Getting Closure: Corks or Screw Caps?

My collection is varied

My studies for the WSET Diploma have begun and the wine geek in me finds the discussion of brett, malolactic fermentation, lees stirring, and reverse osmosis just fascinating. The average wine consumer need not concern themselves with such matters, but a true and deep understanding of wine production – from vineyard to glass – requires a working knowledge of such concepts.

A topic that’s popping up (pun intended! ) a lot, which is and should be of interest to the wine consumer, is wine closures – those things used to stop the bottle. There’s much talk, research, and debate about natural cork vs. synthetic cork vs. aluminum screw cap vs. other options.

The everyday conversation on corks vs. screw caps sounds something like this: “Wines with a twist-off cap cannot be as good as wines with a cork,” or “Screw cap wine is cheap,” or “It’s just more sophisticated/traditional/fun/ceremonial to open a bottle with a corkscrew.”

The first two topics are debatable and much researched, but I agree with the last point … most of the time. There is a nice vibe to the ritual of uncorking a bottle of wine, hearing that “plop” sound, and then extracting the cork from the corkscrew and testing it with a quick sniff.  The ritual of uncorking a lovely bottle of wine – not to mention the plethora of cool corkscrews now available [I have a large collection] – cannot be replicated with a twist-off cap. 

However, if wine flows as freely in your household as it does in mine the convenience of the twist-off cap is often welcome. I don’t need the uncorking ritual for every bottle I open. I just want that wine pouring into my glass … quickly.

But what about the wine quality issue. Are corks better for wine than twist-off caps and is synthetic cork inferior to real cork?  Does it really matter?

Generally speaking, natural corks are used for premium wines that are meant to age, in some cases 20 years or longer. They have thus far proven to be the best option, although screw cap research is ongoing and may prove this wrong. But for the world’s top wine prod

ucers cork is the closure of choice, and it’s been used for centuries in “old world” wineries. But overproduction of cork, with less-than-perfect production techniques, led to the issue of “cork taint.” Corks are also expensive to produce. These factors all combined sometime in the 1960s to lead to the development of alternative closures for wine.

Cork taint makes a wine smell unpleasantly musty or moldy. If a just-opened bottle smells of cardboard, the wine likely has cork taint. The taint is brought on by the presence of a substance called trichloroanisole, or TCA. Cork manufacturers have been developing methods for treating corks to reduce TCA contamination, as well as making improvements in the processes that lead to TCA contamination in the first place. In fact, a Code of Good Manufacturing Practice for Cork was developed in the early 1990s by the European Cork Federation. [It should be noted that TCA can also be introduced into the wine from barrels and other winery equipment –cork is not always the culprit.]

Aluminum screw caps (left), synthetic corks (middle), and natural corks (right)

Corks can also allow a slow seepage of oxygen into the bottle, and oxygen can be both a friend and a foe in winemaking. Too much oxygen leads to oxidation, a flaw in wine. For example, when a cork dries out and loses its natural elasticity, it becomes ineffective as a seal and oxidation can prematurely age the wine. Oxidized wine has lost its fresh, fruity aromas and becomes flat smelling. Worst case scenario, the oxygen converts the wine’s natural (and desirable) acid into acetic acid, which is basically vinegar. On the flip side of this – and this is what is being intensely studied by the experts – a  little oxygen can be good for the long ageing process, allowing the wine to develop complex flavors and aromas over time.

Synthetic corks are intended for use on wines that are drunk within a year of bottling. And these days, that’s many wines, as the trend is to produce wines for consumption while young. Synthetic corks are not suitable for wines aging longer periods because they do not provide sufficient protection from oxygen, and some synthetics can also harm the flavor of the wine over time. But they come in many pretty colors, and that’s appealing on a marketing level.

Aluminum screw caps have become fashionable, with both producers of high- and low-end wines.  How can you not love a product that provides an impermeable seal from air – hence no oxidation – has been shown to preserve the fruit flavor in wine longer than cork, is less expensive than cork, and offers wine with one quick twist of the wrist? Screw caps are becoming increasingly popular for red, white, and rose wines where the fresh fruit character is important to the winemaker. But some winemakers are worried that the total oxygen seal, which does not allow the small amount of oxygen seen to occur with natural corks, will not allow for the proper development of some wines.

