Wine By Nine

Never before has there been a 30% case discount. Now’s your chance to stock up for the summer and help us make room for new vintages. Buy any 12 (mix or match) of select bottles and save 30%.

Enter promo code SAVE30 at checkout. See site for details and restrictions.

Offer through Tuesday!

Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever. - Aristophanes

For those more interested in finding a delectable drink to savor than being clever, the following might be useful.

Obviously the selection of a specific type, year and brand of wine is a matter of individual taste. But differences aside, there are some broad guidelines on which there is agreement, within the confines of price.

Happily, with the growth of vineyards around the world and wine-related Internet sites, availability is no longer a problem. A person in California or Caracas can order a New Zealand Syrah not carried by a local merchant as easily as anyone in Auckland.

Ignoring questions of pairing with food, are you looking for a full red or a light white? Some find Madeira too heavy, others see a German Riesling as too dry. Most readily available wines are meant to be consumed shortly after purchase, but those with the desire to taste the finest, patience really is a virtue. Cabernet Sauvignon would better suit those willing to age than a Pinot Noir.

A cool climate Chardonnay, such as those from Canada, will interest those who enjoy a young wine with prominent acidity. But it can also be favored by those who want to experience it’s nutty, honeyed character that comes with aging.

Descriptions by class can be helpful. Class 1 wines, often labeled ‘Light Wine’ or ‘Red Table Wine’ will have an alcohol content between 7% and 14% by volume. Class 7, by contrast, will have an alcohol content of not less than 15% by volume. This type has usually been compounded with Brandy and flavored with herbs. Those with greater concentrations are considered ‘fortified’.

Look on the label for a declaration of the amount of sulfites. Sulphur is often added during the winemaking process to guard against growth of unwanted organisms, but some may introduce more than an individuals taste prefers. Sulphur dioxide is also sometimes sprayed on the grape itself to reduce pests and can leach into the skin. Some wine drinkers are unknowingly sensitive to sulfites and can experience an allergic reaction. Concentrations of below 10 parts per million are fine for most.

When testing a wine, cool to the proper temperature — around 52F (11C) for whites, 65F (18C) for reds — and use a thin rimmed glass that is free of dust. You can clean it by rinsing carefully and drying with a lint free cloth.

Pour to no more than about 1/3 of a glass, held by the stem to keep fingerprints away from the rim and to prevent heating the bowl.

Look for a clear color by viewing against a white background. A Pinot Noir will have the lightness of a ruby, Cabernet Sauvignon more violet. Those from grapes grown in a hot summer and dry fall will result in a darker color; those from a cool summer and rainy fall will be lighter.

Even with modern winemaking, storage and shipping technology about five percent of all wines arrive at the table bad to some degree. Here are some tips about how to spot them.

CORKING

It all begins with a cork… Even in this day of high-technology plastics, many bottles are still stoppered with an old-fashioned cork. A product of the bark of selected Mediterranean trees, corks have many highly desirable and hard to duplicate attributes. Lightweight, resistant to disease and airflow, flexible and attractive.

But cork, as a natural product, is subject to attack by microorganisms. Certain species of fungus, present anywhere wine is stored, can infiltrate the cork producing a compound called TCA (1,2,4-trichloroanisole, for those interested).

TCA and other factors produce in wine unattractive odors and tastes, similar to wet cardboard, mushrooms, mold and even unwashed socks. Even if the odor is mild the taste may be somewhat bitter and lack fruitiness.

COOKING

Moving wine from the vineyard to the home or restaurant table involves trips of anywhere from dozens to thousands of miles. Given that it’s surprising that only five percent of wine is partially spoiled due to excessive temperatures.

High temperatures cause liquids like wine to expand slightly, which increases the pressure inside a corked bottle. This pressure can cause the cork to get pushed slightly up. When the wine cools down again, air seepage can occur.

If the temperature becomes high enough, the wine can be literally cooked. If cooking has taken place, the taste will be evident. The fruit flavor will convey more stewed prune than fresh berry. Look for corks that sit above the lip of the bottle, or levels of liquid too far near the base of the neck.

OXIDATION

Improper storage, such as excessive heat or cold and incorrect humidity levels, can cause corks to shrink or crack. Either of these will cause infiltration of unwanted amounts of air into the bottle, causing oxidation. Oxidation is what it sounds like, oxygen, a volatile compound, combining with a wide variety of wine components and altering them.

Some amount of air, in small amounts over a period of years, may be desirable to ensure proper aging. But even well before producing vinegar, it’s possible to spoil a wine from allowing too much air to reach the wine. Wine which has become fruitless and resembles old Madeira (deliberately produced in open air vats) is almost certainly oxidized.

SULPHUR and SEDIMENTS

Sulphur is a common preservative in winemaking which can help stabilize wine. But in excessive concentrations it produces an undesirable aroma and flavor. Its characteristic mothball or burnt matches smell or taste makes it easy to spot.

Some sediment in wine is acceptable and normal. Ports and older wines, even whites, often accumulate material and properly poured or decanted and served are fine. Tartrate crystals too, for example, will naturally form in some wines especially when chilled for shipping and storage. They do no harm, but avoid pouring and tasting them.

REFERMENTATION

In rare cases, it’s possible for dormant yeasts to remain in the wine and some amount of additional fermentation to take place during the years of shipping and storage. Champagne, for example, is deliberately refermented in the bottle. But for non-sparkling wines, this effervescence is undesirable, but easily spotted.

Techniques of manufacture, bottling, shipping, and storage continue to improve and the odds of encountering one of these conditions is rare. If you find a wine that’s distasteful, chances are it simply isn’t for you.