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English text copyright 2011 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of
the Crown Publ ishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.clarksonpotter.com
CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a
registered trademark of Random House, Inc.
Originally published in France as Grand Larousse du Vinby Editions
Larousse, Paris, in 2010. Copyright 2010 by Larousse, Paris. This
English translation was originally published in Great Britain by Hamlyn,
a division of Octopus Publishing Group Ltd., a Hachette UK Company,
London, in 2011.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-307-95222-6
Printed in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First American Edition
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ContentsPreface 11
DISCOVERING VINES AND WINE 12
THE ORIGINS OF WINE 15
How wine began 16 3Wine as portrayed in ancient miniatures 18
Revolutions in wine 20
The new world of wine 22
3False beliefs about wine 24
The wine-producing terroirs 26
3The artists of terroir 30
Thousands of grape varieties 32
The great red grape varieties 36
The great white grape varieties 40
Grape varieties and terroirs:famous combinations 44
FROM VINE TO BOTTLE 47
The growth cycle of the vine 48
Work in the vineyard during the year 50
Pruning and yield of the vine 52
The harvest 54
Toward greener wine production 58
Fermentation 60
3Techniques that are controversial 62
Producing white and ros wines 64
Making red wine 68
Making sparkling wines 70
Making fortified wine 74
The art of maturation 76
The role of barrel ageing 80
Making a barrel 82
3Some beautiful barrels 84
Bottling 86
Closures 88
CHOOSING, STORING, AND TASTING WINE 90
HOW CAN YOU IDENTIFY A WINE? 93
Appellation systems 94
3A comparative table of European appellations 99
Appellations from other countries 100
How to decode a wine label 104
3Some examples of different labels 110
3Labels old and new 116
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HOW TO BUY WINE 119
Tools for buying wine 120
The price of wine 122
Buying from wine shops and supermarkets 124
Buying from wineries 126
3Buying wine futures oren primeur 128
Buying through other channels 130
HOW SHOULD WINE BE STORED? 133
The ideal environment for storing wine 134
Creating a cellar 136
3Four different wine collections 138
3In the silence of the cellar 140
Organizing and managing your cellar 142
3Storing wine: a few tips 144
Keeping and ageing wines 146
3Average wine longevity 148
Collecting and investing in wines for your cellar 150
HOW TO CHOOSE WINE 153
Wine styles 154
3Legendary wines 162
3Recent vintages 164
Principles for matching food with wines 168
3Successful food and wine partnerships 174
3Pairing cheeses with wines 182
HOW TO SERVE WINE 185
Serving temperature 186
Opening the bottle 188
3Corkscrews 190
Decanting the wine 192
Glasses 194
Dining with wine 196
Wine in a restaurant 198
3Sommelier as wine ambassador 200
HOW TO TASTE WINE 203 The basics of successful tasting 204
Appearance 206
Wine aroma or nose 210
3Aroma families 214
Taste 216
The synthesis of tasting 220
3Some sample tasting notes 222
3Describing wine 228
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GREAT WINE REGIONS OF THE WORLD 236
3Key wine regions 238
World of wine 240
FRANCE 243
Bordeaux 244
Bordeauxs classified growths (crus classs) 250 Bordeauxs most famous wines 252
3Chteau Latour 258
3Chteau dYquem 264
Burgundy 272
Best-known wines of Burgundy 280
3Romane-Conti 288
Champagne 296
3The art of Champagne according to Krug 302
Alsace, Jura, and Savoie 304
Famous wines from Alsace, Jura, and Savoie 308
The Loire Valley 312
Famous wines of the Loire Valley 316
The Rhne Valley 322
Leading Rhne Valley wines 326
Southwest France 334
Famous wines of southwestern France 336
Languedoc-Roussillon 340
Top Languedoc-Roussillon wines 342
Provence and Corsica 346
Leading wines of Provence and Corsica 348
ITALY 353
Italy 354
Leading Italian wines 360
3Sassicaia, the Super Tuscan 368
SPAIN 375
Spain 376
Spains best-known wines 380
3Vega Sicilias Unico 384
PORTUGAL 391
Portugal 392
The best-known Portuguese wines 396
GERMANY 401
Germany 402
Leading German wines 406
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CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST EUROPE TO
THE BLACK SEA 413
Central and Southeast Europe to the Black Sea 414
Leading wines of Central and SoutheastEurope to the Black Sea 421
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AND NORTH AFRICA 425
The vineyards of the Eastern Mediterraneanand North Africa 426
Wine regions of the Eastern Mediterraneanand North Africa 430
UNITED STATES AND CANADA 433
United States and Canada 434
Leading USA and Canada wineries 440
3Opus One, exceptional California wine 444
CHILE 451
Chile 452
Key Chilean regions and wines 454
ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, AND URUGUAY 457
Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay 458
Key wine regions of Argentina, Brazil,and Uruguay 462
SOUTH AFRICA 465
South Africa 466
Leading South African regions and wines 468
AUSTRALIA 471
Australia 472
Leading Australian regions and wines 476
NEW ZEALAND 483
New Zealand 484
Leading New Zealand regions and wines 486
JAPAN, CHINA, AND INDIA 489
Japan, China, and India 490
REFERENCES 492
Glossary 494
Index 504
Index of grape varieties 524
Acknowledgments 527
Picture acknowledgments 528
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PREFACE
Wine is an invitation to go on a journey. This book bears witness to that trip. The road
begins with discovery of the extraordinary diversity of grape varieties and terroirs
that exist all over the world. It then introduces you to the people involved and the
work they accomplish in countless vineyards and wine cellars. Finally, it takes you into the world
of wine tasting and reveals the incredible variety of wines on every continent.
