Hi Mark: In Burgundy, the term domaine is not exactly equivalent to the term château in Bordeaux. In Bordeaux, a château is a single estate composed of vineyards surrounding a building or house that is sometimes quite palatial. In Burgundy, a domaine is a collection of very small vineyard parcels owned by the same family or entity (Domaine Dujac, Domaine Leflaive, and so on). Usually, these parcels are scattered throughout many villages and appellations, and the domaine will make a separate wine from each. Thus, a typical Burgundian domaine produces many wines, all in tiny quantities. As of 2020, there were more than 3,500 domaines in Burgundy.

—Karen

Hi, Joseph. Conjunctive labeling is a type of labeling whereby a small appellation within a large appellation must also list the large appellation on the label. In some regions, conjunctive labeling is mandated by law. In Napa Valley, for example, small appellations such as Stags Leap District and Oakville must also add the words “Napa Valley” to the label. The intent of conjunctive labeling is to guard against small appellations becoming more prominent than the region within which they lie. By comparison, there is no conjunctive labeling law in Bordeaux. Indeed, no First Growth Bordeaux has the word “Bordeaux” on its front label.

—Karen

Hi, Sarah. Appassimento is the Italian word for the process of dehydrating harvested grapes by spreading out the clusters on straw mats or shelving or hanging them up in special, cool drying rooms. The process, which can take several months, raisinates the grapes and concentrates the sugars in them. Several notable wines of Italy’s Veneto region are made this way, including the dry wine amarone and the sweet wine recioto di Valpolicella.

—Karen

Yes Paul, clos is the French term for an enclosed or walled vineyard. Clos St. Hune in Alsace and Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy are examples. Often the physical walls of the clos no longer exist, but the history and the name of the vineyard remain with the wine.

—Karen

Acidity gives wine a dynamic pulse. It’s what accounts for a wine’s liveliness, snappiness, and freshness. Acidity also frames the fruit and gives the wine a sense of precision and clarity. When high acid white wines are paired with proteins such as chicken and fish, the acidity can really cut through the flesh and fat in every bite, leaving the mouth refreshed and salivating for more.

The so-called three-tier system can be thought of as the overall architecture for alcoholic beverage sales in the United States. The system—convoluted and confusing—separates producers, wholesalers, and retailers. The result is a complex patchwork of rules which individual states enact and enforce. The three-tier system was instituted at the end of Prohibition in 1933. In ceding control to the states, the federal government sidestepped the controversial and volatile issue of how alcoholic beverages should/could be sold. The result has been an enormous spectrum of varying approaches, from states with relatively liberal policies to states with constrictive retail monopolies.

Hi Tyler, great question. The fermentation in which yeasts convert sugar in grapes to alcohol is technically called the primary fermentation. Malolactic fermentation is often referred to as a “second fermentation.” It’s conducted by bacteria which convert malic acid to lactic acid. So the key question is: what is fermentation exactly?

We posed this question to Napa Valley winemaker Cathy Corison (Corison winery) who responded:  “Fermentation is the conversion of one compound to another by a microbe. Even chocolate production involves a fermentation! Malolactic is one of many lactic fermentations that are responsible for cheese, pickles and yogurt, among many other things.” So there you have it. Malolactic fermentation IS indeed a fermentation.—Karen

Good question, Sheila. The British often call red Bordeaux “claret.” The word comes from the French clairet, which originally referred to a light red wine (to distinguish it from Port). Today, of course, the top red Bordeaux are anything but light in color or in body. The late wine writer Steven Spurrier suggested that “elegance,” “fragrance of bouquet,” and “lift” were defining characteristics of good claret.

—Karen

Very good question Quinn. Certain types of light can definitely affect aging and long-term wine quality. Ultraviolet light can damage wine overtime breaking down certain molecular structures causing wines to age prematurely. A wine damaged by light is said to be “lightstruck,” and it will taste dull and flat. To avoid light-strike, most red wines are bottled in darker brown or green glass. Red wines of course are generally aged longer than white and rosé wines and therefore need protection from UV exposure. LED lighting is best for wine storage areas since LED lights emit very low levels of light and radiation in comparison to other types of light.                                                                          —Karen

Dear Tina and Collin, Well, you’ve put your finger on a very interesting issue. By law, wine producers must list the amount of alcohol a wine contains on the wine’s label. Most wines contain somewhere between 12.5 and 15 percent. But if you were hoping to use the percentage listed as, say, a guide to drinking at the lower end of the spectrum, you’re a bit out of luck. To begin with, wineries sometimes need to print their labels (which list the alcohol level) even before a wine has even been made. Second, enforcement in both Europe and the United States is not particularly stringent allowing winemakers to estimate (and often understate) the alcohol and be done with it. But, in the United States, even for producers who adhere strictly to the rules, the rules themselves have considerable wiggle room. In the U.S. wines containing 14% or less alcohol, can be labeled plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. So that light, elegant wine you bought which was labeled 12.5 percent alcohol could actually contain 14 percent. For wines over 14 percent alcohol, a 1 percent variance is allowed. So a wine labeled 14.5 percent alcohol, could actually contain 15.5 percent. No wine (except for fortified wines) is ever over about 16.5 percent alcohol because at that concentration, yeasts die from the very alcohol they are making, preventing them from making more.

—Karen

Hi Kerri. That is shade cloth, one of the most effective methods of reducing the impact of too much sun on grapes. Hiding the clusters behind shade cloth can minimize sunburn and dehydration by up to 40 percent, and can reduce the temperature of the space around the grapes by as much as 8 degrees F. The shade cloth, which is affixed to the trellis at the height of the grape clusters, is made from UV treated high density polyethylene, and protects the grapes from ultraviolet, visible spectrum, and infrared light. Shade cloth is expensive (wrapping a one-acre vineyard can cost $700 or so), but for a winery making expensive wine, losing 10 to 15 percent of the crop due to sunburn and dehydration is even more costly. Wine made from sunburned grapes feels very coarse on the palate, and wines made from dehydrated grapes have all the charm of prune juice.

Hi Mike. Right you are. In particular, the names of many of the appellations in Ontario, Canada, end with the word bench — There’s Twenty Mile Bench, Beamsville Bench, Short Hills Bench, plus several others. And — there are benches along Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, Canada, too. The geology can get pretty complex here, but essentially a bench is a lateral outcropping that runs (like a giant step or a terrace) across a sloped area interrupting the steep decline in elevation. Benches are usually formed by erosion, weathering, or successive deposits often left behind by a river or a retreating glacier. In Ontario, the benches that run parallel to the Niagara Escarpment are protected from strong cold winds and drain potentially damaging cold air away from the vines. In the hottest months of summer, the benches’ elevation catches cool breezes, and in winter, warm air over the adjacent lakes helps to moderate the climate. So in short, a bench is often an ideal place for a vineyard.

—Karen

Have a wine question for me? Great. I love questions, and I’ll do my best to get you the right answer. Send your question to [email protected]