Archive
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Wine Spectotor Top 100, Perfect Holiday Gift Solution, and more
Meritage time!
First, let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #82, grape trivia – Gamay.
In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about red grape called Gamay. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Gamay is closely associated with every third Thursday in November. Can you explain why?
A1: Beaujolais Nouveau is coming into town! While Beaujolais Nouveau was always the first wine of the harvest to be delivered to the restaurants and shops in Europe, in 1985 the phenomenon became more organized, settling on the third Thursday of November to make the new release available.
Q2: Carbonic maceration is an important method in production of wines made out of Gamay. Can you briefly explain what is carbonic maceration and how does it helps here?
A2: Carbonic maceration is a process where the grapes in a sealed tank are subjected to the flow of CO2, which start fermenting the juice inside of the whole grapes before they will be crushed. The resulting wine becomes fruity with very low presence of tannins. This process is particularly used inproduction of Beaujolais Nouveau and other Beaujolais wines. For more information, please refer to Wikipedia article.
Q3: Fill in the blanks: In Beaujolais, Fleuri is considered to produce the most ___ wine, and Moulin-à-Vent produces the most ___ wines.
A3: In Beaujolais, Fleuri is considered to produce the most feminine wine, and Moulin-à-Vent produces the most masculine wines. Feminine and Masculine are the descriptors typically used by wine professionals to describe the wines of Fleuri and Moulin-à-Vent wines.
Q4: Which one doesn’t belong and why:
a. Brouilly, b. Côte de Brouilly, c. Côte Chalonnaise, d. Juliénas, e. Régnié
A4: c. Côte Chalonnaise. The other four names are part of Cru de Beaujolais ten villages, but Côte Chalonnaise doesn’t belong there (it is an AOC in Burgundy).
Q5: True or False: Beaujolais Nouveau wines can be aged for a few years before consumption.
A5: False. The whole point of aging the wine is to wait for it to develop further in the bottle and become more enjoyable. Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be enjoyed right away and should be consumed by May of next year – it doesn’t improve in the bottle.
So for the winners, Jeff the drunken cyclist continues his winning streak – he got correctly 5 out of 5, including the difficult question #3. Great job, Jeff – unlimited bragging rights are yours! I would like to also acknowledge Wayward Wine,Whine And Cheers For Wine and Eat with Namie who all correctly answered 4 questions out of 5. Well done!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
On Monday, November 18th, Wine Spectator published their Top 100 list of Wines. Yes, I know, many dismiss the whole notion of Wine Spectator ratings and Top lists as closely associated with the advertizement dollars spent with publication. True or not, but I still have a lot of respect to Wine Spectator and definitely curios to see their “top wines” list. As Wine Spectator celebrates 25th anniversary, they whole web site is open to the public (typically it requiressubscription). I would highly recommend that you will take advantage of this opportunity and explore the site which has a great wealth of wine information. Also, here is the link to the WS Top 100 wines of 2013. I have to admit that I’m happy with Wine Spectator’s choice for the wine of the year – 2004 Cune Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva. In general, Cune Imperial makes great wines, and I think it is an excellent choice for the wine of the year.
Thinking about holiday gifts? Does your list include any wine lovers? If yes, you are in luck, but you will need to act quick. On December 2nd, WTSO will conduct a Gift Marathon (full info can be found here). As a traditional WTSO Marathon, there will be no announcements of new wines. But each wine will come gift packaged, with one bottle and two varietally correct Riedel glasses in the box. Most importantly – free shipping on each package (no minimums), and each packaged can be shipped directly to your gift recipient – this is the best part! Prices start from $44.95 per box (free shipping). I think this is a deal not to be missed, so point your browser to WTSO on December 2nd and happy hunting!
You know Wine-Searcher is a great resource for finding the wines online and comparing the prices. Are you curious what the other people looking for on the wine-searcher? Here is an interesting article, which tells you what the consumers in America are looking for. Based on the article, looks like most of the times people are looking for red Bordeaux blends – which makes sense, as there are a lot more Bordeaux blends produced nowadays. Anyway, for your own analysis and lots more data, take a look at the article.
When you make dinner, how often do you think about what wine should be opened for the food you are serving? Sometimes the pairing can be quite difficult, so I have no problems taking my food and wine separately. But when you hit the mark and the wine and food “work” together, it becomes the whole new level of experience. To help you in this process of pairing food and wine, here is the link to the web site I recently came across – I think it has a lot of good suggestions. Take a look – you might be able to pleasantly surprise yourself and your guests during your next dinner.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Tempranillo Day, Beaujolais Nouveau Coming Up, The Widow Who Reinvented Champagne, and more
Meritage time!
