Filtration for Crystal Clear Wine?

OK, maybe not many people stay awake nights thinking about wine filtration, but this is often times an important part of the winemakers bag of tricks to produce wines that are clear and appealing as well as sterile and stable. We’re going to look at a couple of aspects of this technique and maybe revisit for a more in-depth look later on.

To start, let me say that not all wines are filtered. Some producers make a point of stating this on the wine label. What does this mean? This means that the wine is not filtered. DUH! It does not guarantee quality or a level of quality. It means what it says: This wine is not filtered. Period. There are some winemakers who believe that a wine should never be filtered as all of the particulate components of a wine add flavor; filtering a wine reduces overall flavor and complexity.

There is also fining-this is a process whereby, traditionally, some material is allowed to filter through the wine to remove certain particles and compounds that may cause a wine to cloud. Some of the most common fining materials are: bentonite,a type of clay from Wyoming; kaolin, another clay; silica and activated charcoal. These are inorganic agents.

Organic agents include albumin, casein, gelatin, and rarely, isinglas from fish bladders. These agents work largely by forming compounds with solids in the wine, called colloidal particles, and add weight to them so they settle to the bottom of the cask.

Much of this settling action happens if a young wine, fully fermented, is left to settle on its own time. But time is money and fining gets the wine hopping along its journey to your table faster than waiting for it to settle of its own accord.

Filtration can be performed almost anywhere along the wine making process: wine is often filtered after fermentation when the wine is racked, transferred from one barrel to another, to start the aging and settling process. This is a coarse type of filtration and removes only the largest of the wine solids.

Modern filtration is either depth filtration or surface (AKA absolute) filtration. Depth filtration has the wine pass through a reasonably thick filtering membrane or agent. Solids get trapped somewhere in the channels of the filter and do not pass go and do not collect $200. Bummer.

As the name suggests, absolute, or surface, filtration removes everything if the filter holes are small enough. These holes are on the surface of the filter and need to be removed when clogged. This type of filtration can have openings so small that even bacteria and yeasts are filtered, hence, absolute filtration.

There are myriad variations on filtering agents and filtering machines, so we can come back to this topic if you would like. Let me know.

So next time you hoist a goblet of vino, hold it up to the light and see just how beautifully clear this wonderful beverage is; and realize that it takes lots of skill and experience and love to produce this product.

A Trip to Napa

The last week in September I was lucky enough to enroll in a course, a wine course, at the Culinary Institute of America Rudd Center in Napa Valley. The Rudd Center is a portion of the facility located in the heart of the valley. While the main part of the entire facility, the old Christian Brothers Winery, is devoted to culinary study, there is a separate building on the property that is concerned with wine study. After all, wine and food were born together and make ideal study buddies.

The course, Great Wine Regions of Europe II, focused on the Loire, the Rhone, South of France, Austria and Greece. It was presented in the state of the art amphitheater style classroom that can accommodate around 30 students. The presenter was an extremely knowledgeable Master Sommelier by the name of Bob Bath.

There was lots of information presented, about 24 wines per day tasted, and a good group of folks to hang with. With breakfast and lunch included, nobody starved.

What is important about this facility is that the same level of professional expertise is demanded for the wine studies as for the culinary and baking programs. The CIA offers a Wine Professional Certificate which requires a high level of knowledge of wines, service, wine business and food and wine pairing. To my knowledge, this is the first facility of its kind in the US. And when I asked my classmates why the CIA was chosen for study, certainly there are other wine education programs around, the same answer came through-quality of educational experience and knowledge of the instructors. The fact that the Rudd Center is located in the heart of Napa Valley and is drop dead gorgeous as well, certainly didn't hurt.

A long time ago I graduated from the CIA in Hyde Park, NY with a degree in Culinary Arts. For the longest time I wanted to get to the Rudd Center as my teaching and learning focus has drifted towards wines over the last few years. I finally made it and intend going back next spring if at all possible.

Good place. The photo is the front door to the Rudd Center.

Spain and Portugal

This past Sunday my tasting group and I were scheduled for wines of Spain and Portugal, light wines as the Brits say; table wines as we Americans say. One of the great aspects of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust program, is that, over a couple of years, I tasted wines that I never before knew existed. And as part of my Diploma study course, we taste wines from all over the world for Unit Three, Light Wines of the World.

Beyond the “regular” and familiar wines we ventured into: Rioja Reserva, Gran Reserva, a red from Navarra, a red Duero, a white from Rueda, made with the Verdelo grape which is responsible for the verdelho style of Madeira, but here fermented bone dry and crisp. There was a wine from the Duoro River Valley where port grapes are grown. But this was a scrumptious red table wine using the Tempranillo grape and the Touriga Franca, which is one of the top five quality grapes used in producing the exquisite fortified Ports I love.

A Vinho Verde delighted with its low alcohol, early fruity taste and its wonderful fizzzzzzz! And of course, there was a strwawberry/raspberry scented rose′ from garnacha grapes from Rioja.

What impressed the group was the fine quality of the wines-not a dog among them. In fact, most were exceptional. And when the price was factored in, they were all great values. We taste blind and do not reveal labels and prices until after all wines are tasted.

Malo WHAT?

Many secrets of art and nature are thought by the unlearned to be magical.
- Roger Bacon

No, this is not an incorrectly spelled Hawai’ian word. It is the first part of a somewhat mysterious process called MALO-LACTIC FERMENTATION. I say mysterious because it was not until the mid 1980s that the process was accurately identified, analyzed, and mastered. Though this process was present in winemaking since wine was first made, it was not known what “it” actually was. Malo-lactic fermentation, AKA secondary fermentation, is a process that occurs naturally and transforms the harsher malic acid (HOOC.CHOH.CH2.COOH., for you techno geeks), think sour green apples, into the softer lactic acid, (HOOC.CHOH.CH3), think dairy products. In so doing, a portion of the malic acid is converted into carbon dioxide, (CO2), and mostly goes away.

This process is beneficial in wines with high acidity, especially red wines from cooler growing areas; whites gain from this secondary fermentation as acid is quite noticeable, due in part to the fact that their acidity is high. However, in warmer climates, or in warm years in cooler growing areas, e.g. the Loire or the Mosel, if the Malo-lactic fermentation takes place, it may actually reduce the quality of the wine by throwing it out of balance. This is so because the acid in whites such as Chenin Blanc and Riesling, have their wonderful fruitiness balanced by high acidity. If acidity is reduced too much, the wines taste flat and uninteresting.

Try not to get confused here. Secondary fermentation relates to MALO-LACTIC FERMENTATION. If you are thinking about what happens with champagnes and sparkling wines, theirs is a SECOND FERMENTATION in the bottle. The wines are fermented dry and then put back in the bottle with the addition of yeast and sugar to create a second fermentation.

Chardonnay is a grape that does well with secondary fermentation. This determines the quality we often refer to as buttery in a wine that has undergone malo-lactic fermentation. (This chemical is known as DIACETYL.) If this aroma is in balance with the fruit and acid, it adds a wonderful note of aromatic and taste complexity. If overdone, it can become objectionable to the point where the “butteryness” overpowers the fruit of the wine.


