In spite of what you may have heard, wine lovers are not perfect. We need New Years resolutions too. Here are mine:
· I will lose 30 pounds (OK, that’s out of the way).
· I will taste every wine I come across that I’ve never heard of before. This is a very rewarding resolution. In 2008 I learned about grillo, a delightful, light, crisp wine from Sicily that tastes a little like green tea. Couple of years ago I tasted a cabernet sauvignon allegedly made in Cuba. One out of two isn’t bad.
· I will try wines from every new wine area I learn about. Ever have a syrah from British Columbia? It’s by Mission Hill, and it tastes of black plums, tobacco, black pepper and red meat. Yes, all at once.
· Speaking of that, I will adopt the philosophy of illegitimati non carborundum (look it up; they won’t let me say it here in English) when people get on my case about my enthusiastic wine descriptions. It’s my hobby. As Billy Joel would say, I have been a fool for lesser things.
· In hard economic times, I will become relentless in pursuit of really nice wines under $10. Last year’s winner was the 2007 Bodega Norton Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina: chocolate-cherry aromas and flavors; soft, ripe and mellow; $9.
· I will take with a grain of salt those medical studies that say wine prevents heart attack, stroke, glaucoma, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. I will take comfort that those researchers are raising some of the healthiest mice on the planet.
· I will taste an English wine, if I can find one (and work up my courage). The British press says that, due to global warming, there are more than 200 wineries today in the sceptered isle. And if English wines are as good as English food, well….
· Oh, don’t write in. There’s nothing I love more than strawberries with clotted cream. (I just wonder how they clot it.)
· Even though Chateau Mouton Rothschild’s price has plummeted by half to less than $600 a bottle, I will not urge a federal bailout of the wine industry.
· I will try not to lose my taste for expensive wines. I will try to cultivate richer friends. (If they have a boat, so much the better.)
News of the weird in wine
The 2005 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild is just sitting on wine shop shelves, even though its $549 price is half what it was going for six months ago. Hard economic times hit even rich connoisseurs.
Copia, the wine museum opened by Robert Mondavi and Julia Child, is closed.
England, to encourage moderation and health, is pondering doing away with happy hour. So much for "this happy breed of men."
On a happier note, researchers now say drinking wine may help to reverse Alzheimer's Disease.
Hilary Swank to make wine movie
Star alert! Oscar-winning actor Hilary Swank, left, has bought the rights to the book French Women Don’t Get Fat, and plans to film it as a romantic comedy.
Written by a female exec from the Champagne house Veuve Clicquot, it’s about the “French Paradox” -- how the Gauls can eat their country’s fat-laden diet, drink red wine and stay slim and healthy.
Could it be the latest Sideways?
Consumer org lists calories, alcohol of drinks
Did you know that Amstel Light has 3.5 percent alcohol, while a regular Budweiser has 5 percent? Or that a 1.5-ounce shot of Capt. Morgan’s Original Spiced rum has 86 calories, while a shot of Seagram’s Gin has 120?
There are a number of surprises in a chart titled Alcohol Facts just released by the Consumer Federation of America.
The Washington-based consumer group is putting out the list because it says the federal government has failed to do so despite 30 years of prodding.
“We think this is important information, and consumers don’t have it now,” says CFA spokesman Chris Waldrop.
Seeking low-acid wines? Read on
Reader Diane Smith e-mails: “Are there any wines that do not contain any or very low acid content? I can't drink carbonation, beer or wine. Any suggestions on wine would be appreciated. Thanks.”
Thanks for the question, Diane.
First, only champagnes and sparkling wines have any significant carbonation, so they’re pretty easy to avoid.
Second, about a year ago I wrote a wine column about acid in wines. Here's part of what it said:
* Red wines tend to be lower in acid than whites.
* Dry wines tend to be lower in acid than sweet wines.
* Wines from warm areas like Chile, Australia and Central California tend to be lower in acid than wines from cooler areas like Mendocino, Germany, Alsace, Champagne, Northern Italy and such.
Here's the longer version, for those who are interested:
All grapes produce fruit acids -- tartaric and malic -- as they develop. In cool climates, acids are higher; in warm climates, acids are lower. After fermentation, winemakers put many white wines and most red wines through a second process called called malolactic fermentation to produce the rich, round wines Americans love. This converts the sharp malic acids into softer lactic acids similar to those in milk.
When the wines are finished, their acids are measured in two ways -- total acid (TA) and pH. Here's how they work:
* TA or Total Acid (the higher the TA, the higher the acid):
-- 1.0 grams per liter (g/l) is too high; the wine is tart and sour.
-- 0.4 percent g/l is too low; the wine is flat and bland.
-- A typical California wine is around 0.6 percent g/l.
* PH, another way of measuring acid, works in reverse -- the lower the pH, the higher the acid:
-- A pH of 4.0 is too high, meaning too little acid; the wine is likely to spoil.
-- A pH of 3.0 is too low; the wine is tart.
-- A typical California white wine has a pH of about 3.4; a typical California red has a pH of about 3.6.
Sometimes you'll find these values on the back label. If not, you can Google the winery's website, look for "tasting notes" or "technical data" and find the acid values.
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Posted by Fred Tasker at 05:17 PM
