WINE

THE HISTORY OF WINE IN BRIEF

Wine is particularly wonderful because its story gets continuously rewritten as it goes through a permanent evolution and transformation. There are countless types of wine, and yet, new styles continue to perpetually develop. Wine is the emblem if the region where it was manufactured, revealing best the culture, civilisation and history of the respective place. The origins of wine are considered to be in the Caucasian Mountains (Georgia), the first evidence of cultivating grapes dating as far as 7000 B.C. the Greeks’ favourite god was Dionysos, called Bachus by the Romans, in the honour of whom many glasses of wine were raised during various holidays. Subsequently, wine became a nutritious, religious (having symbolic valences in Christian religion), economic and cultural necessity. Nowadays, wine comes from the Old Continent or the New World. Europe, also the called the Old Continent, is the cradle of viticulture, the winegrowing regions in France, Italy and Spain being the most important and traditional in the manufacture of wine. The New World is represented by the winegrowing regions in Chile, Argentina, New Zeeland, California and South Africa. These were founded by missionaries and explorers as early as the 14th century.

THE CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF WINE

Wine is analysed and classified by tasting experts taking into account the 4 fundamental elements it is comprised of: sugar, acidity, tannins and alcohol concentration. The sugar contained in the grapes ferments, later turning into alcohol, endowing the wine with its bouquet and specific flavours. The riper the grapes, the more intense the quality of the fruit and of the sugar. Acidity has the role of maintaining the suppleness of the taste, especially for white wines. If they lack acidity, white wines will fade, and the red ones will lose the necessary structure for a proper maturation, losing at the same time firmness and interest. The crust and the seeds of the grapes will give the tannin, which is, present as it may be, almost unnoticeable in the case of white wines. Tannin provides structure to red wines, a structure necessary for their preservation and maturation in due time. Alcohol endows the taste with weight, German mild wines being poorly fortified (7% alcohol), whereas the Californian wines are more rounded (17% alcohol). In white wines, alcohol should never give a “burning” sensation.

GRAPE VARIETIES

The taste of a wine essentially represents the exquisite mixture of grapes, soil and climate. Each wine is the product of centuries of experimentations and selections, but still, the key element is the grape variety. Here is a brief guide with the essential characteristics of the best known grape varieties.

Red

Cabernet Sauvignon
Black grape variety from the Bordeaux region, which can be found in the entire south-western of France, but also in the Loire Valley, Provence and Languedoc. It produces a highly coloured, very tannin-rich wine, with a long maturation period and which develops along the years rich bouquets, the dominant flavour being wood… Very well adapted to the poor and rocky soil, being predominant in Medoc. It is one of the most important French soils and, at the same time, one of the most widely cultivated in the entire world.

Cinsault
A fragrant and spiced variety, of a lighter colour, used especially in wine-blendings. Individually, it produces an intriguing rose wine. It is mainly cultivated in southern France and Corsica.

Gamay
A pink-violet wine, it is renowned for its intense sweet cherry race. Having a low tannin content, it produces a delicate wine.

Merlot
It produces garnet, dense, concentrated and dry wines. Merlot is one of the secondary grape varieties in the Bordeaux region and is used in the blending of red wines.

Pinot Noir
The only grape variety in the Cote d’Or region, Bourgogne, it produces delicate and silky wines with scents of summer berries. In the Champagne region it is removed from the crust prior to fermentation in order to make white wines.

Pinotage
It is a young variety, created by crossing the Pinot Noir with the Cinsault in the beginning of the last century. It benefits both from the sweet berry flavours of the Pinot Noir, as well as from the fruity ones of the Cinsault.

Sangiovese
The main variety which is cultivated in Italy. It produces medium bodied, energetic wines, with plough, cherry and dry herb fragrances.

Syrah / Shiraz
The best red grape variety in the Rhone region. The wines left to mature are kept at an angle so that their alcohol concentration, colour, density and scented fragrance should intensify.

Zinfandel / Primitivo
Also known as Primitivo in southern Italy, the Zinfandel variety produces various wines, starting with the light rose ones up to the concentrated and fortified ones. Tannins are poor and the scent recalls berries.

White

Aligote
A Bourgogne white grape variety, cultivated mainly in Côte d'Or area, in Saône-et-Loire and Yonne. It has a specific denomination, Bourgogne Aligoté and produces a sourly balanced, edacious wine, to be consumed as new, within the first two years.

Chardonnay
The main white grape variety in the Burgundy region and also impressive on the Champagne region. Wines vary from pale green to straw yellow hues with scents of fresh hay, lemons and peaches. Rich in flavours and dry, the most famous one is the Chablis. They may be kept for several years, the duration depending on the origin vineyard.

