Jambo,
INTRODUCTION
Wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained from fermentation of the juice of freshly gathered grapes. This is a process which has been carried out in the district of origin and according to local practice and tradition.
The word "Wine" comes from the word "Oinos"(Olvos), meaning grape wine, but if qualified it would mean fermented juice from other fruits.
We can trace Wine's earliest history in the first chapter of the Bible, when Noah made the revolution change (after the great storm) from being a nomad to a settled life:
Genesis chapter 9:20-21
" 'And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:' - 'And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.' "
It's certain that viticulture and wine drinking had started by 4000 BC. The first developments in the Middle or Near East, around Caspian Sea and Mesopotamia.
GRAPES
Grapes are small, round, smooth-skinned edible fruit, usually purple, red, or green, which grows in bunches on vines of genus Vitis.
Types Of Grapes
Black/Red Grapes
*Pinot Noir,
*Garnay,
*Merlot,
*Malbec,
*Shiraz,
*Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.
*Chardonnay,
*Aligote,
*Sermillion,
*Sauvignon Blanc,
*Muscudele,
*Merlot Blanc, etc.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHARACTER OF WINE
1. Latitude
Wine grows best at 30° - 50° latitude north or south of the equator.
2. Climate
Require short winter with good supply of rain. Summer should be long, quite hot with a good supply of rain.
3. Soil
Should be relatively poor, with a lot of pebbles, limestone chalks, gravel and quite a good percentage of minerals should have the ability to retain heat.
4. Aspect
Vines grown on the south facing slopes will usually make finer wines due to longer exposure to sunshine.
5. Grape Variety
Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon are finer quality are red/black while Riesling and Chardonnay are white.
6. Viticulture
Care and cultivation of the vines, ploughing, weeding, spraying and harvesting.
7. Vinification
The wine makers themselves and the technology they use.
8. Age
Flavor of the wine changes as it matures with age.
CATEGORIES OF WINE
(a) Table Wine
This is the result of natural natural fermentation of grape juice and divided into three:
(i) Red Wine - They are made from black/red grapes. The color pigment in the skin of black grapes is an indicator, which turns red in the presence of acids. The black skin is left in the fermentation tanks for 21 days.
(ii) White Wine - They can be made from any colour grapes, the skin must be removed as soon as pressing is complete and the juice left to ferment alone.
(iii) Rose Wine - The skin of the black grapes are left in the fermentation tank for only 24-36hrs, so that some of the red color is retained.
(b) Fortified Wine
They are table wines which have been added brandy grape spirit, to bring the alcoholic content to 20%.
(c) Sparkling Wine
They are made when the carbon dioxide gas produced during fermentation is imprisoned in the wine and not allowed to escape.
(d) Champagne Wine
They are sparkling wines made in the region called Champagne in France(only).
(e) Fruit Wine
They are wines obtained through the fermentation of freshly gathered fruits(not grapes).
(f) Tonic Wine
They are table wines which have had vitamins/health improves added to them.
VINIFICATION PROCESS
This is the process of making wine. It involves the following steps:
1. Harvesting
This is gathering of grapes and transporting them to the pressing house.
2. Pressing
The grapes are pressed to obtain the juice. The juice is called 'Must.'
3. Fermentation
This is the process where yeast comes into contact with sugars and convert it into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The alcohol formed in the production of wine is ethyl(ethanol).
Methyl(Methanol) alcohol as compared to ethyl alcohol, is obtained by distillation of wood and other organic plants. Unless it is purified, it has an unpleasant smell and is dangerous in any state. It causes intoxication, blindness, coma and often death.
*Red Wines are generally fermented in vats in order to obtain the maximum amount of pigmentation from the skin. Fermentation begins with the skin still present in the must. The running wine is removed from the skin after a few days when sufficient color and tannin have been obtained.
*White Wines are often fermented in vats but the best result are obtained by allowing the must to ferment in small casks. The grapes(white or red) are pressed immediately after harvest and only the juice goes for fermentation.
*Rose' Wine fermenting juice must be drawn be drawn off from skin before it extracts too much deep pigmentation from the grape skin.
*You stop fermentation by:
-Adding sulphur or sulphur dioxide
-Adding of alcohol
-Lowering the temperature
*Why stop fermentation
-To control the alcoholic content
-To control the sweetness
*Sweetness in wine
-Dry Wine ~all sugar was used during fermentation
-Sweet Wine ~all sugar was not used during fermentation
*Chaptalisation
This is the process where sugar is artificially added to increase the alcohol content of wine or sweetness.
4. Racking
This is the process of removing the insoluble residual.
5. Fining
This is the stage of further clarification and purification.
