The Black Magic of Wine Scores

Most colleges grade 89 points on an exam as a “B” while 90 points delivers an “A”. How does one point out of 100 make such a difference? Not only does this seem unfair but downright stupid and silly.

So what about wine scores? Does a one point difference in a wine’s rating mean that much? Of course not! Whether applying the 100 point scale favored by Robert Parker or the 20 point scale developed by UC Davis, a single point is a meaningless difference between wines. That said, a single point difference makes a big difference in the price a winery can charge for a particular wine.

Perhaps there is not much price difference between an 88 and an 89 point wine, but the price gap is much wider between an 89 point wine and a 90 pointer.

Both the 100 point and 20 point scoring systems award points for characteristics important to most wine drinkers such as flavors, color, body,and aroma. They also award points for some less obvious items such as volatile acidity, total acidity, and astringency, much less important or detectable by most wine drinkers. So are one, two, or even three point differences among wines that meaningful? Not really, especially if you consider that all scoring systems award points for overall impression, a catchall category that is by definition subjective.

Chasing scores is the worse way to pick wines but often the best way to overpay for them. When seeking to purchase wines, use point scoring as a rough guide recognizing that scoring ranges are more valuable than the absolute score. In addition, no wine evaluator can consistently score a wine the same tasting session after tasting session. Too many factors – time of day, sequence of tasting the wine and even the weather – influence the results.

Therefore, the best way to choose a wine is to taste it. If you like it, then buy it!

Sincerely,

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Grape Vine Canopy

In viticulture, the canopy of a grapevine includes the parts of the vine visible aboveground – the trunk, cordon, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The canopy plays a key role in light energy capture via photosynthesis, water use as regulated by transpiration,

and microclimate of ripening grapes.  Canopy management is an important aspect of viticulture due to its effect on grape yields, quality, vigor, and the prevention of grape diseases. Various viticulture problems, such as uneven grape ripening, sunburn, and frost damage, can be addressed by skillful canopy management.   In addition to pruning and leaf trim, the canopy is often trained on trellis systems to guide its growth and assist in access for ongoing management and harvest.

The vine is the main part of the grapevine, extending from the root system in the ground up to the cordons, or arms, of the vine. When the grape is young the trunk is very pliable and must be supported by stakes as part of a vine training system. The height of the trunk varies depending on grape variety and the type of trellis system being used and can range from 4 inches (10 cm) to 30 feet (10 m). During winter dormancy, the trunk can be vulnerable to extreme freezing conditions and will be sometimes buried and insulated with soil to protect it.

Cordon

The cordon, or “arms”, of the grapevine extend from the trunk and are the part where additional arms and eventually leaves and grape clusters extend. The cordons are usually trained along wires as part of a trellis system. This training usually fixes the cordon into a permanent position, such as horizontal extending from the trunk in opposite directions.

Stem

The terms stem, stalks and shoots are sometimes used interchangeably but viticulturalists generally make some differentiation. The stem of the

grapevine item, extending from cordon, is considered the shoot and this part is most often pruned in the process of “shoot thinning” to control grape yields. The stalk extending out to hold the grape cluster is known as the bunchstem while the stem of the individual grape berry is the pedicel.

The shoot of the vine develops from new buds located on the cordon and grow to include the leaves, tendrils and eventually grape clusters. Shoots first begin to the appear in spring, following bud break, accelerating growth till the flowering stage and usually slowly by the time that the vine begins veraison. During the stage of veraison (typically mid to late summer), the shoot starts to harden and change color from green to brown. The shoot is ripening at this point and becomes known as a “cane”. In wintertime, the canes of the grapevine are usually completely cut off with the amount and weight of the cane being used to gauge the amount of pruning and canopy management that will be needed for the upcoming year. The “tip” of the shoot is the small (0.4 in/1 cm) part of the shoot furthermost from the vine. Viticulturalist use the growth of this tip as an indication of vine vigor due to the fact that the tip competes with the grape clusters for resources from the vine. Ideally, shoot growth should come to a stop around the time of veraison but a vine that continues growing the shoots will stand the chance of less fully develop grape clusters.

Source – Wikipedia

By ONDINE COHANE

Published: April 5, 2012, New York Times

 Multimedia

To Add or Not to Add

That is the question! Advances in food science offer winemakers great latitude in wine production. Numerous food companies offer a broad portfolio of additives that can be added to wine to adjust its flavor. These include different tannins, fruit flavors, and aromas. Many wineries that produce inexpensive wines made from low quality grapes utilize these additives to make the wines more palatable.

To achieve agreeable natural flavors in wine requires great skill both in the vineyard and winery. Dedicated management of the vineyard allows the grapes to develop their own interesting complexity in concert with the terroir – geography, soil, and weather. Viticulturists apply proven principles of vineyard management to permit the grapes to reach their maximum quality. These activities include irrigation (where permitted), fertilization, canopy management, and limiting yields.

Winemakers, working with these quality grapes, apply their own skills to coax the best wines from these raw materials. First, winemakers determine the time of harvest by deciding the optimum ripeness of the grape roughly represented by its sugar content (i.e., BRIX level). They then determine the yeasts used during fermentation, the approach to managing the fermentation, and the length of time in complementary oak barrels.

Although some may argue that wine made without flavor additives is still wine that is “manufactured” due to all the manipulation applied in the vineyard and in the winery, I disagree with this view. Use of additives truly makes the wine a beverage no different than flavored juice drinks that taste the same bottle to bottle and year to year. Wine made without these additives tastes different every year, expressing the uniqueness of each vintage.

Each bottle of my wine is a carefully wrapped surprise created by nature that reveals its characteristics only after the cork is pulled. Wine additives destroy this surprise. Therefore, I will never use flavor additives in any of my wines.

Sincerely,

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

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Winemaking Considerations

During fermentation, there are several factors that winemakers take into consideration. The most notable is that of the internal temperature of the must. The biochemical process of fermentation itself creates a lot of residual heat which can take the must out of the ideal temperature range for the wine. Typically, white wine is fermented between 64-68 °F (18-20 °C) though a wine maker

may choose to use a higher temperature to bring out some of the complexity of the wine. Red wine is typically fermented at higher temperatures up to 85 °F (29 °C). Fermentation at higher temperatures may have adverse effect on the wine in stunning the yeast to inactivity and even “boiling off” some of the flavors of the wines. Some winemakers may ferment their red wines at cooler temperatures, more typical of white wines, in order to bring out more fruit flavors.