      

The industry continues its long-term studies on corks, synthetics, and aluminum screw caps, as well as on cork-synthetic hybrids, glass toppers (expensive), a thing called Zork (a plastic device with a tear strip that does not require a corkscrew), and other closures. Only time will tell what the results will be, and there are lovers and haters on all sides of the discussion.

Until next time, uncork or unscrew and Cheers!

Late Harvest Wine: How Sweet It Is!

Late-harvest grapes drying on straw look odd, but they are oh-so-sweet!

I’ve been seriously studying wine for a couple of years now, and have committed to at least two more years of study for the WSET Diploma course. I’m really excited about delving further into the wonderful world of wine.

During my past studies – WSET Intermediate and Advanced programs – I tasted a couple hundred different wines, and learned how to do tasting notes and, hopefully, discern a faulty wine from an acceptable wine from an outstanding wine – whether or not I actually like the wine

During my studies, the one thing that surprised me most was my affinity for sweet white wines. “Sweet” wine has a new meaning for me since the beginning of my studies. It’s not the cloying, overly sugared and fruity stuff that I drank at the university pub back in my college days. That “wine” was sufficient then, as my only goal was to reach an altered state, not to actually taste and appreciate what I was drinking. Sweet now can best be described by words like honey, liquid gold, elegant, and sexy.

The term “late harvest” is key to the sweetness in the wines I love. The longer the grapes hang on the vine, into the cooler/colder months, the more they shrivel up, hence concentrating the natural sugar in the grapes, and producing that luscious, velvety smooth, honey-like sweetness

Over the last year or so, there have been three outstanding sweet wines that are now on my list of must-haves in my wine fridge – when I can find them. One is an Austrian Beerenauslese made from Welchsriesling and Chardonnay grapes, one is a late-harvest Viognier from the Central Coast of California, and one is a Petit Manseng (that’s a grape varietal) from the Jurançon region of southwestern France.

The 2009 Kracher Beerenauslese Cuvée (average $28, half bottle) has a pronounced honey taste and ripe stone fruit aromas, as well as subtle mineral characteristics. The wine has just enough acidity to balance out the sweetness, making it a clean, refreshing dessert wine. Beerenauslese, or BA, is a German classification that indicates a rare, expensive sweet wine, and “noble rot” often enhances its flavors. This Austrian wine is made from Welschriesling white grape varietal, which is unrelated to the German Riesling grape, but like the latter is a late-ripening vine whose grapes retain their acidity to balance out the sweetness. I enjoyed a bottle after a back yard barbecue last summer, and it was the perfect accompaniment to good food, good friends, and a beautiful West Los Angeles sunset.

The 2012 Starr Ranch Sweet Chariot ($22 for half bottle) is a late-harvest Viognier that I drank on Valentine’s Day, after a lovely meal, and while knocking back luscious See’s dark chocolates. I adore Starr Ranch wines, and think that Judy Starr and her winemaking team can do no wrong. Located on one of the most gorgeous hillsides in Paso Robles, California, her ranch is a magical place, producing grapes, walnuts, and persimmons. The Sweet Chariot late-harvest Viognier tastes of stone fruit – apricots and peaches – and also has a nice minerality. As the winery’s notes say, “Let it waft over you, feet up, content, on your patio.” Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait till a new vintage is produced, as the 2012 is sold out. I have my fingers crossed that I will score some more of the Sweet Chariot soon.

And I’ve saved my favorite for last. It’s my favorite because it was the game changer for me. I tasted this wine while in one of my WSET classes, and after class ran to The Wine House and bought as many bottles as I could find. The 2009 Chateau Jolys Cuvée Jean (average $22, full bottle) is a late-harvest Petite Manseng grown in the Jurançon region of southwestern France. Petit Manseng grapes are small and thick skinned, and are partially dried on the vine (known as “passerillage”). They are often not harvested until December, which causes a high amount of residual sugar to accumulate in the grape, creating a luscious, golden, elegant wine with notes of tropical fruit and a nice acidity to balance out the sweetness. I just love this wine, and have shared it with many friends, but it’s now hard to find. Try http://www.pywine.com/where-to-buy/ .

I hope to experience all of the above sweet wines again in 2014, and will make an effort to continue my studies of all wines, especially the late-harvest gems.

Until next time, Cheers!

Brunello di Montalcino: Reflecting Place, Philosophy, Vintage

Hills and vineyards around Montalcino, Italy

I usually write about wines that are on my budget – no more than $25, and most often considerably less. But there are some wines that will never be had for less than $50+ but which are considered by most experts to be worth every penny. For me, these are special occasion wines. Italy’s Brunello di Montalcino is such a wine. 

