  Viña Errazuriz 2010 Reserva Chardonnay is a subdued model of Chardonnay, with mellow fruit flavours accented by pleasing honey and floral notes. (Supplied) |
Considering some of the terms wine lovers use to describe what's in their glass, it's no wonder our sort is so easy to mock.
Anyone who sniffs a liquid and starts to pontificate about how they detect "the faintest soupçon of, like, asparagus and just a flutter of, like a, nutty Edam cheese...," a la Miles the protagonist in the wine-centric comedy Sideways, deserves the inevitable wedgie that life has in store for them.
Any mention of dry wine is likely to trip up wine novices. My English-as-a-second-language students in particular have a hard time wrapping their head around describing a liquid as dry.
Any notion of dryness, however, comes in the content of flavour. Dry is technically the other extreme of sweet.
In completely dry wines, yeast has converted all of the natural sugar in grapes into alcohol during fermentation. When fermentation is interrupted or stopped for one reason or another, the unfermented sugar imparts a pleasing sweetness into the wine.
I say "pleasing" because humans are genetically hardwired to enjoy sweet flavours. That's why the best-selling wines - red, white, pink or bubbly - tend to have some residual sweetness in them, whether or not it's advertised.
A hint of sweetness makes wines taste softer, rounder and more appealing. That's why so many Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs these days strike me as tasting sweeter than many Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, varieties often considered to be "sweet wines."
Part of this perceived sweetness is easily attributed to the increasing popularity of wines from hot climates and more aggressive yeast strains being used by winemakers around the world. When very ripe grapes are fermented to dryness, the resulting higher alcohol wines seduce the palate with an impression of sweetness. Statistically they might be dry, with little or no residual sugar remaining, but other compounds in the wine tickle our taste buds with an aura of sweet.
The three wines recommended this week are unwaveringly and unapologetically dry. They might not be to everyone's taste, but I find their racy character really wets my whistle on warm summer nights.
Wines of the Week
***1/2
Jacob's Creek 2010 Reserve Riesling
Barossa Valley, Australia
BC $16.99 | AB $16 | ON $16.95 (212704)
Australian Riesling strikes many as being too dry and austere, particularly those who are found of styles with more sweet fruit flavours. But summer's the right time to enjoy a racy, refreshing white like this, which conveys much of the same vibrancy of unsweetened limeade. (LCBO)
***
Maison Albert Bichot 2009 C'est La Vie Pinot Noir-Syrah
Languedoc, France
BC $13.99 | ON $11.95 (166934)
You don't often find Syrah and Pinot Noir blended together, but that's what you get in this bottle made by a Burgundian producer that's moonlighting in the South of France. It's unabashedly dry and crisp. For most, this is something that demands food, such as grilled sausages or charcuterie and cheese. (LCBO)
***1/2
Viña Errazuriz 2010 Reserva Chardonnay
Casablanca Valley, Chile
BC $13.99 | AB $13 | ON $11.95 (318741)
Chardonnay always struck me as the weak link in Chile's otherwise faultless portfolio of value-priced wines, but that's changed as wineries have planted the variety in cooler climate regions. This is a subdued model of Chardonnay, with mellow fruit flavours accented by pleasing honey and floral notes. (LCBO)
