Tea and wine: spilling over with similarities
Print Edition
A few years ago I wrote about the fascinating parallels between wine and tea. Since this week’s iDeal section focuses on tea, I thought this would be a good time to revisit this intriguing topic. Both drinks have ancient origins and may well be humankind’s finest liquid accomplishments.
Histories and processing
Wine and tea boast rich multi-millennium histories. Wine historians generally believe humans first consumed wine from wild vines as early as the later Neolithic period about 11,000 BC. They hypothesize that soon after the advent of pottery pots, wild grapes stored in the vessels sometimes underwent accidental fermentation and the resulting wine was happily consumed. Wine making as we know it today took longer to achieve but archeological evidence of purposeful winemaking in the Near East dates back more than 8,000 years. Statistical and chromosomal analysis indicates a single point of origin for tea plants somewhere around modern-day Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces and northern Burma. Yunnan is usually cited as the birthplace of tea and it was probably there or somewhere nearby where tea was first consumed by humans. In China, tea was already well established by the Shang Dynasty (1,600-1,046 BC) while the later Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) is often referred to as the golden age of tea. Today, in addition to China significant tea cultures also exist in Japan, South Asia, the United Kingdom and other areas.
Tea and grape vines are both plants that need very specific climatic conditions and environments to thrive. We in the wine world are fond of using the term terrior to explain the soil and other environmental factors that influence the quality of wines. Terrior is also important in tea making. Soil, sunshine, temperature, rainfall and other factors are all critically important to making quality tea.
Once harvested, both grapes and tea need to be processed as quickly as possible in order to retain their natural flavors. The finest quality grapes and tea leaves are carefully picked and sorted by hand. In order to increase longevity and add secondary flavors, wine is sometimes stored in oak barrels while some teas are roasted. However, oak aged wines and roasted teas lose some of their freshness, fruitiness and floral qualities so some wines remain unoaked and certain teas are not roasted to emphasize their primary flavors.
Varieties and aging
There are thousands of different grape varieties. Tea plants are technically the Camellia Sinensis species of the evergreen shrub family. Like wine, there are many different varieties or types that thrive in different regions and have their own unique characteristics. Different tea varieties also have varying longevity with the majority best enjoyed within a few years of production. Most wines should also be enjoyed young. But in both worlds there are exceptions. Roasted oolong, pu’er and black teas can be kept for several years similar to premium oak-aged red wines.
Sangiovese wines often exhibit aromas and flavors of tea leafs. Young versions tend to be fresh and fruity with plenty of strawberry, red cherry and other red fruit and sometime floral qualities along with good acidity and herbal-spice elements. More mature examples may exhibit tea, plum, bitter cherry, leather, tobacco and other earthy notes.
The wines most likely to feature tea-like sensations are Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montacino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Top producers of these wines include Barone Ricasoli, Ruffino, Antinori, Carpineto and Castello di Querceto.
Anxi Tieguanyin
If Sangiovese is an Italian star then Tieguanyin tea is a Chinese icon. Tieguanyin literally means “iron goddess of mercy,” after the Chinese goddess Guanyin. The best Tieguanyin tea comes from the mountains of Anxi in Fujian Province. Tea master Hsu Mei-Ting, who hails from Anxi, explained to me that the special combination of soil, temperature, precipitation and humidity gives Anxi Tieguanyin teas unique aromas and flavors. Grown at altitudes between 300-1000 meter where fog, diffuse light and ideal temperature results in teas that are naturally rich in amino acids. These teas feature a sublime combination of fruitiness, floral qualities and stony minerality with a long complex finish.
Several teashops and upscale gourmet supermarkets in Shanghai offer excellent Tieguanyin teas and or you can use the Internet to purchase directly from plantations in Anxi.
Health
Another important factor that both wine and tea share is that they help contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Tea and wine both have healthy doses of mouth-puckering tannins that are rich in antioxidants and polyphenols. The benefits of regularly consuming wine and tea are remarkably similar. Numerous scientific studies have indicated that similar to wine, regular tea drinking boosts the immune system and contributes to lower rates of heart disease, strokes and cancer.
Where to buy in Shanghai
Region & Style at a glance
Varieties:
Sangiovese is the most important red wine grape in Italy with its spiritual home in the hills of Tuscany.
Key Term:
Sangiovese grapes are used to make three of Tuscany’s most important red wines, namely Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
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