Here are all the questions I've answered in the past. Have a question of your own? Ask it here.
November 19, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
In evaluating the acidity of a wine that has an essence of pepper—such as Zinfandel—how do you avoid mistaking the bite of the pepper for the zing of acidity?
—Maria B., Kansas City, Mo.
Dear Maria,
For most people, the terms "pepper" and "acidity" are used to describe very different characteristics in wine. When I come across pepper in a wine, it's either in the aromatics, the flavor, or both. It can be white pepper, black pepper or chile peppers. It can sometimes be so fresh, spicy and fragrant that it seems freshly crushed, as if someone were grinding a peppermill under my nose. On the other hand, acidity is something I feel more than I taste. Acid gives a wine structure—and while it might amplify flavor, acidity itself is not a flavor. Acidity is a mouthwatering tingle, the sensation of a squirt of lemon, juiciness in your mouth.
—Dr. Vinny
November 17, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
Does the process of blending take place before or after fermentation and why?
—Demetris, Nicosia, Cyprus
Dear Demetris,
Blending can happen in the vineyard, during fermentation, after fermentation, or not at all, depending on the winemaker's approach. A "field blend" refers to a wine that is made from multiple grapes that are grown, harvested, fermented and bottled together. Another option is to co-ferment grapes after they are picked. A third—more popular because of the flexibility it offers—is to make blending decisions after the wines are fermented, so the personality of the individual components can be better assessed. And finally, some winemakers prefer to make a wine that is a pure expression of a vineyard, even if that vineyard is entirely comprised of one type of grape.
—Dr. Vinny
November 14, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
Is it appropriate to cook with "corked" or otherwise spoiled wine?
—Alex, Elkhart, Ind.
Dear Alex,
When cooking with wine, I follow a couple of guidelines. First off, I tend to cook with either exactly what I'm drinking with the meal (if it's only a splash or two), or with something in a similar vein so that the flavors will complement each other. Secondly, I only cook with wine that I would drink; cooking doesn't magically improve the quality of a wine.
This means I avoid oxidized wines, wines afflicted by "cork taint" (the chemical compound TCA, or 2,4,6-trichloroanisole) or otherwise flawed wines. I've heard some people say that that some of these flaws break down with heat, or combine to fat molecules and become unnoticeable. But why risk it? Often when cooking with wine, the alcohol evaporates and all that's left is the essence of the wine's flavor, so I usually go for fruitier wines, and there are plenty of affordable options out there.
—Dr. Vinny
November 12, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
Exactly what is Sobrematuration?
—Mike L., New York
Dear Mike,
"Sobre" is a Spanish word that means "over" or "on top of," so my guess is that "sobrematuration" would be "overripe" or "high maturity," probably meaning wines made from super-ripe grapes. These are wines that would have high alcohol and a full body. Depending on the context, this could be either a positive or a negative term.
—Dr. Vinny
November 10, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
I just built a new home with a wine cellar for more than a thousand bottles. My cellar is not temperature-controlled, but is in the basement on the north side of the house, insulated on all sides. I anticipated the cellar would stay around 62 to 65 degrees F, but since March it has ranged from 64 to 69. I don't plan on keeping wines for more than 10 to 15 years. (As George Burns said, "At my age, I don't buy green bananas.") Do you think it would be worthwhile adding temperature and humidity control to my cellar?
—George R., Loveland, Colo.
Dear George,
A five-degree temperature variance isn't very much, so I think that your current cellar conditions certainly address what would be my biggest concern, temperature variation. Sure, 64 to 69 degrees F is definitely warmer than an ideal 55-degree standard, but whether or not you should spend the money on temperature and humidity control is really up to you and your budget. Look at it this way: if the upgrades represent less than 10 percent of your current cellar's worth, then maybe you should look into it. And may you have many more years of buying green bananas!
—Dr. Vinny
November 07, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
Is it possible for a bottle to acquire cork taint (TCA) from materials in a wine storage area, even if it's been sealed with an uncontaminated cork?
—Rob K., Portland, Ore.
Dear Rob,
It's possible, but unlikely. You may have heard about wineries or cellars experiencing widespread contamination by TCA (the chemical compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole), which gives a wine musty, dank, wet-cardboard notes. These scenarios are often the result of a contaminated water supply or wood materials around unbottled wines. TCA can develop in corks themselves, which is why they're often blamed for TCA (as are cardboard cases and wooden pallets). While it appears there is an airborne quality to TCA's spread, it's unlikely that a sealed bottle of a contaminated wine can spread to a sealed bottle of an uncontaminated wine. Still, it's best to avoid using chlorine—one of the causes of TCA—around wine, and to get rid of any containers that might reek of it, just to be safe.
