Ever Wonder? Where Does the Color of a Wine Come From?

Wine can be beautiful shades of yellow, gold, pink, purple or ruby in color with pale, medium and deep intensities. But, where do all these beautiful colors come from?

The final color and hue of a wine comes down to how the various types of wines are made.

  • To produce white wines, the green grapes are pressed to extract the juice from the grapes for fermentation

  • For Rosé wines, red/purple grapes are pressed and the juice is briefly left in contact with the skins and seeds of the grapes before fermentation

  • With red wines, the grape juice, skins and seeds all stay together for fermentation

The key here is that all juice from grapes is essentially clear to begin with. It’s the skins of the grapes that imparts the final color to the wine.

You can actually produce a white wine from a red wine grape - you simply don’t allow for any contact between the clear grape juice and the skins of the red/purple grapes. So, you basically follow the white wine-making process but using red grapes. One of the most famous white wines that is made from red grapes is Champagne. Traditional Champagne is made from two red grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (Pee-noh Mehr-n'yay)) and one white wine grape (Chardonnay). Champagne is a white sparkling wine because the clear juice from the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes are combined with the clear juice from the Chardonnay grape prior to fermentation with no skin contact.

So, again, a wine’s color is all about how long, if at all, the juice of the grapes is left in contact with the skins.

By the way, there is another color of wine and it’s orange. We’ll look into that next time. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Domaine Bousquet Cabernet Sauvignon

2022 Domaine Bousquet Cabernet Sauvignon ($13)

A 1990 vacation in Argentina was all it took. For third-generation winemaker Jean Bousquet, it was love at first sight. The object of the Frenchman’s desire: the Gualtallary Valley, a scenic, remote, arid terrain high in the Tupungato district of the Uco Valley in Argentina’s Mendoza region, close to the border with Chile. Here, where the condors fly and not a vine in sight, Bousquet discovered his dream terroir, an ideal location in which to nurture organically-grown wines.

Jean Bousquet reckoned he’d found the perfect blend between his French homeland and the New World with the sun, with potential for high natural acidity in wine grapes as well as the potential for relatively fruit-forward wines.

It worked out well. Domaine Bousquet now produces 4 million liters a year and export 95% of its volume to more than 50 countries. With their own import companies in the USA, Europe, and Brazil, Domaine Bousquet currently ranks in the top 20 Argentine wineries in terms of exports and is the leader in organic wine.

This 2022 Domaine Bousquet Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% organic grapes from Tupungato Uco Valley Mendoza Argentina. They were fermented with selected yeasts for 10 days. It is deep ruby in color with aromas of black plum, black berry and raspberry along with delicate spicy notes. On the palate this wine is medium bodied with medium tannin and acidity. It finishes light with subtle spicy notes. [ABV: 14%, Acidity: 5.23 g/L, pH: 3.7, Residual Sugar: 2.09 g/L]

If a ‘big’ Cab is not for you, this wine is one that you may enjoy. It has more of a bright fruit focus on the palate and ends easy without heavy tannin.

This organically grown Cabernet Sauvignon from Domaine Bousquet is great tasting and a super value which makes it a great fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

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

Media Sample Provided by Domaine Bousquet

Vintage Dated Wines from the Southern Hemisphere are Actually Older than those from the Northern Hemisphere!

It really is true that southern hemisphere wines are older than northern hemisphere wines!

This is simply because of the opposite seasons between the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere.

So, if you compare wines labeled as "2020" from a southern hemisphere country versus a northern hemisphere country, the wine from the southern hemisphere would have been harvested earlier in the year 2020 (typically between February and April), while the wine from the northern hemisphere would have been harvested later in the year 2020 (typically between August and October).

Thus, even though they're both labeled as being produced as part of the 2020 vintage, the wine from the southern hemisphere is actually older in terms of the time elapsed since harvest.

This variance allows winemakers to produce wine year-round and can influence the characteristics of the grapes and resulting wines due to differences in climate, weather patterns, and growing conditions.

So next time you are looking for an ‘older’ bottle of wine, you’ll also need to consider where the wine was produced!

Notable Northern Hemisphere Wine Producing Countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, United States, Canada, China, Japan, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Croatia and Mexico.

Notable Southern Hemisphere Wine Producing Countries: Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay and Peru

Behind the Cork™ - Domaine Bousquet Malbec

2022 Domaine Bousquet Malbec ($13)

A 1990 vacation in Argentina was all it took. For third-generation winemaker Jean Bousquet, it was love at first sight. The object of the Frenchman’s desire: the Gualtallary Valley, a scenic, remote, arid terrain high in the Tupungato district of the Uco Valley in Argentina’s Mendoza region, close to the border with Chile. Here, where the condors fly and not a vine in sight, Bousquet discovered his dream terroir, an ideal location in which to nurture organically-grown wines.

Jean Bousquet reckoned he’d found the perfect blend between his French homeland and the New World with the sun, with potential for high natural acidity in wine grapes as well as the potential for relatively fruit-forward wines.

It worked out well. Domaine Bousquet now produces 4 million liters a year and export 95% of its volume to more than 50 countries. With their own import companies in the USA, Europe, and Brazil, Domaine Bousquet currently ranks in the top 20 Argentine wineries in terms of exports and is the leader in organic wine.

This 2020 Domaine Bousquet Malbec is produced from 100% organic grapes from the foothills of the Andes at 4000 feet. It was fermented with selected yeasts for 10 days and was un-oaked. It is deep purple in color, with aromas of dark red and black fruits. On the palate, this Malbec is medium-full bodied with flavors of black cherry, boysenberry and red plum. It has medium tannin and medium-high acidity and finishes with spicy notes.

This organically grown Malbec from Domaine Bousquet is great tasting and a super value which makes it a great fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

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

Media Sample Provided by Domaine Bousquet

Ever Wonder About Organic Grapes or Organic Wines?

Photo by Alex Block on Unsplash

When it comes to wines, there are two major categories of organics: ‘Wines made with Organic Grapes’ and ‘Organic Wine.’

Here’s a quick overview of each.

Wines Made with Organic Grapes

Wines made from organically grown grapes are much more common. This means there were no synthetic pesticides or herbicides used in the vineyard. Yeast and any other agricultural ingredients used in winemaking aren’t required to be organic, but have to be produced without excluded methods (like genetic engineering). Organic grape production prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms. This means that organic grapevines are not genetically engineered or modified in any way.

So, wines made from organic grapes are produced with a focus on environmental sustainability, soil health, and biodiversity, while avoiding synthetic chemicals and genetically modified organisms. This is not only better for the environment but also contributes to the production of wines that reflect the unique characteristics of their winery’s terroir.

Organic Wines

For a wine to be labeled as ‘Organic’ it must only use organically grown grapes and avoid synthetic additives. Both the growing of the grapes and the winemaking process must be certified. This includes making sure the grapes are grown without synthetic fertilizers. Other agricultural ingredients that go into the wine, such as yeast, also have to be certified organic. And then, any non-agricultural ingredients must be specifically allowed and can’t exceed 5% of the total product.

In addition to organic farming practices, many organic vineyards also adhere to broader sustainable agriculture principles. This may include practices such as water conservation, energy efficiency, biodiversity preservation, and waste reduction.

Finally, while the winemaking process naturally yields some sulfur dioxide (sulfites), the winemaker cannot add sulfites to an organic wine. (Note: Sulfites are commonly added to wines to stop the fermentation process and/or as a preservative in the bottle).

Although this is a brief overview, please note that the specific regulations and certification standards for organic wines can vary depending on the country or region. Cheers!