International Wine of the Month Club » Interesting Wine Info

Some Reasons to Drink Cava

Don Lahey — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:08:16 +0000

Cava is Spain’s answer to Champagne, although a case can be made for Cava offering more of a rebuke to Champagne than a retort. After all, Cava hails from a different climate and terroir than Champagne, and Cava is produced primarily or entirely from indigenous Spanish grape varieties such as Xarelo-lo, Parellada, Viura, and Macabeo, rather than the traditional French varietals inherent in Champagne. Naturally, all of this accounts for differences between Cava and Champagne, thereby rendering each nation’s sparkling wine unique. But then, there is also the difference in price. The vast majority of Cavas sell for under $20.00 a bottle. Is there much French Champagne available for half that price? Yet, like Champagne good Cava is produced by the same traditional method of fermentation in the bottle, and the end result is plenty of good drinking bubbly. The most compelling reason to drink Cava is simply this: Nobody makes better dry sparkling wine for the money than Spain’s Cava producers. With the addition of champagne yeasts during fermentation, the acid rich musts of Spanish Cava yield sparkling wines of rich flavor, softness and finesse that can at times rival those of Champagne. Where Cava may even have the “edge” on Champagne is in its soft, round, lingering finish – the antithesis of French Champagne which can often possess just a bit too much acidic verve in its aftertaste or finish to suit some tastes. Consequently, I enjoy Cava more often than Champagne because Cava is affordable, versatile, and appealing to a wide audience.

Bordeaux: What’s in a vintage?

Don Lahey — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:10:44 +0000

In some wine regions of the world, the quality of wine doesn’t vary tremendously from year to year. The reason is that the weather in some wine areas remains fairly consistent and predictable. In other wine lands such as Bordeaux, vintage means everything. The weather in Bordeaux varies enormously throughout the growing season and from year to year, and because weather largely determines the quality of the vintage and the resulting wine, vintage speaks volumes in the most hallowed of French appellations. The saying in Bordeaux is June makes the quantity, August the style, and September the quality. If the flowering and subsequent berry set go well in June, growers can look forward to a bumper crop. And by August, the vignerons know roughly what to expect in style. But it’s September that ultimately determines how good the Bordeaux will be, particularly the reds, based largely on the amount and frequency of rain that falls during the month. If a tropical depression sweeps in from the Atlantic, all bets will be off. With this said, Bordeaux has enjoyed a bevy of fine vintages in recent years, and no two back to back vintages in memory rank higher than 2009 and 2010. Although the resulting wines are different in style, each of these vintages enjoyed ideal weather in September and October. The years 2009 and 2010 produced from top to bottom some of Bordeaux’s most drinkable and profound red wines. Consequently, I’m putting as many 2009 and 2010 red Bordeaux in my cellar as I can afford because Bordeaux doesn’t get much better than in these two vintages.

Don

Too Hot, Too Cold!

Don Lahey — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:14:11 +0000

What is the temp of your wine?

What’s the best temperature to serve a wine? The age old response to the question is to serve white wines cold and red wines at room temperature. But in this case not only is traditional wisdom out of synch with recent university studies, it’s also vague and misleading. First and foremost, what is room temperature? Room temperature varies from season to season and locale to locale. In addition, the term doesn’t take into account modern heating and air conditioning, which greatly alter the temperature of a room. Moreover, when the conventional wisdom of serving red wine at room temperature came into vague in England and France centuries ago, room temperature was likely 55°- 65° F, if you were lucky. Not surprisingly, university studies confirm that the vast majority of wine drinkers garner the most flavor and pleasure from red wines consumed between 55°- 65° F, which is decidedly cooler than room temperature in most American homes. Consequently, the term room temperature is useless to most of us today with central heating and air conditioning.

Conversely, recent studies indicate that wine drinkers report the greatest pleasure and taste from white wines consumed between 45°-55° F, which means we may be cheating ourselves by nearly freezing white wines before rapidly consuming them. So, what’s a wine drinker to do? Drink wine at the temperature that suits your palate of course. Yet, you may want to experiment with some of your favorite red wines by cooling them down for 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator and allowing white wines to sit in a glass for 15 minutes before guzzling them. Personally, I think most of us consume red wines too warm and white wines too cold. However, no one else can determine your pleasure quotient. So, why not experiment a bit, and see what suits you?

