The Definition of Balance in Wine

Monday, 29 March 2021 10:01

The Great Debate: Ripeness and Balance with Andrew Jefford and Julia Harding MW

Written by Kevin Day

Few, if any, moments in wine are more dramatic than when a producer decides it is time to pick fruit. Whether they rely upon a Brix reading, a visual cue from the grape seeds, or the finely tuned instrument of their own palate, making the call to harvest a plot of grapes is a decision fraught with consequence. Get it exactly right and you can have a legendary vintage. Get it wrong, and nothing that follows from the vine to the winery to the bottle can make up for an ill-timed harvest.

“Ripeness is balance at its apogee,” notes Julia Harding, a Master of Wine, wine critic, contributor to JancisRobinson.com, and the co-author of the often-referenced book Wine Grapes. Yet given the frequency with which “ripeness” and “balance” are used as terms in wine discussion, it is worth our time to take a step back and try to find a consensus on what they actually are (or even, if they are the same thing), and the ramifications this may hold for our sensory perception. 

As we discovered, defining where that apogee of balance lies can be exceedingly difficult. Balance “resists codification,” says wine writer and Wine Scholar Guild Academic Advisor Andrew Jefford. “It varies culturally; it varies by individual; it varies by region and by variety.”

For our latest Great Debate, Andrew Jefford and Julia Harding tackle the finer points of ripeness and balance in wine. Their back-and-forth covers a lot of ground: how to decipher balance on the palate, the differences between tasting wine and drinking a wine, putting the value of alcohol levels into context, the role climate change is playing in defining our sense of taste, and even the dangers of allowing one’s intellect to override the sensual response. All of it, Jefford suggests, is in a quest for, what he calls, “resonance.”

While we may not have arrived at any convenient new truisms, in the end, wine’s remarkable ability to reveal the harmony of nature is — at least for now — something we can all agree on.

Please note that the full conversation is now available for free! 

 
Kevin Day: It is always nice to start off these debates by clearing up terminology. So let’s begin with each of your definitions for “balance” in a wine. Julia: would you like to start us off?

  

 
Julia Harding MW: Balance is the relationship between the components of a wine – fruit flavour and fruit intensity, acidity, sweetness or lack of it, alcohol/weight, texture/tannins – and is not about absolute levels. It also involves the integration of those components to create a whole, though perhaps that is creeping into harmony. It’s a complex equation and not necessarily predictable from the technical analysis of a wine. 

I think it is important to add that while much can be tweaked in the winery, the most balanced wines, and those most likely to stay that way over time in bottle, are made from grapes that are intrinsically balanced.

 

KD: Andrew, do you have anything to add to Julia’s definition of balance as “the relationship between the components of a wine?”

 

 
Andrew Jefford: Julia’s definition is excellent and I would endorse her comment about the vineyard origins of balance ‘at its best.’  Julia has outlined the main elements of balance as far as we are able to trace or isolate them in the wines we are tasting, but I would stress that wine is an extraordinarily complex sensual object and almost everything in that object (including, for example, its aromatic dimensions and qualities derived from the fermentative process such as vinosity) can contribute to balance.

NEXT PAGE (10%): Discerning Balance in Tasting Wine

Please note that the full conversation is now available for free access! Log in or Create a Free Account to read the full conversation.

In the full transcript, you can read Andrew and Julia's opinions on

- The Definition of Balance in Wine
- Discerning Balance in Tasting Wine
- Levels of Body, Acidity, Tannin and Alcohol in Balance
- Subjectivity in Matters of Taste
- Balance in the Role of Aging Wine
- Does “Freshness” Exist
- Is Balance Trendy or Universally Timeless?
- The Significance of Alcohol Levels
- Can “Ripeness” Mean Different Things to Different People?
- Climate Change and the Future of Balanced Wines

