My First Cooked Wine

[lagilman]

Disclaimer; today was a crappy day to begin with. I'd probably be more upset about the tale I'm about to relate if Life hadn't put it all in perspective for me previously.
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I have a wine cellar. Specifically, I have a small (28 bottle) wine refrigerator. It's nothing compared to the 200 bottle monster I once shared possession of, but it, for the most part, suits my life and my apartment just fine, and the overflow of 'drink this month or next" wines go happily on the rack in the hallway.

I have A Plan to turn the Book Closet into an insulated wine closet, but the only thing I have more of than wine is books, so.... hasn't happened yet [ask me about the ongoing 'fund LAG's wine cellar' book sale!]

Unfortunately, as many of you know, NYC has had an incredible run of over-90-degree days this month. Even with the a/c going, there were days that the apartment got very warm, especially the week that I was away.

*sigh*

When I opened the bottle of pinot noir to go with dinner tonight, I noted that the color was... odd. Less the glinting ruby I'd expected, and more of a dull brick-red color*. Something pinged in the back of my head, but I was busy making dinner and didn't really think of it...until I took my first sip.

Cooked.

Damnit.

The nose was sort of caramel-y [not right] and the taste...well, a pinot noir can have spice, and ripe berries, and a distinct tang, but it's also usually a soft, rounded wine. This? Was sharp as a porcupine, and yet curiously flat, as well.

This is, amazingly enough, the first time I've ever had a bottle cook on me. It probably won't be the last, but I just wish it had been with a less expensive bottle.

Thankfully, a second bottle from the same producer, on the rack for the same amount of time, tasted fine, and dinner went on as planned. But I'm always going to regret that 'lost' bottle** and the timetable to move up to a larger cellar is probably moved up [40 bottle capacity should be enough, right?]


So, the lesson y'all should take away from this? Even if all your wine fits in a single row on your counter, and nothing's over $15, be careful in the summer. Protect your wine. If it gets particularly warm, even for a day or two, store the wine in your refrigerator until things cool down. Your wine, and your glass, will thank you.



*older red wines may turn that particular shade. A wine that was only a year old? No way.
**because I am a) frugal and b) adventurous, I shoved the bottle in the fridge and will use it to simmer a brisket, and see if it turns out edible...

Comments

[deza.livejournal.com]

Cooked and flat wines are excellent for marinading red meats. So are those really cheap fruit juice "wines" next to the Wild Turkey in the ABC store. A cheap blackberry wine does wonders with venison.

[lagilman]

Oxidized wine I knew about, but I wasn't sure about cooked wines.. it would stand to reason, logically, but logic often has less to do with tastebuds than we might thing...

[lizbetann]

While it could be that, I've noticed a trend with Pinot Noirs in the last ten years -- they seem to be getting awfully dark and robust. Too much like Cab Sauv for my tastes.

I don't know where yours is from (I drink mostly California wine because, hey, no import tax) but my theory is that people are making Pinot Noirs to taste more like Cabs -- which is just wrong.

[lagilman]

While it could be that,

A cooked wine is very distinctive. It's not a question of style, but something wrong.

I've noticed a trend with Pinot Noirs in the last ten years -- they seem to be getting awfully dark and robust. Too much like Cab Sauv for my tastes.

*blink* Really? Admittedly, I'm more likely to drink an Oregonian or Burgundian Pinot, but I haven't encountered what you're describing, so I'm intrigued. I can see where someone might be confused between a light-bodied Cab and an equitable Pinot, but since the classic quality of a Pinot Noir is its silky sexiness, I can't imagine a trend intentionally making it heavier or more tannic... it certainly would fly in the face of the popular market appeal since Sideways.

As for 'dark' -- I've seen pinot noir range from a clear cherry-red to an almost burgundy color (since, y'know, it is a Burgundian grape!)

[tonight's was Californian, from Papapietro Perry, and they maintain a classic style.]

[lizbetann]

*blink* Really? Admittedly, I'm more likely to drink an Oregonian or Burgundian Pinot, but I haven't encountered what you're describing, so I'm intrigued. I can see where someone might be confused between a light-bodied Cab and an equitable Pinot, but since the classic quality of a Pinot Noir is its silky sexiness, I can't imagine a trend intentionally making it heavier or more tannic...

I may be wine-clueless (I drink a lot but I don't really track what I drink) but the first Pinot Noir I had was a beautiful light-garnet color (Robert Mondavi, I remember it well) and while not tasting anything like either a white wine or a dry rose, was also distinct from the Cabs, Zinfandels and Merlots I'd had. I loved it passionately, and then lost the funds to buy more than E&G Hearty Burgundy (which I love, don't get me wrong) for several years.

There's a certain dry pucker-in-the-mouth quality to heavier reds that I've always assumed was the tannins (one of the most amazing wine-experiences of my life was tasting a 1963 French red that the tannins had mellowed out of) that I didn't get with that Pinot Noir, but that seems to be endemic to the ones I'm getting now.

it certainly would fly in the face of the popular market appeal since Sideways.

