Archive-name: wine-faq/part7
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Copyright: (c) 1995 Bradford S. Brown (see Notices & Disclaimers in pt. 10)
Last-modified: 1996/07/26

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*7. SPECIFIC WINES
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*7.1 GRAPES

Before you talk about specific wines, one must talk about grapes.
While there are lots of grapes in the world (travel up and down
the "Central Valley" of California and see all the "table"
grapes), there are a select few which are used for making the
best wines.  These are known as "noble" grapes.  [A note--I know
that there are a LOT of grapes missing, especially a lot of
French varieties.  As I personally learn more, they'll get
added.]  Here are some:

*7.1.1 Red Wine Grapes

--Cabernet Sauvignon:  One of the components of French Bordeaux,
it is also the major (if not sometimes only) grape in the most
popularly drunk American red wines in what might be called, for
lack of a better term, the "snob appeal" class.  (For in fact
there is probably more American jug wine that never sees the
cabernet grape drunk each year in the United States than all the
cabernet sauvignon from all the wineries in the world put
together.  Prestige and/or quality are not always equal to
popularity.)  Cabernet sauvignon contains a lot of tannins that
lead to the long aged, "better" red wines.  Depending on where it
is grown it may smell of cassis and black currants or black
cherry and red currants.  Some people may notice a cigar box
smell.  Bell peppers, asparagus, and rhubarb are common tasting
notes for cabernet produced from grapes that are not quite ripe.
A bit of this sort of character is considered, by some, to be
pleasing (the wine is called "herbaceous"), too much of this
flavor is unappealing--and the wine will be described as
"vegetal".  Out tasting at a "fancy" winery I tasted a wine that
smelled and tasted so overwhelmingly of asparagus (which I don't
like) that I couldn't drink anything else the entire day.  The
winery people admitted that while some people loved that
particular wine, others had the same reaction as myself.


--Barbera:  A major Italian variety with a "tarry" smell and
medium body.

--Cabernet Franc:  Also a component of Bordeaux, a little is
often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to add bouquet.  Some don't
think much of it when drunk all by itself.

--Gamay:  Produces a fruity wine such as French Beaujolais.  (The
California Gamay Beaujolais is not the same grape, but makes a
wine that comes close.)

--Grenache:  Often used to make rose wine, it is a component of
French Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cotes du Rhone and most other
appellations from the south of France.  There are also many tasty
grenache-based wines from Spain (where it is called garnacha) and
from California.

--Merlot:  One of the major components of most French Bordeaux,
also with less tannin that makes for a smoother characteristic in
the wine.  Alone (or practically alone), it makes another of the
more popular U.S. wines.  Though it is like Cabernet, it is
usually "rounder".  It is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon.

--Nebbiolo:  Can be found in California, but is really a grape of
the Piedmont area of Northern Italy.  Found in Barbaresco and
Barolo wines, which can be aged with great success.

--Syrah ("true Syrah") and Petite Sirah are not the same, the
former a relative of Durif from the Rhone in France (and a major
variety in its own right), the latter a variety grown relatively
widely in California and said to be genetically the same as the
obscure French Durif variety.  Both produce more or less deeply-
red-colored, tannic, long lived wines, the latter being a bit
more "peppery."  You might also see Australian Shiraz, which is
the same grape variety as the "true" French syrah, but because of
differences in growing conditions between the two countries, much
of it ends up tasting more like the California petite sirah,
perhaps with more of a chocolate note.

--Pinot Noir:  The only grape in the famous French Red Burgundy
appellations of the Cotes de Beaune, Cotes de Nuit and Cote
d'or..  Some U.S. winemakers will make Pinot Noir "in the French
style."  Or not.  Interestingly, they are lighter in color (but
not flavor) than Bordeaux/Cabernet.

--Zinfandel:  Mostly from California, it has a great deal of
fruit like characteristics.  Some young Zinfandels are also
"spicy."  Good red Zinfandel is often a bargain in restaurants,
being less expensive than other wines, but still very drinkable.
(Huge quantities of Zinfandel are made into "White Zin," a sweet,
uncomplicated (and usually inexpensive) wine that is favored by
people who do not drink much wine.  A decent White Zinfandel can
make a nice "picnic wine."


