The Korea Times

THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1998

13

Is Bourdeaux Better Than Red Wine?

By Ken Kim Times Wine Writer

f you read my last column and maybe even if you didn't, you now know what makes red wine red and white wine white. But you may still have questions about red and white wine terminology that you were afraid to ask. Questions like why people ask for a "Bourdeaux" or even more confusing, a "Cabernet Sauvignon" when all they really want is red wine. To answer this question, we need to take a trip down memory lane; a long trip back to the Roman Empire. Though the history of wine stretches back all the way to 3,000 B.C. when wine was the alcohol of choice for the people of Mesopotamia, it was the Romans who planted the seeds of today's wine countries. The Romans loved wine and they brought it wherever they went - to Spain, Germany, North Africa and most fatefully, to Gaul or France. If it were not for the Romans, the French may never have had a drop of wine. But if not for the French, the rest of us may never have had a drop of fine wine. As with most things, the French developed and articulated wine so well that its production was elevated to an art form. Before the French refined grape varieties and wine-making processes, wine drinkers had it easy: wine wa either red or white. In fact, before the Romans planted wine grapes everywhere they went, there was only one type of wine - red. White wine was invented only because red wine grapes didn't grow as well in colder northern regions; Romans had settled for white wine when they couldn't get the real thing. The legacy continues: Italy still produces very little white wine. To put it very simply, there was no wine other than red and white unttl the French came along and complicated everything by talking about "Cabernets" and "Bourdeaux." So if you want to do like the Romans did, you can just say. "Give me a red wine." You may want to add "white wine" to your vocabulary if you want to sound a bit more civilized and replace "red wine" with "Bourdeaux" if you want to impress your date. But if you want to sound like a sophisti.cated wine connoisseur, you'll want to say, "Do you have a fine Cabernet Sauvignon?" Whether you say "Bourdeaux" or "Cabernet Sauvignon, " you'd be asking for the same thing red wine. Bourdeaux is a wine-making.region in the south of France whose red wines have donated the international

The pretty town of St-Emillion presides over the appellation of the same name on Bordeaux's right bank. Here, where Meriot dominates the vineyards, the wines are slightly softer, broader, and more spicy than those of the Medoc across the river.

From the Grapevin

wine market. l\5 red wines are simply called "Bourdeaux." And most of the wine grapes that go into making "Bourdeaux" are of the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal. So a Bourdeaux is a Cabernet Sauvignon is a red wine. In my last column, I introduced 20 different grape varietals and in this article, I will talk about a handful of the most-common and most-liked of these. You are probably most curious about the taste of these varietals . Though wine connoisseurs have their own esoteric lingo for describing the taste and smell of wine, I find such terms as "Clove" (refers to the aroma and flavor of young Cabernet Sauvignon) and "Cigar Box" (claret and other Cabernet Sauvignons) rather unenlightening. Why would anyone want to drink anything that tastes or smells like a cigar box? So I will try to describe the flavors and aromas of each varietal without using such jargon. But mere words can only do so much. You need to actually taste a Cabernet Sauvignon to know what it really tastes like. In fact, even experienced wine connoisseurs sometimes find it difficult to discriminate between the taste of different grape varietals. Blind wine tastings, or trying to identify a wine only by its taste, is a wine connoisseur's nightmare. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are deep-colored, thick-skinned and relatively small. They produce dark, flavorsome wines that are robust with a lot of tannin, the dry slightly bitter, mouth-coating substance that makes cold tea so unpleasant. Tannin mostly comes from the skin of the grape and so white wines, which are produced by peeling off the grape skins,do not have any tannin in them. And that's why white wines are not as bitter and pungent as red wines. And of the red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon is the most bitter and pungent. They are so filled with tannin that you can't drink the wine unless it is aged for a long time or mixed with other grape varietals such as Merlot. Merlot is just like Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, just minus the tannin. It is less tangy and intense, much sweeter and mellow. Most red wines from Bourdeaux are made from a mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The popular fine wine, Barons de Rothschild is a red Bourdeaux made from a combination of the two varietals. While the Mouton Cadet is a popular Merlot which is also produced by the Chateau Rothschild. Pinot Nair, another popular grape varietal, is very much like the Merlot. With a relatively low tannin and acidity level, it is less strong and has a

medium rather than deep color. Its aroma is so inviting and its flavor so sweet that it is being used to make Champagne . Romanee Conti and Musigny are two red Burgundy wines made from Pinot Noir grapes. Another grape varietal that seems to be particularly popular here in Korea is Gamay. The Gamay is perhaps better known as Beaujolais. Like Merlot, Gamay is very mellow and easily likable, even for newcomers to wine drinking. Moulin-a-Vent is the biggest and longest living Beaujolais producing chateau. If you are drinking an Italian wine, chances are you are having wine made from either the Sangiovese or the Nebbiolo grapes. The Sangiovese is lighter whereas Nebbiolo is very dark in color and full-bodied in flavor. Most Chianti wines, like the Ruffmo and the Peppoli, are Sangiovese . While the most famous Nebbiolo wines are produced in a region called Barolo. Two popular Barolo wines are the Gaja and the Monprivato. Other grape varietals, like the Syrah and Grenache, are not as common and I will talk about these in a later column. At one point, I used the word "nightmare" to describe trying to differentiate between the grape varietals. It is so difficult because there are so many elements involved in the flavor and aroma of wine. Wine-tasting is an art, not a science. Different people sense tastes differently. While some people will say one wine tastes like burning rubber, others will say that it is like butter. On top of all of this, the climate, soil and wine-making styles affect the end product and thus make it everi more difficult to tell which wine is which. Again, you are the only person who can tell which wine is "good" - for you. But if you want to become a wine connoisseur and learn the taste of what the experts consider "fine wine," you may want to set up a cellar in your house and taste as many different wines as you can. Attend tastings and make note of how each wine tastes to you. It is only after you have tried a lot of different types and brands of wine that you can begin to distingnish between them.

Ken Kim. the writer of this bi-weekly wine column who claims he is probably the only Korean wine-maker in the world. grows nearly 20 acres of wine grapes in Santa Cruz, California. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge and expertise on wine. For more information, call 695-7576.
-ED.