Oregon Wines versus their (90+ Point) European counterparts! - Wednesday February 26, 2020 at Vizcaya Restaurant - 6:30-9:30 PM - $75 - A Very Special Wine Dinner

A Very Special Wine Dinner is coming soon – An American Wine Society Tampa Event

Join us for a Night of Award-Winning Oregon Wines versus their (90+ Point) European counterparts!

Coming Wednesday February 26, 2020 at Vizcaya Restaurant - 6:30-9:30 PM - $75

Vizcaya

3671 S West Shore Blvd,

Tampa, FL 33629

Chef and restaurant personality; Vizcaya Restaurant’s Felix Piedra with Tampa’s Wine Correspondent, Ralph Del Rio, have prepared an exclusive wine dinner experience just for you. Each of Felix’s deliciously made courses is perfectly paired with a new world vs old world selection of wines from Northwest winery of the year winner Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyards.

Owner/Winemaker and wine judge Stephen M. Reustle will present wines from Umpqua Valley’s AVA and compare them with their European counterparts. Traveling from Rioja, to Burgundy, Northern Rhone Valley, and Austria would take a great deal of time and effort.

…But located below Willamette Valley in the Umpqua Valley of Oregon you can experience wines that rival wines these European prestigious wine regions.

For this American Wine Society Tampa Bay event; we will present four award -winning wines from the Umpqua Valley match and them up with a delicious chef inspired plate… Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Tempranillo and taste them side-by-side with their (90+ point score) European counterparts.

...Featuring some of the Top Wines of 2019

“After tasting these wines an knowing how great Oregon terroir is; I know that this a one of a kind event that’s going to be a lot of fun, educational and hedonistic.” – Ralph Del Rio, Certified Somm

Seats are limited and filling up quickly, contact to reserve today

Contact winecorrespondent@gmail.com or americanwinesocietytampa@gmail.com

Wines of Spain.- Rioja !!! Wednesday December 11, 2019 - 6:30 – 9:30+ - at Vizcaya Restaurant in South Tampa

Wines of Spain. Wednesday December 11, 2019  -  Rioja  6:30 – 9:30+  at Vizcaya Restaurant in South Tampa

Wine and Tapas - $35 (it covers the wine and 3 or 4 Tapas plus any surprises) ...after that if you want to explore their menu you 're on your own; feel free. It's good and authentic. It will be fun. Good food pairing!

Vizcaya

3671 S West Shore Blvd

Tampa, FL 33629

The wines will be CAVA, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva along with some Spanish Tapas. The wines will be from Rioja and there maybe a Ribera Del Duero in there... But it's guaranteed to be a good time and a learning experience. 

Crianza: A wine labeled crianza has spent one year in oak barrels.

Reserva: A wine that says reserva on the bottle has been aged for two years; one of these years has to have been spent in oak.

Gran Reserva: These wines are aged for two years in oak and three years in the bottle.

Cava: Spain's iconic sparkling wine style, and the Iberian Peninsula's response to Champagne    

Most Riojas are red, and Tempranillo is the principal red grape used. The native grapes Garnacha Tinta (Grenache in France), Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano are also allowed in the blend. The Riojas can be in the elegant Bordeaux style, with hints of vanilla from the oak aging; which is the traditional style characterized by lengthy aging and some sweetness; or, gradually, in a more modern style with less aging, which highlights deep and fresh fruit flavors. All this pairs great with food.

White Rioja wines are usually made from Macabeo, Garnacha Blanca and Malvasia grapes. Their will be some of that too.

Hope to see you there.

What in the world is Orange Wine !?!

Let’s start real quick here “Orange” is not a type of grape or winemaking technique. It’s a color! And it’s just one color in the enormous style, and color spectrum, of skin-contact wines.

Like red and white and rosé before it, people have begun to use the color orange to define and judge wines. Any white-wine grape can be used to make orange wine. It’s true!

Hey! If colors are what open your world up to try wines; more power to you. Skin contact on wines has been around for thousands of years.

If you go to the Wine Folly website…you’ll get this:

The process of making orange wine is very old, but the reinvigoration of this ancient process has only resurfaced in the last 20 odd years. Many modern-day orange winemakers look as far back as 5000 years in Caucasus (modern-day Georgia,–not the state) where wines were fermented in large subterranean vessels called Qvevri (“Kev-ree”) that were originally closed with stones and sealed with beeswax.

Which I am sure will cause debate and confusion.

So just remember this…

1.       It’s not made from Oranges

2.       Orange wines are the product of vinifying white grapes the way red wine is normally made.

3.       Most Orange wines taste like a bolder, savorier version of wines from the same white grape it was made from.

4.       It’s not like Blue Wine which is Blue wine is made from red and white grapes, and gains its strange color from that.

5.       Orange Wine goes with a lot of food and they handle this wide range of flavors well. Especially foods that do not usually go with reds.

6.       All skin contact wines are not orange, but all orange wines are made from skin contact.

By all means, try an Orange Wine. It’s now the trendy thing to ask for…

New Cocktail Appreciation, Raising the Bar, the South taking a a Front Seat

Just like wine, whiskey requires a master blender to take an strong and interesting palate. Often he or she practices an old art of mixing to bring things into balance for the final product and like second and third wines there needs to be constant sampling to be able to separate the exceptional from the acceptable. Today's bartenders are similar in the same way.

