Tropical Flavors Outside of the Tropics

We've been talking about the effects of terroir lately -- the place, the climate, the soil, the sun exposure, and more. And, when we think of tropical flavors, we think of the tropics. But, in white wine, that's not necessarily the case. Let's see what really does happen.

Let's consider Cariñena in northeastern Spain. The white wines from this area of Zaragosa are distinctive for the tropical fruit flavors in them. Why?

Tropical flavors tend to come from polyphenols and glycerol. And, chemically, those compounds come to the fore more naturally in nature in warm temperatures. Here, we are in the warmest region in Spain, at least during the day. But at night, it gets quite cool, even in the summer. In fact, while daytime highs in the middle of summer are often in the range of 95F/35C, overnight lows in those same days can easily be as low as 45F/7C. That is an absolutely massive change in temperature. This locks in the tropical flavors originally brought out by the summer heat. But, in places where days are hot and nights are warm, the grapes continue to mature at night and the tropical flavors fade away. The grapes need that sort of nighttime hibernation to lock them in.

Again, going back to the chemistry involved, the grapes produce some amount of natural malic acid. Rather than reacting out, the extrreme temperature drops at night keep that malic acid intact while the grapes sleep. This has the effect of keeping in those tropical aromas while slowing the production of sugars.

So, what it is that really generates those tropical flavors is the heat of the day. What locks it in is the cool nights. So, if you like those flavors in your white wiens, look by geography, and look by climate.