2020-03-01 Woolworths Taste

TABLE TALK

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TEXT

MICHELLE COBURN

EXTRA SOURCES

THE GUARDIAN; VINEPAIR.COM; WINEFOLLY.COM

40 TASTE MARCH 2020

1

Bouquet

“Tropicalaromas,whiffsofgreen

pepperandfynboswithflintinessandan

attractiveminerality,complementedby

gooseberrytonesanda crispfinish.”

Cueextensiveeye-rolling.We’veall

heardsimilardescriptionsattastingrooms

anddinnerpartiesandwonderedexactly

whatthosepeopleweredrinking.It’sjust

a simplematterofwineintheglass,grape

onthenose,alcoholonthepalate,right?

Wrong.Andpleasehearusout– the

morewineyoudrink,themoreyouwill

starttodetectfamiliararomasandflavours

• vanilla,tropicalfruit,blackberries.And
  that’snotbecausewinemakersaresecretly
  addingtheingredientstotheirbarrelsor
  bottles.Everythingfromthecomposition
  ofthesoilinwhichthevinesgrow,tothe
  pollenfromplantsgrowingaroundthe
  vineyard– eventhesaltysprayofseawater
  atcoastalfarms– canbeabsorbedbythe
  grapesandsubtlyinfluencetheirflavour.
  Inthecellar,thewinemaker’sdecisions–
  fermentingthejuiceinoakbarrelsorsteel
  tanks,forexample – will also affect the
  finalproduct.
  Winescientistsattributethe
  herbaceousnessofSauvignonBlancto
  chemicalscalledmethoxypyrazines(try
  pronouncingthataftera fewglasses!).The
  floralaromasofGewürztraminercome
  fromalcoholcompoundsthatarealso
  usedinperfumes,andthecitrusnotes
  ofChardonnayarelinkedtocompounds
  foundingrapefruitjuice.Sonoticinggrassy,
  jasmineorcitrusyaromasandflavoursin
  yourwineisn’tallthat far-fetched after all.

2

Body

If youhavenoideawhethera wine

is light,mediumorfull-bodied,pay

attentiontohowit feelsinyourmouth

and when you swallow: light-bodied

(likeskimmilk),medium-bodied(similar

to2%milk),ora lotmoreviscousandfull-

bodied(likefull-creammilk)?Thealcohol

contentofthewineplaysa significantrole

here,soa low-alcoholRieslingorProsecco

canusuallybecalledlight-bodied,

a PinotNoirorCabernetFrancis likely

tobemedium-bodied,anda Merlot

orChardonnaywillfeelheavier, or more

full-bodied, in your mouth.

3

Oak

Winemakersagetheirwinesin

oakbarrelstoimpartcolour(thelonger

a wineis oakedfor,thedarkerit becomes)

andflavour(thevanillincompoundin

thewoodtasteslike,youguessedit,

vanilla,whichis oftena characteristicof

Chardonnay).Theartinvolvedinoaking

a wineliesinjudginghowlongtoleave

it forbeforebottling– toomuchoaking

overwhelmsthefruitinessofthewine

withwoodyflavour,muchlikea dish

that’sbeenover-seasoned.

4

Acidity

Thissournessis whatdistinguishes

a flatwinefromonethatbringsyourtaste

budsalive– inmuchthesamewayas

a glassoffresh,zingycitrusjuicedoes.

Aciditybringsalltheflavoursofthewine

togetherandmakesit crispandrefreshing,

enticingyoutopouranotherglass.When

pairingwineandfoodbearinmindthat

acidityis balancedbysalt,sweetandfat,

which is why a Blanc de Blanc sparkling

WINE-TASTING 101

Learn to

speak wine

If youwanttostopwingingit andsoundlikeyouknowwhat you’re

drinking, these are the basic terms you need to know

winegoesreallywellwitha young

Camembert,orevenFrench fries.

5

Terroir

ThisFrenchwordreferstothe

senseofplacecreatedbya combination

ofthesoilinwhichthevinesgrowand

theuniqueclimateandenvironmentof

thevineyard.GrapesfromElgingrowand

ripenunderdifferentconditionstothose

inStellenboschorthevineyardsofthe

WestCoast,andthewinestheybecome

showcasethesedifferences.

6

OldWorld/

New World

OldWorldwinesaremadeincountries

consideredthebirthplaceofwine,

includingFrance,Spain,Germany,Hungary,

Greece,IsraelandGeorgia,wheretheyare

madeaccordingtoage-oldtraditionsand

strictguidelines.Thesewinesareusually

gentlerandlowerinalcohol.NewWorld

winescomefromcountriesincludingChile,

theUnitedStates,AustraliaandSouth

Africa,wheretheclimateis warmerand

winemakersaregenerallylessrestrained

intheirwinemaking.NewWorldwines

tendtobemorefruitforward, full-bodied

andhigherinalcohol.

7

Tannins

Thesearewhatcausesthedrying

sensationinyourmouthwhenyou

drinkwine,especiallyredssuchas

CabernetSauvignon.Tanninscome

fromcompoundsfoundingrapeseeds,

stemsandskins– thelongertheseare

lefttosoakinthegrapejuiceafter

pressing(toaddcolourandcomplexity),

thehigherthetanniccontentofthe

wineandthedrieryourmouthwillbe.

Tanninsarealsoantioxidants,sothe

higherthetannins,themoreyoucanage

thewine(seepage 42 forAllanMullins’

recommendedwinesforageing).

8

Cool/warm

climate

Grapesgrownincool-climateregions

usuallyproducelighterbodiedwines,

whilewarm-climatewinesaregenerally

morefull-bodied.TheCederberg,Hemel

enAardeandCapeAgulhasarecool-

climatewine-producingareas,while

FranschhoekandtheSwartland produce

warm-climate wines.

“Methoxpyrazines

(trypronouncing

thataftera few

glasses!)”