BRAMBLES: Things are Rose'

A rose' or rosado or a rosato, has more than a pseudonym going for it.  By its very appearance it is a pleasant hue of blush, and presents itself as a bright reminder of the many summer fruits captured in that chilled bottle.  It also has a sense of mystery about it, due in part that it is made everywhere wine is made(hence the alias), and can be the product of just about any wine grape(s) that is dominated by red skins. It can be a malbec or a pinot noir, a native grenache or a sangiovese, or a combination of many.  Plus, it can be the result of blending white grape juice with red, an early manipulation in the cellar or a simple bleeding(saigne'e) of a maturating vat of dark grapes.  Think of that as the tea-bag method: the longer in contact with skin, the darker and more tannic the wine. Generally, today's blush wines are easy on the pocketbook, as they benefit from a comparatively low cost of production. Plus, being market popular, we find ourselves today in a value driven market where things are more than just rose'.

Sunny vineyards of Aix-en-Provence

Con-temporarily described as a 'lifestyle ornament', chilled rose' wines are today often to be found around sunny and lighthearted seasonal festivities. When it hit the market way back when as 'white zinfandel', cloyingly sweet and simple, it often could be found in a glass of ice.  It did satisfy our sweet tooth, and also helped build not only a category, but a brand or two, as well. Today, we increasingly find a broadening market selection of good acid, lower alcohol dry wines producing a(hopefully) mouth-watering crispness. This has become known as the, 'Provence-style'.  Historically, with wide-spread commercial refrigeration only becoming available in the mid-19th century, wines back then would often quickly oxidize in production.  Rather than turning brown like a sliced apple, red wines typically were bottled rose' pale.  In a weak vintage, rose' wines would become a red wine makers safety net for the many small regional producers.  Early in the 20th century, focused on the protection and regulation of its historic agricultural products, France enacted its important national Appellation d'Origine Controle'e(AOC) system.  In its continental climate Rhone valley, Tavel AOC, became officially regulated in 1936; and remains the only all-rose' appellation in France.

Now six months after the destructive firestorm that altered our local wine region, there are signs everywhere of a return to where we were. At retail you can still find dedicated sections and even prominent end-caps that are broad, international rose' selections. Distributors will tell you that the rose' market is 'hot', and a continued trending rise in those many south of France exports.  And, local restaurant wine lists maintain the exploration of a growing selection of rose' wines for their fashionable consumers.  For those of us with a rose' craving, exploring by the glass or at a local wine event, like the upcoming Grill 116, can help define our personal blush wine desires.

Looking for values among rose' wine producers is truly a journey that offers bright rewards.  As individual grape varieties have unique characteristics and personality, even when they are the early extraction of color and body, thirsty consumers can usually anticipate profiles of rose' wines made from different single red varietals, say, pinot noir vs. malbec.  Density of color of the blush hue is generally also found to be a good indicator of the intensity of fruit personality in these fresh bottlings. Becoming familiar with a particular region or producer will increasingly indicate the type of rose' style being offered.  And blends, typical across the south of France, will present a bellwether character that is increasingly easy to predict.  As rose' is about its freshness of the light red fruit signature, current vintages offer the brightest, most harmonious possibilities in the glass.

What grape(s) it was made from, how rich the extraction, where it was produced, and how young it is will typically direct consumers to a variety of styles of rose' wines that will please and entertain.  After that, you are on your own.  Add happy company, fresh Mediterranean inspired foods and a couple of bottles, and you will find that things around you are rose'.

Value Wine:
E.Guigal 2016 Cotes du Rhone Rose': think dried strawberries and watermelon rind driven by refreshing acid, offering balance and length at a modest price and widely available from a Rhone benchmark producer.


Salute!

WineLinks:
 http://tasteroute116.com/events/grill-116/
  http://www.provencewineusa.com/

BRAMBLES: A Harvest of Values

 Tech savvy millennials don't use competitive on-line wine purchasing like us older boomers, so says a current wine marketing study from Cal Poly SLO, as reviewed in a current Wine Spectator issue. The overwhelming majority of on-line wines purchased appears to come from an older demographic that has not grown up with the internet, but would seem to have more willingness & confidence in taking an informed chance purchase of a yet untasted product that is shipped to our door.

