Excerpts

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Chapter 1 HOW WINE IS MADE `Making good wine is a skill. Fine wine is an art.'Robert Mondavi This section will show you the ins and outs of how wine is made, bridging the vast gap between the grape and the wine sitting in your glass. FACTORS AFFECTING GRAPE-GROWING LATITUDEThe majority of the world's wine is produced in regions that lie between the latitudes of 30° and 50°. This is because the temperate climate in this band, which usually stays between 50°F and 70°F throughout the year, provides ideal conditions in which to grow all varieties. SOIL TYPEThe soil type is extremely important and influences the amount of minerals and nutrients that the vine is exposed to, supports the root structure and controls the drainage potential. Vines grow best on well-drained soil and `damp feet' can ruin the potential for good wine. Poor soil, which often would not support other crops, encourages the vine to send its roots deep into the mineral rich sub-soil and encourages less fruit with more concentrated juice. Vines grown in rich soil tend to produce too much fruit with little concentration of juice - this in turn leads to a poor quality wine. ViticultureThe job of a viticulturist is a busy one, entailing numerous duties such as monitoring the development of the fruit in order to ascertain the optimum time to harvest the crop, fertilising the vines, preventing or controlling the spread of pests and diseases, and ongoing maintenance of the vines. CLIMATEMany vineyards are planted on sloping ground as this provides both a natural means of drainage for the vines and also helps to control the sunlight they receive throughout the year. _ In cooler climates, vineyards are usually located on a south facing slope as this increases the strength of sunlight and maximises the hours of sunshine they are exposed to during the summer growing season._ In warmer climates, planting vineyards on a north facing slope is favoured as they offer some protection against overexposure to the potentially scorching rays of the sun. The presence of lakes and mountain ranges can also be beneficial, as they help to create a stable microclimate for the vines to grow in. The importance of terroirThe French have a standard phrase that encompasses the interplay of soil type, climate and grape variety - this is terroir. This term, which has no English equivalent, describes a belief in how the unique nuances of a wine's upbringing influence its eventual quality. Ideally, terroir represents a marriage of ideal conditions for the cultivation of a particular grape, which leads to an excellent wine. AGEThe best grapes tend to come from the oldest vines, which have a life span of centuries. In Europe, however, there are few vines which pre-date the Phylloxera epidemic, although there are some 100-year-old vines in the USA and Australia. As vines age, they produce lower yields of fruit with extremely concentrated juice - ideal for the winemaker. `Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.'William Shakespeare, Othello, II. iii. Excerpted from The Wine Pocket Bible: Everything a Wine Lover Needs to Know by Andrew Smith, Jenny Dodd All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.