Text 9948, 91 rader
Skriven 2007-01-04 16:55:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av HAP NEWSOM
Ärende: up in the air 811
=========================
 HN> Hmmmm, Why not? If you grow that particular grape do you need to grow 
 HN> another variety as well? Didn't know that they did that to all wines. 

Most good wines, especially red ones, made by careful
winemakers have a degree of blended secondary grapes. It
is up to the nose, palate, learning, and instincts of
each maker how much of a minority flavor goes into the
final mix.

 -> amount of extraction
 HN> Not sure what that means.

You can press with varying degrees of pressure

 -> amount of time spent in contact with pomace
 HN> Ok I know what that means but thought it was a determined time....what

and let the stuff sit around for varying amounts
of time

 HN> factors get involved in figuring out "how long?"

depending on the amount of tannin and polyphenols one
wants to extract (which depends on whether what's
available in the grapes themselves as well as the
desired flavor profiles and aging potential of the
finished product.

 -> fining or not, and if so, vegetarian or other
 HN> Hmmmm??

Wines are usually fined (clarified) with egg whites
or fish gelatin or some other coagulating agent
(vegetarian ones are more expensive and less effective).

 HN> Thank goodness they have not yet come up with an "oak extract"

They have.

 -> length of aging.
 HN> That's where I thought the most variations would be.

Some.

 HN> So you would say it was a bad batch because of bad grapes more than 
 HN> because of bad "winemaking"?

Nope, not bad grapes, bad microorganisms. Or unwanted
microorganisms at least. Or unwanted by me. Many makers
encourage the transformation of malic to lactic acid;
I'm up in the air about the benefits of so-called
malolactic fermentation; it can even out the edges
of a harshly acid wine and even helps get rid of that
green or yellow taste in my most hated varieties; yet
I think that it's used far too extensively and far
too often in the quest to make wine more accessible,
softer, and easier on the lowest common denominator.

  Next question would be if the wine is on
 HN> the  market the winemaker MUST have tasted it and known what "went
 HN> wrong"  then why put it out on the market at all if it's going to be 
 HN> bad publicity in  effect?

Cynicism (probably well founded) about the taste buds
of the public. Of course, I'm as sensitive to this
particular taste as some of Ian's colleagues are to
TCA, so I'm clearly not the target market for these
wines.

FICHI ALLA CHANTILLY
cat: dessert
Serves: 6

1 kg white (or green) figs at peak ripeness
100 g sugar
250 mL whipped cream

Peel the figs taking care not to bruise them. Put them in a glass
serving bowl, pour the sugar over, cover, and refrigerate at least
2 hr. At serving time, take the bowl out of the fridge, uncover,
and top with whipped cream. Serve immediately, while still very cold.

Suggested wine (according to them): Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, served
at 18C (65F).

http://www.newmedia.it/ricette
Le Ricette di Mamma Cioffi

___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 www.docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)