Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is a grape that you either love or you hate. Whenever I include Gewürztraminer in my weekly tastings, I get mixed reviews. The sheer intensity of the bouquet is enough to enthrall some and repulse others. I personally love Gewurztraminer and enjoy the full range of styles it has to offer.

Originally from the village of Tramin in what is now the Italian Tyrol, the grape migrated north to the Alsace growing region of France and into Germany’s wine regions. In Alsace the wine is made in a relatively dry style from regular harvest. It is also made in a richer slightly sweeter style from grapes of a later harvest (Vendage Tardive) and a dessert style from late harvested grapes (Selection de Grains Nobles). The German wines tend to be of a slightly sweeter style as is somewhat typical in most new world regions where the grape is grown.

The prefix Gewurz means “spice” in German. The name Gewurztraminer was adopted because of the spicy perfumed nature of the wine’s bouquet. It is a familiar fragrance like when you kiss your lovers neck and taste a hint of her perfume. The grape has an unmistakable heady aroma that is filled with a spice rack of scents and flavors. Specific spices tend to elude, and it is more of a compound of many olfactory nuances one perceives.   

And what are those elusive spices? Hints of nutmeg, ginger and allspice with perfumed floral notes all can be found in the wine. Fruit scents and flavors include lychee, apricot, and pear with notes of honey and roses.

Domaine Weinbach is situated on an historic Capuchins Monastery dating back to the 8^th century. In the 17^th Century the Capuchin monks established Domaine Weinbach (wine brook) named after the small stream that flows through the property. In 1898 Weinbach was purchased by the Faller brothers and has been within the family since. Weinbach makes a number of cuvee’s from Gewurztraminer from specific vineyard sites and harvest times.

The Reserve Personal Gewurztraminer is rich and full bodied while showing a delicate balance of spice and fruit components. These show through in layers. Aromatic notes of ginger and rose hips mingling with bright lychee, lush pear and honey nuances. The wine has a weight on the palate and alcohol (14%) that is present on the palate but in a warming sense more than as heat.   

Any serious Gewurztraminer lover will agree that Domaine Weinbach’s are some of the best examples of the wine in the world. The wines do not come cheap but if your purse can handle the price (between $25-$30 retail) it is well worth the experience.

Summer Shrubs

It is Labor Day Weekend and summer has flown by.  I must admit that my summer has been filled with drinking a collection of unique cocktails. While all of my previous posts have been dedicated to wines, this summer I have imbibed less in wine than usual, favoring the cocktail. After all, my site is called “Dolce Drinks” and though I have an undying passion for wine, I love all crafted beverages.

Over this summer I was introduced to a colonial drink called the Shrub. This is a concoction that is based on fresh fruits, boiled down in sugar and then dosed with liberal amounts of vinegar. The vinegar sounds off-putting but it integrates well into the syrup and gives it a tart flavor balancing out the sweetness of the fruit and sugar.

In the 18^th and early 19^th century, a time with no refrigeration, the Shrub was one way to preserve fruit to be enjoyed outside of its normal growing season. It was added to water for a non-alcoholic drink that was in many aspects a pre-cursor to fruit juices from concentrate. It also was mixed with spirits (most often rum) to make them more palatable.     

Hooked on these new / old recipes, I spent a number of hours in the kitchen creating various “Shrub syrups”. I started by making a strawberry Shrub which I mixed with a good quality Barbados rum and club soda. It had a strawberry daiquiri character but with a refreshing tartness that exceeds that of the citrus in a daiquiri. When fresh blackberries came into season, I made a blackberry Shrub syrup from them. Mixed with the same good rum and club soda, this created a richer drink than the strawberries but with the same refreshing tart edge.

Searching other recipe variations for the Shrub I came across one with a base of ginger. The ginger shrub syrup has an intense spicy/tart ginger flavor with excellent mixing potential. I selected Cruzan “Black Strap” Rum to mix with my ginger Shrub.

Cruzan Black Strap rum is amazing, it has a rich caramel and molasses flavor with a subtle smokiness. Mixed with the ginger shrub it is very distinctive. I have offered this version of the Shrub at the hotel this summer and it is one of those drinks you either love or hate.  You have to like big flavors. It has and a kind of burnt sugar and graham cracker flavor enhanced by the ginger. The Cruzan Blackstrap rum also lends a certain creamy texture to the drink.    

There are a number of Shrub variations based on all kinds of fruit from stone fruits to citrus. I have yet to try raspberry and blueberry shrubs, both of which should be very pleasant.  As well, there are a number of different recipes for the syrups; some require steeping fruit for extended periods, some do not.

