Domaine Francois Lurton, Barco Negro, 2005
Color: Super-dense plum
Aroma: Smokey, raisins and tobacco (kind of the scent of of a cigar store), hints of pomegranate and spices (mace?), the overwhelming flavors though are jalepenos and juicy raspberries
Flavor: medium bodied (much lighter than expected), black pepper, plush tannins, slightly oniony flavor, mashed blackberries
Finish: bitter chocolate, vanilla, and goji berries
Rating: 88 Price: $12
Chateau Bel Air, St-Estephe, 2003
Color: ?
Aroma: Plums, sweet raspberry, green pepper and a hint of gaminess
Flavor: Overwhelming current on the mid palate, soft (somewhat insubstantial) tannins, medium body
Finish: Licorice and oak
Domaine de la Petite Cassagne, Costieres de Nimes (Rhone), 2006
Color: Dense and clear straw
Aroma: Strong cheese flavor (Gouda?), overripe mango, slightly yeasty
Flavor: Hints of pineapple, some ginger with soy sauce and mustard
Finish: Very strong ginger, soft apple and floral flavors, nothing mind-blowing
Rating: 82 Price: $9
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Answers to some questions
Bio-Dynamic Wine Making:
Bio-dynamic wine making is all the rage right now, particularly among small vineyard high quality wine producers. Bio-dynamic wine making really just the principals of bio-dynamic agriculture (ala Rudolf Steiner), its just applied to grape growing vineyards instead of some other farm crop. To over-simplify a bit, the basic idea is to treat the vineyard as a organism, which should be well rounded, self-sustaining, and of course all organic (to be distinguished from USDA Certified Organic, which is a neutered and often self-defeating standard). What do I think of bio-dynamic farming? Is it as some claim a load of hippy rubbish? I don't think so. If you ask me it makes total sense if you, like I, believe wine should be an expression of terroir (the time and specific place in which the wine is grown). It should also be noted that this applies to vineyard management more than wine making, thought its probably a fair guess that if you have a bio-dynamic vineyard you'll have a more non-interventionist wine maker.
Granted some bio-dynamic wine makers are a bit more whacky and embrace the more "spiritual" end of bio-dynamism, like Lalou Bize-Leroy "administering homeopathic doses of natural products according to the phases of the moon and sun" and "working the soil by old-fashioned methods such as ploughing and tilling to restore health, life and natural rhythms to the soil" To listen to the ousted "queen" of Burgundy talk about picking her grapes based on star signs it would be hard to take her seriously but her wines quality is hard to argue with. While these wines are almost always more expensive, they do represent a level of natural wine growing with a focus on sustainable agriculture and respect for the product and a certified organic claim on a wine bottle doesn't. Besides, if you waste as many hours reading Michael Pollan I as I do, you're bound to be inclined towards this sort of thing.
Bio-dynamic wine making is all the rage right now, particularly among small vineyard high quality wine producers. Bio-dynamic wine making really just the principals of bio-dynamic agriculture (ala Rudolf Steiner), its just applied to grape growing vineyards instead of some other farm crop. To over-simplify a bit, the basic idea is to treat the vineyard as a organism, which should be well rounded, self-sustaining, and of course all organic (to be distinguished from USDA Certified Organic, which is a neutered and often self-defeating standard). What do I think of bio-dynamic farming? Is it as some claim a load of hippy rubbish? I don't think so. If you ask me it makes total sense if you, like I, believe wine should be an expression of terroir (the time and specific place in which the wine is grown). It should also be noted that this applies to vineyard management more than wine making, thought its probably a fair guess that if you have a bio-dynamic vineyard you'll have a more non-interventionist wine maker.
Granted some bio-dynamic wine makers are a bit more whacky and embrace the more "spiritual" end of bio-dynamism, like Lalou Bize-Leroy "administering homeopathic doses of natural products according to the phases of the moon and sun" and "working the soil by old-fashioned methods such as ploughing and tilling to restore health, life and natural rhythms to the soil" To listen to the ousted "queen" of Burgundy talk about picking her grapes based on star signs it would be hard to take her seriously but her wines quality is hard to argue with. While these wines are almost always more expensive, they do represent a level of natural wine growing with a focus on sustainable agriculture and respect for the product and a certified organic claim on a wine bottle doesn't. Besides, if you waste as many hours reading Michael Pollan I as I do, you're bound to be inclined towards this sort of thing.
Stemware
Does it matter? Really? A glass is just a glass, right? I'm here to tell you it does matter. The market being what it is there are now countless options in stem/glass-ware to pick from. So how does one pick, and whats the difference? Its really the shape more than anything that will either best trap the wines aromas at the tip of the glass where you can smell them best to let them fly away.. I do not subscribe to Riedel's theory that you need a different shaped glass for every type of wine, its just a silly. What you need is a glass (yes, made of glass, or crystal, not plastic or metal) with a stem (holding the glass by the stem keeps the wine from getting warm while holding it) that gets significantly narrower around the rim. My personal choice are:
I prefer white wine (smaller sized) glasses for all wine except the seriously overripe (15% alcohol and above), just avoid glasses with thick glass and bulges around the rim, stemless glasses, those new silly cylindrical "edge" glasses, overly expensive glasses, glasses with frilly designs, and of course any wine glass that gets wide around the rim.
