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...And They All Got Baked... (Wine Blogging Wednesday #51 Wrap-Up)

Sun, 17 Nov 2008 11:00:00 GMT

posted by sephage
Wow.

To say that I was impressed by the energy, turn out, and quality of the Wine Blogging Wednesday #51 participant posts would be an understatement.

Sort of like saying that the Grand Canyon is a minor geological anomaly. That kind of understatement.

To be perfectly honest, I was dreading (somewhat) having to carve out the time to read each entry for the event. That dread quickly turned into anticipation as my perceived labor became a labor of love.

And that is entirely due to the high quality of your posts - for those who participated, I can't thank you enough.

Once again, Wine Blogging Wednesday drew participants from varied backgrounds, different areas of wine-world involvement, multiple countries, and represented nearly the entire spectrum of wine expertise.

For those who didn't participate, below you are links to some great reads on a wine category that gets precious little attention these days - fortified wines - but whose expression can be just as sublime and enchanting as any of the typical, more attention-grabbing styles (for an excellent primer on some of this, check out K2's Madeira overview at the Wine Blog).

If you're still skeptical as to the power, finesse, and quality of baked / madeirized / oxidized / fortified wines, witness these two posts from two venerable and long-standing wine bloggers:

Tim at Winecast.net tells us about the highest scoring wine he's yet tried.
Dr Debs from Good Wine Under $20 tasted the best wine she has ever tried.

If that doesn't convince you, then you're probably not paying attention.

Following are links to the other fine articles from the event's participants, roughly in the order I received them.

Some revisited old faves, others tried something new, and many, many of them were pleasantly surprised by what sweet and fortified wines had to offer. If you're thinking of taking a plunge into the world of kick-ass fortified wines, you'd do well to read these posts as they offer a great summary of what's available to you on the market.

If you participated in WBW #51 and I didn't link to you below, please accept my apology in advance and leave me a comment here so I can rectify the situation!

A Good Time With Wine
StrumErika.com
GeneveltnSteeleSwallows
2 Days Per Bottle
Catavino.net
Wannabe Wino
Smells Like Grape
Anything Wine
Under the Grape Tree
Wine Peeps
Pour Favor
Bloviatrix (Go STEELERS! Sorry, couldn't resist...)
ChronicNegress.net
Eating Leeds
CheapWineRatings.com
LENNDEVOURS
The Wine Case
Oenophilia (who coined the the term "Area 51 WBW"... man, why didn't I think of that...)
Brix Chicks
oh, yeah, and 1WineDude.com, too (as for my penchant for Marvel Comics Super Hero references... honestly, at this point, what did you expect from my blog??...)

In case any further proof is needed that WBW #51, in the words of Gary Vaynerchuk, "totally CRUSHED it," and also stomped it, killed it, and ripped off it's head to feast upon its supple eye jelly (sorry Gary, couldn't resist that one either), check out the way-cool WBW #51 mention on Wine Biz Radio - you can listen to the raw TalkShoe recording below, or download the entire show.

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Cheers!
(images: 1WineDude.com gpb.org)

Not Color Blind, 'Gris de Gris', Wine in Another Shade of Pink (Sud de France 2)

Thu, 14 Nov 2008 18:33:19 GMT

posted by lifetidbits

I tasted a number of Rosé wines over the summer but did not expect to see any of them at the Sud de France tasting.

Actually I was stopped (admonished) by the lady representing Kermit Lynch at the event when I called this Domaine de Fontsainte Corbieres (2007) a Rosé. No she said, it is a 'Gris de Gris'.

Nothing to do with the Gris-gris, talismans found in voodoo and New Orleans happenings as Pourquoi Gris de Gris? (McDuff) shows. I borrowed his picture of the label as an illustration.

In his piece, he quotes the The Oxford Companion to Wine description that follows:

“Vin Gris is not, happily, a grey wine but a pink wine that is usually decidedly paler than most rosé, made exactly as a white wine from dark skinned grapes, and therefore without any maceration. No rules govern the term vin gris but a wine labeled gris de gris must be made from lightly tinted grape varieties described as gris such as Cinsaut or Grenache Gris.”

So what makes a Gris de Gris.

Here are all the facts and some poetry I gathered from Domaine de Fontsainte wine notes.