I am dedicated to learning about the wines of the world. I have spent a good part of my life in
this pursuit, and I continue to study the development of the many, diverse vineyards with immense
curiosity. Driven by a quest for new terroirsand grape varieties, I have visited several regions and
on every occasion have learned a great deal, both on a cultural and a personal level. Today, I am
aware that every continent displays a desire, even an obsession, to produce the finest wines.
There is no doubt that the traditional vineyards of Europe, represented in particular by France,
but also by Italy and Spain, still occupy a leading position as a result of their history, culture,
traditions, and scale. However, many of us have yet to discover the fascinating diversity of vineyards
in Central and Eastern Europe. Some countries in the Middle East also show good potential, with
the emergence of small, ambitious wineries. And what about all the New World wines that arrived
on the shelves of our supermarkets and our wine shops starting 25 years ago, transforming the
economic landscape of wine production? There are beautiful estates to explore, whether in Chile
or California, and each embarked on the hunt for new terroirssuitable for producing ever more
concentrated, balanced wines. Lastly, we watch with interest as India and China develop significant
wine projects. The fact that Asia is as interested in producing wine as it is tea represents a real
sea change. But wine inspires aspirations everywhere. New countries are introducing viticulture,
and a huge variety of wines are out there for us to investigate. This book will help you discover the
diversity and richness of wines produced throughout the world. I also hope it will inspire you to
rediscover familiar wines as well as to explore those with unexpected aromas and flavors.
Olivier Poussier
Worlds leading sommelier
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The art of tasting
Tasting is above all a technical exercise, taking place in three stages
during which three of our senses in turn are brought into
play: sight, smell, and taste. Although there are
several tasting groups open to the general
public, wine lovers often organize private
events with friends, a practice open toall and requiring only a little attention
to detail and a few material conditions.
Choosing a venue
Choosing the right room is important. It
should be bright, with sufficient daylight
or neutral lighting (and certainly no strip
lighting or colored lamps). The air should not be
polluted with cooking smells, flowers, tobacco, or per-
fume. The ideal room temperature is somewhere between 64F
and 68F (18C20C), as this will enable your wine to show its
best. (The idea of allowing the wine to stand in a room for a few
hours so that it warms up from cellar temperature and tastes better
dates back to a time before central heating.) The table should be
covered with a white cloth, or, in the absence of one, the glasses
should be placed on a piece of white paper, which will allow
people to judge the color of the wine objectively.
Selecting your equipment
GLASSES.Choosing these correctly is
important because they influence the
appearance and aroma of the wine. Do
not use colored glasses. A tulip-shaped
glass with a transparent stem, sometimes
known in France as an Angoulme, is
a great choice. Many ideal glasses used
by wine professionals are available from
companies including Riedel, Schott Zwiesel, and
Spiegelau. Their semi-elliptic form has a narrower mouth
than its curved bowl, allowing it to concentrate aromas and to
avoid spills when swirling the wine. These glasses are available
from department stores and any good wine merchant. A tastershould smell their glass before using it to make sure there are no
residual odors (from the box or dish detergent). The glass may
be rinsed with water or, better still, moistened with the first wine
to be tasted. The ideal approach is to provide a fresh glass with
every wine. If this is not possible, provide a minimum of two
glasses per taster so that wines may be compared.
SPITTOONS.These are indispensable accessories, allowing
tasters to empty their glasses and to spit (seebox p.205). If you
have no spittoons, you can use other vessels, such as deep bowls,
vases, and Champagne buckets.
