Great Grape News

January 2000 

So, you're sitting by the fireplace, reading your favorite romance or action novel, or perhaps you are watching one of your favorite movies, or, god forgive, you are just talking to your spouse – a glass of wine would go great. 

So the next time you are relaxing, think about how a nice glass of wine can improve the quality of the evening. 

Wine for cold days 
"Glühwein" or "hot spiced wine" is a tasty drink to have and enjoy when it is cold outside. 

There are a couple of brands of pre made GLÜHWEIN sold in the US, but we recommend that you make it yourself. Its easy and quick to make and almost always the homemade GLÜHWEIN tastes better. 

To make GLÜHWEIN, get a large bottle of some red wine. It does not have to be an expensive wine. A full-bodied red will do, but try to avoid a heavy oak’ed red. A simple Gallo Burgundy will do. Heat the wine up on the stove. Do not let it boil (no bubbles), just heat up until it steams. You do not want to cook all the alcohol out of it. 

Use cloves (3-4 per cup), cinnamon (a few sticks per cup) and sugar (as much as you like) to spice the wine to taste. That is it. 

Some people add a small piece of lemon and/or nutmeg to vary the taste. 

What is grappa?
Nothing could be more foreign to the American palate than Grappa, the Northern Italian brandy distilled from the grape skins, stems, seeds left over from wine making (what the French produce as marc). By tradition, a poor man's drink, grappa can pistol-whip the palate of the neophyte. Rustic, often fiery, it smells of hay, earth and God knows what else. 

Today, top wine makers and distillers from all over Italy artfully craft their grappas, often distilling them from a single grape variety, or even a single variety from a single designated vineyard. Some are aged in wood, anywhere from six months to a year. 

The result is a smoother, more insinuating product that can be downright elegant, while still retaining the spirit's primary characteristics. Grappa has intensity, a pristine quality, and an underlying simplicity. It's strong, but it leaves the taste buds refreshed. 

Champagne
Ok we know, the New Year parties are over, but it is never too late to know your champagne. Actually, this column is the result of the many questions that were asked during the holidays about Champagne.

Without going into technical details a distinction must be made first. There is Champagne and there is Sparkling Wine, some people may call them "Bubblies". In order for it to be called Champagne the product must have been produced in the Champagne region of France. All other Sparkling Wines are just that – Sparkling Wines. Not that one or the other has to be better or worse, but its a labeling distinction made between Champagnes that are produced in only one region of France and Sparkling Wines that are produced in the rest of the world. As a side note, in Germany "Bubblies" are commonly called Sekt. 

How Champagne is made
Champagne and sparkling wines are made using a method called Champenoise, a special way of getting the sparkle in the wine. 

The first and most important part of any wine is the grapes. Sparkling Wine grapes are grown just as any other grape. 

The grapes used in sparkling wines are typically Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier and Pinot Gris. Some Champagne is made solely with Chardonnay. 

The wine is fermented in a stainless steel tank for 2 to 3 weeks, and then sits for up to five months. It is at this point that the process diverts from the normal wine making process and becomes special. 

The fermented wine that now is turned into Sparkling Wine is bottled. Extra sugar and yeast is added and the bottle is capped with a soda cap. Each bottle is then stored under ideal conditions from one year to three years or more. Some "cheap" sparkling wines may only be stored for a few months. 

While being stored a second fermentation takes place inside the bottle. When these second fermentation and resting period are over, the yeast and sediment must be removed from the bottle. 

The bottles are put into a riddling rack, which slowly rotates the now re-fermenting wine from a horizontal position up to a vertical one. This allows the sediment from to slowly slide down into the neck of the bottle, for easy removal 

The removal process is called disgorgement. The neck of the bottle is stuck into a machine, which freezes it. The cap is removed, the frozen plus of sludge is kicked out, a "dosage" of Champagne is added to fill in the space in the bottle, and it is corked with the standard, large Champagne cork. A wire-cage is pulled over the cork to keep it in place and a pretty foil is wrapped around the cork. The product is then shipped for distribution. 

Interestingly, the cork does not start out in its wide-thin-wide shape - it starts out as a straight 'tube' shape. It is only the pressure and system of corking that gives it its mushroom head and flared bottom.

If you really like to know more about France and it's champagne, why not go to one of their official web sites.

Types of Bubblies 
There are basic types of sparkling wines: 

• Extra Brut - the driest of all
• Brut - very dry
• Extra Dry - slightly sweet (and you thought it was dry like dust)
• Sec - sweet
• Demi Sec - very sweet

White Zinfandel
Despite popular believe, Zinfandel is a red grape, not a white grape. It makes for a rich, hearty red wine. When the demand for white wine grew, the Zinfandel growers decided to try something new and pulled off the skins, making a lighter, pinker, sweeter wine. 

This was White Zinfandel which became immensely popular with new wine drinkers. There's nothing wrong with White Zinfandel - it's just a relatively new wine, and a sweet younger sister to the 'real' Zinfandel wine. 

Sulfites and Wine
Sulfites are an evil, unnatural addition to wine. Sulfites are a natural part of many fruits and vegetables - it's the plant's way of protecting itself, warding off things that might eat it. It helps preserve the plant. It serves the same role in grapes, which is why most winemakers add in additional sulfites - it allows the wine to age. 

Without sulfites, we would only have wines that could last 1-2 years and be out a great deal of wine enjoyment. Sulfites have been added to wines for thousands of years. That having been said, some people are alergic (due to asthma) or get headaches from sulfites. 

Sulfites are high in white wines, and low in red wines. If you have asthma or get headaches from white wines only, it might be the sulfites. Try drinking water along with your wine - many headaches are caused by dehydration. If it really is the sulfites, you might have to cut back on your white wine drinking or switch to low-sulfite styles. In any case, you should consult with your doctor for professional advice fist.