Flor Question for Winemakers

I was going to make a joke here about a perfect fifth, but I think I'll just let it go.

"Wine Science, Principles and Applications" by Ronald S. Jackson, PhD seems to agree (more or less) with the above:

p.556:

"Flor yeasts are critical to the development of fino sherries. In the absence of fermentable sugars, yeast growth depends on a shift to respiratory metabolism. Formation of a hydrophobic cell wall, and the formation of a film on the wine surface exposes the yeast to the necessary oxygen. As the film grows to cover the wine, diffusion of oxygen into the wine is restricted. Thus,the redox potential of the wine increases, although the wine is seemingly exposed to air. "

"Flor yeasts partially respire ethanol, glycerol, acetic and veral organic acids, producing acetaldehyde and various aromatic metabolic by-products"

John
 
originally posted by Yixin:
Joe and Victor, many thanks.
Click to expand...

Yes, bravo Joe and Victor....with supporting role kudos to Eduardo and Alvaro! You guys work real fast.

Now, I'll try to digest what it all means...(for example, does this mean that the term "oxidized" is actually a misnomer in describing many of these wines made utilizing flor?)
 
"Selectively oxidized" - I'd leave that to amontillado. For fino and manzanilla, I'd prefer "biologically aged under reductive conditions".
 
Jumping the gun on the conversation (maybe teasing apart amontillado, manzanilla and fino first is a better "flor 101" approach), but.....how do the wines from the Jura relate to this discussion? Are the flors between the Jura and Jerez even related? I know the grapes differ...how does that affect the resulting wines?
 
Very similar. Different branches of the happy Saccharomyces family, from what an ignorant like me can gather - Saccharomyces oviformis and bayanus for 'vin jaune', Saccharomyces beticus for fino and manzanilla.

More here: http://www.springerlink.com/content/v33x584774181h25/

Later on, other differences emerge, of course, in addition to the acidity Joe mentions: fortification in Jerez, none in the Jura or in Montilla-Moriles, for instance.
 
What I find remarkable for the Jura wines is that they are not harsher, given the higher underlying acidity. I'm also perplexed that fino/manazanilla both tend to taste more savoury and have greater sustain, given that most of what I think of key drivers (acidity and dry extract) would suggest the opposite. To date I've pinned it on the alcohol, but that's primarily for lack of greater knowledge and stronger hypotheses.

And I'm happily aging some Pastrana, both after Victor's earlier note and a recent bottle of 5 year old Pastrana. Bristol Cream from the '70s at La Vig (long live), sure, but old fino/manzanilla? Wow.
 
One of the main contributions of Equipo Navazos to the well-being of the world was the revelation that there can be great finos and manzanillas that are aged more than 10 years in solera (vs. the usual three years) before being bottled, and that can gain further complexity by aging them some more time in bottle in a cool place.

The other main contribution was that, to enjoy such wines, you throw away the ridiculously tiny 'copita' and you choose a nice big, fine glass like a Riedel Bordeaux.
 
you throw away the ridiculously tiny 'copita' and you choose a nice big, fine glass
Click to expand...
Was that really non-obvious? I mean, I enjoy a traditional yet completely impractical vessel as much as the next guy (I do spend a fair amount of time in Alsace, after all), but...

OTOH, I don't know if I'd want a narrowing glass for a higher-alcohol wine; anything that gathers the rapidly-volatilizing alcohol seems unwise, no? Something like (sticking with the Austrian crystal theme) the one they used to -- and maybe still do -- call the Rheingau, but bigger. Or at least a large-bowled but narrower, less curved-in stem. No?
 
Bordeaux Grand Cru (or Bordeaux, in the much less expensive Vinum series) doesn't gather the alcohol as much as Hermitage Grand Cru, for instance, does. Bordeaux and Bordeaux Grand Cru are just fine. We have it down pat by now.
 
originally posted by VS:

The other main contribution was that, to enjoy such wines, you throw away the ridiculously tiny 'copita' and you choose a nice big, fine glass like a Riedel Bordeaux.
Click to expand...

I have about as much use for those as I do champagne flutes (none).
 
originally posted by John DeFiore:

"Flor yeasts partially respire ethanol, glycerol, acetic and veral organic acids, producing acetaldehyde and various aromatic metabolic by-products"
Click to expand...

John (and others),
In the midst of an otherwise clear passage, the word veral perplexes me. Can you please help this poor, confused organic chemist understand what that word might mean in this context?

Mark Lipton
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top