First, let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #81, grape trivia – Petite Sirah.
In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about a red grape called Petite Sirah. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Name the grape: In California, Petite Sirah is a popular blending addition to ___?
A1: Zinfandel. You can find a small percentage of Petite Sirah (5% – 10%) in many Zinfandel bottlings
Q2: When it comes to the wines in the United States, there is an interesting similarity between the Petite Sirah and Primitivo. Can you explain?
A2: The similarity comes from the fact that both Petite Sirah and Primitivo were the part of the same request to the TTB (government organization in charge of labeling), to allow the use of Durif interchangeably with Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel with Primitivo. It is interesting to note that contrary to the information in Wikipedia, which says that both requests were never resolved, it appears that Durif is officially recognized as a synonym to Petite Sirah, while Primitivo and Zinfandel are not – you can find the complete list of the approved names through the link to the list of approved grape names in this US government document.
Q3: Which one doesn’t belong and why:
a. Arizona, b. Illinois, c. New Mexico, d. New York, e. Texas
A3: d. New York – there is no Petite Sirah wines produced in New York (at least in the meaningful quantities).
Q4: In the bad, rainy growing season conditions in California, Petite Sirah can be a savior – can you explain why and how does it help?
A4: As the Petite Sirah is mildew resistant and provides supple tannins, color, and structure, in the bad years it can be added to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and other wines to improve the quality.
Q5: What love has to do with the Petite Sirah?
A5: “P.S. I Love You” is a consortium dedicated to the promotion of Petite Sirah wines.
Talking about the results, the drunken cyclist continues his winning streak, so he gets ( again) the prize of unlimited bragging rights. Well done!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
First of all, tomorrow, November 14th, is an International Tempranillo Day! Tempranillo, the noble grape of Spain and Portugal, and the rising star of Texas is a source of many wonderful long-living wines, and it is definitely the grape worth celebrating. TAPAS, the society of producers and advocates of Tempranillo, lists a number of events celebrating the grape. But you don’t even need to go anywhere to celebrate the Tempranillo – just grab a bottle, maybe of Magnificent Rioja (but really, any Tempranillo wine will do), pour, smell, sip and enjoy!
Now, the next Thursday, November 21st, is the third Thursday in November. Do you know what it means? Yes, you are right – Beaujolais Nouveau! Every third Thursday in November, the young Beaujolais wine of the same year’s vintage, called Beaujolais Nouveau, is becoming available in all the wine stores around the world. It is not just the wine – Beaujolais Nouveau also means celebration and fun. Don’t forget to get the bottle and join the festivities!
I’m sure you know that classic Champagne with the yellow label on it – Veuve Cliquot, which would literally translate into a “widow Cliquot”. But do you know the role the Barbe-Nicole Cliquot Ponsardin, the actual person behind that label, played in pretty much enabling the whole Champagne industry to exist, and for the mere mortals to be able to afford a bottle of Champagne? Barbe-Nicole’s perseverance and her invention of the riddling were some of the key elements in making Champagne into what we readily enjoy today. Here is an article for you which is definitely worth reading – it is somewhat long but very fascinating and will be well worth your time. And you might even complement the reading with the glass of Champagne in your hand – it will be very appropriate.
The last piece I want to bring to your attention is Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2013 list, gradually exposed at the rate of a few wines per day at the Wine Spectator web site. There are various contests taking place right now to predict the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year 2013, including the one which Wine Spectator runs by itself. So far the Wines #10 – #7 had been revealed, and more wines will be announced every day finishing with the Wine of the Year on Friday, November 15th. The full top 100 list will be published on Monday, November 18th. Looking at the 4 of the top 10 announced so far, I can only say that I’m a bit surprised. One of the selection criteria for the Top 10 is affordability – with the wines #10 and #9 priced at $135, and wines #8 and #7 priced at $120, I feel like I missed the memo about a substantial increase in my salary, as those prices are definitely outside of the “affordable” realm, at least in my book. Also, as “availability” is another factor, highly allocated Quilceida Creek (wine #10) makes it also an interesting choice. I plan to come back to this subject next week when the full Top 100 list will be announced – but any of your comments meanwhile will be most welcome.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but the refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC5 Theme, Not Really [Wine Shortage], Australian Wine and more
Meritage time!
