Astringent

Astringent describes the dry, raspy MOUTHFEEL of a wine with a considerable amount of unripe TANNIN. Astringency can also be provoked by certain foods, such as unripe walnuts or unripe persimmons. Excess astringency is unpleasant and causes the mouth to pucker.

The oldest name for Zinfandel is crljenak kaštelanski.

Answer: False.

Crljenak kaštelanski (SEARL-yan-ack cas-tel-LAN-ski) is the modern Croatian name for the Croatian grape zinfandel. During the Middle Ages and earlier, the grape was called tribidrag (TREE-be-drag) and it was grown all over the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. Although it is unclear how the name tribidrag became crljenak kaštelanski, the name of the grape variety actually comes in many forms today—primitivo in Italy, zinfandel in California, and kratošija in Montenegro and Macedonia.

The Bottle’s Beginnings

We have grown so used to bottled wine that we perhaps forget that wine bottles are a relatively recent invention. For most of wine’s history, it was sold (and often consumed) directly from barrel. The… Continue reading

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