France: Wine laws
For centuries wine was essentially a local product but with the rise of modern transportation systems wine began to travel. this made wine into big business and thus and fraud became a profitable business. The fraudulent use of famous names was becoming more and more of a problem. So, the primary motivation for wine laws [...]
Vinification
Winemaker Intervention Degree of winemaker intervention can determine how clearly the terroir will (or will not) be expressed. The Principal Constituents of Grapes Sugars: The main sugars are glucose and fructose. These obviously build during the growing season. Acids: The most prominent acid in fully ripe grapes is tartaric acid. Malic acid is also present and will be higher [...]
Viticulture
Annual life cycle of the vine -Weeping (February in the Northern Hemisphere / August in the Southern Hemisphere) Vine awakens oozing out the cane ends that were pruned in the winter. It is a signal to prune for the spring growth. -Bud break (March to April NH / September to October SH) The buds open. Process is slower in [...]
History of wine
Origin of the Vine Current speculation is that the vinifera vine’s origins lie in the area known as Transcaucasia, in the areas of modern day Georgia and Armenia, especially in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. It may be where the first wild vines vitis vinifera sylvestris and vitis vinifera sativa were cultivated. Evidence of pips from [...]
Storage & Cellar Management
Wine is sensitive to fluctuations in: -Temperature -Humidity -Light -Vibration Taken to extreme these conditions can ruin a wine. Temperature Constant temperature is key. 13° Celcius is considered ideal storage temperature. Over 24° Celcius, the temperature is too hot and can lead to “cooked” wine. Also, major fluctuations cause problems. The lower the temperature, the slower the maturation. Wine ages better in large formats i.e. [...]
EVENT CALENDAR
Wine Access- Decanter
- Wine Spectator
