January 2008

A brand new year is here, another year filled with resolutions and expectations. Our sincerest wish is that 2008 will bring you and your loved ones happiness, health and prosperity filled with good times and all good things – including wine. This year, we look forward to welcoming all of you to the Winery.

With the advent of the New Year, we shall take an introductory look into the huge subject of ageing and storing wine. This topic comes up again and again among winemakers, wine merchants, retailers and consumers. We have therefore gathered some information and compiled this newsletter with the aim of offering practical understanding of the main issues regarding storing, maturing and ageing wine. Like most aspects of the complex world of wine, this information is provided only as guidance and not as a gospel. There are so many factors related to the subject, that we cannot investigate all of them here.

The words “maturing”, “storing” and “ageing” are often used interchangeably, but they don’t mean precisely the same thing. Maturation is widely considered to be the process by which a wine reaches a point of readiness for bottling, although maturation can continue in the bottle before leaving the winery. Storing time refers to the period during which a wine maintains a pleasant and relatively harmonious aroma and taste. It is directly related to the storage method, container, and environment, whether this is in the winery, the supermarket or our home. Ageing is a phenomenon that occurs according to a cycle. For a certain time, the taste of the wine becomes more refined, reaching the peak of its taste and then slowly losing quality until the very end of the ageing cycle.

Furthermore, the term maturation is often used for the changes which take place during bulk storage and ageing is used for the changes during bottle storage. This key difference in their definition stems from the fact that during bulk storage, a wine is likely to be exposed to air, whereas when bottled, it is stored in essentially anaerobic conditions. The processes of maturation and ageing involve, among other factors, time, type of storage container, and the conditions of storage e.g. temperature and humidity.

In a modern winery, wine undergoes maturation and subsequently ageing in at least two phases: in bulk storage in a container, and in the bottle. The first is entirely the job of the winemaker, but bottle ageing continues after leaving the winery and becomes the responsibility of the merchant or, increasingly, the final purchaser of the wine.

Wine is created through two naturally occurring living processes – the growth of grapes on the vine, and the conversion of the sugar in those grapes to alcohol by yeast. Wine is a complex liquid with a fragile balance of amino acids, phenols, carbohydrates and other components that could be easily affected by physical conditions or chemical changes. Many types of material have been used for wine storage, such as pottery, stainless steel, concrete, plastic and wood. The size and the material used for the container could have a profound effect on wine character and development during maturation.

For centuries, wine has been laid down to mature in cool, damp cellars. The use of oak barrels to age red and some white wines is also well established. Back in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, wood was pretty much the main material used for building containers. Wine was vinified in small or in very large oak barrels. These days, we can find many kinds of containers in common usage all over the world. Materials such as stainless steel, wood, cement and fibreglass vats are commonly in use. In the early 20^th century, poured concrete made its appearance, and winemakers started using it to build their tanks.

Concrete had several advantages over oak. First, it can be formed into convenient shapes, and so most winemakers made them square so that a row of vats could be created, sharing common walls and taking up less space than round oak vats. Concrete was much less expensive than oak and easy to work with, as opposed to oak barrels which required many hours of highly specialized labour to build. Concrete is a neutral substance, and doesn’t impart any particular taste to the wine. Finally, it is much easier to clean and maintain than oak, which requires sterilization with sulphur and special treatments before use each year. Concrete, therefore, became the material of choice, particularly in bulk wine-producing areas where winemakers needed to minimize expenses.

In the 60’s, the importance of good hygiene in the winery, including the need to keep fermentation tanks spotlessly clean, established the use of stainless steel as the main container for wine fermentation and storage. Its most important attributes are ease of maintenance, hygiene and built-in temperature-control.

Stainless steel vats come in all shapes and sizes, from 100 litres to larger than 50.000 litres. It is preferable to use as big a vat as possible, provided there is adequate wine to fill it to the top in order to minimize the effect of oxygen. The control of the latter is perhaps the most important parameter during maturation and ageing of wine. In order to ensure the minimum effect of oxygen, the winemaker should store bulk wine in a stainless steel tank which is kept entirely full, thus preventing its presence. The winemaker must check the wine level every three to four weeks to ensure that everything is developing as planned according to the desired taste, and top up the tank when required.

Wine spends much of its life sitting in a tank or a barrel or a bottle, waiting for things to happen. During each of these periods, something different occurs to the container it is in. Wine produced a few weeks after fermentation is not ready for consumption because it is cloudy from unwanted substances and yeast cells. However, beneath the cloudiness, a winemaker can easily sense the character and potentials of the new wine. All that is required is a step-by-step removal of all unwanted substances that mask the true nature of the wine. Furthermore, the watchful contribution of the winemaker can expedite the uncovering of the pleasurable flavours of the wine during maturation.

For some wines, maturation takes place in wood barrels, and others – especially those intended to be consumed young – mature in stainless steel tanks. Maturation allows wine to develop complexity of aromas and flavours. It also helps to clarify the wine by allowing deposits to settle at the bottom of the barrel or tank for removal. While this is happening, the aromas of the grape are replaced by the bouquet of the maturing wine.

It is only within the last century that we have begun to understand what transpires in the barrel and the bottle during the maturation and ageing processes. The factors that prolong the ageing cycle of wine are quite complex, but here are a couple of rules of thumb: The wine must have a fairly high level of tannin to age at all. However, all the tannin in the world is no good if the wine has no acidity to keep it fresh tasting. Acidity and tannin are all well and good, but it is fruit that makes wine taste good, and if there is not enough fruit in the wine, then when it ages, it will lack character and taste. Consequently, the fuller a wine in all three of the abovementioned components, the longer and better it will age.

Tannins come from the skins and seeds of the grapes or (especially in the case of white) from being aged in oak wood. Grape tannins are more subtle, but often as strong, and rarely as astringent (mouth drying) as oak tannins. Grape tannins are better than oak when it comes to ageing. Grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon tend to have better ageing potential because of their thicker skins. The acidity primarily comes from the grape itself. Acidity can be balanced during the winemaking process, but the best vintages have a perfect balance of tannin, fruit and acidity during harvesting.