In Praise of Carmenere

Don Lahey — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:24:22 +0000

Carmenere may not be on the tip of everyone’s tongue, literally and figuratively, but for the life of me I don’t know why. Granted not everyone likes the same kind of wine. I get that. People should drink what they like because no one can drink anyone else’s palate. Yet, the fact remains: I really love good Carmenere, the missing link of Bordeaux varietals that thrives now in Chile like it hasn’t in Bordeaux for well over a century, and I feel the need to spread the word. Brought to Chile in the 19^th century, before the advent of phylloxera, Chilean Carmenere was mistaken for a clone of Merlot until the 1980s. It’s hard to believe that one of Bordeaux’s six legal red grape varietals could be misidentified for so long, but the truth is always stranger than fiction. So, what do I like about Carmenere? A lot! First, any decent Carmenere will dazzle the eye because Carmenere yield’s the deepest purple of any grape varietal. More intriguing is Carmenere’s luscious aroma and savory flavors: rich red fruit and blackberry scents and savors wed to hints of bell pepper, black pepper, dark chocolate and spice. And best of all, Carmenere’s tannins are smoother than those of Cabernet and its other Bordeaux compatriots, making it a pleasure to drink in its youth. The older I get, the less I want to wait for wines to age. Lastly, every time I bring a well-made Carmenere to a tasting, it’s a hit, among young and old. People like it, especially after it’s had a few minutes to breathe. I never judge a Carmenere on first sip; any good Carmenere will change a dozen times in the glass. Better to give a good red wine a little time in the glass to collect itself, than have to wait years for it to be ready to drink. For sure, Carmenere’s not for everyone, but if you haven’t tried one, I suggest you do. You may find yourself singing its praises to.

A votre santé!

A Special 83 Year Old Winemaker Named Angel

Don Lahey — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:17:12 +0000

On a recent visit to Spain I had the opportunity to spend time with Angel Rodriquez, one of Spain’s most revered winemakers. Anyone who has met Angel Rodriguez stands in awe of his tremendous accomplishment. Visiting this spry, witty 83 year old winemaker and his beloved Martinsancho Vineyard is a rare treat and valuable lesson in the value of dedication, history, and wine. Angel’s story is the story of a unique grape called Verdejo. Although Verdejo is one of only a handful of truly noble Spanish white grape varietals, it was in serious danger of extinction by the early 1970s due to the pervasive planting of more prolific native varietals such as Viura and Palomino and the introduction of international favorites such as Chardonnay. Through his loving refusal to uproot his ancient 17^th century vineyard called Martinsancho, Angel Rodriguez saved the delicious, but shy bearing Verdejo from extinction

The original majuelo or 17^th century vineyard of Martinsancho comprises less than two acres of ancient vines, all of which are in excess of 250 years of age. These gnarled, ungrafted vines grow out of a bed of stones over thirty feet deep, preserved in isolation as a museum of pre-phylloxera viticulture and a continuing source of undisputed varietal authenticity. Once considered an anachronism and an economic liability, nurseries throughout Europe now treasure the Martinsancho Vineyard and its beloved Verdejo for the vine cuttings it provided and the viticultural legacy it has preserved. Yet, more than forty years ago no one seemed to care about this old vineyard with its unprofitable, extremely low yielding vines; in fact, few had even heard of Martinsancho’s existence. Verdejo was on the verge of extinction as it was deemed not profitable enough then by most experts to preserve, let alone grow, despite the vine’s noble pedigree and the undisputed quality of the wine it produced. Yet, in spite of the prevailing pressure and “expert advice” to uproot the old vineyard, Angel Rodriguez preserved it, and then undertook the near impossible and what many have called sheer lunacy: he re-grafted Martinsancho’s Verdejo by hand into 25 acres of a nearby vineyard with nearly identical soil – a monolithic undertaking.

Subsequently, other Rueda growers have planted Verdejo with the help of Angel Rodriguez, to the point that today Verdejo is once again the leading white grape varietal in Rueda. For his great sacrifice and untiring efforts in favor of re-establishing Verdejo’s prominence in its region of origin, Angel Rodriguez has been officially honored by King Juan Carlos of Spain. Yet, in spite of his great accomplishment and the recognition that has followed, Angel Rodriquez remains a humble man who believes in tradition. He steadfastly maintains a very low-tech approach to the natural production of his wine, which is totally organic and includes little or no added sulfites – a rarity, especially among white wines. Look for Angel’s Rodriguez’s outstanding 2011 Martinsancho Verdejo in an upcoming feature.

