Why Is Wine so Expensive? Reason #7 Wine Storage and Aging

Pretty frequently I am asked what makes wine so expensive. I will attempt to answer this question in a series of short, individual points about this. Your time is valuable. So here we go:

Reason #7:  Storage and Aging

What happens to the wine once the fermentation process is complete and the wine has been filtered? Some wines are meant to be drunk almost immediately, and some are fine with just the time spent in the bottles during transport. Many wines however benefit a lot from spending time in oak barrels of various sizes, and once bottled, they may spend more time aging before being shipped out. In some of the more regulated traditional wine regions (particularly in Europe) wines with certain designations are required to spend time in barrels and time in bottles--often for years--before they can be shipped to exporters, distributors, etc...

Bottle Aging in the Cellar

Whatever the aging regimen, this requires substantial space in a proper environment for aging wine. Temperature stability, absence of vibrations, proper humidity level, and manageable amounts of yeasts and bacteria, are all important factors in protecting the wine and enabling it to improve with time. This may mean installing technological solutions, or it could just mean using the existing facilities that have been in use for a long time. Either way, there is the value of the real estate, its maintenance and upgrade, and all the equipment and labor involved. Add to that the actual cost of the oak, steel tanks, and bottle racks that are used, and you get a good idea of what's involved. A substantial portion of a winery's resources can be devoted to this aging process. It generally improves the wine, making it last longer once shipped, giving some wines the ability to continue aging for years.

Oak Aging in Old Large Format Oak Barrels

The price of your bottle of wine is affected by many factors. The less-than-obvious costs of storage and aging can not be overlooked. Be sure to review all the reasons I've discussed by clicking the links below. Thanks for reading!

Read the previous reasons by clicking:

Reason #1 

Reason #2 

Reason #3

Reason #4 

Reason #5

Reason #6

--  Marc Soucy,  FWS

MarcWine.com

Come To Our Fundraiser for the Boston Marathon Bombing Victims and First Responders

Dorchester Holds Its Own Fundraising Event for the One Boston Fund

Sunday May 19 2013   Get involved in supporting victims & first responders of the Boston Marathon tragedy at our event: Hometown Comfort. Daytime family activities, blood drive, nighttime comfort food from 30 area chefs, live entertainment, and fabulous auction. 

Auction items will include donated items from 90+ Cellars, The Boston Wine School, and MarcWine.com

Please click links below.

Buy Tickets Now to Attend this Sunday!

For more info:    http://www.hometowncomfortdot.com

Focus on Bordeaux: Time for Dessert

 Marc Soucy - Focus on Bordeaux :  

Château Coutet   Barsac Premier Cru Classé  2005  

 Barsac, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France       
 Grapes:  75% Semillon  -  23% Sauvignon Blanc - 2% Muscadelle

In 1643, a fortress built by occupying English forces 300 years earlier was turned into a winery. So successful was this winery that by 1789, Ambassador to France Thomas Jefferson celebrated Chateau Coutet as the finest Sauternes wine from Barsac. (Barsac is a subregion of the Sauternes appellation, and often shares the label with it.)  In 1855, Chateau Coutet was named a First Growth on that most illustrious of lists (the "Classification of 1855"), and today, it is the oldest and largest Barsac estate, and continues to produce some of the finest dessert wines in the world. 

      

Marc's Tasting Notes:

 

Appearing a bright yellow amber, this dessert wine gives off aromas of nougat and light colored candied fruit, glazed in honey. The palate is completely consistent with these aromatic notes, and brings with it a rich coating texture, and additional flavors of mango and lemon peel. The Barsac subregion shares much of Sauterne’s character, yet manages to produce wines with their own, more reserved form of sweetness. This is one of my favorite dessert wines, bar none.

 -- Marc Soucy, FWS  

www.marcwine.com 

FWS: Certification by the French Wine Society, Washington D.C. & Paris France

Wine Tasting Notes Prepared for BLM Wine 

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo in the New World Order

Things have changed. At least since the 1860s when the event known as Cinco de Mayo took place. It happened while the American Civil War was going on (smart timing at least), and an overly ambitious French emperor Napoleon III thought it would be a good idea to spread his empire into North America. He succeeded to a point. For a few years, a European ruler of Mexico was installed to run things in the name of the Empire, but eventually, all of this collapsed under its own weight. The actual date though, the "Fifth of May" celebrates the Battle of Puebla, when Mexican forces scored a very unlikely victory over the superior French troops. Granted it was just one battle, but it has stood to this day as a symbol of national and cultural pride, and provides us with a really great excuse to eat Mexican goodies and drink tequila and beer....   OK, not the smoothest of transitions, but this leads me to the events of the last few days.

Five Layer Hot Mexican Dip

Most people enjoy beer or margaritas with Mexican and Tex-Mex fair. Of course, they do go really well together. I was searching for something different though, and since I am a wine consultant, it was natural for me to look there for potential solutions. I mean, I myself have been drinking only beer or margaritas with Mexican food for many years!  So, I came up with a short list of wine suggestions, and this turned into an actual public tasting of these wines at the shop I work at. The tasting was aptly named "Wines for Cinco de Mayo? Yes WINES!" 