Shipping costs, interstate direct sales restrictions, and waiting for a signature required delivery are some of the shop-restraint reasons cited by the younger wine generation.  It appears that these social networking consumers like to buy wine that they have a connection with, that is a product they can see and taste. In spite of a massive amount of credible wine information from numerous sources(blogs, publications, regional competitions, etc.) available, younger wine enthusiasts seem to want to experience a known and trusted liquid commodity. Perhaps even peer pressure and trend setting marketing also influence their non-buy decisions. Nationally, on-line wine sales show consistent annual growth, yet make up only about 2% of total wine sales according to the biggest e-commerce retailer, Wine.com's Michael Osborne.

A long-established three tier system of alcohol producers-distributors-retailers and the sovereign regulations within each individual state still remain restrictively in firm place.  As a result, even with the growth of on-line wine sales, more than 80% of all wines sold in America continue to be sold by brick and mortar retailers. In an effort to break out of my internet purchases, I recently shopped the surplus and over-run inventories offered by a local retailer, Grocery Outlet.  Offering a broad selection of discounted brand names I have not before seen, I purchased a number of selections for intended everyday enjoyment with the hope of harvesting a few values. 

• Gunn Estate 2012 Pinot Noir Marlborough(New Zealand)dark garnet hue, aromas of dried black raspberries and boysenberries raced across the palate with good acidity, notes of cherry skin and fine grain tannins, ending bright with a moderate finish. Bargain retail: $6.99

• Mosaic 2012  Zinfandel Russian River Valley(Sonoma County) from the Wilson Artisan Wineries group, so they know something about the local varietal. Bright, light ruby on sight, it offered stewed red and black fruits on the nose, a hint of smoke and spice. Bargain retail: $7.99

 

• Gerard Bertrand 2010 Corbie'res(France) generous black fruit on the nose with a little spice, and dry wood, offering opulent dried black fruits, tea and licorice on the palate, filling the mouth to pleasantly linger; it drinks so much richer than the discounted price. Bargain retail: $3.99!!

When I returned to Grocery Outlet to purchase more, many of these discovered wines were unavailable, having sold thru their allotment. Just like our recently completed wine grape harvest, the search for the very best selections, the best of seasons will continue.  Attention now turns to the wines of our celebrations for the end of season holidays; as wine lovers can continue to enjoy searching out the retail/ on-line selections to find their very personal harvest of values.

Cremant d'Alsace or Beaujolais, anyone?

Cheers!!

TASTINGS: Summer Values Found

Lazy, hazy, crazy daze envelops summer. These are long days, when it seems hard to get going early and surprisingly difficult to say a warm 'good nite'. In between we dine al fresco more often, have lighter meals and seem to make more plans to enjoy the out of doors.  This then was a prefect time to join our tasting group recently as we sat down and explored great international wine values for our warmer weather.

Kono, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013; widely available(ours via Trader Joe's) offers a bright Kiwi style with screwcap, and it's all there: hints of lemon grass, gooseberry, wet grass, a whisper of stone fruit, lime peel and tart, bracing acidity. It lingers on the palate, offering a wet but tart and refreshing finish. Bring on the cerviche'.

Domaine du Dragon, Côtes de Provence Rose', 2013; an offering of all the usual Mediterranean suspects: Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache grapes. Here is a delicious, light, pale salmon hue offering a nose of white strawberry, white cherry, rosewater notes, the brightness with good acidity and a little tannin crosses the palate to grab the upper lip, but leaves you thirsty for more. Here there are lingering flavors of white strawberries, Rainer cherries and rosehip that refreshes while offering a good pairing for many of our picnic items.
Commanderie de la Bargemone, Coteaux D'Aix En Provence Rose' 2013; a similar mix of sourced fruit, but one whiff and it becomes a rose' of distinction with its fresh nose of perfumed summer fruits and wet flowers. Its pale salmon hue is a clue to delicious white cherry and floral notes that are round in the mouth and linger for what seems to be an extraordinary amount of time to savor this fine summer wine.

Spainish Monastrell(Mourvedre)

 Yaso, Toro, Castilla y Leon, 2012, Tempranillo offers an opaque plue hue, and a nose of generous black fruits, licorice and pepper spice. On the palate there's notes of boysenberry, black plum, prune, tea, cola and earth spice. Complex enough to be very interesting and quite pleasant with its moderate length on the palate.  Pair this luscious import with some grillin' to do some chillin' with this found Spanish selection.

