February 2009 Archives

Pinot Noir is said to be one of the oldest grapes to be cultivated and turned into wine.  The ancient Romans grew it as early as the first century, only they knew it to be helvenacia minor.  It is grown in virtually every country that produces wine on God's-green-earth, and it is, without question, my personal favorite glass of wine.  Period.

Pinot was recently made increasing-popular in this country by the 2004 movie Sideways, in which Mr. Paul Giamatti had this to say about the grape.

He is right when he says pinot noir is a difficult grape to grow, though it is probably the easiest grape to enjoy.  The grape is "thin-skinned" which mean it is more vulnerable to the elements of sunlight, rain, temperature, etc.  It is for this reason that it flourishes in slightly cooler climates, like Oregon's Willamette Valley and Burgundy, France.  The warm regions of Napa Valley in California, or Italy's Piedmont, prove to be too sunny, too hot for pinot noir.
(By the way, if you want to plunk down some dough for a special occassion or to impress a date, a pinot noir from Willamette Vally won't leave you dissapointed.)

Taste

I am convinced that the most beautiful, intense, and intoxicating aromas are found in pinot noir.  It has been said that the wine "lingers on the palate, and in the memory" and it's true.  It smells like cherries and earth -- in a good way.  Yes this is possible, you have to trust me.

Good pinot noirs can be found around $10 (while GREAT ones can be found under $20).  Mark West in Sonoma County, CA makes a really nice 2007 Pinot Noir:

 Most wine stores will have it, or can order it for you if you want.  I hope you give it a try!

Here's another funny Sideways clip:  "F@*%ing merlot!"

Hey guys!  Check this out, it should be fun!

 

Downtown Wine & Spirits is having a "garage sale" in which the owners will be pouring (free) wine and answering any questions you might have from noon to 6 this Saturday, and selling TONS O' WINE for under 10 bucks.

I can think of worse ways to start the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tax season is here!  THAT means it's time to fill-out painstakingly difficult and befuddling forms, and try to remember when you "donated to charity" (Salvation Army bell-ringers, that's a write-off!), and what the hell you spent on rent this year.  Then there's the added privilege of being a graduate student, because after you file your taxes, you file your FAFSA, which, by design, encourages the filer's suicide!  And as if THAT wasn't all painful enough, finally, it is time for the financial aid application at your respective institution.  BAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

I need a drink.  Or maybe just a whack in the head to temporaily distract me from the dizzy confusion of the whole season.

And still, I've seen more way more labels on wine bottles than I have filled out tax forms, and tax forms, I hate to say it, make more sense. 

If you're one of the many people who doesn't pick out wine because they don't know where to start, keep reading. 

 

HUH?!  Whaaa? 

Where does it say what kind of wine is lurking behind that confusing French label?  IT DOESN'T!  If you're curious enough to try wine made in non-English dominated regions (which you should.  They're great and sometimes cheaper), you're going to need a very tiny crash-course in deciphering these old, dusty, harder-than-IRSforms-to-understand, wine labels.

A good place to start, whether on a wine list or in the store, is to look around and figure out what country you're in.  You're only going to find the above in "France" -- the french section of the wine list, or the section of the wine store marked FRANCE.   If the seller doesn't even do you the favor of telling you the country, he or she probably doesn't deserve your business, but just ask them anyway.  You've come too far to turn back.

Here's a better diagram than I could create in this blog: 

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wines/labels.shtml, courtesy of the Wine Lovers Page.

It takes for granted that you know where "Hermitage" even is, but it's a good start in deciding what your dealing with for American wines.  What kind of grape is the wine, where it's from, and what year is the info you're looking for (the latter is MOST important when price is a factor, and it probably is.  You want to know in advance if you're ordering something older than you are).

Wines made in the US will (almost) always tell you the grape, because that's how people buy their wine.  They know they want a pinot noir, or a chardonnay, and they rely on the label to tell them.  

