Cyprus Wine Blog - November 2008

The wine bottle has had a long and interesting history. The origins of the glass bottle can be traced back to about 1500 B.C. Various objects such as small bottles (balsam containers), small vases and goblets were made using a technique called “on friable nucleus”, a laborious process that consisted of winding molten glass filaments around a bag filled with sand or wet clay. Balsam containers were mostly produced to hold ointments and cosmetics. These glass working systems continued until the 1^st century B.C., when a glassmaker came up with the idea of using a glass tube, inserting the end in a crucible, taking a certain amount of molten glass and blowing in the pipe. The glass bubble that formed in this way marked the birth of blown glass, which today is still made in the same way. This is how bottles, carafes, flasks and vases, of any shape or size and for any use, came about.

Back in the days of Mesopotamia and Egyptian winemaking, the winemakers saved their wares in amphorae – clay flasks. These were stamped with the vineyard’s name, the vintage of the wine, type of wine, and so on. This went on for thousands of years, through the Grecian days of wine trade, until the Romans grew to power. With the use of the blowing technique, reduced production times and manufacturing ease, glass soon gained an important position compared to metal and clay objects that had been used till then. Syria , which in the second century became the world’s glass producing centre, exported its products everywhere. Rome , which at that time was imperial, immediately took advantage of applying the techniques, not only in Italy but also in all the provinces of the empire. Glass was quickly found to be a good medium for storing wine. Glass bottles used for pouring and preserving wine were found in Pompeii , which was destroyed in 79 A.D.

With the end of the splendour of Roman glass in the middle ages, glass artwork developed in the Byzantium , especially in Constantinople . Even the production of hollow glass is original, without however modifying the technique.

In 1204, the Crusaders conquered Constantinople and immediately the Venetian government took advantage of this by bringing the most skilful master glassmakers to the city, thereby guaranteeing Venice the works and art of those master glassmakers.

Bottles were originally onion-shaped because this design was easy to blow. It was not until the 17^th century that glass-making technology advanced to the point where more or less uniformly-sized neck bottles could be consistently produced, thereby permitting the marriage of the bottle-to-cork stopper. The development of these two elements – a uniform bottle neck size and cork stopper – are credited as the two necessary prerequisites of the modern international wine trade.

The real “wine bottle” was produced by Sir Kenelm Digby in 1652, but it seems that John Colnett was the one who patented it in 1661 and took all the credit for it. This bottle was made of dark, strong, heavy glass with a ball-shaped body that had a slight punt at the bottom to give the bottle stability. A ring was applied around the neck, a few centimetres from the bottle’s mouth in order to strengthen the neck and to hold the string that held and blocked the cork. During the next 30-40 years, the body became elongated and the neck became shorter to improve its stability. Bottles with elongated bodies and smaller necks were found to be more suitable for transportation and long-term storage. During this period, bottles were used for serving wine.

This “English bottle” did a lot to solve the problem of storage, preservation and transportation of wine and soon became popular throughout Europe . At that time, bottles were hand-processed and capacity could not be controlled. They were very often customized with a glass stamp showing the proprietor’s monogram or trademark, or the wine’s vintage. These wine bottles, blown in wooden moulds, permitted them to be sold with their contents for the first time. These bottles first spread from England to France , and then, at the end of the 18^th century, to Germany and Italy . Wine bottles varied greatly in size so that consumers never knew exactly how much wine they were getting. Therefore consumers brought in their own containers for a measured amount of wine to be poured into; it was illegal to sell wine in bottles.

In the 1800’s, people found ways of producing standard-sized bottles to between 700ml and 800ml – a size that was easy to make and also easy to carry, although other special sizes still existed. In 1821, an English company patented a machine to mould bottles that were uniform in size and shape. Selling wine already bottled, however, was illegal in England until 1860, due to both the political influence of pub owners and the lack of both labelling standards and means of authenticating the fill volume.

It was in the middle of the 19^th century that glass was produced using semi-automatic or almost industrial processes, and from the beginning of the 20^th century, automatic machines were used. There was almost a sudden leap from the hand-made product to mechanical production, and glass-making techniques improved rapidly with mechanization.

In 1979, as part of the push to become metric, the US required that all bottles be exactly 750ml. At about the same time, the European Union also asked their winemakers to settle on a standard size. Consequently, most wines bottles are 750ml, but there are still many other sizes. For instance, the Split contains 187ml, the half bottle contains 375ml, the Magnum contains 1.5 litres, the Double Magnum contains 3 litres, the Salmanazar contains 9 litres, the Balthazar contains 12 litres and the Nebuchadnezzar contains 15 litres. In the Champagne district, they have the Jeroboam containing 3 litres, the Rehoboam containing 4.5 litres and the Methuselah containing 6 litres.

Shapes for wine bottles evolved primarily from area tradition. There are “classic” shapes in general use by the majority of producers from any given area and “modern” shapes that are essentially more “artsy” variations of the classics. The Italians seem to have the most variations, such as the tall bottles of fanciful shapes that sometimes hold Chianti.

Through the centuries, every respectable wine region developed its own traditional wine bottle through which you can easily tell which region the wine is from or what particular wine you can expect to find in these bottles. The shape of the bottle does not affect the taste of the finished product. The sole exception is sparkling wine, where thicker-walled bottles should be used to handle the excess pressure.

Today, most of the great viticulture regions of the world have their own distinctive bottle shape. The typical Bordeaux bottle is easy to recognize by the austere straight shape with the “real” shoulders. This high-shouldered bottle may have derived its shape from the fact that older red Bordeaux varietals often have sediment settled at the bottom. When the wine is either decanted or poured into glasses, the shoulder of the bottle helps to trap sediment particles and prevent them from escaping with the good wine. This bottle is known from the beginning of the 17^th century and is certainly the most common, with a tall, symmetrical body and short neck. All red Bordeaux wines are to be found in green glass, while most white Bordeaux varietals are to be found in clear glass (with a few exceptions in green), but all have the distinctive high shoulders.

The classic Burgundy bottle has a wide body compared to the Bordeaux , and the shoulder has an elegant slope to it. This bottle radiates something kind-hearted and friendly, which you also can taste in these wines. The white Burgundy is bottled in clear or pale green glass and the reds mostly in green bottles. These bottles are also used for the Beaujolais wines and Rhone varieties. The neck starts just above half way up the bottle and forms a near triangle up to the top. The red grape of Burgundy is Pinot Noir and the white is Chardonnay, and this bottle shape is used by Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers throughout the world.

The tricky part is that the wines of the Loire Valley are often packaged in the Burgundy bottle, too. In addition, other shapes are very similar, i.e. the Rhone shape, which often represents Syrah or a southern Rhone-style blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and other varieties. If you look closely, you’ll see that the Rhone bottle is not quite as wide and will often bear a coat of arms on the neck.

As already mentioned, the Loire bottle is similar in form and shape to the Burgundy bottle, however it is smaller and has something of the Alsatian “flute” with small, down-hanging shoulders.

The Alsatian bottle is beautiful, long, small and slender. It has something frivolous, a bottle with a lively radiation. Traditionally, if it’s a wine from the Mosel, the bottle is green and if it’s “Hock” wine from the Rhine , the glass is brown. The Alsatian wines of north-eastern France usually go in the Mosel bottle. If the wine is from the new world, this bottle shape usually indicates sweet wine of any type and the colour is the one the marketing department prefers.

