Noticing Trends: Riesling

We've been at this for three years now, and in that time I think we've tried more Riesling than any other grape. If you look back through our reviews, you definitely see some trends for this varietal. In our experience, Rieslings can be most commonly described as:

Descriptor: Crisp
Flavors & Nose: Peach, Apple, and Lemon
Body: Light

How-To: Take Wine Notes

To help you remember the details of your favorite wine, it can be useful to write down some notes. This isn't High School History class, you don't need to write a page of details, but it's worthwhile to have some sort of system. In our earliest days of wandering the wine trails of the Finger Lakes, we would get home after a hard day of drinking and could never figure out if we liked the wine marked with a double star or triple smiley face more.

-Keep it simple
-Note how much you like a wine
-Note why you like it

For the notes themselves, there are plenty of ways to keep them. Some people keep special notebooks. We tend to keep digital notes, useful for sharing here. And there are plenty of apps out there for smartphones that will help you out.

Learning About Wines with Nero D'Avola

Last year at the New York City Wine and Food Festival, we were reminded that we still don't know a lot about Italian wines. Even when we focus on New World wines, we tend to focus on France and other regions that grow the varietals we've come to know and love. Italian wines seem, well, Greek to us. So for the New Year, we made a resolution to try to learn a bit more about Italian wines.

To help in our education, we ventured to Union Square Wines in Manhattan. With a series of excited recommendations from their staff, we selected 12 bottles to round out a case of wine, all the while making plans for how we wanted to explore them. We had a lot of ground to cover: Italy has a tremendous wine industry, and we selected a bunch of different wines to kick off this exploration. We decided to at least start by comparing two wines, the same varietal from the same region.

Two bottles of Nero D'Avola from Sicili, what could we learn? Both were fruity, with cherry flavors similar to Pinot Noir. One was a deep color, almost purple, while the other was so light that it was almost transparent. Both wines had a bitter, earthy edge, like a hint of unsweetened baking cocoa. One lost some of that bitterness as it opened up, while the other seemed to intensify. The lighter wine seemed a bit more drinkable, while the heavier wine had some aggressive alcohol that gave a bit of a punch.

The similarities might give us a general idea about Nero D'Avola, but a sample size of two isn't really enough to go on. Yet, the differences that give us a chance to learn. Other than different winemakers, the only difference was the vintage and a higher alcohol content in one, so we had a ton of questions (and thankfully the internet could provide answers to some):
-Was the harvest one year warmer, leading to riper grapes?
 -The 2011 season was warm throughout the year.
 -2012 was another warm year, with some late rains that helped the harvest.
-Why the higher alcohol content?
-Does one of the vineyards have older vines?
 -The vineyards for the lighter wine are young.
-How long do the winemakers let their wines age in the barrel before bottling?
 -The lighter wine was aged in steel barrels for 6 months.
 -The heavier wine was aged for 8 months in cement vats with a glass lining.

There is still a lot for us to learn, obviously, but for now we know that we enjoyed these two wines in different ways and for different reasons.

Comparing Vintages from Castello di Amorosa

Being fairly new to the world of wine, we are still working on learning about different vintages of wine--meaning, the year the grapes were harvested. While a basic knowledge of regions and varietals provides a baseline to understand a particular wine, knowing the differences in vintages gives you an even better understanding--even if it requires a very specific knowledge base. You need to know the details of the weather in the wine region for the year in question, as well as what that means for the wines.

While we get a chance to sample Finger Lakes wines year over year (they tell us 2007 was a great year, as was 2009, and one year we traveled through and all the new Rieslings had a hint of peach in them), we don't often get to compare different vintages of the same wine from other regions. So when we get the chance, we jump on it.