*7.1.2 White Wine Grapes

--Chardonnay:  Produces French white Burgundy and perhaps the
most popular (once again "snob" class--see cabernet sauvignon,
above) wines in the U.S.  "Give me a glass of white wine" will
probably get you Chardonnay at "better" restaurants.  (In fact, a
lot of jug wine--which is to say, a vast amount of wine--in the
United States is made from what are "lesser" grape varieties like
French colombard or sultana.)

--Chenin Blanc:  The major grape planted in the French Loire
valley.  In the U.S., often used to make a light, fruity wine.

--Gewurztraminer:  Some confusion abounds this wine, partly
because non-German speaking persons may not order it in a
restaurant because they can't pronounce it (there is a
pronunciation key elsewhere in this document) and partly because
of the way in which parts of the word can be translated.  I'm
told the German word "wuerz" literally means "spice", but
"gewuerz" is better translated as "aromatic" or "fragrant."  Wine
from this grape has a floral smell and the wine itself is often
drunk with spicy foods.  Gewurztraminer also makes a good "late
harvest" sweet dessert wine.  It is more common in Alsace, Italy,
and the United States than in Germany and many "experts" say
Alsace makes the best.

--Riesling:  Also, to me, producing a floral smelling sort of
wine, it also makes a sort of light, fresh type of wine.  Makes a
great "late harvest" sweet dessert wine (for which it is
especially known in Germany).  Another viewpoint, it isn't so
much floral as "minerally" with accents of fuel oil--not light
and fresh, instead, lots of depth and complexity in something
like a good German Riesling Spatlese or Alsatian Grand Cru.

--Sauvignon Blanc (sometimes called Fume Blanc, at least in
California):  In the U.S., makes a crisp, light wine (sometimes
with a "grassy" [or herbaceous] characteristic).  It is a
component (along with Semillon ) of the French dessert wine,
Sauternes and the white wines of Bordeaux.

--.i.Semillon;.  As with many grapes, while grown elsewhere (such
as California), Semillon is one of the major varieties grown in
Bordeaux.  Like Sauvignon Blanc is can often have a grassy (or
herbaceous) note, but also may have notes of ripe figs.  It may
be drunk "dry", or "sweet", and as such, it is a component (along
with Sauvignon Blanc ) of the French dessert wine, Sauternes and
the white wines of Bordeaux.

Because I am neither an expert or a global traveler, nor
independently wealthy, you may notice a lack of discussion about
other grapes from around the world.  I'm always open for
opinions, though!  Anybody want to tell me a lot of good things
about, for example, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, Spain (these are things people have written to me about)
and you name the list of other countries, wines, producers that
I've missed!


*7.2 WHAT'S IN A NAME?

A "variet" is just a grape, and a varietal is a wine made up of
100% of a particular variety of grape.  However, United States
law allows that a wine may be labeled in the manner of a varietal
if it contains 75%  of that variety of grape.  So, the next time
your bottle says Cabernet Sauvignon, check the label.  Perhaps
your "Cab" also contains something like Merlot, Cabernet Franc or
some other grape.  (This isn't a bad idea, since you can give a
Cabernet a "smoother" quality by blending in "smoother" grapes.)

French wines follow labeling rules which are a bit different.  A
red Burgundy is made of 100% Pinot Noir, grown in the Burgundy
area of France.  A French Bordeaux is made with different grapes
(see the section on "Meritage"), but again is grown in the
Bordeaux area of France.  So your rule for French wines is that
they are known by the geographical area of origin (also known as
"appellation"), not by grape.  Another example is Chablis (which
happens to be an area in Burgundy), which is made of 100%
Chardonnay.  Also, the vintner must follow certain standards and
practices in the production of the wine, set out by the
Appellation d'Origine Controlee (A.O.C.).  The A.O.C. also sets
out standards for the quality of wine which range from Vins
Delimites de Qualite Superieure (VDQS--the best quality) to Vins
de pays ("county wines") to Vins ordinaires (ordinary wine).  The
A.O.C. system is used throughout Europe.