In France , the arrival of the bottle coincided with the trials conducted to find bottles suitable for the production of Champagne . Only at the beginning of the 18^th century were bottles produced that were robust enough to resist the high pressure of this wine. It was with Champagne that the true, long-term preservation of wine was started. All Champagne and other sparkling wine bottles have a recess or indentation in the bottom of the bottle. If you turn a bottle of Champagne over, you’ll see a concave indentation in the bottom called a “punt”. The earliest origins of the punt are lost in history but there is much conjecture. The more commonly cited explanations for its purpose include:

. It consolidates sediment deposits in a thick ring at the bottom of the bottle, preventing it from being poured into the glass;

. It allows a bottle of sparkling wine to be turned upside-down and then stacked;

. It increases the strength of the bottle, allowing it to hold sparkling wine/champagne;

. It can make the bottle look bigger, impressing purchasers;

. It holds the bottles in place during the filling process in manufacturing plants;

. It accommodates the pourer’s thumb for stability and ease of pouring;

. It is part of the ancient glass-blowing technique. The word “punt” is short for pontil stick, which was a wooden tool that was attached to the base of the hot bottle while it was being blown.

For wine stored under tremendous gas pressure, this was essential because it relieved the pressure on the bottom of the bottle. Without the punt (or kick, as it is also called), the bottle might well have blown out at the bottom. The Champagne bottle has a shape similar to the Burgundy bottle but is made out of thicker glass to withstand the high (5-bar) pressure of the gas in the wine. In the early days of making sparkling wine in the Champagne region, it was a perilous business going into the cellar, because bottles exploded on a frighteningly regular basis. Winemakers and cellar workers routinely wore face masks and eye protection to avoid injury or disfigurement. Eventually, the thick, heavy bottle with the very deep punt we know now was developed.

Today, a punt is unnecessary and exists only because many consumers equate the presence of a punt as an indication of quality. Modern glass technology allows bottles to be made that do not require a punt for strength or stability, either for sparkling or still wines.

Arguably, the shape of a bottle will make little difference to the overall taste of a wine, although a sparkling wine, for example, may pour differently from a bottle than that associated with Champagne . Secondary bottle fermentation also dictates the attributes of the sparkling wine bottle and cork, which is similar throughout the world. However, colour is actually very important in a wine bottle. In fact, it’s more important than the shape. Colour in the glass can help protect the wine from damage from ultraviolet light. Wines are affected by light, therefore green or brown bottles are used and when long maturation is necessary, a dark green or brown bottle is used (NB: always store wine in a cool, dark place).

With cellaring in protected areas, though, colour takes on less significance. There are fairly wide variations in glass colours, from crystal clear through various shades of green and brown to nearly opaque, occasionally some blue as well. The traditional colours used for wine bottles are for Bordeaux wines dark green for reds, light green for dry whites and clear for sweet whites. In Burgundy and the Rhone, they opt for dark green whilst in Alsace , the dark to medium green predominates, although some producers have traditionally used brown. In the Rhine regions, the brown colour is common, although some producers have traditionally used green. Clear bottles have recently become popular with white wine producers in many countries, including Greece , Canada and New Zealand . Most red wine worldwide is still bottled in green glass.

Bottles and wine are integral to each other today, but that’s a recent development. Relatively heavy and fragile, glass has the distinct advantages for wine packaging of being both chemically inert, preventing contamination, and impervious to oxygen, preventing spoilage. There are advantages to storing wine in glass bottles, such as durability, presentation and even tradition. Glass bottles also have the great advantage of preserving a certain temperature for a longer period of time. Glass does not dilate when it is too warm or shrink when exposed to lower temperatures. It is, thus, ideally suited as a long-term storage container. And clear glass admirably displays its contents with brilliant clarity. The introduction of glass as a storage medium changed wine as we know it: while the notion of ageing wine is not a new one, bottles sealed with corks made it possible for the current fine wine scene to develop. For all its beauty, fragility and artistic history, glass has always enjoyed an eminently practical status.

All wines age faster in small bottles than in large ones. Larger bottles are more impressive, festive and convenient for serving more people. Glass is 100% recyclable. Finally, the key advantage of packaging wine in glass bottles is taste. Only a glass bottle can ensure the flavour, colour and aroma of wine. Today, without question, glass remains the overwhelming choice of wine consumers.

Wine News and Information

Italian police at the Port of Livorno have confiscated 30,000 bottles of red wine labelled as “Amarone”. The wine was on the point of being shipped to the US . According to the Minister of Agriculture's website, the confiscation is the result of an on-going investigation headed by a Treviso prosecutor into fraudulent practices within the local wine industry. Officials say that the wine involved is not actually Amarone, the Veneto ’s most renowned wine. They will not reveal what is actually inside the confiscated bottles. Once authorities release all the details including the identity of the company involved, the Consorzio will take legal action.

Wine sales in the UK show no sign of slowing, despite a turbulent week in the financial markets as London auction house Christie’s reported record results. The results demonstrate confidence in wine investment despite the volatile financial climate, and reflect the growing importance of wine as a serious investment opportunity.

The Indian domestic wine market is to double in size in the next two years, according to research. Current consumption of 5m litres is expected to grow 25% in the next two years, to reach 9m by 2010. The figures come from the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). Reduced duties and eased restrictions on the distribution of wine to deter consumption of stronger alcoholic drinks, has helped the industry’s significant growth. Assocham also cites a rise in disposable incomes, and western influence on lifestyle among younger drinkers, as contributing factors. Wine consumption still lies some way behind other alcoholic beverages. 300m cases of beer and 90m of whisky and other spirits were sold in 2007-08. France accounts for almost 50% of India’s wine imports and Italy 30%.

The Wall Street Journal has gone into the wine trade – a highly unusual step in American newspaper publishing. The New York-based newspaper has established WSJwine, a department that offers to deliver to readers and the general public in 33 American states “quality wines of outstanding value,” domestic and foreign. The inventory consists of everyday and fine wines as well as rarities, some that come from small-production vintners and are “not readily available in stores,” WSJwine said. Under its new owner, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, the Wall Street Journal is undergoing a transformation from a business to a general news publication. Its wine critics, Dorothy J Gaiter and her husband John Brecher, write a column that has proved popular with readers for years. The Journal's announcement comes days after reports that amazon.com will start selling wine online to consumers in 26 states.

A fledgling cork recycling programme that aims to divert millions of used wine corks from landfills is gathering such momentum that its organisers aren’t sure they can keep up with what has become a flood of the buoyant little bungs. ReCork America, a campaign sponsored by the massive Portuguese cork manufacturer Amorim, has amassed more than one million used corks at a warehouse in Napa – so many that it’s not sure what to do with them all. The 18-month-old programme has signed up more than 40 wineries in California and Oregon, and about 100 restaurants, wine retailers and other groups, mostly in Napa, where Amorim is based, Marin and San Francisco, and is headed by Larkspur publicist Roger Archey.

Cork manufacturers produce about 13 billion stoppers each year, but to date, there has been no coordinated effort in the United States to keep the corks out of landfills. Without a recycling network, most people and businesses just throw them in the garbage. “That’s a shame, because as a natural material, corks have no business in a landfill,” Archey said. The vast majority of the world’s wine corks are made from the bark of the cork oak tree in Portugal. The bark is “peeled off like a banana” every few years and turned into a range of products beyond wine corks, from shoes to ping-pong paddles, Archey explained. Despite being a natural material, cork takes years to break down in a typical landfill because it is durable and water resistant, he said. So the goal of ReCork America is to build a nationwide grass-roots coalition of wineries, restaurants, individuals and others who will work together to efficiently recycle wine corks.

The largest challenge is an economic one – financially speaking, old wine corks simply aren’t valuable enough to make recycling worth it. Beyond logistics, another major challenge is quality control. While cork is recyclable, other types of “alternative closures” such as plastic corks and screw caps are not. For the programme to be effective, people will need to diligently separate out the natural corks from the man-made ones, Archey said. That could prove tricky, as a recent Family Winemakers of America wine-tasting event in San Francisco proved. Another challenge is finding a cost-effective way to reuse the corks. Archey said he's talking to one company that’s experimenting with turning them into packing material and another that may make them into flooring. “We’re looking for some creative ideas,” he said. Whatever outlet they find for the corks, Amorim is unlikely to profit from the venture. But there are other benefits. The main one is marketing and education. Every time someone thinks about cork as a sustainable natural material, Archey knows they might think twice about reaching for an un-recyclable screw-cap or plastic cork, which he enjoys referring to as a “hunk of petroleum in your wine bottle”. “Doing the right thing will return profits and business in ways that you don’t even think about,” he said.

