Let’s talk about grapes, Baby
Who doesn’t love easing the cork out of a favorite bottle after a long day? It signals a time to unwind, enjoy a meal, and if you’re lucky—a loved one or more is within arms reach. AHHHHH, we can forget the world, or proceed to solve all the problems therein…whichever we are in the mood for, right?
Regardless of the day’s challenges, we can certainly take delight in the sensory experience of wine. The relative ease with which it flows from the bottle to the glass and across our palate belies the number of processes the fruit (and vintner) must navigate to become this concoction, this libation, this lifestyle. Yah, I said it.
Wine…so why grapes? In a nutshell they are perfect little balloons with the ideal levels of acids, fermentable sugars, and phenolic compounds (i.e. tannins and pigments) to create the mouth filling, distinguishable, and age worthy beverage that is wine. Wine grapes belong to the genus Vitis (grows as a vine) and the species Vitis vinifera. There are a few dozen species of grapes, but only V. Vinifera is important in winemaking. Wine grapes should not be confused with the species Vitis lambrusca, which is what we buy at the market for snacks or drink as juice. V. lambrusca contains too much acid and makes for an unpleasant wine. Wine nerds would call that wine foxy. You may embrace your right to be foxy, but your wine should not.
If you love yourself a Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, or Pinot Blanc you have grown an affinity for the variety, often referred to as the varietal. While varietal is a familiar term, scientifically speaking it is indeed a variety that you love pairing with duck breast, Coq au Vin, bowl full of buttery clams, self-love Saturday, or a desperately deserved ladies night…your call, foxy human.
Sight, smell, taste, and touch (tactile impressions) are all tickled when we drink wine. Perhaps the same could be said for soda pop, however what soda pop lacks is balance. As well, the cola trees (uh, no such thing—it’s caramel coloring and high fructose corn syrup) will lack the complexity—layers upon layers of varying impressions from the sensory stimuli—contained in a glass of wine. Cola is one note. One could argue that massive commercial wines are as well. Yes, grapes lose their complexity when grown, harvested, and handled for excessive quantity. They do. That’s why we love the little guys, right? That, and it feels better to line the pockets of our local economies who are cycling it right back rather than distant shareholders that don’t love our community.
Everything you appreciate about your glass of wine —legs, acidity, sweetness, aromas, or the body —whether it be luscious and full, or lean and mean, is derived from the variety of grape, the soil, slope, elevation, wind, rain etc. (in increasingly temperamental climates, no less). Of course the winemaker has a strong influence on how a wine will be produced and the final product. Additionally, age worthy wines are themselves not a final product. They will continue to evolve over time, some improving by softening once brutish tannins or otherwise rearranging molecular chains and bonds, oxidizing or dropping out phenolic compounds as sediment. Nothing lasts forever, eventually the living wine will run out of reactions it can perform in the bottle and turn right into vinegar. Wine mimics life, a delicate balance with thousands of variables, in an ever changing environment. So, savor those satiating moments and pair accordingly with desirable wines. Cheers.
