Would You Like To Write For Wine Shrine

If you know a little about wine and can write well (the writing well is the important bit…being a wine expert is not so critical), we would like to hear from you.

We’re looking for 2 or 3 regular reviewers to review wines for us. Right now, no one is sending us complementary wines to taste (hint, hint) so don’t get the idea that you’ll be getting lots of free booze.

If you can write amusingly, accurately or even boozily about wine and would like to review the wines you are drinking, then please feel free to contact us.

We can’t pay much, but when those winemakers and merchants do decide to grace us with a few free bottles, we’ll happily pass them your way.

Grading Is More Than Simply Tasting

Skill in the art of winetasting doesn’t require an advanced degree in oenology (the science of winemaking). But listening to professional winetasters, it’s easy to get that impression. Bouquet, clarity, earthy, crisp, open, nostalgic — huh?So, take a deep breath, get comfortable, and be prepared to take some time to learn some odd new definitions for familiar words and to hone your senses. Here we go…

Starting out, if you can, let someone knowledgeable decide how to serve. To do even that skillfully requires a little education and experience. Some need to be served room temperature (reds usually), some chilled (whites in general). By room temperature, we mean a slightly cooler room —60F is good for reds— and by ‘chilled’ we don’t mean frozen; start at 50F and adjust to taste.

Some should be served right away (whites with many exceptions), and some (reds again with exceptions) allowed to breathe — sit in an uncorked bottle, exposed to air — for up to 15 minutes or more. Some even need decanting (filtering out sediment) before being served (Ports and wines that have aged considerably).

Pour into an ordinary wine glass, no more than half full, and swirl a bit to generate some additional ‘winey’ vapor. Avoid heavy cut glasses so you can see well. Then examine the color. Is it clear? Hazy? Opaque?

Take a short sniff; some waft the vapors into the nose rather than hold it directly over the opening. Experiment. Pay close attention by closing your eyes. This is pretentious, it helps one to focus on one or two senses —— taste and smell, over sight. Even experts sometimes misidentify wines in blind tests.

Try to identify the odor. Is it fruity like grapes or apples or oranges? Chardonnay sometimes reminds one of apples or figs (especially when aged in oak). Others, like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlots evoke the woody smells of cedar or pine needles. Syrah puts some in mind of ground black pepper or floral scents. It’s not entirely subjective —— there’s often wide agreement among experts and amateurs alike, but impressions differ on degree.

Now take a sip and run it around the tongue to get many different kinds of taste buds involved. Some areas of the tongue are more attuned to sweet detection, others more to salty or sour. Does the Zinfandel you’re testing remind you of berries? Or, maybe you’re trying a Pinot Noir from Burgundy, with a suggestion of violets. A Gewürztraminer evokes peaches to some, a Chenin Blanc orange blossoms to others.

Set aside or finish the wine and come back another day. Don’t try too much or too many at one time. One per day is preferred but a slow way to learn; certainly no more than three, otherwise your ability to discern differences will be too diminished.

The next day, try some reds and concentrate on sensing that oak storage cask. Some California reds have hints of chocolate or coffee. A fine Merlot may carry a ‘tarry’ quality preferred by those that favor strong scents.

In every case, subtlety is the watchword of the day. Good wines don’t hit the nose over the head, so to speak. Before long, you’ll find yourself with pinky raised tossing around ‘zesty’, ’shy’, and ‘brave’ like an expert.

If you would like to learn more about wine tasting, then you should consider signing up for a one day workshop at the London Wine Academy or, for the more committed, one of their six week workshops.

Wine : Ancient Art and Modern Business

In one form or another wine production has been carried out for thousands of years. Pottery discovered in Persia (present-day Iran), dated at 5,500 BC show evidence of grape use for winemaking. Jars from Jiahu in China containing wine from wild grapes date to between 6000 and 7000 BC.

But whether ancient or modern, many of the same conditions are required and similar techniques used. The chemistry of grapes is, put simply, eternal.

Wine grapes grow, with very few exceptions, only in bands delineated by latitudes 30-50 degrees North and 30-45 degrees South of the equator. However, unlike most crops, grapes don’t require fertile soil. The thinness of the soil restricts the quantity of the crop, producing fewer grapes of higher quality.

Paradoxically, soils too rich in nitrogen and other nutrients —highly beneficial for most types of plants— can produce grapes unsuitable for making wine. Fine for eating, but lacking desirable quantities of minerals, sugars and acids.

The best wines are produced from soil that would be considered poor quality for other agricultural purposes. The stellar wines from Bordeaux are made from grapes grown in gravelly soil, atop a base of clay or chalk. Fewer grapes are grown, but those that are, are high in quality. The pebbly earth allows for good drainage — grapevines require access to adequate, but not excessive, water. As the roots reach down further, more complex minerals are absorbed.

Vineyards are most often founded in river valleys, with slopes that provide abundant sunshine. Vines there are most often of the European species vitis vinifera, from which many common wines are made, such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

Viticulture, the practice of growing grapes for wine, is today one of the most complex agricultural undertakings. A master vintner (today, sometimes called an oenologist), must be an expert in soil chemistry and fermentation, climatology and several other ancient arts and modern sciences.

In addition to categorization by variety, the products of these vines are classified by vinification methods - sparkling, still, fortified, rosé, blush — or by region — Bordeaux, Burgundy and Alsace — and of course by vintage, as well as a dozen other methods.

After the farmer, chemist and manufacturer have had their say, the businessman must take over. In 2002, 595 million gallons of wine were sold in the U.S. alone, representing over $20 billion in consumer spending. France led the pack with 22% of export volume, with Italy a close 20% behind.

The bold artists of wine must possess a sensitive nose and palette and balance dozens of time-sensitive factors . For example, when to harvest, how long to ferment and age, when to bottle. And that’s before considering modern manufacturing and marketing requirements, not to mention legal restrictions.

An art, a science and a business definitely not for the timid.