Monolithos Monthly News

The year 2008 harvesting is over and for Monolithos Winery, this year is marked with the experimentation and production of two new wines made primarily from Merlot and Shiraz grapes.

Merlot is widely considered as softer and medium in weight with fewer types of tannin than Cabernet, and is ready to drink sooner. It also takes well to oak ageing. It is characteristically deep in colour with black cherry aromas and herbal flavours are typical. Merlot is the third most popular red wine grape variety in Australia and one of the most popular in USA.

The Shiraz grape variety gives hearty, spicy reds. It can produce some of the world’s finest, deepest, and darkest reds with intense flavours and excellent longevity. Shiraz is the dominant red wine grape variety in Australia. The wine is characterised by an incredibly concentrated blend of blackberry fruit, spice and chocolate, all within a firm structure that keeps it together beautifully.

Both Merlot and Shiraz perform very well in hot regions such as the southern slopes of Troodos mountains and particularly the hills of Pachna where they are considered as “emerging” varieties. The end result of the experimentation will be an ever-widening choice for discerning Monolithos wine-lovers. The new wines will be available before summer 2009.

If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.

Regards from all of us here at Monolithos and always remember Oliver Goldsmith’s words (1919):

“I love everything that’s old — old friends, old times, old manners, old books and old wine.”

October 2008 Cyprus Wine Blog

Despite recent news that wine has become the number one social drink in the western world, it’s pretty clear that in general, most consumers know very little on the subject.

Drinking wine has been part of human consciousness ever since day one of human existence. Wine is a very old product whose origins merge into the origins of civilisation itself. The history of wine is inseparable from that of humankind. According to archaeologists, the oldest wine casket comes from the Neolithic period (8500-4000 B.C). Perhaps that’s when the consciousness of human beings started to reason, beginning with poetry and philosophy.

Several archaeological records as well as ancient references and writings have proved that wine-making in Cyprus is an ancient tradition. In fact, archaeological findings indicate that Cyprus was the first Mediterranean country to produce wine 6,000 years ago. Homer speaks of the excellent quality of Cyprus wines, and Stassinos, the author of the “Cyprus Epic Songs”, writes how the Cypriot sweet wine (nowadays called Commandaria) was produced. The first reference to Cypriot wine in the Bible is in Solomon’s “Song of Songs” 1:14 “My beloved is unto me as a cluster of Cyprus grapes in the vineyards of Engadi”. The Pharaohs of Egypt, as well as the ancient Greeks and Romans, all imported Cypriot wines. An old Cypriot chalice of the 6^th century BC recommended its user to “be happy and drink well,” signifying the quality of wine in Cyprus . Mosaics discovered in ancient sites on the island bear witness to the importance of Cyprus grapes and the wines they produced.

In modern times, despite the fact that Cypriots have a long tradition in cultivating grapes and making wine, the knowledge of the contemporary Cypriot in this field is relatively limited compared with other European wine-producing countries. This raises the obvious question of whether and, if so, to what extent, knowing about wine plays any role in the production and quality, or even whether it is necessary for appreciation and enjoyment.

Knowledge is the act of learning which is gained through experience or education. Knowledge is one thing – understanding is another. Understanding means confidence on a subject with the ability to use it for a specific purpose, if appropriate. Understanding is very different, even though it actually derives from knowledge. Obviously, most of us can taste without understanding the physiological mechanisms involved. However, it is always good to acquire knowledge about anything you’re interested.

Acquiring knowledge about wine is important, since if you are educated on the subject while drinking, this might add to your understanding and appreciation of the wine. Undoubtedly, there are all sorts of practical benefits to knowing about wine, even if you are not a winemaker, wine seller, sommelier, wine writer, or wine critic. Knowledge and experience help you decide which wines to try, which wines to buy, and which wines to serve with which foods, as well as the ability to recognize tainted, oxidized, or otherwise flawed wines. Much of this knowledge provides pleasure of its own, thanks to the fact that there is so much to learn, and that so much about it is interesting.

Being clued up about wine is very practical, such as knowing how to store and how to serve it. Practical knowledge is obviously valuable when it comes to choosing what wines to buy, deciding when to open them, and choosing which one to have with a particular dish. This requires knowing at least roughly what the wine should taste like. When you’re drinking a fine wine, it’s nice to know what kinds of grapes went into it, where it came from and when, who made it and how.

Knowing what you drink is based on knowing how to taste. Learning how to taste teaches you not only how to perceive with your senses, but how to interpret those perceptions. Surely, the pleasure in drinking a wine is enhanced by some knowledge of the range of aromas and flavours that similar wines are capable of. And the more familiar you are with other wines, especially similar ones, the more you can appreciate what (if anything) is special about the one you currently taste. No one would argue with that. But even though there’s a big difference between the pleasure of pursuing and acquiring knowledge about wine and the pleasure of drinking wine itself, the two can of course go together. Having such knowledge about a wine while drinking might add to your understanding and appreciation, but one can argue whether such knowledge actually adds anything to your pleasure while drinking the wine. Can it make the wine taste better, or otherwise add to the experience?

Of course, in wine there is a level of enjoyment that is open to all, irrespective of experience. We have an innate preference for some flavour cues. Many wines have some sweetness of fruit that is appealing to novices, and certain successful popular styles of wine focus on providing simple, accessible, fruity flavours. People also appreciate wine for its intoxicating properties. Let us call this wine’s “hedonic” appeal. But there are two further levels of appreciation that can be teased out, which only come with experience and learning, although it is likely that for most of us, this separation is a rather artificial one; in reality, our appreciation of wine probably results from a seamless fusion of all three levels.

However, as we learn about wine in general – the history, geography, grape varieties, winemaking practices, and differences between producers and so on – and as we face each new glass, the different aspects of the sensory experience take on a fresh meaning. We attend to the process of tasting more carefully; we understand the significance of the various aromas and flavours, the structure and the texture. We begin to develop our own “culture” of wine by a process of exploration and benchmarking.

The best way to make wines taste better is to taste better wines! Ignorance can keep you from knowing what wines to drink, but it can’t keep you from enjoying good ones when they’re put in front of you. Knowing how to taste obviously helps, and in appreciating wine, there’s no substitute for experience at tasting. Most wine drinkers, no matter what their level of knowledge and sophistication may be, are on a similar path of evolving understanding. Each mouthful whose flavours and aromas we drink, each bottle label we unconsciously imprint in our memory, each line-item on a wine list that we select for the evening’s meal, is another volume in our own library of experience, and determines how we will experience the next. The more wine we drink and the more we learn, the better context we have to evaluate (or enjoy) every future glass. Really tasting wine adds an extra dimension to the basic daily routines of eating and drinking. It turns obligation into pleasure, a daily necessity into a celebration of life.

Wine is much more than a commodity or just a food. It contributes to sophisticated dining, enhances and facilitates social interaction, challenges the senses and the intellect, and makes glad the heart of moderate and well-balanced man or woman. Wine should be a friend for life. Wine evokes thoughts of friends and societal values. This is particularly true when combining responsible consumption with food and family.

In the early 20^th century, the British writer D. H. Lawrence complained: “We have lost the art of living, and in the most important science of all – the science of daily life – we are completely ignorant.” Wine is so much a part of culture, just as art is a part of culture. Since wine is interwoven with history, politics, religion, geography, art, science, sociology and other fields, there’s hardly any topic that can’t be used to get back to talking about wine.