There is definitely a southern cocktail revolution going on out there. Whether it's a restaurant, saloon, neo-speakeasies, hotel bars or club a barrier has definitely been broken. I've been all over the south in the past year or so; it can be Asheville NC, Mobile Alabama, New Orleans LA, Charleston SC across the low country, Oxford Mississippi, Decatur GA, down all the way to Tampa FL. There's a movement of fakelore or folklore whatever you want to call it that has folks paying homage, exhuming lost recipes, trying to respect the old ways. It's even seething into the mainstream restaurants....and let's be clear; a lot of labor goes into conjuring a proper cocktail and the food the goes with it (but that's another story).

It's happening. So ask for a Gin Fizz, a bottled Sazerac, a Julep del Professore, Rum Negroni or a Rum Old- Fashioned or any of these playful libations and see what you are in store for. It's going to be a modern rebound of a drink that'll be refocused on the classic with a liberating variation. Take a chance trust the uncommon palate.

The AVA’s are coming into play in the USA...Similar to the way the French are hooked on the ‘Control’ of their Appellations – The USA is getting more detailed!

Here in the USA the more known your wine gets the more independence you want to be able to label your wine from where it comes from. If your wine is actually from Napa Valley or Yountville, you want to be able to say it proud and say it loud.

That’s what the American Vinicultural Area is about – The AVA’s are coming into play in the USA. Very similar in the way the French are hooked on the ‘Control’ of their Appellations – The USA is getting more detailed; which is great for the consumer and great for the winery or the area if it starts to get prevalent. For example, Stag’s Leap, Carneros, Alexander Valley, Paso Robles, Willamette Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Monticello and the Finger Lakes to name a bunch throughout the country.

An American Vinicultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), United States Department of the Treasury. As of March 2015, there were 230 AVAs in the United States.

And just so you know the TTB defines AVAs at the request of wineries and other petitioners and current regulations push for extra requirements on an AVA.

For instance, the proof that the name of the proposed new AVA is locally or nationally recognized as denoting to the area. Also key is the historical or current evidence that the boundaries are legitimate (using maps); And the evidence that the terroir or growing conditions such as climate, soil, elevation, and physical features are distinguishing characteristics.

Once an AVA is established, at least 85% of the grapes used to make a wine must be grown in the specified area if an AVA is referenced on its label; per the TTB

Keep in mind that the state or county boundaries—such as for Oregon or Sonoma County—are not actually AVAs, even though they are used to identify and designate the source of a wine. The AVAs are reserved for situations where a geographically defined area has been using the name and it has come to be identified with that area. It is meant to be specific. So one can know with more detail where the wine is coming from, to be able to dig deeper to the source.

To illustrate, a vineyard may be in more than one AVA. Case in point, the Santa Clara Valley AVA and Livermore Valley AVAs are located within the territory of the San Francisco Bay AVA, which is itself located within the Central Coast AVA.

FYI, The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) website, the Wine Institute and Wikipedia has a lot of this good listing and information here; for that matter.

So just be aware…The more popular wine areas get the more you’ll realize what’s on the label and be able to distinguish the efforts at better quality wine and how to use your pocketbook for a real distinguishable and solid AVA wine.

It’s April...its time to taste the Classic Bordeaux in Barrels for ratings and pricing. It's called “En Primeur”...What about some thoughts on California and their older wineries…

It’s April and that usually means its time to taste the Bordeaux in Barrels. These “En Primeur” tastings is Bordeaux bring on a who’s who in the wine tasting world to rate the future of the vintage and what the effects on the market might be; Granted there is an idea based on previous vintage information, but nevertheless there is always excitement.

The wines focused on and tasted  during “En Primeur’ are usually the classics, the older wineries, the 1855 Classification Growths, the heavy hitters from the left and right banks.

So in honor of Bordeaux I am going to write about and list some thoughts on California and their older wineries…How’s that!?!

As Karen MacNeil’s nicely researched ‘The Wine Bible’ (I totally recommend) puts it…

By the turn of the 20th century nearly 300 grape varieties were being grown in California, providing for its nearly 800 wineries. Worldwide recognition looked pending, especially after helping solve the Pheloxera disease crisis in France by using American rootstock saving the Bordeaux vineyards.

Yes! That actually happened.

But then suddenly on January 16, 1919... the 18th Amendment ushered in the beginning of Prohibition.

The rest is history until California came roaring back in the late sixties and seventies.

Let’s review some of the classic California Wineries, wines and oldest vines.

 

In the late 1800’a and early 1900’s…During this period some of California's oldest wineries were founded including :

Buena Vista Winery, Gundlach Bundschu, Inglenook Winery, Markham Vineyards and Schramsberg Vineyards. – Great pedigree with abundant value…and then some

 In a way, these wineries should be looked upon, here are some tid-bits.
 

So here’s a nice list of 100 year old wineries….

• Beaulieu Vineyards –Founded in 1900, a great place to visit too

• Beringer – Famous Rhine House completed in 1884; I'd like to add, as part of their line the Knights Valley Cabernet provides such a great consistent value 

• Charles Krug – Founded in 1861 by Charles Krug, owned by Peter Mondavi

• Chateau Montelena – Established in 1882 by Alfred Tubbs.

• Inglenook – This Chateau dates back to 1879

• Nichelini – Founded in 1890 and the same family owns it today

• Schramsberg – Founded in 1862, the present owners purchased the winery in 1968

• Trefethen Family Vineyards – Winery built in 1886, Trefethen begins in 1968

 • Buena Vista Winery – Pioneer Haraszthy founded Buena Vista Winery in 1857 on a site in Sonoma

Check them out, keep them handy...Good wine, good conversation.

