Campbell Mattinson answers your pressing wine questions

CAMPBELL MATT IN SON ANSWERS YOUR PRESSING WINE QUESTIONS

Q. Why do Champagne bottles have a curved bottom? Bryan Leslie

A.

This question got me moving. My initial reaction was that most wine bottles have a curved bottom, known as a punt or kick, but you had me checking to see whether it was sparkling bottles only. A quick rummage around my office confirmed that it’s common across most styles of wine and bottles, though tall and slender riesling bottles tend not to have one. A punt a) increases the surface area of the bottle slightly, making it better for chilling, b) makes a bottle easier to hold from the bottom, c) helps strengthen the glass, particularly handy for under-pressure sparkling bottles, d) helps create an impression of greater wine volume, e) creates an area at the base of the bottle for sediment to gather, and f ) makes it harder to knock the bottle over due to its increased weight at the bottom. Theories abound over the original reason for the punt. In the days of yore, it was often cited as a sign of quality – i.e. the more pronounced the punt, the better the wine. The fact that easy-to-wrap-yourfingers-around riesling bottles don’t have a punt, and wider or heavier bottles do, suggests that it’s mostly for handling reasons nowadays, with a splash of marketing thrown in.

Q.

When should I be using a decanter?

Jenna Wakely

A.

Most wines benefit from at least a quick slosh in the decanter, even if it’s just straight in and then straight back into the bottle, so the answer generally is: whenever you can be bothered. In strict terms though, especially tannic, tight, dense or broody wines – any wine that just feels as though it needs time to relax and/or come out of its shell a bit – is particularly suited for the decanter.

Some wines smell a bit off or stinky when first opened: the decanter often helps these too.

Q.

The quality of Australian wine seems to continue to improve. Generally speaking, good winemakers have been able to work with hotter, drier summers and still produce very good quality wine. However, is it likely that increased temperatures and drier summers in Australia will affect the cellar life of well-made Australian wine?

Jillian Stibbard

A.

Climatic conditions in Australia have changed markedly in recent decades and will no doubt continue to do so. Subregions that were once considered marginal at best are now considered consistent, and this is a trend that looks likely to continue. This could, as you suggest, affect the cellar performance of Australian wine, not to mention either the quality of some wines or the very viability of some regions.

That said, many of the best, most celebrated, most longlived wines in Australian history were produced from hot or very hot vintages and there’s no reason why great wine won’t continue to be made and produced in such conditions in the future. Of course, the style of these future great wines may well change in the coming decades, depending on the region and variety, and the specific changes to the climate that take place.

Perhaps the best answer

I can give is this: increased temperatures will apply increased pressure on vignerons to get things right, both on the land and in the cellar, but the best sites and producers will still turn out exceptional wine quality, with its exceptional ability to age long-term intact.

Q. During a recent cellar door visit, I was told that screwcapped wines need to be stored in the cellar standing upright to avoid spoilage from the plastic-coated inner seal. Is this true? Ian Harris

A.

In a word: no. The plastic liner is food grade and is therefore inert. The truth is that screwcapped bottles can be stored either standing up or laid flat; the wine will mature identically either way.

Q. Over the past two years, I have used Halliday Wine Companion to start building a collection of mostly Australian wine. Now I am becoming interested in collecting French wines. Is there a similar resource to Halliday Wine Companion for French wines that you could recommend? David Tuxworth

A.

The obvious answer is Jancis Robinson’s excellent website. For Burgundy specifically (rather than the wider sphere of French wine) Allen Meadows’s Burghound newsletter is also highly regarded. The Wine Advocate doesn’t have the pull it once did, but it’s still an excellent resource for French and international wines in general.

Congratulations Jillian! You have won a bottle of the 2004 House of Arras EJ Carr Late Disgorged, valued at $199.