Conference Highlights: Wines of Brazil

  By admin | August 12, 2013 - 10:30 am |
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Nora Favelukes says that if you like soccer, carnival, and samba, it’s time to discover the wines of Brazil!  Brazilian wines are now exported to over 30 countries and are about to make a splash on the American market.

Nora Room Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and considered the fifth largest wine producer in the Southern Hemisphere.  Brazil has been making wine since the beginning of its colonization, and began wine production in earnest with the arrival of Italian immigrants, starting in 1875.  Over the past fifteen years, the Brazilian wine industry has made a tremendous investment in technological innovation and vineyard management.

Glasses Brazil

Currently, the Brazilian wine regions total 83,700 hectares, divided into six regions:

  • Serra Gaúcha
  • Campanha (located along the border with Uruguay)
  • Serra do Sudeste
  • Campos de Cima da Serra
  • no Rio Grande do Sul Planalto Catarinense
  • Vale do São Francisco (located in the northeast, contains the closest vineyards to the equator)

The wines sampled included Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sparkling Wines, Blends, and Moscato.

Crowd Brazil

Conference Highlights – Italy: Did you know or so they say?

  By admin | August 11, 2013 - 6:07 am |
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SWE Conference Highlights 2013

On Thursday afternoon, Sharron McCarthy, always a conference favorite, led a session called Italy – Did you know or so they say?

Italy Audience

Sharron described Italy as a spirited, thriving, ancient enigma that unveils, yet hides, many faces.

Italy Wines

She told the stories of the invading Phoenicians, Greeks, and Cathaginians, the native Etruscans and Romans, as well as the Saracens, Visigoths, Normans, Austrian and Germans who all left their imprint on the land – and wines – of Italy.

Sharro Italy

Attendees learned that Emilia-Romagna was the birthplace of Sangiovese, which was then diffused throughout the rest of Italy, becoming the leading grape that it is today. Italy Audience 2

Wines from Piedmont, Vento,  Tuscany, Abruzzo, and other regions were all featured, showcasing the depth and diversity of the wines of Italy. Did you know?Italy Bottles

 

Conference Highlights – Cocktail Evolution

  By admin | August 10, 2013 - 5:56 am |
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SWE Conference Highlights 2013

Friday afternoon featured a great way to end conference and start the weekend…a master class in mixology, led by Dean Hurst and Stephen Fox, entitled “Cocktail Evolution.”

Dean Cocktail Session

The cocktail is considered to be an American invention, with many claiming that the Sazerac, created in New Orleans, to be the first “official” cocktail.

Mixology Session Bottles

Punches are also an historic type of cocktail.  One of the oldest recipes is for a Barbadian Rum Punch: “One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak” referring to one part lime juice, two parts sugar, three parts rum, and four parts water.

Mixology Session Dean

The impressive line-up of craft cocktails, demonstrating why this session was offered at 4:45 on Friday afternoon, as opposed to 8:30 in the morning:

Mixology Session Line Up

Conference Highlights – Master Level Wine Service

  By admin | August 9, 2013 - 5:15 am |
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SWE Conference Highlights 2013
On Friday evening, Andrew McNamara, MS and David Glancy, MS presented a lively session entitled “Master Level Wine Service.”  The session featured two Master Sommeliers demonstrating standard wine service, Champagne service and decanting for sediment. Discussion topics included the Court of Master Sommeliers service standards, including the real-world and exam applications; as well as how specific service programs might differ based on house standards.
Here are a few photos from the session:
David Glancy and Andrew McNamara discussing the finer points of service.
David G and Andrew M Service Session
David Glancy demonstrating the importance of keeping one’s thumb and serviette over the cage and cork when opening Champagne.  As expected, this led to the liveliest debate of the session…the CMS service standards call for a quiet opening of a bottle of bubbly, yet the festive “pop” often leads to increased sales…
David G Service Session Bubbly
Andrew McNamara demonstrating cutting the bottle foil while using a decanting cradle.
Andrew Decanting Service
Andrew McNamara demonstrating (with humor) proper service equipment (or not) with his #1 (frist birthday?) candle.
Andrew Service Session

Conference Highlights – Lodi Rules

  By admin | August 8, 2013 - 10:03 am |
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On Wednesday afternoon, Camron King,  Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, led a group in a tasting of wines produced with fruit from certified sustainable vineyards in the Lodi Rules program.

