Post by cjm on Feb 9, 2014 5:06:56 GMT
Emile Peynaud: The Taste of Wine (1987), Macdonald & Co (Publishers) Ltd, pp229 et seq
WINE AS A MIRROR OF OUR CIVILIZATION
Wine is a very old product whose origins merge into the origins of civilization
itself. Hemingway said “Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world,”
something that we do not always take much notice of today. And yet,
like bread, it is charged with meaning and mysticism, intimately linked to our way of life and thought, and it forms part of a very old and very respectable heritage. Bread was the basic and indispensable nourishment, wine was something more, pleasure and joy as well.
We ourselves are part of the civilization of the vine; the roots of this climbing plant can no longer be separated from our own historical roots. The Greeks and Romans spread philosophy and viticulture at the same time, a taste for wine as well as a taste for art. France has kept this heritage. As Professor Dion said:
“France is a country where the history of wine and the vine shed light on the history of the French people.”
In fact wine is both a reflection of the people who make it and of the region
that produces it, for it is not one of nature’s free gifts. Everyone seems to think of wine as a natural product; but it is a processed product, subject to deterioration, man-made and surviving only as a result of constant care. Nature alone does not make wine, even less does it produce good wine and it certainly does not make the best possible wine. The reality is that man has to intervene at every stage of its production. Wine is effectively the product of man’s labour and the product is only as good as the man who makes it. Quality wine is not obtained fortuitously but as the result of a constant effort towards quality.
Wine develops as does our civilization, primarily in terms of taste but also in
terms of technology. The wines of today have nothing in common with those
that the ancients preserved by various artificial means with such ingredients as resin, pitch and spices; nor do they have anything in common with those of the Middle Ages which were sold very young, during the months immediately following the harvest, because they would not keep any longer than that. And doubtless they bear little resemblance to the wines of the last century which, although they made the reputation of our appellations, were nonetheless green, astringent, low in alcohol, kept badly and frequently turned sour. Having had the privilege of analysing sixty vintages of one Médoc grand cru from the last century and up to 1920, I was surprised to find that in only fourteen out of the sixty wines was the alcoholic strength more than 10°, the current minimum for the Médoc appellation. Only nine wines had less than 0.8 grams per litre of volatile acidity, and half of these great wines would no longer be legally saleable as table wines under current regulations.
It is well known that the way in which we eat is constantly changing,
reflecting our way of life. The same goes for what we drink; so that over a period of several decades we can see a continual change in the taste of our wines. In this respect each region goes its own way, but what is clear is that they are changing. Whether as a result of passing fashion or some deeper reason linked to our way of life, these trends cannot be ignored. The statement “Tell me what you drink and I will tell you who you are” is still valid. After the great vogue for sweet white wines, the public is now looking for lighter, drier wines that are in some ways less nourishing. At one time, aged, almost maderized white wines were much appreciated; what people look for in white wines now are freshness, youth and the flavour of the grapes themselves.
Similarly, for red wines, the customer prefers wines that are less astringent,
with less colour and tannin, as well as being lower in acidity and higher in
alcohol; what the professionals call supple wines, wines which are ready to drink sooner. In some regions the taste for old wine is gradually being lost and this is a pity. Lastly, the present fashion for rosé wine is a consequence of the attempts to preserve the freshness and fruit of ripe black grapes in wine.
It is sometimes said that wine is no longer made the way it used to be, the way our grandparents made it, and that this is a matter for regret. In reality it should be admitted instead that our grandparents’ wines would no longer please us, any more than would the living conditions of their times.
Wine should be a friend for life and also a reflection of our civilization. We live in an era of productivity, profitability, concentration of production and use of industrial equipment. That cannot be changed. For vinification we use new means which are more powerful and more reliable, provided by the science and technology of oenology. As with viticulture, winemaking depends less and less upon the hand of man, but we should never lose sight of the principal goal, that of making the healthiest and most attractive wine possible. The character of wine as the most interesting because the most diverse of drinks must be preserved; modern methods of vinification cannot be a threat so long as they remain subject to our traditional respect for wine.
In the end, the most important thing for us wine lovers is that the civilization of wine survives. Because wine, today as yesterday and tomorrow, continues to symbolize dual communion: on the one hand with nature and the soil, through the mystery of plant growth and the miracle of fermentation, and on the other with man, who wanted wine and who was able to make it by means of knowledge, hard work, patience, care and love; for nothing worthwhile is achieved without love.
