Cheers to the Kir Royale!

  By admin | December 24, 2013 - 1:03 am | ,
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Kir RoyaleIf you are looking for a festive cocktail to serve this holiday season, you can’t do much better than a Kir Royale.  The recipe is simple:  put one tablespoon of Crème de Cassis in the bottom of a flute, top up with Champagne and, if desired, garnish with a lemon twist. As you can probably imagine, there are dozens of variations on the classic recipe, and you can find versions of the Kir that include cranberries, frozen raspberries, Prosecco, and Chambord, among other things.

The Kir originated in the region of Burgundy. It is named after a local priest, Canon Félix Kir.  Canon Kir was a war hero of the French Resistance, and is remembered for helping 5,000 prisoners of war escape from the Nazis during World War II.  During the war, he was eventually captured by the Nazis, seriously wounded, and condemned to death; but despite it all, he managed to survive the war.

In 1945, Canon Kir was made a knight of the Légion d’honneur and, soon after, was elected the Mayor of the town of Dijon.  He remained the mayor of Dijon until his death in 1968.

Tribute to Mayor Kir

Tribute to Mayor Kir

Mayor Kir, like many people in Burgundy, enjoyed the local custom of combining two local products – a wine that we would call Bourgogne-Aligoté, and the locally produced liqueur known as Crème de Cassis de Dijon – into a refreshing aperitif.    The resulting drink was known as a blanc-cassis. Mayor Kir was a big fan of the beverage and was often seen in public drinking a blanc-cassis.

Mayor Kir, as you might imagine, was very popular in his community and very keen to support local products as well.  Thus, he lent his name to the drink mixing Bourgogne-Aligoté and Crème de Cassis de Dijon and soon people all over Burgundy were enjoying a Kir before dinner.

The combination of local flavors became so popular that it spread all over France, with several regional variations along the way.  The legend says that once the idea of the drink reached Paris, café society mixed their cassis with Champagne, and the Kir Royale was born.

À votre santé! 

Note:  It’s important to note that while Crème de Cassis is a generic product and made in many locations, “Crème de Cassis de Dijon” is a product specifically of Burgundy, made using “Noir de Bourgogne” black currants.

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

 

 

 

The Ice Wine Fiasco of 2011

  By admin | December 19, 2013 - 2:40 am | ,
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Germany State Building WinterWho knew? There was, according to at least one German newspaper, an “Ice Wine Fiasco of 2011.”

Under German law, grapes for Eiswein may only be harvested when the temperature is –7° C (19° F) or colder. The grapes must then be harvested before they thaw, usually in the early morning hours, and pressed while still frozen.

In 2011, it did not get cold enough in many of Germany’s vineyards to produce a true Ice Wine, and as a result, a good deal of the grapes spoiled on the vine. And yet, 470,000 liters of ice wine were declared.

According to Ulrike Höfken, the Environmental Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, a large percentage of the Ice Wine declared in 2011 was rejected by State Inspectors.  The main reasons cited for the rejection of the wine was inaccurate reporting of alcohol content and  excessive amounts of volatile acidity.  At the heart of the matter was the suspicion that the wines had been illegally doctored with added sugar, water, flavors or glycerin.  Most of the wine estates involved deny such claims and many have filed lawsuits, the results of which are yet to be determined.

germany vineyards snowIn order to avoid a repeat of just such a fiasco, a new law has been enacted, covering the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.  Rhineland-Palatinate is home to six of Germany’s thirteen Anbaugebiete, including the Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Mosel, Nahe, Mittelrhein and Ahr.

The new law requires wine growers to declare the amount of grapes, type of grapes, and the location of said grapes that are intended for use in  ice wine by  November 15, before the harvest.  Previously, growers had until January 15 of each year to make their reports to the Landesuntersuchungsamt (LUA), otherwise known as the State Agency for Consumer Protection.

