In his cups: Wine critic holds forth on tea
By John H. Isacs |
April 11, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THAT I consider wine to be the single greatest beverage ever invented by mankind should come as little surprise to readers. No other man-made beverage can compete with the sheer diversity of origin, variety, flavors, textures and aromas of wine. Additionally, no other liquid so significantly embellishes the foods we love.
If wine is the gold medal standard, what's the world's second greatest beverage?
Coffee lovers would passionately make a case for their beloved fluid, as might connoisseurs of premium liquors like Cognac and whisky. Sake and Chinese yellow wines also have their fervent followers.
But the best case for the silver medal in the world's greatest man-made beverages competition might well go to tea. Wine and tea both boast rich histories dating back more than 5,000 years for tea and 7,000 years for wine.
Parallels
The ingredients, cultivation techniques and methods of making and enjoying tea can be quite different than those of wine, but the parallels are also fascinating.
Both are plants that need very specific climatic conditions and environments to thrive. My tea-loving friends insist that terrior is just as important for making quality teas as it is for wine. The time of picking is critical to the quality of the final beverages. High altitude and the slopes of hills and mountains have a positive effect on ripening and quality.
Once harvested, both grapes and tea need to be processed as quickly as possible in order to retain their natural flavors. The finest quality grapes and tea leaves are carefully picked and sorted by hand. Some teas also go through a natural fermentation.
In order to increase longevity and add secondary flavors, wine is stored in oak barrels while tea is roasted. As with the tea leaves, the barrels for wine aging may also be lightly or more heavily tasted in order to impart special flavors to the wine.
But these additions and increased richness from oak aging and roasting come at a cost as freshness, fruitiness and floral qualities are diminished. Therefore, some types of wines are not aged in barrels in order to maximize their fresh fruit aromas and flavors and some teas are not roasted to emphasize their primary flavors.
Different varieties of teas and grapes have varying longevity but most are meant to be consumed within a few years of production.
The exceptions are quality oak aged reds and the best whites and sparklers in the wine world and roasted Oolong and black teas. The champion tea in terms of aging potential is Pu'er which undergoes a form of microbial and fungal fermentation that increases its aging potential. Some Pu'er teas have been known to age for up to two or three decades. The best wines of course can age even longer.
Drinking both wine and tea is much more than just an act of quenching thirst, at its apex of enjoyment, consuming wine and tea becomes a ritual or ceremony steeped in culture and history. The tea ceremony as practiced in China and Japan is even more intricate and ritualized than that of wine.
But with both wine and tea, the proper skills, utensils and containment vessels significantly enhance the enjoyment. The effect of crystal glasses on wine and suitable pottery cups on tea are similar as they both highlight and even augment the natural aromas, flavors and textures of the beverages.
Another important factor that both wine and tea share is that they help contribute to a healthy lifestyle. On numerous occasions in this column I have expounded on the significant health benefits of wine. The benefits of tea are remarkably similar.
Regular tea drinking contributes to lower rates of heart disease, strokes and cancer. L-theanine a component commonly found in green tea, is believed to have a calming effect on drinkers while also improving mental clarity.
There's also a rather unfortunate reality that both beverages share. The majority of wines and teas on the market in Shanghai and elsewhere are low quality and mass produced. Some level of application and knowledge are necessary to get good results.
Tea and wine together?
Recently in Shanghai and elsewhere it has become somewhat chic to hold wine and tea tastings together. The goal, I suppose, is to make wine more accessible to tea drinkers. However I remain dubious. The aforementioned parallels aside, the two are not the best simultaneous companions. In my opinion, at best tea can be a nice follow-up beverage to a wine dinner but not something to be enjoyed immediately before or with wine. The different flavors, textures, astringency and temperatures of the two beverages clearly clash.
Tea flavors in wine
Some wines, especially mature reds, may exhibit aromas and flavors of tea. After eight to 10 years in the bottles it's not uncommon to find subtle notes of tea aromas and flavors in Sangiovese reds from Tuscany, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna and in Northern Rhone red Syrah wines like Saint Joseph, Hermitage and Cote Rotie.