One note about the A.O.C.  Like just about all laws, there are
those who must feel that they must be broken.  There are the oft
repeated rumors that unethical producers will dilute their wine
with grapes not in accord with the law.  It has been said that
much of the impetus to give the southern Rhone communes their own
appellations was to put a stop to the practice of illegally
blending those wines into Burgundy.

The final word, as always, is that vigilance is required on the
part of the government and the consumer.

So a quick summary of these rules are that United States wines
are characterized by what goes into them while French wines are
characterized by where the grapes are grown.

Winemakers may also put a very specific area from which their
grapes are harvested on the label.  For example, there are
excellent U.S. Pinot Noirs that come from the "Rochiolli
vineyard" in Sonoma.  A single producer thus might have a line of
4 or 5 Pinot Noirs, perhaps all from Sonoma, but not all from the
same vineyard.  Often (but NOT always--to each their own),
"better" (or at least more expensive) wine comes form a "better"
vineyard.  In the United States there are places called "Approved
Viticultural Areas" or AVA.  If 75% of the wine is grown in that
AVA the AVA may be placed on the label.

Other terms may be placed on the bottle which the winemaker used
to denote a "better" wine (perhaps based on the style of
production, aging, grapes, etc.).  One such term is "reserve."
You may feel, however, that a non-reserve wine (usually less
expensive) tastes better to YOU than what the winemaker has
labeled "reserve."


*7.3 MERITAGE

French Bordeaux is made from a blend of grapes.  It might
contain, for example,  Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
and Malbec.  The amounts differ (for example, in the Bordeaux
appellations St. Emilion and Pomeral, Merlot tends to be the
dominant grape, while in the Medoc (Paulliac, St. Esteph,
Margaux, and St. Julien), Cabernet Sauvignon is dominant.  The
important point, is that no matter what the grapes, it is a
"blend" of grapes, though it might be that something like Merlot
or Cabernet Sauvignon will be a very large percentage of the
wine.

In the United States, a wine cannot be called by it varietal name
unless that grape is at least 75% of the wine.  As a
merchandising tool, a new name has reached the marketplace.
Producers in the United States creating blend wines (usually with
less than 75% of any particular grape) have agreed to use the
term Meritage to designate a high quality wine using Bordeaux
style blends of grape varieties.

While "Meritage" is a blend that is often used to denote an
upscale wine, blends (not labeled Meritage) as such can represent
a very good value in the purchase of wine.  Look for, example,
wines denoted "Table Wine" instead of with any particular grape.


*7.4 CHAMPAGNE

Champagne is a "sparkling" wine that comes (of course) from the
Champagne area of France.  Three grapes can be used to make
Champagne:  Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir.  It is
produced by a technique known as Methode Champenoise.

In Methode Champenoise, there is more than one major fermentation
(see FERMENTATION in HOW IS WINE MADE).  The first fermentation
takes 2 to 3 weeks.  The wine is then placed in very sturdy
bottles (to withstand the internal pressure that will be part of
the process) along with sugar and yeast (Liqueur de Tirage).  A
temporary cap (just like the type you find on a bottle of beer or
soda) is placed on the bottle.  The sugar and yeast cause a new
fermentation to occur.  Since fermentation produces carbon
dioxide (the same gas that makes the bubbles in your soda), which
can't escape from bottle, what you get is carbonated wine.  This
fermentation also creates new sediment, which must be removed.
This is done by placing the wines on their sides on racks at
about a 45 degree down facing angle.  Then every day the bottles
are turned a bit (called "riddling" or "remuage"), and eventually
also tilted farther down.  After about 6 or 8 weeks, the sediment
has now moved to the neck of the bottle, which the vintner then
freezes.  The bottle is opened and the force of the pressurized
wine pushes the frozen sediment out of the bottle (this is called
"disgorgement".  Since the bottle is now no longer full, wine and
sugar (depending on what sweetness desired) is added.  The bottle
is then given its permanent cork.