We recently sampled the newest release of Gewurztraminer from Castello di Amorosa. We looked back at our notes because we knew we had tried an earlier vintage, as well. In both cases, the characteristics of Gewurztraminer shone through: bright, aromatic, crisp and floral. In the newest vintage, it seemed like there were more tropical flavors, with hints of lychee on the nose that we didn't notice last year. Why? We don't know. The vintage has an effect on the wine, we know that much, as sun and rain inform how the grapes ripen. But there are so many variables, and its difficult to follow the weather patterns from year to year.

Of course, comparing two vintages is imprecise unless you have the training and experience required. After all, this is the stuff that actual sommeliers do for a living. We can look back, however, see what our thoughts were at the time, but we can never directly compare two vintages because even in a vertical tasting, you have to account for the aging process that changes wines a little each day as they sit waiting to be enjoyed. Yet, knowing that a particular year was a "good year" in a region can help you direct your wine choices in the meantime. How do you find that out? You ask. Good luck!

What Do We Mean By a "Tight" Wine?

"Tight" isn't usually used as compliment for a wine. Like most wine terms, it doesn't have a perfectly defined meaning, but generally it indicates that a wine doesn't "reveal" itself easily. There many not be much on the nose, or maybe there are a range of smells, but they all assault your nose at the same time.

The other end is an "expressive" wine. These wines "open up" and invite the nose, revealing all their details. Often, an aged red wine will start off a bit tight, and open up as it is given a chance to breathe. An expressive wine is preferred because we sense wine with our nose almost as much as with our tastebuds, so a tight wine limits our experience of the wine.

What Are We Thankful For?

It's that time of year again to acknowledge what we are most thankful for. We could just say "Wine!" and it would be pretty accurate, but there are things about wine that we are exceptionally thankful for.

Talking about wine, we find a few people who want us to talk about their wine. We are thankful for all the great wine that we get to try. Some of it we might try on our own, but some we would probably never try on our own, and some we've tried previous vintages.

Always on the lookout for new food and wine, we explore a lot of different restaurants. We are thankful that NYC has so many choices, and that we have a chance to travel and try wine in new and exciting places.

Wine makes for a great addition to any celebration. We are thankful that we have had so much to celebrate: a new home, a new daughter, and big family events.

Testing Our Tastebuds

One of the more interesting ways to learn about wine is to try similar bottles next to each other. Usually, we do this in classes and tasting rooms, but every once in a while we try it at home.

We had a couple of interesting bottles to open: the 2011 Chardonnay and the 2011 Reserve Chardonnay from Castello de Amorosa. We decided to try a blind test, to see if we could figure out which was which. To put it simply, we failed.

We did our best to go into the test blind, but we both brought our own idea of what a reserve wine should taste like. Typically, reserve wines are more expensive, and the idea is that there is something special there. Ultimately, we were both expecting greater complexity from the reserve wine, thinking the best grapes from the best vineyard would yield a more nuanced flavor. In this case, it seems like the winemaker was aiming for capturing the essence of Chardonnay. We found the regular Chardonnay to be layered with flavors, with a rich buttery-ness from the oak, while the Reserve Chardonnay was bright and crisp, capturing that pure acidity of Chardonnay that often disappears with the addition of wood aging.

It's humbling to be reminded that we don't know everything about wine, and that sometimes you learn a lot more when go into a tasting open-minded. Making assumptions here meant we failed our blind tasting. There is a silver lining to this story: finding the unexpected in a bottle is why we love wine and how we continue to have such interesting experiences with it.

How-To: Get The Most Out of a Wine Tasting

Wine tastings are a great way to try a bunch of different wines, and often learn quite a bit about the comparison. They are almost always worth the time, effort, and expense, but there are some tips and tricks to make sure you get the most out of them.

