The Wine Lab

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What happens when grapes are asked to wait?
In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore appassimento, the traditional practice of drying grapes before fermentation, and how it reshapes wine long before yeast ever gets involved. From ancient Roman preservation methods to modern Amarone and passito wines, we look at how dehydration concentrates sugars, alters acidity, and transforms texture and aroma.
Along the way, we meet Corvina, the grape at the heart of Valpolicella’s most iconic wines and trace how sweet passito styles, dry Amarone, and even Ripasso all emerge from the same ecosystem.
This is a story about patience, chemistry, and flavor built by subtraction.
If you enjoy the episode, taste these wines, share them with friends, and pay attention to how time shows up in the glass. And as always, I’d love to hear from you — send your questions, feedback, or ideas for future themes my way.
Until next time… stay curious, cheers!
Glossary
Appassimento
A winemaking technique where grapes are dried after harvest to concentrate sugars, acids, and phenolic compounds before fermentation.
Corvina
A red grape variety native to northeastern Italy, central to Valpolicella wines. Known for high acidity and excellent performance during grape drying.
Amarone della Valpolicella
A dry, high-alcohol wine made entirely from appassimento grapes, known for depth, structure, and dried-fruit aromas.
Recioto
A traditional sweet wine style made from appassimento grapes. The term refers to technique and selection, not a grape variety.
Recioto della Valpolicella
A sweet red wine made from Corvina-based grapes using appassimento.
Recioto di Soave
A sweet white passito wine made primarily from Garganega.
Vin Santo
An Italian wine made from dried grapes and shaped by long oxidative aging, often amber in color.
Passito di Pantelleria
A sweet wine from Sicily made from sun-dried Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria), known for intense aromatics.
Ripasso
A Valpolicella wine made by refermenting fresh wine over the spent skins of Amarone or Recioto. Mentioned here as a teaser for a future episode.
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For more detailed wine science checkout my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Enology_channel

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Orange wine often feels contemporary, even radical, yet its roots stretch back thousands of years. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we travel to Georgia, widely considered one of the birthplaces of wine, to explore qvevri winemaking, extended skin contact, and the historical foundations of what we now call orange wine. Along the way, we unpack how this style bridges white and red winemaking, why it pairs so naturally with food, and how ancient clay vessels continue to shape modern wine conversations. This is a story of time, texture, and continuity. 
Glossary
Orange wine: White wine produced with extended skin contact, resulting in amber color, tannic structure, and enhanced phenolic extraction.
Qvevri: Large egg shaped clay vessels traditionally buried in the ground in Georgia and used for fermentation and aging, providing thermal stability and gentle oxygen exchange.
Skin contact: The period during which grape juice remains in contact with skins, seeds, and sometimes stems, influencing color, tannin, texture, and aroma development.
Phenolic compounds: A group of compounds including tannins and flavonoids that contribute to bitterness, astringency, color, mouthfeel, and oxidative stability.
Supra: A traditional Georgian feast centered on food, wine, and guided toasts, emphasizing hospitality, memory, and community.
Tamada: The toastmaster at a Georgian supra, responsible for guiding the rhythm, order, and meaning of toasts.
Rkatsiteli: One of Georgia’s most widely planted white grape varieties, known for high acidity, thick skins, and suitability for extended skin contact.
Kisi: A Georgian white grape variety that produces aromatic, structured wines, often showing stone fruit, spice, and tea like notes when made with skin contact.
Mtsvane: A family of Georgian white grape varieties valued for freshness, herbal aromatics, and balance, frequently blended with Rkatsiteli in qvevri wines.
Khikhvi: A lesser known Georgian white grape variety that yields deeply colored, textured orange wines with pronounced phenolic structure and oxidative stability.
Khachapuri: Traditional Georgian cheese filled bread, baked in various regional styles, often rich and salty, making it well suited to phenolic, textured wines.
Khinkali: Large pleated Georgian dumplings filled with spiced meat and broth, typically eaten by hand and known for their savory intensity.
Mtsvadi: Georgian grilled meat, commonly pork or lamb, cooked over open flame and served simply with onions and herbs.
Pkhali: Cold vegetable dishes made from spinach, beets, or eggplant blended with walnuts, garlic, herbs, and spices, offering earthy and nut driven flavors.
Lobio: Slow cooked Georgian bean dishes seasoned with walnuts, coriander, garlic, and herbs, often served warm or at room temperature.
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For more detailed wine science checkout my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Enology_channel

