The Booklovers' Guide to Wine

by Patrick Alexander

  Longevity: Wine’s anti-aging properties have been recognized for more than a thousand years. Monasteries throughout Europe were convinced their monks’ longer lifespans, compared to the rest of the population, were partly due to their daily consumption of wine. A twenty-nine-year long Finnish study shows that wine drinkers have a 34 percent lower mortality rate than beer or vodka drinkers. Again, this is attributed to the antioxidant resveratrol, which is found in the skins of red grapes. A study carried out at the University of London found that compounds commonly found in red wine, called procyanidins, keep blood vessels healthy and are one of the factors that contribute towards longer life spans enjoyed by the wine consuming people of the Mediterranean region.

  Reduced Infection: British and Spanish studies have shown that people who drink wine daily reduce their risk of infection by Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that causes gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancer, by as much as 11 percent.

  Ovarian problems: When Australian researchers recently compared women with ovarian cancer to cancer-free women, they found that roughly one glass of wine a day seemed to reduce the risk of the disease by as much as 50 percent. Earlier research at the University of Hawaii produced similar findings.

  Stronger bones: Women who drink wine daily have higher bone mass than women who don’t drink wine. The wine appears to boost estrogen levels, which slow the body’s destruction of old bones and cut the risk of osteoporosis, age-related bone thinning related to calcium loss. A report in the American Journal of Epidemiology in April 2000 showed that women who drank the daily equivalent of one to three glasses of wine had greater bone mineral density, measured in the hip region of their thighbones, than nondrinkers or heavy drinkers. Bone mineral density is the measure physicians use to determine bone strength and resilience.

  Diabetes: A Harvard Medical School study as well as a study by Amsterdam’s VU University show that premenopausal women who drink one or two glasses of wine daily are 40 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women who abstain.

  Heart Attack: A Harvard study shows that wine drinkers suffering from high blood pressure are 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack than nondrinkers, while another study conducted by Queen Mary University in London shows that red wine tannins contain procynidins, which protect against heart disease. According to the January 2000 issue of European Heart Journal, red wine appears to dilate arteries and increase blood flow, thus lowering the risk of the kind of clots that cut off blood supply and damage heart muscles.

  Blood clots and strokes: Polyphenols (antioxidants) in wine help protect the lining of blood vessels in the heart, and the polyphenol resveratrol reduces the risk of inflammation and clotting. A Colombia University study found that wine drinkers have 50 percent less probability of suffering a clot-related stroke than nondrinkers. The polyphenols in red wine appear to boost levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol, and helps prevent artery-clogging LDLs, or “bad” cholesterol, from causing damage to the lining of arteries.

  Cancer: According to the American Cancer Society, an active antioxidant in red wine called quercetin works against certain cancer cells, especially those in colon cancer. A Stony Brook University study shows that the consumption of red wine cuts the risk of colon cancer by 45 percent. It turns out that the same phenolic compounds that lower heart disease risk also may slow the growth of breast cancer cells, according to findings reported by scientists at the University of Crete in Greece. Phenols were also shown to suppress the growth of prostate cancer cells. French scientists found evidence that resveratrol can slow the growth of liver cancer cells. Researchers from the University Of Missouri School Of Dentistry discovered that red wine’s antioxidants, resveratrol and quercetin, may inhibit the growth of oral cancer cells.

  Cataracts: An Icelandic study published in Nature shows that moderate drinkers are 32 percent less likely to get cataracts than nondrinkers are. Wine drinkers are 43 percent less likely to get cataracts than beer drinkers are.

  Marriage: A 2016 paper in The Journals of Gerontology reports that couples who drink wine together say they are happier over time. Wives reported they were happier when their husbands drank wine and less happy when they didn’t. The study was based upon 2,767 married, heterosexual couples with an average length of thirty-three years of marriage.

  Erectile Dysfunction: Research, carried out by the University of East Anglia and Harvard University and reported in 2016, found that eating a flavonoid-rich diet and drinking red wine is as beneficial to erectile function as briskly walking for up to five hours a week. The most beneficial flavonoids were found to be anthocyanins (found in blueberries, cherries, blackberries, radishes, blackcurrants, and red wine), flavanones and flavones (both found in citrus fruits).

  Social Graces: Preliminary studies conducted by myself and certain associates have suggested that in addition to being good for your health, wine will improve your clarity of enunciation, cognitive functionality, and dancing skills, as well as making you sexually irresistible to other people.

  Chapter

  2

  MAKING WINE

  “Athenaeus wrote that Age appears to be best in four things: Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” — Francis Bacon

  How Wine Is Made

  The making of wine involves two complementary arts: viticulture, which means the growing of grapes on vines, and vinification, which means turning those grapes into wine. Very often the grape farmer (the viticulturist) will simply grow the grapes and then sell them to the winemaker (the vintner), and the winemaker will often simply purchase the grapes from the farmer so that the two processes remain separate. But, ideally, the person or team that originally plants the vine and cultivates the grape also produces the final bottle of wine.

