The Wine Tutorial is a basic overview of wine- how to taste, what to look for and how to enjoy wine.

     AT ONE MINUTE PAST MIDNIGHT on the third Thursday of each November, from little villages and towns like Romanèche-Thorins, over a million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau begin their journey through a sleeping France to Paris for immediate shipment to all parts of the world. Banners proclaim the good news: Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! "The New Beaujolais has arrived!" One of the most frivolous and animated rituals in the wine world has begun.
     By the time it is over, over 65 million bottles, nearly half of the region's total annual production, will be distributed and drunk around the world. It has become a worldwide race to be the first to serve to this new wine of the harvest. In doing so, it has been carried by motorcycle, balloon, truck, helicopter, Concorde jet, elephant, runners and rickshaws to get it to its final destination. It is amazing to realize that just weeks before this wine was a cluster of grapes in a growers vineyard. But by an expeditious harvest, a rapid fermentation, and a speedy bottling, all is ready at the midnight hour.
     Beaujolais Nouveau began as a local phenomenon in the local bars, cafes, and bistros of Beaujolais and Lyons. Each fall the new Beaujolais would arrive with much fanfare. In pitchers filled from the growers barrels, wine was drunk by an eager population. It was wine made fast to drink while the better Beaujolais was taking a more leisurely course. Eventually, the government stepped into regulate the sale of all this quickly transported, free-flowing wine.
     In 1938 regulations and restrictions were put in place to restrict the where, when, and how of all this carrying on. After the war years, in 1951, these regulations were revoked by the region's governing body—the Union Interprofessional des Vins de Beaujolais (UIVB)—and the Beaujolais Nouveau was officially recognized. The official release date was set for November 15th. Beaujolais Nouveau was officially born. By this time, what was just a local tradition had gained so much popularity that the news of it reached Paris. The race was born. It wasn't long thereafter that the word spilled out of France and around the world. In 1985, the date was again changed, this time to the third Thursday of November tying it to a weekend and making the celebration complete. But wherever the new Beaujolais went, importers had to agree not to sell it before midnight on the third Thursday of November.
     On a more technical note, the wine is strictly speaking, more properly termed Beaujolais Primeur. By French and European rules, a wine released during the period between its harvest and a date in the following spring, is termed primeur. A wine released during the period between its own and the following years harvest, is termed nouveau. Well, enough of that!
     Apart from the fanfare, what makes Beaujolais Nouveau so popular? And especially in the U.S. where consumption of red wine is less than 30%? Simply put, Beaujolais Nouveau is as about as close to white wine as a red wine can get. Due to the way it is made—the must is pressed early after only three days—the phenolic compounds, in particular the astringent tannins, normally found in red wines, isn't there, leaving an easy to drink, fruity wine. This, coupled with the fact that it tastes best when chilled, makes for a festive wine to be gulped rather than sipped, enjoyed in high spirits rather than critiqued. As a side note, it makes a great transitional wine for anyone wanting to move from white to red wines.
     Finally, the race from grape to glass may be silly, but half the fun is knowing that on the same night, in homes, cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and bistros around the world, the same celebration is taking place. It hasn't the pedigree to be a classic wine, but it is always good. Any other opinion you may regard as boorish and uninformed.
 

Sulfites, Organic, Biodynamic 

 Sulfites are a natural by-product of fermentation and are found in all wine. During the 1980’s the Food and Drug Administration determined that wines that contained more than 10 parts per million (ppm) would carry a warning on the label. The FDA gauges that although only 0.4% of people are allergic to sulfites, the warning was necessary. Unfortunately, there is no way for the consumer to determine which wines have a small amount of sulfites and which have closer to the maximum allowed 350 ppm.  Sulfites, in addition to being a natural result of fermentation, are also added, usually in the form of sulphur dioxide. Sulphur dioxide is added in order to prevent oxidation of the juice and bacterial spoilage. This is especially important for white wines. Compare it to taking a bite of an apple, and then leaving the apple for awhile. The area which was bitten will have turned brown. This is oxidation and can occur in the wine making process. Most winemakers feel that to make a stable wine, sulfites must be added. 

Talk of sulfites often leads to talk of Organic Wine. The USDA defines organic wine as “a wine made from organically grown grapes and without any added sulfites”. Because of the concern of winemakers about not using added sulfites, organic wines are rare. Much more common are wines labeled “made from organically grown grapes”. Here the farmers use no pesticides, chemical herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers on the grapes or in the soil. They promote bio-diversity by planting cover crops, using natural fertilizers and encourage natural predators which eliminate the need for chemical controls.