Life can be lived in a casual way, or plumbed to the depths. We all choose how and where to spend our energy and attention. You may play music, cook seriously, and take care of a lovely garden. Maybe the things you love aren’t vital, but they make life richer. Passion is never wasted effort. There is culture in wine. It can be found in the ritual of drinking it, appreciating the craft of the winemaker, and in the wine’s stimulation to our taste buds.

The beauty of wine is that every bottle is different, which makes it fun to keep exploring all the wonderful surprises the world’s wine regions have to offer. This is the best way to understand your own personal tastes and to gain confidence in them, because no one knows your taste like you do.

Certainly, many of us find that a nice bottle of wine can give some social occasions a gentle nudge in the right direction. Wine means tradition, culture, health, coexistence, sharing enjoyable experiences. It would be nice to see data on how many meals, parties and other social gatherings are improved every day by the addition of a nice glass of wine! We don't yet measure wine’s contribution to world happiness.

Unlike many modern foods, wine’s attractions rely not on bold consistent flavours, but upon a subtle array of shifting sensations that make its charm difficult to define. Today, wine is an integral component of the culture of many countries, a form of entertainment in others, and a libation of choice for advocates of its health benefits. Globalization and the accompanying rapid worldwide access to information is gradually leading towards a more knowledgeable and empowered consumer with a more sophisticated understanding of product value and a discriminating demand for quality. The control of the definition of quality will eventually be shifted to the consumer. In essence, wine producers are selling a sensory experience to the consumer.

Wine consumers in developed nations are typically prosperous, but wine is also consumed in impoverished areas where it is still safer to drink than the local water supply. Regardless of the region in which the wine is produced or the economic status of the consumer, all wines are expected to be pleasant experiences for the imbiber. It’s not like Pepsi or Coke that’s made in million-gallon vats and every bottle tastes the same.

When the corporate winemakers of the world begin to make wines all in the same way, designing them to offend the least number of people, wine will no doubt lose its fascinating appeal and individualism to become no better than most brands of whiskey, gin, scotch, or vodka. One must not forget that the great appeal of wine is that it is a unique, distinctive, fascinating beverage and different every time one drinks it.

Winemaking technology has changed greatly over the last three decades, and perhaps most importantly new techniques have enabled the development of new wine styles – in particular, fresh, fruit-driven characteristics which simply weren’t possible before.

Finally, personal taste, which is infinitely variable, is the key determinant of when a wine is at its best. Some people like the fruity freshness of young wines, while others prefer the darker complexity of older wines. Where along the curve of a wine’s evolution you prefer to drink your wines is a question only you can answer, based on your own experience.

In addition to a product that is enjoyable in all sensory aspects, consumers expect wines to be healthful and produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. In the future, these last two factors will become increasingly important economic drivers of profitability.

Wine, because it is affected by many factors such as the weather, is different every year. Wine is not meant to be enjoyed for its own sake; it is the key to love and laughter with friends, to the enjoyment of food, beauty and humour and art and music. Its rewards are far beyond its cost.

It is up to the consumer to discourage bad winemaking. The quality of wine will improve when consumers make up their minds to drink better wine. Concluding this short essay on the contribution of consumer knowledge to the quality of the wine, let us remember the saying: “The wine you drink is the wine you deserve”. This applies to all countries and nations, Cypriots included.

Wine News and Information

Scientists are currently developing an electronic tongue that is set to be more reliable and sophisticated than the human palate. According to research reports from Spain , a device is already able to tell the difference between certain grape varieties and vintages. Using tiny synthetic membranes, each sensitive to different chemical components in a wine, the e-tongue can already distinguish the differences between wines of different grape varieties. It can also tell whether the same wine is from older vintages. The device works in the same way as the human tongue and is sensitive to sweet, salty, sour, acidic, and savoury (umami) tastes. It could be used to detect frauds committed regarding the vintage year of the wine, or the grape varieties used.

The Robotongue, a machine first made by a Brazilian scientist in Sao Carlos , is a device so sensitive it can discern different vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon from the same producer, and different producers of the same vintage.

It is said to rival human taste buds, with the great advantage that it never tires – unlike humans whose palates become saturated. Taste buds are believed to contain receptors that are triggered by flavour-imparting molecules, an area that is still only partially understood. The electronic tongue works on the same principle. It uses chemical sensors to measure different tastes, producing an electronic “fingerprint” which can then be assessed, recorded and presented as data. The electronic tongue should be of practical use to the wine industry, especially for producers who seek consistency year by year in their blends. The electronic tongue, reports Nature magazine, will be invaluable for companies needing accurate and constant quality control of wine, tea, coffee, mineral water and other foods.

In a number of countries, winemakers are packing their bottles with artificial additives that reduce wine to an “alcoholic cola”, according to an investigation. In some cases, producers use water, sugar and sometimes hydrochloric acid to ensure their wine has a uniform taste and consistency.

Research into the quality of the 1.5 billion bottles consumed in Britain has also cast doubt on the reputation of Champagne , with one expert suggesting that 70% was not worth the premium price. Malcolm Gluck, author of The Great Wine Swindle, said: “Many, many wines are no better than a sort of alcoholic cola. You get artificial yeasts, enzymes, sugar, extracts, tannins, all sorts of things added.”

Some of the most well-known new world brands use milk and enzymes to make the wine less cloudy and ensure that the wine tastes the same from one batch to the next. More than 60 Beaujolais producers are being taken to court, accused of disguising low-quality grapes with excessive amounts of sugar. In Italy , 70 million litres were seized and found to comprise just 20% wine, the remainder being water, sugar and ingredients such as acid and fertiliser, used to boost the alcohol content to achieve a higher price. Furthermore, an investigation found traces of fungicide in leading Champagne brands, and discovered that experts struggled to distinguish between a £6.99 sparkling wine and a Champagne three times the price.

Monolithos Monthly News

October is the end of the harvest season in the area of Pachna and the time that vineyard preparation for the winter begins. At Monolithos, grape skins collected after pressings are mulched and put aside to use as fertilizer in the vineyard. By the end of the autumn, the leaves start to fall and eventually shoots become stick-like and lose their green internal fleshiness. By December, the vines are ready to be safely cut back for the winter season.

At present, the tanks are full of fermented must. October is the time when racking off lees takes place in the winery. This way, dead yeast constituents such as protein metabolites, amino acids and hydrogen sulphide are prevented from producing unwanted extractions. In red wine, there is a large quantity of seeds in the lees and if not removed for a long time, the wine will become strong in tannins. Minimal filtration is also considered at this time, but only as needed to preserve the wine’s natural integrity.

The winery is always ready to welcome visitors. So if at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995. Regards from all of us here at Monolithos and always remember:

“Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine”.

Thomas Aquinas

September 2008 Cyprus Wine Blog

In recent years, we have been witnessing an incredible number of individual wines and new wine brands hitting the market expressly targeted at women. There's even a wine magazine devoted to women wine drinkers. Is there really so much of a gender gap in wine drinking and wine connoisseurship that we need special marketing efforts?

Historically, the perception has been that women drink white wine while men prefer red. Times have changed, and while significant differences remain between men and women when buying and drinking wine, stereotypes are not always accurate. Men and women are just different. Why wouldn't they have different tastes in wine?

It sounds obvious, but defining this difference is tricky. There are two popular wine-related beliefs making the rounds these days, both of which deserve to be put to rest because they are nothing more than pure and unfounded misconceptions. The first of these would have us believe that men are better qualified to taste wine than women, and the second that some wines are more appropriate for men and others for women.

It is common knowledge in the food and wine world that people fall into three broad categories, namely non-tasters, normal tasters and super-tasters; that is to say, people with limited ability, normal ability and extra-ordinary ability to discern the flavours and aromas in foods and beverages. Several studies have found that the majority of so-called super tasters – people blessed with double the normal number of taste buds – are women.