According to the LUA, the new law will help to preserve the reputation and quality of German Eiswein by allowing State Inspectors to monitor the grapes and their suitability for use in ice wine before the harvest.

For more information, click here (use Google Translate if necessary).

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

 

 

Coda di Volpe – The Tail of the Fox

  By admin | December 14, 2013 - 2:35 am | ,
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Red FoxCoda di Volpe is a relatively obscure golden-yellow grape variety, used since ancient times to produce medium to full-bodied wines in and around Campania in southern Italy.

The name “Coda di Volpe” can be translated to “tail of the fox.” The name is believed by some people to refer to the long, pendulous shape of the bunches, which if you squint really hard and turn your head to the side, resemble a fox’s bushy tail.

Coda di Volpe is thought to be the grape variety used in the famous Falernian wine produced in Ancient Rome. Falernian, considered the finest wine of its kind at the time, cost as much as four times as much as ordinary wine and was beloved by the poets and Caesars alike.  It was most likely produced from late harvest grapes, as it was very high in alcohol – perhaps as high as 15%.  Pliny the Elder alluded to this when he described it as “the only wine that takes light when a flame is applied to it.”

In more modern times, Coda di Volpe is widely used in the white wine blends of Southern Italy, including Solopaca DOC and Vesuvio DOC.   The Vesuvio DOC is famous for its “Lacryma  Christi” wines, the white version of which may be produced from a blend that includes Coda di Volpe (a minimum of 35%), Verdecca, Falanghina, and Greco di Tufo. However, the wine is often produced from 100% Coda di Volpe.

The name of this wine, translated as “Tears of Christ,” is drawn from a legend of biblical history.  According to the legend, God cried over Lucifer’s fall from Heaven, and grapes grew where his tears fell, and the grapes came to be used to make Lacryma Christi.

Wine produced from Coda di Volpe are often described as medium to medium-full bodied, fruity (citrus, peach, pineapple) and spicy (nutmeg, cinnamon) on the nose, and with flavors of grapefruit, lemon, and almond.  The grape tends to be low in acidity, which is one reason why it does so well in the volcanic soil surrounding Mount Vesuvius, which can help impart higher levels of acid.

White Grapes Coda di VolpeBeginning in the 1980’s, wineries in Campania began making single-varietal wines from Coda di Volpa, and it has grown both more widely known and popular since that time.  100% Coda di Volpa wines are now used in the DOC wines of Irpinia and Sannio and Taburno, among others.

According to Jancis Robinson, et al, in the new tome Wine Grapes, the name of the grape is actually “Coda di Volpe Bianco;” the term “bianco” used in order to differentiate it from “Coda di Volpe Nera,” a red grape also known as Pallagrello Nero, and of no particular relation.

Accepted synonyms for Code di Volpe Bianco include Alopecis, Falerno, and Guarnaccia. Coda di Pecora, meaning “tail of the sheep” was, for a long time, thought to be the same grape, but recent DNA analysis has shown it to be a separate, unrelated variety.

Reference for quote from Pliny the Elder:  The XIIII Booke of the Historie of Nature, Containing the Treatise of Trees bearing fruit, by C. Plinivs Secvndvs

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

 

 

 

The Legacy of Peter Jahant

  By admin | December 8, 2013 - 2:10 am |
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Map via www.lodiwine.com

Map via www.lodiwine.com

If you are studying for the CSW Exam, you might recall that the Lodi AVA, located in northern California, has seven sub-regions:  Alta Mesa, Borden Ranch, Clements Hills, Cosumes River, Mokelumne River, Sloughhouse, and the smallest of the seven, Jahant.

I’ve always been intrigued by the interesting name of the Jahant AVA, so this morning I decided to do a bit of research. This is a small area and  information is somewhat difficult to come by, but I did find out who the area is named for, as well as quite a few interesting details about the soil and climate of the area.