6. Filtering
This is removal of the cloudiness in the wine to make it clear.
7. Blending
This is the mixing of wines of different years or countries or grapes so as to come up with a different taste or brand.
8. Maturation
This is keeping the wine in oak casks until they reach maturity.
9. Bottling
It is done in glass bottles and their shapes are determined by the country of origin.
10. Binning/Storage
The wines are laid horizontally so that the wine is in contact with the cork.
WINE PRODUCING COUNTRIES
A). FRANCE
It is the largest wine producing country in Europe. It's soil and climate are favorable for cultivation of grapes.
France's main producing areas/regions are:
1. Bordeaux
2. Burgundy
3. Alsace
4. Cotes du Rhones
5. Cote du Provence
6. The Loire Valley
7. Champagne
1. Bordeaux Wines
>The top quality districts of Bordeaux are:
*Medoc
*Graves
*Sauternes
*Pomerol
*St. Emillion
>The main black/red grapes from Bordeaux are:
*Cabernet Sauvignon
*Merlot
*Malbec
*Petit Verdot
>The main white grapes from Bordeaux are:
*Sauvignon Blanc
*Muscadels
*St. Emillion
>Bordeaux Wines are classified into:
*Chateau Lafite Rothchild (Medoc)
*Chateau Latour (Medoc)
*Chateau Magounx (Medoc)
*Chateau Haut-Brion (Graves)
2. Burgundy
The Burgundy region is long and narrow stretching between Dijon and Lyon. It produces more red grapes than white.
>Burgundy's main grapes are:
*Pinot Noir (red)
*Gamay (red)
*Chardonnay (white)
*Aligote (white)
>Burgundy's main production areas:
*Chablis
*Cote d' Or
*Southern Burgundy
>Burgundy's wines:
*Pomard (red)
*Beaujolais (red)
*Cote d' Or (red)
*Nuit St. George (red)
*Chablis (white)
*Pouilly (white)
3. Alsace
Most Alsace wines are white. The Alsace region boarders Germany just across the Rhine. Alsace wines are named for the grape unlike other French wines.
>Among Alsace best varieties are:
*Riesling
*Traminer
*Sylvaner
*Pinot Gris
*Gewurztraminer
>The Alsace white wines are dry and have a strong bouquet. Gewurztraminer is spicy and goes well with curry dishes.
4. Cotes du Rhones
The soil, which is stoney, produce wines of different character. The red wines are very robust, Chateau Neuf Du-Pape being among the best.
Cotes du Rhones has also produced some Rose' wine, 'Tavel' being a famous example.
5. Cotes du Provence
Cotes du Provence produces some White, Red and Rose' wines. Among the most popular being Cotes du Provence Rose'
6. The Loire Valley
This is in central France along the Loire River and its tributaries. Chenin blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet franc, Gamay, Pinot noir are among the main grapes from this region.
7. Champagne
>Champagne is a wine producing region in France.
>Main grapes in Champagne are:
*Pinot Noir
*Pinot Meunier
*Chardonnay
>Champagne wines are made from both white and red/black grapes, but if only white grapes are used, the wine will be known as 'Blanc de Blanc'.
B). GERMANY
Germany has two main wine growing areas ie Rhine and Mosel.
>The Rhine Wines
Are known as Hocks. They are usually marketed in tall slender necked brown bottles and are full of bouquet. Examples are:
*Neisteiner
*Hockheimer
*Liebfraumilch
*Johannisberger
>The Moselle Wines
Are are marketed in green bottles. They are usually dry and have a strong bouquet and a tendency to sparkle(Spritzig). They are very good for producing sparkling wines called Sekts eg Henkel Trocken and Matheus Muller.
Some good Moselle examples are:
*Zeiltinger
*Piesporter
*Bernkasteler
*Moselblumchen
C). ITALY
It is one of the largest wine producing countries in the world.
>The main producing areas are:
*Rome
*Piedmont
*Lombardy
*Tuscany
*La Campanie
>Common red wines from Italy are:
*Badolino
*Valpolicella
*Chianti
*Barolo
*Grumelo
>Common white wines from Italy are:
*Orvieto
*Soave
D). SOUTH AFRICA
The colony founder 'Jan Van Riebeek' planted the first vines in 1652. He was the surgeon on board the Durtc Ship which made the first landing.
Governor 'Simon Van Der Stel' (Jan Van Riebeek's successor), further developed the South African Wine Industry from Groot Constantia, near Cape Town.
The Cape Winegrowers received a boost, which was very welcomed when a large number of Protestants arrived from France in 1688. Many of them had the expertise to help advise or develop their own vineyards around the Cape regions.
