Weekly Wine Quiz #64: Grape Trivia – Riesling
Ripe Riesling Grapes, as captured in Wikipedia
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
And the moment you’ve being waiting for is here – as promised, we are switching to the white grapes! For the next 10 or so quizzes, we will be talking about white grapes. And we are starting with nothing less than the Riesling!
Riesling is one of the major white grapes (that “major” list typically includes Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) with long and somewhat turbulent history. The first official mentions of Riesling appear 1400s in Germany and then Alsace. From there, Riesling had been growing in popularity for the long time, about 100-120 years ago even surpassing red Bordeaux wines both in price and demand. Unfortunately, with prolonged wars and also subsequent Germany’s focus on quantity instead of quality in the middle of 20th century, Riesling lost its leadership position and currently is engaged in the uphill battle to regain its old popularity.
Overall, Riesling is considered to be very terroir-driven (similar to Pinot Noir), which you can easily see just by trying, for instance, German, Australian and Alsatian Rieslings side by side – you might perceive them as completely unrelated wines. Substantial acidity makes Riesling very food friendly (it is one of the most versatile white wines) and also allows it to age for a very long time – even 100 years would not be unheard of. Riesling is quite popular world-wide, growing in pretty much all major wine producing countries and slowly but steadily increasing both in terms of production and acreage.
Let’s get to our quiz, shall we?
Q1: Riesling is a very popular grape in US and Canada, growing in many regions. Considering the plantings of the Riesling in the regions, can you sort the list below from the biggest area plantings to the smallest?
a. California
b. New York
c. Ontario, Canada
d. State of Washington
Q2: Have you heard the term “noble rot”, which is often associated with certain types of Riesling? Can you explain what this term means and to which Riesling wines it is typically applicable (at least in Germany)?
Q3: Riesling is known for sometimes developing a specific aroma which has typically nothing to do with the wine – but it is not a fault. Do you know what aroma is that?
Q4: Name one major(!) wine producing country which doesn’t produce any Riesling wines.
Q5: If you look at the bottle of German Riesling, you will typically see the word such as Kabinett or Spatlese written on the label. Such words typically indicate the level of sweetness you should expect from wine – even though this is not a precise definition, as these words only indicate sugar amount in the freshly pressed grape juice – the level of sugar in the resulting wine can be quite different depending on the way the fermentation is done. Can you sort the following list of these key indicators from the lowest sugar content to the highest?
a. Auslese
b. Berenauslese
c. Eiswein
d. Kabinett
e. Spatlese
f. Trockenberenauslese
Good luck, enjoy and have a great weekend! Cheers!
Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4th to all! Enjoy the great American BBQ day and raise a glass of Madeira for our Founding Fathers and your friends and families, of course. And if you don’t have Madeira handy, any beer and wine will work perfectly well too. Here are few pictures from Cape Cod, just for your viewing pleasure. Cheers!
Happy 4th!
Very appropriate painting on display in art gallery in Chatham
Cape Cod welcome!
Butterfly on the beach…
Whoop Ass as a flavor of United States – nice!
Had to look up “impudent” on internet… Appears to be highly ranked search word on Google
Beauty on the beach
Feel it…
Visiting Flavor Paradise
The weather is still so so in Cape Cod ( read – raining on and off, overall gray outside and by all means not beach-worhy), so we were spending time wandering around little towns and busy Main street(s) which to me are quintessential New England, and more over, quintessential Cape Cod. The wandering lead us to Chattam, and to the Main street, to be more precise. Almost at the end of that main street we walked into the store called Gustare Oils and Vinegars and … OMG.
Gustare store window
I’m sure that for anyone who is into the cooking or simply for anyone who likes food, it would be difficult to get surprised with the flavor infused olive oil or balsamic vinegar – lots of flavors are available at many gourmet stores around the country. But how about being completely blown away by the richness, cleanliness and precision of flavor? This is exactly what is happening at Gustare Oils and Vinegar store. Every flavor is so pronounced – when it says “Strawberry Balsamic”, you will find beautiful, perfectly ripe summer strawberries in the dark savory liquid. Sage and Wild Mushrooms in that olive oil – yep, you bet – with the perfect precision. The flavor comes through exactly as you would want it – clear and exact, nothing missing and nothing extra present. It is hard to do the justice to this wonderful oils and balsamics with the words, you really have to taste it to believe it. If your plans include Cape Cod, I would highly recommend not to miss this experience. Otherwise – here is the web site for Gustare Oils and Vinegars.
