Joan Collins
Joan Collins* (London, 1933) is a British actress and writer with a long professional career that began when she was only 13 years old. During his youth he participated in numerous films for 20th Century Fox (Land of the Pharaohs, The girl with the red trapeze, The Bravados or Esther and the King) but it was not until his maturity, already in the 80s, where he reached his maximum popularity playing the evil Alexis from the television series Dinasty (a soap opera of family struggles between oil tycoons) for 9 seasons (1982-1991) making it a great success of American television with more than 21 million viewers per episode. For this role she was awarded a Golden Globe, breaking the stereotype that only young actresses succeed in the film industry.
Wine is a product that evolves in a very remarkable way over time due to the chemical transformations that take place in it. A first phase of this process takes place before bottling, barrel aging, while a second stage takes place in the bottle itself. Each of these stages has special nuances that make the wine acquire different organoleptic characteristics.
The wine that has not passed through the barrel (or that has been for a very short time) and is normally consumed in less than 12 months (and no more than 24-30), is called Joven wine. In these wines, the tannin content is low and a smooth, fruity and refreshing final result is sought, ideal to accompany light meals during the summer (salads, cold cuts, cheeses, pasta …). The color has bluish hues in the reds and yellowish-green in the whites. The vast majority of white and rosé wines fall into this category.
A little more time in contact with the wood (up to 24 months, minimum 6 in barrels) gives way to Crianza, more structured wines with a greater amount of aromatic nuances resulting from the transformation of the fruity and herbaceous aromas. The color is also losing its bluish tone and gaining ruby and dark red reflections. They are also wines that mature very well in the bottle, reaching their optimum point up to 5 or more years after bottling. They pair perfectly with meats, roasts, stews or cured cheeses .
The next category, Reserva wines, have already spent considerable time maturing (a minimum of 36 months, of which at least 12 for reds and 6 for whites in barrels) to consume between 5 and 10 years after harvest. The result is intense, strong and full of complex flavors, as result of having lost their fruity tone to give way to more spicy tones, with a notable load of tannins and a color that is acquiring brick tones.
Finally, the Gran Reserva is a wine that has spent at least 5 years maturing, of which no less than 18 months in the barrel. They are complex and intense wines that reach their maximum point of expression up to 10 years after harvest and maintain it, in some cases up to 25 or more years. Color is now a deep dark brown red. They pair with dishes with an intense flavor such as game, chocolate, or complex stews.
* Illustration by Joan Collins created from a public photograph.