How can a wine maker control this secondary fermentation? Historically, this secondary fermentation occurred in the spring time when cellar temperatures warmed and there was still sugar remaining in the “new wine.” In a modern winery, the wine maker can add lactic bacteria soon after fermentation starts. This timing allows the bacteria a comfortable temperature range; an acid level that it can tolerate; and an alcohol level with which the bacteria are comfortable. Those lactic bacteria are a picky group!

In some cases, a wine maker may rack off the wines after fermentation and place the juice in older wooden vats or casks that have a history of causing secondary fermentation. This does take longer and delays release of the wine. There may also be other bacteria that can contaminate and spoil the wine, so the wine maker must be careful in his or her choices for cask or barrel secondary fermentation.

If a malo-lactic fermentation takes place after a wine is bottled, it can create unpleasant tastes, will put bubbles in the wine , and will be an uncontrolled secondary fermentation. The winemaker will have no way of knowing if his wine is balanced and complex, or flabby and uninteresting.

I will give you another article on when a secondary fermentation is desired, even required, in certain traditional sparkling wines from France. But remember, these wines have a traditional secondary fermentation in the bottle because, decades ago when the wines were first produced, wine makers did not know what was happening. After time, this process of "unknowing" became tradition and then tradition became regulation.

Making Wine 2-Ageing

As I said in my first post on wine technology, there is an ongoing discussion of wine technology and tradition; and now a new factor is in play-so-called truth in labeling laws and regulations. As we continue in the series, many issues will be addressed; for now we’ll talk about how wine ages and techniques traditionelle and techniques moderne.

Texture, taste, color, and sediment deposits are factors in red wine ageing. Pigmented tannins, combinations of tannins and anthocyanins, provide mouthfeel, texture, and color in red wines. These components, called phenolics, are produced, or rather extracted or leeched, when the wine grapes are pressed. Early on the chemical reactions are based on these pheloics’ reactions with acid in the wine. As the wine ages, either in cask or bottle, these reactions are influenced by the presence of oxygen introduced into the wine when pressed, transferred, racked, or bottled. As time goes by, good title for a song, huh?, these different chemicals come together, agglomerate, and eventually get too heavy to stay in suspension in the wine. Hence, we have sediments, changes in color, and changes in taste. This why a fifteen year old fine Bordeaux needs decanting: the sediments are the harsher components of the wine that have dropped out, producing a wine with more integrated flavors, a harmonious texture, mouthfeel, and a slightly brown tinged color from the deep purple where the wine started when it was born.

The traditional method for ageing red wines is in the cask with added time in the bottle, sometimes for decades with potential for a great wine to achieve a century mark. Or more.

Based on the results of this ageing process, if like and kind results can be achieved in a fraction of the time, should modern techniques be used to achieve the desired result? Winemakers have available methods for filtering solids to remove bitter components from the wine. Oak flavor and nuance can be achieved by using oak staves, chips, and, some say, oak saw dust. By a process of micro-oxygenation, winemakers can hasten chemical processes that used to take months or years. This is where a wine is saturated with micron size molecules of oxygen, which filter through the wine to replicate the more traditional ageing in barrels.

Ageing can also be hastened by storage at higher temperatures than in traditional cellars. Again, cellaring was to hold wines at a constant temperature to allow the ageing process to occur. If you cellar your wines for five years, and I micro-oxygenate my wines and store at a higher temperature for one year, and we have almost the same result, is one process authentic and the other dishonest? Is one method old fashioned and the other making use of sound wine making technology?

If I use modern technology, should I be required to say this on my wine label? For example: “This wine was micro-oxygenated for six days, thirteen hours, seven minutes and four seconds before being aged in non-reactive vats with oak staves five cm thick, two meters long, and in a paddle array of five staves for three months, two days, five hours and six minutes?” You get the idea.

If aged traditionally, whatever that means, should producers be required to say like and kind describing in minute detail their processes and cellar environments?

These are not easy questions.

Making Wine, Technology, Taste and Truth in Labeling 1

Making wine, at least the basic process, is the same as it was thousands of years ago. Ripe grapes get trodden, squashed, pressed, whatever, to extract the juice, which is high in sugar, around 20-23% of the total must weight. (Must is winespeak for grape juice to be made into wine.) The wild yeasts on the skins go to work and convert the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Wine!

Needless to say, this basic process evolved across the centuries. Wine making now starts where wine making formerly was complete. What I mean by that is, in the bad old days, there was a minimum of technology, people did not know what fermentation was or what caused it, and if it worked it worked. If it did not work, no vino.

What developed over the centuries is a large body of knowledge about soils, grape varieties, climate, micro-biology, temperature control, and the role many ingredients play in winemaking. This knowledge led to certain techniques which are still evolving. I am speaking here about: the use of wood, in barrels or in other ways; ingredients used in fining or clarifying the wine; micro-oxygenation; speeded up “aging” through temperature control. The list grows and is ever changing.

Many people are familiar with the general processes of wine making: Grapes are pressed, juice collected, fermented, the new wine, sooner or later, is separated from the lees, aged for a time in larger containers, then bottled and either released for sale immediately or cellared for a time until the winemaker determines the wine is ready for release.

Into this basic stream enter many variables. For red wines, one of the most crucial processes is how the winemaker chooses to age the wine. Tradition says that quality reds must be aged for a time in oak barrels, often times new, but generally not more than four seasons old. The reason for this is that oak is a fine grained wood. The barrels allow a certain amount of oxygen into the wine, but not too much, during its barrel aging but prevent excess leakage of the wine out of the barrel. In addition, there are chemicals in the wood that are extracted by the wine which become parts of the consumers perception of taste, texture, and quality.

Now this process, aging in oak, as you may expect, can take a long time. Quality red Bordeaux wines are generally in wood around two years. Rioja Gran Reservas, Chianti Reserva and Barolo and Barbaresco specify different aging requirements in order to achieve the afore mentioned titles. During the time of barrel aging many changes occur which can also be affected by temperature variations.

Some questions now in winemaking are: If an analysis of the specific results of barrel aging can be identified, and they can be replicated with the use of modern technology, can the results be the same? If the taste and texture are the same, is the wine being manipulated and the public being ripped off? Or is the winemaker simply making use of technology that can replace older but perhaps outdated traditional methods? Are the traditional techniques simply moving into a contemporary mode of execution? Are these new techniques simply part of an evolutionary process?

The traditionalists have substantial investments in their way of making wine. One French oak barrel, a barrique used for cellaring, can cost $1000. American white oak can cost $600-$800 per barrel. There is time involved as well. If it takes three or four years before release of a traditionally made wine, and someone can have the same results using modern technology, the cash flow situation has vastly improved. A winemaker who can sell top quality wine after two years certainly has less financial strain than were he or she required to wait four or five years to release the same wine.

For the modern winemaker the investment in technology is also substantial. Food processing equipment is expensive and there are many pitfalls before the finished product is ready.

In the next part of our mini-series we will look at some specific techniques and how they were used traditionally and how they have been modernized.

Do You Know Who’s in Your Family Tree?

When I say “family tree” I am not really referring to your more...interesting (?) distant, or not so distant, relatives. We all know about them! No, what family I am talking about here is the family of the grape; or grapes, actually, as there is more than one family of grapes.