When cultivated at higher altitudes in Chile, the somewhat vegetable qualities of Carmenere red wines often include intriguing sensations of tea. The white variety Roussanne common in the south of France and Australia also frequently expresses itself with delicate scents of tea.
If wine is the gold medal standard, what's the world's second greatest beverage?
Coffee lovers would passionately make a case for their beloved fluid, as might connoisseurs of premium liquors like Cognac and whisky. Sake and Chinese yellow wines also have their fervent followers.
But the best case for the silver medal in the world's greatest man-made beverages competition might well go to tea. Wine and tea both boast rich histories dating back more than 5,000 years for tea and 7,000 years for wine.
Parallels
The ingredients, cultivation techniques and methods of making and enjoying tea can be quite different than those of wine, but the parallels are also fascinating.
Both are plants that need very specific climatic conditions and environments to thrive. My tea-loving friends insist that terrior is just as important for making quality teas as it is for wine. The time of picking is critical to the quality of the final beverages. High altitude and the slopes of hills and mountains have a positive effect on ripening and quality.
Once harvested, both grapes and tea need to be processed as quickly as possible in order to retain their natural flavors. The finest quality grapes and tea leaves are carefully picked and sorted by hand. Some teas also go through a natural fermentation.
In order to increase longevity and add secondary flavors, wine is stored in oak barrels while tea is roasted. As with the tea leaves, the barrels for wine aging may also be lightly or more heavily tasted in order to impart special flavors to the wine.
But these additions and increased richness from oak aging and roasting come at a cost as freshness, fruitiness and floral qualities are diminished. Therefore, some types of wines are not aged in barrels in order to maximize their fresh fruit aromas and flavors and some teas are not roasted to emphasize their primary flavors.
Different varieties of teas and grapes have varying longevity but most are meant to be consumed within a few years of production.
The exceptions are quality oak aged reds and the best whites and sparklers in the wine world and roasted Oolong and black teas. The champion tea in terms of aging potential is Pu'er which undergoes a form of microbial and fungal fermentation that increases its aging potential. Some Pu'er teas have been known to age for up to two or three decades. The best wines of course can age even longer.
Drinking both wine and tea is much more than just an act of quenching thirst, at its apex of enjoyment, consuming wine and tea becomes a ritual or ceremony steeped in culture and history. The tea ceremony as practiced in China and Japan is even more intricate and ritualized than that of wine.
But with both wine and tea, the proper skills, utensils and containment vessels significantly enhance the enjoyment. The effect of crystal glasses on wine and suitable pottery cups on tea are similar as they both highlight and even augment the natural aromas, flavors and textures of the beverages.
Another important factor that both wine and tea share is that they help contribute to a healthy lifestyle. On numerous occasions in this column I have expounded on the significant health benefits of wine. The benefits of tea are remarkably similar.
Regular tea drinking contributes to lower rates of heart disease, strokes and cancer. L-theanine a component commonly found in green tea, is believed to have a calming effect on drinkers while also improving mental clarity.
There's also a rather unfortunate reality that both beverages share. The majority of wines and teas on the market in Shanghai and elsewhere are low quality and mass produced. Some level of application and knowledge are necessary to get good results.
Tea and wine together?
Recently in Shanghai and elsewhere it has become somewhat chic to hold wine and tea tastings together. The goal, I suppose, is to make wine more accessible to tea drinkers. However I remain dubious. The aforementioned parallels aside, the two are not the best simultaneous companions. In my opinion, at best tea can be a nice follow-up beverage to a wine dinner but not something to be enjoyed immediately before or with wine. The different flavors, textures, astringency and temperatures of the two beverages clearly clash.
Tea flavors in wine
Some wines, especially mature reds, may exhibit aromas and flavors of tea. After eight to 10 years in the bottles it's not uncommon to find subtle notes of tea aromas and flavors in Sangiovese reds from Tuscany, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna and in Northern Rhone red Syrah wines like Saint Joseph, Hermitage and Cote Rotie.
When cultivated at higher altitudes in Chile, the somewhat vegetable qualities of Carmenere red wines often include intriguing sensations of tea. The white variety Roussanne common in the south of France and Australia also frequently expresses itself with delicate scents of tea.
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