Wine Dimensions September 2006 |
Dear Friends of Monolithos, |
| This month we move onto the subject of wine glasses. |
| The wine glass is that precious container made of glass or crystal, which makes possible the evaluation and appreciation of every organoleptic aspect of wine, from appearance to aromas, as well as exalting its flavours properly. Each wine has its own individual characteristics, and in order to express the best of itself, it requires both adequate service conditions, such as temperature, and suitable glasses with specific shapes and characteristics for the evaluation of its qualities. |
| However, distinction must be made between the tasting glass used by professional tasters, and the everyday drinking glass. The tasting glass is more adapted for sipping than for drinking wine. In fact, there is a standard-sized (21,5 cl) glass recommended for all wine tasting events, suitable for red, white and sparkling wines as well as fortified and distilled. This all-round ISO-standard tasting glass is, however, a little small for drinking wine. |
| Generally speaking, the glass is the tool which serves to bring wine and our sensory organs together. It should allow our senses to work under the very best conditions, meeting all the requirements demanded by eyes, nose and mouth. The type of glass, its shape, colour and size, all influence our sensations, as does the manner in which we use it. |
| A traditional wine glass has three parts: the bowl, the stem, and the foot. Glasses with a wide bowl that tapers toward the mouth (tulip shape) will allow the aroma of the wine to be released generously. This is because the deeper bowls allow more room for swirling, and the narrow opening channels the aroma to your nostrils efficiently. The rim of a glass (the edge in contact with one’s lips) should be thin. One of the fundamental characteristics of a good wine glass is that it allows the proper appreciation of the wine's visual aspect. Therefore, it must be colourless and transparent with no decorations or engravings. At the very least, the glass must be plain and clear. |
| Make sure that you select glasses which are of a sufficient size. The bowl should be large enough to allow a fair measure to be poured, whilst leaving enough room for the wine to be gently swirled without spilling. This swirling action is to release aromas from the wine and is, therefore, vitally important. |
| The wine glass must have a stem, not just because it's attractive, but to ensure that warmth from the hand does not increase the temperature of a wine that has been served chilled. The stem is also used to avoid those greasy fingerprints. The perfectly clear bowl allows the true colour to shine through, the long stems prevent your hand warming the wine, and the tapered tops help concentrate the aromas. Watch any accomplished wine taster, and you will notice that their hand very rarely touches the bowl, as it quickly becomes second nature to hold the glass only by the stem or base. |
| The foot or base should have a broad enough shape to prevent the glass from tipping over too easily, even when the bowl is filled to halfway. The foot also should be attached firmly enough to the stem to avoid snapping if held by the foot and swirled. |
| Some manufacturers claim that there is an ideal shape that brings out the best on the nose and palate for each wine type and grape variety and, therefore, they propose a wide range of glasses, each one specifically designed to meet the wine requirements. Such claims are not widely substantiated and are, to a great extent, all a matter of perception. |
| The centre of attention should be the wine, and part of the enjoyment of wine is appreciation of its colour. This can also impart a lot of information giving clues to the grapes used, the age of the wine, and so on. The effect of light on the wine, specifically the “legs” and “tears’ on the inner wall when you swirl it around, and the way aromas are captured within the wine glass and finally presented to your nose while drinking, are among the most important criteria when choosing wine glasses. |
| There are a few basic principles to remember when choosing glasses that will help you get the best from your favourite bottle. Firstly, most wine drinkers could quite adequately get by with just three different types, as below: |
- White wine glasses: tulip-shaped
- Red wine glasses: more rounded with a larger bowl
- Sparkling wine flutes: tall and thin
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| Glasses designed for red wine usually have a wide bowl shape, whilst glasses for white wine are usually narrower in bowl shape. The body of the red wine glass should be large in order to allow adequate oxygenation and development of aromas. White wine, on the other hand, has a much more delicate smell, so a narrower glass helps condense the aromas. |
| Champagne glasses have a very narrow opening. The narrow glass offers less surface space for the bubbles (carbon dioxide) to escape. This type of glass is called a flute. The flute shape both prolongs the release of bubbles and shows them off to much better effect. |
| If cost is a factor, then get multi-purpose, tulip-shaped wine glasses with a stem. Most all-purpose wine glass designs are attractive and relatively inexpensive. Choose one that is 8 to 10 inches (20-26 cm) in height. The tulip-shape feature enables the wine aroma to rise to the top of the glass. It should, of course, also be transparent to allow you to examine the colour of the wine and its body, and must be slightly curved in at the top to hold in the bouquet. |
| An elegant dinner party, where a different wine accompanies each course, is enhanced with a table setting that includes a wine glass for each wine. Wine-loving guests will doubtless appreciate good glasses. It shows that you care and love wine. |
| The glasses should be arranged in the order they are to be used from right to left. Wine is traditionally poured from the right, while food is served from the left. You might want to begin with a tall-stemmed glass for whites, followed by a large wine goblet for reds and ending with a short, smaller glass for port or sherry. Finally, remember that you need to leave room to capture the aroma as it rises from the swirled wine, therefore it is best to fill the wine glass at one third to half full at the most. This is the most desirable level, since it leaves room in the glass for the aroma to work its way up the sides of the glass, and when swirling the wine, you won’t spill it over the top edge. |
| On the subject of cleaning glasses by hand, attention must be paid to ensure that no unpleasant smell remains in a glass after washing and drying. Ideally it should be gently washed with warm water immediately after use. If soapy water is used, the glass should be thoroughly rinsed and hung upside down, preferably suspended by the foot, to dry before being put away. |
