Tag Archives: terroir

Red wines from secondary grapes to be discussed on Food in Focus with Natascha Moy!

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I once again have the privilege of being a guest on Natascha’s great food and wine show, Food in Focus.  It will be on Saturday, 18 May at 4 pm Sydney time.  If you are dialing (does anyone truly have a dial on their radio anymore?) in, it is 89.7 FM in Sydney, Australia or can be found and heard over the Internet as Food in Focus.

Natascha is always great fun and mixes it up well.  The first time I was on the show, we talked about party wines.  The next time, we sampled and discussed Rieslings.  This time we are going to be discussing wines made from secondary red wine grapes.  The four primary red wine grapes are:

  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Shiraz
  • Merlot
  • Pinot Noir

A majority of red wine is made from these primary grape sources.  Yet, I have fallen in love with the different mouth feel, textures and variety of the so-called secondary grapes.  They are only secondary when referring to the volume of grapes sold as wine.  They make some great, great wines.  Examples of secondary wine grapes include:

  • Sangiovese
  • Zinfandel
  • Tempranillo
  • Durif
  • Barbero
  • Grenache (is considered by some to be a primary red wine grape)
  • … and many more!

There might be over 1,000 different wine grapes now.  What I love about the secondary grapes is that they have real character and sense of terroir.  They uniquely reflect the region where they are grown, more so than primary red grapes.  The primary grapes have been replanted so many times and so far around the world and have been groomed to reflect the strength of the varietal.  Secondary grapes have far more diversity and different characteristics based on where they are grown.  This is not to say that primary red wine grapes do not reflect their terrior – they certainly do.  And they make some great wines.  But the secondary red wine grapes make wines which are all over the place, picking up the local climatic and soil traits and the influence of various wine makers not yet familiar with the grape, and therefore, can sometimes take on unique characteristics which make then truly special.

I am not sure exactly what bottles I will be bringing tomorrow.  I am still figuring that out this evening and tomorrow morning.  But as always, it should be a great show.  Tune in if you can!

 

Steve Shipley, author Wine Sense, out early 2014. Published by InkIT Publishing
© 2013.  Steve Shipley
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Is Australia a great wine producing nation or not?

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Australia is justifiably proud of its wine producing industry and has gained attention and success on a global scale.  I love Australian wines.  They are built to last, and there are regions for growing grapes that rival European terrain, and the hills of Napa Valley.  Five years ago, I drank 95% Australian wine, with the other 5% being a smattering from Europe and the Americas.  I also used to drink 90% red, but now drink about 70% red and 30% white.  In a recent post on Rieslings, I mention how the Riesling grape helped me transition to more whites.

I have also noticed another change over the last decade, that being that I used to enjoy red wines when they were the biggest, most robust and alcoholic.  I now prefer – more often than not – a more refined, elegant red wine.  I am starting to appreciate red wine blends using more secondary grapes, and more red and white wines from Europe.

In general, it is probably fair to say that my wine tastes are maturing and becoming more diverse.  Part of this has been through the minor study of how grapes are grown, wine is made and wine reviews in general.  But most my education has come from drinking and comparing a wider variety of wine.  I have become much more discerning of the grape used and the impact of soil and vineyard management techniques on various grapes (most prominent influence is on Riesling and Pinot Noir, but all grapes are influenced by the soil and climate they are grown in).  The influence of soil and climate makes up a big part of what is called terroir.  But terroir also has less noticeable and scientifically proven influences through the culture of the area, its accumulated history, and the small influences collectively made over the vines and wine making techniques for thousands of years.  And this is where I am starting to question if Australia is one of the best wine producing regions or not.  While some vines are 150 years old and represent the place where the grapes are grown, Australia is more known for the tastes of the grapes themselves and the wine making techniques used.

I am reading Roger Scruton’s book entitled I Drink Therefore I am: A Philosopher’s Guide to Wine.  It is available in both electronic and printed form.  I am greatly enjoying the book, finding it not just a good and enjoyable read, but also quite educational on both wine and philosophy.  Scruton is a marvelously entertaining and articulate writer.  He is also very sure of his opinions and without a doubt, believes that French wines are without peer, followed by some wines from Napa Valley.  He is also a fan of Italian wines and supportive of Spanish and some South American wines.