As already stated, wine matures in bulk during the period from the end of the fermentation until bottling. The duration of this period is dependent on a number of factors such as the variety of grape, vineyard location, type, colour, and quality of wine. The conditions under which wine is stored and processed, and the container used during this period, have a significant impact on its maturing, development and life cycle ageing.

Furthermore, wines differ according to the strains of yeast used, the temperature at which they are vinified, the proportion of new oak barrel used for their ageing and the length of time they are kept in barrels. Blending different wines also determines the style of the wine. One purpose of blending is to render wines ready for drinking earlier than they might otherwise be. A blended wine is usually ready earlier than a wine made from a single grape variety. In fact, using a mixture of varieties gives a complex flavour much more rapidly.

Sometimes stainless steel and oak are combined. Initially fermented in a neutral stainless steel vat to keep the fruit aromas pure and fresh, the wine is then placed for several months in an oak barrel for conditioning. Barrel maturation has been intensively researched in the past, but it remains a complex and unpredictable process which is mostly dependent on the relationship between wood, wine and environmental components. The French call this “the kiss of oak”. Here, the toasty, vanilla flavours of the oak are absorbed directly into the wine, without losing its fruitiness or radically altering the texture. Shortly after bottling, the vanilla and toast aromas dominate the wine’s bouquet, but within a few years, they settle in with the fruit and sing a different kind of harmony.

There really is no right or wrong choice of tank type. As a painter chooses to work with oils, watercolours or pastels, the winemaker chooses the type of vat that best suits his way of winemaking process and the type of grapes his vineyard produces. It’s just one of the several decisions in the winegrowing and winemaking field that determine the quality and personality of the wine a winemaker wishes to establish.

Bottle ageing is the final stage of maturation and is characterised by the fact that the wine does not come into direct contact with oxygen. During this period of anaerobic maturation, the wine needs to rest under constant conditions. Sudden environmental changes, such as temperature and light, have a negative influence on the slow development and chemical inter-actions that take place inside the bottle, resulting in rapid decomposition of the wine’s structural components. It is important to remember that smaller bottles will mature more quickly than standard bottles or magnums, as the proportion of air in the bottle neck space to the volume of wine is relatively higher.

Red wine is left to mature in oak barrels for three months to three years to develop the proper amount of flavour. It is then put into bottles, and these bottles are aged even further, both by the winery and also by the consumer, to bring the wine to the perfect point for consumption. Red wine quality is a balance between the grapes inherent aromas, the ageing bouquet and the oak character (especially the vanilla flavour) acquired during storing in oak barrels. The rate at which the maturation occurs depends upon a number of factors such as: type of wood, size of barrel, age of barrel, duration, temperature and conditions of cellar.

White wine is normally mature for less time than a red wine. It might reach a sufficient level of maturity within a few months after fermentation, and it could be bottled immediately or, for some special varieties after a year, in a barrel to extract the correct amount of flavour. White wines are normally drinkable immediately you purchase the bottle, although some whites that have undergone barrel maturation could benefit from a few years of bottle ageing. There are no old white wines.

Generally speaking, today’s wines are ready to be enjoyed while young and fresh upon release. Most white wines, in particular, are intended for drinking within two to three years after the vintage date. However, with proper storage, certain wines tend to improve with age. Improper storage can ruin a good wine in a very short time. Whites are more durable than reds. They travel well, accept light better, will tolerate cold refrigeration, and do not require breathing; however, like reds, they do not tolerate heat. Also, whites don't age well.

In conclusion, whereas ageing normally refers to the period a wine spends between being bottled and consumed, maturation refers to how the wine is handled between fermentation and bottling. Most red wines and some whites are held in tanks or casks for a few months in order to settle prior to bottling. In this way, maturation allows the wines to mellow out first. Red wines have especially high tannin contents, making most new wines undrinkable. If the wine is allowed to settle, however, the bitterness decreases. The character of the wine is fully influenced during this period. The container used in maturation, the length of the process and the temperature all affect the flavour of the wine. For some reds, such as Beaujolais Nouveau, the maturation process is short and bottling occurs almost immediately after fermentation. Many reds develop strong characters from long maturation times in newly constructed wooden barrels that impart their flavours into the juice. Reds are known to mature for up to three or four years. All fortified wines are aged in large barrels from between two to ten years. Whites spend the least amount of time in this maturation process. With less tannin influence, white wines are not required to mellow as much and can be quickly bottled.

Wine News and Information

Plans to reform the European wine industry have been agreed by EU Agriculture Ministers in December. The compromised agreement includes a voluntary three-year grubbing up scheme covering up to 175,000 hectares of vineyards instead of the 400,000 hectares originally proposed by Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel after the plans came under fire from France and Italy in particular. Also, plans to ban chaptalisation (adding of sugar) were abandoned after running into opposition from Northern European wine-producing countries such as Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. However, maximum levels of enrichment will be reduced. Furthermore, subsidies for crisis distillation are to be phased out by 2013, with the money saved then allocated at a national level for investment in vineyards, wineries, innovations and marketing – part of a general move towards a devolution of decision-making away from Brussels and onto member nations.

The measures also promise simplified labelling rules, most significantly allowing wines without geographical indication to mention vintage and grape variety on their labels. The EU will also take over responsibility for changes to winemaking practices. Now, Europe will promote more single-grape wines like Syrah or Sauvignon Blanc, much like the New World has done for a generation. And instead of fancy labels designating tiny plots in faraway places and arcane production methods, simplicity is the new order of the day. The reforms, which are budget-neutral, are due to take effect on 1 August 2008.

China and Hong Kong will be the eighth biggest wine consumer in the world by 2012, according to research commissioned by Vinexpo (Asia-Pacific takes place in Hong Kong from 27-29 May 2008)..

