so look for the letters NM on the label or Négociant-Manipulant. House wines are blended to achieve a consistent taste which reflects the label and this is quite a difficult art. One of my favourite House Champagnes is Mercier, which is based in Epernay, it is not too expensive but represents all the good qualities of a bubbly wine which will not empty your pocket on your birthday.
The idea of blending wine using grapes from different parcels of vineyards has spread to the New World. Some of these wines are mass produced but this does not mean that they are of poor quality and some of them are very good value for money.
Whilst négociant blended wines may never achieve the absolute quality of some of the finest estate or domaine produced wines they can be highly competitive. They can also be awful - so buyer beware do your research and taste the product before buying that case on offer.
The Mâconnais is more renowned for its white wine production and I particularly like Poully- Fuissé and St Veran which are both chardonnay based wines more suited to the limestone soils of the area; there are no rustic undertones with the white. They are also excellent value for money. The Mâconnais produces more white wine than the rest of Burgundy put together.
Négociants perform the function of assembling their own label wines from grapes, grape must or even wine from small vineyards who do not have full commercial access to the retail market. It may not be economically viable for a small grower to make his own wine so he sells his product to a négociant who blends wine produced from many parcels of land into an appellation product for the retail market. Some négociants including Louis Jadot own their own vineyards and produce wine of the highest quality. Another favourite of mine is Joseph Faively and his Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru is one of the finest wines I have ever drunk but this is of course not a blended wine! It is also very expensive.
Négociants are not just limited to Burgundy; some of the most renowned names in Champagne make blended champagnes. In fact most of the Champagne drunk in the world is made by a House or Négociant so look for the letters NM on the label or Négociant-Manipulant. House wines are blended to achieve a consistent taste which reflects the label and this is quite a difficult art. One of my favourite House Champagnes is Mercier, which is based in Epernay, it is not too expensive but represents all the good qualities of a bubbly wine which will not empty your pocket on your birthday.
The idea of blending wine using grapes from different parcels of vineyards has spread to the New World. Some of these wines are mass produced but this does not mean that they are of poor quality and some of them are very good value for money.
Whilst négociant blended wines may never achieve the absolute quality of some of the finest estate or domaine produced wines they can be highly competitive. They can also be awful - so buyer beware do your research and taste the product before buying that case on offer.
Thursday 22 September 2011
Hardys Crest 2001
Last week I got a pleasant surprise; a friend who had been moving house gave me a bottle of Hardys Crest 2001 red that he had cellared from early in the previous decade. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz (Syrah) and Merlot. I was expecting it to be way past its best but I was pleasantly surprised. It had aged to a garnet colour with a clean aroma of red fruits and spice on the nose and of course it was ready for drinking. This medium to full bodied wine had well integrated and softening tannins. The wine had a taste of stewed plums and red fruits with a hint of spice and vanilla. It had all the complexity and concentration of a good wine combined with a long length. This wine belies the view that Australian wines should be drunk young rather than allowed to age. I would have expected the young wine to be much more tannic and fruity but this wine has matured gracefully to be quite mellow and subtle.
The wine was raised from selected parcels of vines from vineyards in South Eastern Australia, but it displays many of the attributes of a single estate wine. It is very good value for money. My wife and I drank half a bottle with some roast pork as we guessed that the more subtle taste of a mature wine would go well with a lighter meat. The second half went down quite well with pasta the following evening. This is not an average drop of grog but worth savouring.
Hardys Crest 2009 is now available in the British Supermarkets for about nine pounds a bottle (cheaper if you buy a case) so it is worth keeping a bottle or two for several years before drinking as I am sure that it will improve with age. The 2001 was sealed with a cork the modern bottles are sealed with a screw cap. I wonder if a screw cap makes a difference to the keeping qualities of a wine? Time will tell.
The wine was raised from selected parcels of vines from vineyards in South Eastern Australia, but it displays many of the attributes of a single estate wine. It is very good value for money. My wife and I drank half a bottle with some roast pork as we guessed that the more subtle taste of a mature wine would go well with a lighter meat. The second half went down quite well with pasta the following evening. This is not an average drop of grog but worth savouring.
Hardys Crest 2009 is now available in the British Supermarkets for about nine pounds a bottle (cheaper if you buy a case) so it is worth keeping a bottle or two for several years before drinking as I am sure that it will improve with age. The 2001 was sealed with a cork the modern bottles are sealed with a screw cap. I wonder if a screw cap makes a difference to the keeping qualities of a wine? Time will tell.
Friday 2 September 2011
Vidal Fleury - Ventoux Rouge 2009
I found this wine in Oddbins a couple of weeks ago. Oddbins have now just been saved from liquidation and have a good range of wines. The Ventoux rouge shows all of the flavours of a Rhône red wine. It is concentrated and powerful with hints of spice and red fruits on the nose and on the palate. It is complex wine with a long length on the palate. It is made from the Rhône grapes, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. It is made using the technique of délestage which is a form of maceration that involves pumping the separated and fermenting wine juice over the original pomace. This technique extracts flavour and the oxygenation softens the tannins. Not that this wine is lacking in tannin structure and I am sure that the wine will mature for many years in the bottle. It is fermented with natural yeast. Vidal Fleury is a very old and well established producer.
This wine was a pleasant surprise; my wife and I drank half of the bottle with some fillet of pork before we sealed it with a vacuum pump. I am expecting the tannins to soften a little more within a couple of days. This is a very good regional wine wine and just like the Stonier Pinot Noir from Victoria state as mentioned before. At around 8 pounds a bottle it represents really good value for money. I recommend this highly.
The wines from the Mont Ventoux area are some of my favourites. The mountain is well worth visiting as it dominates the area. Near here is some of the best scenery and unpolluted territory in France. The hot summer sun , the mistral and good wine and food - what more could you ask for?
This wine was a pleasant surprise; my wife and I drank half of the bottle with some fillet of pork before we sealed it with a vacuum pump. I am expecting the tannins to soften a little more within a couple of days. This is a very good regional wine wine and just like the Stonier Pinot Noir from Victoria state as mentioned before. At around 8 pounds a bottle it represents really good value for money. I recommend this highly.
The wines from the Mont Ventoux area are some of my favourites. The mountain is well worth visiting as it dominates the area. Near here is some of the best scenery and unpolluted territory in France. The hot summer sun , the mistral and good wine and food - what more could you ask for?
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Stonier Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir
This wine, from the beautiful Mornington Peninsula to the east of Melbourne in Victoria State,
is everything that a good wine should be . It reflects the regional character of the peninsula which has a cool maritime climate. The Pinot Noir grapes grown here are obviously suited to the climate. The wine is fresh and elegant and is redolent of a good red burgundy. My wife, whose family is from the Burgundy region, loved this wine so this is praise indeed.
It is a shame that the Australians tend to keep the best wines for themselves so you have to search around for a wine of this quality. At ten pounds a bottle it competes favourably with good wines from Europe and it is very good value for money. We drank it with roast fillet of pork and afterwards it went down well with some mild welsh cheeses.
If ever you are in Victoria it is well worth a trip around the vineyards to taste some excellent wines which never find their way to Europe.
Wine: Stonier Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2009
Date: 12 August 2011
Appearance: It has a clear, bright and burgundy colour which is lighter at the meniscus. Produced tears
Nose: It has a clean and pronounced nose with red fruits and cherries. It has some vegetal tones reminiscent of a burgundy. The wine is youthful but should be drunk now.
