Masculine and Feminine Wines

One of my favorite descriptors for a bottle of wine is masculine vs feminine. Is the wine “strong” or is it “softer”? Is this glass of wine “heavy” or is it perceived as “light”? Another way of thinking is to ask yourself while tasting, is this wine BIG (masculine) or is this a just little girl of a glass?

Both styles of wine have their place: at the bar, at the table with dinner, or at your campground/patio/poolside/boat this summer. Do I want a big, massive masculine wine on the patio @4:30 in the afternoon? No, I want a soft, feminine wine to get me to the next phase of the day. I don’t want to blast my palate so early. Do I want a soft, delicate white wine with my big-ass steak? Hell no. I guess my point is that BOTH styles work perfectly within their own space. It’s important when, where or how you are using them.

Are we sitting around cocktailing? I want a lighter, perhaps lower-alcohol wine to just chill with. The beer guys call this effect a “session-able” beer. Are we having a big grilled steak a little later that night? Bring on the bad-boy Cabernet Sauvignon! The reverse is also true: I don’t want the big red wine at 4:30 because everything I drink after that will taste super wimpy. You will be disappointed because your mouth just can’t go backwards. Conversely, if I’m sitting down to dinner with a slice of beautiful lasagna with meat sauce, I do not fricking want a little Pinot Grigio. The masculine qualities of the lasagna will totally overwhelm the softness of PG. We seek in all things balance. Balance within wine/ food pairings is the subject of another blog, another time - but the next time you’re tasting, ask yourself, “is this masculine wine or is it feminine on the palate?” The answer should determine that wine’s space.

Naturally, the question becomes which are the masculine & the feminine wines at D. Schulers? How do you tell the difference ? Largely, bottles are pretty consistent in this way because of their grape varietal. For example, every Pinot Grigio is pretty light. Every Rose, every Chenin Blanc, every Pinot Blanc. These are pretty soft and delicate wines. Most Sauvignon Blancs and Rieslings are also soft but some have such high alcohol levels (looking at you, New Zealand) they bleed into a slightly more “masculine”-feel. Lighter reds generally are Gamay Beaujolais, most Grenache, most Barbaresco, Cabernet Franc from central France. Most Chianti. Some Riojas from Spain are perceived as lighter; here look for Crianzas (younger, low oak wines). Pinot Noir is a minx in that it can be either masculine or feminine but generally lighter than most red grapes.

Any other red grapes are generally masculine. The whole family of Cabernet: Merlot, Malbec & Sauvignon are always bigger. Syrah, Zinfandel, Malbec, and Barolo are always monsters. Whites that are more masculine in style are primarily Chardonnay – it really is its own mixed-up self in that winemakers all over the world can’t make up their damn minds whether it is a masculine or feminine grape. Most of the French or Italian imports are softer and lighter and for many years, California made these big, blow-you-away Chardonnays with huge alcohol and layer upon layer of sweet oak. You can’t tell from the California label if this bottle is big or small. If the Chard says un-oaked on it, that’s the feminine one. Otherwise, there’s no telling if the Cali Chard is one way or the other.

Cheers,
Eric