People who make a living from studying vines are called ampelographers, or people who study vines. Vines are climbing plants and what distinguishes them from trees, even old, gnarly vines, is the fact that vines need support to grow. Trees have trunks; vines do not. Grape vines belong to a very large family of climbing plants; included in this large family of climbing plant is Boston ivy. Grapes belong to a genus in this large family; the grape branch of the family tree is known as Vitis.

Within this genus of grapes, there are several species, the most important for wine making being vitis vinifera. Further down the family tree we have individual varieties. These include about one thousand different varieties including cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, airen, pinot gris, pinot noir, sangiovese and all its clones, etc. Other species of grapes include those native to North America and Asia, none of which, with the possible exception of the Norton, produces wine that is of sufficient quality in taste and aroma to appeal to more than a local audience.

Once we get past the variety, we arrive at the clone level. There are different clones for most grape varieties. These clones are sometimes naturally occurring mutations and sometimes the result of growers working to isolate a set of particular characteristics to develop a clone of a variety that will do well in a certain climate or soil. Clones may exist, or be developed for low rainfall, intense sunshine, arid conditions, and so on.

The vine also has a root or rootstock. This is the part of the vine below the surface. After phylloxera devastated Europe in the 1800’s, vinifera scions, vine tops, were cloned on to American or New World, rootstocks as these rootstocks were already resistant to the mite. The critter was originally from North America. The American vines and phylloxera evolved together. Vitis vinifera had never seen one and had no resistance to its predation.

This was not as simple as it sounds. For a given location a suitable rootstock was needed. Not all rootstocks do well in all kinds of soil. So researchers had to find out what scions, tops, did well on what root stocks. They then needed to find out what soil types were best suited for these rootstocks.

While it is true that wine, or a wine like beverage, can be made from almost any fruit, it is Vitis Vinifera that steals the show for quality wine production around the world.

Chianti and Brunello

What an amazing pair of wines. Chianti everyone knows from endless caricatures of wine bottles wrapped in straw where the straw was worth more than the wine. In this incarnation, the poor SAN GIOVESE grape was subjected to horrendous handling and wine making practices. Rumor has it that the name means “Blood of Jove.” Well, he must have shed lots over the junk that was put in those bottles.

Fortunately, for Jove and all his pals on Mt. Olympus, the condition of Chianti has improved enormously. the growers in Tuscany are now making making quality wines from this wonderful grape, all the way from a simple Chianti to elegant Chianti Classico Riservas.

But hold on a second. Will the real San Giovese step forward? The reason for this is that there are any number of clones of SG thriving in Tuscany. There are so many that a twenty plus year project to identify and name and classify all the clones is still not finished.

So, hop on over to Montalcino for a minute. Anyone heard of Brunello di Montalcino? Brunello is the name of a clone of our old friend San Giovese. He happens to line around the town of Montalcino, hence the name........

It is almost hard to realize that these two wonderful wines are of the same grape. Chianti-medium bodied, fairly acidic, black plums, cherries, black raspberries, tobacco, leather, oak, dirt (this is good), depending on the quality level of the wine tasted.

Brunello-much more full bodied, expensive, redolent of dark cherries, black raspberries, wood, intense plum flavors If one were to taste the two wines side by side, one would notice no more than a passing resemblance between SG and B.

They live in different towns and areas and while they may be first or second cousins, they must be from distant parts of the family. Do a tasting: you buy a couple of Chiantis and have someone else buy a few bottles of Brunello. Do a blind tasting. That way, you get to try the two side by side and your tasting pal gets the big bill!

See what you think.

A Look at Yeast

When you talk to someone about wine, certain items always get top billing: Terroir, grape variety, who the winemaker is, what style of wine is produced, how the grapes are pressed, etc. One topic that rarely makes its appearance is : Yeast. Imagine that. Here we have the very item that is essential for fermentation to occur. Yet most of us rarely, if ever, think about how yeast affects the process itself, what flavors the yeast adds to the wine, and how far the yeast can go in creating the final product. For example: Zins are often more than 15% ABV. This takes a certain type of yeast as most strains are dead when the wine goes past 14.5% ABV.

In the world of Sherry, the FLOR that creates the sometimes years long second fermentation, leaves a taste profile that, once tasted, can rarely be forgotten. In the world of beer, yeast strains used for wheat beers often have a nose of bananas and other tropical fruits. Often the flavors are there as well as the aromas. Imagine, a beer having a tropical profile because of the yeast strain.

Researchers in New Zealand are involved in a years long project in order to learn what exactly it is that contributes to the unique aromas and flavors of New Zealand’s most famous wine, Sauvignon Blanc. Many aspects are under investigation including how to analyze what the flavor components are, canopy management,how to best use information about flavor profiles when making the wine, and, of course, what yeast strains produce the different “flavors and aromas” inherent in Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

Imagine, if you will, being a winemaker. You have a vineyard and produce much wine. It may be possible to vinify several different styles of wine from the same vineyard by using different strains of yeast for the fermentation. If this can be done for SB, can it also be done for other varietals? If so, can ,say, nuance of Bordeaux reds be introduced to Cabernets or Merlots from California or Chile? Can new world producers isolate some yeast strains that will duplicate the taste of yeasts in use in Champagne to create an identical profile? After all, terroir encompasses non-man made conditions in the making of wine. Is yeast considered a part of a wine’s terroir if wild yeasts are used?

Remember, the science behind vinification is quite young. It was not until the mid 1980s that malo-lactic fermentation was identified and scientifically described. What other discoveries are waiting for us?

Exciting stuff.

O Canada

I was lucky enough to spend this past week in Ottawa, Canada. If you have never been to Ottawa you should go. The people are wonderfully friendly and accommodating. In the hotel where I stayed, and the restaurants in which I ate, the level of service was high.

I was there as part of a Le Cordon Bleu International training program where chef instructors from the US are invited to Ottawa to reverse their roles, so to speak. We, the instructors, became the students. We had lectures on learning theory and classical cooking. We were able to experience the process of culinary education from the standpoint of a culinary student rather than as instructor.

We had the opportunity to meet fellow instructors from around the US and work with them for the first time. The instructors were also responsible for doing "teaching demos" where we presented, in teams, to our fellow "students". Nothing like having a dozen or so fellow chefs to critique your food and presentation style!

At the end of the week, we were treated to a formal dinner in the restaurant at the school, Signatures. The restaruant sommelier paired wines with the food.

1st course: Deconstructed Andalusian Gazpacho with Lobster served with a Sancerre, 2005, Chateau du Nozay, Pascal Jolivet. This was a gazpacho presented in a shot glass and then had its component parts featured in individual presentations on the plate. The wine was fruity, rich and with a wonderful undertone of minerality and chalkiness so typical of these wines.

Second course: Seared foie gras poele with a truffled boudin blanc and apple/rhubarb compote. The wine was Canadian, Niagra Escarpment 2006, Indian Summer Riesling. This is a delicious late harvest wine with all the penetrating flavors of a classical Riesling, and almost over ripe notes of apricots, peaches, and honey.

