Taster´s Vocabulary :

Tartaric acid: acid coming from the grape, that has as one of its principal function the protection above the action of the microorganisms. Generally it represents the third or the fourth part of a wine´s acids and it is the strongest and more resistant of all the wine´s acids.

Antociano: it is an organic compound of vegetal origin, that makes red, violets and blue pigments used to give color to the fruits. In the grape, it is located in the grain's peel. The grape varieties that has the antocianos en the pulp are not common, thy are called the “tintoreras”.

Sugars: sweet substance that is soluble in different liquids like water and alcohol. It comes from the sugar cane and other vegetables like the grapevine. In this last case it came from the grape and in the wine remains a residual amount unfermented. This residual quantity is small in the dry wines and bigger in the sweet ones. The most common sugar present in the grape is the glucose, the fructose and the saccharose, between others.

Barric: it is a recipient made with oak (European or American) that is toasted inside to give it smoked aromas and avoid that nasty smells and flavors contaminates the wine. The best know and one of the most used barrics is the one named “bordelesa” that has a vide oval shape and 225 liters of capacity.
The oak barrics must be filled to the top with wine, being carefully to not leave air in the interior. Then the wine must repose there all the time that is necessary according to the enologist.
This barrics has a usefull life that goes between 4 to 6 breedings and each one of the delays at least 3 or 4 months in Argentine. It means that the wine bred in oak increase remarkablely it cost if we bear in mind that the price of one oak barric oscillates between 300 and 700 U$S, being these Americans or French.

Cave: denomination used to name the old-time caves that exists in some wine-shops and that are used to keep wines in the oak barrics or in bottles. This denomination is also used to name some natural sparkling wine made at certain regions from Spain.

Alcoholic Fermentation: biochemical process , spontaneous and natural produced by the yeasts presents or added, which transform the sugar or the grape juice in ethyl alcohol with a detachment of carbonic gas. To more sugar, more production of alcohol.

Melolactic Fermentation: biochemical process , spontaneous and natural produced by a bacterium which metabolize in malic acid (which has a strong apple flavor and it is present in wine), and it is transformed in lactic acid which has a mellow flavor. Nowadays, that fermentation in red wines happen at the oak barric. The bottle is the only place where that fermentation can not occur.

Tannin: Astringent compound that is extracted from several plants, between them we can find it in the solid parts of the grape grain (peel, seed, etc.). The red wines have this substance in a bigger proportion than other wines.

Vanilla: aroma that appears in wines that had been submitted to a breeding in oak barrics. This aroma is stronger when the oak barric is American.

Varietal: denomination that name wines made completely, or almost complete (80% minimum) with a determinate variety of grape detailed in the wine´s etiquette.

Guard Wine: is that wine that has passed some time maturing in a bottle or in a oak barric.

Round wine: expression used in testing to named the exalted virtues of a wine. It is the best qualifying to a wine with excellent qualities by resulting round to the palate.

Unctuous: synonym of mellow and velvety,this are wines that used to has very much glycerine and because of that it result to the palate like slightly oily without provoking displeasure.

