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If I wasn?t a wine writer I would probably be a technology writer. I certainly have blurred the line between the two on occasion in this very venue. Wine can be as high tech to produce as it is low tech to enjoy. A glass and a way to get the bottle open is all you really need to taste wine, but the number of choices technology brings to the modern winemaker is staggering.
There is of course already a catchy phrase for the coming wine revolution: Dialing In. The winemaker will be able to dial in exactly what they want their oak barrels to accomplish. They will have the opportunity to dial in traits for the yeast they use. Soon there may even be ways to dial in exact flavor components like black pepper.
Recent advances have pointed research in the right direction to someday be able to create the black pepper taste on demand in any wine. This is done in the vineyard, and that is where we will see some of the biggest changes.
The wine grape?s genome has recently been mapped. Now that we know what the genes are we can begin the laborious task of doing something about it. The sort of benefits we can expect include disease and pest resistant varieties, tailoring to specific micro climates and of course, greater defenses against drought and heat.
I have already postulated on robotic vine tenders, so I am hardly taking a risk to speculate that someday we could have vines that change color when they are ready to be harvested. They could even indicate their water and nutrient requirements, with easy to respond to visual clues. As the saying goes, the possibilities?
At this point some of you may have come to the conclusion that I don?t buy into the ?frankenfood? hysteria. Anyone that knows me realizes that this is where I will *cite Norman Borlaug who ?believes that genetically engineering crops is little different from the cross-breeding among plant species that occurs in nature, and he argues that it is irresponsible for affluent environmentalists to prevent these types of foods from reaching developing nations.*
Oak is getting the modern makeover as well. Gone are the days when a cooperage would only make a few types of barrels. Increasingly they are using computer control of heat and time to specify different barrel characteristics for different needs. This is exactly what they have been doing for centuries, but now they claim a precision that makes a barrel specific to white wine, or even a single varietal.
A little more or less heat over a little more or less time and you add more or less flavors like vanilla and clove and woody spices. Mix up the type of oak in the barrel and add or take away a characteristic. One can even go so far as to mix grain size or oak species in a single barrel. All in pursuit of control.
The hardest workers in a winery are also the smallest. The yeast may be tiny, but what the lack in size, they make up for in numbers. It would seem to make common sense that the more control over the fermentation process you have, the more control over the resulting wine you have. This is what the yeast companies are banking on, as they continue to separate strains of yeast into ever more specific cultures.
It is not just about picking yeast in an attempt to influence flavor profile, some yeast foams less, some unstick fermentations, some do better or worse in more or less alcohol. There is a fascinating glimpse at all of the choices one can make in selecting yeast here at the Winemaking Home Page. Genetics will be having a huge affect on yeast as well.
New techniques in filtering are making wines less prone to bacterial problems, while leaving less of a mark on the wine. Removing alcohol has been one of the most recent innovations to have a huge effect. it has been estimated that 40% of wines in some regions have been through this process. It allows one to use riper grapes without making a wine that is too overwhelming in alcohol, or to reduce the tax liability (wine is taxed on alcohol content).
The choices don?t end at growing grapes or making the wine, there are an increasing number of choices in bottles and closures. Everyone has seen a screw cap on a decent bottle of wine by now, but have you seen the Zork? This clever closure has a peel away strip, then you just pull out the top which makes a satisfying cork like pop as it is released.
I am particularly enamored of the Vino-Seal myself. This glass stopper has a tight fitting o-ring and all the benefits that sterile glass offers. The first time you open one you will have no doubt that the seal it makes is sufficient to protect the wine. It is also easily recycled and even easier to keep to reuse.
Glass bottles too are in line for a refreshing. Rising fuel costs have made weight a great issue while demand continues to outstrip availability. As new glass manufacturers come into play the industry may well see innovations in materials as the new companies find ways to distinguish their product lines.
Nifty barrels, new closures, even genetically designed grapes are all going to make a huge difference but as always it is the winemaker that makes the wine. I love technology; I love gadgets; I love the promise of a shiny tomorrow, but mostly I love what works. Sometimes the best solution is pencil and paper. Time will tell.