Palate: It is dry with medium, tannins, body and acidity. It had an exceptionally long length.It is a concentrated, complex and well integrated wine with a taste of vanilla, plums and cherries with a slightly vegetal undertone.
Other observations: It is a fresh, well integrated and well structured wine. Although it is matured in oak barrels it is does not taste overly of oak. The wine is not jammy either but it is rather subtle. Overall, this is a very good quality wine which compares favourably with Burgundy. It is 13% alcohol.
Price: About £10 imported by Bibendum.
is everything that a good wine should be . It reflects the regional character of the peninsula which has a cool maritime climate. The Pinot Noir grapes grown here are obviously suited to the climate. The wine is fresh and elegant and is redolent of a good red burgundy. My wife, whose family is from the Burgundy region, loved this wine so this is praise indeed.
It is a shame that the Australians tend to keep the best wines for themselves so you have to search around for a wine of this quality. At ten pounds a bottle it competes favourably with good wines from Europe and it is very good value for money. We drank it with roast fillet of pork and afterwards it went down well with some mild welsh cheeses.
If ever you are in Victoria it is well worth a trip around the vineyards to taste some excellent wines which never find their way to Europe.
Wine: Stonier Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2009
Date: 12 August 2011
Appearance: It has a clear, bright and burgundy colour which is lighter at the meniscus. Produced tears
Nose: It has a clean and pronounced nose with red fruits and cherries. It has some vegetal tones reminiscent of a burgundy. The wine is youthful but should be drunk now.
Palate: It is dry with medium, tannins, body and acidity. It had an exceptionally long length.It is a concentrated, complex and well integrated wine with a taste of vanilla, plums and cherries with a slightly vegetal undertone.
Other observations: It is a fresh, well integrated and well structured wine. Although it is matured in oak barrels it is does not taste overly of oak. The wine is not jammy either but it is rather subtle. Overall, this is a very good quality wine which compares favourably with Burgundy. It is 13% alcohol.
Price: About £10 imported by Bibendum.
Tuesday 26 July 2011
£75,000 for a bottle of chateau d'Yquem
A bottle of 1811 Chateau d'Yquem was sold to a French wine collector yesterday for £75,000 pounds which set a record for a retail sale of fine white wine. You may think, how could a bottle of wine be worth that much? Well if it is still drinkable after 200 years, and it probably will be, then it will be worth it. Chateau d'Yquem is renowned for its longevity and longevity is one of the true measures of a fine wine. It will be interesting to see if some of the new pretenders on the investment wine market can last that long. I hope the buyer gets around to tasting his wine rather than holding it as a long term investment; wine can only really give pleasure when it is drunk with family or friends.
For people that cannot afford to pay so much for their sweet white wine, I recommend buying a really good bottle of Monbazillac of recent vintage and keeping it in an undisturbed cool dark place for about 8 years to 10 years. This "poor man's Sauternes" will not disappoint you, it is really great wine which improves in the bottle. My recommendation is wine from the Chateau Monbazillac itself. Better still buy half a case. Drink it with foie gras, dessert or blue cheeses.
For people that cannot afford to pay so much for their sweet white wine, I recommend buying a really good bottle of Monbazillac of recent vintage and keeping it in an undisturbed cool dark place for about 8 years to 10 years. This "poor man's Sauternes" will not disappoint you, it is really great wine which improves in the bottle. My recommendation is wine from the Chateau Monbazillac itself. Better still buy half a case. Drink it with foie gras, dessert or blue cheeses.
2010 Mollydooker Velvet Glove Shiraz
Recently a 462 case shipment of 2010 Mollydooker Velvet Glove Shiraz was dropped in by a faulty forklift truck leaving 461 cases smashed. That is 5532 bottles and each one was expected to retail at 200 USD a bottle. The loss is calculated to be over 1 million USD. The fact is most bottles of wine do not cost more than 16 USD each to produce, so maybe the losses were rather exaggerated. It is a good story however. I have never tasted Mollydooker Shiraz but is is probably a very good wine so it is a shame it was wasted.
You may ask why this wine is so expensive, well wines from this producer have been scored 99 out of 100 by a famous wine commentator. Fame, marketing and rarity value does the rest. This wine is produced in very small quantities. I do not know whether this wine is that much better than any of the other excellent wines produced in the Mclaren Vale. But I do know this, I regularly visit the Burgundy area of France and have tasted bottles of red which are of better quality, in my opinion, at 25 USD than wines from the region costing a lot, lot more. But the difference is not that great; one would expect a wine costing 150 bucks plus to be of high quality.
Many "boutique style wines" are now being used as investment instruments which causes their price to sky rocket further. My advice would be to taste before you buy especially if you are considering paying a very high price. The bottle of wine you are getting may disappoint you in comparison to the lower priced competitors. Even if you are investing for money only and are not really interested in the taste of wine, I still advise tasting first. There is nothing like the feel of a greenback to let you know what your investment is really worth.
You may ask why this wine is so expensive, well wines from this producer have been scored 99 out of 100 by a famous wine commentator. Fame, marketing and rarity value does the rest. This wine is produced in very small quantities. I do not know whether this wine is that much better than any of the other excellent wines produced in the Mclaren Vale. But I do know this, I regularly visit the Burgundy area of France and have tasted bottles of red which are of better quality, in my opinion, at 25 USD than wines from the region costing a lot, lot more. But the difference is not that great; one would expect a wine costing 150 bucks plus to be of high quality.
Many "boutique style wines" are now being used as investment instruments which causes their price to sky rocket further. My advice would be to taste before you buy especially if you are considering paying a very high price. The bottle of wine you are getting may disappoint you in comparison to the lower priced competitors. Even if you are investing for money only and are not really interested in the taste of wine, I still advise tasting first. There is nothing like the feel of a greenback to let you know what your investment is really worth.
Wednesday 22 June 2011
"Older Drinkers" and "Late on-set Reactors"
Now the Royal Society of Psychiatrists have got into the act by making drink recommendations. They are proposing that the government issue new recommendations for alcohol consumption for the over 65's. Men and women over sixty five should drink no more than 1.5 units of alcohol per day or no more than 11 per week. This is absurd to the point of being laughable. Where is the evidence upon which they base their assertions? They cannot even get their arithmetic right; which regime do you want to be on the 11 units a week one or the 1.5 units a day?
If you are a man of 64 years and 364 days, your recommendation is 21 units per week and if you are a woman it is 14 units per week. But all of a sudden and one day older you have become a geriatric "late on-set reactor" incapable of taking your alcohol. Before the age of 65 women are advised to drink less alcohol than men but at the magical age of 65 both sexes should drink the same amount. This advice is obviously bunkum and counterproductive; who, now, can take any advice seriously about how much alcohol they should consume.
The new recommendations mean that any man or woman over 65 who drinks two small glasses of wine or a pint of beer or a double scotch a day will be considered a problem drinker, despite their health. This will create a problem rather than provide a solution. There are problem drinkers in all age groups and little is being done to solve their predicament other than lowering the recommendations for "sensible" drinking. Identifying the real problem drinkers in the population is already like "finding a needle" in a haystack". What is the point of making the haystack bigger?