Taste is related to the number of taste buds on the tongue: the more taste buds, the stronger the ability to taste. Simply stated, women have a genetic tendency towards having a greater number of taste buds and a greater concentration of scent receptors and that make them better qualified than the majority of men to taste wines. It is therefore far more than mere coincidence that women rank very high indeed among the most highly respected people who write about and taste wines for a living. Women are more likely to be super tasters – that is, they respond more to components such as bitterness and tannin in wine.

Research has demonstrated that women are more likely than men to show preference to sweet foods, though the particular targets of satisfaction differ from culture to culture. It appears that they have preference for more fine distinction flavours which may have to do with biology. However, most tasting isn’t about taste itself – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami – but about smell. The flavours enshrined in tasting notes are mainly perceived through aspiration into the retronasal cavity above the mouth and behind the nose. Most variability in flavour is due to smell.

Gender generally influences the sense of smell. It is known that during pregnancy, women have even more acute senses. Research shows that women are somewhat more sensitive to smells than men. If women can smell better, they would taste better because you can have maybe five sensations with your palate, but smell hundreds of aromas. The common-sense explanation of women’s greater capacities is that they evolved through their long-standing role as gatekeepers of the food supply and nurturers of vulnerable infants. Men may do the hunting, but women do the cooking, and after a couple million years, it adds up.

But if men and women have different palates – more a perception than proven fact – does that explain why they tend to favour different wines? The preconception that women prefer white wine is not necessarily true. Growing evidence suggests many women who are knowledgeable on wine opt for a red wine. Also, a recent survey in the New York area showed that 57% prefer red, and industry sources said they believe women now choose red wine as often as men.

Researchers at the Australian Wine Research Institute conducted a study on “sensory proprieties” of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz on 203 Sydney red wine drinkers, with roughly equal numbers of both sexes. The conclusion reached showed that there is no relationship between gender and taste. The determining factor for taste is genetics, not gender. We are not equal when it comes to palate. People are sensitive to some flavours and not to others.

The level of alcohol can influence women’s choice. Reds are often 14% and over, while whites range from 10% to 12%. There are no statistics on the quantity of wine consumed by each gender, but there is a consensus in the wine industry that women drink less and prefer lighter wines in terms of style, grape variety and alcohol level.

Men generally get to choose the wine when eating out. A survey found that women are more likely than men to feel uncomfortable when it comes to choosing wine at a restaurant, pairing wine with food, or interacting with a waiter when selecting wine at a restaurant. However, women buy 80% of the wine sold in the USA . Numerous studies have been done that show that the most important consumers of wine are women. They buy the wine, drink the wine, share the wine, introduce others to new wines, etc. Women are substantially less afraid to try wines made from unfamiliar varietals, from unfamiliar appellations, from unknown producers.

At a typical lunch, men start with a noble white and move to a cabernet sauvignon or shiraz , whereas women prefer a sauvignon blanc or bubbles. One physiological explanation behind women’s love of sparkling wine is they are more tolerant than men to this wine’s high acidity. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2004-2005 health survey shows 32.8% of women drink wine compared with 25% of men. Even more striking, the proportion of women drinking sparkling wine is three times higher than that of men.

If women have a head start at wine tasting, part of it surely is socialization. In fact, tasting wine requires a dose of social encouragement, since no one is born with an innate fondness for fermented grape juice. Along the socialization trail, women are more likely to learn to use and trust their senses and to rely on sense memories as reference points for talking about new experiences.

Genetic and hormonal factors make a difference in how people taste and smell, and some of those differences are related to gender. Chances are there’s more to be discovered. Existing studies have barely begun to uncover a host of other demographic factors – race, ethnicity, age – where differences could also be significant. But psychological and social attitudes to wine have more influence than palates when it comes to gender difference.

Major wine and spirits companies use well-financed research and may know something about gender thresholds and preferences for oak, tannin, acid and other wine components, but stays locked up in corporate product development vaults and never makes its way into the more public, academic arena, so the rest of us can only guess.

Women are always happy to ask questions. Findings suggest that, if a consumer is unsure about making a wine selection, women are more apt than men to seek information from store personnel, a server, sommelier, or winery personnel. Labels and shelf tags are also significantly more important for women. While winery region is very important to both men and women, women rely on medals and award more than men.

Chefs, regardless of gender, make good wine tasters, because they're practising their sensory equipment. Its equivalent to training for an athletic event: using those muscles over and over again.

Gender issues are so complex. Men and women do in fact differ in terms of the relative importance they will place on pleasure, health, and convenience as it relates to food and beverage consumption. In a study involving print ads, women were more sensitive to ads that conveyed the wine’s sensory qualities, while the men were more influenced by ads that emphasized sex appeal.

Women wine buyers are educated, smart, sophisticated, and value-conscious. They typically think of wine as a food product, and are more willing to look beyond points when they make their decisions. Health concerns also play a role, as white wine was once seen as having fewer calories than red. However although studies show that women have a more acute sense of smell than men, women are less inclined to stick their noses in a glass of wine and report every aroma they think they detect.

As the global wine industry grows more competitive, marketers are asking themselves how best to differentiate their brands to consumers in ways that are critical to success. Consumer perceptions of a wine's quality are important factors in the decision process, but with thousands of wines to choose from, how does a consumer select one wine over another? When evaluating how wine buyers make their decisions, it is probably wise to look for differences by demographic and psychographic variables.

The wine industry has entered a stage where just making good products is not enough to grow the market. There is a wide choice of products available for consumers and these industries need to move from a production orientation to a marketing orientation based upon understanding the consumer. In addition to developing new wines tailored to women’s tastes and busy lives, marketers also need to develop a better understanding of how women shop for wine. Many wineries are starting to develop products that appeal primarily to women, such as lighter, low-alcohol wines. As wines are becoming so alcoholic, it is difficult to drink a glass of wine during the week, especially with women’s busy lives. Having children, women would really like to have a glass of wine now and then, but might forego it because of the demands on their lifestyles.

Regarding wines that are “appropriate” for women, we should not take them seriously. It is true that some wines are described as “masculine” and others as “feminine”, but even a quick glance at that terminology shows that the descriptors used are taken from misguided beliefs and stereotypes about what men and women are supposed to be like. Wines that are said to be masculine, for example, are described in terms of being aggressive, deep, flinty, strong, forward, coarse and even vulgar, and those said to be feminine are soft, subtle, sensual, caressing, warm and even "sexy". Stating that men tend to favour wines described as masculine and women those that are feminine is an obvious error. Many recent market analyses in France and the United States have shown that women and men have precisely the same partiality to deep, young and aggressive cabernet sauvignon wines than they do to soft, subtle and caressing white wines made from sauvignon blanc grapes.

One of the potential misconceptions about the use of sensory consumer studies is that they might bring about homogenous wine styles. On the contrary, information about the diversity of consumer preferences allows winemakers to tailor wines that most consumers will enjoy, as well as to produce wines that appeal more strongly to specific groups of consumers. The variety and subtlety of wine flavours and tastes is part of the continued attraction of wine and this will not change.

Varietal labelling will remain helpful to the consumer as it provides a useful guide to what types of flavours might be expected in a wine. In conjunction with other label cues such as vintage, region and producer, the grape variety information on a label helps the consumer to decide, based on past experience, whether they might like the wine in the bottle. Further indication of wine style can also be helpful, whether on a back label or an explicit designation such as, “lightly oaked” or “soft, fruity style”. It is well known that individuals differ in the flavours they prefer and that the inability to detect specific smells and tastes can be hereditary. It is also important to consider that, in addition to the aforementioned genetic variations, sensory experiences are also dictated by a powerful kaleidoscope of other interactive factors: vision, emotion and memory.