What we commonly refer to as sulfites (actually sulfur dioxide) is natural by-product of the wine fermentation process. It's also an antioxident and antimicrobiodal. Some wineries add extra sulfur dioxide to their wines to help preserve them and many wineries use this compound in lieu of harsh chemical like bleach to clean their vats, lines, and other wine-making apperatus.
Sulfites have gotten a rather bad reputation because a small percentage of the population-around one percent-is allergic to this compound. For this reason, any US-produced wine with more than 10ppm must include the phrase "contains sulfites" on the label. This includes virtually all wines as the naturally-occuring amount of sulfites is around 10-20ppm. (The maximum allowable amount of sulfites in wine is 350ppm.)
Wines with the lowest about of sulfites are organic wines, followed by dry red and white wines. Dessert wines and wines with a high sugar content are higher on the sulfite spectrum.
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I've just finished going through a clutch of Hollick reds. I always think of them as one of Coonawarra's better producers, though clearly in recent years they've invested more and more in the nearby Wrattonbully region. I tasted through the following wines:
... and I was expecting that the Hollick Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 would come out clearly on top. It didn't. Indeed it wasn't even a Coonawarra wine that I preferred the most.
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It’s been awhile since we really blogged. You know the original blog post, a wrap up of the blogger’s life and ideas that pop in their heads. Usually we write in a more educational manner trying our best to educate. Today is different. This weekend we had a perfect storm of visitors. Our old roommates from the good old days when we lived in Madrid were in town for the long weekend, which inevitably meant lots of fun foods and some unexpected card games of Liar. A wonderful weekend, as well as an opportunity throw down on a few meals since I had such an attentive audience. First night, it was port brined pork loin (that’s a mouthfull), followed by Country chicken paired with roasted purple potatoes and green beans with walnuts and cured ham the following night. Both meals deserved pictures and descriptions, but alas, the food disappeared before I had a chance. For those of you with a grill and some gumption, however, here’s how to cook the the Pork(everyone’s favorite)!
Combine in a large pot, or bucket, the following: 1 x3lb-5lb piece of whole pork loin, 1 bottle cheap Port wine(ruby), a few cloves, a few sticks of cinnamon, 2 bay leafs, a cup and a half of rock salt, a cup of sugar and half a nutmeg nut chopped coarsely. Cover the meat with cold water and let sit for approximately 8 hours.
When the meat has finished brining, get a very hot two stage fire going in your grill. Remove the pork from the brine and dry throughly. Quickly blacken the pork on the hot side of the grill, turning it so that the entire piece is all nice and charred. Then move the pork to the other side of the grill and place a lid on the grill. It should take about 30 minutes to cook, though it depends on your grill. Just keep an eye on it! When it’s done, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into thick chops. Enjoy!
Let me know if you try it out!
Saturday, we woke late, and Gabriella and I headed to a meeting with a small port producer who is looking to explore the world of Web2.0. Had a nice lunch filled with great conversation and plates of grilled sardines and shrimp along the sea. After several hours of excited banter back and forth, we’re already excited to visit their property in the middle of the Douro valley!
Saying our goodbyes, we then wandered our way along the coast filled with pale German and British bathers in the for the weekend, and into the center of the city to meet up with both our friends and my sister and brother-in-law visiting who were visiting from out of town. Our goal was to meander through the streets and enjoy a range of Tapas, which we succeeded in tackling rather quickly. The first place we stopped at had some of the finest “Bombas” drenched in a slightly spicy white sauce. Bombas are slightly spicy potato filled croquettes with bits of meat inside a crispy, fried bread shell. YuM!
Our second stop was a disappointment, though the food was quite good. We ended up in a place where the owner became too big of an influence on the ambiance, hovering around us, making awkward jokes just to fit in. That’s always tough, especially when you’d rather focus on your company than the waiter. How do you tell him to bugger off and just feed us some good food? The restaurant, Mam i Teca, wasn’t all bad, as the food was pretty good, but it may not be worth your while. Too small, uncomfortable seats and pushy service doesn’t really make up for a decent meal.
We did have fun though, and I had some nice pics result from the evening. Oh, and one new piece of information on my quest for Iberian Beer! I have a place to review. La Cerveceria located in the Gothic quarter is a serious beer joint that goes out of their way to bring good beer to Spain. I will be doing a full review shortly, but I just wanted to let everyone who was feeling badly for me know that I now have a Titan IPA, a Snakedog IPA, and a new Beligum that beer claiming to the be the Hoppiest beer of the them all! We’ll see!
