Berry-delicious wines with notes of berries
By John H. Isacs |
June 6, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ONE of the most common and delicious sensations in red wines is berries. Technically, many of the fruits we commonly consider to be berries are in fact not part of the berry family.
Botanically speaking, the definition of a berry is a flesh fruit derived from a single ovary. These true berries include many names that won't surprise you like blueberry, cranberry and gooseberry, but also some names that will surprise you like tomato, avocado and capsicum.
Perhaps most surprising are the berries that scientifically are not berries at all. These include raspberries and blackberries that are in fact aggregate fruits with seeds from different ovaries and strawberries, which are technically an accessory fruit as their edible part is not made by an ovary.
Ever wonder how a beverage made entirely with grapes can offer such a wide range of aromas and flavors, including berries? Actually, there's a good scientific answer. Wine gains aromas and flavors from three areas, the winemaking process, the grapes themselves and the climate. All three profoundly influence the aromatic and flavor sensations of wine.
In winemaking, the biggest contributor to aromas and flavors is the fermentation process. When grapes ferment, yeast eats the sugar content and turns it into alcohol. During this process, over 200 complex chemical compounds or esters are formed and it is these esters that give wines such a diversity of aromas and flavors.
Some esters have similar molecular forms to fruits like apples, lemons and berries and, therefore, when we experience these esters in wine they magically resemble other fruits. Other steps, including cultivation of vines, harvesting time, sorting and aging in oak, also influence the aromas and flavors of wines.
Grape type
Certain grapes have a penchant to exhibit specific aromas and flavors. Each grape variety has a unique physiology with specific aromatic compounds. These compounds are mostly found in the skin but can also come from the pulp and are almost undetectable until the fermentation process fully releases their potential.
Chardonnay is famous for apple, pear and butter qualities, but when it comes to berry-like sensations, a trio of champion grapes are the reds Zinfandel, Sangiovese and Pinot Noir.
The Zinfandel grape is famous for offering a multitude of berry sensations. California Zins can exhibit confusingly numerous berry sensations, including raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry, cranberry, black cherry and plum flavors.
Quite often the berry flavors in Zinfandel have a spicy quality. Some of the Zins you can find in Shanghai include the Beringer Clear Lake Zinfandel, Kendell Jackson Vinters Reserve Zinfandel and Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel. The Seghesio Zin in particular offers an array of elegant berry sensations that deliciously linger on the palate.
Another berry-intensive grape is Sangiovese. This quintessential Italian variety found all over Italy is renowned for highly seductive aromas and flavors of red and black cherries, bitter cherries, strawberries, blue berries and plums, to name a few.
Top Sangiovese reds that present resplendent aromas and flavors of berries are the young and fresh Castello di Querceto Chianti DOCG, the sophisticated Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico DOCG, and the distinctively feminine Super Tuscan Guicciardini Strozzi Sodole Toscana Rosso IGT.
Pinot Noir is the beloved noble grape of Burgundy that is finding great success on the North and South Islands of New Zealand and the US Pacific Northwest. This thin-skinned and delicate variety makes some of the most thrillingly aromatic wines with lovely cherry, strawberry and raspberry scents.
Wine aficionados in Shanghai wishing to experience Pinots with heady berry aromas can try the refined and subtle wines Domaine Deux Montille Beaune 1er Cru Les Epenottes, Alex Gambal Savigny-les-Beaune Vielles Vignes and Louis Jadot Gevrey Chambertin from Burgundy.
A more in-your-face, but equally enjoyable delicious berry experience can be had by savoring three New Zealand Pinots, the Kim Crawford Marlborough Pinot Noir, Gibbston Valley Central Otago Gold River Pinot Noir and Tiki Estate Central Otago Pinot Noir.
Food pairing
Zinfandel, Sangiovese and Pinot Noir wines offer berry sensations but are quite different in style. Heavy and dense, most Zinfandels offer black styles of berries like current and blackberry with a touch of spice and are ideal with spiced or sweet marinated BBQ meats or zesty stews.
Sangiovese reds from southern Italy tend offer both black and blue types of berries such as blueberries, mulberries and boysenberries and match with grilled meats and flavorful cheese.
Fresher, more delicate Sangiovese wines from Northern Italy and young Pinot Noir wines offer greater red berry sensations like strawberries, cherries, and cranberries.
