BRAMBLES: Retrospective Reminders

An annual rebirth in Spring!

It is Spring and a surprise was in the bottle.  Surrounded by long-valued good friends, we carefully untombed an old, dusty bottle of Beringer 1973 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Centennial Cask Selection.  Its stiff leaded foil exposed a grey mold ring and a slight seepage to the top of the intact cork; its bottle fill had fallen just to the top of its shoulders.  Carefully the aged stopper was extracted, piece by piece, and the contents gingerly poured through a fine wire mesh on its way to our decanter.  How often do we get to experience a 40 year old wine, I thought?  As much of the grand moment as it was, it was certainly an even better one to share with cherished friends.

Good soldiers of a Good Weekend

Each of us approached the poured glass with varied anticipation. I was guarded, yet excited about what may have been released. Aromas of dried dark fruits with a shadow of freshness met my nose, and then a cascade of dehydrated red and black fruit memories followed; one impression falling into another and another.  The tastes lingered and disappeared, only to be replaced by something else I thought that I recognized.  And in a moment it was gone, giving in to cellar notes, wet earth, tobacco, cedar and tea, and an escape of wispy vanilla. It remained shadowed on the tongue, escaped through the nostrils for what seemed like minutes, and my head was spinning.  A unique wine experience and rich memory was being created at that moment, and it lingered, and then escaped.

Zinfandel in bud

Sublime. That's the word for it. Or perhaps inspiring.  A descriptor like 'impressive' seems too weak, like a washed out, faded watercolor landscape.  But it was a special moment creating a special living memory.  And, once again I was reminded of the value of life-long friendships, the nutrition of rich companionship,  and the living joy of a mature wine.  It does not happen every day.  Outside here in wine country I see the promise that is yet another vintage almost everywhere I look, where new memories are being nurtured to fulfill their possible destiny of creating something memorable. 

A few sunny days following, we sat on the garden deck with a bottle of chilled Loire chenin blanc over a mixed green salad of poached ginger chicken decorated with fruits and nuts.  Bright, youthful  acidity carried melon and stone fruit notes across the palate in a viscous, round stream, and finished tart, but dry.  The acid from our salad then shrouded the wines body, offering a different personality that was dominated by citrus and mineral characteristics, yet still round and lengthy on the palate. Loire Valley chenin blanc can be among the world's most age-worthy white wines I remembered. And, at that moment I was reminded that we create rich, important memories all the time.  Some last a lifetime.

Once again disappointing results of my recent exam with the Society of Wine Educators were announced, and I had an extended self-deprecating moment, that moral malaise of attempting to assess the value in what I am attempting to do.  Candidly, it has been years of wine study, working low paying hospitality jobs, and receiving the unconditional support of those closest to me, all fueled by my passion for making wine memories. Stepping back, it was necessary to examine what I do and what the eventual professional pay off might be for an independent educator.

In truth, I teach about wine almost everyday, and my wine passion has not diminished.  In this Spring, surrounded by the promise of a renewed cycle, there is a great opportunity for a new commitment.  Here was another chance to invest in the creation of new memories that can be recounted and shared in the not too distant future. It is a chance to produce something impressive, but I may just have to be more creative and renew my dedication, I reasoned.  Perhaps the Spring is the season of reminders as well as promise!

Raise a glass to our futures!  Cheers!!

BRAMBLES; My New Faults

Graphically illustrated, a recent chart displayed in Wine Enthusiast magazine, showed a steady decline over the last decade of global wine production. Think about it; nothing is getting cheaper, availability of wine imports seems to grow every year in this marketplace, and the quality standards adopted by wine producing countries, as well as consumers, continues to improve. With a short supply, the handwriting's on the wall: your favorite new wine should only be getting more expensive, including even the generic, lower tiered wines in the foreseeable future.
However, U.S. wine exports continue their growth for now the third year in a row.  That's new market growth, even as consumption per capita grows here.  Although exported volume was down compared to prior years, wines value grew by over 1.43 million dollars, according to the Drinks Business.  As expected, Asia continues to be the big growth market for domestic vintners, and more than 90% of those wine exports hail from our quality California producers.  Finally, there is someone willing to pay for it!

Recommended by the Society of Wine Educators, The Bubbly Professor, Dr. Jane Nickles, in a September, 2012 post,  has offered some insights into and strategies for success for my upcoming Wine Faults & Imbalances exam.  Prominent among these are to learn to describe what you are looking for in the control as well as the fault samples. I really have not fully done this in the past. She further recommends having several pre-test Faults study sessions, using the Faults kit sold by the Society of Wine Educators.  This part I have prepared for past exams, but it is obvious that I need to do more to be successful in this endeavor. What new strategies, if any, should I adopt?