On the tasting bench today is the Scorpiiion Shiraz 2005 which unlike their Cabernet is made from 100% Barossa fruit.
Dark inky red in colour with sweet dark fruit and chocolate aromas. Easy drinking and full flavoured with juicy shiraz fruit really coming to the fore, it’s full bodied with a little spice and fine tannin on the finish. Although there was some alcoholic heat present, it would make a crowd pleasing bbq wine.
Overall a well made Shiraz in a typically Barossan style. If big, ballsy, fruit driven reds are your poison, you should get some mileage from the Scorpiiion.
Score: 87/100 Price: $21 Closure: Screwcap Alcohol: 14.8% Other Opinions: Can’t find any online Would I buy this wine? Probably not, although I would be happy enough if a glass was placed in my hand
One of my accounts handed me this wine review, written up by a former employee. "She wasn't all there..." they noted, and went on to say she'd find reviews online and cut and paste without actually reading them. This little gem was up for quite a while until horrified customers noted that they wouldn't buy the wine because the description was so off-putting. I, however, find it to be brilliant and would love to partake in the Ecstatic Singing Mantra whenever it transpires. So I searched for wine reviews of Jest Red online, and apparently, most of this review appeared on A Little Vino Would Be Keeno. Which is clearly now my favorite site. Ever.
"Blended from seven noble grape varietals, the nose is deeply perfumed with wild dewberries, Himalayan breeding musk, and horehound candy, while the flavors, so titillating they may only be disclosed in the Ecstatic Singing Mantra. Pair with beef, pork, pasta with red sauce, cheese or chocolate, or go wild and have it with pizza, burgers or even burritos!"
I'm not quite sure which is the best part of that - is it the Himalayan breeding musk or the pairings? It's sublime on so many levels.
I mentioned on Sunday that I was in Ravello, wandering around and eating a very good meal on a spectacular terrace overlooking the sea, the vineyards and the lemon groves. The restaurant is part of the Hotel Villa Amore. The photos of the place and the food may tempt you to go there. From the terrace of the Villa Amore restaurant Again from the Villa Amore terrace. By the way, the hotel is not at all expensive. On the following page are some pix of Ravello and its immediate surroundings....
The best kinds of cheap wines are the kinds that have a rich story behind them. Well, The Tillerman White wine brought to you by the Hook & Ladder Winery certainly fits the bill. At first glance this wine label made no sense to me… Hook & Ladder? The Tillerman? After doing some research, I feel enlightened knowing the origins of this fine cheap wine, so I’ll share:
The owner of the family-run Hook & Ladder, Cecil De Loach used to be a firefighter! “Hook and Ladder” is just another name for a firetruck. And The Tillerman is guy who drives the back end of a firetruck. A firefighter and a wine-maker! What a life!
I sampled several bottles of The Tillerman White, and I am glad I did. Not being a fan of white blends with a lot of oak, I enjoyed everything about this wine. The peach/apricot aroma was the most prominent feature of this wine as it approached my nose. The wine was very dry, tasty, had an awesome finish. Just a perfect all-around table wine. For about 16 bucks or less, this Sonoma County wine is a steal. If you see it in your supermarket, snatch it up! I look forward to trying some of their many other varietals. This same vineyard, the Russian River Valley produces Chardonay, Gewurztraminer, White Zin, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the “Third Alarm” Reserve Chardonnay. Oh, how I would love to visit the vineyard one day. Rating: 9/10 - Excellent! The only reason I’m not giving it 10 is because I promised my readers “cheap wines less than 15 dollars” and this wine retails for 16. Look around though, I’m sure you can find a good deal! Even if you can’t, it is worth the extra dollar.
Extra Info:Hook & Ladder - Founded in 2004 2027 Olivet Road Santa Rosa, CA 95401 phone: 707-546-5712
Ringing in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, this cheap wine was an equal match to the FishEye Merlot. From Ripon, California, this wine lets the fruit speak for itself. Along with the dark plum taste, I also experienced a little pepper in the nose.