Camron front of room

The Lodi Rules for Sustainable Winegrowing is California’s first 3rd party-certified sustainable winegrowing program. It promotes practices that enhance biodiversity, soil and water health, community well-being, and fair practices for employees; all without compromising the needs of future generations.

Lodi Bottles

Lodi is well-known for its old vine zinfandel, but also grows a good deal of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Viognier. Attendees also were treated to samples of Malbec, Graciano, and Tempranillo…just a few of the other grape varieties that thrive in Lodi.

Camron and Audience Lodi

Conference Highlights – International Tasting at SeaWorld

  By admin | August 7, 2013 - 2:16 pm |
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On Thursday night, conference attendees were treated to an international wine and beer tasting at SeaWorld.

Seaworld 6

Over 100 international wines and 20 beers were available for the tasting, along with quite a spread on the buffet.

Seaworld 4

We were joined by several of the Sea World animals, including an otter, an armadillo, and a parrot.

Seaworld 3

Among the happy attendees was our President-Elect, Master Sommelier Guy Stout.

Seaworld Guy

And a good time was had by all!

 

Conference Highlights – Albariño and Rías Baixas

  By admin | August 6, 2013 - 2:58 pm |
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 SWE Conference Highlights 2013
Starting off the general sessions on Wednesday morning, Brian Freedman treated us to a tasting of delicious Albariño-based wines from Rías Baixas. The full name of the session was “Albariño, Rias Baixas, and the Evolution of a Spanish Icon.”
Brian Freedman
Rías Baixas is the most important Denomination of Origin (DO) in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain, sometimes known as “Green Spain” due to its cool climate and abundance of rain, especially as compared to the rest of Spain. The DO was formally established in 1988, and has since received much acclaim for the crisp, fruity, and mineral-driven white wines from the Albariño grape variety.
Albarino with Map

 Brian led us through a tasting of wines from each of the sub-regions of Rías Baixas. The five sub-regions are:

  • Val do Salnés:  This is the original and oldest sub-zone with the most area under vine and the highest concentration of wineries. Located on the Atlantic coast, it surrounds the historic town of Cambados. Val do Salnés is the birthplace of the Albariño grape.
  • Condado do Tea:  “Tea County” is named after the river Tea, a tributary of the Miño River. Located in a fairly mountainous area along the Miño, this is the second largest sub-zone. The most inland, it is a warmer, drier area, than the other sub-regions.
  • O Rosal:  Also lying along the Miño River where it joins the Atlantic Ocean, this sub-zone forms the border with Portugal. Vineyards in O Rosal are terraced along the sides of the Miño.
  • Ribeira do Ulla: The newest Rías Baixas sub-zone, this area was registered in 2000 and is located inland, southeast of Santiago de Compostela.
  • Soutomaior:  Nestled in the hills at the head of the Rίa de Vigo, Soutomaior is the smallest of the sub-zones and was registered in 1996.

Brian with glass

All the wines were delicious and crisp, and with Brain’s help the crowd was able to detect the subtle differences among the wines produced in the different sub-regions. All were delicious, and showed varying levels of fruitiness from crisp, citrus flavors to rich, tropical fruit as well as varying – but subtle – aromas of mineral, herb, and flowers. Thank you, Brian!
Glass and Brian

Conference Highlights – Pink Champagne

  By admin | August 5, 2013 - 1:07 pm |
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SWE Conference Highlights 2013
On Wednesday afternoon, Seth Box, Director of Education for  Moët-Hennessey USA, treated us to a flight of six amazing Rosé Champagnes in his session titled “Pink Champagne – Fluffy Fiction or Profound Pleasure?”
Seth Box Pink Champagne
Seth gave a lively session and addressed the very wide spread and yet often erroneous habit of pairing Brut Rosé Champage with dessert.  Highlighting the fact that pink Champage is very food friendly, he emphasized its appropriateness for pairing with just about any food from soup, salads, appetizers and even main courses made with heavier foods…but warned against pairing it with heavily spiced or sweet dishes, as these foods can disturb the delicate balance and mask the complex flavors of the wine.
Pink Champagne Audience Glasses
Seth discussed the various methods of producing Rosé Champage, including saignée as well as adding a dosage  of pinot noir or pinot meunier at the end of the process.  Champagne is the only wine region in France that allows the blending of red and white wines in the production of Rosé.
Pink Champagne Glasses
 All of the wines were delicious, with a crowd favorite being the Krug Rosé N/V.
Pink Champagne Session Audience
The tasting concluded with a sip of Moët & Chandon Nectar Imperial Rosé, a slightly sweet wine that due to its residual sugar could be used as a successful pairing partner with dessert – such as milk chocolate dipped strawberries or raspberry tart.  To wrap up the session, it was agreed that Rosé Champage is indeed a “Profound Pleasure!”