 

 

 

• Keep an eye out for Verticals and Horizontals which are a good way to compare similar wines: verticals are tastings that compare different vintages (years) of the same wine and Horizontals compare the same varietal from different producers. This is something you would seldom do at home.
• Don't gulp. it's called "Swirl, Sniff, SIP" for a reason. You will be trying a lot of wine, fairly quickly, anyway (if all goes according to plan), and getting drunk will dull your senses and ability to compare the wines.
• Be open-minded. Try everything!  If you don't like it, try it again. Remember, you are paying for the experience as much as you are the wine your sampling.
• Pick a tasting that suits your knowledge level. Maybe you'll get something out of a horizontal tasting of $20 Chardonnays, but why not look for wines you might never get a chance to drink on your own?
• Alternatively, pick a tasting that has wines that you might normally find in your local wine shop. A tasting of bottles being sold in the shop is a great way to sample before you buy.
• Find a teacher you like who matches your style. If you are casual, a stereotypical French Sommelier might be a bit too much over your head. If you are looking to learn about wines to impress your boss, a teacher who loves the bargain wines might not suit you.
• Don't get ahead of the teacher. You learn the most when you mirror what she or he is doing.

Did You Know?... Taking Wine Notes Can Be Fun

Reading our Quick Reviews, you may think a life of writing notes about your wines is repetitious, dry, and boring. But hopefully, reading our weekly wine adventures reminds you that this is all about the enjoyment for us. The reviews are just a way to capture a moment in time, and help us remember what we enjoyed about a particular wine. After a while, you start to notice trends, too.

That said, just jotting down a few notes, in a serious, studious manner can be a bit boring. We try to keep it fun, and taking notes when you are sampling wine with others can be both helpful and comic.

Inviting a couple of friends over, we decided to break open a bottle of Fulkerson 2012 Riesling Iced Wine to share. We sipped the wine while we played a board game of zombie combat, so the environment wasn't exactly serious. And, as we rolled dice, sudden exclamations would spark a round of riffing on the notes and taste.

"I'm getting bread!" "No...old bread!" "No...sourdough!"

"I'm getting a lot of sweet fruit." "Yeah, some pear." "But almost sickly sweet, like pear that's been sitting out in the sun too long."

"I smell oranges." "I am getting chocolate." "Even better! Chocolate covered orange slices!"

This is the real fun of wine tasting: sharing the experience with others. Seems like the board game wasn't the only competition that night, too.

Why Does Red Wine Taste "Raspy"?

Like the coating on the back of your teeth after a glass of cola, sometimes red wine can leave a scratchy texture in your mouth. A less than generous comparison would be that it feels like licking sandpaper. This is from the astringency of tannins, a chemical compound found in plants, in this case in the skins, stems, and seeds of crushed grapes. Since red wines need to spend time in contact with the crushed skins (and stems and seeds), they pick up more tannins than white wines.

2012 NYC Wine & Food Festival: Duckhorn Merlot

As the last of our three tasting events at the New York Wine and Food festival, we were invited to a vertical tasting of Merlot from Duckhorn Vineyard in Napa Valley. Duckhorn was the first winemaker in Napa valley to focus on Merlot, while most everyone else was looking at Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. For the past 40 years, they have sourced grapes from the northern reaches of the Napa appellation, where the climate and soils are more conducive to Merlot.

In 1978, Dan and Margaret Duckhorn released their first Merlot, based on the Bordeaux style--more subtle flavors, with a balance of fruit and earth. Since then, they have been one of the premiere producers of Merlot in California. As demand for Californian wines grew, the demand for Merlot outstripped the supply...until the movie Sideways came along, and ruined everything. These days, the public's demand for Merlot has stabilized to be the second highest consumed varietal, after Cabernet Sauvignon, and Duckhorn continues to release a wide range of wines under a wide range of brand names (all focused on the duck theme), from simple table wines to complex and subtle single-vineyard wines.

We had a chance to try wines from one of their premier vineyards, the Three Palms vineyard, and from six vintages ranging from 2009 to 2000. Each was amazing in its own way, and we learned a few important things.