At only 8 dollars a bottle, I found this to be a great wine. I had mine with Spicy Montreal seasoning. Try it! Rating: 7/10 Price: 7.99 Place of purchase: L&L Grocery Vineyard Info: FishEye Winery Ripon, CA www.fisheyewines.com
Going against the better advice of my high school English and sex education teachers, this story starts with the climax. For anyone involved in wine, the three months from the end of August until the end of November are both the most exciting and the most frightening of the year. These three months dictate the final say in whether you happily learn that your wines will be served at the White House or whether you become the largest vinegar producer in your neighborhood. These are months of 60- to 80-hour work weeks (and many times more) that on one hand require complete control of the environment around you and on the other hand require you to give in completely to the whims of nature. These are months where all thoughts of family and friends dim in an ever growing purple haze as your sleep deprived mind attempts to reconcile the hundreds or thousands of details that'll make or break the next year of your life. This is Crush.
More specifically this is my accounting of Crush for David Coffaro Vineyards and Winery. This vineyard/winery is owned and operated by (take a big guess here) David Coffaro and I'm his assistant winemaker (i.e. only employee). This is the inside scoop of what we have to do in order to put a prime bottle of vino on your table. David Coffaro Vineyard and Winery consists of 20 acres of grapes that Dave planted in 1979 and a winery building that he's been operating since 1994. We make wines that are big and red; zinfandel, petite sirah, carignane, an "Estate Cuvee" (a blend of the previous grapes plus cabernet sauvignon) and a "Neighbors Cuvee" (our only non-estate wine whose blend changes from year to year). Like a sandblaster to Tammy Faye Baker's face, I hope to strip away the layers of overglamorized marketing rhetoric and highlight the best advice I ever got about becoming a winemaker -- "Don't do it!"
The excitement of crush takes place on two separate but intertwined stages that seem to spin and twist in independent motion. The first of these stages is the vineyard. The 20 acres of vines we grow is minuscule by industry standards (There are certainly vineyards that are smaller but we are definitely of the side of pretty-darn-tiny). The first job we have in the vineyard is to wait for the grapes to turn from a rather pretty translucent pink color into an intense dark purple/black color. This process is called veraison. Once the color changes we're in the picking ballpark and ready to play the game. The second step is doing a large amount of grape sampling from each block of vines. It's amazing how grapes will vary from one small block to another, even if they're only 10-100 feet away. For about a month before the actual harvest, my job is to pick a representative sampling of all the grapes we grow and monitor them for sugar content. In general we're looking for a level of 24 to 25 percent sugar, which we measure as 24 to 25 degrees Brix.
The Brix reading is only the second stage however. Knowing the sugar level lets you know the technical ripeness of the grapes but not their actual flavors. Somewhere in the early to mid-twenties (sugar level), grapes go through an incredible change of flavors that ultimately add to the complexity of flavors in the finished wine. This change can only be determined by tasting the grapes themselves. So during the final week before harvest Dave and I walk through every block and randomly snack on grapes to make sure they have the flavors we want. If the sugars are perfect but the flavors aren't there then we simply wait until they develop before picking. Once they do, Whamo!, it's time to wake up really damn early and pick some grapes!
Harvesting grapes is a demanding and sticky job. The grapes are about 25 percent sugar and as the workers dump their picking tubs into the half-tons bins, grape juice splashes everywhere. It's well worth the effort, however, because I get to drive a really cool tractor. Once the half-ton bins are full they are driven to the winery and weighed. From there they're taken, by forklift, into the winery and the grapes are put through a machine called a crusher/destemmer. Now, agricultural machine manufacturers are not very creative when it comes to naming their equipment. When I say we dump the grapes into a crusher/destemmer you can be well assured that the machine will probably crush (lightly) the grapes and destem then, doing very little if anything else. We then pump the destemmed/crushed grapes (a.k.a. "must") into a one-ton bin (again, no big guess on how much it holds). The must is then inoculated with yeast and the transformation into wine begins. [As a side note I should mention that this is specifically the process for making red wine. White wine is processed in a similar but distinctly different manner. I'll get into the whites later.]
