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Wine Geeks Section

On May 8, 2009, in wine geeks, by ngorevic

This section of the website is the content that used to be located at WineScholarship.com. I use it to reinforce my wine knowledge, and try to create a blog entry for every topic I might be studying. I find it's a really good way to make all these esoteric wine concepts stick. You can search for something specific in the search box to the right, or you can explore the topics under the wine geeks topic section.

If this information seems too geeky for you, you might want to check out the Home Wine School blog , where you'll find my musings on the wine world, as well as basic lessons for beginners.

How Natural Wine is Made

On May 4, 2010, in Blog, Fermentation, Making Red Wine, Making White Wine, Natural Wine, Other Adjustments, Use of Sulphur Dioxide, Winemaking, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Natural wine is different as far as the wine making process is concerned, mainly because of it's exclusion of sulfur. Sulfur is used in the production of 99% of wine in the world today because it has a preservative effect. It protects the wine from the effects of oxygen and can kill off some nasty bacterias that live in the vineyard and threaten the flavor of wine. It's also used to kill off the wild yeasts living in the vineyard, so cultured yeast can be added in its place. A little sulfur is also used at bottling (even by quite a few natural winemakers) to help protect the wine during it's trip to where ever it's going.

Natural winemakers would rather take the risk of letting some of these bacterias in. That's because they prefer to use the wild yeasts, saying they add another essential element of terroir that makes each of their wines unique and different. I've also been told by a natural wine maker, who I consider quite extreme in his natural-ness, that I would be able to tell the difference in flavor if I tasted the same wine, one sulfured and bottling, and one not. I can't really say whether or not that's true, because I've never been able to carry out that experiment. But I can say the winemakers here in France that use zero sulfur make some of my most favorite natural wines.

So if most of the wine world thinks you have to have sulfur in there to keep the wine safe, how do the natural guys do it? The first and probably most popular technique in use today is Carbonic Maceration. Whether it was Jules Chauvet, or Jacques Néauport who made this method popular for natural winemaking, it doesn't really matter. In carbonic maceration, the winemaker tosses the whole bunches of grapes in the tank, rather than destemming and pressing them for their juice. The tank is sealed on top, and the grapes just sit there. The weight of the grapes starts to crush some of the grapes on the bottom, and fermentation starts naturally. The tank is sealed, so as carbon dioxide is produced, pressure is exerted on the remaining grapes, which pops any skins still not crushed. The resulting wine is usually quite fruity, light in tannins, and easy-drinking.

So, how does carbonic maceration help the winemaker avoid using sulfur? The answer is that the carbon dioxide gas released acts as an alternative protection against the evil forces of oxygen, by forming a protective blanket over the juice. The winemaker leaves the tank sealed until it's time to bottle, and then will usually let the gas escape right before putting it in the bottle. Sometimes they will even leave a little of the gas in the wine, to act as an additional preservative while the wine travels to its final destination. That's why sometimes you'll feel a little prickle for the first few sips of a natural wine.

Sounds simple, right? The thing is, as always with wine, it's not quite that simple. There are those winemakers who do strict carbonic maceration, but then there are also those who something called semi-carbonic maceration. These winemakers do the traditional fermentation I've described, but then they let the skins soak in the juice for a while longer to extract more tannin and structure, making a heavier, perhaps more serious, and age-worthy wine. They're still working under the cloud of protective gas, but then they're adding another layer of more traditional wine making on top, to make a very different style of wine.

And of course, it's not so simple as those two methods. There's really a whole continuum of people in between. Some will de-stem the bunches of grapes and then do a carbonic maceration style fermentation. And some will do a completely normal fermentation with a pressing, but then just leave the tank sealed to keep in the protective gas. So, for a wine professional who's trying to understand why a wine tastes a certain way, it can be pretty complicated. Basically, these winemakers do what they feel like and what they think will make the style they're looking for, with total disregard to all the established rules of winemaking you read about in books, and that's what makes it interesting. Basically you could say there are as many natural winemaking techniques as there are different natural winemakers. But what most of them do have in common is this use of carbon dioxide as an anti-oxidant, instead of sulfur.

Tagged with: carbonic maceration • jacque neauport • jules chauvet • natural winemakers • natural winemaking • natural wines

The Tongue Taste Map Does Not Exist!

