NATIONAL POST

Friday, May 30, 2008

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I know I should let this breathe, but...
Margaret Swaine, National Post

These are some of the questions I am asked more frequently about wine:

Are wine words baloney?

In short, no. All those descriptors mean something. Heck, there are even lengthy lexicons of wine words. There are an estimated 2,000 chemical compounds in wine, of which about 1,200 have been isolated and identified. Fruit and veggie smells, for example, come from the same molecular formula as found in the produce. We're not all born with the same sniffing ability, however. The people scientists call "non-tasters" can't tell a turnip from an apple, but most of us are more fortunate.

Feel very lucky if you can clearly and constantly pick out a few dozen or so aromas. Experience helps. Men can identify motor oil better than women but then the gals beat the males on most food smells.

Some fragrances are a snap to identify. Bell pepper (2-methoxyl-3 isobutyl pyrizine) is present in many reds, especially cool-climate cabernets. It's so noticeable - a mere thimbleful would give an Olympic-size pool of water the whiff of pure pepper juice. The smell of strawberry that wafts from a glass of young pinot noir comes from the same domineering molecules that give the berry its characteristic aroma. Feel confident in declaring a wine to be fruity, herby or berry-like.

Chemical faults and bacterial spoilage come out as real stinkers. Sulphur is in all wines. Too much and odours of garlic, rotten eggs or onion appear. Mousey, vinegar and sauerkraut smells come from microbiological problems. Much can go wrong in a winery.

How can I tell if a wine is corked?

If the wine reminds you of dirty socks, wet cardboard or mouldy basements, it's corked. Despite the name, corks (which are harvested from the bark of special trees) aren't always to blame. The pungent chemical 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) is so powerful even the tiniest amount can taint a wine; it occurs when moulds react with the cleanser chlorine. Wood, plastic - just about anything can get TCA.

I've had mandarins at Christmas tainted by their packing boxes. Next time you taste musty strawberries or tainted bottled water, feel free to blame TCA. Even a wine under a screw cap can be "corked." In a restaurant, if you encounter the smell, no matter how slight, reject the wine. It only gets worse as the wine opens up.

What can you do about a restaurant wine you ordered but don't like?

See above. Tell the waiter the wine is corked. You may be right. If the restaurant insists the wine is sound, tell them their taste buds aren't as sensitive as yours. (See the first question.) Try not to do this with more than one wine. I once got three wines in a row that were corked or faulty but at that point sending another bottle back can get you sent packing.

How does one assess a wine like a pro?

Tip the glass to admire the colour first. Sniff or nose the wine like you would a bouquet of flowers. Then take the wine in your mouth and roll it about (sucking in air if you dare, to release more of the aromas to the back of the throat - the tongue only perceives sweet, sour, salty and bitter). Last, swallow. Taste how the wine finishes (sweet, bitter, tangy) and if it lingers. Then make up a bunch of words.

At what temperature should I serve my wine?

Cool whites in reverse relationship to quality. The better the wine, the more you want to appreciate the aromas and flavours rather than knock them out cold. A fine white should be served no colder than the temperature of a root cellar. Right - who even remembers nowadays what those were? Let's just say vaguely chilled. A deep frost will improve a cheapie and help to mask its problems.

In summer, reds often end up served too warm which tends to make the alcohol burningly obvious. They are best at a slightly cool room temperature (around 16C to 18C). Just pop them in the fridge for 10 to 20 minutes or so on a hot day but don't leave them there too long. A tannic red will taste bitter and astringent if too cold. Light fruity reds such as Beaujolais are best slightly more chilled (14C to 15.5C). If you're anal, use a wine thermometer. Or do what the pros do - feel the bottle and guess.

When should you decant a wine and why?

When you decant a wine, you pour it from the bottle into a carafe that's big enough to hold the contents of the entire bottle (duh!). There are two possible reasons to do this.

If the wine is a young tannic red, it will benefit from being aerated. The exposure to oxygen while you pour it into the decanter starts the process of softening the wine. Depending on the wine, you may need to leave it to "breathe" for an hour or several.

Second, older reds often develop sediment as elements in the wine precipitate out over time. These particles, while harmless, taste bitter. To remove them, stand the bottle upright for several hours so the sediment settles to the bottom. Then open the bottle and pour the wine slowly into a decanter. Watch for cloudiness and stop when you see it. Most sommeliers do this work with a candle shining up through the bottle neck to allow them to better see the sediment. Any bright light will do. If this all sounds too complicated, can the ritual and pour through a coffee filter.

As a host, should I feel obligated to serve wine that a guest brings?

Serve it only if you fancy it. A good host plans a meal and the wines to go with it. Don't feel forced to fit a wine gift into your meal. The wine a guest brings could clash with the dishes or perhaps is cheap and less than cheerful. However, if the guest called ahead, inquired about what would be served and offered to bring a wine to match, then you're on the hook. If in doubt about a guest's taste or you fear their homemade special, discourage that person from bringing wine when you take the call. Suggest flowers or dessert.