Chenin Blanc
An adaptable grape, being the best on the Loire Valley. It produces various wines, from dry to rich and sweet, with vanilla, lime and honey scents.

Gewurtztraminer
An old, flavoured plant, originating in Tyrol, Italy. This small rose grape variety produces a vigorous and supple wine, pleasant to taste, in its good years, with a an intense and elegant bouquet, characterised by a spicy tint ((“gewürz” means spice) and often with a scent of exotic fruits (litchi).

Muscat / Moscato
Similar to greenhouse table grapes, the Moscato is immediately recognisable after its flavoured smell. A number of red and white Moscato stalks are cultivated and widely used in the Italian carbonated wines and in certain sweet wines, dense and highly fortified, such as the Beaumes de Venise Moscato.

Pinot Blanc
A relatively neutral variety, it particularly produces dry, full bodied wines, with subtle fume fragrance.

Pinot Gris
A well-structured variety, having subtle honey, spices and fume fragrances. Italian wines are milder than the ones produced in Alsace (France).

Riesling
This German variety essentially produces all the fine German wines. Displaying a pale green-yellow, scented and incisive, the Riesling is late riper and extremely vigorous.

Sauvignon Blanc
Pale and interesting at the same time, the Sauvignon produces mild, dry and fruit flavoured, sometimes smoked wines, such as the Pouilly Fumes. It is a wine which must be served young, which is why it very rarely gets improved, the exception being its blending with the Semillon, when those fantastic sweet Bordeaux wines are produced.

Semillon
It is the main sweet wine Bordeaux or Sauternes variety, its concentrated and pleasantly sweet flavour combines with the bitter charm of the Sauvignon Blanc.

Viognier
High quality grape variety producing dry, full bodied wines, effusing apricot and musk flavours.

THE WINE TYPES

Due to the “terroir”, meaning what the French call the result obtained from the combination of climate, soil, the blending of grape varieties and the methods used in the various vineyards of the world, wines come in a varied multitude. These may be classified into:

Carbonated wines
They vary from the “prosecco” light Italian wine to the elegant and famous champagne, which becomes more delicate with the passage of years, and up to the sparkling wines with rich flavours from the vineyards of the New World or the Australian red Shiraz ones with their bouquet of ripe fruits.
The classic blending of varieties for carbonated wines and for Champagne in particular is Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, providing a fruit-based fragrance. High-quality champagne must display a bouquet of toast, nuts, butter and biscuit, and its bubbles should entice a pungent sensation.
Recommended examples: Champagne (France), Cava (Spain), Sekt (Germany), Prosecco and Franciacorta (Italy).

About “Champagne”
A denomination with a controlled origin, applying to white and rose carbonated wines produced, cropped and conceived in the following five departments: Marne, Aube, Seine-et-Marne, Haute-Marne and Aisne.
The conception of the Champagne wine abides by certain rules, imposed by the law. these rules make reference to the production conditions (the output per hectare, for instance), but also to vinification, preservation and the specifications written on the label. The grapes cropped by hand arrive in one piece and are immediately pressed in low and wide vertical grape crushers, specific to the area; or they are pressed in horizontal grape crushers. Output is limited to 100 litres of juice per 150 kilograms of grapes, in view of avoiding an excessive pressure which would affect the qualities of the wine. The must is kept for the first fermentation in vats whose origin is specified.
The wine quality is then assessed, prior to placing it in vats. This is one of the important processes of conceiving the Champagne wine. Following this process, still wines are obtained, originating from prize-winning vineyards, from different varieties and years. Each and every Champagne house distinguishes itself by means of achieving the said procedure. For that reason, the Champagne does not mention the grape cropping date since it is the product of a blending from different years. When the vat is emptied, sugar and yeast are added. The wine is then bottled, encased, placed in a horizontal position and stored along the clean cellars in Champagne, where it is to be kept at least 12 months (for wines with no grape cropping date) and 36 months for wines specifying their cropping date. The transformation of the sugar by the yeast generates a release of gases and an excess pressure inside the bottles.
This second fermentation creates a yeast sediment in the bottle. In order to eliminate it, the bottles are placed neck down. Through daily rotations and movements, the sediment is brought little by little into the bottle neck and then introduced into a frozen salt solution. The bottle is subsequently opened; under pressure, the frozen sediment is eliminated: this procedure is called desizing.
One shall then add wine and sugar, which determine the type of the intended wine: extra-strong (up to 6 gr of sugar / litre), strong (15 gr / litre), extra-dry (12-20 gr / litre), dry (17-35 gr / litre), off-dry (33-50 gr / litre) and sweet (50 gr / litre). The rose Champagne wine is made either by means of a slight addition of red Champagne wine, or through the vinification of the must into rose wine. Each year nearly 200 million bottles are marketed.

