The Cow-Herd Speaketh!!!!

Ageing Wine with Oak – Reserves

2015-08-07T11:20:00.002+05:30

Oak wine barrels are easily one of the most recognizable symbols associated with wine, and probably rank just below grapes themselves. The history of how wine came to be stored and aged in these oak barrels however, could have easily been something that happened in Asterix comics.

For millennia, clay amphorae were the medium of choice for transporting wine. Around two millennia ago, the Roman civilization needed to transport not only weapons and food for its soldiers, but also wine. Wine was safer than water during those campaigns, provided calories for the malnourished troops and of course got them buzzed.

As the Romans moved further north into Europe, transporting clay amphorae became increasingly more difficult. Soon, the Romans encountered the Gauls, and discovered them using wooden barrels, often made of oak, to transport beer. The Romans quickly realized they had found a solution to their amphora issue, and oak barrels became popular for a number of reasons!

After transporting their wines in oak barrels for some time, the Romans and other societies after them, began to realize that these barrels imparted new, pleasant qualities to the wine. The contact with the wood made the wine softer and smoother, and with some wines, it also made it better tasting. As the practice of using oak barrels for transport continued, merchants, wine producers, and armies alike, found that the longer the wine remained inside the barrels, the more qualities from the oak would be imparted into the wine, and thus began the practice of aging wine in oak.

Nowadays, we have a lot of options in wines starting from the price range, type, category, quality, quantity and so on. However, oak-aged wine is one of the most preferred and among the most expensive in the world. Oak just makes wine taste better! During a wine’s contact with oak barrels, it will take on characters that are extracted from the wood. These characters are described as, smoky, char, vanilla, spice, clove, coconut, almond, caramel, buttery and burnt. As these aromatic compounds are extracted during the oak aging process, the compounds will become integrated with the wine aromas. Winemakers associate this with increased flavour complexity and the wines richness and suppleness. Oak staves, oak chips and oak cubes are smaller and can use all sides to add aromas to wine.

Every great wine maker agrees the best wines are made in the vineyards. To make great grapes, wineries focus on bringing down yields to ensure the wines are more intense. Oak is one trait of wine that one finds in most of the retail outlets and restaurants. Most of these 'super premium' wines are red - as 'reserve' wines are aged in imported oak barrels for a longer period for anywhere between 5-18 months, and reds benefit more from oak-ageing than whites. This wine is one of the few wines championing the use of much more locally sustainable Indian oak grown in Nasik. One day, the country's reputation will match the quality being produced, and India will be ready and waiting with a host of super-premium wines.

Although, the market for the high-end wine in India is minuscule compared to many other countries, there has been a growth for the last 5 years, and there are over 100 wine brands available in the market. Now, Indian wine consumers are getting more sophisticated, educated and diverse in their wine choices and are open to spending up to two to three thousand for a bottle of super-premium wine. There are many Indian super premium wines priced above Rs. 800 and are definitely worth a try!

WTF #41

2012-04-18T10:09:00.000+05:30

Ok, where is the fire again?

WTF #40

2012-02-15T13:15:00.001+05:30

WTF #39

2012-02-14T15:35:00.000+05:30

WTF #38

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000+05:30

WTF #37

2012-02-09T12:08:00.000+05:30

WTF #36

2012-02-04T10:00:00.000+05:30

Kakinada Food Centre???

WTF #35

2012-02-02T10:34:00.000+05:30

WTF #34

2012-02-02T10:25:00.000+05:30

WTF #33

2011-10-13T11:10:00.000+05:30

WTF #32

2011-08-10T17:08:00.000+05:30

WTF #31

2011-06-20T11:25:00.000+05:30

WTF #30

2011-06-02T11:06:00.000+05:30

From somewhere in "God's Own Country", Kerala.

Possibly explains Kerala's parallel film industry :P

WTF #29

2011-04-27T15:23:00.001+05:30

Don't get on this bus!

WTF #28

2011-01-28T13:05:00.000+05:30

Thanks Pragni Sanghvi :)

WTF #27

2011-01-25T15:49:00.000+05:30

WTF #26

2011-01-20T11:56:00.000+05:30

WTF #25

2010-12-03T13:09:00.000+05:30

Sheela Or Munni? #YouPrefer

2010-12-02T13:46:00.002+05:30

Recently the 2 songs ruling the airwaves have been "Sheela Ki Jawani" from Tees Maar Khan and "Munni Badnaam" from Dabangg.

And I have heard a lot of people with strong opinions on both.

Lets meet Sheela:

And Munni:

And then some genius went and did this:

Sometimes being an MBA can be such a #FacePalm moment, no?

But as if this wasn't enough, there was this thing called Public Demand.

And now, this is the result :|

What next? For all you know, this will be the subject of some one's Dissertation topic. **shudders**

WTF #24

2010-11-25T16:20:00.000+05:30

Roctober \m/

2010-11-01T13:03:00.000+05:30

October 2010

An eventful month to say the least.
Personally it has been the ending of a few good thing and the start of a few new ones, which will hopefully be good too. A few good people I really feel made my month:

Rahul Fernandes & Anahita Mukherjee, Congratulations!
Rahul has been my room-mate and friend since Feb of 2010.
And while I have had my doubts about how good a room mate I have been to him, he has always been good to me. Thank you Rahul! For everything. And Anahita is a doll.She is almost perfect. If only she ate non-veg! I wish you both a really awesome life together. 20.10.2010 will forever be etched in my memory.

Deepak Gopalakrishnan aka Chuck:
With Rahul moving out, the great room mate hunt to help share the rent started. Chuck, at this time, decided to move in :) I couldn't have asked for a better roomie. I swear I will make and keep healthier resolutions this coming year!

Bisu & Gunjan
Friends, philosophers and creative powerhouses in their own ways, they have constantly been around and while I might have been occasionally caught up in my own issues, know that I will be around if you ever need to talk!

Curry:
Love of my life, thank you soooo much for the bestest b'day ever. The only thing that could have made it better is if you were here in person.

Priyam Duttaroy, Kavitha Das, Shruti Deora & Charu Gupta:
Thank you guys, for keeping me out of too much trouble! And Vinnie the Pooh, if you ever read this, a big apology from my end. Am not as big an ass as I made of myself.

Nithya Ravi:
Master Chef Vakola edition winner :) Thankee!

Anyone else I have missed, please forgive me. I am growing older and my memory might need an upgrade!

WTF #23

2010-09-16T11:46:00.000+05:30

Thanks go out to Dharmesh Gandhi for this one!

WTF #23

2010-09-14T09:57:00.000+05:30

Thank you Priyam for the contribution!

WTF #22

2010-09-13T17:00:00.000+05:30

WTF #21

2010-09-07T12:01:00.000+05:30