First, let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #80, grape trivia – Mourvèdre.
In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about white grape called Mourvèdre. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Name two grapes, most famous blending partners of Mourvèdre.
A1: Grenache and Syrah. GSM is the best known blend with M standing for Mourvèdre. The G stands for Grenache, and S is for Syrah (Shiraz).
Q2: Wine Spectator calls wines rated in 95-100 range Classic (the highest and the most prestigious category). True or False: there are no Mourvèdre-based wines rated in the Classic category
A2: False. A number of Domain Tempier wines from Bandol have 96 rating from the Wine Spectator.
Q3: Fill in the gaps: The oldest, continuously producing Mourvèdre vine is located at ___ Vineyard in ___, and it is about ___ years old.
A3: My answer: The oldest, continuously producing Mourvèdre vine is located at Hewitson Old Garden Vineyard in Barossa, Australia, and it is about 160 years old – here is my source of info. Of course I understand the “the oldest” claims are tough to prove – I’m sure few other producers claim the same. But the age (160) and general location (Barossa, Australia) seems to be generally correct.
Q4: Explain potential origins for all three names of the grape – Mourvèdre, Mataró and Monastrell
A4: Let me actually quote my answer directly from this source: Mourvèdre “first became established in Cataluña where it took on the names Mourvèdre (after Muviedro, the Moorish name for the city of Sagunto, near Valencia) and Mataró (after Mataró in Cataluña). In Cataluña the grape was grown by monasteries, leading to the name Monastrell (from the Latin monasteriellu) in that region”.
Q5: True or False: France plantings of Mourvèdre far exceed the plantings in Spain (no tricks here – Mourvèdre and Monastrell are used interchangeably, you have to assume it is the same grape).
A5: False. Plantings of Mourvèdre in Spain are about 6 times of the plantings in France.
So today we have a grand winner, the drunken cyclist, who answered all 5 questions correctly. We also have a winner, the winegetter, who answered all 5 questions mostly correctly, with the slight discrepancy on the question 3 – but nevertheless, they both get the grand prize of unlimited bragging rights. I also want to acknowledge my blogging friend Patty P’s 2013 photo project who was answering the questions for the first time – she answered the first question correctly, and I really like her take on the question #4. Great job!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
I have a few interesting things for you. First, congratulations to the winner of Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #4, Anthony Davies, who writes the blog Confessions of a Wine Geek. Anthony just announced a theme for #MWWC5, which is Feast (very timely, considering Thanksgiving in the US, where it is all mostly one giant feast). Here is the link to the blog post with all the rules.
Now, I’m sure you read or heard somewhere about impending wine shortage. As the wine is ever increasing in popularity and demand all over the world, you would imagine that the report from the good source, showing for how many millions of cases demand exceeds the supply, will be picked up all over the news. And it was. Only the thing is that the numbers are numbers – question is what you do with those numbers. So in case you panicked (or were just amused), I have a very good article for you to read – it is written by W. Blake Gray, and it explains in good detail that no, you don’t need to stock up on wineand you will still find the good bottle to drink at the price you will be willing to pay.
Next post I want to bring to your attention is about Australian wines. It is a pity that selection of the Australian wines in the wine stores is not anything it used to be, as Australia makes a lot of great wines. This article, written by Mike Veseth at The Wine Economist, is talking about the work Australian winemakers are doing to restore the image of the Australian wines and squarely put them back to the wine stores and the cellars around the world.
Last but not least for today is an interesting open letter written by Alder Yarrow of Vinography to the United Kingdom. Turns out that association of Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America is offering its help to the good people of UK, suggesting that they know how to protect public from the dangers of unregulated wine market (oh, horrors, free commerce!), which seems to be of concern to the people in UK. In case you don’t know, it is the US wholesalers who you have to thank for monopolistic pricing and draconian shipping laws in many of the states, and overall inability of wine consumers to get the wines they want. So Alder’s open letter to the United Kingdom is definitely worth reading, it is hilarious – here is the link where you can find it.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Chateau Latour, Natural Wines, Sauternes 2013 and more
Meritage time!
Let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #79, grape trivia – Cabernet Franc. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about a red grape called Cabernet Franc. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: One of the most famous wines in the world has Cabernet Franc as a major (2/3 or so) component of its blend. Do you know what wine is that?