The varietal mix is 60% Grenache Gris and Grenache Noir; 15% Syrah; 10% Mourvèdre; 10% Carignan; 5% Cinsault.
They actually call it a Rosé, bled from the vat. The grapes are harvested by hand and kept whole.
McDuff describes it as pale pink, the winemaker sees crystalline salmon color with superb amethyst tints.
Great fruit aromas of raspberry, cherry and freshly picked strawberries - followed by exotic aromas such as pineapple and mango.

Perfect with any Mediterranean dish, even while snacking on olives.

Around $15.

Enjoy!

"No Shortcuts": How Penns Woods is Reinventing Pennsylvania Wine From The Top Down

Sun, 10 Nov 2008 11:00:00 GMT

posted by sephage
"No shortcuts - either you do it, or you don't do it. You either believe in yourself and commit to the idea to spare no expenses, or you close your doors."

Gino Razzi, owner and winemaker at Penns Woods Winery, drives his minivan in the same way that he makes his wines. In fact, he seems to do everything the same way that he makes his wines - which is to say, with a driving singularity of purpose.

Either it's done full on, or it's simply not done at all.

This was the primary thought running through my mind as I followed Gino from his winery and wine import business in Eddystone, PA (a stone's throw from Chester, which is sometimes Philly's equivalent of war-torn Beirut) to the idyllic setting of his vineyard and quaint tasting room in Chadds Ford.

It didn't help that Gino takes corners at speeds that would make Mario Andretti proud, or that I'd spent most of the morning tasting samples of the wines that Gino had in barrel (most notably his latest Chardonnay vintage, which, as he put it "might be the best wine I ever made... if I don't screw it up!").

I was first introduced to Gino and his wines via a wine pairing event at Teikoku restaurant near Philadelphia. Gino's Chardonnay blew me away at that event. What I tasted in barrel at the Penns Wood winery had even more promise. My curiosity at exactly how Gino was able to pull of wines of this caliber in PA - hell, for that matter, on the East Coast - led to me scheduling some time with him to discuss his winemaking mojo.

For anyone familiar with the perception of PA wines, it's hard to convey the extent to which Gino may be rewriting the rules of how wine is made here. His wines achieve levels of fruit extraction that have never been reached by some California producers, let alone anyone on the Right Coast. When I arrived at the winery, Gino was preparing for an upcoming tasting that would feature some of his top-end wines. For comparison, he had selected wines such as Chateau Angelus and Puligny-Montrachet. He was prepared to compare his wines with what some consider to be the world's best. Uhm... aren't we talking about wines made in Pennsylvania here?

This confidence isn't entirely a matter of hubris (or insanity, at least I don't think it's insanity). "I want to change people's perception of Pennsylvania wines," Gino told me. While he doesn't expect his wines to necessarily be better than the world's best, "I d0 expect to have [the tasters'] heads blown up when they taste my wine."

It's not that PA isn't without it's winemaking challenges: at 2,000 cases a year, Penns Woods can't break into a market run by an iron-fisted monopoly; with a short growing season, Gino needs vines that encourage quick phenolic ripeness to achieve good color and complexity - exactly the opposite of what most nurseries are providing for California.

The inconsistent continental PA climate doesn't always cooperate with fine winemaking, either. Gino's red Bordeaux style blend, Ameritage, won't be made this year due to the quality of the red grapes. "If you don't have the chicken, you ain't gonna make the soup," said Gino. (It's not all gloom and doom - the whites "are fabulous;" after some time in barrel, a low yielding Cabernet Franc is also looks promising.)

"No shortcuts - you either do it, or you don't do it."

No expense-spared winemaking is pretty much the only winemaking that Gino practices. Not surprisingly, his wines are pricey. "I've been told my wines are expensive - what do you want me to do? When I give something to the consumer, I need to say 'Hey, I did my best.' If it's no good, I won't put it out there."

And as I came to find out, Gino has pretty high standards for "good."

A stone's throw from the Philadelphia airport, Gino is pouring a significant investment into Penss Woods and its final bottlings. His corks run upwards of $2 ("your cork is your insurance policy"); he's installed a horizontal rotary fermenter that ensures controlled skin contact and maximum extraction (it's not cheap), and he donates a portion of the proceeds of every bottle sold. He has a near-obsession with cleanliness (which made me feel bad for his right-hand man, George, to whom Gino was passing cleaning task after cleaning task during my visit), which also doesn't help the bottom line. "I pay extra attention to the cleanliness," he told me. "Everything must be absolutely clean. A clean winery only hurts your pocket."

