THE FRUGAL OENOPHILE
Wine Appreciation through Education
email newsletter: april 2005

Sugar, Sugar

The average wine drinker seems to go through a progression of taste development. In the early days, wines with a bit of sweetness appeal more than totally dry ones. With experience, tastes tend to shift away from sugar and toward dryer, more robust styles. At this stage of the palate's evolution, sweet wines are avoided and often denigrated. In time, the fully mature wine fan's tastebuds are capable of discovering truly fine sweet wines. This can result in developing an affinity for some of the greatest -- and sometimes most expensive -- wines available.

The popular wisdom is that the better table wines have no sugar, residual or otherwise. What I find interesting is that people who profess to hate sweet, semi-sweet or even off-dry wines usually enjoy them once they taste a good one in the proper context.

Having made a case for sweetness in wine, keep in mind that sugar also has the ability to hide flaws. So, a low-end table wine with an obvious sweetness probably got that way because the winemaker saw the need for some type of "amelioration". Better wines, we would like to assume, are sweet because that's the style the winemaker had in mind all along.

In order to produce acceptable wines, grapes need to have a certain level of sugar at harvest. This is measured in a variety of ways. "Specific Gravity", for example, measures the density of the grape must compared to water. Other sugar measurements include Brix, Bolling, Oechsle, and Potential Alcohol. Whatever measure is used, the goal is to start with a juice that is sweet enough to produce a fully fermented wine with sufficient alcohol. But making sweet wines requires a bit more effort.

Merci, Monsieur Chaptal
In some wine regions, winegrapes are a marginal crop. Getting grapes to ripen properly can be a bit of a chore, and a risk. In some cases winegrowers are involved in a white-knuckle vigil waiting for the grapes to ripen appropriately.

Adding sugar to fresh must before fermentation is permitted in some regions. In Germany and parts France, for example, sugar can be added to the must in order to raise the potential alcohol to a decent level. This technique is called chaptalization, after Dr. Jean Antoine Chaptal, Minister of the Interior under Napoleon, who espoused adding sugar to any grape juice that might otherwise produce a substandard wine.

The rules about chaptalization differ from wine region to another. The majority do not allow added sugar in a top-quality wine, and there really should be no need for it. Well-managed vineyards are, for the most part, capable of consistently producing wonderfully ripe grapes. What one almost never finds in a quality sweet or off-dry wine is a simple addition of sugar, although this can be seen at the lowest tier of quality.

Sterilization
Grape must that has sufficient sugar can be fermented to a certain point and then intentionally stopped. This can done by heat, pressure, sulphur or other additives, or by filters or centrifuge. The goal is to destroy or otherwise eliminate the yeasts to retain a certain amount of residual sugar and to prevent any possibility of future fermentation. The winemaker will have a sweetness level in mind, and when the wine reaches this point, will apply a method to "shock" the yeast into inactivity.

Call out the Reserves
A popular technique for producing off-dry to medium-sweet wines is to add sweet grape juice to a finished wine. The juice, often called süssreserve, is usually the same as the original must. The reserved juice has been sterilized to remove all yeast (using one of the techniques above) and stored separately until the wine is ready for blending. Süssreserve is often used with wines that are too acidic to work as dry wines. It's interesting to note that these wines never taste grapey, as one might expect. Classic examples include the sweet wines of Germany and champagne, which is typically topped up with sweet wine or syrup.

The Late, Late Show
When the sugar content of the grape must is excessively high, the yeasts are unable to ferment all the sugar before giving up. Late harvest style wines have such a high sugar content going in, that the yeasts simply cannot deal with it all. The result is wines that have a substantial amount of residual sugar. (One anomaly in this rule is German Auslese wines. While Auslese grapes are invariably harvested "late", these wines can be dry.) The winemaker may also shock the yeasts once the ideal balance between alcohol and sugar has been reached.

In The Dead Of Winter
Canada has garnered quite a reputation for its Icewine, but this formerly rare dessert wine actually got its start in Germany. "Eiswein" is made from grapes that are frozen on the vine, which happens in Germany only two or three times per decade. In Canada the weather provides a frozen harvest every year. Icewine can be made from virtually any grape, but the leaders are Riesling and, in Canada, Vidal.

A variation on Icewine, and one that gets mixed reviews, is cryo-extraction. In regions without the good fortune to have bone-chilling winters, grapes are put into the deep freeze, frozen solid, and then made into a synthetic type of icewine.

You can now see a lot of variety in Icewines. Vintners have begun producing Icewine from cabernet franc and other red grapes, and sparkling Icewines are particularly delightful. Icewine is also rather expensive. The main reason is that each frozen grape produces only about 1/10th as much juice as it would have if harvested in the fall.

Let 'em Rot
Each technique of creating a sweet wine results in a specific character. One of the most unique is the result of a fungus called Botrytis Cinerea, also called grey rot or "Noble Rot". In the form of grey rot, botrytis can destroy a crop. But in a few highly desirable areas, the botrytis progresses to the Noble Rot stage. When weather conditions are right, the fungus penetrates into the grapes, riddling the skins with microscopic holes, dehydrating them and concentrating the sugars, while covering the bunches with an unappetizing layer of the grey-green mould. Although quite ugly to the eye, these grapes are the starting point for such divine nectars as Sauternes, Trockenbeerenauslese, Tokaji Aszu, and others.