A1: Unimitable Château Cheval Blanc uses at least 2/3 of Cabernet Franc grapes in their main wine
Q2: Cabernet Franc has a special relationship with the frost. Can you explain that?
A2: Icewine! The grapes should be frozen on the vine in order to produce the Icewine. While Icewine was typically produced from the white grapes, Inniskillin estate in Ontario was one of the pioneers who started producing Icewine from the red grapes, namely Cabernet Franc.
Q3: Which one doesn’t belong and why:
a. Bourgueil, b. Chinon, c. Saumur-Champigny, d. Saint-Chinian
A3: Saint-Chinian. It is an AOC in the Languedoc area which doesn’t make wines out of Cabernet Franc. The other three AOCs are located in the Loire, and all make Cabernet Franc wines.
Q4: This unique grape grows only in one place in the world, and it is a cross between Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Do you know what grape it is?
A4: Caberlot. I admit this was a difficult question. However, I mentioned this grape before, when I discovered it during VinItaly tasting this year (here is the link).
Q5: In Italy, Cabernet Franc is often confused for another rare Bordeaux grape. Do you know the name of that rare grape?
A5: Carmenere.
Looking at the results, we don’t have a winner today – however, both Frankly Wine and Eat with Namie get honorable mentions for properly answering 4 questions out of 5. Well done!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the web and vine!
Boy, what an eclectic mix I have for you today! First, just a quick last minute reminder – #MWWC4 vote closes today. If you still didn’t read and vote, you might have your last chance to do it here.
Now, how much do you know about Chateau Latour? Same as the most, you probably heard of it as a producer of one of the most sought-after wines in the world, and you probably know that it is generally very expensive. Recently, Chateau Latour made a lot of press by pulling out of the En primeur (wine futures) system, where wines are acquired by consumers before they are actually released, hedging both on saving the money and availability of the wine. Here is the link to the Wine-Searcher article, where you can actually learn a lot of interesting facts about Chateau Latour. I also want to mention that the Wine-searcher website is really becoming a great source of wine information, not just the price comparison tool.
Next subject – Natural wines. How much do you know about natural wines? What do you think of them as a category? Well, the article I want to bring to your attention is not exactly natural wine 101 tutorial, but it is rather a rant by Europe’s Best Sommelier of 2013, Arvid Rosengren, who is based in Copenhagen. A lot of his comments are most relevant for the local food and wine scene, but nevertheless, it makes a very interesting read.
Are you a fan of Sauternes, a sweet wine gems from Bordeaux? If you are, I have good news for you – 2013 is a great year, and you should be looking for these wines when they will be released. Contrary to 2012, when Chateau d’Yquem, the most coveted producer in Sauternes, decided not to produce their flagship Chateau d’Yquem wine, 2013 harvest shows a lot of botrytized grapes, which is a necessity to produce sweet wines in Sauternes. By the way, if you like red Bordeaux, 2013 doesn’t look all that great. Here is the link to the article where you can learn more.
The last piece I have for you has nothing to do with wine. It is written by Kimberly at whiskeytangofoxtrot4 blog, where she is talking about the power of the words. While her post, called Word, sounds rather personal, I think it is very powerful writing and it definitely well worth a few minutes of your time.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty, but the refill is on its way. Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Global Champagne Day, Dishcrawl SoNo, Tempranillo Day and more
Arrayán Petit Verdot, Spain
Meritage time!
Let’s start from the answer to the wine quiz #78, grape trivia – Petit Verdot. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions regarding the red grape called Petit Verdot. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Explain the meaning of the name Petit Verdot
A1: Petit Verdot stands for the “little green”, as a reference to the small size of the grapes and the tendency to retain green (underripe) grapes even at the harvest time
Q2: Name four grapes, main blending partners of Petit Verdot in France
A2: We are talking about classic Bordeaux five here, the blending partners of Petit Verdot are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec
Q3: True or False: Australia’s plantings of Petit Verdot far exceed the plantings of Petit Verdot in France
A3: True. Australia embraced Petit Verdot starting from the second half of the 18th century, increasing its plantings, where Petit Verdot plantings in France had being on the downturn for a while.
Q4: While Petit Verdot is a difficult grape to work with, two events were major contributors to the demise of Petit Verdot in Bordeaux. Can you name those two events?