Taste the control sample and analyze it. What is its hue, how do you describe its 'tears', its color intensity?  What about the aromas and it's taste components? Where exactly on the tongue(top/sides/tip) do you detect its acidity, and for how long? How would you describe the sensation of bitterness that follows?  Once completed, address the faulted samples so that you can find seven(7) imbalances and the glass that is matching the control sample.Using sight, smell and finally, a taste, detect the following:

Alcohol: it's heat driven, a nose tickle, a warmer mouth-feel, adds an oily, viscous sensation
Sugar: pleasant, slippery mouth-feel that contrasts to the control sample(less acidic?).
Acid(tartaric): as in cranberries, cherries, grapefruit or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, having the zing of tartaric acid.
Acescence: Acetic Acid combined with Ethyl Acetate offer vinegary off-aroma and flavors, reminiscent of a sweet-sour tang, like vinegar.
Oxidation: in white wines, a loss of fresh, fruity aromas, becoming flat. A color loss, turning slightly brown, adopting the apple-cider aromas of acetaldehyde.  It may remind us of a fino sherry.
Sulfur Dioxide: a matchstick, burnt rubber, or mothballs aromas, producing a harsh, bitter or even a metallic sensation on the palate.
Tannin: Grape tannin with its usually darker hue as used by the Society, produces a bitterness to the wine.

A gift of Sight;
After a swirl, the faults of sugar, tannin and alcohol should all have thicker, slower 'tears'.  One or two of the samples should have a darker hue due to added grape tannin or the effects of oxidation.  It would help to remember or isolate these visual clues.

Notable Nose:
Does the sample smelling 'less-fruity' offer a slight stinging sensation to the nose. It may be Alcohol. If the aroma in the glass is distinctively 'vinegary' then this should be Acescence. What if the sample in the glass had a noticeablly different aroma reminding you of a fino sherry or apple-cider?  Most likely, this is the result of Oxidation. That mild nasal stinging sensation from another sample having the faint aroma of burnt matchstick is probably the result of the taint of Sulfur Dioxide. Faults of tannin or acid will more than likely not have aromas detectably different than the control sample. But, we have already identified tannin as a darker sample, and it now should be easy to isolate.

Open up & Taste:
Slightly bitter, with a warmth on the palate and a lingering bitterness on the finish would identify Alcohol. With a contrasting mouth-feel, the sample with added Sugar, is richer, smoother and less acidic across the palate. I've usually thought of it as cloying compared to the others, but as yet have had difficulty in consistently identifying it.  Acid, it is said, feels different in the mouth. It should be a sharper feel, with a tingle over the top and sides of the tongue, a feeling of acidity lingering long after the comparative control sample. This finish may be distinctively dry and astringent.  If the sample has a sweet-and-sour tang and its feel of sour acidity hits across the top, not the side of the tongue, it is probably Acescence. Oxidation has a sharp, woodsy 'bitterness' that is felt on the top of the palate and middle of the tongue, while Tannin has a drying effect and astringency.  Sulfur Dioxide should taste harsh, and almost metallic.

Sampling in Bellagio, Italy

On a cloudless last day of February, I addressed the white wine samples bordering a white placemat, along with a dozen other hope-full tasters. As much as I attempted to follow my adopted strategy, recalling the unique characteristics of faults in my head, it was proving to be daunting.  All but one sample offered the same hue, and only one or two really displayed unique aromatics.  These new faults of mine were going to be challenging, but I approached this Wine Educator exam being better prepared than ever before.

Results will be offered by the Society in about six(6) weeks.   Until then, did I mention that according to market analyst John Fredrikson, the U.S. is now the largest wine market in the world!  Hopefully, there must be more opportunity here in this marketplace for someone with a wine recognition of their new faults.

Cheers!

MALLORCA: February Calms

In the middle of a blue sea it appears almost magically, this sparkling jewel. As seen from the air, the imposingly rugged Serra de Tramuntana mountains would seem to present a formidable barrier to the Iberian mainland to the north.  However, circling at 10,000 feet you notice how vulnerable this saddle-shaped island is on its western and eastern shores.  Here there have been prehistoric settlements, the Romans and the Byzantines, the Moors and Berbers, the Counts of Catalonia and the Kings of Aragon, all of which had influence and claim to this land.  Now I've arrived at the largest island in Spain's autonomous Balearic Island archipelago, anxious to taste and explore.