| Glasses can also be washed in a dishwasher, provided strong smelling soaps are not used, and again, they must be thoroughly rinsed in order to eliminate any soap residual. Particular attention must be paid when using a dishwasher, especially for crystal: make sure the glasses are sufficiently apart from each other in order to avoid any possible contact that could lead to breakage. |
| Store glasses upright in a clean, odour-free cupboard, ready for use. It is essential that the glass, at the time of use, does not have any “extraneous” odour. It must be clean with no stains, lints or dust. It is always advisable to wipe and clean wine glasses with a towel before placing them on the table. |
| On the subject of wine glasses, one thing must be emphasized: the container you drink out of determines your appreciation of the wine. So take some trouble to use the correct one. |
Wine News and Information |
| Recently, the European Union proposed a radical overhaul of the continent's cherished wine industry, a move meant to ensure the survival of vintners hit hard in recent years by growing competition from Chile, the U.S., South Africa and others. The EU plan foresees an end to restrictive and often confusing labelling rules for wines and winemaking practices to make it simpler for consumers to see what they are buying. It calls for winemakers to put on their label the grapes used in the wine, a labelling practice used by non-European producers, which has appealed to consumers. The reform also recommends simplification of national vintner quality systems, replacing them with just two EU-wide classes of wine: wine with geographical indication and wines without. EU officials hope to have the reforms in place for the 2008 wine-growing season. |
| In the international wine world, it is becoming known as the “China Phenomenon”. How else do we explain the constant and continued rise of a wine country in which grapes struggle to exist, where there is no history of a strong wine culture, and where until recently, students often studied winemaking without ever having drunk a drop. China’s wine market is the fourth-fastest growing in the world, and is the fifth-largest grape producer. The British-based International Wine and Spirit Record, which analyses the global alcoholic beverage market, expects China's wine consumption to reach 62.4 million cases by 2010. China offers little threat to leading wine nations at the moment because quality wine production is hampered by disease and climate problems. But the University of Adelaide hopes to work with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in developing new pest-resistant rootstock and varieties using the country's extensive population of native grapevine species. |
| An Israeli wine merchant is holding hugely popular “Tastings for Peace” – with both Lebanese and Israeli wines on the table. The tastings, held every Thursday, attract wine lovers from all over Israel. |
| The situation is not uncontroversial. For a start, it is illegal to sell Lebanese products in Israel (considered to be commerce with an enemy state) on pain of a fine or even a possible prison sentence. The wines for the tastings, therefore, come from the private cellar of the organiser, Suidan. Wines tasted include all the great Lebanese producers including Chateau Musar and Kefraya, and Israeli wines including Tzora and Bustan. As a preface to his tasting notes, Suidan writes, “A peaceful Mediterranean is a dream world. Sunny blue skies, blue seas, great simple food, great weather and an enchanting atmosphere – paradise on earth”. Yet, he goes on, “Paradise is an illusion, created by wine among other things. The following is a tasting of one very important thing we share with our Lebanese brethren and, perhaps, the finest cure for countless scars both sides share.” |
| The flesh of grapes is just as heart-healthy as the skin, says a laboratory study by Italian and US researchers, a result that may challenge the idea that red wine offers better cardiovascular protection than white. Several studies have linked regular consumption of wine to a reduced risk of heart disease. The basis for these observations is that the skin of red grapes is a rich source of anthocyanins, potent antioxidants that contribute to the red colour of the fruit. Red grapes are usually crushed whole, meaning the anthocyanins are transferred to the resulting wine and juice. To make most white wine or white grape juices, however, the skins are separated from the flesh. This has led to the conventional belief that red wines and red grape juice are healthier for the heart than white. |
| The new study challenges this view by reporting that both skin and flesh have cardioprotective potential, despite vastly differing polyphenol content. “The results indicate for the first time that the flesh of grapes is equally cardioprotective as the skin, and the antioxidant potential of skin and flesh of grapes are comparable with each other, despite of the fact that the grape flesh does not possess any anthocyanin activities,” wrote the researchers. |
Monolithos Monthly News |
| The months of August and September offer an exciting and anxious time, as everyone watches the weather and prepares for the harvest. This year’s dry, sunny days ensured a ripe and mature crop. The winemaking equipment was checked, and the sugar, acidity, and pH levels of the grapes were regularly monitored. A harvesting plan was drawn up, identifying which vineyards will be picked first. |
| Like every year, the Malvasia grapes were ready first. The grapes were hand-picked in the early morning hours of Saturday 19 August and transported immediately to the winery. At this point, the focus was shifted from vineyard to winery and the grapes were crushed, de-stemmed, chilled and eventually pressed. The must was transferred to stainless-steel tanks. |
| The next step is the fermentation which is a rather violent, bubbling, gurgling progress that looks like a science experiment gone wrong! The conversion creates so much heat that the fermentation tanks are artificially cooled. If they weren't, temperatures would rise enough to kill the yeast, effectively stopping the process and causing the loss of important flavours, thus lowering the quality of the end product. |
| Watching the transformation of must to wine, one cannot but remember an Italian proverb: |
| "One barrel of wine can work more miracles than a church full of saints." |
| If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995. |
| Regards from all of us here at Monolithos. |
