Beaujolais Nouveau 2012 – Not To Be Missed!
Walk into the wine store on third Thursday in November, and most likely you are greeted with the abundance of wines with brightly colored labels, which were not there just a day ago. Yes, that means that Beaujolais Nouveau, the wine of new vintage, made out of grape called Gamay in Beaujolais in France, has arrived.
As with many other wine in France, Beaujolais wines have a very long history, despite the fact that officially Beaujolais AOC was established only in 1937. It was always a tradition in the region to make young fresh wine of the current vintage just to celebrate harvest. For the long time this was only a local tradition. In the 1970th, it became national phenomena in France. In the 1980th, the tradition of celebration spread out in Europe and then got to the North America – largely with the help of Georges Duboeuf, a négociant who recognized the marketing value of Beaujolais Nouveau (here is Wikipedia link if you want to read more on the subject).
Interestingly enough, the sheer marketing success of 
Beaujolais Nouveau became its biggest problem, as many serious wine drinkers simply dismiss the wine as a marketing gimmick, which was definitely not something intended to happen.
This years marks 30th anniversary of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations, so a little bit of magic had being used to acknowledge the occasion. Each bottle of 2012 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau is wrapped in an Augmented Reality label, which can be used to deliver magical experience via free Georges Duboeuf Magic application available for download from iTunes (for more information use this link).
For many years by now, I’m always looking forward to trying Beaujolais Nouveau once it is released. What I remember from those past years is that the wine would show up very grapey and not very balanced. True, it is a young wine, but overall, I didn’t get much pleasure out of it. However, for the past 2-3 years, Beaujolais Nouveau had been steadily improving, showing more finesse, more substance and more balance. This year, 2012 – it simply got me to say “wow”.
2012 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau (ABV 12%, $8.99) had nice and inviting bright ruby color. From the moment the wine went into the glass, the aromas of fresh strawberries and raspberries literally filled the room. This is the wine which I can smell indefinitely. On the palate the wine was fresh and open, with the same strawberries and raspberries flavor profile, supplemented by good acidity. Medium body, very balanced and with medium length finish – definitely the wine to enjoy. Drinkability: 8
Almost as a tradition by now, I always get another bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau – for the most of the cases it is Beaujolais Nouveau made by Joseph Drouhin. This 2012 Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais Nouveau (ABV 12%, $10.99) had very similar color to Georges Duboeuf wine, may be a touch darker. The nose was less explicit with the actual fruit and somewhat grapey. On the palate this wine was a touch more dense than Georges Duboeuf, but also more closed in comparison with it. While Joseph Drouhin was a very decent wine in my opinion (Drinkability: 7), my strong preference goes to the Georges Duboeuf.
I don’t know how do you feel about Beaujolais Nouveau overall, but 2012 is definitely not to be missed. The wine is not only representing a great QPR, but it will also give you a lot of pleasure. Beaujolais Nouveau wines don’t age, and when they gone, they are gone. Don’t miss your chance to experience Beaujolais Nouveau – it’s worth it.
That’s all I wanted to share with you, folks. Until the next time – cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #37 – About History of Wines and Holidays
Is it seriously Saturday again? Where did the whole week go? Okay, yes, Happy Saturday, folks – and it is time for the new quiz.
I was back and forth on the theme for this quiz. It is last Saturday before Thanksgiving, big holiday in US, and I really wanted to connect together the subject of Thanksgiving and wines in some meaningful way. It seems that everybody everywhere are talking about Thanksgiving wines, but none of that stuff is quiz-worthy.
Therefore, you will be faced with two completely unrelated questions, with one small exception – both relate to US history.
Let’s start with Thanksgiving question, which will be our Question 1. As you probably know (even if you don’t live in US), Thanksgiving is the holiday where we give thanks to our country and life in general with the abundance of food, wine, and families getting together. Traditions of celebrating Thanksgiving in US go all the way back to the first pilgrims, and based on the historical records, it was usually celebrated between September and November. For the long time, each US president would declare the date for Thanksgiving holiday for each year – until Thanksgiving holiday became fixed to the fourth Thursday in November. Do you know which president signed that bill into law?