  The reason the Eurasian vine, Vitis vinifera, has evolved as the dominant vine for winemaking, is that it has been affected by human selection for at least ten thousand years, reflecting the human preference for the larger, juicier, and sweeter hermaphrodite grape, which is more suitable for winemaking. In the New World, where human selection did not initially play an important role, the evolution of the grape was more influenced by the taste of birds. Birds preferred small grapes with tough skins, which are easier to carry in their beaks, and blue grapes, which are easier to see from the air; neither quality, however, being conducive to winemaking. Because North American vines, Vitis labrusca and Vitis riparia, are not really suitable for decent winemaking, the Eurasian Vitis vinifera has been imported since the sixteenth century.

  Like most living species, the original wild vines, Vitis silvestris, are dioecious, meaning they are either male or female. But, because nature is not always perfect, some species are hermaphrodites, meaning they contain both male and female attributes in the same plant and can thus self-reproduce. The pollen from a male dioecious vine might need to travel some distance to find a female plant, and thus its fruit is less predictable. Because the pollen from hermaphrodite plants does not have so far to travel, their fruit is more predictable, more plentiful, and thus more likely to be selected by humans. Over the course of ten thousand years, therefore, it’s the hermaphroditic vines which have been selected for the tastiest and most abundant fruit, and the reason Vitis silvestris evolved into Vitis vinifera.

  Tannins: Throughout this book there are many references to tannins. Tannins are chemical compounds known as phenols, which are found throughout nature in most growing plants. In fact, 50 percent of the dry weight of leaves consist entirely of tannins. Tannin is actually tasteless, and is a texture; you feel the coarse particles which stick to the surface of your tongue and teeth. The best way to think of tannins is to imagine sucking on a used teabag. The puckering and astringent sensation in your mouth is the tang of tannin. One theory for the prevalence of tannins is that it is Nature’s way to discourage animals from eating the leaves and stalks before the fruit and seeds are ready for d
issemination. Some grape varietals, especially white grapes, have little or no tannins, while other grape varietals—most notably Cabernet Sauvignon—have very high levels of tannins in the skin.

  The word tannin comes from the German word for oak tree, tannenbaum, from which we derive the words tan and tanning. (Oak tannins have always been used for turning animal hides into leather.) As we will see later, the tannins in oak play an important part in the aging of wine in oak barrels. A red wine with very low tannins, such as Beaujolais, can be drunk extremely young. A Bordeaux wine with very high tannins cannot be drunk when young; it would be impossibly astringent. Wines high in tannins need to be aged, preferably in oak, until, with the passing of the years, the harsh taste of tannins has mellowed. Moreover, with age, the Bordeaux wine has not only lost its astringency and become drinkable, it has substantially improved and those initially harsh tannins have added complexity and maturity to the taste. Without tannins, Beaujolais will not age and will deteriorate rather than improve, while, thanks to tannins, Bordeaux wines just get better and better.

  Although it’s true that thick-skinned grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon have more tannins than thin-skinned grapes such as Pinot Noir, there are too many other variables to make a definitive list of grape varietals by tannin level. Where and how the actual grapes are harvested, how long the skins are macerated during fermentation, and how the winemaker blends the juices makes it impossible to say that a Sangiovese will always be less tannic than a Syrah or more tannic than a Zinfandel. A selection of grape varietals is listed in Chapter Eight, from light to heavy or full-bodied, but it is a general list and includes more factors than just tannins.

  In her splendid Wine Bible, Karen McNeil has listed red varietals by tannic level, from least tannic to most tannic: Gamay / Pinot Noir / Sangiovese / Grenache / Zinfandel / Syrah (Shiraz) / Malbec / Merlot / Mourvédre / Cabernet Franc / Cabernet Sauvignon / Petite Sirah / Nebbiolo.

  Sulphites: Like tannins, sulphites are often mentioned in connection with wine, and their role and effects are often misunderstood. All wines contain sulphur dioxide, SO2, in various forms, collectively known as sulphites; even in completely natural wine it is present at concentrations of up to ten milligrams per liter. The most important thing to understand is that sulphites are an entirely natural byproduct of yeast metabolism during fermentation, and would be found in wines even if the winemaker added nothing to the juice. The Romans used to burn sulphur beneath their upturned amphora, or wine containers, to sterilize them before use, and winemakers have been adding various amounts of sulphites ever since to prevent bacteria and bad yeasts from developing in the wine. In the late 1840s, European vineyards were nearly all destroyed by a disease called oïdium, and were saved only at the last moment by nationwide applications of sulpher dust. Sulphites play a very important role in preventing oxidization and maintaining a wine’s freshness. Even so, compared to processed foods, dried fruit, sodas, packaged meats, or even commercial fruit juice, the amount of sulphites in wine is miniscule. On visits to Europe over the years, I have often been given bottles of wine made by friends for local consumption, not for export. These fresh wines, which were delicious when drunk locally, had been made without the addition of sulphites and were sadly undrinkable by the time I had brought them home to the USA.

