When not immersed in the wine world, I serve as Director of Professional Development and Special Projects at NYU College of Dentistry and was recently appointed as an adjunct faculty member in our Department of Cariology and Comprehensive Care.

Generally, the world of wine and the world of dentistry would seem to be two different worlds, but somehow in my life, the two seem to collide quite frequently. Most recently, I was asked to participate in a research project with two colleagues concerning the effect of wine acidity on tooth enamel. No, I am not a dentist (nor do I play one on TV); however, my wine expertise has been sought out in identifying wines for use in the project.

I have also been asked to conduct a literature review and an initial cursory glance has been quite interesting. A study published in June 2007 indicates that wine may fight the bacteria that causes caries (also known as cavities). Another study has linked the polyphenols in wine with a reduced incidence of periodontitis (gum disease).

But despite this good news, a report on a doctoral student’s thesis from the University of Stellenbosch suggests that the acidity in wine may do significant damage to the enamel. This view was also proffered by my colleague and fellow SWE member, Herbert F. Spasser, DDS, CWE (yet another instance of wine meeting dentistry).

While I still have a more rigorous scrutiny of the literature ahead, these reports provide opposing views on the effect of wine on teeth, which call for additional research to be done. More specifically, research weighing the benefits and risks of wine consumption should be explored. Not that I will stop drinking wine, mind you, but I would like to know the potential consequences of my actions. In any case, it will be an exciting project on which to work and I look forward to the continued convergence of my two worlds.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a trade event featuring Monika Caha Selections’ Austrian Wine Portfolio at Telepan restaurant. The event began at 11:30, whereby we were invited to begin tasting through Monika’s portfolio. I had tasted through 29 wines before we were called to sit for lunch, missing out on four red wines and two dessert wines.

The represented wines included those from: Johann Donabaum, Forstreiter, Fritsch, Graf Hardegg, Anita & Hans Nittnaus, Stadlmann and Weninger. The white wines featured were Gruner Veltliners, which is the iconic grape of Austria, along with Rieslings and one Viognier (which came as a surprise to me). With one exception (Graf Hardegg’s Weisse Reserve vom Schloss), all of the wines were single varietals. The featured reds were less homogenous with Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, St. Laurent and Pinot Noir available to taste.

As we retired to the dining room for lunch, we selected two adjacent seats at a booth, at which a gentleman had staked his claim to the other two. Upon being seated, we introduced ourselves and made the acquaintance of Howard Goldberg (wine journalist for the New York Times) and David Rosengarten (food, wine and cooking authority). They were both charming company.

The five-course luncheon was expertly executed, with each course paired with one – two wines, making 37 wines my grand total for the afternoon. I was particularly pleased with the Egg in a Hole, which was a dish featuring a fried egg, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, wild spinach and toasted garlic. All in all, it was a lovely afternoon, with the opportunity to taste a wonderful collection of Austrian wines and gain additional evidence as to how well these wines pair with food.

Sunday’s edition of the Mercury News announced the formal recognition of a new AVA, Tracy Hills, located in California.

An AVA is an American Viticultural Area, which essentially is a de-limited geographic area, which has a common set of characteristics that tie the area together and set it apart from other ares with respect to its wine growing capabilities.

All potential AVAs must be submitted to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for approval and some do not gain recognition. While other countries have their own geographical wine regions, AVAs are specific to the U.S. There are presently about 200 AVAs in the U.S., with new ones being added from time to time, as in the case of Tracy Hills. The use of an AVA on the wine’s label is limited to wines with a minimum of 85% of grapes grown in that AVA.

Unlike their counterparts in Europe, American winemakers are not bound by a set of viticultural and vinification rules within their given AVA. American vineyards and wineries are free to plant whichever grape varieties in whatever manner they choose. Conversely, the vineyard owner in Bordeaux or Burgundy is limited, by law, in plantings, vine density, yield, vinification techniques and other wine producing parameters, if they wish to include their appellation of origin on their labels.

An AVA such as Tracy Hills doesn’t have much name recognition now, but many of the AVAs within the Sonoma and Napa Valleys are well-known and help to sell the wine by virtue of their presence on the label. However, in America, brand names (i.e. Mondavi, Gallo) seem to hold more importance for the consumer than grape origin, especially if the wine is varietally-labeled.

Terroir. This term is bandied about in the wine community, but the concept of terroir can often be difficult to understand. What exactly is terroir?

Terroir is that combination of factors that makes a wine uniquely from a particular place. It is the reason that Chardonnay wines from Burgundy are different from Chardonnay wines from California. And, even more precisely, why Bugundian Chardonnay is different from Chablis, which is north of Burgundy (despite both being made from the Chardonnay grape).

Moreover, it is the reason that Chardonnays from Burgundy are called white Burgundies and not Chardonnay. The elements that exist in the particular region and ultimately, in the particular vineyard constitute the environment, which influences the final outcome and its expression of the terroir.

A similar approach might be applied to people as an illustration of this concept. Certainly, we all know that each person is unique and their journey into adulthood is influenced by a combination of nature (genetics) and nurture (environment). While scientists will debate as to how much one overrides the other, I believe most would agree that environment certainly plays at least a partial role in the final outcome in creating a fully-formed adult.

With wine, there are six factors that are responsible for the finished product: variety, soil, climate, annual weather conditions, viticultural practices and vinification practices. For people, gender could be akin to the variety. As a person is born and raised into a specific family/household, this might be considered their soil.

A person’s climate would include all of the aspects of their situation: living in the city vs country; residing in a house vs apartment; living far or near from water, mountains and other elements of nature, as well as all of the external elements in their life — schooling, neighborhood, etc. Each of these factors will eventually influence the type of person one becomes and will be expressed in their personality and actions.

Annual weather conditions could entail both mundane and important events characterizing one’s life. Was one’s life relatively boring? Did they fail math in 8^th grade? Fall off their bike at age 10? Watch their parents divorce at 16? Fall madly in love at 18?

Viticultural practices are similar to parenting skills. In the vineyard, how the vines are tended is very important. Likewise, the way a person is raised will affect their outcome. For example, a person with more lenient parents will react differently to life than a person with stricter parental rules.

Generally, the final factor, vinification practices, is not really an element of terroir. However, to carry the analogy to completion, it would seem that decisions made in adulthood: if and where to attend college, if and whom to marry, if and when to have children, career choices, etc. will provide the final influence on the person.

Although this is an imperfect analogy, I hope that it can shed at least some light on the concept of terroir, which should provide you with an appreciation for the differences in various wines.

In a recent post, I suggested that one “dance with the grape less traveled.” Most wine drinkers are familiar with the noble grapes — those varieties, which feature prominently as or in the world’s greatest wines such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Some of these grapes are grown internationally, while others have more delimited areas where they do well. But, there are hundreds of grape varieties, which are not household names and may even be quite obscure.

On one hand, these grapes have not achieved world-wide acclaim because the wines they produce are not among the top. However, they can often be quite good and, may be less familiar simply due to a lack of distribution and/or availability. And, a lack of marketing. If you stick to the big grape names you may be missing out on some really great wines.

The Wine Century Club (see their newly relaunched website) actively promotes the drinking of these lesser-known grapes by challenging would be members to drink a minimum of 100 different grape varieties. These grapes are then documented on the application form and submitted for your review.

I am pleased to announce that my application was accepted and I am now a Distinguished Member of this esteemed club. Not to be outdone, my husband took up the challenge as well, and, although he started more than a few grapes behind, quickly caught up and also achieved membership. With the goal achieved, we are a little less obsessed with finding obscure wines. However, we do still love to find and try new varieties. It is the spice of life!