—Dr. Vinny
November 05, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
I have a recently married friend who knows nothing about wine. As a wedding gift, I gave him two wines that we like, one of which was a 2003 Clos Fourtet. On a recent visit to his house, I opened the refrigerator to see the Clos Fourtet sitting there in all its 41-degree glory (still in its wine store sleeve, which I thought was kind of cute). What's the real extent of damage, if any, here? It's not like he's going to be holding this for 20 years.
—Christo N., Chicago
Dear Christo,
People who don't know much about wine can be baffled about what to do with it. I once shared a glass with a neighbor and insisted she take the rest of the bottle home, and six months later she offered me a glass from that same bottle.
It sounds like you already know that a kitchen refrigerator does not provide ideal conditions for long-term wine storage, but your friend may have thought it was a safe place. And though refrigerators are too cold and too dry for optimum aging, they probably won't do significant harm, at least over the course of just a few months. It certainly beats leaving it out on the counter.
I recommend a gentle tip to your friend, something like, "Hey, I saw that bottle of '03 Clos Fourtet in your fridge. You know, I had it recently and it's showing really beautifully—which is why I picked it out for you. I recommend—sometime soon—you take it out of the refrigerator, let it warm up to just about room temperature, and serve it with that short-rib recipe you're famous for."
—Dr. Vinny
November 03, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
I have often seen a bottle of wine go through significant changes from the time I decant it to the time I have the last glass a few hours later. For some wines, this change is beneficial as the wine "opens up" and gains depth and complexity. Other times, it feels like the wine "falls apart" and is less enjoyable at the end than at the beginning. Is there a way to predict which wines will react which way to aeration?
—Glenn F., Calgary, Alberta
Dear Glenn,
There's no crystal ball when it comes to aeration, but there are some good guesses. Let me start by going over the basics: the two main reasons for decanting are to either separate a wine from sediment, or to aerate it.
I decant older wines mostly to remove their gritty sediment. In my experience, the aeration that results from decanting can lead older wines (10 years or more past their vintage date) to fade quickly. How quickly? Well, it depends on the wine, but after an hour, you should get a pretty good sense. Therefore, I recommend decanting older wines only 30 minutes or so before drinking.
I decant younger wines in order to encourage aeration, because often they can be quite tight and can open and soften with some exposure to air. But I recommend taking a sip before decanting. If the wine is drinking well, perhaps skip the decanting. If it seems shut down, closed or inexpressive, that's when you should pull out your decanter. How long before drinking? It's hard to predict—I've had wines improve for up to several hours in the decanter. The unpredictability of a wine's evolution is both a maddening and glorious thing about enjoying wine.
—Dr. Vinny
October 31, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
When I rinse out a glass that has a very small amount of red wine life in it, a lot of foam is created. My glasses are well rinsed after washing so there is no soap residue left. Any idea what would cause the water to foam up so much?
—Chris, North Vancouver, B.C.
Dear Chris,
I know what you mean—when rinsing out wine glasses, I too have noticed that sometimes the water foams up like a warm beer. I had no idea what causes this, so I asked Roger Boulton, a professor at University of California at Davis' Department of Viticulture and Enology. He explained that bubbles and foam in general all occur when a water's surface tension is decreased (like with soap, which gives you soap bubbles). In the case of wine, Boulton believes that it's the proteins present in tannins that lower the surface tension, enhancing bubble formation. He also suggests that the ethanol in wine also has a lower surface tension than the water and should make larger bubbles too.
—Dr. Vinny
October 29, 2008:
Dear Dr. Vinny,
What is the extract of wine?
—Joe K., Fairfield, Calif.
Dear Joe,
Technically, the extract of a wine is everything besides water, sugar, alcohol and acidity. It's the stuff that makes up the flavor body, and color. Think of the grapes as a metaphorical teabag in making wine. Depending on what kind of tea you have, how long you steep it, and how much you squeeze out the teabag—all these factors are going to have an effect on how extracted your cup of tea is. Likewise, depending on the grapes you start with and your methods of extraction, your levels of extract in a wine will vary. Usually the word "extract" in a tasting note will conjure images of richness and depth of concentration. But a highly extracted wine can also be very tannic or bitter.
—Dr. Vinny
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