The one other exception is when a guest makes a big deal about a "special" bottle they brought. You know, the one they discovered on their trip to Spain or one that's a birth-year bottle or one they've kept for years and now want to share with you. Kindness alone would dictate that you find a way to serve it.

© 2009 The National Post Company.

 

Wine Questions and Answers (First appeared in Chatelaine Magazine)

How long can you keep wine?
This depends on the kind of wine and the storage conditions. The vast majority of whites are meant to be consumed immediately but will keep a year or two if stored at a constant, cool temperature. The fridge is not a good place as it can dry out the cork (screw-caps and bag-in-the-box excepted). Rather store in a basement or dark cupboard, away from strong odors, heat and light. Cool climate whites from countries like Canada, France and Germany tend to have more acidity which helps keep their freshness longer than white from the hot climes of say Australia. Certain top whites such as those from France's Burgundy (e.g. Corton-Charlemagne, Chablis Grand Crus) and great rieslings from Germany, Canada (particularly riesling icewine) and Austria can age ten to twenty years or even more. Reds are more long lived as they have more of a natural preservative called tannins obtained from barrel aging and from their skins. Simple reds will keep two to five years but the biggest and the best can last decades. These include fine Bordeaux, Grand Cru and Premier Cru Burgundies, Italian Barolos, Brunellos and Chianti Classico Reservas, Spain's Vega Sicilia, top California cabernets and cabernet blends, Rhone Valley's Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, Portugal's Barca Velha and Australia's Grange and other top shiraz based reds.

Why do People say red wine with meat and white wine with fish?
This old chestnut actually has a kernel of truth. Tannins in red wine coagulate proteins in our saliva and mouth tissues, causing a dry puckering effect. A rare steak has uncoagulated proteins, which bind with the tannins to make them taste smoother. Sometimes when I've been judging red wines, the organizers have given us rare roast beef to refresh our palates. A fatty substance such as a cream or cheese sauce or a richly oily food even if it's fish (say salmon cassarole), will also smooth out a red. So you can do reds with certain fish or white meat dishes and still enjoy the match. On the other hand seafoods are high in umami, a naturally occurring glutamate (similar to MSG) with a savoury taste, which will enhance the bitterness in a red wine or leave a metallic taste in the mouth when they react with tannin. Hence white is generally a safer bet. Salt however can help neutralize the bitter tastes in wine and sour tastes in food can lower the perception of bitterness. Cod served in a tomato and black olive sauce therefore may well go well with a red. On the other hand delicate white-fleshed fish and shrimp simply prepared are best with a white.

I like oaky chardonnay. What are some good Canadian ones?
With about 70 grape based wineries in Ontario and the same number in British Columbia (and ever growing), we have lots of choice. Look for the "reserve" level of wines as this is a good general indication that the chardonnay has been oak aged. We generally aged our whites in French or American oak, but a few such as Lailey Vineyard in Niagara Peninsula have also experimented with Canadian oak. Some of my favourites I've recently tasted from Niagara are Henry of Pelham Chardonnay Reserve 2001 ($14.), Malivoire Moira Vineyard Chardonnay 2000 ($36), Thirty Bench Chardonnay Reserve 1998 ($35), Andrew Peller Signature Series Chardonnay sur lie 2000 ($28.), Peninsula Ridge Chardonnay Reserve 2000 ($40) and Cave Spring Reserve 2000 ($20.). In the Okanagan Burrowing Owl Estate Chardonnay ($22.) is impressive as is Sandhill's barrel fermented Chardonnay 2001 from Burrowing Owl vineyard ($14.95). Quail's Gate Family Reserve 2000 ($30.) is a recent silver award winner at the 2002 Best of Varietal Judging Competition at the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. CedarCreek Chardonnay Platinum Reserve 2000 ($28) is another yummy award winning choice.

Do any Canadian wineries deliver to your door?
The good news is yes many do deliver. Customers pay a delivery charge per case along with the retail price of the wines. Since, for example, an estimated 70 per cent of wine brands in Ontario are not generally available in the LCBO outlets, it's an important service. Some have elaborate programs. For example Peller by Request and Hillebrand by Request (byrequest@winecountryathome.com or 1-800-263-8465) offer people who join the club two VQA wines shipped directly every month to their home as well as tasting notes and matched recipes for the wines. Club membership also includes discounts at the winery stores and special invitations to winery events. The price of $35 to $42 per month ($72 for both) includes the wine and all other costs. It's open to Ontario residents for delivery anywhere in the province. If you find a wine you like you can then order it by the case. Winery to Home (www.winerytohome.com) is a new company that handles orders from about a dozen Niagara wineries including Cave Spring, Reif Estates, Thirty Bench and Henry of Pelham. Winery specific newsletters, tasting notes on the wines and independent reviews of the wines by wine critics are part of the service. They plan to start with delivery in the Greater Toronto area with service expanded throughout the province once courier details are finalized. Mixed cases from individual wineries are possible. Almost all of the wineries in British Columbia deliver within the province according to the BC Wine Institute, which polled its members. Some such as Quail's Gate www.quailsgate.com and Mission Hill www.missionhillwinery.com offer delivery to other provinces on orders taken over the internet. The best way to find out who does internet sales is to go to the winery website and click on order wine (find the websites through a search engine such as google by typing in the winery name).

