Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
can be quite distinct. When you're familiar with sauvignon blanc, it should not
remind you of chardonnay. Bouquet, in the academy of wine, refers to fragrances
that come from sources other than the grapes, such as the vanillalike fragrance of
French oak. Of course, neophytes can't tell much difference.
An influential California wineman at the turn of the last century, Henry
Lachman, wrote a monograph in which he described each sip of wine as having
“a first taste, a second taste, and the goodbye.” That's a cute way of dealing with
the physiology of our mouths: In the front of the mouth, we taste for sweetness
and feel the body of the wine; in the middle, we find acidity and the flavors of
the grape; and in the back, we sense the finish or “goodbye,” which can be long
or short, supple or astringent. Imagine a tasting as having checkpoints in your
mouth: front, middle, and back. Even this concept can require patience to
detect. Don't simply scarf what's in the glass; let it swish around your mouth for
a good while.
As you notice how a wine can be full and lush in the front of your mouth, then
finally linger nicely (or fail to linger), it remains for you to decide what shapes you
prefer in your wines. Red wines in particular show fairly clear shapes. One of the
additional challenges in tasting red wines lies in recognizing that the shape changes
with age. Rough, puckery, young, red wines can become supple and subtle.
Like tracking sports statistics and collecting comic books, the details can hap-
pily consume fans. It's best done by arranging a vertical tasting: several vintages of
the same wine. ( Horizontal tastings are several producers tasted from the same vin-
tage.) Even three to five wines from vintages spread over, say, 10 years will give
you a good idea of how much age you want to have on your red wines. Tasting
rooms often have “reserve” wines or “library” wines that you can acquire for tast-
ing. These samples are almost always more expensive.
GRAPE VARIETALS IN THE WINE COUNTRY
Which are the most prevalent grape varietals in California Wine Country? Here
they are, along with their dominant flavors.
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
This has become California's most well-known varietal. The small, deep-colored,
thick-skinned berry yields medium- to full-bodied red wines that are highly tan-
nic when young and often require a long aging period to achieve their greatest
potential. Cabernet, sometimes called “cab sav,” is often blended with other
related red varietals, such as merlot and cabernet franc (see below), into full-
flavored red table wines, which are wines with relatively low alcohol content.
Historically, cabernet is matched with red-meat dishes and strong cheeses,
although increasingly, strict pairings are being eschewed as drinkers are encour-
aged to simply drink what they like.
CHARDONNAY
Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape variety in the Wine Country, and
you'll find a range of it, from delicate, crisp wines to ones that are buttery and
oaky—no grape benefits more from the oak aging process. They tend to have
deeper golden hues as they increase in richness. This complex and aromatic grape
is one of the few that doesn't require blending; it's also the principal ingredient for
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