The area’s namesake is a former gold prospector turned family farmer named Peter Jahant. Peter was born in France in 1827 and moved to Akron, Ohio with his parents when he was six years old. In 1850, lured by gold fever,  23-year-old Peter took off with for Sacramento with three or four friends, intending to prospect for gold. After a few years of variable success in gold mining , he bought a livery stable and settled down. He eventually married and established a family farm in the Acampo area. In 1912, Peter Jahant’s son, Charles, planted 130 acres of grapes on the original family farm and gold prospectoradditional purchased land. The Jahant name is well-entrenched in the area, with Jahant Road, Jahant Stables, and Jahant Slough (a stream) all part of the local landscape.

The Jahant AVA is located in the center area of the larger Lodi AVA, about 7 miles south of the city of Lodi.  The region is bordered by the Dry Creek River in the north and the Mokelumne River in the southwest.  There are currently 8,000 acres of the area’s total 28,000 acres planted to grapes.

While the Jahant sub-region has a slightly cooler, dryer, and windier climate than the surrounding areas, the main difference, and the defining factor in establishing the boundaries of the area, is the soil.  The distinctive pink soil, referred to as “Rocklin-Jahant,” is a mixture of sandy loam and clay left by river flooding within the last 20,000 years. The clay component makes the soil excellent for retaining water  to the point that dry-farming is possible, even during the summer.  These dry-farmed vines produce grapes of great concentration, deep color and firm tannins; the nearby Sacramento Delta provides enough cooling breezes to maintain a good, balancing level of acidity.

Tempranillo,  Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel are among the most widely planted grapes of the Jahant AVA.  The Viaggio Estate Winery and Michael David Vineyards both have vineyards in the area.  White grapes also do well; the Lange Twins Family Winery has a lodi grape vinevineyard in the area planted to Sauvignon Musqué, a clonal variant of Sauvignon Blanc that produces grapes with a more pronounced floral aroma – and less of the herbal/cut green grass character – of a typical Sauvignon Blanc.

For more information about the Jahant AVA, click here. 

Click here for the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

Wine Book Review: “The Nose” by James Conaway

  By admin | December 5, 2013 - 9:30 am | ,
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the nose red wineThe Nose, a novel by James Conaway, in a nutshell:  Agatha Christie meets Sideways meets Bonfire of the Vanities in a delicious tale of  the perfect wine and a vain, self-satisfied, and extremely influential wine critic on the loose in Napa Valley.

This is a fun book:  not long after we meet Clyde Craven-Jones, aka “The Nose,” we’re invited to join him for a typical Thursday morning, consisting of blind-tasting the week’s crop of newly released vintages and grading them on his patented numbered scale.  (The lead character’s similarity to another (never named) influential wine critic with a similar such graded scale is hard to miss.)

Not long after the nose sniffs out his weekly winners, a mystery bottle of Cabernet arrives at his door.  He sniffs, he sips, he spits, and declares it to be a perfect 20 – an accolade he has never granted before.  The mystery begins as C-J tries to locate the producer of the “perfect 20.”  His quest comes to an abrupt end when our critic is found, face down, floating in a vat of newly-fermented Cabernet. The scene somehow manages to be gruesome and funny at the same time.

The NoseAfter C-J’s untimely death, his widow continues the quest to find the producer of the perfect Cab.  Along the way, we meet a bumbling cub reporter, a biodynamic farmer, a blonde bombshell, and more than a few greedy producers of cultish techno-wine.   A friendly crew of wanna-be wine writers, fashionistas, and wine lovers savant try to help solve the mystery but mostly just hang out and drink amazing wine at a seedy bar called The Wine Glass – and you just can’t help but want to join them.

James Conaway’s books on the California wine scene – including Napa: The Story of an American Eden and its sequel, The Far Side of Eden, are surely already well-known to both fans and serious students of California wine. Wine lovers, as well as those that enjoy a good mystery and perhaps even a slightly snarky comedy-of-manners, California style, will enjoy The Nose as well. (Holiday Gift Alert!)