To control the heat generated during fermentation, the winemaker must choose a suitable vessel size or else use a cooling device. Various kinds of cooling devices are available, ranging from the ancient Bordeaux practice of placing the fermentation vat atop blocks of ice to sophisticated fermentation tanks that have built-in cooling rings.

A risk factor involved with fermentation is the development of chemical residue and spoilage which can be corrected with the addition of sulfur dioxide (SO2), although excess SO2 can lead to a wine fault. A winemaker who wishes to make a wine with high levels of residual sugar (like a dessert wine) may stop fermentation early either by dropping the temperature of the must to stun the yeast or by adding a high level of alcohol (like brandy) to the must to kill off the yeast and create a fortified wine.

Other Types of Fermentation

In winemaking, there are different processes that fall under the title of “Fermentation” but might not follow the same procedure commonly associated with wine fermentation.

Bottle Fermentation

Bottle fermentation is a method of sparkling wine production, originating in the Champagne region where after the cuvee has gone through a primary yeast fermentation the wine is then bottled and goes through a secondary fermentation where sugar and additional yeast known as liqueur de tirage is added to the wine. This secondary fermentation is what creates the carbon dioxide bubbles that sparkling wine is known for.

Carbonic Maceration

The process of carbonic maceration is also known as whole grape fermentation where instead of yeast being added, the grapes fermentation is encouraged to take place inside the individual grape berries. This method is common in the creation of Beaujolais wine and involves whole clusters of grapes being stored in a closed container with the oxygen in the container being replaced with carbon dioxide. Unlike normal fermentation where yeast converts sugar into alcohol, carbonic maceration works by enzymes within the grape breaking down the cellular matter to form ethanol and other chemical properties. The resulting wines are typically soft and fruity.

Malolactic Fermentation

Instead of yeast, bacteria play a fundamental role in malolactic fermentation which is essentially the conversion of malic acid into lactic acid. This has the benefit of reducing some of the tartness and making the resulting wine taste softer. Depending on the style of wine that the winemaker is trying to produce, malolactic fermentation may take place at the very same time as the yeast fermentation.

Source: Wikipedia

Open That Bottle

Did you open that special bottle this past Saturday? Six years ago Wall Street Journal “Tastings” columnists Dorthy J. Gaiter and John Brecher invented Open That Bottle Night, the world-wide celebration of friends, family and memories during which you finally open that bottle of wine that otherwise is too special to open.

Contrary to what you might think, more bottles of wine are opened too late rather than too early. Although we hear much about laying bottles down to age, few wines get much better after their release from the winery. Skilled winemakers release their wines ready to drink after aging them for the necessary time in their own cellars. Therefore, when the wine reaches your table it is ready to be enjoyed.

Wines do change over time due to the slow chemical reactions that occur within their bottles. For many people, these changes add complexity, new flavors, and aromas to the wine, making it more enjoyable. For others, the fruit forward or tannic style of young wines is favored.

In either case, it is better to drink up rather than wait for that special occasion. Such a strategy ensures that special wine is opened when it can be enjoyed, rather than too late when all its beauty has turned to vinegar and disappointment.

Sincerely,

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

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Fermentation – Not Just Sugar to Alcohol

The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide (as a by-product). In winemaking, the temperature and speed of fermentation are important considerations as well as the levels of oxygen present in the must at the start of the fermentation. The risk of stuck fermentation and the development of several wine faults can also occur during this stage, which can last anywhere from 5 to 14 days for primary fermentation and potentially another 5 to 10 days for a secondary fermentation. Fermentation may be done in stainless steel tanks, which is common with many white wines like Riesling, in an open wooden vat, inside a wine barrel and inside the wine bottle itself as in the production of many sparkling wines.

History

The natural occurrence of fermentation means it was probably first observed long ago by humans. The earliest uses of the word “Fermentation” in relation to winemaking was in reference to the apparent “boiling” within the must that came from the anaerobic reaction of the yeast to the sugars in the grape juice and the release of carbon dioxide. The Latin fervere means, literally, to boil. In the mid-19th century, Louis Pasteur noted the connection between yeast and the process of the fermentation in which the yeast act as catalyst and mediator through a series of a reaction that convert sugar into alcohol. The discovery of the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway by Gustav Embden, Otto Fritz Meyerhof and Jakub Karol Parnas in the early 20th century contributed more to the understanding of the complex chemical processes involved in the conversion of sugar to alcohol.

In winemaking, there are distinctions made between ambient yeast which are naturally present in wine cellars, vineyards and on the grapes themselves (sometimes known as a grape’s “bloom” or “blush”) and cultured yeast which are specifically isolated and inoculated for use in winemaking. The most common genera of wild yeasts found in winemaking include Candida, Klöckera/Hanseniaspora, Metschnikowiaceae, Pichia and Zygosaccharomyces. Wild yeasts can produce high-quality, unique-flavored wines; however, they are often unpredictable and may introduce less desirable traits to the wine, and can even contribute to spoilage.

Traditional wine makers, particularly in Europe, advocate use of ambient yeast as a characteristic of the region’s terroir; nevertheless, many winemakers prefer to control fermentation with predictable cultured yeast. The cultured yeasts most commonly used in winemaking belong to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae (also known as “sugar yeast”) species. Within this species are several hundred different strains of yeast that can be used during fermentation to affect the heat or vigor of the process and enhance or suppress certain flavor characteristics of the varietal. The use of different strains of yeasts is a major contributor to the diversity of wine, even among the same grape variety.

The addition of cultured yeast normally occurs with the yeast first in a dried or “inactive” state and is reactivated in warm water or diluted grape juice prior to being added to the must. To thrive and be active in fermentation, the yeast needs access to a continuous supply of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus as well as access to various vitamins and minerals. These components are naturally present in the grape must but their amount may be corrected by adding nutrient packets to the wine, in order to foster a more encouraging environment for the yeast. Oxygen is needed as well, but in wine making, the risk of oxidation and the lack of alcohol production from oxygenated yeast requires the exposure of oxygen to be kept at a minimum.

