The French Menu Cookbook: The Food and Wine of France - Season by Delicious Season. Richard Olney

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СКАЧАТЬ size of the kegs. Many experiments have been made with rapid fermentation of the juice in large vats, but the quality of the wine always suffers; however, this is the way in which cheaper white wines are made. White wines, with a few exceptions (such as the great Sauternes, for instance, and Château-Chalon, which is discussed further on), never remain in kegs more than a year and a half, and, more often than not, are put into bottles after six months. They receive the same kind of care in kegs as the reds, and, being more susceptible to disease, are treated with sulphur, often, unfortunately, to excess.

      ROSÉ WINE

      Rosé wines are made from red grapes or a combination of red and white and are vinified like white wines. A few start out their career in a vat like the red wines, which lends them a deeper color, but then are pressed after a few hours and run off into barrels or other vats to finish their fermentation. The bulk of them are treated like cheap white wines—pressed immediately, fermented in large vats, and stored in vats, as well.

      GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

      Since World War II, a great deal of experimentation in techniques of vinification has taken place, and most, although not all, winegrowers have altered their methods in order to produce less tannic wines that mature more rapidly both in kegs and in bottle. On the whole, the results are satisfactory, the general level of quality, year after year, bad or good, being higher than before, but it is to be feared that the sublime peaks of the past may never again be reached, and that thirty or forty years hence, the wines of great recent years will bear no comparison with the ’26s, ’28s, ’29s, and ’34s, whose beauty at present is often so astonishing.

      The world has changed, and economic pressures force the winegrower to change his methods in order to satisfy a wine-buying public far larger, and far more modest in income and wine knowledge, than their predecessors. Few have cellars and fewer still are willing to invest in wines that must be put to rest for ten or twenty years. Even with “improved” methods that bring rapid maturing, most of the great wines are drunk before they are ready, engendering disappointment in those consumers who had hoped to find more than a famous label and who do not understand the reasons for their disappointment. More than once, friends have told me apologetically that perhaps they are wrong, but they prefer a Beaujolais to one wine or another of prestigious reputation; this is not astonishing, even though Beaujolais are nearly always drunk too old in America!

      The vintage, or year, counts for a great deal in the aging of a wine and constantly deals surprises even to the most accomplished of winegrowers. Different years develop more or less rapidly and often in an unpredictable way. At the moment of this writing, for instance, the, 61 Bordeaux are not ready to drink, nor are many, 57s (both in Bordeaux and Burgundy), whereas, most ‘58s and some, 59s are on the downward path, and the, 62s are at their peak, in many instances, with a few declining. Many, 37s remain young, but astringent (probably they never will develop), and, while most, 47s and, 49s have long since taken the fall, the, 45s remain generally solid, and many, 48s (which everyone thought to be a nasty, thankless vintage) have begun to open out beautifully.

      Wines freshly bottled often suffer from “bottle sickness” (maladie de bouteille) and any shipment, as well, temporarily unsettles a wine’s equilibrium. Put to rest in a good cellar, these wines regain all their qualities after a few months and then continue to develop in a normal way.

      Wines that have traveled, or that have been kept in a poor cellar, or that have been changed often from one cellar to another, age more rapidly and less perfectly. Thus a fine wine from a recent year, opened and drunk at the vineyard, may still have the cool, deep color of youth, retain a great deal of fruit, and remain tannic and jealous of its bouquet, whereas the same wine bought from an American dealer is apt to be lighter and warmer in color, suppler, with its bouquet in full bloom. Its qualities at this early peak, although characteristic, will lack the depth eventually to be achieved by the companion wine that has never left the home cellar.

      A good cellar is not a luxury or a fantasy but an absolute necessity for anyone who loves wine. In city apartments, where such a cellar may be out of the question, one has no alternative but to buy wines in small quantities at a time from a dependable dealer who has a good cellar and store them in the darkest, coolest corner of the apartment. If the central heating equipment is in the cellar, an old-fashioned “cave,” like that in which our grandmothers kept preserves, may be the best solution. It is relatively simple of construction. Many Americans are experimenting with air-conditioned cellars. This, too, might be interesting for those who can afford such an installation. The ideal temperature is 50-55° F., but a cellar that is cooler is better than one that is too warm. Above all, the temperature should not vary more than a few degrees from one time of year to another. It should neither be too humid nor too dry, but an excess of humidity is less harmful than too little. There should be some ventilation. Foods that may lend an odor to the air should never be kept in a wine cellar, for the gentle development of a wine depends on a slow breathing process through the cork (it is for this reason that half-bottles, bottles and magnums—different capacities related to identical corks—age more or less rapidly, other circumstances remaining the same). Bottles must always be stored lying down. A cork that is not constantly in contact with the wine loses its resiliency and allows too much air to enter, and the wine spoils.

      TEMPERATURE AND SERVICE

      The myth that all red wines should be served at “room temperature” has ruined more great wines than any other single mistreatment. It dates from the nineteenth century, when, for venerable wines, it was a valid dictum, as central heating did not exist and room temperature was closer to 60° than to 80° Small red wines, drunk young, gain by being served slightly cooler than cellar temperature. Fairly young Burgundies are perfect drunk at cellar temperature. In general, Bordeaux should be served slightly warmer than Burgundies and older wines slightly warmer than young, but never should they be reduced to that horrible, tepid brew that wine stewards regularly blackmail their clients into accepting.

      White wines should, of course, always be chilled, but never iced. They should be chilled as rapidly as possible; the classic ice bucket is still the best method. A couple of hours in the refrigerator or a half hour in the freezer (provided one does not forget it is there) will do the trick; but a prolonged stay in the refrigerator will rob a wine of all its qualities—it is cassé—broken.

      Any old wine, white or red, should be uncorked a couple of hours before serving. If this is not feasible, it should be decanted before serving, for the aeration or “breathing” is essential to the development of the bouquet. Even in restaurants, if I know in advance what I want to drink, I always telephone several hours ahead to ask that the wine be uncorked in time, for I have too often known a great wine to begin to open out only as the bottle was being finished.

      White wine rarely contains sediment other than an occasional deposit of tartar crystals, which, being relatively heavy, do not disturb the wine. A red wine that contains a certain amount of sediment must be handled very gently from the moment it leaves the cellar to the moment the last drop is poured. (Often, in restaurants, one sees bottles turned upside down, shaken, tossed around, before being thrown into their wicker cradles, then poured with the greatest of “loving” care and ceremony before the client; the liquid that comes out, of course, is mud.) If possible, the bottle should be stood upright for a couple of days before it is to be served; otherwise, a cradle into which it may be slipped sidewise without disturbing the sediment is the best solution. If it is not decanted, it should be poured slowly and regularly without ever returning to an upright position until all glasses have been filled. To decant a wine, a candle or a small light bulb should be placed behind the decanter and slightly to the right (for a right-handed person) so that, while pouring, the light is directly behind the neck of the bottle. Tilt the bottle slowly with a steady hand and pour steadily, watching the transparency through the neck of the bottle. The moment the wine becomes troubled, СКАЧАТЬ