Ways of opening a bottle of Champagne

Broadly speaking, there are two methods of opening a Champagne bottle: the messy way and the proper way. The messy way is to shake the bottle to build up the bubbles within the neck space of the bottle and make a splash when the cork is removed. The other way is to do it like a craftsman and uncork the Champagne in style with safety in mind. The pressure that shot the cork out of the bottle is almost 3X your tyre pressure. It can blind one’s eye if the cork is shot directly into the eye.

So, let me describe the most common methods of safely opening a Champagne bottle. Of course, before opening the Champagne, it must be chilled and is at its serving temperature (10C-12C).

Without splashing
This traditional and least exciting method is to ensure that the cork is being removed in the most controlled condition.
1) Remove the paper seal from the bottle opening and the neck. You can peel it off rather easily using the extended edge of the seal designed for this purpose.
2) After removing the paper seal, it is time to remove the wire cage. From this point onward, your left palm should be over the cork as a precaution and the bottle should be pointed to a safe direction even though the cork is not loosened yet.
3) After removing the wire cage, hold the bottle bottom with your right hand and cover the cork and bottle opening with your left palm (if you are right-handed). Make sure that both your hands are firmly held onto the bottle. Now, you can use your right hand to gently rotate the bottle clockwise to loosen the cork.

The cork should be released from the bottle with a whoof sound and will not fly off to hit any objects. All this while, your left palm is firmly covering the bottle opening and the cork will now sit safely in your left palm.

With a sabre - Sabre à Champagne
This method is ceremonial and fun. You should only do this when there is an open space, preferably in a garden party or a ballroom with high ceiling. The equipment you need is a sword and a bottle of chilled Champagne. If the Champagne is not chilled (above 13C), le sabrage can be dangerous. This art of opening builds on the fact that carbon dioxide gas is most stable at temperature between -56C and 20C. If the Champagne bottle has been left in room temperature (in Singapore context, it will be 28C -35C), some carbon dioxide may be in liquid form and sabrage will leave behind undesired glass debris. Therefore, chill the Champagne to 10C before preparing for sabrage.

Once the Champagne is taken out from its cool storage, use a piece of clean cloth to wipe away the condensation so that you will have a firm grip of the bottle. Next, remove the paper seal and wire cage at the cork as described above. Now, locate the crease along the side of the bottle. This is where two halves of the bottle meets. Notice that the crease goes all the way to the lips of the bottle opening. This part of the lips is the weakest and we will be striking at this point later.

Next, hold the bottle firmly with your left hand (if you are right handed) and hold the sword with your right hand. Point the bottle to a safe position (@45C elevation from ground) and position the sword with the blunt side of the blade against the crease of the lips. Practice a few strokes with the sword gliding down the seam towards the lips of the bottle with applying force. Once you feel confident, slide down the sword along the crease towards the lips with a firm strike. As long as the bottle is chilled and you are applying the appropriate amount of force upon strike, the neck of the bottle will break easily with a gush of Champagne flowing out from the bottle, clearing away any glass debris.

You will pour the first glass into a clear Champagne flute and check to make sure that there is no floating glass pieces. Once this is confirmed, normal serving can proceed.


By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
http://www.wine-treasures.com/
Email: cher.lim@wine-treasures.com

Why are there rose bushes in vineyards?

We just came back from a vacation in Margaret River and as usual, there are so many locations to visit with great food & wine awaiting us.

A friend of mine commented on the beautiful rose bushes that appeared at the end of vineyard rows while looking through my photographs. They are planted not just for aesthetic reason though. Both roses and grape vines are susceptible to the same diseases. Indeed, roses act as early warning of mildew which is a fungal disease. There are two main kinds of mildews: Powdery mildew (Oidium) which develops on all green parts of the vine. We can see white powdery growth of spores on the surfaces. If this mildew sets on the grapes, the fruit will not grow properly and will eventually split and rot. This fungus likes warm and shady environment and does not need a damp condition to survive.

