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THE FRUGAL
OENOPHILE |
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Serving Wine by Degrees We're in Montreal for some much needed R&R and to catch a bit of the annual jazz festival. It also happens to be the hottest day of the year. The oppressive temperatures of the afternoon have followed us into the evening. We're in a cozy little bistro whose air conditioner valiantly falls short of the task. My first stop is the wine menu. We don't want a bottle, so I settle on a glass of pinot grigio for me and suggest a malbec for my dinner companion. They're all out of the malbec, so I recommend a little meritage. The pinot grigio arrives much too cold, clouding its fruit and its character, but it should warm up and become more enjoyable shortly. I ask to try my partner's meritage. It's as warm as soup. It seems to cling to my tongue, its flavours vaguely wallowing around in my mouth somewhere. I want to toss in an ice cube. In a manner of minutes, we are subjected to two extremes of the most common error committed when serving wine: wrong temperature. Canadians especially are accused of serving red wine too warm and white wine too cold. It's certainly true in at least one spot in Montreal in the middle of July. It's an error we repeat mainly because we've never been given adequate guidance. Yes, red wines should be served warmer than whites, and whites should be chilled. But there's more to it than refrigerate or don't refrigerate. Myth #1: Serve red wine at room temperature. Question is, which room? When the rule was set down, people who could afford wine usually had their own castle, complete with central heating -- a fireplace in every room. Room temperature originally meant around 18°C (64°F). That means if your room temperature is a typical 22°C (72°F), you'll need to chill that red to keep it from being muggy. Myth #2: Serve white wine chilled. True, you want to chill your white wines (and rosés as well). But too much chill masks the fruit character. Some whites will take a lot of chill -- light rieslings, for example -- and others don't appreciated it at all, like a big-bodied chardonnay. The trick is to find a workable temperature for each style of wine. What about "Cellar temperature?" Are there any wines that should be
served cold? How do I get there? Notice that it takes a long time to chill a wine. You've probably heard that you should pop a red wine in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving. In practice, this accomplishes nothing. It takes up to an hour to bring a red wine down from today's room temperature to a civilized serving temperature. When in doubt, it's better to serve a wine too cold than too warm. A cool wine will warm up soon enough in the glass, but a wine that is too warm will stay too warm. The Frugal Oenophile's Wine Chilling Chart The following chart came about when I realized that 20 minutes in the fridge didn't do it for a red wine. My method was simple: I took an open bottle of wine at room temperature, 22°C / 72°F, floated a wine thermometer in it and placed it upright in the refrigerator. I recorded the temperature every 15 minutes for the next eight hours and graphed the results. I then checked various references and added recommended temperature ranges for the most common wine types. To use the chart, find the actual temperature of your wine on the vertical axis of the chart. Then look up the serving temperature range for that type of wine. Using the horizontal axis, determine how long you need to refrigerate the wine to reach serving temperature. Obviously you'll need to plan ahead. I think you'll discover that red wines do taste better slightly below room temperature, and that stone cold white wines aren't that much fun. (If you find the "plan ahead" thing tough to pull off, try one of my shortcuts below.) |
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Chilling Tales I heard a story about a wine fanatic who likes to "chambré" (i.e. bring to room temperature) his wine in a most unique manner. More than a week before serving the wine, he brings it out of his cellar and sets it on the bottom step of the basement stairs. He then moves the bottle up one step each day until it's at kitchen level. I prefer doing things a little more simply. Frugal Trick #1 I purchased a terracotta wine cooler at a garage sale for a dollar (or was it 50 cents?) When serving a red wine, I put a single ice cube in the bottom of this cooler and put the bottle on top of the ice cube. In about 15 minutes the wine cools just enough to make it more palatable. Frugal Trick #2 Many wine shops sell an item called Rapid Ice (around $15). It's a cooling blanket that fits snugly around just about any bottle. I always keep two of them in the freezer. I rarely pre-chill my white wines. Instead, I put a Rapid Ice on the bottle about 1/2 hour before serving, and put the whole thing in the refrigerator. Although the manufacturer (Vacu Vin) says that Rapid Ice will cool a bottle in 5 minutes, I find that a good, even chill takes longer. The nice thing about this approach is that it doesn't over chill the wine. It's a very handy device, especially if you have a habit of choosing the wine just as you're about to serve dinner. (This cooling system is available in a variety of sizes. I keep a few of the pop-can size in the freezer as well.) |
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Older is Not Always Better The story of most winegrapes goes back hundreds and even thousands of years. Yet there is always room for good, new grape varieties. The Pinotage grape of South Africa was developed in 1925, but it remained a greenhouse specimen for decades. It wasn't until 1952 that it was finally planted in the vineyards of Stellenbosch. From there it went on to capture the Grand Championship at the 1959 Cape Young Wine Show. Since then, Pinotage has developed into one of South Africa's most important red grapes. The Pinotage name has an interesting aetiology. When Professor A.I. Perold of Stellenbosch University crossed two vinifera grapes seeking to unite the best qualities of each, he also combined their names -- Pinot Noir and Hermitage. However, the latter grape was not Hermitage at all, but Cinsaut, a French grape that is not used in Hermitage wines nor even grown in that part of the Rhône Valley. The misconception has been corrected and Cinsaut is no longer called Hermitage in South Africa, but Pinotage is still Pinotage. In the vineyard, Pinotage is moderately vigorous, early ripening, and resistant to disease. Some growers allow the vine to overcrop, resulting in wines that are hollow. If yields are kept down, however, Pinotage produces a rich, very dark wine with aromas of raspberries, blackcurrants, ground coffee, and cherries, with a distinctive smokey quality and sometimes a lemony bite. Some claim to smell marshmallows. When young, the wine can resemble Beaujolais and may display a medicinal or paint-like aroma, which disappears with a bit a maturing. More serious versions can be very age worthy -- 15 years or more -- and will develop a rich, round palate and an unforgettable nose. While Pinotage can find its way into a lot of everyday plonk, many quality versions are available. In South Africa, Pinotage is regarded as the consummate barbecue wine. It works well with anything off the grill, and is considered the perfect partner for game meats. Its rustic, somewhat zinfandel-like character makes it a good match for beef, lamb, osso bucco, or veal stew. While Pinotage has migrated to California, New Zealand and even Germany with some success, it remains, as Jancis Robinson puts it, "South Africa's gift to the world." Off to a Slow Start Amid accusations that the LCBO does little to promote Ontario wines, the government retailer recently rolled out their "Craft Winery Selection" program. Eleven Ontario wineries have been selected to have a grand total of 17 wines appear on shelves at a limited number of LCBO outlets. While the initiative is a step in the right direction, the numbers are disappointing. No doubt more of Ontario's 70-plus wineries will be added in time, but the offerings are meagre: not even 2 wines per winery. As for making the wines available to a wider audience, only
57 stores out of roughly 600 means that barely 9% of LCBO stores
are carrying the products. Add to this the fact that the LCBO
removed some 200 Ontario wines from their listings earlier this
year, and the gesture unfortunately smacks of tokenism. An "Unofficial" Guide to Ontario Wineries By now you should have received a copy of the Official Guide to the Wineries of Ontario, courtesy of the Wine Council of Ontario. Oddly, a number of wineries don't appear in the "official" guide. So when you make your sojourn to Ontario wine country, be sure to look for the following wineries. Andres Wines Limited,
Winona Ontario, 905-643-4131 From "The Frugal Oenophile's Lexicon of Wine Tasting Terms" Leather/Leathery
For information on ordering my Wine Lexicon, visit www.frugal-wine.com
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