RECENTLY, I WAS ASKED to teach a wine basics class. This isn’t an unusual request. I’ve done these sorts of classes for the staff of restaurants on a number of occasions. This request was a little bit different, however. Instead of teaching a restaurant staff, I was asked to teach the members of a restaurant’s wine club some wine basics. This would be challenging for many reasons. The level of wine knowledge with a group such as this would vary widely, and the focus of the class could be broad. Figuring out how to approach this type of assignment would be particularly challenging, but I always wanted to do something like this, so I had a couple of ideas that would make the class flow pretty easily. The best place to start is, as always, at the beginning.
Definitions are always a good starting point, so what is wine? Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced from grape juice via a process called fermentation. Archeological evidence suggests that wine made its debut at a site in Georgia, a country that lies between eastern Europe and western Asia. This site dates to approximately 8000 BCE. At that time, the wine-making process was not understood. The altered consciousness produced by this amazing new beverage was attributed to religious doctrine. Ancient Greeks worshipped Dionysus, the god of the grape harvest, and ritual wines were consumed as part of Jewish religious practice since Biblical times and are an integral part of the eucharist commemorating the Last Supper.
It took almost 12,000 years before fermentation, the magical process that converts grape juice into wine, was understood. In 1837, three researchers independently published papers that established the fact that yeast was a living organism. In 1850, Louis Pasteur continued this ground-breaking work. Finally, in 1897, Eduard Beuchner identified the enzymes responsible for fermentation. His work gave rise to the birth of biochemistry and helped him secure the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1907. Let that sink in for a few seconds. Fermentation has been a part of human civilization for the better part of 12,000 years, back when beer hit the scene, yet we’ve only understood how it works for 184 of those years. The other 11,816 years we merely attributed it to the good graces of whichever deity or deities were popular at the time.
Now that we know what wine is and how biochemistry plays a role in making it, why are wines from different places made from the same grapes so different? Fortunately, the French have a term that answers this question very simply. The word is terroir. There is no English equivalent for this mysterious word. It’s defined very eloquently by Hugh Johnson, a renowned British wine writer as …much more than what goes on beneath the surface. Properly understood, it means the whole ecology of a vineyard: every aspect of its surroundings from bedrock to late frosts and autumn mists, not excluding the way a vineyard is tended, nor even the soul of the vigneron. While cleverly written, this sheds little light on what terroir actually is. The textbook definition states that terroir is the complete set of factors, tangible and intangible, that go into the grape-growing process. Again, not exactly clear, but better.
I like to use a story to give a better picture of what terroir is. I have a friend who grew up in the Piedmont region in Italy. This area is known for some of the most powerful red wines in the world. She’s been around vineyards and wine all of her life. We’ve drank wine together both casually and professionally for a few years now. The first time that we drank wine together, I noticed something that helped me understand terroir in a different way. We opened a bottle of Nebbiolo d’Alba, a wine made near where she’s from. When she put her nose to the glass to smell it, she slowly closed her eyes. Then she began to smile and her skin almost glowed. When she finally opened her eyes, she said, this smells like home. But, when she said it, her barely noticeable Italian accent was suddenly far more pronounced. Throughout the rest of the wine tasting, she actually spoke to me in Italian a few times before she realized that we were still sitting at the same table in a restaurant in Carytown rather than in a cantina in Alba. So, what happened? As someone who grew up in a wine culture, she could smell the soil where the grapes grew. She could smell the flowers and herbs that grow near the vines, she could smell the rainfall, and she could smell the cool breezes that blow across the vineyards. That’s terroir. It can literally transport you to a different time and place. That’s why I love being a wine professional. I want to open a bottle of wine and be mentally transported to where it’s from.
One of the most important things to note is that there are thousands of different types of grapes. The primary species used to make wine is called vitis vinifera. It’s native to Europe, the Mediterranean, and southwestern Asia. Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Merlot and all the grapes synonymous with the wines we all know and love are from the vitis vinifera family. Grapes don’t just provide the juice to make wine. The skins of the grape provide tannins, flavor, and color. The pulp provides water, sugar, and acids. The seeds can add bitterness. The ideal area to grow vitis vinifera is located between the 30th and 50th parallels in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Typically, the growing season is from early spring through the fall in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, spring begins in October, so the growing season runs from October through March.