All of these selections are widely distributed and will set you back less than one(1) Jack$on. In fact, they are in the sub-15 range, and that makes them an easy addition to a lazy picnic blanket or a sizzlin' barbeque table. Summer seems to take things less seriously, as we sit back sippin' and listen' to our favorite baseball painting vocal pictures in the background.  We gather with friends and family to savor and to share.  Along the way, we have a great opportunity to delight in the find of summer values found.

Cheers!

ps. If you would like to see more of our seasonal wine reviews please send a comment.

PROVENCE & CORSICA: Sun Spots in my Wines

Blindingly bright sun drenched vistas, warm air filled with aromas of lavender and rosemary, and the sense that the sea is not very far away is what comes to my mind. But its untapped potential that most wine writers mention about sunny Provence and the paradise isle of Corsica.  It is a shame really, because wine making has been part of these lands since at least 600BC.  It is easy for thirsty tourists to consider these wines as a natural extension of their cuisine, hand and glove. Little else but olives and resinous scrub can grow in their baked complex of poor soils. There's that minimal amount of rainfall that comes only in the winter, the fierce dry mistral winds that sweeping in from the northwest, and the constant light of the sun that would seem to make this place perfect for grapes.  The Greeks, and then the Romans certainly thought so.

Provencal Lavender

Provence stretches from Marseilles across the southern tip of France to the Italian border, and in this warm region red grapes dominate. Of its eight(8) major AOC's, Cotes de Provence is the largest producer and acreage; a non-contiguous swath, like a moth-eaten blanket, covering most of this mountainous region finished by the sea. Vines here get the minimum amount of water needed, are generally free of vineyard diseases, and receive about the maximum amount of sunshine(more than 3000 growing season hours) each year. If good wines are produced where the vines struggle, it is curious then that not many great wines come from this region. Much fought-over Provence was ravaged by late-19th century phylloxera, as was most of western Europe, and a lot of easy growing, undistinguished Carignan was slowly planted as a response.Today, Provence produces more the half of all the rose' wines made each year in France, and dark Mourvedere is now the regions most widely planted grape.

In the northwest sits Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence AOC, producing sturdy red blends from Grenache, Cinsaut and Mouvedere, with other approved red Mediterranean varietals. Nearby Baux-de-Provence is the nations' first AOC to require all vineyards to be farmed bio-dynamically! East of Marseilles, Cassis AOC, principally a white wine appellation,  produces from its limestone soils quality wines from widely planted Clairette, Marsanne and Ugni Blanc grapes. Producing perhaps the regions only world-class wine is coastal Bandol AOC, whose age-worthy reds are a minimum 50% Mourvedere, and can offer perhaps one of the great expressions of the grape. Closer to the border with Italy, Bellet AOC, near Nice,  produces wines of all colors, but the best may be the whites it generates from the Italian Vermentino.

Today, Provence makes over 1000 kinds of wine(mostly blends & mostly rose's) from 13 approved grape varieties, with much of it consumed locally. Fourteen(14) of its consistently best producers are uniquely part of a Cru Class system ranking, the only region to do so outside of Bordeaux. Yet for all of its potential, Provence seems content to continue to produce volumes of simple wines that pair nicely with the regions farm to table cuisine served under the sun.

Corsica, which for much of its history belonged to Italy, is really no different than Provence, except that it is a volcanic island. Ajaccio, the western capital and home of Napoleon,  is a mountainous granite based AOC that is historically home to the indigenous, highly perfumed red Sciacarello.  It is typically the base of a blend, for rose' wines are prominent here too. In the north sits Corsica's first AOC, the well-known Patrimonio. This clay and limestone region is the home of Nielluccio, the other 'noble' Corsican red grape, producing full bodied dry wines.  Research suggests that rather than being indigenous, this grape is actually Sangiovese from Tuscany. On the extreme northern tip of the island is Cap de Corse AOC, renowned for centuries for its sweet dessert Muscat vin doux naturel. Esteemed wine writer Hugh Johnson pens that it may be among the best examples of sweet Muscat Blanc a' Petits Grains in the world.  The island also produces unfortified, still Muscats, and its most widely planted white grape. Vermentino,  also shows Italian influence.

