......................."Wine gets better with age." A cute
analogy but far from the truth. "The more expensive
a wine costs, the better it is." If you go by this
theory, you'll go broke searching for great tasting
wines. My point being, there are so many falsehoods
associated within the world of wine that grape lovers
far and wide who believe in these age old myths are
sadly misinformed. This month, lets take a look at a
number of these traditional lore and get a better
understanding between half-truth and
reality.
#1...WINE GETS BETTER WITH
AGE
Though this is in fact a true statement, truth is, as a
whole, only a select few wines fit this category. Less
than one tenth of 1% of all the wine in the world
produced each vintage will actually benefit from long
term aging. Most wines are meant to be consumed
within a very short period. The standard rule of
thumb is to drink white wines within 2 to 4 years of
their vintage date, 2 to 6 years for
reds.
There is no specific formula as to how long any wine
may age. Some have lasted well over 100 years,
some less than 100 weeks. If you were to think that
the straw covered bottle of Chianti you inherited from
your relatives is a tastefest waiting to happen, the
fact is, no magician in the world could bring that
beast back from the dead. Its gone, its plonk, its
vinegar by now. Remember my saying: its better to
drink a wine a day too early rather than a day too
late. As far as the adage goes, use it only as a
compliment to wine, because as we all know, only
women get better with
age.
#2...THE MORE EXPENSIVE A WINE COSTS, THE
BETTER IT IS.
Savvy wine shoppers know better than to believe this
disjointed phrase but many novices still regard this
notion as fact. Price never reflects the quality of
what may be found in any bottle of wine. Surely
enough, many pricey collectable’s are great examples
of fine wines and their cost mirrors that fact, but
there have been times, too numerous to mention,
that I have shook my head in amazement having
tasted a mediocre wine with an astronomical price
tag.
Many shoppers with deep pocket books often regard
paying enormous amounts for wines as a method of
impressing with its price tag rather than the juice
inside. Their odds may increase on finding a quality
quaff with this selection process but in no way is it a
sure fire certainty. Great wines come in all price
ranges. As far as high pricing, lets leave that
distinction to older vintages and small lot produced
wines that fall under the supply and demand category
to merit any credit to the above
myth.
#3...RED WINE WITH MEAT - WHITE WINE WITH
FISH
For years, this logic was as tradition as "No whites
shoes after Labor Day". With the explosion of culinary
choices available to the extensively educated palates
of today's foodies, you may as well throw out this
theory along with your Beta tapes and Nehru jackets.
This rule was long meant to be broken, thanks in part
to a ever expanding selection of wines available in
the marketplace and most important, better wine
making
practices.
Most of all, our eating habits have changed. We
experiment more, try new things, expose our
tastebud’s to foods that are new and exciting. We
are free to do this with wines as well, resulting in eye
opening pairing sensations in the process. White
wines have migrated from the soft and delicate to
complex and full bodied, whereas red wines range
from light and fruity to meaty and high octane. The
marriage possibilities between different foods and
wines is endless. The fun of doing so is one of life's
greatest pleasures. Chateau Margaux with broiled
salmon, go for it. Konsgaard Chardonnay with lamb,
let me be the first in line. As long as it tastes good,
there is no longer any right or wrong way in pairing
your favorite food and wine. Just
enjoy.
#4...WINE IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH
Nearly every medical journal and periodical in recent
years have lauded the health benefits associated
with the drinking of wine. Its effects include
decreased risk of heart disease, reducing stress,
increasing blood flow, lowering blood pressure and
bad cholesterol, and fighting certain cancers. Keep in
mind that the consumption of alcohol is not for
everyone. Those with medical complications or taking
prescribed medicines should first consult their
physicians before consuming any amount of wine. For
those of us who are fortunate enough to enjoy our
favorite beverage on a daily basis, we hope that it is
done in moderation and with responsibility. That is
the best advise that can be given to help make wine
a healthy part of our daily
diet.
#5...WINES WITH CORKS ARE BETTER THAN
WINES WITH SCREW CAPS
Suggesting that a wine sealed with a cork is of better
quality that one sealed in screw cap is simply for the
close minded and nonconformists. In recent years,
the cork industry has been befelled with a number of
problems, from shortage of quality cork to widespread
TCA cork taint that plagued up to 15% of every
bottle of wine sealed. That means that for every
case of wine you bought, you could expect at least
one or more bottles to be corked, tainted, or
problematic.
Nothing can be more gut wrenching than opening an
expensive bottle of wine, more so a bottle cellared
and opened many years from now, only to find that it
is no longer acceptable to drink. With the
introduction of new screw cap technology and other
alternative closures currently preserving wines until
they are ready to open, their results have been
overwhelmingly positive. I have yet to open a bad
bottle that was sealed with any of the new style of
closure.
The pageantry of removing a cork and hearing the
resounding pop will always remain a feast for the
senses. But do you want your wine to be remembered
for its cork, or its taste? Until the industry can
guarantee me that cork sealants are 100% foolproof,
I will continue to herald the benefits of screw cap
enclosures and enjoy the fresh, untainted flavors
their wines
exhibit.
#6...REMOVING THE CORK AND LETTING A WINE
BREATH MAKES IT TASTE
BETTER
By simply removing the cork from a bottle of
wine and letting it sit does absolutely nothing at all.
Its like trying to cool off Joe Louis Arena with a
window size air conditioner. The amount of wine
exposed to air in the neck of the bottle is so
insignificantly small that it is impossible for any
chemical reaction to take
place.
The only way to accomplish this ritual is by pouring
the contents of the bottle into a spacious decanter,
helping to burn off excess sulphur and alcohol that
inhibits a wines full character. In doing so, its flavors
and aromas are allowed to smooth out, resulting in a
enhanced drinking
experience.
#7...HIGHER RATINGS MEAN BETTER
WINES
I know many people who buy their wines by this
creed. What they are actually doing is putting all
their trust in someone else's palate. Rating are in fact
only a guideline for purchasing wines. They are not
bible and they are not always reflective of a wines
quality.
I have numerous bottles in my cellar that I enjoy
immensely that were panned quite low by rating
standards. Equally so, I have tasted many ratings
darlings that I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase
none less recommend to customers. Great wines, like
cars, books, food and everything else in life, are a
matter of taste. Use ratings only as a tool. In the
end, let yourself be the judge. Trust your own palate.
Its more fun, and in the long run, it may save you
tons of cash and the embarrassment of tasting a
bottle you really didn't
enjoy.
#8...SNIFFING THE CORK TELLS YOU IF A WINE
IS BAD
This exhibition is such a snobberish ritual, anyone
caught doing so should be given a time out in the
corner of the room. Unless you have superhuman
sensory powers to detect the slightest hint of mold
or cork imperfections, at best, you may come away
with a red tipped nose and a whole lot of snickering
stares. If a cork in tainted, it will be reflected in the
taste of the wine. That is why tasting a small
amount, in the sniff-swirl-taste method, before
pouring the bottle is more preferable. When
presented with a cork, squeezing it is a more fail safe
experiment. If it feels wet and mushy as opposed to
dry and firm, chances are, your wine may be
infected. So remember, sniff at your own
risk.
#9...SHIZAH IS BETTER THAN
SYRAH
That’s like saying Fume Blanc is better than
Sauvignon Blanc, Chateau Petrus is better than
Merlot, or Chianti is better than Sangiovese. All the
above facts are one in the same. Shiraz is Syrah,
Fume Blanc is Sauvignon Blanc, Chateau Petrus is
Merlot, and Chianti is Sangiovese. They are no better
because they are one in the same.