Don

Priorat

Don Lahey — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 23:21:32 +0000

It’s hard to imagine a more inhospitable climate and a more remote, godforsaken locale than Spain’s Priorat. Nothing but grapes could possibly thrive in such a rugged terrain scoured by gales and mistral like winds, a land set apart from life as most of us know it. Tiny towns, which cleave to Priorat’s precipitous mountains and are inhabited by fewer than a hundred hardy souls, pay testimony to the area’s isolation and add to the region’s desolate feel. In Priorat, unlike Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and most other Spanish wine regions, there are no golden fields of waving grain or long undulating rows of vines stretching as far as the eye can see. So, what makes Priorat so appealing? It’s the region’s high mountain vineyards and dramatic scenery that make this inaccessible part of Catalonia hallowed ground. Nowhere else in Spain does old vine Garnacha and Cariñena produce such dramatic wines – full-bodied beauties – that are often blended with hedonistic dollops of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. What I find so appealing about Priorat are the many variations on the same theme, all with pure natural flavors, simple elegance, rusticity, and warmth. These are high alcohol wines with heart and soul and plenty of sensual appeal. Stay tuned!

Don

The Golden Age of Wine

Don Lahey — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:51:31 +0000

This is truly “The Golden Age of Wine.” Never before in the thousands of years of recorded human history has wine been better than it is today. Have great wines been made in times past? Absolutely! But never has there been so many good wines produced than in the last two decades, and nowhere is this truer than in Spain. Although Spain is the latest wine producing powerhouse to experience an oenological renaissance, it has caught up to the other big boys in a hurry, and in many cases surpassed other wine producing nations in both the quality and value it offers the wine drinker. Once known almost exclusively for its rich traditional Rioja Reservas and fine Sherries, Spain now fashions an enormous array of delicious wines, both red and white, from every corner of the country. And happily Spain has not thrown the proverbial baby out with the bath water: instead contemporary and traditional styles of wines prevail in Spain, across the oenological spectrum. From the bright, fresh white wines of Galicia and Rueda to the impeccably aged wines of Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Priorat and Jerez, Spain offers the wine consumer tremendous quality, value, and variety. If you haven’t already experienced the delightful works of Spain’s wine masters, it’s about time you did. After all, this is Spain’s Golden Age of Wine, so why not take part in Spain’s El Siglo de Oro del Vino.

Wine trivia for the day: Corked wine

Kristina Manning — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:13:35 +0000

A corked wine is a wine that has been bottled with a cork that is contaminated with TCA – Trichloroanisole. Sometimes the contamination comes from the barrel the wine was stored in.

In a corked bottle – wine will get worse as its exposed to the air. Cork taint is a set of very undesirable aroma and flavor characteristics that are imparted into the bottle.

You have three choices: tip it, drink it fast, or stick a zip lock bag inside the bottle. The zip lock will absorb some of the TCA; it wont fix the wine but it may be drinkable

Wines are a lot like kids

Don Lahey — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 22:19:40 +0000

Wines are a lot like kids: on any given day they can make a liar out of you. One day they’re perfectly well behaved, and the next day . . . well you get the picture. Johnny is an angel in school but a devil at home. Mary is just the opposite, sweet as pie when Mom and Dad are around, and a fallen angel away from the house. What makes us think that wines are all that different from kids? Well, I realize that wines can’t think, yet I know they have minds of their own. One day a wine shows great and blows the panel and everyone else away, and the next day that same wine just might not have quite the same appeal. Why? So many factors affect how a wine tastes on any given day: storage, serving temperature, weather (particularly barometric pressure) and accompaniments to a wine all have something to do with how a wine is perceived by the majority of tasters. However, the common denominator is probably us. We humans are influenced by our companions, experiences, moods, and most acutely by the foods we consume prior to tasting a particular wine. Our palates get tired, just like the rest of our bodies. Moreover, we all know that certain foods can wreak havoc on our taste buds. Horseradish, Tabasco, raw garlic and onion are just a few of the foods most commonly cited as affecting our taste buds, but almost any food can alter one’s perception of a wine. So, tasters beware! What you had for lunch can affect how a wine shows or is perceived at dinner.

You Can’t Drink a Label or Price Tag

Don Lahey — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:31:01 +0000

“You can’t drink a label or a price tag or anyone else’s palate.” How often have my friends and tasting companions heard me utter those exact words? More times than they care to remember, I’m sure. And all this time I thought they were reaching for another bottle of wine simply because they liked it, and not to inoculate themselves from my redundancy. Well, to that I say “some things are worth repeating.” Wine snobs buy wines to impress other people, wine lovers buy wines they and their friends like to drink. The former is about status and insecurity, the latter about sharing and partaking in the best that life has to offer. Surely, what appeals to one may not have that same appeal to another. So, to thy own palate be true. Yet, who can deny the existence of a true quality factor in wine? Some wine as food for thought.