Dan Berger On Wine: Simplifying Wine | Wine

Doing this for a single grape variety takes years to master. The first year usually is dedicated to various inexpensive wines. By Year 2 we look seriously at classic examples. By then, you have the beginnings of a knowledge base about one grape.

Expand that to the top 20 grape varieties, and you’re looking at decades of study. Since I’ve been doing this since 1970, give or take, and since I like a lot more than 20 different grape varieties, I consider myself to still be on a learning curve and a novice with some grapes.

Are there general rules to make this quest simpler? Not really. Generalizations often lead us to cul-de-sacs. Here are a few ideas, but remember: there probably are as many exceptions as there are rules:

• When looking for a good example of varietal correctness in a wine, it may be necessary to spend at least $16 to get a decent varietal example. Below that, an awful lot of blending makes wines that are “tasty” — a horrible word that usually has nothing to do with varietal personality.

• Varietal correctness is more often seen in wines that have less than 14% alcohol. The closer you get to 15%, and especially over it, the more wines begin to resemble their cousins, raisins. And a raisin is more like prune juice than a wine.

• Varietal-ness in wine is more likely if the grapes were grown in a cooler climate. This is especially true of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and several other varieties – including Syrah!