Mash Notes

FOOD & DRINK

1961 will be one of the greatest wine years of the century. That was the word from Marcel Lugan, director of France's National Confederation of Wine and Wine Spirits of Appellations of Origin. In a transport of sedimentality, Lugan rhapsodized to newsmen that "the wines of 1960 are like Zizi Jeanmaire--nervous and muscled, but not full-bodied and rounded. The wines of '61 will be like Mae West--a Rubens woman to whom one can add nothing; a Bardot wine, if you like--round and appealingly plump." Or, to put it less plumply, "1961 is a black Rolls-Royce complete with a uniformed chauffeur, while last year was just another vulgar convertible."

But Lugan is counting his grapes before they are mashed. The harvest, while good so far (Beaujolais is fine), is far from complete. A great deal depends on fermentation. The 1959 wines were universally acclaimed as the best of the century, but the fermentation was disappointing, and already many '59 wines have turned bad. "A wine is like a child who arrives in the world." muses one expert. "It may seem perfect, but time may reveal certain imperfections. If we get rain now, it will change everything. A little night fog, though, will give the grapes just the right freshness."

Many experts will wait till mid-November before unleashing their superlatives. By that time, they will be able to say with more certainty whether 1961 will be the year of Mae West--or Edna May Oliver.

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