Ask the Enology Student.

Cafe Society
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I never really thought I’d do one of these ‘Ask the whatever’ threads, but I think this could be good for me.

So, here’s the deal. I’m a Viticulture and Enology student at our local JC, with thoughts of continuing my education at either a CSU (Sonoma State) or UC (Davis), but those are really more long term dreams/goals than solid plans. I’ve worked in the wine industry here in Sonoma County for 7 years now, with my main area of expertise being packaging (corks, caps, foils, labels, glass, etc.) and TTB label law.
Last spring I completed the Court of Master Sommeliers Intro course and passed the exam that follows. Right now I am studying for the Wine and Spirit Education Trust Level 3 Advanced exam . I am scheduled to take that exam this spring.
Once I do, I will enter the WSET Diploma program (pdf, boring), and study and travel and study and travel some more, with the long (long) term goal (dream) of entering the Master of Wine program. The ultimate dream is to make it all the way to an invitation to take the Master of Wine exam. Hopefully within 10 years time. But, I’m getting ahead of myself, and that is mostly just a fantasy right now anyway. I’m not sure where all of this will take me professionally, right now it’s mostly just out of passion and interest. I drink a glass or two of wine almost every night.

Anyway, this is where I think opening a thread like this could prove to be helpful to me (and you?)…
My instructors and professors are some of the most knowledgeable around in their fields, as are many of my co-workers. My husband and I are currently housing a student intern from the University of Bordeaux who is nearly finished with his studies and will return to France after his 3 month stay with us (he’s acting as asst. winemaker at one of the boutique wineries in the Russian River Valley) to be a winemaker for his family’s chateau.

I think fielding questions from the SDMB would be great as it would encourage me to do research I might not otherwise, either by reading through my books, scouring the internet, or asking some of the more knowledgeable people around me.
And of course, not all questions will be technical in nature.

So, ask away. I’ll get to questions as quickly as I can. Keep in mind **I **am definitely not an expert and many of my answers will simply be my opinion only.
I’ll try to provide cites when possible, as it might save me a little typing. :wink:
I know there are more than a few folks on the board with extensive knowledge in wine, viticulture, etc., and I invite them to feel free to answer questions as well.

I put this in Cafe Society as it is wine related, but I’ve noticed many of these types of threads in either IMHO or MPSIMS. If it needs to move, so be it.

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What wine would best with my chili dog?

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LOL.

Why, Peaks of Otter Chili Dawg wine, of course!

(It’s actually kind of good, I think you would like it, as a novelty if nothing else.)

4

In general, how are Missouri wines different from California wines? It seems they don’t use the same grapes. Instead of Chardonay, they have Chardonel.

5

Do people make fun of your friend when he tells them he went to the University Of Bordeaux? (hic)
I understand that a Blanc is a white wine but whats a noir?
Sour wine is usually called dry is there as name for sweet wine?

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Noir means “black” in French, and the only “noir” wine is Pinot Noir which come from the Pinot Noir grape (“black pine[cone]”, which refers to what the grapes look like on the vine). Pinot Gris (or Grigio*) is not just white wine made from Pinot Noir grapes, but from a grape called Pinot Gris (or Grigio), which is thought to be a mutant of Pinot Noir.

*Same grape, just Italian instead of French.

7

Ripple.

8

Why haven’t wine makers found an acceptable substitute for sulfites as a preservative? Or at least cut back sulfite levels to a bare minimum? With all the suspicion around sulfites as allergy and migraine triggers, it seems like “no-sulfite added” or “low sulfite” wines would be much more available than they are.

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Heh. How do I drink the 2 or 3 bottles I want to drink every night without 1) becoming an alcoholic and/or 2) getting fat? Answer me that! :smiley:

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Are there worthwhile opportunities in this field? They have a Viticulture and Enology program at a local branch campus here too. I’m thinking the field might be somewhat limited. Also, I’m pretty sure most of my interest is probably in drinking the stuff.

In your opinion, how much of wine snobbery is just to have a socially acceptable way to get drunk? (I’ve recently developed my own theory on this).

What suggestions would you give to beginners on how to better appreciate wine?

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One of my classmates, lucky her, got to do her “bachelor’s thesis” working for one of the biggest cavas in Spain. Her research involved the usage of additives to aid in “clearing” the wine.

Is there a way to tell which wines have been brewed really traditionally (i.e., no additives that hadn’t been invented before 1800) and which have modern additives? I’m asking both from a consumer’s point of view (how much can labels be trusted) and from a chemist’s.

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psycat90 - I need help with white wine, I’m enthusiastic red drinker, but just can’t take white seriously. I can’t get past the fact that it is the defacto beverage of choice for the British female pub goer. Its my wife’s favourite drink (of course), and while I oftentimes nearly get to the point where I can say Ok, lets share a white over dinner, I’ve never made it.

