Wine Education - 2/12 - Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

America’s Love Affair with Pinot Noir

September 24, 2018 by Don Lahey

America is in love with Pinot Noir, but it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. A generation ago, Pinot Noir was the proverbial step child of American grape growers, an afterthought and an anomaly at best. Only a few stalwart visionaries like André Tchelistcheff of BV vineyards dared to plant France’s most coveted, yet often mercurial, grape variety in California. And frankly, those early attempts yielded less than exciting results.

Today, Pinot Noir’s fortunes have changed. Pinot Noir is all the rage, not only in America but around the world where it stands at the pinnacle of the world’s grape varieties, but it is not because the planet’s other favored varietals (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese, and Tempranillo to name a few) are incapable of greatness; rather Pinot Noir is the rare grape variety that is capable of being transformed annually into the planet’s most complex red wines as well as the most exquisite rosé, still, and sparkling wines.

Although Pinot Noir was born in Burgundy a millennium before Cabernet Sauvignon made its appearance in Bordeaux, it now thrives in Champagne, California, Oregon, and in rare hallowed parcels across the planet in addition to its native Burgundy. However, the difficult to grow and often unforgiving Pinot Noir varietal demands attention, a cool, temperate climate, and a deft hand in the cellar. When all stars align, Pinot Noir yields light to full-bodied wines of stunning aromatics, depth, and length of flavor. Moreover, good Pinot Noir can age gracefully for as long as any wine when stored properly. Not surprisingly, it also yields the world’s most expensive wine on average, which makes it all the more attractive to collectors and a growing legion of admirers.

Salud!
Don

Mencia: Spain’s Other Great Red Varietal

May 23, 2018 by Don Lahey

The regions of Spain have long been associated with great red wines, particularly the red wines of Rioja and Ribera del Duero from the iconic Tempranillo varietal, so much that other equally exciting indigenous varietals such as Garnacha (Grenache), Prieto Picudo and Mencia have been all but ignored until recently.

What is Mencia?

Mencia is a premium red Spanish grape varietal found primarily in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras appellations of northern Spain. Although the Mencia varietal was once considered by enologists to be the direct ancestor and precursor of Cabernet Franc, recent DNA testing has shown that this is not the case. Mencia and Cabernet Franc share some common characteristics, but not the same ancestry. It is now widely believed that Mencia and Portugal’s Jaen de Dão (Jaen for short) grape variety are one and the same. However, not everyone agrees. What we do know is that Mencia is an ancient varietal that has been around for quite some time. Bierzo’s original plantings of Mencia likely date to the earliest Roman settlers in the region, who cultivated the varietal two thousand years ago in what remains one of Europe’s most isolated wine regions. It is the grape’s isolation and not any inferior quality that caused it to be overlooked outside its ancestral home.

What is Bierzo?

Bierzo is a remote area of Galicia, Spain’s cool, windswept province astride the Atlantic. Certainly, it is the very isolation of the Bierzo that has allowed Mencia to survive and even thrive. Moreover, the average age of the hillside vines in Bierzo is quite old, which lends itself to the production of high-quality wines. Consequently, the wonderfully fruity, spicy, and wholly intriguing Mencia varietal has recently been discovered, or rather re-discovered, by modern legions of wine drinkers. They are no doubt intrigued by this unique viticultural entity we call Mencia, whose many attributes are accentuated by organic farming, low vineyard yields, and modern winemaking techniques practiced by Losada Vinos de Finca and other like-minded wineries whose emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. Since the 1990s, Mencia has steadily grown in popularity to the point where there are now more than 20,000 acres of Mencia vines being cultivated in Spain. Altos de Losada, Peza do Rei, and Casal Novo are three excellent producers whose Mencias are well worth seeking out.

Salud!
Don

The Varietal Connection: Who’s on First, What’s on Second

April 20, 2018 by Don Lahey

If we were playing the old Abbot and Costello routine, Chardonnay would be on first, Cabernet on second, and no one would know who’s on third. Why? So many grape varietals, so little time!

Grape varietals are the individual types of grapes that find their way into the world’s wines. There are upwards of four thousand distinct grape varieties in the world, though the vast majority of wines we consume emanate from less than three-dozen of the world’s varietals from the species Vitis vinifera. Some of the world’s varietal names are easily recognizable like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, for example, while others are literally unknown to average consumers and serious tasters alike, names such as Bobal, Nosiola, Pais, Prieto Picudo, and thousands more.