Historically, Algeria had been a big market for the wines of Corsica. Cultivation of new vineyards spiked dramatically following Algeria's independence from France in the early 1960's, and the islands wines became more about quantity than quality. In the 1980's the influence of the European Union began to reduce yields here and renew efforts to modernize for more quality wine production. Unfortunately, only about 15% of Corsicas' vineyards are of AOC quality today, yielding only about 5% of the islands total production.  It is estimated that about 90% of all wines here are blends, the best of which contribute to the volume of Corsicas' Vin de Pays de Me'diterrane'e country wines.

Even with the few pearls of great wine to be found in Provence and Corsica, even as they easily sit in the warmth of untapped potential, I still would not really mind being a thirsty tourist consuming fresh, regional wines in either of these sunny spots.  Cheers!

WINE STUDY: A Taste at a Time

As a course of dedicated study goes, this is not too bad. One day it's sampling a Waipara, New Zealand Riesling with lunch, then a Sicilian Nero d'Avola with supper, and in between there were tastes of a high end Anderson Valley Pinot Noir.  For our lunch the next day we enjoyed a widely distributed Central Coast high acid Chardonnay with a deliciously egg-gooey Fettuccine alla Carbonara.  Our dinner of Grilled Ground Sirloin and mushrooms, tomato salad and sauteed winter squash was complemented by an expressive, but inexpensive Spanish Mouvedre. Such a dedication to the world of wine you might think is rewarded with some recognition.  Sampling international varieties is serious business for an aspiring Wine Educator, but for now, the reward is in the joy of tasting what the world of wine has to offer.  That's five(5) wines in two(2) days, and the quality wines beckoning in our future are sure to be almost endless. From here we go forward, one taste at a time.

North of the South Island's major city of Christchurch lies New Zealand's Waipara Valley. This fast growing, cool-climate wine region is promoting itself as the greenest of wine regions and becoming known for it's crisp Rieslings, its spicy Pinot Noirs, and the widely planted Kiwi Sauvignon Blancs. Rieslings from this part of New Zealand benefit from their situation; grown in cool vineyards, made in dry styles with bracing acidity and wonderful balance to any sweetness.  Our fresh selection offered a convenient screw-cap and a was a refreshingly great value, too.  As the respected International Riesling Foundation writer Dan Berger has announced, "New Zealand Riesling is a category to watch".

Often compared to contemporary Syrah, Sicily's full-bodied Nero d'Avola is among its most popular Greek-introduced grape varieties. Grown mostly in the broad viticultural region that predominates the West of Sicily, recent government subsidies, combined with improved growing and cellar practices have today given modern Nero d'Avola new life. This indigenous 'Black Grape of Avola' is more than ever perfectly suited to the dry and arid conditions of this large Mediterranean island and the grilled or roasted foods that make up a staple part of its native cuisine.

The Anderson Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) immediately North of Sonoma, covering a cool, sparsely populated region of California's western Mendocino County. Alsatian varieties, like Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are popular in this area, which also has a deserved reputation for its world-class sparkling wines.  As a result, distinctive Pinot Noirs have also found a home here, as have Roederer Estates and Scharffenberger Cellars.. Although it has a cool coastal climate that will offer challenges of ripeness or frost, the Valley's upper ridge-lands here are typically above the fog, dressed in sunlight where dry summer temperatures can be roasting. It is here, in cool pockets of this environment, Pinot Noir can shine, offering identifiably  bright fruit flavors and buoyant acidity. With its grape growing history of more than a hundred years, the Anderson Valley is today home to some of California's very best Pinot Noirs.

It is Mouvedre in France, known as Mataro in Portugal and goes by Monastrell in Spain, but in my glass it is dark and delicious. A bit wild, a bit gamey, Mouvedre proves to be a fine food wine of structure, fruit and balance. It's history stretches from the southern Rhone to Portugal, and has a legacy of being a rustic workhorse.  But, when produced with modern sensibility for the larger marketplace, it can be a perfect partner for lamb, grilled foods or provincial stews.  Speaking of Provence, one of Mouvedre's most celebrated homes is that of Bandol on the Mediterranean coast. Perhaps that bottle will be opened tomorrow.