Interesting Wine Info Archives - Page 22 of 22 - Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

Shiraz or Syrah?

June 26, 2012 by Don Lahey

Whether we refer to this great varietal as Shiraz or Syrah, we are talking about one of the world’s most illustrious red grape varieties. It is also one of my personal favorites. Grown for centuries in the Rhone Valley of France, where it is responsible in all or part of many of the greatest red wines of France (Hermitage and Châteauneuf-du-Pape specifically), the exact origin of this full-flavored varietal remains in debate. However, historians do agree that it was brought to Europe from the Middle East, but when and by whom remains a mystery.

Some historians maintain that it was the Crusaders, who first brought Syrah to France, while others point to the earlier Roman legions under Probes, and yet others claim it was the remnants of Alexander the Great’s army on its return from Persia. The latter theory is particularly intriguing since Alexander himself was so enamored of the rich, powerful wines he found around the city of Shiraz in Central Persia, that he insisted on staying there, apparently far longer than he should have, since that is where he met his end. Nonetheless, the one point that has been ascertained that everyone seems to agree upon is that the name Shiraz, from the Persian city of that name, is the origin of the varietal’s name. The grape’s name changed to Syrah as it traveled west. In any case, Syrah flourishes today not only in the south of France but in other Mediterranean climates. It fares particularly well in Australia, California, and South Africa, where it is often called by its original name – Shiraz. Australia’s Barossa Valley, South Africa’s Western Cape and several appellations throughout California produce a bevy of lush, polished Syrah/Shiraz wines that are not to be missed.

A Votre Santé!

Don

Are You a Terroiriste?

June 1, 2012 by Don Lahey

The word terroir sounds like a less savory term we are all too familiar with and hear far too much about today, but happily terroir shares no affinity with the English word that so closely resembles it. So, what is terroir precisely? Terroir is a French word, which means literally soil or ground. However, when used in connection to wine or viticulture, terroir refers to the specific and often unique soil in which individual vines grow, but that is not all. Terroir, also, encompasses the climate, altitude, and the precise position of the vines in a vineyard. In essence, terroir includes the entire environment of a vineyard or even the entire surroundings and upbringing of an individual plot within a vineyard because terroir can vary considerably from one part of a vineyard to the next. Since English and other languages, too, lack a single word to convey as much meaning as the French word terroir, the term has become widely adapted internationally and is now a generally accepted term in English, too, especially in the wine trade and increasingly among critics and consumers alike.

So, to answer the question, yes I am a terroiriste. However, I lend equal credence to the skills and multifarious choices every winemaker must make because no matter how fine the terroir, good winemaking matters, a lot.

A Votre Santé!

Don

So What Do I Drink …Off the Job – Part II?

April 19, 2012 by Don Lahey

King prawn and fennel risotto with a glass of Barbera

When beef, lamb, and game appear on the menu, red Bordeaux, California Cabernet Sauvignon (preferably with some bottle age), Châteauneuf-du-Pape, full throttle Spanish Tempranillos from Rioja, Ribera del Duero, or elsewhere, Super Tuscans, and thick rich Syrah based wines from Australia, California, or South Africa are likely to be my wines of choice. I like to mix up what I drink with red meat. When pork, pastas with thick tomato sauces, and spicy bean, sausage, or vegetable dishes are the order of the day, Carmenère from Chile, country reds from Spain, California Zinfandel, and of course a whole host of Italian reds will more often than not join me at table. To be frank, I love good Carmenère that is made from physiologically ripe grapes. It drinks well young, needs very little breathing time, and delivers more flavors for the money than almost any other varietal. The best examples are great on their own or with simple dishes; however, not all Carmenères are created equal so sometimes I am disappointed.

While discussing preferences, it is fair to say that risotto is one of my favorite foods, and here I am quite particular about what I like to drink with risotto. I can think of no better wine to accompany risotto than Barbera, Barbaresco, or Barolo from Italy’s Piedmont.

Poultry, cream based pastas, salmon, soft cheeses, rare tuna or for just plain sipping, what wine beats Pinot Noir, and that includes red Burgundy and the finest California, New Zealand, and Oregon Pinots? When Oregon experiences a good vintage, who offers better quality and value Pinot Noir than the top Willamette Valley producers?

A Votre Santé!

Don

So What Do I Drink …Off the Job?

April 3, 2012 by Don Lahey

I have a pretty eclectic palate, which leads me to search out all kinds of wines to match the food I’m eating, the weather outside, or the mood I’m in on any given day. I truly love to eat and I enjoy almost all kinds of foods and types of cuisines, so there isn’t going to be one wine or type of wine I always gravitate to. I rarely drink the same wine two days in a row, though I confess that I could drink Champagne every day. However, at home we eat a Mediterranean diet more often than not, so the wines of California, Italy, Southern France, and Spain make regular appearances at my table.

