Jackson Jambalaya

When I first began to consume wine as a novice in the 1960s, I had no idea how many forms it could take and how complicated the subject can be once you get into it even on a cursory basis.

    The confusing nature of wine really hit home after I had been writing a wine column for about 20 years. I became friendly with a couple that adored wine. The wife was enamored with chardonnay, but after several visits to their home, it was evident that she really liked only one kind of chardonnay.

    She had never been exposed to anything else. So, she was confused when I brought over a bottle of a French Chablis. "What's that?" she asked with a frown, obviously not pleased with the wine.

     "It's a chardonnay from France," I said. She said something disparaging about how it had nothing to do with the chardonnays that she had always consumed.

    "It's the way chardonnay comes out in Chablis," I said, to which she responded something along the lines of, "People really drink this stuff?" I said I did and loved it.

    This tale opens a discussion of wine's various infinities, and it gets even more byzantine when you begin to explore just one of the grape varieties that some people may think they know. Such as cabernet sauvignon.

     Start with the fact that it's consumed young and old, the latter including 50-year-old examples of Bordeaux.
    Then there are younger wines, many aged in small barrels. But what kind of barrels? French oak? American oak? Acacia wood? Purists say there's a significant difference.

    Then there are cabernets that are not aged in barrels, with winemakers choosing to simply mature them and upright vats. Or cabernets that smell as if they were aged in a barrel, but instead were treated with oak chips, or charred oak staves, or had oak extracts added.

    That's only the beginning. Where the fruit came from plays a significant role too. Everyone knows how famous Napa Valley is for its cabernets, which can be expensive and command the attention of wine collectors around the world.

    But the entire North American west coast grows exceptional cabernet -- including Canada's British Columbia, most of eastern Washington, southern Oregon and Idaho's Snake River Valley. And I've had some great Colorado cabs!
    And many other locations in the world also produce excellent cabernets, including dozens of districts in France and Italy, a dozen locales in Australia, another dozen in other southern hemisphere places (including New Zealand), a half dozen places in Spain and recently even China.

    Moreover, global climate change has given some Scandinavian locations hope they will be able to ripen cabernet sauvignon!

    Those who think they know cabernet might be surprised to learn that a wine website recently had an article on the top 25 cabernets from Uruguay. And one of the world's most sought-after red wines is Chateau Musar, a red wine blend that includes cabernet and is made from grapes grown in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon!

    What you've just read is a brief look at one grape. Consider that several thousand grape varieties are made into wine around the world, some in places that most people didn't even know were places. 

    Then there are the different styles of wines -- Chardonnays that run the gamut of dry to treacle-y sweet; wines with bubbles; Beaujolais; sherry; port; nonalcoholic; low-alcohol; flavored; orange wine; natural wines... 

    An infinity of infinities?

    Wine of the Week: N.V. Giesen Zero Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough ($14) -- This nonalcoholic sauvignon blanc is about it as authentic a glass of wine as I have ever seen that has no alcohol. It is from an extremely high-caliber New Zealand winery. Its main aroma is grapefruit, with hints of tropical and leafy notes. It is surprisingly dry, and excellent for those who cannot consume alcohol. 

    To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

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