But when he starts discussing Australian and New Zealand wines, he quickly downplays the impact of Australian wines and spends most of his time in the region praising New Zealand wines and wine making.  One of his major criticisms is that Australian wines do not reflect a place, they reflect the taste of the grape and the wine making techniques.  He is also critical of how quickly the wine growing and wine making industries have grown and the mass popularity of the wine having repudiated the individual variety that is necessary to make great wines.

Scruton believes that a sense of place is critical in making good wines and I think he is onto something.  You can mechanically churn out excellent wines if you use great grapes and great wine making techniques.  But think how much better wines are if the grapes come from vines that have been in the same location for thousands of years (vines never get that old, but the relationship being the soil and the vine types have existed for that long in many European locations).  The soil, the vine and the grape know how to embrace each other.  And think of the collective history and culture of the place where the grapes are grown.  Even if you have not visited those places, you have a sense of what they are about, and drinking wine from a place evokes memories and a sense of a deeper culture and appreciation of the wine.  And even if you are completely ignorant to a place, you still can taste the nuances of how the culture has defined the grapes and the wine making.

I have tasted some truly unique and excellent second growths or non-categorized wines from these European regions that have evoked great pleasure.  You do not need to buy Grand Cru wines from these regions to experience great wine.

I have tasted some excellent Australia wines and will continue to enjoy them for the rest of my wine drinking days.  They are great wines.  But the very best wines I have had come from France, Italy or Napa Valley.  Australia can be proud of its wine making industry and its wine heritage, but as a New World country that mass produces wines and has large vineyards of similar tasting grapes, you are unlikely to produce wines of the stratospheric quality that you would from a very small single vineyard parcel in Montrachet, Nuit St George, Mosel, Piedmont or Alsace.

In particular, I understand the nuances of some of the best vineyards in The Hunter Valley and can select some truly outstanding wines of unique character from that Australian wine region.  I am anxious to spend much more time in the other major regions to be able to do similar.  By being selective and narrowing my focus to a few wine makers with excellent small parcel vineyards and leveraging the cumulative history and culture of the region and the family of wine makers, I am hoping to be able to continue to buy Australian and get the very best wine it has on offer.

But is Australia in the Top 3 best wine making countries in the world – certainly not.  Is it in the Top 5?  Maybe and if not, it is getting closer.  The joy in all this is that I will continue on the journey of sampling many more Australian and foreign wines and also now have an excuse to sample both side-by-side, which is something I have not done much of before!

 

Steve Shipley, author Wine Sense, out early 2014. Published by InkIT Publishing
© 2014.  Steve Shipley
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Twitter:  Steve Shipley @shipleyaust;   InkIT Publishing @inkitpub

 

Apologies in advance to Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc fans

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I enjoy drinking wine and drink it regularly.  I try a variety of different grapes and styles from different regions around the world.  I love my wine and am willing to try a lot of different wines.  However, I also value knowing I will be drinking a good to great bottle almost every time I open one.  Therefore, over the years, I have settled on a number of different grapes (or blends) in different styles and from different regions.

Upon moving to Australia almost 15 years ago, I became fixated on the Australian wines.  There are a number of different wine regions, each well suited to various grapes and each region known for producing several great wines.  To get an overview of the different regions, review my 4-series post on the Australian wine regions.  Australia makes a lot of magnificent wines and at great price points.  It is only recently that I have been experimenting and coming to enjoy a broader range of wines globally.

There are four primary red wine grapes and four primary white wine grapes:

Red wine grapes:

  • Merlot
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Shiraz
  • Pinot Noir

White wine grapes:

  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Chardonnay
  • Riesling
  • Semillon

A majority of the world’s wines are made with these grapes and that is why they are known as the ‘primary’ grapes.  In the ‘secondary’ grape category, among the reds, we have Zinfandel, Grenache, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, etc. and among the whites, Marsanne, Verdelho, Gewürztraminer, and so on.  Some of the world’s best wines are blends of several grapes to provide some unique characteristics and tastes.

Great wine always starts with great grapes, but the effects and magic of the wine maker can also make a large difference in the finished product, starting with the wine maker determining the best time to pick the grape to get the right characteristics (often sweetness or alcoholic content) from the grape.  Then there are many other techniques the wine maker uses to craft the best wine he/she can make from the grapes.

