When good wine goes bad…

Dining out; I venture to guess that this innocuous phrase just evoked a passionate and well rendered memory of your last restaurant experience (for better or worse). Meticulously designed ambience, well-seasoned service professionals and carefully constructed plates of culinary artistry are elements of the dining experience leaving diners elated- or infuriated when confronted with even the slightest missteps. 

A well paired bottle of wine is the great diplomat of your culinary adventure. 

As wine ages it endures pubescent awkward phases, breathes and undergoes a metamorphosis in the bottle, or glass, of Kafkaesque proportions.  These complex changes give us a wine experience most often rewarding, but it is not uncommon that wine presents flaws.  As a consumer you should not drink ‘bad’ wine and have the right to address issues of a detectable flaw with the Sommelier, server or retailer in exchange for an unaffected bottle.

In a professional setting the server or sommelier will present the bottle prior to opening it.  Check the label to ensure it matches the selection from the wine list with attention to the vintage-if it is not what you ordered, ask for an explanation.  Upon opening the bottle, a small sample should be poured (1-2oz) and this is your opportunity to examine the integrity of the wine. 

Listed below are several of the most common flaws:

 

Corked Wine 

Corked wine is the most common flaw presented to consumers.  As early as a decade ago it was estimated 10-15% of natural cork was affected by the presence of a compound generated by mold found growing on wood (cork trees) known as Trichloroanisole (TCA).  While that percentage has improved in recent years, the problem persists. When the TCA infected cork is in contact with wine it taints the product. 

How to identify:  Did you sniff the cork?  I’ve handled thousands of corks pulled from intensely flawed bottles only to find that cork smells like…cork.  Smell the wine!  When opened and in contact with Oxygen the wine will present a dank moldy smell similar to moldy wet cardboard or newspaper.  The musty characteristic will be found on the palate as well and the fruit will be diminished. 

 

Oxidized Wine

Few wines are meant for long term aging. After time, exposure to oxygen begins to degrade the juice creating a chemical breakdown.  This applies to wine both opened and unopened.   White wines will appear ‘orange’ in color when too old.   Red wines are more conducive to age, and older red wines will take on a ‘brickish’ hue.  Opened wines begin the quick descent and begin to show degradation in an average of 3 days.

How to Identify: Examine the color for hints of cloudiness or orange haze. The fruit characteristic of the wine has become unpleasantly sharp much like sucking on a penny or the taste of blood. 

 

Heat Damage 

Wine has a delicate constitution and will become flawed if not properly stored.  Ideally wines should be stored between 50-60 degrees.  Exposure to high temperatures can destroy the composition of a wine in as little as 15 minutes. 

How to identify:  Liquids expand when heated.  The pressure of heated air can cause the cork to begin to push up out of the bottle creating a detectable ‘bump’ between the cork and bottle neck.  The cork itself will show veins of wine staining from the bottom.  The juice will take on an unpleasant ‘tangy’ note like canned or cooked fruit.  It can create a heavy and one dimensional effect to the feel of the wine on the palate.

 

Trust your instincts, particularly when you are familiar with the wine in question. Life is simply too short to drink bad wine!

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Kuhlman wines are now available at several locations in Austin, Houston and San Antonio.  We thank these amazing venues for supporting Texas Agriculture and look forward to bringing wine closer to you! 

 

Austin

Dai Due-2406 Manor Road, Austin TX.  78722

www.DaiDue.com

 

Cripple Creek & Company- 928 Main Street, Bastrop, TX 78602

www.Cripplecreekandcompany.com

 

San Antonio

Cured- 306 Pearl Parkway #101, San Antonio, TX 78215

www.CuredatPearl.com

 

Bohanan’s Prime Steak & Seafood- 219 East Houston Street, San Antonio, TX 78205

www.Bohanans.com

 

JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa- 23808 Resort Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78261

www.Marriott.com/Sanantonio

 

Houston

Houston Wine Merchant- 2646 S. Shepherd Dr., Houston, TX 77098

www.houstonwines.com

 

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A complete, updated list is also found on our website.

2015 Winter Wine Pairing Dinner

We held our first wine pairing dinner on January 31st - what an incredible Vina Vita event!

Chef Chris Cook, the co-founder of the San Antonio Chef Cooperatives, delivered an incredible multi-course dining experience filled with creative flavors, textures and beautiful presentations.  Each course was perfectly paired with a different Kuhlman Cellars wine resulting in gastronomy harmony!

To match the elegance of the food, the dining experience was further heightened by holding the reception in our production and barrel facility and dining in the tasting room.  Of course, our awesome team was there to ensure each guest was served and attended to without want of anything.

We intend to offer these Pairing Dinners quarterly as we rotate the wine tasting pairing menu with the season.  Therefore, please watch for the next dinner in April when we announce the 2015 Spring Pairing menu.

I’ll wrap up now, but please enjoy the short video and selected pictures from the event. 

Vina Vita!

 

2014 In Review

2014 in Review   2014 was a very busy year for Kuhlman Cellars!  We built the new estate, harvested the inaugural grape crop from the family vineyard and opened our winery doors on October 3rd!  Looking back, it is pretty incredible to remember the winery estate was only a pasture last January and we started the actual construction in late May.  The team did incredible work to build everything quickly, professionally and beautifully.  As of today, the vineyard trellising is complete and the winter cover crop is healthily growing.  All told, we have just over 7.2 acres of vineyards, which translates into over 39,000 linear feet of trellis!     FEB 28 Vina Vita Club Event: Our first Vina Vita wine club event is Saturday, February 28 where we will release the 2012 Barranca red wine.      FEB 13 Hye, TX Progressive Wine Dinner: Join four wineries around Hye, Texas for an awesome progressive wine dinner with each course at a different winery and tour company transportation provided!  Kuhlman Cellars will present the appetizer course designed by Chef Josh Raymer and paired with both our Calcaria and Alluvé! . Looking forward to 2015!   2015 promises to be an exciting year with many firsts still to come.  We have a calendar filled with many Vina Vita Club events, bottling the 2014 whites in February, plus we will be planting the estate vineyards.  We expect to release new wines throughout the year, so stay tuned for release date information. As always, we look forward to seeing you at the winery, so please stop by for a tasting with our new Winter Pairing menu, or simply come in for a glass or bottle.  These sunny, and warmer, winter days are wonderful for relaxing on the patio and enjoying the richness of Vina Vita:  friends, family, food (wine!) and the fellowship which occurs when you have all of those present!   Valentine's Day Special and Herbed Almonds we've heard your pleas! "Alluvé You" Valentines Wine and Almonds:  Share a bottle of Alluvé paired with our special Herb de' Provence Almonds with your special someone this Valentines Day! Includes One Bottle of Alluvé, Two Red Wine Glasses, and two bags of herbed almonds. Herbed Almonds:  Our "nearly famous" almonds are now available for sale!  Enjoy a half pint jar filled with these incredible almonds and pair with your favorite Kuhlman Cellars wine.  The nice glass jar is reusable, so bring it back to the winery where we will refill it at a discount.  Enjoy!