Taking an even bigger slice of the US$100 billion world wine industry, China joined the “top ten club” of the biggest wine consumers last year. France is still the biggest supplier of wine to Asia, but Australia, Chile and the US are rapidly increasing their market share.

The latest forecasts, carried out by researchers IWSC commissioned by Vinexpo, has China overtaking Romania and the Russian Federation to reach number eight position in five years. Researchers reckon the market for wine in China will grow by 70% between 2006 and 2011, Vinexpo chief executive Robert Beynat said. At present, France and Italy, with 12.7% and 12.6% of the world market respectively, are the world’s top consumers. They are followed by the US (11.1%), Germany (10.3%), the UK (5.4%), Argentina, Spain, Russia, Romania and China, with 2.2% of the world market. The forecast is that the US will be the biggest consumer by volume by 2012.

Vinexpo has commissioned market research and forecasts for 11 years and has used IWSR to produce them since 2002. Beynat said yesterday that over five years they reckoned on being accurate to within 0.2%. There have been mistakes, he said. “We were wrong about the Chinese market in 2005 when we predicted a 36% growth. We have changed our minds since then and now predict a 70% rise.”

Of the Asian countries, China and Hong Kong command 62.7% of the market. They are followed by Japan (28%), then South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, India and Malaysia. India has 0.8% of the Asian market but is predicted to grow by 200% over the next five years, Beynat said. The top five exporters to Asia are France (with 39.3 % of the market), the US (13.8%), Italy (13.2%), Australia (10.2%) and Chile (7.6%).

Growth rates for these countries between 2002 and 2006 are radically different, with Australia, Chile, and the US showing the most dramatic acceleration (128.4%, 45.1% and 40.9% respectively), and Italy the only country to lose market share, dropping -3.7%.

Monolithos Monthly News

Winter is the normal dormancy – or sleep – period for vines. Dormancy will end with bud break in the spring. This year’s January started off dry and warm. Pruning commenced in January and will be completed in the middle of February. How we prune our vines has a direct impact on the coming vintage, so we take it very seriously. With precision pruning, we not only affect how many grapes will grow, but also how they will develop on the vine. This is also the time of year for land preparation and weed control. Weeds are commonly controlled either chemically or mechanically. In Cyprus, mechanical mowers are widely used.

January is always the quiet after the storm of the holiday season in the wine business, however at the Winery, everything becomes “vigorous” with activity. The grapes harvested in autumn are now being racked and filtered.

Red wines are being cleaned up, whilst white wines that will be bottled quickly are being stabilized by mixing it with bentonite. The latter removes some of the protein which will form a haze in the wine during warm weather. There are a number of other materials that may be added now to correct any deficiencies in the wine. Generally, at Monolithos, as little as possible is added to wine. Filtering and pumping the wine from tank to tank is also kept to a minimum. Our winemaking policy is to make the best possible product with the least amount of processing.

The wine is cooled to just above freezing in order to remove excess tartrate in a process called “cold stabilization”. Tartaric acid is the main acid in grapes. Some of it is present in the wine in the form of potassium tartrate. This material becomes insoluble and forms crystals when the wine is cooled. By cooling white wine and filtering it in the winery, the wine will not form crystals when the consumer puts the bottle in the refrigerator for a week or two. This is less of a problem in red wines as red wines are not usually chilled before serving.

We thank you for your continued support. Take care and remember:

“Who loves not women, WINE and song, remains a fool his whole life long.”

Martin Luther

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.

Wishing you a happy New Year from all of us here at Monolithos

November 2007

Dear Friends of Monolithos,

December is the month of year when we devote more of our time to eating and drinking. Parties usually start early in December and go on until the New Year. The chilly winter months and the warm festive season spirit create the concoction of fun, merriment and excitement! It’s time to celebrate this holiday season, and no celebration is complete without good food and excellent wine.

In fact, one of the greatest pleasures of wine is the act of sharing it. Most people love to cook meals for close friends. Then all sit and eat together and discuss various issues. The conversation could be enriched by tasting different bottles of wine and sharing opinions and experiences. At our family feast, we serve a wide variety of wines, red and white, brought by different members of the family. We taste while we cook, we taste while we eat, we taste while we digest and we discuss and debate the merits of what we are drinking. That process has become almost as much fun as the feast itself. There are innumerable varieties of excellent wines to enhance the spirit of your Christmas celebrations.

Drinking wine is supposed to be one of the greatest pleasures in life. Knowing how to pair wine and food is essential to enjoying your meal. If a wine is chosen properly, it will enhance the tastefulness of the food and you will appreciate your dining experience more. Simple rules, such as choosing white wine for white meat, are not that difficult to grasp. However, knowing which white wine to select from that long list you are presented with is an art.

Sparkling wines

Let us start with the sparkling wines. Champaign is considered by most as the world’s greatest sparkling wine. The fact that Champaign and other similar sparkling wines are almost a requirement for special occasions like christenings and weddings also reduces price sensitivity and leads to higher prices. However, there really are some nice sparkling wines at relatively lower prices. These are remarkably flexible wines and can accommodate almost any occasion or palate.

“Champagne” is a term that can only be used with sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France. What one should have in mind is that any sparkling wine has bubbles. These bubbles are from carbon dioxide that is trapped in the wine, a product of the conversion of sugar into alcohol. The quality of the wine depends on the quality of the grapes, the weather in which they were grown and the artistry with which it was made. Price is a function of all those things, plus, of course, the snob appeal of the brand. It is worth mentioning that quality and price in wine are not proportionate, that is, a £50 bottle is not necessarily ten times better than a £5 bottle. In fact, that is seldom true. And sometimes, the more expensive wine is not better at all.

Most white sparkling wines are great cocktail wines, either alone or mixed with fruit juice or liqueurs to make holiday parties even more festive. And they can be wonderful dinner wines, surprisingly food-friendly with dishes from caviar to glazed ham or roast pork to pasta.