• These wines are made to be aged; they are held for 3 years before they are released, and will generally reach their peak in 3-5 years.
• Merlot has some big flavors, and pairs well with red meats; something simple with an older bottle, but big, strong flavors with a wine at its peak.
• They recommend we taste our wines from oldest to youngest, as the flavors get more subtle as the wine gets older and the young ones can kind of overwhelm the palette in comparison.

This was a great tasting for us, an opportunity to get a better understanding of what the best of Merlot can really taste like.

 

2012 NYC Wine & Food Festival: Gerard Bertrand Legend Vintages

The first thing that hit us when we walked into the tasting room was the smell. It was as if someone had filled the room with caramel and nuts, and the smell was so thick it felt almost solid. We darted into our seats, surrounded by glasses that looked like arcs of amber, anxiously awaiting the chance to try something truly special.

Gerard Bertrand is a cheerleader for Southern France. Despite the fact that the region, sharing the border with Spain, is the largest wine producer in France, it sees far less press and prestige than some of the country's other regions. The award winning winemaker is doing his part to showcase the unique potential of Southern France, so when a local winemaker stumbled across a lost cache of Port style wines, he jumped at the chance to distribute them as yet another way to show exactly what the region is capable of.

The region produces a rich dessert wine in the style of Port, crafted from the three styles of the Grenache grape: Noir (black), Blanc (white), and Gris (grey) Granache. The grapes are blended to achieve a desired flavor profile, and during the fermentation process alcohol is added to stop the fermentation process before the yeast consumes all the sugars, leaving a sweet, highly alcoholic wine that can stand decades of aging. Left to age in barrels and then forgotten, these wines have been aging for decades in wood, only transferred to bottles 18 months ago. To say that they were rich in flavor doesn't begin to do them justice.

Our host eschewed the usual tasting banter, the comparing of smells and flavors, to instead let us sip each wine while he regaled us with pop trivia tidbits from each vintage. As we delved into the a world of powerful smells and flavors, we were reminded of the world that each vintage grew in. The 1969 grapes were harvested the year of Woodstock and the first man on the moon. The 1945 vintage captured the end of World War II. The wine from 1929 survived through the Great Depression. Each liquid jewel captured a moment of time, from moments in history that most of us have only ever read about. It was such a treat to sample these wines, an experience that would be almost impossible to replicate anywhere. And it didn't hurt that they were amazing wines as well.

How-To: Cleanse Your Palate During a Wine Tasting

To truly compare wines in a tasting, it's important to remove the lingering flavors from the last taste. There are a handful of tricks to letting your tongue rest between tastes of wine:

• In a tasting of a wide range of wines, try to move from lightest to heaviest.
• Rest. Taking breaks between sips will allow your taste buds to recover a bit more.
• Rinse your mouth with water between wines.
• Nibble crackers, preferably unsalted.

Coming of Age in Virginia

We don't often get a chance to try aged wine. Coming to our interest in wine only recently, our own wine rack is usually only stocked with the bottles we mean to drink right away. And, we don't really order the oldest wine on the menu. But every once in a while, we get a chance to try something a bit older. On a recent trip to DC, a friend invited us over for a special treat. In the past, he has shared us with some of the secrets of Virginian wines. This time around, he attempted to show us the true strength of the wines of Virginian by delving into his collection, and opening a few bottles that he had set aside for a few years. And it worked.

A trio of bottles; a Meritage, a Cabernet Franc, and something we've never tried, a Tannat. At 2005 for the oldest, these weren't the most aged bottles we have ever had, but the oldest we had ever tried from anyone's personal collection. And that added something special to it. One of our favorite things about wine is the shared experience. Sitting around a table, talking about the wine and its merits. Talking about the story behind the bottle or a chance encounter with the winemaker. Or just using it as a starting point for a bigger conversation about the simple joys in life. Wine is a great way to share a special time with others, and someone taking the effort to open something extraordinary makes it even better.