3rd course: Boletus crusted scallops with oxtail ravioli and truffle jus. An unusual combination that was not wholly successful and made the wine pairing somewhat problematical. The wine chosen, a Macon 2000, Les Heretiers du Comtes Lafon did not have the body to stand up to the assertive flavors of the food items. A better quality Burgundy would have worked better, or, my choice, an Alsatian Pinot Gris.


A granite led to the entree course:

Roasted veal medallions with truffle coated sweetbreads and gratinee Swiss chard and pine nuts.
The wine here worked wonderfully well, a 2003 Pommard, Clos de La Platiere, Prince de Merode. It displayed the legendary Pommard nose of earth, mushrooms and barnyard with a vibrant color and fruits flavor that was intense but always elegant.


A votre Sante.

A Sense of Place

In earlier postings I spoke about the Loire Valley and some of the wines. There are many components that go into making wine, but certainly one of the most important is the dirt. In a certain place, a winemaker can expect to produce a certain type of wine. This depends on climate and local weather. It certainly depends on the grape variety. But consider the dirt.

What is the top soil? What is it made of? How about the sub-soil? And maybe the bedrock? Is the top soil deep or shallow? Does the top soil lose or retain moisture? Are the vines able to penetrate the sub-soil to seek out nutrients and moisture? What happens when a vine does this? Can the vines seek deep roots to protect themselves from surface freezing of the soil in the winter and can they protect themselves against a dry growing season?

All these questions pertain directly to what we call TERROIR and it’s direct effect on the wines produced in a certain area. When all human influence is filtered out, what remains is the terroir, that special sense of place that can make the difference between an OK wine and a great wine.

The terroir does not guarantee a great wine. But certain types of terroir are more like to produce great wines than others. Certainly, the skill of the winemaker and vineyard manager are immensely important. But there are time tested characteristics that, tested over hundreds and hundreds of years, indicate where the best dirt is.

Indeed, as far back as the Etruscans and the Ancient Greeks, where a wine was made had a measurable effect on the choice of the grape variety as well as the price of wine produced.

So next time you try a well made wine, think dirty thoughts. But in a nice way.

Cheers.

How Sweet It Is-2

Last posting we talked about how some of the world's greatest sweet wines are made. This time, we'll take a look at some of these extraordinary wines and maybe get you to try some.

Sauternes: From Bordeaux, the Sauternes region precisely, these wines are some of the most luscious, complex and long ageing wines on the planet. Made primarily from the Semillon grape, and sometimes Saugignon Blanc as well, affected by botrytis, these wines exhibit flavors and aromas of honey, vanilla, oak, honeysuckle, sweet spice. The list goes on. With a satiny mouthfeel and long finish, these wines can be immensely satisfying.

What makes these wines, and all great sweet wines extraordinary, is balance: the balance the winemaker achieves between the intense sweetness, the acid and flavors highlighted in the wine. The fungus also adds a "flavor" as it is not removed when the wine is made.

The King of the Hill is Chateau d'Yquem. Are these wines expensive? Well, yeah! If you want to try this one, sell your house and buy a bottle. It's probably worth it. But also look at wines from Barsac and some of the lesser known regions: Bommes, Fargues, Preignac. SAUTERNES classifications put Yquem in a class by itself, Premier Cru Superieur Classe. Just below that come the classes of Premier Cru and Deuxieme Cru.

Late Harvest Wines from Germany and Austria: These wines are made mostly from the Riesling grape. Each category of late harvest wines has its own specific level of sugar required per liter. An Auslese has a certain amount, a Beerenauslese requires more. The categories are just about the same for the two countries: Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese. Austria has an additional category, Ausbruch, that is between Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. Good names. huh? Auslese means grapes from a harvest, LESE, that are left over or remaining, AUS. Hence, AUSLESE. BEERENAUSLESE-beeren refers to grapes shriveled to around the size of blueberries or smaller, the result of botrytis extracting more and more water.
Trockenbeerenauslese means the shriveled berries of Beerenauslese have continued to shrink and are now raisin sized.

As you would expect, each degree of ripeness yields less and less wine per grape. The price goes up. Anything beyond Auslese must be individually picked berries. The cost goes up. In Germany, especially, where the climate can be variable at best, these wines cannot be produced every year. The price goes up. Get the idea?

Austrian late harvest wines tend to have more affordable prices as the conditions for production are less variable than in Germany. Most years will produce late harvest wines of wonderful richness.

These wines, beyond Auslese, are sold in 375ml bottles and can range from around $25 for an Austrian Beerenauslese to several hundred dollars for a German TBA, Trockenbeerenauslese.

Well, I wrote more than I thought I would.

To be continued. Where to next with sweet wines? Greece, Southern France, Canada, Alsace. Stay tuned.

How Sweet It Is!

Something may be rotten in Denmark that makes people a little crazy and prone to extreme acts. However, when we talk about a good rotten that's a different story.

I am not speaking of soul searching Danes here; rather, the rot of grapes know as "noble rot." This may be a tough concept for some folks, but hang in there. (Get it? Hang in there? Late harvest grapes hanging on the vines?) Anyway, if you are still reading, a magical process occurs under special circumstances that is oft-times responsible for some great sweet wines, what some would call dessert wines. More on that idea in the next column.

When grapes stay on vines longer than usual and certain weather patterns occur, there is a possibility of having Nature make a wonderful wine possible. The fungus, Botrytis Cinerea, attaches itself to the grape skins in the fall when moisture, generally in the form of ground fog or river mist, covers the vines. If the sun emerges later in the morning and drys the moisture on the grape, what's a fungus to do? We go inside the grape and get our water there. The fungus is interested in water: no sugar, no flavoring compounds, no dissolved grape solids. Water.

The fungus extracts the water, thereby concentrating everything else in the grape. And remember, the acid level in the grape is not affected by all this fungal drinking. With a skilled winemaker, it is now possible to make botrytised wines: grapes shriveled with all their flavoring elements concentrated are individually picked and gently pressed and crushed into luscious sweet wines. Some of the wines can last for a century or more in the bottle.

What makes these wines so special is that, despite the richness, of which sweetness is only one component, they are not cloying. Because the acid remains the wines retain a balanced flavor and texture profile. Sweet? Yes. Viscous? Yes. Lots of acid to make a body salivate? Yes.

Next posting I will speak of "dessert wine" and types of late harvest wines that you can serve as dessert.

Local Wines

If one were to enter a wine store or a restaurant and look at the offerings for sale, how many different chardonnays, cabernets, merlots, syrahs, etc. would one find? LOTS! Not that there is anything wrong with that. But how much is enough?

One of the most interesting aspects of the wine trade at the moment is the “discovery” of indigenous grape varieties that can produce excellent wines at their best; and well made and flavorful wines at the least. These are grape varieties that have previously not made the leap into the august realm of international celebrity status, but have remained on the more or less local level. Why are some of these grapes becoming more well known?

