Did you know? . . . about Burgundy Wine

The Burgundy wine region ("Bourgogne" in French) only grows two grapes: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

This knowledge is useful when you are staring at an extensive wine menu, or picking out a bottle of wine for a gift and want to impress with something that sounds good. If you like either of those grapes, chances are you won't go wrong if you select a bottle of Burgundy. The wine will, however, have specific traits having been grown in that specific region in France, but most of us wouldn't notice the difference, anyway...and that's OK. If you don't like those grapes, you know chances are you won't like wines from Burgundy. That's OK, too.

Next time you're choosing wine, keep an eye out for the word "Burgundy" or "Bourgogne" on the wine menu, or on the labels. Remind yourself, "that's just Chardonnay!" or "that's just Pinot Noir!" Makes the whole wine experience less intimidating, right?

How-To: Pick an Alternative to Chardonnay

Maybe you are having a guest over who refuses to drink Chardonnay. Maybe you are out at a bar that doesn't serve Chardonnay. The good news it that Chardonnay is a versatile grape that falls on a large spectrum of flavor profiles, which means other white wines can often seem close enough" to it.

On the left is the Chardonnay grape based on region, and on the right is the comparison grape. (And yes, the Rioja mentioned is a white Rioja, which is less common than its red counterpart.)

Quick Review: Madrona Vineyards Chardonnay 2012

US, CA, El Dorado, Madrona Vineyards Chardonnay 2012
++ // Smooth // Vanilla, Butter, Pear // Grapefruit, Pear, Honey, Orange rind // Full

 

A roller coaster of a wine. Big, bright acidic grapefruit to start bringing you to a great height of flavor, with a crest of of sweet pear and melon, with a plummeting drop of bitter orange rind bringing you home.

Quick Review: Lamoreaux Landing Chardonnay 2007

US, NY, Finger Lakes, Lamoreaux Landing Chardonnay 2007
++ // Crisp // Butter, Citrus, Vanilla // Green apple, Really ripe pineapple, Vanilla // Light-med

Smooth finish. Not too heavy, a blend of complex, delicate flavors. Other end of the spectrum from the big, buttery Californian chardonnay. 2007 is known as a "good year" in the Finger Lakes, and when friends gifted this bottle to us, we were thrilled.

Time for Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a contentious wine: some people drink nothing but Chardonnay, while others will drink anything but. Like everything else in the wine world, we are pretty flexible about it. It's not often that we drink it, but there is a time and a place for a good glass of Chardonnay.

Chardonnay is a wine where it is important to know a little about what you are getting. Like Riesling, which can vary from a sweet, unctuous wine to a dry, acidic version, Chardonnay can vary wildly in its flavors, depending on how it was treated. In this case, its as much dependent on how the wine was aged as the nature of the grapes. An "oaked" Chardonnay, where the wine was aged in oak barrels, will pick up characteristics of the wood; smooth toast and butter flavors evening out the crisp acidity of the grape. An "unoaked" Chardonnay, aged in stainless steel, will keep those bright acidic flavors.

For us, the right time is when you are looking for a white wine with a big flavor to go with a big meal. Other white wines can serve as a counterpoint to big, spicy flavors, but its not often that they can present anything other than bold, crisp flavors that dissipate quickly. With fatty bacon pot pies with a grilled corn and tomato salsa, most white wines might get lost, or be so acidic that they would cut through the flavors of the food. But a Chardonnay, even when it is crisp, can offer a smooth blend of flavors that is hard to find elsewhere; delicate enough on the palate to be refreshing, but bold enough to catch your attention.

Some people can't stand Chardonnay, but we're not among them. Like all wine, chardonnay has its time and place, and can bring something wonderful and unique to a meal.

Best of 2013: Reader's Favorite White Wines

Over the course of 2013, we drank a lot of great wine. We tried the new vintages from some of our favorite Finger Lakes wineries as well as some of their different varietals and other wines from all over the world.

One of your favorites, as well as ours, was a blind tasting of wines from Castello di Amorosa, as we tested to see if we could figure out which glass was the Reserve wine.

And of course, you liked it when we tried something a bit different. While we usually focus on wines with dinner, every once we treat ourselves to a glass with dessert, and Sauternes is always  a favorite.

Best of 2013: Readers Favorite Adventures

Over the past year, we have had some great adventures that we have shared with you. Of course, one of your favorite stories is an old one, a great evening we enjoyed at Beecher's Handmade Cheese in Manhattan. Maybe because it really emphasized what we love about wine; enhancing a great evening, even a casual one. Or maybe its just because cheese makes everything better.

On the other hand, enjoying a casual glass of wine at home seems a popular topic, with our story on pairing Chardonnay with takeout Sushi, and pairing wine with fried chicken piquing your interest. We love reminding everyone that wine isn't just for an exquisitely crafted three course meal. A good glass of wine can make even take-out dinner or greasy fried food something a little special.

And of course, everyone likes to see others fail. We tried our best to see if we could guess the difference between a Reserve and regular Chardonnay, and you got to see why we made the assumptions we did, and how they were wrong. It's good to be reminded that there is always more to learn about wine.

Here is to sharing some more great adventures with you in 2014!

 

Quick Review: Castello di Amorosa Blind Test Glass Two

US, CA, Napa, Castello di Amorosa Chardonnay 2011
Nate: + // Smooth // Butter, Lemon, Hint of Maple wood // Wood, Smoke, Hay // Full
Almost herbaceous, which was unexpected in a Chardonnay.