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

Minervois-La Livinière

  By admin | November 25, 2013 - 7:57 pm |
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minervois windmillThe wine region of Minervois, located just north of Corbieres in France’s western Languedoc region, is named for the village of Minerve, which is itself named for Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom.

The region has a long history of wine production, dating back to early Roman, or even pre-Roman times.  In modern times, the Minervois was granted an AOC in 1985, and since that time, the wines of the area have increased in quality due to significant investments in equipment, infrastructure, and improved vineyard management.

The Minervois AOC covers dry red wines based on Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, which together must make up at least 60% of the blend, and may be rounded out by Carignan and Cinsaut.  The region’s white wines, which may be dry or sweet, are generally made from a variable blend including Bourboulenc, Vermentino, Rousanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc. A sweet version of the white wine, made from late harvest and/or dried grapes, is referred to as Minervois Noble, but does not have its own appellation.

minervois la liviniereAlmost immediately upon the granting of the 1985 Minervois AOC, the producers of La Livinière, a small corner in the northern portion of the area, began to lobby for an AOC of their own. In 1999 they were successful, and the Minervois–La Livinière AOC, for dry red wine only, was born.  The area covered by the appellation includes the village of La Livinière itself, as well as five others nearby:  Cesseras, Siran, Felines-Minervois, Azille and Azillanet.

The 30 or so producers of Minervois-La Livinière, tucked into the Petit Causse foothills of the south-facing Black Mountains, abide by a slew of standards that are quite a bit stricter than those that apply to the wines produced under the “basic” Minervois AOC.  For one, yields are 45 hectoliters per hectare (hls/ha) vs. the 50 allowed for the basic wines, and eight additional months of aging are required.

languedocAnother tough rule involves the “agrément” tasting that is done in November, the year after harvest.  Each stage of the three-stage tasting involves a producer, an enologist, and a merchant; and the final outcome is pass or fail.  If a wine passes, it can wear the title of Minervois-La Livinière, and if not, it can be bottled under the “basic” Minervois AOC.  The tasting panel, it seems, is tough; the M-LL board rejects between 30 – 40% of all wines submitted.  This is a higher rejection rate than any other appellation in France; the percentage rejected for the country as a whole is closer to 5%.

Wines that qualify as Minervois-La Livinière are authorized to use a specific label style which includes a cap with the La Livinère logo and a quality guarantee number. Minerva, and Minervois, should be proud!

For more information, see the entry on Minervois-La Liviniere wines at Languedoc.com.  http://www.languedoc-wines.com/english/aoc_liviniere.asp

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

The Wines that Made America

  By admin | November 23, 2013 - 9:41 pm | ,
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22947164_mlWhat do Lincoln’s top hat, Neil Armstrong’s Space Suit, and Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay have in common?

They are all part of a new collection curated at the Smithsonian Institution called “101 Objects That Made America.” Chosen from among the Smithsonian’s collection of over 137 million artefacts by Richard Kurin, the Under Secretary for Art, History, and Culture, these 101 objects tell the cultural history of America.

Other artefacts chosen include the American Buffalo and the Bald Eagle from among “Wild America” and Lewis and Clark’s Compass, representing “Discovery.” Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone and FDR’s microphone were chosen to represent “The American Voice.”

101-Objects-America-vintage-california-wines-88-963Vintage California wines, represented by Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973 and Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1973 were chosen as emblematic of “America in the world. The bottles of wine, which are currently on display at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, are accompanied by the story of the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” wine tasting that brought California wines to the world’s stage for the first time, as they won first place in a blind tasting contest featuring California wines vs. French wines, as evaluated by Fench judges on French soil.  Often referred to as “the vinous shot heard ‘round the world,” the event shocked the Old World wine establishment to the core and set the stage for California wines, and other wines of the new world to come into their own.

