Wine Tidbits
Acidification and Chaptalization
These are the first two wine tidbits. Acidification is legal and practiced worldwide. The acids in wine provide many of the flavors. And, the sun warms the grapes and increases the sugar content. At night, the cool air increases the acid levels. If there isn’t enough cool air, the winery adds acid to prevent the wine from tasting dull. Adding sugar is called chaptalization. Remember that sugar plus yeast equals alcohol. The wine won’t be sweet if they allow the yeast to ferment all of the sugar. There are other reasons sugar is added as well. No matter how hard a winery works, some years the wine just isn’t quite right. And, they might add some sugar to hide mistakes or improve the flavor or mouthfeel.
Body and Briary
Body is simply the weight of the wine on your palate. A light bodied wine can taste just as intense as a full bodied wine. Think of it as whole milk to skim milk. Briary is simply a bark-like taste in wine.
Cartouche
A cartouche is a raised glass emblem. Usually, they are found on wines from the Southern Rhone Valley in France. All Chateuneuf-du-Pape wines have them with the Papal keys. This is one of my favorite wine tidbits.
Etiquette
Never pick up your wine glass when dining. Etiquette says that the server needs to reach and pour without touching the glass. Also, the glass might slip out of your hands. And, that is definitely not good.
Garagiste Wine Tidbits
A garagiste is a professional winemaker who doesn’t have much financial capital. They make small lots of fine wine in garages, etc. They are common throughout the world. It is pronounced gare-a-JEEST.
Mercaptans and Terpenes
Mercaptans are offensive smelling compounds that result from poor wine making. The aromas smell like putrid food, skunk and burnt rubber. Terpenes are organic compounds that are produced by a variety of plants. They have a strong aroma. They are what give growing things their smell. A pine tree smells like pine because of terpenes. The smell of a rose is a combination of terpenes. Because they are fragile and evaporate easily, terpenes are considered volatile
Thin
Wines that are thin taste watery. They lack character and flavor. Usually, they are made from grapes produced at a high yield. Good wineries purposely trim their grape clusters t intensify flavor.
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