BRAMBLES: A New Harvest

Summer in the RRV American Viticultural Area

Caressed by the bright, warming sun of a mid-August afternoon, we sat across from each other enjoying plates of linguine with Romanesco sauce and hot sausage, steamed broccoli dressed in Parmesan and lemon oil, and  hearty stew of braised lamb necks with carrots & onions.  The Wilson Vineyards & Winery Ellie's Vineyard Zinfandel from the rich Sonoma County 2005 harvest was robust and perfect. An opaque black plum hue with a mahogany rim, its aromas announced stewed stone fruits and spice, with robust, juicy black cherries, earthy dried herbs, with a hint of pepper that lingered on the palate.  "This is summer", I thought.

These long days and mild nights have drawn us outside, consistently dining al fresco. Surrounded by the seasonal growth and flowering so abundant in our garden this time of year, we celebrate almost daily a nearly complete remodeled kitchen, getting our student off to law school,  the important first steps taken by our grandson, and our reconnected time together. We have reason to celebrate.  Our health is with us, our debt is small, and our appetites for good food and travel are abundant.  How fortunate we are too that we can travel this bountiful world vicariously one delicious glass at a time.  In past bright days, other selections  having recently crossed our table include:

Chateau Tertre de Launay 2012 Entre-Deux-Mers Blanc (12% alc.) bright light hay in appearance with a floral, wet grass and citrus aroma that announce notes of grapefruit, quince and yellow grass flowing with a bit of limestone minerality,  and lingering refreshingly long on the palate.  This is consistently one terrific value, and makes you thirsty for more.  What more can we ask of a wine?

A Taste of Summer

Saint Roch les Veigns 2012 Cotes de Provence (13% alc.) offered a translucent pink rose hue with an intriguing nose of dried strawberries, Rainer cherries, and rose-petals; dry and crisp on the palate, it sings with blushingly bright red berry fruits with a hint of minerality across a refreshing long departure.

We've had this wine from prior vintages, and it never fails to impress with its refreshing focus, its balance and tart fruit profile. Versatile, it finds its way to pair with many of our summer dishes and events, offering a consistent reminder of why rose' wines are so delightfully shared under the sun. 

Moshin Vineyards 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (14% alc.) still holding a bright red garnet hue and offering a nose of dried red fruits with a floral component; on the palate its bright acidity carries tart red cherries, tea leaf and wood spice over a moderately long finish.  It made me think that Thanksgiving was quickly approaching, and it reflects wonderfully on the unique wine growing region we are fortunate enough to inhabit.  It is our beautiful, regional backyard.

A new kitchen's first Summer

The escapist in me wants to get away, just the two of us.  But even in Summer, there is work to do.  I owe the Society of Wine Educators a much-delayed paper, and I've got to prepare a presentation for our local wine tasting forum. We've got to prepare the house and its surroundings for our annual garden party, and as always, I've got to continue to search out the great value wines of the world.  If I don't make the time, don't make the commitment to these and so many others, there is a good chance they will simply wilt on the vine.  Wilting away my ambition, my dreams, and relationships simply cannot be part this or any cycle.  Like the nearby vineyards brimming with ripe fruit, this is the time we have nurtured and waited for.  If un-plucked, these unique opportunities will naturally be taken away.  It is, after-all, a season for a new harvest!

Ripening RRV Chardonnay

In these dog days my energies need to be devoted more earnestly towards working to completing my goal of Certification.  Excuses that I so conveniently produce should be exposed to the sun, so that the real work I need to accomplish can continue.  As a result, there may be a brief interruption in our regular posting schedule for this journal, but with a possible new harvest just over an upcoming calendar page.  That would be a New Harvest!
Salute!

BRAMBLES; What am I Drinking?

Aix en Provence vineyard in Summer

Summer daze, each early sunrise folding into the next, with dried grasses and leaves carpeting our hillsides and my gutters seems to relax my spirit. Perhaps it was the eleven(11) week kitchen remodel that had forced us to camp at home that set this seasonal picnic table.  I know that the late-Spring upheaval that marched thru our home lives was disruptive, but I continually found myself giving in to it.  Don't fight it, I thought, it is bigger than us.  My primal hope was that our major kitchen project would not overly stress our routines, that I could take a shower(even if was a cold one!), and that our resources would not run out before our kitchen was up and running once again.  And, of course, that I could continue to be able to search out and enjoy great value wines from around the world.

Shrouded over all of this was that fact that I needed to continue to pursue with focus my quest to be certified as a Wine Educator.  The national Society of Wine Educators had given me opportunity to overcome the challenge of the Faults and Imbalances wine exam, but I continually found it difficult to commit to the time, the research, and the unwavering focus necessary to effectively overcome its trial.  Our family obligations(including my son's college graduation), our work schedules, and the kitchen remodel were, for me, convenient excuses not to focus on wine testing.

