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The approximate number of grape varieties planted in commercially significant amounts worldwide. This number represents just a sliver of the total number of grape varieties – some 5,000 to 10,000.

A wine that has taken on baked or cooked flavors as a result of being exposed to high temperatures for a sustained period of time is known as:

A. Volatilized

B. Maderized

C. Caramelized

D. Autolyzed

Maderized is the term for a wine that has been subject to a long period of heat. The best-known example is Madeira, a wine that is both maderized and oxidized. Historically in the case of Madeira, the wine was stored for decades in producers’ attics which built up tremendous heat under the Madeiran sun. Today, Madeira wine is more commonly heated slowly in tanks (a process known as estufagem) until it reaches temperatures as high as 130 degrees F. Needless to say, table wines should not be maderized.

Banished Then Reborn

The idea that we all have wine preferences is axiomatic and indisputable. You may prefer, say, cabernet sauvignon over zinfandel. But what if someone were to designate themselves as a sort of grape police? What… Continue reading

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