The second deadly mildew is called Downy mildew which was brought over from American to Europe in the 19th century. It attacks all the green parts of the vine and leave behind patches of oily stains on the surface. Once attacked, the leaves will drop and photosynthesis inhibited. This fungus likes damp condition unlike that of Oidium.

Both fungus diseases can be treated by sprays of sulphur (for powdery mildew) and copper sulphate + lime solution (for downy mildew) once detected. Rose bushes help the vineyard team to catch sights of the fungus disease in its early stage to apply the proper treatment. Systemic application of fungicides is quite commonly used these days to keep the vines from such diseases. Rose bushes in such cases serve a greater aesthetic function.

Also on the photo, the nesting over the vines is used to protect the plants from birds and other animal attacks. Birds like to eat ripe grapes and they have learned to ignore bird-scarers. Animals like deer, boar also like ripe grapes. Young vines are very attractive food for them too. Therefore, the nesting is used often as a form of protection.

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By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com/
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

What does 100 year old vine mean?

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a few bottles of Montevina Terra d’oro Zinfandel 2003 with my customers. The wine labels printed “Deaver Vineyard, 100 year old vines” and this sparked off an interesting discussion on the significance of the age of vines. I shall take this opportunity to explore the viticultural aspects of wine growing and I hope it will help in the understanding towards winemaking.

When one mentions that terroir determines the wine’s flavor and style, this term has a multi-dimension meaning. It consists of the climate, soil, landscape and a composition of factors such as hours of sunlight, slope, drainage, rainfall distribution .. etc.

A winegrower is one who cultivates grapes and makes wine from them. He/She understands that wine is made in the vineyard, is familiar with the latest viticultural practices, employs sustainable procedures to optimize the grape-growing environment for good quality grapes. The flavor, color and palate of the finished wine is largely dependant on the grapes and the environment that they are cultivated in.

Having said this, the age of vines is a health indicator of the plant’s root system and potentially a measure of its resilience to diseases. The soil that the vine grows on consists of a 3 to 4 sub-layer profile which facilitates the roots with the necessary nutrients for plant growth. Theoretically, the deeper the root system travels, the more minerals will be absorbed. This however, is not a golden rule and varies with the condition and quality of soil available. Vines that thrive under a harsh condition usually have a deep root system. As the vine ages, its root system is developed and become more resistant to diseases and climatic changes. Therefore, a vine which survived through a hundred years should be hardy and therefore carry a greater chance of producing healthy fruits.

This is a statistical assumption and I will use this extra information on the label as a data point when tasting the wine. Fortunately, this wine reflects the healthy soil and the warm climate has left its signature on the palate composition of the final product. It is a full-bodied red with an upfront nose of blackberries and plums. It is filled with black fruits on the palate. There is cinnamon and spices as well, making it a rich and powerful wine. The long finish and a trace of heat at the back of the throat suggest that the wine is indeed made from rather ripe fruits. Overall, the 100 year old vines did not disappoint this tasting!

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By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

Decanting a sparkling wine?

I was recently been told that it is possible to decant a champagne and still enjoy its finesse. With all curiosity, I opened a bottle of sparkling wine made with Methode Champenoise to experiment this unconventional way of drinking champagne. To make the whole experience worthwhile, I prepared a couple of oriental appetizers to go with my tasting.

