WINE STUDY: Grape Characteristics

A tasting rationale, a blind varietals identification, and a wine faults recognition exam now lie ahead in my pursuit of successfully completing the Wine Educators Certification. Knowing the genus Vitis, specifically species Vitis vinifera, the vine which is native to Europe and west Asia, is simply essential. Each vine has innate varietal characteristics which are influence by many factors including environment, climate, also winemaking practices, and even branding. It can be the nature of the vine's fruit to ripen early or late in the season, and to thrive in cool regions while almost becoming unrecognizable in hot or vice versa. Also at its nature can be the regular production of high acid fruit, or the most inky extract due to its dark pigmentation and thick skins.  With these variables and many more, finding a grape's typical characteristics will obviously aid in identification, but also be of benefit to anyone who find enjoyment in raising a glass. Looking at some of the most popular grape varieties, white and red, is a good place to start.

Appearance is a Clue

Chardonnay(Gamay Blanc, Morillon), is a neutral, medium-bodied white wine, where aromas of apple, yellow/orange stone fruits, melon or pear, with notes of honey, butterscotch or vanilla possible. With moderate grape acidity often produced in warmer climates, higher acid Chardonnays are usually offered in most Old World stylings. Additionally, a richly textured mouthfeel which accompanies moderate acidity, like the difference between low fat to whole milk, can heren be enhanced by various oak treatments in the cellar. 
Pinot Grigio(Gris, Rulander) is a high acid grape that is generally brightly mineral driven over a collection of restrained aromas ranging from apple to lemon to honey and even flint. Italian Grigio can be light-bodied and very crisp, whereas noble Alsatian Gris can be produced in richer medium to full-bodied styles within similar fruit profiles. New World examples of this variety can be found in both styles, almost irrespective of the variety named(Grigio or Gris) on the bottle.  It may depend in part on for whom(market) they make the wine.


Riesling(Johannisberg Riesling) is richly aromatic and characteristically a high acid wine of lower alcohol,  offering aromas of citrus, or stone fruits like peach or apricot, with notes of jasmine, flint or minerals. Due to its lower alcohol, in its best expressions it reaches a delicious balance between rich, almost lanolin texture and refreshing acidity. As a result, it is seldom influenced with oak, and it exposes a white variety that is strongly influenced by its growing environment, yet remains fruity. German Rieslings distinctively show their mineral and slate origins, gaining a 'petrol' aroma with aging, and Austrian varieties can be razor sharp. Warmer New World offerings often are challenged to consistently produce the whole balanced package between high acid and rich fruit that this noble grape can produce.
Sauvignon Blanc(Sauvignon Vert) can be aromatic, is generally high in acid and like Riesling, is a chameleon grape which is typically reflective of the site where grown. Aromas can run the table from tropical pineapple, grapefruit and pear, to green bell pepper, gooseberry and asparagus for this early ripening variety.  This world traveler generally offers those riper fruit traits in warmer climates, with green flavor compounds developing in cooler environs.  If labeled as Fume Blanc, this wine should expect to have been influenced by an oak treatment.

Chardonnay

Cabernet Sauvignon is a high tannin, high acid, high pigment world traveler which also reflects its growing environment and loses its youthful astringency, thus becoming more supple, as it ages. Typical aromas in fruit driven warm climates can be cherry with eucalyptus or mint overtones, while in cooler regions it becomes more spice driven with red currant and mocha notes. With its firm structure, solid extract and depth of flavors that are enhanced by barrel aging, Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety that shows its noble qualities with a matured harmony that is the result of significant bottle aging.
Granache(Garancha) is widely grown around the globe and very adaptable to warm, dry climates, like Sardinia or South Eastern Australia. As such, it tends to be a low pigment, low tannin, and low acid reliable ripening grape that can be high in wine alcohol. It is as a result very often blended, as it is throughout southwestern Europe, but on its own it usually offers bright red fruits, like strawberry, sour cherry and with some spicy notes.

