Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Uncorking answers to frequent questions
Gordon Kendall
Gordon Kendall's column, "Good Libations," runs monthly in Extra. He welcomes readers' questions and comments about wine, beer or spirits.
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Over my years in the wine business, I have received numerous questions, from the sublime to the ridiculous. To celebrate the end of this year, I thought it might be fun to answer some of the most frequently asked questions. So here goes:
Q: Why do certain wines cost so much?
A: The answer is Economics 101: Supply versus demand. Consider a bottle of 2000 vintage Chateau Petrus Pomerol. This Merlot-based red blend from France's Bordeaux region can be found on the Internet for $3,600 to $7,000 per bottle. Several factors account for this wine's astronomical price. The vineyards are ideally situated on clay soil and meticulously cultivated. Chateau Petrus has established a stellar reputation over 100 years in operation. The 2000 Petrus was highly rated by the wine critics, and received 99 points from Robert Parker. Only 2,500 cases are produced annually. There are wealthy people around the world who will pay whatever price the market will bear, so the price shakes out in the stratosphere. Does a bottle of Petrus taste 360 times as good as a $10 bottle of Christian Moueix Merlot, which is made nearby? No, but the relationship between price and quality is not linear.
Q: I am preparing a recipe that calls for wine. The grocery store has something called "cooking wine." Is that a good choice?
A: Not really. Cooking wine is regular wine that has so much sodium (salt) added to it that it is absolutely undrinkable. It also contains preservatives. Because it is undrinkable, it is not taxed and licensed as an alcoholic beverage, so a store does not have to own an ABC license to sell it. The best rule of thumb is to cook with a wine that you like to drink. If you don't drink wine and are preparing a recipe that calls for wine, one-quarter size (187 milliliters) bottles are available at grocery stores, so you will have little or none left over.
Q: This wine is sealed with a screw cap, or it comes in a box. I thought that all fine wines came in corked bottles. Is this wine any good?
A: Many wine producers are using screw caps, with New Zealand leading the way. The trend is likely to continue. About 7 percent of wines stoppered with corks are afflicted with cork taint. A minute amount of a potent chlorine compound permeates the cork and causes the wine to smell like moldy newspapers. It is a randomly occurring byproduct of the cork treatment process that can afflict any bottle regardless of price. Screw caps and box wines avoid this defect because no cork is used.
Q: Wines made and sold in Europe don't contain sulfites, right?
A: Wrong. Since 1987, U.S. government regulations have required that any wine containing more that 10 parts per million of sulfites must state on the label that it contains sulfites. This rule was implemented because a small number of people are allergic to sulfites. A wine can exceed this threshold as a natural byproduct of fermentation. Wines made and sold outside the United States are not subject to U.S. regulations, so the European wines contain the same amount of sulfites, it just is not stated on the label. The European Union may soon adopt this labeling requirement.
Q: The label says this winecontains notes of raspberry, plum and strawberry. Are those fruits used in this wine?
A: Unless the label states that it is a fruit wine, probably not. One of the biggest challenges facing a wine consultant is making the customer understand what the wine tastes like. Moreover, different people will react to a given wine differently. If a description of a wine says that it contains notes of raspberries, what it is saying is that you may detect aromas or flavors that remind you of raspberries.
Q: I never finish a whole bottle of wine. What is the best way to preserve my leftover wine?
A: What leftover wine? Just kidding! Seriously, the easiest thing to do is to put the wine in a clean smaller glass bottle with a secure lid so the air space in the bottle is minimal. There are products available that replace the air in the bottle with inert gas. I don't believe in the vacuum system products out there, but I know people who swear by them.
If you have a question about wine, beer or spirits that I did not address in today's column, just let me know. Happy holidays!
Gordon Kendall's wine and spirits column runs monthly in Extra. He welcomes comments and questions at gmoney007@cox.net.
