Raise your hand who among wine enthusiasts - the question is addressed to enthusiasts and not to technicians - knows what the terms Prefermentative pellicular maceration, TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole), or Autolysis mean.
In times when sommelier courses are sold out, the world of enonauts spends capital on a good bottle, and even the shelves of large-scale retail trade make a fine show of important bottles, not to mention the Gourmet restaurants offering menus of wines costing hundreds of euros, having an adequate culture of wine terminology does not hurt. And in any case, if you are not an expert winemaker, it is good to know what we are talking about.
So let's answer the first question: Prefermentative pellicular maceration means the “permanence of the skins of white grapes in contact with the must before the start of alcoholic fermentation. This type of maceration is carried out at a controlled temperature and serves to extract the varietal (or primary) aromas from the skins which will help improve the organoleptic characteristics of a wine”. What about TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole)? The definition is disturbing but don't be alarmed, it's not an explosive mixture but more simply a "Chemical compound that can give the wine a musty or chalky smell, often described as "moldy newspapers" or "damp cardboard".
Most consumers associate it with the "cork" smell, because the cork that composes it is particularly sensitive to contamination by the compound. TCA can be formed in many ways, a common catalyst is chlorine, a very common detergent which, by reacting with the vegetable phenols of cork, forms TCA”. What about Autolysis? It is not a sanitary practice for man but more simply: it refers to the “yeast cells which, having finished their fermenting activity, self-destruct, releasing structural components in the wine which greatly influence the organoleptic characteristics. It is important for the wines they undergo Batonnage and in sparkling wines produced with the classic method, in which the wine rests for a long time on its lees”.
To know all this, and more, there is no need to bother with oenology treatises but it is sufficient to browse through an agile "Oenological Glossary" written by Alessandro Tacconelli, passionate about wines, obviously, with a degree in Science and culture of gastronomy and catering and in Italian Food and Wine at the University of Padua.
Tacconelli, son of a restaurant and bar teacher at the Domizia Lucilla hotel institute in Rome, inherited his father's passion for the sector from an early age
Finished classical high school discussing a term paper entitled "Edo ergo sum. Food as a mirror of culture and societỳ” he decided to move to Padua to transform his passion into a profession.
While studying the sciences and culture of gastronomy and catering, he realized that what interested and gratified him most was sharing the knowledge he was gradually acquiring with others, and so he developed the idea of dedicating himself to communication and starting to work around this very useful “Oenological Glossary”
“The history of wine in Italy – he says – is long and complex and probably starts from the Etruscans, passing through the Greeks and Romans. We have over 500 certified and recognized wines with the DOP brand at European level. We make white, red, rosé wines, sparkling wines, rosé sparkling wines, prosecco and orange wine. In my small way, therefore, it seemed like a good idea to try to put some order (even alphabetically) into all of this. This desire and obviously the great passion for wine prompted me to write this text”.
Which obviously required a lot of work, because he had to draw on various sources: knowledge acquired in the academic field, study materials, handouts drawn up by his father for the students during their teaching years, official sources such as European regulations and sector. More than a creative work, it was a great operation of synthesis, organization and refinement.
So today when you go to visit a winery or talk to a sommelier who professionally refers to the Transfer Method, hello, just a quick peek at the Oenological Glossary published by Edizioni Efesto and you will discover that it is a mixed sparkling method in the which the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. Subsequently, the sparkling wine is transferred to a pressurized autoclave, filtered, dosed and finally bottled again. It is mainly used in the production of sparkling wine bottled in large containers (Mathusalem, Salmanazar, Balthazar) with which it would be impossible to follow the traditional method".
And if by chance you hear En primeur you can reply that you know it is “wine futures” or “purchase options on lots of wine still in the production and/or aging phase. They provide an investment opportunity for consumers and retailers before a particular vintage is bottled. Generally used in the sale of prestigious wines”.
Just as if someone talks to you about Triangular Tasting you avoid making a bad impression by saying that you think of an invited drink with an open couple but much more simply you can say that it is a "tasting in which the examiners are asked to compare three glasses of wine , two of which have the same wine inside. Blindly, the taster will have to indicate the glass containing the different type of wine compared to the pair of counterparts”.
And in all cases you look good!
Beyond the jokes, the book is therefore dedicated to wine enthusiasts, to those who have begun to study it and to those who know it but want to deepen some aspects. It's not a novel to read in one breath, it's not a text to study from a to z. It's a reference. A tool to consult. And then to meditate over it by drinking a good glass of wine that has undergone Micro-oxygenation which on page 138 you are explained to be “a refinement technique used above all for red wines. It consists of continuously injecting minimal quantities of oxygen into the wine, using special diffusers that create small bubbles that are immediately absorbed. Once dissolved, the oxygen triggers reactions which, by binding the tannins and anthocyanins together, improve the colour, stability and taste sensations of the wine, making it softer and rounder”.