Discovering why individuals are more receptive to different tastes and smells is an area that will enable winemakers to capture new audiences in a changing global marketplace.

Despite the structural diversity of taste compounds (tastants), the gustatory (taste) system senses only five types (modalities): sour, salty, bitter, sweet and umami. Specialised cells named taste receptor (TR) cells mediate recognition of these five types of tastants. These cells are tightly packed into taste buds, mainly on the surface of the tongue.

Compared to the human tongue, our powers of smell – scientifically called olfaction – are infinitely greater. Not only can we detect thousands of different odorant compounds that vary considerably in size and chemical structure, we can also distinguish and identify these odours.

It is claimed that the wines we are making and delivering to the consumer today are consistently better than at any time in the history of wine. Wine is often bought to drink in a social setting; therefore the choice of wine needs to satisfy both one’s internal ego needs as well as the external expressive needs. Emotionally one seeks an enjoyable experience, but also wants others to enjoy the choice and therefore be impressed by the buyer’s selection. Another addition to the modified model is “perceived risk”. Unlike durable goods purchases, which have functionality as an important but assessable key factor, intangible product purchases such as wine can tend to have a number of important psychological risks inherent in choices.

Although some of the diversity among individuals and populations is cultural and learnt, there could well be a genetic aspect to defining likes and dislikes for specific tastes and aromas. Scientists are working to define fully the genetic differences among individuals’ sensory perception and to do that, it is necessary to assign particular taste compounds and odorants (odour compounds) to their corresponding receptors (sensory “organs”). Considering that taste and smell receptors constitute the largest, and possibly most diverse, gene family in the human genome, this is a challenging undertaking, but one that will potentially offer great benefits to the wine industry.

Although determining the basis for preferences is difficult, the unravelling of the human genome sequence is beginning to provide a scientific understanding of how we process aromas and flavours. Moreover, advances in knowledge as to how flavour perception is influenced by factors such as ethnicity, gender and age are also being made. These studies can be used to develop an individual’s “flavour print” as a means to measure a person’s capacity to detect key flavour compounds in wine, thus providing an entry point towards establishing measures for predicting flavour preferences in market segments.

Humans, although not so dependent on the chemical senses as other mammals, are still able to detect and discriminate between thousands of different odours. The question is: How many genes are required to allow us to sense this chemical universe? In this outline, you will be introduced to the genomics of taste and smell and the genetic basis.

It is important to remember that, in addition to the aforementioned genetic variations, sensory experiences are also dictated by a kaleidoscope of other interactive factors, including vision, emotion and memory. As an illustration of this complex interactivity, when a white wine was artificially coloured red with an odourless dye, it was olfactory described as a red wine by a panel of tasters. This simple psychophysical experiment demonstrated that, because of the visual information, the tasters discounted the olfactory information and that this perceptual illusion occurred during the verbalisation phase of odour determination. It is therefore clear that there is still much work to do before the complete gustatory and olfactory codes are cracked, but thanks to the advances that are now being made, it is at least starting to look like a tractable objective.

Wine News and Information

Cocktails to beat the heat

Sangria is a super summertime wine “punch” which originated in Spain . Typically, sangria is made with red wine, fresh, seasonal fruit and a little soda water or citrus flavoured soda. It is easy to make, easy to drink and a huge hit at summer get-togethers – even for those who are not “into wine”. Over the years, the original sangria was adapted to local conditions to make a fruit-filled wine beverage that is refreshing and easy to drink with a wide variety of foods. Keep in mind that all of the following recipes are based on a standard 750ml bottle of wine.

The Basic Sangria Recipe

To make sangria you need, the juice of a lemon or orange, season fruit, 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar and a bottle of wine. Take the season fruit such as apples, peaches, grapes, plums, pears, cherries or what ever is available at home. Slice them into thin layers and place in a jar. Add the juice of an orange or lemon, pour the wine add the sugar and stir well. Finally, place the jar in the fridge for a few hours to get cold. You can also leave it overnight to chill if you’re not in a hurry. The beauty of the basic sangria recipe is that it’s as delicious as it is easy, and it only gets better as you adapt it to your own taste. This sangria recipe is perfect for large summer parties, and is even a favourite who are not normally wine drinkers.

Passion Fruit Sangria: Use pineapple and passion fruit juice mixed with a sweeter white wine ( Santa Monica white)

The New Zealander Sangria: Kiwis and limes make this a knock-out sangria recipe with origins from the islands “down under” (Monolithos white table wine)

Strawberry Sangria – a rose wine sangria: Mix fresh strawberries with one of summer’s most requested wines (Monolithos Santa Monica rose)

Monolithos Monthly News

The three most important factors that determine when it’s time to harvest are sugar levels, tannin development and acidity. Other considerations include ripeness, flavour, and pH. Of course, it’s also important to take into account the time of day that harvesting will take place.

In the “ New World ”, people choose mostly to pick by machine, whilst in the Mediterranean region, the most common method is to pick by hand. Machine harvests are quicker, yet machine harvesters do not discriminate on what they pick from the vine, so the harvest will also include branches, leaves, mould, and maybe even birds nests. In Cyprus we hand-pick, which is more time-consuming and perhaps more costly, but ensures a more carefully selected product.

During the past few weeks, we have been busy with harvesting transporting, crushing and fermenting malvasia, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and merlot grapes. This is the first time we are processing merlot which is a relatively new grape variety for Cyprus . We look forward to assessing the results!

If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.

We thank you for your continued support, take care and remember the words of Martin Luther:

“He who loves not wine, women and song, remains a fool his whole life long.”

Regards from all of us here at Monolithos

August 2008 Cyprus Wine blog

Dear Friends of Monolithos,

From the earliest days of wine-making, some 8,000 years ago, until the middle of the 19^th century, the fermentation process was considered something of a miracle. Wine-makers made wine for several millennia without actually knowing what yeast was or what it did. It was only 150 years ago that Louis Pasteur identified yeasts as the agents of this change. Furthermore, it wasn’t until the 1970s that cultured yeasts were routinely used in wine-making.

Today, a lot is known about yeasts, the way they are being used and the way they can affect a wine. However, where they come from has become a controversial topic within the wine industry. Many wine-makers swear by wild yeast fermentation. On the other hand, many swear at it. This short overview will attempt to provide some basic information to help you to understand the issues involved and the importance of this dispute.

Yeasts, like all microbial bacteria, can be found almost everywhere. They are found in the soil, in the air and on the grapes themselves. In a wine-making environment, they can hide in the barrel or on the grape presses, and there isn’t just one species but rather hundreds!

Once the grapes are crushed, there is a good chance the resulting must already contains a variety of yeasts which go to work on the sugar content of the pulp. Depending on environmental conditions, the quantity and the particular strains of yeasts, fermentation should spontaneously start within 48 hours. Fermentation is a natural process during which the yeast converts the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. In addition, the yeast not only converts sugar to ethanol, but also produces esters and other compounds which contribute to the wine’s flavour and aroma. Extraction of flavour and colour from the grape skins (for red wines) also occurs during fermentation. But as the juice begins to turn into wine, the environment changes and the varieties of yeasts that thrived at first will die off, replaced by previously dormant, more alcohol-tolerant strains.

Dead yeast cells will float to the bottom of the fermenting vessel and form what are referred to as the “lees”. However, even dead, these yeast cells continue to impart flavours, and the time that a wine spends on its lees will vary depending on the style of wine the wine-maker wants to make. It is therefore apparent that if the must is left by itself, the yeast residing on the grapes or in the winery will start the process of fermentation on its own.