Grenache

Merlot is Cabernet's feminine side, with moderate tannins and lower acids, so can becomes easier drinking at an earlier date. Typically it has aromas of plum, of berry, cherries and spice with an aromatic combination that often reminds me of fruitcake. Being a thinned skinned, loosely bunched grape, Merlot tends to have a lighter body than Cabernet, offering a more 'fruity' character and richer balance of flavors earlier in its potentially-long bottle life.  A very adaptable food wine, international Merlot is Bordeaux's most widely planted grape, and has seen significant growth in the vineyards of the New World. Until very recently Merlot was mistaken for Carmenere(a minor Bordeaux varietal) in Chile.
Pinot Noir is a low to moderate tannin noble variety that forms in tight clusters, and is most successfully grown in cool environments. Its thin skins make it susceptible to vineyard maladies such as bunch rot, and typically finds its richest expression in low yields. Having lower pigmented coloring material in its skins than Cabernet or even Merlot, Pinot produces lighter, almost garnet hued wines. At its best, Pinot Noir can have pungent, broad aromas and a bouquet offering earthy flavor notes of red fruits like cherry and plum, often with violets, combined with the complexities of the organic aromas of mushrooms and earth, or exotic spice, flowers and sandalwood. When produced in rich balance, the variety Pinot becomes the epitome of wine's expression for many lovers of fermented fruit.

Pinot Noir in Burgundy

Cheers!

More varieties will be explored in our next installment!

BRAMBLES n' BUBBLES: Celebrate the Season

It is the time we celebrate; the time of year when most of the world's sparkling wine is sold & consumed.  We celebrate the joyful gatherings of friends and family.  There are festive parties that toast the achievements of the recent past, and glasses raised to the rare, fleeting opportunity of feeling hopeful about what may lie ahead.  In my case, I can celebrate finally passing the Combined Theory section of the Wine Educator's Certification exam, which was composed of broad Multiple Choice/Essay components and now focus on the practical elements of this exam, like a tasting rationale.

In the exams Combined Varietal  testing there is a blind Varietal Identification of eight(8) wines, a tasting rationale of a control sample, and a Component Identification for common faults. My recent attempts have been close to passing in the Combined Varietal testing, in fact, on this last attempt I thought I had nailed it.  But, I continue to be challenged by distinguishing the seven(7) of eight(8) wines that have too much acid, or too much alcohol, or a heavy dose of sulphur dioxide that would make-up the exam's Component Identification.  To that end, I have purchased a 'Wine Essence Tasting" kit and a small vial of concentrated tannin so that my tasting palate may gain some measure of fault memory.  The next opportunity to test is in February, but at least I don't have to spend the countless hours going over the wine regions of the world, from Austria to New Zealand. Instead, I can drink the wines of the world.

With celebration in mind, a recent spring-stepping trip to my favorite local wine retailer was met with a wonderful Holiday surprise.  Premium bottles of non-vintage Champagne AOC, such as Mumm, Perrier-Jouet, and Piper-Heidsieck, were all priced lower than last year(around $30.)!  These and others represent a terrific value for such standards of quality in this Holiday Season.  At lower price-points traditional method Cremant's can also be found from producers surrounding France's Champagne region.  And the Spanish Cava's, made from typically blended native Xarello, Macabeo and Parellada grapes,  continue to offer consumers great entry-level quality and values for second fermentation in bottle sparklers. Even northern Italy's sparkling Prosecco DOC from the Veneto and Friuli-Veneto-Giulia regions, which is made from the neutral and native Glera(Prosecco) grape, and produced by the Charmat-method where a second tank fermentation is used, represent great holiday celebration values.

Wishing to get away from the Autumn chill in Sonoma County, I recently spent a few weeks exploring the Big Island of Hawaii. I know that everything is supposed to be more expensive here because of its isolation and higher shipping costs, but prudent wine buyers here can still find quality and value in sub-$20. wines, if only they know where to look.  The obvious values come from Argentina and Chile producers who are making wines for the international markets better than ever.  But even as I visited four(4) major island wine retailers(FoodLand, Island Gourmet, KTA and Sack N'Save), I found that they had the same limited selections with almost the same pricing. According to Randy Nunokawa, proprietor of Grapes a Wine Store in Hilo, there are only a hand-full of wine distributors for the Islands, and these volume retailers all purchase wines from the same few wholesalers.  Small retailers such as Grapes, need to carve out a path not traveled by the larger stores and offer consumer services that are uncommon with these volume retailers. To Randy's credit, he maintains a internationally wide value selection of quality wines in the $12-30 price range not found at the big stores, and provides passionate, insightful wine knowledge with every visit to his store. Mahalo!