Probably 60% – 65% of what I drink comes from the the primary red and white grape families – excluding Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.  The remaining third comes from secondary grapes.  I drink very little Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc and simply do not enjoy the grapes or what the wine maker can possibly do with them as much as most of the other grapes.  Occasionally, I may have a wine with some Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillion, or some small percentage of Merlot in a red blend.  A Merlot can be used to soften a red wine blend, for example.

I believe the main reason that I do not drink Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc is that there is little the wine maker can do with these grapes compared to most of the others.  The impact of terroir and the influence of the wine maker is less influential on the Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc grape varietals.  Pinot Noir, by comparison, is very highly influenced by the terroir and the wine maker’s craftsmanship, which is why the very best Pinot Noirs are very high in demand and almost hallowed.  It is tough to make a bad Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc, but it is even tougher to make a very good, yet alone great one.  (I know some of the very best French Sauvignon Blancs may be argued to be exceptions to this general rule.)

Sauvignon Blanc is often described as tasting like “stewed green tomatoes” or “cat’s pee!”  When you start with a grape described like that, I don’t expect the wine maker can do much with it!  Both Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot are safe grapes to grow (resistant to changes in conditions) and are often used as an insurance policy for any given vintage to make sure some wine is available in the region.  But by definition, this is the reason the grapes cannot be influenced or crafted into truly great wines.  These two grapes are very common and middle of the road in my mind.

So what do I do for food matching when it obviously calls for a Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc?  For Merlot, it is easy as there are so many different red wine grapes and styles to be able to pick a perfect match to any food, even when Merlot is not considered. 

And everyone knows that Sauvignon Blanc is a natural for fish and seafood, right?  Wrong!  If I am eating fish, and it is a gamier, thicker, or oilier fish, I will have a Pinot Noir, especially if it is served with a tomato sauce or topping.  And if it is a lighter, flakier white fish, then I will opt for a Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon blend.  The Semillon provides some structure and character to the Sauvignon Blanc and is a great match for this type of fish.

For crustaceans or lobster, I love a rich, aged Chardonnay, such as a Montrachet.  And Semillon goes really well with scallops, and a Riesling with crab or prawns.  Therefore, I feel I have it covered and do not need to ‘compromise’ by drinking a Sauvignon Blanc or Merlot.

This blog was inspired by a comment that Merlot would go really well with pizza, and it probably would, but given the choice, I am going to drink a Sangiovese or Cabernet Sauvignon (like the 1996 Lindemans St George I had with pizza the other night).  I just cannot fancy desiring a Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc when  I have so many other choices available.

If you are a regular Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc drinker, then I apologize if I have offended you, but I encourage you to try some other grapes instead.  We have a great friend with a very good palate and she started drinking Merlot for her first wines, but quickly grew out of that and to a broader and richer spectrum of good wines.

Therefore, if you think Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc are your main and easy choice for wine, then you should experiment a bit and I expect you will be happy with the results.

The region makes the varietal

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In several previous posts, I provide an overview of Australia wine regions and what grapes grow best in what regions.  If you have not read those posts or cannot remember them, I urge you to read them again!  The region makes the varietal (grape) far better or worse.  Here are the links for your reference and a quick overview:

I assume most wine makers try their best to get the most out of the grapes they are using to make wine.  But to give them a fighting chance, they need to use grapes from the regions most appropriate for growing that particular type of grape.  The different varieties of grapes have different characteristics which make them more (or less) suitable to be grown in particular regions.  Some grapes require a longer growing season than others and if in the wrong place, they will either end up not flavorful or ripe enough, or with too high an alcohol content for that grape.  Some grapes have thicker skins than others, and some reflect the influence of the type of soil and climate more (or less) than other grapes.

This mean that the certain grapes, year-in, year-out, will grow far better in certain regions than others.  You know I I love my Hunter Valley Semillon, Shiraz, and Chardonnay.  The region is perfect for growing these grapes, and there are some vineyards in the Hunter Valley (due to their specific location, if they are flat or on a hill, etc.) that yield still better results than other vineyards.  An example of this would be the Stevens vineyard for Shiraz and used by Tyrrells and De Iuliis.  Another is the Braemore vineyard for Semillon and from which Andrew Thomas makes his great Braemore Semillon.