In the meantime, my wife and I were planning an elaborate Mexican inspired meal of our own at home, which we enjoyed on the celebrated date yesterday. I focused on a multi layered dip using "refried" black beans with chipotles in adobo, sauteed onions and corn with jalapenos, sauteed bell peppers, chopped Roma tomatoes, and melted cheese on top. Mashed avocado with lime, of course. This would seem familiar to most Americans, but everything was made more or less from scratch. My wife found a recipe from a local restaurant in the Boston suburb of Somerville called The Painted Burro : Vegetable Chiles Rellenos with Walnut Sauce. It took her a lot of work to make, and the results were well worth it. Every bite was interesting and complex. The two dishes worked hand in hand, with familiar Tex-Mex paired with a "New" Mexican dish. AND....there was no meat at all. I didn't miss it any more than I would miss meat if I was handed a delicious plate of pasta with red sauce.  But this brings us to that question: hmmm... what to drink?

Vegetable Chiles Rellenos with Walnut Sauce

My pick was, of all things, a French wine. The irony was not lost on me, as I turned the corkscrew. This is in fact the new world order I spoke of. French wine to celebrate a Mexican victory over French imperial troops! We just don't seem to worry about such things any more. The food and wine pairing must come first!

The wine we enjoyed was Remy Pannier Rosé d'Anjou. Yes a Rosé!  It goes extremely well with the savory, spicy, earthy, and cheesy flavors that Mexican cooking boasts. Rosé d'Anjou also has quite a history of its own. For centuries, it has been considered among France's best. The fact that it leans toward sweetness has caused it to lose some of its allure in recent decades, as global wine preferences have drifted towards dryness. I suspected that this anticipated sweetness might be just the thing with spicy food (as it so often is), and my wife and I were both pleasantly surprised at how supple, elegant, and refreshing the wine was. It was more of an off-dry rather than sweet in any overt way, and this extra residual sugar in no way interfered with the delicacy of the Rosé itself. I was reminded a bit of fine Provence Rosés, with the fresh strawberry and watermelon flavors. After not having had a Rosé from this region in nearly twenty years, Anjou's reputation was given a major boost at my house yesterday. It went incredibly well with the meal, and has been added to our short list for this summer's back yard wines.
 

The Wine of the Imperialists

It really IS a new world order.

--  Marc Soucy,  FWS

MarcWine.com

Are Wine and Music Somehow Similar? A Wonderful Quote from Michael Broadbent

I have been a musician ever since I began taking piano lessons at age three-and-a-half. I've spent time making my living from music (among other things), and have been struck at how many musicians I have run into in the wine trade. I've speculated a number of times why this might be. The uncertain, fleeting nature of the experience, the role of improvistion and on-the-spot interpretation, must both be part of the reason. Speaking to people about wine feels somehow familiar to a musician, as if it is a kindred act of performance, perhaps?

 

An Early Keyboard Idol, Keith Emerson, with his Favorite Drink.. ...hmmm

So when I started reading Michael Broadbent's book entitled "Wine Tasting", this passage especially caught my eye:

"Tasting is subjective, and the language needed for describing wine smells and flavours is still singularly ill-defined and anything but universally accepted. What perhaps is needed is something approaching musical notation, for in many ways the problems are similar. Both music and wine appeal to the senses; both are fleeting, in the sense that actual sounds and flavours cannot be retained by the receptive ear or palate; both, on the other hand, can be appreciated, even greatly loved, by those who lack technical knowledge or who are without a deep interest. But to reach the heights of full understanding and to convey this to others, rather more is required."

The more you know about wine, the more you will enjoy it. And like Michael Broadbent says, you don't really HAVE to work that hard at it either. It's entirely up to you.

Thanks for indulging me by reading this little "musing"...

--  Marc Soucy,  FWS

MarcWine.com

Focus on Bordeaux: Château Sociando-Mallet Haut-Médoc

 Marc Soucy - Focus on Bordeaux :  

Château Sociando-Mallet  Haut-Médoc  2005
 

Ch. Sociando-Mallet, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France        
Grapes:   55% Cabernet Sauvignon - 40% Merlot - 5% Cabernet Franc

Owner Jean Gautreau has experienced a long evolution during his life, beginning his career working for a wine brokerage in 1948. Over time, he started his own brokerage, and years after that bought a broken down but promising property overlooking the Gironde estuary. Within two vintages, the special terroir of that estate began making itself known in the wine. Since that time, the property has expanded from a mere 2 acres of vines to 90 acres producing the three principal red grapes of Bordeaux. Château Sociando-Mallet’s wine has drawn great critical appraise from many wine critics, including Jancis Robinson, James Suckling, and Robert Parker, as well as from many European wine magazines.

Jean Gautreau

  

    Marc's Tasting Notes:

 

Deep inky red in appearance, the wine gives off a youthful aroma of dark berries in a sweet syrup. The structure and tannins on the other hand, balance and integrate well with the cassis and blackberry flavors, making the wine smooth and elegant. Showing power and finesse already, this Haut-Medoc will continue to evolve and mature. The future looks bright indeed.

 

 -- Marc Soucy, FWS  

www.marcwine.com 

FWS: Certification by the French Wine Society, Washington D.C. & Paris France

Wine Tasting Notes Prepared for BLM Wine