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Ask a Wine-Know: Vertical and Horizontal
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Posted by Anncierley Wed Feb 28, 2007 16:04:15 PST
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0 responses 0 comments The last two columns have been about wineries with Bakersfield roots. There is much more to be said to complete the answer to that inquiry, but today I will change the subject and attempt to respond to another reader’s question: “I overheard someone talking about a dinner where they did a wine vertical. What is that?”

A wine vertical is commonly referred to as a Vertical Tasting and is one of the more popular games played by wine lovers. It does not refer to the taster, although he/she had better be upright throughout the evening! It actually is a tasting of one particular wine from several ascending years such as the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 bottles from one particular producer, like Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon.

The host would open these six bottles and pour an equal amount of each into six glasses for each guest. The glasses are filled from left to right. I usually have the oldest wine on the far left, followed by the other five in ascending order. The glass closest to your right hand should be the 2004, got it? Take care that each guest gets the right wine in the right glass, or the tasting would be meaningless for that person, and practically impossible to correct!

The number of wines in the tasting limits the number of people invited to participate. In this case 12 to 15 people could all receive enough of a pour in each glass to have more than several mouthfuls of wine of that particular year to evaluate. How much wine is that? Do the math –– six bottles of wine divided by 12 people comes to each of your guests being served about half a bottle of wine over the course of dinner if they drank everything. If that was all you served ...

Why do this, you say? Humph, you don't want to stick with just one type of wine all evening. Well, the reason is for fun (and for knowledge too). We wine lovers enjoy debating our choices of the best years for different varietals. No kidding, the year a wine is produced (its vintage, we say) is an important aspect of rating a wine, and wines are rated on taste! You want the best taste for your buck always and if you have found out that the 2002 was a better year than 2000 for Cabernet Sauvignon in the wine world, you will select that one if you have the choice when you are buying wine. It's very interesting to see if you think so when tasting them side by side, hence the game.

The vintage (year it was grown) is supposed to be printed on the bottle. If it is not there on the label somewhere, it is non-vintage, or NV. This indicates it is a blend of several different years. This is common when confronting Sparkling Wine but rare in California wines except for inexpensive or “jug” wines. Knowing the vintage of a wine is important because the grapes are obviously affected by the weather in the region in which they are grown, as is any crop. The right amount of sun and water are necessary for a successful harvest of the best fruit a vine can produce. Drought or too much rain or late frost can be a bad thing, depending on the soil and on the talents of the vineyard managers and wine makers. Different varietals develop differently in the same climate. Some, like Cabernet or Zinfandel, prefer the warmer climates, while others do best in cooler air (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). Consistency of climate is one of the factors that has made California such a favorite growing area for grapes. We, too, worry about the times ahead and the effects of global warming.

Knowing all this, wine enthusiasts follow the Vintage Charts for areas and like to compare years of their favorite wines. Sitting down with six vintages of the same wine in front of you will tell you a lot about each year. You will be able to taste the difference. You will discover an appreciation for Cabernet, for Robert Mondavi and for the 01 and 02 Cabs in general, and you'll remember what a really wonderful year 1999 was!

Now, I know full well none of us is going to find a vertical collection of five or six vintages of a single wine for sale on any shelf in our local grocery store or wine shop. They do exist –– at the winery sometimes, at fancy or expensive shops, on some restaurant wine lists occasionally, and often on the Internet and at charity auction events. Expect a BIG price.

Where do these vertical tastings come from that you and I can attend? Most likely from our own cellars and from those of friends. You probably know about wine cellars, and you know people who have them. Why do they buy more than they can drink tonight? They’ll tell you it’s to be “put down.” That means they are going to age it, or more than likely, they are simply going to save it to serve at some special time for a special purpose.

Examples? One evening recently I went to a dinner where only wines of a specific producer (winery) were served. The week before at another evening with friends we were served only wines from the Russian River appellation. Earlier in that week my women’s wine group met to taste four different Chateauneuf Du Papes (a French Rhone varietal). Next I am going to spend three days on the Coast at the World of Pinot Noir tasting the 2004 and 2005 vintages of 150 different wineries.  All of the aforementioned events are examples of Comparative Tastings, which is the most common type of wine event.

While there, I will confine myself to two Horizontal Tastings. Again, that does NOT refer to my position but rather to the fact that I will be tasting my choice of 15 to 20 Pinot Noirs of the same vintage, 2004, on one afternoon and the same amount of the 2005 vintage the next day. I will actually drink only one or two swallows of each wine. I will be doing this to evaluate each of the last two release years to develop my own sense of whether or not to buy Pinots from those years for the restaurants and wine cellars for which I buy, and to judge the latest releases of many of my own favorite producers to see if they are worthy of going into my own cellar, ha! Such fun!

Tastings with a specific purpose in mind greatly add to the enjoyment of wine. Make notes and keep them. Refer to them when the next buying trip comes. You'll enjoy the bottle you do choose to buy much more because you already know something about the taste –– YOU liked it!

Want to try a BIG tasting for yourself? One of the best, the Paso Robles ZIN FESTIVAL, is coming up March 16-18. Call 800-549-WINE for info.

Questions? E-mail: acierley@etcrier.net

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