WINE STUDY: Grape Characteristics (2)

Winter pruning in the Loire

Assessment of any wine(s) appearance(sight), aromas(smell) and taste(flavor) are the foundation for varietal and quality recognition in what sommelier's call the 'tasting grid'.  Years of practice and discipline are usually required to train the palate and our olfactory memories to the typical characteristics of growing environments, production treatments, relative wine age and its grape variety. Plus, there are a multitude of wine 'styles' and literally thousands of Vitis Vinifera grape varieties or blends in today's global production. As I continue to prepare for the next part of the Wine Educators Certification exam(by drinking, of course), a continued review of the world's most popular wine grape varieties will, I hope, prove to be the foundation of success in this effort. 

Loire Valley Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc(Steen, Pinot de la Loire), is a bit of a workhorse white grape variety, being produced in dry, sweet and even sparkling stylings in its native Loire. These wines of bright acidity with typical stone fruits, quince or apple personalities are capable of luxurious aging, versatile food pairings and rich, viscous texture. It is among the most widely planted varieties in South Africa, where it is known as Steen.
Gewurztraminer, born in the Italian Tyrol, can offer rich aromas of lychee nut, citrus, and spice like ginger or nutmeg.  In fact, 'gewurz' means spice in its native dialect. With a propensity for quick ripening, low yields and low acids within its high extract, this aromatic grape balances what can be high alcohol with rich floral and spice notes.  In its best examples, however, like the Alsace AOC Grand Cru's, this spicy variety balances its rich exotic perfume with the same power on the palate.

Muscat(Moscato), which may be the ancestor from which all other wine grapes descended, is all about rich qualities that could only be described as 'grapey'. With a very high concentration of 'flavonoids', like those found in red grapes, high-extract Muscat has become a workhorse, producing just about all wine styles imaginable. Within this widely grown and very large family are popular global varieties such as Muscat Blanc a' Petits Grains(Asti DOC), Moscatel de Setubal, and ancient Muscat of Alexandria, among others. Sometimes its aromatics are quite earthy, but generally, a pungent, almost floral aroma is one of its signatures. 
Viognier, an ancient grape, is the only grape variety allowed in Condrieu AOC wines from the Northern Rhone. The grapes origins and even its name are a bit of a mystery, but it remains popular in spite of the challenges in growing a low acid, high extract grape that is prone to the malady powdery mildew.  The reward if found when it is fully ripe and becomes profoundly aromatic with notes of yellow stone fruits, tropical fruits, citrus or ginger, and echos the same personality on a richly textured, or fat palate.

Cote Rotie Syrah terraces

Malbec(Auxerrois, Cot) is one of only six(6) varieties allowed in red Bordeaux wines, in-spite of Argentina growing more of it than the rest of the world combined! Its inky dark color and robust black plum flavors have made it a suitable blending partner over the centuries. But it is in the South West, and Cahors where it can produce an aggressive, youthfully tannic wine that's dark and juicy. In the New World, it tends to be softer in character, yet displaying juicy black fruit and plum notes with under currents of violets and tobacco.
Sangiovese, the backbone of Italy's Tuscan wines, has very often been the base of a blend. Not a heavily pigmented grape, it is low in extract and high in acid with aromas of dried cherries, sour strawberry, toast and sometimes even licorice.  Flavor notes here can be distinctive, offering sour cherry, dried orange peel and spice flavors. Due in part to its site adaptability, Sangiovese clones, like Brunello di Montalcino, are prominent throughout Central Italy, but the backbone of its character remains. 

Sangiovese

Syrah(Hermitage, Shiraz) is an Old World dark-skinned grape of powerful, concentrated flavors and a high tannin content that needs late season sunlight to ripen. Inky dark, its herb, spice and tertiary aromas richly mix with black fruits and even smoke in this heavy tannic grape. In the extremes of the Rhone's Cote Rotie, a 100% Syrah appellation, the grape can offer floral aromas dancing with black fruits, dried game and bacon fat. Yum!
Zinfandel(Crljenak Kaštelanski, Primitivo(?)) may have its origins in Croatia, but it is California where today we can find its greatest expression. Moderate in its tannic structure, but with higher acids, this grape can be densely pigmented, but prone to uneven ripening with its thin skins. When ripe, it can be an exotic walk through a berry bramble, almost savory and sweet at the same time. Aromas of ripe berries and spice are common, along with that brambly undercurrent of flavors that offers hints of herb and pepper spice. Sometimes, Zinfandel's physiological & physical ripeness come at the cost of producing a higher alcohol that is out of balance.  When under-ripe, the grape can produce herbaceous and thinly disguised wines that are also unbalanced. As a result, this dark skinned grape is very much subject to the generosity of Mother Nature and the gifts of its winemaker.

Old Vine Zinfandel

Just five weeks remain until the tasting exam in Napa, and there are so many more grape international varieties to have a memory recognition of.  I guess I'll just have to open another bottle and begin working on the next post!  Cheers!

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!