One of the reasons is that many of these “new” grapes are from southern Italy, Spain, the south of France; others are less well known Rhone Valley varietals, and so on. Some, such as Gruener Veltliner, are virtual specialties of a single country, in this case Austria. In the south of Europe, with a Mediterranean climate, days are very hot in summer. Without modern wine technology, white wines can often start to oxidize before they are pressed, with the result that the must is slightly brown and tastes bitter. Not exactly a great flavor profile to start with. Reds that ripen too quickly lose balance by being overly alcoholic and have a super ripe taste; that is because the balance of acid crucial to quality wines is not present in the grape must.

Modern wine technology can alleviate many of these problems. Night picking and temperature control fermentation tanks, refrigerated transport from vineyard to pressing facility, alcohol extraction, and advanced scientific knowledge have all made immense contributions to the quality improvement of less well know grapes; and often these grapes have come from regions that historically were not wealthy areas, think Puglia. The EU made money available for improving wine technology; we are seeing the results of these efforts now.

What is also happening is that producers in Spain, Italy, Greece, etc. are getting into international varieties, sometimes at the expense of local varieties. Albarino produces a wonderful white from Rias Baixas. But this terroir is also good for sauvignon blanc. Puglia has a wealth of black grapes, including Negroamaro, that produce earthy, tannic, rustic wines that marry with the intense flavors of the regional food. But classic red Bordeaux varietals also do well here. In Spain, we have Mencia, a very old native Spanish grape that produces a spicy, dark fruity wine and is just being discovered after about 2,000 years of hiding out! But this land also does well by syrah.

What I am getting at, is that we should relish the chances we have to sample all of these wonderful local wine varieties, as we do regional cuisines. Why would anyone go to Spain or Italy or Greece and eat at American style restaurants? Or watch American television shows at night? We have a wonderful opportunity not available to people ever before: to experience, appreciate, and cherish our regional differences in foods and wines from around the world. If I want a chardonnay I can select a Burgundy, a million labels from the US and Australia; if I want a cab, well you get the idea.

And remember, in addition to grape varieties, “local wines” reflect where they are produced. They reflect the Terroir where they live, the soul of the people who live there, and the foods that grew up on the same block as the wines.

Let’s just hope that winemakers do not give up the dynamic variety of local wines to offer yet another international flavor.

Terroir=Name

There was an interesting article in the Napa Valley Register on May 25, 2007 by John Waters, Jr. It concerns the application of winemakers and growers in Calistoga, Napa Valley, to have an American Viticultural Area designated for Calistoga. This would be complimentary to areas such as Oakville, Rutherford, and, further down the valley, Carneros. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is the unlikely name of the federal agency considering the application. The Agency, ATTB, is the one that decides on the naming and geographical definitions of an AVA.

What’s the big deal? If a vintner or grower in Calistoga wants the name “Calistoga” indicated on the label as a designated region of origin, think Medoc or Oakville, at the present time, the label may indicate that the product was produced in Napa Valley. As in Old World wine producing areas, the idea behind AVAs is to indicate a smaller growing area as an indicator of increased quality. This is so because if the idea of terroir has validity, as growing areas become more specific, the quality of the wine is likely to improve; think Burgundy, Chianti Classico, Stag's Leap.

So, if I am a winemaker located in Calistoga and I want to say on my label, Calistoga Bordeaux Meritage, 85% of the grapes used for the wine in the bottle MUST come from Calistoga. As it is now, if I make wine in Calistoga, the most specific region I can designate is NAPA VALLEY. That is why this is a big deal. Families, and wineries in Calistoga for generations, argue that their specific region, Calistoga, has sufficient distinction as a growing area to indicate a specific quality and distinction on the label.

So what is the problem? After all, there are many AVAs in the United States, from California to New Jersey. (I swear, I am not making that up.) The problem is a couple of large volume producers say they will be adversely affected by the Calistoga AVA designation.

Calistoga Cellars and Calistoga Estate wineries source grapes from Napa County and elsewhere; neither company makes wine in Calistoga. Their argument is that they have made money using their trade names and should not be prohibited or limited in where they buy their grapes. If Calistoga were a designated AVA, 85% of these wineries’ grapes would need to come from the Calistoga AVA. And this, of course, the entire reason for having an AVA.

If this sounds familiar, rewind your mind to the dispute between Fred Franzia with his Napa Valley designation on his wines when the grapes did not come from Napa. Caslistoga Estates Managing Director Marvin Stirman says that this is not the same as the Franzia cases as it is an intra-county dispute. But really, it IS the same. These two “Calistoga “ wineries selected their name because the name, in and of itself, has consumer recognition. That is why they chose the names of their iwnes to include Calistoga. The entire idea of Calistoga Cellars and Calistoga Estates is to make money on the name Calistoga. What the local folks are attempting to do is to further define what Calistoga means as a distinct growing area. The fact that this may affect the business of the two established wineries whose names were meant to mislead consumers by suggesting that their wines are somehow associated with the actual geographical area of Calistoga should have no bearing on the issue’s resolution. Also, there is a “grandfather date” for labels with misleading information: 1986. What Calistoga Cellars is proposing is to create another “grandfather date’ to accommodate their individual operation. Imagine if all business regulations were crafted to accommodate each individual business within a category.

If you have an opinion on this let me hear form you. Better yet, tell ATTB.

Some Warm Weather Suggestions

Now that the warm weather has arrived, let’s talk a little about some beverages that can help you stay cool during the warmest of summers’ days, not to mention mid summers’ night dream. (Sorry. I like bad puns.)

#1-Look for a Vinho Verde from Portugal. These wines are low in alcohol, under 10%, posses a wonderful nose and palette of fresh summer fruits; and for no additional charge you also get bubbles. This wine is fermented then refrigerated at 32°F/0°C until needed. It is bottled and a little “spritz” is added to make this light wine even more refreshing. Serve well chilled, forget about food with it, do not cellar it, the wine should have a “bottle date” rather than a vintage date on it and it should cost about $10.

#2-Try a Riesling from Chateau St. Michelle located in Washington State. They offer a range of sweetness and price that goes from off dry to dry, $7 to around $25. All have vibrant riesling fruit and acid that create a harmonious blend. The dry wines hover around 12%ABV, the off dry wines less. This winery is in the forefront of returning the wines made from the noble RIESLING grape to its rightful status in the world of wines. Riesling is the world’s greatest white grape. If you want to see why I say that try the following: taste a traditional Auslese from the Mosel; a traditional Spaetlese from the Rhine; a modern Auslese and Spaetlese from the above areas. Then find a “modern winemaker” who identifies their wines by the vineyard, or domaine, as in Burgundy. Then try a Beerenauslese from Germany or Austria. Then try a real Eiswein from Germany or Austria. No other grape can produce so many styles of wine and do it in such a superb fashion.

All of your homework assignments should have been this hard!

CAHORS

I've added some pictures a little ways down the column. You can see some places that, each in their own way, are beautiful.

The traditional, ancient town of Cahors speaks of the "Old World" of wines. Tucked away in SW France, south of Bordeaux, the region was historically well known in world commerce; there are references to wines from Cahors being on the market in London almost 1,000 years ago. There are native grapes, the most famous of which is the Malbec, whose traditional name is Cot. In Cahors, the wine from this variety is dense, tannic and all but opaque. In the past, English consumers referred to the wines of Cahors as black wine and the area produces red wines exclusively.

