Reader's questions
PAID CONTENT
Whether it be at our wine tastings or our monthly winemaker dinners at Fleur de Sel in Post Falls we get questions that in order to provide a more complete answer are better addressed here in our weekly column. We encourage all of you to send your questions along or ask the next time you are in the shop or at one of our events. If you are not on our mailing list for events like tastings and dinners let us know. They are a great way to learn about wine and a great way to enhance your own wine journey.
We had several customers recently ask about aerators; don’t they all really do the same thing? The answer is yes, they all kind of do the same thing. While some make interesting sounds and others present a striking visual when you pour through them, they all cause the wine to open and present with softer tannin. They do this by splitting the wine into separate streams allowing air or more accurately oxygen to more quickly impact the wine. Oxygen is what changes wine and in fact it is what causes wine to “spoil” when a bottle is open for too long on your counter or in your refrigerator. While at the beginning this process of aeration can help wines, especially less expensive ones, taste “better” depending on your palate. Too much of a good thing, including oxygen, will have a deleterious effect on the wine.
Like many wine gadgets, you can spend a lot of money on an aerator. They start as low as $8.50 for the Haley’s 4-in-1 stopper aerator, ranging up to over $100! We find the Haley’s to do a great job for the money. We also like the “Menu” style aerator for $13.50. Both are in-bottle aerators so only one hand is needed to use them, and we stock them regularly.
What is an appellation? Here in the States an appellation is also referred to as an American Viticulture Area or AVA for short. This is simply a geographic area set up where similar weather, soil and other terroir conditions exist to influence wine grapes in a similar way. In Italy they are referred to as Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or DOC, and in France they are most frequently referred to simply as an appellation. In most cases here in the U.S. an appellation was designated that was very large, encompassing many different soil types and climate conditions like the Columbia Valley AVA in Washington and the Sonoma Coast AVA in California. Later as the industry grows there are sub-appellations created that more specifically identify a growing area. For U.S.-made wines these sub-appellations are more meaningful. While in Europe they are rarely changed, here at home new AVAs and sub-AVAs are designated almost every year.
When wine professionals refer to aromas and flavors in wine where do those come from? This is a two part answer. Some come from the grapes themselves and others come from winemaking techniques during fermentation and aging. Aromas and flavors centered on fruit characteristics like cherry, blackberry, currant or peaches come from the grapes themselves. Certain varietals just naturally develop these profiles. Viognier is known for its peach flavors, Malbec for its distinctive blueberry essence and Cabernet for plums.
Any aromas or flavors that are spice related like pepper, vanilla, cinnamon and others come from the use of oak barrels in fermentation, aging or both. Different types of barrels can bring out different sets of these flavors and aromas. From the way the oak staves are cut to where the oak is grown to how much the barrel is “toasted” and how long the wine stays in the barrel all impact which flavors are detected and how strong they are.
Similarly if wine is fermented and or aged in stainless steel tanks or concrete vessels you will find notes of minerality to be more prominent.
Keep your questions coming and we will answer them as thoroughly as we can.
If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.
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George Balling is co-owner (with his wife Mary Lancaster) of the dinner party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. George is also published in several other publications around the country. After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop. You can also follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.