Macération Carbonique

CARBONIC MACERATION, as it is referred to in English, is a type of FERMENTATION in which uncrushed grapes are placed whole into vats that are then closed. As the weight of the grapes on top crushes grapes on the bottom, juice is released and fermentation begins. This in turn releases the gas CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2), which causes other grapes to ferment, in effect, within their skins. Carbonic maceration is commonly used to ferment fruity red wines for early drinking, typically in Beaujolais and sometimes in the Loire.

The Italian DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata Garantita) is a government standard applied to individual producers.

Answer: False.

The DOCG, a designation first enacted in 1980 for wines of exceptional quality and renown, is applied to an entire wine-producing region, not individual wine producers. Both the greatest wine in that region and the worst get to say they are DOCG. This is unlike the DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) which enacts strict standards for certain types of wines (like the Tuscan white vernaccia di San Gimignano, which was the first to be given DOC status in 1966). The first four DOCGs were brunello di Montalcino and vino nobile di Montepulciano, in Tuscany; and Barolo and Barbaresco, in Piedmont.

“On one particular occasion, André [Tchelistcheff] and I were visiting Sancerre [in France’s Loire Valley], specifically Didier Dagueneau. But before we arrived at the winery, André told us to stop by the road. He got out and walked over to the vineyard, bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt in his hands, rubbed it and then told me to do the same. Then he said, ‘Smell it because that is what you will smell in the wine.’ And he was right. When we tasted Didier’s ‘Silex,’ I was overwhelmed by the aroma and unique mineral character in the wine.”

—Rob Davis, winemaker at Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley, California, talking about his mentor, the late André Tchelistcheff, who is considered the father of California winemaking

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