Upon the introduction of active yeasts to the grape must, phosphates are attached to the sugar and the six-carbon sugar molecules begin to be split into three-carbon pieces and go through a series of rearrangement reactions. During this process, the carboxylic carbon atom is released in the form of carbon dioxide with the remaining components becoming acetaldehyde. The absence of oxygen in this anaerobic process allows the acetaldehyde to be eventually converted, by reduction, to ethanol. During the conversion of acetaldehyde, a small amount is converted, by oxidation, to acetic acid which, in excess, can contribute to the wine fault known as volatile acidity (vinegar taint). After the yeast has exhausted its life cycle, they fall to the bottom of the fermentation tank as sediment known as lees.

Other Compounds Involved

The metabolism of amino acids and breakdown of sugars by yeasts has the effect of creating other biochemical compounds that can contribute to the flavor and aroma of wine. These compounds can be considered “volatile” like aldehydes, ethyl acetate, ester, fatty acids, fusel oils, hydrogen sulfide, ketones and mercaptans) or “non-volatile” like glycerol, acetic acid and succinic acid. Yeast also has the effect during fermentation of releasing glycoside hydrolase which can hydrolyse the flavor precursors of aliphatics (a flavor component that reacts with oak), benzene derivatives, monoterpenes (responsible for floral aromas from grapes like Muscat and Traminer), norisoprenoids (responsible for some of the spice notes in Chardonnay), and phenols.

Some strains of yeasts can generate volatile thiols which contribute to the fruity aromas in many wines such as the gooseberry scent commonly associated with Sauvignon Blanc.

Brettanomyces yeasts are responsible for the “barnyard aroma” characteristic in some red wines like Burgundy and Pinot Noir.

To be continued…

Source: Wikipedia

Blending the 2011 Vintage

The 2011 vintage is fabulous. I just returned from Mendoza, Argentina after spending the week blending my 2011 vintage. The vintage produced flavorful, powerful complex wines. Every single varietal shows a richness reflecting the uniqueness of the microclimate of the vineyard and the growing season. With the wines just eight months in barrel, the fruit already expresses itself, providing evidence of quality of the grapes.

The blending process required great patience mixed with imagination. Two days were allocated to the process. On Monday we tasted wine from each of the barrels to evaluate the characteristics of each wine aging in its unique barrel. During a second session on Wednesday, we worked to put together each of the blends for each varietal while deciding on the perfect combination of wines for my Gran Corte – reserve blended wine.

The 2011 release includes Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Gran Corte wines. Due to the quality of the vintage, each of the single varietals will contain higher percentages of that single varietal than last year. (In Argentina, 85% of a single varietal wine must be made from a single grape. In California it is 75%.)

As the 2011 vintage is still evolving, we are unsure when the wines will be bottled. Estimates range from May through December indicating that only the wine knows when it will be ready. Nevertheless, we will regularly taste the wine from barrel and wait for it to tell us.

Sincerely,

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

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Featured Photo Courtesy of  Don Guerwitz Photography – Homeward Bound. Cappadocia, Turkey

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The Wine Glass

A wine glass is a type of glass stemware that is used to drink and taste wine. It is generally composed of three parts: the bowl, stem, and foot. Selection of a particular wine glass for a wine style is important, as the glass shape can influence its perception.

Use

The traditionally held-to-be proper way to drink from a wine glass, especially when drinking white or otherwise chilled wine, is to grasp it by the stem.[citation needed] The most commonly accepted reasoning for this is to avoid fingerprints on the bowl, and to prevent the temperature of the wine from being affected by body heat.

Materials

High quality wine glasses are often made of lead crystal. Lead crystal glasses’ advantages are not only primarily aesthetic. One factor of lead crystal is it is generally considered to have a higher index of refraction, thus changing the effect of light passing through them. Lead crystal is also rougher than glass on a microscopic level, allowing wine in the glass to breathe more efficiently when swirled in the bowl. They are also heavier. Using lead in the crystal matrix also offers several advantages in the material’s workability during production. Wine glasses are generally not colored or frosted, as this would impede the appreciation of its color. An exception to this rule is the hock glass.

Shapes

The effect of glass shape on the taste of wine has not been demonstrated by any scientific study and remains controversial. It is however believed by some that the shape of the glass is important, as it concentrates the flavor and aroma (or bouquet) to emphasize the varietal‘s characteristic. One common belief is that the shape of the glass directs the wine itself into the best area of the mouth from the varietal. This is based on false ideas about the nature of taste buds on the tongue, such as the thoroughly debunked tongue map.

Generally, the opening of the glass is not wider than the widest part of the bowl. Most wine glasses have stems, although “stemless” wine glasses are now available in a variety of sizes and shapes as well. These glasses are typically used more casually than their traditional counterparts, as they negate the benefits of using stemmed wine glasses.

Most common wine glasses can be divided into three types: red wine glasses, white wine glasses, and champagne flutes. Wine tumblers (without stems) are also increasing in popularity.

Red Wine Glasses

Glasses for red wine are characterized by their rounder, wider bowl, which increases the rate of oxidation. As oxygen from the air chemically interacts with the wine, flavor and aroma are subtly altered. This process of oxidation is generally more compatible with red wines, whose complex flavors are smoothed out after being exposed to air. Red wine glasses can have particular styles of their own, such as:

• Bordeaux glass: tall with a broad bowl, and is designed for full bodied red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah as it directs wine to the back of the mouth.

• Burgundy glass: broader than the Bordeaux glass, it has a bigger bowl to accumulate aromas of more delicate red wines such as Pinot Noir. This style of glass directs wine to the tip of the tongue.

White Wine Glasses

White wine glasses vary enormously in size and shape, from the delicately tapered Champagne flute, to the wide and shallow glasses used to drink Chardonnay. Different shaped glasses are used to accentuate the unique characteristics of different styles of wine. Wide mouthed glasses function similarly to red wine glasses discussed above, promoting rapid oxidization which alters the flavor of the wine.

White wines which are best served slightly oxidized are generally full flavored wines, such as oaked Chardonnay. For lighter, fresher styles of white wine, oxidization is less desirable as it is seen to mask the delicate nuances of the wine. To preserve a crisp, clean flavor, many white wine glasses will have a smaller mouth, which reduces surface area and in turn, the rate of oxidization. In the case of sparkling wine, such as Champagne or Asti, an even smaller mouth is used to keep the wine sparkling longer in the glass.