And before we part, here are few pictures for you (just use your imagination to get the flavor)…
whole fruit lemon it is … pure beauty
some of the balsamic vinegars – one better than the other
exactly as the label says – amazing flavor profile if you like mushrooms
no comments. Truffle lovers, rejoice
not as spicy as you might think – rather very earthy and pleasant (but don’t trust me with the spicy/not spicy stuff)
pure strawberry and pure peach… amazing…
That all I have for you, folks for my short Cape Cod update for today. Cheers!
Hello From Cape Cod
Yep, I’m actually on vacation. Cape Cod is one of my favorite destinations, as first of all it is reasonable driving distance from Stamford, Connecticut where I live (under 5 hours typically). And when you enter this small stretch of land, extending into the Atlantic ocean, something magical happens. There is something in the air, there is something there which switches whatever the mood you had into the “it is vacation, and it is good” kind of feeling.
No, I don’t plan to take a break from blogging. I will still post over the next two weeks – as you can imagine, the wine will continue to be a part of the routine. As you might expect, I will be also sharing my impressions – and as I had done it a number of times in the past, I will start with simple pictures. It is somewhat cloudy and grayish out here – but it is a vacation nevertheless. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #63: Grape Trivia – Malbec
Malbec grapes, picture from Wikipedia
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
Believe it or not, but we are still continuing the Grape Trivia series, and our subject for today is Malbec.
Malbec has one of the most dramatic fates out of many other red grapes, going from being one of the most popular among royal families and even the Pope, to becoming literally non existent. Today it is mostly grown in Argentina (50,000 acres) and France, but winemakers experiment with Malbec more and more all over the world. Use of Malbec ranges from being one of the five noble grapes in Bordeaux (but rarely being a star of the blend) to the single grape wonderful wines of Argentina.
Malbec grapes are black in color and have thin skin, however capable of accumulating a very substantial amount of tannins. Malbec is unfortunately prone to various grape diseases and viticultural hazards, such as frost, mildew and others. But the grape worth the effort as it can produce some of the most versatile red wines, ranging from very soft and approachable to the tannin monsters requiring long ageing. Now, to the quiz!
Here are the questions:
Q1: Explain the meaning of the name Malbec.
Q2: In France, Malbec is known under a number of different names, used in the different regions. Can you name at least two of those “other names”?
Q3: About 200 years ago, Malbec was widely planted in France, and it was considered to be one of the major grapes. Two events lead to severe decline in plantings and almost disappearance of Malbec as a grape of any importance. Do you know what events were those?
Q4: Some of the best Malbecs in the world come from Argentina. The quality of Malbec grapes in Argentina is also often associated with high altitude at which grapes are growing. Do you know what is the highest altitude of Malbec vineyards at the moment?
A: 1,500 feet
B: 5,000 feet
C: 7,000 feet
D: 3,000 feet
Q5: In its best times, Malbec was the grape made into so called Black Wine, very popular among Royal families. One Royal family went as far as even associating health benefits with consumption of Black wine. Now, do you know what Royal family was that and where the Black Wine was made?
Have fun, have a great weekend and cheers!
Wine Gadgets: Wine Chillers
I don’t know what happened yesterday when I published this post, but somehow it didn’t appear in the wordpress reader stream, so there is a good chance that most of you missed it – hence the re-post…
Wine Gadgets: Wine Chillers
This post is a part of the Wine Gadgets Series, where we are discussing different tools enhancing wine appreciation. These posts are usually published on Thursdays, however, it doesn’t mean “every Thursday”. In case you missed some of the prior posts, here are the links: Series Intro, Wine Pourers, Wine Preservers, Wine Travel Tools.
It is hot outside! I want to drink that bottle of Riesling which I just brought from the store – but it should be coooooold (yes, that cold, please). Okay, no problems, let’s put in the fridge, and while I put few veggies and the cheese on the table, it will be ready to drink, let’s say, in about 20 minutes, right?
Nope. Wrong. You see, air is a terrible conductor of cold (and heat too for that matter). Assuming your wine was at 68°F (20°C), and you want to drink it at 50°F (10°C), it will only take you about…3 hours! Yep, so much for the great plans (dropping the wine in the freezer is no help either – the bottle is not going to chill any faster). So, you think I’m destined to drink warm white wine on the hot day? Not really – please keep reading, will talk now about few solutions we actually have.