If ever there was a state that can demonstrate the benefit from allowed direct wine shipping to consumers, it is isolated, monopolized  Hawaii. We should also raise a glass to celebrate this years legislative direct shipping victories in Florida and Maryland, as well as the pending pro-direct shipping bills in Massachusetts(HR 1029) and Pennsylvania(SB 790). In addition, this may be the year when vocal consumer support will defeat the pending Congressional HR 1161, a wholesale cartel effort to limit or repeal legal winery and retailer direct shipping to consumers.  Conscious consumers may need to do more than raise a glass on this one!

Traditional method has smaller bubbles!

As our unseasonably-dry Sonoma County autumn cycles towards the shortest day, residents gather in the relative safety and warmth of numbers. Local tasting rooms here are offering numerous Holiday wine specials and a spectrum of festive events, including wine and seasonal food pairings.  This then is the Season; an opportunity during the longest cool nights to be warmed by the company of good friends, both new and old.  A celebration of everything that is good, like a greater global value wine selection for savvy consumers than ever before. Least we forget, our current wine marketplace was forged by many inspired visionaries, and by the guidance of unheralded wine lovers, like Randy. Our glasses are raised in a Holiday toast to one and all!

Mahalo nui Loa, and Cheers!

Cremant d'Alsace

Warm & Happy Holidays to All!

NEBBIOLO: A Dark Mystery to Celebrate

Serralunga a'Alba - Piemonte

At the foot of the mountains, and surrounded by the imposing Alps, lies hilly Piemonte(Piedmont). Its waters collected throughout these hills ramble and snake under a cool continental climate to converge at the mighty, easterly flowing Po. Above these fertile lowlands, a broad crescent of rolling hills are the home to grazing livestock, dark forests rich with game, and the much sought-after white truffles of Alba. Politically, Piedmont is composed of eight (8) provinces surrounding its capital of Torino(Turin), but our study will take us to Cuneo, Asti, and Alessandria.

Piedmont

Indigenous grape varieties here are the widely planted, low-tannin Barbera; the fruity Brachetto, Dolcetto, and Grignolino; as well as the tannic Freisa and Nebbiolo. Piedmont is also home to a number of white grapes, including a grapey grape, producing the lake-sized volumes and spectrum of wine styles of the popular Moscato d'Asti.

Nebbiolo can be found here in many corners north of the Langhe Hills, in the DOCG frontier wines of Ghemme and Gattinara, and the DOC's Nebbiolo d'Alba and Langhe Nebbiolo, but its greatest incarnation is to be found in the regions more temperate southern hillsides, where the best sites are planted near the hilltops, facing south. Here, the noble Nebbiolo grapes in these vineyards are among the first to bud, and the last to ripen. Every vintage they must fight the frosts of spring and the occasional early snows of October. As a internationally recognized variety, Nebbiolo surprisingly doesn't adapt well, preferring the calcareous marl and sandy soils of its foggy homelands. Being naturally high in acid and high tannin, Nebbiolo had often been traditionally blended with lighter regional grapes to modify its course personality. Fortunately, today's DOCG Barbaresco and Barolo's use newer equipment and modern techniques to meet the stringent requirements of artfully producing un-blended 100% Nebbiolos.

Often described as feminine, the Barbaresco production zone includes three Cuneo communes to the east of Alba: Barbaresco, Treiso, and Neive. As a smaller demarcated zone, Barbaresco wines generally have more continuity, but less production than the robust Barolo's. If declared DOCG wines, a minimum 2 years aging is required. The more masculine, longer historied Barolo's are of produced in eleven(11)communes located along the region's Tanaro River, west of the commercial center of Alba. Of these cooler communes, La Morra, Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Monforte d'Alba and Serralunga d'Alba, represent the majority of DOCG production in the steep demarcated zone. Reflecting their tannic nature, current regulations require a minimum of 38 months aging prior to their release for these prestigious DOCG wines.

Lesser Nebbiolo's are cultivated in a limited areas outside these important zones. In some vintages, and some of these producers, as in Nebbiolo d'Alba,  can produce Nebbiolo's of great power while offering considerable value. In Piedmont's extreme north, the communes of Gattinara and Ghemme produce blended, long-lived Nebbiolo's under the synonym of Spanna. Even further north on the steep hillsides neighboring Lombardy, locally cultivated Nebbiolo grows in a very cool climate, producing a even lighter-style and blended Nebbiolo from the local Chiavennasca. Here Nebbiolo can also be produced with Amarone-style dried grapes, called Sforzato.

