Part 1 (1/2)

Is This Bottle Corked?

The Secret Life of Wine.

by Kathleen Burk.

INTRODUCTION.

Where do we begin? do we begin?

If this were a book about what wine to drink with what food, it would be easy. If this were a book about what wine to buy to impress your friends and/or business a.s.sociates, it would still be easy. If this were a learned volume on the effect of the phylloxera aphid on the French wine industry, it would probably be easier still.

But this is none of those books. It is, rather, to wine writing what the cabinet of bibelots was to Edwardian interior decorating: a collection of, one hopes, charming diversions to catch the eye, divert the mind, and perhaps provoke conversation. When you read the tale of the weeping sommelier, or consider ”comet wines,” or spend a moment considering potlatch, wine diamonds, Hippocrene, terroir terroir, or gout, there is nothing that we want you to do do. All we would like is for that part of your mind that is occupied with good living in general, and wine in particular (which may be a large or a small proportion of your mind, according to personal disposition), to be diverted, entertained, and primed with the sort of curiosities that make human society so much fun.

[image]

Yet again, where do we begin? Wine is perhaps more profoundly dug into-or poured out upon-human history than any other artifact, natural or man-made. Its history stretches back perhaps eight thousand years; certainly, it makes its appearance in the first written story we now possess, the four-thousand-year-old Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh Epic of Gilgamesh, which comes from what is now Iraq and was then the Kingdom Between the Rivers, Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. There the king's friend is told by a temple slave to drink seven goblets of wine; there King Gilgamesh himself encounters the woman of the vines Siduri the maker of wine.

She lives beside the sea; She sits in her gardens by the sea's edge Her golden bowl and golden vats given by the G.o.ds, Veiled ...

Where there are grapes, there is wine; where there is wine, almost without exception, it is not only a source of good fellows.h.i.+p but a crucial symbol of ritual. At Jewish weddings, the bride and groom drink the kiddus.h.i.+n kiddus.h.i.+n wine from two goblets and the wine from two goblets and the nisuin nisuin wine from one, symbolizing the union of the couple. Timothy is encouraged to ”drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.” Jesus of Nazareth transformed water into wine at Cana, and blessed it at the Last Supper (the wine from one, symbolizing the union of the couple. Timothy is encouraged to ”drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.” Jesus of Nazareth transformed water into wine at Cana, and blessed it at the Last Supper (the kiddush kiddush, or dedication of the wine to Elohim, begins each Sabbath meal); and in almost every Christian community the action is repeated and remembered to this day in the communion prayers or the Canon of the Roman Catholic Ma.s.s. Wine was consecrated in sacramental banquets of the Roman temples of Mithras; it is found in Hindu ceremonials; it is one of the great subjects of the Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam who, in Edward FitzGerald's ecstatic translation, sings of who, in Edward FitzGerald's ecstatic translation, sings of [image]

divine

High-piping Pehlevi, with ”Wine! Wine! Wine!

Red Wine!”-the Nightingale cries to the Rose Wine!”-the Nightingale cries to the Rose Hard to imagine such paeans to beer, or liturgies celebrated in gin and tonic, however fine. Not that we would go so far as the medieval Germans, who regarded beer as the drink of pagans and barbarians, while wine represented civilization and Christianity; nor would we join forces with Hilaire Belloc, who claimed that beer was the drink of the dull Protestant north, wine the libation of the exuberant Catholic south. He has been often misquoted as declaring: Wherever the Catholic sun doth s.h.i.+ne, There's always laughter and good red wine.

At least I've always found it so.

Benedicamus Domino!

though what he actually wrote was: But Catholic men that live upon wine Are deep in the water, and frank, and fine; Wherever I travel I find it so, Benedicamus Domino.

