Page 12 - Italian American Herald - March 2020

12 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | MARCH2020 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD
VINI D’ITALIA
Wine-speak: Finding the depths and working on your tannins
By Frank Cipparone
When baseball fans argue the merits of a pitcher’s slider they’re not talking about a mini-sandwich. Jazz
lovers know bebop from West Coast cool. Just about any area of expertise you can name has a unique jargon, an insider’s lingo that can be incomprehensible if you’re not in the know.
Wine is no different. Some terms are obvious, even to a novice. Fruity, texture, intense and mouth-feel are self-explanatory.
But what about corked? Aren’t most
bottles corked? Taken literally, that would be a disaster, since it means
the wine is spoiled, emitting “off” odors similar to a pile of wet newspapers in a musty basement, or the pungent whiff of nail polish remover.
The key to deciphering wine-speak is to keep in mind that all wine contains four natural ingredients. Acidity, fruit, tannin and alcohol are the prime materials behind everything we smell, taste and sense. They are present at fermentation and the starting point for descriptive reviews and articles
in which everyday words take on shades of meaning in a wine-related context.
A good example is body. It’s a logical assumption that a full-bodied wine has substance and will feel “bigger” in the mouth. What it actually indicates is the level of alcohol, which in turn is a measure of grape ripeness. Generally speaking,
higher percentages of alcohol come from grapes containing more sugar and make for wines sometimes as decadent or luxurious. Lower levels are more common in white wines and rose varieties, so they feel lighter.
Here is a sampling of other commonly used (and often overused) wine words:
Breathe – When you uncork a bottle you give wine its first contact with air since it was sealed, a sort of artificial respiration necessary for it to shake off the effects of time in a bottle. There’s also decanting, which exposes more of the wine’s surface to air and accelerates the time it takes
for the wine to open, meaning it’s ready
to drink.
Depth – As you keep tasting you might notice there’s more than meets the palate as the wine opens up and reveals its qualities. A wine that stays the same from start to finish is linear, a one-note tune with no crescendo.
Acidity – That lively, watery sensation in your mouth that can range from lip- smacking to stridently tart, the energetic lift that some call racy, nervous, jazzy. Without it wine would be neutral at best but more likely flabby and lacking pizazz.
Tannin – This is the backbone of wine, that holds everything in place as it develops. Ripe tannins make wine smooth and pleasant; tough tannins are harsh, bitter
and cause an astringent sensation on the gums. If a wine ages well the tannins will mellow and become more friendly.
Aggressive – Any wine that has too much acidity or tannin can quickly wear out its welcome.
Closed – The opposite of open, usually denoting a young wine considered tight or walled off, all the undeveloped good stuff needing more time to come together.
Concentrated – Lots of rich, ripe fruit and depth, a positive unless it’s so thick and jammy it’s almost chewable.
Lean – The flip side of concentrated, so closed there’s nothing more than the bare essentials. To be fair, there are great wines that are lean that will take years to reach their potential.
Mid-palate – After the first sip, as
you react to your first sensory impression, comes the point where your mouth gets comfortable and you start to sort out
the flavors and characteristics.
Perfume – No, not Chanel or Jean Nate’, but all wine has it, especially maturing ones whose aromas change as they age, hopefully with grace.
Rustic – Some rough edges, a not-unpleasant and direct old-school wine with no frills.
Silky – The opposite of rustic, maintaining a consistently smooth mouth-feel as it opens up and the sensations emerge.
Purity – When the fruit flavors of
a specific grape come through they taste like an actual peach, blackberry, etc. This results from fermentation, not additives.
Round – A mouth-filling, rich texture with lower acidity and tannins that aren’t astringent.
Length – Also known as aftertaste, the amount of time what you’ve been drinking stays with you, and considered a hallmark of well-made wine. A short wine doesn’t hold your attention and has already left the table.
Oaky – Does anyone really know how oak tastes? A convenient fallback to describe a woody, barrel-like aroma that in older wines can take on subtle suggestions of vanilla, coffee beans, espresso, even caramel.
Earthy – Smells like the soil it came from – loamy and fertile, with traces
of mushrooms and dried vegetation.
Gamey – Akin to earthy, but more feral, meaty and smoky.
Oxidized – This is expected in fine sherry but a sign that a regular wine is on its way out.
Dry – All wine is dry unless it contains residual sugars left after fermentation, making it a riper, more alcoholic semi- sweet to full-on dessert wine.
Balance – The ultimate compliment, an elegant and refined wine in which the four basic elements are so in synch that none stands out. IAH
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