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From the old world to the new
Joseph Kenny, Executive Director of Free Lanka Trading Co. Ltd. has been in the wine business for the past 20 years, his passion for wine having taken him to different parts of the world. He attributes his wealth of knowledge on wines to having hands-on experience with aenologists in vineries.

Aenologists are those involved in the making of wines. They specify how the grape should be vinified - what type of additional vinification is needed (the point at which the natural events of fermentation are shaped and controlled with a view to creating the wine), the terroir (pronounced terruar), vinification methods, ageing methods and most importantly, how one should taste the wines and understand the features of each grape.

The wine industry, he explains, is approximately 3000 years old and originally started in an area of Persia and spread to Rome. The Romans took it to France when they conquered Gaulle. The first recorded wine of a classic grape variety in France was the Pinot Noir of the Burgundy region. The wine industry also spread to other parts of Europe such as Germany, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria and Austria.

Old world flavours
The European wine industry can be classified as 'old-world wine'.
'New-world wine' came to be known about 200-300 years ago. Australia, Chile, South Africa and the USA (California) are some countries famous for producing quality new-world wines.

Examples of 'classic' white wines are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Colombard while 'classic' reds include Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.

Earthy tastes
The terroir of each vineyard is what makes it unique. It can be defined as a combination of soil, climate and exposure to the sun. Each grape variety has its hallmark flavour.

Kenny draws parallels with the locally grown rambutan - where Malwana produces a distinctive quality. Similarly, he explains that the grape variety is famous for the region it comes from. Certain regions are ideally suited to a particular grape variety.
Terroir is a French term and some explain it as the French attitude to wine. There is no English translation for this unique French word.

The best terroir: For Pinot Noir is the Burgundy region, for Cabernet Sauvignon and Semmillion the Bordeaux region, for Chenin Blanc the Loire Valle and for Gewurztraminer, Alsace.

Certain countries are famous for certain grape varieties. Next time you shop for wine and would like to try wines from different countries remember the following.
Austria is famous for Sluz. California is famous for Zinfandel.

South Africa is famous for Pinot Tage and New Zealand for Sauvignon Blanc.
This does not mean that the other grape varieties do not grow well in these countries, just that a grape variety produces exceptional quality wine in that particular place.
The era of new-world wines began with the Europeans migrating to the United States, South Africa, New Zealand and South America. They took with them cuttings of the vines. The Europeans love their wines as we love our tea. What then began as a backyard operation evolved into a big wine industry.

Maturing faster
The advantage the wine-makers of new-world wines had was that there were no regulations to be complied with unlike the old-world wines where restrictions were imposed on methods of growing. The new-world wine industry was able to produce grapes of exceptional qualtity. They were able to do vinification (making wines) without too much restriction and thus produce wines without long maturity periods.

Most of the old-world red wines have to age in bottles for at least 3-5 years - but in the new-world style, the red wines can be drunk within the first year of making. This makes the old-world wines more suitable to be consumed with food and the new-world wines to be taken as an aperitif.

The old-world wine growing regions also go through critical climatic changes and therefore the quality of the wine varies according to the vintage (year of harvest) or the year in which the grapes were grown.

It is difficult for someone who does not have much knowledge of wines to select an old-world wine. However, in the new world, the climatic changes are minimal so the wines produced are consistent. So a newcomer does not have to worry about vintages when buying new-world wines. A connoisseur looks at old-world wine, going deeper into vintage, the vineyard, the wine-makers etc., to locate the best quality wines which are generally very expensive, from Rs. 5000 upwards.

Fine wines
Asked about the most expensive wine his company stocks, Kenny produced a chilled bottle of red wine, Chateau Margaux, Grand vin 1988, priced at Rs. 40,000. This is the best French wine from the Medoc region of Bordeaux. If there is one single wine that for generations has carried the reputation of France, it is Red Bordeaux.

The undisputed jewel in the crown, Chateau Margaux dates back to 1590. Steeped in history and owned by many generations of wealthy members of royalty and merchants it is an important part of French heritage.

Over 150 years ago, Charles Cocks described the red wine of Chateau Margaux. 'These wines are possessed of much finesse, a beautiful colour and a very sweet bouquet; they are strong without being intoxicating; they invigorate the stomach without affecting the head, and leave the breath pure and the mouth cool.'

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