To begin with, I use a decanter that has a stopper (so that the carbon dioxide does not escape too readily). After opening the chilled wine bottle with a loud "pop", I poured the wine immediately into a champagne glass as my reference sample. I then decant about half the bottle and let it rest for 5 minutes. Now, I have two samples (undecanted and decanted) each resting in its glassware for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, I start to observe the beautiful bubbles for both samples. Since the decanter has a broader surface, the bubble is not rising as beautifully as that of the proper champagne wine glass. After 5 minutes, I tasted the undecanted wine and feels that it has its normal fizzy self, citrus nose and a lemony palate. This sparkling wine uses the blending of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier with 3 years lees contact. Now, I pour the decanted champagne into another similar glass and tasted it with high curiosity. There is still the fizziness but much less intense, the lemony palate is smoothened and it tastes more like a still wine that survived through the second fermentation. The creamy character of the wine is accentuated. To my pleasant surprise, I find the decanted sparkling wine very welcoming and indeed exhibits more fruit characters than its original sparkling form. The amount of oxygen exchange with the wine during decanting has removed the sharp edges contributed by the fruit acidity, softening the palate. There is still sufficient carbon dioxide to give the fizzy texture.

Food wise, I have an Indonesian styled deep fried squid and the ever popular Chinese dry fried prawns. They are perfect companion to a sparkling wine, decanted or not. Overall, I think this little experiment has yielded pleasant results and I don’t mind presenting it to my guests in the next dinner party. Cheers!

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By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

Wine Color Recognition

The color of wine is as important as its taste because it tells us its journey from grape harvest to bottling. To view the color of the wine effectively, the traditional way is to tilt the wine glass against a white background. Very often, in a restaurant setup, a white background in a dimmed environment is almost impossible. What I do is always bring with me a flexible, battery powered reading light to act as the light source that shines into the wine glass. Similarly, it produces a curved edge of varying depths through which the wine appearance can be viewed.

In a professional wine tasting session, the judge will study the few attributes of a wine appearance – Clarity, Color, Viscosity and Bubbles. A bottled wine that is cloudy or hazy may be considered unacceptable by most consumers. It is because in a commercial winery, sediment should be racked off or finned by the time the wine is bottled. Although a cloudy wine may not necessarily taste bad, it could affect one’s perceived quality.

A wine’s color can be described by its hue and depth. Hue is defined as the shades or tint whereas depth describes the brightness or intensity. A wine’s color indicates the maturity of grape at harvest, duration of skin contact, barrel aging etc. One can almost imagine the journey of viticulture and vinification of the wine. For example, a colorless white wine may indicate that the grapes are immature whereas a yellowish color wine could be due to the over-mature grapes. In a red wine, the longer the skin contact, the more intense is the color. When a white wine is aged in barrel, gold tints are increased whereas a red wine will lose its color density. Eventually, all wines take on a tawny brown shades over the long aging process. When the wine glass is tilted against a white background, we can observe a range of color characteristics, a gradation of wine depths. The rim of wine gives the best guess of its age. A purplish rim indicates youth in a red wine, a brownish tint on the rim is the result of aging. To judge the color depth, simply look directly down into the wine glass from the top.

Common color descriptors include purplish red, ruby, mahogany, tawny, pale yellow, straw yellow, gold, amber ..etc Qualifiers such as pale, medium, dark help to express the color intensity, giving a fuller description to the wine.


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By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

Experimenting on Chateau Haut Brion, 1989

I have always wanted to perform a subjective test on a well made wine to determine the effects of serving temperature on the wine. When I received a bottle of Haut Brion 1989, I decided to chill it in the refrigerator to bring the temperature down to 7C and quickly open to be served. My first taste of the wine was taken when temperature rose to 9C. The wine is quite “closed”, with minimum aroma and slightly pronounced tannins that is higher than expected for a 17 year old wine. The wine seems to be sharp and very structured. As temperature rises rather linearly (2C every 3 minutes in an air-conditioned room at 23C), the wine profile changes from a dormant mode to an active one. The wine now has a plum and cherry-like nose underlined by some smoky characters. Its tannins has softened over time, especially so when the wine rose to about 18C. The sweet character is more pronounced, giving body to the wine. In other words, the wine is more volatile as temperature rises. Exceeding 25C, the wine profile begins to fatten, losing the aroma and palate complexity. The body seems to overpower the palate which makes the wine less appealing. The acidity also begins to bite a little at the back of the throat with a little more rough edges than desired. It is therefore best served at 16-18C, keeping the volatile in check while giving an expressive nose to the drinker.