The KWV
KWV is the South African Wine Farmers Association, which was founded in 1918 and is now responsible for more than 90% of all wine produced in South Africa.
Large cooperative wineries have been developed and KWV assist the growers in advising on production techniques and marketing.
The Vintage takes place in April or May. All the new vines planted in South Africa are grafted onto American root-stock to prevent Phylloxera.
The Little Karod(little dessert) region produces well-known South African Port and Sherry. Other production areas are Worcester, Robertson, Montague and Ladysmith.
Table wines and good quality brandy are also produced in South Africa, eg
*Nederberg
*Pinotage
*Atto rouge
Other large wine producing countries include: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, USA, Chile, Austria, Israel, etc.
FORTIFIED WINES
These are wines which have been strengthen by addition of grape spirit during or after fermentation. They are consumed before or after the main meal.
Fortified wines can be found in several groups of brands namely:
1. Sherry - South of Spain
2. Port - Oporto in Portugal
3. Madeira - Madeira Island
4. Marsala - Sicily, Italy
5. Malaga - Malaga in Spain
6. Teragon - Barcelona, Spain.
Their alcoholic strength varies between 15-22%
1. Sherry Fortified Wine
This is a product of Spain from a region known as Jerez de la Frontera, in the district of Andalusia.
>It is always taken as an apperit. Heavy or Cream Sherries are taken as digestives and are served in Sherry Glass or Capitas.
>Types of Sherry
a) Finos
From dry to sweet types as follows:
*Manzanilla - Very dry, pale in color and ages well.
*Finos - Very dry delicate wine but slightly less dry than Manzanilla.
*Amontillado - This is the least dry.
b) Olorosos
*Oloroso - Full bodied, heavy and sweet.
*Amoroso - Sweeter and softer than Oloroso, aka cream sherry.
>Brand examples are:
*Bristol Cream
*Bristol Milk
*Tio Pepe
*Highlife
*Gonzales
2. Port Fortified Wine
Port is the greatest fortified wine in the world. These are fortified wines from Douro Valley in Portugal.
>Types of Port Wine
*Ruby Port
Are matured in a short time in casks, they are full bodied and robust deep ruby in color.
*Tawny Port
Are kept longer in casks(2yrs or more), their 'brownish orange color' gives them their name. They are less sweeter than the Ruby.
*Crusted Port
This is a blend of high quality wine, usually from different vintages. When kept for several years in casks, they develop a crust in the bottle.
*Vintage Port
They are good products from particular years, which are aged between 10-30yrs.
*White Port
They are made from elegant, well balanced wine and made the same way as Tawny Ports.
*Late Bottled Port
They are aged in casks instead of bottles, for 6-8yrs
3. Madeira Fortified Wine
They are the most versatile fortified wine. They can be served as soup wine, as an aperitif and a dessert wine.
They have a smokey taste from the soil / climate of the island(Madeira) but chiefly from the cooking process(Estufa system).
Estufa System - This is a system used in Madeira, where the wine undergoes a method of heat treatment or partial cooking.
4. Marsala Fortified Wine
This is the main dessert wine in Italy, made in Northwest Sicily.
5. Malaga Fortified Wine
This is a fortified wine with a predominant aroma of raisins.
6. Teragon Fortified Wine
It is deeply colored and a very fortified wine from Barcelona, Spain.
CHAMPAGNE AND SPARKLING WINES
The name Champagne refers to a wine producing region as well as the process the wine is made. Champagne is a sparkling wine but for a sparkling wine to be called Champagne it has to:
*Come from the Champagne region of France,
*Go through the Champagne method of making wine,
*Vines/Grapes should be grown in the Champagne region.
Champagne is a blended wine, where grapes from different regions are used. The main grapes grown for making champagne are: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Champagne wines are made from both white and red/black grapes, but if only white grapes are used, the wine will be known as 'Blanc de Blanc'.
The percentage of sugar in the dosage is determined by the style of the wine as follows:
* Extra Brut - Bone Dry
* Brut - Very Dry
* Extra Sec - Dry to Medium Dry
* Sec - Medium Sweet
* Demi Sec - Sweet
* Demi Doux - Sweeter
* Doux Rich - Very Sweet
Types of Champagne are:
1. Super Vintage Champagne
These are wine of supreme merit, made from the best grapes of an exceptional year and put up under special labels. Eg: Don Perignon, Don Ruinart and Moet & Chandon. They are expensive and usually reserved for important personage or occasions.
2. Vintage Champagne
This is a wine from an year when all the factors were favorable to produce grapes of perfection, with the correct proportion of acidity, sugar and other characteristics. It's a wine of a single year.
