Wine

V

Storing and Serving Wine

If stored properly, wines can be aged for many years without spoiling or losing quality. The most important factor in wine spoilage is air exposure. Oxygen from the air permits microorganisms to grow on the surface of the wine, producing negative flavors and aromas, such as those that smell like vinegar or nail polish. Oxygen can also trigger chemical reactions that lead to flavor losses and color changes. To avoid these changes, wine should be stored in a way that limits or eliminates oxygen exposure. Very little oxygen exposure occurs in completely full wine barrels. While the wine is aging in a barrel, wine makers take great care to limit the air space in the barrel by regularly adding wine to the barrels to fill vacant space formed as the wine evaporates. This process is called topping off.

Wines last best if bottled with little or no air space in the bottle. The traditional closure for a wine bottle is a stopper made from the bark of the cork oak tree, which when properly used prevents air from entering the wine. Optimally, wine bottles should be stored horizontally, enabling contact between the wine in the bottle and the cork. This prevents the cork from drying out and letting oxygen to seep into the bottle. Bottled wines can be stored for decades in a cellar at low temperature, approximately 16° C (60° F). As wine ages in the bottle, precipitates may still form and appear as crystals or sediment. These sediments are not harmful, and their appearance does not mean that the wine has been stored improperly or is otherwise spoiled. The salts of the fruit acids in wine, especially tartaric acid, form a precipitate that looks like fine crystals and is sometimes mistaken for glass by consumers. These so-called wine diamonds are harmless and readily sink to the bottom of the wine.

White wines are usually served chilled because at warmer temperatures they quickly lose their volatile characters and become flat and tasteless. Blush wines are also served chilled like white wines. Normal refrigerator temperatures of 4° to 10° C (40° to 50° F) are sufficient for chilling white and blush wines. Red wines, which usually contain more flavor and aroma components than white wines, are served at room temperature to release the aroma characters, and the wine smells and tastes better than it would if it were chilled.

Traditionally, different types of wines are served in glasses of different shapes to enhance their individual characteristics. For example, robust red wines may be served in a glass with a generous, wide bowl and a narrower mouth. The bowl enables the wine to be easily swirled in the glass without spilling to encourage evaporation of some of the volatile compounds. The smaller mouth of the glass concentrates the ensuing aroma—sometimes referred to as the bouquet—so that the nose can readily appreciate the wine’s aroma. Sparkling wines are often served in tall, narrow glasses that clearly display the beautiful bubbles as they rise to the surface. Wine can be enjoyed in any glass, however, and ultimately, personal preference should determine the type of glass used.

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The flavors of different wines are very distinctive and some are considered to taste better with certain kinds of foods. A wine with a very delicate flavor goes best with lightly flavored foods rather than with strong flavors that overpower the wine, making it appear tasteless. Likewise, if the wine is too strong in flavor for the food, the food tastes bland. Great chefs are considered masters of pairing wine with food so each enhances the flavor and aroma of the other.

VI

History of Wine Making

Although the origins of wine are unknown, archaeological evidence suggests that wine was being made at least 8,000 years ago, and there are indications that viticulture was carried on in Mesopotamia (the region that is now Iraq and eastern Syria) about 5,000 years ago. Writings from the same time from China and Egypt also mention wine and vineyards. Egyptian frescoes show festive grape harvest scenes, an atmosphere that still prevails in wine-producing countries during the harvest season. The highest-quality wines were reserved for the Egyptian kings and pharaohs, and wine was accepted as payment for taxes. The Code of Hammurabi (2000 bc), a written collection of the laws of the Babylonian king Hammurabi, stipulated the conditions of the purchase and sale of wines and described the punishment inflicted on any wine merchant caught cheating a customer.

By the time of early Greek civilization, about 3,500 years ago, wine was a popular beverage as well as a sacred drink. In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of wine, overseeing all matters pertaining to the cultivation of grapes and wine production. The ancient Greeks were the first to cultivate wine for commercial purposes, and to market their wine abroad. Greek wine was very different from modern times—storage vessels were lined with resin, a water-resistant substance secreted by plants, which imbued the wine with a turpentine-like taste. The Greeks often flavored their wine with spices, herbs, flowers, and perfume, and always diluted it with water before consumption.

Wine was equally important to the ancient Romans who looked to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, to oversee all wine matters. In the highly organized economy of the Roman empire, viticulture was centered in the areas of present-day Italy, Spain, Greece, France, and Germany. Some of the finest vineyards in France and Germany have been under cultivation since this time. The vigorous wine trade of Roman civilization languished as the empire declined, and for centuries after, western European viticulture was largely sustained by the Catholic church. Wine-making monastic orders produced wines not only for sacramental use, but also for marketing to produce revenue for the orders. Monks developed the predecessors of some modern grape varieties, and in abbey wine cellars they experimented with the forerunners of brandies and other wine-based liqueurs.

In the revival of commerce that preceded the Renaissance (14th century to 17th century), wine trading became a main attraction at lively fairs held in many French and Flemish towns. The English were eager buyers of Bordeaux wines. In ad 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry of Anjou, who later became Henry II, and brought to the English crown a rich dowry: Bordeaux and part of the Loire Valley, another renowned wine growing region with many vineyards. For three centuries the English appetite for Bordeaux wines made the region prosper.

The wine industry flourished in almost every new country settled by Europeans, as the colonizers took with them their knowledge of viticulture and often their own grape varieties. In North America, serious production of wine began in the mid-1800s. Around this time grape varieties from North and South America were transported back to Europe. These vines carried the deadly insect Phylloxera that quickly infected the ancient European vines, nearly devastating European vineyards. It was at this time that the resistance of certain American vines to the insect was discovered, and the practice of grafting American roots to the fruit-bearing parts of European vines saved European wine production. American and European vineyards were replanted with grafted vines. American wine production did not truly flourish until the mid-20th century, after the repeal of Prohibition, the period in American history when the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages were illegal.

Plagues, politics, war, and even fads in drinking have often modified the trading and drinking of wine. The bubonic plague halted urban wine commerce. Rivalry between England and France in the 15th century interrupted the lucrative Bordeaux trade. In the 17th century cheap Portuguese wine entered the English market. A popular craze for gin seized wine-drinking England in the early 18th century. Then German Rhine wine became popular, followed by Madeira, produced in the Portuguese Madeira Islands, and then Spanish sherry. By about 1875 French wines dominated world trade, and since that time European wine industries have led the world in international wine trade.

The drinking, selling, and making of wine is fraught with traditions and legends, many of which persist to this day. For example, a wine auction in Burgundy is held annually at the Hospices de Beaune, a 15th-century charity hospital, which through the years has acquired by donation some of the finest vineyards in the region. A continuous tradition for four centuries, each November this auction draws an immense crowd of wine lovers, wine dealers, and tourists from many countries. Because it is the first opportunity to taste the new Burgundy wines each year, bids made at the auction are generally considered good indicators of price trends for the coming year.

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