Posted on: Naked Innovations group wall

Hi All

Sorry to have been a bit quiet on the Naked Innovations front lately, we've been frantic here at Naked HQ.

We're working on a fairly major release, that aims to make things a lot easier to use on the site.

Not long to wait now!

Derek

Derek (Staff) 18:02 22/03/2010 Comment

Posted on: Everything you always wanted to know about wine...but were afraid to ask group wall

THE COLOUR OF WINE

A while ago Oliver asked if a pale or yellowsih coloured rose means that the wine is "no good".

First things first: regardless of skin colour, almost all grape juice is colourless, except for a group of grape varieties called "teinturiers", which have red juice. Therefore, the colour in red wines is obtained by fermenting the juice on ths skin. Fermentation is that process, in which yeast, a living organism, metabolises the sugar in grape juice into alcohol. During fermentation alcohol is formed, which helps extract the colour out of the skin cells. Hence, the longer wine is "on the skins" the deeper the colour.

Now, in regard to rose, the procedure is exactly the same as for red wines: the juice and skins are put together in the fermentation vat, with the sole difference that the time skins and juice stay together is much shorter than for red wines, normally only up to eight hours, after which juice and skins are separated, and the pink coloured juice is fermented on its own, in absence of the skins. Of course a winemaker can "play" with the time frame and either go for a deeper or a paler style of rose, depending on how long he keeps skin and juice together.

There is another, more crucial side to colouring matter in grape skins: every grape variety diifers in the amount of pigment it has in the skin, Therefore, colour alone doesn't say anything about the quality of a certain wine. Pinot Noir, for example, that revered variety from Burgundy, which is responsible for the production of some of the world's most expensive wines, has very little pigment indeed. Still, no one would contest that it "lightness" in colour says anything about its undoubted quality.
Reversely, Cabernet Sauvgnon, the main ingredient of many Bordeaux wines has colour in abundance in its skins. Therefore a very pale coloured Cabernet would raise eyebrows. but between pitch black and watery pale pink, or even grey (a colour of pink so pale the French call it oeil de perdix - the colour of patridge eyes) there is any hue and intensity imaginable.

To go back to Oliver's question about the paleness of a rose: there are many roses that are very pale, think for example of roses made of Pinot Noir or Rose Champagne, to name just two examples, and very deep ones, almost starting to look like full blown reds. What does sound alarming is the "yellowish" colour Oliver mentioned in his post. It may be in indication that the wine is "oxidised", and has been exposed to air and has lost all its freshness. A browing tinge is often a sure tale sign that thisis the case, to be cofirmed by a stale, browning apple like smell. However, also here are many exceptions: some aged Rioja roses are almost amber in colour, due to very long cask ageing. The smell of browning apple is part of the wine and very much desired.

One also has to take into account that with age red wines get ligher in colour - this is due to the fact that part of the pigments coagulate with the tannins in a red wine. The weight of these molecules makes it impossible for them to remain suspended in the wine, and fall out. This is the sediment that you often see sitting on the bottom of an aged bottle. Curiously, with white wine eactly the opposite happens: they tend to become darker in colour, a process that is not yet entirely understood.

to further complicate things (and remember: we all like wine, exactly because it hasnt the simplicity of coca cola): recently an unstoppable trend has been to ferment white wines on the skin,just like a red wine. resulting in wines with an orange hue. Strione of Cantine Astroni , a wine available on this site, is a perfect example oft his style. Unusual at first, this style is borne out of the desire to re-create the ancient wine styles from the Greek and Romans, who, regardless of the grape variety's colour ,would ferment everything together. Most people tend to argue that these wines are not "real" white wines, and initially they find them hard to apreciate. But this style is as real as any red, it just depends what you are acustomed to, anf they are often much better food partners than the thousands of same tasting and smelling whites currently onthe market.

Hope this gives some insight. Please let me know your experiences and feedback.

Walter 00:22 25/02/2010 Comment

Posted on: Everything you always wanted to know about wine...but were afraid to ask group wall

SKIN FERMENTED WHITE WINES

Can one go on and on about a single grape variety? Well, yes, when the variety is as versatile as Falanghina, and refreshingly different from the sea of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio flooding the shores of the UK.

Don't get me wrong: I know some outstanding Sauvignon and equally outstanding Pinot Grigio, be it from Friuli (Italy's Northeast corner, famous for its whites), France's Alsace (where, of course it is called Pinot Gris), or New Zealand, but they tend to osbcure that there are many more varieties which deserve a place in the spotlights.

i already wrote a few lines in the recommendation of Gerardo's "Strione", that this Falanghina is the pinnacle, the absolute top of what can be achieved with the grape. The fruit for this wine comes from the slopes of the estate's "crater", Astroni, and the grapes are harvested well into October. The vineyard is extremely low yielding, producing small volumes of highly concentrated bunches. You are forgiven for thinking that Italy's South may be too hot to produce whites with balance and nerve, but day and night temperatures differ signifcantly here and the cooling ocean breeze helps retain the acidity in the grapes.

What makes Strione so special, except for the low yields that are demanded from the vineyard, is the fermentation on the skins. Most grape juice, whether from red or white grapes, is colourless (exception on this rule are the so called "teinturiers" grape varieties which have red skins and red juice). Almost all the colour of red grapes is in the skins of the berries, and by fermenting the juice in the presence of the skins, the colour is extracted out. It is this, which gives the wine its red hue.

Consequently, the reverse is also possible: to make a white wine from red skinned grapes, by pressing the grapes, which separates the clear colourless juice from the red skins and ferment the juice on its own. It is the way Champagne is produced, using the white Chardonnay and the red Pinot Noir.

Fermentation on the skin for white wines is considered an ancient method, and goes back to the very beginning of wine making history, when juice and skins were not mechanically separated, and whole bunches, regardless if they were white or red, ended in the fermentation vessel.
Nowadays, especially in Italy, a trend has emerged to ferment white wines on the skin again. These wines are truly niche, not least due to the fact that the method is never used in modern winemaking and therefore wine lovers have hardly heard of it. This "trend" is not just a fashion, but stems from a desire to haul something back from the past, that has been forgotten. but it is more than just a sentimental movement. It is fed by the conviction that all the good things are in the skins, and why throw that away?

Strione is the result of this "skin fermentation" . The berries (skin, pulp, juice and all), landed in stainless steel and wooden vats. Fermentation took about two weeks to finish, after which the wine was processed as a conventional red: the young wine was drawn off from the vats( this procedure is called "racking) leaving skins and pulp behind.

Although we call white grapes "white", in reality the skins are green-yellow, and there is also some colour pigments in the skins. Therefore, skin fermented white wines tend to have a deeper, more concentrated yellow hue, and the first, opulent scent that rises from the glass is that of apricots and honey. Strione shows these "classic" skin fermentation aromas. It has an multilayered, complex but very fine nose of peach, lemon skin, hints of pink grape fruit and spice. Decanting won't hurt it either (yes, decanting white wines can do wonders!) if you want the wine to open up. By all means, don't serve it too cold, and pour it in generously sized glasses, like you would serve a fine white Burgundy. It will go very well with gnocchi and shrimps in afresh tomato and cream sauce (perhaps a drip of truffle oil?), or fish risotto, especially black risotto with squid. But i wouldn't hesitate it to serve it next to honey glazed ham either.

Walter 22:15 04/02/2010 Comment