Here are also some California vineyards that have some of America's Oldest Vines along with a blurb or two….

Michael David Winery Ancient Vine Cinsault

Back then these 128-year-old vines were planted, Grover Cleveland was the USA president, and when you needed to get to get around in a hurry you rode a horse and buggy.

Scherrer Old & Matua Vines Zinfandel

A wine that is multi-generational; Fred Scherrer makes it with fruit from vines his father and grandfather planted in the 1970s and 1912, respectively.

Turley Duarte Zinfandel

Using ancient vines of Contra Costa County, this red zin pulls from the Salvador, Evangelho and Mori vineyards (the Mori vineyard spooky story is that it was planted by a pair of gravedigger brothers in the 1940s).

Bedrock Wine Co. Bedrock Heritage Red

The Bedrock Vineyard purportedly has 33 acres of ancient vines date from 1888; as landowner Morgan Twain-Peterson has said, "This vineyard has a long history, and I'm just passing through."

Ravenswood Old Hill Zinfandel

It has been reported since 1871, that journalists were praising this vineyard; the Pacific Rural Press wrote that its wine was "superior...to any in the state."

Also, for good measure I thought I’d mention the famous 1976 Reds
from the Paris tasting because they competed against many “En Premeur” wines…These wines have gone on to good fortune and status

The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 or the Judgment of Paris was a wine competition –Reds:

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 

Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 

Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 

Clos Du Val Winery 1972 

Mayacamas Vineyards 1971   

Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 

As you can see California has some very cool historical vineyards and wines to keep you busy on this kind of subject.

 

 

Tampa is launching a new wine association. …Tampa Bay Wine Alliance - TBWA Wow!!!

Tampa is launching a new wine association. …Tampa Bay Wine Alliance  - TBWA

www.tampabaywinealliance.com

The website is evolving and will have the events and the on-goings. So it's a good App for the smartphone to know the events. It's also going to have a members only area as the site progresses further.

It is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to supporting the growing wine culture of the Tampa Bay region.

It has a nominal membership of $52 a year. It provides you 6 tasting events and you become a ‘Founding Member’ which for sure will have goodies involved.

It has the backing of some of the major restaurants in the area including Bern’s, Mise en Place and Charley’s Steakhouse to name some…and it will have a lot more in the tank for all kinds of wine lovers. Beginners to Aficionados.

The mission is to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of wine and wine service by promoting wine education and enjoyment throughout the Greater Tampa Bay area.

If you are a wine enthusiast, the goal of the alliance is to help you deepen your understanding through online content and tasting opportunities.

If you are involved with wine through the service industry, the organization will provide you with educational opportunities to increase your ability to serve customers and ultimately increase your earning potential.

If you are a “wine professional”, the goal is to support your efforts to be a leader in the industry, acquire professional certifications, and network with your peers.

Whatever your level of interest in wine, the alliance strive to develop a sense of community that will make the Tampa Bay area one of the top regions for wine knowledge and appreciation in the entire country. We hope you’ll support the efforts! Sounds ideal! By the way, my hat is 'in' on this.

Sign up today. Don’t miss out on this cool happening!

The “Golden Triangle” of Pomerol...Arguably the Best Wines in the World…

The “Golden Triangle” of Pomerol a triangle shaped cluster of vineyards in a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine region in southwestern France. It is located near Bordeaux.

It comprises arguably the best wines in the world… Great Bordeaux!

Pomerol has come a long way in the past fifty years or so, and yet it also remains markedly different from the other famous Bordeaux communes. It has with no classification system yet and is pieced together with small, regularly family-owned vineyards, scattered with farmhouses realistically not châteaux (many liken Pomerol to Burgundy rather than Bordeaux); the right banked Pomerol does not resemble the opulence of the Bordeaux left bank. Curiously, Pomerol has never been written about with the same admiration repeatedly publicized to the châteaux of Pauillac, St Julien, Margaux or St.Emillon;  But obviously it should.

 

The open flat land of Pomerol not really distinct. Yet with endless acres of vines that are emaciated in the winter and fertile in the summer. These plains have narrow roads, ditches and farmhouses which contain hills with plateaus and uplands where the soils were deposited as sediments by water, ice and wind.

Subsequently, formed by erosion; these hills are made up of two thirds sandy and gravely soil and one third clay and gravely soil. It is the only wine producing region in the world with a large degree of blue clay in its soils.

After the famous 1982 vintage, Pomerol has respectfully received a lot more attention. That was the year that prices began to soar for wines like Petrus and Lafleur.

This "Golden Triangle" of Pomerol encompasses the best chateaux, including: Petit village, Le Pin, Vieux Chateau Certan, La Conseillante, l'Evangile, Pétrus, Lafleur, Le Gay, La Croix de Gay , Clos l'Eglise, Chateau Cabanne, Trotanoy and finally the top of Nenin". These have consistently been producing the best wines in the Pomerol commune. Try one if you can.

The rest of Pomerol is sandy soil like most of Bordeaux, where it is usually more difficult for growers to find a distinctiveness or individuality for their wines.

Understandably, there are numerous outstanding Pomerol wines. Many are terroir driven some are a combination of advanced technology with good marketing creating a winning formula (purely ‘technique' driven). Really great wine nevertheless.

Some of the ones I enjoy regularly are Chateau de Sales, Chateau Ferrand, Chateau La Pointe and Clos Rene.