THE BASICS OF
SUCCESSFUL TASTINGTasting a wine brings experiences that can be described concretelythe color, the aromas,
the flavors, and the texture all speak to our senses. Most often, though, the enthusiasticamateur lacks an adequate vocabulary to describe these sensations. He or she is unable to
decode the different elements making up the wine; in other words, how to taste.
lip
bowl
stem
base
Tasting will help you
learn about wine.Practiced regularly, tasting
sharpens the senses and
gradually improves the specific
vocabulary required to
communicate wine-related
opinions clearly.
Getting wine readyThe wines, which will have been stored horizontally
in a cellar, should be placed upright one day early
so that any natural deposit will settle at the bottom
of the bottle. They should be opened an hour before
the tasting and, if necessary, decanted into a carafe.
The whites should be placed on ice or refrigerated
for a few hours and then taken out half an hour
before tasting to reach the right temperature; they
should be opened just before being tasted.
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HOW TO TASTE WINE 205
Appropriate physical
conditions
A taster should be fresh and rested, and in
good health. Discomfort from fatigue wi ll
affect judgment, and colds in particu lar are
a considerable handicap to taking in the
aromas and flavors of the wine. The technically best time for
wine tasting is in the morning, when the senses are sharpestand concentration is at a maximum. But wine lovers generally
prefer to get together at the beginning of an evening before
dinner, when the agenda is about fr iends and fun. Tasting after
a meal should be avoided; the senses are saturated and the
bodys systems are committed to digestion.
Before tasting, wine lovers should refrain from drinking
coffee or smoking cigarettes, since this will spoil the palate.
By the same token, breada neutral foodstuffis preferable
to cheese or salty crackers to cleanse the palate between the
wines that are particularly tannic or acidic.
A few simple rules for successful tasting
When tasting, it is best to observe at least a little silence, as
this encourages concentration. As fascinating as it is to share
your thoughts, there will be time for this later. The person
leading the tasting may therefore suggest a summary of the
wines tasted, after sampling a set number of bottles. Each guest
will keep notes of their observations on a tasting sheet provided
for this purpose (for a few examples, seepp.2225). There is
no substitute for this exercise in reinforcing a tasters judgment.
The notes will provide a starting point as your tasting ability
develops, and you trace the evolution of wines. Tasting is an
exercise in memory as wellthe more you taste, noting colors,
aromas, and flavors in your reference library of experience,
the more you will be in a position to identify a wines sensory
characteristics and, by comparing many, to assess its qualities.Equally important ru les include honesty, modesty, and respect
for others: virtues to be practiced throughout life! There
actually is no such thing as good or bad in tastingevery-
one has their own ideas and may defend these in discussion,
always preserving respect for others.
What is blindtasting?
This is a completely objective
method of tasting wines without
knowing their identity. The bottle
is covered with paper or somekind of sleevewhatever the
tasters level of expertise, there
is always the danger of being
influenced by the label. A wine
with a great reputation will
always raise expectations and
the reverse can also be true. In
blind tasting, the intrinsic quality
of the wine is left to speak for
itself, and this experience may
lead to some surprises.
DID YOU KNOW...?
Spitting out a wine is normal at ta stings.
For a beginner, spit ting might seem odd and a bit
disgusting, not to mention the fr ustration one might feelat not being able to enjoy the wine fully. The practice is
explicable, though, as a ques tion of physical necessit y.
Formal tastings do not take place at mealtimes, and so
drinking wine means imbibing alcohol on its own. While
not actually bringing about a state of drunkenness, it
likely will dull the senses or cause the individual to lose
concentration. Further more, actually swallowing the
wine does not bring into play any additional criteria for
assessment, as everything takes place between the nose
and the mouth. So people spit in order to appreciate the
aroma and the body of se veral wines more keenly.
>Bottles disguised
with paper sleeves
at a blind tasting.
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Noting the appearance
At first, a taster will try to define a wines color: its hue, its
intensity, and its clarity. To see these clearly, the wine should
be heldin good lightingin front of a neutral background
(a white tablecloth, for example) or placed on any
white surface.
HUE.The color of a wine is evaluated
according to two parameters, its hue and its
intensity. The vocabulary used to describethe first quality draws its terms from the
world of precious stones (ruby, topaz),
metals (gold, copper), flowers (rose,
violet), and fruits (lemon, cherry). See
also box below.
INTENSITY.Since there are so many
different shades of color, it is important
to define the hue by its intensity. This
varies between pale and very dark, moving
through light, dark, deep, intense, and profound.
Some of the vocabulary used, such as poor, soft, and weak,
are already indications of quality.
CLARITY.This should be perfect and not compromised by any
foreign particles in suspension, such as dust, flakes, or any residue
from finings or dead yeast that may float around in the liquid. If
it is not, it may be described as cloudy, hazy, or opalescent.
