28 January 2008 by Sandy Hemphill
Secrets from the Cellar
In a companion article on this website, you’ll find an article entitled, "I’ll Get the Good Stuff from the Cellar." It provides some suggestions for establishing your very own wine cellar with an assortment of wines likely to be both familiar and unfamiliar.
Don’t shun the unfamiliar. One of the fun things about having a collection of wines cellared away for the perfect moment is that there are adventures in those bottles, to be explored and evaluated.
Make sure your cellar has an ample supply of the tried and true but keep some mystery in there, too. Opening these less familiar bottles expands your base of knowledge and is likely to influence the wines you pair with your menus.
To take some of the mystery out of the cellar, here are some basic tasting descriptions of the wines suggested in that article.
Champagne and Sparkling Wine - Most often made from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes. The yeast used for repeated fermentations and long aging impart flavors described as toasty, yeasty, and doughy. Sweetness is listed on the label, ranging from dry to sweet respectively, as brut, extra sec, sec, demi-sec, and doux (often considered a dessert wine). Only wine made in the Champagne region of the Burgundy area of France can legally be called Champagne. Similar wines made elsewhere must be labeled as sparkling wines.
Burgundy - Generally a medium-bodied red wine made from the Pinot Noir grape. Burgundy is a region of France and, by law, is the only place in the world that can call its red wine Burgundy. Burgundies are jammy, with flavors of blackberries and other dark fruits. The fruitiness mellows with age into a velvety smoothness with hints of spice. White Burgundies are made from the Chardonnay grape. All Burgundies, and their counterparts from around the world, come in bottles that are wide on the bottom with sloping shoulders, like a champagne bottle.
Bordeaux - Another specific region of France with legal protection to its name. The predominant red grape here is Cabernet Sauvignon, which is bolder and more robust than the gentler Burgundy. Flavors are richer - cherries, chocolate, flint, smoke. More tannic than Burgundy, it will reach its peak in about 10 years and will age quite gracefully over a long period of time. White Bordeaux features the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. Bordeaux bottles are tall, with straight sides, squared shoulders, and a short neck.
Alsatian Wines - Light, delicate white wines from the cooler Alsace highlands where Germany, Switzerland, and France meet. Flavors imparted are of smooth, luscious fruits such as apricots and peaches, with a bouquet that is often quite floral. Gewürztraminer is a spicy choice ("gerwürtz" means "spice" in German) that is perfect with spicy ethnic foods. All Alsatian wines come in tall, skinny bottles with sides that slope almost continuously from top to bottom.
Chardonnay - In France, it’s white Burgundy and champagne. The rest of the world knows it by the name of the grape. One of the fuller-bodied whites, this very versatile wine can be heavy and smoky when aged exclusively in oak barrels or smooth and buttery when malolactic fermentation is induced. Flavors resemble tart, crisp, white-fleshed fruits such as apples and pears. Look for it in Burgundy-shaped bottles.
Alternate Whites - include Sauvignon Blanc (Bordeaux), Pinot Gris (French) or Pinot Grigio (Italian), Semillon, Frascati, and many others. These wines are generally light in body and character with a high degree of lively acidity that makes them excellent when served with rich, creamy dishes such as cheeses, cream sauces, and pasta. Flavors may include citrus fruits, pears, peaches, even pineapple. Those made from grapes of the sunny Bordeaux region are bottled in the tall bottles characteristic of that region. The others, made from grapes of the Burgundy region, will be in Burgundy bottles.
Rosé or other light reds - made from the light, fruity Beaujolais and Gamay grapes, a rosé is generally a very light, highly drinkable, red wine with almost no tannins. It will not age well so is best enjoyed early, especially the Nouveau Beaujolais versions, which are enjoyed the same year of harvest. Nouveau Beaujolais is considered a thirst-quenching, gulpable, wine enjoyed by the masses. It’s almost impossible to grow these grapes outside France but their personality has been widely imitated in the form of "blush" wines. Look for these festive wines in Burgundy bottles.
Pinot Noir - Only grapes grown in the geographic region known as Burgundy can be called red Burgundy. Wines made from the same grape, the Pinot Noir, have many of the same characteristics as their French cousins. The best Pinot Noir wines come from areas whose climate closely resembles that of Burgundy. Oregon is an excellent example of such. Look for them in Burgundy bottles.
Heartier reds - These are made from the same grapes that made the Bordeaux region famous but they must be identified by their grape varietal name outside that protected area. Many of them are used in Bordeaux to tweak the flavor of the Cabernet Sauvignon, the predominant Bordeaux red grape. Many of them have achieved acclaim on their own as the predominant grape when grown in other regions around the world. The best Zinfandel grapes are grown in California and Australia is becoming quite famous for its stellar Shiraz wines. Look for Bordeaux bottles.
Fortified wines - Political unrest and exploratory ocean voyages led winemakers in Portugal and Spain to add some distilled wine (brandy) to their wine bottles so it wouldn’t go bad in hot, musty cargo holds en route down the African coastline, across to South America, up through the Caribbean, and along the coast to the American Colonies before reaching their final destination in English parlors and dining rooms. Along the way, these wines acquired their own distinctive personalities and are now known by the port of their origin. They are typically rich and hearty, best enjoyed in small doses. The drier ones make great aperitifs with hors d’oeuvre before dinner while the sweeter ones are truly scrumptious as dessert wines, especially when a wine and fruit course finishes the feast.
Armed with this very generalized list of descriptions, perhaps you’ll be tempted to explore a little deeper yourself when amassing a collection of interesting wines to add to your own wine cellar.
And be sure to add wine tasting notes to your cellar’s toolbox. Soon you’ll be writing your very own highly descriptive notes and making lists of what to stock next.
The only rule is to have fun!