Ever Wonder? Can Aged Riesling Really Smell like Petrol?

Wines regularly get described by their aromas – floral, citrus, green apple, melon, herbal, cherry, plum and spice. But, Riesling – can it really including the aroma of petrol?

 A lot of people might assume a bottle of Riesling must have gone bad if they detect an aroma anything like petrol, gasoline or kerosene. But, this actually is a key characteristic of an aged Riesling!

 Not that a Riesling grape straight from the vine will have any such smell, but petrol is an aroma that forms during the fermentation process.

 There is a lot of chemistry that goes on during a wine’s fermentation. And, the development of exotic chemical compounds is one of these.

 As I started with, the fermentation of grapes can result in a tremendous range of aromas – most of which come from the chemical interactions of the juice of grapes and yeast. Other aromas can be introduced during the aging process (e.g., from oak barrels).

 It turns out that a petrol-like aroma is a natural occurrence in aged Riesling. Your glass of wine is not going to smell like a gas can, but there can be “delicate” aromas of petrol.

 Without getting into the chemistry details, the reason that an aged Riesling can smells like gasoline is due to a chemical compound called TDN (1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene). While the potential for TDN to be produced and noticed in most wines is pretty low, Riesling grapes have the highest chance to exhibit this distinctive aroma. Don’t lose sight of the fact that the primary aromas of Riesling will be tropical fruit, red fruit, melon, citrus and spice. But, there can be this petrol-like aroma compound. And, in combination with the other aromas, it can also result in aromas of honey, beeswax or paraffin.

Sources: GL Sacks et. al. (2012), C Black et. at. (2012)

So, try an aged bottle of Riesling. Not that petrol is an aroma you may desire, but open up mind and your nostrils and see if you can pick out the aroma. It’s not for everyone, but it’s certainly worth trying as you continue on your wine journey. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Riva Leone Barbaresco

2017 Riva Leone Barbaresco ($24.99)

Riva Leone was a man of unique character and personality who was an ambassador for the special wines of the Langhe all throughout Europe in the early 20th Century. His legacy lives on in the Riva Leone wines which uphold the winemaking traditions of Piedmont for a new generation of wine lovers across the world.

Barbaresco wines come from the Piedmont region of Italy and are produced from the Nebbiolo (Nebby-oh-low) grape.

This Barbaresco is aged at least two years including one year in American and French oak barrels.

This wine is medium garnet in color with delicate cherry aromas. On the palate it is medium-bodied with flavors of black cherry, firm tannin and balanced acidity that leads to a nice finish. A classic Barbaresco!

The Riva Leone wines are imported by Mack & Schühle and distributed throughout the U.S.

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Donna White Communications

Ever Wonder? What's the Best Type of Decanter for Wine?

A decanter is a great vessel to allow a wine to breathe.  And, really any container will help a wine breathe. But, all too often, the decanter ends up looking like the one pictured here. This is a beautiful carafe and it's a great addition to a bar or table for serving wine. Unfortunately, it's a bit too narrow. It doesn't give the wine enough room to truly breathe. But, compared to leaving the wine cooped-up in an un-corked bottle, this type of decanter is a definite improvement. Not only does it give the wine a bit more space, it also allows the wine to catch a bit of a breath as it's being poured from the bottle to the decanter.

But to really give a bottle of wine a chance to breathe, you'll need some type of decanter that allows the wine to spread out and have a lot of surface area in contact with air.  The wide-base decanter pictured here is a great example. And, it's designed such that a single bottle of wine just fills the bottom and allows for the maximum amount of the wine's surface area to be exposed to air.

So, next time you open a bottle of wine and think it needs some time to breathe, pour it into a decanter, or really any vessel, that provides a large surface area for the wine to be in contact with air. And, after an hour or two, the wine should smooth out and be more enjoyable. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio

2020 Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio ($11.99)

Sicily is a strong and legendary land. Its climate, nature and winemaking experience make it unique.

The story of Barone Montalto began in Santa Ninfa, in the province of Trapani, in 2000. Montalto wines come from great tradition, young character and are admired by a growing audience of wine consumers.

Barone Montalto manages around 400 hectares (~1000 acres) of vineyards. The majority of their vineyards, as well as their winery, are located in Santa Ninfa, in the heart of the Belice Valley. Other vineyards are in the province of Agrigento, in the Valle dei Templi and in Noto.

This wine is produced from 100% Pinot Grigio. And, just a fun-fact, Pinot Grigio is a pink grape that is a mutation of Pinot Noir.

This Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio is pale gold in color with aromas that include hints of citrus, lemon and herbs. On the palate it is smooth and easy with flavors of pear, peach and melon. The acidity is moderate and well-balanced. The wine finishes light and easy. Cheers!

Barone Montalto wines are imported by Mack & Schühle and distributed throughout the U.S.

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Donna White Communications

Ever Wonder? Does a Wine Need to Breathe Before Being Served?

You may have heard about pulling the cork on a bottle of wine and “letting it breathe.” Those that follow this practice may give the un-corked bottle thirty minutes to an hour before declaring that “the wine is now ready to drink!”

While pulling the cork does allow air to enter the bottle, it is only filling the top-most part of the neck of the bottle with air and exposing the wine’s surface area equivalent to the size of a dime to the air.

Pulling the cork and leaving the opened bottle exposed to air will affect the wine over a long period of time (days to weeks). But, to really allow a bottle of wine to “breathe” before serving, the wine needs even greater exposure to air.

Exposing a wine to air, even briefly, while pouring it into a glass can help. But, wines will typically need more.

Why is this? Well, although wine is produced just from the juice of grapes and yeast, the chemistry that goes on during the fermentation process can yield a few undesirable bi-products. One of these bi-products is hydrogen sulfide that can smell of rotten eggs when sampling the wine’s aroma.

So, when you transfer wine from its bottle to another vessel (e.g., a decanter), the first process that kicks-in is evaporation. Not evaporation of the wine, per se, but evaporation of highly volatile components that are in the wine from the natural winemaking process. The second process that begins is oxidation. This short-term exposure of a wine to oxygen can be beneficial. Oxidation and evaporation both help to smooth out a wine’s rough edges and make them taste more balanced and expressive.

Thirty minutes to an hour in a decanter can help release these volatile compounds. But, you probably don’t want to exceed two to three hours of decanting in order to keep your wine’s flavors from actually becoming deadened.

In order to find the peak flavor of the wine after you have opened a bottle, you need to taste it immediately after you open it to establish a baseline. This understanding of where the wine started will help you determine when the evaporation and oxidation processes have peaked the wine’s flavors — it’ll just taste better and have a smoother mouth-feel.

Highly tannic and full-bodied wines benefit most from this – wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet blends, Syrah, and Syrah blends.

While this discussion is meant mostly for red wines and maybe a few aged white wines, most everyday young white wines do not need any exposure to air before consuming.

Do you need a fancy, expensive decanter to get all these benefits? No. So, next time we’ll look at different types of decanters and ways to best decant a wine. Cheers!