On October 29, 2009, in Blog, wine geeks, by ngorevic

If you've ever taken a wine class, there a good chance you've seen this map of the tongue. Wine experts love to talk about which areas of the tongue can taste sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. But the truth is, the taste map is a total fallacy. Scientists have known the taste map is wrong for quite some time now, but for some reason the myth persists in the wine world. Wine people, it's time we woke up and kept up with science from the 1970's! Please, lets stop confusing people with all this useless pseudo-scientific dribble that doesn't even make sense when you try to demonstrate it.

For example, the taste map says that you can only taste sugar on the tip of your tongue. Iif you stick sugar on the back of your tongue without letting it touch the tip, how come you can still taste sweetness? When I took classes at the WSET certified International Wine Center, at that point they preached this stuff like it was the gospel (Just so you know, they don't teach it anymore because they do now know it's not true). We were supposed to feel a tingle on the tips of our tongue when we tasted the sugar, because supposedly all the taste buds that perceive sugar are concentrated there. When none of us really felt anything, we were told that was normal for Americans, because we eat so much sugar that our tongues are numb to the effect. Try it in Japan however, they told us, and people will freak out at the new-found tingling effect. Sounds pretty good right? I certainly bought it. I've heard veteran sommeliers discuss the map. And once I went to an American Sommelier Association presented cigar seminar at Davidoff of Geneva and they busted out the good old taste map. I always had a hard time sensing the different tastes in different areas, but I just chalked that up to my inexperienced palate at the time.

So where did this myth come from exactly? It seems that the original research was done by a German scientist named D.P. Hanig in 1901. He was trying to understand taste, so he designed an experiment to measure the sensitivities of tongue in certain areas to different tastes. He have his volunteers things to taste, and mapped out the areas of the tongue that responded the most to each taste. Then later, in 1942, a Harvard scientist named Edwin Boring used Hanig's research to plot a graph of these sensitivities. It seems that the tongue does have a very slight concentration of tastes in certain areas, so the tip of the tongue does sense slightly more sweetness than the rest. People saw this graph, and for some reason took it to mean that the tip was the only place that could sense sweetness, thus the taste map was born. Then in 1974, Virginia Collings came along and re-examined the data. She realized that while there were concentrations in some areas, all areas of the tongue could still taste each of the 4 primary tastes. The difference in sensitivity to sweetness in the tip of the tongue compared to the rest of the tongue is, in fact, negligible.

So if scientists have known this since 1974, what's taking us wine folks so long? I personally feel like wine snobs love having something complex and vague to hold over less knowledgeable folks heads to ensure their own superiority. But maybe that's being a bit conspiratorially minded of me. I guess wine people just aren't that into science. But we love to talk about the science of vinification, fermentation, and such things. It just seems like we've lagged behind on the science of taste. Apparently there are really 5 tastes, and possibly even 6, when you add Umami (the savory taste of glutamate, like in MSG) and perhaps the taste of fat. Ever see that in a wine text book? I bet not.

In the interest of science, I'm going to list a bunch of sources to prove that the taste map should be abolished from wine education. Spread the word, down with the taste map! Here's a wikipedia article talking generally about the taste map. I know, you're thinking Wikipedia, that's not an authoritative source! But it cites this article from livescience.com, and this one from Scientific American. Still not convinced? Well, maybe you should head on down to the library and look up Collings\' original research paper, titled Human taste response as a function of location of stimulation on the tongue and soft palate. In the meantime, here's a very sciencey document discussing the reasons for the persistance of the myth, to tide you over.

Tagged with: food and wine pairing • paris wine classes • paris wine courses • taste map • tongue map • wine and cheese pairing • wine classes • wine courses • wine education

North-Central Spain

On October 13, 2008, in North-Central Spain, Spain, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Two important mountain ranges are influential on the growing climate of North-Central Spain. The Pyrenees form the border between Spain and France, and provide some nice high altitude growing sites. The Cordillera Cantabria mountain range runs along the northern side of Spain, and provides protection to Rioja and the other nearby areas from the Atlantic Ocean. To the South of those mountains lies Navarra, Cariñena, Campa de Borja, Calatayud, as well as Rioja, which is so important, I will cover it in its own section. The other areas are exploding with popularity and growth in winemaking, and will soon become highly regarded as well.