White, medium bodied, spicy wines
Being tempting as far as taste goes, and bearing a less interesting scent, this type of wines is a fine match for food. It presents creamy, fine flavours, which intensify with the passage of time. The spicy characteristics are hazelnut (Chardonnay), wet rocks (Chenin Blanc) and bee wax (Semillon); the metallic characteristics are firestone and currant (Sauvignon) and lime (Riesling).
Recommended examples: Chablis Premier and Grand Cru, white burgundy, white Bordeaux, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume.

Full bodied wines with rich bouquets
Strong and golden-coloured, these wines are palatable, displaying a flavour combination of butter and honey with tropical fruits, apricots, nectarines and pineapple. The bouquet is rich and creamy. Thus wine type has a much higher alcohol degree, and the best ones also have a hint of sourness for balance. Many of these wines become even more complex as years go by.
Recommended examples: Condrieu si Rhone alb (France) and Rioja alb (Spain).

Dry white, slightly spicy wines
These wines have a specific scent reminding of green apple, freshly cut grass, wet stones and currant, being pale yellow with greenish hues. They are light wines, with a neutral bouquet, balanced by the spicy sourness and the pronounced fruity taste – apples, pears and citruses. The wines standing out are Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay. They are to be consumed young and fresh in order to freshen up the taste and leave a sensation of liveliness.
Recommended examples: Chablis and Muscadet (France), Pinot Grigio (Italy), Kabinett Riesling (Germany) and Vinho Verde (Portugal).

Dry to demi-sweet white, flavoured or floral wines
Although these are strong-coloured flavoured wines, they draw the attention due to the smell discharged. Their flavour may contain any hint, from honey, oil and hay (Riesling) to smoked citruses (Pinot Gris), apricot (Viognier), classic grape flavour (Moscato) or roses, litchi or Turkish delight (Gewurztraminer). These wines may vary from light and delicate (Germany and Greece) to very scented and dense (Alsace).
Recommended examples: Alsace Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Riesling (France), Riesling Spatlese (Germany), Gruner Veltliner (Austria), Albarino (Spain) and Assyrtiko, Moschofilero (Greece).

Sweet appetizing or desert-specific wines
They vary starting from the mild ones, with a subtle fruit-based flavour, derived from the Moscato variety up to the liquorous ones. The former may be served as an appetizer, whereas liquorous wines are too strong and consistent to be consumed during the meal. These may be sweet, with a rich honey flavour, having a fine and creamy bouquet of apricots, peaches, apple pie and spices, becoming more palatable as the origin location turns more torrid.
The sweet wines have a fresh acidity, thus balancing the sweetness of the fruits. The Tokaji wine (Hungary) enjoys the most persistent sweetness, and those of the Riesling variety are the juiciest.
Recommended examples: Tokaji (Hungary), Moscato D’ Asti (Italy), the late Alsace crop, Sauternes, Vouvray (France), Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein (Germany and Austria).

Astringent, dry and strong wines
Wines with a delightful effect upon the smell and the taste, though apparently pale poured in a glass. With a strong scent of salt, almonds, freshly mowed grass and sometimes fermented cheese. The bouquet is astringent, dry, almond-scented, long-lasting on the tongue. The Xeres Fino and Manzanilla (Spain) wines are very dry, lacking sourness. Upon maturity they are added the special yeast, called “flor” in order to develop a dense taste of salt. The Madeira Sercial and Verdelho (Portugal) wines have a more prominent apple taste than the Spanish ones, but are just as spicy and long-lasting. These are the ideal appetizers for chips or hazelnuts/ground nuts.
Recommended examples: the Xeres Fino, Manzanilla and Amontillado (Spain) wine or the Madeira Sercial and Verdelho (Portugal) one.

Rose wines
They are obtained from the limited maceration of red grapes together with their crust. Rose wines may vary from shades of pale pink to dark and opaque red, depending on the duration of the grapes’ maceration. Although many people feel the white wine taste, the red fruit and wild rose flavours give away the initial presence of red grapes. The milder wines (The Loire Valley, Provence or Navarra) are delicate, saturating and spicy, displaying red fruit hues. The stronger wines (The Rhone Valley) have a more intense bouquet, similar to that of red wines, without losing the constant note of tannins. Grenache is one of the most popular rose grapes varieties.
Recommended examples: Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon, Anjou, Lirac and Tavel (France) rose wines and Grenache, Garnacha (Navarra, Spain) rose wines.