There are of course exceptions. Champagne glasses follow the same rules but should be very narrow, and a all black glass is a good investment for very serious wine tasters who do blind wine tastings. Expect to spend about $10-$15 each, any more would be ridiculous.
Vindication
As a small side note, not that long ago I wrote about liking fuller bodied red wines with dessert. In the latest issue of Wine Spectator theres an article about a super fancy dessert bar that focuses on pairing dry table wines with dessert, most notably Zin. Score a point for me!
Embrace the Pink
I love rose, rosado, pink and "gris" wines, and you should to. While they are rarely profound, they're almost always relatively inexpensive (exclude Champagne, Bandol. 1er Cru Tavel, and a handful of Cotes de Provence, etc...), come in styles from bone dry (my prefernce) to sickeningly sweet, and pair really well with a wide variety of dishes.
Rose is traditionally made by taking red grapes and leaving the juice with the skins for a short period of time giving the a delightful pink hue and and different flavor profile but not extracting the tannins. While in this country the reputation of rose or "blush" wines has be thuroughly sullied by Arbor Mist and Beringer (both of whom add water, high fructose corn syrup and potassium sorbate -a preservative- to their wines), roses in Europe are often well respected and even highly priced, particularly in Champagne and the south of France.
South Africa, A Mission
I firmly believe that good quality wine can be and is being made in virtually every major wine growing region in the world, from France, to California, to Chile, to Australia. Of course some newer, or more newly popular wine regions excite me more than others (Portugal, New Zealand, Brazil, Eastern Europe and North Africa), but they all I'm sure have the potential to make really great wine. And then there is South Africa.
Its not that I don't think they can make good wine, I'm a man of great faith, it's that I really, really, really haven't seen it. Forget that I've never had anything from South Africa that really excited me, I've never had anything from South Africa that I could stomach. I know its out there, and I've tried, believe me, but even their much applauded Chenin Blancs have left me consistently underwhelmed.
Maybe its me, hell, I'm the guy who didn't like Chicago when I saw it on Broadway. I didn't care for Nirvana or Led Zeppelin, tomato sauce, sports, or beer. My whole life I've marched to the beat of a different drummer, and maybe I just won't like South African wine no matter how loud James Molesworth screams. But then again, when I listen to NIrvana now it does give me a warm if not totally plesent reminder of my youth. I've learned to occasionally that innocuous red slop at least when I make it, I'm a dedicated World Cup Soccer fan these days (GO PORTUGAL!), and I've been even known to (very slowly) drink a beer. So maybe theres hope yet. So I'm going to put on my game face and go for it. Mission: to find a South African wine I like. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Does it matter? Really? A glass is just a glass, right? I'm here to tell you it does matter. The market being what it is there are now countless options in stem/glass-ware to pick from. So how does one pick, and whats the difference? Its really the shape more than anything that will either best trap the wines aromas at the tip of the glass where you can smell them best to let them fly away.. I do not subscribe to Riedel's theory that you need a different shaped glass for every type of wine, its just a silly. What you need is a glass (yes, made of glass, or crystal, not plastic or metal) with a stem (holding the glass by the stem keeps the wine from getting warm while holding it) that gets significantly narrower around the rim. My personal choice are:
I prefer white wine (smaller sized) glasses for all wine except the seriously overripe (15% alcohol and above), just avoid glasses with thick glass and bulges around the rim, stemless glasses, those new silly cylindrical "edge" glasses, overly expensive glasses, glasses with frilly designs, and of course any wine glass that gets wide around the rim.
There are of course exceptions. Champagne glasses follow the same rules but should be very narrow, and a all black glass is a good investment for very serious wine tasters who do blind wine tastings. Expect to spend about $10-$15 each, any more would be ridiculous.
Vindication
As a small side note, not that long ago I wrote about liking fuller bodied red wines with dessert. In the latest issue of Wine Spectator theres an article about a super fancy dessert bar that focuses on pairing dry table wines with dessert, most notably Zin. Score a point for me!
Embrace the Pink
I love rose, rosado, pink and "gris" wines, and you should to. While they are rarely profound, they're almost always relatively inexpensive (exclude Champagne, Bandol. 1er Cru Tavel, and a handful of Cotes de Provence, etc...), come in styles from bone dry (my prefernce) to sickeningly sweet, and pair really well with a wide variety of dishes.
Rose is traditionally made by taking red grapes and leaving the juice with the skins for a short period of time giving the a delightful pink hue and and different flavor profile but not extracting the tannins. While in this country the reputation of rose or "blush" wines has be thuroughly sullied by Arbor Mist and Beringer (both of whom add water, high fructose corn syrup and potassium sorbate -a preservative- to their wines), roses in Europe are often well respected and even highly priced, particularly in Champagne and the south of France.
