Question: What is Pyrazine?

Answer: Usually it is the technical word to describe those aromatic compounds showing green pepper vegetal notes you find in certain wines. New Zealand sauvignon blanc usually has lots of Pyrazine and you can also find it even in different red varieties such as unripe cabernet sauvignon often grown in cooler regions. More recently it also has been used to describe a ladybug taint in a wine that results from infestations of those insects during the grape crushing procedure of wine making. Useful word.

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Question: On my winery visits the winemakers often specify the temperature at which their red wines are fermented. What difference does it make?

Answer: Very good technical subjective issue which will be hard for me to answer fully in this forum. Yeasts (and whether they are cultured or native) are an important factor but generally red wines are fermented in a range of 25-35 Celsius (77-95+ F) with optimum yeast multiplication at the lower end but usually more colour and tannin extraction at the higher end. However if the temperature goes way too high it will slow down the fermentation by killing off the various yeasts. Francois Faiveley in Burgundy always told me he wanted to keep his temperatures just below 30 to retain more aromas that could escape from too high a temperature ferment. It is a learned art or very skilled craft to have your fermentation at the perfect temperature to maximize the key elements you want in the resulting wine. Interesting subject!

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Liked that the number 1 question for 2017 was posed by Mary a smart member of our own IWFS Vancouver Branch resulting from an Alsace tasting. I encourage all of you out there to post your questions on the website at iwfs.org so we all can benefit from learning more about so many interesting diverse wine and food issues.

1. What is TDN in Riesling? (04/12/2017)
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2. Decanting Using a Candle? (01/11/2017)
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3. Château Latour? (06/21/2017)
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4. Best Sauternes Vintages? (01/18/2017)
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5. Rubber Smell in Wines? (09/20/2017)
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6. How to Maintain Cellar Humidity? (03/22/2017)
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7. Does putting your fingers around the bowl of the wine glass actually warm the wine up? (09/27/2017)
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8. Best wine choice to suit many different food courses? (08/02/2017)
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9. Rare Cognac Fraud (05/17/2017)
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10. Best Sushi Wine? (09/06/2017)
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Pleased to learn that the growing interest in unique quality Canadian wines topped the Analytics hit list for the Blog in 2017. Your Top 10 confirms the wide ranging topics there are to explore that are both fun and educational. My aim is to never stop learning about wine & food and to help contribute to your own knowledge.

1. Largest Assembly of Canadian Wines Show Quality With Unique Styles (02/20/17)
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2. Paris: Memorable Lunches at Pierre Gagnaire, David Toutain & Les Tablettes + Dinner Michel Rostang (02/27/17)
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3. Wine Aerators: vSpin (12/18/17)
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4. Château Léoville Las Cases Vertical (4/3/17)
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5. Château Leoville Poyferre St. Julien Vertical (1/23/17)
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6. Lanson – A Champagne House on the Move (11/20/17)
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7. Madeira Masterclass (10/23/17)
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8. 1999 Bordeaux Horizontal (5/29/17)
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9. BC Pinot Noir 4th Celebration (8/21/17)
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10. 10 Tips for Facing That Daunting Wine List (3/13/17)
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Question: Was there a book in the eighties that criticized the provincial liquor board monopolies in Canada called Breakfast Champagne?

Answer: Yes an excellent one “Champagne is for Breakfast” by George Bain published in 1972. He was a Canadian political & wine columnist with the Globe & Mail in Ottawa who also won a Stephen Leacock medal for humour. That good sense of humour appears throughout this book too making it a very good read. Quote: “The provincial liquor commissions, to my mind, are perfectly capable of marketing liquor, which is as standardized as canned peas… But wine is different in very many ways. First of all, it is not, except in a small number of situations, most of which ought not to be encouraged, a rigorously standard product. A good wine merchant searches out a good product for his customers, sometimes in small quantities, and often with difficulty. ‘Small quantities’ and ‘difficulty’ are both anathema to public authority.” Highly recommended book!

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