Grape Growing | Wine Cooler Blog

Wineries & Tours: France’s Wine Country

My wife and I were invited to France by the Mastalerz family living in Montpellier in southern France. We soon realized that this would be a trip of a life time. We also decided to visit Paris and some vineyards during our travels. In preparation for the trip, I did some web research on the wine industry and grape growing regions of France.

FRENCH WINE GROWING HISTORY

Cultivation of wine in France has been an enduring enterprise since thousands of years before Christ. Romans occupying the area around 90 AD produced a surplus of wine that forced Emperor Domitian to order half of the vineyards uprooted. Viticulture in France during the Middle Ages (400 to 1200 AD) was primarily kept alive by various monasteries located in the country. During the period of English rule (middle 1100 to middle 1400 AD) of the Bordeaux region of France, much of the wine produced there was shipped to England. Wine growing in Europe and France was set back in the mid to late 1800s because of disease and insect problems. In the 1930s, France led a movement to ensure the authenticity of wine related to where it was produced. Today, France is still producing some of the best wines in the world.

FRENCH WINE PRODUCTION

France is the leading wine producer in the world. Rankings based on 2002 wine production totals, put France number one followed by Italy, Spain, United States and Australia, respectively. In 2002, France produced 5,199,930 metric tons, which was nearly 17 percent more than Italy. Other countries that are top ten producers of wine in ranking order are Argentina, China, Germany, South Africa and Portugal. However, France is not the per-capita wine consumption leader, but is second to Luxembourg. The other top three consumers of wine are Italy, Portugal and Croatia. The United States doesn’t even make the top thirty per-capita consumers.

FRENCH WINE GROWING REGIONS

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Wine Storage Solutions: White Wine Storage

White wines are some of my personal favorites. To store and serve white wine correctly, there are some unique wine characteristics that need to be considered. Important factors to consider are the wine type, the storage and serving temperatures, the storage humidity, aging goals, and basic storage environment (amount of light, vibration exposure, temperature variance, etc.).

Basic Wine Storage Requirements

Storage requirements that are basic to any wine are reasonably straight forward. You must keep your wine in a horizontal position to keep the cork moist. The storage location should be vibration free and provide protection from light and UV rays. Temperatures should be stable and optimally range from between 42 to 58 degrees F. with red wines stored at the upper part of the range and white wines the lower. Ideal storage would be in an environment where relative humidity is at least 70 percent. Finally, do not store wines where their corks can pick up strange odors from a source like a stinky cheese or worse.

Common White Wine Types

Some the most common white wine grapes include Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Other popular white wines include Semillon, a favorite dessert wine, and Viognier, primarily grown in France and California. California is the primary state where white wines are made, but other important growing states include New York, Oregon and Washington.

White Wine Storage Temperatures

You should always store and serve white wines colder than your red wines. Most people recommend storage temperatures between around 42 degrees to 48 degrees F. Wines, such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Champagne are best stored at the lower end of that range. Remember, storing temperatures for white wines are colder than their respective serving temperature. You should research the optimal temperature requirements for storing and serving your particular favorite white wine.

Caves or Wine Refrigerator?

Much of the wine made in France is stored in caves where stable temperatures are near 55 degrees F. Most of us in the United States do not have caves handy for this use. Manufacturer’s today offer many different styles and sizes of wine coolers and wine refrigerators that can provide a stable temperature, provide for horizontal wine bottle storage, reduce UV rays and run with little or no vibration. Wine coolers are also made that can provide dual temperature zones to store different classes of wine at their respective optimum temperatures.

Closing Advice

If you only occasionally grab a bottle of wine to enjoy with your dinner, your standard refrigerator will work fine for short term storage. If you like to keep a wine collection on hand to later select from or if you have intent to age your wine to improve its value and taste, investment in a wine cooler, cellar or refrigerator is what would be best for you. No matter what you decide, I only offer this last bit of advice: buy the wine that you like, store it correctly, serve it at its best temperature and enjoy it to the last drop.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, June 2011

Wine Storage Solutions: Red Wine Storage

There are many different types of wine and probably just as many different ways to bottle and market great vintages. Many of my personal favorites are a part of the red wine family. There are some unique red wine characteristics that need to be considered to store and serve red wine correctly. Important factors to consider are the red wine type, the storage and serving temperatures, the storage humidity, and red wine storage environment.

RED WINE TYPES

Some of the most popular red wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. Grenache grapes are often used as a blending additive when wine making from other grapes and are one of the most planted red wines in the world, especially in Spain and France. Other red wines that are not as well-known but deserve mention are Barbera, Malbec, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo and Gamay. Syrah and Shiraz wines are made from the same grape, but are developed using uniquely different grape processing techniques. The modern era has brought an increasing popularity for red organic wine, produced with no fertilizers or chemicals.

RED WINE STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

The best rule of thumb for red wine storage is to store them at a temperature between 50 and 60 degrees F. When temperatures approach 90 degrees F., red wine can easily be damaged. Imagine it is August in the Arizona Desert; you stop to buy your red wine for dinner and leave it in the trunk of your car while you continue to shop for several hours. Your red wine will be damaged. You will not be able to undo the damage if you rush home and stick the red wine bottle in the freezer. That action of moving your wine from one temperature extreme to another will also cause damage to it. Alexander J. Pandell has written an excellent article on How Temperature Affects the Aging of Wine that is worth reading.

Red wines are best stored in a wine fridge, bottles properly racked in a horizontal position and with the temperature precisely regulated. The horizontal position will insure that the cork won’t crack or leak from drying out. Relative humidity should be around 70 percent. Leaking corks can cause premature oxidation of the wine. Disturbance of the bottles should be minimized to the best of your ability, particularly if you intend to age them awhile. Look for slide out shelving in your wine cooler appliance to make access to your bottles easier and to minimize movement of the other stored bottles. Your storage appliance should be placed out of direct sunlight to maximize your wine cooler’s ability to hold a constant temperature.

RED WINE SERVING TEMPERATURES

Most red wines should be served at room temperature, which means an average of 60 to 65 degrees F. If the red wine is served too warm, the taste will be dominated by the alcohol and if it is served to cold, it will definitely be less flavorful. Red sweet and sparkling wines should be served much colder than room temperature, about 45 degrees F. Lighter reds like Pinot Noir and Zinfandel should be served around 60 degrees F. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, full bodied red wines, are best when served at 65 degrees F. Use the serving guidelines, but good wine tasting often comes down to personal preference in balancing flavor and alcohol taste. It is best to experiment on your own when serving your favorite red to find your personal temperature niche.

The more you refine your red wine storage and serving parameters, the more you will appreciate the quality of your taste experience. As popular as wine is becoming as an addition to our lives, I still recommend to everyone to buy the wine you like best, store and serve it the proper temperatures and enjoy it any time you want to. Wine refrigerators are designed today to address all the critical conditions needed to keep make your red wine storage easy and keep your bottles ready to enjoy.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, May 2011