I opted to simplify the process and have shared the recipes with you below. My recipe comes from a culinary sauce called a “Gastrique”. This is a quick method shrub syrup recipe used in today’s contemporary cooking. Yes the Shrub syrups are also good for salads, over roasted meats and for a variety of culinary applications.  

I mix my Shrub in a tall Collins glass with 1 part shrub, 2 parts spirit and topped with club soda. Once you taste the Shrub you will come up with all kinds of fun variations. Dose a glass of white or sparkling wine with it. Mix it with your own blend of spirits and mixers. The possibilities are endless. Labor Day is here but summer does not have to end. Make up some Shrub syrups, enjoy them now, and put a few up for the cold months ahead.    

Simplified Strawberry Shrub Syrup (aka gastrique)

(also good for blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, you name it!)

Ingredients

4 cups water

4 cups demerara sugar (plain white will do)
½ flat of fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved
2 cups apple cider vinegar (non-distilled)

Technique

Put sugar in water and boil until sugar is dissolved

Add fresh strawberries and simmer covered for 30 minutes
Add vinegar and bring to a boil
Boil for 15 minutes or until reduced by 1/4
Cool and strain syrup (pressing out strawberries)

Mix with your favorite spirit, water or club soda.

The base will freeze
Keep refrigerated

Simplified Ginger Shrub Syrup

Ingredients

4 cups water
4 cups demerara sugar ( if not demerara then 3 cups white and 1 cup brown)
2 cups chopped peeled ginger root (use a food processor )
2 cups apple cider vinegar (non-distilled)

Technique

Put sugar in water and boil until sugar is dissolved

Add chopped ginger and simmer covered for 30 minutes
Add vinegar and bring to a boil
Boil for 15 minutes or until reduced by 1/2
Cool and strain syrup (pressing out the ginger)

Mix with your favorite spirit, water or club soda.
The base will freeze
Keep refrigerated

Vinho Verde ~ A Summer White Wine

This is the age of big powerful red wines and rich high-alcohol whites. It is a time when wines seem to be judged by their power and structure more than their subtlety and elegance.

To me, part of the joy of wine comes from their diversity in style and how different wines fit my different moods. My wine moods are driven by my choice of food, the season and temperature outside, the company I am keeping and a variety of whims. Sometimes my wine needs to be thought provoking and other times I want a wine that is beautiful by virtue of its simplicity.

If Vinho Verde had a mood it would be one of relaxed celebration, a carefree moment in life when one is able to let the worries of the day slip away.  It is a wine to drink and not to ponder.

 Vinho Verde comes to us from the Minho province of Portugal. The wine is made from grapes with names like Loureiro, Trajadura , Pedernã and Azal. Grapes whose names you can forget as they are seldom seen on their own. The grapes are grown and the wines are made by simple hard working people. They train the vines high off the ground so they can use the space below them for crops to feed their families. They are typically an assemblage of many small grower’s grapes fermented and blended by negociants.

Vinho Verde literally means “Green Wine” a reference to the fact that it is best served young in age. It is typically relatively low in alcohol (between 8-11% alcohol) and high in acidity. This acidity provides a refreshing component to the wine and is surrounded by wonderful citrus flavors. The wine is very light in body and has signature spritz to it; not quite sparkling but not quite still. The spritz gives it a slight, soda pop character that is ever so refreshing. What is truly unique about this wine is that it is amazingly thirst quenching. It is the kind of wine that you could drink after running a marathon (though I do not suggest this).

The important thing to remember when sourcing a Vinho Verde is to make sure it is VERY young. I am enjoying the 2010 Broadbent Vinho Verde as I write. Broadbent ships the wine in refrigerated containers to assure its freshness and quality, so that it tastes today as it would at home in Portugal.

Bartholomew Broadbent is the son of the noted wine writer and auctioneer, Michael Broadbent. He has a passion for the wines of Portugal and has assembled contract growers and oversees the wines production to his specifications.

Vinho Verde is an inexpensive wine with the Broadbent selling for around $8 to $10 a bottle. It is a wine that is perfect for a sunny afternoon or as an aperitif when keeping it light is desired. I dare say with the low alcohol and thirst quenching style, it is easy to empty a bottle.

     

New ~ Old Varieties ~ Avanthia Godello from Bierzo

It has been over a month since I have written a post. In the time that I have been silent of prose for this blog, I passed the Court of Master Sommeliers, “Certified Sommelier” exam. It was challenging and something I am happy to have done, if only for my own edification. It also opened my eyes to just how big a world I have been studying and preaching for the past 30 years. So many grapes and so little time!

Each week I find new wines from obscure grape varieties that are interesting and vastly different from the mainstream of “classic varietals” (Chard, Cab, Pinot… you get the idea.) This week I tasted a white wine from the Bierzo region of Spain, made from the Godello grape. The wine was outstanding and expressed an individuality of style and character.

