The National Wine
UnClub
Newsletter
May/June 2009
Trés Important
So many perfectly valid concerns in life today vie for our attention given the complex and challenging state of the world. We are faced with a global economic recession, several ongoing conflicts including the restless Middle East, an upsurge of hardliner control in countries like Russia, and then there also is the possibility of ailments like the swine flu virus continuing to spread their insidious mayhem all over the globe as well. It's fair to say that these are tough times to live through and we would all probably agree!
However it's also true to say that the glory of the Spring season arrives inexorably each year despite global warming doomsday predictions. There is always something wonderful in life to celebrate: the joy of a newborn babe, the anniversary of a 50 year relationship, the graduation of multitudes of young hopeful students from high schools and colleges across our fair land. From this perspective, Life indeed marches on conquering in its movement manifold forms of adversity with seemingly effortless ease.
The excitement of a new vintage of quality wine brings this same feeling of the irrepressible nature of life. Many long-standing traditions of celebrating life surround vineyard harvest seasons of note in many wine-producing regions around the world. However past vintages of magnificent stature unfortunately become scarce and then vanish altogether as time marches on. It is necessary with wine, a perishable agricultural product, for us to look forward to new vintages that can rival former peaks of excellence if not surpass them.
It isn't uncommon for people to walk into or call our wine shops seeking some label of note with a specific vintage in mind. "Say, do you have any '04 Shafer Hillside Select on hand?" It's also just as common for our answer to be: "Sorry, no, that vintage has come and gone; we're waiting on the '05 release at this time." The frustration level may then rise as the vintage of choice disappears from market availability. We in the wine business share that frustration but as seasoned veterans in this field we also know that another great vintage is just around the corner.
Another tack to take with this scenario where a certain well-known label from an excellent vintage is no longer available is to offer the wine enthusiast an alternative - usually the product of a less well-known winery from the same region and same vintage that has proven to be equal in quality to the more trendy brand of choice. This requires that the wine customer has faith in the wine merchant to be steered in a new direction. The proof of course is in the taste of the wine and whether it truly lives up to the standard set by the more established winery.
With modern technology the importance of prime vineyard locations or seasonal growing conditions is lessened in the minds of sophisticated commercial wine producers. So what if the acids are deficient? We'll just add that ingredient back to the fermenting must to bring the finished wine back into balance! Too little sugar in the grapes, well, no problem, we'll add that as well! (This is called chaptalization in the wine industry.) Other less obvious adjustments to augment aroma, color, flavor, and shelf-life are made as well, all perfectly legal according to the various wine laws of each country, but questionable ethically.
A great wine in fact comes into being when Mother Nature's weather patterns allow the fruit of a well-situated vineyard site (vineyard sites determined sometimes after decades of research) to mature properly and then fashioned by the hand of a master winemaker/vigneron into a sublime expression of vinous magnificence. These wines should cost more than the manufactured drinkability of many commercial brands because of their purity of character and the level of expertise required by the winemaker to render this without agressive intervention.
This is the core element in the wine industry today that must be respected and preserved, not just as a thing of the past associated with great vintages of monumental wines no longer available for public consumption, but as something to be achieved in our production of such wines currently and into the future. We want more of the natural goodness that the world's premier vineyards can provide with less of the overt commercialism controlling winemaking practises today.
When the world's problems seem insurmountable it is a great relief to be able to relax with a fine artisanal wine shared hopefully over a lovely dinner with friends and family. These simple pleasures form the backbone of civilization and help bring us back to our senses as human beings on this troubled planet. We can be thankful that this is so!
Cheers!
Captain Vino