As an added bonus, the wines were all great. We are getting to know the NY wine scene well, but we haven't had a chance to explore the wine regions of other states much, so getting a guided tour through some specially selected wines from someone who shares our dedication to "the local" was a treat. And each of the wines showed the strength of state, a trio of wonderfully lush yet subtle reds in more of an Old World style, avoiding any comparison to the full bodied and aggressive wines of the West Coast. Despite all the national attention going to West Coast wines, and our own attention focused on the merits of New York wines, it was great to be shown just how mature Virgina winemakers can be. And as an interesting counterpoint, it was informative to see the strength of Cabernet Franc in a different region, with a climate more suited to the grape.

In all, it was a great experience. We had a chance to learn a little bit more about wine, shared something special with friends, and ended up with more stories to tell.

How-To: Talk About Wine

Wine reviewers, sommeliers, shop-owners...we all tend to use the same sort of language when talking about wine. We've talked about this before when discussing our rating system, but it's important to keep in mind what some of these common descriptors mean, to better understand what other people think about wine (if that's important to you) and also allow you to better describe what you are looking for.

Crisp: High in acid, these wines often taste of citrus.
Sweet: High in sugar, these can wines can have a wide range of flavors, from sweet fruits, to honey, to flowers. This is pretty easy to detect.

Fruity: When the pure flavor of fruit outweighs everything else, this is a common descriptor used. The full range of fruit flavors apply here, from berry to tree fruit to citrus. Can often be confused with "Sweet" but there is a distinct difference.

Earthy: "Dark" smells and flavors are represented here; flavors and smells like dirt, forest floor, and stone.
Herbal: Savory flavors, like fresh herbs or grass.
Spicy: Usually from high levels of tannins from time spent in wood or natural tendencies of the varietal; flavors of black pepper, or other spices.
Full Bodied: An overall descriptor, to express a wine with big, powerful flavors.

A New Vintage of Riesling

It's harvest time. And that means it's also time to see new releases from last year's vintage. The Finger Lakes Wine Alliance is sponsoring a month of events to celebrate the release of the 2011 Rieslings from the Finger Lakes region in upstate NY. Among the special events was a virtual tasting; wine was distributed to media folk, and an evening of tasting was hosted, via Twitter. And given our proclivity for Finger Lakes Riesling, we jumped at the chance to participate.

With six wines to taste, and dozens of participants, it was a hectic Wednesday night on the #winechat channel in Twitter. We tasted through the wines, sharing out thoughts on each wine, and the vintage in general. We also chatted about the Finger Lakes region, those of who knew more about it sharing thoughts with people who were less familiar, even a few who had never really enjoyed a Finger Lakes Riesling before.

Comments on the wines ranged from the simple, like "Yummy", "Beautiful", and "Clean citrus" to thoughts on pairings, to some insightful tidbits about the subtle scents and flavors. Others compared the wines to previous vintages. Others wanted to discuss the wines in comparison to other regions. With each wine, we took about 10 minutes to taste, and then shared our thoughts. For me, there was a lot of conversation to follow, while I was tasting each wine, taking notes, and deciding what I wanted to add to the conversation.

It was interesting to share the experience with a crowd of experienced wine professionals. We've shared tastings with quite a few groups of people, but never with a crowd that was so willing to share their thoughts. And it reminded us that even among those who are experienced with wine, there is no such thing as a correct answer when tasting a wine, as people's interpretation of the flavors can vary significantly. But one thing we could all agree on was that the evening's wines were a great showing, and displayed the great things that are coming out of the Finger Lakes these days.

To read the entire winechat, follow this link: http://tinyurl.com/winechat

How-To: Do a Comparative Wine Tasting

To learn more about wine, it can be useful to do a tasting of similar wines to compare and contrast.

• A vertical tasting compares the same type of wine from a single producer from different vintages.
• A horizontal tasting compares similar wines of the same type and vintage from different producers.
• A comparative tasting is similar to a horizontal, comparing wines with one similar element: varietal, region, vintage, etc.