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Welcome back to The Wine Lab. In this episode, we take a closer look at Marsala, one of the most misunderstood fortified wines in the world.
Often dismissed as a cooking ingredient, Marsala has a long history as a serious wine shaped by fortification, oxidative aging, and deliberate patience. We explore how Marsala is made, the grape varieties that define it, and why oxygen plays such a central role in its aroma and structure. Along the way, we unpack the classification system, from Secco to Vergine, and explain how Marsala earned both its reputation and its recent revival.
This episode weaves together chemistry, history, and cultural context, from British naval trade routes to Sicilian tradition, and asks a simple question: what happens when a wine waits for you to slow down?
Buy it. Taste it. Share it. Appreciate the layers. And don't forget to stay curious!
Glossary
Marsala
A fortified wine with protected designation of origin status produced in western Sicily, known for oxidative aging and a wide range of sweetness and aging styles.
Grillo
A primary grape variety used in Marsala production, valued for its acidity, ripening potential, and tolerance to oxidation.
Fortification
The addition of grape spirit to wine to increase alcohol content and stability, typically bringing Marsala to 17 to 20 percent alcohol.
Oxidative Aging
A controlled aging process where wine is intentionally exposed to oxygen, contributing to aromas such as nuts, dried fruit, caramel, and spice.
Mosto Cotto
Cooked grape must used in Ambra-style Marsala to add color, sweetness, and flavor.
Vergine Marsala
A dry style of Marsala aged for a minimum of five years without sweetening or cooked must, emphasizing structure and oxidative complexity.
Acetaldehyde
An aroma-active compound formed during oxidative aging, contributing nutty and bruised apple notes when present in balance.
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Vermouth is everywhere, yet rarely examined on its own.
Often encountered through classic cocktails rather than the glass itself, vermouth plays a defining role in balance, aroma, and structure while remaining largely unacknowledged. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we slow down and treat vermouth as what it truly is: wine, shaped by fortification, bitterness, and deliberate design.
We explore vermouth’s foundations in neutral grape varieties, the use of grape spirit for stability and extraction, and the careful construction of botanical profiles built around wormwood, roots, barks, citrus, and spice. Along the way, we trace its emergence from eighteenth-century Turin, its ties to apothecaries and café culture, and its evolution into a cornerstone of modern drinking culture.
This episode examines why bitterness matters, how extraction chemistry influences sensory balance, and why vermouth behaves like wine once the bottle is opened. More than a mixer, vermouth reveals how intention, chemistry, and restraint can reshape what wine can be.

Glossary
Vermouth
An aromatized, fortified wine flavored with botanicals, legally required to include wormwood.
Wermut
The German word for wormwood, from which the term vermouth is derived.
Wormwood (Artemisia spp.)
A bitter plant containing potent compounds that provide structural bitterness in vermouth.
Aromatized Wine
Wine that has been flavored with herbs, spices, fruits, or other botanicals after fermentation.
Fortification
The addition of distilled alcohol, typically neutral grape spirit, to raise alcohol content and improve stability.
Neutral Grape Variety
A grape selected for low aromatic intensity and high acidity, used as a base to showcase added flavors rather than varietal character.
Sesquiterpene Lactones
Bitter compounds found in plants like wormwood and gentian that contribute to vermouth’s structure and persistence.
Maceration
Extraction of compounds by soaking botanicals in wine or alcohol over time.
Infusion
Gentle extraction of aromatic compounds, often at lower temperatures.
Aperitif
A drink consumed before a meal, traditionally intended to stimulate appetite.
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For more detailed wine science checkout my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Enology_channel

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Madeira is one of the most resilient wines ever produced. Fortified during fermentation, intentionally heated, and slowly oxidized, it defies many of the rules that govern wine aging and thrives because of it.
In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore how Madeira’s unique production methods developed through long ocean voyages, how fortification with highly rectified grape spirit shapes sweetness and stability, and why heating methods like estufagem and canteiro create such extraordinary longevity. Along the way, we trace Madeira’s chemical evolution, its role in history and literature, and the compounds that give it aromas of nuts, citrus peel, and caramel.
This is a story of wine shaped by travel, time, and deliberate stress, and a reminder that endurance can be its own form of elegance.
Before you go, pour a glass of Madeira, taste it slowly, and share it with someone curious. Some wines reward patience more than others.
Until next time, stay curious, cheers!

Glossary
Aguardente vínica
A highly rectified, neutral grape spirit used to fortify Madeira during fermentation, typically around 95 to 96 percent alcohol.
Boal (Bual)
A Madeira grape variety used to produce medium sweet wines with caramelized fruit and nutty aromas.
Canteiro
A traditional Madeira aging method where barrels mature slowly in warm lofts, heated only by ambient conditions, often for decades.
Estufagem
A controlled heating process for Madeira using tanks or heated rooms, typically applied to younger wines.
Fortification
The addition of grape spirit during fermentation to stop yeast activity, preserve sweetness, and increase alcohol.
Malvasia (Malmsey)
A grape variety used for the richest and sweetest style of Madeira.
Sercial
A high acid grape variety producing the driest style of Madeira.
Sotolon
An aroma active compound associated with walnut, curry leaf, maple syrup, and aged fortified wines.
Verdelho
A Madeira grape variety producing medium dry wines with smoky and saline notes.
Vinho da roda / Torna viagem
Historical Madeira wines intentionally sent on long sea voyages and returned to enhance flavor through heat and oxidation.
Support the show
For more detailed wine science checkout my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Enology_channel