South Africa, A Mission
I firmly believe that good quality wine can be and is being made in virtually every major wine growing region in the world, from France, to California, to Chile, to Australia. Of course some newer, or more newly popular wine regions excite me more than others (Portugal, New Zealand, Brazil, Eastern Europe and North Africa), but they all I'm sure have the potential to make really great wine. And then there is South Africa.
Its not that I don't think they can make good wine, I'm a man of great faith, it's that I really, really, really haven't seen it. Forget that I've never had anything from South Africa that really excited me, I've never had anything from South Africa that I could stomach. I know its out there, and I've tried, believe me, but even their much applauded Chenin Blancs have left me consistently underwhelmed.
Maybe its me, hell, I'm the guy who didn't like Chicago when I saw it on Broadway. I didn't care for Nirvana or Led Zeppelin, tomato sauce, sports, or beer. My whole life I've marched to the beat of a different drummer, and maybe I just won't like South African wine no matter how loud James Molesworth screams. But then again, when I listen to NIrvana now it does give me a warm if not totally plesent reminder of my youth. I've learned to occasionally that innocuous red slop at least when I make it, I'm a dedicated World Cup Soccer fan these days (GO PORTUGAL!), and I've been even known to (very slowly) drink a beer. So maybe theres hope yet. So I'm going to put on my game face and go for it. Mission: to find a South African wine I like. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Viands
Old Wines vs Young Wines
There is a myth in the wine world that wines taste better the older they are. The truth is that wines taste best when they are at their peak which is a combination of chemistry and taste and frankly most wines we drink today these days are at their peak upon bottling, particularly new world wines and most white wines. Some wines if they have the right combination of acid or tannin to preserve it for years will micro-oxidize, break down the acids while (hopefully) developing secondary flavors, changing in color and becoming more nuanced. Most of the wines we drink on a daily basis would simply lose their freshness, flavor and die a bit more as each year goes by. What's more most truly age worthy wines won't be drinkable in their youth at all. Thats the bit of chemistry. Then there is the taste component. I love (properly) aged wines, but some people like the more brash and fruit forward taste of younger wines and frankly more power to them. Be your own judge.
Developing Your Palate and Identifying Flavors
I was at a wine tasting not to long ago with a number of people downing Sauvignon Blancs from around the globe. I prefer to do tastings in silence, sniff the wines and record my notes, then when I'm done, compare notes with my fellow tasters, because as soon some one declares a flavor they taste your brain through the power of suggestion cannot avoid thinking of that smell. At this particular tasting which was raucous enough already there was one particular taster who would loudly rattle off a dozen or so flavors after taking a momentary sniff of the wine. It was clear to me that he was just picking words at random to sound profound rather than actually taking the time to smell the wine. While he was clearly a nuisance he was flat out the less experienced tasters in the group. I could see them struggling to find lavender honey or cassis in their glasses and out of shame uncomfortably agreeing with him so not to appear foolish. It was sad and more to the point it is this kind of behavior that intimidates new wine drinkers and turns them off to the passion. Not to worry, as long as you are being honest with yourself nobody will ever doubt what you detect, or don't in a wine or judge you for it. Besides, unless you've been working at it for a long time (a dedicated hobbiest or a professional), the odds are that you won't get more than primary flavors out of wine (cherries or ripe fruit say instead of slightly under-ripe black cherries and mint). Its not really that important to enjoying wine anyway. You can however train your palate pretty easily. There are a few basic steps that will help a lot:
Try, and re-try tasting things to familiarize your palate: nobody is asking you to taste dirt (nobody but Gary Vaynerchuk anyway), smell it though. Next time you're standing outside take the time to specifically smell things (flowers, the dirt, the smell of the air) and take note to what they smell like. The grocery store is great too. Smell fruits, veggies, herbs and spices just to get the hang of them.
Try to identify the over-riding flavor or smell of the wine rather than getting specific: Is the wine fruity? citric? earthy? mushroom? raisiny? etc..., then work from there. If it smells like citrus, think of different citrus fruits and see if any of them fit. Lemons? limes? oranges? see how specific you can get, with time it'll become easier. And don't ever be afraid to say "it smells like red wine".
Don't be afraid to describe wine in relationship to personal memories or mental images instead of fruit or using "wine lingo": As many a deodorant commercial has reminded us, smell is the sense most closely related to memory. So a wine may not smell like cherries, but i does smell like your grandmothers living room. I find also that people will describe the same thing in the context they are most familiar. Gary Vaynerchuk of wine library TV for example has made of semi-celebrity career describing wines in pedestrian terms, as a man who loves wine but eats more Nathan's hot dogs than fois gras (unlike say the writers at Wine Advocate) and thus has more understandable associations with those smells for the average wine drinker.
Try a wide variety of wines and wine styles: I can't stress this enough. If you like Chardonnay for example, try some from France, some from Australia and some from California. It will help you develop an understanding and vocabulary that will give you a better idea of what you like about the wine, is it the grapes flavor profile or the style.
Take your time with wine: Even if I'm just having a simple $8 bottle with dinner, I'll take the time to smell it before the meal and jot down some notes, I'll have it with the food see how that changes it can come back to it an hour later to see how its opened up. Taking the time to really smell the wine, analyze it, makes the whole experience more pleasurable.