It has been obvious to everyone for centuries that if you drink too much you will damage your health. Most people who have reached the age of 65 are quite capable of deciding for themselves how much they should drink without being patronised by anyone, including members of the Royal Society of Psychiatrists. They are also sensible enough not to drink when they are taking certain types of drugs. They do not appreciate being accused of being substance abusers.
The following statements released by Age UK sums up attitudes nicely:
"It is very worrying that growing numbers of people in later life are drinking higher levels of alcohol, which is likely to lead to a rise in alcohol-related health problems.
"Age UK fully supports moves to encourage GPs to do more to identify people who are drinking too much and the importance of raising awareness among older people about safe drinking levels." This is PR waffle of the worst kind which will do nothing to solve the problems that some over 65's have with alcohol or any other aspect of their life.
If you are a man of 64 years and 364 days, your recommendation is 21 units per week and if you are a woman it is 14 units per week. But all of a sudden and one day older you have become a geriatric "late on-set reactor" incapable of taking your alcohol. Before the age of 65 women are advised to drink less alcohol than men but at the magical age of 65 both sexes should drink the same amount. This advice is obviously bunkum and counterproductive; who, now, can take any advice seriously about how much alcohol they should consume.
The new recommendations mean that any man or woman over 65 who drinks two small glasses of wine or a pint of beer or a double scotch a day will be considered a problem drinker, despite their health. This will create a problem rather than provide a solution. There are problem drinkers in all age groups and little is being done to solve their predicament other than lowering the recommendations for "sensible" drinking. Identifying the real problem drinkers in the population is already like "finding a needle" in a haystack". What is the point of making the haystack bigger?
It has been obvious to everyone for centuries that if you drink too much you will damage your health. Most people who have reached the age of 65 are quite capable of deciding for themselves how much they should drink without being patronised by anyone, including members of the Royal Society of Psychiatrists. They are also sensible enough not to drink when they are taking certain types of drugs. They do not appreciate being accused of being substance abusers.
The following statements released by Age UK sums up attitudes nicely:
"It is very worrying that growing numbers of people in later life are drinking higher levels of alcohol, which is likely to lead to a rise in alcohol-related health problems.
"Age UK fully supports moves to encourage GPs to do more to identify people who are drinking too much and the importance of raising awareness among older people about safe drinking levels." This is PR waffle of the worst kind which will do nothing to solve the problems that some over 65's have with alcohol or any other aspect of their life.
Wednesday 1 June 2011
Natural Wine
Natural Wine? Get ready for a new trend and a new fashion - Natural Wine. Eventually, there was bound to be a reaction to the way many modern wines are being produced. The increasingly industrialised production of wine has lead to boring wines which all taste the same within their varietal band and brand. It is increasingly difficult to tell the difference between a commercialised "Merlot", "Cabernet Sauvignon" or "Chardonnay" no matter which country it comes from. What better way to improve the taste of wine than to return to more "natural" agriculture and wine making techniques. I am all in favour of drinking wine from smaller wine producers who intervene as little as possible to make wines which reflect the region in which they are produced; wines which have an individual character. I am prepared to pay a premium for such wine.
Wine makers fall into three broad and ill defined categories:
Traditional wine makers: who grow their grapes and maintain them without using organic or bio-dynamic techniques. They work to improve the yield of the grapes by trellising the vines, weeding them and using pesticides. Where economical they use machinery to tend the grapes and harvest them. Some farmers sell their grapes to a co-operative which produces the wine, whilst others produce the wines themselves. Whoever produces the wine, some or all of the interventions mentioned in the winemaker paragraphs below will be used. Good winemakers in the traditional mould will seek to minimise the intervention both in the vineyard and the winery. If a grower does not use organic or bio-dynamic techniques, it does not mean that he will produce inferior quality grapes or produce inferior quality wine. Traditional methods often match the grape variety to the soil type and the local climate and appellation rules often dictate which grapes can be used in which region. Some traditional winemakers are committed to "la lutte raisonée" or reasonable struggle which means that the vine grower will only intervene with a pesticide or herbicide when it is absolutely necessary for economic reasons. Most of the the world's finest tasting and high quality wines are made by traditional methods of agriculture and wine making.
Natural wine makers: It is difficult to nail down what is a natural wine producer. They will all, however, use "organic" or "bio-dynamic" growing techniques.
Organic farmers endeavour to maintain a farm in ecological balance with its surroundings and will not try to "import fertility" by usage of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.They allow "weeds" to grow in the vineyard to encourage natural predators and to provide natural fertilisers. Some farmers do not use tractors to plough their land as they feel that it damages the soil. But is using a horse drawn plough any more natural? Nature if left to itself has no use for a plough. Most organic producers will grow their products under the auspices of an approved scheme. I am all in favour of organic farming not because the products are intrinsically better but because it is less damaging to the environment in general.
All products of organic agriculture will be of bad quality if they have been damaged by "pests" disease or bad weather, so wine that is made from poor quality grapes will not produce good wine. The natural wine maker is limited , however, as to what he can do to improve the quality of the grape must. It may not be possible for him to produce a wine in a bad year. The economics of wine production lean towards the methods of the traditional wine maker.
Bio-dynamic farming of grapes involves the use of preparations specified by Rudolf Steiner an early twentieth century philosopher and scientist. One of the preparations involves the use of burying nettle leaves and digging them up later and using them as compost. Another preparation involves burying cow dung over winter enclosed in a cow horn - vegans take note. These types of preparation are controversial to say the least.
There is very little scientific evidence that organic or bio-dynamically produced grapes are of substantially better quality than traditionally produced grapes. But lower yields tend to indicate better quality grapes. The attention to detail of the farmer and the additional care of the vineyard might also improve the quality of the grapes. But what is an organic or bio-dynamic grower to do if his crop is spoilt by by a fungal infestation which is not controllable by natural techniques. I leave that for you to work out yourself. The use of sulphur is permitted in the vineyard to control pests.
Some natural wine producers are opposed to the use of any additives in the wine but some use sulphur di-oxide compounds to help sterilise equipment and prevent the oxidation of the grape must or wine. Natural wine producers do not approve of micro-oxygenation of wine or its filtration. Cultured yeasts are also prohibited. Some do not even fine the their wines or where fining is necessary they only use egg albumen. Some top wine producers are also turning to organic or bio-dynamic methods to produce their wines.
Industrial or Commercialised wine makers: These producers will use a whole panoply of technological and chemical techniques to improve the yield in the vineyard and rectify the wine with chemical additives and techniques such as filtration and micro-oxygenation and of course cultured yeast. The wine produced may not necessarily be harmful or even taste bad but it will taste as if it has been homogenised. How often have you drank a "Merlot" which could come from any country or continent for that matter? Such wine will not stimulate the taste buds. This sort of wine is OK for a barbecue or a party where you do not really care what you are going to drink. In general these wines are also cheaper. Industrial wine production can also ensure that a wine is made even in a bad or terrible year. Additives to and the manipulation of the wine making process can guarantee that a producer produces the same quality and tasting wine, year after year, no matter what is happening to the soil or the weather.
Issues
Now let us examine the issues surrounding the production of natural wine. Is "natural wine" superior to products which do not employ such stringent techniques? How do we define naatural wine? What do we mean by natural anyway? One could argue that a natural process is one where there is no intervention by mankind. If that is so then no product of human agriculture could be termed as natural. If one argues, the other way, that Human Beings are as much a part of nature as any other creature or plant, then humans and all their activities are natural; including the tools and techniques to improve food and beverage production. So where does that place wine production? It is on a sliding scale from where fermentation of wild grapes accidentally produces wine to where a completely industrialised process produces an homogenised varietal branded wine. We should be careful of a lot of the hype surrounding natural wine, it may not be as natural as you think but really just a name.