But in France, they don't make it so easy.  That's because the locals know what area grows what wine:  Bordeaux reds will alway be a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc (that's the wine in the picture);  Burgundy only grows pinot noir (if it's red) or chardonnay (if it's white);  and so on..

Americans, by in large, stole the grapes of France.  So, that's the one heads-up you get when buying french wine:  WE probably grow it in California, and have at least seen the grape pop-up on every wine list by-the-glass.  In fact, you probably know more about french wine than you even realize, because we borrowed so much of their wine, in creating our own wine regions right here in ol' USA.

So, when looking at a label, the important factors are: 

• Country, and region (it will list a state, and an appellation, or region, within that state).
• Varietal, or grape (if you don't see the grape listed, and you're not familiar with the region, just ask!  I guarantee you that SOMEONE is getting paid to stand around and answer your questions.  You don't want to buy a merlot, and pay good money for, by mistake, if that's not what you're looking for).
• Vintage, or year (buying a bottle of 2009 red wine from anywhere, in the year 2009, might not be a good idea.  It hasn't had sufficient time to store yet -- and most producers wouldn't think of trying to peddle a wine that young).

 

When in doubt, I repeat, ASK!!  The government doesn't expect us to decipher their silly, confusing documents without help.  So why should we be expected to know what's in a bottle of wine without a little help?

 

We shouldn't.  Ever.  Happy filing.  Happy sipping.

Aaah Chardonnay.  I've consumed gallons of you by now, and I'm still thirsty for more.

But seriously, for beginner wine drinkers, this white grape varietal is a good place to start.  Chardonnay is grown in virtually every wine-making region on earth:  California, France, South Africa, Oregon and even Italy have this grape nailed down.  And while it may taste different depending on where it's grown, chardonnay is distinct.  It will always taste like chardonnay.

I say it's a good white wine for beginners, because it's easy to appreciate.  Chardonnay has a beautiful aroma, and it is full-bodied (see prior blogpost) enough to stand up to many different kinds of dishes.  It is the grape of Burgundy, and of Champagne.  California became famous because of Cabernet Sauvignon, and, you guessed it, Chardonnay.   It is also the top-selling white wine in the U.S.

In wine making, after grapes are harvested and turned into liquid, wine is stored in either wooden casks or stainless steel barrels, for the process of fermentation.  This process, especially with chardonnay, results in different flavors in the wine.  People often describe chardonnay as "oakey" -- this is true if the wine fermented in an oak cask (or barrel).   California wine makers have traditionally stored chardonnay in oak.  French wine makers often prefer stainless steel.  They're both good.

Today's featured wine is Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay.  It's made in Sonoma County, an excellent wine making region in California.  The wine has a creamy taste (I know, I know, that sounds ridiculous), with flavors of melon and pear.  Give it a shot, you'll see what I mean.  Most wine stores will have it, and you'll often find it around $13 dollars (or less) per bottle.  Enjoy!

 

How The *#@^ Can a Liquid Be "FULL-BODIED"?!

 

I was having dinner at a local joint a couple nights ago, and asked for a glass of the red to go with my meal.  The woman serving drinks offered me a taste of a Tempranillo, which upon tasting, I recoiled a bit and said "Whoa.  That's really full-bodied, do you have something lighter?"  I went with a Cote-du-Rhone.  She looked (slightly) annoyed. 

So, what exactly does light and full-bodied mean?  It is not the size or swagger of the female form. No no, we're not talkin' about that kind of body..

The body of a wine, while only slightly less complicated, is really its structure.  This means (especially with red wine) its color, tannins, and usually its strength - or the amount of alcohol the wine contains.

 

 

Color - The color of red wine can range from a deep purple, to inky, black rasperry, to a soft, brick-colored red.    Usually, the lighter the color of the wine, the "lighter-bodied" the wine is.  Same goes for a really dark, purplish, opaque wine.  It's usually gonna blow your hair back (and some people happen to like that, VERY much.)