Whites

Whites have their place. When people discuss the revolution in wine that has happened over the last 30 years, they must emphasize the astounding leap white wine has taken to reach the highest standards of its red wine counterparts. Today, there are world-class white wines to match any occasion – and they are available at almost any price. There is a move towards wine that states reds work well in autumn and winter, while rose and white wines are a refreshing choice for a spring or summer event. A full-bodied white offers a perfect year-round choice. White wines with 12% or above are called “heavy”. A new white wine with low levels of acidity and characterized by light floral flavours, often surrounded by delicate touches of fruits such as tropical fruits, peaches and pears, is particularly refreshing and a widely popular choice.

With its diverse range of varieties and flavours, quality wine can complement the spirit of any celebration, whether guests are gathering for a wedding, a graduation, Christmas and New Year or any other important milestone. Dessert wine is best served, as its name suggests, with puddings but dry or medium white can be served as an aperitif or with any type of food – it is really a matter of personal preference.

Roses

Roses are generally made from red grapes and have a little more body. They also have a lovely festive colour that matches special occasions well. Rose wines are becoming increasingly popular. Most roses start off being produced like a red wine and are in contact with the grape skins for a certain length of time. This period determines the depth of colour of the wine.

Roses are fresh and fruity and can be dry or medium. They are good served well chilled as a refreshing drink, or to accompany Chinese, Japanese and Thai food, especially seafood. There are also sparkling rose wines.

Reds

Red meat usually demands a dry red wine. A good beef or lamb dish, provided that it is not highly seasoned, justifies a bottle or two of the best red wine available. If the meat itself is highly flavoured, such as liver, kidneys or sausages, a full-bodied, medium quality red wine is usually most suitable. The finesse of a great wine would be difficult to appreciate with dishes of this kind.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes do, indeed, serve as the primary ingredient in some of the world’s greatest wines. They are a lovely deep red in colour and often exhibit cedar, violet and dark berry aromas. The flavours are rich and deeply fruity but restrained. You will find hundreds of different “Cabs” in a big store, including wines from countries you didn’t even know existed. An astonishing number of these bottles sell for more than £20. Except at the very high end of the market where the wines are consistently outstanding, even if ridiculously expensive, there is shockingly little correlation between price and quality. It is quite possible today to find £10 Cabernets that are better than £50 Cabernets.

One suggestion: Most full-bodied red wines will improve with an hour or two of “breathing.” Either pour into a decanter, or into glasses and let them sit for a while.

Sweet Rich Wines

Sweet dishes are best accompanied by sweet, rich wine, the contrast of such food with dry wine being rather unpleasant. Heavy, sweet, fortified wines are suitable companions for the sweetest dishes.

Monolithos Wines for the Festive Season

To pick the perfect wines for your next event, offer a range of options to suit guests’ tastes. On average, approximately 30% to 50% of guests will drink white wine, 30% to 50% will drink red wine and 10% to 20% will drink blush wine. In addition, women tend to be white wine drinkers, while men more often prefer red wine. When hosting a dinner party, consider what entree you are serving and select wines that will enhance the food. Most wines of the world are best when consumed young, and that is true of most Monolithos Wines as well.

Monolithos produces and bottles two semi-sparkling wines under the Santa Monica label.

Santa Monica White has a lovely light yellow green colour with a delicate, light floral nose and medium-sized bubbles. You can sense flavours of pineapple, tropical fruit and apple and is in perfect balance with the bit of sweetness. This is a lovely wine to mix for cocktails, to accompany a dessert or simply as a welcoming drink for newly arriving guests.

Santa Monica Rose has a strong pink colour with a light touch of fresh berries on the nose and raspberry flavours. If you like a touch of sweetness in your sparkling wine, this could be the one for you. Santa Monica sparkling white wine or rose make good aperitifs.

Both are not wines to put in a cellar and age for years and the labels won’t impress your snobby neighbour. But for drinking with people you love, these wines will delight you.

If soup is included in the menu, a dry white wine with chicken or fish soup and a fortified wine is satisfactory with most meat soups. In most cases, the wine to be served with the main course can be confidently served with the soup too.

Monolithos Wines with Main Courses

Monolithos White Dry and Ayios Stephanos White wine can be enjoyed with white meats such as chicken, pork or veal. If white wine is served, it should be dry or medium-dry, and full-flavoured. A light red wine (Monolithos Red or Ayios Stephanos Red) is particularly suited to the more strongly flavoured white meat dishes.

Fish, including shellfish, almost always tastes best with dry white wine. White wine with a slightly sharp, acid flavour can be used to offset the oiliness that is characteristic of some fish dishes. Fish with an extremely delicate flavour needs to be accompanied by a very light white wine (Monolithos White or Santa Monica White). A fuller bodied white wine (Ayios Stephanos) can be served with the more flavourful fish dishes. If lemon or a strong sauce is provided with the fish, a cheaper variety of wine can be served. Ayios Stephanos is a versatile white wine that pairs well with poultry dishes, but also goes well with pork, veal, seafood and recipes featuring a cream base.

The Christmas turkey presents a dilemma in the food and wine matching stakes. If your meal is a simple turkey dish, a young red or white will make a great match. However, if you have stuffing and sauces such as cranberry sauce etc. then a more complex red would be a better option. Thus either Monolithos Red or Ayios Stephanos Red will make great matches. Monolithos Red wines complement beef dishes or pastas with red sauces. They look and smell delicious, and they are. They are fresh, soft and gentle wines with rich flavours of strawberries and dry fruits with a touch of cinnamon. These are all nice wines, hard to dislike.

Monolithos wines with cheese

The relatively strong flavour of most cheeses demands a full- bodied red table wine such as Monolithos Cabernet Sauvignon or Ayios Stephanos Red. The latter is a blend of Cabernet, Shiraz and Mavro grapes and has a spectacular dark pink colour and a rich nose.