But this also means that there are certain grapes not suited to the Hunter Valley and these include Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir!  If you want a good Cabernet Sauvignon, get one from the McLaren Vale or Margaret River.  If you want a good Pinot Noir, get one from Victoria, Tasmania or New Zealand.  Do not buy a Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir from the Hunter Valley!  Sure you say, but how about Lakes Folly Cabernet Sauvignon?  And I am sure some of their vintages are quite nice.  But why spend $70 bottle for this wine, when you can get an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale or Margaret River for $20.  And if you do not know what you are doing nor follow the results of individual vintages for each region, you statistically will be far happier with any given vintage from McLaren Vale or Margaret River for a Cabernet Sauvignon than you will from the Hunter Valley.

I recently have had two bottles of Hunter Valley Pinot Noir.  One I thought was reasonable, that one being the Blueberry Hill Pinot Noir.  It was certainly decent, but not as good as most other Pinot Noirs I have had from Victoria, Tasmania, New Zealand or certainly Burgundy.  The other one I opened last Saturday was the 2005/2009 blend Sandalyn Pinot Noir.  Frankly, I suffered through a couple of glasses of this on Saturday and what was left was down-right undrinkable today.  I bought nine bottles of this wine when taking a pasta cooking class at Sandalyn last year.  Frankly, drinking this wine now, I am not sure what possessed me to buy it.  I may have been enthused by the pasta making class and the fine meal we had afterwards, or caught up in the enthusiasm of the wine maker explaining to me how this was made in ‘a real Burgundy’ style.

Usually, I try to share and promote very positive wine-drinking and lifestyle experiences, but I also need to share my negative experiences to provide a balance and credibility to the wines and products I promote (which I do without any commercial ties BTW).  The 2005/2009 Sandalyn Pinot Noir was a good effort by the wine maker, but it is not a good wine and it is not going to last.  I have eight more bottles of this and will need to use it as cooking wine.  Or bring a few bottles to a BBQ where I know I can wait until a few hours into the BBQ and nobody will be able to discern the quality of this Pinot Noir after becoming well lubricated with beer and other mediocre wines!

Both the Blueberry Hill and the Sandalyn from the Hunter were mistakes to buy and I will make sure to follow my own advice and only buy grapes from the regions that are most suitable for growing them.  I was hoping to have the remaining Sandalyn with Bangers and Mash tonight, but will now maybe look at a Pinot Noir from Nuits – St George!

Can we really describe how wine tastes – Part 1?

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For most of us, the answer is ‘no.’  Many of us enjoy wine just because it is alcoholic, and could not care less how it actually tastes.  I am in the group of people who enjoy wine for the taste and the sensation of pleasure it provides from a lot of different perspectives – seeing it, swirling it, smelling it, the texture it provides against the inside of my cheeks being just a few of those sensations. However, I cannot do a decent job of describing how it tastes with regards to its flavor.  There are people who can articulate most, if not all, characteristics of wine, and precisely define a multitude of flavors coming through.  And, finally, there are the pure bullshitters who know that 95% of us don’t have a clue, so they take a chance and try to impress us that they know.  I love catching those liars out!

The highest certification you can achieve for wine tasting is the International Master of Wine (MW).  This distinction means, you not only can taste the different nuances in many different wines, but that you can describe those nuances in a consistent manner with other MWs when writing or speaking about the wine.  It also means you can identify the characteristics and have a good chance of identifying what country, or region of the world the wine comes from, describe the influence of its particular terroir, and have a vast lexicon of terms to describe the wines flavors (including ‘”cat’s pee” for some Sauvignon Blancs!).

Becoming a MW requires a lot of study, practice and tasting.  It is estimated that it costs about $200,000 in wine you are required to buy and taste to be able to pass the exams.  Many MWs are naturally blessed and have ‘super-taster’ capabilities (25% – 40% more taste buds in their mouth than normal people), otherwise known as “cook’s palate.”  But many are also just normal people, greatly dedicated to their craft and their passion.

There are less than 500 MWs in the world.  I am certain that I will never become one.  Heck, the cost of $200,000 to even attempt it is a road block for almost all of us.  While I enjoy my wine greatly and enjoy writing and speaking about it and sharing experiences with others, I will just never put in that kind of dedication to achieve such a distinction.

