More Wine Trivia du Jour
Here’s a big surprise – did you know that the French drink four times as much wine as Americans?
And, we drink twice as much beer…
Time to step up to the plate (or, rather, glass), y’all! 
Care to ace our wine trivia challenge?
Wine Trivia du Jour
It’s reported that President Obama has a 1000-bottle wine cellar at home in Chicago. We knew we liked him A very pleasant way to keep the Chicago cold at bay…
Care for a little more wine trivia?
Maybe you’d like to know more about wine storage.
Cheers!
NVWR® 77 – Vineyard Practices and Influence on Quality
January 20, 2009 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Welcome to Napa Valley Wine Radio! Thanks for listening!
Winemakers, Geoff Gorsuch, Jeff Booth, and Bob Pepi discuss vineyard practices & their influence on quality. Their discussion includes influence of yields, hillside vs. valley-floor vineyards and deficit irrigation, among other topics.
Q: White Zin/Red Zin: The Confusion Continues…
Question from Linda: I am still confused. Is white zinfandel considered a red wine and does it have the benefits I keep reading about red wine?
Reply: Hi, Linda. Thanks for writing! It seems that confusion about white/red Zin is extremely common, as I look through our “Ask the Educator” archives! So, here goes:
Even though White Zin is pink, it’s really made and tastes very much like a slightly sweet white wine. If I was categorizing it on a restaurant wine list, I’d call it a blush or pale rosé. If given only the choice of red or white, it’s most like a white.
It’s safe to assume that rosé wines have been made as long as there’s been wine but, as the story goes, the original, slightly sweet wine we call White Zinfandel was first made, unintentionally, at Sutter Home winery and it was this serendipitous event that transformed our neighbors from a very small farmhouse of a winery, into the multi-million case producer they are today.
Regarding the health benefits: Since the goodies (polyphenols, resveratrol, procyanidins) you’ve been reading about come from the grape skins it stands to reason that White Zin will be low in them because of the very brief skin-to-juice contact time it takes to get the light pink color (the juice of dark varieties is clear). Just the time it takes to get the fresh grapes crushed, stemmed and plopped into a fermentation tank can be enough, depending on the variety, state of ripeness and how much color the winemaker is looking for. So I’d say that drinking dark red wine, in moderation, is more likely to provide those health benefits you’re asking about than pink or white wines. Any enologists or physicians out there care to comment?
If you’re not fond of red wine, but would like to be, there’s a fairly painless, but slow, way to develop a taste for it. If you’re drinking mainly White Zin and other sweet-ish wines, try a very fruity, but dry, white like our dry Viognier, or a dry Riesling or dry Gewürztraminer (you need to specify “dry” because these varieties are often made sweet). The fruitiness helps to bridge the gap from sweet to dry. Also, breaking in new styles goes easier if you include food – I’m always hungry Once you’ve come to a place where you like these dry wines, try something a little bigger, such as a relatively fruity Chardonnay (Goosecross Chard has loads of fruit). From there, go on to light-bodied reds like Pinot Noir or a Beaujolais type. A couple of days ago I served our sleek AmerItal Red blend to someone who said the reds are “too bitey” for her and she loved it. Before you know it, you’ll be asking for monster Cabs! It just takes a bit of time, and most of us prefer reds with a meal or some cheese (semi-hard to hard cheeses are usually best with reds).
I hope that answers your question and that you have a lot of fun exploring until you find something you really like! And, as always, when you’re contemplating drinking wine for the health benefitss, consult your physician! Cheers!
Wine Trivia du Jour
Did you know that when Magellan made his famous voyage he spent more money on sherry than he did on weapons?
Gotta love a man who has his priorities straight
More trivia for you?
Or maybe more about sherry?
Cheers!
Welcome to Goosecross Cellars
A family winery founded in 1985. Owners, Geoff Gorsuch, David & Colleen Topper believe that premium wine has always been an art and a passion – but we have never forgotten that wine is meant, quite simply, to be enjoyed.
Why visit Goosecross? Here you’ll feel the pride of ownership and experience the best in personal service.
We produce a collection of wines that are distinctive and eclectic in style, and our brand of hospitality preserves authenticity.
Visit Our Tasting Room
Enjoy Goosecross wine in our intimate barrel cellar. We take pride in providing one of the most enjoyable, informative and friendly experiences in the wine country. The Wine Country Weekly Review recently reported, “If you want to see a small winery… (and) love good wine, the spot to visit is Goosecross Cellars.”
We are open daily from 10am – 4:30pm. Please call 800-276-9210 or send an email to us for additional information.
Winemaking 101
Like most good things in life, wine was discovered by mistake because grape juice has a natural inclination to become wine. The problem is that wine, in turn, is predisposed to become vinegar, so intervention (winemaking) is required. Here’s how we get from the grape to the bottle to make fine wine.
THE HARVEST
Most winemakers would agree that the harvest decision is the single-most important decision they make in the whole year. Anyone who has grown tomatoes in the back yard know how it goes. The tomatoes start out tart and green and gradually become soft and sweet as long as the weather is warm. It’s same thing with grapes. As long as the weather is good, the sugar increases, the acid decreases and the flavors progress from tart and vegetative to fruity and ripe. Harvest time varies with the region, variety and weather patterns. Here in Napa Valley, early-ripening varieties, such as Sauvignon Blanc, are often ready to pick in late August or early September. For those who produce several varieties, the harvest may take six to eight weeks, or even longer, with late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon ready for harvest in October and many other varieties harvested in the meantime. The hotter the weather, the faster the harvest.
That sequence of events, and flavor maturity in particular, is uppermost in the winemaker’s mind as harvest approaches. From experience, he knows that a little over half the sugar will convert to alcohol in the finished wine and that the level will influence the style. Alcohol gives the wine body, which is important for the reds and full-bodied whites, but it can also give the wine heat when it’s too high. Most wine grapes (excluding sparkling and late-harvest wine) are picked between 21 and 26% sugar and within that rather-large range, flavor maturity and stylistic goals will help make the decision. It’s also important to be sure the acid (generally between 4 and 10 grams per liter) and pH (between the low and high 3s) are in balance for the sake of flavor and stability.
Most fine wine is hand-picked, but the exceptions increase annually (we pick by hand at Goosecross). Hand-harvested grapes arrive as clusters and machine-harvested ones as individual berries, some of which have juiced. We sort through the grapes to remove leaves or grapes that don’t look good. In our warm, dry climate we’re lucky that the clusters come in looking remarkably clean most years. The most common rejects are dehydrated grapes. A rainy year could find us sorting out grapes or clusters that have rotted.
