Volatile or Vinegar?
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By Robin Garr
In times past, wine left in an open bottle or cask
would so quickly turn to vinegar that the word "vinegar" itself
comes directly from the French "vin aigre," or "sour wine."
To this day, many people assume that wines too old to drink turn
to vinegar in the bottle. Actually, a more typical destination for
wine as it goes over the hill with age is a dull, nutlike aroma more
akin to cheap Sherry than salad dressing.
In fact, vinegary wine isn't much of a problem any more, and we
have the scientist Louis Pasteur to thank for that. Called into
service by the French government in 1862 to figure out what was
causing wine exports to turn sour before they got to market, Pasteur
put samples under his microscope, found them alive with bacteria,
and, eventually, invented the process that we now call
"pasteurization" in his honor.
Pasteurization - carefully bringing a food or beverage to a
below- boiling temperature sufficient to kill off spoilage bacteria
- is more commonly practiced with milk nowadays than wine. But the
lesson that Pasteur taught wine makers is still with us: Take care
to avoid exposing wine to contaminants and air during production,
and you'll protect it against spoilage.
If few modern wines reek of pure vinegar, "volatile acidity" - an
aromatic characteristic in wine that results from the vinegar-
producing bacterium called "acetobacter" - is still an important
piece of the wine-tasting picture. Today, inspired by a rather
"volatile" Chilean Merlot, let's take a quick look at this aspect of
basic wine chemistry.
Acetobacter is found everywhere from grapeskins to winery walls
and floors and even oak barrels. The bacterium itself has no
particular aroma or flavor, but in contact with oxygen in wine and
other food products, it produces both acetic acid (vinegar) and
ethyl acetate (another volatile component that causes aromas akin to
furniture polish, nail-polish remover or airplane glue).
Pasteur recommended high-temperature pasteurization to kill the
acetobacter bacteria. This works, but unfortunately, heating alters
the wine. Fortunately, there's an alternative, as the wine scientist
Emile Peynaud points out: It's possible to foil acetobacter by
making wine under scrupulously clean conditions and storing it away
from air, filling barrels to the top and keeping them full and
replacing any remaining air in the container with inert gases to
drive out the oxygen. This simple advice has all but eliminated
vinegar from modern wines.
But some wines still show volatile acidity (which wine tasters
often abbreviate as "VA"). It's imperceptible to most tasters in
tiny traces, but a fatal flaw in excess, when the furniture polish
and airplane-glue characteristics of ethyl acetate become dominant.
In between, at the edge of perception, volatile acidity becomes
another of those controversial issues that divide wine tasters into
opposing camps. Some experts - including Peynaud - consider any
trace of VA a serious flaw. But others argue that traces of it
"lift" a wine, enhancing its natural fruit flavors with a soprano
counterpoint of "high-toned" aromas. Great dessert wines, not
excluding the top Sauternes, may benefit from this approach; and the
late Max Shubert, the creator of Australia's great Penfolds Grange,
reportedly deliberately induced volatile acidity in some vintages
(by allowing air into some of the casks during aging) to enhance
their fruit.
The Montes Chilean Merlot tasted today is no Grange, but it
offers a good example of a wine with a "lifted" volatile aroma. Not
at all vinegary, it shows an elusive "dusty" scent that's
reminiscent of fine old furniture at first ... and then, as your
senses zero in, it's furniture polish, a high-toned scent that is to
the taste buds as a high violin note is to the ears: edgy, even
piercing, but not quite shrill or screechy.
I'll confess: It's not my favorite wine characteristic. Put me in
Peynaud's camp. But if you're interested in evaluating wine like the
pros, you'll want to understand VA, whether you like it or not.
WINE TASTING 101: Both of today's wines, and several other
Merlots, are featured in our Wine Tasting 101 project this month as
we focus on "Exploring Merlot." For more information on this free,
interactive wine-education project, visit
http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/wt101.phtml
MONTES 2001 "SPECIAL Cuvée" COLCHAGUA VALLEY RESERVE MERLOT
($10.49)
The characteristic cherry-and-vanilla scent of Merlot made in oak
dominates the aroma of this very dark garnet wine from Chile, along
with aromatic notes that offer a good illustration of volatile
acidity in red wine: High-toned but not unpleasant, literally
"lifting" the wine's fruit flavors. Ripe, tart fruit flavors are
held in place by a firm acidic backbone, with simple fruit and
snappy acidity in a medium-long finish. The volatility seems to
increase a bit with time in the glass after dinner, taking on a more
intrusive furniture-polish (or, if you prefer, "floral") quality;
perhaps it's best with food. U.S. importer: T.G.I.C. Importers Inc.,
Woodland Hills, Calif. (April 4, 2003)
FOOD MATCH: Good with any red meat or mild cheese; it was fine
with a simply prepared pork chop braised with potatoes and onions in
the French bonne maman style.
VALUE: Appropriate value for the price.
WHEN TO DRINK: Safe to hold for a couple of years, but I don't
see it actually improving in the cellar.
WEB LINK: Here is the Montes Website:
http://www.monteswines.com
COLUMBIA CREST 1999 "GRAND ESTATES" COLUMBIA VALLEY MERLOT
($10.99)
This inky blackish-purple Washington State Merlot shows distinct
chocolate-covered cherry aromas with forward, almost grapey fruit.
Ripe and soft on the palate, so fruity that it comes across as
almost sweet, it's a simple but approachable wine, easy to like, the
kind of "crowd pleaser" that moves briskly in restaurant by-
the-glass sales. (April 4, 2003)
FOOD MATCH: Works well to wash down pork chops; will go easily
with just about any red meat or poultry.
VALUE: Appropriately priced.
WHEN TO DRINK: Should hold up for a year or two on the wine rack,
but don't expect it to improve with aging; best while its simple,
forward fruit is fresh.
WEB LINK: You'll find the Columbia Crest Website at:
http://www.columbia-crest.com |