Raisins in the Sun
Grapes are already the sweetest of fruits. Dried grapes are sweeter still, and many wines are made from partly or entirely raisined grapes. In France you'll find Vin de Paille, so named because the grapes have been partially dried on straw (paille) mats. The Italian region of Tuscany uses wooden racks to dry the grapes that go into Vin Santo, a rich dessert wine. In Veneto they use partially dried grapes to produce Valpolicella Amarone, the dry version, and Amabile, a sweeter style.

Arrètement
The commonly accepted story is that port was invented in the Oporto region of Portugal when wine shippers decided to "augment" their wines with brandy to beef them up a bit and to help them survive the ocean voyage to England. Whatever the rationale, the English loved the addition, and so the Port industry was born.

Yeast cannot survive in a high alcohol environment, usually dying off quietly once the alcohol reach 13% or so. Adding brandy or other spirits to the still-fermenting wine quickly pushes the alcohol to 17% or more, thereby stunning the yeast, bringing fermentation to a halt and stabilizing the wine. If done before fermentation is complete, the result is a sweet fortified wine. There are many styles of port made in Portugal, as well as scores of knock-offs around the world, but the common factor is arresting fermentation by the addition of alcohol. Note that sherry is also fortified with grape spirits, but usually at the end of fermentation, so the majority of sherries are dry.

Modern Tastes A quick scan of the LCBO catalogue showed that the average sugar content of today's table wines, especially those from Australia, is far higher than anyone would suspect. In an environment of wine "connoisseurs" who claim to prefer dry wines, the reality is that most popular wines are on the sweet side. And my palate suggests that things are getting sweeter all the time.

Food Matches with Sweet Wines

Botrytized Wines

Sauternes - This sub-region of Bordeaux produces delectable dessert wines that can age in bottle practically forever, and reportedly can work throughout a meal (at least that's what the top sauternes producers say). Try with caramel-based desserts, fresh fruit, bread pudding, blue cheese, chocolate, Christmas pudding, creme caramel, foie gras, pecan pie, peach brulee.

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) - This German word actually describes the state of the grapes at harvest: Trocken means dried, beeren means individual berries, and auslese means selected. The wine is made in the sauternes style and is at least as expensive as its French counterpart. Good with cherry based desserts, maple syrup, chocolate, black forest cake, or apple tart.

Tokaji - One of the most unique of the botrytized wines, Hungary's Tokaji can spend years fermenting and then ageing in mould-laden cellars. The wines are rich, unctuous and filled with earthy aromas, and perfect partners for Christmas pudding, carrot cake, and almond cake.

Late Harvest, Select Late Harvest and Icewines

Auslese - Auslese means "selected", referring to grapes that have been selected for ripeness, usually at the end of the harvest, although the grapes are not usually botrytis affected. Best matches for the sweet styles include sweet desserts, duck à l'orange, foie gras, goose, apple pie.

Late Harvest - If left to hang long into the fall, grapes wil desiccate somewhat, resulting in condensed sugars and extract. In Alsace these wines are called Vendage Tardive, and in Canada we sometimes call them "baby ice," in reference to an Icewine character with substantially less sweetness -- and a lot less cost. Try with Chinese dishes (especially Sechwan), roast port, smoked ham, waldorf salad, creamy blue cheese, custards, munster.

Beerenauslese - This is the German equivalent of a try late harvest wine (vs. auslese). Try with pancakes, spotted dick or any of the Late Harvest suggestions above.

Fortified Wines

Port - Rich, sweet, and with high alccohol, most ports are fireside wines, although they do go well with chocolate or stilton.

Setubel - From the south of Portugal, this moscato-based fortified wine can be a good match for baclava or chocolate.

Amontillado Sherry - Sherry is not necessarily sweet, but certain sherries are produced for the North American palate. These include Cream and some Oloroso sherries. Try with mince pie, chocolate ice cream, treacle pudding, salted nuts, hard cheeses.

Vin Doux Naturels - This port-style wine is made in France, especially Jura region and Banyuls. Best bets include fruit-based desserts and waldorf salad, chocolate, strawberry desserts and Christmas pudding.

"Raisined" wines

Vin de Paille - The raisiny notes of these sweet wine pair perfectly with apple desserts, apricots, foie gras, Thai foods, or pralines.

Vin Santo - An extraordinary product, "wine of the saints" takes up to 8 years to ferment in barrel. The resultant wine is slightly oxidized, showing aromas of apricot, orange and a sherrified note. Matches include apple fritters, mixed nuts or a simple almond boscotti.

Amarone - The consummate winter fireside wine, Amarone is great with roast lamb, roast beef, hearty stews and cassaroles, or on its own.

From "The Frugal Oenophile's Lexicon of Wine Tasting Terms"

Reserve

An unregulated New World term that suggests the wine has received some sort of special treatment, but can just as easily be meaningless

For information on purchasing my Lexicon, visit www.frugalwine.cam
Or purchase it on-line at www.chapters.indigo.ca

I've been waiting for years to use this line … (*)

Once again the LCBO is running the Ontario wine flag up the 'ol flagpole. Their latest in-store Ontario wine promo is called "Great White North - 100% Canadian". And now for the line I've been saving: Wine buyers seem to want more Ontario wines on store shelves, so the LCBO stores SEEM to provide them. True, the promotion brings VQA wines front and centre, but the numbers remain unchanged. Plus the lion's share of self-space in the so-called Ontario section still groan under the weight of "Cellared in Canada" plonk, complete with "100% Canadian" tags. And if you look carefully, you may even notice that the total number of Ontario labels in the catalogue is steadily going down. Great White North, indeed!

* I saw the original version of this line in a software review back in the mid-1980s.

Inspirational Quote

The uninformed drink bad wine!  - "The Wine Guy" (Grapevine Cottage)