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"Dear Paul This spring and summer, we have a number of celebrations planned – a shower, a wedding, a milestone birthday, and a family reunion. There will be a wide variety of people, of course, so we're looking for a special wine to serve, something festive that will appeal to as many people as possible. What do you suggest?" Shellfish Allergy and Chitosan "Dear Paul I'm a little worried about using Chitosan as a fining agent in my wine, because I'm quite allergic to shellfish, and I understand it's a shellfish derivative. Should I be worried?" "Dear Paul, I recently made a batch of Ice Wine. I thought I did everything right, and I was looking forward to sampling a bottle – but imagine my disappointment when it tasted more like gasoline than ambrosia. Help! What could have gone wrong" Winexpert Quality Grapes are a very long-term crop (no fruit for four years, and then a 20+ producing life for vines) growers who don't promote soil health are rapidly without a livelihood. No soil = no vines. There isn't a huge call for synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on grapes. The only really common thing that grapes get sprayed with is Bordeaux mixture, a blend of lime and sulphate that prevents mould. This compound is allowed for use on organic grapes, as it's not derived from petrochemical products, and is pretty benign. The most importantfactor to consider, you can't make wine if you don't handle the grapes with plenty of integrity. Poor handling causes burst grapes, subsequently oxidizing the juice. Two of the biggest impediments to organic certification of grapes are the reporting bureaucracy of the process, and fence posts. Grape growers are like farmers everywhere: paperwork is anathema to their operations, so even if they're already in a position to declare themselves organic, they may not bother. As for fence posts (actually trellis posts for holding up the wires for training the vines), most growers use some form of pressure-treated lumber. Since the products used in pressure treating are petrochemical derived, this rules out organic certification of any vineyard where they're used. Alternatives such as steel or concrete posts work fine, but are significantly more expensive to install and to work with. All of these factors make it less than completely attractive for a primary producer of grapes to go through organic certification. It's more rewarding for a small boutique winery, because it's easier for them to pass the extra costs on to their customers. To Your Good Health Does Wine Make You Smarter? Here's an interesting question – does drinking wine make you richer and smarter? Well of course, the answer is – probably not. But some research from Washington University does suggest that if you already are richer and smarter, you're more likely to be a wine drinker! These researchers found, that people with higher levels of education were more likely to be wine drinkers, and moderate wine drinkers to boot. The same study showed that the higher your income, the higher the likelihood that you'd be a wine drinker – and that you'd be less likely to drink and drive. "Dear Paul, Sometimes I have trouble getting all the CO2 out of my wine. James Bond knows what he likes – but I have to ask – is it better to shake, or stir my wine?" "Cher Mme Sommelier This is so embarrassing, and I don't want to seem cheap - but what do I do about guests in my home who, well, swill because it's available, and they know I have more - with no regard for the quality of my wines?" "Cher Mme. Sommelier, I recently experienced the most embarrassing experience of my life. My sweetheart and I were preparing to enjoy an intimate evening together. I had brought the wine, of course - something special, and as ruby red as my lover's lips. The table was laid with antique, snow white damask - the bottle was uncorked and as I finished pouring a glass, two large drips wept from the lip of the bottle, and my lover's cheeks turned as scarlet as those stains upon the cloth. Instead of toasting one another with my fine vintage, we daubed the offending drips together, with soda water. What can I do in the future, to prevent such a tragic ending to a fine evening?" Beer Season Brewing Although beer seems like such a simple beverage, it's really surprisingly complex, and requires some attention to detail during the storage, making, and serving processes. Beer shouldn't be stored under either fluorescent lights, or in direct sunlight, since these lights will chemically alter it, giving it a rather offensive and "skunky" odour. The Home Vintner uses only full spectrum lighting throughout the store, to protect all of our stock. And we've installed UV protective blinds on our windows, to keep out the harmful effects of the sun. The vintage indicates the year in which the grapes were harvested. It is the year of the birth for a wine. The climate plays an essential role in the success or failure of a given vintage - factors such as lack of sun, hail or frosts can be particularly damaging. Tip of the Month Wine For the winemakers on the list, we have something differnt for you this month. We're going to pass on a recipe that we've actually had for quite some time, but we thought there would be some people who hadn't seen it before. Blind Tasting For Better Appreciation Blind tasting involves hiding the label on the bottle, which means you have no preconceptions when tasting.This is an extremely interesting exercise which allows you to use your memory. It is also an amusing game to try and guess which wine you are tasting (vintage, region, grape variety, et cetera) Decant Or Oxygenate? When you decant, you separate the solid and liquid parts of the wine. This is mainly important for vintage wines, which after spending years in a cellar, have accumulated deposits. Oxygenation involves pouring a young or tannic wine into a carafe to help it to express itself and release its aromas. What Order should Wines be Served In What Orders Should Wines Be Served? In order to bring out their best qualities, wines should be presented in ascending order, from the lightest to the wine with the most body, or the softest to the strongest, from the least aromatic to the most expressive. Do not be taken in by the much-cited opinion that young wines should be served before older wines. Wine Tasting Tips Once the wine has been poured into the glass, hold the glass by its stem to avoid heating the bowl§ Look at the wine's colour - visual aspect§ Swirl the wine by rotating the glass. This oxygenates the wine§ Hold the glass up to your nose to distinguish the different aromas - smells. Finally, taste the wine - taste aspect. |