White wine (Monolithos White Dry and Ayios Stephanos White) complements milder cheeses.

Ayios Stephanos White with a pale yellow colour leads to soft tropical fruit flavours on the nose. It’s lightly floral with tastes of melon and a squeeze of citrus. It’s more gentle than aggressive, but has a little bite at the back of the throat to let you know you are alive. It is perfect with light-flavoured chicken, veal or simple seafood dishes.

Festive Season Tips

Holidays bring with them parties and gatherings, along with more opportunities than usual to drink alcohol with family and friends. Here are some tips to see you through the festive season.

. Drink some water or a diet soft drink before drinking any alcohol, so that you are not thirsty when you start.

. Sip your alcoholic drink slowly and drink something non-alcoholic (water or a soft drink) between each alcoholic drink.

. Avoid salty foods, as this will only make you thirsty.

. When it comes to choosing the right wine, most of the age-old rules still apply. Drink white wine with starters, pale meat and fish, and red wine with red meat and game.

. White wine is generally best served lightly chilled – put it in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving to allow it to cool sufficiently.

. Red wines will get much better if left in the glass or properly decanted for at least an hour.

. Try to eat a substantial meal to increase your tolerance if you are planning on drinking. Avoid eating salty party and snack foods which will encourage you to drink more quickly.

. Listen to your body – stop eating when you feel full.

. Have a positive attitude and try not to worry about things that are beyond your control.

. If you want a drink, stop and think. How will you get home – bus, taxi, lift? Plan your journey in advance and get home safely.

. Look after your friends. If you think someone has had too much to drink, arrange a lift home for them with someone who hasn’t been drinking, call them a cab, or let them stay for the night. Remember, it is the season of goodwill!

. Only spend what you know you can afford. If your finances are shaky, thoughtful and handmade gifts often offer more pleasure.

. Don’t try to lose weight over Christmas. With parties, families and all the special foods that go with Christmas, it’s going to be just about impossible! Your main aim should be to maintain your weight.

. Holidays are the perfect time to start off the exercise routine. Get out into the fresh air and find an exercise that you enjoy: as long as you are getting the heart rate up and starting to perspire, that’s all you need to work off the extra calories.

. Remember – Everything in moderation.

Wine News and Information

A new report from Oregon State University maintains that the kind of closure used in a wine bottle – whether natural cork, synthetic cork, or a screw cap – makes no difference in the taste of wine. Whether you are drinking a $5 or a $200 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, the type of closure probably won’t affect the taste.

In fact, while the study doesn’t go this far, the fact is that a screw top actually is less likely to cause any problem in the taste of wine. Just a tiny bit of bacteria in natural cork can actually cause a wine to taste a little “off”. However, another report from the same researchers suggests that, given a choice between a corked wine and a wine with a screw top, consumers almost always preferred the former and identified the latter as being lower in quality and therefore less expensive. Clearly, the wine industry has a lot of work to convince us (consumers) that a screw top on a bottle of wine isn’t a sign of lesser quality.

The supermarkets already have their Christmas decorations out in the hopes of putting the idea of early holiday shopping in the minds of those so inclined. And with that in mind, some of the best gifts are surely those that people can use! What can be put to better use during the holiday season than wine? No matter where you go, wine is always a welcome gift. When you go wine gift shopping, keep an open mind. Decide on a price point.

There are gift baskets which, apart from the wine, contain crackers, nuts, biscuits, chocolates, or anything else that strikes your fancy. Many of these gift baskets include local or foreign wines. Some of them are good, and some of them are terrible. Before you grab a basket and run, make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. A lot of items are thrown in that people eventually throw out. If wine is what you are interested in most, we strongly recommend Monolithos special gift boxes of one or two bottles of your choice.

Sparkling Wine Cocktail

Ingredients
6 ounces Sparkling Wine or Champagne
1 cube sugar

Angostura bitters
Directions

Soak a sugar cube with Angostura bitters. Place the cube in the bottom of a chilled Champagne flute. Fill with Sparkling Wine or Champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Italian Kiss Cocktail

Ingredients

5 oz sparkling wine

1 ounce orange juice

1 oz Amaretto

Orange slices
Directions

Pour Amaretto and orange juice into a tulip shaped glass.
Pour sparkling wine into the glass.
Garnish with half an orange slice.

English Christmas Punch

This recipe makes 27-30 individual drinks when served in white wine glasses, making it a perfect holiday party punch:

Ingredients:

750 ml bottle dark rum
750 ml bottle dry red wine
3 cups strong tea
1 lb superfine sugar
Juice of 1 large orange
Juice of 1 lemon

Preparation
Heat, but do not boil, the wine, tea, lemon and orange juice in a saucepan.
Pour the heated mix into a heat-proof punch bowl.
Place as much sugar as possible into a large ladle and any excess sugar into the punch bowl.
Saturate the sugar in the ladle with rum.
Ignite the rum and sugar in the ladle and pour it – carefully – while still aflame into the punch.

Stir well and extinguish the flames.

We thank you for your continued support. 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.

Here’s a toast to the future, a toast to the past, and a toast to our friends, far and near.

May the future be pleasant; the past a bright dream; May our friends remain faithful and dear.

Anonymous

Take care, and always remember:

”New Year’s Day is every man’s birthday.”

Charles Lamb

October 2007

Dear Friends of Monolithos

In this month’s newsletter, we shall look into the pros and cons relevant to the wine filtering debate.

Wine filtration, and to a lesser extent, fining, remain subjects of controversy among wine professionals and wine lovers. To filter or not to filter, that is the question.

The purpose of filtering is to remove sediment, solid impurities, grape skins, dead yeast, etc., from the wine. Although filtering may help to clarify the wine, it is also accused of stripping wine of flavour and character, and there is a trend towards very light filtration or even no filtration at all.