A4: Phylloxera epidemic in the late 1800s and the frost of 1956. As a difficult to grow and not essential grape, Petit Verdot followed the path of Malbec, with a dramatic reduction in plantings after the cataclysmic events.
Q5: While it is not impossible to find a pure 100% Petit Verdot wines made in Bordeaux, those wines are rather the exceptions. What is the typical percentage of Petit Verdot in Bordeaux blends?
A5: It is very often 1% to 2%, and in general stays under 5%. There are exceptions, of course.
Bonus question: what was your personal encounter with Petit Verdot? Do you have any memorable bottles?
Australia, Spain and [interestingly enough] Long Island, New York come to mind when I think of single-grape Petit Verdot bottlings. Some of the wines were just purely spectacular, like 2007 Jamesport Petit Verdot from Long Island, or this 2007 Arrayán Petit Verdot from Spain.
I’m glad to report that we had a good participation in the quiz, and most importantly, we have a lot of winners! Patrick Kleiner (who has no web site), the drunken cyclist and Vino in Love are all correctly answered all 5 questions, so they are our ultimate winners and get unlimited bragging rights. Well done! I also want to mention Duff’s Wines and Eat with Namie as they both made only minor mistakes and got about 4.5 correctly out of 5, so they both get an honorable mention.
Now, to the interesting stuff around the web and the vine!
I don’t have much of the interesting reads for you today, so it is mostly various events announcements.
First, don’t forget that Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #4 (#MWWC4) is in its final hours – it ends today, on October 23rd. The theme is “oops” – send your submission over to TheWineKat, and best to do it on Twitter with the hash tag #MWWC4.
Next, it appears that this coming Friday, October 25th, is a Global Champagne Day 2013 (I’m sure TheDrunkenCyclist is oozing with joy :- ) ). You have an option of finding a good place to celebrate in style, or just crack open whatever sparking goodness your heart desires, and celebrate the celebration drink!
While you still have time to get ready, don’t miss the International Tempranillo Day coming up on November 14th. There are plenty of Tempranillo events happening all over the country, and the good Tempranillo bottle is so easy to find nowadays, you have no excuse to miss this celebration.
Last but not least, at least for the local Connecticut foodies, Dishcrawl event is for South Norwalk (SoNo) will take place on November 20th. Based on my recent dining experiences in South Norwalk, this event shouldn’t be missed! For more details and to get your tickets, please visit Dishcrawl site.
That is all I have for you for today. The glass is empty – but refill is on the way. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC4 Deadline Nears, What Vinotype Are You, Understanding Luxury Goods
Meritage Time!
Let’s start with the answer to the wine quiz #77, grape trivia – Savagnin. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about white grape called Savagnin, best known in the Jura region of France. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Australia makes wines from Savagnin grapes. However, when the grape was planted, it was assumed to be …?
A1: Albariño. We actually already talked about it when we run through the Albariño quiz, only in reverse (in the Albariño quiz, Savagnin was the answer).
Q2: Wine made from Savagnin was one of the most expensive wines ever sold at an auction. It was sold at about:
a. $98,000, b. $74,000, C. $47,000, d. $30,000
A2: b, ~$74,000. See the full answer below
Q3: Continuing previous question – do you know what wine was that? Bonus part: can you also identify the vintage?
A3: This wine was 1774 Arbois Vin Jaune, sold at an auction in France for €57,000, which would be about $77,000 considering today’s exchange rate.
Q4: Name at least two other wines, produced in the same way as way Vin de Paille, one of the popular wines made from Savagnin.
A4: To produce Vin de Paille, after the harvest, the grapes are dried out on the straw mats for a few month, to concentrate the flavors. Similar methods of production are used for Vin Santo, Amarone, Sfursat of Valtellina and a number of others.
Q5: Which reddish-skinned ( but technically white) grape is a close relative of Savagnin?
A5: Gewurztraminer. Savagnin is closely related to the whole Traminer family, and Gewurztraminer, “an aromatic Traminer” is known for its reddish skin.
There was very little participation in this quiz (sad, but mostly expected). We don’t have the winner, but I have to acknowledge Namie from Eat with Namie for her excellent attempt at the quiz.
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
First, a friendly reminder. Your Oops! moment is getting near – the deadline for #MWWC4 (Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #4) is next Wednesday, October 23rd. The #MWWC4 is hosted by The Wine Kat, and the theme is Oops – you better get your wine oops together, or it will be a clear oops on your part… I have an idea, I hope to be able to find time to actually put it into the blog post, or oops.