I can describe how wine feels, if it is balanced, or if the tannins are fully integrated.  I can also define if it has a long or short finish. But when it comes to defining flavor or taste, I have a limited ability of description.  In my recent post on “Yatarnna Bin 144 – Penfolds White Grange,” I describe the flavor of the 2006 Yatarnna as “powerful lemon flavors and some peach and grass flavor.”  The lemon was obvious to me for this wine, and ‘it seemed’ like a little bit of peach flavoring, or it could have been a bit of honeydew melon.  I was not really sure.  In the great book on Penfolds entitled “The Rewards of Patience,” a group of wine reviewing experts, including Halliday, Mattinson and Hooke describe this wine as “Flinty pear/lemon curd/white peach aromas and fine pronounced tangy acidity.”  They tasted this wine four years before me, and I expect the wine changed markedly over time.  For starters, the wine no longer has a tangy acidity.  It has mellowed nicely.  And was their ‘curd peach,’ my ‘grass?’

Surprisingly, I did pretty well on this wine, but could not describe accurately most other wines.  And most of you who taste wine less than I do could not either.  Most of us don’t even think about the flavor or other characteristics of the wine, yet we can still greatly enjoy a wine and are able to determine if it is a great, good, mediocre or bad wine.  (To me, ‘mediocre’ is as bad as bad, so I won’t bother with ‘mediocre – life is too short!)

But I have over time developed a simple lexicon for trying to decipher and describe the flavor of the wine I am tasting.  And it somewhat varies for red and white wines.  There are some great books on wine tasting and some kits and flavor guides you can buy to help you along the way.  However, there is no substitute for just trying a number of different wines next to each other and sharing and attempting to describe your experiences with friends.  Another good way to learn more is to participate in winery tastings when they announce the new vintages.  These are quite inexpensive and a great way to learn from the way the wine makers describe their wines.  We have gotten 6 – 8 of us together to do this several times with great fun and success.

It may seem intimidating to do this around people you know are far more mature tasters than you are, but most wine lovers are delighted to enjoy and share a good bottle with you and derive great pleasure from assisting others learn and appreciate wine more.  (And if they do, they fit my definition of a ‘wine enthusiast’, if they don’t, then the are ‘wine snobs!’)

We have two friends who are wine judges and are studying for their MW.  We are going to their place for lunch this coming Sunday.  We have done this about five times in the last three years and have had them over to our place a similar number of times.  We have shared some great meals and great wines together.  Initially I felt a little extra pressure to be sure I selected some great wines to enjoy, but as we got to know each other and enjoy each others company and shared interest in good wine, we quickly found ourselves in a very comfortable and safe environment to try some special wines, and discuss them with relative experts.

Do not be afraid to just mix it up and give it a go!  I remember the first time my wife tried a Tannat (secondary red grape), her reaction was “Wow- I can’t describe it, but I love what it does to my mouth!”  Needless to say, the wine maker was delighted by her response.

In Part 2, I will provide the simple lexicon I use to attempt to describe the flavor of both red and white wines, and hopefully provide some ideas on how you can describe wines also.

If it’s Semillon, make it a Hunter Valley Semillon!

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In most parts of the world, except Sauternes and Australia, Semillon is a lesser known white grape compared to Chardonnay, Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc.  That is a shame because Semillon is an amazing grape highly influenced by terroir and goes well with a wide variety of food.  I love Semillon with eggs (my breakfast wine with an omelet or fritatta!).  It also goes well with Thai food, Indian food, pesto (at least I hope so because I am going to try that this evening!), denser fish, and some crustaceans.

It also goes well with cheese or on its own.  In fact, I am drinking a glass now as I write this blog.  I have a rare opportunity to spend the next few hours uninterrupted, writing and drinking wine, and my wine of choice this afternoon is Semillon.  I must admit that I thought a Riesling would go nice with the chicken and spiral pasta with pesto meal we are having tonight, but I wanted to try a Semillon, especially the one featured in this post, which is the 1999 Moss Wood Semillon.

