Phenolics and White Wine Tasting

Phenolics are those chemical qualities in wine that we experience with our senses of taste, smell, touch, and sight.  Except for a cork popping or tiny bubbles bursting, we don't hear wine so it's only those four senses that are impacted by our enjoyment of the fruit of the vine.  By the way, the fruit of the vine actually has no smell.  It is only after the winemaking process that the grapes become aromatic.

In white wine the two main chemical phenolic categories are the phenolic compounds of hydroxycinnamic acids and flavan-3-ol monomers.  Hydroxycinnamic acids are important visually to us as we ponder a glass of wine and specifically, caftaric acid facilitates oxidation and in some way, the oily texture that a white wine sometimes has.  Flavan-3-ol monomers (flavanols) contribute astringency and bitterness to the flavor profile and perhaps viscosity to the body.  Flavanols also have an important subcategory in catechins which are extracted from grapeseeds.  Catechins  are believed to be anti-carcinogenic and thwart heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

So this discussion seems to be two pronged: phenolics involves both the flavors in wine and the health benefits we receive courtesy of the beverage.  For what its worth, in the vineyard phenolics are used by the grapevine to defend against growth inhibitors and threats to its very existence.  If a plant is stressed by less than optimal conditions, the phenolics become more pronounced for the survival of the plant.  That survival instinct in the plant is either a coincidence when we consider what wine does for us...or maybe more.

When we taste wine there is really nothing better than a wine review to bring out both the best and worst in our oenophilic vocabulary.  In the July 8th post to follow, I compared a wine review to the movie line from A Few Good Men about "textbook law vis a vis courtroom law" and I think I have a better comparison now.  As a jazz music lover I am always dismayed at how limiting written music reviews are.  I think likewise of wine reviews.  Are those creatively written reviews really coming close to what I experience with my own senses?  I experience a wine's phenolics like I experience a jazz musician's improvization.  It is way more personal than prose.

Join us this Friday, July 19th when we taste California Pinot Noirs, Italian whites, and Spanish roses.  Also please become a follower of this blog or I'll hunt you down and make you eat phenolics.