Trust your palate: Just because some jerk in the room says the wine smells like ripe persimmon and freshly cut grass and what you smell is mangos and peaches doesn't meat he's right and your wrong.
Continuing Education Challenge:
Next time you buy a random bottle of wine at the wine store, go home and take 10 minutes to find out something about it. Figure out the region, look it up and see if it can give you some context. You'll enjoy a bottle of Aussie Shiraz a lot more I think if you find out its from Barossa, which is known for its peppery and chocolaty Shiraz, that the grape Shiraz is called Syrah in the old world and got its name from the City Shiraz or the Port of Syracuse respectively, and that its often mixed with the Grenache grape in France (called Garnacha in Spain) and Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia. You might even find out that this last harvest in Australia was so hot in Australia (15 days about 95 degrees, often over 110 degrees) that almost the whole vintage might be a bust. Just saying...
There is a myth in the wine world that wines taste better the older they are. The truth is that wines taste best when they are at their peak which is a combination of chemistry and taste and frankly most wines we drink today these days are at their peak upon bottling, particularly new world wines and most white wines. Some wines if they have the right combination of acid or tannin to preserve it for years will micro-oxidize, break down the acids while (hopefully) developing secondary flavors, changing in color and becoming more nuanced. Most of the wines we drink on a daily basis would simply lose their freshness, flavor and die a bit more as each year goes by. What's more most truly age worthy wines won't be drinkable in their youth at all. Thats the bit of chemistry. Then there is the taste component. I love (properly) aged wines, but some people like the more brash and fruit forward taste of younger wines and frankly more power to them. Be your own judge.
Developing Your Palate and Identifying Flavors
I was at a wine tasting not to long ago with a number of people downing Sauvignon Blancs from around the globe. I prefer to do tastings in silence, sniff the wines and record my notes, then when I'm done, compare notes with my fellow tasters, because as soon some one declares a flavor they taste your brain through the power of suggestion cannot avoid thinking of that smell. At this particular tasting which was raucous enough already there was one particular taster who would loudly rattle off a dozen or so flavors after taking a momentary sniff of the wine. It was clear to me that he was just picking words at random to sound profound rather than actually taking the time to smell the wine. While he was clearly a nuisance he was flat out the less experienced tasters in the group. I could see them struggling to find lavender honey or cassis in their glasses and out of shame uncomfortably agreeing with him so not to appear foolish. It was sad and more to the point it is this kind of behavior that intimidates new wine drinkers and turns them off to the passion. Not to worry, as long as you are being honest with yourself nobody will ever doubt what you detect, or don't in a wine or judge you for it. Besides, unless you've been working at it for a long time (a dedicated hobbiest or a professional), the odds are that you won't get more than primary flavors out of wine (cherries or ripe fruit say instead of slightly under-ripe black cherries and mint). Its not really that important to enjoying wine anyway. You can however train your palate pretty easily. There are a few basic steps that will help a lot:
Try, and re-try tasting things to familiarize your palate: nobody is asking you to taste dirt (nobody but Gary Vaynerchuk anyway), smell it though. Next time you're standing outside take the time to specifically smell things (flowers, the dirt, the smell of the air) and take note to what they smell like. The grocery store is great too. Smell fruits, veggies, herbs and spices just to get the hang of them.
Try to identify the over-riding flavor or smell of the wine rather than getting specific: Is the wine fruity? citric? earthy? mushroom? raisiny? etc..., then work from there. If it smells like citrus, think of different citrus fruits and see if any of them fit. Lemons? limes? oranges? see how specific you can get, with time it'll become easier. And don't ever be afraid to say "it smells like red wine".
Don't be afraid to describe wine in relationship to personal memories or mental images instead of fruit or using "wine lingo": As many a deodorant commercial has reminded us, smell is the sense most closely related to memory. So a wine may not smell like cherries, but i does smell like your grandmothers living room. I find also that people will describe the same thing in the context they are most familiar. Gary Vaynerchuk of wine library TV for example has made of semi-celebrity career describing wines in pedestrian terms, as a man who loves wine but eats more Nathan's hot dogs than fois gras (unlike say the writers at Wine Advocate) and thus has more understandable associations with those smells for the average wine drinker.
Try a wide variety of wines and wine styles: I can't stress this enough. If you like Chardonnay for example, try some from France, some from Australia and some from California. It will help you develop an understanding and vocabulary that will give you a better idea of what you like about the wine, is it the grapes flavor profile or the style.
Take your time with wine: Even if I'm just having a simple $8 bottle with dinner, I'll take the time to smell it before the meal and jot down some notes, I'll have it with the food see how that changes it can come back to it an hour later to see how its opened up. Taking the time to really smell the wine, analyze it, makes the whole experience more pleasurable.
Trust your palate: Just because some jerk in the room says the wine smells like ripe persimmon and freshly cut grass and what you smell is mangos and peaches doesn't meat he's right and your wrong.