Frankly, I only drink Semillon from the Hunter Valley or Botrytis Semillon in dessert wines from Sauternes; such as the world famous and world best Chateau D’Yquem (which I claim is the best wine in the world in a previous post).  Why would you do anything else?  Hunter Valley Semillons are without comparison.  I have had some Semillon from Margaret River blended with Sauvignon Blanc in the Pierro LTC which is an excellent wine for the money and the 25% Semillon makes the Sauvignon Blanc actually drinkable and a good wine to match with fish.  I do not enjoy Sauvignon Blanc as a grape.  For starters, it is the most identifiable and pronounced tasting grape there is.  If you cannot blind taste a Sauvignon Blanc, you are going to have a tough time recognizing any other type of grape.  Sauvignon Blanc just does not have the subtlety of flavor that the other grapes do.  People often describe Sauvignon Blan as tasting like “cat’s pee!”  This should be all the commentary we need to steer away from Sauvignon Blanc!

I was recently given a bottle of the 1999 Moss Wood Semillon.  Moss Wood is one of the premier wineries in the Margaret River and makes a magnificent Cabernet Sauvignon.  Therefore, if I was going to experiment with a Semillon away from the Hunter Valley, this would be a good one to try.

This wine is very flavorful with melon tastes and still has some acid.  However, it is not well balanced and seems like the flavors are fighting with each other and fighting my palette.  With 13 years of age, you pick up some great flavors (and it does have a beautiful color which provides anticipation that this will be a great wine – only to disappoint once you drink it), but for a museum Semillon, one could do far better back in the Hunter Valley.  (See my post on Museum Semillons for some great recommendations.)

I was told this wine had some variability with the corks, but the cork I removed was in perfect condition.  The bottle I have opened is as good as it is going to get for this wine.  It is enjoyable enough to drink and I will continue to write with a glass at my side and have some more with dinner, but it would not be among my favorites.  Twice I have brought this wine over to friends for a meal, but have not opened it, and glad I am tasting it alone as this is not a wine that I would delight in sharing.  Again, it is decent enough to drink, but with so many great, inexpensive wines, why go with a ‘decent’ wine?

If you are going to go for Semillon, make sure to get it from the Hunter Valley, or Sauternes if you can afford it!

The Secret Ingredient in Wine

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Wine is made from grapes, and there is a basic process for how white wines and red wines are made.  Yeasts are used to start the process in almost all cases.  Many wine makers use sulphar dioxide to help the process along, while others use organic techniques.  And the grapes are effected by their terroir, which provides unique characteristics to different grapes from different regions with different growing conditions.  But none of these are the secret ingredient in wine.

The secret ingredient in wine is the fellowship and company with which the wine is drunk!

“Eating is an intelligent act, or it’s merely an animal one. And what makes it intelligent is the company of other mouths and minds,” says Adam Gopnik from The Table Comes First.  Well said indeed!  I believe that applies equally well to a table of food and wine and to just sharing a bottle with friends.  In my earlier blog post “Wine Snob versus Wine Enthusiast – which one are you?” I point out one of the differences between a

Wine Snob

  • They bragged about the excellent wines they had, but never found the opportunity to share the wine with friends or to give a bottle to a friend

Wine Enthusiast

  • They are happy to share wine, either by contributing a bottle, or by asking all who share to chip in for a special bottle of wine, or by setting some rules to have each person bring a bottle according to the rules established 

Wine (and food) goes better with people, and the better the people, the better the wine tastes!

We have a lot of work colleagues away from home during the week, so we regularly have a ‘singles and strays’ dinner to get them together and make sure they get both some good company and a good home-cooked meal.

When I was at (a Catholic) university, I had a priest teaching an honors course who said that “if you cannot find time to break bread and enjoy a meal with family or friends, then something is drastically wrong with your life.”  I believe this to be true and and something ‘busy’ American families and many others do not appreciate.  We tend to grab a meal on the run, getting our daily bread where we can find or buy it, and each family member does so according to their own schedule.

There is great joy in sitting together, drinking together and eating together which is the essence of life.  We have made a point to have people over regularly, to find reasons to commune over a good meal and wine.  We are all better for it, and the wine taste better because of it!

The perfect wine with Lasagne

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A few weeks ago, my bride made lasagne for the first time and it was brilliant!  Usually, I don’t post pictures of her food as the link will take you to the photo, but I needed to this time as it was just brilliant!  Every time I look at it, I get hungry!