Whatever he wrote, though (and he wrote, too, of ”The fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees / And the wine that tasted of tar”), the truth remains that wine has bathed humankind in its benevolent light (scarlet or golden, according to your choice) throughout history. The Rotarians or Freemasons indulging in their ceremonial ”taking of wine” join hands across the centuries with the guests at the Greek symposia, gathered round the krater with its formalized wine-and-water admixture; the breaking of a wine bottle on the prow of a new s.h.i.+p echoes the pagan libations poured out to the G.o.ds. Wherever we turn, there is wine. There it is, in the flasks of Roman soldiers, far from home, to flavor and sterilize the alien waters (and they grew vines, too, in the north of England and-you can still see the vineyard terraces-in the Cotswolds). Here it is in Shakespeare: Falstaff calling for more sack, the Duke of Clarence drowned in a malmsey b.u.t.t. Here is Cleopatra, famed (but did did she? she? Could Could she have?) for dissolving a pearl in her wine to impress her wealth and power upon Mark Antony. Here are at least three notable wine connoisseurs among the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, while over there sits great Dionysos, the G.o.d of wine, of fertility and collective joy, in whose name the cla.s.sical Athenians held their festival of tragedy, the she have?) for dissolving a pearl in her wine to impress her wealth and power upon Mark Antony. Here are at least three notable wine connoisseurs among the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, while over there sits great Dionysos, the G.o.d of wine, of fertility and collective joy, in whose name the cla.s.sical Athenians held their festival of tragedy, the tragoedia tragoedia, or ”goat-songs” of the City Dionysia, attended by all citizens.

However, the discoveries of Louis Pasteur-that wine was a living thing, made by by living things, those benevolent yeasts-may have affected winemaking; however it may have become more predictable, perhaps in some cases more industrialized, wine itself will never be a truly industrial product like vodka or ma.s.s-produced beers. n.o.body will ever wonder about the story locked in a gla.s.s of Bud Lite or the hidden narrative of a rum and c.o.ke, but there are few wines that do not (if one is in a fanciful mood) murmur up from the gla.s.s, speaking to the attentive drinker of land and fruit and hope and human labor. Wine, more than any other food or drink, is a storyteller, and it is some of its more offbeat stories that we hope to tell in this book: stories of emperors and G.o.ds, of bugs and rituals, of organ pipes and astronomy and raisins and forgetfulness. living things, those benevolent yeasts-may have affected winemaking; however it may have become more predictable, perhaps in some cases more industrialized, wine itself will never be a truly industrial product like vodka or ma.s.s-produced beers. n.o.body will ever wonder about the story locked in a gla.s.s of Bud Lite or the hidden narrative of a rum and c.o.ke, but there are few wines that do not (if one is in a fanciful mood) murmur up from the gla.s.s, speaking to the attentive drinker of land and fruit and hope and human labor. Wine, more than any other food or drink, is a storyteller, and it is some of its more offbeat stories that we hope to tell in this book: stories of emperors and G.o.ds, of bugs and rituals, of organ pipes and astronomy and raisins and forgetfulness.

The habit of looking for the story in a gla.s.s of wine is one easily acquired and never forgotten. It pleases the mind and amuses one's friends. It changes, for the beginner, the nature of wine from a th.o.r.n.y path, a nest of vipers, a sort of obstacle course of sn.o.bberies and faux pas, into an affable and sympathetic narrative for every taste and disposition. We smell our wine; we taste it, and examine its color and clarity. We should also, perhaps, listen to what it has to say about itself.

And, of course, drink it. There was a Greek restaurant in London's Camden Town, now long gone, that served ordinary Greek wines in ordinary drinking tumblers, without ceremony. It stood in contrast to its more chic counterparts in the posher parts of town, where sommeliers, dignified as bishops, hovered over the nervous diner performing arcane rituals with corkscrew and tastevin, cork and napkin. On its menus was printed a motto: A meal without wine is like a day without suns.h.i.+ne A meal without wine is like a day without suns.h.i.+ne. Alas, in London then, both were the rule rather than the exception. But we learned. Since then, country after country has developed, improved, and exported its wines. Cases, bottles, barrels now crisscross the oceans in a benevolent globalization. We drink more wine than ever before, whether the doctors say that (this week) it will leave us demented or (next week) that it is the secret of spry longevity. The fruit of the vine and the skill of the wine-maker have between them the secret of an immemorial magic. But, like magic, it's not enough just to read about it. It is necessary to experience it, in moderation but often.

