The Flavor Profile
An Index of Possibilities
By Lee Tomkow
Wine is merely three basic elements: the grapes, the yeast and a container within which to ferment. Of course, there is more science and technology involved in the process today than at its discovery 8,000 years ago, but wine making still revolves around these three ingredients.
First, there are the berries such as merlot, syrah, sauvignon blanc, grenache, etc., referred to as “the noble grapes.” Imagine them as we do apples, a Granny Smith, Golden Delicious or Fuji; we know each of these has a unique flavor; so, too, does each varietal of grape.
The next key ingredient is the yeast strain. Yeast’s food of choice is sugar, and when they consume the sugars in the grapes, yeast expels alcohol and carbon dioxide – the bubbles in champagne and sparkling wines. Some basic fermentation science here – nothing too technical – in fact, some strains of yeast have been developed to produce certain notes like grass, grapefruit, or pear in some white wines.
Finally, a word about the container, oak barrels, steel tanks, and even concrete vats. The oak ideally shouldn’t be overly noticeable, offering a light seasoning rather than a flavoring. A barrel can add chocolate, toast, cloves, cedar, and even mint to the profile, whereas steel helps to retain a crisp clean acidity. Concrete allows for a little extra minerality.
One of the least understood aspects of wine is the regional weather patterns where the grapes grow best. For instance, here in North America, we refer to certain styles. Rhone-style means a hot climate and cool nights for wines like syrah, grenache, or viognier in valleys such as Santa Ynez and Rancho Cucamonga. Burgundy-style is a cooler climate for pinot noir or chardonnay, such as the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara which has more of a temperate, maritime, or coastal influence. Bordeaux-style also represents a hot climate, but in regions such as Napa, the warm nights make it suitable for merlot, cabernet sauvignon, or sauvignon blanc. Sometimes microclimates in the same area can allow for variety and experimentation such as that found in Malibu canyon. These regions are known as appellations or AVA’s.
Let’s take two grapes as examples of how an appellation can influence the flavor profile. Grown in a cool climate, the syrah will display a lot of white pepper notes both on the nose and the palate. The viognier will have clean crisp acidity and display fragrances of gardenia and freesia with tropical fruit on the palate. In a hotter region, the syrah displays degrees of jamminess and dark berries, with a potentially hot alcoholic burn on the finish. The viognier is noticeably more like dried apricots and honeysuckle, leading to a flabby sensation and unctuousness in the mouth.
Each of these elements can potentially influence the style of the wine. The winemaker, in effect, is the chef whose skill is to understand these nuances. For the consumer, it is a matter of taste and personal preference, and when paired with food, the index of possibilities widens.