Champagne Flutes

Champagne flutes are characterized by a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top. The shape is designed to keep sparkling wine desirable during its consumption. Just as with wine glasses, the flute is designed to be held by the

stem to help prevent the heat from the hand from warming the liquid inside. The bowl itself is designed in a manner to help retain the signature carbonation in the beverage. This is achieved by reducing the surface area at the opening of the bowl. Additionally the flute design adds to the aesthetic appeal of champagne, allowing the
Sherry Glassbubbles to travel further due to the narrow design, giving a far more pleasant visual appeal.

A sherry glass is drinkware generally used for serving aromatic alcoholic beverages, such as sherry, port, aperitifs, and liqueurs, and layered shooters. An ISO-standard sized sherry glass is 120 milliliters (4.2 imp fl oz; 4.1 US fl oz). The copita, with its aroma-enhancing narrow taper, is a type of sherry glass.

Boccalino

A Boccalino is a mug used in Ticino, Switzerland, to drink local wine (Merlot or similar). It has a volume of 0.2 liters. The Boccalino is also a popular souvenir for tourists.

Decoration

In the 18th Century, glassmakers would draw spiral patterns in the stem as they made the glass. If they used air bubbles it was called an airtwist; if they used threads, either white or colored, it would be called opaque twist

ISO Wine Tasting Glass

The ISO has standardized a series of glasses for wine tasting. They are stemmed with elongated tapered bowls, with capacities of 120 (for sherry), 210, 300, or 410 milliliters.

Source: Wikipedia

Wisdom for the New Year

For more than a thousand years, wine captured the imagination of scientists, philosophers, and authors. Below is some of their wisdom for you to contemplate as the new year approaches.

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” — Mark Twain

Can you remember anyone drinking champagne without a smile? Perhaps the bubbles make the facial muscles curl upward after each sip.

“I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.” — W. C. Fields

Working in the kitchen goes much more smoothly when the effort is lubricated with wine. Everything smells better too. Just watch your fingers when chopping the vegetables.

“I serve your Beaune to my friends, but your Volnay I keep for myself.” — Voltaire

Once you experience good Burgundy wine you never want to go back to the more affordable village wines. It is the curse of these extraordinary wines.

“My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.” — John Maynard Keynes

If you ever wondered what he meant by stimulus package, now you know. A crate of champagne for every household would surely improve our economic condition.

“When it comes to wine, I tell people to throw away the vintage charts and invest in a corkscrew. The best way to learn about wine is the drinking.” — Alexis Lichine

What better  resolution to make for the new year than to focus on education?

“Life is too short to drink bad wine.” — Anonymous

More often wine is drunk too old rather than too young. Break out that old bottle you saved for that special occasion, as every day is a special occasion.

Cheers and Happy Holidays to all!

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

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Prosecco – New Year Sparkles

Prosecco is an Italian white wine — generally a Dry or Extra Dry sparkling wine — normally made from Glera (“Prosecco”) grapes. DOC prosecco is produced in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy, and traditionally mainly in the areas near Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills north of Treviso.

Prosecco is known as the main ingredient of the Bellini cocktail and has more recently become popular as a less expensive substitute for Champagne.

History

Up until the 1960s, Prosecco sparkling wine was generally rather sweet and barely distinguishable from the Asti wine produced in Piedmont. Since then, production techniques have improved, leading to the high-quality dry wines produced today. According to a 2008 The New York Times report, Prosecco has sharply risen in popularity in markets outside Italy, with global sales growing by double-digit percentages since 1998, aided also by its comparatively low price. It was introduced into the mainstream US market in 2000 by Mionetto, now the largest importer of Prosecco, who also reported an “incredible growth trend” in 2008.

Prosecco is protected as a DOC within Italy, as Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Prosecco di Conegliano and Prosecco di Valdobbiadene. From 2009, this will be promoted to DOCG status. To further protect the name, an association of traditional Prosecco growers is advocating a protected designation of origin status for Northern Italian Prosecco under European law.

Production

Unlike Champagne, its main commercial competitor, Prosecco is produced using the Charmat method, in which the secondary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks, making the wine less expensive to produce.

Approximately 150 million bottles of Italian Prosecco are produced annually. As of 2008, 60 percent of all Prosecco is made in the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene area. Production there amounted to €370 million in 2007. Since the 2000s, Prosecco grapes are also cultivated and Prosecco is produced in other countries including Brazil, Romania, Argentina and Australia.

Variants

Prosecco is mainly produced as a sparkling wine in either the fully sparkling (spumante) or lightly sparkling (frizzante, gentile) varieties. Prosecco spumante, which has undergone a full secondary fermentation, is the more expensive variant. The sparkling variants may contain some Pinot bianco or Pinot grigio wine. Depending on their sweetness, in accordance with the EU Sweetness of Wine Regulations for Terms used to indicate sweetness of sparkling wine, Proseccos are labelled “Brut” (up to 12 grams per litre of residual sugar), “Extra Dry” (12-17 g/l) or “Dry” (17-32 g/l).

A still wine (calmo or tranquillo) is also made from Glera grapes – it amounts to only about five percent of production – but this wine is rarely exported.

Wines from the traditional Conegliano-Valdobbiadene production area are labeled as “Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene”, “Prosecco di Conegliano” or “Prosecco di Valdobbiadene” or “Prosecco DOC” from Friuli. Proseccos labeled with another, non-protected designation, such as “IGT-Veneto”, are generally cheaper and of a more varied quality.

Cartizze Prosecco

The hill of Cartizze is a 1,000-foot-high vineyard of 107 hectares (260 acres) of vines, owned by 140 growers. The Prosecco from its grapes, of which comparatively little is produced, is widely considered to be of the highest quality, or even the “Grand Cru” of Prosecco. Accordingly, a hectare of Cartizze grape land is estimated to be worth in excess of one million US dollars.

According to a local legend, Cartizze grapes were traditionally harvested last, as the vines were situated on steep slopes and hard to reach, which made vintners discover that this extended ripening period improved the flavour. Nonetheless, in a blind tasting at the 2006 Vinitaly trade fair, Cartizze spumanti were ranked consistently behind “normal” Prosecco.