To accompany this little book, we suggest a premier cru premier cru Pauillac, or possibly a crisp young Pauillac, or possibly a crisp young vinho verde vinho verde. Or maybe a flinty Greco di Tufo or a vintage champagne, or a South American Tannat or a Klein Constantia or something from a Provencal co-op, dispensed from a petrol-pump nozzle into your waiting jerry can, or ... or ... or whatever you like. Draw the cork, open the book, and bon appet.i.t bon appet.i.t.

We will leave the last word to the poet Peter Meinke's ”Advice to My Son”: Therefore, marry a pretty girl after seeing her mother; show your soul to one man, work with another, and always serve bread with your wine.But, son, always serve wine.

NOTE: A collaborative book like this will often refer to something one of its authors did, or saw, or drank. It would be tiresome to say ”I [Kathleen]” or ”I [Michael]” every time. And so we have used ”we” in every case. It's easier on the eye. But it doesn't mean we were both there. And it's certainly not the royal ”we.” A collaborative book like this will often refer to something one of its authors did, or saw, or drank. It would be tiresome to say ”I [Kathleen]” or ”I [Michael]” every time. And so we have used ”we” in every case. It's easier on the eye. But it doesn't mean we were both there. And it's certainly not the royal ”we.”

Metonymy, morphic resonance, and sommeliers, or, is this wine corked?

WE, THE AUTHORS, would not so much as would not so much as contemplate contemplate physical violence toward wine waiters. We do, however, send wine back, sometimes because it is corked. At this point, we note that corking or cork taint is a fault of the physical violence toward wine waiters. We do, however, send wine back, sometimes because it is corked. At this point, we note that corking or cork taint is a fault of the wine wine, not of the bottle. Our t.i.tle, therefore, relies on the figure of speech (subcla.s.s trope) metonymy, in which, according to our dictionary, ”the name of one thing is put for that of another related to it ... as 'the bottle' for 'drink.'” Our t.i.tle came before our dictionary research, and we are now convinced that our choice of words is an example of morphic resonance as proposed by Rupert Sheldrake, whereby existing patterns influence future ones merely by existing.

There are, of course, ways of arresting the attention of sommeliers other than by throwing a bottle at them. To ensure their respect, we suggest the following dos and don'ts: Do send a wine back, saying that it is corked, if it has the characteristic musty smell that resembles mushrooms or the result of striding through the dead leaves of woodlands in the autumn. If the sommelier has sniffed the cork after pulling it, he ought to have already spotted it for you; you might then look him straight in the eye in an inquiring manner as you suggest that it is corked. send a wine back, saying that it is corked, if it has the characteristic musty smell that resembles mushrooms or the result of striding through the dead leaves of woodlands in the autumn. If the sommelier has sniffed the cork after pulling it, he ought to have already spotted it for you; you might then look him straight in the eye in an inquiring manner as you suggest that it is corked.

Don't use the term use the term corked corked to refer to any other fault in wine. to refer to any other fault in wine.

Do send back white wine if it is oxidized or maderized, in which oxygen has managed to slip into the wine through the cork, turned it a dark yellow, and given it an aroma resembling madeira. send back white wine if it is oxidized or maderized, in which oxygen has managed to slip into the wine through the cork, turned it a dark yellow, and given it an aroma resembling madeira.

Don't say that a wine is faulty because it has left a deposit in the gla.s.s; it may indicate that the winemaker expects his customers to know that the deposit is harmless and to appreciate his reluctance to risk wine quality with the rather drastic processes of tartrate stabilization. say that a wine is faulty because it has left a deposit in the gla.s.s; it may indicate that the winemaker expects his customers to know that the deposit is harmless and to appreciate his reluctance to risk wine quality with the rather drastic processes of tartrate stabilization.

What is is corking? The chemical compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA for short) is blamed for the corking of wine and is produced by the action of fungi on cork in the presence of chlorine. The fight between the proponents of screw caps and of corks is bitter, and cork taint is the main battleground. A screw cap eliminates the main source of TCA contamination in wine, but also that frisson of excitement when the cork is pulled and you sniff for mushrooms and autumnal woodlands, wondering whether the wine will be drinkable. corking? The chemical compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA for short) is blamed for the corking of wine and is produced by the action of fungi on cork in the presence of chlorine. The fight between the proponents of screw caps and of corks is bitter, and cork taint is the main battleground. A screw cap eliminates the main source of TCA contamination in wine, but also that frisson of excitement when the cork is pulled and you sniff for mushrooms and autumnal woodlands, wondering whether the wine will be drinkable.