Study Viticulture and Winemaking on WSG Studio

Meeting of the Minds: Heroic Viticulture
With Andrew Jefford, Caro Maurer MW, Paul Symington
Where to Put the Wine? An Exploration into Winemaking Vessels
With Nova Cadamatre MW
Climate, Grapes and Wine: Sustainability in a Variable and Changing Climate with Greg Jones, PhD
With Greg Jones, PhD
Beyond the Basics: Yeast and Fermentation with Olivier Humbrecht MW
With Olivier Humbrecht MW
Demystifying Winemaking : Part 3: Everything Else You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask! with Nova Cadamatre
With Nova Cadamatre MW
Sulphites in Wine with Simon J. Woolf
With Simon J. Woolf
Why Sustainability Certification Matters - A Winery’s Commitment to Environmental Stewardship with Martin Reyes, MW
With Martin Reyes MW
Meeting of the Minds: Climate Change
With Andrew Jefford, Dr. Greg Jones, Josep Maria Ribas Portella, Michelle Bouffard
Beyond the Basics: Wine Tannins with Vincenzo Gerbi and Maria Alessandra Paissoni
With Maria Alessandra Paissoni
Demystifying Winemaking: Part 2 - Reds with Nova Cadamatre, MW
With Nova Cadamatre MW
Demystifying Winemaking : Part 1 - White and Roses with Nova Cadamatre MW
With Nova Cadamatre MW
What Are Varietal Thiols And How Are They Expressed In Red Wine? with Marco Li Calzi, PhD
With Marco Li Calzi PhD
Meeting of the Minds: Evolution in Wine-Making Aesthetics and Wine-Making Trends
With Alberto Antonini, Andrew Jefford, Fiona Morrison MW, Pedro Ballesteros MW, Rosemary Cakebread
Why Altitude And Genetic Diversity Will Save Wine with Dr Laura Catena
With Dr. Laura Catena
The Myths of Terroir with Dr. Kevin R. Pogue
With Dr. Kevin R. Pogue
The Grafted Grapevine Part III: Rootstocks, a solution for climate change?
With Thomas Dormegnies
It's the Nitrogen, of course! The Backstory of Biodynamics with Romana Echensperger, MW
With Romana Echensperger MW
The Grafted Grapevine  Part II: How to Maintain Diversity?
With Thomas Dormegnies
You, Me, and VSP: Exploring the Difference Between Training and Trellising Methods with Nova Cadamatre, MW
With Nova Cadamatre MW
The Grafted Grapevine Part I: How to Produce a Grafted Grapevine?
With Thomas Dormegnies
Introduction to Geology, Soil, and Terroir with Brenna Quigley
With Brenna Quigley
Have Your Say: Natural Wine with Andrew Jefford and Simon J. Woolf
With Andrew Jefford, Simon J. Woolf
Natural wine - exploding the myths with Simon J Woolf
With Simon J. Woolf
From the Ground Up: Grapevine Anatomy 101 with Nova Cadamatre MW
With Nova Cadamatre MW
Heroic Viticulture: Europe's Most Dramatic Vineyards with Tanya Morning Star
With Tanya Morning Star
Rosé: Up Close and Technical with Elizabeth Gabay MW
With Elizabeth Gabay MW
Fortified Wines from Around the World with Guilherme Marques Martins, PhD
With Guilherme Marques Martins
The World of French Fortified Wines with Guilherme Marques Martins, PhD
With Guilherme Marques Martins
Tannins, the Backbone of Red Wine: Concepts and Craft with James Kennedy
With James Kennedy
Optimizing flavors and aromas in wine grapes: A case study of Riesling with Justine Vanden Heuvel
With Justine Vanden Heuvel
Postmodern Winemaking with Clark Smith
With Clark Smith
Viti 101: An Introduction to Viticulture with Tracy Kamens
With Tracy Kamens
Genetically Modified Vines and Yeasts with Christy Canterbury MW
With Christy Canterbury MW
Cultured vs Indigenous Yeasts with Christy Canterbury MW
With Christy Canterbury MW
French Oak: Forests, Coopers and Techniques with Roger Bohmrich MW
With Roger Bohmrich MW
Brettanomyces with Christy Canterbury MW
With Christy Canterbury MW
Organic, Biodynamic and Reasoned Viticulture with Roger Bohmrich MW
With Roger Bohmrich MW
Climate Change and Wine with Roger Bohmrich MW
With Roger Bohmrich MW
Soil and Wine: What do we really know with Roger Bohmrich MW
With Roger Bohmrich MW
Vine Stress with Christy Canterbury MW
With Christy Canterbury MW
Photosynthesis with Lisa Airey, CWE, FWS
With Lisa Airey
Pirates and Pyrazines with Lisa Airey, CWE, FWS
With Lisa Airey
The Barrel Regimen with Lisa Airey CWE, FWS
With Lisa Airey

Kevin Day

Kevin Day is an Italian Wine Scholar™ with Highest Honors, and the editor-in-chief of the popular online wine magazine Opening a Bottle. In 2019, he was shortlisted for the Louis Roederer International Wine Writer’s Award in the category of Emerging Wine Writer. He lives in Denver, Colorado.



The opinions and views expressed in blog posts are those of the author of the post and do not necessarily represent the views of The Wine Scholar Guild or constitute any part of its educational programs.

Sign up to receive our latest updates