When it comes to chilling the wines, you generally have two issues to solve.
- Make the wine cold
- Keep the wine cold for as long as you need it.
There are a number of tools which can help you with solving those two issues. In no particular order, here is the list of some of them – note, however, that I will go as far as including cellar as your tool for chilling the wine – but I really don’t plan to discuss it at any depth…
Here we go:
- Cellar – I’m happy for you if you got one – we will not be discussing this here, but I will talk about wine storage solutions at some point.
- Wine Fridge – nice to have, we will talk about them as part of wine storage discussion
- Rapid Ice Chiller – simple, easy to use, easy to store, inexpensive and cool looking
- Chiller/Holder – available as stainless steel, marble, ceramic, double-glass wall and may other types. This is a “keep cold” tool
- Electronic wine chiller – conversational piece and… waste of money?
- Ice Bucket – best of the breed, the most efficient and the least expensive tool out of all!
As usual, here are some pictures:
Now, let’s talk about these gadgets. As I said, we will discuss cellars and wine fridges at a later time, so let’s focus on the rest.
Rapid Ice Chiller: The idea is simple. You store it in the freezer. When you want to drink the bottle of wine which needs to be chilled, you pull this chiller out of the freezer, put it on the bottle, and it does the job in under 10 minutes (personally tested many many times – this is not a marketing claim). The advantages – it is inexpensive, doesn’t take much space, easy to use, very efficient. Drawback – not all rapid wine chillers will fit bottles of sparkling wine, so you might need to have multiples. Also – you really should have one in the freezer, it doesn’t help to store it elsewhere. Overall – this is a useful device, and can be also a conversational piece. Ahh – and the added benefit – these can double as an ice pack, especially if you need to put it on child’s arm or even leg. Not that I’m suggesting this as a reason to get it, but kind of good to know. Here is the link for Amazon in case you would want to get one: Rapid Wine Chillers
Chiller/Holder: They come in various shapes and forms and can be made out ceramics, metal, plastic, marble, etc. These gadgets typically will not chill the bottle of wine (never mind the claims) – but they might be able to keep it cold for a while. Some of them require to be pre-chilled to be efficient. I think these are more conversational pieces than useful devices -but it is almost inevitable for a known wine lover to get one as a gift. I have multiples and use them truly once in the blue moon… In case you need one, again, here is Amazon selection for you: Wine Bucket Coolers
Electronic wine chillers: Yes, there are tons of them, but – I honestly don’t believe they have any use. They look fancy, sure, and promise a lot – but I have seen some in operation – lots of noise and very little efficiency (if you disagree – please, use comment section, pin me to the wall…). The one you see in the picture above I got as a gift – the box still stands unopened, collecting the dust (if you want it – make me an offer : ) ).
Ice bucket: simply the best! When it comes to rapid chilling the wine bottle, nothing works better! Two little tricks will make it work best for you. First, you need to add water so the bottle is resting in the mixture of ice and water. Second – add salt to the water, this will slow down melting of the ice. What makes it the best? Remember the beginning of the post? To chill the bottle of wine in 20 minutes? The ice bucket will actually do it – in the mixture of water and ice, the temperature of the wine will be dropping at one degree per minute(!), so it will take less than 20 minutes to chill the bottle from 68°F to 50°F. Most likely you already own an ice bucket of some sort, so this is free, simple, and very efficient. Well – you have to have the ice though. Oh yes – and the ice bucket will keep your wine cold like nothing else, so this is actually the most universal out of all the chillers we discussed here. And if you need a fancy wine bucket – here is what you can find on Amazon: Wine ice buckets
Of course we need to run our traditional poll:
[polldaddy poll=7211185]
And we are done! Stay cool, and drink nice cold and refreshing wine. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Wine and Pregnancy, Impossible Food and Wine Pairings?, Don’t Diss The Chardonnay
Meritage time!
Let’s start from the answer to the Wine Quiz #62, Grape trivia – Nebbiolo. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about Italian grape called Nebbiolo. Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Explain the meaning of the name “Nebbiolo”
A1: The name “Nebbiolo” comes from the Italian word nebbia, which means “fog”, by association with foggy hills of Piedmont.
Q2: In one of the regions outside Piedmont, the wines are produced from Nebbiolo grapes in the style of Amarone – with grapes drying on the straw mats before they are pressed. Can you name that region?