Yes, but what exactly is wine?

THE FIRST THING any European should do, when trying to find out what anything is, is to ask Brussels: the European Union will have a definition of and a regulation for it. For example, Council Regulation (EC) No. 1493/1999 of May 17, 1999, on the common regulation of the market in wine, says: any European should do, when trying to find out what anything is, is to ask Brussels: the European Union will have a definition of and a regulation for it. For example, Council Regulation (EC) No. 1493/1999 of May 17, 1999, on the common regulation of the market in wine, says: WINE: the product obtained exclusively from the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether or not crushed, or of grape must. (Annex I, paragraph 10) the product obtained exclusively from the total or partial alcoholic fermentation of fresh grapes, whether or not crushed, or of grape must. (Annex I, paragraph 10) Two more definitions are needed in order to understand this one: FRESH GRAPES: the fruit of the vine used in making wine, ripe or even slightly raisined, which may be crushed or pressed by normal wine-cellar means and which may spontaneously produce alcoholic fermentation. (Annex I, paragraph 1) the fruit of the vine used in making wine, ripe or even slightly raisined, which may be crushed or pressed by normal wine-cellar means and which may spontaneously produce alcoholic fermentation. (Annex I, paragraph 1) This has a certain circularity.

GRAPE MUST: the liquid product obtained naturally or by physical processes from fresh grapes. (Annex I, paragraph 2) the liquid product obtained naturally or by physical processes from fresh grapes. (Annex I, paragraph 2) Does obtained naturally obtained naturally mean crus.h.i.+ng the grapes with naked feet? mean crus.h.i.+ng the grapes with naked feet?

Vine in the definition of fresh grapes refers to Article 19, which says that only varieties of V in the definition of fresh grapes refers to Article 19, which says that only varieties of Vitis vinifera and crosses thereof with other species of and crosses thereof with other species of Vitis Vitis may be entered into the cla.s.sification, and that ”areas planted with vine varieties for the purpose of wine production not entered into the cla.s.sification shall be grubbed up.” This is seen as ensuring both the quality and the ”typicity” of grapes that will be made into wine in any locality. But it also sets out clearly who would be allowed to receive any of the subsidies Brussels may be proffering: only those who restrict themselves to the permitted varieties. This also forbids the use of any native American varieties of grapes-and, given their quality, this is just as well. Also rejected is wine made from any other fruits. So elderberry wine (alas for the English) and dandelion wine (alas for fans of Ray Bradbury) are merely ”alcoholic beverages.” may be entered into the cla.s.sification, and that ”areas planted with vine varieties for the purpose of wine production not entered into the cla.s.sification shall be grubbed up.” This is seen as ensuring both the quality and the ”typicity” of grapes that will be made into wine in any locality. But it also sets out clearly who would be allowed to receive any of the subsidies Brussels may be proffering: only those who restrict themselves to the permitted varieties. This also forbids the use of any native American varieties of grapes-and, given their quality, this is just as well. Also rejected is wine made from any other fruits. So elderberry wine (alas for the English) and dandelion wine (alas for fans of Ray Bradbury) are merely ”alcoholic beverages.”

So: applause for the European regulator in trying to maintain the quality of European wine, but no gold star to Brussels for the drafting of legal doc.u.ments.

So who first invented wine?

AS WITH ALL successful products, there is a clamor of voices claiming its invention. Yet it is probably more to the point to ask, who first discovered wine? It is not difficult to make it. On the outside skin of the grape is the yeast and on the inside is the juice: mix them together, leave it to ferment for a few days, and the result is wine. All you really need are grapes. successful products, there is a clamor of voices claiming its invention. Yet it is probably more to the point to ask, who first discovered wine? It is not difficult to make it. On the outside skin of the grape is the yeast and on the inside is the juice: mix them together, leave it to ferment for a few days, and the result is wine. All you really need are grapes.