With this experiment, I may conclude that our taste buds perceive taste differently over a temperature range of 9C-25C. We can detect sweetness more readily when temperature warms up. Our tongue has a rather small tasting window as far as temperature is concerned. The 16-18C range seems to be an optimum window and serving beyond this window will do great injustice to a fine wine.

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By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

Can we blend our own wine?

Wine blending is a common practice in the winemaking world. It is used to overcome certain deficiencies or defects in the must, to balance the wine or to enhance complexity. In other words, we blend wine either to correct some misses or to improve the wine. This technique is made popular by Bordeaux when climatic conditions become challenging and straight varietal wines do not usually turn out to be easy drinking. The famous Bordeaux blend consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc has since become the most common blend in winemaking practices. In the case of Bordeaux, blending begins in the vineyard where the vines are planted with mixed varieties. In most wine producing regions, blending occurs at the must level before fermentation through any stage during wine processing. Without going into too much technical details, the parameters that can be modified are the wine’s acidity, pH, alcohol level, color, tannin, aroma and flavor, volatile acidity, residual sugar, off-flavor components. Where some of these parameters are quantifiable, a mathematical formula was derived by Dr Magalit to determine the amount of wines to be used to arrive at the desired value. The formula is P1+P2*X=Pb*(1+X) where P1 and P2 are the two wines to be blended. Although the concept seems simple, there are many underlying rules to a successful blend (to be covered later in the blog as this is a topic by itself!)

A common problem related to stabilization occurs if blending is done at the advanced stage of processing. We can see this in the form of precipitation in the must. Therefore, it is always better to blend the wine much earlier. A cool down (5-10C) period of 2-3 weeks is recommended to stabilize the must and observe for any irregularities. It is much like a pre-marriage arrangement where two parties get to know each other before the big day.

So, blending itself is pretty scientific and has its own constraints. I will not try to blend two finished products together since the environment and the chemistry of the wine are not ideal for such activity. The best approach is to work with a winemaker to taste his blends during winemaking and provide your feedback to him in its composition. This of course requires a trained palate and years of experience. For wine enthusiasts, it will be a superb experience. For wine students, it will be a perfect opportunity to have your wine knowledge validated. Sort of a full circle activity.

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Cher Lim
Wine Tresures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

Calibrating your own palate

I am always curious in finding out the general palate composition of Singapore wine drinkers. This is because the local food culture is dominated by hot and sweet sauces in their cooking. Most of us are so used to the delicious local food that authentic cooking styles from other countries will need to be fused with the local preferences in order to attract the dinning crowd. It is no wonder the new world wine is doing very well in Singapore, especially those from Australia or other warmer climate. Having grapes from the warmer climate and utilizing the modern techniques of winemaking, new world wine has a fruity and medium bodied palate. The riper grapes also have a higher residual sugar in the wine, causing it to be less tannic (in the case of Red) and less acidic.

I spent most of my evenings in the restaurant mingling with customers, helping them select the wine that is most agreeable with their palate and the food ordered. For a restaurant that serves fusion western style food where the chef uses quite an innovative array of oriental sauces, the pairing of wine and food serves as a good platform to explore the different wine style. As you may recall my earliest article about umami, the fifth sense of our taste buds which is induced by the presence of MSG. It is a description of deliciousness in our mouth. Having food prepared with oriental sauces, the umami stimuli are already present in the food (derived from soya sauce, mushroom, scallop or prawn paste...). Therefore, the choice of wine styles can now be extended beyond our comfort zone.

To calibrate one's palate, we can start by summarizing our food preference. If we are worshippers of Singapore’s local delights, the warmer climate wines are naturally more agreeable with our palate. However, this also means we can now utilize the umami stimuli in the food to satisfy our palate requirement and match it with the cooler climate wine whose higher tannins will blend with the food to enhance the overall sense of deliciousness.

