Transcript Omar Khayyam

They say drinking wine is a sin.
If those who love wine and love go to
hell, paradise must be empty
Omar Khayyam
Nishapur, ca. 1050-1123
Is this wine taste serious?
Not much, but let us try to chat in a not
too chaotic way.
Languages?
English, Italian?
Pedo-climatic conditions in
Spain (1)
Most of the country is a plateau with
• Low organic matter content in the soil
and low water capacity.
• Low rainfall
• High number of sunny hours
• High difference of temperature daynight
Pedo-climatic conditions in
Spain (2)
Consequences:
• Generally good a priori conditions for
wine making
– But does this mean that Spanish wine is
always good?
• Slope and orientation is less important
than in France or most of Italy.
• Difference of quality between years is
smaller (but there is a difference)
Wine production in different countries
(average 10 years)
Francia
Italia
Germania
Grecia
Spagna
Portogallo
Superficie
* 1000 ha
produzione
(Mhl)
880
877
102
78
1225
240
56
59
12
5
31
9
Which is the percentage of good wine?
resa
media
hl/ha
64
67
117
62
25
37
The D.O.C. in Spain
• Relatively few: 54?. (Italy >250)
• Very few sub-denominations (Italy >
1200)
• No sub-denominations defined by the
grape variety.
• They are all “D.O.C.G.” (controlled by
INDO)
Some standard regulations
Keywords for ageing
Reds
minimum
age
minimum in
oak barrel
Crianza:
24 months
6 months
Reserva
36 months
12 months
Gran
Reserva
60 months
24 months
Recently: “Roble”, often to indicate less than 6 months in
wood
DOC Spagnole
The tongue and the basic tastes
Glasses
• General rules:
– Transparent, no carvings, slightly closed, leaving
space to develop the smell, high enough to avoid the
smell of your hand
• Two main types:
– Large
– Small
– A lot of shapes: tulip, AFNOR, “ballon”, Cognac
• When to use a large glass?
– Powerful wines not beyond the optimal age
– Hint: pour a bit in a standard glass; if it improves after
a while, decant and use a large glass
Smoothness, balance
A wine is balanced if
Sweet substances, alcohol (<14%), sugar = acid substances
(fixed acidity) + bitter substances (polyphenoles)
Luca Maroni, Guida dei vini italiani, No specification of units
“Indice de souplesse”:
Alcohol (%vol)-[Fixed acidity(grammes/litre)+tanins (grammes/litre)]
< 5 : thin wines
5 to 6-7 : “souples” (balanced?)
>6-7: Thick, fat
Emile Peynaud, Connaissance et travail du vin
Very simplified: what about effects of ageing, for example?
In general
• Spanish reds are better than whites
• Very few whites improve several years in the bottle
• High alcohol content, full-bodied, “impegnativi”.
– Some labels lie in the “opposite sense” (declaring less
alcohol)
• The smell of oak is often dominant
• Reds are marketed rather late, when they start to be
ready (tendency  )
– Examples: Vega Sicilia often sells the best wines when they
are 20-25 years old.
– Sweet wines, “olorosos”
Production structure
• Big producers are dominant (tendency
irregular)
• Relatively few producers use 100% grapes
from the own vineyards (tendency  )
• North generally better than south,
• Often good quality-price ratio in the south for
producers that have upgraded their
technique.
Cultivation style
• Most often stand-alone without trellis
• Low density: 1000-1500 plants/ha (tendency )
The traditional n.1 D.O.C.: Rioja
• Traditionally smooth and strongly wooded (American
oak)
• “Modern” style: more concentration and less wood
• Rioja de cosechero: semi-carbonic fermentation
The traditional n.1 D.O.C.: Rioja
• Three sub-D.O.C.: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa (Basque
country), Rioja Baja
• Some white, traditionally very oaked. Also some fruity
white.
The most fashionable D.O.C.:
Ribera del Duero and Priorato
Ribera del
Duero
Priorato
• Full bodied reds
• Much smaller production
• Sometimes non justified prices
Ribera del Duero
Protos: The pioneer of
Ribera del Duero
Tapas: The Iberic pork (Pata negra)
• De bellota: It should have eaten only oak acorns
• De recebo: fed with soja and acorn the last months
• Cruzado: hybrid race
Tapas
• Chorizo:
• Specific spice: “pimentón” (most often mild)
• Best if “pata negra”
• Lomo: Similar but a single piece of meat (=“lonza”)
• Cheese: most Spanish cheese is Manchego-like
(Zamorano, Esgueva, Roncal, etc.)
•
•
•
•
Keywords: curado, semi, mezcla
Idiazabal: sheep, smoked.
Some mild cow cheese along the northwest coast
Cabrales: “blue”. How to distinguish craft and industrial.
• Cecina: similar to Bresaola
The glass and the wine
• Maximum level of filling: about 1/3
for the AFNOR glass.
• Much less for larger glasses
• Need of space to concentrate
aromas
• More than that makes oxygenation
difficult
Why Spanish wine is not at the level of
its potential quality?
• Technical knowledge of producers.
• Studies in oenology too recent
• Too many people still saying “the good wine is the one
from the farmer, without chemistry”
• Grape varieties
Grape varieties: the ones to keep
• Tempranillo = tinto fino (Ribera Duero) = Cencibel (Mancha) = Ull de llebre
(Catalonia) ~ Tinta de Toro: Best results among national varieties.
Medium-high body and a variety of aromas.
• Good potential for reds: Garnacha (more fruity), Monastrell
(Mourvèdre), Mazuelo, Graciano, Prieto picudo.
• Interesting for whites: Albariño, Loureiro, Treixadura,
Macabeo, Xarel.lo, Perellada, Verdejo (Verdicchio), Viura
• Specific for sweet wines: Pedro Ximenez, Moscatel
• French varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon.
Not much but growing. Interesting the coupage Tempranillo +
Cabernet Sauvignon (+ Merlot).
Grape varieties: the ones to forget
They occupy most of the vineyard area in Spain
Often cultivated because they are resistant to draught
• Airén: the largest area worldwide
• Bobal, Pardillo, Zalema, Jaén
To avoid for table wine:
• Palomino (good for Sherry)
• Blanca Cayetana (good for brandy)
Sparkling wine: “cava”, a special D.O.C.
• Most sparkling wine is “Método clásico” (Méthode
Champenoise)
• Cava: Mainly from Cataluña with a few exceptions
Jerez (Sherry)
• Crianza en soleras
• Velo de flor (mould)
• Fino, manzanilla: relatively long aging in cask, but they
should not be kept longtime
Jerez (2)
• Fino, manzanilla: relatively long aging in cask, but they
should not be kept longtime
• Main difference: influence of the sea
• Amontillado, oloroso: oxidative ageing