The addition of yeast is technically a winemaking choice and not a requirement. Native yeasts, which accumulated on the grape skins in the vineyard, will naturally transform the grapes into wine. But most winemakers don't trust these native yeast strains for the same reason you don't let your crazy cousin Leroy baby-sit your kids -- you just don't know what might happen and, even though the results might be fine, it's just not worth taking the chance. Yeast contribute four things to the winemaking process: heat, alcohol carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfites. The heat and alcohol produced make it possible to adequately extract the flavors and characteristics from the grape skins (almost all of the character and all of the color of red wine comes from the skins being broken down). Alcohol acts as a solvent that extracts organic compounds in the grape skins and the heat aids in and speeds up the chemical reaction involved in fermentation.
The CO2 has a separate and interesting effect on the fermenting grape skins. As the CO2 is released by the yeast cells it catches in the grape skins and causes them to float to the surface of the fermentation bins. This forms a solid layer of covering the top of the bins like ice on a lake. This layer is called the "cap" and can get so thick in larger tanks that a full-grown person can walk across it without falling through. The cap, however, presents a small problem. Since most of red wine's character comes from the skins, having them separate from the juice during fermentation can be bad. This small problem is solved by either "punching down" or "pumping over" your bins or tanks. Punching down involves taking a stick-like device (a 2x4, garden hoe, etc.) and breaking up the cap while at the same time mixing it with the juice. Pumping over involves hooking up a pump to the bottom of the tank and pumping the juice over the top of the cap. These actions insure that the grape skins have enough opportunity to breakdown into the wine.
We monitor the fermenting bins at Coffaro constantly and record the residual sugar levels and temperatures at least once a day. When our measurements show that there's one percent sugar or less left in the wine we prepare the press. We use what's called a bladder Press (For $200, what item is inside this press?). The bladder press is a long cylinder made up of a perforated screen. We pump the fermented juice and skins into the press and rotate it while inflating the internal bladder. This is such an efficient form of pressing that when we remove the grape skins -- the squeeze-dried skins is now called pomace -- they are dry, warm and flaky. They serve no real further purpose and are dumped back into the vineyard as fertilizer.
The pressed wine is pumped from the press into a selection of barrels that we've pre-chosen dependent on the wine varietal and individual character it exhibits. At Coffaro we use six to 10 different cooperages, with barrels ranging from American, French and Hungarian oak. However, this doesn't mean we make "oaky" wine. Barrels serve two general purposes; the first is storage and aging; the second is imparting flavor. Barrels only contribute oak flavors to wine for the first two-to-three years of their life, then, after that, are considered "neutral." As storage containers they can be used for decades with the proper care. So, although all of our wines are barrel aged, we only use 20-25 percent new oak to contribute delicate oak flavors. (This percentage varies from winery to winery. Some use as much as 100 percent new oak, some don't use any depending on the varietals grown and the style of wine preferred by the winemaker.
Once the wine is in the barrel we inoculate it with a malo-lactic starter. All red wines and most whites go through a process called malo-lactic fermentation (ML). ML is a bacterial process that changes the malic acid that's naturally found in wine (it's the same acid that makes green apples taste tart) and changes it into lactic acid (the same acid found in milk). This process makes reds more chemically stable, and for white wines it adds flavor (i.e. that "buttery" flavor in most chardonnays). Now that this is done both the wine and the winemakers get a chance to take a short break and recuperate before it's time to start the whole process over again.
Next time we'll learn why they call cellar workers "rats."
Check out Brendan's "Harvest Diary -- A week in the life of Crush at David Coffaro Winery" at http://www.coffaro.com.
When you start building a cellar and amass any quantity of wine, you're bound to forget some of the bottles you've stashed away. Rediscovering them is like meeting up with an old friend.
So much to talk about, so many memories to rehash.
Last night, when the Chef brought up the Trapiche 2000 Malbec Oak Cask, it was a surprise. I'd forgotten about this bottle, which my friend Rachel gave to me years ago. Why I'd never thought to drink it, I don't know. The wine's not expensive - maybe $7-$10 - but I'm glad I held on to it. The aroma was powerful, with touches of violets, baked goods, cigar and cherries. The flavor itself was ripe with purple, stain-year-teeth fruit and spice. It started out weak in the middle of my mouth, but opened up beautifully and finished long. I'd put this wine up against any mid-priced, big California wine, and at the end of the day I'd have a few more dollars in my pocket.
It's been the case for me that these forgotten bottles tend to resurface at just the right time, for just the right meal, just the right occasion. This one - surprising, but still very promising - came as I'm preparing to make some job changes.