To the North of the Cordillera Cantabria mountain range lies the Basque region, a unique area of Spain. In Basque country they speak their own language, which is nothing like Spanish. The most promising wine coming out of this area is called Txakoli, which is pronounced Chaw-koe-lee. Txakoli is produced in three DO's: Getariako Txakolina, Bizkaiko Txakolina, and Txakoli de Avila. The most popular style right now is the Getariako style, which is lightly effervescent, runs a little lower in alcohol (about 10%) and has a characteristic salty briny taste, with very bright citrus style acidity. The grapes are grown very close to the ocean, and are often observed covered in salt from the ocean breezes, which may explain the characteristic salty taste.

Galicia

On October 12, 2008, in Galicia, Spain, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Galicia is an area in the northwestern corner of Spain, close to the coast. It is very different from the rest of Spain, as it is quite lush and receives a siginificant amount of annual rainfall. The area is known for its stunning seafood, and crips acidic white wines that compliment the cuisine perfectly. There are 5 DO's in Galicia the two most important of which are: Rias Baixas and Valdeorras. In addition, Galicia contains Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro, and Monterrei, all of which use an assortment of grapes used in the first two areas.

Rias Baixas

Rias Baixas is is located in the southwest corner of Galicia, bordering Portugal to the north. The history of wine exportation from this area dates back to the 16th century, when the wines were popular throughout Europe. In the 19th century, however, Phylloxera devastated wine growing in this area, and most of the native varietals died out in the process. It was not until the 1970's that these grapes were successfully replanted, and modern winemaking gradually came back to the area. The most important grape in Rias Baixas is Albariño, which produces a very crisp and acidic dry white wine, with floral or peach notes. It is sometimes blended with two grapes called Loureira Blanca and Treixadura.

Valdeorras

Valdeorras is known for the Godello grape variety, which produces white wines rich in minerality and plenty of fruit. Some think this grape may have the greatest potential to make very high quality white wines in all of Spain.

Cariñena

On October 6, 2008, in Cariñena, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Cariñena is the same grape as the French Carignan. As in France, it used only as a blending grape, giving additional alcohol and adding structure to the wine. In Rioja, it is called Mazuelo and is sometimes found in blends along with Tempranillo and Garnacha. It is also used in Priorato to blend with Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. There is also a DO and a town in Spain with the same name.

Monastrell

On October 6, 2008, in Monastrell, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Monastrell is the same grape as the French Mouvedre. Monastrell does very well in the harsh and hot Spanish climate and is very resistant to disease. It produces wines that are very high in alcohol and body, and have a great deal of color. Monastrell is the most common grape used in the DO's of Jumilla, Yecla, Bullas, and Alicante. It also goes by Mataro in Catalan.

Graciano

On October 6, 2008, in Graciano, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Graciano is a blending grape native to Rioja. It is used to add aromatics, tannins, and acidity to Rioja wines. Its production is very small, accounting for only 4% of the total grapes grown in Rioja. It is usually found planted in between the other grape varietals in the vineyard. If you want to impress your friends and sound really cool, you should pronounce it like Grathiano, because that's the way they say it in Spain!

Garnacha

On October 6, 2008, in Garnacha, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Garnacha Tinta, which is the same grape as the French Grenache, is the most widely planted grape in Spain. It does well in the hot and arid areas so common to Spain. Garnacha is an important grape in many Rioja blends, and it is the primary grape in wine from Priorato. Garnacha produces a wine that is juicy and spicey. Some of these wines can be quite light bodied and fruity, while others, like Priorat, are much fuller bodied, dark, and spicey.

Tempranillo

On October 6, 2008, in Black Grapes, Grape varieties, Tempranillo, wine geeks, by ngorevic

Tempranillo is the most prestigous grape grown in Rioja and Ribeira del Duero in Spain. It produces less alcholic wines than garnacha and can age very well, especially when it is blended. Tempranillo benefits from a cooler climate and requires more rainfall than garnacha. It produces a full bodied wine that has a fair amount of tannins, and often has notes of coffee or tobacco. Tempranillo also goes by the following names: Ull de Llebre (catalan), Tinta de Toro,Tinto Fino, Tinta del País, and Cencibel.