Sneak Peak at the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines

If you can’t wait to get your magazine issue of Wine Spectator, here is a quick glance at the top 50 wines. Click the image to see the entire list, all 100 in PDF format! Cheers!

Beaujolais Nouveau Tasting; What the heck is that anyway?

This Thursday (November 19th) we will be having our annual Beaujolais Nouveau tasting from 5:00 – 7:30 for FREE.  In addition to the 2009 George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, we will be tasting a Cru Beaujolais, the Louis Latour Pinot Noir, and the Paul Jaboulet Parallel 45 Rhone Red.

So what is Beaujolais Nouveau anyway?

Beaujolais Nouveau is a wine that is released only 7 – 9 weeks young and is meant to be a celebration of the harvest. Years ago, nearly a hundred, the casks of this just made wine were shipped down the Saone River to bars and bistros in the cities of Lyon and Paris, so that the city folk would have something with which to celebrate the harvest  Today Beaujolais Nouveau accounts for 1/3 of all Beaujolais production and is shipped all over the world

In 1985 the Institute National des Appellatons d’ Origine established the 3rd Thursday in November as the official release date for Nouveau across the world. Until that date Nouveaus must remain in bonded warehouses until 12:01 at which time they can be sold/drunk.

Beaujolais Nouveau are not made to age, and are meant to be drank soon after release. Some relate the drinking of Nouveau to the eating of raw cookie dough, versus the finished cookies.

Cheers!

Friday Fun Pairings – What to pair with Chips & Salsa?

MMMM! Warm, salty tortilla chips and a nice fresh salsa are a a great and deliciously simple treat, albeit not a healthy one.  I must admit that 9 times out 10 I pair chips & salsa with a nice Dos Equis Amber draft, but there are a few wines that I’ve tried that do work. Since most salsas contain a fair amount of spice (at least the good ones do) you don’t want anything with excessively high alcohol because it will on exacerbate the spicy heat.  With a tomato and cilantro base, meaning lots of acid and slightly herbal flavors, you want a wine that will match up and not be killed with the acidity.

Two wines that I think work well are a Picpoul de Pinet and an Albarino (Picpoul and Albarino are the grape names). Both will match up well with the acidity and moderate heat in the salsa as well stand up with the saltiness of the chips, at least with my experience.

Some examples to try:

Hugues Beaulieu Picpoul de Pinet $9.45

Burgans Albarino $15.45

Some other wines to try, that I have experimented with would be a nice sparkler, a Chianti or a Rioja (Tempranill0).

Have you tried pairing wine with salsa? If so which ones?

Cheers!

The many hats of a wine retailer

As a wine retailer we face many questions during our day, most of which have to do with wine, although some do not, so we wear many hats.

Doctor: ” I’ve read in the newspaper that XYZ, will help my ABC, do you have a wine that has that chemical in it?”

Psychic: “I had this wine one time, it has a white label and was a red, do you have that one?”

Sommelier: “I am having a 5 course dinner, can you help me pick out wines for each course?” Incidentally this is one of the most fun things I get to do!

Chef: knowing how dishes are prepared goes a long way into our ability to select wines that will pair well with a meal.

Wine Expert: “Was 2006 or 2007 a better vintage in Chianti?”(‘07 but both were fantastic)

Personal Shopper: Knowing and remembering our customers palates and preferences is what we excel at. So when a customer comes in and says “just pick out a case for me today, 6 red, 6 white” we know we’ll fill it with wine you’ll love.

Friend: Sometimes, people just want or need to talk, about wine or otherwise. We’re always here for that.

You never know what the day will hold and which hat you’ll wear, which is why the job is so fun!

Cheers!

 

Education Series – Anatomy of an Oak Barrel – Part 3

tasting wine from the barrels at Blenheim Vineyards

Our oak barrel story started in the forest then led us to the cooperage, and now it has led us to the bottle. After the barrel has gone through what can sometimes be a long creation process, it is time to fill it with wine. The topic of today’s post is what happens to that delicious wine while it is aging in the barrel.

