Newsletter Spotlight:

A Quick and Easy Method for Measuring Phenolic Compounds

Phenolic compounds such as tannins and anthocyanins are important for the structure, mouthfeel, color, and “age-ability” of a wine.

Tracking phenolics at various stages throughout the winemaking process can tell us many things: they can tell us about the maturity/ripeness of the fruit, they can tell us about the extraction profile in a fermenting wine, and they can tell us about how the wine is developing as it ages.

Phenolics are a complicated topic, both in terms of the best way to measure them as well as how we then interpret and apply those data. Analysts and winemakers alike are still struggling to fully wrap our minds around them. So a complicated, labor-intensive method for testing them rarely seems worthwhile, especially for a small winery.

One alternative method for a quick estimate of the major classes of phenolic compounds in wine is known as the Skogerson or Skogerson-Boulton assay. It does not require any special chemical reagents or any long incubation times, but only a UV-Vis scanning spectrophotometer and a special sample cuvette.

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image 1: Wine Chemistry workshop, June 2018

Series- Wine Professionals Out of the Winery

Recently the third installment of the “Somm” films was released, simply named “Somm 3”.  If you are unfamiliar with these films, they are documentaries centering on the world of wine professionals within the Guild of Sommeliers. The first film follows four Master Sommelier prospects as they study for the intense three-part exam, which culminates in a blind tasting where the exam takers have to “call” the wine and describe everything from year, grape variety, to country, and producer.  The second film looks at the wine industry, and how wine is made from grape to bottle. Some of the world’s most iconic wines and winemakers are featured along with some of the original film one cast. This third film is based on blind tasting. Three icons in the wine world, Master Sommelier Fred Dame, Wine Critic Jancis Robinson, and Wine Merchant Steven Spurrier, taste blind through a series of wines, contrasted by the young sommeliers holding blind tastings of their own.

While the films are certainly entertaining, they, unfortunately, don’t accurately reflect the life of a sommelier. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a sommelier as “a waiter in a restaurant who has charge of wines and their service: a wine steward”. Essentially, a sommelier’s job is in the hospitality industry, advising and serving diners wines, or other beverages (they have knowledge in beer and spirits as well). Other job responsibilities include managing a wine collection at a restaurant, or series of restaurants, training other serving staff on wine pairings and sourcing wines from distributors or producers for the establishment. Sommeliers can have an accreditation, but this isn’t always necessary.

There is one group that specifically trains sommeliers. This is the Court of Master Sommeliers. This group is whom the four sommeliers were training with in the first Somm film. There are four levels, with invitations required from the court before studying for the final two levels (Advanced Sommelier, and Master Sommelier). It is rigorous training to reach the advanced levels, but the rewards seem to be high as well.

Figuring Out Formulas

Choosing that Bottle of Bubbly for the Holidays

It’s that time of year!  A time to celebrate with friends and family.  What better way to commemorate the year than with some sparkling wine?  You might be wondering, though, what to bring to the party.  This article is a breakdown of how to interpret the label so you can bring the right sparkling addition to the festive spread.
 
Method
First and foremost, Champagne wines are exclusively produced from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Pinot Meunier varieties using the traditional method (Méthode Champenoise) in the Champagne region of France.  Classifying any other sparkling wine that does not fit these criteria (among others) as ‘Champagne’ is incorrect.  In fact, there are 6 major methods that produce sparkling wines.  Each method results in a different style of bubbly. These include the traditional method, tank method, transfer method, ancestral method, continuous method, and carbonation. The traditional method costs more in terms of production, compared to the other methods. The simplest method, carbonation, is when a still wine is carbonated in a pressurized tank. The two methods you will usually see on the shelves include the traditional method and the tank method (used for Prosecco or Lambrusco)
 
Sweetness categories
‘Dosage’ is the last step in Méthode Champenoise before final corking. The dosage is usually prepped several weeks in advance and is a concentrated sugar solution (60-70%) dissolved in high-quality aged white wine. Preferably, the dosage is the same as the cuvee wine and occasionally brandy is added to the dosage. The final sweetness of the sparkling wine is adjusted by adding the dosage (Table 1).  For reference, the sweetness of peanut butter is comparable to the sweetness of a doux (at 5% sugar). 

Bubbles
Sparkling wines are produced with different levels of pressure, thus affecting the perception of taste.  Generally, the higher the pressure, the finer the bubbles.  Some terms you might see on the label include sparkling or semi-sparkling.  Semi-sparkling wines are under 1 - 2.5 atmospheres (14.7 – 37 psi).  If you think about the pressure of your car tires (30 psi), this should put the pressure inside the bottle into context.  Wines with pressure greater than 3 atmospheres are labeled as sparkling.  Pop!
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