I mean, “how good is that?”  Of course, I still needed to decide what wine to drink with it.  A safe choice would have been Chianti, the light Italian wine made from the Sangiovese grape.  Another easy, choice could have been a Cabernet Sauvignon.  But I had a concern that with the richness I knew my bride was putting into the bechamel sauce in particular, that a Chianti or Cabernet Sauvignon might be a bland choice and not stand up to the lasagne.  The lasagne was going to be heavy, meaty, spicy and deserving of a big wine to match, but not so big a wine as to overpower it.

I thought a Shiraz might be a decent, yet not perfect match, but a bold and potentially good choice.  Shiraz is often highly influenced by it’s terroir, and I love some of the great Victorian Shiraz’ for that reason.  However, I was concerned that a refined, delicate Shiraz would not be sufficient, and that some of the more robust aged Shiraz’ could be overpowering.

When I started to think about the lasagne and reviewed my bride’s recipe, I knew the lasagne was going to be very flavorful, have a lot of different tastes blended together with a bit of hot spice (we add chili to almost everything!), and have some crispiness in the baked pasta slices to give it a munchie and grittier texture to it.  But this would be interlaced with layers of a rich bechamel sauce also.  Therefore, I did not want a wine that was overly complex and mature, or one that was too elegant.  I needed a wine I could chew on!  One with lots of big tannins – but not completely integrated yet.  A wine that had great flavor with both fruity and spicy tastes.

As I thought through my cellar (yes, I am sufficiently aware of the contents and placement to be able to do that in my mind!), I eliminated wine after wine, and then settled onto the 2006 Seppelt’s St Peters Shiraz.  Year-in, year-out, this is an amazing Shiraz, but the 2006 was particularly good.  The first time I tried it was at the end of ten days of heavy wine tasting and frankly my palate was destroyed.  I think I had the tannins of the last several days affixed to the inside of my cheeks and could not pick up on how beautiful a wine this was.  My lovely bride though insisted we buy some, but I only got six bottles.  However, a couple of months later and with a restored and workable palate, I tasted it again and realized what a truly unique and wonderful wine this was.  And as Treasury Wine Estates was trying to rationalize their inventory, I was able to pick up another 18 bottles at a really good price!

When eating the lasagne and drinking the wine, they provided a perfect combination in my mouth.  As I state at the end of my blog on “Wine with Risotto”, a perfect match of food and wine is when both are fighting for primary attention, but neither wins.  And that is what we achieved with my bride’s lasagna and the 2006 Seppelt’s St Peter Shiraz.

I am so lucky to have a wife who loves to cook and provides me both the pleasure of her cooking and the pleasure of choosing wines to match.  Thank you and love you hon (and you too Seppelt)!

Overview of Australia’s Wine Regions – Part 1

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Part 1 – Australia as a Prominent Wine Producing Country

An American friend of mine who follows my blog and has a real appreciation for wine wanted to develop a better understanding of Australian wines.  I have been thinking about how to help him and have come up with several ideas such as sending him some books or links on the Australian wine industry and specific wines, sending him a mixed dozen wines to sample (but I always get concerned about US wine distribution laws), or recommend some top-notch liquor and wine stores in the US that specialize in better Australian wines.  I decided, the first and easiest thing I can do, is to write a blog overviewing (is there such a word?) the Australian wine regions and describe some of their unique characteristics.  At least that way, he will be able to target getting some Australian wines from the regions that are best known for being suitable to different types of grapes and styles of wine.  I think an introduction to some of the great Australian wine families and history would also provide useful information.  Therefore, I have decided to create a short series of blog entries on the Australian wine industry.

Over the last 40 years, Australia had developed into one of the most prominent wine regions in the world and arguably could be the most prominent “new world” wine region.  (I am certain my American friends might protest!)  The “old world” wine regions (basically Europe – most notably France, Italy, Germany and Spain) still produce some magnificent wines.  More recently, “new world” wine regions have evolved, including Napa Valley and surrounding regions in California,  along with some other great wine growing regions in the US such as Oregon (especially for Pinot Noir), Chile and Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  In addition, China is now starting to come up fast and is producing some fine wines.

(BTW, it really surprised me to find out that all 50 US states now have at least one winery!)

The distinction between “old world” and “new world” has real meaning and influence on wine making in terms of culture, style of wine making, terroir, and the age of vines.  The age of the vines can play a large part in the flavor of the wine produced.  Most vines do not start to produce enough usable grapes until they are about three years old.  Some vines are over 100 years old with some going on 130 – 140 years of age!  For my general purposes of specifying “old vines,” I use the figure of 40 years or more as being necessary to call a vine an old vine.