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Wine and Wood

Wood in wine: Since old-time ages, when the transport overseas began to carry drinks, wines and others spirituous between them, borned the need of some solid recipient that solves the problem of ancient recipients like vessels or larges earthen jars and animals leather. This ones were fragile and with low versatility of packing. Like an answer to the need of a solid recipient, easy to anchor and easy to determine it volume, appears the wood vessels like an alternative. Through the time, is checked that the use of wood in certain drinks and mainly wine, give to these specials flavors and characteristics once these had passed some time in touch with that wood.
In this way the wood became in an excellent recipient that besides gave to the wine excellent qualities and rebounded its decadence. Many types of wood were used: chestnut, cherry, ash, pine, elm, etc., but the wines kept in these woods resulted rude in difference with the ones raised in oak, which result was a bigger final quality with pleasing aromas and flavors.
Nowadays the tendencies of incorporate wood to wines show innovations that diminishes costs with acceptable qualitative results. Between different practices the most common is the addition of pieces of wood to wine that are classified by precedence, toasted and size of the wood. With respect to the precedence we have two big groups where we find the American Oak (Canada and USA) and the European Oak (France, Russia, Hungry, etc.), the toasted is refer to the penetration degree of the wood burn and it can be light, half and strong; inside this categories exists intermediates.
At market exists many shapes and sizes of these pieces of oak wood that are use in the raisin of wines, besides the classics barrics and casks or barrels there are cubes (dies of approximately 2-4 centimeters of oak wood), chips (Splinters coming from the breaking or grinding of oak wood, that are simply smaller than the cubes and because of that gave the wine more intense aromas. As the cubes, they can be use in inoxidizable still tanks or pools), sticks (oak lath of approximately 60 centimeters long which is use to build structures inside the tanks, pools or drained barrics), duelas (oak planks that are use in tanks, pools and fundamentally to recover drained barrics).
The wood gives the wine characteristics that go from fruit-bearing aromas natural of the varietal, to vanilla, coconut, nut, toasted bred and other species notes. To the taste it result unctuous (mellow and velvety), a little oily and round to the palate, with a little sweetness without asperities.

The Oak: in the world exist about 300 oak varieties, but enologicaly speaking, we are only interested in two of them: the European oak (quercus robur sealisae) and the American oak (quercus alba).
The European oak can be found at France, Spain, Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Chechnya and Hungry. Nowadays the French oak had world fame at the wine world, seeing that until about the middle of the ´30 decade the most used oak, by the French producers, come from Russia.
The American oak can be found at Canada and USA and, because of this cultivation zone is bigger than the French one, the supply to the international market is easier and therefore it cost is most economic than the European.
The oak modifies the characteristics of wine, seeing that is not an inert material and the interactions of this wood with wine produces very satisfactory results to the senses.
The aromas of wine became more complex with vanilla notes, with spices and toasted depending in the oak treatment. Wood makes a limpid wine, favoring the natural precipitation of particles and acting like a clarifier. It favor too the stabilization of the wine´s color combining colouring material with tanines through an oxygenation that is produced by the action of the wood pores. The breeding in oak fortifies the quantity of tanines in wine and prolongs it youth extending it life in a bottle.

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Wineglass and Wine:

Glasses are an important part in the ritual of drinking wine and they are not only agreeable by the beautiful designs, besides they have the function of helping to capture the aroma and the flavor of the specifics kinds of wine.
Although the wineglass is not the only element that intervenes in the ceremony of drinking wine is one of the principal complements that make the wine a different drink. Also exists thermometers, coolers, frappers, cap cutters, corkscrews, clarifiers, and other elements, tough glasses by it design and shape are the ones that have the power of modifying the perception and taste of each wine.
The reason that makes the glasses constitute a essential component at the drinking moment is that each wineglass predispose the first wine sip in the palate in a determinate way. Because of it shape and anatomy, some glasses guide the drink forward, others backward or to the sides, and another deposit it in the middle of the buccal cavity. It is also true that the wine bouquet takes a form according to the recipient size, rebounding determinate characteristics of wine.
Originally the wineglasses where made with cast materials generally opaque and heavy (bronze and iron) until nowadays, where the most common is the using of glass and crystal.
It is necessary to underline that wineglasses always has had design details and ornamentation, that give us the idea that the men always have considered drinking like some thing important. At these firsts moments when glasses were made with materials like bronze and iron, exists the tendency toward using only one wineglass fit for every kind of liquid during meals, nowadays we know the “wineglasses set” and it give us the idea that each glass has a determinate drink.
Wineglasses besides became in recipients, has a meaning that is related to something symbolic and it is reveals in the ornamental design. In spite of this, its shape always has been the same, with changes in the size that not always were justified. Nowadays it is known that the biggest glass is for water, the following is the one for red wine, white wine, sherry or port, and other wines.
In present, it is requires the practicity, so liking has been simplified and in the tables we can see only the glasses that are going to be use (generally water, wine, champagne), in spite of the huge available variety.