Once considered rare, Brunello has enjoyed a growing worldwide popularity in the last few decades, thanks in large part to the Consorzio Del Vino Brunello Di Montalcino, which hosted a tasting I attended last week in Beverly Hills, and to sommeliers like Taylor Parsons, Beverage Director at Republique in Los Angeles (formerly wine director at restaurants Mozza, Spago and Campanile) and speaker at the event. Parsons, who advises consumers on food pairings, believes that there is a move on the wine consumer's part to understand the details of wine, and he has a passion for Brunello that he’s eager to share.

Brunello di Montalcino is one of the gems of Italian red wines, and ironically is also considered one of the youngest. It was only in the mid-19^th century that wine producers around the foothills between Siena and Florence (which battled over Montalcino frequently), and strategically located overlooking three rivers, decided to break with Tuscan tradition of blending varietals and began to exclusively base their wines on Sangiovese. A series of experiments lead to the Brunello wine of Montalcino.

The Sangiovese grape is highly valued mainly because it can be aged long, allowing red wines of nuance and quality to be produced. It’s high acid and tannins also make it a good food-pairing wine. Brunello di Montalcino requires that the wine be aged a minimum of 24 months in oak casks, 4 additional months in bottles (6 months for “Riserva”), and cannot be sold until January of the fifth year following the harvest (sixth year for Riserva). A minimum of 5 years aging, when combined with precise winemaking methods and the fact that Brunello di Montalcino is now extremely fashionable, all support its hefty price tag.

But there’s more to the story. The municipality of Montalcino is a pristine landscape, and boasts just 3,000 acres of vineyards (compared to nearby Chianti with 41,000 acres) with ancient stone structures dotting the landscape. The vineyards are 1800 feet above sea level and bounded by rivers and protected by a forested mountain, creating a “territory made for wine,” per the Consorzio’s literature. Its soils are rich and varied, but different aspects (directions) of the vineyards create variety among crops. The climate is Mediterranean, tending toward dry. Irrigation is not permitted in the vineyards, so Mother Nature plays a big role year to year.

And the 2009 vintage, which we sampled last week, while a warm one, was not so warm that it affected the wines negatively. In fact, the wines —while not all full-blown yet – were highly drinkable and elegant.

Parsons says Sangiovese “is not just a tannic, earthy red.”  While it’s reflective of a place, a philosophy, and a vintage, he says, it is also susceptible to a heavy hand in the wine cellar. But Italians have “figured out the best place to grow it to be reflective of its terroir.” Because of its acidity, Sangiovese pairs well with rich, fatty meats – typical Tuscan foods – as the acid cuts through the fat. But, says Parsons, “the very thing that makes Brunello good with meat means your average drinker will not drink it as an aperitif."

  

Brunello di Montalcino achieved DOC classification in 1966, which, like France’s Appellation Contrôlée, specifies the geographic area, permitted grape varietals, and minimum alcohol level. It achieved the higher-status DOCG (the “G” meaning Garantita, or Guarantee), which means that in addition to all DOC requirements, the wines must be bottled in the region of production and are subject to tasting by the Ministry of Agriculture. All DOCG wines carry a numbered seal of approval on the bottle.

Three wines that I liked:

Belpoggio ($49-$59, www.belpoggio.it) displayed the sour cherry notes typical of Sangiovese, with powerful yet balanced tannins and acid.

Banfi ($90, www.banfi.com) had an iodine character, “like walking on the beach,” according to the tasting panel. I found this wine quite elegant and complex, with good acid but not too much tannin.

Le Chiuse ($60, www.lechiuse.com) was balanced and elegant with a nice minerality and smooth tannins.

You can find these wines at www.wine2u.com or check with your local retailer. And for a list of Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino producers visit www.consorziobrunellodimontalcino.it.

Until next time, Ciao!

Is Dry Farming the Answer During This Drought?

Photo courtesy of Tablas Creek Vineyards, which dry farms 30% of its vines.

Governor Jerry Brown of California has issued a drought proclamation for the State of California. Rainfall for 2013 was the least amount in the state’s 163-year history. If the state does not get a huge dose of rain and snow in the next couple months, the outlook is not good for growing grapes, or any other crops, in the coming year.

