What exactly is ‘hot’ when you talk about wines?  Is hot a cool thing?  Do winemakers strive to make ‘hot’ wines?Let’s take the questions in a mixed sequence.  First, no. Hot is not Cool?

Winemakers don’t want to hear that comment about their wines. Hot is a specific reference to the alcohol level in the finished product, and when critics or wine writers label a wine as ‘hot’ they are referring to the ‘burn’ on the palate that high alcohol levels can create.  That level varies by individual.

Where does the alcohol come from?

Fermentation is the chemical reaction that occurs when yeasts consume the sugar (measured in Brix levels) in the grape juice creating the by products of alcohol and carbon dioxide (among other things).

The alcohol by volume (ABV) level of a finished wine can reasonably be calculated by dividing the Brix, of the grape juice by 2, so  26 Brix equates to 13% alcohol by volume.

Hot, dry climates such as in California, Oregon, and Washington.

The New world growers, Argentina, Australia, America, Chile, don’t have that problem which Burgundy, and occasionally Bordeaux, have of bringing grape Brix levels to 26.  It’s a simple matter of temperature in the vineyards.  Growers in CA, OR & WA don’t have the same lack of heat in the vineyards to cope with.  In fact, their problem is exactly opposite,  Brix at the 28 to 30% levels before entering the “Late Harvest” state is normal.  Literally translated, that means it is possible to ferment wines from these states with a 14% to 15% ABV level, perhaps even higher.

One interesting side bar is the issue of adding sugar to the juice to increase the alcohol level. This is often done with the great red wines of Burgundy, although it is glossed over and frequently denied, because in that region it is often very difficult to get the brix levels up to that 26% number.

It’s that difficulty that may in fact be the reason why that number is deemed ideal.

Is Twenty-Six Brix and 13 % ABV an Ideal or Merely an Achievable?

The French in both Bordeaux and in Burgundy have on occasion had difficulty harvesting grapes at the 26 brix levels. Warmer climates don’t have this problem.  WA does not have this problem.

But there is a second issue:  acids.  Hot climate grapes, which have no trouble reaching the magic brix number, are typically lower in acids.  Acids are the ‘bones’ that give wine its ability to age; acids give wine a quality referred to as the structure, the skeletal features upon which all the component tastes and aromatic elements rely for delivery in the glass.

The problem of low acids in hotter climate grapes is corrected by the addition of acids, usually tartaric acid.  If you accept that the solution to the low brix problem is to add sugar during fermentation in colder climates or at least colder years, it should not be a stretch  to accept that adding acids for high brix juices in hotter climates is the equivalent.

But what is hot?

In the old French wine world, where growers had difficulty achieving 26 brix, 13.0 ABV was the ideal, and 27 brix, 13.5% ABV was on occasion achievable.  Those numbers representing the ideal dominated the wine world for centuries…

 Is wine with an ABV of 14, 15, 16% ABV hot?

Only you can answer that question.  I suggest you do this:  Ignore the label; pour the wine in your glass without reading the label.  Sip it, swish it around in your mouth and swallow it.

If you feel that ‘burn’ on the sides of your tongue and at the back of your throat after you have swallowed, then that wine, for you, is hot.  That burn for some might happen even at the magic number, 13.5% ABV.  When you’ve finished, look at the label to identify the alcohol level.  Whatever the number is, that for you is your “Hot” tolerance level, and you should look for wines with a slightly lower ABV to avoid the ‘burn’ in your palate in the future.

Alex Saliby, Contributing Editor

Contact me at: snowall@nwi.net

Sheila Bergren

“Penicillin cures, but wine makes people happy”
~Sir Alexander Fleming, English bacteriologist

Malolactic fermentation (or sometimes malolactic conversion) is a process of a change used in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid.

In winemaking, malolactic conversion is generally encouraged in many red wines and some white wines, particularly those that are aged in oak. A prominent example of this is the prevalence of malolactic fermentation in California chardonnays.

Malolactic fermentation tends to create a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. It has been said that malic acid tastes of green apples – indeed, malic comes from the Latin word for apple, m?lum, and is present in apple juice – and this can be tasted in the wine. By contrast, lactic acid is richer, even unctuous, and more buttery tasting – corresponding to its presence in milk, as reflected in the word lactic being derived from the Latin word for milk, lac, and it is present in sour milk.