Hence, the transformation of the “Golden Triangle” wines come from the dynamics and physical history of the terrain and the clear-cut style of wine making.

Pomerol wines consistently are fleshy with an easy drinking quality and many display this quality when young, there are others which require a huge amount of patience and command respect for their ability to age in bottle, transforming into something other-worldly over many unfathomable decades. Such wines have need of high honor and consideration during this modern age of instant gratification.

Sometimes you find only the most wealthy collectors might afford the price tag of a age worthy ‘Golden Triangle’ Pomerol(due to scarcity and limited production)…

But the allure of an easy drinking, fleshy, young Pomerols... ironically command the attention of not only the wealthy but a whole lot of wine lovers through and through. Certainly, nothing wrong with that!

The Last Great Wine Region: Canada’s VQA Ontario Appellations of Origin, and the Cellared in Canada, International Canadian Blend labeling

Oh Canada! As the consumer learns more about their wine regions, it gets better and better.

Folks sometimes bring up "Cellared in Canada" issue when it comes to Canadian wines...

The "Cellared in Canada" label; When you saw that on a wine bottle it meant Canadian wine producers can import pre-fermented grape must from grapes grown in other countries to produce wines under their own wine label. They’re designated on the label as being made or "cellared" in Canada, even though they may contain no Canadian-grown grapes. Which is very misleading.

 

Can you imagine wines from Washington State, California, South Africa, Argentina and Chile being called Canadian just. It’s just a good idea to  know where the juice come from. But that was the way to get affordable wine too people. It’s just the way it is; sometimes. because they’re “Cellared” inside Canada; meaning basically just stored in the country. It’s just odd. It’s not clear cut to the average consumer and these wines are often sold in government-run liquor stores.

 

Times are changing, but what’s this really all about…

The "Cellared in Canada" mark was coined in the early days of the Canadian wine industry in the 1980s and during this time grape growers received incentives to pull out existing plantings of Vitis labrusca and replace them with Vitis vinifera, which of is more suitable for winemaking.

So what happened???

There is an advantage to the producer. Wine producers who use the "Cellared in Canada" designation claim that it is a dynamic business component that permits them to compete in the "under $10" price category for table wines

Further, wine can be made at potentially lower production costs using imported grapes when compared with locally grown Canadian grapes and "Cellared in Canada" practice became a necessity due to the fact of the country having way too many grapes planted near the lakes and growers charging inflated prices which makes it hard to compete in the marketplace. That so called “Lake Effect” affects wine quality as well. It has happened in other regions.

A couple very important things came about…

1.       On June 30, 1999, the Canadian wine industry announced the formal establishment of Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) of Canada (It’s just had its 15th anniversary). VQA is about place. Which is great. It is comparable to other regulatory classifications in place in countries like France (AOC), Italy (DOC), and Germany (QmP)

2.       In the fall of 2009, local and international criticism of the "Cellared in Canada" practice developed. Grape growers in Ontario began complaining and objecting to the practice as a hazard to their means of support and employment, claiming that thousands of tons of Canadian grapes were left rotting on the vine because producers were using imported grapes to make wine labeled as "Canadian"

WINE CONTENT AND LABELLING ACT, 2000 was eventually amended as follows:

A winery that uses imported grapes or grape product in the manufacture of wine shall, in manufacturing all such wine during a year, use an average of 40 per cent of grapes grown in Ontario or grape product produced from such grapes to which no water has been added at any time, for wine that is packaged on or after September 1, 2010.

In Ontario as of April 1, 2014, the wineries which existed prior to 1993 will be allowed to produce "International - Canadian blends" which contain no more than 75% foreign content (meaning that they in fact contain only 25% Ontario wine, which may be from labrusca varieties). Historically, this percentage has fluctuated wildly, due to periodic shortages and surpluses of Ontario grapes, and lobbying by both the grape growers and the producers.

 

I hope this helps in understanding a little bit more about Canadian wine .

 

 

 

The Politics of Wine... distributors, mobsters, environmentalists, regulators, and critics

Unlike what we just experienced this past Tuesday, with the US elections; The politics of wine often operates out of the limelight. Celebrity winemakers may come off as all powerful when it comes to making wine, but they are subject to all kinds of political forces.

Politics controls not only which grapes grow where, what can be written on the wine label, which wines are exported or imported, which wines are obtainable in local stores, and how much a wine costs, but, practically most significant, it also affects the quality of the wine in the bottle.

For example there’s distributors, mobsters, environmentalists, regulators, and critics and all of them have a hand in the producing, selling, and delivering the glass of wine we ultimately drink.

For instance, both France and America produce a lot of the quality wines we enjoy today and there are all kinds of battles regarding  the soil and the societal influences and each has different aspects that affect outcomes that have predisposed both the rise in quality and the broad social acceptance or rejection of drinking wine; just like politicians.

Heck a lot of the grapes wine ends up in other places to the consternation of winemakers such as fuel products and probably not why the wanted to be in the wine business at all.

 

A lot of the time the term politics is often understood negatively. It is an as an obstacle to a desirable result; that definition applies to the wine industry insofar as politics often increases red tape, reduces consumer choice in wine and raises prices. But in the United States, which will eventually be the worlds largest consumer of wine, shifting fortunes and odd alliances have now led to groups aligning to produce some positive results for consumers.

While in France there’s anxiety due to an abundance of French producers’ associations which may not be providing the vitality and social capital needed now to improve quality sufficiently to enable their products to compete.