An immaculate, high-tech winery is one answer to the challenges of winemaking in PA, but Gino was quick to point out that he't not making 'Franken-wine': "There isn't one thing that makes your wine better. It's the adding up of little steps. There's no secret."

Gino's take on Go Big or Go Home winemaking probably came from his roots (ha-ha!) in Italy. Gino grew up around wine. He's from Abruzzi, a large area of wine production in southern Italy. "When I first came to the U.S. around 1971, you didn't find much Montepulciano," he told me. Smelling a potential fortune, Gino started importing the wine - and soon realized why there wasn't much Montepulciano to be found in the U.S. "It was so heavy and tough to drink. America loves sweets, and they like a softer mouthfeel." In other words, nobody bought it.

As Abruzzi evolved from a bulk producer to an area producing fine wines, Gino began importing the newer, easier-drinking wines, which sold enough to support his budding importing business. "I see similar parallels to Pennsylvania now and Abruzzi 30 years ago," he said. "It's a rougher industry. It was done by people with a lot of heart; their enthusiasm was bigger then the available knowledge. They didn't know what grapes to plant, or how to best make the wines. They did the most they could to learn -Eric Miller [winemaker at Chaddsford Winery] was the pioneer - there were no experts or viticulturists around to learn from."

Gino's introduction to Pennsylvania winemaking was not a positive one. "I was not convinced that it was possible to make good wine in Pennsylvania," he said. While consulting at a PA winery, Gino's opinion started to turn more favorable, and he wondered if PA had more to offer in the wine world than he'd originally thought. He called his friend, Italian eonologist Concezio Morulli, and invited him to PA for a motorcycle tour of the local vineyards.

"I was not convinced that it was possible to make good wine in Pennsylvania"

After seeing the prevalence of expensive (and locally inappropriate) Scott Henry trellis system used on the PA vines, Concezio wasn't impressed ("My God!" he told Gino, "how would you like to work everyday upside-down hanging by your feet!"). He didn't think much more of PA winemaking either, after tasting a few samples from the local wineries.

Undaunted, in 2002 Gino sent some PA grapes to Asti in Italy for analysis. The result? "They told me, 'the grapes are really good - go ahead and make wine out of them.'" Gino purchased grapes from Jan Waltz in Manheim, PA and crushed about 7 small lots. The resulting wine was "absolutely phenomenal." Gino blended Cabernet, Petite Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, and Sangiovese - the Ameritage was born. When Smithbridge was ready to sell their 38 acres of Chadds Ford vineyard, Gino saw an opportunity to expand production and help recoup some of his ever-increasing costs.

Anyway, weren't we speeding on our way to Gino's vineyard? The picture there wasn't anywhere near as rosy as it was in the winery.

Gino is starting with a decent base - 30 year old vines, on much more PA-appropriate VSP trellising, planted in stony, clay and loam soil. "The stones are a pain," he said, "but they're great for the wine."

That's where the fun ends.

Previously, the vines were poorly maintained, planted too low to the ground (promoting fungal problems) and permitted to grow way, way too long. In some places, the vines are planted a staggering distance from each other in their rows. There is clearly still a lot of work to be done.

Gino and I strolled through the vineyard as the autumn chill started to take over in the air. We were picking and tasting what grapes remained on the vines - those that hadn't been harvested, or stolen by the birds, anyway. "It reminds me of when I was seven years old," he said with a smile, "going through the vineyards in Italy after the leaves fell, looking for the leftover grapes."

The taste difference between the clusters on the lower portions of the vine and those at the top (called "Seconds") was staggering. The fruit on top was clearly under-ripe, in stark contrast to the sweet, luscious berries closer to the ground. "I told the guys at harvest, anything above the third wire, don't pick it. Look! Not even the birds want the ones on top!" exclaimed Gino as he tossed a small cluster onto the ground. "Can you imagine if I put it into my wine?"

When you get three barrels of wine from thirteen rows of Chardonnay grapes, it's no wonder the wine is expensive. I asked if biodynamic practices might help the situation. Too risky, according to Gino - especially considering the unpredictable Mid-Atlantic weather - and there's too much work to be done in the vineyard before considering a big change in farming technique.

For now, there is much mojo in Gino's wines (the upcoming whites especially, which have tropical fruit notes and good minerality), even if there isn't too much mojo in the vineyard. Drinking Penns Woods Amertiage, it's easy to appreciate the expense and effort that's going into each bottle.