Now, couple of interesting articles for you. First one is coming from The Wine Economist blog, where Mike Veseth is suggesting that all wine drinkers can be divided into the four categories, or Vinotypes – sweet, hypersensitive, sensitive and tolerant. The concept of the Vinotype is described in the book by Tim Hanni, MW, and Mike is explaining the concept in his blog post – but you should probably read the book. In the post, there is also a link to the web site where you can quickly perform your Vinotype assessment. I actually did, and came out as “Tolerant” – I would probably accept that, but the description provided for the Toerant type didn’t match me for a second. Well, YMMV – see it for yourself.
The second post I want to bring to your attention comes from Seth Godin, who is one of the very few people I would call as my mentor. His understanding of the world is nothing less than stunning to me, and every time I read his daily blog posts, it is almost a revelation of a simple truth, right in front of you. Seth’s post, called Understanding Luxury Goods, has nothing to do with wine in the direct form. However, every time we scoff at a bottle of Screaming Eagle, or Chateau Petrus, or 1755 Taylor Port at a price of north of $3000, or 1966 DRC at $10,000, understanding of how the luxury works helps to put things in perspective. Read it for yourself, and better yet, subscribe for Seth’s blog – it will provide infinite value compare to your subscription price.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on the way! Until the next time, cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC4 Theme, Merlot is Back!, And a Few Videos
Meritage time!
Let’s start from the answer to our weekly wine quiz #76, grape trivia – Roussanne. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about white grape called Roussanne.
Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Explain the source of the name Roussanne
A1: Name Roussanne most like comes from the word “roux”, which refers to the reddish color of the grapes.
Q2: Which one doesn’t belong and why:
a. Hermitage, b. Côte-Rôtie, c. Châteauneuf-du-Pape, d. St.-Joseph
A2: b. Côte-Rôtie. Roussanne is allowed to be blended into the red wines of the three other regions – but the white grape allowed to be used in Côte-Rôtie is Viognier.
Q3: Outside of Northern Rhône, the traditional bending partner of Roussanne is…
A3: Grenache Blanc is the most popular blending partner for Roussanne outside of Northern Rhône
Q4: Roussanne was re-introduced in California in the 1980s, only to be proven in the late 1990s to be not the Roussanne but another grape. Do you know what grape was that?
A4: Viognier. Randall Grahm, winemaker from Bonny Doon winery, brought [illegally] a number of cuttings of supposedly Roussanne from France at the beginning of 1980s. In 1998 it was found that the grape is actually Viognier, not the Roussanne.
Q5: One of the first California “Roussanne” wines from the 1980s had a specific name. Can you name that wine?
A5: The “Roussanne” wine was produced by Randall Grahm under the name of Le Sophiste.
Sadly, there was very little participation in this quiz – I have to acknowledge Julian at VinoInLove, who was a sole participant – thank you Julian! I guess I’m going to far into the vineyard with some of my latest quizzes… Well, one more white grape, and we are switching back to the red right after.
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
First of all, we have a new theme for the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge! Now in its 4th round, it is hosted by The Wine Kat, winner of the round #3. The theme of the #MWWC4 is… OOPS!, and I can tell you that oops is looming, as the submission deadline is already very close, it is only two weeks away – October 23rd. Get your writing pants… oops, may be glass? Writing hat? Well, whatever oops gets you moving, get it on and start writing. The theme announcement and all the important dates can be found here.
Just a quick question at the moment. What do you think of Merlot? Do you still have an image of Miles “I’m not drinking no #$%^ Merlot”, or does it trickle back to you table and Cellar? Well, I can tell you that about 100 Merlot producers from California want to make sure you will once again look at Merlot seriously. Tomorrow, October 10th, is actually the start of #MerlotMe, a month-long celebration of Merlot, taking place both with the live events and all over the social media. You can find more details about the festivities here – and don’t wait, grab your bottle already!
Continuing the theme of Merlot, I wanted to share with you this video, made by one of the Merlot pioneers, Gundlach Bundschu:
And for no other reason, but just for your enjoyment on this Wine Wednesday, here is the video which I wanted to share a while ago – a “Blurred Lines” parody, made by the enterprising folks at Jordan (in addition to making great wines, they also have one of the best social media outreach in the wine industry):
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC3 Winner, The Way You Pour, Wine and Shutdown, and more
Meritage time!