TIME

The amount of time that a wine can spend in a barrel can vary drastically from months to several years. There are several factors that can influence how long a wine might be oak aged. The main factors are the grape itself (longer time for more hearty red varietals and shorter time for thinner skinned reds and whites), the age of the barrel (barrels that have been used several times will not impart the same amount of flavor as fresh barrels), the region that the wine is made (in some wine regions there are regulations around how long a wine type must spend in oak), and ultimately the experience of the winemaker taking into account all of the above will determine how long a wine spends aging in barrel.

CHEMICAL REACTIONS

Regardless of the time that the wine spends in the barrel, there are few things that can be happening to the juice.  One thing that happens is the softening of the wine  that is due to the minute amount of oxygen that seeps in through the staves, causing a more rapid ( but still fairly slow) binding of the tannins versus the wines being in an air tight container. The oak itself imparts its own flavors and aromas into the wine. Besides the obvious wood and tea flavors that come from the wood, vanilla (most commonly from American oak), clove, smoky and caramel aromas/flavors (as well as others) can come from the barrel maturation.  Interestingly, the chemicals that provide the caramel aroma are generated during the toasting process. Two of these Maltol and Cyclotene have been shown to be flavor “accentuators”, helping to increase the presence of other flavors.  This is similar to the role that MSG plays in many food products. The last role of the oak barrel that I will mention that some say is the most important, is its natural ability to clarify and stabilize the wine, decreasing and or removing the need for fining and filtering the wine. Now this list was in no particular order of importance nor is it an exhaustive list of what oak does to the wine, although it is pretty complete.

There are some great books out there than can go into great detail of the chemical reactions that are occurring inside a barrel that if you are a chemist can be quite fascinating.This completes the series on oak barrels. For the most part this has been pretty top level information on the process.  If anyone has questions I will be happy to try and answer them or if anyone just wants to discuss what is currently going on the barrel market, just shoot me an email.

References – Oxford Companion to Wine, 3^rd Edition, Jancis Robinson and The Wine Bible, Karen MacNeil

Friday Fun Pairings – Pumpkin Pie and Gewurztraminer

With pumpkins being picked and Thanksgiving being right around the corner I thought it would be a good idea to pair something with pumpkin pie. Who doesn’t love pumpkin pie? It is definitely one of my favorite treats during the holidays.

Gewurztraminer is a beautifully aromatic white grape variety that originates from northern Italy in the Alto/Adige region, specifically from the small village of Tramin. The name translates to “spiced” or “perfumed” traminer, and although it originated there, it is now grown all over the world. It can be found in dry and sweet (off-dry) versions, with some of the best examples coming from the Alsace region of France. Dominated by aromas and flavors of lychee fruit, passion fruit, rose petal and apricots, it contains a unique spiciness to it that I think pairs great with a nice homemade pumpkin pie.

My favorite Gewurztraminers are dry ones, which essentially trick you into thinking they are sweet, with all of their sweet fruit flavors and aromas.  My pick from here at the shop is the 2006 Montinore Gewurztraminer ($16.95) from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Additionally, “Gewurtz” is a great Thanksgiving dinner wine as well. Goes great with just about everything on the table, especially dry ones like the Montinore.

Cheers!

 

Thursday Fun Wine Facts

I thought it would be fun to post funny wine quotes or wine facts on Thursday’s, so here is the first installment.

 

Fun Facts about Champagne

 

• You are more likely to killed by a Champagne cork than by a poisonous spider
• A raisin dropped into a glass of Champagne will repeatedly bounce up and between the top and bottom of the glass
• Marilyn Monroe is said to have taken a bath in 350 bottles worth of Champagne
• The pressure in a bottle of Champagne is 90 psi, about three times that in an auto tire
• The hobby of collecting champagne bottle tops is called plaqueusephilia

 

source: “Vintage Humor for Wine Lovers”

Education Series – Anatomy of an Oak Barrel – Part 2

In part 2 of this oak barrel trilogy I will be discussing the cooperage process, which is the process of making the barrels themselves.You may recall from part 1 that this whole process starts in the forest. Coopers (those individuals who make barrels) have historically utilized wood from the region that they are familiar with, meaning that American Coopers made barrels from American oak and French from French oak, and so on. This is not the case anymore; both French and American oak is being shipped across the pond to Coopers in either country.