A. Abraham Lincoln
B. Woodrow Wilson
C. Franklin D. Roosevelt
D. John F. Kennedy
And now, let’s switch to the Question 2, which will be again about people, but this time it will relate to the history of California wine. There were many people who greatly contributed into making California wine industry what it is today. Below is the list of people, all pioneers of California wine industry – and this list has specific logic behind it – with one name missing. Who do you think is missing in that list?
André Tchelistcheff
Harold Olmo
Gustave Niebaum
Charles Krug
?
Robert Mondavi
Maynard Amerine
Brother Timothy
Georges de Latour
Please provide your answers in the comments section.
Have fun and good luck! Have a great weekend! Cheers!
Thanks, Giving, and Connection
As we set the plans to celebrate Thanksgiving next week, I want to share with you this post by SAHMmelier – we can all do something to share the holiday with those who needs it, even if it is a little bit…
At this time of year, many of us are rushing around, trying to decide on the perfect appetizer,on table settings and decor, and pairing wines that will fit the budget but still impress our guests. And some are trying to figure out where they will get their next meal. Or how to pay the electric bill. Or wishing they had an electric bill to pay. Between the destruction in the wake of the hurricane and the current unemployment across the country, the needs we see around us can be overwhelming. How can we help? How can we possibly make a difference when the need is everywhere and so much bigger than us?
Fourteen years ago, there was one man, in a dark place, with no home and very little in his pocket. He saw a family and recognized a need. A need he deemed greater than his, and he chose…
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Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Judgement of Where?, Beaujolais Nouveau, Magnum Monday and more
Meritage time!
Let’s start with the answer for the Wine Quiz #36 – Stomping the grapes. I made an effort to simplify the quiz – I guess full uncertainty with the right answer, which I mentioned a number of times, greatly reduced the interest on the side of the participants. Anyway, I’m happy to report that we have a winner! Have you ever heard the expression “whistle while you work”? According to Wiki Answers, etymology of the “whistle while you work” goes all the way to the slave days – when salves were carrying food, they were supposed to whistle – while you whistle, you can’t eat. In our case, while you whistle, you can’t eat grapes, so you had to be able to whistle in order to get the job! Thus the winner of the Wine Quiz #36 is Pablo, who gets unlimited bragging rights. And if you have a problem with this solution – I will be very happy to listen to your version.
Moving on to the interesting stuff. Let’s start with the Judgement of … no, not Paris. Yes, of course you know about famous 1976 Judgement of Paris, which became pivotal moment for the California wines. Now we are going to talk, out of all things, about (bet you would never guess) … Judgement of Princeton and Judgement of Richmond! I learned about both events from the Daily Sip e-mail. Both events took place during this year and were modeled precisely after the Judgement of Paris, only one was done for the wines of New Jersey versus France, and in the second event, Virginia wines were compared with the wines from all over the world. You should definitely judge for yourself – my experience with New Jersey wines is extremely limited (and negative), so I can’t really comment on the results ( but would be very glad to try those great wines from NJ). I have much more successful experience with wines form Virginia, though I would definitely question selection of the world wines for the competition. If you will find time to read about the events ( or if you knew something about them already) – I would be very happy to read your comments.
This coming Thursday, November 15th, is the 3rd Thursday of the month – which means that 2012 Beaujolais Nouveau will be available in the wine stores near you! This year is the 30th anniversary of the Beaujolais Nouveau phenomena as created by Georges Duboeuf, so the event will be celebrated accordingly. For this celebration, Georges Duboeuf produced a special web site, called 30 Years of Magic, where you can watch a special movie and download a special application for your mobile device, so you can join the festivities, anywhere, any time. I plan to report on the wine as soon as I will be able to get a hold of a bottle.
Last, but not least – WTSO, one of my all times favorite online wine shops, has done it again! Well, to be precise, they didn’t do it yet – but Monday, November 26th, will be a brand new whole day event called Magnum Monday, where WTSO will offer for sale about 20 different wines, all in the magnum (1.5L) size. This is all we know at the moment, but if this event will be anything like WTSO’s past marathons, you better get ready (and get some space in the cellar), as this will be a no-nonsense event.