One claimant is Noah. After he and his family had descended from the ark onto dry land, the Lord told them to replenish the earth. According to Genesis chapter 9, verses 2021: And Noah began to be to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

What is interesting here is the statement that he planted a vineyard, because the earliest wine would have been made from wild grapes; indeed, why plant a vineyard if you do not know what you can do with the produce? Perhaps, instead, he was the first viticulturalist? A subsidiary question is, why did he get drunk? Had he not antic.i.p.ated the effect of the wine? Or perhaps the effect was just what he wanted after a hard day's work. Medieval glosses on these verses, and particularly on verse 21, reflect a wide range of opinions on the subject.

For the ancient Greeks, the discovery of wine by men was the gift of Dionysos, the G.o.d of wine, the avatar who burst out of Thrace-or perhaps Phrygia-and brought the knowledge of wine to Attica. He disclosed the secret to a peasant called Icarios and his daughter Erigone, with whom he had lodged as a guest: the gift was his return for their hospitality. However, he commanded Icarios that, once he had successfully made wine, he was to teach the skill to others; the outcome was disastrous. Icarios shared his wine with a group of shepherds, who drank a very great deal and, unaccustomed to the effect it had on them, feared that Icarios had poisoned them. They grabbed their clubs and beat him to death. When his daughter returned, she looked for him in vain, and it was only when his faithful dog Moera led her to where her father had been buried that she realized what had happened. In despair, she hanged herself. But Dionysos rewarded them: Icarios became the star Bootes, his daughter was transformed into the constellation Virgo, and Moera became Canis or Sirius, the Dog Star. (Bootes has another t.i.tle, ”the grape gatherer,” because it rises in the autumn at the time of the vintage.) In truth, the vine was widely cultivated by the early Bronze Age-both Homer and Hesiod make it clear that wine was an essential part of life-and clay tablets dating from the late Bronze Age (about 1200 BC BC) connect Dionysos with wine, providing early evidence for his cult.

Another candidate for the discoverer of wine is a lady of the harem of the Persian king Jams.h.i.+d. The king greatly enjoyed eating grapes and caused them to be stored in jars so that he could enjoy them year round. One day it was discovered that the grapes were no longer sweet-in fact, they had fermented, a process unknown to the king and his house hold. He feared that the liquid was poisonous, and thus had the jar labeled ”poison.” The lady in question was bedeviled with migraine headaches that caused her terrible pain and had lost the will to live, so she drank deeply of the ”poison.” Sinking to the floor, she slept without dreams and without pain, and when she finally awoke, she felt refreshed as she had not felt for weeks without number. She returned to the jar and finished its contents. She was found out, however, and was forced to tell the king what she had done. Curious, he had a quant.i.ty of the wine made, and when it was finished, it was drunk with pleasure by the king and all his court. This Persian legend has some plausibility. By the use of micro-chemical techniques on archaeological residues found at Hajji Firuz Tepe, it has become clear that wine was being produced in the highlands of northeastern Persia in the Neolithic Period (c. 5400 BC BC).

The primary compet.i.tor is the Transcaucasus, particularly in what is now Georgia. Strictly speaking, however, it was ancient Armenia, which in cla.s.sical times included much of eastern Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The vine was indigenous to the Armenian valleys, having established itself there over a million years ago, and petrified grape pips have been found at several Neolithic sites in the Caucasus on the Black Sea side. Other archaeological evidence from later periods includes irrigation channels, wine chambers with processing equipment, and large clay jugs. In Georgia itself, wine has been a dominant part of the culture for over five thousand years. Certainly there is ample archaeological evidence of this, with special knives for pruning dating back to between 3000 and 2000 BC BC and vessels from Neolithic sites dating to at least 7000 and vessels from Neolithic sites dating to at least 7000 BC BC. A conclusion might be that, although the discovery of wine and then the making of wine occurred in a number of different places, at this point Georgia seems to be the winner, in terms of both the longevity and the pervasiveness of its wine culture: when Christianity arrived in Georgia in the fourth century, the first cross was made of vines.

Will you be needing grapes for that?