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Learn about the basics of wine each week.
And, get great recommendations for affordable and attainable wines in the weekly Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week.
Boeger 2012 Barbera - El Dorado ($15)
This Barbera is from one of the oldest wineries in the Sierra Foothills. Barbera is a grape grown throughout Italy. It's a grape known for high acidity, soft tannin and dark fruit flavors. The Boeger Barbera certainly has flavors of plums and spices, with velvety texture but its acidity is restrained, while the body is full and finishes very nicely. Seek this one out if you have never tried a Barbera. You'll enjoy this great value.
We've just completed a series on wines and body. We've addressed light, medium and full bodied white wines and red wines. And within this series, factors such as mouth feel, alcohol, tannin and residual sugar have been discussed. Fruit flavors also vary with lighter bodied red wines having red fruit flavors (e.g., cherry, raspberry) and full bodied reds having black fruit flavors (e.g., plum, black cherry, black currant, blackberry). And let's not forget about tannin. Light bodied red wines will have little or no tannin from the grape skins, seeds, stems and oak barrels, while full bodied reds can have big "chewy" tannin that can make you pucker.
One of the analogies that gets widespread use when discussing a wine's body is milk. The analogy states that light bodied wines are like skim milk, medium bodied wines are like 2% milk and full bodied wines are like whole milk. This is meant to address the characteristic of mouth feel. Skim milk is thin and watery while whole milk is thick and creamy. The milk analogy may be okay for comparing watery versus creamy, but it really doesn't work for wine.
Milk has fat solids that give it the mouth feel of creaminess. Wine doesn't. So maybe a better comparison of a wine's body and mouth feel might be with another common drink. And, since it works so well, let's take grape as an example. A grape drink that is made by mixing powder and water (e.g., Kool-Aid or Crystal Light) will generally be light bodied with more subtle flavors. Compare the powdered grape drink with pure grape juice (e.g., Welch's 100% Grape Juice) and then you get a better understanding of body from light to full. In this example, ignore the sweetness and just focus on how it feels in your mouth and the boldness of the fruit flavor.
Now, I think that's a better example of mouth feel that translates directly with wine. It's not perfect, but hopefully you get it. The way something tastes and feels in your mouth is very subjective and difficult to describe. Yet in the wine world, a significant amount of time is spent trying to describe flavors and mouth feel.
The best way to learn about a wine's body is through direct experience. Get a bottle of Pinot Noir and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Try tasting the Pinot Noir first, and then try the Cabernet. You should immediately experience light body versus full body. Cheers!
Michael David Petite Petit ($14)
I always passed by this cartoon character label with the two elephants sipping wine. But Wine Enthusiast named this Petite Sirah their #2 pick on the 2015 top 100 wines, giving it a 94 point rating. That caught my eye! So, as Wine Enthusiast says "Don't let the cartoony label fool you, this is a fantastic wine." This is dark red wine with big rich fruit flavors. But, as Wine Enthusiast goes on "For all its density and depth, however, this is not an overpowering monster." A really good highly rated wine at a terrific price. You need to try this one!
We've explored the various styles of white wines and made it through the light and medium bodied reds. Now it's time to take the final step and look at the big, full bodied red wines.
These full bodied reds are going to be very dark in color, have rich fruit flavors, moderate to high acidity and big tannin. And it's often the tannin in young full bodied reds that will turn people away from these wines. But, given a little breathing space in a decanter, or a few years of cellar time, these can be the best of all wines.
Full bodied red wines are going to be centered around the black fruit flavors of plum, black cherry, fig, boysenberry, black currant, blackberry, raisin and include other flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, leather, tobacco, pepper, and even tar.
Full bodied red wines include:
Malbec, Mourvèdre, Nebbiolo and Tempranillo
Bordeaux blends (primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot)
Rhone Blends including Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre)
Italian Super Tuscan blends (Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah
Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah and Syrah
Again, it's the tannin that will play a huge role in these full bodied reds. And tannin is the reason these wines go so well with a steak or other fatty foods. The tannin acts to cleanse the fats and proteins that collect on your tongue leaving you with a wonderful mouth-feel and an amazing lingering finish. On one end of the scale tannin can be described a 'chewy,' 'muscular,' 'grippy,' or 'firm' and on the other end you may hear words such as 'smooth,' 'soft,' and 'velvety.' Regardless of which end of the spectrum the tannin falls, it is key to the structure of the wine and it's ability to age.
Tannin often gets a bad rap for causing headaches. But if you believe that it's the tannin you need to avoid in red wine, you are also going to have to avoid tea, dark chocolate, nuts, pomegranate, squash, chickpeas, red beans and apple juice all of which all have significant natural tannin.
If you find upon opening a bottle of full bodied red that the tannin is a bit harsh, give it an hour in a decanter that allows the wine maximum surface area for exposure to the air. Quite often you'll find that this will soften it out and make it less harsh. Or, lay the bottle down in a properly controlled cellar or wine refrigerator for five to ten years. The tannin in these big reds will soften with age and reward your patients with a really nice, smooth wine.
Pair one of these full bodied red wines with a nice steak or some flavorful cheese and enjoy. Cheers!
Alexander Valley Vineyards Merlot ($15)
The Alexander Valley in Sonoma County turns out some terrific wines, including this Merlot from the winery named for the originator of the valley.
The Wetzel family who own and run Alexander Valley Vineyards, purchased a large portion of a homestead built by Cyrus Alexander, the valley’s nineteenth century namesake. Today, the Wetzel Family Estate grows fourteen grape varieties, on diverse sites stretching from the banks of the Russian River up onto the hillsides.
This Merlot is a fine example of a medium body red with soft tannin and good black fruit flavors of black cherry, blackberry and plum with a touch of oak to add a subtle vanilla flavor. The finish is long and lasting. This medium bodied Merlot is great for food pairings due to its moderate acidity and tannin. It works well with beef, pork, cured meats and even a flavorful chicken dish.