Consumption

In Italy, Prosecco is enjoyed as a wine for every occasion. Outside Italy, it is most often drunk as an aperitif, much like Champagne. Like other sparkling wines, Prosecco is served chilled. Unlike Champagne, Prosecco does not ferment in the bottle and grows stale with time. It should be drunk as young as possible and preferably within three years of its vintage, although high-quality Prosecco can be aged for up to seven years.

Compared to other sparkling wines, Prosecco is low in alcohol, about 11 to 12 percent by volume. The flavor of Prosecco has been described as intensely aromatic and crisp, bringing to mind yellow apple, pear, white peach and apricot. Unlike Champagne, appreciated for its rich taste and complex secondary aromas, most Prosecco variants have intense primary aromas and are meant to taste fresh, light and comparatively simple.

Most commonly Prosecco is served unmixed, but it also appears in several mixed drinks. It was the original main ingredient in the Bellini cocktail and in the Spritz cocktail, and it can also replace Champagne in other cocktails such as the Mimosa. With vodka and lemon sorbet, Prosecco is also an ingredient of the Italian mixed drink Sgroppino.

Source: Wikipedia

Smooth Turkey

Thanksgiving is a tough time for families due to the stress of travel, reconnecting, and sharing meals. By planning right – bringing that perfect wine to match the cooking of your grandma – you can thrive during the holidays.

Look for big, expressive, fruit forward “cocktail” wines for the holidays. This allows everyone to enjoy their wine at first sip while utilizing its sedative effects to relieve the stress of the times.

When focusing on what to pick up, look for new world wines from Argentina, Australia, and the U.S. to get things going. Varietals such as Malbec, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc offer drinkable young wines at affordable prices. Also, areas other than Napa that are less well-known offer significant value.

And there is great wine coming out of the Valle de Uco. The 2010 Chaiken Vineyards wine is in a container on a boat sailing to New York harbor with a scheduled arrival date of November 30th. For those of you who ordered futures, I plan to get your wine ASAP. You will hear from me to arrange shipment immediately after the wine arrives in the U.S.

If you have any questions, or want to place an additional order, please contact me.

Have a great holiday season everyone!!

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Featured Photo Courtesy of  Don Guerwitz Photography – Motorcycle. Cappadocia, Turkey.

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Gamay – Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc

Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century. It has been often cultivated because it makes for abundant production; however, it can produce wines of distinction when planted on acidic soils, which help to soften the grape’s naturally high acidity.

The Gamay grape is thought to have appeared first in the village of the Gamay, south of Beaune, in the 1360s. The grape brought relief to the village growers following the decline of the Black Death. In contrast to the Pinot Noir variety, Gamay ripened two weeks earlier and was less difficult to cultivate. It also produced a strong, fruitier wine in a much larger abundance.

In July 1395, the Duke of Burgundy Philippe the Bold outlawed the cultivation of the grape, referring to it as the “disloyal Gaamez” that in spite of its ability to grow in abundance was full of “very great and horrible harshness”, due in part to the variety’s occupation of land that could be used for the more “elegant” Pinot Noir. 60 years later, Philippe the Good, issued another edict against Gamay in which he stated the reasoning for the ban is that “The Dukes of Burgundy are known as the lords of the best wines in Christendom. We will maintain our reputation”.

Characteristics

Gamay is a very vigorous vine which tends not to root very deep on alkaline soils resulting in pronounced hydrological stress on the vines over the growing season with a correspondingly high level of acidity in the grapes. The acidity is softened through carbonic maceration, a process that also allows the vibrant youthful fruit expressions reminiscent of bright crushed strawberries and raspberries, as well as deep floral notes of lilac and violets.

Gamay-based wines are typically light bodied and fruity. Wines meant to be drunk after some modest aging tend to have more body and are produced by whole-berry maceration. The latter are produced mostly in the designated ‘Cru Beaujolais’ areas where the wines typically have the flavor of sour cherries, black pepper, and dried berry, as well as fresh-cut stone and chalk.

Regional Production

In addition to being well suited to the terroir of Beaujolais, Gamay is grown extensively in the Loire Valley around Tours where it is typically blended with Cabernet Franc and Côt a local clone of the Malbec. These wines are similar to those of Crus Beaujolais but with raspberry notes and the signature fresh-peppery nose of the Cabernet Franc.

Gamay is also the grape of the Beaujolais nouveau, produced exclusively from the more alkaline soils of Southern Beaujolais where the grape is incapable of making drinkable wines without aggressive carbonic maceration. The acid levels of the grape grown in the limestone Pierres Doreés of the South are too high for making wines with any appeal beyond the early release Nouveaus.

Gamay is commonly grown in the Niagara Peninsula in Canada, some producers being in the Short Hills Bench, Beamsville Bench and St. David’s Bench to mention a few, as well as in Prince Edward County. One producer even has a regional clone which they discovered, Gamay Droit, which is a recognized mutation. It is also grown successfully by a small number of wineries in Australia to make a range of wines including light bodied red wines suitable for early drinking.

Gamay has also been introduced into Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine region, a place known for its wines made from Pinot Noir, another Burgundian grape. It was introduced by Amity Vineyards in 1988. Tasting notes published by the vineyards at Amity, WillaKenzie and Brickhouse describe wines that match the basic profiles of Crus Beaujolais.

Similarly Named Grapes

The Gamay name has become attached to other varieties grown in California, which at one time were thought to be the true Gamay. The grape ‘Napa Gamay’ is now known as Valdeguié, and the name Napa Gamay will no longer appear on labels after 2007. Gamay Beaujolais is considered to be an early ripening Californian clone of Pinot Noir. Despite similar names the grapes Gamay du Rhône and Gamay St-Laurent are not the Beaujolais grape either but rather the southwestern France grape Abouriou.

Source: Wikipedia

Seeking Proper Wine Service

If you regularly order wine in a restaurant, you understand all too well the differences in quality of the wine service. During my travels around the U.S. and Europe, I experienced a wide range of styles of wine service, learning what works. Considering the typical restaurant wine markup of 100-300% over prices in local wine shops, it is completely reasonable to expect high quality wine service. Here are a few of my wine service tips.