There’s a great book by Tyler Colman called Wine Politics that goes into depth on the subject with statistics as well as the insightful writing of Time’s writer George Taber and author/educator Kevin Zraly which touch on these developments.

 

 

 

 

 

If Wine in a Box is just as good as Wine in a Bottle... why does Boxed Wine Expire?

A friend of mine asked me; or sort of was trying to make a point that Wine in a Box is just as good as wine in a bottle and why should he pay more for a wine in the bottle which is more expensive.

I basically told him. That…” it’s a pretty safe bet that a more expensive wine is usually a higher quality wine”....but whether it is a better wine would be totally up to him. He looked at me a little strangely. Like I was from another planet.

Only you can decide if you like a wine or not.

I also told him that in expensive wine there are 3 things you can look to that makes things more expensive and it has to do with techniques…

1.       are they using oak... and how;

2.       time in the whole process of making the wine;  and

3.       the terroir (the whole location, land and climate thing)

 

In value wines to find it’s hard to find those 3 things in play and if you do the wine would probably be coming from a developing country.

I also added “that is what is great about wine…It’s in the eye of the beholder."

Likewise; according to an article I read from the Wine Spectator; the bags in the box will let microscopic amounts of oxygen pass through, into the wine, and after a while, that oxygen will make the wine taste less fresh. Which makes sense.

Bag-in-the-Box wines aren’t meant for long-term aging, so that’s good, honestly the packaging doesn’t really allow for it. You really don’t see cellars full of plastic bags of wine. Can you imagine life with giant Wine Capri Suns in the cellar...Probably not.

By the way the “expired” wines will not make you sick, but they might not taste like they did when you first bought them; most likely the fruit flavors have likely faded alot, and wine has taken on nutty and oxidized characteristics on the nose and flavors. But...some wine is awesome like that and is made to be that way...But, that's a whole other story!

Is Chenin Blanc the most versatile wine?

I often go for a dry Chenin Blanc for pairing with seafood. it has so many flavors though. It's full-bodied yet crisp, aromatic, lively and complex. It is a wine of excellent quality. The talking points on the fruits such as pear, quince, pineapple and apple flavors and regions of the wine make so it can be explained to regular wine drinkers.  "How in the world does a Macintosh apple get in a white wine from France?" Also, the can wine get very interesting as it ages.


Chenin Blanc goes with everything from rich scallops, shrimp to delicate filet of sole. Look to France's Loire Valley for this wine or South Africa; some California. It is a good Cheese. Ideal serving temperature for the wine 45ºF- 50º . It can be stored a little lower than that.

Retail is usually $25 and up. It has several styles dry to sweet and you can also find good values at lower price points. Use a white wine glass, like a Chardonnay style; although since it can be fuller and viscous and has those fruit aromas; try a Bordeaux glass just for kicks to show it off to friends or customers. Try it with a country fried veal steak and mashed potatoes or Gyro meat!

In the olden days in France they used to try to hide the acidity of the under ripe grapes in parts of the Loire. Now the less ripe grapes are made into awesome sparkling wines like Cremant de Loire. In Anjou you'll find the I think best expressions of dry Chenin Blanc with the quince and apple flavors sometimes flowers and honeysuckle; which in Vouvray they get that style and can even get Noble Rot to make great dessert wine which evolves and improves with age. Very versatile; Don't you think?!?

PS: There so much you can write about this place! ... but I'll be brief... there is a favored place within Chaume in the Loire that has a separate appellation called Quarts de Chaume which pays attention to grape maturity an the yield can be lower; which can mean the wine can age for years and years. Try to find one of those to drink now and another to lay it down.

What major factors influence wine styles?

In regards to key wine styles. Today, wine is produced everywhere Brazil, Israel, Australia, etc..in the world even in Wisconsin, USA where alot the great cheese of the world is at! Get the point?!?

The grape variety, the environment, the care given to the grapes and how the wine is made and matured are vital.

Tradition is key; but economics is crucial too. The ability to grow the crops sustainably within a given climate is probably most essential these days, I think.

Wine, is historical, artistic, romantic, geographical, cultural... gastronomy is so important, investment potential and science is big time important as well-- one giant ball of thinking and enjoyment.

Terroir: the climate, the soil and the grape varieties... are at the core of terroir ... The land or soil, a sense of place...The climate-soil-water relationships; again the grape varietal, wine processing, wine aging and the wine region.

Sometimes it doesn't matter what the weather does, but generally when weather is on target, wine regions produce outstanding wines. I heard somewhere that winegrowers are calling it the "Goldilocks Effect" which is cool!

So how do the you organize and choose the most ideal wines for your taste? Well, there is a system to wine styles that most appeal to you. Think about Elegance, Boldness, Fruitiness and Suppleness and how it fits around those terms to start. It's in the eye of the beholder though and very nuanced. Trust yourself!

 

Go visit the Finger Lakes region! Talk it up – USA's Eternal Diamond in the Rough – even if it’s been producing grapes for 200 years

You heard it here first OK…well it’s in New York local papers…

Casinos in the Finger Lakes Wine region???

This week, supporters and opponents will deliberate on three proposals in the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region for Casinos! ... which includes a project planned by developer Wilmorite for Tyre in Seneca County and the other two projects are proposed for Nichols in Tioga County and Johnson City in Broome County, which are both in the Elmira-Binghamton area.

If this occurs it will have a significant impact on the already growing Finger Lakes Wine Country!