Barbaresco's Triesco

Opaquely dark, sometimes with an orange-tinted rim, with rich perfumes of dried fruits and even tar, these long-lived wines can be a prized memory for wine lovers. But, their scarcity keeps pricing high, which is one reason why I can count my Nebbiolo experiences on both hands, but I do remember each isolated discovery.
In spite of it's international prestige, dark, brooding Nebbiolo remains today a minor grape in its home region of Piemonte, and undeveloped in the rest of the viticultural world.  Now that's a mystery!

As I continue to await results from September's Wine Educator's exam, I raise a glass and wish all a Happy Thanksgiving!

To Your Health!

BRAMBLES: Harvest This!

An annual right of passage, this year's harvest is all but over. Reuters reported on November 08, that the globes wine grape harvest was quite mixed, with temperate zones of Italy, Spain and most of the U.S. having cooler growing/harvest seasons and significant declines in winegrape volume. Only the northern extreme latitudes of British Columbia, Ontario and upper New York State; northern appellations of France, Germany and Austria appear to have had satisfactory harvest levels. The southern hemisphere, which harvests in the Spring, from New Zealand to Argentina, are conversely calling it a, "beautiful harvest".  Regardless of climate abnormality or climate change or global warming, the Old World and the U.S. and the New World will continue to produce great quality wines each and every vintage; and value conscience consumers will continue to seek them out. Even as per capita wine consumption may be going down in France, the growing numbers of the rest of us wine lovers continue finding great value in the quality wines from around the globes many resources.  You just need to know where to look.

Domestically, little known wine growing regions like Santa Barbara's Happy Canyon AVA(American Viticultural Area), Santa Maria AVA and Santa Ynez AVA, enjoyed a dry, warm harvest in 2011 unlike their neighbors to the north. In spite of a rainy harvest, the Central Coast's Paso Robles region continues to grow in quality and quantity with each vintage, having currently over 200 wineries where there were just a handful twenty years ago. Free wine market lobbyists like the noble, Free the Grapes, continue to fight Prohibition-era consumer laws for us, and today we number only 12 states that prohibit direct shipping to consumers like you and me. And, this week Washington State's Initiative 1183 was overwhelming passed by voters, effectively ending that states 78-year monopoly on controlling wine sales. In spite of a locally challenging harvest, it is still a great time for consumers of quality wines who explore the world of wine.

Autumn in Burgundy

Our Sonoma County Pistachio trees are ablaze in rustic colors now, and their fallen leaves have begun to blanket the roadways. In the nearby sustainable vineyards, grape leafs are turning annually to yellow, as they lose the green pigment, chlorophyll, which absorbs the light that allows the plant to produce the vital energy for photosynthesis(carbon dioxide converted to organic compounds and sugars). Chronic vineyard maladies, like leafroll virus, which can be slowly spread by the grape mealybug, are beginning to show on the down-turned leaves flaming reddish-purple hues. With the first frosts of the season, these vines will begin to lose their leaves and cycle into dormancy, storing energy for the awakening that is Spring. Another annual rite from wines rich history, our busy regional wine cellars now practice the orchestrated march of barrels and the seemingly endless coils of tank hoses, moving the newborn cuvees(blends) throughout their nurseries. Outside, it will soon be time to plant sustainable cover crops that limit unwanted weeds and contribute soil nutrients, repair the vineyard trellising so necessary to support the sunshine vine requirements and then the essential art/science of Winter pruning that controls quality grape yields. As with the wine in the bottle, there remains a need for balance in the vineyard.

Medieval Harvest tapestry

The change of colors, shorter days and the chill in the night air announce that winter is on its way, so it is a good time to find our favorite winery's winemakers in the cellar.  This is a wonderful time of year for wine lovers to explore a wine country, either near or far. Each year this is that anticipated time  to celebrate the harvest and its newborn wines, plan a feast or to explore the riches that our earth offer's us, just as we have for centuries. On the West Coast there are seasonal wine festivals stretching from Yakima Valley to Gold Country to the Santa Ynez Valley on the Fall calendar to enjoy, with great wines from almost every venue. The sense of wine discovery can be found at every venue, with many surprises along the way. Even if we are not available to travel beyond our local wine merchant, the exploration of the world of wine can take us out of our comfort zone and across to the wine treasures of the globe. Here each of us can savour these many wonderful morsels of natures bounty this season, if only we would seek them out!