A2: Valtellina in Lombardy. I was lucky to attend a special seminar on Sfursat di Valtellina Nino Negri wines where I learned for the first time about this type of production (here is the link to my post). There was also a mention of Nebbiolo-based Recioto wines from Veneto – as this was really an experimental effort by one of the winemakers, I can’t count that as a right answer.
Q3: True or False: Blending is not allowed for any of the wines produced from Nebbiolo grape in Piedmont region.
A3: False. While blending is prohibited for Barolo and Barbaresco wines, it is allowed in Ghemme and Gattinara (however, many winemakers prefer to make wines with 100% Nebbiolo grapes).
Q4: White grape used to be such a traditional blending partner for Nebbiolo that it was sometimes called White Barolo. Do you know the name of this grape?
A4: Arneis. Arneis was a popular blending partner for the Barolo wines in the past, and that gave it a name of White Barolo.
Q5: In the blind tasting setting, the wines made out of Nebbiolo can be very distinguishable even before you take a first sip. Do you know what is this distinct feature of Nebbiolo wines?
A5: Orange hue. It is very indicative feature of Nebbiolo wines, especially as they gain any amount of age. You can also distinguish young Barolo by tremendous amount of tannins ( typically), but that is only a feature of particular style of wine and not the grape, and it is whole another story.
There were lots of responses this time! We have two winners (drum roll, please): VinoInLove and Mika ( no web site) get unlimited bragging rights. Also Stefano, Jeff TheDrunkenCyclist and Oliver TheWineGetter all get honorable mention with 4 correct answers out of 5. Thank you to all participants! We have one more red grape to cover for now, and then we are switching to whites. Oh yes, you can start guessing now, what will be this last red grape – you will find out if you are right or not on Saturday.
And now, to the interesting stuff around vine and web!
First, I want to bring to your attention an interesting article about wine and pregnancy from Vinography blog. I don’t know if there are right and wrong here, my personal theory that everything is good in moderation – and any good thing taken out of proportion can and will become your enemy. Still, it is an interesting read, and don’t miss the comments section.
Now, two of the bloggers I follow posted “impossible food and wine pairing” questions. Dr. Vino asked about pairing of wine with anchovies, and the TheArmchairSommelier had a very interesting question about pairing of the summer salad (which contains among other ingredients watermelon, blueberries, honey and feta), which sounds delicious by itself, but presents a substantial challenge of finding the right wine. Visit both blogs and offer your advice, if you will – of course if you want to comment here, I will be very happy to have the discussion in this blog.
Last but not least – a murder story and the warning to those who diss the Chardonnay, as presented by W. Blake Gray – read it here, it is short…
This is all I have for you – the glass is empty. But refill is coming, as usual – and don’t forget that today is Wine and Whiskey Wednesday (like you need a reason to drink, ha). Cheers!
Sometimes One “Wow” Is Not Enough
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you perfectly know by now that I have a tendency to get overly excited in my reviews (and if you are not a regular reader and just came across accidentally, you know it now). It is entirely possible that you also noticed that I have a soft spot towards Field Recordings wines. Based on this preamble, you probably figured out that I plan to talk about a wine from Field Recordings.
The wine which had me completely blown away a few days ago was 2011 Field Recordings Jurassic Park Vineyard Chenin Blanc Santa Ynez Valley (13.1% ABV). Opened the bottle, poured in the glass, sucked the air – and was blown away. Complex, multi-layered aromatics, which each smell showing slightly differently, and my emotional response (or rather, vocal), rotating between “wow” and “omg” with each and every breath. White stone fruit, apricots, fresh flowers, endless meadows – all coming separately, but together. Andrew Jones, the winemaker at Fields Recordings, is clearly the master of aromatics with his wines. Pretty much any of his wines I tried, have mind-boggling, intense aromatics – here is my post about red wine call Fiction by Field Recordings, read it for yourself.
The palate didn’t disappoint as well. Bright, open, succulent white fruit, more continuing that an apricot theme, with the touch of vanilla and apple, no sweetness whatsoever. Definitely a Chardonnay-like experience, except it is not chardonnay at all! Firm structure, refreshing acidity – each sip of the wine is begging not to stop – just one more sip, pleeease? Drinkability: 8+
The words don’t do this wine enough justice. Your best bet is to find this wine and to taste it. And yes, it is okay to repetitively “wow” all the way through. Cheers!
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Talk-A-Vino 