These are all signs of poor winemaking or contamination of the
wine, and generally render it unfit for enjoyment. As wine
production advances, though, these occurrences
are fortunately less and less likely.
What does the appearance
of a wine tell us?
A wines color not only tells us its type
white, red, or rosbut it can reveal
details about the age of the vines, the yield,
the year, the age of the wine, and even the
manner of its maturation.
VARIETIES AND V INTAGES.The substances
that lend a wine its color originate with pigments contained
in grape skins. There are few of these to be found in white grapes,
but they are very prevalent in red grapes, with different intensi-
ties according to variety. A wine made with Gamay grapes has apretty ruby color; and its distinct from one made with Cabernet
Sauvignon, which is a deep garnet. The gradual development of
the vines partially determines the maturity of the grape pigments,
although the color intensity of a wine is more predicated on actual
vintage quality. Thus a 1994 Mdoc will have a less intense hue
than the more concentrated 1996, which was a hotter year.
In the same way, white wines will have a deeper color when
APPEARANCEThe first contact with a wine is visualthe eye perceives the color and depth of color
that the wine offers as soon as it is served. To the attentive taster, wine begins to tell itsstory while it is still in the glass. Looking at what is known in French as the wines robe
(dress)its hue, brilliance, surface, and its legsallows a taster to uncover manyvaluable clues as the wine reveals its origins, its age, its personality, and indeed its quality.
Visually inspecting awine is the first step in
waking the senses.
It prepares and
conditions the mind and
the other senses for
tasting the wine.
The palette of colorsRed wines: peony, light ruby, dark ruby, vermilion,
garnet, deep garnet, carmine, deep purple. Whenaged: brick red, russet, chestnut, mahogany, coffee.
Ross:pale gray, very light rose, pink, raspberry,
carnation, strawberry, cherry, salmon pink. When
older, they become: salmon, orange, brick, copper,
onion skin.
White wines:pale yellow with a hint of green, pale
yellow, lemon, pale gold, golden yellow, straw gold.
After several years of maturing: old gold, bronze,
copper, amber, mahogany, coffee.
>To inspect a wines
appearance, it should
be placed above a
white surface.
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HOW TO TASTE WINE 207
the grapes were harvested in hotter years, which encourage
slight over-maturity.
VINE YIELD.The color intensity is also a function of the yield
that the winemaker has obtained from the vines. The higher
the yield, the less concentrated the grapes and the lighter theresulting liquid. By contrast, the lower the yield, the more the
wine will gain in intensity. This is often the case with old vines,
which bear fewer grapes and which almost always produce a
wine with a pronounced coloration.
CONDITION OF THE GRAPES.The health of grape clusters is
also a factor that influences a wines appearance. If made with
a spoiled lot of grapes, the wine will have less color intensity,
whatever the variety or yield.
WINE AGE.The color of a white wine intensifies with age, while
that of a red wine fades. As a result, inspecting a wine can allow
you to assess its age. When very young, reds (and some ross)
have a slight blue tinge that often lends a purple hue to their
DID YOU KNOW...?
A wine throwing a deposit or looking cloudy
is not necessarily a bad sign.If unfiltered or only
par tially filtered, some young wines will display a
slight haze, arising from fine lees in suspension that
will go on to form an entirely normal deposit. By the
same token, it is entirely normal to find deposits in old
wines or, in certain bottles, small cr ystals resulting
from a precipitat ion of tart aric acid, one of the
ingredients of wine. The latter come from a sudden
change in temperature.
overall appearance. In time, they will acquire shades of deep
orange as the pigments and tannins star t to yellow. As whites
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208 CHOOSING, STORING, AND TASTING WINE
p.76). Without filtration, a wine will lose in brilliance but gain
in color intensity.
THE MENISCUS (OR RIM).When inspecting the surface of
red wines, and to a lesser extent ross, tasters will pay special
attention to its outside edge, known as the meniscus. Becausethe wine is at its thinnest here, the wines true color will be most
apparent. If there is a touch of blue, it suggests that the wine is
still very young; if it reveals more shades of terracotta and brick
red, it will be an older wine. This development of color, a result
of pigments taking on an orange or brick tint with time due to
the ageing of tannins, is of varying significance and meaning
for different wines. Thus, hints of purple or a bold red are
appropriate for wines that are enjoyed young; by the time
these have taken on an orange meniscus, they are no longer
fresh. Orange and ochre go in tandem with a more developed
wine, which has some age. Shades of brown and garnet, how-
contain few tannins, their color develops much more slowly,
from shades of green and yellow to gold.