I've read South African wines are good value. Can you recommend some?
The weakness of the South African rand has given us some good deals in wine.Vineyards are dispersed throughout Cape Province from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean planted with an ever-growing variety of grapes. While chenin blanc, locally known as steen still takes up about a third of the vineyards, since the mid eighties the wineries have focused on other European varietals such as chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and shiraz. In 1990 these five varietals accounted for only ten percent of the total vineyard plantings; ten years later, that figured had doubled. Home grown pinotage (a.k.a. hermitage), the Cape's 1925 crossing of pinot noir and cinsault, is also on the increase. It's a versatile red that can be made in a youthful, fresh style for drinking cool, or oak aged for more depth and structure. New cooler sites such as Walker Bay and Elgin are proving to be good for varieties like pinot noir and sauvignon blanc. The historic Stellenbosch region, centered around the university town of that name, about 45 kilometres west of Cape Town, has the greatest concentration of leading estates - including Meerlust, Delheim, Mulderbosch, Simonsig and Thelema. Paarl region is home to the Cooperative Growers' Association (KWV) the largest winery in South Africa. Simonsig Estate pinotage ($14.) from Stellenbosch is flavourful with smoky, red currant fruits. Kumala cinsault-pinotage ($8.) from the Western Cape is good value with a soft, plum, lightly smoky taste. Bellingham Shiraz ($13.) also a Western Cape red is big and full with tons of ripe berry fruit. Cape Indaba shiraz ($10.) from Stellenbosch is a friendly, straightforward, sweet blackberry tasting red. In whites Tribal Sauvignon blanc Colombard ($7.) is simple, lightly herbal with some grassy varietal tones at a real bargain. Simonsig Estate Chardonnay ($12.) is full of tangy fruit enhanced by toasty buttery notes. Hippo Creek sauvignon blanc ($9.) is a reliable crisp white with some gooseberry grassiness.

When should you decant a wine and why?
When you decant a wine, you pour it from the bottle into a carafe like container, normally glass or crystal, that's big enough to hold the contents of the entire bottle. There are two possible reasons to do this. If the wine is a young tannic red, it will benefit from being aerated. The exposure to oxygen while you pour it into the decanter starts the process of softening the wine. Then as it sits in the container it will smooth out more. (Just opening a bottle is generally not enough due to its small neck, hence minimal exposure of the wine to air.) Depending on the wine you may need to leave it to "breathe" for an hour or several. Older reds often develop sediment as elements in the wine solidify and precipitate out over time. These particles while harmless, taste bitter. To remove them, stand the bottle upright for a day or two so the sediment settles completely to the bottom of the bottle. Then open the bottle and pour the wine slowly into a decanter. Watch for the cloudiness of the sediment and stop when you see it (normally when you get to the last inch or two of wine). Most sommeliers do this work with a candle shining up through the bottle neck to allow them to better see the sediment. Any bright light will do.