Whether or not the rest of the winemakers in PA, or on the East Coast, will be able to consistently rise above their vineyard challenges and rally behind Gino's vision of no holes barred premium winemaking... well, we'll just have to sip, wait, and see.

Cheers!
(images: 1WineDude.com)

Wine Blogging Wednesday #51: "Baked Goods"

Tue, 12 Nov 2008 11:00:00 GMT

posted by sephage

Welcome to Wine Blogging Wednesday #51(WineDude)!
Dude here is hosting the 51st edition of the venerable WBW, and today's theme is "Baked Goods" - reviews of wines that are deliberately heated (aka "Madeirized"), and we're also allowing reviews of sweet Fortified wines to be included. For the scoop on how Wine Blogging Wednesday works, check out the WBW site. More details on the background of the theme can be found here.

Now... let's get this funk started!

I love Madeira. Love is a strong word. And I love Madeira.

It's often sweet, incredibly tasty, high in refreshing acidity, and because it's already been exposed to oxygen and heat (which would utterly destroy normal wines), it's virtually indestructible.

A Madeira wine from 1935 will pretty much taste the same today as it did in 1935, even if opened and enjoyed tablespoon by luscious tablespoon from then until now. Not only is it tasty, indestructible, and food-friendly, it also boasts an abv of 19% or more. It's a bad-ass wine!

Normally, I'd expound on the storied history of Madeira, and give you background on the traditional styles of Madeira, food pairings, etc.

But...

Rather than take you through the history of Madeira wine - which I figured might be covered by one or more of the other fine WBW participants anyway (and if not can easily be found in detailed play-by-play on the web) - I thought I'd instead show you, by way of comparison, just how bad-ass Madeira actually is.

Let's compare kick-ass, indestructible Madeira to the so-called "Invincible" IRON MAN:

.nobrtable br { display: none }

	The "Invincible" IRON MAN	Totally Kick-Ass Indestructible Madeira
Abilities	Superhuman strength, Repulsor-ray technology, Genius-level intellect	Intense aroma , Mouth-watering acidity , Ass-kicking 19%+ abv Edge: Madeira
Protection	Bullet-proof, temperature-resistant armor - TIE	Impervious to hot ovens, attic temperatures, and long, perilous sea voyages - TIE
Creator	Stan Lee	The Dutch Armada Edge: Madeira
Nemesis	The Mandarin , Alcoholism , Soft spot for Pepper Pots , Very large magnets Edge: IRON MAN	Cork Taint
Tastes Like	Metal alloy	Nuts, caramel, dried figs. - Edge: Madeira
Result of Oxidation	Rust	Characteristics of nuts and honey Edge: Madeira

No contest: Madeira totally trumps IRON MAN, 5-2.

Anyway, traditional Madeira comes in four flavors of grapes, each chosen to highlight a particular style of the wine, examples of which I tasted in comparison (witness below).

Notice how the color of each wine gets darker? This is a key to the style, which range from dry and nutty to lusciously sweet and caramely (is that a word...?):

Blandy's Dry Sercial (Aged 5 Years in oak): Made from the Sercial grape, grown in the cooler high-altitude regions of the Madeira island. Sherry-like, nutty (almonds, baby!) with searing acidity. Pass the hors d'oeuvres!

Blandy's 5 Year Vedelho: Made from Verdelho (also grown in the cooler Northern part of the island) - Sherry-like, but this time its darker and more 'Oloroso-ish'; the oak is more pronounced, and there's touch of sweetness balancing the acidity.

Cossart Gordon Medium Rich Bual (15 years): From the Bual grape (probably my favorite) from the warmer southern portion of Madeira, it ripens to higher levels so it can be made into a sweeter style. And sweet it is - as in sweet fig, vanilla, and hazelnut, with a long nutty finish.

Blandy's Malmsey 10 Year: Malmsey is the malvasia grape, grown in the warmest and lowest-altitude regions of Madeira. These wines can become ultra-indestructible and typically have a near-perfect balance between acidity and sweetness. In this case, the wine is bursting with burnt caramel, rum, honey, and smoke, with a smooth, luscious mouthfeel.

Now do you see why I use the word "love" when I'm talking Madeira?

Just don't tell Mrs. Dudette... she might get jealous...