VINIFICATION.This too plays a role in wine color. For reds,
a long maceration allows more of the pigmented substances to
be extracted (seep.68). Because of their methods of production,either by crushing or by saigne(bleeding) of the vats (see
p.66), ross will have different shades: rather pale in the case of
the former method, and darker in the latter. A new barrel will
intensify wine hue as it boosts the combination of the substances
causing coloration. Whether white or red, a wine will have a
darker shade when matured in barrels than the same wine that
has been stored in steel tanks.
The surface and the meniscus
THE SUR FACE(the topmost view of a wine). To observe the
surface accurately, tasters first place themselves directly above
the glassthe top viewand then hold the wine up to lightthe side view. The surface is judged according to the brilliance
of its appearance and by the way it catches the light. Observing
the surface should confirm the clarity of the color. A wine with
clarity issues will also present a surface with the same prob-
lems; and a suspect will be described as matte, dull, flat,
and lusterless. More positively, the wines surface might be
described as brilliant, lustrous, luminous, or intense.
For white wines and ross, luster is an important and funda-
mental index of quality. For reds wines, such a quality should be
considered in light of the recent winery trend to avoid filtration,
an operation otherwise carried out just before bottling and
intended to increase the clarity and brilliance of a wine (see
Common visual faults
The most common faults encountered today are a lack
of color intensity and, in the case of red wines, a color
that has prematurely turned to one reminiscent of
brown bricks; this is most often the result of a spoiled
harvest or insufficiently matured grapes. It could also
show too high of a yield, or winemaking that was
rushed or badly carried out.
Inspecting sparkling wines
Much like still wines, sparkling wines are judged
on their color, clarity, and brilliance.
In addition to these criteria, the froth of the
bubbles should be examined. For this, a tall
flute glass is preferable to a standard cup
glass, which can spoil the wines effervescence.
In the first instance, a taster will study the foam
that forms spontaneously in the glass when
the wine is poured, noting the size, duration,
and the size of the bubbles. A good foam is
of a reasonable size, long-lasting, and made
up of small bubbles. Once this has subsided,
the cordon, a ring of bubbles adhering to the
side of the glass, will remain. These bubbles,
which should be small, will rise regularly from
the bottom of the glass to the ring at the top in
columns known in French as the chemine. Large
bubbles that burst immediately at the surface,
the absence of a ring of bubbles, or minimaleffervescence do not suggest high quality wine.
But note that the serving temperature and the
choice of glass both play a role in the formation
of bubbles and frothcold inhibits effervescence
and heat encourages it.
>The stream of bubbles rising
to form a cheminereplenishes
the ring of froth that forms
at the edge of the glass.
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HOW TO TASTE WINE 209
ever, are acceptable only in wines capable of very long ageing.
For wines that do not have sufficient physical or aromatic
capabilities for long ageing, these are signs of decrepitude. Much
like the wines color, the meniscus should be in proportion to
the year printed on the label. Thus, if the label suggests that the
wine is still young but the meniscus already shows signs of age,
it is not likely to be a wine of good quality. The color then will
be described as old, tired, or impaired. In the reverse case(an old wine with a less well developed meniscus), the taster will
note the youth of its color.
The legs
WHAT EXACTLY ARE LEGS?By placing the glass up to light
and swirling the wine, or rotating it to slide up the sides of
the glass, tasters will be able to see traces of a transparent
liquid that slips down more slowly than the rest of the wine.
These are the legs, and inspecting them is the last stage
of a visual examination of wine. They are the result of twin
phenomena arising from physical tension between water and
alcohol and from the mixture of alcohol, sugars, and glycerolsin the wine. The legs display the body of a wineits viscosity
or tactile thickness. Well-defined, viscous legs that flow gently
down the glass are a sign of wine rich in residual sugars and/
or alcohol. By contrast, a less rich wine will have fewer, finer,
and more fluid legs that move more quickly. The phenomenon
is described in terms of the wines fluidity or viscosity, using
words like watery, liquid, and f luid for a wine with a low
alcohol or sugar content and thick, syrupy, and unctuous
in the opposite case.
HOW SHOULD LEGS BE INTERPRETED?Legs are rarely
considered a sign of good or bad quality in a wine. Instead,
they provide more information about its personality or
categorization in the great wine families (seepp.15461). For
IF WINE IS LUSTROUS, IT IS ALIVE
Jean-Michel Deluc,Master Sommelier.
The brilliance of a wine is a visual expressionof its acidity. A young wine, whether it is red,white, ros, sparkling, sweet, or dry, will havea brilliance from undiminished acidity. Thisacidity beds down and softens with age, and
the wine loses its luster. Acidity is the life of awine, and as long as it remains, the wine willhave a shine. A wine that has lost this hasreached the end of its time.The oldest wine I have ever tasted was an1834 Pedro Ximenez sherry. It was a coffeecolor, with a sweet texture. Its density hadmade it opaque, and yet it still had a shine,a surprise that bowled me over!
