Wine: A little knowledge could be a useful thing, if you want to understand how your favourite tipple is made
Is wine-making an art or a science? The language of wine appreciation and the status bestowed upon great winemakers would seem to favour the former. But increasingly, and certainly for the major producers, the cold logic of science is playing a part in a business of big numbers and high risks.
So if it is a science, let's begin with a little light learning. How about a short discourse on "Reverse osmosis, spinning cones, and evaporators: alcohol reduction and must concentration"? A little too much on a supposed day of rest? Fair enough. We'll begin with a gentle analysis of "the biology of the grape vine", including "a primer on plant physiology", followed by "Terroir: how do soils and climate shape wine"; "Precision viticulture" and my current favourite "Global Warming: its implications for viticulture". Doesn't that sound like fun? Perhaps not.
But what is indisputable is that Dr Jamie Goode's Wine Science - The Application of Science in Winemaking (published by Mitchell Beazley, £30) is a thoroughly engaging collection of essays on the importance of science in the life of your favourite drink. The key to Goode's success is that, not withstanding his obligations as a scientist - he has a PhD in plant biology - he is an enthusiastic wine writer who wants to help us understand potentially difficult concepts that are central to a broad appreciation of wine.
He breaks the book into three sections: In the Vineyard; In the Winery; and Our Interaction with Wine, and then into chapters and subsections. Each chapter deals with the respective issues clearly and concisely, and frequently, as with the chapter on cork versus screwtop closures, outlines the competing viewpoints before drawing a conclusion. This is often hedged, but then Goode is a scientist and not a polemicist.
And, importantly, he is also someone who is sympathetic to non-scientific thinking. "It's common to find people involved in the production of wine who have a strong sense that there is a spiritual element to what they are doing . . . Scientists typically find this sort of attitude hard to understand, because ideas like this can't be framed in scientific language. But isn't it best if we can establish some sort of dialogue between scientifically literate wine people and those who choose to describe their activities in other terms, such as the proponents of biodynamics?"
Though the weight of text, diagrams, tables and scientific illustrations may appear daunting, the design and organisation of the book enables readers to dip in and out at their leisure.
Goode writes with the same clarity and authority that he brings to his website, appropriately named www.wineanorak.com. For all these reasons, it's fair to say that Wine Science was a worthy choice as Glenfiddich Drink Book of the Year 2006.
JAMIE GOODE ON . . . TANNINS
"The term tannin is used to describe a group of complex plant chemicals found principally in bark, leaves and immature fruit, which form complexes with proteins and other plant polymers such as polysaccharides. It is thought that the role of tannins is plant defence; they have an astringent, aversive taste that is off-putting to herbivores. Tannins in wine come from grape skins, stems and seeds, and their extraction is heavily dependent on particular wine-making processes."
JAMIE GOODE ON . . . DRUNKENNESS
"The UK Government guidelines define one drink or unit as eight grammes (1cl) of pure alcohol, and define moderation as three-to-four drinks a day for men, and two-to-three drinks a day for women. To work out how many drinks there are in a bottle of wine, multiply the alcoholic strength by 0.75. For example, if you drink half a bottle of 13 per cent wine, you have consumed 13 x 0.75 divided by 2 = 4.875 standard drinks.