Conference Highlights – Opening Session with Georges Duboeuf!

  By admin | August 4, 2013 - 3:43 pm |
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Whew! All of us lucky folks who attended the 37th Conference of the Society of Wine Educators over the last few days are still unwinding from all of the excellent opportunities for wine education, wine tasting, and networking that the Conference had to offer. With a record-breaking attendance of over 370 people, 66+ educational sessions, networking events every night, and three well-attended certification previews; this was one of the best conferences yet.

Here are just a few highlights from the opening session on day one:

georges

The opening session was an amazing tasting of Beaujolais and Burgundy wines presented by none other than Georges Duboeuf.
Jorge Hernandez intro DuBoeuf
Mr. Duboeuf was graciously introduced by Jorge Hernandez of Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits, who described some of the appellations of Southern Burgundy and Beaujolais, and provided an overview of the wines of the Georges Duboeuf family.
Crowd at DuBoeuf
It was a rare opportunity to taste a delightful range of wines while listening to the Master of Beaujolais himself describe the wines.  Mr. Duboeuf also discussed the vineyard settings and winemaking techniques that went into each wine. It was easy to sense (and taste) the care and quality that go into the Duboeuf wines.
Duboeuf Pouilly-Fuisse
The 2011 Emile Beranger Pouilly-Fuisse is a phenomenal white wine that drinks more like an expensive Mersault. This wine is a sentimental favorite of Mr. Duboeuf, as he grew up in the region of Pouilly-Fuisse and often relaxes with a glass of this wine.
DoBoeuf Bottle Line up
The crowd loved all the wines, and were interested to learn that Hob Nob Pinot Noir, from the Languedoc-Roussillon, is a delightfully fruity-floral-smooth-rich version of Pinot Noir produced by the Duboeuf family for the American Market.
Duboeuf Glasses
Thank you so much to Mr. Hernandez, Mr. Duboeuf, and everyone who made this opening session possible!

Napa’s Grape Crusher

  By admin | August 2, 2013 - 11:52 am | ,
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Figure 16–1 The Grape Crusher Sculpture on the road to Napa ValleyIf you’ve ever been to Napa, you’ve seen him.  You may have wondered what the 16-foot gentleman wearing the wide-brimmed hat was doing crushing grapes at the top of a lonely hill in the middle of the night, but you can’t deny you noticed him.  I’m talking about – of course – “the Grape Crusher,” the lovely statue sitting atop Vista Point near Napa Valley Corporate Drive, looming over the vineyards as you buzz past on Highway 29.

Having been an admirer of this particular blending of art and wine, and having wondered just who the Grape Crusher was and what he was doing there; I did a bit of digging. It turns out the Grape Crusher was created by a well-known artist named Gino Miles in 1986. Mr. Miles created the sculpture as a tribute to the dedicated vineyard workers of the valley, in honor of 200 years of grape growing in Napa Valley.  The sculpture was purchased and dedicated by the city of Napa in 1987.

The Grape Crusher weighs 6,000 pounds, stands 16 feet tall, and is set atop a 10-foot base covered in river rock. The statue, which took over a year to complete, is hollow and made of bronze.  The artist built sculpted the piece and brought it to the Shidoni Foundry in Tesuque, New Mexico.  At the foundry, the statue was cast into 135 separate bronze pieces, assembled, and shipped to Napa in one piece.

Gino Miles has been an artist since the 1970’s.  After attending the University of Northern Colorado, he spend many years in Europe studying art and art history, and founding Italart, an art school for American and German students in the Chianti region outside Florence.  For many years he taught design and sculpture classes while presenting his original pastels and sculptures as well. Gino and his wife now live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and are the owners of Sculpture 619, a gallery in the heart of Santa Fe’s Art District.

If you’d like more information on the artist who created Napa’s iconic Grape Crusher, click here for a link to his Santa Fe Studio: http://www.sculpture619.com/about/