Their good acidity makes them quite flexible in food pairing, going well with roasted and grilled fish and white meats to heavier fare like roasted and grilled meats and aged cheeses.
Botanically speaking, the definition of a berry is a flesh fruit derived from a single ovary. These true berries include many names that won't surprise you like blueberry, cranberry and gooseberry, but also some names that will surprise you like tomato, avocado and capsicum.
Perhaps most surprising are the berries that scientifically are not berries at all. These include raspberries and blackberries that are in fact aggregate fruits with seeds from different ovaries and strawberries, which are technically an accessory fruit as their edible part is not made by an ovary.
Ever wonder how a beverage made entirely with grapes can offer such a wide range of aromas and flavors, including berries? Actually, there's a good scientific answer. Wine gains aromas and flavors from three areas, the winemaking process, the grapes themselves and the climate. All three profoundly influence the aromatic and flavor sensations of wine.
In winemaking, the biggest contributor to aromas and flavors is the fermentation process. When grapes ferment, yeast eats the sugar content and turns it into alcohol. During this process, over 200 complex chemical compounds or esters are formed and it is these esters that give wines such a diversity of aromas and flavors.
Some esters have similar molecular forms to fruits like apples, lemons and berries and, therefore, when we experience these esters in wine they magically resemble other fruits. Other steps, including cultivation of vines, harvesting time, sorting and aging in oak, also influence the aromas and flavors of wines.
Grape type
Certain grapes have a penchant to exhibit specific aromas and flavors. Each grape variety has a unique physiology with specific aromatic compounds. These compounds are mostly found in the skin but can also come from the pulp and are almost undetectable until the fermentation process fully releases their potential.
Chardonnay is famous for apple, pear and butter qualities, but when it comes to berry-like sensations, a trio of champion grapes are the reds Zinfandel, Sangiovese and Pinot Noir.
The Zinfandel grape is famous for offering a multitude of berry sensations. California Zins can exhibit confusingly numerous berry sensations, including raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry, cranberry, black cherry and plum flavors.
Quite often the berry flavors in Zinfandel have a spicy quality. Some of the Zins you can find in Shanghai include the Beringer Clear Lake Zinfandel, Kendell Jackson Vinters Reserve Zinfandel and Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel. The Seghesio Zin in particular offers an array of elegant berry sensations that deliciously linger on the palate.
Another berry-intensive grape is Sangiovese. This quintessential Italian variety found all over Italy is renowned for highly seductive aromas and flavors of red and black cherries, bitter cherries, strawberries, blue berries and plums, to name a few.
Top Sangiovese reds that present resplendent aromas and flavors of berries are the young and fresh Castello di Querceto Chianti DOCG, the sophisticated Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico DOCG, and the distinctively feminine Super Tuscan Guicciardini Strozzi Sodole Toscana Rosso IGT.
Pinot Noir is the beloved noble grape of Burgundy that is finding great success on the North and South Islands of New Zealand and the US Pacific Northwest. This thin-skinned and delicate variety makes some of the most thrillingly aromatic wines with lovely cherry, strawberry and raspberry scents.
Wine aficionados in Shanghai wishing to experience Pinots with heady berry aromas can try the refined and subtle wines Domaine Deux Montille Beaune 1er Cru Les Epenottes, Alex Gambal Savigny-les-Beaune Vielles Vignes and Louis Jadot Gevrey Chambertin from Burgundy.
A more in-your-face, but equally enjoyable delicious berry experience can be had by savoring three New Zealand Pinots, the Kim Crawford Marlborough Pinot Noir, Gibbston Valley Central Otago Gold River Pinot Noir and Tiki Estate Central Otago Pinot Noir.
Food pairing
Zinfandel, Sangiovese and Pinot Noir wines offer berry sensations but are quite different in style. Heavy and dense, most Zinfandels offer black styles of berries like current and blackberry with a touch of spice and are ideal with spiced or sweet marinated BBQ meats or zesty stews.
Sangiovese reds from southern Italy tend offer both black and blue types of berries such as blueberries, mulberries and boysenberries and match with grilled meats and flavorful cheese.
Fresher, more delicate Sangiovese wines from Northern Italy and young Pinot Noir wines offer greater red berry sensations like strawberries, cherries, and cranberries.
Their good acidity makes them quite flexible in food pairing, going well with roasted and grilled fish and white meats to heavier fare like roasted and grilled meats and aged cheeses.
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