See the website of the Smithsonian Institution and Smithsonian Magazine for more information.

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

“The Wine of the Crunchy, Rust-Pink Sands”

  By admin | November 21, 2013 - 6:52 pm |
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“If any Beaujolais can outlast a dog and grow in stature with the years, it is the wine grown on the crunchy, rust-pink sands which anchor this windmill, this Moulin-à-Vent.” 

          Andrew Jefford, The New France

5063906_mlWhat a great quote, from Andrew Jefford.  It’s so good that I did not even attempt to write a better introduction to today’s post,  which, by the way, is written with a tip of the hat to today’s world-famous release of Beaujolais Nouveau. But instead of focusing on the party drink of the day, I thought we’d look at Moulin-à-Vent, considered to be the most noteworthy of the ten Crus of Beaujolais.

The appellation Moulin-à-Vent, located just around the middle of the northern section of Beaujolais shared by the ten Crus, sits just south of Chenas and to the north and east of Fleurie.  As there is no actual town named Moulin-à-Vent, the vineyards themselves are located in either the commune of Romanèche-Thorins or Chénas. The name Moulin-à-Vent comes from on old windmill standing to the northwest of Romanèche-Thorins, now preserved as the last remaining specimen in the Beaujolais region.

gamay grapes beaujolaisThe richness, full-flavor, and longevity of Moulin-à-Vent can be traced, at least in part, to the unique soil of the region.  The soil here is a pink crumbly granite with a uniquely high level of the mineral manganese. This is toxic to the grape vines; not enough to kill the vines, but enough to cause chlorosis, a vine disease that reduces the ability of the plant to produce insufficient chlorophyll. This alters the vine’s metabolism enough to severely reduce yields and contributes to grapes with intense, concentrated flavors.

Young Moulin-à-Vent tends to have the cherry-berry-smoky-spice aromas and flavor profile typical of Beaujolais, with a bit more tannic structure and even a hint of oak (and definitely minus the banana candy-bubbly gum profile often seen in Nouveaus).  However, with age, the finest examples can mellow…many people say that Moulin-a-Vent is best consumed at around six years old, and some can be cellared for 10 to 20 years.

As the wines age, they lose some of their fresh fruitiness, and develop more Pinot-like beaujolais vineyardscharacteristics.  You could say that as they age they start to resemble Pinot Noir. There’s even a word for this process:  Pinoter.  The definition for “Pinoter,” if you can believe it, is to “develop Pinot Noir-like characteristics with age.”

You might see the term ““fûts de chêne,” meaning “oak casks” on the label of an oak-aged Moulin-à-Vent.  In addition, the following lieu dits can be added to the label: Les Carquelins, Les Rouchaux, Champ de Cour, En Morperay, Les Burdelines, La Roche, La Delatte, Les Bois Maréchaux, La Pierre, Les Joies, Rochegrès, La Rochelle, and Les Vérillats.

I read through about 100 wine reviews (and tasted one outstanding version of Moulin-a-Vent, the Domaine Diochon 2011) while researching this post, and found the following tasting terms to be the most used:  rose aromas, touch of mineral, violets, cherries, raspberry, blackberry, well-structured, complex, elegant…and my favorite, “piercingly fragrant.”

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

Grape Stems into Grappa

  By admin | November 12, 2013 - 2:51 pm | ,
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Grappa GlassSome say the name “Grappa” is based on the Italian town of Bassano del Grappa, located in Italy’s Veneto Region.  Others say it is based on the fact that the word grappa literally means “grape stalk” in Italian.

We may never know exactly where the word came from, or where grappa was first made, but we do know that grappa has been produced, as a by-product of the Italian winemaking trade, since the Middle Ages. Itinerant distillers used to travel from vineyard to vineyard, distilling the fresh pomace (called vinaccia in Italian) on the spot, and providing the vineyard workers with a raw, potent spirit to ward off the cold.

