Amanda Barnes takes a look at the winemaker's magic box of tricks.
I guess naively I always thought wine was very simple to make: pick some grapes, let them ferment and hey presto! You have wine. I figured it was probably discovered in some backwater farmland in Ancient Greece sometime when a forgetful farmer left his basket of picked grapes out in the sun too long and under the watchful eye of an imperturbable goat, the juice gradually turned into wine – a discovery to the delight of the Greek family that Sunday afternoon and to future wine drinkers around the world. How wine was actually 'discovered' is a mystery, but what we do know is that people have been making it since at least 6000BC in Georgia. The oldest winery found so far dates back to 4000BC in Armenia and has relics of wine presses and fermentation vats. If they were that advanced 6,000 years ago, chances are the 'discovery',with my goat as the first eye witness, was long before then.
Something we perhaps neglect to realise though is that winemakers have also been adding things to their wine for a couple of thousand years too. We are often misled to think that 100 years ago, everything was 'natural' – there were no chemicals added to food or drinks and that using 'additives' is a nasty development since the chemical revolution and McDonalisation of society. In fact, winemakers have always used additives in wine – it was developed simultaneously as an integral part of winemaking. Even the Romans would throw in lots of sulphur to their wine.
One of the biggest clues that wine is not just fermented grape juice is when you see labels on bottles stating that they are vegan, or even vegetarian. What? Go back a minute. Vegan? Vegetarian? Why wouldn't it be? Animal products in wine?! This is where you read a bit further and see: 'contains milk' or 'contains eggs' which can be pretty confusing for new wine drinkers who thought they were just drinking grape juice. Read more...
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General
Hey Presto! The Winemaker´s box of magic tricks...
Mendoza Reserve
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While nearly 70% of Mendoza’s visitors to wineries are Argentine, Bodegas de Argentina recorded in 2010 that the majority (around 60%) of them were actually from Buenos Aires rather than local. |
Visiting a winery with an Andean backdrop is the quintessential Mendocino experience. So how come the locals don´t do it? Gwynne Hogan and Amanda Barnes take a look. The Wine Routes of Uruguay
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Uruguay is the little country between Argentina and Brazil on the coast. It’s not Paraguay, and they are separate countries. Sounds patronizing, but its surprising how many Uruguayans will tell you anecdotes of how most westerners they meet actually have no idea where this little gem of a country is. And if you look at any bottle of Uruguayan wine, they almost all put a map of South America on the bottle, highlighting where their country is. |
Amanda Barnes hops over the Rio De La Plata to learn more about Uruguay's Wine Scene. 24 Hours in the Life of Winemaker
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April 25th: 12am It’s midnight. The winery is much cooler, but I’m still sweating like a pig. I am running around like a bit of a wild man, monitoring tanks, tasting juice, taking temperatures and breaking down the caps. I have seven full tanks at the moment and the caps (grapes risen to the top) need breaking every five to seven hours. |
Although Mendoza celebrates with fiestas and siestas during harvest, winemakers are at their busiest time of the year. Amanda Barnes writes 24 hours in the life of winemaker Brennan Firth.Comó Enamorarlas con Vino
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"Comó Enamorarlas con Vino," written by Luis Jait and Gonzalo Alonso, is the perfect coffee table book, wine table is more like it, for both English and Spanish speakers. Within the book lie several hidden linguistic gems that will easily bring a smile to the face of any reader. One such statement is, "There is no candor in wines or in women; both have only one destiny…to inebriate us in the best possible way." From the beginning of the book, Jait and Alonso´s creative use of language provide readers with a creative and captivating explanation of wine' relationship to women. |
After reading "Comó Enamorarlas con Vino," by Luis Jait and Gonzalo Alonso, Molly Hetz just can't stop raving about the book. Check out her book review, and go out and get your very own copy!More Articles...
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