TastevinAn accessory popular with Old World cellar
masters, the tastevin is a shallow, round metal
receptacle resembling a little cup. It is not really
possible to nose a wine with a tastevin because
of its low profile; it is primarily used to judge the
fine detail and intensity of a wines appearance
and clarity, thus helping to estimate the general
state of the wine more objectively.
Professional winemakers are thus able to follow
the development of the different wines held in
their cellars.
>Inspecting a wines
legs will give you an
idea of the its alcohol
and/or sugar content.
white wines, abundant legs with a certain viscosity suggest a
sweet or medium-sweet style of wine, rich in sugars (a Sauternes
or Juranon, for example) rather than a dry wine. In blind
tastings, where the wines identity is unknown, inspecting such
details will yield helpful clues for tasters.
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Analyzing the nose of a wine
A wines aroma delivers about 70 percent of all information about
that wine. For the best results in analyzing the aroma of a wine,
tasters should choose a tulip-shaped glass and fill it to only about
a third of its capacity. They will also monitor the serving
temperature of the winesomewhere between
46 and 64F (818C) depending on wine
color and origin (seep.1867)which
influences the volatility of the aromaticingredients of the wine. If it is too cold,
the aromas will not be able to vaporize
easily; if it is too hot, they will evapo-
rate too quickly and be overpowered by
alcohol fumes.
The best advice is to sniff the glass
several times without inhaling too hard, in
order to avoid saturating your senses. Also,
wait a little between each inhalation. Analyzing
the aroma of a wine splits into three stages.
FIRST NOSING.For the initial olfactory contact with a wine,
tasters will angle their glasses and lightly breathe in the wine
aromas. They make sure, on the one hand, that the wine isnot tainted with undesirable smells and, on the other, that they
capture the delicate, volatile scents of the wine (those present
in the upper part of the glass). The latter soon disappear
after serving.
SECOND NOSING.This stage is intended to identify the wines
aromatic personality. Tasters will grasp the glass by its base
and rotate it to swirl the wine and oxygenate it. This
will accelerate the vaporization of the various
aromatic compounds. (To make this easier,
feel free to keep the glass on the table while
swirling it.) They will then inhale a fewtimes, dipping their noses into the glass
for several seconds, in order to assess the
strength, the intensity, and the richness
of the nose, while trying to identify the
different aromas of which it is composed.
THIRD NOSING. This shows the
wines character after a long period of
oxygenation in the glass. Once the wine
is in contact with the air, its various aromatic
compounds develop at different rates according to their
volatility. So its an interesting exercise to dip your nose back
into the glass (without swirling its contents) after leaving the wine
to stand for a while. Tasters often note the development of newaromas and changes in intensity.
WINE AROMA OR NOSESniffing a glass of wine, identifying the different aromas, and investigating its
complexity and subtlety is one of the great pleasures of tasting. Nonetheless, thisexercise is one that often frustrates novice tasters, who have trouble telling aromas
apart. A short refresher course will be useful in reawakening your olfactory memory.
The term nose
describes the collection
of scents that characterize
a wine.One might use the term
aroma to designate the fresh and
fruity scents of young wines, and
bouquet to express the aromatic
richness of a wine at the height
of its powers or in its
old age.
DID YOU KNOW?
Smell is the most active of our senses and yet,
par adoxic ally, the least educate d.Although smell
is the most developed sense among newborns, as
adults we just react to odors in an instinctive and
primary manner, acc ept ing or rejec ting them but
rarely analyzing them. This often causes problems
for tasters c alled upon to identi fy the charac teristic
aromas of a wine. To help, good tasters attemptto smell everything around them that produces a
scent (flowers, fruits, spices, as well as the scents
of the countryside, the kitchen, the bakery, etc.),
hoping to capture and catalog them in each of the
family g roups of smells. I ts not a diff icult exe rci se
and certainly not an unpleasant onetasting is a
little like dusting off our memory, diving into our
life history to bring up memories associated with
par tic ular smells.> Giving the wine a
gentle swirl in its glass
will oxygenate it.
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HOW TO TASTE WINE 211
Describing the bouquet of a wine
The best way to describe the aromas or bouquet of a wine is in
stages, starting with an overall impression before pointing out
the different scents and aromas you find in the wine.
AROMATIC CHARACTERISTICS.At first, tasters will try
to describe the wines aromatic features in a general way,assessing intensity in terms of strong or weak or the various
gradations between them. The vocabulary used might include terms
such as expressive, intense, powerfu l, generous, and
exuberant. By contrast, there is inexpressive, weak, poor,
and limp. In certain circumstances, the wine does not develop
any clear aroma in the glass, such as when it has just been
poured or when served too cold; the bouquet is then said to
be closed. This objective and descriptive vocabulary is often
augmented with more subjective thoughts such as pleasing, agree-
able, elegant, or classy. As well, there is banal, ordinary,
simplistic, or vulgar.