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Wine accessories

When one starts incurring in the pleasure of drinking wine, one can be surprised with the quantity of available accessories to join this ritual. We can ask if they are or not really necessaries but we can not discuss that they are very intrusting to enjoy the wine in every scale of possibilities.
The next list mentions the most use and practical wine accessories at once we start the previous ceremony to the drinking art.

Decantation basket: small hamper that is use to withdraw a guard wine of the cave and carry it to the place where it is going to be drank, in a almost horizontal position (approximately taking a 25 degree angle). Once uncorked the wine inside the same basket ca be spilled in the clarifier without removing the natural sediments. Generally this accessory had a candle to notice when the sediments deposited in the bottle are passing through to the clarifier.

Cap Cutter: tool that is use to cut the cap or seal that covers and protects the cork. Same corkscrews have it incorporated; another alternative that have the same function is the sommeliers folding knife that gives him elegance at once he opens a wine´s bottle.

Clarifier: nowadays there is a tendency to make and create wines without filtrate them, because of that results essential this kind of accessories at the moment of tasting a good wine and appreciate each one of its qualities. This element acts directly on the tasting and is because of that that, between all the accessories, this is one of the most use and accepted.

Corkscrew: It is a very important tool to open correctly a bottle. Exist a huge scale of possibilities like the corkscrew that have one or two impulses, others with crowbar or continue extraction, another pneumatic or artisanals, but always made to avoid any adulteration of the drink at once we uncork it. Nowadays they exist in every shape, size and material, and they can be obtained artisanals designs like unique and exclusive pieces.

Wineglasses: every wine has its respective glass with a determinate design, and it is also true that exists famous marks that have made of this ritual a true rule at the moment of thinking in each wine. There are specifics wineglasses to each varietal, inclusive there are personalized glasses and even a determinate set of glasses to water.

Drop stop: It is a simple and very effective tool to avoid spilling wine drops onto the tablecloth, table or any place where this drink is served. It can be like aluminium plates that are put in the bottle opening like a cornet. The economic alternative is to replace that aluminium plates by a little tissue paper tie around the bottle neck.

Coolers: it is like a case or sleeve stuffed with gel that is put in the freezer by a few minutes and then the bottle is wrapped with it during no more than five minutes, this leaves the drink ready to be served. This element takes importance specially with the white and sparkling wines when you do not have enough time to cool it at the adequate temperature.

Frappers: it is like a bucket where is put, until a third part of its capacity, a mixture of ice and water. They were thought out to keep the white and sparkling wines temperatures during a meal or a meeting. They can be found in different materials and thay have to be attended with a absorbent cloth to avoid the contact of hand with bottle.

Thermometers: In order to highlight all of the virtues of the wine, to rebound his aromas and to soften the alcohols, the wine needs to be served at the correspondent temperature. The varietals, generally, have indicated in the label the optimal temperature to drink it, and to do more easy the correct sensorial appreciation of wines, the sophisticated thermometers exist . The designs of these elements are also innovative and they can be found with some annexed like temperatures draw, digital bands, and rods with leathern cases.

Vacu In: It is an instrument that takes out the air of the uncorked bottles, lengthening its life once open. It includes a stopper that favors the maintenance of the wine qualities for some days. This accessory responds to the need to preserve the remains of wine that fit in the bottle and they do not have to be lost.

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Principal varietals of Argentina

Before talking about each varietal it is necessary to make a brief recount of the first vines planted at Argentine territory.
The missionaries in the XV and XVI centuries were the ones that brought the first grapes to our country. These same grapes are the ones that today we named Criollas, and in the XIX centurie, with the introduction of fine grapes proceeding of Europe, a bigger diversity was produced and mixes in plantations, since that moment the local producers did not give any importance to the characteristics of every grape in particular.
Grapes like the Malbec, the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Merlot, very well-known varietales and developed at present, were blending among themselves, and as the producers as the consumers were naming these like “French grape”.
In the world exist about 5,000 different vinestocks and exist almost 40,000 names to name them. From now on there is a list of the best known varietales in Argentina:

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RED GRAPES

Malbec: It constitutes the more emblematic and acquaintance vinestock of Argentina. Proceeding from France ( Bourdeaux ) has found at the ground of Mendoza's province ideals conditions for his development. At present you can make sure that the Argentine Malbec is acknowledged like world-beater.
This varietal's tasting is not simple because it shows a great quantity of different ciones, that is, many vines with distinct characteristics, that with the lands and the man's action, make its appreciation difficult.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Just like the Malbec, this varietal is born on France, at Bourdeaux's region, and it is one of the emblems of the region. This variety has been adapted to all of the climates of the world and in spite of being one of the best French exponents, it has attained a development more than satisfactory at another countries.
The pepper, cassis and cedar stand out among his aromas, giving to this red wine an acidity that needs a little time to become soft.
The principal zones within Mendoza's province, where this varietal attains its maximum expression are Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo, and Vistalba between others.

Merlot: Native varietal of Bourdeaux's region, France, where it is utilized frequently in combination with the Cabernet Sauvignon. In Argentina, in spite of the fact that it is still working at its development, it has found its better aftermaths at the region of Uco's Valley ( Mendoza's province ) and at the more cold zones of Río Negro's province. At the lasts years this vinestock's plantations have grown considerably and it is a varietal that is known like one of the preferred for the women.
The wine proves to be less acid than another varietales, with berries aroma and some smoked notes, these characteristics make of this a wine round and pleasant to the palate leaving fresh and fruity sensations.

Syrah: Even though still today the origin of this grape is debated, it is believed that it comes from Orient, precisely from the Antique Persia ( nowadays Iran ) and Shiraz, one of the more antique regions that the story of the wine knows.
This vinestock appears in France, at the region of the Rhone in time of the Greek colonists and halfway through the century XIX it gets to Australia, where he attains a great development and it is recognized like one of the varietales with a huge quality and a worthy rival to the French one.
In Argentina many followers to his cultivation exist and he follows his rising tendency since this grape has adapted very well to the climates of Mendoza's provinces and San Juan itself.
The Syrah is shown like an ample, very soft wine in mouth, with strong aromas to spicery and hides.

Tempranillo: Originating Hispanic vinestock, where he constitutes all of an emblem in a minute from talking about wines. He presents similitude of taste with the varietal of French origin Pinot Noir.
In Argentina already exist great quantity of hectares planted with this varietal and it is a wine than starting from the year 2,000 it is being very requisite by demanding palates, situation that positions it like one of the varietal with bigger projection of future.

Barbera: Generally he tends to blur out with the Bonarda ( originating of Piamonte's region, Italy ), although it becomes of bigger quality than this. Native of Monferrato's region ( Italy ) and very diffuse and developed, just like the Bonarda, at Piamonte's region.
In Argentina it is grown in San Rafael, in the South of Mendoza's province and it is beginning to be developed at the province of San Juan with very good aftermath.
This vinestock shows up like a wine that highlights the characteristics of good color and with great body, is because of that, that it is used principally in wines of cut.

Pinot Noir: Assignor of Bourgogne's French zone, to be a vinestock of difficult adaptation, its cultivation proves to be all of a defiance in Argentina.
In spite of it, at the regions of Alto Valle de Uco, Alto Río Mendoza (both at Mendoza's province) and Alto Valle de Río Negro (at Rio Negro´s province) has attained a development catalogued by the specialists himself like very good.
This varietal also is utilized in blank for Champagne or fizzy wines.
Between its characteristics are rebounded the fruity cherries aroma and notes that remember the taste of mushrooms.

Another vinestocks developed in Argentina, although in little proportions are:

Cabernet Franc: Native of Loire's, France's region and developed also in Italy.

Petit Verdot: proceeding from Bourdeaux's region, in France, where his cultivation is very reduced due to the delay that shows the grape for its maturation.

Tannat: Originating of southwest of France, it becomes of excellent quality and in Argentina is developed principally at Cafayate's region at Salta's province.