Johnson City and the whole Binghamton area is really a sleepy area and it's really because a lot of factory jobs have been shipped overseas over the past 20-30 years.

But, the Finger Lakes has always been heavily dependent on walk-in traffic such as tourists, accidental tourists, people who really don’t know much about wine.

Most Finger Lake wineries are apt to see a decent amount visitors a year, yet alot of production is tailored to people who like sweet wines.

Arguably, Casinos would bring a lot more attention to the area.

Let’s be clear here…

The Finger Lakes are incredible and it has taken way too long for it to explode; because, and I know I am not alone in this opinion...

The American wine world is honestly lacking the full-on cool-climate viticulture scene. Just like people know Fall Season is here and leaves change; the awareness to the coming of cool-climate wines should be the equivalent.

The future is bright though; now is the time for more promotion; maybe Casinos will be the tipping point.

Not only is there Late Harvest wines, and a plethora of Riesling styles(Bone Dry to Sweet); there is Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Sauvignon and others... 
plus a whole host of Native American and French-American Hybrids.

It wasn’t until the 1950s, when Konstantin Frank, a Ukraine refugee, arrived in the Finger Lakes and started his Vinifera Wine Cellars, and proved that that vinifera grapes could grow in the cool, wet climate of the Finger Lakes. Dr. Frank planted alot of grape varieties to see which would thrive. In the 70’s is when the emphasis on Reisling took hold.

But really… grape vines have been growing around the Finger Lakes since the 19^th century so it’s hard to come to grips with how little acreage of planted Reisling there is there, if you come to think of it.

Now that Reisling is so popular and the fingerlakes can make such diverse reisling – really world class, dry or sweet in a multitude of styles. We are talking Mosel and Alsace potential. Now is the time…really.

The thing is that for years, the Finger Lakes wine industry was dominated by big companies that made cheap hybrid wines, along with even smaller wineries that did most of their business selling hybrid wines out of their tasting rooms. It’s been a slow churning path, considering how great the Reisling can be there.

What’s fascinating is that hybrids in the Finger Lakes region (including vignoles, seyval blanc and aurore) far outnumber vinifera grapes, and there are more concord grapes planted than anything else which are intended for grape juice or sugary kosher wines.

Go visit the Finger Lakes region!  Talk it up – a true diamond in the rough – even if it’s been producing grapes for 200 years or whatever…Seek the killer wines!

The Finger Lakes is home to three distinct wine trails, each offering exciting wine and food pairing events throughout the year.  With events that range in theme from chocolate, cheese, herb, barbeque, harvest and holiday as well.  It’s pretty affordable.  Wine trail event tickets usually are for the entire weekend. Also, all three wine trails individually offer tasting discounts too.

• Cayuga Lake Wine Trail | 15 member wineries, one cidery too

• Keuka Lake Wine Trail | 7 member wineries

• Seneca Lake Wine Trail | 34 member wineries

This Fall try wines from the Southern end of the Cotes d’ Or, France… Great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the lesser known appellations!

 

Burgundy wines are glamorous. Smooth, well-designed and mouthwatering. At their best they are otherworldly and among the priciest wines on the planet; both the Red’s and the Whites.

It’s a combination of powerful and delicacy at the same time.

With that said….

Burgundy, France is overflowing with wine. In fact, some of the best values in Burgundy France come from the Southern end of the Cote d’ Or( which means the 'Golden Slope' and stretches from the city of Dijon running south to Santenay).

The reason I say some of the best values come from the south end of Burgundy is not only because it’s true. It's because the wine is more accessible; softer and very welcoming.

Try this approach. Search for those Burgundy wines that are just at arm’s length from the most famous appellations. Just because you won’t find any Grand Cru’s or large estate wineries does not mean a thing in my book. They are subjected to the same weather conditions, topography, and provide that incomparable taste of Burgundy. This wine is sensational and thought provoking!

By the way, the Northern part of Burgundy (Cote de Nuits) produces red wines almost exclusivlely. Just south of the Nuits is Cote de Beaune (pronounced 'Bone') which produces
the great whites. The area we are talking about is below Cote de Beaune.

Sure, there are some differences in the vintages but not in the 'sense of place'. Which is where it's at; when we talk about the wine region of Burgundy.

Let’s list out the towns to look for... and some might ring a bell; if you don’t know already. These places just don't usually jump out at you in average every day wine talk, you know.

Look for wines from the Southern Cote Chalonnaise, Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny(which all have Premier Cru’s by the way…).

Also look the wines of the Maconnais with richer soils just south of the Cote Chalonnaise.

You will see wines from the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape of course…But you’ll also see a refreshing white wine called Aligote and maybe Pinot Blanc. Try it!

Look for Negociants as well...such as Louis Jadot, Drouhin, Louis Latour and Faively to name a few.

Hence, these are the areas of southern Burgundy just before reaching Beaujolais that are not part of the most famous; yet they are incredible. It’s just the way it is…. And a lot of it has to do with history, property rights, inheritance and complex birth right laws that make it these vineyards have less of a spotlight.

 

 

Thinking about a Trip through Napa? Here's a List I made of Wineries that are open to the Public for you to visit...

I have taken several trips to Napa Valley over the last few years and what strikes me is that no matter how many wineries you get to visit; you always have more to get to next time around it really pays to have a strategy; an idea of what you want to do. If you don't, you can end up not seeing as much. It will still be great. But it's better to plan. remember these wineries are situated in some of the most beautiful vistas anywhere. So it's not just the vino; that draws people here time and time again.