The first step of barrel creation is the creation of the staves, which are the slats or boards that form the sides of the barrel. Although the staves can be sawed, the preferred method is to split the wood by hand or by machine to help preserve as much of the natural wood grain as possible. Keeping the grain of the wood intact is crucial to making water-tight barrels. After the staves are shaped, they are stacked together and typically set outside to age in the elements, as wood normally would. Sometimes to quicken the process, the staves are dried in a kiln prior to being set out to age. This entire process can take up to several years. Once the staves are properly aged, they are shaped, notched, and beveled and then finally ready for inspection.

image credit:http://www.ukcraftfairs.com/coopering.asp

After the coopers have okayed the staves for barrel assembly, they start piecing them together to form the shape of a barrel. The staves are placed one by one inside of metal hoops (the chime hoop is first, then the quarter hoop, and then the bulge hoop; see picture) a process which the French call “mise en rose”, or “raising the barrel.” The phrase literally means “setting the rose,” most likely because unbent staves in the first hoop look like an open flower. The next step is to shape the barrel and set the 3 final hoops. This process is done by bending the wood staves via fire, water or steam. These methods soften the wood enough so that it can be bent and molded into the perfect shape, as well as allow for the three remaining rings to be riveted into place.

The next step in the process is toasting the inside of the barrel. This process is sometimes done simultaneously with the heating of the staves for shaping, and sometimes may not be done at all. Barrels can be toasted using a variety of different heat sources. Whether it be gas fire, burning oak chips, convection, etc. the end result is that interior of the barrel staves are toasted to a specified level. Winemakers can specify ahead of time how “toasty” they want there barrel to be, from light to heavy toast. To achieve the varying toast levels, coopers use different time and temperature equations, developed through years of personal experience. Technology has helped in this process, as sensors can be placed inside of the barrels to know when the desired level of char has been achieved. In Part 3 of this series I will talk about how the varying toast levels affect wine flavor.

The final step is the shaping and fitting of the barrel head. Larger staves are cut and bound together and then shaped to fit snuggly into the end of each barrel in grooves called crozes. Barrel heads are usually left un-toasted.

Actually the final final step is the branding of each barrel with the Cooperage house’s logo on the head of each barrel. Sometimes wineries pay to have their name burned into the head as well.

Again, I will give my disclaimer that this is a primer into the barrel making process. The process for making an oak barrel for wine or other spirit is a great skill and coopers apprentice for years before they are allowed to shape and toast the barrels themselves. Although this process is being done more and more by machine in order to make barrels cheaper (though not by much), there are still a lot of cooperages that do most of the work by hand.

Here are some links to cooperages that can give you more information into this really fascinating process.

World Cooperage

Nadalie

Friday Fun Pairings – What to put with Halloween Candy?

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at, I have never really been into Halloween candy, or candy in general. Don’t get me wrong, I loved trick or treating, seeing how many old pillowcases I could fill up but didn’t like eating the stuff when I got home.  So in that respect I haven’t ever tried to pair wine with candy, but on the eve of Halloween I couldn’t not post some fun pairings.  I turned to a foodie/wine site I read often, Slashfood, for a Halloween Candy pairing list they published last year.  Inserted with each suggestion is a reasonably option, available in the store of course!