Ah, but wine tasting was a different matter altogether.  If this quest of becoming a Certified Wine Educator has taught me anything, it is to be critically appreciative of each and every glass.  It tells me that on each and every day I present wines to consumers or shed light into the wines that they enjoy, I educate. The process reminds me of why I enjoy wine, a living story in a bottle, so much.  On our garden deck, under the sun or between those infrequent Spring showers, we share a bottle to enhance our food and enrich our experience, even if we have no kitchen.

Along with quality wine values of Chenin Blanc from the Loire, Sauvignon Blanc from Quincy & Reuilly, and the occasional Cru Beaujolais, here are a few selections that were recently enjoyed:
 
Commanderie de la Bargemone, 2012 Coteaux d'Aix en Provence(AOC): abundant aromas of wild strawberries, red currants and summer flowers; bright and crisp notes of red fruits dance across the palate with a hint of spice that refreshingly lingers. 12.5% Alcohol

Sansilvestro Cantine 'Domina', 2010 Barbera d'Alba(DOC): Dark ruby hue, with ripe aromas of red fruits and leather; bright and lively red cherries, black raspberries and licorice across a rich palate with integrated tannins that remains round in the mouth.  13.5% Alcohol

Barbera vineyards of Monferrato, Piemonte

Gabbiano 2009 Chianti Classico(DOCG): Dark garnet hue, restrained aromas of dark, dried fruits with a hint of leather; expressively rich flavors of dried cherries, dried cranberries and orange with an little dried tea leaf, framed in sweet wood with integrated tannins that echo over a moderately long finish. 13.5% Alcohol

Viticcio Riserva 2007 Chianti Classico(DOCG): Opaque garnet hue, rich aromas of dried red fruits and cedar, introduce rich and earthy notes of dried cherries and currants, licorice and tobacco over a long, silky finish.  13.5% Alcohol

Bodegas Ondarre 2006 Mayor de Ondarre Riserva (Rioja DOC): Dark ruby bright, ripe aromas of dark tree fruits and candied spice; robust flavor notes of black cherry, red currants and spicy vanilla ingrained in fine tannins over a long, elegant finish. 14% Alcohol

Garden Chardonnay, Russian River Valley

With our kitchen nearly complete and the garden tomatoes ripening, I have an renewed opportunity to commit to the tasks at hand.  Much like the Summer's bounty, there has been a long, slow and lazy development towards our upcoming harvest.  As we eagerly anticipate our first party from our new kitchen and as I look towards accomplishing the long nurtured goal of a professional certification, there will always be a lingering question in our house. "What am I drinking?"

To Your Health!

BRAMBLES: Simply Summer Quenching

It's warm outside and these bright days are long.  Summer has arrived to the vineyard, and in its heat you can almost see the vines grow, the berries develop every day.  I've noticed that my beer consumption increases these days, mostly because it is refreshing to have something cool in a chilled bottle.  It quenches a thirst, it hydrates, and it goes with the foods that we enjoy eating outdoors.  Grillin' and chillin' are for many of us the way to get thru these long, lazy days.

Inspiring, insightful contributing wine editor, Matt Kramer, noted in a recent Wine Spectator issue that the wines of summer typically are for our simple drinking pleasure.  It certainly helps if they are chilled, and perhaps even if they are uncomplicated.  For me it is the season of Rose' from the Mediterranean and cru Beaujolais, these are the months of aromatic Torrantes and lusciously tart Albarinos, as well as chillingly dry Rieslings from Alsace and the Rhine.  They sit in the cooler, quite patiently, next to the bottles of beer.

Rhone vineyard with gallet(stones)

In recent years, Rose' wines have begun to shed their consumer image of being too sweet, or too feminine. Supporting this wave, contemporary marketing strategies continue to billow the sales, with programs such as the successful  'Real Men Drink Pink'.   Consistent market indicators showing sustained volume growth across all sales categories, reflects pink wines to be on the coat tails of this very positive trend which is aided by new packaging, such as the improved wine box or pouches. With sunny Spain and the Mediterranean producers leading the Rose' way, there are many great pink values, such as Falesco's Vitiano Rosato from Umbria. And most of them are aromatic, vibrant and refreshingly dry.

Domestic producers, too, are catching the Rose' wave.  Many of these bottles efficiently give producers another wine product from the same fruit source as their more costly premium label. In practice, you can produce a Grenache and a Grenache-rose' all grown in the same vineyard. I have found the James Family Cellars Rose' of Pinot Noir, as well as the Robert Hall Rose de Robles to be consistent, excellent values, filled with bright red fruits and dancing with acidity.