Fresh, fruit-flavoured red wines with regular tannin content
These are the simplest, freshest and tastiest red wines. The ones with a tendency of pink must be drunk as young as possible because that is when you may fully enjoy the pure, fresh fragrance of raspberry, red apples and sweet cherries. In this period no tannins which might diminish their velvety bouquet, and their sourness is subtle and fine.
Recommended examples: Beaujolais (France), Barbera D’Asti and D’Alba (Italy), Grenache (Spain) and the milder Merlot varieties.

Medium bodied and full bodied red wines
These are practically the red classic wines with a strong character. In the case of the strong and medium Burgundy, Bordeaux or Barolo wines, it is possible for the flavour and bouquet to stay hidden for the first two years. Subsequently, the wines receive raspberry, plough and violet flavours. The same thing applies to the strong tannins, whose strength diminishes with the passage of time, and the bouquet shall comprise cowberries, spices, truffles and chocolate.
Recommended examples: the Burgundy and Bordeaux (France), Chianti, Barolo and Barbaresco (Italy) and Rioja (Spain) wines.

Strong, robust, sometimes spiced red wines
These are the tastiest and most palatable wines. The Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel (known as Primitivo in southern Italy) varieties are the stars of this wine type. The colour intensity of these wines is similar to ink, the flavour being that of sweet black fruits, and the taste intense and creamy. For their most part, these wines develop in cellars, but may be served young as well, due to the well ripe grapes that they are made of and which endow them with the rich fruity fragrance.
Recommended examples: Syrah from The Rhone Valley (France), Primitivo (Italy) and Toro (Spain).

Sweet, amber wines
These vary a lot, like the Porto ones, which may be reddish, with a bouquet of hazelnuts, up to the very dark pink, with violet and plough flavours. Additionally, Xeres Oloroso amber wines are worth mentioning.
As a rule, their brown hue indicates the time spent in barrels, which provides at the same time their nut and caramel scents. The dark red wines receive their bouquet and colour only from the grape itself, tending to have fruit-based flavours when they are young, so that, in time, they should become complex, with fragrances of berries, resin and bitter chocolate.
Maturation may last up to 40 years in the case of high class wines, to which one will add storage times. Owing to the fact that the addition of spirit of wine takes place half way during fermentation, all these wines keep their exquisite and sweet flavour from the natural sugars of the grapes.
Recommended examples: Xeres Oloroso de Malaga (Spain), late bottled Porto Tawny and Madeira de Malmsey and Bual (Portugal).

MATCHING WINE WITH FOOD

The personal preferences of each and every one of us cannot be taken into account when debating upon food, drinks and what is generally good. Still, particular wine are a perfect match for certain food types as is the case of beef with Burgundy wine since it emphasizes the best features of that precise food. Let us remind you that this is a general guide with a number of recommendations from chefs and brewers, which were published in various speciality books or articles.

Appetizers (chips, sticks, saltines, ground nuts/hazelnuts, cashew nuts, pistachio)
No other type of wine is better suited than the sweet, fresh and light ones such as Hauller Moscato (Alsace, France) or the astringent, dry and strong ones such as the Xeres Fino (Spain) wine.

Fish & sea fruits
They may be served together with a wide range of white wines, from the dry and dense ones of Bourgogne to the mild and fresh ones from the Loire Valley. Fresh water fish such as trout goes with the Chablis wine. For salmon one recommends the dry white wine such as Hauller Riesling or the fresh and pungent red wine of Beaujolais.

Game
It recommended to serve consistent and robust red wines such as Bourgogne, the Rhone Valley or the Italian ones. Still, if game is served cold, the classic Bordeaux wine is the optimal choice.

Steak & Spare ribs
Traditional food deserves to be joined by the finest wines. The recommendation for either cold or hot roast beef is fine wines such as Bourgogne or Bordeaux. The other types of roast and spare ribs go with a wide range of red wines such as the Rhone French ones or the dense Italian ones, and also with Alsace wines.

Dry cured meat
The choice of the wine requires special attention. The kipper, for instance should be matched with the dry flavoured white Bordeaux wine, fine cherries or the wines obtained from the grape varieties in the Alsace region. And, surprisingly, German wines, slightly sweet and fresh, may also be interesting in this combination.