Sangiovese: Originating grape of Italy, where it is very cultivated. In Argentina it was blurred out for a long time with the Lambrusco and at present it is not considered like a first-rate grape.

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BLANK GRAPES

Torrontés: Originating Hispanic vinestock, place where it almost has disappeared totally. At present he considers it like a Argentine exclusivity for the great development that it has had at the country.
In Argentina it has two varieties referring to the grape's places of cultivation, the first and with more planted hectares is the Torrontés Riojano, that it is developed at The Rioja's and Salta´s province and second variety is the Torrontés Mendocino, planted at Mendoza's and San Juan's province.
This vinestock's originating wines present its principal attraction to be very aromatic.

Chadonnay: it is one of the best known vinestocks in the world, originating of Bourgogne's French region. It is considered like a first-rate wine and he possesses the advantage to present great adaptation to all the regions where he develops .
In Argentina it reach its better expression at Tupungato's, Maipú´s Agrelo´s and San Rafael´s zones at the province of Mendoza and in the Alto Valle de Rio Negro.
It is a wine that can present variations in its final taste, due to the temperatures of the grown zones and the qualities of the subsoil. Its aromatic characteristics cross-refer us to citrics, honey, fresh lard and sometimes floral notes of acacia.

Chenin Blanc: It comes from Loire's French region, where he developed with a lot of success to produce dry, aromatic and also fizzy wines. In Argentina it is a very developed variety and principally he develops at Mendoza's province, in San Rafael.
It is believed that it has great qualitative potential, in spite of the fact that it is not much developed. Its aroma forwards us on to citric, quince, honey and linden notes, endowing it with one very pleasant taste.

Semillón: It has its origin in France, and like that many others grapes, he comes from Bourdeaux's zone. This variety has been developed in many parts of the world shown big gustatives variations.
It depends on the climate to change his taste and it is supersensitive to the rain and to the humidity. In Argentina the best zones for his cultivation are at the Valle de Uco, Mendoza and in the Alto Valle de Río Negro.

Sauvignon Blanc: Native vinestock of France and developed at several regions of this country. This varietal presents very particular and pleasant characteristics to combine it with the Semillón.
In Argentina, he develops principally at the province of Mendoza, at Alto Río Mendoza's, Luján de Cuyo's and Maipú´s zones. The wines characterize it to be very fruity, with aromas that are referred to fruit salads, citric and some minerals and vegetables notes.

Pedro Jiménez: coming from the old continent, Spain, where it was utilized to elaborate sherry. At present it is not considered like a grape of high enological aptitude, although it represents a referent to the sherry.
In Argentina exists doubts about its procedence, but it is known that the principal provinces that develop it are Mendoza and San Juan, where they are largely diffuse.

Traminer Gewurtztraminer: vinestock of Italian origin, exist confusion among the Traminer and the Gewurtztraminer, because gewurtz in German signifies spiced, and the first would be able to be a variant of second.
In France, since seventies, it is named Gewurtztraminer, although it is difficult to find a characteristic spice. The word Traminer is utilized at another regions for this same grape, although it is possible finding variations in the color of the peel.
In Argentina exist very few hectares, principally in Tupungato (Alto Valle de Uco, Mendoza ) and his enological characteristics shows an fruity aroma to roses, violets and jasmine, very perfumed and simile to the Torrontés.

Another white vinestocks developed in Argentina, although not very known are :

Ugni Blanc: Originating of Italy where it is called Trebbiano, in Argentina has great production and generally it is utilized for wines of cut.

Tocai Friulano: Originating of Italy and acquaintance also like Sauvignonasse ( it is not the same thing as Sauvignon ).

Riesling: vinestock developed at the zone of Alsace, France. The few hectares planted in Argentina (less than 200) have indefinite origin.

Viognier: its origin in France shows at present very few hectares at the region of the Valley of Rhone. In Argentina it arrived recently in the decade of ninety .

Pinot Blanco: Proceeding from the East of France, it is very similar to the Chardonnay for his aromas. In Argentina exist very few hectares ( there is less than 100 ).

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