As a measure of how terroir influences wine production, Malbec is a blending grape in Bordeaux, although sparingly used. It comes into play in the Loire, a region not noted for ful bodied reds. And in its most famous incarnation, in Argentina, the export wine is typically fruit forward, chewy and redolent with ripe tannins.

The black wines of Cahors are made with varying maceration times as well as varying barrel aging times. There are producers who aim for the traditional big, long lasting wines that can require a decade or more of bottle aging before they are ready to drink. But in response to public demand for wines that are drinkable at an earlier age, some producers are searching for a way to retain the character of the region while having product for sale in a timely manner.

Prices for Cahors wines are premium to super premium with a name recognition issue: many consumers are OK with spending $40 0r $50 for a Bordeaux or Burgundy as they are familiar names and regions. For a good wine from Cahors to fetch the same price can be more difficult.

It remains to be seen if the area can "make it" internationally. Or will achieve a specialty status for unique and wonderful wines that take no prisoners.

The Sound of Music and The Happy Grapes

Over the last several year there were reports of kids doing better in school when exposed to the music of Mozart. I remember about 10 years ago a British hop grower played different types of music to different rows of plants and found that the vines exposed to heavy metal did not fare so well as the vines who "listened" to Mozart, Bach and Beethoven.

Now word comes from Tuscany that, in one experiment at least, the Sangiovese vines seem to like Vivaldi!

As reported on www.Wired.com on June 28, 2007, Italian grower Carlo Cignozzi had some of his vines listen to classical music composed by Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi and Mahler. Of course, because he is a "with it" kind of guy, the tunes were recorded and played back on an iPod!

Researchers were able to determine that the music had a positive impact on shoot growth and measurements indicate a larger vine area in the rows serenaded by the music.

It also seems that the overall volume can be low, suggesting that it is sound frequencies that stimulate enzymatic activity and also, according to some Chinese researchers, increases cell membrane fluidity.

The Tuscan experiments are continuing with more tunes and more vines. And while the final results may take some time to authenticate and replicate, those dedicated Italians are doing lab and field work. And the best way to verify your results? Taste the wine, of course.

Such professional dedication brings a tear to the eye!

But something almost serious to consider, is that playing music, even softly, seems to act as a type of non-polluting pest control. The music can ward off certain vine pests without the use of chemical poisons. And with increasing attention paid to renewable agricultural practices, it seems there may well be a place for some good tunes in world of wines.

Ratatouille

OK, this is a picture of the real deal. This is a classic vegetable dish of Southern France, served hot or chilled. It is made of onions, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini. squash, eggplant and assorted herbs and spices according to the tradition of the person making the dish. It can be flavorful or spicy, should never be bland or under-seasoned.

The reason I chose this topic is simply I just saw the PIXAR movie of the same name. There has been lots of publicity about this little movie and deservedly so. As with all first rate creative works there are a couple of levels to which one can respond.

First is the story, sort of a Grimm's fairy tale for rats with a dose of Horatio Alger. Second is the psycho/social sub text which I hope you can figure out for yourself.

But one of its main appeals for me is it is a story about becoming a chef with lots of stereotypical situations. But there is also an attention to detail that was fun to watch. The copper pots, the near psychotic French chef, the Teutonic kitchen Nazi, the supercilious patrons. All were quite real when I graduated from the CIA and they do seem to linger in certain instances. It was a fun movie, more for adults than kids. For anyone involved in the restaurant business lots will seem familiar but with a humorous bent. Of course, check out the wine bottles and what the imperious critic orders for dinner.

Humor is too often missing in restaurant kitchens; this is a real treat.

The Other Bordeaux

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Bordeaux besides en primeur sales of premier crus Medoc and Pomerol wines. For those of us who believe wine shows its true capacity for enjoyment in the drinking of said wine, rather than in the capital appreciation of said wine, I offer the following.

Cru Bourgois: These are a collection of around 200 chateau properties that did not make the 1855 cut in the grand classification scheme, were not in existence at the time or, because of calcified French wine regulations, are not allowed to even apply for admittance to the country club of growths 1 through 5. The wines are of the Medoc terroir and use classic Bordeaux grape varieties. They often are properties still family owned and many have long traditions of well crafted, well made and delicous wines.

These wines are capable of aging for several years and require four or five years before they should be enjoyed. Wines of the 2000 vintage are at their peak and will remain so for a number of years. Even at this tender age, it is best to allow the wines some breathing time by pouring into a decanter several hours before you plan to enjoy them with dinner. It is not necessary to decant them in the traditional sense as they generally do not throw sediment.

When it comes to cost, the Cru Bourgois are typically 1/5 the price of premieur crus Bordeaux and can favorably compare with many fifth and fourth growth wines; also for a fraction of the cost.

Please do not misunderstand me. Classed growths are fine. But not everyone can afford prices of between $300-$3000 per bottle, or more, for their dinner wines; even special occasion wines.

Next time you are in your wine mongers shop, see if you can find:
Chateau Meyney Chateau Potensac Chateau Chasse-Spleen Chateau Gaillac.

These are only a couple of the wonderful wines awaiting. As I tell my students, get started on your homework. Now!

Au votre Sante.

Great Summertime Wines Plus...

Summer is a comin' in. Actually, it is here in metro Atlanta. It is HOT! HOT! HOT! Did I mention it was hot? Humid?

What's a body to do? Swooning like Scarlett is an option but somewhat limiting.

PLAN B: Try these fantastic summertime wines and one wonderful lager. Prices are for metro Atlanta.

FAMEGA VINHO VERDE, DOC, Portugal, Alcohol 9.5%. BOTTLED 2007. Crisp and fruity with lemon, lime and peach aromas and tastes. It has a wonderful soft sparkle so common to these delicous wines. The low alcohol makes for easy drinking and does not load you down in the hot weather. Forget about food with this. Take off your shoes, dangle them in the lake, and sip this lively creation. NOTE I SAID BOTTLED 2007. Typically the stil wine is kept aroun 0°C-32°F until needed. This reatains the fruit and the CO2 goes in at bottling time.
No lake? Close your eyes and sip. You'll have a lake. $9.50

PINE RIDGE CHENIN BLANC/VIOGNIER, CLARKSBURG VINEYARDS, OAKVILLLE, NAPA, CA. Alcohol 12.6%, 2005. What a find. Two of my favorite white grapes in one wine. The crisp acidity of the chenin blanc is rounded out by the fruit of the viognier that creates a wine more than equal to the sum of its parts. 81% chenin blanc and 19% viognier make up a wine that surrenders aromas of apricots and ripe peaches with the acidic balancce to make these flavors come alive in your mouth. If you must have food with this, try a baked bass with a citrus butter sauce. $12.00

COLD CREEK VINEYARDS RIESLING, COLUMBIA VALLEY, WA, CHATEAU ST. MICHELLE, Alcohol 12.5%, 2006. This wine shows the results of a year long and apparently continuing partnership with Dr. Loosens of the Rhineland in Germany. The wine is redolent with crisp citrus aromas and flavors, lime and lemon leading the charge. At 12.5% it is dry and wonderfully balanced, fruit-alcohol-acid. Ch. St. Michelle just recently hosted an international conference on Riesling, YES!, and it looks like this grape is finally getting some respect. Sales of riesling wines in the US were up over 11% in 2006 compared to 2005, based on super market data. Try this and you will see why New World wineries are the Florence of the Riesling Renaissance.
$16.50

MOOSBACHER LAGER, BRAUEREI SCHEURER, BAVARIA, GERMANY. The lager is crisp and soft at the same time with a creamy head and aromas and tastes of grain, citrus, toast and malt. This beer is absolutely delicous and will refresh the most tired souls around. The brewery makes several flavors. I also tried the Kellerbier which is a dark lager. Add a caramel flavor to the above description and you hae a good idea of how it tastes. Myy prefernce is for the Lager. $2.40, .05L.