1. Wine List – Any restaurant with a wine list should include basic information about the wines offered. This includes the winery or producer, wine name, region, varietals, and vintage. Too often restaurants omit the vintage year from their list or deliver a wine to the table that is younger than the vintage on their list. Vintage matters as some years are clearly better growing years than others. This is especially important for old world wines where the lack of irrigation and the potential for rains at harvest make the quality of the growing season correlated tightly with wine quality.

2. Glassware – Many restaurants use small bowl glasses that do not allow the bouquet of the wine to collect in the bowl and waft toward your nose. As flavors are mostly conveyed through your sense of smell rather than sense of taste, anything that decreases your ability to smell your wine will decrease your enjoyment of the wine. If you are stuck at a place that does not have quality glassware, consider using the water glass. It may have a bigger bowl than the regular wine glass. Considering the low cost of “restaurant tough” glassware I do not understand why any restaurant with a formal wine list does not use proper stemware to serve their wine. If you see quality glassware somewhere else in the restaurant, ask for it. Some restaurants reserve their good glassware for customers that spend more than a certain amount on a bottle of wine, something I consider both silly and insulting.

3. Serving Temperature – White wine is served chilled, but not ice cold. Red wine is served slightly chilled, about 60-65 degrees, not the restaurant room temperature of 75+ degrees. Do not be afraid to ask your server to cool down your red wine in a bucket of ice before serving, or let your white wine warm up a little so you can taste it.

4. Decanter – Often red wine requires a bit of exposure to air (i.e., oxygen) to “open up” and express itself. Good decanters have broad bottoms that expose a large amount of wine to the air. Water carafes are not a proper decanter. Simply opening up the bottle and letting it stand does not expose the wine to enough air to make much of a difference.

5. Tasting Wine – The ritual of the server pouring a bit of wine in your glass to taste is for you to confirm that the wine is of good quality (e.g., no cork taint) rather than to determine whether the wine is to your liking. If you think the wine has a defect, ask the server to try it. Often the defect is obvious (e.g., smell of a wet basement, oxidation, or vinegar) and the server will smell it too. The restaurant should then replace the suspect bottle with a new one.

6. Pouring Wine – Pour your own wine for yourself and your friends. About two ounces or two inches in the bottom of the glass is enough. There is no guarantee that a server knows how to properly fill a glass of wine and most put too much wine in the glass. This prevents you from experiencing its bouquet. Also, servers often fill glasses indiscriminately, providing wine to those who want more and others who do not. If you pour the wine yourself, only those who want wine will get it, and you will have the added benefit of chatting about the wine every time you refill a glass. In the end everyone will drink less wine but enjoy it more.

Although a few servers offered up funny looks when I followed these suggestions, most experienced wine stewards have nodded their heads approvingly. They then stop by my table to see how the meal is going and to chat a bit about wine. How bad is that?

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Featured Photo Courtesy of  Don Guerwitz Photography – Street Urchin. Monywa, Myanmar (Burma).

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Malbec – Viticulture and Regions

Malbec is very susceptible to various grape diseases and viticultural hazards-most notably frost, coulure, downey mildew and rot but the development of new clones and vineyard management techniques have helped control some of these potential problems. When it is not afflicted with these various ailments, particularly coulure, it does have the potential to produce high yields. Too high a yield, as was the circumstance in Argentina until recently with their heavy use of flood irrigation, the wines become more simplistic and lacking in flavor. Malbec seems to be able to produce well in a variety of soil types but in the limestone based soils of Cahors it seems to produce its most dark and tannic manifestation. There are distinct ampelographical differences in the clones of Malbec found in France and in Argentina, with Argentine Malbec tending to have smaller berries.

Regions

Malbec is the dominant red varietal in Cahors where the Appellation Controlée regulations for Cahors require a minimum content of 70%. Introduced to Argentina by French agricultural engineer Michel Pouget in 1868, Malbec is widely planted in Argentina producing a softer, less tannic-driven variety than the wines of Cahors. There were once 50,000 hectares planted with Malbec in Argentina; now there are 25,000 hectares in Mendoza in addition to production in La Rioja, Salta, San Juan, Catamarca and Buenos Aires. Chile has about 6,000 hectares planted, France 5,300 hectares and in the cooler regions of California just 45 hectares. In California the grape is used to make Meritage. Malbec is also grown in Washington State, the northeastern tip of Oregon, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, British Columbia, the Long Island AVA of New York, Oregon, southern Bolivia, northeastern Italy and recently in Texas and southern Ontario, and in the Baja California region of Mexico.

France

At one point Malbec was grown in 30 different departments of France, a legacy that is still present in the abundance of local synonyms for the variety which easily surpass 1000 names. However, in recent times, the popularity of the variety has been steadily declining with a 2000 census reporting only 15,000 acres (6,100 hectares) of the vine mostly consigned to the southwestern part of the country. Its stronghold remains Cahors where Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) regulations stipulates that Malbec must compose at least 70% of the blend, with Merlot and Tannat rounding out the remaining percentage. Outside of Cahors, Malbec is still found in small amounts as a permitted variety in the AOCs of Bergerac, Buzet, Côtes de Duras, Côtes du Marmandais, Fronton and Pécharmant. It is also permitted in the Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) of Côtes du Brulhois. In the Midi region of the Languedoc, it is permitted (but rarely grown) in the AOC regions of Cabardès and Côtes de Malepère. There is a small amount of Malbec grown in the middle Loire Valley and permitted in the AOCs of Anjou, Coteaux du Loir, Touraine and the sparkling wine AOC of Saumur where it is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Gamay. But as elsewhere in France, Malbec is losing acreage other varieties-most notably Cabernet Franc in the Loire.

The grape was historically a major planting in Bordeaux, providing color and fruit to the blend, but in the 20th century started to lose ground to Merlot and Cabernet Franc due, in part, to its sensitivities to so many different vine ailments (coulure, downy mildew, frost). The severe 1956 frost wiped out a significant portion of Malbec vines in Bordeaux, allowing many growers a chance to start anew with different varieties. By 1968 plantings in the Libournais was down to 12,100 acres (4,900 hectares) and fell further to 3,460 acres (1,400 hectares) by 2000. While Malbec has since become a popular component of New World meritages or Bordeaux blends, and it is still a permitted variety in all major wine regions of Bordeaux, its presence in Bordeaux is as a distinctly minor variety. Only the regions of the Côtes-de-Bourg, Blaye and Entre-Deux-Mers have any significant plantings in Bordeaux.