Shiraz from France’s Northen Rhone and Australia’s Barossa Valley has a different palate composition. The best food to go with the Rhone could be a stewed meat dish that will benefit from the peppery nature of the wine. The Barossa’s shiraz tend to be more smooth and sweet, therefore a peppery meat dish will be a great choice.

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Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

How much grapes is needed to make a bottle of wine?

Winemaking is a labor of love. It takes at least 3 months to reach the barrel and another 3 years to age. While we can easily buy a bottle of wine from the nearest retail shop at prices ranging from $15 to a few hundred dollars, just what is going on behind the label of each bottle?

One of my friends has asked me – how much grapes is required to make a bottle of wine? Commercial winery figure ranges from 0.5 kilogram to 0.85 kilogram per litre of wine, depending on the quality and viticultural practices of the vineyard. For some premium wine, grapes are harvested manually and categorized into different quality standards for winemaking. As mentioned in the previous article, botrytised grapes have the most stringent requirement and require a large amount of grapes to make a bottle of wine.

Other than the fermented grape juice (we call it “must”), there are other elements such as yeast, nutrients and additives which contribute to the final wine that is presented in the bottle. After the grapes are harvested, they are crushed and pressed to produce the juice for fermentation. Red wine goes through two stages of fermentation which in one stage, includes the grape skin and pulps. White wine only goes through a single fermentation using the juice from the crusher/presser.

Therefore, all wine can be made with both red and white grapes. The color of the wine is contributed by the duration in which the grape skin is macerated during fermentation. Skin contact helps to transfer the phenols and color from the grapes to the must. Yeast, nutrients and additives are then added throughout the process to stabilize the fermentation and to make sure that there is no microbial spoilage along the way. By the time it is ready for bottling, the wine has gone through several racking and fining to remove the remnant particles from the liquid. Finally, the finished product is a clear looking wine, should it be red or white.

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By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

Botrytis under microscope

During my residential block in Australia last week, we spent sometime reading about Botrytis, getting to know its microscopic form and how this fungus can be a friend and a foe to winemaking. Most of us hear about Botrytis from late harvest wine, one that has the honey nose and sweet on the palate. The taste often reminds one of raisins because the grapes are left to dry on the vines before being harvested. These grapes are not necessarily botrytised but those that are command a much higher price.

Botrytis, sometimes known as grey rot, is a fungal disease spread by damp, humid conditions. It tends to affect mostly immature berries with broken skins which are either caused by the scar left on the caps during flowering or mechanical equipment mishandling or weather conditions (e.g hail, wind or excessive sunburn). Skin damages provide the least resistance path for the fungus pathogen to infect the plant tissue. Yield and grape quality are most affected once grey rot sets in. Thin-skinned berries are most susceptible to grey rot. However, in the right conditions, i.e damp mornings and dry afternoons, the benevolent form of the fungus known as noble rot is welcome. The famous sweet wines of Sauternes and Germany are results of noble rot infected grapes. In this form, botrytis affect ripe grapes, consume water from the fruits through the pores of the skins (microscope filaments). As a result, sugar concentration increases, reducing the grapes into shriveled raisins. Wines made from these raisins are sweet and carry a unique flavor. The highest quality German classification for such wine is known as Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). They are produced in minute quantities, in only the finest vintages. The sugars in these grapes can contribute about 21.5% alcohol volume (ABV) but after fermentation, the resultant wine rarely goes beyond 8% ABV as it is matched with high levels of acidity to produce a balanced wine. Top quality TBAs are among the world’s most expensive and worthy wines. And Yes, TBAs are great with cheese and desserts.

