Grape Extract

Mmmmmalbec

2009-03-04T21:43:11Z

Last month, I was lucky enough to snag a trip to Argentina, which, beyond an exhilarating break from Boston's hellacious weather, taught me a thing or two about a thing or two about Malbec, Argentina's most prized grape. I also learned why people head south (to places like Argentina especially) for lengthy vacations: the currency there, the Argentine peso, is 3.5 to the dollar. It's pretty easy to get by on $15 a day! Moreover, the people were as friendly as I've ever met -- though I grew up in New England, so that's not tough.

As for the food and wine of the country, Argentinians eat more meat per capita than anyone else in the world (see picture above). When ordering a steak, which will usually put you back about $8 for top-grade, you're typically treated to about 22-30 oz. of prime Argentinean beef. It's enough to clog your arteries and send you to heaven at the same time (assuming you believe in such a place).

The meat, which comes from parts of the cow you've never heard of, as well as the usual tenderloins and rib-eyes, is often grilled on open flames, and is best plated up in restaurants called parillas. The servings are big enough to make a Texan blush.

Back to the wine. I don't think I drank anything but Malbec during my entire stay in Buenos Aires. That's fine, because it's delicious, relatively inexpensive, and you can't enough of it (my travel partners agreed, so don't judge). We drank a different bottle(s) most nights we were there, knowing that a lot of it doesn't get shipped to the U.S.

As for cost, malbecs from Argentina (often made in Mendoza, the wine country of Argentina), whether purchased here or in their motherland, won't often run you more than $16. They are (usually) very full-bodied wines, perfect for drinking with a large, charbroiled steak. There are plenty of malbecs to be had for around $11 dollars however, and I really encourage you to get out there and try one, one of these days.

People describe malbecs are tasting "jammy" sometimes -- don't think 80's, think berries -- and they are. A lot of them are deep purple and taste like blackberries and plums. There's also a very rustic quality to them. Where they lack finesse, they more than make up for in flavor. A great one that can be found right here in Boston in many wine stores is the Alamos Malbec, 2007 or 2008.

Look ma! It's HEALTHY!

2009-03-03T19:46:41Z

Researches have long suspected the health benefits of drinking wine. In fact, Hippocrates recommended certain types of wine to purge fever, and serve as dietary supplements, as early as 450 B.C.

While we've learned in more recent centuries that wine isn't the best "go-to" when you're fever-stricken, we've also learned that the illustrious juice can help our heart, at the very least. This post is dedicated to the positive effects of wine drinking. Woop, woop!

Longer Lives! A Finnish study found that wine drinkers have a 34 percent lower mortality rate than beer or spirit drinkers.

WINE is the key component in what nutritionists call the french paradox, or the overall cardiovascular health enjoyed by a nation (France) that consumes more wine, cheese, and fatty foods than we do. Why? Researches have found that moderate amounts of wine drinking actually "flushes out'' arteries, and decreases risk of heart disease (see below).

Reduces risk of heart attack (Harvard School of Public Health), heart disease, and type 2 Diabetes.

Slows brain decline: a 2006 Columbia University study revealed that "brain decline occurs markedly faster rate in nondrinkers than moderate drinkers."

Lose Weight! Alright, I'm a bit skeptical too. But according to www.health.com, "studies find that people who drink wine daily have lower body mass than those who indulge occasionally; moderate wine drinkers have narrower waists and less abdominal fat than people who drink liquor. Alcohol may encourage your body to burn extra calories for as long as 90 minutes after you down a glass." Yeah. I believe. Why not?

Sparkles in my glass

2009-03-01T18:10:31Z

"A bottle of champagne is too much for one and too little for two"

-- Winston Churchill

When we gathered with friends this New Year's Eve, and said goodbye to the fiscal disasters of 2008 -- blissfully ignorant to the colossal recession around the corner -- we probably did so with a tall glass of bubbly. Champagne has become synonymous with New Years, and really celebration in general. Weddings: champagne. Job promotions: champagne. You get the idea. I don't know when it started, but I'm glad it did.

Champagne is really just sparkling wine made in the tiny area of Champagne, France. If it doesn't hail from this region of the world, it's not champagne. Long ago, the folks in Champagne branded their product -- essentially protecting it -- and claimed it for their own. Many countries make sparkling wine, but only the fastidious grape-growers in Champagne get to label it that way. And charge, what I feel, is a ridiculous amount of money for wine with bubbles in it. I mean seriously.

But it's soooooo good.

Champagne is a blend of grapes, but it is mostly made with chardonnay (see post #3) and pinot noir (see post #6), plus a bit of pinot meunier. It is usually a soft, yellowish golden color, and to achieve this, the crafty wine makers remove the skins from the pinot noir grape (the flesh of the pinot noir grape is actually clear, think red grapes when you bite into them) to prevent the elegant liquid from turning, well, pink. (If you've ever wondered what a rosé is, here's your answer: some skins are left on, some taken away, yellow plus red equals pink, or rosé).

When looking at a sparkling wine label, if you see term blanc de blanc, it means it's 100 percent chardonnay. Likewise, if you ever see the label blanc do noir, it means it's 100 percent pinot noir. In case you were wondering.

As for taste, there is a complexity often times, to the sparkling wines of Champagne. It may be the wind in the air. It may be the soil. Or it may be because they've been producing that wine since the 16th century. Whatever the cause, the wine is special. There's a reason that people only drink when the have something to celebrate. It's "luxury" wine. It always will be. That's also the reason the Nazi's tried to take over Champagne in World War II.

However, there is some fine fizz coming from our country these days, too (and for a fraction of the cost). Some countries have followed suit with Champagne and labeled their sparkling wine. For example, if it's called cava, it comes from Spain. If it's prosecco, it is made in Italy.

Made in the style of true champagne, this sparkling wine from New Mexico rocks (that's right, I said New Mexico). It's called Gruet, and it will only set you back about $15.

Of course, if you are awash with stimulus money, feel free to plunk down the full $150 for a bottle of Dom Perignon*, the original and true CHAMPAGNE. If it doesn't break your bank, you might be happy you did.

**I have never personally purchased this. I have been privy to mere tastings. It's out-of-this-world yummy, albeit hard to justify.

Cheers.

Pinot Noir

2009-02-25T21:07:55Z

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!"

EVENT!

2009-02-23T21:36:57Z

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.

Taxes And Labels...

2009-02-23T20:27:54Z

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.

Shaardunaay.

2009-02-21T17:29:41Z

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!

Tasting Notes at Grape Extract

2009-02-18T21:25:46Z

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

2009-02-16T21:05:20Z

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.