Regional foods
The traditional dishes in particular region go best with local wines, such as Chablis with sardines and the Nicoise salad, Chianti with liver and Osso Bucco, and Rioja with Paella.

Cheese assortments
British pressed cheese assortments go perfectly with Porto wines and the great red wines such as Chateauneuf du Pape and Barolo. For European cheese assortments, the wines in the same regions are recommended, either sweet or strong.

Desert & fruits
The recommendation focuses on sweet wines such those from Alsace - Hauller Gewurztraminer and the high quality German wines - Sauterne or Barsac. These are always served cold. The palatable Hauller Moscato is delicious with the matzoth eaten during the Easter meal. Strawberries are the favourite option of champagne and carbonated wines whereas ripe pears and apricots go hand in hand with the utterly sweet wines such the rose Cabernet D’Anjou.

Champagne
Champagne may be served over the entire duration of the meal, with any type of food.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Serving the wine

Temperature
Wines must be served at the right temperature in order to fully enjoy all of its qualities. As general rules, it is considered that white and rose wines are to be served cold, and red ones at 18-19°C. But since there is no accounting for a taste, each person may have different preferences.

Aeration
All tannin-based wines 3-4 years old must be left to breathe prior to being served. This period during which the wine “breathes” also helps it revive its flavours. White and rose wines require around 15 minutes for decantation, whereas red wines must be left to breathe for a longer period of time. Young and fresh wines do not require aeration since they retain their initial flavours.

Serving order
Beyond personal preferences, there are several generally accepted rules:
· White wine is served before the red one, although, if the white wine is denser than the red one, the order may be changed;
· The dry white wine is served prior to the sweet white one to avoid having the taste become too sour;
· Milder red wines before the strong red ones because the milder wines tend to diminish their taste after a more robust wine;
· Poorer quality wines before high quality ones.

There is no consensus concerning the order of consuming young wines as opposed to the old ones, everything depending factually on the circumstances, the time of the day, the wines and dishes served.

The glasses
If you wish to fully enjoy the chosen wine, relish its flavours and taste to the fullest, admire its colour and texture, it is imperative that you choose the appropriate type of glass. The ideal glass for all wine types is the one with a thin stem (so that one should not hold it by the cup), the “tulip” shaped one, sufficiently big to contain a decent amount of wine. At the same time, the glass must become thinner towards the exterior in order to prolong the bouquet. It is also important to have a simple, transparent glass, without a model, colour or striations, allowing you to admire the wine colour. The only exception is represented by the champagne or carbonated wine glasses, which may be as lacy as possible. The recommended champagne glasses are tall, of the “flute” type or the thin, “tulip”-type ones in which the intensity of the bubbles, the bouquet and the flavour are maintained.
The glass shall always be half filled in order to allow its circular movement and leave breathing room for the flavours in the wine.

Wine storage

There are a number of simple rules which must be observed in order to optimally store the wine. Thus, you make sure that the wine preserves both its financial, as well as its gastronomic value.

Temperature – Wines must be stored at relatively constant temperatures, the optimum interval being 13-17°C.

Light – Wines exposed to strong light, especially sunlight, shall become acetified, causing their premature aging.

Stability – The movement of the wine is a deteriorating factor, which is why it is recommended to avoid moving the wine around when unnecessary. Constant vibrations cause premature aging and deterioration. In the case of old red or Porto wines the sediment will be stirred and the wines themselves may become undrinkable.

Humidity – Excessively dry storage conditions will lead to the shrinkage of the cork, allowing air to enter the bottle. At the same time, by storing wine in humid environments, labels may be destroyed and fungic infestations are fostered

Positioning – Wine bottles must be stored in a horizontal position with labels in sight. Thus, bottles may be identified without being disturbed and the wine remains in contact with the cork, thus preventing its desiccation and deterioration of the drink.

Opening the carbonated wine bottle – The carbonated wine bottle must be carefully uncorked, first removing the metallic sheet, then applying a tissue over the cork and inclining the bottle at 45°, away from you and the other guests. The thumb must be placed on top of the cork while removing its wire, thus preventing its noisy exit and possible incidents. Then the hand shall catch the cork which began coming out, without allowing it to fly through the room. Do not forget to have a glass at hand for the foamy jet overflowing in the beginning. If the cork fails to move, cold water must be poured over the bottle neck for a few seconds.

Keeping the wine left unconsumed – The wine left unconsumed must be poured in a smaller bottle, sealed with the original cork (if possible) and kept in the refrigerator. It must be consumed within no more than 48 hours since beyond this interval the wine starts modifying its taste. Additionally, vacuum systems may be used.

ABBREVIATIONS