Comparing similar wines like this helps isolate the smaller differences. A trio of Rieslings, made by the same producer, in the same year, from different vineyards will end up with similarities in the flavors and aromas, but can help the taste buds recognize the subtle differences when directly compared. Generally, the wines are compared in stages: appearance, aroma, then flavor. As the wines are usually of a similar style and flavor profile, there is less concern over tasting order, as there is less chance of any one wine overpowering the flavor of the others.

During a comparative tasting, it is recommended to spit the wine. While the buzz from sipping from several glasses can be fun, it tends to dull the senses, and limit the ability to truly judge the differences.

In glassware, consistency is important. Connoisseurs say that the different shapes of glasses effect the aroma and impact of the flavors, so to compare the wines evenly its important to serve them from identical glasses. It is not recommended to do several tastings from the same glass if you can avoid it: the residue from the previous wine can influence the flavors of the current one, and a rinse will leave some water that will slightly dilute the wine.

Comparative tastings are common in the professional wine world, especially for judging wines in competition. In this case, the wines are often tasted blind; the label of the wine concealed when poured and tasted to avoid influencing the judges.

There is no defined number of wines for these types of tastings. Sometimes professionals will taste over 100 wines in one event. But, most of us will be overwhelmed by more than half a dozen tastes, and over a dozen makes it more of a chore than an enjoyable experience, in our opinion.

Gewurztraminer with Friends

With the right group, a good bottle of wine is a great thing to share with friends. With the recent addition of three similar wines to our rack, we had an opportunity for an interesting horizontal tasting, with far too much wine for just Tina and myself, so we invited a couple of friends over to share, and see what they thought.

Boxed Chardonnay Adventure

Like most industries, the wine industry is works hard on research and development. In addition to seeking out new and better ways to make wine, they are also looking at better ways to package wine. Glass bottles are expensive to produce and heavy to transport, so much work has gone into developing other forms of packaging, and working on the much maligned option: boxed wine. 

One of the big selling points for  boxed wine, for the casual wine drinker, is that it provides a better seal. Once opened, wine in glass bottles begin to oxidize and lose flavors. Boxed wine should remain protected from oxygen, thereby remaining fresh longer. We decided to compare a boxed wine to a standard bottle, to see what differences we could find, and see how each held up over the course of several days.

How-To: Develop a Taste for Wine

We realize there is a whole group of people out there who don't like wine--even though they really  want to. Maybe entertaining clients seems to always involve wine. Maybe friends are planning a tour of wine country. Maybe a glass of wine to toast a special occasion sounds perfect. Maybe it just seems fun. They say the grass is always greener; in this case, it truly IS pretty green over here. So, what can you do if you really don't like wine, but wish you did?

1. Recognize it's an acquired taste, just like vegetables.
2. Wine is complex and big: if your entire conclusion that you don't like wine is based on a small number you've tried, well, that's like cutting vegetables out of your diet because you didn't like the few you tried, as well. We're confident there is something for everyone.
3. Start with sweet wines. We hear that people new to wine prefer sweeter wines.
4. Try fruity wines: people often mistake fruity for sweet. For a new wine drinker, this goes hand-in-hand with the last fact.
5. Try light-bodied white wines. The flavors won't linger too long, or overwhelm your tastebuds.
6. Ask for wines that are "drinkable." This will indicate to the waiter or salesperson that you want something that "goes down easy."
7. Finally, avoid big reds. Tannins (from the wine barrels and grape skins) can overpower the tongue. The tannins are what produce the burning and scratchy feeling in the mouth. This can be unpleasant to someone new to wine.

Ultimately, it's about experimenting and trying new things. In our mind, the worst thing a wine drinker could do is limit him or herself to the one bottle they've found that they like. How can you discover the next best thing if you always stick to what you know?

Good luck!