Congratulations to the pioneering winegrape growers and vintners of northern Sonoma countie's Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak region.  Our federal regulators, the Tax & Tariff Bureau, just announced the areas demarcation as our newest, and the counties 14th, American Viticultural Area. Currently at around 230 growing acres sitting above 1500 feet in hillside elevation, this creates yet another opportunity for a dedicated growing region to create its own identity by the culturing of native grapes in a distinct environment. It is just one more reason to seek out the grape harvest!

Racking Oregon Pinot Noir

Salud!

BRAMBLES: Harvesting Wine Questions

Muscadet from the Nantes of the Pays de la Loire region in Brittany or a cool vintage mid-Loire Vouvray could have been the recent Wine Educator's Certification Exam dry white wine control sample. Red choices included a recent vintage Carneros Pinot Noir and a large producers Beaujolais Village, that may have been the result of carbonic maceration.  The challenge was to determine which was which in a field of other similar varietals. Weeks after the benchmark exam, these and many other questions persist for this aspiring Wine Educator.

Loire Chenin Blanc

Muscadet, also known as Melon de Bourgogne,  is the volume leading grape of France's Loire river valley region. Vouvray is a wine region east of Tours, producing mostly wines from the high acid Chenin Blanc grape in styles that can be in a range of dry to sparkling. This was going to be a tough identification, because both were austere and green fruit influenced. Isolated from the other red wine samples, I knew Napa Valley's Carneros appellation as a cool climate region, known for some of the North Coasts best Chardonnays and Pinot Noir's. But recent harvests have been cool, resulting in high-acid wines that may not exhibit the ripe richness of any typically characteristic fruit. In effect, they can be more Gamay or 'Beaujolais-like'. To complicate matters, the Gamay vineyards of the most-southern Burgundy region, enjoyed a warm and rich harvest in 2009, producing more wines that were actually resembling Burgundy AOC Pinot Noirs. As with other wine exams, choices had to be made based on accumulated knowledge and perception. That is not unlike the annual choices premium grape farmers make every harvest season, especially this mild year.

Cote du Beaune Pinot Noir Harvest

In the weeks of this year's cool and wet Spring, local vine flowering and berry set were challenged. Fewer flowers, many knocked off by seasonal rains, poor pollination and the resulting shatter of a weak berry set indicated early on that the years harvest would be drastically affected. Trying to farm my few Sonoma County vines sustainably, an outbreak of a fungal powdery mildew, encouraged by cool temperatures, veiled Springs newly grown canopy, just as my vine curtain's fruit was forming. Outside of the seasonal rains, I purposely stopped supplemental irrigation, the canopy was then de-leafed to improve air circulation/exposure and an application of a sulfur mixture was applied to abate the fungus outbreak. Then I crossed my fingers.

Bortrytis Noble Rot or Grey Mold

The first of week of October brought un-welcomed rains to Sonoma County's grape crop. Local growers were finding their Chardonnay crop still under-ripe, with levels of sugar stuck well below the optimum for an anticipated harvest.  It was now a waiting game.  Some fruit was already showing signs of the bortrytis fungus, or noble rot, where the moldy skins break down and remaining sugars concentrate.  This would be great for Semillion, but a blight for the counties heavy volume Chardonnay crop. In recent dry days, the winds blew thru to dry the thin-skinned fruit clusters and the mild sun warmed the air.  But would it be enough to hold back the fungal spores that were waiting for the chance to thrive in our Chardonnay vineyards?

Magic in the cellars of Bordeaux

A few weeks of dry weather and sunny skies have given us recent optimism here in wine country.  With more than half of our counties premium wine grape crop of 65,000 acres harvested, mostly thick-skinned, late season ripening varieties like Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon remain to mature. Due to fewer warm days this season and the early rains, the optimistic Napa Register recently reported that this years less-ripe, lower alcohol wines could be the makings of a spectacular vintage. Other grape farmers chimed in following an article in The Drinks Business, which claimed this year's rains "ruined" the harvest. As expected, the responding growers thought the idea too simplistic and too generalized, in part because they profess the ability to develop wonderful lower alcohol wines from grapes of optimum flavor and acidity.

In point of fact, great wines are made in every vintage, and great winemakers will consistently get the most out of the quality fruit they receive. Our global evolution in viticultural science, vineyard management practices and enology simply means that winemakers today have better tools and understanding to produce quality wines.  The proof will be in the bottles of the 2011 vintage.  But not in my ornamental grape garden.  The ripening grapes that were not attacked by Grey Mold have now been eaten by migrating starlings. Overall, I think it will be a much lighter grape harvest this season.