Wine 101

Wine 101

Okay kiddies I’m going to try my best to give you the lowdown on all there is to know about the great fermented grape. So sit back, relax and let your inner wino shine through. 

What is Wine? - Put very simply, wine is a drink made from the fermented juice of freshly-picked grapes. As such it is often described as one of the most natural of all alcoholic drinks.

So then…

How is Wine made? – It all starts with a process called fermentation. Once grapes are picked, they are crushed and put into large open vats where tiny microscopic organisms begin to feed on the sugars found in the grapes juices, thusly converting those sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Once this phase is done the grapes are pressed of their juices and filtered whereupon the wine maker can decide to make one of 3 types of wine styles.

Which are:

Light Wines – The majority of wines fall into this category being what we typically term red and white wines. They are still, that is not sparkling, or fizzy and are between 8-15% alcohol, with the majority containing 11.5-14% alcohol.

Sparkling Wines - These are wines where bubbles of carbon dioxide gas have been trapped in the wine. These wines are typically French Champagne, Spanish Cava, Italian Asti as well as New World Sparkling Wine.

Fortified Wines – These are also known as “liqueur” wines, which mean that the wines have had extra alcohol added to them and therefore have higher alcohol levels of 15-22%. Most examples of these are Sherry from Spain and Port from Portugal.

Styles of Wine

Each of the three types of wine can be made in a variety of styles according to color and taste.

Red
- Must be made from Black grapes such as (Cab Sav, Merlot, Pinot Noir)
- Red wines color comes from its skins during fermentation.
- The skins also contain other substances such as tannin.
- Tannin is that substance in tea that makes your mouth feel dry and pucker.

White

White
- Is usually made from the juice of white grapes, but because all the color in black grapes is in the skin, it is possible to make white wine from black grapes if you remove the skins before fermentation.

Rose – These wines are made from black grapes where the wine has had less contact with the skins.

Sugar Content

Sweetness comes from the juice of the grapes as they contain a large amount of sugars. As those naturally occurring yeast start to eat those sugars the wine becomes invariably less sweet and drier. Therefore a sweet wine contains more residual sugars thus making it low in alcohol. With dry wine they have less residual sugars making them higher in alcohol. A point to remember, all yeast die off once the alcohol levels in wine reach 15%.

Varietals

Now the fun stuff…

With all wines there are tones of different grape varietals to choose from. To start there are 6 main “Noble” Grapes that you should know.

For Whites: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay
For Reds: Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon

What it means to be noble is that these are the primary grapes of the world used only for making wines. They have also been around the longest.
When it comes to knowing your wine varietals it’s best to start with learning your French Regions of old world wines. France has the distinction of producing pretty much all of the world’s major grapes.

The 6 major regions are (there’s a few more but not worth learning now):

Bordeaux – cab sav, Merlot, Semillon and Sauv blanc

Burgundy – Pinot noir, Chardonnay

Alcase – Riesling, Gewürztraminer

The Rhone – Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre

Loire – Cab franc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay

Champagne – Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Pinot meunier

Now I hardly expect you to understand or let alone remember all of these, but at least I would say try to for when it comes to selling wine oftentimes people will quote one of these regions, where they will undoubtedly expect you to know and understand them. For example when someone asks for a red burgundy, they will naturally mean a Pinot Noir.

As for the varietals themselves well here’s a quick rundown of some of the more popular wines and their characteristics:

Chardonnay:
- Most well known grape in the world
-Predominantly produces dry wines from light and apple fresh in cool climates to rich and full-bodied buttery richness in hotter climates


Riesling:
- Produces wines that range from bone dry through to lusciously sweet, but above all, it will be aromatic and have good levels of acidity.
-Generally minerally, peachy or petrolly in aroma with flavors of fresh green apple and apricot.
-Sweet when from Germany
-Dry when from Alsace

Sauvignon Blanc:
- Described as having a fresh green fruit aroma and flavor, it produces full on fruity light to medium bodied wines with refreshingly zesty acidity.
-New Zealand makes the best in the world

Pinot Gris/Grigio:
- Light fresh white with a lush and flavorful honeyed flavor, with a slight minerally finish.
-Can be light, medium and full bodied depending on where it’s made
-Meant to be drunk young

Cabernet Sauvignon:
- Planted just about everywhere, Cab Sav produces wines with a blackcurrant aroma and flavor, often backed up with firm tannins.
- Ranges in style from medium to full bodied
- Due to it forceful presence, often blended with merlot and other grapes to soften it up a bit. When blended this way it is also known as “Claret”.
- Tend to need maturing before they can be drunk.
- Generally aged in oak casks

Merlot:
- Popular, softer, fruity alternative to Cab Sav. Merlot has a rich plum and berry fruit flavor with refreshing acidity and soft to medium tannins.
- Gains richness from aging and oak maturing.

Pinot Noir:
- This wine can have the taste of summer fruits like raspberries and cherries when young, but as it matures it will take on vegetal aromas.
- Lighter in color and body than Cab Sav, but can age well.

Syrah/Shiraz:
- This grape variety produces rich, powerful and peppery wines, the wines are deeply colored and have the ability to age.
- Shiraz: made in the New World Style, usually dark, berry fruit flavored and oaked. Generally grown in warmer climates like Australia
- Syrah: made in the old World Style, usually earthy, spicy, lighter and oaked. Most commonly found in the Rhone region in France.

Malbec: A rich dark purple wine full of color and tannins with a splendid violet aroma. Its flavors generally are of raisins and tobacco.
- Most commonly found in Argentina

Tempranillo:
- Full bodied wine with spicy and oaks flavors.
- Found in Rioja in Spain

Sangiovese:
- Medium bodied Italian varietal with a fruity and high acidity flavor. It is the wine of the Chianti region.

Wine Pairings

The main rule to think of when pairing wine with food is to try to match the weight of the food with the weight of the wine. Other considerations are:
1. Think of how the food was prepared. Poached fish will taste differently than pan seared or raw, thus your wine pairing should change as well.

2. Seasoning of the dish is also key to how you pair your wine. A full red will accentuate spicy dishes, something you do not want, where as a crisp Riesling will compliment spicy food.

3. Strength of flavor, is the dish delicate or strong?

4. Here’s some tips:
-Sweet = sweet wine or sweeter (eg. Dessert and dessert wine)
-Salt = high acid wines and or sweetness (eg. Salty nuts and Riesling)
-Sour = high acid wines are needed, avoid tannins
-Spicy = match spicyness
-Smoky = oaky wines pair best