Water of Life

Water of life- a term used to indentify the spirits distilled from wine. (My definition)

This process goes back several thousand years BCE, although it probably was not widely practiced in the ancient Mediterranean cultures. Greeks and Romans were well aware of the process, but aside from occasional mentions in scholarly or philosophical texts, there apppears to have been no wide spread use of the technique to create potable spirits.

Fast forward a few centuries to the Arab dominated world of the 700, 800, and 900 hundreds. Arabs had absorbed much of classical learning. The "center of the universe" was the now Spanish city of Cordoba; Arab universities and libraries would often house more books and treatises, under a single roof, than entire western European countries; in the fields of mathematics, science, and literature, the Arabs were the western world leaders. Although some may cringe at the very words, Arab civilization invented algebra, modern numbers and number theory, and trigonometry.

In the field of ditillation Arab scholars reigned supreme. Using distillation to produce flavoring oils and perfumes, the science found its way into the realm of spiritous beverages. After Charles Martel defeated the Arab armies in Tours in the late 800 hundreds, wider dissemination of distilling followed. Eventually the process was carried to most, if not all, western European countries. Distilled spirits were thought to be cure alls for bodily and mental illnesses, based on Galen's theory of medicine postulated in the realm of Marcus Aurelius. Hence, the distilled spirits became know as waters of life.

Today, most countries that produce wine also produce spirits derived or distilled from wine. The great wine brandies of France, Armagnac and Cognac, come from wines made from grapes grown especially for distillation. The same holds true in Spain, where the largest use of wine grapes is for later distillation into brandies. Italy produces marc and grappa. Brandies are produced in Germany. Brandies are made in the USA.

How these distilled spirits are handled is purely a local option and is often controlled by strict laws and regulations on proof for distillation, how many times a product is distilled, aging requirements, bottling proof, and so on.

Later posts will look at types of distilled spirits as a corallary to my wine postngs. The two drinks are so closely related that they belong together.

Protecting Your Name-Australia and the EU

You read on this blog a couple of posts back that Calistoga is searching for its own AVA name. The EU recently recognized Napa and Napa Valley as GIs, Geographical Indications. Now comes news from he EU business web site that the EU and Australia reached an agreement on names of wine areas and styles.

The agreement states that one year after the agreement is implemented, Australian wineries must phase out terms such as “port”, “Champagne”, and other such misnomers. In return, the EU is protecting Australian place names, certifying certain production techniques and will make it easier for Australian to get certified for export to the EU.

This process aids producers in both regions and should serve as a model for future agreements in the US as well as around the world. A prooduct is know by its name. If others can simply “borrow” a place name, it does two things: It impinges upon the verity of the original region or producing area; and it is misleading for consumers.

The more a consumer knows about the products purchased, the better the producers and manufacturers are. Truthful labeling benefits everyone.

Maybe someday, here in the US, our producers will stop calling wines what they are not. There are still wines labeled Chablis, Burgundy, Rhine wine, and so on. It is time for all winemakers to mature to the point where they call their products what they really are. Calling a wine California Central Valley White Wine for example, does not denigrate the wine in the bottle.

Some producers say that much time and money were invested creating these so called brand names. Maybe. But that does not make a bad situation and a fundamentally dishonest practice any more acceptable. Most consumers are more savvy now about wines, beers, liquors, and all types of foods. One needs only to look at the rapidly expanding trends in natural food products to see that. People in general are more savvy about what they are eating and drinking. It serves no good purpose to have wine as an exception to this trend.




Good Wines, Great Prices

I rarely drink expensive because it is, well, expensive. My price threshold for everyday drinking wines is around $10 to $12. If we are talking a special occasion, then the roof gets raised to the $20 to $30 range. My once or twice a year wine purchases, over $30 are just that: once or twice a year. Fortunately for me, I am involved with a couple of tasting panels and have opportunities to sample wines I would not normally encounter. Also, there are a surprising number of store where tastings are regular occurrences. And we have a goodly number of restaurants with extensive wine lists that offer some great choices by the glass. So, there are options.

But for regular Tuesday night dinner wines, I seek good, well-made, dependable wines that go well with food or are fine to sip while I watch the grass grow.

Lately, some of my choice has been:

Marques de Caceres, White Rioja, 2005, Rioja, Spain. This little gem is made from two of the classic three native Spanish grapes used in Cava production, macabeo and parellada. The wine is a pale lemon color, light/medium bodied, crisp with snappy acid and hints of citrus, minerality and wonderfully balanced. This is well paired with grilled veggies, white meats and all kinds of seafood. It also is fabulous with deli sandwiches. Last night, I had a grilled cobia fish dressed it with a Thai green chili sauce. What a wonderful match with this wine. I look forward to sampling some more spicy food with this one.

What I like about the wine is how well it is made. The producer has long been known for standard setting red wines. Give this one a try. For the price, how can you go wrong?
Retail price: $4.99

Dona Paula, Los Cardos, Malbec, 2005, Mendoza, Argentina. This is a wine with a deep ruby appearance, a high color level, almost opaque. The nose has aromas of dark berries, plums, and a slight tinge of earthiness. It is medium/full bodied with balanced alcohol, acid and fruit. It shows a medium/long finish. Did I mention it is also delicious? I have been drinking this wine for about three years, off and on. I keep coming back to it because it is so good. It pairs well with all kinds of red meats, grilled pork loin, moussaka, spicy black bean soup served with a tooth breaking, crusty sourdough bread. And if you are looking to just relax after a week of Mondays, try this one on for size. It is an absolute pleasure to imbibe.

Got a stinky cheese? Do I have a wine for you! I tasted this wine over four vintages and it always consistent.
Retail price: $4.99

Il Valore Primitivo, IGT, 2005, Compania Gello, Puglia, Italy. The color is purple with a medium intensity. The nose is a mix of plums, black berries, dark cherries, and earth. The palette is medium bodied with a medium fish, an earthy bite, fruits as on the nose, and at 13%, has balanced alcohol, acid and fruit. Tannins are medium and serve as a counterpoint to the fruit.

Primitivo is the Italian zinfandel, reportedly brought to Italy from California in the mid-1800s. What I like about this is the flavors are as for a zinfandel but the affect is entirely different. This wine has a rusticity and earthiness not normally found in a California zin. Where a CA zin is a mouthful of ripe fruits, this is a direct line of fruit and dirt from Italy to you.