Along the Ma-13A Wine Road

It is the food and of course, the wine which are my beacon in mid-winter Catalonia. This islands beautifully rugged landscape is dotted with lamb, filled with aromas of roast suckling pig (lechona asada), and stewed in the mild flavors of turbot. Mallorca produces most of its wines within its two D.O. regions (Denominacion de Origen) of Consell-Binissalem, a corridor running from Santa Maria del Cami to industrial Inca along the Ma-13a wine road, and in the east of the island among the remote rural villages of the Pla i Llevant DO. Lower tiered wine production falls under the 'Mallorca Regional Wine' designation, most of which is produced in the western foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana's and Costa Nord region. What is produced here tends to be enjoyed here.

This crumbling limestone landscape in February is a sea of white almond tree blossoms, grey-green olive groves sprinkled with orange trees and scored with rock walls and terraces.  In its abundant sunlight we enjoyed the freshest sea foods, rich traditional dishes and bowls of the most delicious olives while in awe of the landscape/seascape that graced our views.  One day it was a glorious picnic lunch at the islands exposed northern tip of Cap de Formentor, followed on another by a pilgrimage to blustery Valldemossa(the island's highest village), where composer Chopin spent a notable monastic winter in 1838. Our quest was rewarded here with savory dishes of rabbit stew and roast lamb, paired with full bodied wines of the local Manto Negro grape.

Hanging on to the edge of the terraced north face along the Tramuntana's, we drove to Soller passing the most picturesque coastal hill towns.  Another sunny day, and we were dining on charcuterie at a prominent olive producers in Caimari, deliciously contrasted with a bright Premsal Blanc and Chardonnay blend from a local quality producer. With another brilliant sunrise, we were driving southeast towards Manacor, visiting ancient hilltop towns of Arta and Petra, both villages of the Pla i Llevant DO, and then on to enjoy the days fresh catch in sparkling Portocristo.

Another Alcudia sunrise and it's a quick drive across the island, recharged by an upbeat day in cosmopolitan Palma.  After a morning exploring the Palace(Palau) and the Cathedral(Le Seu), we dined across from the harbor at the superb Caballito Del Mar on Black Pallea and Turbot of two textures.  We chose a beautiful Verdejo from the mainland's Rueda DO to complement our dishes and make us thirsty for more.  But, that is how it is in Mallorca.  A little is never enough, so you want more.  Back on the east coast in picturesque Port d'Alcudia with its sprawling resorts and long white beach, I asked a local if our good fortune with winter weather is typical.  He replied, "in Mallorca we say, 'February calms'."

And so it was.  Our off-season visit to sunny Mallorca calmed our spirit as we walked along its beaches, wading in the cool Mediterranean. It slowed our pace, but not our absorption rate as compared to our Barcelona visit the week before. At the end of our visit we agreed that our time in Mallorca was not long enough and made plans to return.  Not when the northern Europeans invade, but when the island calms as it has this time fur us in off-season Mallorca. 

'Exciting' petanque along Bay of Alcudia

Registration for my next certification exam for Wine Educator has been confirmed for the end of February.  Results will be shared here as soon as available, but until then, I'll be inquisitive about the wines of the world and I'll try to stay Mallorcan  'calm'.

Salute'!

SPAIN: Pened'es in Quality Focus

Alt Pened'es Bodega St.Joannes vineyards

Winter in the Pened'es DO of southeastern Spain usually means air temperatures in the 40's and an average rainfall of about 2 inches each month.  The sun always seems to be around in this the largest vine region and greatest wine volume Denominación de Origen of autonomous Catalunya. Wide and open, it is sandwiched between the East-West fortifications that are the Pyrenees mountains and coastal Garraf Massif wherin lies this Catalan Central Depression with its tiers of plateaus, coolly influenced by the great sea to the South.

La Morella, height of the Garraf Massif

These lands are an ancient crossroads, having survived with more than 2000 agrarian years of wine production in a swath of island hamlets and then a galvanizing 17th century farming boom. These people of the land,  these hard working Catalans persevered;  persisted following centuries of invasions and foreign occupations, only to be followed by decades of isolation, an outlawed culture/language, vineyard decline and even a tragic civil war. Yet, the proud Catalan culture remains alive and vibrant.

