Archive for the 'Wine Wisdoms' Category

Bottle shock is a phrase used to describe what happens when wine goes through tough conditions (travel, heat, cold, vibration) and changes for the worse. Symptoms such as muted flavors or a general disjointedness can be found in a wine that has experienced bottle shock. But don’t fret! Usually it resettles and fixes itself once stable for a period of time.

When we design custom wine cellars we build them to avoid anything that might cause botttle shock. Learn more about the enemies of wine, here

Bottle shock was also mentioned in the March issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Find more wine articles at Winemag.com.

Most Champagne is from large Champagne houses which blend together wine from multiple vintages to create a distinct blend. These houses buy grapes from growers. Grower Champagne is an emerging trend in France that involves smaller, artisanal producers who craft Champagne from their own grapes. Grower Champagne is also referred to as “Artisanal” or “Estate-Bottled” Champagne.

As lovely as a great bottle of luxury Champagne is, it often commands a hefty price tag, while the lesser-known grower Champagnes can offer great value. Like any wine, Champagne is only as good as the fruit that goes into it, so the attention-to-detail that goes into Grower Champagne can pay off, both in the bottle and in your pocket!

Cult wines are a particular set of wines which command fanatical followings due to their low supply and high quality. A cult wine can be from any region but the phrase is most often used to refer to cult Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, California. A cult wine usually commands high prices of over $100 per bottle or thousands at a wine auction. “Rockstar” winemakers are at the helm of the limited production, and to own one of these wines is usually a sign of status, connection, pride and wealth. Some of the longstanding top names are:  Harlan, Screaming Eagle, Caymus, and Dominus

As featured in Wine Enthusiast Magazine, for more wine information visit WineMag.com.

In the past decade we’ve seen an increasing number of biodynamic wines in the marketplace. A biodynamic wine is entirely different than an organic wine. Wine that is made in a biodynamic fashion incorporates various methods of vineyard preparation that specifically correlate to the phases of the moon and seasons of the year.

The methods can include anything from grounding quartz and flowers into animal skulls and horns to adding tea to the compost.

As strange as the practices may sound, many wineries swear by biodynamic agriculture. Many argue that biodynamic wines are more terroir-driven and of higher quality.  There are now hundreds of biodynamic wine producers all over the world, and the list is growing.

The Demeter Association provides biodynamic certification to wineries that fit its criteria.

For more information, visit A Green Glossary at Winemag.com

In order to convert the grape’s natural sugars to alcohol, wine must go through fermentation.  But a winemaker may also decide to put the wine through a second fermantation, called malolactic fermentation (malo, for short). Malolactic is almost always used in red wines but is sometimes used on whites, most often on Chardonnay. Malolactic fermentation converts the malic acid (tart, like a green apple) to lactic acid (mild, creamy). This calms the acidity and can give the wine a buttery, rich mouthfeel.

A wine tasting can be based on any theme, but two of the most common are “Vertical” and “Horizontal” tastings.

A Vertical is a tasting in which one wine, from one producer is tasted across a series of vintages. The point of a vertical is to observe how the wine has changed over time and also discover its best/worst vintages.

A Horizontal tasting is one in which a style of wine (varietal, region etc.) is tasted across many producers in one vintage to discover the differences in how each producer crafts the wine when the vintage is constant.

Whatever you choose, you can learn a lot by comparing wines side-by-side! Planning on hosting your own wine tasting at home? Our Wine Enthusiast Essential Wine Tasting Kit is a great start!

Many wine lovers are familiar with Hermitage, the world-renowned wine from France’s Rhone Valley. But the origin of its name is an interesting story.

Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, as battle raged in the Holy Land, legend has it that one Crusader, returning home to the Northern Rhone territory, threw down his armament and declared his days of battle behind him. Bearing Syrah vines, the man became a hermit and built a chapel on a hill, vowing that his vineyard would be his hermitage, and thus the venerable Hermitage wine region was founded. With just 331 acres of vineyards on the east side of the Rhone, the hilly Hermitage area towers over the riverfront town of Tain-l’Hermitage, and yields are low, making the wines very rare. Reds are made mainly from Syrah, but also Marsanne and Roussanne, and are renowned for their deep color, complex aromas and long cellaring life. Whites are harder to come by (account for about a quarter of production) and are made from Marsanne and Roussanne. They are known for being full-bodied and, likewise, have long aging potential.

As featured in the October issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. For more articles from the October issue visit Winemag.com

Stelvin is just a fancy name for a screw cap. It’s a particular brand of screw cap, made of metal, that has become almost universal. The brand name is used generically, much like “Kleenex” or “Xerox”. Screw caps have become a popular cork alternative as of late, as wineries seek to prevent the damages of cork taint. Much of the reason for using cork (aside from the romance) is to allow wine to breathe over time as it ages. Thus, wines that aren’t mean to age are fine under the Stelvin closure.

Cork has been used as a wine bottle closure for centuries. Many people would say they love the romance of pulling the cork from a bottle of wine, and no other closure will suffice. However, cork comes with a problem that has caused many wineries to move to alternative solutions like synthetic corks or screw caps.

A certain type of mold called Trichloroanisole (TCA) can attack the cork and spoil the wine. This is known as “cork taint.” It’s not common (1-3% of wine is infected) but it happens enough to cause wineries and consumers a lot of grief. Imagine paying $60 for a special bottle and opening it, only to find that it smells like a dank basement or wet newspaper! And imagine the frustration of the winemaker, that his/her wine could potentially reach your lips in this spoiled state.

En Primeur is a term used to refer to wine futures, usually referring to high-end Bordeaux. Before the wine is bottled, critics and buyers taste a sample from barrel and their perception of its quality determines the future value. Interested consumers are then allowed to purchase the wine “en primeur.” The benefit is that you can purchase the wine before the price increases. Sometimes the purpose is to turn a profit and sometimes it’s for personal consumption. Someone may purchase a wine future and not receive the wine for many years. Futures are especially popular in great vintages, like 2005 Bordeaux.