Some people have horoscopes, others magic eight balls. Me, I turn to my cellar. I'm taking this bottle as a good sign.
How do you keep up to date with the wine world these days? I’ve found out what works for me although I still suffer from information overload some times. My interests are as follows ?
current hot topics such as closures, global warming, harvest expectations and so on
recommendations on wines to try and buy
educational material especially anything that helps me towards my WSET Diploma
I’ve found the following sources really help me
Harpers magazine. I wish I could afford their annual subscription but it’s just too much. However I subscribe to their daily bulletins via Google’s reader and this really works for me. I see a couple of lines summarising news items when I’m on the computer at home or work and I can always click the link to go their web site if i wish to read more
an unusual source of news items is South African Wines. They send out regular emails which summarise the key stories from around the world by directing you towards the various publications, web sites, blogs etc which have something interesting and relevant
there is no substitute for a monthly magazine which is good for those train journeys commuting to work. Decanter and Wine and Spirit are my favourites. I was working in the US last summer and enjoyed Wine Spectator and thought about taking out a subscription but the cost including mailing back to the UK was prohibitive
I love reading other people’s blogs. People like Jamie Goode and Andrew Jefford talk about people they have met, wines they have drunk and places they have visited. The problem with blogs is that there are so many (and yes I have one also) that it’s possible to subscribe to too many of them using Google’s reader that information overload soon takes over.
Podcasts are great for car journeys if you put them on a CD or train journeys if you play them on your phone. I’ve learned a lot from some of the podcasts from Grape Radio
For bedtime reading or sitting in a chair (with a glass of something nice of course) there is no substitute for the hard stuff ie: books. You can’t go wrong with a copy of the Oxford Companion to Wine by your side. I also try to look up every wine I try in at least one reference book such as the World Atlas of Wine, Wine by the Label or Oz Clark’s pocket wine book. These often give the context for the wine leaving the label to give the detail (unless of course it’s French!).
I may occasionally suffer from information overload but I do learn a whole lot of interesting stuff about wine which vastly increases my enjoyment of the stuff.
The children?s cookbook genre is enjoying a new life, as parents who have a keen interest in cooking encourage their young children to spend time in the kitchen.
Back to red wines, at last, many of you must think, now that we are fully into autumn, with winter on its way. I have provided here a range of reds, from several regions, wine types and various prices.
With the huge popularity gain for wine in the past five years, one could wonder if a recession in the wine industry is looming.
Much depends on factors in the grand scheme of things. The once-booming housing industry created much wealth for a lot of Americans, but a recent downturn in home sales has created a large-scale semi-panic in the mortgage and banking industry. The stock markets have been shaken by the idea that mortgage companies are virtually disappearing overnight. This has put into question the stability of the biggest banks, and what their exposure to these smaller (defunct) companies has been.
The wine industry is based much on excess wealth. Wine is seen by many, not as an essential, but as a luxury item that would be cut out of a budget if tough times arose. A recent look at distribution and retail inventory levels showed a large glut, sometimes in excess of 200 days worth of stock.
The ever-popular Pinot Noir seems to be immune to this kind of chatter, however. Spurned to new heights of acceptance by the movie Sideways, the "heartbreak grape" seems to be an indespensible red... a must for any cellar or pantry. The next couple of years will be crucial to the industry at the retail and restaurant level.
More gewurtz. The good news is that this is an excellent wine. The bad news is that it is sold out. I thought I would review it anyway because it is worth reviewing and you might spot it on a restaurant list somewhere or other. This is barrel femented in old French oak and left on lees for an extended period. All very interesting and artisanal.
Aromas of lychee, ginger marmalade, musk and roses. On the palate a lighter more delicate style with flavours of ruby red grapefruit, peach, lychee, ginger and spice. Distinctly dry chalky texture. Not a big fat impact wine like many but rather more subtle, spicy and lean. Finishes with spicy grapefruit flavours. A food style with style.
September 14th, 2007 is the Great Canadian Head Shave organized by the Terry Fox Foundation. In order to help raise awareness and much-needed funds for cancer research, Tidings editor-in-chief, Aldo Parise has decided to do his part. He will be...