What I was (am) afraid of is that "Pinot Noir" became the "cool" wine after Sideways -- but everyone who didn't already drink it was used to red wine tasting like Cab. So I was afraid wine makers were catering to the "Pinot is the cool new wine" -- while making it taste more like what people were used to with "red wine".

But, as is always possible, I may just be insane and/or wrong. :) (I drink cheap, cheap, CHEAP wine, and really should not because I'm no longer desperately broke.)

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

used to red wine tasting like Cab

But, but, but, what about Merlot? I thought that people would have known that.

Myself, I love cool climate PNs (Spaetburgunder as it's known in Germany). I'm not so keen on the Burgundian ones (and I assume the US 'Burgundies' are on the same line, but it makes little sense to drink those over here, what with the shipping costs).

Back on cooking with a cooked wine - I should imagine that what's going to happen in the pan will be far worse than what it suffered in the bottle, so it should work just fine.

[lagilman]

Myself, I love cool climate PNs

I have to admit, I never heard of a "warm climate" pinot noir.... 0_o

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I speak relative to Burgundy itself. Which is pretty warm relative to here, though not as hot, I'll concede, as the Southern Rhone or Spain. Or California.

Swiss, German and NZ ones. They have a delicacy that I rather like.

[lagilman]

I shall have to do a comp tasting of German/Swiss ones when I'm over in September, then, as I've found Pinot Noir as a varietal delicate to begin with.

[assuming by 'delicate' you don't mean 'simple'!]

I've had NZ Pinots, and didn't find them anything particularly fabulous. But I didn't do a thorough investigation....

[lagilman]

Also, remember that "California" is not exactly a single climate region....

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

True, though I'll assume generally warmer than, say, Oregon. And there is the question of warmth against sunshine too. Californian is somewhat further south than Burgundy.

(On the other hand, Switzerland is about level - if I drive south to Macon and turn left, I end up in Geneva.)

[lagilman]

Slightly warmer than Oregon, but with the coastal breezes to offset...

from the Dry Creek [where last night's Pinot is from] site:

"Classified as a Region II, Dry Creek Valley's fog and proximity to the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay give it a cool climate similar to the Bordeaux region of France. Shielded from the daytime cold of the ocean by the coastal hills, the growing season has daily high temperatures in the mid-80s with afternoon and evening cooling. The climate is warmer in the north and cooler in the south, allowing for diversity in grape growing."

It's gorgeous Zinfandel area, too. But I have trouble drinking my beloved Zin in the summer...

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

'cool'

'daily high temperatures in the mid-80s'

Does not compute!

(*grin*)

The other effect of the more southern latitude is the stronger sun, and I wouldn't think the cool breezes of that cold Pacific current would help much with that.

As for your Zin, that's a grape I'm not sure about yet. Not being grown much this side of the pond, and when it is, it seems to be slightly unsure about itself ('Primitivo'?), but over the last year or two, I'm beginning to see what people like in it.

[lagilman]

Yeah, Europe generally has their snoot in the air about Zinfandel. I've never understood that [didn't we get over the "American wines all suck" thing decades ago, France?], but *shrug* their loss. It's a deliciously full, dark-fruited moderate-tannins, jammy wine that, when not allowed to go high-alcohol-crazy, makes the perfect burgers-and-ribs accompaniment. It's not sophisticated, no, but that's part of its charm.

But if you really want to hear someone rave about Zin, talk to fakefrenchie. I go to France, I bring a bottle or two with me, to exchange for a Burgundy. ;-)


(Primitivo is a kissing-cousin, depending on whose gene-test you trust, both of them come down from the same Croatian ancestor called Crljenak.)

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Ah, I've finally found out what the Sideways reference was about: a film I never noted passing through the cinemas. I was wondering if it was some grape variety whose fame failed to cross the pond, or a winemaker, or something.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

I keep my wine in the cellar, which is cool in the summer and quite cool in the winter. But I didn't think wine would "cook"on the counter. Is this another way to say "bouchonner"?

[lagilman]

According to my dictionary, bouchonner = corked, which is not what I was talking about, no. That's a fungus (TCA) that gets into the wine, and it's quite unmistakable (my boss at the wine store once had a bottle returned for being corked, and made us all take a whiff, so we'd recognize it. I had to go home with a headache soon after)

Wine is surprisingly delicate with regards to heat -- that's why most wineries will not ship during warm weather months, because sitting in an improperly cooled warehouse or postal facility on a hot day can cook an entire shipment. So yeah, if you're in the middle of a heat eave (temps consistently above 85) then your wine can cook, even on the counter. But, as I said in my original note, the bottle that had been right next to it, from the same producer, the same vintage (if a different vineyard), looked/smelled/tasted fine.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I once reclaimed a 1980 Chateauneuf, and held onto it for a few years before finally opening it in (IIRC) 2002.

The screw went straight into the cork like it was mush, and what ended up in the glass was undrinkable. Flat, no tannin left at all. It went straight down the sink and I picked out its sibling bottle, a 1983.

Whose cork was equally mushy, but which was really rather nice.

Neither bottle had been properly stored for their full life - they'd sat in a cupboard in the kitchen at work for years before I decided it was time to rescue them (I substituted a couple of young clarets). One had died, the other had held up.