The Avanthia winery is located in the Galicia region of Spain. Godello is a grape that went to near extinction and was brought back from the brink by a few dedicated vintners. Avanthia winery is a collaboration of those individuals. The amazing wine they make is living proof of why this grape variety needed to be saved.

The 2009 Avanthia Godello has a wonderful peach and green apple bouquet. It is one of those wines that when you first taste it you don’t want to swallow, fearing you might miss something. On the palate, it has lush fruit flavors that have nectar like weightiness. The wines fruit comes in layers of pear, pineapple and papaya, each hovering independently, surprising one with each sip. The wine was aged 14 months in new French Oak. That gives it subtle oak notes and provides the wine with a creamy texture and sweet vanilla component. Lushness and body are supported by a firm acidity which keeps all the fatter components of the wine in balance.

It is always a treat to add a new grape variety to my repertoire, especially one that can produce a wine of such exceptional character. The down side is that the wine is not cheap (between $26-$30 a bottle). At that price most people will steer towards something that is more familiar. If an adventurous mood strikes you, and you can find it, give it a try. The rewards the 2009 Avanthia Godello offer are well worth the cost.

Barossa Jack Shiraz

Every once in a while I come across a wine that is so intense I lose myself in it. I am mesmerized by the essence of its body, the thumbprint of its origin and beauty of its purity. The 2008 Barossa Jack Shiraz is that kind of wine.

The wine comes from the brilliant hand of Jayson Woodbridge, investment banker gone winemaker. Jayson is the mastermind behind Napa’s cult wine Hundred Acres and makes wine around the globe with a scary knack for squeezing every drop of richness out of grapes that can be had. More accurately, he selects a plot of land and nurtures it to its fullest potential. His wines have a sense of place and reflect the terroir from which the wine was born.

HUGE scents of blackberry and brambly fruit waft up from the glass the instant the wine is poured. It has this kind of blackberry jam character that warms the soul. This wine is like a rubenesque woman: -beautiful, soft to the touch but so full figured. The wine rolls around your palate with ample tannins balanced in perfect harmony to luscious black fruits. As I poured glass after glass I kept finding new delights; chocolate, blueberry, hints of licorice, subtle notes of oak and sweet tobacco.

Barossa Jack Shiraz delivers so much in one glass that it is addictive and it is an addiction I can afford priced at around $15 a bottle. It is a steal for what you will get. The wine is a total sensory experience. It tickles your nose, dances on your tongue, and warms your belly. The only thing that could make it better is if Jayson offered a couple of Fred Flintstone jelly jar glasses to drink it from. Find it, buy it. I promise you won’t be disappointed.



The Beauty of Age

We live in a society that desires instant gratification. We want it now. We have fast food, express lanes, cell phones, the internet, social media and a vast array of advantages that make life an instant experience. When it comes to wine we are the same.

Typically the American public does not have the patience to give wine a chance to age and develop to its full potential. Wine is a living, breathing thing that matures just as we do. While it can be exciting and vivacious in its youth, it can evolve over the years and show a certain grace in its age that youth cannot provide.

I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to drinking my wine too young. It is a hazard of my trade. I taste young wines every day to evaluate them for my weekly tastings. I offer these wines to a thirsty audience often with the advice to hide a few bottles of the age worthy ones away for the future. Some follow this advice but most often the urge to pop the cork early prevails.

Now all wines do not have the ability to age. Red wines have a greater ability to age than whites. Part of the age ability of a wine is derived from the way they are made, how they are stored and the grape varieties they come from. This can get really complicated.

In simple terms a grapes pulp is comprised of water, sugar, acids and various phenolic compounds that are generally leeched from the skins of the grape. Sugar and acids lend to greater age ability. Tannic acid in particular is a great preservative in wine. This is the astringent stuff that makes your mouth pucker and dry in young red wines. Tannin comes from the skins, stems and pips of a grape and can also be introduced to the wine through oak barrels used for aging. The skins of grapes have tannic acid and a large range of complex phenolic compounds that add to the age ability of a wine. White wines are typically made from the juice of pressed white grapes without skin contact. Removing the skin from the fermentation process takes away a significant amount of phenolic components including tannin. This is in the simplest terms why red wines age better than whites.

Most whites are best consumed young though there are some white wines that can benefit from time in the bottle. Certain white grape varieties (i.e. Chardonnay and Roussane) have the ability to age depending on how they are made and the quality of the vintage. If a winemaker leaves the white grapes skins in contact with the fermenting must (juice) there will be a greater extract of phenolic compounds thus giving these white wines greater age ability. Barrel fermentation and oak aging a white wine will also supplement tannin and phenols to increase their age worthiness.