Source: Wikipedia

Bottling Now

The wait is over. As you read this my wine is being racked from its barrels into bottles for corking, labeling, and packaging. The wine is expected in the U.S. by early December, just in time for the holiday season.

The wine required a few extra months of barrel aging than expected due to its high quality. This is great news as it is one indication of what wonderful surprises might be in the bottle. My Vines of Mendoza team reports that the wine has matured gracefully since my blending session in January. The wines are concentrated, expressive, and show great complexity. Am I excited? Absolutely!!

More than five years ago I first visited the Valle de Uco, looking over a stretch of land covered with desert weeds and glacial rocks. Today, rows of healthy grape vines fill my five acres preparing themselves for another growing season. Seeing the transformation of the land from barren desert to lush green vineyards brings a great sense of accomplishment to me and everyone involved with this project. Thanks to all of you who have supported Chaiken Vineyards these past few years.

I am committed to producing the finest wines possible from the land, allowing the terroir – geography, soil, and micro climate – to express itself. Wine is made in the vineyard and nurtured in the winery. When you taste your first bottle of my wine in December, you will be one of the first to experience Nature’s expression of place – Chaiken Vineyards in the Valle de Uco. I am hopeful you will be pleased.

Sincerely,

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Featured Photo Courtesy of Don Guerwitz Photography – Monk Dancers. Tiji Festival, Tibetan Kingdom of Mustang, Nepal.

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Malbec

Malbec (pronounced: [mal.bɛk]) is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are long known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. The French plantations of Malbec are now found primarily in Cahors in the South West France region. It is increasingly celebrated as an Argentine varietal wine and is being grown around the world.

Called Auxerrois or Côt Noir in Cahors, called Malbec in Bordeaux, and Pressac in other places, the grape became less popular in Bordeaux after 1956 when frost killed off 75% of the crop. Despite Cahors being hit by the same frost, which devastated the vineyards, Malbec was replanted and continued to be popular in that area where it was mixed with Merlot and Tannat to make dark, full-bodied wines, and more recently has been made into 100% Malbec varietal wines.

A popular but unconfirmed theory claims that Malbec is named after a Hungarian peasant who first spread the grape variety throughout France. However the French ampelographer and viticulturalist Pierre Galet notes that most evidence suggest that Côt was the variety’s original name and that it probably originated in northern Burgundy. Despite a similar name, the grape Malbec argenté is not Malbec, but rather a variety of the southwestern French grape Abouriou. Due to the similarities in synonyms, Malbec has also been confused with Auxerrois blanc, which is an entirely different variety.

The Malbec grape is a thin-skinned grape and needs more sun and heat than either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot to mature. It ripens mid-season and can bring very deep color, ample tannin, and a particular plum-like flavor component to add complexity to claret blends. Sometimes, especially in its traditional growing regions, it is not trellised and cultivated as bush vines (the goblet system). Here it is sometimes kept to a relatively low yield of about 6 tons per hectare. The wines are rich, dark and juicy.

As a varietal, Malbec creates a rather inky red (or violet), intense wine, so it is also commonly used in blends, such as with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to create the red French Bordeaux claret blend. The grape is blended with Cabernet Franc and Gamay in some regions such as the Loire Valley. Other wine regions use the grape to produce Bordeaux-style blends. The varietal is sensitive to frost and has a proclivity to shatter or coulure.

Wine

Wine expert Jancis Robinson describes the French style of Malbec common in the Libournais (Bordeaux region) as a “rustic” version of Merlot, softer in tannins and lower in acidity with blackberry fruit in its youth. The Malbec of the Cahors region is much more tannic with more phenolic compounds that contribute to its dark color. Oz Clarke describes Cahors’ Malbec as dark purple in color with aromas of damsons, tobacco, garlic, and raisin. In Argentina, Malbec becomes softer with a plusher texture and riper tannins. The wines tend to have juicy fruit notes with violet aromas. In very warm regions of Argentina, Chile & Australia, the acidity of the wine may be too low which can cause a wine to taste flabby and weak. Malbec grown in Washington state tends to be characterized by dark fruit notes and herbal aromas.

Synonyms

The French ampelographer Pierre Galet has documented over a thousand different synonyms for Malbec, stemming in part from its in peak period when it growing in 30 different departments of France. While Malbec is the name most commonly known to wine drinkers, Galet suggest that Côt was most likely the grape variety’s original name and the frequent appearance of Auxerrois as a synonym suggests the northern reaches of Burgundy as being the possible home of the varietal. In Bordeaux, where the variety first gained attention, it was known under the synonym Pressac.

Other common synonyms for Malbec include Agreste, Auxerrois, Auxerrois De Laquenexy, Auxerrois Des Moines De Picpus, Auxerrois Du Mans, Balouzat, Beran, Blanc De Kienzheim, Cahors, Calarin, Cauli, Costa Rosa, Cot A Queue Verte, Cotes Rouges, Doux Noir, Estrangey, Gourdaux, Grelot De Tours, Grifforin, Guillan, Hourcat, Jacobain, Luckens, Magret, Malbek, Medoc Noir, Mouranne, Navarien, Negre De Prechac, Negrera, Noir De Chartres, Noir De Pressac, Noir Doux, Nyar De Presak, Parde, Périgord, Pied De Perdrix, Pied Noir, Pied Rouge, Pied Rouget, Piperdy, Plant D’Arles, Plant De Meraou, Plant Du Roi, Prechat, Pressac, Prunieral, Quercy, Queue Rouge, Quille De Coy, Romieu, Teinturin, Terranis, Vesparo, Côt, Plant du Lot.

Source: Wikipedia

Labor Day Asado

Although Asado is a term used to describe a particular style of barbequing techniques, in Argentina, as well as Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and southern Brazil, Asado means social gathering focused around cooking meats on an outdoor fire. In the Untied States we often call this a cookout or barbeque.

