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How to Appreciate a Bottle of French Wine
Text by Phil Leventhal
© Copyright Phil Leventhal & BKWine
Recently, an American friend of mine here in Paris approached me, with the
desire to learn some basics of how to more fully appreciate a bottle of wine and
discern quality. Like many wine drinkers, she enjoys wine but never learned to
evaluate wine or appreciate its subtleties. To help her and the many wine
drinkers that would like to know more, I have written the following summary on
how to appreciate a bottle of French wine.
The complexity of wine
Wine affects four of our senses: touch, taste, smell and sight. It has one of
the most complex flavors of any of our foods, and what we taste can be affected
by many factors, including where and how the grapes were grown, how the
winemaker handled the grapes, the aging process, and how long they were stored
in oak barrels or glass bottles.
Before opening the bottle: the wine label
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  At
a restaurant, the server should show you the bottle and open in front of
you. Simply check the name of the wine and the year to make sure it is what
you ordered. Also, at a good restaurant, the server should let you smell the
cork (see below). Beware: if the server arrives at the table with an already
open bottle, it can mean that he refilled an old bottle with some cheap wine
out of a jug or box.
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| Reading the label. Look for the year, the percent alcohol content
(generally 10.5-12.5% for white wines and 12-14.5% for red wines), the
classification of the wine (for example, Appellation de Origine Contrôlée, Vin
de Pays, or Vin de Table in France), the name of the vineyard, and the vintage
(the year the grapes were harvested). It may also say “mis en bouteille à la
propriété”, which means that the wine was bottled on the property where it was
made (usually a good thing). If there is a label on the back, it may tell you
what kind of grapes went into the wine or a little about the vineyard. |
Opening the bottle: the cork
| When you first open a bottle of wine, pay close attention to the cork. If
it’s dried out and crumbles easily or breaks while being extracted, the bottle
may not have been stored properly so that the cork dried out. This could be
because the wine was stored standing up or because the bottle was stored in a
place where the temperature changed often. This could cause the cork to
shrink, allowing air to leak in, which can spoil the wine by oxidation or by
contamination with mould or bacteria.
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| Also, smell the cork. If it smells mouldy or excessively corky, the cork
has been contaminated by “cork rot”, which can ruin the flavor of the wine by
making it taste and smell mouldy. Once a bottle is tainted by cork rot, there
is nothing that can be done to remove the smell. This happens in as much as
10% of all wines, so don’t be surprised. If you are sure that it is a “corked”
wine, ask for a new bottle.
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| Also take a look to see what the cork is made of. If it’s a white or rose
white, don’t be necessarily put off by a plastic cork. That is becoming more
and more common, especially as real cork becomes more rare and expensive.
Plastic corks – even screw caps – are even being used for some lower-end or
more avant-garde red wines. If it is a real cork, take a look to see if it has
the name of the winery or other specifics printed on it. This costs extra for
the winemaker, so it can be the sign of a more a more highly valued bottle of
wine. |
  
How wine looks in the glass
Holding the glass
 When
you pick up a glass of wine, hold the glass by the stem. This keeps the wine
from being warmed by your hand and keeps the glass from getting smudged with
fingerprints.
Color and clarity
Take a look at the wine’s color and clarity, if possible against a white
background. This can give you important clues about the quality and taste of the
wine. You can hold the glass at an angle to be able to look through it easier.
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 If
the wine is excessively cloudy or carbonated (when it should not be), it may
have been spoiled by bacterial contamination or unfinished fermentation in the
bottle, problems that will ruin the taste of the wine. In red wines, however,
sediment at the bottom of the bottle is not unusual and can actually indicate
good acidity or that the winemaker simply chose to not filter the wine. The
sediment should not affect the flavor of the wine. Finally, you can avoid
getting the sediment in your glass by decanting the wine into another
container or simply handling the bottle and pouring carefully so as to not
disturb the sediment.
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| A brownish or orange hue in red or white wines indicates that the wine has
oxidized. Although this is normal in some very old wines, such as Porto or
Banyuls, in a white wine or younger red wine, it can give the wine an
excessively cooked and worn out flavor.
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| A bluish or purple hue to a red wine usually indicates that it is very
young. For example, a Beaujolais Nouveau will have a very purple-bluish tint
because it is not aged.
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| The intensity of the color of the wine can give you an idea of the
intensity of the flavor. |
Viscosity (thickness)
The idea of swirling the glass and looking for the “legs” or “tears” is an
old tradition. It used to be thought to indicate the quality of the wine or
perhaps its thickness (viscosity), but it simply indicates the amount of
alcohol: the more legs, the higher the alcohol content. However, it is difficult
for the untrained eye to notice a difference, and it can be affected by the
cleanliness of the glass.
The smell of wine
 The
aromas are the most complex and changeable aspect of the wine. They can vary
with the type of grape, where and how it was grown (the terroir), how it was
handled by the winemaker, the age of the wine, the storage conditions, and the
temperature at which it is served.
| Swirl the wine in the glass to release some of the aromas, put your nose
in, take a smell for a second, and think about what you smell. Some things to
look for are fruit and vegetal aromas, spices, aromas from oak barrels, and
even animal smells.