Continuing Education Challenge:
Next time you buy a random bottle of wine at the wine store, go home and take 10 minutes to find out something about it. Figure out the region, look it up and see if it can give you some context. You'll enjoy a bottle of Aussie Shiraz a lot more I think if you find out its from Barossa, which is known for its peppery and chocolaty Shiraz, that the grape Shiraz is called Syrah in the old world and got its name from the City Shiraz or the Port of Syracuse respectively, and that its often mixed with the Grenache grape in France (called Garnacha in Spain) and Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia. You might even find out that this last harvest in Australia was so hot in Australia (15 days about 95 degrees, often over 110 degrees) that almost the whole vintage might be a bust. Just saying...
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Thoughts
Mollydooker
On a continuing theme of Parker bashing I thought I would talk a bit about Australia. I was once an anti-Australia wine geek, but I have slowly but surely been convinced that with the right dedication, Australia has some really excellent terroir, especially for producing the Rhone varietals, I've even seen some Riesling worth drinking. But this appreciation required overcoming some pretty deep rooted prejudice and coming to terms with the idea that Mollydooker just tastes bad to me. For those of you who have never heard of Mollydooker, it is a huge, fruit bomb, massively alcoholic Australian wine brand that has grabbed up enormous ratings from big name wine critics. The problem is, for me, is that the wine is like being stuck in a Yankee Candle Company store next to the town drunk. Mollydooker represents everything I don't like in New World Wine:High alcohol, fake and overripe fruit flavors, and a complete lack of nuance. While Australia rarely offers up truly old world wine due to its climate and geography, it does make some delicious terroir driven wines which gives off beautiful fruit. I'd recommend something d’Arenberg, Rolf Binder, and Two Hands.
Pairing
Food and wine pairing is a tricky point for me. I more than agree that wine improves food, but very rarely do I find food improving wine. Sauternes and blue cheese is a dead on winner for me, Sancerre and Chevre, Scallops and Marlborough, Lobster and Bollinger are all beautiful. And they all make sense. Make sure the body of the wine matches the weight of the food, the acidity is matched with fattiness or more acid, sweet and salty, etc... but the rule that will never make sense to me is "make sure your sweet wine is sweeter than your dessert". To me sweet wine and dessert is a recipe for diabetes, not delight. While the old guard of the wine world will probably write me off for this, with a rich, sweet dessert I'll skip the eiswein, give me a powerhouse red. Tempranillo, Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon and and Petit Syrah are the name of the game. Seriously. So, question of the day, do you have a weird pairing that you just love?
Sauvignon Blanc
My wine idol, Jancis Robinson, has been cited on more than one occasion that there is hardly anything to like in Sauvignon Blanc. After Riesling (Jancis' favorite white grape), Sauvignon Blanc is my favorite white varietal. To me the subtle, grassy, citric aromas are as haunting and captivating as any in the wine world. Sauvignon Blanc is also a great wine for starting wine drinkers because the aromas are so distinct and consistent. The old world (produced in Sancerre and Pouilly Fume in the Loire, and mixed with Semillon in Bordeaux) have a very distinct grassy and stony aroma, light body and a bracing but beautiful acidity. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which is a great value that gets more expensive every year is the most distincitive wine always showing grapefruit/gooseberry flavors, and often the smell of cat pee. Buying a bottle of each and trying them back to back is a great way to train your palate. Just avoid California sauvignon blanc, often called Fume Blanc. It isn't that they don't make good Sauvignon Blanc but all to often they oak it or let it over ripen which steals the brilliant acidity and gives the wine a mucky flavor.
German Riesling
Why people don't buy more German Riesling is a mystery to me. It's super food friendly, cheap for its relative quality, and of course delicious. That's not true, I do understand why people don't buy more of it. Each German wine bottle has what seems to be a paragraph of seemingly random 14 letter long German words. So in desperation either the inexperienced drinker does one of two logical things: buy an American Chardonnay, or go for the bottle that just says Riesling and has a cute picture. Don't, those cute simple looking bottles are almost always bad. German wine is really not as difficult as it sounds. In fact, I think that the sheer Amount of information they provide makes buying German wine much more a sure bet than anything else on the shelf. Here's the 5 minute guide
First:
Dr. Loosen: This is the name of the producer, there are a few major names you will probably want to get yourself aquainted with, and Ernest Loosen is one of them, Donnhoff and St Urbans Hof are another couple.
2005: Vintage, unlike France, don't worry about it. There hasn't been a bad vintage in German in the last 5 years
Wehlener Sonnenuhr: There will always be two random looking words on the label, don't worry about what they are, just make sure they're there. The first word is the town, in this case Wehlen, and the Vineyard Sonnenuhr (in this case a super steep blue slate vineyard producing some world class wine). If they don't tell you the town and the vineyard, they're getting grapes from just anywhere, so don't trust it.
Riesling: The grape, you know this one
Kabinett: This is the ripeness level of the grapes when they were picked. The more ripe they are, the more sugar, and thus the sweeter. Kabinett is on the bottom, being just off dry and is my favorite and very food friendly. The higher levels from least to most ripe are Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. At most budgets, you won' be drinking higher than Spatlese.