There are about 150 species of yeast. The most copious is the “kloeckera apiculata”, which is active only up to 5% alcohol level. The most important and relatively rare varieties belong to the “saccharomyces cerevisiae” and “bayanus” species, which are active up to 14% and 18% alcohol levels respectively. Whatever the source, saccharomyces counts will be small at the beginning of fermentation, allowing the other players to work their magic; but sooner or later, whatever saccharomyces happen to be around will take over, multiply and suck up the sugar.

Common practice in the wine industry is to add a sufficiently large dose of a single strain of yeast (saccharomyces cerevisiae) to the grape juice to start the “inoculated” fermentation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is referred to as the “true” wine yeast because its alcohol tolerance enables it to ferment up to and beyond 13% alcohol. Most wine-makers add some sulphur dioxide (SO2) on crushing to reduce the risk of oxidation and also to kill off rogue microbes. This will slant things in favour of saccharomyces cerevisiae and the more robust of the native species, eliminating some of the less desirable wild yeasts and spoilage bacteria which tend to be more sensitive to the microbicidal actions of SO2. Temperature also affects the balance of yeast species in the fermentation.

Over several years of laboratory research, the more active strains of yeast were identified and selected. By isolating and culturing the dominate yeast strains from a variety of favourable locales, scientists have made it possible for wine-makers to select the yeast most appropriate for their needs. One can choose a yeast which can tolerate high or low temperatures, that produces abundant or little foam, that works very fast or very slow, that changes or preserves natural flavours and characteristics, that imparts certain desirable or non-desirable off-flavours, that lays down compact or loose lees, or that works particularly well in producing particular types of wine.

The fact is that cultured yeasts have only been in the wine-making picture within the last century. For thousands of years previously, all wine was fermented on wild (indigenous) yeast. There’s something of an ideological divide between those wine-makers who advocate natural fermentations and those who choose to use cultured yeasts, although many wine-makers sit somewhere in the middle. Making wine with wild yeast has been a source of debate for many because of its unpredictable nature. Detractors see wild fermentations as a haphazard route likely to yield a spoiled wine; proponents not only claim their wines taste better, but often go on to insist that relying on the indigenous yeasts that are already on the grapes and in the air fosters less manipulation and more expression of terroir.

Let’s make it clear here that all yeast strains associated with wine-making are “natural” yeasts, that is, they are found in nature, but they are subdivided into wild and cultured strains. Wild yeast, also known as native, indigenous, local, ambient, or spontaneous, is the naturally existing yeast in the atmosphere, on vegetation or blowing around in the air. It is present on the grapes as they come into the winery, as well as on winery equipment and in barrels and tanks. The various species of wild yeast floating around a particular vineyard or winery may not be the same as somewhere else. For centuries, wine-makers have been returning the stems, pressed-out skins, seeds and pulp (pomace) of the wine grapes to their vineyards as fertilizer. The pomace is rich in yeast, and that used in making red wines is extremely rich in whatever strain dominated the process of fermentation. By returning the yeast-rich pomace to the vineyard, the wine-maker alters the natural mix of yeasts locally. Over time, the selected strain dominates so firmly that the wine-maker can achieve precisely predictable results by simply encouraging spontaneous fermentation of newly pressed must.

Wild yeasts can be broken down into two sub-categories: wine yeast and spoilage yeast. Consequently, any wild yeast species – whether good or bad for making wine – can end up in the fermentation tank, colonizing and consuming the natural sugar in the must. The wild yeasts found in fermenting wine normally include several species actually present together in the fermenting wine. They each have different reaction rates and will produce some different end products as they ferment the juice sugars to alcohol. With slow, lengthy, wild yeast fermentation, it is more difficult to predict the outcome, positive or negative, because the wine-maker does not know which yeast strains are active in the fermentation process.

One of the most common characteristics of indigenous yeasts – even good ones – is their low resistance to alcohol. Many wild types of yeast are unable to perform once alcohol levels reach 6%. The result is stuck fermentation, flabby wine with a low immune system, and a pile of unwanted residual sugar – to name just a few of the drawbacks. Another risky feature is the fact that wild yeast exists on grapes in much smaller numbers than a dose of inoculated yeast. Therefore, it takes longer for wild yeast to colonize – up to a week in larger batches – leaving the grapes open to infection from other spoilage organisms and from oxidation. In addition, once fermentation begins, it is longer and slower and at a lower temperature. A third risky feature is the unpredictable by-product of off-aromas and esters that wild yeast can impart to the wine.

Now, laboratory selected “saccharomyces” yeast gains an advantage and grows from less than 1,000 cells per ml to between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 cells per ml within 24 hours, thereby dominating the fermentation. This is extremely important for larger production, less expensive wines, where a yeast strain is chosen to get the job done as expediently as possible, converting all of the sugar to ethanol and freeing up the tank for the next load of crushed grapes.

For smaller production, fine wine, varying the yeast strain as well as the temperature and duration (maceration) of fermentation can enhance the wine’s aromatic and flavour characteristics. Given the right grape, yeast and instructions, anyone can make almost any type of wine. In wine-making, yeast and sulphur are related issues. The guaranteed way to make a “clean” wine is to use high levels of sulphur to eliminate microbial activity in the grapes and to inoculate with a commercial yeast strain with high sulphur tolerance. This offers a fast, reliable and predictable fermentation. Cultured yeast strains are specifically selected varieties that have been isolated for their various desirable characteristics. Some of these characteristics are: attractive aromas, fine texture in the mouth, reliability in avoiding stuck fermentations, no excess of foam in the barrels, the ability to ferment under conditions that would normally be difficult (such as with grape juice containing high levels of acid or sugar) and their ability to ferment at cold temperatures to maintain fruit flavours. Overall, they offer great advantages in reliability, predictability and fault-avoidance.

The proponents of cultured yeast emphasize these significant advantages for any wine-maker, and believe that those who do not recognize and exploit them are limiting their experience and potentials. The secret of good wine-making is good ingredients and absolute control over all conditions. Also, there have been many questions raised regarding the use of natural yeasts such as the efficiency of sugar-to-alcohol conversions, off-aromas, stuck fermentations, foaminess, volatile acidity, filtration, lack of fruitiness, and ageing potential.

Those who take the more “natural” path believe the indigenous yeasts that are on the grapes and in the air at a particular place are as much a part of the terroir of the wine as the grapes themselves. The idea of replacing them with cultured yeasts is seen as not only removing a wine from its “place”, but as artificially flavouring a wine. Wine is considered as an agricultural product dependent on the climate, soil and in general the terroir which differentiates wine from manufactured drinks such as whisky, beer or gin.

Paradoxically, the most attractive attribute of wild yeasts actually results from their unpredictability, because they can often create additional levels of flavour and aroma complexity in the finished wine. They may also create softer wines because wild yeasts are not as efficient at converting sugar to alcohol as cultured yeasts, so even when the wine is fermented to dryness, it has less alcohol and often subliminal levels of residual sugar. In a “model” wild fermentation, the non-standard strains dominate the action, one after another, over the course of several days, perhaps for half the total fermentation time. The result of a sequential fermentation is a wine with complex flavours, fruit and aromas, with good alcohol. Many wine-makers believe that there are qualities that wild yeast imparts to wine that cannot be achieved with cultured yeast. Wine-makers who rely on wild yeasts usually swear by them and praise their virtues. Wild yeasts have been used for many years in some Old World European wineries, which have been blessed with desirable strains of yeast in their vineyards, strains that seem to be relatively consistent over time.

In recent years, many New World wineries are catching on and beginning to practise spontaneous fermentation with favourable results. Wild yeast is one in a number of ways to develop complexity in wines, even if this added complexity is short-lived. This quality factor coupled with the fact that the majority of wine-makers feel these methods make their craft more interesting and challenging, guarantees that the use of wild yeast will continue to grow in importance and popularity in the production of super premium wines. Others do it for quality reasons: native yeasts are thought to produce wines with a fuller, rounder palate structure, and the ferments tend to be slower and cooler, burning off fewer aromatics. Wines made with wild ferments are often richer-textured and have more complexity. There is also a cost saving: cultured yeast has to be paid for.