Climatically Mediterranean, Penedès, with its wide range of micro-climates, is divided into three elevated tiers or sub-zones filled with mixed soils of limestone, sand and clay:

• Baix Penedès (Bajo)takes in the low-lying coastal areas. Unsurprisingly, this is the warmest part of Penedès and specializes in the production of full-bodied red wines from Garnacha, Cariñena and Monastrell grapes. The main village is the historic Vilafranca del Penedès. 
• Medio Penedès forms the middle plain section of this DO and has the highest level of production. Vineyards are located at elevations of 825 to 1649ft (250–500m) and provide the majority of the region's Cava grapes (Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo) as well as Ull de Llebre (Tempranillo), and introduced international favorites like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Across the Lower & Middle Pened'es, other international varieties such as Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc share acreage today with traditional white varieties of Malvasia de Sitges, and Moscatell d'Alexandria, producing a wide style of delicious, uniquely Spanish still table wines.

• Alt Penedès is also known as Penedès Superior. Its vineyards are as high as few in Europe, having altitudes of 1640 to 2625ft (500–800m), also enjoy the region's highest rainfall. Some of Spain's most remarkable white wines are produced here from cool-climate grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurtztraminer and the local Parellada.

 Central Depression in Catalan Yellow

Attempting to standardize the regions production and quality, the Regulating Council of the Denominació d'Origen was founded here in Catalunya in1960. Currently, the Regulating Council has about five thousand wine producers in its ranks, with about two hundred and seventy cellars(bodegas) which are aligned with almost 140 companies dedicated to aging and exporting an annual wine production of nearly 70 million liters from more than 26000 hectares of vineyards.  That's a lot of juice!.

Being close to cosmopolitan Barcelona, the region is also the epi-center of Spain's modern day wine revolution. Vilafranca del Pened'es is at the center of  still wine production, and is also the home of regions largest producer and perhaps its greatest innovator, Jaime Torres. Introducing then new ideas such as stainless steel fermentation and temperature controlled tanks, Bodegas Torres was the first in Spain to experiment with international varieties in the 1870's.  Today, it is the largest winery in Spain. A century later, innovative Bodegas Jean Leon (Ceferino Carrión) introduced single cuvee or single vineyard (pago) bottlings in the 1960's, and advanced international marketing strategies for the regions improving still wines.

Pened'es is today synonymous with Cava, a traditional method sparkling wine, having its origins from José Raventos of Codorníu in the early 1870's following the bodegas vineyard replanting to native varietals after the widespread devastation of phylloxera. The nearby small town of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is said to be the birthplace of cava, where almost 90% of Spain's sparkling wine is produced today. Uniquely, it is the product of a blend of indigenous grapes: an acidic flagship, Xarel.lo, widely planted and fruity Macabeo(Macabeu) and the native Parellada, that give this sparkler its special character. Increasingly, Chardonnay is making its way into this traditional blend.

Cava regulations were established by the Ministy of Agruculture in 1972 with the El Cava Regulations Board, and then adopting a delimited 'Cava Region' in 1986 to comply with EU standards. A further refinement of regulated practices was established in 1991 with a singular Cava DO. The regions Cava Regulatory Board recently announced that cava for export had increased by 50% in volume over a ten year period from 2001. Catalonya's sparkling wine production would then seem to be in effervescently good shape.  However, things are not all bubbles in cava town.  Merce' Rossell, Chairperson of PIMECAVA, sets a higher bar, saying recently, "we have to sell cava as an exclusive, glamorous product", indicating the importance of a 'quality' prestige, as with Champagne.

Beyond product marketing, there is currently also a Pened'es classification overhall in the works after 50 years of developing regulations.  In an October 2011 issue of Decanteur, it was reported that the newly elected president of the Regulatory Council of the Penedès DO was leading a campaign to further demarcate the region into sub-zones that would help promote superior sub-regions.  Josep Albet, owner of the Albet I Noya winery says that the existing appellation was outdated and not reflective of the great diversity of terroirs within the DO.  The current process of determining the new sub-zone boundaries is challenging enough, and then still requires approval from the Penedès Wine Council.

With a renewed focus on the region, Robert Parker's July 2011 The Wine Advocate rated 18 distinctive wines of the Pened'es from 8 different producers as exceptional or outstanding. As the region continues adopting quality over quantity, the Pened'es of late has been selling fewer bottles abroad than the volumes seen in its high water mark from 2007-8 as announced by the Spanish Wine Market Observatory. But, according to the prestigious Catalan Institute of Wines and Vineyards, these are today wines representing the best of the region; world class wines of improved and improving qualities. For the rest of us, our focus on searching out the fine wines from the Pened'es continues to be a rewarded quest of value and quality.