  US wine labels are required to indicate if the sulphite level exceeds ten parts per million (ppm). Many red wines contain sulphite levels of fifty ppm, but this should be compared with the 2,000 ppm sulphite level of French fries to put it in perspective. Some people blame the sulphites for the headaches they suffer when drinking red wine, but in fact red wine has much lower sulphites than white wine; headaches are more likely to be caused by the tannins, the histamines, or even the extra alcohol in red wines. Despite some of the hysteria about sulphites, the levels of sulpher dioxide in wines is too small to have any adverse health effects, except for those people who are clinically allergic to sulphites; the FDA estimates this to be less than 1 percent of the population. If you have eaten dried fruit or French fries with no ill effects, then continue to drink your wine and not worry about sulphites.

  Acids in Wine: While the word “acid” evokes images of car batteries rather than a refreshing beverage, acids play an important role in both the making and tasting of wine. The two major acids, tartaric and malic, are both naturally present in the grapes as they first develop on the vine.

  Tartaric acid, unlike malic acid, is not so common in the plant world and, outside the tropics, is almost exclusive to the grape vine. One of the ways that archeologists have been able to identify ancient wine-producing sites is through traces of tartaric acid. Because tartaric acid is unique to the grape vine, residue of tartaric crystals in amphora and other containers provides an indication of a winemaking culture. Depending on the varietal of the grape and the temperature, tartaric acids can sometimes crystallize in the wine. When this happens, the crystals sink to the bottom of the bottles, where they resemble broken glass or “wine diamonds.” Although they are perfectly harmless and tasteless, consumers object to these crystals, and so most winemakers try to remove excess tartaric acid before bottling.

  Malic acid is found in just about every fruit and berry plant and is most commonly associated with apples, which is where it derives its name, alum, the Latin word for apple. It is that sharp astringent taste of green apples which is most recognizable in an acidic wine. The malic acids play an important role in the growth of the vine, providing energy during photosynthesis and, at verison, metabolizing into sugar. It is the malic acid which provides the sharpness to the flavors and which balances the sweetness of any residual sugars, as well as complementing the bitterness of the tannins in red wine. Too much malic acid in a wine will make it tart and unpleasantly astringent and too little will make the wine taste flabby and dead. The correct amount of malic acid is what provides the balance and harmony of a great wine.

  Lactic acid, unlike the other acids, is not found in the grapes, but is a product of a secondary fermentation. Most white wines and some red wines are not subject to the secondary fermentation, and therefore do not contain any lactic acid. Secondary, or Malolactic Fermentation, is the process by which certain bacteria convert the tart malic acids into the softer lactic acids. Lactic acid was first derived from sour milk in the eighteenth century, and the name comes from the Latin word for milk, lact. Most red wines and most Chardonnays undergo malolactic fermentation, partly to soften the tartness of the malic acids but also for the improved “mouth-feel” that results. Unlike, say, a Sauvignon Blanc, which retains the green-apple-sharpness of the malic acids, a Chardonnay following malolactic fermentation will have the softer, more “buttery” feel and flavor of the lactic acid.

  Acetic acid is a product of the primary fermentation when the yeasts are converting the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. If the wine is further exposed to oxygen, the alcohol will be converted by bacteria into ascetic acid and eventually into vinegar. Not a good acid.

  In addition to balancing the taste of the sugars and tannins in wine to create the complex harmony that wine drinkers so enjoy, acids also play an important role in protecting and stabilizing the wine on its journey from the initial fermentation barrels to its happy arrival in our glass.

  Taste & Quality

  The eventual taste and quality of a wine depends on a number of factors:

  Latitude: Wine-producing vines are grown all over the world in a belt roughly between thirty and fifty degrees latitude north or south of the equator. North of the equator includes the Mediterranean region as far north as Germany, and from southern California as far north as Washington State. South of the equator, the band runs from Central Chile and Argentina, through the tip of South Africa to Southern Australia and New Zealand. The further away from the equator, the less sun there is. Less sun means less sugar and fruit on the vine, and consequently less alcohol and less color in the wine. Wines grown closer to the equator by
contrast have more body, a darker color, and higher alcohol content.

  Elevation: Where there is less sun, vines need to be grown on a slope so that they catch as much sunlight as possible. This is why German vineyards are all on south-facing slopes of river valleys. Vineyards in the South of France by contrast, already get enough sunlight and so do not need the angled slopes. In California, where fog from the cold Pacific creeps into the valleys most evenings, some types of grapes benefit from the cooling effects of the fog, while other grapes, such as Zinfandel, thrive at a higher elevation above the fog line.

  Soil and drainage: Unlike most other crops, good vines do not benefit from rich fertile soil. Most vineyards are found in stony and infertile regions—but with good drainage. Poor topsoil forces the root of the vine to force itself deep into the ground in search of water. This results in stronger and more powerful roots, which can better absorb the complex taste of the minerals through which they dig. Limestone, chalk, volcanic pumice, and gravel are all especially favorable for vines, as they absorb and store rainwater and are rich in complex minerals from ancient marine life.

  Climate: The prevailing microclimate of individual regions obviously has a major influence on the cultivation of grapes. The Languedoc region of Southern France has long, hot summers, little rain, and the drying effect of the Mistral winds, thus producing large quantities of dark-red wine with high alcohol. The river valleys of the Mosel in Germany have a much cooler climate with far more rain, and consequently produce pale-white wines which are low in alcohol.