It has been estimated that in an uninoculated ferment, as many as 20 to 30 strains participate. But as alcohol levels reach 4%–6%, the native species can’t cope with the hostile conditions, and the alcohol-tolerant S. cerevisiae will take things onwards from here. So the key difference between natural ferments and those carried out by cultured yeast inoculations is in the early stages of fermentation.

Aside from the properties of the wild yeasts themselves, spontaneous ferments cause a delay in the onset of vigorous fermentation. In red wines this will allow oxygen to react with anthocyanins and other phenolics present in the must, enhancing colour stability and accelerating phenolic polymerisation. This enhanced exposure to oxygen before vigorous fermentation is underway could have important flavour and textural effects on the wine thus produced, quite separately from the characteristics contributed by the diverse set of wild yeasts carrying out the fermentation

As different clones of a particular grape variety are planted in different countries or locations, they produce slightly different wine. Equally, wines differ among others according to the strain of yeast used, the temperature at which they are vinified and the length of time they are kept in the barrels. A wine-maker does not get enough chance to experiment with all these factors. A chef cooks at least one meal a day and a brewer produces beer continuously, but a wine-maker makes a vintage wine only once a year. This may help to explain why experiments are slow in producing reliable results.

There are groups of wine-makers who continually look for techniques that will help them improve wine quality. The “indigenous yeast” trend became a buzz word popularized by influential wine critics of wines made with more natural, less interventionist techniques.

Experienced wine-makers allow spontaneous fermentation to begin while watching the must carefully, taking regular readings of the amount of sugar or specific gravity of the must, to determine the current alcohol. After they estimate that the alcohol has reached 3% or 4%, they may sometimes choose to inoculate with S. cerevisiae to ensure complete fermentation. They get the best of both worlds: complexity of wild yeast, and sound full-bodied wine. While no one can predict results with spontaneous fermentation, there are certain features you can watch for to help you determine if you want to take that walk on the wild side. Although it is not possible to know what types of yeast are on your grapes, or in your must, sometimes the very condition of the grapes or must itself will help you predict the odds.

Many things are overheard at a wine tasting as a wine is analyzed and dissected. It may smell like anything from roses to grapefruit, rubber to vanilla. It might taste of plum or cassis, or have that mineral quality that reminds you of when you were a kid and chewed on your pencil in class. There might be people qualifying the wine’s texture – dry, rich or acidic.

As stated earlier, it is during this fermentation process where the majority of the flavours, aromas and textures of a wine are created. And as each yeast species has its own tolerance to alcohol and temperature, each will metabolize the sugars in the juice in different ways. Some will create esters, compounds responsible for the aromas of a wine. Others might lower the acidity the same juice. This means the same juice fermented with different yeasts will yield different results. As this process is better understood, so is the wine-maker’s ability to control the smells, flavours and textures of his or her wine.

This debate tends to follow the New World-versus-Old World division, with the Old World wine-makers relying more on indigenous yeasts. New World wine-makers in countries like Australia , New Zealand and California are more likely to accept new technologies. Certain wineries, mostly in the New World , are looking at finding yeast cocktails that will enhance aromatics and reduce acidity. One need just look at the success of the New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Its unique aromatic profile, highlighting the more exotic attributes of the grape, is largely a result of a cocktail of cultured yeasts, and it has created a unique and easily identifiable style.

So once again, it is a question of how we use the technologies that are available and what is important for each individual in a wine. There is little doubt that using cultured yeasts will allow for a more consistent wine from year to year. Fermenting with wild yeast can be risky business, but for many daring wine-makers, it’s a risk worth taking. Compensating for the higher risks means paying more attention, monitoring every batch closely and putting more time per gallon into the wine.

But there is a definite movement towards cultured yeasts. The ability to control what a wine will taste like, especially for more mass-produced wines, has obvious benefits. Commercial yeast remains the norm, particularly for larger-scale producers, while the wild bunch tends to be on the artisan side. The philosophical overlay--less processing, more terroir--is sometimes there, but the driving force is a perception of wine quality.

Wine News and Information

The Prince of Wales has reduced his motoring emissions by running his 38-year-old Aston Martin, a 21^st birthday present from the Queen, on fuel made entirely from wine.

Sir Michael Peat, the Prince’s private secretary, said: “The bio ethanol from our supplier happens to be made from wine.” But the wine is not left over from banquets at Clarence House or dinner parties at Highgrove, the Prince’s Gloucestershire residence. The EU sets strict limits on wine production and any excess is not allowed to be sold on the market. One way it is redistributed is for use through environmental fuel.

Prince Charles now drives the Aston Martin Volante convertible car only in the summer and clocks up around 300 miles each year. The Prince’s Jaguars, Audi and Range Rovers have all been converted to run on 100% bio diesel made from used cooking oil.

The annual report of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall said: “When their Royal Highnesses are travelling in the UK , the aim is to reduce emissions through greater use of cars, trains, and turbo-prop aircraft. In accepting and arranging engagements, more consideration is being given to reducing travel distances.”

Last year, France ’s wine and spirit industry exported nearly $15 billion (€9.4 billion) worth abroad, a record and an increase of nearly 7% year-on-year, according to the French Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters. But the good overall export performance masks a broader crisis. While Champagne and fine Bordeaux find overseas markets, lower-quality wines and lesser-known wine regions have struggled against competitors from New World countries such as Australia and Chile . Chronic over-production has also hurt, forcing European producers who can’t sell their wine at decent prices to distil billions of bottles of perfectly drinkable wine into pure alcohol for use in disinfectants, cleaning products or gasoline additives. The European Union agreed in December on a massive overhaul of the industry, including tearing up swaths of vineyards, doing away with overly intricate labelling and reaching out to consumers around the world instead of relying on age-old reputations.

Wine is often served at the wrong temperature. Too cold, and a wine’s complexity and aromas are numbed; too hot, and it tastes alcoholic and flabby. The old advice about serving reds at “room temperature” comes from the days when the “room” in question was a cool medieval castle, not in today’s centrally heated homes. Red wine should be served at about 60ºF, though some light reds are better served cooler. White wine should be chilled to about 55ºF; the glass should feel cool but not ice-cold.

Wine sales growth in the UK is grinding to a halt as the economic downturn hits consumers’ disposable income, says the Sunday Telegraph. It quotes Nielsen figures showing wine sales for the four weeks to 17 May down by 5%, or about 4.5 million bottles, against the same period last year. This contrasts with a 6% growth in the year to the end of February 2008. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association blamed Budget tax rises for the decline, as well as the economic climate.

Monolithos Monthly News

The very warm days that we’ve enjoyed this summer have resulted in very healthy, stimulated vines. Vines love heat! During the summer period, the grapes get their maximum amount of sun, which is the base for the photosynthetic process. The result is the maximum amount of grape sugar, and by proper management, a perfect balance between sugar and acidity is possible to achieve. The end product will be strong wines with high alcohol content and good body and often with lots of tannin that is crucial for storage.

We’re likely to be harvesting in late August/early September. This is particularly good for our reds.

Five years ago, we planted Shiraz vines in our site at “Ayiasmata”. This year we hope to enrich our Ayios Stephanos Red, a blend of Cabernet, Mavro and Shiraz , entirely from our own vineyard. They say patience is a virtue!

Last July, we bottled the remaining Monolithos white and we are ready to satisfy the growing demand for this crispy and pleasant summer wine. The winery is opened to visitors most weekends. If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.

We thank you for your continued support, take care and remember:

“Holidays are about celebrations and social gatherings, so is wine. Wine is made for entertaining, enhancing and enjoyment.”

Regards from all of us here at Monolithos