That’s all I have for today for you, folks. The glass is empty. Until the next time – cheers!
3 Days in Vegas – Day 2: Grand Experience
Last month I told you about first day of our 3-days excursion to Las Vegas (here are the links to the Day 1, Part 1 and Day 1, Part 2) – now it is the time to tell you about the Day 2 and really inundate you with pictures. Here we go.
When I opened my eyes in the morning, the first thing I did was to grab my phone. 5:58 AM. 5:58 AM. 5:58 AM????? Our tour pickup was supposed to be at 6:10 and the concierge highly recommended to be at that lobby at least at 6:05 – which will be in exactly 7 minutes from now – and I just opened my eyes???? Did we slept through the alarm clock, actually two of them? Okay, not important now.
“Hey, we blew it” I practically screamed grabbing my wife on the shoulder. She opened her eyes – and let me tell you something about my wife – she really (REALLY) doesn’t like to be rudely awaken in the morning – not with the loud voice, and especially not by the sudden push on the shoulder. “What are” she started, and then, lucky for me, she saw the clock – and she realized that my actions were, let’s say, somewhat justified.
I don’t know, my readers, what is your best “get out of the house” time – but I can tell you that at 6:02 we were already running through the casino floor. At 6:09 we were standing outside at the Tour and Travel lobby, despite the fact that when we asked for directions to this Tour and Travel lobby, casino worker said “you need to get where ???”. And the most surprising part – we managed not to forget our ticket confirmation and the camera – probably two most important things we needed. I’m still impressed, even now, when I’m writing it.
Anyway, 10 minutes later, the small bus arrived, and it took us to the place where we were taking the big bus. We got our printout receipts exchanged for the tickets, got our breakfast, which was included in the price of the trip – and consisted of some kind of the strange dry oatmeal bar (never saw that before, it looked very different from the normal breakfast bar) and the coffee. Well, hell with the breakfast – Grand Canyon was waiting, so in the next 2o minutes, we all loaded onto the big bus and left.
Going to Grand Canyon was always my dream – and somehow it was always associated with Las Vegas – I guess it was an assumption based on the lack of knowledge. How does the saying go, “ignorance is bliss”? In many cases, it is. Grand Canyon is 250 miles away from Las Vegas. If I would’ve known that, I would probably say it is too far, and we would probably not even attempt going there. I learned of a distance only after we got the tickets (non-refundable, of course), so it was too late to change anything. But to tell you honestly, the trip was planned so well with all the stops, information and the movies, that we didn’t even feel the distance.
As we started moving, our bus driver introduced himself – his name was Frosty, and originally he was from Ohio (if I’m not mistaken), but was living in Vegas with the family for many years already. Actually, Frosty deserves the highest praise – he kept us safe, entertained and informed – what else do you want from the 10 hours drive?
We learned a lot of fun facts about Las Vegas and the life in it. Here are some of the facts as I remember them (and it’s been a while since the trip, people!).
- Las Vegas used to be the fastest growing city in US – it is not right now, but it is still among the top 10.
- Las Vegas gets about 2 inches of rain during the year (in a good year).
- Las Vegas has its own water police, which is easy to imagine based on the previous fact. If you are caught washing your car on the street, you will get some serious fine.
- Las Vegas residents don’t pay income tax – who needs income tax when you can charge $4 for the bottle of water in Casino?
- Las Vegas is the City which Never Sleeps. Well, there is nothing new here, and we know that New Yorkers also refer to their city as “city that never sleeps” (as well as people in Tel-Aviv, who say the same thing about their town). Can you change your car’s tires after midnight in New York? I doubt so. Can you shop in the dance supply store in New York after the midnight? I don’t think so. But you can – in LasVegas.