Two other terms that you should be familiar with are Old World and New World. The Old World refers to places like France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Greece, and Hungary. The New World refers to most everywhere else that produces wine. Places like Argentina, Chile, the United States, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand are considered the New World. In general, the differences in Old World and New World wines come from wine-making practices (tradition) and from the effect of the land and climate on the grapes. Old World wines are often described as tasting lighter, having less alcohol and higher acidity, with a less fruity taste. New World wines are often described as tasting riper, having higher alcohol and less acidity with a fruitier taste. The biggest difference between the Old World and the New World is that the Old World has strict laws in place that dictate wine-making practices. This ultimately decides the wine’s style.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s answer one of my favorite questions: why do people hate French wines? During my years as a wine professional, I’ve discovered that people really don’t hate French wines. What they hate is that the labels on French wine bottles are so cryptic to them that it’s impossible to figure out what’s in the bottle. That’s more like frustration than hate. For instance, I have a friend who says that sometimes she likes Bordeaux and sometimes she doesn’t. After carefully listening to what she said about the wines she liked, I figured out why that was the case. In Bordeaux, the wines are blends. This is news to some, but what’s even bigger news is that Bordeaux is divided into two sections which are separated by the Gironde Estuary. The left section is referred to as the Left Bank and the right section is referred to as the Right Bank. Red wine from the Left Bank is made predominantly from Cabernet Sauvignon while red wine from the Right Bank is made predominantly from Merlot. Because my friend does not enjoy Merlot, it would stand to reason that Right Bank Bordeaux is not her favorite. Another comment that I’ve heard frequently is that people think that the Burgundy region only makes red wine. Burgundy is the name of a place, not the color of the wine. Red wine from Burgundy is made from Pinot Noir while white wine from Burgundy is made from Chardonnay.
Champagne is also commonly misunderstood. A phrase that I like to use to begin to help clear up the confusion is that ALL Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. Again, Champagne is the name of a place that produces a sparkling wine called Champagne. Any sparkling wine made outside of Champagne is not Champagne. There are a lot of amazing sparkling wines made all over the world using the exact same method used to make Champagne, but they cannot be called Champagne. Examples of this are Cava and Crement. Cava is a sparkling wine made in Spain from indigenous grapes. Crement is a name given to the best sparkling wines from France that are not made in Champagne. Crement de Loire, Crement du Jura, and Crement d’Alsace are examples of really good sparkling wines made using the same process used to make Champagne. Prosecco is a sparkling wine from Italy. Making Prosecco is far less time consuming than making Champagne, therefore it’s not as expensive to make and the savings are reflected in its price.
The last thing I would like to discuss is vegan wine and natural wine. All wines are not vegan friendly. That’s because fining agents, the processing aids used to stabilize and clarify some wines, are made from things like animal proteins and egg whites. Fining agents are filtered out but can be absorbed by the wine, making the wine not vegan-friendly. There are vegan-friendly wines on the market, so check the labels to find them. Natural wines are a concept rather than an actual wine category. At its core, natural wines are wines made with little to no intervention. Basically, wine made the way it was made before machinery and herbicides became the norm. I find them interesting, but they aren’t for everyone. If you’re adventurous, give some of them a try. You may find a new favorite beverage.
Wine can be an overwhelming endeavor. If you enjoy drinking wine, it’s definitely worth the effort to do some research about the things that you enjoy. It’s also good to take notes on the wines that you like, so that you can find them again the next time you’re out searching for wines. Attending wine tastings and sharing bottles with friends are also fun ways to learn more about all the different kinds of wines out there. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. That’s the best way to learn. Don’t be afraid to try new things. How else are you going to expand your palate? Most importantly, enjoy your wine journey. Wine is an amazing gift. Learning to appreciate it has been an unparalleled learning experience for me. I hope that others find it as fascinating as I do.