Tread carefully, drink wisely

BY DEBORAH WALTON AND PETER MORICE

There's little about modern grape growing and winemaking that could be described as bucolic or romantic. Movies with scenes of people meandering through rows of vines, working as if there is never any pressure, are pure fantasy.

Another longstanding image is that of treading the grapes. This thought came to mind as a group of cyclists sped past our property, training for the forthcoming Forrest Estate Grape Ride. In previous years, 100 female Grape Ride competitors have been invited to participate in the "100 Virgin Grape Crush" – the traditional crushing of three tonnes of pinot noir grapes, the resulting juice being made into a special Grape Ride vintage.

In medieval times, there was very little fun and romance attached to treading grapes. If red wine was required, a deep vat would be used so that skins and juice could ferment together until all the colour had been leached from the skins.

Making red wine was dangerous if shortcuts through this soaking and fermenting process were taken. The most common shortcut was to tread the grapes while they were in a deep stone fermenting tank. As the grapes began to ferment, they let off carbon dioxide, which could have the unfortunate consequence of suffocating the treaders.

By comparison, white wines were trodden in shallow wooden vats or troughs rather than deep tanks.

During my reading about treading grapes, I came across a reference to a wine critic, a Catalan called Francesc Eixemenis, the author of an encyclopaedia on morals.

Eixemis wrote of the Italians: "When they drink, do it in stages and small quantities at a time, examining and re-examining the wine just as physicians do with urine, and they taste it repeatedly, chewing it slowly between their teeth until they have drunk it all.

"Those who dwell, think and cogitate ceaselessly about wine, speaking, writing, following and moulding themselves to it, will suffer the consequences."

Goldridge Estate Premium Reserve Barrique Matured Chardonnay 2008

This wine is described as a blend from New Zealand's premium grape-growing regions.

Colour: Yellow straw.

Aroma: Like a hot, dry, dusty summer's day – plenty of warm hay and mineral notes sit nicely beside the broad aroma of stone fruit. There's some rich vanillin oak and spicy ripe apple and nectarine aromas.

Taste: Fruity and spicy – plenty of cream, apple and pastry in this wine, which is made in a lighter style. Light to medium-bodied, slightly warming – a chardonnay with ease. The well-rounded flavours wash through to a satisfying finish, where they are enhanced by some caramel and gentle toasty oak. Spicy apple and stone fruit flavours fill out the aftertaste.

A very pleasant wine, perfect for light summer fare.

Price: About $20.

Tohu NZ Pinot Gris 2008

This wine is blended from Marlborough and Nelson grapes, hence the "NZ Pinot Gris" on the label.

Aroma: Lifted rose petals, pear and lovely rich fig notes. Perfumed, syrupy and reminiscent of marzipan – some stonefruit notes add to the gentle perfumed nature.

Taste: Rich and syrupy, with some pleasant fig and ginger flavours towards the back of the palate. Some zingy acid sits well with the richer flavours, while the mineral and apple juice flavours at the back of the palate ensure a well-structured wine. A dry, dusty, long-lasting finish and aftertaste. An elegant style – well made.

Price: About $20.

Saint Clair Family Estate Omaka Reserve Chardonnay 07

Aroma: Toasty, buttery and biscuity. An intense, rich aroma with lashings of marmalade.

Taste: Spicy and bursting with flavour. Lime and ginger marmalade flavours are seamlessly integrated with ripe stonefruit and some sweet, buttery oak. Some rewarding, crisp apple flavour joins the waltz out to a lovely citrus/stonefruit finish and aftertaste.

Price: $32.95 – great value.

Curio Gane's Vineyard Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Aroma: Crisp, grassy, herbal. with some gentler passionfruit notes.

Taste: Juicy, tangy, with tingly acids and some underlying warmth. The aroma rolls on through to the palate – we enjoyed the pleasant grassy/tropical blend in this full-bodied wine. The flavours are quite intense out to the finish, which is herbal, drying and warming. A really nice example of Wairau Valley sauvignon blanc.

Price: $25.90.

Acknowledgement: The historical information in this column comes from an excellent book, Hugh Johnson's Story of Wine, published by Mitchell Beazley.

- The Marlborough Express