By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
website: http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

The science of decanting

According to the Oxford dictionary, “decanting” is an action of pouring a liquid from one container to another in order to separate the sediments from the liquid. For those of you who helped out in housework during the early 1970s, you may recall that one can buy homemade soya sauce in large bottle format. A delivery man would bring with him a cart filled with bottles of soya sauce for households who have ordered them. Each month, the used bottle would be exchanged for a fresh supply in another bottle. In any case, this soya sauce was so tasty that my mother would not buy from anyone else. The first time I performed decanting was on a bottle of homemade soya sauce. I would pour the content from its original bottle into another container, ever so carefully to ensure that as little sediment as possible was transferred over.

So, decanting is not just for wine. An aged wine which has been resting on its side would have collected a layer of sediments consisting of yeast cells, tannins, fining particles. Theoretically, the process of winemaking would have filtered such solids away before bottling. However, a small amount of particles that still went through the racking and ended up in the bottle. Over time as the wine ages in the bottle, such particles will collate to form a layer of solids along the inner surface of the bottle on which it lies. Indeed, there is absolutely nothing wrong to drink a wine that looks cloudy but sometimes it may not be so pleasant for some. Therefore, decanting is used to separate the sediments from the wine. A candle is often used to help in observing the flow of sediments, adding to the ceremony. In today’s high tech world, a white LED light (e.g a flexible reading light) is easier and clearer for this purpose, a twist to tradition.

For a young wine, decanting is believed to emulate an accelerated aging process by allowing oxygen to act on the phenolic compounds of the wine over a large surface area. We can decant a young wine either on a big bowled wine glass or a broad base decanter. The phenolic compounds in a young wine, especially those made in France and Italy, will benefit from decanting if it has to be drunk before maturation. Such compounds contribute to the pigments and tannins in the wine. The chemical structures of the tannins are polymers of different length. They are hydrolysable to form glucose and gallic or ellagic acids units. The catechin-gallate esters that are formed from gallic acid under the influence of oxygen are responsible for the dry taste in the mouth. They precipitate the proteins in our saliva while the wine pass through our lips. A young wine will benefit from decanting partly because of the action of oxygen in accelerating the release of aroma and flavor components from the wine. Therefore, it should be perfectly alright to leave the wine in the decanter or a wine glass for over 30 minutes before drinking. The young wine will become more approachable with time. On the other hand, an aged wine should be drunk as soon as it has been decanted. The reason being that an aged wine that is matured and ready to drink would have all its phenolic compounds assimilated in the wine. The act of introducing oxygen to the wine will remove the volatile aromatic components from the wine and if it is left unattended for more than 30 minutes, oxidation will kick in, creating an off-taste in the aged wine.

By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com

Sulfur dioxide and Wine

When I first read about sulfur dioxide in winemaking, it strikes me as the most important chemical in preserving the quality of wine. It is added as an antioxidant, i.e. to protect the wine against enzymatic oxidation of the polyphenolic compounds, to prevent it from chemical oxidation during processing and in bottle, and as an antimicrobial agent to protect the wine against microbial spoilage. Indeed, sulfur dioxide is added throughout winemaking, almost at each step during the procedure. The concentration of sulfur dioxide in wine is usually very low to cause health hazards. The legal limit in most country is between 300-350 ppm (i.e 300-350 mg per litre). In United States, it is required for the winery to print on its label the presence of sulfites if it exceeds 10 ppm.

Some people are allergic to sulfur dioxide. The common complaints are headache after consuming a small portion of wine. Food allergy occurs when the individual is exposed to the allergen, with its sensitized mast and blood basophil cells releasing histamine and other chemicals. For wine that is produced using grapes susceptible to botrytis cinerea (growth of moulds on the grape skin), a greater concentration of sulfur dioxide is used. Botrytis-infected grapes contain a significant amount of laccase enzyme and aldehydes, both increases the oxidation and binding capability of the grape juice during fermentation. Therefore, a high concentration of sulfur dioxide is required in such wine. In a botrytis wine, the amount of sulfur dioxide used is in the range of 80-120 ppm. For a normal still wine, the amount of free sulfur dioxide is on average 17 ppm.