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|
 Swirling
helps the wine release its aromas. The colder the wine, the slower the aromas
are released, so as a wine warms, it may begin to smell and taste differently.
In addition, as a wine is left open to the air, some of the aromas can
oxidize, changing the aromas. Allowing a bottle of wine to “breathe” is often
useful for more full-bodied red wines because it can eliminate some less
pleasant aromas and allow others to become unmasked.
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| After you smell the wine, wait at least 10 seconds before you smell it
again because the nose becomes temporarily insensitive.
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| If you want to increase your sensitivity to the smells of the wine, do it
in a room without other strong aromas, and avoid wearing perfume or cologne.
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| There are several hundred kinds of compounds that can be smelled in wine,
and it is estimated that the nose can detect as many as 10,000 different
aromas. Here are some examples of common aromas in wine: |
Common wine aromas
Aroma
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Some wines that the aroma is found in
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Fruit
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| Apple, pear |
Many, especially Chardonnay |
| Tropical fruits, grapefruit |
Sauvignon Blanc, Champagne,
Gewurztraminer |
| Citrus |
Riesling, Muscat |
| Black cherry |
Pinot noir |
| Dark fruits |
Red wines |
| Cooked or dried fruit/jam |
Sherries, wines made from
partially dried grapes such as Amarone |
| Cranberry |
Red Rhone wines |
| Raspberry |
Beaujolais |
| Strawberry |
Beaujolais and some Burgundy wines |
Vegetables
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| Green pepper, green peas |
Cabernet sauvignon, Sauvignon
blanc, Cabernet franc |
| Grass, tea |
Many wines |
Flowers
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| Violet |
Pinot noir, Cabernet sauvignon |
Animals
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| Cat |
Sauvignon Blanc |
| Leather, horse, stable |
Many red wines |
Wood
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| Oak |
Barrel-aged wines |
Foods
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| Butter |
Many white wines, especially
California Chardonnays |
| Grilled meat |
Cabernet sauvignon |
| Rising bread (yeast) |
Champagne |
Spices
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| Vanilla, clove, tobacco |
Barrel-aged wines |
| Black pepper |
Syrah, Grenache, red Rhone wines |
| Smoke, tar |
Many red wines, Pouilly Fume |
| Mushrooms/earthiness |
Sauternes, old red Bordeaux |
| Honey |
Sauternes, sweet white wines,
Viognier |
  
The mouth feel and taste of wine
Take a sip of the wine, swirl it around your mouth, and focus on the taste
(acidity and sweetness), texture (astringency) and thickness (viscosity).
Taste
The human tongue can actually only sense five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter,
sour, and the less well-known umami or savory taste. It is the nose that does
most of the actual tasting. The “taste” of wine is really the balance between
sweet, sour, and savory flavors, although tannins can give a bitter taste. The
acidity of wine, which you can feel on the outside edges of your tongue, gives
wine freshness; without good acidity, the wine will taste flabby or flat. Sugar
in the wine is sensed most acutely in the front of the tongue, and can balance
the acidity and give the wine a fuller mouth feel. Also, a high alcohol content
can give a sweetish taste to wine.
Astringency
Astringency is that puckering or dry feeling found in red wines. It and
viscosity are largely responsible for the feeling of wine in the mouth.
Astringency in wine is due to tannins, which are natural compounds found in the
skins, seeds, leaves and stems of grapes and other plants. They can also be
increased in the wine by additives or by aging the wine in oak barrels. In
addition, tannins can also be found in other foods and beverages, including tea
and chocolate. Tannins were named for their use in the tanning of leather. That
puckery feeling happens because the tannins in the wine bind to proteins in our
saliva, making it feel dry rather than slick. You will generally feel this in
the back-middle part of your tongue.
Viscosity
Viscosity is the thickness of the wine and is due mostly to alcohol, sugar,
and other natural components such as glycerol. Viscosity is that smooth, thick
feeling in the mouth. It can also be affected by the processing of the wine. For
example, many wines have been subjected to a bacterial process that converts
fresh, green-tasting acids to more buttery, smooth-feeling acids. This is
especially popular in California white wines.
Burn
Sometimes if a wine is served too warm, is not well-harmonized, or has an
alcohol content that is very high, it can give a burning sensation in the back
of the mouth. This is mostly due to the wine being served to warm. Red wine
should usually be served just below room temperature (59-68°F) and white or rose
wine much cooler (46-57°F).
Phil Leventhal is a scientific writer specializing in the biological
sciences. Phil holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and has worked in academic research
as well as in biotechnology and pharmaceutics. He now works full-time as a
freelance writer and editor, most of which is for medical and scientific
journals. Phil has had a life-long love of food and cooking, which is why he
recently moved from the United States to Paris. He says, “I love wine and enjoy
helping wine lovers understand and appreciate the science behind its making and
appreciation.”
Phil would enjoy hearing from you by email at pleven2-at-yahoo-dot-com.
© Copyright Phil Leventhal & BKWine
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