The adjective 'big' as it relates to wine often carries a slightly negative connotation. Well, if not a overtly negative, then at least, fairly rough. A big red wine is more often lauded for its power than its beauty. Perhaps those big wines that also maintain an air of nuance should be referred to as 'large' or 'grand'.
When it comes to large, grand wines, one of the world's up and coming regions is Canada's Okanagan Valley in BC. In fact, one of Canada's biggest wine-glomerates, VinCor, has partnered with a band in Bordeaux (Groupe Taillan) to develop grand Bordeaux-style winery. Osoyoos Larose produces complex, character-full grand/large wine. The 2004 Petales d'Osoyoos (~$27) may be a 2nd label wine, but it's also lovely and grand. Petales is largely blackberry, earthy spice and plum preserves. If you happen to live near the 49th Parallel, matriculate over the border and grab this wine for turkey day. At a minimum, try it before the Loonie laps the Greenback on the exchange front and the wine costs you as much as a 'first label' vino.
If you're still having difficulty wrapping your brain around the whole Big v. Large concept, let Lyle teach you. His band is most definitely large rather than big. Listen here.
At the end of March, we threw a little shindig for Ryan on his birthday consisting of wine, mounds of grilled butifarra and dozen friends. And with the appropriate social graces, many of our friends came bearing gifts, all looking distinctly similar to a bottle of wine. Clearly, they had been well versed in the ways of gift giving for an uber-wine geek!
The Rimarts Brut Reserva from Sant Sadurni d’Anoia is one of Ryan’s birthday bottles which has been sitting patiently in the refrigerator just waiting for the right moment to be uncorked. And today just happens to be the lucky day as new friends for the States have been invited for a traditional Catavino Cookout on our terrace complete with grilled chicken, butifarra, grilled peppers, artichokes, and of course, regional cured hams and cheeses.
The strangely appropriate timing of this grand uncorking comes just one day before DO Cava releases their brand new image, coupled with the new slogan, “From the Land to the Heart”. Can you hear the violin’s playing the background and feel the gentle wind ruffling your hair, as you overlook their vast, rolling vineyards? As told on the Wines of Spain website, the idea behind this heart warming slogan according to DO Cava?s Regulating Council, Gustavo García Guillamet, is to encompass the entire winemaking process, from the very earth where, ?Cava is born as a gift for the senses, wooing one?s emotions and going straight to the heart?. Question: Do you suddenly feel compelled to savor a glass of cava based on this eloquent and moving slogan? Are your keys in hand prepared to buy up a few cases of brut, brut nature and semi seco cava?
But wait, there’s more. The slogan is being launched in conjunction with their sleek and minimalist new image. According to Gustavo, ?It?s a simple silhouette of four bottles where one of the bottles represents young cava aged from 9 to 15 months, the second bottle represents cava Reserva aged more than 15 months, the third bottle represents cava Gran Reserva aged more than 30 months, and lastly the forth bottle represents a cava that boasts the same qualities as the rest but differs because it?s a rosé?. The image is further expounded upon in how each letter describes a characteristic of its particular style. Therefore, “C” stands for ‘Characteristic’ and ‘Convincing’, describing how a young wine is intended to fully express the varieties in their raw form. The first “A”, for its ‘Ample’ character’ and ‘aromatic’ expression of ripe fruit of a slightly old, mature wine. So on and so forth.
Clearly this marketing campaign took a considerable amount of money and time to put together, but is it effective? Personally, I believe this is a complete waste of time and resources, simply because the international availability of cava other than Freixenet, Gramona or Codorniu is still limited, as is the amount of quality and comprehensive information on the web. Take the DO Cava website for example. Is this helpful to you? Would you not prefer that money be spent on effective education and international marketing strategies? Granted, maybe we’re biased, but somehow, I doubt that you’ll be looking at your next bottle of cava, while standing in the middle of your wine shop, saying, “So, this ‘c’ stands for a young cava that I should drink now.”
So we’re a bit skeptical of their campaign, but that doesn’t mean that we will ever stop drinking cava, and this particular one is no exception. Albeit a wee flat on the finish, we loved the creamy caramel notes on the wine, accompanied by a lush round mouthfeel, and we definitely would try another bottle to see whether the acidity is merely a flaw in this particular bottle or emblematic of the wine.