So, a good trip to Napa generally has some planning involved if you want to coordinate your visits to the Wineries. Guaranteed the weather will hot. Not Humid hot; more like an electric hot blanket. There will be very little if any rain. In the months of May thru the beginning of August you will see the unripe grapes. In July the grapes change to their true colors. The harvest season begins in mid-August and spreads out into late October. This is the standard. All these times have something to offer on a trip to the valley.

These days very few wineries still combine a tour with the tastings and the days of free tours of the vineyards and winemaking process few and far between. For many of those you would need to make an appointment and inquire about charges. A lot of them just require you to reserve and book an appointment. Don’t be shy about calling. Remember, a lot of folks show up unannounced and the winery just wants to make sure it’s got its house in order to attend to things.

When you visit wineries; there’s always the thought of a picnic. It’s just a great thing to do. Not all wineries allows picnics due to code enforcement; but there are those that do. Some wineries ask that you purchase a bottle to use their grounds. They'll even open it and supply you with glasses too. The definitive economical lunch in Napa is a French baguette, gourmet mustard, good cheese, salami, a little fruit and a nice bottle of wine.

There are two main ways to see the Napa Valley by car…there are other ways like trains and hot air balloons or bikes; I prefer a car.

Traveling through Highway 29 is a straight shot from the south end of the valley. You pass through Napa, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga. There are a lot of great restaurants along the way. Be aware that traffic can get heavy around 4 - 5PM

Another driving route is along Silverado Trail, which is most easily picked up by from Highway 29 in Napa and then turning left when you see the sign for the Silverado Trail. The Silverado The trail essentially runs parallel to Highway 29; but is less busy. It zigzags through rolling hills and the green landscapes of vineyards.

Here is my list of Napa Wineries that are open to the public along with some of the key varietals which currently to do not require a reservation. It’s a great list with some fantastic wineries. 

Artesa – Napa – Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meritage, Albarino, Sauvignon Blanc

 

Clos Pegase – Calistoga - Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Meritage, Rose, Port

Conn Creek – St. Helena – Cabernet Sauvignon,

Cuvaison – Calistoga – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Domain Chandon - Yountville - Sparkling

Flora Springs – St. Helena – Cabernet Blends, Chardonnay

Franciscan – Rutherford -  Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Blend

Frank Family Vineyards – Calistoga – Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Late Harvest

Grgich Hills Estate - Rutherford – Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Late Harvest

Hall – St. Helena - Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Late Harvest

Louis M. Martini – St. Helena – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Napa Wine Company – Oakville - Assorted

Orin Swift - - St. Helena – Cabernet and Zinfandel Blends

Paraduxx – Yountville - Zinfandel

Peju – Rutherford - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Rose, Port, Late harvest

Pine Ridge – Napa - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Plumpjack – Oakville – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Provenance – St. Helena – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc

Rombauer – St. Helena – Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Late Harvest

Silver Oak Cellars – Oakville – Cabernet Sauvignon

St. Supery – Rutherford – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars – Stag's Leap - Cabernet Sauvignon

Twenty Rows – Napa – Cabernet sauvignon

V Wine Cellars – Yountville – Assorted Varietals

The most common way of getting  around Napa Valley  is by renting a car, grabbing a guide book, or some wine country brochures and getting on with it....and making it happen.  It's a great road trip and it's an experience that's just great every time.


PS. If you are willing to make the effort and reserve and make appointments (I recommend you do a little of this)...There are places like Black Stallion, Buehler, Domain Chandon, Robert Craig, Inglenook and Robert Mondavi and Hess Collection all have excellent wine, tasting rooms, vistas for some unforgettable wine experiences.

 

 

 

 

Taking the first step out of the World of Whites Wines and into the Reds!

 

Right out of the gate…There are some red varietals that over-all tend to be a little more easy going and have a smaller amount tannin (that dry mouth grip sensation). Rose’s are away to pit your toe in the water. If you want to try the sparkling wine route try a Italian Lambrusco or Brachetto d'Acqui; they are very tasty. But the point I would like to make here is…to really begin to try red wines; It’s good to just grab the reds by the horns. Try some of these wines with your favorite foods as well.

I recommend wines that drink well with a lighter bodied with softer tannins at a slight chill in temperature. The softer tannins are key, I think because while white wines don’t really have too much of that ‘tannins matter’ to contend with.

Many reds show better at a slightly cool temperature. So try these cool perky reds and serve
at 60°F: Beaujolais(Gamay), and Italian Barbera and even the Pinot Noir and its fresh fruit feel.
If you are looking for something a little richer in character try a Malbec.

Hence, entry level reds need to be very light, fruity, quaffable and have little or no tannin. The above-mentioned are the varietals comes to mind when taking the step out of the realm of whites wines

As we get a little courage…Grenache can be surprisingly fresh and juicy as well; is a juicy, boisterous wine with strawberry and raspberry notes. Interesting wines like Blaufränkisch from Austria and are light to medium bodied pretty, floral; also Sicily’s Nero d’ Avola and Frappato  light bodied wines with a distinctive grapey aroma that reminds of Sangiovese.

That’s just a beginning. But it’s a start; and maybe that will be the gateway to a explore a new world…for wine appreciation.

Yep! There's a difference between a wine being “Fruit Forward” and a wine being a “Fruit Bomb’’!