In the New World, wines are often bottled under the name of their primary grape variety (a minimum of 75% of one grape variety must be present for varietal bottling in the United States, while most of the rest of the wine producing world requires 80% of a wine to be of a single varietal to be so labeled). Proprietary names are often used in the New World for blends that do not contain the minimum percentage of a single variety. In Europe, the finest wines are often blends of various grapes and are known primarily by geographic appellation rather than by their primary varietal (although this is changing; more and more French and Italian wines from less celebrated wine producing regions are being bottled with varietal names). As in the United States, other non-European wine countries like Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa bottle most wines under a varietal name, even sometimes by grape combinations such as Cabernet-Shiraz.

Whether a wine graces our table as a varietal or a generic offering (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chianti, Rioja, etc. are generic wines, as they are known by their place of origin rather than any grape variety) it should offer enjoyment and reflect in some way its place of origin. As for me, I am still trying to taste all four thousand or more of the world’s grape varieties, and then there are the thousands of distinct generic offerings from which to choose. So many wines, so very little time!

Salud!
Don

Zinfandel

March 16, 2018 by Don Lahey

Although its DNA points to Eastern Europe’s Primitivo grape as its ancestor and its New World appearance still remains under investigation, Zinfandel has been dubbed “America’s own grape variety.” In California, Zinfandel produces a wine quite different from its Croatian and Italian forebearers, and nowhere is that more apparent and welcome than in Sonoma County – the spiritual home of Zinfandel. In Dry Creek Valley and along the banks of Sonoma County’s Russian River, Zinfandel relishes the cooling Pacific breezes that funnel up the appellations’ canyons and valleys as its fruit basks in the long, dry summer afternoons, which not surprisingly bring the grape to the pinnacle of perfection. Zinfandel’s deep, rich colors, intense berry, bramble, and herb flavors, high alcohol, and lush tannins result in wines that fill the mouth and satisfy all of the senses.

One of Zinfandel’s keys to success is its extraordinary lifespan, which enables it to produce quality fruit well into old age. In fact, the oldest Zinfandel vineyards (many in California are in excess of 100 years of age) are the most prized. Zinfandel can be quite versatile, too (think White Zinfandel as well as many of California’s most celebrated and intense red wines). As an immigrant to our shores, Zinfandel embodies the American experience. It is a grape that has transformed itself over the last century and a half and honed its own unique identity. In the eyes of many, Zinfandel has become a bigger, better, more complex grape since its arrival in America with “a can-do attitude” and a unique identity all of its own.

Since the late 19^th century Zinfandel has enjoyed a favorable reputation among California’s leading Italian immigrant population and numerous Italian-American winemaking families who valued its rich flavors, strength, and vigor. Names such as Pedroncelli, Martinelli and Seghesio became nearly synonymous with Zinfandel and these wineries still enjoy iconic status as purveyors of America’s unique grape variety.

Rioja: Home to Spain’s Best Red Wine Bargains

February 9, 2018 by Don Lahey

Rioja has been dubbed “a land of history, light and color, vines and wheat, and above all, people for whom friendship is the greatest possible treasure” by the Rioja Minister of Tourism. Rioja is all of this and more, a land etched by history and endowed by a special wine that shares the region’s name. Moreover, Rioja wine is as warm, friendly, and distinctive as the people who inhabit this unique land halfway between Spain’s capital and the towering Pyrenees Mountains. Rioja also enjoys a reputation as the most approachable and recognized name in great Spanish wine and the home of Spain’s best red wine bargains.

Vineyards have always influenced the history and character of the people in the Rioja. Long before France became a bastion of fine wine, the Romans had settled in Iberia and pushed inland from the Mediterranean to the headwaters of the Ebro River and its tiny tributary, Rio Oja, from which Rioja derives its name. In Rioja, the Romans found ideal conditions for the cultivation of Spain’s most important indigenous grape varietals, Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Graciano, and Garnacha (Grenache), which today constitute modern red Rioja. Given its long history for continuously producing fine red wines, Rioja not surprisingly received Spain’s first Denominaciones de Origen (D.O.) in 1933.

It is Rioja’s unique blend of red grapes, coupled with an often lavish hiatus in small oak barrels, which yields warm, truly dry, yet richly fruity red wines of great finesse and perfume, many of which can appear nearly immortal in great vintages. Although a few names in Rioja carry hefty price tags, the vast majority of red Rioja comes from 132,000 acres and three distinct zones (Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta, and Rioja Baja). These wines sell for far less than wines of comparable quality from elsewhere, making red Rioja one of the planet’s greatest red wine bargains.

Red Rioja comes in four basic styles: Joven, Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva. The amount of oak barrel aging, coupled with time in the bottle before release, determines the designation. These styles begin with Joven, which receives little or no time in oak barrels, and culminates with Gran Reserva, which matures in barrels for two or more years and cannot be sold before its fifth birthday.

