Another glass please...
Wine has been called "poetry in a bottle", but really, what is wine? Essentially, it is fermented grape juice, but with a few extra twists. God saved a few pieces of Eden when he gave us the boot, and one of the best is the fact that any fruit containing sugar will turn to booze if you leave it to ferment. In the process of fermentation, yeast converts the sugar into alcohol. Yeast is found all over the place, and in the wild it lands on the skins of grapes; hence, when grape juice is left to sit about in the wild, that yeast will mix with it and ferment it naturally. Vintners nowadays don't take any such chances: they labor over what precise strain of yeast to use in their recipe because different choices will obviously lead to different results.
Most people believe that green grapes make white wine and red grapes make red wine. That is largely true, but if you care to impress anyone with arcane eno-trivia, you should know that white wine can also be made from red grapes. The inside of red grapes is essentially "white". It is only their skin that is red,and most wines are made with just the inside of a grape. The red color in red wine is created by allowing the fleshy interior to mix with the pulpy skins when it is being crushed. This process infuses red wines with "tannin," an ingredient that gives red wine its distinctive flavor. So you can make white wine with red grapes; like White Zinfandel, a fine white wine made from a grape with a decidedly red exterior - but not red wine with green grapes. Oh, and most champagnes are made from red grapes. Weird, but true.
The grapes are then crushed with or without the skins and then left to ferment. The nasty bits are removed from the juice, and a disinfectant is used to neutralize any contaminants, such as mold and bacteria that may have been on the grapes. Remember, they've just been sitting outside for ages, surrounded by bugs and dirt, and yeast ain't the only thing lurking on the skin. The fluid, or "must," is then left to complete the fermentation process in either big steel vats or small wooden barrels. Barrels call for a longer process and are harder to keep at the right temperature, but supposedly lead to a better finished product, for which you of course will end up paying more. Once the wine is properly fermented, the vintner will need to pluck out all the little nibblets and then mature the clarified vino. The better vineyards will age the wine for years in oak barrels, which infuses the wine with positive woody hints. The lamer vineyards will shove the stuff in a steel vat just long enough for it to be squirted into cardboard boxes with plastic spigots. Absolutely revolting, if you ask me.
What about color, where does it come from? Color is the first and easiest distinguishing feature of wine. As mentioned earlier, the main difference between red and white wine is that grape juice used to make red wine contains skins, seeds, and stems. This is significant for the following reason: leaving juice to mix together with the woody bits (known as maceration) causes the finished product to contain something we briefly mentioned earlier: tannins. If the term tannin is bugging you because you don't really get what I'm talking about, just think about a strong cup of tea. That woody taste is tannin. In wine, it can lend a wonderful complexity to a red wine. As a general rule of thumb, red wines are heavier and more complex than white wines. White wines are usually a good place for beginners to start because they are initially more palatable to novices since they often tend to be sweeter.
The reason you need to be aware of the differences between red and white wine is because one of the oldest rules in fine dining is that you should attempt to harmonize your choice of food and drink. If you are going to be eating something delicate with subtle tastes, the Rule states, you should avoid drinking something with a strong flavor that will overshadow the food. Conversely, a hearty meal will often be best complimented by a strong wine with flavor of its own. Now every single guide to wine in the world makes a point of saying that the Rule is out of date and the only hard and fast dictate of wine drinking is to choose something you enjoy. Of course, if you're dropping some serious clams for grub and grog, you should pick whatever the hell you want. Don't let dead British wankers tell you how to eat a meal,go with what you like.
The reason you need to be aware of the differences between red and white wine is because one of the oldest rules in fine dining is that you should attempt to harmonize your choice of food and drink. If you are going to be eating something delicate with subtle tastes, the Rule states, you should avoid drinking something with a strong flavor that will overshadow the food. Conversely, a hearty meal will often be best complimented by a strong wine with flavor of its own. Now every single guide to wine in the world makes a point of saying that the Rule is out of date and the only hard and fast dictate of wine drinking is to choose something you enjoy. Of course, if you're dropping some serious clams for grub and grog, you should pick whatever the hell you want. Don't let dead British wankers tell you how to eat a meal,go with what you like.
Nevertheless, there's a reason that Rule evolved in the first place; it makes sense. If, for example, you're trying to pick up on the vague hints of Caribbean brine that delicately caress the primo slice of sushi you just ordered, slurping a glass of tequila isn't going to help. Balancing your food and drink may not be required anymore, but it's a good tip to keep in mind and will instantly push you off the Zero mark when you start eating at good restaurants. A specific corollary of the Rule is that white wines tend to go best with fish and white meats, like chicken and pork; red wines go best with red meat and red sauces. Another adjutant to the Rule is that you should begin with lighter wines and progress to heavier ones throughout the course of the meal. This policy again reflects the idea that you should not overburden your palate: if you start with a strong drink, your taste buds will be shot and you won't be able to enjoy anything that comes after it. That is why aperitifs are typically light drinks while dessert liquids, like port, are rich and heavy.
Wine can be fickle. You will need to store your wine horizontally, so that the wine itself is in contact with the cork. This will ensure that the cork remains moist and elastic. When corks dry out, they shrink, which breaks the tight seal of the bottle and may allow oxygen in. When oxygen starts mingling with wine, it will oxidize the liquid, converting it into an expensive vinegar. No fun. Wasted money. This is why all wine racks store the bottles horizontally.Beyond just getting horizontal, a wine likes to be in a cool dark place, free from smell or vibration. Just like most things, wines don't enjoy the heat too much. On the other hand, they don't want to be frozen either, so don't store them in the fridge for long periods. As for their photosensitivity, keeping wine in the dark prevents the wine from reacting badly from chemical reactions initiated by light. This is also why wine comes in dark colored bottles and never clear glass. As for avoiding smell, come on Einstein: whatever is reeking up the place can penetrate the cork and stink up the wine. And as for the vibrations, who knows? You would think that Californian stuff would be at home amidst tremblers. But evidently not. The verdict: your basement.
Once you do get around to enjoying your wine, you'll want to know a few final things. For red wine, you'll want a glass with a large bowl and a relatively short stem. For white wine, you'll want a glass with a smaller bowl but taller stem. The whole theory here is that white wine is served chilled and thus should be kept away from the heat of your hand. Red wine, on the other hand, does well to be served just a degree or two below room temperature, so that it will release its heady vapors when it is warmed by the body heat in your hand. Also, you may want to open any bottles of older red wine a few minutes before you intend to drink them. Pour off about half a glass and then let it sit, to allow the wine to breathe. By pouring off a little wine, you give a much greater surface area to both the wine in the bottle and of course in the glass, which allows it to mix with oxygen and to dissipate any stale air that may have collected in the bottle. Conveniently, it also lets you pick out the pieces of cork you may have bored into the wine in any clumsy attempts to uncork the thing...cheers.