As usual, let’s start from the answer to the wine quiz #75, grape trivia – Marsanne. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about white grape called Marsanne. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Name the grape, typical blending partner of Marsanne in Northern Rhône
A1: Roussanne.
Q2: True or False: Plantings of Marsanne in Australia far exceed Marsanne plantings in France.
A2: True. Actually, about 80% of worldwide plantings of Marsanne are located in Australia
Q3: Solve the riddle and explain: Part of 8, but not part of 18
A3: Marsanne is one of the 8 white grapes officially allowed in the Rhône appellations. At the same time, Marsanne is not a part of the 18 grapes officially allowed to be used in Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation
Q4: Marsanne is known in Switzerland under the name of …
A4: Ermitage [blanc]
Q5: Name major wine producing country which doesn’t make any Marsanne wines of notice
A5: Italy. Yes, Italy makes no wines out of Marsanne – at least no wines which can be easily accessible or found on the internet.
I’m glad to report that we have a winner! Jeff of the drunken cyclist fame correctly answered all 5 questions, so he is our uncontested winner and he gets the coveted prize of unlimited bragging rights. Well done!
And now, to the interesting stuff around the web and the vine!
First of all, we have a winner for the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #3! The Wine Kat wrote the winning story, which you can find here. Congratulations to the winner! Now we are all eagerly waiting to learn the theme for the challenge #4 – hopefully it will be announced soon…
Do you know that the way you pour the wine affects how much you drink? Here is the link to the post on the subject. Weather you hold the glass, tilt the glass, pour red or white – all of this factors affect the amount you consume – according to this study, of course.
Wondering about the connections between US Government shutdown and wine? I had no idea there is one, until I read this post by Dr. Vino. TTB, the government agency which approves all the new labels, is part of the shutdown. On one side it makes perfect sense as it is seemingly not-essential. At the same time, as opposed to many other parts of the government, this one actually makes money… Anyway, read the article for more details.
Actually, there is another small post by the same Dr. Vino, which I want to bring to your attention. Before you read it, I have a question for you. Which country do you think might request to put the words “wine kills” on the labels? No, it is not United States. Interestingly enough, it is France, which is concerned with the fact that people drink wine, so this was one of the proposals as a way to reduce wine consumption. Another, similarly bright proposal, was suggesting to ban all the internet writing about the wine – brilliant, isn’t it? You can read the post here – it is short and interesting.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC3 Vote, Greenwich Food and Wine Festival, [In]decent Wine Labels, and more
Meritage time!
First, let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #74, grape trivia – Trebbiano.
In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about the white grape called Trebbiano (known in France as Ugni Blanc). Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Ugni Blanc is a main grape in the production of what famous spirit?
A1: Cognac.
Q2: Name the wine, in which Trebbiano was a required part of the blend, and it was considered to be the reason for a bad, flabby quality of that wine (it is no longer required to be used in that wine).
A2: Chianti. For the long time, Trebbiano was a mandatory part of the Chianti wines, rendering them dull and uninteresting.
Q3: Trebbiano is often a foundation for the popular food product (containing no alcohol). Do you know what food product it is?
A3: Balsamic Vinegar! Yes, of course when you look at the literally a black-colored balsamic vinegar, it is hard to imagine that it is made out of the white grape juice – but all the color comes from the ageing in wood. Trebbiano is a popular choice due to its neutral taste characteristics.
Q4: Contrary to the name, Trebbiano di Lugano is not considered to be a part of the Trebbiano family, but rather related to another Italian grape. Do you know what grape is that?
A4: Verdicchio. Based on genetic analysis, it is established that Trebbiano di Lugano is a close relative of Verdicchio grape from Marche region in Italy.
Q5: When used for the wine production (as opposed to the distilled spirits), Ugni Blanc is rarely used on its own – it is typically a part of the blend. Name 3 grapes, traditional blending partners of Ugni Blanc.
A5: Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, Sémillon. While other combinations are possible, I was looking for classic Bordeaux lineup, which are these three grapes.