2011 Pan-Mass Challenge - Click to help defeat cancer.

During my regular trips to Argentina to check on my vineyard, I always attend an Asado near my property hosted by my good friends at the Vines of Mendoza. Besides offering a variety of meats that would make any carnivore smile, VOM arranges for tastings of local wines that pair great with the foods served. These tastings help develop my palate while advancing my knowledge of wines originating the Valle de Uco where Chaiken Vineyards is located. This knowledge proves quite valuable each January when I blend my wine for the next vintage.

So, this Labor Day weekend consider putting on your own Asado, American style. Stop by your favorite grocery and pick up a broad variety of meats, poultry, sausage, and vegetables to grill. Then invite all of your good friends over, stoke up the fire, and open up your best wines.

There is no better ways to celebrate life than an Asado.

Sincerely,

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Featured Photo Courtesy of Don Guerwitz Photography – Woodgatherers. Rajasthan, India.

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Rosé and Vin Gris

A rosé (From French: rosé, ‘pinkish’) wine has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.

Production

There are three major ways to produce rosé wine: skin contact, saignée and blending.

Skin Contact

Rose wine is made in a range of colours, from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes, additives and wine making techniques.

When rosé wine is the primary product, it’s produced with the skin contact method. Black-skinned grapes are crushed and the skins are allowed to remain in contact with the juice for a short period, typically one to three days. The must is then pressed, and the skins are discarded rather than left in contact throughout fermentation (as with red wine making). The skins contain much of the astringent tannin and other compounds, thereby leaving the structure more similar to a white wine. The longer that the skins are left in contact with the juice, the more intense the color of the final wine.

Saignée

Rosé wine can be produced as a by-product of red wine fermentation using a technique known as Saignée, or bleeding the vats. When a winemaker desires to impart more tannin and color to a red wine, some of the pink juice from the must can be removed at an early stage. The red wine remaining in the vats is intensified as a result of the bleeding, because the volume of juice in the must is reduced, and the must involved in the maceration is concentrated. The pink juice that is removed can be fermented separately to produce rosé.

Blending

Blending, the simple mixing of red wine to a white to impart color, is uncommon. This method is discouraged in most wine growing regions except for Champagne. Even in Champagne, several high-end producers do not use this method but rather the saignée method.

Styles

The color is deeper than most blush-style wines.Historically rosé was quite a delicate, dry wine, exemplified by Anjou rosé from the Loire. In fact the original claret was a pale (‘clairet’) wine from Bordeaux that would probably now be described as a rosé. Weißherbst is a type of German rosé made from only one variety of grape.

After the Second World War, there was a fashion for medium-sweet rosés for mass-market consumption, the classic examples being Mateus Rosé and the American “blush” wines of the 1970s (see below). The pendulum now seems to be swinging back towards a drier, ‘bigger’ style. These wines are made from Rhone grapes like Syrah, Grenache and Carignan in hotter regions such as Provence, the Languedoc and Australia. In France, rosé has now exceeded white wines in sales. In the United States a record 2005 California crop has resulted in an increased production and proliferation of varietals used for rosés, as winemakers chose to make rosé rather than leave their reds unsold.

Blush Wine

In the early 1970s, demand for white wine exceeded the availability of white wine grapes, so many California producers made “white” wine from red grapes, in a form of saignée production with minimal skin contact, the “whiter” the better. In 1975, Sutter Home’s “White Zinfandel” wine experienced a stuck fermentation, a problem in which the yeast dies off before all the sugar is turned to alcohol. Winemaker Bob Trinchero put it aside for two weeks, then upon tasting it he decided to sell this pinker, sweeter wine.

In 1976, wine writer Jerry D. Mead visited Mill Creek Vineyards in Sonoma County, California. Charlie Kreck had been one of the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon vines in California, and offered Mead a wine made from Cabernet that was a pale pink and as yet unnamed. Kreck would not call it “White Cabernet” as it was much darker in colour than red grape “white” wines of the time, yet it was not as dark as the rosés he had known. Mead jokingly suggested the name “Cabernet Blush”, then that evening phoned Kreck to say that he no longer thought the name a joke. In 1978 Kreck trademarked the word “Blush”. The name caught on as a marketing name for the semi-sweet wines from producers such as Sutter Home and Beringer, although Mill Creek no longer produces any rosé wine.

The term “blush

” is generally restricted to wines sold in North America, although it is sometimes used in Australia and by Italian Primitivo wines hoping to cash in on the recently discovered genetic links between Primitivo and Zinfandel. Although “blush” originally referred to a colour (pale pink), it now tends to indicate a relatively sweet pink wine, typically with 2.5% residual sugar; in North America dry pink wines are usually marketed as rosé but sometimes as blush. In Europe, almost all pink wines are referred to as rosé regardless of sugar levels, even semi-sweet ones from California.

Orange Wine

Orange wine, also co

mmonly known as amber wine, is wine made from white wine grape varieties that have spent some maceration time in contact with the grape skins. Orange wines get their name from the darker, slightly orange tinge that the white wines receive due to their contact with the coloring pigments of the grape skins. This winemaking style is essentially the opposite of rosé production which involves getting red wine grapes quickly off their skins, leaving the wine with a slightly pinkish hue. The tradition of amber wine production is kept alive especially in the Caucasian republic of Georgia. Common grape varietals used for amber wine are Mtsvane and Rkatsiteli.

Vin Gris

Vin gris is white wine made fr

om red grapes, in particular pinot noir. Pinot noir is a black grape, but can also be used to make rosé, blush wine, or white wine. When the grapes are brought to the winery and crushed, the juice is run off and removed from contact with the skin, leaving the colour and flavour compounds from the skin behind. The juice is then typically fermented in stainless steel tanks before being bottled shortly after, without any aging in oak barrels.

Producing a small volume of Vin gris (or rosé) can also be used as a technique to improve Pinot noir. Removing some clear juice increases the concentration of colour and flavour compounds from the skins in the remaining juice intended for making red wine; the resulting rosé is known as a saignée (bled).

Grape Varieties

Another grape used to produce Vin Gris is Gamay, particularly in Lorraine, where the Côtes de Toul zone produces a light and delighting Vin Gris. The vinification is the same as with Pinot Noir (short contact of the white juice with the red skins during the pressing), but the fruity flavour of the Gamay very much changes the taste of the wine.

Champagne is often made using this process, when it is known as blanc de noirs.

Source: Wikipedia