Thanks Bruce! I loves me the Fields Family wines. The Grenache Blanc is my desert island wine (as in what wine would you want to drink while stranded on a desert island....)
paul, I hereby volunteer to take any of the glasses of great wine that you regularly drink that may of been touched by some evil fruit fly. all in the name of research of course.
Generous offer. But I have installed anti-fruit fly technology so I am no longer preyed upon. Here's a very effective fruit fly trap. Take a very small container, fill it with vinegar, cover with plastic wrap and punch holes in the wrap with a toothpick. Set it out. Voila - end of problem.
Than you so much for this article. A few weeks ago I was pouring champagne for some friends while on vacation and one friend said, oh we don't have champagne flutes. I said they should use wine glasses as that is what people are now doing to better appreciate the wine. She did not want to believe me. I am sending her your article with that section highlighted.
Paul - I agree with all your comments here, with some additions and one caveat. Most people in our country drink their white wines too cold...and the red wines too warm. Your suggested cellar temperature of 55F for white wines is a good guideline. I suggest that reds should only be a little warmer than that, around 60-62F. Not room temperature, but warm cellar temperature.
The one partial disagreement I have is about the fruit fly in your wine. I almost poured out one of the most memorable wines I've ever tasted because of a fruit fly, and I'm glad I didn't. In my very early years in the industry (that would be circa 1975 or so), I was managing a small cheese & wine shop. The owner decided we should open a bottle of 1969 Corton from Albert Brenot. We were taken aback when we found a dead fruit fly floating in the wine after we removed the cork. I was about to pour it out when the aromas started to waft up to my nose. I immedietly poured some in the glass, extracted the insect, & the wine was simply amazing. Do fruit flys sometimes ruin wine? Probably, but don't give up on those wines until you give them a sniff. Perhaps the speed at which the fly dies in the wine may affect what and how much (and if) they excrete something that ruins the wine. It may also be that whatever they excrete diminishes with age in a bottle, if the fly is in a sealed bottle. I don't know, but that was quite a bottle, despite the fly!
I suspect that the fly was dead so long that any bitterness was aged out. Or maybe there was some residual sugar in the wine. Or maybe the wine was so damn good that you didn't notice any fly effect. Whatever, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I think you're probably correct, as I have had wines that were ruined by flies. My comment was meant to show that there are exceptions. Perhaps having the fly in the enclosed space of the bottle, without being exposed to air (or very little air) had something to do with it. Who knows? I'm just happy the little bugger didn't ruin what turned out to be an outstanding wine.
“Wine kills all known human pathogens in 10 seconds or less.” Ralph Kunkee, UCD, 1983
Great post, good advice on white wine serving temperature. Also love seeing the Fields Family Grenache Blanc!
Thanks Bruce! I loves me the Fields Family wines. The Grenache Blanc is my desert island wine (as in what wine would you want to drink while stranded on a desert island....)
paul, I hereby volunteer to take any of the glasses of great wine that you regularly drink that may of been touched by some evil fruit fly. all in the name of research of course.
Generous offer. But I have installed anti-fruit fly technology so I am no longer preyed upon. Here's a very effective fruit fly trap. Take a very small container, fill it with vinegar, cover with plastic wrap and punch holes in the wrap with a toothpick. Set it out. Voila - end of problem.
Than you so much for this article. A few weeks ago I was pouring champagne for some friends while on vacation and one friend said, oh we don't have champagne flutes. I said they should use wine glasses as that is what people are now doing to better appreciate the wine. She did not want to believe me. I am sending her your article with that section highlighted.
Glad I could help you make the point. Thanks for writing!
Paul - I agree with all your comments here, with some additions and one caveat. Most people in our country drink their white wines too cold...and the red wines too warm. Your suggested cellar temperature of 55F for white wines is a good guideline. I suggest that reds should only be a little warmer than that, around 60-62F. Not room temperature, but warm cellar temperature.
The one partial disagreement I have is about the fruit fly in your wine. I almost poured out one of the most memorable wines I've ever tasted because of a fruit fly, and I'm glad I didn't. In my very early years in the industry (that would be circa 1975 or so), I was managing a small cheese & wine shop. The owner decided we should open a bottle of 1969 Corton from Albert Brenot. We were taken aback when we found a dead fruit fly floating in the wine after we removed the cork. I was about to pour it out when the aromas started to waft up to my nose. I immedietly poured some in the glass, extracted the insect, & the wine was simply amazing. Do fruit flys sometimes ruin wine? Probably, but don't give up on those wines until you give them a sniff. Perhaps the speed at which the fly dies in the wine may affect what and how much (and if) they excrete something that ruins the wine. It may also be that whatever they excrete diminishes with age in a bottle, if the fly is in a sealed bottle. I don't know, but that was quite a bottle, despite the fly!
I suspect that the fly was dead so long that any bitterness was aged out. Or maybe there was some residual sugar in the wine. Or maybe the wine was so damn good that you didn't notice any fly effect. Whatever, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I think you're probably correct, as I have had wines that were ruined by flies. My comment was meant to show that there are exceptions. Perhaps having the fly in the enclosed space of the bottle, without being exposed to air (or very little air) had something to do with it. Who knows? I'm just happy the little bugger didn't ruin what turned out to be an outstanding wine.
True with the fruit flies. You can instantly smell it. Occasionally you get lucky but not very often.
See Fred's comment above. He got lucky!