Now, when to comes to declaring the winners (or not) of this quiz, the becomes somewhat of a challenge. Both Michael (who has no web site) and Eat with Namie answered first 4 questions correctly, and provided a different answer to the question #5, compare to what I was looking for, but I can’t fully disqualify their answer. So we don’t have an absolute winner this week, but both Michael and Namie get an honorable mention. Well done!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
First and foremost, 3rd Monthly Wine Writing Challenge (#MWWC3) concluded with 15 entries, taking on a difficult theme “possession”. Now it is your time to chose the host for #MWWC4, a.k.a. The Winner of #MWWC3. Here is the post from Sally, the winner of #MWWC2 and the host of #MWWC3, which summarizes all the entries. Your job is simple: 1. Get glass of wine. 2. Read. 3. Vote. Yes, don’t forget to vote!
Now, if you live in a close proximity of Greenwich , Connecticut, or plan to visit the area, here is the event you don’t want to miss – Greenwich Food and Wine Festival, taking place over 3 days, October 3 – 5. In its third year, the festival brings together more than 90 restaurants and vendors, chefs, musicians, sommeliers. You will find great food, great wines, cooking demos by celebrity chefs such as Duff Goldman, live music, BBQ, beer, competitions (had enough?) and more. For the schedule of events and tickets please click here.
Next – do you think some wine labels are going too far? Too suggestive, too sensual, simply indecent? May be some are. Take a look at Tyler Colman’s, a.k.a. Dr. Vino, blog post on the subject. Make sure to check the link to his article in the Details magazine – you will find some interesting labels there.
And the last one for today – another installment of Wine in China is available for your reading pleasure on the Wine Economist blog. This time you can learn about Chinese government involvement and its role in shaping up the Chinese wine industry.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Chinese Terroirs, #MWWC3 Last Chance, [again] Wine Reviews and more
Meritage time!
First, let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #73, grape trivia – Sémillon.
In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about white grape called Sémillon. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Name a grape, primary blending partner of Sémillon
A1: Sauvignon Blanc. While Muscadelle is also allowed as part of the blend in Bordeaux, the most popular combination worldwide is Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc.
Q2: Below is the list of years. There is something common between all of them (and of course it has a relationship with Sémillon) – do you know what is common among those years?
1930, 1952, 1964, 1974, 2012
A2: This is a partial list of years when Château d’Yquem Sauternes, the most famous Sauternes wine, was not produced. Since 1825, there were only 10 years when d’Yquem Sauternes was not produced: 1910, 1915, 1930, 1951, 1952, 1964, 1972, 1974, 1992 and 2012.
Q3: Ture or False: Sauternes produces only sweet wines
A3: False. Dry wines are also produced in Sauternes, under a designation of Bordeaux Supérieur. Example – “Y” by Château d’Yquem, 50% Sémillon and 50% Sauvignon Blanc.
Q4: Name a key factor for the great tasting dry Sémillon wines
A4: Bottle age. While acidity is important, dry Sémillon wines, such as those produced in the Hunter Valley in Australia, are known to fully develop and really blossom after about 10 years of age in the bottle.
Q5: What is Semageddon?
A5: Semageddon is a new annual event in Napa Valley, created to celebrate Sémillon grape. You can read more about the event here.
This was somewhat of a difficult quiz. We don’t have a winner, but we have three people who get an honorable mention – the drunken cyclist, EatwithNamie and Vinoinlove.
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
What do you know about wine in China? Do you think China will be able to produce the wines we will all crave? Well, can’t tell you about the craving yet, but the hard work already started. Here is an interesting blog post from The Wine Economist blog, talking about the Chinese Terroir quest which is already under way.
Another interesting post is coming from the Joe Roberts of a 1WineDude fame. Joe is bringing up a well beaten subject of the wine reviews, relevance of the wine critics, collective wisdom of the crowd-sourced wine reviews (yep, of course the CellarTracker) and more. You can read the post here, and of course please make sure to read through all the comments. I personally don’t understand why is it so popular and necessary to return to this subject over and over again. I might respond with the rant of my own – if I do, you will be the first to know.
Next important subject: Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #3 is almost over! You need to make a final effort to convert your obsession into possession, and finally publish that blog post. Submission deadline is September 23rd, and for more details please check this formal announcement with all the rules and dates.
As I mentioned last week, Spanish Wine Festival is coming to New York City. If you love Spanish wines and want to taste something amazing, don’t miss this event! For more details and tickets please click here.
And one more event I want to bring to your attention. If you love (or at least like) whiskey, this is the right event for you. WhiskeyFest is coming to New York on October 11-12. For more details and tickets, please use this link.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but refill is on its way. Until the next time – cheers!
Last Bottle Sign Up ($10 credit)
Talk-A-Vino 