In the early days of filtration after World War II, it was a dangerous procedure because historically, many filters before the 1980's were made from asbestos. Technology has removed health dangers and cleaned up wine, but the arguments about filtration refuse to go away. While filtration has been a support of commercial wine production for decades, the range of available technologies has increased and improved, and winemakers have become smarter about how to maximize the usefulness of filtration and minimize the potential side effects. Any dispute over the effect of filtration today concerns the taste of the wine.

In the late 1980’s, the subject became fashionable and captured the imagination of the public, resulting in a new marketing issue. Unfiltered wines were presumed by some to be of better quality, because they had not had some part of them stripped out. However, blind tasting conducted with wines that were available both from the same producer and in a filtered and unfiltered form, showed repeatedly that the unfiltered wines were "dirtier" and exhibited more flaws.

There is the school that argues filtration is always necessary for stability in the bottle. An unfiltered wine is a less stable wine. More chemical reactions take place in the bottle over time, simply because there are more elements present. There are yeasts still present for instance, and they can start up fermentation if there's any residual sugar left in the wine. Unfiltered wines are more likely to go off, and in commercial terms, that's another negative point.

The other side argues that a carefully made wine, red wine in particular, which has gone through barrel ageing, should not need filtration, either early or before bottling. To take the opposite case, Beaujolais Nouveau generally lacks aroma and flavour because it has been heavily filtered so that it can be drunk in a stable condition within two months after harvest.

It is admitted that most young and healthy wines, if left long enough under good conditions, would eventually reach the state of clarity within a few months. It is also argued that, while filtration may be necessary for ordinary commercial wines, too heavy a filtration can indeed rob a fine wine of some of its complexity and capacity to age. Filtration does remove some macromolecular components that may not have a direct mouth-feel component, but these macromolecules help to stabilize flavour and texture and do, in fact, contribute to this important area of wine of textural and flavour components. It is also pointed out that unfiltered wine will develop greater complexity with age than filtered ones. This is because a greater number of different chemical reactions are likely to occur during bottle ageing, since essential constituents have not been removed from the wine.

There is also the perception among at least some consumers that unfiltered wines are somehow superior or more "natural" than wines that have been filtered. This attitude has been encouraged by wine marketers who put the message on the wine label, sometimes even the front label, that the wine has not been filtered. Wine writers promote, and consumers seem to accept, the view that filtration might remove delicate features of a wine’s aroma and palate, so the best filtration is no filtration.

The pragmatic winemaker knows that there are serious risks involved in bottling a wine with an unknown load of bacteria and, perhaps, yeast. Filtering largely removes that risk and, therefore, it is often standard procedure. When the term "unfiltered" appears on a wine label, it serves as notice that the wine inside may be less than perfectly clear and contain more than a usual amount of sediment. That said, however, wineries are under no legal or moral obligation to reveal to what degree or whether or not a wine has been filtered.

The vast majority of wine in the marketplace, even at the very high end, goes through one kind of filtration experience or another in order to achieve some combination of clarity and microbial stability. If the wine is not filtered, there is a chance that the residual population of bacteria (and sometimes yeast) will grow in the wine after bottling and cause it to go cloudy, to develop a smudgy deposit or even some off-tastes and aromas. Cloudy wine is difficult to sell, and sometimes getting a white or blush wine clear and bottle bright without using some kind of filtration is difficult. Consequently, practically all commercially produced white and blush wines are filtered before they are bottled.

Proponents of filtering will tell you that it takes nothing out of the wine or that if it does, it is only temporary. After the shock of filtration the wine will recover in a month or so and will age in the same way as its unfiltered counterpart. In his book on wine-making, Emil Paynaud argues that the purely mechanical (as opposed to chemical) action of filtration cannot possibly have a negative effect on the quality of wine, because the foreign substances in suspension and the impurities that form the lees do not have a favourable taste function.

Today, and particularly when using mechanical harvesting, rotten grapes are usually picked and pressed along with healthy ones; the must is then filtered to take away the bad taste. If the filtration is not carried out, some impurities and bacteria may get into the bottle. An unfiltered wine is more likely to go off, because it contains impurities which may cause an unfavourable chemical reaction.

There has been a huge body of research done since Emile Peynaud's time on macromolecular level of influence of fining and filtration. The reality is that proper filtering may involve a lot of new equipment, knowledge and considerable trial and error. After all, filtering could harm the wine if the sulphite levels are too low, and the filtering introduces enough oxygen to cause spoilage, or if the filter and all the hoses and connectors are not absolutely sanitary and infect the wine. Filtering also removes some elements that contribute to flavours and aromas, so winemakers need to be judicious and conservative with this technique to avoid "collateral damage" that leaves the wine clean but lifeless. A number of connoisseurs, members of the wine trade and particularly wine critics, are under the increasingly popular notion that unfiltered wines, because they are manipulated less and therefore considered more authentic, are superior in quality.

However, unfiltered white wines are very rare, because consumers are bothered if they find sediment in a bottle of red wine and are totally frustrated if they discover sediment in one of the whites. After all, whites are often rejected if they have tartaric acid crystals in the bottom of the bottle. These crystals are formed during cold weather, unless the wine has already been chilled and filtered in the winery to remove them before bottling.

Filtering wine is mainly for commercial reasons, not simply for making a better wine. Wine should satisfy consumer’s expectations. Most people, apart from finding a taste that they like in the wine, whether red or white, expect it to be clear and bright and free from extraneous bits. Wine producers should offer wines that the consumer likes. No restaurant wants wine that the customer will reject. It is safer to offer a bottle of filtered wine that does not need decanting and has a lower incidence of rejection.

Whether to filter or not has been debated by winemakers as long as there have been filters. Some winemakers feel the only way to make wine is the “natural way”, letting the wine clear on its own, even if it does take a year or so. Other winemakers filter their wine to clear it so they can reduce the possibility of bottle ageing problems. A clear wine is more appealing, and the colour is brighter.