After we learned about the life in Las Vegas, we moved to the next subject – Hoover Dam, as we were getting close to it. No, we didn’t stop there, as we were driving on the new highway, which was not allowing any stops for sightseeing – but it was also making the trip shorter by about 2 hours, so all in all it was a positive thing. Here are some of my attempts to take a picture of the Dam through the window of the moving bus (yeah, fat luck):
We also watched a very interesting documentary about building of the Hoover Dam, where we learned about one of the most significant engineering projects in the US history, and about hard work and dedication of the people building that Dam during the years of Great Depression. We learned about Boulder City, Nevada, where gambling is still prohibited even today, which only very recently stopped being a dry city – and which is considered one of the best places to retire in the US. We learned that the people who were building the Dam had to sleep for many months right on the ground without any cover, and even if they were sick, they still had to bring themselves to work – if you don’t show up for any reason, there were thousands of people ready to take your job. Seeing the video of mighty Colorado River yielding to that hard work, sacrifice and perseverance of human beings was very moving as well.
We made a quick 15 minutes first stop – here is another picture for you:
And after the stop we continued driving. We watched a movie, so the time went mostly unnoticeable, then we stopped for lunch – the lunch was done in the buffet style, of course, but it was very tasty! Note to self – take notes during the trip! By now, I don’t remember the name of the town where we stopped (the only thing I know- it was in Arizona), and I don’t remember the name of the restaurant – but the food was perfectly simple, and perfectly delicious in a home-style way.
Once we were done with lunch, another 4o minutes ride, and we entered Grand Canyon National Park and arrived at the South Rim of Grand Canyon. And then the awe-inspiring view was all we could focus on for the next hour if not longer (it is hard to believe how short that hour appeared to be). No, my pictures unfortunately don’t convey the grandness of the experience and phenomenal range of emotions which those views impose on you (besides, I should’ve done better job preparing – at least some lens filters would do a lot of good). But for what it’s worth, here are the pictures:
As you know, I love taking pictures of flowers – here are some at the Grand Canyon:
Is this the grand view or what?
Not a flower, but still fascinating:
I have not idea what kind of plant is this, but it looks so good, I think it is holiday card-worthy:
Do you think this branch was an alligator in the past life?
Was this an hour already? Ahhh, too fast! We got back to the bus and drove a bit more, then made another stop for about an hour. We stayed still at the South Rim, but at this stop there were few other “entertainment” options – small museum dedicated to the exploration of the Grand Canyon, an Inn, a restaurant, very big gift shop and so on. And here are more pictures:
What do you think attracted my attention in museum? Many things, of course – but particularly, the bottle from Kentucky Bourbon:
Those two hours, one on one with the Grand Canyon were really memorable – Grand Canyon definitely should be on everyone’s “must see” list.
On the way back, we continued learning interesting things. For instance, an interesting fact about human psychology – at the South Rim there is a man-made barrier along the edge of the Canyon, which should protect people from falling down. Every year, 6 to 8 people die falling off at the South Rim. At the West Rim, which territorially belongs to the Indian tribe, there is no barrier – and so far not a single person died there. And outside of this sad fact, you should definitely consider visiting West Rim of the Grand Canyon, as it has recently built whole glass Skywalk, extending above the Canyon at about 4,000 feet above the floor – I can’t even imagine how you should feel there, suspended in the air and surrounded by the timeless beauty.
We also watched the documentary about the trips down to the floor of the Grand Canyon. Do you know who can help you to get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon? If you thought of mules, you are correct! Those are specially trained mules, and they can carry people and all the load along the path which leads town. Sometimes this path goes along the edge, and the mules are taught to handle it – all humans should do is sit straight and not to get in the way. Among interesting facts I can tell you that during many years of those journeys, they didn’t lose a single person. Excited? Imagining yourself in the mule’s saddle taking a journey of your life? I don’t know how much it costs (I’m sure it is not cheap), but get in line – there is about one year wait for those tours.
The trip was winding down. We made two more stops on the way back, and then as we were getting somewhat close to Las Vegas, I tried to take a picture – of course in the dark and from the window of the moving bus:
As you know, I love quizzes, so here is a mini-quiz for you – what do you think I was trying to take a picture of? You might find an answer closer to the beginning of this post, but if you will not, I will tell you in the next post.
We got back to the hotel at about 10 PM, and after such a full day, the sleep was the only thing we really needed.