Wine was first discovered or invented about 8,000 years ago either in Georgia or the Near East, according to the archaeological evidence, but no-one knows its origin for certain. No doubt it was discovered when a farmer left some wild crushed grapes in vat or pot to ferment by accident. The original product would not have lasted long as the primitive wine would have quickly turned to vinegar when exposed to the air and contaminating bacteria. Ever since its first discovery wine producers have been intervening in the vineyard and the winery to improve the production of grapes or the wine making process. They have tried to both improve the quality of wine and its storage to protect it from the ravages of oxygen and heat. Up until the nineteenth century most improvements would have been made on the basis of trial and error.
The primary grape selected for wine production in Europe was the vitis vinifera species from which numerous varieties of black and white grapes were selected according to their suitability to produce red, white and rose wines. Such varieties, of vitis vinifera grapes, include Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and all of the other grapes used for commercial production of wine.
Trial and error was also used to discover and invent fortified wine styles such as Sherry and Port.
The invention of the bottle was also a major step to improve the keeping qualities and transport of wine to export markets.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Louis Pasteur postulated his germ theories and discovered the cause of fermentation. Wine production was subjected to the rigours of scientific examination. Scientific methods started to be introduced in both the vineyard and the winery. The germ theory lead to the discovery that micro-organisms other than "brewer's yeast" were responsible for the spoilage of wines and beers and this lead to the usage of antiseptics such as sulphur di-oxide to preserve wine and other foods and beverages. Since then science and technology have made increasing contributions to the development of the wine industry.
Science possibly became the saviour of the wine industry during the latter part of the nineteenth century, when an outbreak of the phylloxera louse spread from the US throughout the world and completely threatened wine production from the vitis vinifera grapes. Vitis vinifera has virtually no resistance to the louse. The solution was to graft vitis vinifera shoots onto the root stocks of different species of vines from America which were resistant to the vine louse. This means that most of the world's vineyards are planted with vines that are an artificial creation. Where is the nature in that? At the time the alternative solution would have been to use insecticides. Some vineyards in the northern parts of Burgundy grow vines on sandy soils which are not suitable for the growth of the Phylloxera louse; they are therefore planted with purely original root stocks. I have tasted Cremant de Bourgogne produced in this way, from Chardonnay grapes, but I could not tell that it was markedly different from wine produced from grafted root stocks. Vineyards suitable for growing un-grafted grapes can also be found in South Australia, Chile and Portugal and there is debate amongst wine experts whether there is a marked difference in the quality and taste of the wine. A minority of vineyards, including organic and bio-dynamic ones, grow grapes which are uniquely based on un-grafted vitis vinifera scions. Most other vineyards would not remain commercially viable without the human intervention of grafting techniques.
Science and Technology have made further inroads into viticultural practises and techniques including:
Site surveys to find the best locations to plant new vineyards
Trellising techniques to improve yield and vineyard mechanisation
Technology to improve drainage and irrigation where necessary or allowable
Mechanisation of the harvest
Systemic Pesticides.
There have been equally important uses of science and technology in area of vinification including:
Cultured yeasts which are used to standardise the production of wine
The use of sulphur compounds to help prevent the oxidation of the wine
The use of sulphur compounds to sterilise the wine
Flushing the wine with nitrogen or carbon di-oxide to help prevent oxidation of the wine
Adjustments to the acidity of the wine
Adjustments to the sugar content of the wine
Micro-filtration of the wine to sterilise and clear it
Reverse osmosis to concentrate the grape must
Micro-oxygenation to mimic the effects of maturing the wine in wooden barrels
Use of fining agents to clarify the wine.
The ever increasing use of technology is a very controversial subject, especially in the winery where the use of additives and technology such as reverse osmosis can make up for bad quality grapes. One thing is certain, it has lead to the standardisation of wine which all tastes the same depending on the variety of grape used; the wine is clean, clear but sterile. Many many consumers enjoy these wines and so do I sometimes. But for something special, please choose wines which have not been tampered with to the same degree so that they show more character. They are worth the premium that has to be paid. Superior quality grapes produce superior quality wines without the excessive need for the type of adjustments listed above.
But what about some of the claims which are made for "natural wines" which are made by producers who forego even some of the techniques used by classic wine producers.
WINE MAKING
Wine making has come a long way during the last century as technology has had an increasing influence in the commercialisation of wine production.
Sulphur di-oxide or derived salts such as E224 potassium meta bisulphite are used by virtually all winemakers to sterilise the wine to prevent spoilage and to reduce the risk of the wine oxidising during the wine making process or after bottling. Some people are allergic to sulphur di-oxide so they cannot drink most wine. Excessive sulphur di-oxide can denature the colour of red wine and suppress the fruit character of the wine. Sulphur di-oxide is harmless to most people at the quantities allowed unless you have an allergy to it. It should also be noted that sulphites are a natural by product of fermentation by yeast. What difference does it make if man adds the bisulphite or yeast adds it? They are both products of nature. All good winemakers limit the quantity of sulphur di-oxide to a level that does not affect the quality or taste of the wine. Without this preservative some most wine will go off quickly.
Albumen or soluble protein which is usually obtained from egg whites or refined derivatives thereof. The EU has banned the use of albumen derived from ox blood because of the BSE scare. It is used to fine both red and white wines. Eggs whites mixed with a little wine can simply be added to the barrel. Vegans and some vegetarians would probably not want to drink wine fined with albumen but there is no list of ingredients on the bottle and it is difficult to find out whether the wine has been fined with an animal protein. Unless it is specifically stated on the bottle, it is probably better to assume that the wine is not "vegan compliant" .
Casein: this is derived from milk and is sometimes used to to remove colour taints from white wine.
Gelatine: this is made by boiling and treating animal skins and bones and it clarifies the wine by a simlar action to albumen. No doubt most vegans would be horrified if they knew that this was added to their wine. Gelatine is sometimes mixed with silica sol , which is a mineral to clarify white wine. Gelatine can also be added in combination with certain types of tannin to improve the efficacy of the clarification process.
Bentonite: this is a silica based clay used to remove certain types of protein. If it is over-used it can remove some of flavour components of a wine. Bentonite is also a used for cat's litter. Whatever happened to that cat's pee aroma in the white wine?
Isinglass: this is gelatine which has been obtained from the swim bladders of fish. It is used to fine white wines.
PVPP Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone: this is a water soluble synthetic substance invented in the 20th century and used for the fining of white wines. Why anyone should want to use this substance I do not know.
In conclusion, fining serves a useful purpose to help the effective clarification of wine but of course it should be used in moderation otherwise the flavour of the wine could be spoilt. A good quality wine can be stabilised and cleared without fining but of course this may not suit commercial convenience.
Filtration: Some winemakers argue that filtration ruins wine and should not be used at all. Others maintain that filtration, if correctly applied, has no adverse affect on the wine. A wine that has been allowed to stand in the cask before bottling will clear itself, given enough time, and any remaining solid matter will throw a slight and harmless deposit in the the bottle. Modern industrial processes demand filtration using depth and membrane filters to remove all solids before bottling. Some types of membrane can remove all micro-organisms from the wine rendering it sterile. It is debateable whether filtration is an "unnatural" process or not. I prefer to drink wines which either have no or minimal filtration. Good wine will stabilise and clear itself if left in the barrel for long enough. A well fermented wine will remove all nutrients which will prevent further fermentation in the bottle, this and the alcohol will further help to sterilise the wine. Good wine should not need to be filtered but filtration suits commercial convenience.
