What’s a vin de soif? – Cyber Tech

Saint-Pourçain wines are sometimes described as “vins de soif,” thirst-quenchers in English. However what does this standard expression imply? To say that it is a wine that quenches thirst like water will not be sufficient. “It is a bottle that may be opened with one different individual and that you just’re positive to complete throughout the night!” For Morgan Hubert, wine buying supervisor at E.Leclerc, a serious French retailer, the definition is clear. He may even describe it intimately: A digestible wine with good acidity, no woody notes from the barrel, no aroma from growing older or maturation, however with intense fruity notes from the fermentation of the grapes.

He cited the flagship grape varieties for thirst-quenching wines: chenin for whites, cinsault or gamay for reds, and even pinot noir if it isn’t oaked. And his favourite, pineau d’Aunis, a grape selection grown within the Loire Valley, primarily for coteaux-du-vendômois, able to creating “dynamic wines that dance within the glass.” In different phrases, grapes that produce wines which are gentle in alcohol and construction, with little tannin. Prior to now, the time period “gouleyant” (quaffable) was used.

Not everyone seems to be as comfy speaking about so-called “thirst-quenching” wines. For concern of drawing the ire of the anti-alcohol leagues; for concern, above all, of giving a unfavourable impression of those wines, which individuals drink however do not style. Most wine retailers want the expression “vin de plaisir” (wine of delight) or “vin de copains” (wine for associates). That is no clearer for the buyer, who not often comes throughout wines that aren’t for pleasure or are meant to be served to foes.

Easy and fruity

Two clues assist to higher perceive the idea. Whether or not crimson, white or, extra usually, rosé, thirst-quenching wine is finest served as an aperitif. Not like “gastronomic” wine, whose complexity, construction and magnificence are finest loved on the eating desk, this wine doesn’t require meals. To underline its easy, fruity character, it may possibly even be served at a barely cooler temperature.

The second clue is the value. The thirst-quencher does not must be saved for lengthy, nor does it require a serious funding to create it, which makes it extra accessible price-wise. “You will discover bottles of nice high quality for between €7 and €12,” mentioned Laurent Janiaud, on the Cave des Champs, in Saint-Brieuc, who sells a Côtes-Catalanes 2022 for €9.

Being recent and lightweight, thirst-quenching wine is considered restricted to temperate wine-growing areas. Nevertheless, it may be discovered all over the place. On the Les Marmandais vineyard in Cocumont (Lot-et-Garonne), they have been making it for 10 years. “The grapes are picked somewhat earlier within the yr, to protect acidity, and harvested earlier than dawn,” defined director Frédéric Costella. “They’re then vinified at low temperature, to keep away from extracting tannins. Then vatting may be very quick, to restrict focus. The juice is run off rapidly, to separate it from the pomace, which provides efficiency. And it’s not blended with pressed juice, which might have the identical impact. These processes break with conventional patterns. However you must be daring!”

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