Qualitatswein Mit Pradikat (QmP): Quality Wine with Distinction. Make sure your wine says this. If it doesn't it will just say Qualitatswein or QbA. This is lower quality wine and to be avoided.
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: This is Germany's most famous growing region. Other regions include Rhinegau, Pfalz, and Nahe. As a general rule, avoid wines that from the Rhinehessen.
That's all there is to it. Just make sure the wine is QmP rated, try Kabinett's with food and the higher ripeness levels on there own or with dessert. Oh, and if you see the work Trocken, than means all the wines sugar was fermented into alcohol.
On a continuing theme of Parker bashing I thought I would talk a bit about Australia. I was once an anti-Australia wine geek, but I have slowly but surely been convinced that with the right dedication, Australia has some really excellent terroir, especially for producing the Rhone varietals, I've even seen some Riesling worth drinking. But this appreciation required overcoming some pretty deep rooted prejudice and coming to terms with the idea that Mollydooker just tastes bad to me. For those of you who have never heard of Mollydooker, it is a huge, fruit bomb, massively alcoholic Australian wine brand that has grabbed up enormous ratings from big name wine critics. The problem is, for me, is that the wine is like being stuck in a Yankee Candle Company store next to the town drunk. Mollydooker represents everything I don't like in New World Wine:High alcohol, fake and overripe fruit flavors, and a complete lack of nuance. While Australia rarely offers up truly old world wine due to its climate and geography, it does make some delicious terroir driven wines which gives off beautiful fruit. I'd recommend something d’Arenberg, Rolf Binder, and Two Hands.
Pairing
Food and wine pairing is a tricky point for me. I more than agree that wine improves food, but very rarely do I find food improving wine. Sauternes and blue cheese is a dead on winner for me, Sancerre and Chevre, Scallops and Marlborough, Lobster and Bollinger are all beautiful. And they all make sense. Make sure the body of the wine matches the weight of the food, the acidity is matched with fattiness or more acid, sweet and salty, etc... but the rule that will never make sense to me is "make sure your sweet wine is sweeter than your dessert". To me sweet wine and dessert is a recipe for diabetes, not delight. While the old guard of the wine world will probably write me off for this, with a rich, sweet dessert I'll skip the eiswein, give me a powerhouse red. Tempranillo, Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon and and Petit Syrah are the name of the game. Seriously. So, question of the day, do you have a weird pairing that you just love?
Sauvignon Blanc
My wine idol, Jancis Robinson, has been cited on more than one occasion that there is hardly anything to like in Sauvignon Blanc. After Riesling (Jancis' favorite white grape), Sauvignon Blanc is my favorite white varietal. To me the subtle, grassy, citric aromas are as haunting and captivating as any in the wine world. Sauvignon Blanc is also a great wine for starting wine drinkers because the aromas are so distinct and consistent. The old world (produced in Sancerre and Pouilly Fume in the Loire, and mixed with Semillon in Bordeaux) have a very distinct grassy and stony aroma, light body and a bracing but beautiful acidity. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which is a great value that gets more expensive every year is the most distincitive wine always showing grapefruit/gooseberry flavors, and often the smell of cat pee. Buying a bottle of each and trying them back to back is a great way to train your palate. Just avoid California sauvignon blanc, often called Fume Blanc. It isn't that they don't make good Sauvignon Blanc but all to often they oak it or let it over ripen which steals the brilliant acidity and gives the wine a mucky flavor.
German Riesling
Why people don't buy more German Riesling is a mystery to me. It's super food friendly, cheap for its relative quality, and of course delicious. That's not true, I do understand why people don't buy more of it. Each German wine bottle has what seems to be a paragraph of seemingly random 14 letter long German words. So in desperation either the inexperienced drinker does one of two logical things: buy an American Chardonnay, or go for the bottle that just says Riesling and has a cute picture. Don't, those cute simple looking bottles are almost always bad. German wine is really not as difficult as it sounds. In fact, I think that the sheer Amount of information they provide makes buying German wine much more a sure bet than anything else on the shelf. Here's the 5 minute guide
First:
Dr. Loosen: This is the name of the producer, there are a few major names you will probably want to get yourself aquainted with, and Ernest Loosen is one of them, Donnhoff and St Urbans Hof are another couple.
2005: Vintage, unlike France, don't worry about it. There hasn't been a bad vintage in German in the last 5 years
Wehlener Sonnenuhr: There will always be two random looking words on the label, don't worry about what they are, just make sure they're there. The first word is the town, in this case Wehlen, and the Vineyard Sonnenuhr (in this case a super steep blue slate vineyard producing some world class wine). If they don't tell you the town and the vineyard, they're getting grapes from just anywhere, so don't trust it.
Riesling: The grape, you know this one
Kabinett: This is the ripeness level of the grapes when they were picked. The more ripe they are, the more sugar, and thus the sweeter. Kabinett is on the bottom, being just off dry and is my favorite and very food friendly. The higher levels from least to most ripe are Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. At most budgets, you won' be drinking higher than Spatlese.
