Today’s Wine Word: Ullage

This rather unattractive word belongs to the world in general – not just to wine. The Free Dictionary:

1. The amount of liquid within a container that is lost, as by leakage, during shipment or storage.
2. The amount by which a container, such as a bottle, cask, or tank, falls short of being full.

So, the ullage is the space between the cork and the wine in the bottle. It can also describe the space between the wine in a barrel and the stopper, which is called a  bung.

Why do you care? When you see a low fill at the wine shop, it doesn’t mean you just get less wine. It means that the wine could be somewhat oxidized or even spoiled. Oxidation shows up as lost fruit (dullness), brownish color. Wine that has spoiled, outright, is brown and can have many sensory manifestations including a sharp vinegar character or insalubrious fingernail polish remover-like aroma.

Today’s Wine Word: Horizontal Tasting

What’s a horizontal wine tasting?

Don’t worry – you don’t have to lie down. Unless you want to 😉

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Busting the Biggest Wine Myth of All

And, the winner is… “The older the better.” This myth crops up over and over, all the time, and it’s not a good thing because for the vast majority of wines made, world wide, the opposite is true.

When in doubt, down the hatch!

Forget about aging value wines. I know someone is going to write me back citing their favorite value red that’s always nicer with age, but let’s go with the big picture here. Generally speaking, these wines are made for immediate consumption and won’t hold up for more that two to four years. Especially whites and rosé wines. In most cases, the younger the better. 

This means, when you see white wine in the sale bin, it may not be such a bargain. Not if you end up dumping it down the drain instead of drinking it. 

And, in the world of fine wine, there are still more wines that don’t improve with age than those that do.

So, which wines to age?

White Wine Food, When You Feel Like Red

photo from dharmabumx on Flickr

Does that ever happen to you? Happens to me all the time. My protein of choice seems to call for white, but I really want a glass of deep, satisfying red wine. Well, most often I say “The heck with it.” and have what I want. As I’ve said, ad nauseum, most wines and foods taste pretty good together and it’s silly to worry about pairing.

But, the fact is, if you haven’t actually cooked the protein yet, there are bridge builders you can use to make a better match.

You could use a pork chop as an example – or chicken breast – or even a piece of sword fish or halibut.

My favorite bridge builders?  

Grill it! Those blackened, crusty grill marks can pull the dish into the red wine column. The grilled flavor loves tannin and makes the oak pop. Still not quite right? Add salt and lemon juice (thank you Tim Hanni.)

Are You a Super Taster?

Super tasters, or hyper-sensitive tasters as they’re now called, make up about one quarter of the population and are likely to be women. How do you fit in?

Given a choice, I’d rather be a tolerant taster. How about you?

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Today’s Wine Word: Cold Soak

Lots of that going on in the wine world right now. If you’re picturing yourself in a bathtub full of cold water, you’re not too far off. The term is literal, but there’s no water involved.

The cold soak is a technique that delays the onset of fermentation by keeping the must (crushed grapes) cool (yeast likes it warm).

If the grapes come in at night or on a very chilly morning, it’s just a matter of keeping it that way and with stainless steel tanks, it’s very easily done.

When the grapes come in warm, the most common way to chill the must down is to blanket it with dry ice (the solid form of carbon-dioxide).

The cold soak usually applies to red wine. It’s a good way to get some color, flavor and tannin from the grape skins without extracting bitter seed tannin. There’s no avoiding seed tannin entirely because alcohol is a solvent, so as per a recent post, it’s important that the seeds are mature – not too bitter – before they’re harvested.

Today’s Wine Word: Seed Maturity

Seed maturity?

I think I’ve talked a lot about the importance of getting samples from the vineyard to track the sugar, acid, pH and flavor maturity but seed maturity is important, too.

Why? Because if the seeds are still green and spongy they’ll impart nasty, bitter flavors to the wine. The tannins that come from the grape skins are the nice, supple good guys.

So, how do they know the seeds are mature? Elementary, as they say…

When they bring grape samples into the lab they juice the grapes to check the sugar, etc. Then, they spread out the skins and seeds to get a look. Mature seeds are brown and crunchy, like Grape-Nuts cereal. There’s no avoiding extracting seed tannin during the fermentation, but at least it’s mature seed tannin and isn’t quite so harsh.

Today’s Wine Word: Brix

Well, this is a timely question: Susan wants to know what “Brix” means.

The small instrument you saw at the beginning is called a refractometer. It’s a prism-like instrument that measures the soluble solids in the grape juice, 90% of which is sugar. 

Have you ever tasted just-picked wine grapes? Soooo sweet!

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Where do the Plums Come From?

Or cherries? Or spice?

Why the heck should the wine smell like plums when it’s made from grapes? 

I tossed around some ideas in this piece I wrote for Snooth recently: http://www.snooth.com/articles/where-do-the-plums-come-from/

Do you ever use the Wine Aroma Wheel when you’re tasting? What’s the most bizarre aroma or flavor you’ve ever noticed? 

Photo from Our Locality on Flickr

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Today’s Wine Word: Extractive

Question from Jess: You used the word extractive in a recent post. What do you mean?

Reply: Hi, Jess. Thanks for writing! And shame on me for using wine jargon without taking the time to explain it.

As you know, all of the color and most of the flavor, texture and tannin in red wine comes from the grape skins. The juice of most any dark grape is clear. So, depending upon how long the juice and skins are in contact you can make white, rose or red wine!

TRIVIA! This great versatility served our wine pioneers well. In the early days of California’s wine history there was only one variety, the Mission grape, available. From the 1500s until the 1800s every style of wine – white, red, brandy and a dessert wine known as Angelica – was made from this one, dark variety.

Anyhoo, when a red wine is described as extractive it means that it’s extremely dense, probably nearly black in color and extremely concentrated in flavor. Often these extractive reds are also accompanied by high alcohol (alcohol is a solvent) and, in recent years, some can seem almost syrupy.

Depending upon who you’re talking to, “extractive” as a descriptor may be interpreted as a compliment or a slam. 

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