Whenever you hear the term ‘‘Fruit Bomb’’, what the folks are talking about is a modern style of winemaking, which basically accentuates fruit that is really lush and ripe. These wines are big and in-your-face, rich, jammy, lots of plums, blackberries and other red fruits.

Some examples of a ‘‘Fruit Bomb” can be California Zinfandels, Australian Shiraz, or assertive California Cabernets or related Blends. Malbecs from Argentina are going big on the fruit too as they continue to sell to the American market that loves their fruit!

Even the Old World regions such as Spain, Italy and France are now getting into the ball game in order to be in synch with drinking trends.

One thing for sure is that it is selling in America and most people think that they are delicious. Even if there are cynics that say ‘‘Fruit Bomb’’ wines are hateful, unbalanced, over-extracted, signifying that the ripe fruit flavors come at the expense of structure, character, good food pairing and sense of place…Whew!

It's true that to make a ‘‘Fruit Bomb’’, grapes can be left on the vine longer to get riper flavors, and that this can result in less acidity and higher alcohol. One thing for sure is that there is a major difference between a wine being “Fruit Forward” and a wine being a “Fruit Bomb’’! The important words to think about is control and restraint. Remember not every high-alcohol wine is a ‘‘Fruit Bomb’’, and not every ‘‘Fruit Bomb’’ has high alcohol, or sacrifices balance or structure for fruit flavors. Some wines just have a lot more fruit than others.

My thoughts are that there should be balance. In many case ‘‘Fruit Bomb’s’’ are the wines that keep public coming back for more wine. There are so many great ones! I find that with a “Fruit Forward” wine there is good dominant fruit with a lot of secondary flavors coming to the fore. So making an across the board determination is not the way to go. A wine can have pronounced fruit flavors and still be balanced, such as an Italian Amorone or a Spanish Tempranillo can be; but sometimes folks will say… just because it’s a “Fruit Bomb” it gives the the reason to guess that a wine is out of balance and lacks complexity… which is not true at all.

Wine is in the eye of the beholder…”Fruit Bomb” or not, you'll have to assess it by your own perspective.

Deductive Tasting - Using descriptors to understand Style, Character and Quality of a wine

Drinking wine is certainly a pleasure. But a lot of that depends on the settings or surroundings of the tasting and the tasters understanding of the wine. Generally tasting shouldn’t be just carried out anywhere or… at any rate. I mean if you are a wine lover you’ll enjoy the finer points of it.  There is no universal tasting experience. So, this deductive tasting is based upon the Court of Master Sommeliers format that uses descriptors to understand a wines style, character and quality; and for this article we’ll assume that the appropriate glass is being used and all that.

Let’s start -

Sight or Eye – it’s your first contact with the wine, your first examination of the wine

Clarity - is the wine clear, medium clear, slightly cloudy or just cloudy

Brightness – is the wine dull, hazy, bright, day bright, star bright or brilliant

Color – The reds are purple/ruby, red garnet, yellow or brown. The whites are clear, green, straw, yellow, gold or brown

Concentration – low, medium or high… are there intense flavors

Rim Variation – color of rim or edge - to determine age

Is there evidence of Gas?

Is there sediment or particles?

Viscosity – low, medium or high      

 

Nose or Smell- the inspection is the second assessment in which the sampled wine obligated to undergo

Flaws – Do you smell corkiness, H2S(Hydrogen Sulfide), volatile acidity, brett(which has a taste of rubber), oxidation, etc…

Intensity-Is the wine delicate, moderate or powerful?

Age Assessment- Is it young or does it show vinosity?

Fruit – What is the primary fruit and the secondary fruit…

Non Fruit Aromas – Flowers, spices, herbs botrytis or other aromas

Earthiness- Mineral, chalk, wet stones, mushroom, gravel, barnyard, musty, forrest floor

Wood – Old vs New; French vs American – Large vs Barrique(small size) – ie. Flavor notes that are common descriptions of wines exposed to wood include caramel, cream, smoke, spice and vanilla. Chardonnay is a variety that has very distinct flavor profiles when fermented in oak that include coconut, cinnamon and cloves notes. The "toastiness" of the barrel can bring out varying degrees of mocha and toffee notes in red wine. - Cloves, Cinnamon(French); Coconut, Dill(American)

Palate or Taste, – take it in with a little air for it to circulate in entire mouth and think about its components, swish it around a bit; sometimes it can feel like you can chew the wine…seriously!

Sweetness – Is it Bone dry, dry, off-dry, sweet, very sweet

Body – light, light to medium, medium, medium to full, full

Fruit – confirm and affirm the nose

Earthiness - confirm the nose

Wood – confirm and check the nose

Tannin – low, medium, medium plus, or high(does it grip)

Alcohol - low, medium, medium plus, or high

Acidity - low, medium, medium plus, or high

Finish – short finish, short to medium, medium, medium to long or long finish and length

Complexity - low, medium, medium plus, or high; the way a lot of variables interact with each other, creating entirely new flavors. Generally greater levels of complexity are usually much better quality wines. Can you detect such things as barrel fermentation or malolactic fermentation, or any other remarkable or unusual characteristics…

Initial Conclusion

Is it Old World or New World?

Climate – Cool, Moderate or Warm

Grape Variety or Blend

Age Range – 1-3 years; 5-10 years or more than 10 years…

 

Final Conclusion

Grape Variety or Blend

Country/Region/Appellation

Quality level

Vintage

 

Remember, the ability to taste wine improves with practice, especially if you have a passion for it…