And then, there's Barcelona, that cosmopolitan, thriving Catalan metropolis, where annually a quarter of the worlds cava is consumed!  As seen here, perhaps there are unique qualities in just living to consume life!

Salutacions e Bona Salut!

This entry Posted from Barcelona, Spain

BRAMBLES; Tis' the Season

Winter Vineyard in the Loire

Short days, long nights and the wet chill of Winter now blankets the vineyards of the northern hemisphere.  Bundle up and you can offer yourself a few layers of comfort against these elements so that vineyard workers can maintain and cellar rats can dance with hoses and barrels.  It is the time to access the most recent harvest and to place it into a historical perspective, as has been done for millennium. Too, it is the time to look forward to the brighter, warmer days of the Spring.  With a renewed perspective(isn't that what a New Year is about?), I will again attempt one of the final chapters of my Wine Educator certification mid-February, with the eternal hope that this will be the time I get over the hump.  Honestly, it takes a while for many of us to get over the disappointment of not being able to achieve our important personal goals after we've invested so much time and money into them. A new season or a turn to a new calendar page can then give us the perspective we need.

"And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A peoples dream died there. It was a beautiful dream..." (Black Elk)
Pain and tragedy are an unfortunate part of part of life. But, so too is change. Life, I think is also the increasing loss of innocence.  Perhaps then in this Season of the Winter Solstice, we come to celebrate the joy of innocence before it changes and we become calloused adults hardened by the world's realities. So in speaking of things that give our hardened souls hope, a few news items recently caught my attention in this this Season of hope:

• New research, reported recently in Wine Spectator, reaffirms that the origins of cultivating grapes for wine most likely began in southeastern Anatolia of modern day Turkey. Part of the 'Fertile Crescent'. this melting-pot region, along with Stone Age neighbors Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, has long been considered the beginnings of western-style villages and civilization. Within the same region about two years ago, archeologist discovered a 6,000 year old Neolithic winery in an Armenian cave, with clay fermenting vats and even a rudimentary wine press!

Perhaps demonstrating how far we have evolved(or not), the nearby village of Sirince, Turkey, long known  for its apple and berry fruit wines, is where a local businessman, Erkan Onoglu, has created a 'Wine of the Apocalypse', or 'Vino dell'Apocalisse'. It was further reported that across the 'Crescent' in the vine growing Ukrainian Crimea, the New World winery has shored up with two weeks of provisions and has set-up 400 beds and five(5) suites in their winery caves to serve post-Apocalyptic consumers. Just in case...

• Wines delivered direct to domestic consumers (DtC) continue to increase. Wine and Vines reports a 13% greater volume in wine sales compared to12 months ago, topping $224 million in revenue. Off premise sales grew as well, with a reported 6% increase in the last 52 weeks. Reasonably, I think, more American wine consumers have more purchase options than ever before to the economic benefit of the entire segmented industry.

• New first-time consumers coming into the market constitute the growing segment of the 'millennials'  and the wine industry knows that they represent an engine of growth.  New York Times Business pages recently reported that new 'eco-friendly' containers, out-of-the-box packaging(some literally in a box), and emerging social media tools are increasingly new ways to attract these new buyers. "Beverage packaging is not purely functional, but a way of reaching your buyer"' said David Turner of Turner Duckworth, a prominent design agency. Matt Zimmer, chief executive of Stacked Wines, echoed "we see an industry trend to more convenient packaging". As a result, wines in packaged in eco-friendly boxes, pouches and even plastic bottles are securing more room on retail shelves and growing dollars for retailers. 

• AP reported recently that Napa winegrowers cannot find enough nursery stock vines to replant their aging cabernet sauvignon vines.  Most of the vines were replanted in the early 90's following an outbreak of that vineyard malady,  phoxllera, that greatly impacted many of the nation's preeminent vineyards. Evolving environmental concerns, increasing sales volumes with steadily increasing bottle prices and the term life replanting of aged vineyards have created a perfect storm that continues to challenge these high end growers. It probably means that Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon is not going to get any cheaper or easier to find as consumer values.  But, it is farming after-all, and farming is cyclical.

Our lives, like that of the vine and the vineyard are a long cycle.  Throughout, there are the peaks and valleys of joy and despair, of inspiration and reward.  Looking forward to the Spring and its cyclical rebirth, we will again be inspired to achieve what is long held in our hearts.  Hopefully, with a glass of wine in our hands and a little Peace on Earth and Good Will Towards Men. Tis' the Season!

Cheers!