Qualitatswein Mit Pradikat (QmP): Quality Wine with Distinction. Make sure your wine says this. If it doesn't it will just say Qualitatswein or QbA. This is lower quality wine and to be avoided.
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: This is Germany's most famous growing region. Other regions include Rhinegau, Pfalz, and Nahe. As a general rule, avoid wines that from the Rhinehessen.
That's all there is to it. Just make sure the wine is QmP rated, try Kabinett's with food and the higher ripeness levels on there own or with dessert. Oh, and if you see the work Trocken, than means all the wines sugar was fermented into alcohol.
Wine Trends
Pinot Noir, Merlot and the Sidways Effect
American's used to be obsessed with easy drinking Merlot, then came Sideways and all of a sudden Pinot Noir was king and an elite and finiky grape was suddenly an industrial product. I've listened to and literally dozens of wine bloggers and professionals complaining about this phenomenon. I thought I'd chime in on this one. I have often maligned Merlot and extolled the virtues of Pinot, but I think that being more specific is in order. Merlot is one of the great grapes, it produces some of the worlds best wines, especially in its home on the right bank of Bordeaux. What Miles didn't like about Merlot wasn't the grape, but that Merlot with its soft tannins and bright fruity flavors is very user friendly and was the tool of an entire generation of industrial wine producers making economy plunk. Frankly, more often than not you won't call quality Merlot by its varietal name, but by its appellation name (like St. Emilion). Now, the new to wine public has be taught that asking for Merlot is a mark of philistinism and that Pinot was a "quality" grape. Now, soft tannin and easy drinking Pinot is being produced in industrial quantities and in this form is no closer Miles' beloved Pinots than the industrial bulk Merlot he disliked was from his prized '61 Cheval Blanc, a Merlot from St. Emilion.
Screw Caps, Plastic Stoppers and Corks
I was listening to a series of episodes of graperadio (a great show if you don't already listen), in which they were discussing the merits and concerns of alternatives to traditional cork. The issue is of course that TCA, a chemical taint found in cork which utterly destroys wine and by some estimates occurs in up to 1 in 12 bottles. I myself have encountered 5 bottles ruined by cork taint in the last few months. Wine makers are using a variety of cork alternatives the most common of which are screw-caps, plastic corks and glass stoppers.
Lets start with an unmitigated endorsement: when it comes to white wines and wines meant to be drunk within 5 years screw-caps are fantastic. While I doubt that wines will age as well with screw-caps (as they don't allow for micro-oxidation), But for 99% of the wine we drink, I'm all for it. That being said, I'm very opposed to plastic "corks" and I just don't understand the glass blockers.
Emerging Wine Regions
As I'm sure I've made clear, I am an outspoken proponent of terroir driven old world wines over offerings from newer wine regions. It should be no suprise then that the "new" wine regions that excite me aren't actually "new", just newly improved or just newly available. On top of my list is Portugal, a country who produces the very best values in wine today (Look for Douro, Dao, Vinho Verde and Alentejo). I am also excited about the increasingly available wines of southern France (Languedoc-Roussillon, Minervois, Fitou, Bandol, to name a few appellations), Austria (Wachau Riesling and Gruner Veltliner. Also, some of the satellite appellations of Bordeaux are bringing some serious value over the last few vintages, but they are diamonds in the rough and usually take some research to find. To be fair to the new world, I've been very impressed with some more serious wines from Australia and some deadly brilliant wines from Washington and Oregon.
Ratings, Tasting Notes and Reviews
With wine being a total mystery to many, and bottles representing a sizeable investment, it is no wonder that we cling so tightly to the scores of a handful of critics. The problem is, that they don't necessarily like what we like and their ratings hold such sway that they literally have market impact which influences the way wine is made. Still, people are so eager to nab cheap wines with 90+ scores that even old-school writers like Steven Tanzer have been forced into using the 100 scale. I've learned the hard way that I don't always agree with the critics, particularly Robert Parker who I find totally undependable for my personal tastes. Tasting notes are much more useful, though they only represent a wine at one moment of time and can change totally when decanted or left overnight. From my South of France tasting, the Fitou completely transformed over the course of several hours from reeking of strong manure and smoke to smelling like stewed tomatoes and plums. So, in conclusion, read the critics because they know a lot, but trust your own palete, and don't be afraid to like wine they don't, or not like wine they do. If you like it, its good.
California Chardonnay
It's official, thin is in. Fading away are flabby, buttery and oak laden (malolactic fermentation, oak chips and over-ripe fruit) California Chardonnays and coming in are a new vanguard of acid backed, mineral-driven yet distinctively ripe fruity wine. It may be time to start considering California Chardonnay, but I'm not willing to pay Napa's prices.
My wine smells like dirt
With more and more people drinking wine all the time (wine has replaced beer as America's favorite beverage), new wine drinkers preferences hold a larger sway over the style of wine produced. That means that wine makers are trying their hardest to make wine that tastes more like fruit and less like dirt. The problem is, I like dirt. I like the smells of asparagus, iron, tobacco, manure, stinky cheese, herbs, green peppers and yes good old fashioned soil. These earth and mineral flavors, found in perfect balance are what makes great wine. I firmly believe that starving vines grown precariously on the edge of disaster where the lows are dismal and but the highs are unimaginably brilliant. So please, embrace subtly, let your wine take you somewhere you weren't expecting, and that is of course, where it comes from.
