Out and About June 2022 -issue198

40 | OUT AND ABOUT COSTA BLANCA
Whining on
with Steve
Welcome to the sun inspired
June edition of our
monthly wine musings.
This month’s wine term that
is well used and often under
appreciated is Terroir. There is no
real translation for the French word
terroir but terrain as you might
expect comes the closest but is both
less specific and emotive.
In essence the terroir represents
the soil, subsoil, underlying rock
and chemical properties allied to
the way in which they interact and
are affected by the geographical
climate, light, shade, wind, rain and
all aspects of its topological location.
All of these factors create a particular
terroir and a particular growing
culture and flavour for the grapes
produced, the difference between the
top and bottom of a slope will add
variety to the growing conditions
as any keen gardener is aware. A
good wine maker takes all of this
into account when arriving at their
optimum yield and quality. The
single most important aspect of the
terroir, assuming it has the necessary
climate for vines to flourish, is water
supply and minerals, the balance
of this being crucial as too much
will cause the vines to become too
vigorous in its growth of shoots
and leaves that will inhibit the fruit
growth. Too little which is a bigger
risk in Spain has the opposite affect
and the plant conserves energy and
under produces fruit. In short, the
terroir is of upmost importance to a
good wine.
As for the wine itself today we will
consider which reds can be drunk
chilled.
Many people dismiss this concept
completely, but this shouldn’t
necessarily be the case. The main thing
to consider is which type of wine
and how cold. The sense of smell is
a key factor in enjoying a good wine
and the fact that red wine generally
has a higher molecular weight means
that it needs to be warmer, in order
for the bouquet to open up and the
wine to present at its best, white
wines are naturally more open on
the nose when cold. For this reason,
when considering a wine to be served
chilled you should look for a young
or “Joven” wine. Look for something
fruity that has a lower alcohol content
and steer clear of anything that has
had any good length of time in an Oak
barrel as this will not drink at its best
cold.
The most commonly known reds
that serve well chilled are Beaujolais
as they are produced primarily to be
fruity wines drunk young and share
similar characteristics with whites.
For Spanish reds to drink at a
colder temperature look for lighter
Tempranillo’s or Garnacha, these are
the main grapes of the Rioja region
so a young low alcohol wine from
here will work well. One region
particularly good for young light
reds is Galicia so you should find an
interesting option from here.
As for how much to chill a red the
ideal temperature for light reds would
be 10-12 degrees C, therefore for a
bottle that’s
at room temperature, fill an ice
bucket with half ice and half water and
sit for 15 to 20 mins or alternatively
place in the fridge for 20 minutes or
so, place yourself in a nice shaded spot
pour and enjoy.
Until next time.
Un Salud
Until next time, Salud!