Ever Wonder How to Store an Opened Bottle of Wine?

It happens. You open and bottle of wine but don't finish it. Now what?  Well, you a have a couple of options.

First, it's best if you can limit wine's exposure to air.  Exposure to air will tend to take the life out of it. So, it's best to use a device that can remove the air from the bottle and seal it.  There are several such inexpensive devices that will do this.  They consist of bottle stoppers and a vacuum pump.  After placing the rubber stopper in the bottle, you simply hand-pump the bottle to remove the air.  First issue resolved!

The second thing you should do is to keep the wine cool. Any kind of heat of 65 degrees F or higher will also ruin a wine. If it's a white wine, simply put it in the refrigerator.  It will keep nicely for 1-3 days. When you're ready to finish the bottle, just take it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you intend to drink it.  That way it'll be at the right temperature.  If it's a red wine, you can also put it in the refrigerator or simply store it in a nice cool spot that gets little or no sun exposure.  In the refrigerator, a red is probably only going to hold up well overnight. So, be sure to enjoy the rest of the wine the next day.

Of course, the easiest way to avoid the problem all together is to finish the bottle!  But when that's not an option, simply try to limit the open bottle's exposure to air and keep it cool.  Then finish the bottle soon. Cheers! 

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2015 Valdivieso Valley Selection Sauvignon Blanc Gran Reserve ($17)

Chile is turning out some highly-acclaimed wines that are also great values. This Sauvignon Blanc, from the Valle de Leyda in Chile's San Antonio Region, is a fine example.

Founded in 1879 by Alberto Valdivieso and owned since the mid 1900’s by the Mitjans family, Valdivieso is one of the most prestigious and recognized wineries in Chile.

This 100% Sauvignon Blanc is fermented in stainless steel tanks, sees no malolactic conversion and is left on lees for 3 months. At 12% ABV, it is a dry wine.

With distinct grapefruit, passion fruit and lime flavors, this Sauvignon Blanc is light and refreshing, with distinct stony minerality. Its acidity is not overpowering and the body actually leans a bit toward unoaked Chardonnay. A nice wine to enjoy on a warm day or paired with goat cheese, white fish or shellfish.

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

Sample Provided by Donna White Communications

Ever Consider a Wine from Chile?

If you like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, you really should check out the highly-acclaimed wines coming from Chile. And, they're great values too.

Spanish missionaries began planting grapes in Chile in the 1500's to make sacramental wine and, by the 1800's, French varietals began being imported. But it wasn't until the 1980's that Chile began achieving international recognition for its wines.  At that time only about 2% of Chile's wines were exported but by 2010 that had grown to 70% with sales of $1.5 billion.

Chile is now the fifth largest exporter of wines and the ninth largest producer of wine in the world. With six regions, the Maipo Valley and Colchagua Valley are its two most renowned, but other notables include the Colchagua region, having sub-regions of Los Lingues and Apalta, the Casablanca Valley and Valle de Leyda.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted grape in Chile but Carménère, a grape indigenous to Bordeaux France, is the country's signature grape.  Nearly three-quarters of the world's Carménère is grown in Chile. This medium-bodied red wine has big fruit flavors of plum, blackberry, raspberry and for a bit of a twist, green bell pepper. This grape was originally planted in Chile in the 1800's and thought to be Merlot. It wasn't until 1994 that modern DNA methods reviled its true identity. A bit lucky for the Carménère grape, because it is estimated there are less than 20 acres of these grapes remaining in France.

Look for wines of Chile to be featured in upcoming Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week postings. Until then, Cheers!

Toasted Oak Barrels and Their Effect on Wine Flavor

Last time we looked at the differences between new oak versus neutral oak wine barrels. New oak imparts lots of flavors to wine. But after about three vintages, the oak no longer imparts flavor so it is called neutral oak.

Much of the flavor imparted by the oak occurs naturally from the raw wood. But winemakers learned long ago that by "toasting" the inside of an oak barrel, they can enhance these flavors.

After a barrel is built, its inside can be exposed to fire to "toast" it. This is done either over an open flame or using a hand-held torch. The fire 'caramelizes' the wood's natural sugars and brings out complex compounds. From this, the wine will ultimately take on flavors that are toasty, charred, spicy and sweet depending on the amount of time the wood is toasted.

A lightly toasted barrel spends about 25 minutes exposed to flame while a heavily toasted barrel may get up to one hour of flame exposure.

Essentially, the heavier the toast, the stronger and more varied are the imparted flavors:

Light Toasting - Vanilla, coconut, caramel, clove and cinnamon

Medium Toasting - Vanilla, honey, caramel, toast, coffee, cocoa

Heavy Toasting - Vanilla, espresso, smoke, crème brûlée, butterscotch, toffee, molasses

Oak interacts with wine differently depending of the different grape varieties. Oak may impart hints of chocolate to a Merlot, and vanilla or coconut to a Zinfandel. White wines aged in oak (think Chardonnay) typically develop flavors of vanilla, baked apple, caramel, honey, toasted marshmallow, or buttered toast.

A winemaker will decide on what degree of toasting is appropriate for their wine’s style. Our 'job' is to enjoy all the wonderful flavors that oak, and toasted oak, add to our wine. Cheers!

Aging Wine in New Oak versus Neutral Oak

Wine may be fermented and aged in a variety of materials including stainless steel, oak and ceramic vessels, including concrete. The use of oak barrels is very common and its use dates back to the early days of Roman wine making.

While stainless steel imparts no additional flavor to a wine, and ceramics and concrete can add hints of minerality, oak barrels can have influences that range from subtle to intense.

When wine is aged in oak barrels, it develops flavors from the wood. Most commonly, oak barrels result in vanilla flavor that works well with many white and red wines. Oak barrels may also be toasted on their insides to varying degrees, and that adds smoky or toasty flavor to the wine.

If a wine is aged in 100% new oak, it will likely be very bold, rich, spicy and, of course, oaky. But, wines pull these flavors out of barrels relatively quickly. After the first year of use, a barrel loses much of its flavoring ability and, after three vintages, the wine has extracted most all of the oak's flavors, thus it is considered neutral oak.

Wines may still be fermented or aged in neutral barrels. Such aging tends to soften wines, particularly tannic wines, without adding the extra flavors. Neutral oak is typically used to maintain the fruit qualities in a wine while still getting some of the other benefits of aging in oak.

Next time we'll look a bit further into the process of 'toasting' the inside of an oak barrel. Until then, Cheers!