 

Tannins - Tannins are kind of hard to describe without a big glass of them staring you in the face.  Here's a straight-up (long-winded) definition:  tannin.  They are a big factor in how full the wine tastes, and usually, the higher the tannins, the higher the alcohol.  The Wine Bible, which I highly recommend if you ever want to read up on the subject of wine without staring at a computer screen, uses this analogy:

           

"A woman who loves tea makes herself a cup.  Just as she finishes pouring the boiling water over the tea bag, the telephone rings.  It's her best friend who tearfully announces she's going to get a divorce.  The woman consoles her friend for half an hour.  When she goes back to her tea..."

 

Well, you get it.  The tea is going to taste like a bitter old sock.  Why?  Because the tannins in tea are something like tannins in wine - they bring fullness (or harshness, as with tea).  So the more tannins, the stronger (often times) the wine will be.

 

Alcohol - While this seems pretty self-explanatory, it warrants a little more attention.  Warmer wine-making regions (where the sun beats down upon the grapes) tend to produce wine with higher alcohol.  That's because the grapes get sweeter, faster, when exposed to direct sunlight, and there is more sugar in the grapes when they are finally harvested (Plucked.  Stomped on.), and so more alcohol. The stronger the sun, the higher the sugar, the more alcohol in the wine. 

 

Why does any of this matter?  Well, I guess it really doesn't.  But if you like to cook, you might want to keep in mind the kind of wine you want to drink with it.  If you're eating fish, or noodles, or something pretty light in flavors, you might want to go with a light-bodied wine (it will help you taste the food you're eating).  Likewise, if you're chowing on a big piece of steak, go hog-wild.  Anything fuller bodied can tag along too.

 

Then again, if this doesn't really interest you, drink whatever you like.  And eat whatever is lying around, with it (please don't take me literally).  Because, when all is said and done, that will probably be fine, too. 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to "Grape Extract", my blog about anything and everything having to do with wine.  What makes this blog different from the thousands of other wine blogs in cyberspace?  I don't really know yet, but I promise never to use the word "quaffable."  It's pretentious.  And annoying.

Here's my mission:  make what is an otherwise "dry" area of conversation to many, interesting.  In most posts, I will showcase an affordable, approachable bottle of wine.  I'll even, to the best of my abilities, talk about it.  By affordable, I mean $12-$13 or less.  By approachable -- I don't know, it's grape juice.  With alcohol.  How much more approachable can you get? (read:  girl at bar who DRANK the whole bottle that I'm talking about.  Purple teeth, wild-eyed, THAT'S approachable.)

Now, what makes me even qualified to talk about a subject as elitist as wine?  I did not grow up on a vineyard drinking wine.  But I DID for the better part of a decade, toil countless hours in restaurants where I was subjected to (among other things) more wine tastings than you could shake a drunken stick at.

Those tastings sparked a curiosity strong enough to propel me from Napa Valley in California to Bordeaux, France, just to try a few sips of the local juice.  This blog is a byproduct of that curiosity (and part of the JR608 syllabus).  I hope you enjoy reading (drinking) along to my blog!

 

Adventures from down undah:  Shiraz

 

Shiraz.  For starters, shiraz is the same thing as syrah.  The aussies just want to confuse everybody.

"Shiraz" is syrah that's simply grown in Australia (this name-changing nonsense happens everywhere, the biggest offender being France).  It's an I'm-served-at-every-bar-in-Boston kind of varietal, so I'd say that classifies it as "approachable."

People like shiraz because it's (usually) cheap, reliably fruity, and incredibly easy to find.  However, there is A LOT of bad shiraz out there.  One needs only to walk into their local wine store..

BUT, the grape is gaining speed.  Growers from "down undah" are at long-last making some great stuff.  Here's an example, and today's featured wine:

 

 

Mount Langi Ghiran Vineyard, 2004 Billie Billie Shiraz.  It's great, fruity, hints of cherries.  Locally, the Wine Emporium, with two locations in the South End, is selling it for $9.99 a pop.