Welcome to The Somerville News’ wine column. In this column we will be discussing various aspects of wine and wine-making, as well as some other fine potables.

The topics we discuss will be expanded upon every Wednesday night at Downtown Wine & Spirits’ wine seminars. Classes are open to the public, first come first serve and start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 per person.

       For the first issue, we gonna start with the grape.

       As you know, wine is made from grapes: many different grapes. Cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, chenin blanc, palomino, cabernet franc, etc.

       What you may not know is that most wines are produced by blending the juice from many different grapes to create one distinct wine.        This method, perfected by the French, allows a winemaker to accentuate the strengths of certain grapes by pairing them with grapes that mask, or complement, their weaknesses. For example, the velvety fruitiness of cabernet franc is often times used to round out the harsh tannins of cabernet sauvignon.

       This blending of elements is considered an art form and tends to create rich, dynamic, intense wines that engender devotion bordering on the religious.

       The problem with blends is that while they may obtain a certain elegance, they have a tendency to blur the elemental truth of the grapes. One can miss the intensity of the cabernet sauvignon or the subtlety of merlot if one does not know what to look for.

       For a beginner, or an old pro, getting to know the grapes individually is an important step in the process of becoming a wine connoisseur.

      

Blends

      

       Vintners rarely make wines from one type of grape alone. Most wines in fact are made by blending several different wines together. The reasons for this are both artful and pragmatic.

       By blending grapes, old world vintners believe they can imbue their product with the elegance of a collage of flavors. These blends exhibit characteristics from multiple grapes and success requires extensive knowledge of the interaction of their many different flavors. Blending is, in effect, an art form.

       In addition to the artistry of it all, blending grapes is a practical concern. As wine-making depends on the fortunes of nature, some seasons are good for certain grapes and bad for others. By blending many grapes together, vintners avoid relying too heavily on one grape for the success of a given vintage; blending essentially diversifies reliance to avoid catastrophic failures.

       These blends are the granddaddies of wine and are respected as the quintessence of wine-making as art. There is, however, an alternative.

Varietals

       In America, a varietal is a wine comprised of over 75% of the grape variety it displays on its label. For example, an American cabernet sauvignon must be made from at least 75% cabernet sauvignon grapes.

       Varietals have dominated the American marketplace with blended American wines only recently coming to prominence. Varietals are typically more intensely fruity than their blended counterparts and play up to the American desire for intensity.

       As a wine dependent on one grape for its success, a varietal can be risky; it possesses fewer of the masking devices of the European blends and weaknesses of the fruit are obvious. If your grapes don’t ripen properly, a varietal is your report card.

       In as much as they are completely honest and alone, varietals also have the potential to achieve a type of purity: the seasons, the weather, the care given the grapes, the neglect all come through in the successes and failures a varietal.

       As such they exhibit the defining qualities of their fruit. For those new to wine or those seeking to deepen their understanding of wine, varietals provide excellent opportunity to understand the building blocks of the legendary blends.

       On Wednesday, Jan. 19, Downtown Wine & Spirits in Davis Square will be hosting a seminar on two types of varietal wines: Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

       By presenting varietals to the class, Alan O’Cambell, general manager Downtown Wine and Spirits, hopes to introduce people to the different grapes used in wine making thereby making them better prepared to understand the complexity and richness of the blended wines when encountered.

Cabernet Sauvignon – the savage grape

       The word sauvignon translates to savage. With its thick skin, these grapes are known for their ability to flourish in tough conditions.

       These grapes are hearty producers of big wines with loads of tannins. Cabernet sauvignon is often regarded as the premiere grape by vintners and oenophiles alike for its ability to produce long lasting vintages.

       In Europe, cabernet sauvignon grapes are typically blended with other grapes to enhance the flavor of the grape and tone down its tannic quality.

       As cabernet sauvignon grapes have thick and hearty skins, they are great producers of tannins. When young, wines made from sauvignon grapes come off as bitter and rough. As the wine ages, the tannins mellow and the flavors present underneath the tannins come to the surface.

Cabernet Franc – the forgotten grape

       The genetic forerunner to cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc is typically mixed at 10% – 15% of Bordeaux blends. Its mellower tannins and fruitier flavors help to mellow the harsher intensity of sauvignon.

       The franc survives winters more successfully than the sauvignon and is therefore used as a back-up should the sauvignon fail to ripen fully.

       The franc has a more voluptuous, velvety flavor than the sauvignon, and its coloration is a darker, inky purple.

       Cabernet franc grapes, while still rich in tannins, have a thinner, lighter skin and thus impart less of the astringent flavor associated with tannins to the wines they produce. They are easier to drink young, and typically have a rounder, softer flavor which allows the fruit to dominate the experience rather than the tannins.

       Recently, new world vintners have discovered the cabernet franc and are taking advantage of its subtleties in their varietals.

       As examples of these varieties, Downtown Wine & Spirits General Manager Alan O’Campbell will be leading a seminar on the following wines.

Cabernet Sauvignon:

Casa Lapostolle: 2002 $11.99. Rapel Valley Chile. South American wines have all the complexity and richness of their more expensive North American or European counterparts.

Hess Select: 2002 $16.99. Napa Valley, California.

Rosemount: 2002 $17.99. Mudge. Hill of Gold. Australia

Robert Hall: 2002 $19.99. Paso Robles, California. This is what every American dreams when they dream of cabernet sauvignon.

Franciscan: 2001 $31.99. Oakville Estate, Napa Valley, California. A good aging wine with medium to high tannins.

Cabernet Franc:

Huntington: 2000 $18.99. Alexander Valley, California. These grapes are grown on terraces and as a result has a minerally flavor.

Rosenblum Cellars: 1999 $31.99. Mt. Veeder, Yates Ranch, California. Grown in the highest growing district in California. The cooler climates and the cloud cover at night yields a delicate grape much like a pinot noir.

Ironstone Reserve: 2001 $23.99. Sierra foothills, California. Growing the grapes on trellises allows the soil to constantly run off the mountain. The soil is humped back up the mountain once it reaches the valley, to run off with the rains again. As a result the roots of the vines reach to the stones, and the wine takes on a minerally, clay-like flavor.

A note about tannins:

What are tannins?

       Tannins are naturally occurring chemicals, called plant polyphenols, found in the seeds, skins and stalks of all fruits. They have a bitter, astringent flavor.

       When wine is made, these tannins are introduced to the wine as the grape is crushed. The thicker the skin of a grape, the more tannic, and therefore more bitter, is the wine.

       When you taste a young wine loaded with tannins, your mouth will pucker a bit and the sides of your cheeks and tongue will feel rougher, as if they are drying out: this happens as the tannins in the wine bind with the salivary proteins in your mouth, effectively drying your mouth.

       While tannins may sound unpleasant to the taste, they are of vital importance to the success of a wine; they are its backbone. Tannins act as natural preservatives and provide a structure around which vintners can develop characteristics of their product.

       In order for a wine to age, and improve in complexity as its sugars break down, it must avoid the effects the great decayer, oxygen. Tannins, in addition to imparting a certain experience to the wine, are also excellent sources of antioxidants, and thus preservers of wine. By making wines high in tannins, vintners are insuring their product against the ravages of time and oxygen.

Tannins

·    Present in the skin, stalk and seeds of grapes.

·    High anti-oxidant content preserves wine to allow for increased complexity of flavor.

·    Bitter and astringent in younger wines.

A backbone for the structure of red wines.