Filtering may make a wine drinkable sooner. A sterile or fine wine filter will remove most yeast cells that may cause sediment and possibly re-fermentation The real issue is that not all filtration is equal. A sterile filtration is better than wine that is not stable in the bottle. Filtration takes out solids in varying degrees, depending on the fineness of the filter pads. The disadvantage of filtering is the possible reduction of colour and tannins. After all, for every gain in winemaking, there is some sacrifice. Let your fruit hang until it has fully matured and you have to deal with higher alcohols. Raise your fermentation temperatures to gain some complexity and you sacrifice some fruitiness.

Like most aspects of wine, there is no absolute right or wrong. Filtering is a tool. Like any tool, it can be misused, or used with great skill. In the end, it all depends on the individual consumer. For many, it can be more of a visual thing than a flavour issue. Some people are put off by a wine that is not completely clear, while others feel a cloudy wine is more “natural”.

Wine News and Information

Last summer the grapes in the Lazio region, around Rome, ripened at least 20 days early. In the northern regions of Veneto and Trentino, the home of refreshing Italian sparkling wines, the grapes were ready to pick in early August, three to four weeks early. In Sicily, there was a rush on how to find seasonal workers; red grapes were ripening in early September, a month early. It may be a simple climate quirk or even a cyclical pattern, but some growers across this lush agricultural region are ready to believe that global warming is taking a toll on their traditions and business.

It has been a year of inversions. While the north of Italy basked in a July heat wave, the south suffered an unusual rainy season, meaning a northern boom of succulent early grapes has been offset by a bust of sorts in the south, where a deadly fungus spread through vineyards, cutting yields in wine-rich Sicily — one of Italy's top four wine regions — by 30%. Consequently, Italian wine producers are forecasting their lowest production in 50 years: 1.14 billion gallons, down 13% from a year ago, along with an increase in prices of up to 30%, said Giancarlo Prevarin, president of the Italian Winemakers Association. Some producers claim that the grape harvest is smaller, but the quality of the fruit is rich, more flavourful and sweet. The heat hastened the ripening, and the lack of rain intensified the natural sugars.

Australia's unrelenting drought looks set to slash the 2008 grape harvest by up to half, driving grape growers and wine producers out of business and forcing a structural change in the industry. At least 800 grape growers — more than 10% of the industry's 7,500 growers — are likely to go out of business.

The drought is having most impact in the Murray Darling Basin of southeastern Australia, which produces up to 65% of Australia's wine grapes. The majority are used for the production of high volume varietal wines, signalling a possible end to the low cost wines which have built Australia's export industry. The regions on the Murray Darling rely heavily on irrigation water and the rivers have been depleted.

Italian police have confiscated bottles of wine with labels depicting Hitler and other Nazis. The wine, produced by Udine-based Vini Lunardelli, is from a range featuring famous — and infamous — historic figures such as Karl Marx, Winston Churchill, Napoleon and Mussolini. The bottles from the “Der Führer” line were seized on the grounds that they constitute “a glorification of the perpetrators of crimes against humanity”, according to the Agence France Presse. Andrea Lunardelli, marketing and distribution director, said the range — launched in 1993 with labels of Che Guevara and Mussolini — was a marketing strategy to attract new customers to higher quality wine. “In fact, the Hitler labels were not our idea, they were specifically requested by customers in Germany and Austria,” Lunardelli told decanter.com. “The public prosecutor accuses us of being Nazi apologists,” he said. “But this wine is not bought by skinheads; it's bought by normal people.”

Monolithos Monthly News

The back-breaking, hand-intensive labour of harvesting at Monolithos vineyards was completed by 17 September 2007. The grapes were hand-picked in the early morning hours before the autumn sun had a chance to warm the vineyard. After each session, the fruit was transported directly to the winery as quickly as possible to avoid any undesirable oxidation of the grape juice that can occur once it has been exposed to the air. At Monolithos Winery, we keep grapes/must from each vineyard in separate, stainless steel tanks. After de-stemming , crushing, pressing and fermentation, the various wine are evaluated before any blending takes place towards the end of October.

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

"Men are like wine – some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age." — Pope John XXIII

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

September 2007

Dear Friends of Monolithos,

This month, we take a closer look into the grape berry anatomy and attempt to explain briefly how its constituents influence wine quality.

The small fruit of the vine is the fundamental element from which the amazing adventure of wine making begins – small, coloured berries producing the juice which originates endless styles of wine. There is no sure and reliable evidence about how “wine” was discovered, in particular, how a small berry, rich in sweet juice, could materialise into a beverage very different from the original matter.

The grape is the fruit of the vine, and it develops in bunches as a consequence of the fecundation of flowers. The grape berry is fixed to the stem, and this part is rich in water and minerals. It also contains tannin that can impart to the wine a certain pungency (stem taste) and a grassy tang that can negatively affect the taste of wine. This is why, based on the variety of grapes and the type of wine made, the berries are de-stemmed.

From a winemaking perspective, the grape berry has three major types of tissue – flesh, skin, and seed. These tissues vary considerably in composition, and therefore by extension, they contribute differently to the overall wine composition. The bulk of wine is derived from the flesh of the grape. Because of this, the composition of wine can be manipulated by simply changing berry size. As a general rule, wines made from smaller berries will have a higher proportion of skin and seed derived compounds.

The grape berry's appearance is usually round or stretched. It is covered by the skin whose thickness varies according to the grape variety, and represents 5% to 12% of a mature grape’s weight. The skin of the grape, which is covered by a waxy-like substance, is rich in pectin, cellulose, aromatic substances and polyphenolic components. These are commonly known as tannins, and are responsible for the colour in red wines, as well as for the structure and astringency. Both aromatic substances and polyphenols contained in the skin can be extracted by means of maceration (the procedure of leaving the grape skins and pips in contact with the juice). The quantity of extraction is proportional to the time of maceration.