Reference: Creina Stockley (Oct 2005), "Sulfur dioxide and the wine consumer", The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker

By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

How does oak help in wine aging?

Wine barrels are predominantly made of oak if aging is desired. According to Simi Winery from California, the existence of open faced, wooden buckets through coopering dated back to as early as 2690 BC in Egypt. The Fully-closed barrels were first developed during the Iron Age (800-900 BC). By the first century, wooden barrels were widely used to hold wine, beer, milk, olive oil which turned out better than storing them in clay vessels. The increased use of wooden barrels created the need of cooperage (i.e barrel-making), eventually replacing the use of clay vessels as the major storage tools.

There are many different types of oak – French, American, Hungarian – all play a role in maturing the wine through a gradual oxidation process and the chemistry exchange between the wine’s phenolic components and the wood. What oak does to a wine is similar in our modern day of slow cooking whereby flavors and texture of the oak is assimilated into the wine. Under the effect of oxygen, the phenolic compounds of the wine change color from red to brown, then polymerize and precipitate. When there is too much oxygen, the alcohol will be turned into acetaldehyde which results in a flat taste. However, when the excessive oxygen is removed, the acetaldehyde will interact with the tannins and the flat taste disappears.

Oak is known to impart certain flavors or texture to wine during barrel aging. Some of the well known flavors are vanilla, toasty, tea and tobacco .etc. These are a result of the extraction of non-flavonoid phenols extracted from the oak - vanillic acid and ellagic acid. There are also materials containing hdrolyzable lignin and small sugar molecules like pentoses.

The barrel manufacturing techniques and type of oak affect greatly the amount and quality of flavor/texture impart to the wine. American and French coopers have different style of making the barrels, beginning with the type of oak used (Quercus alba vs Quercus robur), the toasting method (natural vs kiln, degree of toasting), staves binding (boiling water vs gas or fire), and the list goes on. Overall, cooperage is an extremely complicated craft and plays a critical role to the final quality of the wine.

Reference: Dr Yair Margalit (1996), Winery Technology & Operations published by Wine Appreciation Guild.

By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

The Mysterious Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir has come a long way from a relatively unknown varietal to its current popularity. Perhaps one of the reasons to its added reputation is brought by the movie “Sideways” where it depicts a couple’s search about meaning in life through a wine tasting journey in a haze of Pinot Noir.

So, what exactly is so attractive about this grape? Pinot Noir is best celebrated in the gold slope of Burgundy with a perfumed aroma and a slightly sweet palate. It is relatively less bodied compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, making it more subtle and feminine. A young Pinot Noir is characterized by its smell of cherries. It reminds me of a young and cheerful lady dancing happily in the wind. Pinot Noir grows best in a climate where the fruit can enjoy a long growing season. The optimum condition is a short ripening cycle followed by a long fruit set to veraison. This enables the phenolic components to develop in the fruit, contributing maximum flavors to the wine. Renowned Pinot Noir regions are Burgundy (France), Carneros and Russian River (California), Tasmania, New Zealand. Other than the Burgundy, wines from these regions have a pronounced fruitiness that adds life to the texture.

Pinot Noir is one of the oldest varieties in the world of wine grapes. Ancient Romans called this grape Helvenacia Minor. It is grown all over the world, from Algeria to Austria, France, Germany, Italy, America, New Zealand, Tasmania. Pinot Noir is a difficult grape to grow, having being susceptible to most vine diseases. Growers take pride to nurture successful pinot noir vintage. It is the ultimate appellation that differentiates itself from the rest. This grape is sometimes grown for sparkling wine. In Champagne, it is blended with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier to produce the much sought-after Champagne. In South Africa, the Pinot Noir is crossed with Cinsaut to form a red grape called Pinotage. It has become the varietal representative of South Africa.