The tradition of vineyard distillation is no longer practiced, as the stems present in the pomace tend to produce a small amount of methanol, which is toxic and must be carefully removed during distillation. Thus, current Italian law does not allow distillation to take place at the winery; winemakers must bring their pomace to a distiller (or run their own operations, separate from the winery premises).  This change has actually help to transition the reputation of grappa from the “moonshine” of yesterday to the artisanal spirit of today.

Modern grappa is produced via column stills, pot stills or traditional steam distillation. Grappa is generally bottled at 40 to 45% alcohol by volume and may be produced from a single variety, known as a monovitigno, or, more commonly, from a mixed batch.  After distillation, grappa may be aged for several months in glass or other inert containers before distribution as a clear, unaged spirit.  Some grappas are oak aged and may be labeled with terms such as vecchio (old) or stravecchio (extra-old).

GrappaGrappa is often served as a digestif, or, as a caffè corretto (corrected coffee), with a shot of espresso. A variation of this is the resentin (“little rinser”), where the espresso is consumed first, followed by a swirl of grappa served in the same cup.

In the European Union, the term “grappa” is restricted to use for products produced in Italy, parts of Switzerland, or San Marino. However modern craft distillers in the United States and elsewhere, such as Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery and Clear Creek Distillery, are making artisanal pomace brandies labeled with the term “grappa.”

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org

The Real Thing: Grenadine

  By admin | November 5, 2013 - 5:45 pm |
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tequila sunriseGrenadine:  it puts the sunrise in Tequila and turns simple rum-and-pineapple juice into a glamorous Mary Pickford. It sits on every back bar in the world, gleaming with an unnatural, almost nuclear-red glow.

It glows – unnaturally red – that is, if you buy store-bought Grenadine.  Like most bar mixers, Grenadine is mass produced and widely distributed.  You can probably pick up a bottle at your local grocery store, and your corner bar most likely orders it by the case.

But you might want to think twice before you pick up your next bottle of Trader Vic’s or Rose’s Grenadine.  A popular brand of commercial grenadine – let’s just say it represents just about all commercial grenadine products – lists the following ingredients on the label: high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate (preservative), RED 40, natural and artificial flavors, BLUE 1.

GrenadineGrenadine was originally made from pomegranate juice, sugar, and water, although black currants are just as likely to flavor today’s commercial versions. The name “Grenadine” originates from “grenade” – the French word for pomegranate.

Pomegranate syrup, which can be found in most Middle Eastern grocery stores (as well as Whole Foods Market), is made with pomegranate concentrate and sugar, and can serve as a decent substitute.

However, like many things to be found on the back bar, Grenadine is simple to make, and house made products are far superior to the mass-produced versions.   I’ve tried several recipes over the last few weeks, and have come up with my favorite version.

Try it for yourself – and let us know what you think!

Grenadine (The “Real Deal”)

Ingredients:

  • Pomegranate Juice1 cup Pomegranate Juice – fresh squeezed is best, but a good brand like “Pom” will work as well
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fresh Lemon Juice
  • 4 drops Orange Flower Water
  • Optional:  1 tablespoon Pomegranate Molasses

Technique:

  1. Heat the pomegranate juice until steam rises from the surface; do not heat beyond this point – you want to turn the heat off before (of as soon as) you see any bubbles start to form.  Remove the pan from the heat.
  2. Add the sugar and stir.  Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, then stir again until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Add the lemon juice, orange flower water and optional pomegranate molasses.  Let the syrup cool to room temperature (about an hour) and transfer to a glass container with a tight-fitting lid.
  4. Stored in the refrigerator, your homemade grenadine will stay fresh for about a month.  If you would like to extend the life of your grenadine, try freezing a portion of it, or adding a few tablespoons of vodka to the cooled syrup.

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Post authored by Jane A. Nickles, CWE – your SWE Blog Administrator – jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org