3. Pink Champagne
It is made by blending red and white wines prior to their bottling.
4. Non-Vintage Champagne
These are other champagnes that don't fall under the above three.
Examples of world sparkling wines:
* Duc de Layat - France
* Veuve du Vernay - France
* Asti Spumante - Italy
* Martini Brut - Italy
* Black Tower - Germany
* Henkel Trocken - Germany
There are four way to add sparkle to wine:
a) The Champagne Method
In this method yeast and sugar are added to dry wine and bottled immediately. The second fermentation takes place inside the sealed bottle and CO2 is unable to escape and becomes chemically bonded in the wine.
b) The Tank (cuve close) or Charmat Method
It was invented by Eugene Charmat(French) in 1909. This whereby the wine undergoes secondary fermentation in a sealed tank and then filtered and bottled under pressure.
c) The Transfer Method
The second fermentation takes place inside the bottle, which is then chilled and disgorged (ie to discharge or empty) into a pressurized tank. There the wine is filtered and then bottled under pressure.
d) The Impregnation or Injection Method
In this method, CO2 is pumped into the chilled wine under pressure. It is the quickest and the cheapest methods of all.
WINE TASTING
There are three senses employed when tasting wine ie, Sight, Smell and Taste.
When tasting wine:
a) Pour only a small amount into a long stem, clear, crystal wine glass.
b) Hold the glass by the stem or foot against bright light.
* Never hold the wine glass by it's bowl, because it will convey from your hand to the wine.
* Observe the color and clarity of the wine
c) Swirl the wine around in the glass and breath in the aroma before tasting
* Observe whether the wine runs down the glass quickly or "in legs" or "in threads."
* Observe or feel the bouquet ie "the body"
d) Take a sip (not a gulp), roll it over the the tongue and breath over it. Now you can swallow the wine.
There are many taste observations and impressions that arise from this wine tasting experience. A few are described below:
1. The degree of sweetness
If all the grape sugar is converted into sugar during fermentation and none is added to sweeten, the wine is described dry.
2. The body
This is the feel of the wine in the mouth. It comes from the alcohol, the sugar, tannin and glycerin (formed during fermentation).
* A light bodied wine is low in one or more of the body components.
* If you taste a full bodied wine, it feels your mouth in a serious way, eg fruitiness etc.
WINE AND FOOD HARMONY
The following are basic general rules that may be followed in choosing wine wine should accompany certain meals:
1. It should be noted that when one wants to take wine with a meal, then the Aperitif selected should be a 'grape' (wine based), rather than a 'grain' (spirit based) aperitif, since the latter will spoil the palate.
2. The Starter Coarse are best accompanied by a Dry White or Rose' Wine.
3. Natural dishes should be complemented by the national wine of their country. Thus for instance, 'Italian Red Wine' should be served with 'Pasta Bolognese.'
4. Fish dishes are most suited to well chilled dry white wines.
5. Red Meats such as Beef and Lamb, blend and harmonize well with red wines.
6. White Meats such as veal and pork are acceptable with medium white wines.
7. Game Dishes require heavier and more robust red wine to complement the full flavour of the dishes.
8. Sweets and Dessert are served at the end of the meal and here it is acceptable to offer well chilled sweet white wines. They harmonize best with dishes containing fruits.
9. Majority of Cheese blend well with Port and other Dry Robust Red Wine. Port is the best for Cheese.
10. The grain and fruit based Brandies and Liqueurs all harmonize well with coffee.
A few basic cum general rules down below, will ensure that one appreciates the best characteristics of the wines selected to be accompany a meal:
* Champagne or Sparkling Wine complement most foods.
* Consume Red Wine with Red Meat and White Wine with White Meat. If unsure, often a Rose' Wine would be ideal.
* Consume White Wine before Red Wine.
* Consume Dry Wine before Sweet Wine.
* Consume a "Good Wine" before a "Great Wine."
* Commence with a grape aperitif rather than a grain aperitif before or prior to the meal.
* Temperature your wine correctly, sometimes our room temperature is too warm especially in the hot season, so you can chill the wine for 15 minutes before serving it.
* If possible, open a red wine 15 minutes before serving it.
CONCLUSION
These are general wine basics. You can also enjoy your wine the best possible way you like, eg If you love your "Pan Fried Fish Fillet on a bed of Steamed Seasonal Vegetables, accompanied by Mashed Potatoes & Tomato Sauce" served with a Merlot Grape Wine - then who are we? It's your palate! Ain't some rules there to be 'broken.'
Cheers and see at the comments section or in the next article.
We are hoteliers and hospitality is our business!
Regards...
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