Grape juice, both of the white and the red berried species, has a greenish yellow colour, therefore when the maceration of the skin in the must is completely avoided, it is possible to obtain white wines from red grapes. The skins of red berried grapes are macerated in the must with the explicit purpose of giving colour to red wines and to extract aromas and tannins. Likewise, a short maceration of the skins – usually a few hours – can be used for the production of rose wines with red berried grapes. It should, however, be noted that the quantity of colorant substances contained in the skin of red berries grapes depends to a great extenton the grape variety and, therefore, every red grape will have different colorant capacities and qualities.

Another component of the grape is the pulp or flesh. This makes up 80% of the weight of a bunch of grapes and is, therefore, the most important part. It is colourless and is composed of water, sugar (glucose + fructose), three main acids (tartaric, malic, and citric), pectin, several mineral elements and especially potassium and nitrogenous substances which constitute the main source of food for yeast. It also contains enzymes and vitamins. The area which is just under the skin is rich in tannins and aromatic substances, sugar and acids. The middle part has the highest concentration of sugar and acids.

In the inner part are the pips which are rich in polyphenols and are of a very astringent nature. These will be extracted during the pressing of berries. There can be two, three or four pips or seeds per berry, which constitute 4%-5% of the bunch weight. Seeds are of relatively minor importance in winemaking, although if they are crushed, the bitter tannins they contain are released.

In white winemaking, the contact time between juices and seeds is short (a few hours) and the effect of tannins from seeds is minimal. However in red winemaking, the prolonged contact during maceration and fermentation means those tannins are very likely to be dissolved in the finished wine.

By pressing the berries, we obtain the must which is made from the above-mentioned liquid and solid substances. Water is the fundamental element and represents about 70%-80% of the must. Sugar constitutes 15%-30%, whilst acids form 0.5%-1.5% and, as already explained, there are other substances such as minerals, vitamins, polyphenols, aromatic components, pectin, nitrogenous substances, enzymes and micro-organisms (yeasts, bacteria and moulds).

The grape berry is essentially an independent biochemical factory. Beyond the primary metabolites essential for plant survival (water, sugar, amino acids, minerals, and micronutrients), the berry has the ability to synthesize all other berry components (for example, flavour and aroma compounds) that define a particular wine. The grape is a fruit, with an unusually complex balance of delicate ingredients. It appears unique in its ability to mimic the smells and flavours of other fruits, depending on how and where it is grown. In warm climates, a versatile white grape variety can evoke smells of pineapple, mango and other exotic aromas. In the much cooler regions, the same variety could smell steely and austere, rather like wet stones, with flavours ranging from citrus to apple.

The essence of wine lies predominantly in its colour, aroma and flavour. It is the seemingly endless diversity of these attributes that keeps the consumer fascinated by wine. Wine would not be as popular as it is today without this wide range of fruit aromas and flavours. Wine is also rich in minerals and proteins. Minerals such as potassium and calcium are picked up from the soil by the vine roots and interact with the acids to influence the taste of the finished wine. Proteins are derived from the grape pulp, and can cause problems by making the wine cloudy if they are not treated appropriately.

Winemakers are therefore continually seeking new – and rediscovering old – techniques to enhance grape character and to positively influence the sensorial diverse qualities of wine. An understanding of berry anatomy, when and where berry components are produced, is the first step in understanding the rationale behind managing wine style in the vineyard. Many advances have been made in understanding how the grape berry develops and the components that are important in wine. During the last few decades, the quality of wines has undoubtedly improved as a direct result of being able to manipulate the grape berry through production practices.

Wine News and Information

In what scientists are hailing as the greatest breakthrough in a generation, Australian researchers have identified the aromatic compound that produces the black pepper smell in red wine. Boffins at the Australian Research Institute spent eight years trying to find the compound, dubbed Rotundone, which was discovered last year, but kept secret while patents were secured. The black pepper aroma is typical of many top-end Australian Shiraz wines. The discovery could revolutionise winemaking, enabling winemakers and winegrowers to alter the way they produce their wine in order to minimise or maximise certain flavour characteristics.

“Once you know what the compound is, you can find out what, in the vineyard or winemaking process, creates it, and therefore maximise it,” said Jamie Goode, author of The Science of Wine and wineanorak.com. “It might help make better, cheap wine,” he said. Top Australian winemaker Bruce Tyrell agreed, telling an Australian newspaper that the discovery would help the “more commercial end” of the wine industry, but that at the top end, he was more “inclined to take what nature has given me”.

Italy's first official 2007 harvest preview, published by Unione Italiana Vini, predicted that this year's vintage will be the earliest harvest in the last 30 years. The report says picking will begin an average of 15 days earlier, with a possible 5% decrease in yields, stressing that climate conditions during the next few weeks will be of vital importance to both aspects. In what mirrors harvest conditions throughout much of northern Europe, weather patterns have brought the usual growing cycle forward by around three weeks.

However, not all producers and regions are expecting an early harvest. For southern Italy, it is estimated that harvest conditions are more or less on track, as weather conditions throughout the year have been less extreme.

Monolithos Monthly News

In August, we began testing the fruit for physiological ripeness and flavour before we decided which vineyard was ready for harvest. Sugar readings were taken from each block on a regular basis. We checked the colour of grape seeds to see if they had developed a brownish hue (a sign of truly ripe grapes).

Once the harvesting decision has been taken for a particular location, the grapes are hand-picked in the early morning hours before the sun has had a chance to warm the vineyard. The clusters are placed into small picking buckets, which are then loaded into a small truck. The cool fruit is then transported to the winery for processing. Traditionally, “Neropies” vineyard, planted with “malvasia”, is the first site to be harvested and this year’s crop was collected during the third week of August. In September, we plan the harvesting of “pygadhia”, followed by “ayiasmata” locations.

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

“Appreciating wine requires knowledge which comes largely from wine-tasting experiences.”