Tina: ++ // Smooth // Funky, wet leaves, oak // Aged grapes, ash, smoke, tannins // Medium to Full
There was a funk here, which Tina enjoyed. Smoky, ashy, wet leaves, oak, the grapes were definitely aged. This is a rich and full Chardonnay.

Expected Results: The funk and tannins and the smokiness tricked us into thinking it was the more "complex" of the two wines we tasted. We both thought the winemaker had tried to give the wine some greater complexity, and that this was the 2011 Reserve Chardonnay.
Actual Results: 2011 Chardonnay

Sushi and Chardonnay

Opening two bottles of Chardonnay for testing purposes, we had to find something good to eat with them before they lost their wonderful delicate flavors. With a balance of richness and crispness, Chardonnay seems like the perfect choice for Sushi.

Of course, it all depends on the style you prefer, but the raw fish in sushi will likely have a certain rich, silkiness that will match the richness of a Chardonnay, while the acidity of the wine with cleanse the palette with each sip, freeing the taste buds for the next bite.

The pairing with Castello di Amorosa's 2011 Chardonnays worked out well. With the bright, acidic Reserve Chardonnay, the wine was mellowed out by the fattiness of the Tuna, but brought a lot of liveliness to the meal. The more oaky "regular" Chardonnay brought a smoky flavor that paired well with the seaweed wrap of the sushi roll, and was a little more balanced with the food. Thankfully, with two bottles, there was more than enough to satisfactorily test our theory.

Quick Review: Castello di Amorosa Blind Test Glass One

US, CA, Napa, Castello di Amorosa Reserve Chardonnay 2011
Nate: + // (Very) Crisp // Butter, Lemon, Grass // Grapefruit, Caramel // Medium
Aggressive attack, with a really punchy bite that smooths out quickly.

Tina: + // Crisp // Apricot, Lemon // Apricot, lemon, grapefruit zest, vanilla // Medium
Yes, after a bright crispness the oak/tannins gave this a smooth finish.

Expected Results: The crispness led us to assume it was the 2011 Chardonnay.
Actual Results: The 2011 Reserve Chardonnay

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.

Quick Review: Stone Mountain Reserve Chardonnay 2009

US, Virgina, Stone Mountain Vineyards, Reserve Chardonnay 2009
++ // Smooth // Citrus // Vanilla, Oak, Lemon Zest // Heavy

Wine Cheat Sheets: Chardonnay

Quick Reviews: Brooklyn Winery Chardonnay 2011

US, NY, Brooklyn Winery Barrel Aged Chardonnay 2011
+ // Crisp // Apple, Mineral // Red grapefruit, Vanilla, Stone, Cinnamon // Medium
 Definitely not Californian, very crisp for oak

Did You Know?... About Barrel Aged White Wine

Very few white wines spend any time in wood barrels. The lighter, more delicate flavors of white wines get lost when aged in oak. Chardonnay is the most common white wine that spends maturing time in wood barrels.

Quick Review: Sandhi Chardonnay

US, CA, Santa Barbera Valley, Sandhi Chardonnay 2011
++ // Fruity // Buttered toast, Apple // Green apple, Stone, Grapefruit, Butter // Med

Quick Review: Pedroncelli White Wines

US, CA, Sonoma Valley, Pedroncelli Winery Chardonnay, Dry Creek Valley, F. Johnson Vineyard (“Single Block”) 2012
 ++ // Smooth // Vanilla, wood // Honey, citrus crisp // Medium

Reminiscent of a well-crafted mead. Starts out smooth (thanks to the tannins and honey flavor) but finishes crisp. Well-balanced.

 US, CA, Sonoma Valley, Pedroncelli Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Creek Valley, East Side Vineyards 2012
++ // Fruity // Citrus // Lemon, apple, apricot // Light to Medium

Don’t let the light nose fool you: this wine is actually packed with flavor.


US, CA, Sonoma Valley, Pedroncelli Winery “Friends White” 2012
++ // Smooth // Tropical // Lychee, tannins // Light

A blend of Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but the Chardonnay came through the most for us. This is a table wine meant for easy drinking. Versatile.

Did You Know?... About Chardonnay

Some wine drinkers follow the ABCs: Anything But Chardonnay. Chardonnay is a white grape, grown throughout the wine growing world. Its popularity means that much of was is produced is sub-par, leading many to avoid it. But is also a classic grape, and in skilled hands can turn into something wonderful.

Chardonnay is the grape used to make White Burgundy.

Chardonnay is one of the few white wines often aged in oak, giving it a different flavor profile from other white wines. The flavor profile can vary wildly, from berry to tree fruit to citrus, all the way to some earthy flavors, in addition to oak or vanilla, when aged in barrels.

Quick Review: Wines at Le Colonial

France, Bourgogne, Louis Latour, Pinot Noir 2009

++ // Fruity // Cherry, Leather // Cherry, Leather // Medium

France, Bourgogne, Manoir du Capucin, Chardonnay 2009
++ // Crisp, Smooth // Apple // Apple, Butter // Medium

Quick Review: Fox Run Reserve Chardonnay 2009

US, NY, Finger Lakes, Fox Run Vineyards, Reserve Chardonnay, 2009
++ // Smooth // Lemon // Oak, Button, Lemon, Peach // Medium bodied