I'm planning a party. Would you give me some inexpensive red and white wine suggestions
Party wines should have good flavour but not be too complex or challenging to the palate. You have a lot of different palates to please so smooth, fruity style wines that aren't too acidic work best. Of course a good price is de rigueur when there's a crowd to serve. Luckily there are many possibilities if you look at lesser-known regions of famous wine countries or among the New World wines. In France the Pays d'Oc in the south is the world's biggest vineyard area and the country's leading producer in volume of wine. Andre Millot Chardonnay 2002 and Merlot 2002 both sell at around $12 for 1.5litre bottles. The chardonnay is fresh, fruity and lively with tastes of passionfruit. The merlot is cherry berry in a medium body. The famous Baron Philippe de Rothschild makes four different Pays d'Oc varietal wines all under ten dollars namely a chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Southern Italy is another good source for easy drinking value wines. Corvo Rosso 2001 ($10.) from Sicily made from local nero d'avola, pignatello and nerello mascalese grapes has a smooth mellow spicy raisin taste in a medium body. From Abruzzi, Farnese Sangiovese Daunia 2002 ($7.) was voted Italian best value wine last year by one of the country's important wine guides (Luca Maroni). It's sleek in structure with some oak and spice with supple tannins and cherry notes. Farnese also makes a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo sold in 1.5 litre size ($12.) that has a bit more bite and intrigue with a spiced fruit taste. South America is a great for bargain hunting. Argentina's Trapiche chardonnay and their red malbec (both under $8.) are friendly, fruity and soft on the palate. From Chile Santa Rita Chardonnay 120 ($9.) is soft, fruity with a medium body and creamy texture that's pleasant and easy to quaff. Their red merlot 120 is also fruity and pleasant as is that of Vina Carmen ($10.). From South Africa try Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc 2001 ($10.) from the Western Cape for its fresh, clean zippy lemon-lime and grapefruit tastes or Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc ($8.) with lighter but similar citrus notes. Cape Indaba Shiraz and Kumala Cinsault Pinotage are both smooth reds under ten. Spain also has lots of value wines. Oro Penedes Hill 2002 ($8.) is a white xarel-lo and muscat blend that's light and aromatic and Candidato Oro 1999 ($8.) is a red made from mainly tempranillo grapes that's easy going with sweet vanilla, oak and light fruit tastes. From Australia Yellow Tail's a brand that's taken the world by storm. The Chardonnay 2002 ($10.) is ripe with tropical mango flavours in a creamy texture. Tyrrell's Long Flat Red and Long Flat White (both around $10.) are consistently smooth, fruity and bargain priced. Ontario's Chateau des Charmes Silver Label Cabernet 2000 ($10. or $18. for 1.5 Litre) and Silver Label Chardonnay deliver good flavour for the price in a smooth drinking style. Mission Hill Pinot Blanc 2002 from the Okanagan ($11.) is fresh with citrus and tropical fruits.

I like to celebrate with bubbly. Would you please suggest some sparkling wine choices in a range of prices?
Every two seconds someone pops a cork of Champagne somewhere in the world. It's synonymous with celebration. The traditional method for making sparkling wine - we must call it this as the word Champagne rightfully belongs to the famous region in France where making bubbly all began - involves bottling still wines and inducing a second fermentation by adding sugar and yeast to create captured bubbles in each individual bottle. This difficult and costly way to make fizz has the most refined, lingering and tiny the bubbles. Many inexpensive bubblies are quite successfully made by the charmat method (cuvée close in French). The natural carbon dioxide that is created during the second fermentation, is kept from dissipating by holding the wine in a sealed tank and bottling under pressure.Most Champagnes are a blend of pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay grapes. Generally the more pinot noir in a blend, the fuller the wine. Blanc de Blancs is pure chardonnay, tending to a crisper style with elegant finesse. Each Champagne house has its own style with some aiming for a bigger fuller flavour, barrel fermenting in new oak, using oak aged reserve wines and so forth. Others go for more austerity and dry refinement.
Krug Grande Cuvée Brut ($176.) is a prestige brand with a full toasty style. It's a justly famous Champagnes that along with Crystal Brut ($220.) and Dom Perignon ($165.) is reserved for very special occasions. Charles Heidsieck Brut ($48), well priced for Champagne, is from the three classic grape varieties. It has a toasted brioche bouquet, is fairly full with length, good depth and fruit.
Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut ($35.) is a classy made in California traditional method sparkler from mainly chardonnay grapes. It's crisp, lean and elegant with a toasty floral nose and citrus finish. Aria Estate Brut ($15.) made in Spain by the traditional method from local grapes macabeo, parellada and xarel-lo is moderately tart and dry with a lightly toasty nose. It's mainly vinous in taste with some apple notes. Segura Viudas Brut Reserve ($12.) also from the same Spanish company is made by the traditional method from the local grape varieties. It's medium bodied and fresh with a slightly spicy fruity taste and forward brioche nose. Seaview Brut 2000 ($11.) is an Australian traditional method sparkler that's frothy, soft and quite full, rounded and fruity. From Ontario Henry of Pelham Cuvee Saint Catharines Brut ($25.) is traditional method with 30 months aging on the lees resulting in a wine with complex and elegant aromas. It has bright fruit with subtle toast and baked apple tones. Sumac Ridge Prestige Cuvée Brut ($30.) from the Okanagan is a chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot blanc blend that's toasty with lemony notes and nice length and depth.
Bottega Vino Dei Poeti Prosecco ($13.) made in northern Italy from prosecco grapes is a charmer made in the charmat method. It has floral aromatic aromas with a slightly off-dry freshness and an easy going nature. Remy Pannier Chardonnay Brut ($11.) is a charmat method sparkler from France that's fresh, fruity and just off-dry. Clean, rounded and frothy in the mouth. Those who like their sparkers a bit sweeter and grapy in character will enjoy the charmat method Martini and Rossi Asti Demi-Sec ($10.) made from the muscat grape grown in northern Italy.