We went to a few vineyards in Alsace - famous for white wine AFAIK - and the Rieslings, pinot gris etc still didn’t win me over. So, any suggestions for a un-missable, probably very dry, white that will help an un-reconstructed red drinker see the light would be most welcome :slight_smile:

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Why does wine just come from grapes? What about other fruits, or would that be too sweet for true wine snobs? (And, why are wines as dry as the snobs themselves? What’s wrong with fruity?) - Jinx

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I’ve seen a resurgence in wines made from other fruits lately – apple and blueberry, for example – but haven’t seen any elderberry wine. Are any wineries making it? Or do I have to plant some European black elderberry bushes and make my own?
(And elderberry pie…)

And how well do the antioxidents in the fruit survive the winemaking process? I suppose they do, accounting for the health benefits that come of drinking wine. Any data?

15

Australia seems to be slowly heading toward screw tops for all wines. Is that a sign of things to come in this country? In other countries?

I can buy a bottle of decent red table wine from France for $7 (actually drinkable and enjoyable). 2005 vintage Bordeaux futures are out of control (Chateau Cheval BLanc futures for $1000, for example). How much does it actually cost to produce a bottle of wine, and how much of the cost is due to supply and demand?

And The Cocky Watchman’s question leads me to ask something that I have always wondered: Are there *any * German red wines? And if not, why not?

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Could I reasonably expect to grow Phylloxera-resistant grapes in southern Maine that don’t have the nasty labrusca foxiness? If so, which varieties would be suitable?

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If you don’t like white wine, then there’s not much to be done. And it seems you have some psychological barrier as well-- like a lot of guys won’t order a chocolate martini or a cosmopolitan. If that’s the case, then why bother?

But the fact is, there are certain foods that just don’t pair well with red wines-- especially spicy foods (Mexican, Asian, whatever). Order yourself up some spicy Thai food, and I dare you to find a good red wine that goes well with it. OTOH, a good Riesling, or a Sauvignon Blanc, will pair very nicely as the extra residual sugar will cut through and stand up to the spiciness. Almost any SB you get from the Marlborough region of New Zealand is going to be good (Monkey Bay, Nobilo, Kim Crawford*, to name a few I usually keep around).

If you want to stick with the strictly dry Chardonnays, then try something from Monterey in CA-- I like the J. Lohr Riverstone. Drink it on a hot summer day, where a powerful red might not quite fit the bill.

*I think that was psycat’s pick for the SDMB wine club several weeks ago.

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OK guys. Had a long night in the city and so it’s been kind of a slow going morning. And, this whole ‘work’ thing is keeping me from the SDMB.

**furryman **- John Mace answered your question nicely. As for sweet wines, they are generally just referred to as either dessert wines or sweet wines.

Galena - Actually, winemakers over the years have cut back sulphur dioxide use to a bare minimum. Most finished wines have an average of about 20 to 50 parts per million (ppm.) In the USA, wine can not legally be sold with more than 350 parts per million . In order to not have the ‘Contains Sulfites’ warning, a wine must have less than 10 ppm. A hard thing to accomplish considering sulfites are a natural by-product of fermentation.

From winepros:

Personally I think sulfites in wine gets a bad rap, and that’s a shame. Ask any or all winemakers to throw away all of the ‘ingredients’ available to them except one, and I can just about guarantee you that 100% of them will keep their SO2. It’s vital to winemaking. Used in sanitation and as a preservative/anti-oxidant. I know there are some studies or research being done, to look at other options (ozone, I think, and a couple of other things), but I haven’t heard of anything being as good as SO2. Most winemakers use it only as needed though and in the smallest quantities possible.

There are some low sulfite wines on the market, but they are just not very good, and they have a very short shelf life.

I answered a few questions about sulfites in wine about a year ago on the board - here.

**Athena **- Oh how I wish I could answer that one!

OK gonna go grab a sandwich. More to come!

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Opportunities - Sure, there are all kinds of different vocations. If you like being outdoors, vineyard manager positions are nice. If you’re more into chemistry, winemaking would suit you better. Having the general knowledge of both is something that sommeliers or beverage managers, wine salespeople, etc. could advance their careers with. There are also wine educators, wine judges, wine journalists. Really, all kinds of opportunities.

Wine snobbery as a socially acceptable way of getting drunk.
That is actually something I’ve never even considered, but I suppose it is not beyond the scope of some people. I don’t know really. When I think ‘wine snobbery’ I think someone that likes to yak about wine, but doesn’t really have much knowledge of it.
I don’t think any part of being educated in wine has to do with having a socially acceptable way of being drunk, although I must say I for one certainly don’t mind the affects of a few glasses. :wink:

Advice on how to better appreciate it. Simply enough, take the time to explore it, but don’t kill yourself over it. It’s just grape juice. You don’t need to over analyze it. What’s it smell like to you? Remind you of anything? How about the taste? Trust your senses and just relax and enjoy it.
The aroma wheel is a nice way for beginners to get an idea of some of the vocabulary used by wine tasters, but it’s just a tool, not the bible.

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OK I’ve got a real question for you. Not that my last question wasn’t real, but I did have my doubts about your ability to answer it.

What reviewers do you like/dislike? And where do you stand on the Great 100 Point Parker Scale issue?