IDENTIFYING DIFFERENT AROMAS.The next level of analysis
may be a more difficult exercise. Rather than try ing to identify aspecific aroma, it is often easier to identify the family of scents
to which it belongs, referring to such groups as floral, fruity,
vegetal, mineral, spicy, balsamic, toasted, and chemical aromas
(seetable on p.214).
Aromas may also be distinguished according to the origins,
age, and production methods of the wine, as some of these
groups of scents overlap with others.
PRIMARY AROMAS.These show the fruit characteristics of the
grape variety (or varieties) that comprise the wine. They may be
floral, fruity, vegetal, mineral, or spicy, according to the grape
varieties. They are at their strongest when the wine is young,
especially if it has been matured exclusively in vats.
SECONDARY AROMAS.These are the result of fermentation,
the process that transforms grapes into wine. Consequently, they
often are called fermentation aromas. They are determined by
the nature of the yeast and the style of winemaking, and are part
of the chemical family of aromas: amylic (bananas or nail var-
nish), fermentative (yeast, soft bread), or lactic (butter, milk, cream).
These aromas are associated with young wines and disappear after
a couple of years of bottle age. Secondary aromas are also intro-
duced by maturing the wine in barrels, and these are spicy scents(pepper, vanilla, cinnamon) or toasted (grilled, roasted, smoked).
TERTIARY AROMAS.These appear when wines develop or age
in the bottle (i.e. a reductive medium) or in oak barrels (under the
influence of slight oxygenation). Tertiary aromas are the result
of a long period of ageing and contribute to the complexity of a
wine, adding musky and vegetal notes to the aromatic framework.
What can the nose of a wine tell you?
Just like its appearance, the nose of a wine revea ls important
information about its personality and its quality. Pleasant
intensity and a large palette of aromas are signs of high
Nasal and retronasal passages
The sense of smell is called upon not only during
the sniffing stage, but also during the actual tasting
itself. Aromatic molecules in a vaporized state
will rise toward the back of the nasal cavity along
two routes: the nasal passage, which passesdirectly through the nostrils when we breathe
in, and the less direct retronasal passage, which
links the mouth to the nose via the throat when we
breathe out.
Its therefore only at the moment of drinking that
tasters complete their olfactory analysis of the wine,
by uncovering the aromas that are not directly
accessible to the nose. Indeed, because of their
low volatility, some scents need to be warmed in
the mouth in order to pass from a liquid state to a
gaseous one. Only at that moment do flavors and
aromas mix and juxtapose themselves. What we
recognize, for example, as the taste of strawberries
is in fact the smell of strawberries; the taste isthus the sum total of sensations that are as much
olfactory (aromas) as they are gustatory (flavors).
>Analyzing the nose
of a wine requiresconcentration and an effort
of memory from a taster.
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HOW TO TASTE WINE 213
red wine that has been laid down and reached its peak will
have more complex aromas. If this is not the case, the wine
will suffer from an imbalance and disharmony that tasting will
only confirm (seepp.2168). To sum up, tasters will note the
complexity or simplicity of the bouquet offered by the wine,
its rusticity or sophistication, its coherence or dissonance,
its youth or its maturity. They use terms such as elegant,
vigorous, or distinguished, or, in the opposite case, banal,
ordinary, simple, lacking harmony, undistinguished.
quality and will excite a taster who encounters them. The
primary or tertiary aromas are usually the dominant scentsthe
secondary ones are rarely the most prominent, unless they overpower
everything elseand they will provide valuable information about
the grape or grapes used, the age of the wine, the production
methods, indeed even the year and the yield.
FRUIT RIPENESS.To a large extent, the quality of the aromascontained in the glass depends on the ripeness of the grapes. A
less ripe, dilute Sauvignon Blanc will give off an unsophisticated
grassy scent with just a hint of citrus fruits. When more mature
and made from a low yield, it will reveal complex aromas of
pineapple and pink grapefruit zest.
WINE ORIGIN.A Chardonnay produced in Chablis will have
a fresh bouquet with mineral and white flower notes, very
different from one made in Meursault, which will be more
opulent with hints of almond and hazelnut. Furthermore, a
wine created beneath the Languedoc sun is even heavier, with
potent notes of ripe fruit.