In the January 20^th edition of the Los Angeles Times, columnist George Skelton talked about the need for great efforts in the state’s water management program, and noted that you “don’t hear much discussion of whether certain crops in California – wine and weed for example – are justified in such quantities, given the great amounts of precious water they soak up.” Yikes!

Per the Wine Institute (www.wineinstitute.com) there are over 2,000 brick and mortar wineries in the state, and these are predominantly family-owned businesses – a nice addition to the state’s economy.

Like it or not, however, grapes do require a great deal of water (I’m unfamiliar with how much water weed requires), and since much of California’s crop lands have been turning over to vineyards, skeptics are rightfully asking how much is too much?

In fall 2013 I visited several Central Coast vineyards and tasting rooms and the topic of dry farming came up frequently. Dry farmed vineyards basically require no irrigation other than rainfall, although often they are watered in the first year or two of establishment.

According to the Community Alliance With Family Farmers (CAFF) water held in the soils from winter precipitation provides the necessary water for vine growth. Dry-farmed vines typically have extremely deep root systems, as much as 30 feet, as their search for the water goes ever deeper. By comparison, irrigated vines will often have short roots, say 2 feet long, allowing them to be planted on shallow soil.

Drip irrigation was introduced to California vineyards in the early 1970s and quickly caught on. The thought was that the more the vines were watered, the more grapes they would produce – hence large yields. It also allows for growth in areas that would not otherwise support viticulture.

So, irrigation seems like a good thing, but like anything in life it has its share of critics. Many European countries ban irrigation, as they believe it has a negative effect on wine quality (although there has been some movement recently to relax these regulations). The most common drawback is the belief that irrigation does not allow the natural expression of the terroir to come through. Terroir is the unique characteristics of the soil in a patch of earth, and year to year this will vary depending on the rainfall and other weather conditions.

And, of course, the already depleting aquifers in parts of the state are cited as a mark against irrigation.

“I think in many ways dry farming is more viable than irrigated farming, given the stress on ground water that the drought has produced,” says Jason Hass, Partner and General Manager of Tablas Creek Vineyard (www.tablascreek.com) in Paso Robles, which dry farms about 30% of its vines. “If you set up a vineyard to be self-sufficient, you’re going to do better than one that is used to being given water but then can’t be.” 

But what if there is little winter rain, as there has been thus far in 2013-2014?

“We saw stress on the vineyards last year after our second consecutive drought year, and this year would make three, with this winter looking like the driest of the bunch,” Hass says.  “We’re going to preemptively reduce crops through more rigorous pruning, and we’re irrigating the sections of vineyard that we can, just to get some water in the ground.” 

Larry Schaffer of Tercero Wines (www.tercerowines.com) in Los Olives agrees.  “It looks as if there will be a concerted effort to carry less crop levels on vines to reduce potentially catastrophic stress on the vines and their root systems that larger crops may lead to in the absence of ground water.” Schaffer, who sources his grapes from vineyards in Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, and Los Olivos, believes “this won't stop many vineyards from continuing their current drip irrigation strategies, but this may put a major stress on water systems.” He adds that the current situation is “interesting and quite scary indeed.”

The question I have is, can dry farming save California’s vineyards during this drought? And can an irrigated vineyard be “retro-dry-farmed”?  Hass says yes, but it’s not so simple. “It has to be a gradual process. You need to develop root mass deeper in the soil, where natural water can be found, rather than at the surface under the irrigation drips, where it’s likely to mostly be if a vineyard has been irrigated regularly. You can train the vines deeper by watering less often and for longer duration, and letting the topsoil dry out. This discourages surface root growth and encourages deeper root growth."

Bottom line, though, it’s better to start out dry farming. Says Hass, “It’s definitely easier to start out knowing that’s what you want to do, not least because you typically plant a dry-farmed vineyard more (often much more) widely spaced, so the vines have a better shot at finding what they need on their own.”

Overall, yields of California vineyards may be lower in 2014 than they were in 2013, but all depends on Mother Nature. Hass is actually not too worried about Tablas Creek’s dry-farmed vineyards, which he says have proven to be remarkably stable in drought years. “You don’t get big yields even in wet years, but you also don’t get much less in dry years than you do in wet.”

But just in case, I’m doing a rain dance.

Until next time, Cheers!

For a list of some dry farmed vineyards throughout California, visit CAFF’s Web site at (www.caff.org).