I enjoy this with whole-wheat pasta and a spicy, chunky marinara sauce or with some spicy Italian sausage added in. This drinks well with all grilled meats, and is super if you like using spicy meat rubs before cooking.

For those of you not familiar with Puglia, this is the top of “heel of the boot”. It is hot, dry, has a spectacular coastline and intensely flavored foods.

Retail price: $7.99

Pinoting in the Wind

OK, horrible pun aside, let’s talk about Pinot grapes for a few minutes. So many grape varieties have the word “pinot” in them that it pays to get to know the family a little better. The word “pinot” is actually a reference to the shape of the grape cluster as it ripens on the vine. Think about a pine cone; that is where the name came from, because the grape clusters are pine cone shaped.

The Pinots are a pretty big family with some well known and some obscure relatives. I think most everyone is familiar with the best known varieties and that’s where we start our exploration of this wonderful family tree, er, bunch.

Pinot Noir
THE red grape of Burgundy fame that can produce exquisite wines for which folks have been known to spend hundreds of dollars per bottle. This grape can produce a supple, elegant wine, surely not a “powerhouse grape” such as cabernet or syrah or merlot, but a wine that charms and eventually seduces all those who come in contact with it. That is if it is well made wine in a good year. PN can also produce thin, acidic, astringent wines, seemingly without any undue provocation. It is known as a problematical grape in that it demands so much from the grower and wine maker.

PN is an old grape and has been living in Burgundy for almost two thousand years. According the the Oxford Companion to Wine, it was almost certainly known as Morillon Noir. The first clear reference to Pinot Noir as Pinot Noir comes from around the 14th century.

Rumor has it that PN has around four dozen (48) clones of itself officially recognized in France. With so many choices, the viticulturalist can select clones for yield, disease resistance, degree of ripeness, and resistance to rot, among other characteristics. Certain clones can also be selected for local soil conditions and climactic variations, and maybe this is why PN is in such demand in France and around the world.

Despite its personality disorders and moodiness, PN is planted around the world where winemakers like to challenge themselves; if successful, a winemaker can enter the pantheon of great pinot growers, surely one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. Great risk and work but these come with a potential huge payoff.

Some of PNs better know relatives, all of which sprang from the loins of PN, include Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Meunier, and the ever popular Auxerrois; there is also some credence to the idea that chardonnay is a cousin of PN, but more about that in a later entry.

Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Auxerrois are found most famously in Alsace; as Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris thrives in Italy; Oregon has a deservedly outstanding reputation for quality Pinot Gris as well as exquisite Pinot Noirs. PB and PG look so much like their famous ancestor that until varaison, that time when grapes start taking on color as they ripen more fully, these three varieties are almost impossible to distinguish in the vineyard.

This mini-series will be continued and we will speak in more depth on this large family that produces some of the world’s finest wines and some of its most frustrated winemakers!

Chianti and Brunello

What an amazing pair of wines. Chianti everyone knows from endless caricatures of wine bottles wrapped in straw where the straw was worth more than the wine. In this incarnation, the poor SAN GIOVESE grape was subjected to horrendous handling and wine making practices. Rumor has it that the name means “Blood of Jove.” Well, he must have shed lots over the junk that was put in those bottles.

Fortunately, for Jove and all his pals on Mt. Olympus, the condition of Chianti has improved enormously. the growers in Tuscany are now making making quality wines from this wonderful grape, all the way from a simple Chianti to elegant Chianti Classico Riservas.

But hold on a second. Will the real San Giovese step forward? The reason for this is that there are any number of clones of SG thriving in Tuscany. There are so many that a twenty plus year project to identify and name and classify all the clones is still not finished.

So, hop on over to Montalcino for a minute. Anyone heard of Brunello di Montalcino? Brunello is the name of a clone of our old friend San Giovese. He happens to line around the town of Montalcino, hence the name........

It is almost hard to realize that these two wonderful wines are of the same grape. Chianti-medium bodied, fairly acidic, black plums, cherries, black raspberries, tobacco, leather, oak, dirt (this is good), depending on the quality level of the wine tasted.

Brunello-much more full bodied, expensive, redolent of dark cherries, black raspberries, wood, intense plum flavors If one were to taste the two wines side by side, one would notice no more than a passing resemblance between SG and B.

They live in different towns and areas and while they may be first or second cousins, they must be from distant parts of the family. Do a tasting:you buy a couple of Chiantis and have someone else buy a few bottles of Brunello. Do a blind tasting. See what you think.

Zinfandel-THE American Grape

What we here in the US of A, as well as the US of California, like to think of as “our” grape really traces its roots back to he European mainland, most likely Austria! According to the Oxford Companion to Wine, it seems possible to trace the importation of Zin to the early 1800s, when it was first planted on the East Coast, including New England. From there it made its way to California around the time of the gold rush, circa 1849. I guess if you had lousy luck prospecting for gold, you could always start growing things, and Zin was one of the best things to grow.

Mr. Z likes warm but not hot climates; Zin ripens more fully when it has a sufficient time to fully develop all the berries on the bunch. But once it is ripe, it does need picking quickly or, as it is a thin skinned black grape, it may turn into Zinfandel raisins. Given its predisposition to ripen berries unevenly, it can be a good idea to makes a couple of passes through the vineyard to get only the ripest berries and leave the slower ripening berries more time to develop.

With tight bunches of grapes, it can be prone to bunch rot and must have dry harvest conditions to be most successful. The yield can be high, so thinning the vines is a necessity for quality wines. The juice can be vinified so many ways: As a white wine; as a “blush wine; as a rose; as a red wine spanning the spectrum from light and fruity to full bodied and tannic capable of extended aging. Some folks also make port style wines from Zinfandel.

The grape is also grown in southern Italy, notably Puglia, “the heel of the boot.” Here it produces a wine with the same essential fruit character of a California Zin but with a more linear, earthy taste. In a real reversal of tradition, it seems, again according the OCW, that the grape was exported from California to Italy, instead of the more common other way around of grapes traveling from Europe to the US.

With a flavor profile of plums, ripe dark berries, black cherries, and moderate tannins, Zin is a truly delicious wine. With some judicious barrel aging it will take on some woody, oaky , and vanilla flavors from the wood and may taste ‘sweet” even though fermented dry. Most Zins are perfectly fine to drink at release time, with some more substantial bottlings capable of lasting four to ten years and even beyond.

There is a group called ZAP which is devoted to Zinfandel appreciation and production. They maintain a small vineyard site in Napa VAlley dedicated to old Zinfandel vines. They also have a conference in San Francisco every year.

Zin is a great wine by itself or with grilled items of all kinds, spicy Southwestern flavored dishes, chili, and hearty deli sandwiches.

Some of the Zins that strike me as being consistently good to excellent quality are, in general price order,low to high: Rabbit Ridge, Renwood, Ravenswood, Bogle Old Vine, Estancia, EOS Paso Robles, Seven Deadly Zins, Ridge Vineyards-Dusi Ranch, Hunt Cellars -Destiny Vineyards.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list but if you are not familiar with Zinfandel there are lots of good starting places here. And don’t forget the Primitivo, either-the Zinfandel Grape Fairy may leave you a lump of coal on St. Swithens Day if you do!