Why is vine age so important?  Vines develop character over time, continuing to pick up that character from the soil and surrounding elements, and the manner in which they are cared for.  And look at the thickness of the vines to the left!  With this type of size and strength, the vines are more likely to produce a consistency of wine from vintage to vintage, far more consistent than the annual changes imputed on younger vines.  Additionally, after a number of vintages, a particular style becomes known and expected and influences our belief in what defines a particular style for which the wine is known.  You may asked the question, “When does a vine become too old that it stops producing good wine?”  I have never seen a good answer to that, but will be researching the question and get back to you in a later blog.

Unfortunately, many of the oldest vines in Europe were destroyed by a disease called “phylloxera,”  a plant lice which kills the root of the vine.  Australia vines were first planted with some scale and success around 1840 (and has never suffered from phylloxera), so Australia now has some of the oldest vines in the world.

The other things that Australia has going for it with respect to wine production is a wide variety of climates, weather patterns, elevation levels and soils.  All of this makes for a wide variety of truly outstanding wines.  Except for the most northern part of Australia, being Queensland and the Northern Territories, all other Australian states and territories produce some magnificent wines.  An overview of those regions will be presented in “Australia’s Wine Regions (Part2).”

But for now, I hope you agree that Australia, among all countries, is a special place for growing wine.  There are a few good reasons why – as an American – I have decided to call Australia home, none more important than the quality of its wine.  While I am opening my eyes (really my lips!) to many other global wine regions, I still find the best and best-valued wines are Australian wines.

Malbec – A Secondary Grape

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Shelly Medernach, one of my many favorite cousins, recently gave me the great pleasure to be able to pontificate on my favorite subject – wine.  She asked about the Malbec grape and I was ready to help as much as I could!  While not knowing much about the grape, I was surprised that over time, I had picked up some knowledge which I was glad to share.

Malbec is considered in a group of secondary (according to how much is drunk, not an appreciation for the quality of the grape) red grapes with Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Shiraz being the 4 grapes in the primary red grape category. Malbec joins Grenache, Carmenere (mostly from Chile), Barbera, Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc, and a few others in what are known as ‘secondary’ wine grapes. This does not necessarily mean they are secondary in taste, but just wine sales.  Some of these grapes if grown properly and by themselves or in blends can provide some truly outstanding wines and that is true of Malbec as well as the others.

Malbec grows best in Argentinian soil, followed by Chile and then some spots in Europe and Australia. It is such a heavy grape with big tannins that it is usually blended with some other grapes such as Merlot or Cabernet Franc and provides some great blend combinations. I have had a few bottles of 100% Malbec and loved it, but you need to be careful not to drink too much as it is bigger, heavier and has more tannins than most grapes. If you love big robust Shiraz wines you will probably like a bottle of 100% Malbec.

It is almost grainy because there is so much tannin in it. Tannin is what is in tea that makes you suck in your cheeks a bit and provides texture to the wine (or tea). I love big tannin wines if they have been fully integrated to the wine (which takes years) so it must be well aged to smoothen the wine out and take the grainy edge off the wine. However if aged and cellared properly for 5 – 10 – 25 years, tannin is what gives some of the great red wines their structure and complexity.

Therefore, I would not drink a newly bottled Malbec, but would once it has 4 – 5 years or more of age into it. And you may want to try a blend instead of a 100% Malbec.

I think it is a great grape, when selectively used and from the greatest regions, such as Argentina. The grape is also very sensitive to its ‘terrior’ (the influence of the land, soil, weather, and growing conditions around it) similar to Pinot Noir. That is why some Pinot Noir and Melbecs can be truly great from one region and not from another region, and great one year and not the next. Both grapes are very sensitive and are influenced more than Riesling or Semillon which typically are more consistent, at least within region or from year to year.

The Malbec is very fruity, but can taste leathery, a bit smoky and spicy – a bit like black pepper, but these are all flavors in small quantities that give the grape great depth and flavor. If you like a Hunter Valley Shiraz (unfortunately you have probably not have had any if you are reading this from the US), or if you like any robust Shiraz, you will probably like Malbec, or at least a Malbec blend.  Give it a try!