WINE AGE.A wine best expresses its complexity with time;
the different perfumes of a winethe primary, secondary,and tertiary aromasevolve while the wine is being
matured in a tank or a barrel, and then later as it ages in the
bottle. In the best examples, a wine captures the scents from
its whole history, expressing the quintessence of the land where
it was made and yet always retaining the memory of the
original fruit.
CONFIRMATION OF VISUAL INSPECTION.A wines bouquet
should back up its visual appearance. A wine with a young
appearance should thus have young, fruity notes; a great
Olfactory flawsThe most common faults in wine
are those resulting from its
production methods. Poor
hygiene in the winery can leave
a taint of mold or mildew. A wine
that has not been oxygenated
will have a reduced, closed
nose; on the other hand, too much
oxygen is harmful to wine and
results in an oxidized odor.
Inappropriate addition of sulfur
can also have a detrimental
effect. In too great a quantity,
sulfur has an acrid and
penetrating smell. When poorly
integrated, it has a rotten egg
odor known as mercaptan. A
fault in the wines aroma may
also be caused by an external
factor such as a bad cork or
certain wood treatment products
used in the framework of the
barrels or the storage pallets,
which can leave a corky smell.
DID YOU KNOW?
A wines bouquet is never ex actly the s ame
twice.It varies according to the distance
traveled by the bottle, the breathing time, the
temperature of the venue and of the bottle,
atmospheric conditions (humidity, air pressure),
and the shape of the glass. This last point is
influential in olfactory research; indeed, the
same wine, tasted in three glasse s of different
shapes, will have three distinct aromatic profiles.
Wine is alive and subject t o moods and whims in
much the same way that the judgment of a taster
may alter with changes in their physical and
mental state.
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214 CHOOSING, STORING, AND TASTING WINE
Aroma families
This table outlines the various aroma families (floral, herbaceous, fruit, mineral, etc.) by color and by category (primary aromas:
i.e. stemming from each grape variety; secondary, resulting from fermentation; tertiary, from maturation and ageing).
ARO MA FAM ILY RE D WI NE S AN D ROS S
FLORAL GROUP
Primary aromas Iris, peony, rose, violet.
Tertiary aromas Dried flowers, pressed roses.
FRUIT GROUP
Primary aromas
Small red and black fruits
(blackcurrant, cherry, strawberry,
raspberry, Morello cherry,
redcurrant, blackberries), fruit
jams, black olives, prunes.
Secondary aromas Bananas, licorice.
Tertiary aromas Cooked fruits,fruit liqueurs.
HERBACEOUS GROUP
Primary aromasBlackcurrant stems, humus, black
pepper, green tomato.
Tertiary aromasMushroom, humus, forest floor,
truffle.
MINERAL GROUP
Primary aromas Chalk, clay, flint.
SPICE GROUP
Primary aromas Garrigue, bay leaf, pepper, thyme.
Secondary aromas Cloves, licorice.
CHEMICAL GROUP
Secondary aromasAcetone, banana, yeast, sulfur,
nail varnish.
MUSK GROUP
Tertiary aromasLeather, fur, game, meat juices,
venison.
BALSAMIC GROUP
Secondary aromasNew wood, oak, pine, resin,
turpentine, vanilla.
TOASTED GROUP
Secondary aromas
Cocoa, cigars, smoke, tar, grilling,
roasting, tobacco, soot, tea, warm
bread.
ARO MA FAM ILY WH ITE WI NE S
FLORAL GROUP
Primary aromasAcacia, hawthorn, orange flower,
geranium, rose, lime blossom.
Tertiary aromas Camomile, dried flowers.
FRUIT GROUP
Primary aromas
Apricot, citrus fruits (lemon,
orange, grapefruit), pineapple,
banana, quince, fig, fruit candies,
exotic fruits (lychee, mango,
papaya), nuts (almond, hazelnut),
melon, peach, pear, green apple,
cooked apple.
Secondary aromas Pineapple.
Tertiary aromas Dried fruits, honey.
HERBACEOUS GROUP
Primary aromas
Blackcurrant stems, boxwood,
mushroom, fennel, fern, hay,
fresh-cut grass, fresh mint, straw,
cats pee.
Tertiary aromas Rare or non-existent.
MINERAL GROUP
Primary aromas Chalk, iodine, gasoline, flint, silica.
SPICE GROUP
Primary aromas White pepper.
Secondary aromas Cinnamon, cloves, vanilla.
CHEMICAL GROUP
Secondary aromasFresh butter, brioche, cream, milk,
yeast, bread, sulfur.
MUSK GROUP
Tertiary aromas Rare or non-existent.
BALSAMIC GROUP
Tertiary aromas New wood, oak, pine, resin,turpentine, vanilla.
TOASTED GROUP
Secondary aromasGrilling, brioche, mocha, tea,
warm bread, roasting.
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