These, and many more, make simple summer sipping easy.  They pair cheerfully with many of our favorite summer foods and many of these bottlings have easy to access screw-caps.  Plus, if your cooler is tall enough, they fit nicely chilled right next to those bottles of beer.

For me, a ball game on the radio, a fresh taco in my hand, and a glass of Rose' nearby easily echo the best of the summer.  Cheers!

BRAMBLES: Grape A to Z

Alexander Valley Zinfandel

As with old vine Zinfandel, long-in-the-tooth persistence can pay off.  I've been on a long quest for a prized certification, and have been frustrated with my results as of late.  With age comes perspective, they say, and so I have come to recognize that this coveted prize is just as much about how you get there as the goal.  As a result, I've decided to pull back, to go back to the basics to begin anew an understanding of the composition of wine and why we taste it the way we do.  For me that means going back to wines origin: the grape.

ACID:  important in the production and life of wine, acids can make a wine taste flat or it can make it taste tart, even sour. Acids are also responsible for a wines freshness, its crisp mouthfeel, and are  building blocks for the longevity of the wine.

• Tartaric is the principal organic acid in all wines, and naturally, largely comes from the outer layers of the grape as this chemical factory in edible skin develops.

• Malic acid is common and widely fixed in many fruits; in winegrapes it is sharp and tart(think green apples), concentrated in the flesh of the berry.

• Citric is in all wines, but relatively minor compared to other fixed acids. Cool climate grapes are generally high in fixed acids(as in Riesling or Marlborough(NZ) Sauvignon Blanc), where warm climate grapes offer fixed acids at more moderate levels.

• Volatile acids, like Acetic acid, which has a hard, vinegar-like taste, is produced by the process of fermentation. The other fermentation acids: Lactic acid, which is not a 'sharp' acid(think dairy, please)  and Succinic acids(bitter-sour), are fixed in fermentation.

AIRE'N: Native to Spain, Aire'n is the most widely planted white grape variety in the viticultural world. A late ripening, trailing variety, it is quite drought tolerant, and also harvested as an eating grape.

Grenache

GRENACHE: Among the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world, if not the most widely planted.  It is a world traveler, likely native to Spain(Aragon), it has spread globally from southern France to Australia, and as a result, known by many synonyms(Garnacha, Alicante. Connonau, etc.).  Its nature is to be high in sugar, light in acid, tannin and color; it buds early and ripen late, making it adaptable to warmer climates where it is principal in many blended wines and rose'.

GRAPE: Vitis, by genus, and for most of the world's winemaking, vinifera by species.  A wines character and personality is defined mostly by the outer layers of each grape. As a bio-chemical factory, dark berries are typically richer sources of poly-phenols, anthocyanins,  and other nutrients.  Traces of minerals, vitamins and pectic substances are also composed within the grape, but the grape berry is mostly water by volume.

IMBALANCES:  Opposite of  balance in wine, where these identifiable characteristics, traits or measures stand out and prevent harmony in any wine.


OFF AROMAS: Smells that are perceived as being out of balance, as is stale, un-fresh or fowl, dominantly sherry-like( and its not a sherry), dirty or alcoholic.


PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS: Contributing color, flavor and texture to wine, they are naturally found in the seeds and skins of winegrapes. Tannin is a phenolic compound that provides structure and texture to a wine, and anthocyanin compounds provide color.
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SUGAR: Carbohydrates Fructose and Glucose comprise about 20 - 25% of the fruits volume at harvest, and are the grapes ferment-able six carbon sugars.

TANNIN: found on the grape stalks(pedicel), skins and seeds, is a structural building block for the wine, providing flavor and aroma. Tannin, an organic phenol compound, is part of our natural world.  It exists in the bark of trees and in the pits/seeds of fruit.  In wine, tannins, will produce an astringent or drying effect in the mouth, just like black tea(which also is tannic), and are largely responsible for the color stability of red wines.

 VITIS LAMBRUSCA: Native to North America, the most widely know variety is the Concord grape.  This species of grapevine is generally characterized by its pronounced musky or earthy(foxy) aromatic compounds. Delaware and Niagara are other popular cultivars.

The pulp of the matter is that there is so much more to the fruiting berry known as grapes.  But, history to production has been covered, in part, by other entries in this journal, and the chemistry may be over my head.  As I have been given a unique opportunity by the Society of Wine Educators to fulfill my ambitions in wine education, this survey was about being reminded of wine's foundations.   I continue to gather and store more wine information, so it is necessary on occasion to step back and gain(hopefully) perspective.  After all, the long and storied history of wine has been part of our human culture for thousands of years...just like Zinfandel.

Cheers - A Glass full of Life!




 

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!!