Chocolate of any kind: Port is a classic with chocolate, and it will take the edge off of the fact that you’re eating the mass-produced, cheap milk version. Fonseca Bin 27 Porto – $20.45

Almond Joy: Sauternes, the sweet white dessert wine, will enhance the coconut and almond flavors (plus, your kids probably won’t eat coconut so you can get away with stealing this one). 2003 Clos Dady Sauternes – $26.95

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: A sweet cream Sherry complements the peanutty flavors and recalls the creepy bit of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.” Pedro Romero Amontillado Sherry – $12.45

Caramel apple: Gewurztraminer’s spicy floral notes are a lovely complement to the caramel, or try an off-dry Riesling with its round but crisp apple notes. 2006 Montinore Gewurtztraminer- $16.45

Suckers: Champagne or another sparkling wine will cut the sickening sweetness while you figure out how many licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie roll pop.  Segura Viudas Aria Estate Brut Cava – $11.75

Candy corn and mellow creme pumpkins: A buttery Chardonnay mimics the (artificial) creaminess of these Halloween classics.  2005 Freemark Abbey Chardonnay – $17.95

Twizzlers: A dry Rose echoes the (again fake) strawberry flavors in the licorice. 2008 Henri de Lanzac Chateau de Segries Tavel – $16.95

Have a Happy Halloween!

Cheers!!

Education Series – Anatomy of an Oak Barrel – Part 1

I want to start a new education series on the blog, so each week I’ll go in depth about a certain wine related topic.

This first in the Education Series is going to consist of 3 parts. Today we will focus on the types of oak that are used in barrel making, where they come from, and what makes them different. Next week, in part 2 we will talk about cooperage, the process by which oak barrels are made. Then the following week, part 3 will consist of the role that oak plays in the wine making process.

So before we talk about where the oak for oak barrels comes from, let’s define what types of oak are used for wine barrels. Almost all wine barrels are made from white oak due to its non porous nature and ability to create a water (or wine) tight seal. Getting a little bit technical here, the white oak used for wine barrels are all from the Quercus species of oak, 2 are European and 1 is American.

When you walk into a tasting room, 9 times out of 10 the winemaker or person doing the tasting will tell you “this was aged in French Oak or American Oak” or sometimes both. At least this is true for most wineries here in the United States. Although these are the most common, oak for wine barrels can be harvested in many other regions in Europe. In fact, in Piedmont, Italy where Megan and I were this summer, the preferred choice for aging the Nebbiolo grape is Slovenian oak.

To date there has been no general consensus on which forests in the United States provide the best American Oak for barrel making. Currently, Minnesota and Wisconsin are in the lead, while small amounts of barrels, mostly on an experimental basis, are also coming out of Oregon and Virginia. Generally oak from forests in the Southern US are considered too sappy and unsuitable for barrel use.

Barrel room at Macari Vineyards

In France it is a bit more complicated – There are 6 main forests that French Oak is produced from, though these by no means comprise the complete list. These six are found mainly in Northern France: Western Loire and Sarthe, Limousin, Nievre and Allier, Vosges, Jura and Bourgogne, and Argonne. Each forest provides oak that has distinct characteristics, for instance the Nievre and Allier forests are known for wood that is consistently tight grained, and thus more prized with winemakers.

So besides the price tag, $650 for American oak barrels and $850 for French barrels on average, what is the difference between the two most popular oaks, French and American? The answer is the flavor. American oak is much stronger in its flavor or “oakiness” and thus the wines that are put into it need to be stronger (more full bodied) wines. American oak is typically used in Spain, Australia and North and South America. Wines from these regions, such as Rioja, Shiraz and warm climate “BIG” Cabernet Sauvignons are typically put into American oak.

French oak is by far the gold standard when it comes to barrels made for wine production. French oak is much softer, and usually tighter grained, imparting less tannins into the unknowing wine. Barrels from certain forests that are renowned for their superior French oak can command prices well over $1000 a piece.

This was just a primer into where oak for oak barrels comes from. If you would like any more info on oak, shoot me an email, I will be happy to oblige.

Stay tuned next week for Part 2 of …. Gather ‘round the Oak Barrel.

Reference: Oxford Companion to wine 3^rd edition.