Biodynamic farming is an applied agricultural philosophy based on the teachings of an Austrian mystic Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925). He taught that the development of plants is influenced by energy from the moon, stars and planets. Current followers of biodynamic farming follow a labor intense program of recycling all parts of the farm back into the soil to create the healthiest possible growing conditions. For more indepth information go to "What is Biodynamics" by Sherry Wildfeuer

 Basic Overview

     Wine is nothing more than the conversion of fruit sugars, provided by ripe grapes, and the introduction of a strain of yeast capable of converting that sugar into carbon dioxide, CO₂, and alcohol, C₂H₅OH.  That all sounds very scientific, and in part it is, but it is an ancient idea that dates to around 3000 years, BC.  Once you understand how wine is made, it is easier to understand how different types of wine are made.  Take, for instance, Zinfandel.  This is actually a red grape that, when pressed and allowed to have contact with the skin, which is where the color (in the form of cyans) are present, will produce a red wine.  It is only when the juice from the pressing is not allowed to spend much time in the presence of the skin that it produces a pinkish wine, often referred to as White Zinfandel.  However, there is a red Zinfandel that has much of the same ripe flavor characteristics but it is a COMPLETELY different wine.  In addition, in the case of White Zinfandel, the yeast, that ordinarily converts much of the sugar in the grape to alcohol, is stopped, by various means, from converting all the sugar into alcohol, leaving residual sugar behind, making the wine sweet. 

     We use this example because it is, unfortunately, the one wine most people start with.  However, it helps to illustrate very important concepts in wine production that make the overall understanding of wine a bit easier to understand.  First and foremost, all wine juice is clear, that is to say white.  It is only the amount of time it is allowed to contact the skin that determine its color.  To that end, in the case of white grapes, such as Chardonnay, Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc, which have a yellow/green skin, these grapes impart a yellow/green hue to the wine.  So when you look at wines such as these, they tend to have a hue consistent with the amount of time they contact the skins, be it red or white. 

     For the purpose of utter confusion, we must now consider the introduction of oak aging and its affect on wine.  Because wine is sometimes allowed to age in oak barrels, and those barrels are toasted, there is an additional coloring agent, apart and distinct from the wine skin color.  It should be obvious that the heavier the "toast", or the degree to which the inside of the barrel is subjected to fire, the darker the wine will be.  This is much more apparent in white wines, which take on a more honey or gold color, than red wines, although the degree of toasting manifests itself in more ways than just color. 

     Most people will have had an experience with wine that allows one to realize the presence of oak, be it a "toasty" flavor, like you get when a marshmallow is toasted to various degrees, or a subtle infusion of a spice you just can't put your finger on, like vanilla or nutmeg.  Don't be discouraged if you are not able to readily identify these flavors.  Trust me, it is only a matter of time.  Its kind of like listening to music, if you don't know what to look for you probably won't get it. 

     To make matters even more confusing, we must now introduce the concept of Terroir.  Terroir is a French term that has no translation into English.  It refers to all of the aspects that determine how a grape is ripened, the sun, the soil, the slope of the hill the vineyards are on, etc.  It is without question, the one governing force that determines how a wine will manifest itself.  It is the reason that wines from France, taste different from wines from Italy, or Spain, or Australia, or California for that matter.  There are regions in the world that have similar growing conditions, sun, soil, and rain, and you would be right to guess that those wines are more similar than regions whose geography is markedly different.  It takes an astute palate to discern the difference between a wine made in Chile and a wine made in Argentina.  But I am here to tell you that YOU can do it, with enough practice.

     We are now ready to address the short book on wine tasting.  You will experience white wines that look anything but white and you will experience red wines that look anything but red.  Judging wine on color alone is a tragic flaw, HOWEVER, it will give you clues to which, I hope, you are now able to recognize.  Darker wines will have either been aged in oak or were allowed to ripen to a greater degree.  You will be able to tell the difference between oak aging and ripeness in the aromatics of the wine.  Much like a ripe piece of fruit, the riper the fruit, which has EVERYTHING to do with the vintage and the TERROIR, the darker the juice and more aromatic the wine.  If it is aged in oak, in contrast, you will discern smells and flavors inconsistent with fruit, such as vanilla, cedar, brown spices, and/or caramel.

     If you have further questions that are not addressed here in this tutorial, please feel free to contact us at info@campuswines.com.

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