White wines, such as German wines, generally do not undergo malolactic conversion.

Process
Malolactic conversion is accomplished by lactic acid bacteria (such as Oenococcus oeni), which consume malic acid to liberate energy. This can occur naturally. However, in commercial wine making, malolactic conversion typically is initiated by an inoculation of desirable bacteria. This prevents undesirable bacterial strains from producing off-flavors. Conversely, commercial winemakers actively prevent malolactic conversion when it is not desired, to prevent accidental initiation and maintain a tarter, more acidic profile in the finished wine.

Chemically, malolactic fermentation is a decarboxylation, which means that carbon dioxide is liberated in the process.

Sometimes malolactic conversion can occur unintentionally after the wine is bottled. This is almost always a fault, and the result is a slightly carbonated wine that typically tastes bad. The carbonation from this type of change should not be confused with benign carbonation, known as spritz.

Because it consumes malic acid, which is present at the time the grapes are crushed, malolactic conversion can take place at any time during or after alcoholic fermentation. A wine undergoing malolactic conversion will be cloudy due to the presence of bacteria, and may have the curious smell of buttered popcorn, due to the production of diacetyl.

“Malolactic Fermentation.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 01 May 2009.

Editor’s Note: I checked many resources for malolactic fermentation and found answers to be pretty much the same, some more brief, some very technical.

Let’s be sure to ask Doug Brazil about malolactic fermentation at this month’s tasting!

Michelle Jeffers

What a lovely time of year in the Wenatchee Valley!

Last month I posed a question to the membership asking how you remove red wine stains. I’m pleased to report that only 2 members have experienced this problem! Here are their solutions:

Tom & MaryAnn McNair wrote:
“Our friend Mary Ann Johnson, a co-owner of the Windmill Restaurant, before her death a few years ago gave me this advise (she was also a Home Ec Teacher and know her food and fabrics. Pour almost boiling water on the stain and blot with clean white towels. Try to do as immediately as possible. Mary Ann said they used this technique on the restaurant tablecloths and it would also work for any fruit juice stains. I have used it successfully on silk blouses, beige carpeting and white tablecloths.”

Steven Bechard says:
Blot as much up immediately. Then douse a clean cloth with hydrogen peroxide and dab at the stain, alternating with a clean dry cloth to continually blot it up.

Also, I work at a winery and we sell a little 2.0 oz. spray bottle of wine stain remover called Wine Away Red wine stain remover formulated to remove most red wine stains from fabric and carpet. It is made from fruit and vegetable extracts and has a fresh citrus scent. Shake lightly and test on a sample of fabric or carpet first. Carpet: absorber excess stain. Saturate with wine away and let sit for 1-5 minutes. Blot area until stain disappears. Then, follow with damp rag to remove any residue. Fabric: saturate with wine away and launder according to manufacturer specifications. One 2 oz. spray bottle is $8.50.

I’ve not yet tried the boiling water method; it takes a brave soul to pour boiling water over a silk blouse! I do plan to use this on some stains I have and will report back!

I’ve seen Steven’s hydrogen peroxide work like a snap, but it is more of a stain prevention method. What if it is a darker carpet? I would worry that it would bleach a bit.

Here is my old tried and true stain preventative for darker colors:
Pour mounds of salt on the stain immediately. You will see the wine pulled out of the carpet, being absorbed by the salt. I’ve hidden many a disaster this way!

Pet Peeve?

Yes, absolutely! Don’t you just hate it when the wax covering the cork is so hard you can’t get it off? And if it is an older bottle, you want to be careful about handling it so as not do disturb any sediment? What to do, what to do?

Fellow wine lovers, share your tricks with me! I tried everything the other day including scissors, knives and a foil cutter. I was almost too tired to drink any wine by the time I got done! Ok, ok, that’s a lie, I confess.

Please send your suggestions, ideas and tricks to deal with these pesky hard waxy cork finishes to:
editor.wenwine@live.com
Your answers will be posted in the next newsletter.

“Three be the things I shall never attain: envy, content and sufficient champagne”
~Dorothy Parker

I do love this quote!

Cheers!
Michelle Jeffers