You get what you pay for... |
| You've heard that old song over and over. Like
anything else in this world, it seems to be true. Many home winemakers
walk into winemaking supply shops greeted by a plethora of shiny
cardboxes. Many of the tidily arranged boxes have beautiful landscapes
and are usually adorned with impressive medals and accolades. They carry
names such as 'SELECT' and 'TRADITION' and 'RESERVE'. Many are blends of
all sorts of grape varieties. But which varieties?
You see, my problem has always been trying to identify the true varietal character in my kit wine. My old neighbours were kind of upity and always drooled over the smells and tastes that were distinct to store bought Cabernet Sauvignon or Gewurztraminer. They described the characters to me and on occasion I could taste it in commercial wines, but I was no expert. With my new found knowledge of recognizing varietal identities, I went back to my cellar and tried to find those traits in my own wines. But I couldn't. In fact, my wife would often swear she couldn't tell the difference between any of my wines. For a while it bothered me. So I tried to spice up my wines by adding sugar, or adding more acid, or flavouring liquids and oak. I even combined two boxes into one batch. But it still didn't cut it. There was something missing. I began to notice that this new store carried something that I had always seen but never gave much thought to. They were these juices imported from Europe in funny little plastic container type things. I had passed them up on one occasion because the price seemed expensive compared to the stuff I was making. One Friday I bumped into a winemaking buddy of mine at the grocery store and he was raving about some 'discovery' he made. He wanted everyone on the block to know, so he was throwing a wine tasting- barbeque at his place next weekend. I told him I would be there, more to humour him than to disappoint him. The next weekend changed my winemaking life forever. When I got to my buddies' place he had placed some bottles on his picnic table. He had the name of every wine on each bottle. There were strange names I had never seen before; Sangiovese, Valpolicella, Leanyka, Pinot Gris, Morio Muskat, Scheurebe. I told him that those were strange names for wine kits. He said they were names of grape varieties, not kits. I became curious. He went on to say that his wines only contained one type of grape, not a mix of different types in one batch, like mine. He also told me that each one tastes different from the other. I was skeptical. I pretty much thought that he and myself always produced comparable wine. In fact, I thought I was the better winemaker, because I have been making wine at home a full four years longer than he has and my wife came from a winemaking family. So I tried one of his Scheurebe wines. The first thing that nearly floored me was the smell of the wine when I brought it to my lips. "Wow!" I exclaimed. "This thing has a nose." None of my wines ever had anything like this. The aroma of the grape was perfumy, fruity and so pleasant. The taste was crisp with acidity and was more refreshing than what I was accustomed to. I tried another and another. In truth, they all smelled and tasted different from one another. How long has he kept this from me? He must have aged these wines a long time to get this kind of taste. All the good store bought wines were always a few years old. So I asked him about the age of his wine. "Two and a half months." he said. What? "You mean to tell me that these wines are less than three months old?" I inquired. "Yup." he said with an ever so smug grin on his face. It always took me nine or ten months to even start drinking my chateaux. "I made it from those European juices that come in the plastic 11 L canisters." he beamed. "It must have cost you a fortune to make." I returned. "Not really. I used to throw out a lot of the stuff I made before." he replied. So that's how he kept going through the stuff like water. All along, I thought that he was either drinking more regularily or giving the stuff away by the bucket. "So how much sugar do you add, to get this fruity smell?" I asked. "The only thing I add, is the yeast, then the stabilizer after fermentation. I don't add anything else." he smiled. "No water, acid blend powder, tannin pills or extracts?" I pondered out loud. "All that stuff is history." he cracked. I would have never guessed that I would actually ask him about his technique, but I did anyway. "So was it hard to make?" I asked. "It was easier to make than the cheaper stuff. I couldn't believe it. And to top it off, I could drink the juice before I made wine out of it. In fact, the juice the kids are drinking today, is the same stuff I made these wines out of." he stated. His kids were drinking the juice? I couldn't believe that. I went over to the kids table and sure enough there was the juice. It had the same smell as the wines I had tasted previously. So this is how those professionals make it, from grape juice. All this time I thought I was saving more money buying the inexpensive boxes. I could have made less of the pure juice and enjoyed it MORE!! You really do get what you pay for. John M. Greene Freelance writer |
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