How can you tell which white wine is age worthy? They are typically full bodied whites with oak aging. I have enjoyed Chardonnays that where between 5 and 20 years of age. They trade off their youthful fruit for a different set of complex flavors. Their bouquet sometimes shows a unique whiff of butterscotch and honey. The flavor on the palate is somewhat softer from the reactions that age brings in perceived acidity. When they age well they can be a unique tasting experience second to none.

When talking about white wines that are age worthy I cannot pass over dessert wines. These are late harvested wines that have a considerable amount of natural residual sugar left after fermentation. These wines are comprised of mostly sugar and acid both of which act as preservatives. Because of their make-up, dessert wines can be some of the longest lived wines in the world. The Hungarian Tokay wines have been tasted at 200 years of age and where still alive and well. The best of these sweet wines are most often a safe bet to lay down for long term aging.

Most red wines have some ability to age. Again much of this is determined by the grape and the way the wines are made. Maceration is a term in winemaking for the time the juice of the grape is steeped in contact with the skins. The longer the maceration time, the greater the extract of components in the skins, that lend to a wines age worthiness.
Aged red wines gain certain roundness to them. They have a multi-dimensional character perceived in layers of fruit and subtle earthy notes on the nose and palate. The wines change in color from their early hues of purple to softer shades of brick and red. Tannins will form larger molecular chains which will become too heavy to stay in suspension and form sediment in the wine. Sediment has no ill effects on the wine other than clouding it and is typically removed by decanting.

How long a wine is able to age and when wine reaches its peak is subjective and also subject to many variables. Storage temperatures are critical to the aging process. A wine stored at proper cellar temperature of 55 degrees will age slower than one aged at higher temperatures. Ambient light and vibration can also accelerate the aging process. All things equal one would have to taste a wine every day of its life to determine that moment in time when the flavors and character of the wine were in perfect harmony for one’s own palate. Remember that wine is living and breathing and changing every day of its life.

Last night I enjoyed a bottle of the 2001 Truchard Zinfandel. This wine at 10 (really 9+) years of age was exceptional. The nose showed earthy notes of mushroom and the typical peppery spice associated with Zinfandel. The fruit in the wine was rich and had flavors of blackberry and plum. There were subtle tones of vanilla and toffee on the palate that would not have been developed in the wine at an earlier age. It brought me back to how much I appreciate the evolution a wine goes through as it ages.

I have been blessed over the years to drink many fine wines and a fair selection of wines that have had 20 years plus of aging. I was able to drink wines from my birth year (1959) on my 30th and 40th birthdays. Now I am laying wines down for my grandson so that he will be able to appreciate them on landmark birthdays in his life.

We live in a time where things move fast and we sometimes do not take the time to appreciate what the effects of time can bring. If you have the wherewithal to take some age worthy wines and set them aside, do it. You will glad you did when you finally reap the rewards of your patience.

Mocali, Rosso Toscano ~A Great Tuscan Value

I have been studying wine for over 30 years and Italy still scares me when it comes to understanding its wines. Virtually the whole country is a vineyard and there are so many grape varieties and wines it can be daunting. Pushing that fear aside I am excited by all the great wines I have recently tasted from Italy and the strong run of exceptional vintages they have had in the past 10 years.

This week I tasted a great Tuscan wine from the Mocali estate. The 2008 Mocali, “I Piaggioni” Rosso Toscano is a wine made of 100% Sangiovese. This wine has bright fruit flavors with a mouthwatering acidity that is balanced and attractive. The wine is delicate without lacking richness and has lovely ripe cherry fruit with subtle hints of licorice and cedar on the nose.

Mocali is a producer of Brunello di Montalcino, a wine that is among Tuscany’s best, and typically very pricy. The I Piaggioni is Mocali’s budget wine and is comprised of Brunello (Sangiovese Grosso) grapes but aged for a shorter period of time in oak. This makes the wine approachable at an earlier age and much more affordable than the Brunello di Montalcino.

The rules for production of Brunello di Montalcino require that the wine be aged a minimum of two years in cask (though most are aged longer) and 4 months further in bottle before release. Brunello is the name used in the town of Montalcino for a clonal variation of Sangiovese that yields wines of great concentration and depth with age ability. The grapes used in the I Piaggioni Rosso are the same clonal selection and are sourced from the same vineyards. Though the extended aging of Brunello adds a greater depth and body to the wine, the I Piaggioni is a beautiful wine at 1/3 the price (around $15) of its older counterpart. Perfect with cured Italian sausages and antipasti or your favorite grilled meat dish.