OTHER PROCESSES
Some wine makers do not confine themselves to additives, filtration and fining. As if that were not enough, there are some even more dubious processes.
Chaptalisation: What is wrong with adding sugar to the grape must before fermentation? Sugar, in the form of glucose and fructose, is after all a natural substance which occurs naturally in the grape. But, if the grape must has to be chaptalised by adding sugar (sucrose) to increase the alcohol level then the original quality of the grapes must have been found wanting. Grapes grown in cold conditions often do not ripen well enough to produce enough of their own sugars. They are poor quality grapes. So what is the wine maker to do destroy his crop? The addition of sugar is closely regulated; it is banned in Italy and Spain and is only allowed in the cooler regions of France. Some winemakers are tempted to bend the rules when there is a poor harvest. Quality wines should not be chaptalised as it dilutes the flavour of the wine.
Rectified Concentrated Grape Must, can also be used to add sugar (glucose and fructose) content to the pre-fermentation product. This practice is also tightly controlled but a good quality wine cannot possibly be made in this way. There really is no substitute for good qaulity grapes. One up, too, for the natural wine maker.
Must Concentration: This must be one of the most dubious practices of all. It is used when there is a poor harvest to artificially build up the concentration of sugars in the grape must. It is only carried out under strictly controlled conditions. The chances are you will end up with an industrialised tasting bulk wine. Perhaps it would be better not to produce wine but economics dictate that something must be done to improve a poor harvest.
FERMENTATION
You would think that that there would be no controversy about yeast, as natural yeast has been just as important as grapes ever since wine was first discovered or produced. The primary species for making wine is saccharomyces cerevisiae. This occurs naturally in the environment in general and on grape skins in particular. But, of course, the application of science has lead to the artificial selection of cultured yeasts to meet a particular taste or set of properties to improve the fermentation process and the economic production of wine. Needless to say, when cultured yeasts are used it has encouraged the standarisation of winemaking and the standardisation of taste. If you want an individual tasting wine it is better to leave it to nature even if this means a a more expensive means of production.
Wine makers fall into three broad and ill defined categories:
Traditional wine makers: who grow their grapes and maintain them without using organic or bio-dynamic techniques. They work to improve the yield of the grapes by trellising the vines, weeding them and using pesticides. Where economical they use machinery to tend the grapes and harvest them. Some farmers sell their grapes to a co-operative which produces the wine, whilst others produce the wines themselves. Whoever produces the wine, some or all of the interventions mentioned in the winemaker paragraphs below will be used. Good winemakers in the traditional mould will seek to minimise the intervention both in the vineyard and the winery. If a grower does not use organic or bio-dynamic techniques, it does not mean that he will produce inferior quality grapes or produce inferior quality wine. Traditional methods often match the grape variety to the soil type and the local climate and appellation rules often dictate which grapes can be used in which region. Some traditional winemakers are committed to "la lutte raisonée" or reasonable struggle which means that the vine grower will only intervene with a pesticide or herbicide when it is absolutely necessary for economic reasons. Most of the the world's finest tasting and high quality wines are made by traditional methods of agriculture and wine making.
Natural wine makers: It is difficult to nail down what is a natural wine producer. They will all, however, use "organic" or "bio-dynamic" growing techniques.
Organic farmers endeavour to maintain a farm in ecological balance with its surroundings and will not try to "import fertility" by usage of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.They allow "weeds" to grow in the vineyard to encourage natural predators and to provide natural fertilisers. Some farmers do not use tractors to plough their land as they feel that it damages the soil. But is using a horse drawn plough any more natural? Nature if left to itself has no use for a plough. Most organic producers will grow their products under the auspices of an approved scheme. I am all in favour of organic farming not because the products are intrinsically better but because it is less damaging to the environment in general.
All products of organic agriculture will be of bad quality if they have been damaged by "pests" disease or bad weather, so wine that is made from poor quality grapes will not produce good wine. The natural wine maker is limited , however, as to what he can do to improve the quality of the grape must. It may not be possible for him to produce a wine in a bad year. The economics of wine production lean towards the methods of the traditional wine maker.
Bio-dynamic farming of grapes involves the use of preparations specified by Rudolf Steiner an early twentieth century philosopher and scientist. One of the preparations involves the use of burying nettle leaves and digging them up later and using them as compost. Another preparation involves burying cow dung over winter enclosed in a cow horn - vegans take note. These types of preparation are controversial to say the least.
There is very little scientific evidence that organic or bio-dynamically produced grapes are of substantially better quality than traditionally produced grapes. But lower yields tend to indicate better quality grapes. The attention to detail of the farmer and the additional care of the vineyard might also improve the quality of the grapes. But what is an organic or bio-dynamic grower to do if his crop is spoilt by by a fungal infestation which is not controllable by natural techniques. I leave that for you to work out yourself. The use of sulphur is permitted in the vineyard to control pests.
Some natural wine producers are opposed to the use of any additives in the wine but some use sulphur di-oxide compounds to help sterilise equipment and prevent the oxidation of the grape must or wine. Natural wine producers do not approve of micro-oxygenation of wine or its filtration. Cultured yeasts are also prohibited. Some do not even fine the their wines or where fining is necessary they only use egg albumen. Some top wine producers are also turning to organic or bio-dynamic methods to produce their wines.
Industrial or Commercialised wine makers: These producers will use a whole panoply of technological and chemical techniques to improve the yield in the vineyard and rectify the wine with chemical additives and techniques such as filtration and micro-oxygenation and of course cultured yeast. The wine produced may not necessarily be harmful or even taste bad but it will taste as if it has been homogenised. How often have you drank a "Merlot" which could come from any country or continent for that matter? Such wine will not stimulate the taste buds. This sort of wine is OK for a barbecue or a party where you do not really care what you are going to drink. In general these wines are also cheaper. Industrial wine production can also ensure that a wine is made even in a bad or terrible year. Additives to and the manipulation of the wine making process can guarantee that a producer produces the same quality and tasting wine, year after year, no matter what is happening to the soil or the weather.
Issues
Now let us examine the issues surrounding the production of natural wine. Is "natural wine" superior to products which do not employ such stringent techniques? How do we define naatural wine? What do we mean by natural anyway? One could argue that a natural process is one where there is no intervention by mankind. If that is so then no product of human agriculture could be termed as natural. If one argues, the other way, that Human Beings are as much a part of nature as any other creature or plant, then humans and all their activities are natural; including the tools and techniques to improve food and beverage production. So where does that place wine production? It is on a sliding scale from where fermentation of wild grapes accidentally produces wine to where a completely industrialised process produces an homogenised varietal branded wine. We should be careful of a lot of the hype surrounding natural wine, it may not be as natural as you think but really just a name.