WINE AS A MIRROR OF OUR CIVILIZATION
Wine is a very old product whose origins merge into the origins of civilization
itself. Hemingway said “Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world,”
something that we do not always take much notice of today. And yet,
like bread, it is charged with meaning and mysticism, intimately linked to our way of life and thought, and it forms part of a very old and very respectable heritage. Bread was the basic and indispensable nourishment, wine was something more, pleasure and joy as well.
We ourselves are part of the civilization of the vine; the roots of this climbing plant can no longer be separated from our own historical roots. The Greeks and Romans spread philosophy and viticulture at the same time, a taste for wine as well as a taste for art. France has kept this heritage. As Professor Dion said:
“France is a country where the history of wine and the vine shed light on the history of the French people.”
In fact wine is both a reflection of the people who make it and of the region
that produces it, for it is not one of nature’s free gifts. Everyone seems to think of wine as a natural product; but it is a processed product, subject to deterioration, man-made and surviving only as a result of constant care. Nature alone does not make wine, even less does it produce good wine and it certainly does not make the best possible wine. The reality is that man has to intervene at every stage of its production. Wine is effectively the product of man’s labour and the product is only as good as the man who makes it. Quality wine is not obtained fortuitously but as the result of a constant effort towards quality.
Wine develops as does our civilization, primarily in terms of taste but also in
terms of technology. The wines of today have nothing in common with those
that the ancients preserved by various artificial means with such ingredients as resin, pitch and spices; nor do they have anything in common with those of the Middle Ages which were sold very young, during the months immediately following the harvest, because they would not keep any longer than that. And doubtless they bear little resemblance to the wines of the last century which, although they made the reputation of our appellations, were nonetheless green, astringent, low in alcohol, kept badly and frequently turned sour. Having had the privilege of analysing sixty vintages of one Médoc grand cru from the last century and up to 1920, I was surprised to find that in only fourteen out of the sixty wines was the alcoholic strength more than 10°, the current minimum for the Médoc appellation. Only nine wines had less than 0.8 grams per litre of volatile acidity, and half of these great wines would no longer be legally saleable as table wines under current regulations.
It is well known that the way in which we eat is constantly changing,
reflecting our way of life. The same goes for what we drink; so that over a period of several decades we can see a continual change in the taste of our wines. In this respect each region goes its own way, but what is clear is that they are changing. Whether as a result of passing fashion or some deeper reason linked to our way of life, these trends cannot be ignored. The statement “Tell me what you drink and I will tell you who you are” is still valid. After the great vogue for sweet white wines, the public is now looking for lighter, drier wines that are in some ways less nourishing. At one time, aged, almost maderized white wines were much appreciated; what people look for in white wines now are freshness, youth and the flavour of the grapes themselves.
Similarly, for red wines, the customer prefers wines that are less astringent,
with less colour and tannin, as well as being lower in acidity and higher in
alcohol; what the professionals call supple wines, wines which are ready to drink sooner. In some regions the taste for old wine is gradually being lost and this is a pity. Lastly, the present fashion for rosé wine is a consequence of the attempts to preserve the freshness and fruit of ripe black grapes in wine.
It is sometimes said that wine is no longer made the way it used to be, the way our grandparents made it, and that this is a matter for regret. In reality it should be admitted instead that our grandparents’ wines would no longer please us, any more than would the living conditions of their times.
Wine should be a friend for life and also a reflection of our civilization. We live in an era of productivity, profitability, concentration of production and use of industrial equipment. That cannot be changed. For vinification we use new means which are more powerful and more reliable, provided by the science and technology of oenology. As with viticulture, winemaking depends less and less upon the hand of man, but we should never lose sight of the principal goal, that of making the healthiest and most attractive wine possible. The character of wine as the most interesting because the most diverse of drinks must be preserved; modern methods of vinification cannot be a threat so long as they remain subject to our traditional respect for wine.
In the end, the most important thing for us wine lovers is that the civilization of wine survives. Because wine, today as yesterday and tomorrow, continues to symbolize dual communion: on the one hand with nature and the soil, through the mystery of plant growth and the miracle of fermentation, and on the other with man, who wanted wine and who was able to make it by means of knowledge, hard work, patience, care and love; for nothing worthwhile is achieved without love.