Some say Champagne does not mature in the bottle, so you needn't
bother cellaring it.  Others argue that you may enjoy a little
aging on some vintage Champagnes.  Mostly, I think they're drunk
quick.

The French discourage (to put it mildly) the use of the word
"Champagne" for sparkling wines made (even in the same manner)
elsewhere in the world.  Also know that not all sparkling wines
are made using the Methode Champenoise.  For example, instead of
carbonating the wine in the bottle and hand turning the bottles
every day, you COULD put the wine into huge stainless steel tanks
for the second fermentation.  This will get you much cheaper
carbonated--or sparkling--wine.

[reserved:  how to open a bottle of Champagne; styles of
Champagne, Naturel, Brut, semi-dry (demi-sec), etc.]


*7.5 PORT

Port is a "fortified wine". Brandy is added to the wine to stop
fermentation before the yeasts eat all the grape sugar, thus
yielding a sweeter wine, which is also has a higher alcohol
content.

True Port comes from Portugal (the Duouro region, to be exact).
But since winemakers in other countries have taken to producing
"Port," Duouro Port makers have started to call THEIR Port,
"Porto," or "Oporto" (from the city in Duouro).

There are two main categories of Port:

*7.5.1 Vintage Port

Wineries will decide ("declare") that the harvest in a some
particular years (or "vintages") is worthy of producing this
port, which is aged for two years in wood from grapes of that
harvest year only.  It will also continue to mature once bottled.
Not only are not all years declared to be vintage years, but not
all wineries may decide within a particular year that THEIR wine
is a vintage year, and even in a declared year (which may occur
two or three times in a decade) perhaps only 10% of the grapes
will go into vintage port (with the balance going to wood ports).
So in most years there just is no vintage Port at all!

Vintage Ports get much better with age.  Generally don't drink
them before 15 years.  Some can keep getting better for a long
time after that--even 100 years.  Like most good wine, a vintage
port shouldn't be left around undrunk once opened.

--Single-Quinta Vintage Port:Quinta

This is true vintage Port--wine from one harvest year bottled
unblended after two years in cask.  When a shipper "declares a
vintage", the vintage Port from that year usually comes from
wines produced by grapes from various vineyards (quintas).  It is
said that no one vineyard has all the characteristics to make the
best vintage Port--it needs to be blended with other vineyards to
be the most complete and complex wine.  However, sometimes a
producer's single best vineyard will yield grapes fine enough to
warrant bottling on their own, while the rest of the vineyards
that would normally contribute to a vintage Port weren't as
successful.  The producer may then choose to vinify this wine
from that single vineyard, or "quinta".  This is called "single-
quinta vintage Port" and the quinta name will appear on the
label.  So, whereas a Port labelled "Graham's 1991 Vintage Porto"
is a vintage Port from a declared year, "Graham's Malvedos 1988
Vintage Porto" is a single-quinta vintage Port from the Quinta
dos Malvedos, the best vineyard that Graham's owns.

The one exception to this nomenclature is the Quinta do Noval,
which is actually a producer, not a single quinta.  (Noval's best
vineyard is called Nacional, and its single-quinta Port is the
rarest, most expensive, and reportedly best of all.)


*7.5.2 Wood Port

Within this category are three sub-categories, based on color:

*7.5.2.1 Ruby Port

A dark red, somewhat sweet "full-bodied" wine which has probably
been aged in wood for several years.

*7.5.2.2 Tawny Port

Not such a deep color, it is a "smoother," less sweet wine which
may have been aged in wood for 20 years.  The difference between
tawny Port and ruby Port is simply the amount of time that the
wine spends in the wood cask before it is blended and bottled.
As the wine ages, the ruby-red color of the young wine becomes
paler and browner.  Top tawny Ports from the best producers are
just as complex and fine (and expensive) as vintage Port, though
they will have a different character.  (If you find something
labeled tawny Port which seems inexpensive--or shall we say,
"cheap?," you may have found something produced by blending
"tawny" Port with "white" Port.  Needless to say, you'll tell the
difference and Port connoisseurs will tell you that they aren't
worthy of the name "Port" at all.)