Cheers!
(images: 1winedude.com, malone.blogs.com, historyguy.com, wikimedia.org, sahistory.org.za, d210.tv, wilsoncrfeekwinery.com, fruitsstar.com, purplemissues.blogspot.com)

Malbec: Old Vines vs. New Vines

Wed, 13 Nov 2008 05:57:00 GMT

posted by Walla2WineWoman
Malbec, known as one of the six red grapes allowed in a bottle of Bordeaux, has been found mostly in the Cahors region of Southwestern France. This dark and inky juiced grape was later introduced to Argentina in 1868. Often referred to as Côt in France, lost it's popularity in the 1950's when a frost devastated about 75% of the vineyards. However, Malbec remained the premier grape in Argentina and eventually found it's way to California and Washington and especially in Walla Walla, Washington.

If you have been keeping up with the 89 Project blog, I blogged an article for the project regarding aMaurice Cellars Malbec - 2005. aMaurice is a winery from the Walla Walla Valley and I actually craved this wine after the first sip at the winery. It was "s_w_o_o_n" worthy! I rationed my first bottle for three evenings and every evening it became more interesting. The color was an inky plum color and the nose wafted out dark fruit - reminding me of a treasured family recipe of huckleberry coffee cake made from the berries we picked during our summers in Montana. The other nice surprise was the finish - graham crackers! The second evening it was if the flavors built up and became even more intense but with dark deep cocoa added. The third evening, the intense flavors remained but with a pleasant bit of spice in the finish.

So as Teddy Roosevelt once said over a cup of coffee served to him in Nashville, Tennessee - - "it was good to the last drop." And unfortunately Dr. Jay Miller never asked my opinion about the wine, because Parker pointed it an 89 - only 89.

Last week, we celebrated the evening of the election with another Malbec - - one from Mendoza, Argentina. And to make this even more interesting, the Malbec fruit was hand picked from vines that were over 90 years old.

Gourlart Grand Vin Malbec was also a 2005 vintage like the Malbec from aMaurice Cellars. The color was a deep red. There wasn't quite an inkiness going on, but definite shades of violet came through in the color. At first I thought it had an extemely complex nose - it was almost difficult to define. Perhaps due to terroir that was not directly familiar to me? But later notes of ripe dark berries, chocolate and spice came out of the glass. The tannins were balanced and the acids were "juicy." I also picked up a familiar spiciness that was heavy on the oak - - in fact this wine had spent 14 months in 100% new French oak. I also noticed that in another year or six-months this wine would be needing some decanting - which is not a bad thing.

How did I feel about this particular Malbec from Argentina? It wasn't quite "s_w_o_o_n" worthy of the local Malbec, but it was definitely "crush" worthy (And remember, my "crush"worthy and "s_w_o_o_n" worthy may be different than your idea of "crush" worthy and "s_w_o_o_n" worthy). One very important thing: at first sip, I knew it was not of familiar terroir and would have almost guessed this Malbec to be a French wine.

While both wines are Malbecs and of the same vintage, it is very difficult to say which one is the better wine. It's all about taste and style - each wine bringing something different to the person savoring the liquid. Comparing the two wines could also depend on how you pair them with particular foods. The Goulart Grand Vin definitely screamed for some spicy foods such as Tex-Mex and Cajun influenced food. The aMaurice Cellars would be accented wonderfully with a charcuterie and/or cheese plate, or an herbal induced rich beef stew, beef stroganoff or even a tomato sauce enhanced pasta dish.
And when it came to points how did the Goulart Grand Vin - 2005 from Mendoza, Argentina with fruit picked from 90 year old vines compare with the aMaurice Cellars - 2005 from Walla Walla, WA picked from relatively newer vines? Well, the Wine Spectator gave the Goulart Grand Vin - - drum roll - - 89 points.
Now this is where you will allow me to jump up on my soap box. As we know, 89 points can kill the sale of a very delicious and well-made wine. Personally, I feel that those who over look a wine because it received a 89 are really missing out on some well-made and interesting wines. And for argument's sake, let's say if the Malbec from aMaurice Cellars received 90 or 91 points, some "narrow-pointed minded" people might over look the Goulart Grand Vin because of it's mere 89 points. Or if the Goulart Grand Vin received a 90 or 91, the aMaurice Cellars Malbec with it's 89 points could also be forsaken. How can you pit each wine against each other - it's like the flaw of the Oscars. How do you give an Oscar to the best movie of the year when your choices are a comedy, romance, western and a sci-fi? To sum it up - -

To choose one of these Malbecs over the other - - it can't be done because missing out on either wine - - well, you are just missing out - - period.