Wine was first discovered or invented about 8,000 years ago either in Georgia or the Near East, according to the archaeological evidence, but no-one knows its origin for certain. No doubt it was discovered when a farmer left some wild crushed grapes in vat or pot to ferment by accident. The original product would not have lasted long as the primitive wine would have quickly turned to vinegar when exposed to the air and contaminating bacteria. Ever since its first discovery wine producers have been intervening in the vineyard and the winery to improve the production of grapes or the wine making process. They have tried to both improve the quality of wine and its storage to protect it from the ravages of oxygen and heat. Up until the nineteenth century most improvements would have been made on the basis of trial and error.
The primary grape selected for wine production in Europe was the vitis vinifera species from which numerous varieties of black and white grapes were selected according to their suitability to produce red, white and rose wines. Such varieties, of vitis vinifera grapes, include Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and all of the other grapes used for commercial production of wine.
Trial and error was also used to discover and invent fortified wine styles such as Sherry and Port.
The invention of the bottle was also a major step to improve the keeping qualities and transport of wine to export markets.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Louis Pasteur postulated his germ theories and discovered the cause of fermentation. Wine production was subjected to the rigours of scientific examination. Scientific methods started to be introduced in both the vineyard and the winery. The germ theory lead to the discovery that micro-organisms other than "brewer's yeast" were responsible for the spoilage of wines and beers and this lead to the usage of antiseptics such as sulphur di-oxide to preserve wine and other foods and beverages. Since then science and technology have made increasing contributions to the development of the wine industry.
Science possibly became the saviour of the wine industry during the latter part of the nineteenth century, when an outbreak of the phylloxera louse spread from the US throughout the world and completely threatened wine production from the vitis vinifera grapes. Vitis vinifera has virtually no resistance to the louse. The solution was to graft vitis vinifera shoots onto the root stocks of different species of vines from America which were resistant to the vine louse. This means that most of the world's vineyards are planted with vines that are an artificial creation. Where is the nature in that? At the time the alternative solution would have been to use insecticides. Some vineyards in the northern parts of Burgundy grow vines on sandy soils which are not suitable for the growth of the Phylloxera louse; they are therefore planted with purely original root stocks. I have tasted Cremant de Bourgogne produced in this way, from Chardonnay grapes, but I could not tell that it was markedly different from wine produced from grafted root stocks. Vineyards suitable for growing un-grafted grapes can also be found in South Australia, Chile and Portugal and there is debate amongst wine experts whether there is a marked difference in the quality and taste of the wine. A minority of vineyards, including organic and bio-dynamic ones, grow grapes which are uniquely based on un-grafted vitis vinifera scions. Most other vineyards would not remain commercially viable without the human intervention of grafting techniques.
Science and Technology have made further inroads into viticultural practises and techniques including:
Site surveys to find the best locations to plant new vineyards
Trellising techniques to improve yield and vineyard mechanisation
Technology to improve drainage and irrigation where necessary or allowable
Mechanisation of the harvest
Systemic Pesticides.
There have been equally important uses of science and technology in area of vinification including:
Cultured yeasts which are used to standardise the production of wine
The use of sulphur compounds to help prevent the oxidation of the wine
The use of sulphur compounds to sterilise the wine
Flushing the wine with nitrogen or carbon di-oxide to help prevent oxidation of the wine
Adjustments to the acidity of the wine
Adjustments to the sugar content of the wine
Micro-filtration of the wine to sterilise and clear it
Reverse osmosis to concentrate the grape must
Micro-oxygenation to mimic the effects of maturing the wine in wooden barrels
Use of fining agents to clarify the wine.
The ever increasing use of technology is a very controversial subject, especially in the winery where the use of additives and technology such as reverse osmosis can make up for bad quality grapes. One thing is certain, it has lead to the standardisation of wine which all tastes the same depending on the variety of grape used; the wine is clean, clear but sterile. Many many consumers enjoy these wines and so do I sometimes. But for something special, please choose wines which have not been tampered with to the same degree so that they show more character. They are worth the premium that has to be paid. Superior quality grapes produce superior quality wines without the excessive need for the type of adjustments listed above.
But what about some of the claims which are made for "natural wines" which are made by producers who forego even some of the techniques used by classic wine producers.
WINE MAKING
Wine making has come a long way during the last century as technology has had an increasing influence in the commercialisation of wine production.
ADDITIVES:
Sulphur di-oxide or derived salts such as E224 potassium meta bisulphite are used by virtually all winemakers to sterilise the wine to prevent spoilage and to reduce the risk of the wine oxidising during the wine making process or after bottling. Some people are allergic to sulphur di-oxide so they cannot drink most wine. Excessive sulphur di-oxide can denature the colour of red wine and suppress the fruit character of the wine. Sulphur di-oxide is harmless to most people at the quantities allowed unless you have an allergy to it. It should also be noted that sulphites are a natural by product of fermentation by yeast. What difference does it make if man adds the bisulphite or yeast adds it? They are both products of nature. All good winemakers limit the quantity of sulphur di-oxide to a level that does not affect the quality or taste of the wine. Without this preservative some most wine will go off quickly.
It should be possible to make a stable wine without the usage of sulphur di-oxide compounds if the wine is naturally allowed to complete fermentation and stabilise itself. The wine must then be bottled in aseptic conditions to ensure its preservation. Some natural winemakers can achieve this but it should be noted than organic and bio-dynamic approval bodies allow for the use of sulphur di-oxide compounds. It is up to you to decide why.
Ascorbic Acid or E300 : this is also used as a preservative and is another name for vitamin C. Vitamin C is supposed to be good for you. Ascorbic acid helps to keep the wine fresh but of course its use should be limited as some of the by-products of the oxidation of ascorbic acid can discolour the wine.
Copper Sulphate or E519: This is used to remove the taint of hydrogen sulphide in a wine which has not been made properly. So what is it doing there? Modern anaerobic wine making techniques stop any oxygen entering the wine making chain to prevent the reduction of sulphur di-oxide to make hydrogen sulphide. The copper sulphate is added to "cleanse" the wine. Some of the by-products of fermentation itself also produce hydrogen sulphide. Hydrogen sulphide smells of rotten eggs. Before the usage of stainless steel much of the pipework and pumps would have been made of bronze; the copper content of which would have been sufficient to remove small amounts of hydrogen sulphide. Not everything that is modern is better. Hydrogen sulphide is very poisonous; it is not a good substance to have in your wine.
Acacia Gum E414: This is used to fine or clear the wine. It is a naturally occurring substance. It can also alter the feel of the wine in the mouth.
Potassium Ferrocyanide E536: Cyanide, what is that doing in my wine? It shouldn't be there at all but, if it is absolutely necessary, its use should be controlled by a qualified chemist. Potassium ferrocyanide is used to control excessive levels of iron and copper in the wine. Excessive copper can be poisonous. Iron and copper compounds can cause wine to have a haze. The ferrocyanide removes this. Addition of potassium ferrocyanide is illegal in many countries for good reason. Prevention is better than cure so this is one up for natural wine makers!
Citric Acid or E330: Citric acid is a naturally occurring substance which to all intents is harmless. It is used as an alternative to potassium ferrocyanide to remove excess iron. Better than adding potassium ferrocyanide but once again prevention is better than cure. Citric acid is present in grapes at very low level. There should be no real need to add it to the wine making process.It is harmless but it will increase the acidity of the wine.
Sorbic Acid or Potassium Sorbate E200 and E202 respectively: Sorbic acid is used as a preservative to prevent yeast fermenting in the bottle. Its efficacy depends upon the alcoholic strength of the wine; more is need for wines which have a low alcohol level. Some people can taste the Ascorbic acid at levels lower than the EU permits. So what is it doing there? The use of Ascorbic acid can be obviated by good hygiene and effective fermentation. This is also one up for the natural winemakers.