*7.5.2.3 White Port

A sweet white wine made from white grapes grown in the Oporto
region of Portugal.  As with red Port, fermentation is stopped by
adding brandy to the partly fermented wine.  Not really like the
other (red) Ports, which are usually drunk after a meal, this is
usually drunk before a meal.

Wood Ports will not get any better by cellaring, so you can drink
them as you buy.

*7.5.3 Decanting Port

As you age your good Port it is going to "throw off" a good
amount of sediment which is going to end up in your glass if you
don't decant.  So, get into the habit of decanting.  Unless you
like to eat sediment, of course.

[Reserved:  Expanded discussion of Port.  I've got forty pages of
notes!]

I have no knowledge of, but repeat posted information that there
is a a quarterly newsletter called Re: Port.  P.O. Box 981,
Cherry Hill, New Jersey 09003.  Said to list availability and
best retail prices for vintage port in the U.S.  Apparently a
sample copy is available.


*7.6 DESSERT WINES


There are number of different wines which come under this
category.  Often very sweet, you don't really want to drink a lot
of it at one time.  For this reason you'll see dessert wines sold
in the smaller 375ml bottle (as well as larger bottles).  At a
recent picnic, the smaller bottle did quite well for eight of us.


*7.6.1 Botrytis

While the classification of "dessert" wines can include any
number of things, this is where we'll deal with those wines that
are affected by "the rot."  Not just any rot, however, but the
"noble rot,"Botrytis cinerea, a mold which causes the vine
disease called grey rot.  Some years (but not all), when the
weather is exactly right, with warm, sunny afternoons and damp,
foggy mornings, the mold doesn't rot the fruit, but affects it in
a different way.  About 90% of the water in the grape disappears
and the grapes shrivel up.  Since relatively little of the sugar
is lost, you get extremely concentrated and sweet grape juice.
These grapes can be harvested and treated specially.  Noble
Botrytis adds a honeyed, aromatic flavor characteristic of its
own to the wine.  In the end, what you get is a sweet and, when
lucky, an incredibly complex and flavorful liquid that, as it
ages, turns from pale yellow to dark gold, maturing and
concentrating the flavors.

The most famous of these wines is the French Sauternes, and the
most famous French Sauternes is Chateau d'Yquem.  It may take an
entire vine to produce one glass of this precious liquid which is
barrel aged for 3 1/2 years before bottling.  But even then, it
should not be drunk for at least 20 years!  It merely gets better
and better and could be drunk after 100 years.  One can go on and
on, gushing over this, but there is nothing quite like the myriad
of intense flavors that come from an aged bottle of this rich,
sweet, complicated wine.

Chateau d'Yquem is so good that stands alone, classified "Grand
Premier Cru" (first great growth).  Other Sauternes will be
classified "premier crus" (first growth) and "deuxiemes crus"
(second growth).  Sauternes are often comprised of 80% Semillon
and 20% Sauvigon Blanc.

Since what is normally lousy weather contributes to the attack of
Botrytis, harvesting grapes can continue past the normal end of
season, perhaps into December.  Many wineries will produce a
"late harvest" wine in the manner of the French Sauternes.  So
while you will find Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes in
Sauternes, you can also find, for example, late harvest Riesling
or Gewurztraminer.  (I drank a late harvest Chardonnay once.  Not
great, but interesting.  And a good way to get rid of essentially
what was "rotten" grapes.)  The U.S. wines I have seen do not age
nearly as long as Sauternes, but will undergo maturation in the
bottle for some time.

Other truly great (you decide if they are "better" than
Sauternes) sweet dessert wines produced from late-harvest,
Botrytis affected grapes include (but certainly aren't
necessarily limited to):

--German Beerenauslese (BA) and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)
rieslings from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and Rheingau regions.  They
are made from nobly-rotted riesling grapes.  TBA is made from the
most highly raisined grapes only and is outrageously sweet.  Some
say these are every bit as good as any Sauternes (including
d'Yquem), and they are a lot rarer, since noble rot strikes
Germany far less often than Sauternes.