American's used to be obsessed with easy drinking Merlot, then came Sideways and all of a sudden Pinot Noir was king and an elite and finiky grape was suddenly an industrial product. I've listened to and literally dozens of wine bloggers and professionals complaining about this phenomenon. I thought I'd chime in on this one. I have often maligned Merlot and extolled the virtues of Pinot, but I think that being more specific is in order. Merlot is one of the great grapes, it produces some of the worlds best wines, especially in its home on the right bank of Bordeaux. What Miles didn't like about Merlot wasn't the grape, but that Merlot with its soft tannins and bright fruity flavors is very user friendly and was the tool of an entire generation of industrial wine producers making economy plunk. Frankly, more often than not you won't call quality Merlot by its varietal name, but by its appellation name (like St. Emilion). Now, the new to wine public has be taught that asking for Merlot is a mark of philistinism and that Pinot was a "quality" grape. Now, soft tannin and easy drinking Pinot is being produced in industrial quantities and in this form is no closer Miles' beloved Pinots than the industrial bulk Merlot he disliked was from his prized '61 Cheval Blanc, a Merlot from St. Emilion.
Screw Caps, Plastic Stoppers and Corks
I was listening to a series of episodes of graperadio (a great show if you don't already listen), in which they were discussing the merits and concerns of alternatives to traditional cork. The issue is of course that TCA, a chemical taint found in cork which utterly destroys wine and by some estimates occurs in up to 1 in 12 bottles. I myself have encountered 5 bottles ruined by cork taint in the last few months. Wine makers are using a variety of cork alternatives the most common of which are screw-caps, plastic corks and glass stoppers.
Lets start with an unmitigated endorsement: when it comes to white wines and wines meant to be drunk within 5 years screw-caps are fantastic. While I doubt that wines will age as well with screw-caps (as they don't allow for micro-oxidation), But for 99% of the wine we drink, I'm all for it. That being said, I'm very opposed to plastic "corks" and I just don't understand the glass blockers.
Emerging Wine Regions
As I'm sure I've made clear, I am an outspoken proponent of terroir driven old world wines over offerings from newer wine regions. It should be no suprise then that the "new" wine regions that excite me aren't actually "new", just newly improved or just newly available. On top of my list is Portugal, a country who produces the very best values in wine today (Look for Douro, Dao, Vinho Verde and Alentejo). I am also excited about the increasingly available wines of southern France (Languedoc-Roussillon, Minervois, Fitou, Bandol, to name a few appellations), Austria (Wachau Riesling and Gruner Veltliner. Also, some of the satellite appellations of Bordeaux are bringing some serious value over the last few vintages, but they are diamonds in the rough and usually take some research to find. To be fair to the new world, I've been very impressed with some more serious wines from Australia and some deadly brilliant wines from Washington and Oregon.
Ratings, Tasting Notes and Reviews
With wine being a total mystery to many, and bottles representing a sizeable investment, it is no wonder that we cling so tightly to the scores of a handful of critics. The problem is, that they don't necessarily like what we like and their ratings hold such sway that they literally have market impact which influences the way wine is made. Still, people are so eager to nab cheap wines with 90+ scores that even old-school writers like Steven Tanzer have been forced into using the 100 scale. I've learned the hard way that I don't always agree with the critics, particularly Robert Parker who I find totally undependable for my personal tastes. Tasting notes are much more useful, though they only represent a wine at one moment of time and can change totally when decanted or left overnight. From my South of France tasting, the Fitou completely transformed over the course of several hours from reeking of strong manure and smoke to smelling like stewed tomatoes and plums. So, in conclusion, read the critics because they know a lot, but trust your own palete, and don't be afraid to like wine they don't, or not like wine they do. If you like it, its good.
California Chardonnay
It's official, thin is in. Fading away are flabby, buttery and oak laden (malolactic fermentation, oak chips and over-ripe fruit) California Chardonnays and coming in are a new vanguard of acid backed, mineral-driven yet distinctively ripe fruity wine. It may be time to start considering California Chardonnay, but I'm not willing to pay Napa's prices.
My wine smells like dirt
With more and more people drinking wine all the time (wine has replaced beer as America's favorite beverage), new wine drinkers preferences hold a larger sway over the style of wine produced. That means that wine makers are trying their hardest to make wine that tastes more like fruit and less like dirt. The problem is, I like dirt. I like the smells of asparagus, iron, tobacco, manure, stinky cheese, herbs, green peppers and yes good old fashioned soil. These earth and mineral flavors, found in perfect balance are what makes great wine. I firmly believe that starving vines grown precariously on the edge of disaster where the lows are dismal and but the highs are unimaginably brilliant. So please, embrace subtly, let your wine take you somewhere you weren't expecting, and that is of course, where it comes from.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