Pinot Noir is best matched with food marinated lightly with pepper and salt, or those that is soya sauce based. In Asian cuisine, the roast chicken that comes with a small saucer plate of pepper & salt is the perfect dish for a nice, cheery Pinot.

Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd

Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

Behind the Wine Aroma

Aroma is an interesting topic as most of the labels on new world wine describe the wine’s character and food pairing preferences, much like a match making attempt. If one spends time to discover the world of winemaking, you will notice that aromas is assisted by the use of appropriate yeast, cultured and selected to extract or suppress certain characters of the fruits. Researchers in major wine producing countries spent years in identifying the compounds that are responsible for certain flavors. For example, the herbaceous, grassy descriptors (e.g capsicum, asparagus) of a Sauvignon Blanc are known as the “green” characters whereas the fruity descriptors (e.g grapefruit, gooseberry, passion fruit) are known as the “tropical” characters. It is discovered that the green characters are derived from bio-synthesized compounds containing nitrogen and come directly from the grapes. On the other hand, the tropical characters in Sauvignon Blanc are contributed by fermentation-driven esters. The important chemical compounds (3MHA, 4MMP, 3MH) impart passion fruit, grapefruit, gooseberry and guava type of aromas to wine. At excessive concentrations, it reminds me of a uniquely strong, sweaty aromas reminiscent of cat’s urine. A description widely quoted from Jancis Robinson – “Cats’ pee on a gooseberry bush”.

Reference: J.H. Swiegers, E.J.Bartowsky, P.A. Henschke and I.S. Pretorius, Yeast and Bacterial Modulation of Wine Aroma and Flavour: Part 1. The Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 11, 139-173 (2005)

By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http//www.wine-treasures.com
Email: cher.lim@wine-treasures.com

What has MSG got to do with wine?

Although Umami is not synonymous with MSG, it is a sensory reaction to MSG. It can be derived from amino acid (protein containing food), meat, fish, squid and prawns (fresh and dried), dried scallops, mushroom, soy sauce, tomatoes, chinese cabbage, seaweed, aged cheese. The taste receptor for Umami, identified by a team of scientists in the University of Miami, is called “taste-mGluR4”. The Umami receptors are distributed along the side (fungiform) and the back of our tongue (circumvallate). They are in close proximity to the sensory for tannins which is the astringent mouth-feel when we drink a cup of thick tea or a glass of young Bordeaux wine.

What does all this mean to pairing food and wine? The taste receptor for Umami has a great influence on the choice of wine. Red wine made with grapes from cool or maritime climate, for example, Bordeaux, Piedmonte ..etc, will generally have a higher level of tannins and acidity. Wine from these regions will benefit from longer skin contact and the presence of lactic acid. Therefore, red wine that has a complex palate will go well with food prepared with soya sauce (lots of lactic acid) or cooked with sources of umami.

Cher Lim
Wine Treasures (Singapore)
http://www.wine-treasures.com

Origins of Wine

As the first article of this blog, it is appropriate to share with you the ongoing effort by a group of researchers led by Patrick E McGovern of University of Pennsylvania in uncovering the history of wine. Perhaps we will call the first wine for mankind the Stone Age Wine. Legend has it that wine was first discovered by a Persian King Jamsheed who loved fresh grapes and stored them in jars to cater for a year round consumption. Unfortunately, one consignment went bad in the jar and was fermented overtime. It was then labeled as poison on the jar. A harem consort who suffered from a bad headache mistakenly took the “poison” and went into a deep sleep. She miraculously recovered from her headache the next day and informed the King about her discovery. From that day onwards, King Jamsheed ordered that the poison be replicated as the fermented grape juice is indeed wine with medicinal value. Thus begins the quest for winemaking. This tale, although not validated, has been most cited and has implied Iran as the homeland of winemaking.

Cher Lim
Wine Treasures (Singapore)
http://www.wine-treasures.com/