AnuvaBlog

Wine evolves and wine can also be evolved. When wine comes into contact with oxygen, it oxygenates. Scientifically speaking, this means that there is a process of a loss of electrons (definition of oxygenation) to more electronegative (molecules/chemicals that want electrons) compounds that seek them out due to uneven distributions of charge. These electrically imbalanced molecules seek to balance themselves and achieve a lower “energy state” (think of energy state as the volatility or reactivity level of a substance).

Practically speaking, swirling wine (and thus putting into contact with more oxygen) does, in fact, make the wine evolve or “open (in winespeak)”. I would like to attempt to coin a new phrase in the syntax of winespeak: “evolved wine”.

Evolved wines are wines that change in decidedly favorable ways when in contact for oxygen for “normal” periods of time and that will age favorable over several/many years.

All wine does change when it comes into contact with oxygen. But only quality wines react in a truly favorable manner to oxygen for any length of time (say an hour or more or after being decanted). Table wine, will lose it’s aroma (if it ever had any) and certainly not evolve in a favorable way over the course of an hour or more. Table wine, the longer it is exposed to oxygen will become less and less drinkable, and more and more acidic (like vinegar).

Evolved wines, however, will open very nicely, expressing its secondary and tertiary characteristics in lovely layered ways. I will call these wines “evolved” because they are capable of evolving and should be allowed to evolve. They need at least 15-30 minutes of contact with oxygen after opening to open up and express themselves fully. Their evolution, as caused by the reaction with oxygen, may take on various forms, allowing for distinctly different and better, more complex qualitative characteristics (mouthfeel, flavors, aromas, etc.).

Evolved wines will also be wines that can age for longer and will age gracefully. Not all wines are meant to be stored in a cellar for years on end. This is a common misconception, that somehow older wine means better wine. Not true. If a wine has the qualities to stand up to the micro-oxygenation process that occurs during aging (and other processes as well that are still being studied) it will evolve in good ways. French wines are famous for this. Most wines in general should not be aged at all. I’m talking about table wine here. Most evolved wines from Argentina should not be aged for more than about 10-15 years, as the beauty of Argentine wines is that they can be made to be very expressive, full, and favorable at very young ages.

In contrast, most young French wines are very harsh, tannic and barely drinkable. But this is also what makes them age well over 30 or more years.

Inspiration for this post derives from a New York Times article (that Frank from Sugar and Spice was so good to post about) in which the controversy over teaching evolution in schools in Florida is discussed. Here is an excerpt:

“He [Mr. Campbell] started with Mickey Mouse.

On the projector, Mr. Campbell placed slides of the cartoon icon: one at his skinny genesis in 1928; one from his 1940 turn as the impish Sorcerer’s Apprentice; and another of the rounded, ingratiating charmer of Mouse Club fame.

“How,” he asked his students, “has Mickey changed?”

Natives of Disney World’s home state, they waved their hands and called out answers.

“His tail gets shorter,” Bryce volunteered.

“Bigger eyes!” someone else shouted.

“He looks happier,” one girl observed. “And cuter.”

Mr. Campbell smiled. “Mickey evolved,” he said. “And Mickey gets cuter because Walt Disney makes more money that way. That is ‘selection.’ ”

Later, he would get to the touchier part, about how the minute changes in organisms that drive biological change arise spontaneously, without direction. And how a struggle for existence among naturally varying individuals has helped to generate every species, living and extinct, on the planet.”

This excerpt and my brief, superficial discussion here of the evolution of wine and evolved wine clearly warrants more dialogue as one of the clear questions implied in this discussion is how much life or personality a wine can have and how that relates to aging, oxygenation, storage, and overall enjoyment.

I await your comments.

We had cracked open a bottle of Don Juan Reserve for ourselves on Monday night, as we had some friends in from out of town and wanted to show off some of our best stuff to them. After opening the 3rd bottle (because they loved it of course), we realized that we weren’t going to finish it as we had to work the next day.

Routinely, as I’m sure is the case for many of you, we open wines especially on weeknights to have a glass or so with dinner and we are left with 1/3 or 1/2 of a bottle. Que pena! We don’t want to throw this wine away. The best strategy for preserving opened wine is the shove the cork back into the bottle as far as it will go and then lye it down in the refrigerator. This will help to slow the oxidation of the wine and make it last longer.

We have experimented with our classic wines (like Mayol Bonarda and Cavagnaro Malbec) and have found that these wines are still very drinkable up to 48 hours after opening. With our reserves (like Don Juan and Cavagnaro Reserve), this number goes up to 96 hours.

Once you pass these points, though, you are better off cooking with the wine. More on what to do with very leftover wine in future posts.