--Sweet wines of the Loire valley in France such as Anjou
moulleux, sweet Vouvray, Quarts du Chaume, Rochefort, and
Bonnezeaux.  These are made from Botrytis-affected chenin blanc
grapes.

--Wines of the Valpolicella district in Italy.  When fermenting
raisined grapes fully dry, the result is the very rich-tasting,
alcoholic, and long-lasting dry wine, Amarone.  If they leave
some residual sugar, the wine is called Recioto di Valpolicella.

As we will see, you don't necessarily need Botrytis to create a
concentrated wine.  This can also be done by freezing the grapes
or by letting them dry in the sun to some extent.  Such wines
won't have the Botrytis flavor which itself is a wonderful
component of Botrytis affected wines--so long as you don't take
it to an extreme, for wines overly affected by Botrytis can taste
like show polish in early stages.  It could take ten or twenty
years to get rid of this problem.

*7.6.2 Eiswein a.k.a. Icewine

Another popular category of dessert wine is Eiswein (a.k.a.
Icewine, although strictly speaking that is, I'm told,  a
trademark of the Vintners' Quality Association, Ontario, Canada).
Eiswein is produced by leaving the grapes on the vine until start
to become raisins (see the discussion of sauternes, above) and
until they freeze (technically known as "cryoextraction").
Temperatures of -7C (20F) or below are required.  The wine is
then pressed, and the shards of (water) ice are removed.  The
combination of extremely overripe grapes with the concentration
resulting from removing the excess water produces an extremely
sweet, intense, luscious wine.

Eiswein was originally developed in Germany in the 18th century,
and is now produced in several areas along the northern and
southern fringes of the world's wine-producing areas, including
northern Germany, the northern United States, and New Zealand.
However, the biggest production now comes from Ontario, Canada,
where Eiswein has become a dominant part of the wine industry.

In Germany and elsewhere, most Eiswein is made from Reisling, and
a few other varieties.  In Ontario, most is made from Vidal, a
thick-skinned hybrid grape well-suited to the purpose.  The
result is a thick, fruity wine, with flavors ranging from apricot
to fruit salad and tropical fruits  Ontario Eiswein is typically
produced with juice at a level of 45 brix (as compared to 22 brix
for a table wine).  Often a "second pressing" of icewine grapes,
with somewhat lower brix levels, is used to make a "Select Late
Harvest" wine.  The flavors of these "baby icewines" are similar
to icewine, but with lower intensity and much lower prices.

Some attempts have been made, in areas not "blessed" with a cold
winter, to produce Eiswein artificially, by putting grapes in a
freezer.  The results are typically described as "good but not
great." One reason is that the grapes are usually not left to
overripen as much as they are when the "natural" process is used.
On the other hand, it is usually a lot cheaper.  A particular
example of this (so far as the technique, at least) would be "Vin
de Glacier" from Bonny Doon in California, literally
"Refrigerator Wine" (from a winemaker with a sense of humor).

While an "ice wine" produces concentrated flavors, it does not,
of course, have any of the flavors due to Botrytis, so it
certainly is a different type of product.


*7.6.3 Other Sweet Wines


There are other ways to get sweet wines:

--Add sugar to dry wine.  This is the method used to produce the
"Sauterne" and "Muscatel" that skid row winos drink.  No serious,
quality sweet wine is made this way.

--Stop the fermentation process before the yeasts have consumed
all the grape sugars and produced a dry wine.  This can be done
in at least two ways:

----Add a big dose of sulfites to anesthesize/kill the yeasts, or
centrifuge and sterile filter the wine to remove the yeasts.
This gives better results than adding sugar to dry wine, but it
doesn't give you the same quality as starting with "Botrytisized"
or dried grapes.

----Add brandy to the fermenting grape must.  When the alcohol
level gets to 18% or more, the yeasts die and you're left with a
sweet wine.  This is how the fortified sweet wines such as Port,
sweet Sherry, Malaga, Madeira, Marsala, and the "vins doux
naturels" (naturally sweet wines) of the south of France are
made.  These are all potentially top-quality wines of great
interest and complexity, which in addition to being very sweet
have a fiery quality to them due to the added brandy.


-- 
 