Tartaric Acid E334: Some grapes grown in a hot climates such as Southern Europe , California and South Australia lack acidity. What better way to correct this "fault" than to add tartaric acid to the grape must before fermentation? I see no way that natural wine makers and growers can correct this fault other than breeding grapes that can produce more acid in the berry. But would this be natural? As the planet hots up (unnaturally of course) we can expect to see more and more wineries adding tartaric acid to the grape must. There really is no substitute for high quality grapes which have the right balance of acids and sugars. Perhaps some of the existing vineyard locations are now simply too hot for grapes and all winemakers including natural ones should pack up and move production elsewhere! I can even envisage some growers using huge air conditioned plastic cloches rather than shift location.
Calcium Carbonate E170 and Potassium Bi-carbonate E501: These are used to de-acidify the grape must. Grapes grown in cooler climates, where there is less sunshine, may produce too much acidity even in ripe grape berries. And what is the best solution? Why de-acidify the grape must before fermentation of course. But this process is quite difficult as the acid must really be neutralised rather than removed. Usually the excess acidity is caused by tartaric and malic acids. The addition of calcium carbonate potassium bi-carbonate mostly removes the tartaric acid which crystallises out as either calcium tartrate or potassium bi-tartrate. But these harmless crystals are un-attractive to most wine consumers so they are removed. Calcium tartrate is more difficult to remove from the wine. Excess malic acid is more difficult to remove so "double salt de-acidification" is used: the mind boggles at this one. Prevention is better than cure perhaps it is better not to make wine from grapes that have excess acidity at all. What chance is there therefore for the natural wine maker in, say, England?
In conclusion, a wine which needs to be tampered with by the use of too many additives is probably not worth drinking and it is a pity that wine makers are not compelled to list everything in their wine. If you really knew what was in your wine would you drink it? Most responsible makers of good quality wine will not tamper with their wine too much. The natural wine makers have got a good point; the best quality wines are those which are tampered with the least.
Fining Agents:ural Wine Fining has been used for centuries to clarify wine to remove certain types of protein and polyphenol (tannin) molecules which are held in a colloidal solution; as some of these colloids are unstable they cause the wine to go cloudy before bottling and they are removed by fining agents rather than filtration. Wine will stabilise and clarify itself if left long enough so there should be no need for fining, but some times a harmless deposit is produced in the bottle. Most consumers want to buy completely clear wines which do not throw a deposit. Fining is used to speed up the process of removing the colloids from the wine. Like all wine processes, however, the lesser intervention the better the results. Some commonly used fining agents are the following:
Albumen or soluble protein which is usually obtained from egg whites or refined derivatives thereof. The EU has banned the use of albumen derived from ox blood because of the BSE scare. It is used to fine both red and white wines. Eggs whites mixed with a little wine can simply be added to the barrel. Vegans and some vegetarians would probably not want to drink wine fined with albumen but there is no list of ingredients on the bottle and it is difficult to find out whether the wine has been fined with an animal protein. Unless it is specifically stated on the bottle, it is probably better to assume that the wine is not "vegan compliant" .
Casein: this is derived from milk and is sometimes used to to remove colour taints from white wine.
Gelatine: this is made by boiling and treating animal skins and bones and it clarifies the wine by a simlar action to albumen. No doubt most vegans would be horrified if they knew that this was added to their wine. Gelatine is sometimes mixed with silica sol , which is a mineral to clarify white wine. Gelatine can also be added in combination with certain types of tannin to improve the efficacy of the clarification process.
Bentonite: this is a silica based clay used to remove certain types of protein. If it is over-used it can remove some of flavour components of a wine. Bentonite is also a used for cat's litter. Whatever happened to that cat's pee aroma in the white wine?
Isinglass: this is gelatine which has been obtained from the swim bladders of fish. It is used to fine white wines.
PVPP Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone: this is a water soluble synthetic substance invented in the 20th century and used for the fining of white wines. Why anyone should want to use this substance I do not know.
In conclusion, fining serves a useful purpose to help the effective clarification of wine but of course it should be used in moderation otherwise the flavour of the wine could be spoilt. A good quality wine can be stabilised and cleared without fining but of course this may not suit commercial convenience.
Filtration: Some winemakers argue that filtration ruins wine and should not be used at all. Others maintain that filtration, if correctly applied, has no adverse affect on the wine. A wine that has been allowed to stand in the cask before bottling will clear itself, given enough time, and any remaining solid matter will throw a slight and harmless deposit in the the bottle. Modern industrial processes demand filtration using depth and membrane filters to remove all solids before bottling. Some types of membrane can remove all micro-organisms from the wine rendering it sterile. It is debateable whether filtration is an "unnatural" process or not. I prefer to drink wines which either have no or minimal filtration. Good wine will stabilise and clear itself if left in the barrel for long enough. A well fermented wine will remove all nutrients which will prevent further fermentation in the bottle, this and the alcohol will further help to sterilise the wine. Good wine should not need to be filtered but filtration suits commercial convenience.
OTHER PROCESSES
Some wine makers do not confine themselves to additives, filtration and fining. As if that were not enough, there are some even more dubious processes.
Chaptalisation: What is wrong with adding sugar to the grape must before fermentation? Sugar, in the form of glucose and fructose, is after all a natural substance which occurs naturally in the grape. But, if the grape must has to be chaptalised by adding sugar (sucrose) to increase the alcohol level then the original quality of the grapes must have been found wanting. Grapes grown in cold conditions often do not ripen well enough to produce enough of their own sugars. They are poor quality grapes. So what is the wine maker to do destroy his crop? The addition of sugar is closely regulated; it is banned in Italy and Spain and is only allowed in the cooler regions of France. Some winemakers are tempted to bend the rules when there is a poor harvest. Quality wines should not be chaptalised as it dilutes the flavour of the wine.
Rectified Concentrated Grape Must, can also be used to add sugar (glucose and fructose) content to the pre-fermentation product. This practice is also tightly controlled but a good quality wine cannot possibly be made in this way. There really is no substitute for good qaulity grapes. One up, too, for the natural wine maker.
Must Concentration: This must be one of the most dubious practices of all. It is used when there is a poor harvest to artificially build up the concentration of sugars in the grape must. It is only carried out under strictly controlled conditions. The chances are you will end up with an industrialised tasting bulk wine. Perhaps it would be better not to produce wine but economics dictate that something must be done to improve a poor harvest.
The three main techniques used are: Cryo-extraction which is a form of freeze drying; Vacuum Distillation which boils off the water at a low temperatures created by the vacuum and Reverse Osmosis where high pressure applied to one side of a membrane drives the water out of the solution in order to concentrate the grape must.
FERMENTATION
Fermentation is the most important process of all. Yeasts have evolved to have two methods of growth:
i) aerobically in the presence of oxygen where they convert the sugars present in the grape must to water and carbon di-oxide
ii) anaerobically in the absence of oxygen where they convert sugar to alcohol and carbon di-oxide. Aerobic fermentation is much more efficient so the yeast is able to grow quickly. But, of course, if aerobic fermentation were to continue until all the sugar was consumed no alcohol or wine would be produced. In a sealed container the oxygen is quickly used up and encouraged by the build up of carbon-dioxide the yeast starts to grow anaerobically to produce alcohol. If this process is allowed to continue "naturally" all the sugar is used up to produce a dry wine.
