Happy Thursday and Hello from the Vinesse Wine Team
Please enjoy these musings on what we’re up to and like always, let us know you like and what you’re up to, too.
General Wine Info
A friend called the other day and asked – “Can you drink wine that you have accidentally frozen?” I laughed and said, “Perfect, a wine-sicle!” While freezing is not the ideal for wine aromatics or structure, wine can withstand cold temperatures much better than warm. If the wine has completely frozen and the cork has pushed out of the bottle, it might be exposed to some questionable old freezer aromas, but overall there is nothing in the frozen wine that will harm you. Just put the bottle in your refrigerator to come back to a liquid state, and drink soon. Approximately 85% of wine is water – so if you are familiar with what happens in your ice cube trays, you’ll know that water expands when it freezes. The pressure of the freezing/expanding wine will push the cork right out of the bottle. The freeze temperature for wine is lower than water, but when stuck in your ice box for too long, it will freeze just the same. Looking for a better way to chill your wine down quickly (without accidentally freezing it)? Try the restaurant somm secret – a bucket of 50/50 ice/water and salt.
Prowein (pronounced Pro-Vine)
The late winter / early spring is an exciting time in the wine business. The newly fermented wines from the prior harvest are not quite finished (especially if wood aging is involved), but they are ready to begin sampling. One of the biggest beverage trade shows in the world is called Prowein and it happens in Dusseldorf Germany on the ides of March. Over 6,000 producers, 60,000 trade visitors, and 1,000+ journalists from over 150 countries attend this event to see what Mother Nature has delivered. Vinesse attends every year, and it’s where we find and renew many of our great producer connections and get the buzz for the latest wine trends.
What We’re Drinking
While I moved houses a few years ago, I packed away some everyday drinking wines from Bordeaux and forgot about them in storage. Normally, I drink them young, while the fruit is fresh. I was so pleasantly surprised when I unearthed them this past winter. Despite being everyday level Bordeaux, the wines had developed beautifully in that cool, dark cave over the last 4 years. The youthful fruit and brash, drying tannins had softened into multi-layered delights, with classic stylings of black cherry, pencil lead, tobacco, clay and cedar. Savoring them with my favorite soup and crusty baguette was the highlight of my winter!
Cheers!
And have a great rest of your week,
The Vinesse Wine Team