That said, we’d like to know what you wish DO Cava would spend their money on? What resources are you craving to help expand not only your Cava education, but also the accessibility?
Cheers, Gabriella
Gabriella’s Tasting Note
N.V. Rimarts Cava Brut Reserva - Spain, Catalunya, Cava (5/13/2008) Nice straw yellow in color with covered in a brilliant lime green tinge. Medium bubbles gently drift to the surface, in a lazy and casual manner. Reserved tropical notes on the nose of pineapple and banana supported by a denser, more robust butter and wood background. In the mouth, the wine lacks in acidity, but makes up for it in its lush round mouthfeel. Big almond, ripe pear, lemon cream, and a touch of caramel and butter on the finish. Truly a lovely wine that only needs a touch of acidity to make it extraordinary. 3/5
Ryan’s Tasting Note Light golden color with medium large bubbles. The nose on this is bready with with a nice lemon cream undercurrent, and light caramel nut notes on top. Really a pretty wine. In the mouth the acidity and vigor is low, ending with a flat finish. Though I really like the flavors of marzipan, nuts, lemon, and creamy yeast. Incredibly flavorful and a real treat on the palate. Ony with it had a bit more spritz and acidity. 3/5
From the days when North Americans had to face that difficult decision in choosing between two beers -- each marketed under a vast array of labels, natch -- came the odd habit of drinking one type of beer year round. Didn't matter whether it was 90 degrees in the shade or 10 degrees below sans wind chill -- ice-cold, light-flavored lager became our choice.
Well, guess what folks? We don't have to do that anymore!
The last 15 or so years of what most beer geeks have christened "the craft beer renaissance" have left us with a multitude of brews suited for every season and every occasion. With spring on top of us and summer just around the corner, it's worth looking at brews that make the best sense for the approaching hot months. They should be light but flavourful, refreshing but satisfying, cold and quenching but with more character than colored water.
Think two words: Wheat Beer.
In all of its American, Belgian and German incarnations, wheat beer is developing a fast-growing reputation in North America as a summer beer. And deservedly so. On a hot summer day, after having mowed the lawn or played a sweaty 18 holes, there aren't many pleasures that compare to a nice cold pint of well-made wheat.
But before you start thinking that wheat beer's just normal stuff brewed with wheat instead of barley, you should know that the grain is only part of what makes a wheat beer. In fact, typically only about a third to a half of the grain used in a wheat beer is wheat. The rest is usually good old malted barley. What's more, not all wheat beers are created equal. Not by a long shot.
There are three major styles of wheat beer: German hefeweizen, Belgian white beer and American wheat ale -- and two minor styles -- Belgian lambic and German Berliner weisse -- each different from one other and distinctive in character.
Hefeweizen/Weissbier -- Known by confusingly similar names ("weizen" means wheat, "weisse" means white), this style of wheat beer was once brewed only in southern Germany. Today, however, good weizens are brewed everywhere, from the United States to Japan to Holland to New Zealand.
Weizens are usually light to medium gold in color, seriously effervescent and often quite cloudy. The beer's haze is normal, a result of being bottle-conditioned or redosed with yeast before bottling. If you don't want the cloudiness -- and the B vitamins that go with it -- look for a filtered weizen designated "kristal." Otherwise, watch for the prefix "hefe" (as in hefeweizen), which means yeast.
The key to a good weizen is using a special family of yeasts that'll produce a variety of spicy and fruity aromas and flavors in the beer. Depending on the particular strain of this yeast, these brews can be clovey, peppery, banana-like or even bubblegummy. And while those may not sound like qualities you'd appreciate, in the right quantities and proportions they can make a bottle of wheat a truly beautiful thing.
White Beer -- Belgians are the innovators of the beer world. You've heard of the German Reinheitsgebot -- the Bavarian law that limits beer's ingredients to water, hops, malt and yeast? Well, the Belgians take a somewhat contrary position, incorporating almost everything but the p
Tecnorati
On the tasting bench today is the Scorpiiion Shiraz 2005 which unlike their 
More gewurtz. The good news is that this is an excellent wine. The bad news is that it is sold out. I thought I would review it anyway because it is worth reviewing and you might spot it on a restaurant list somewhere or other. This is barrel femented in old French oak and left on lees for an extended period. All very interesting and artisanal.