For starters, I am very fond of many of the white wines of Northern and Central Italy. Most are light, fresh, and increasingly well made with little or no oak. They drink well on their own, so they make excellent aperitifs, and they can double as unobtrusive accompaniments to seafood and light pastas at any time of year. Moreover, they are what I like to refer to as “no headache wines.” Without massive amounts of alcohol or layers of new oak, they are easy on my head as well as my palate. No wonder these wines are increasingly popular in Europe as well as America. Gavi from the Piedmont, Orvieto from Umbria, Verdicchio from a hand full of premium Verdicchio producers in the Marches, and Vernaccia from Tuscany are just a few of the Italian white wines I have especially enjoyed recently.

Spain’s enological renaissance in the last decade has delivered some excellent light to medium-bodied white wines, too. The Spanish white wines I admire most usually have a high percentage of Verdejo or Albarino in the blend. I enjoy Spanish Cava, as well. Nobody makes better dry sparkling wine for the money than Spain’s Cava producers. But what about the red wines, you ask? I’m hardly finished with the white wines I drink at home, so we’ll save red wines, Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs, and other white wines for another day.

A Votre Santé!

Don Lahey

For the Love of the Grape, Red or White?

March 8, 2012 by Kristina Manning

In a perfect world, everyone’s partner would share our deep and abiding affection for the vino. Mine does and it makes things so much easier. I’m so grateful that we both enjoy tastings and good wine!

However, his preference is red wine only, whereas I like both. We have wine with our dinner almost every evening, and we do eat a fair amount of white meat and fish. So, I do have my share of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, etc and he has his usual Cabernet Sauvignon, no matter what traditional pairings suggest. As often as not though, two bottles are open on our dinner table. We purchase more red wines than white because of this, and therefore have more red wines in our collection than whites.

So how about you – when it comes to wine, is there ever any domestic tension over your purchasing and consumption habits with your significant other?

Not All Wines Are Created Equal

February 28, 2012 by Don Lahey

Anyone who has known me for awhile knows my mantra: “You can’t drink a label or a price tag, or anyone else’s palate.” And I do hold these truths to be self-evident to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, our nation’s first devotee of wine. Although it should be evident that not everyone shares the same taste in wine (and the same can be said for food, art, or almost anything else for that matter), this realization doesn’t negate the quality factor in wine. Not all wines are created equal. And I do believe they are not.

Some wines are endowed with greater body and balance, not to mention longevity and what the French refer to as a certain je ne sais quoi. Some are made from mature vines, grown under perfect or near perfect conditions, expertly pruned, hand harvested, and their wines crafted by men and women who understand art as well as science. Other wines spring from less favorable terroir, while still others are mass produced in an industrial mode and hardly receive the care and attention required to make the highest quality wine. It’s fine to drink such wines, if you enjoy them, but just as there is great, aged beef and then there is tough or overly fatty disappointing beef, the same spectrum of quality exists among wines. And we are not talking about preferring one cut of beef to another or having a preference for apples over pears. There is such a thing as good beef and bad beef, better quality apples and lesser quality apples, and most people can tell the difference when presented with the choice. In fact, the majority of the population could be professional wine or food tasters, given the desire, experience, and money to pursue such an avocation. Only about 20% of the adult population is estimated to suffer from serious palate or olfactory deficiency that precludes them from fully appreciating various scents and flavors in food and wine. All others are capable of considerable discernment. Yet, one person may prefer filet mignon and another hamburger. Who is to say one is better than another? Such a choice is truly a matter of preference and experience, not quality. The question of quality arises when the talk turns to good hamburger as opposed to bad hamburger, good Cabernet versus bad Cabernet, and the spectrum of quality that lay in between.

So in short, it’s good to like what you like, but sample as many wines as you can, and then ask yourself two questions. What is quality? And what is preference?

A Votre Santé!

Don

What’s Your Favorite Wine?

February 8, 2012 by Don Lahey

Once someone realizes what I do for a living, I anticipate the question. I can’t help it. I’m not telepathic, but I know what’s coming. And invariably, “the question” does come: What’s your favorite wine? I used to answer the question with a litany of favorites, but after decades of wine tasting I have more favorites than I can count, so that conversation can go on for a very long time. So now I respond to the question with “the wine in my glass.” A true statement, simply because I don’t drink wine that doesn’t please me and the fact that a particular wine remains in my glass offers testimony to the immediate gratification it is providing me. Hence, a new favorite wine!

This candid but somewhat flippant sounding response also frees me to recall a few special wines and to ask the questioner about his or her favorite wines – a topic that I find more intriguing than my own preferences. What I have come to conclude from others’ responses is that everyone’s palate is a bit different. And although most experienced wine drinkers can reach a consensus on a wine, they don’t always. Why? Ambiance, experience, or lack of experience, personal preferences, and whatever else a person has consumed that day can alter one’s perception of a wine. Moreover, I have learned over the years that there are only three immutable facts about wine drinking, and they are these: no one can drink a label (even though some people try, either to impress or to hide their lack of experience), a price tag (that’s only for snobs), or anyone else’s palate (a true waste of time and wine). Think about it!

A Votre Santé!

Don

« Newer Entries