There are many ways of controlling the fermentation depending on whether a sweet or semi-sweet wine is the intended product. Industrial wine producers may wish to control the fermentation to suit economies of scale and to reduce unit costs or to fit in with delivery deadlines etc. The "natural" or traditional process of fermentation does not easily fit in with modern means of production.
Control of Temeperature: Fermentation produces heat and its control is essential to the type of wine being produced. Red wines require more skin contact with the must to extract colour and flavour compounds. A cooler temperature is required to preseve the flavour of volatile aromas. White wines do not rely upon the contact of the grape skins with the grape must so they are fermented at a lower temperature. There is an optimum temperature for the fermentation of every wine, and in traditional wineries this is achieved by the usage of smaller fermentation vats and barrels which have a high surface area to volume ratio which dissipates heat without the need for refrigeration. Where much larger vats are used, in an industrialised process, artificial cooling controlled by thermostats is necessary. Where there is excessive cooling undesirable volatile esters could be retained in a red wine leading to an excessive taste of artificial fruit flavours and homogenised tasting wine. If the grape must is cooled to around 5 degrees celcius fermentation is stopped.
Stopping the Fermentation: The main reason for stopping fermentation is to produce a sweet or semi-sweet wine before all the sugars in the grape must are depleted. The traditional method of stopping fermentation is by fortification with grape spirit or brandy and in France this is termed mutage. Port is produced by this method. Wines may also be fortified to preserve them and to prevent refermentation after the primary fermentation has been completed. Sherry is produced by this method.Fortification is a "natural " method of sterilising the the wine.
Industrialised processes have been invented to stop the fermentation according to the commercial convenience of the wine maker to produce cheaper sweet wines or sparkling wines or both. Some of the devices used are:
i) Sterilising the wine : Formerly cheap sweet wines were made by stopping the fermentation by killing the yeast with sulphur di-oxide but nowadays the additon of sulphur compounds is strictly limited. Other methods of stopping fermentation include the pasturisation of the wine must to kill the yeast. Why do this ? This is totally unnecessary. I can understand why one would need to pasteurise milk for health reasons but any one who has drunk real milk straight from the cow will realise what a difference pasteurisation makes to a beverage.
ii) Physical methods to remove yeast: Another way to stop the fermentation of the must is to use micro-filtration or centrifugation to remove the yeast. This is also unlikely to improve the quality of the wine and it is only really done for commercial reasons. Who wants to drink wine which has been subjected to micro-filtration or pasteurisation? If the public knew what was happening, I am sure they would not touch wine produced by these methods.
In conclusion, the best way of arresting the fermentation of the grape must is by fortification with brandy or grape spirit which also serves to preserve the wine and sterilise it. It should be noted that Asti (formerly Asti Spumante) is produced by artificially stopping fermentation by increasing the pressure of carbon di-oxide in a steel vat. This is sometimes referred to as the Charmat method of producing a sparkling wine. Asti is therefore a sweet sparkling wine with a low level of alcohol - glug glug - I think that most Asti is ghastly.
YEAST
You would think that that there would be no controversy about yeast, as natural yeast has been just as important as grapes ever since wine was first discovered or produced. The primary species for making wine is saccharomyces cerevisiae. This occurs naturally in the environment in general and on grape skins in particular. But, of course, the application of science has lead to the artificial selection of cultured yeasts to meet a particular taste or set of properties to improve the fermentation process and the economic production of wine. Needless to say, when cultured yeasts are used it has encouraged the standarisation of winemaking and the standardisation of taste. If you want an individual tasting wine it is better to leave it to nature even if this means a a more expensive means of production.
MALO-LACTIC CONVERSION or SECONDARY FERMENTATION
After alcoholic or primary fermentation, by yeast, some wines naturally undergo malic-lactic conversion, where bacteria, such as those from the Lactobacillus genus, convert the harsh malic acid in the wine to a softer lactic acid. This process can be artificially induced by injecting the bacteria into the wine. Once again, if this is overdone the wine can become tainted with a buttery or cheesy taste; after all there is plenty of lactic acid in cheese. Malic-lactic conversion is mostly applied to red wine. Malic acid, of course, gives apples their tart taste. Malo-lactic conversion should be completed before the wine is bottled as the process produces carbon di-oxide; this is unwanted in a still wine hence the use of sulphur di-oxide, and other meausures, by some wine makers to sterilise the wine.
CONCLUSIONS
By now you might be concluding that the least intervention there is in the vineyard and the wine making process the better. And to a certain extent you are right. But, if winemaking and viticulture were left to their own devices there would be no wine industry whatsoever. At most it would remain a cottage industry and we all know what auntie's wine tastes like even if it is produced from organically grown grapes from the back garden.
As to claims that natural wine is better for than other forms of wine please consider this; the most dangerous substance in our wine is alcohol. This is a perfectly natural substance but just like the toxin in ergot of rye, also natural, it will kill you if you consume too much in one go. It will also damage your physical or mental well being or both if too much is consumed over a long period.
The fact that it does not contain many of the additives allowed by the EU does not necessarily mean that natural wine is less toxic. For the average adult to be seriously affected by suphur di-oxide poisoning they would have to drink wine in such huge quantities that the alcohol would kill them first. If you drink too much of any sort of wine, one day you might wake up with more than a hangover.
Is natural wine better for your health if you drink it as a replacement for traditionally made wine or industrially made wine? There is no real evidence for this. This also raises the issue if wine is good for your health at all. There is some evidence that wine and other forms of alcohol might have beneficial effects on the cardo-vascular system but this is not definitive. No doubt there are substitutes for the health promoting ingredients found in wine, therefore wine is not uniquely a beneficial beverage.
So why drink wine at all? My reason for drinking wine is for the sociability and the conviviality that it generates. But, most of all, it is the perfect companion for good food. As far as taste is concerned, good wine is the best tasting drink. Wine should also reflect the taste and character of the region of where the grapes are grown. You are more likely to find these attributes in a well made traditional or natural wine. Traditional and natural wines should mature into a better product if they are stored properly. But, beware some of these wines are not as good as the marketing hype pretends them to be.
There is good reason to drink natural wine for the health of the environment - the farming techniques are less damaging.
So where does this place industrial or commercialised wine? Whilst some of it tastes quite good almost all of it tastes the same within the brand or grape variety on the label: and they are quite simply boring. Industrially produced wine is probably no worse or better for your health than any other wine so this is not grounds for dismissing it. One thing is certain - the farming techniques used for industrialised wine making do nothing for bio-diversity.
ECONOMICS
Industrialised wine production has brought down the cost of wine and introduced wine drinking to the public in general. Traditional and natural wines are more expensive to produce. There is now a huge demand for wine which could probably not be satisfied without industrialised wine production. What would happen if the public only had access to traditional and natural wine? Would the prices go up so much that ordinary wine drinkers would not be able to afford to drink wine regularly? There is a place for industrialised wine but the producers should be encouraged by the wine buying public to improve the quality of their product. They should be encouraged to reduce the additives and manipulation of their wine which are there just for production convenience. The general public could do this by drinking a lesser amount of good wine as opposed to drinking large quantities of plonk. They might also be doing a favour to their health and help improve the environment. There is not much room for industrial wine on my wine rack but there is some space for good natural wine.
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