The best bargains in Rioja are among the Joven, Crianza, and Reserva designations. Although many old Gran Reservas can be exceptional, others can appear dried out and lacking in fruit due to their extended stays in barrel. In America, Rioja Reservas reign supreme, having found the fine balance between freshness, complexity, and maturity with just the right patina of oak to please the American palate.

Salud!
Don

Saint-Émilion: Bordeaux at its Best

January 26, 2018 by Don Lahey

Chateau Saint Georges Winery in
Saint Georges-Saint-Emilion

Saint-Émilion is Bordeaux’s most important wine town and the region’s hottest attraction. This walled, medieval village, perched atop a series of hills and surrounded by vines, is unquestionably the most beautiful wine village in all Bordeaux. Indeed, it is arguably the most beautiful wine village in all France. Nearly everything about Saint-Émilion is centered on wine; even the church in Saint-Émilion is a cellar. And lest you think that Saint-Émilion has just recently succumbed to contemporary commercialism or sold itself to the modern mania for all that is Bacchanalian, rest assured that very little has changed in principle in this village since antiquity: Saint-Émilion was founded by the Romans, who used it as a viticultural bastion in the burgeoning area they named Burdigala.

Interestingly, there are two distinct districts of Saint-Émilion, each possessing a special terroir. Both districts produce compelling red wines, but of a different sort. Typically, the côtes or hills upon the escarpment yield the fullest, slowest to mature wines of Saint-Émilion. Here the soil is nearly all limestone and the resulting wine is more apt to act like a great Cabernet based wine of the Médoc. The other distinct district of Saint-Émilion lies on the plateau adjoining Pomerol, where the soil is comprised of sand and gravel. Here the wines tend to be fleshier and quicker to mature. Each style is authentic Saint-Émilion, which allows the savvy consumer double the pleasure.

Merlot is the predominant grape of Saint-Émilion. Here Cabernet Franc and to a lesser extent Cabernet Sauvignon play important supporting roles. However, Saint-Émilion can be produced from Merlot alone or from any combination or percentage of the six traditional red Bordeaux grape varieties (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carmenère). No commercial white wine is made in Saint-Émilion or is permitted to be sold as Saint-Émilion.

Many of the most illustrious Bordeaux wines hail from Saint-Émilion, including the legendary Château Cheval Blanc.

Salud!
Don

Bordeaux: The World’s Most Renowned Wine

December 22, 2017 by Don Lahey

Bordeaux is the world’s largest fine wine producing region, encompassing nearly 300,000 acres, 60 individual appellations, and more than 7,300 châteaux. Appellations such as Margaux, Pauillac, and St. Émilion are legendary as are the scores of collectible wines that flow from their vineyards. Indeed, the wine wares of Bordeaux (both the region and its wines are referred to as Bordeaux) are some of the finest and most expensive on Earth. Furthermore, this renowned viticultural region, which has become synonymous with full-bodied red wine, is also the traditional home of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, the three musketeers of almost all red Bordeaux and the basis for Meritage blends around the world. Malbec, Petit Verdot, and even Carmenère are other red Bordeaux varietals that figure into the cépage or blend of many Bordeaux châteaux. And what remains unknown to many consumers is that Bordeaux is also one of the planet’s largest and greatest sources of white wine, principally from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.

Bordeaux, meaning beside the waters, refers to the region’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the broad estuary, the Gironde, for which the entire viticutural department (the equivalent of a county or state in the United States) is named. Bordeaux, the region as well as the department’s leading city, lies at the center of the confluence of the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers, which flow into the Gironde, which redoubles Bordeaux’s effort to live up to its name. Moreover, it is Bordeaux’s proximity to the sea that provides a stable, moderate climate, which is favorable to the production of fine wine. This marriage to the sea has also provided the historical highway by which Bordeaux wines have traveled the world, gaining esteem and recognition long before most other landlocked wine regions were able to safely transport their wines overland to eager markets.

Since the first century BCE, when the Romans established themselves in Bordeaux and referred to the area as Biturigiaca, this ancient viticultural paradise has been a constant source of fine wine. Known to the emperors of Rome, popes, and poets (most notably Pliny and Ausonius), Bordeaux has enjoyed the envy of the wine producing world longer than any other wine region on Earth. From Pliny to the most contemporary wine critics, including Robert Parker Jr., Bordeaux wines have never gone out of favor. Besides, what other wine region can claim three millennia of continuous production and millions of satisfied customers?

Salud!
Don

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