And before we will part, I want to thank our driver Frosty again (may be he will come across this post somehow), and I want to mention that we book our trip through the web site called Best of Vegas – this site is definitely recommended if you are planning your own trip. Our actual tour company was called Grand Canyon Tour and Travel, just in case you want to check them out.
There you have it, folks – our Day 2 Grand Experience in Las Vegas.
Next time we will get together on this subject, I will tell you all about Day 3 – and rest assured, there will be more pictures…
Weekly Wine Quiz #36 – Stomping The Grapes
It is Saturday, therefore, it is wine quiz time!
It seems that my last couple of quizzes generated quite a bit of controversy in terms of right/wrong answers (you can scroll through the comments in the “answer” posts for #33 and #35). So this quiz will top that, as it doesn’t have the right answer, or at least it would be possible to argue forever whether my answer will be right or wrong. Nevertheless, I hope it will be fun for all, as it will not require any knowledge of grapes, regions or winemakers.
Let’s get to it. Imagine that in the older times (doesn’t matter precisely when) you come to apply for the job as a grape stomper at a winery. There is one skill (you can call it requirement or ability) which you have to have in order to be hired for that job.
Just to be clear – this is not a body feature, like big feet, for instance – it is something which you have to be able to do in order to get the job.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this quiz doesn’t have an absolute answer – so I’m asking for your forgiveness upfront, just in case you will not like my version : )
Have fun and good luck! Have a great weekend! Cheers!
Too Early! Snow in New England
I can’t believe that only a few weeks ago I was sharing with you sunshine and beauty of New England in the fall. Since then we had Sandy paying us a visit, and lost power, destroyed homes and closed gas stations really got in the way of tens of million of people.
Then few days ago we had…snow. Yes, it is only beginning of November, but Nor’Easter (some genius named it Athena, which is a Greek name of goddess of wisdom – where is the wisdom in the November snow storm?), not just snow, but the full snow storm, blanketed New England with the snow. We got our 5 inches, but – the “strong wind” part of forecast didn’t materialize, at least in Stamford, so we avoided new destruction. And it actually was beautiful, during and after, so I’m (again) sharing some pictures with you.
This one was taken during the snow storm:
And the rest of the pictures were taken on the next day, after the snow stopped coming down:
Isn’t he the cutest? You might remember him from before:
And here is the full team:
Here are some of the beautiful trees:
Just look at the colors:
Somehow, I love this picture:
And here is an object of our fear – what will happen with those wires if there is a strong wind…:
That’s all for now, folks. Nothing about the wine in this post, so the next one will fix this issue. Hope you still have [had] something good in your glass. Cheers!
Tempranillo and My [Successful!] DIY Experience
I guess you are wondering what is the relation between Tempranillo and Do-It-Yourself, and if I started making my own wine. Rest assured – there are no plans for “Chateau Talk-a-Vino” in foreseeable future, no need to be scared. But – my “successful DIY experience” has a direct relationship with wine, so let me tell you about it first, despite the fact that today is International Tempranillo Day and we actually have to be talking about Tempranillo wines.
About a week ago I noticed a strange clicking sound in the kitchen. Something clicks, not too loud. A few minutes later, another click, and then again – I think you got the picture. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like any unexplained sounds in the house. If you hear something which you are not supposed to hear, that often means trouble. And somehow this clicking sound is associated in my mind with electricity, which I like even less.
Next day – the same story. I’m puzzled, but still, I have to let it go, as I have no idea what this can be.
Then, while sitting at the table, my eyesight stops at the wine fridge, and I see the temperature. A big red sign reads “75”.
75! Do you know the proper storage temperature for the wine? Yes, it is 55, not 75 at all! Do you want to guess the first word which comes to my mind? Yes, you are absolutely correct, that one and you are right about the second one too.
I unplug the fridge, wait a few minutes, plug it back – no effect, and then I hear the clicking sound. Okay, so as it always goes in life, I just got good news and bad news at the same time. Good news – the source of the clicking noise is discovered. Bad news – my wine fridge is busted. It is not new, okay, but it holds about 60 bottles of wine… And the new fridge is definitely not budgeted 😦
Okay, google to the rescue. The fridge is unloaded, and I start trying different suggestions from the internet. I even found an official troubleshooting guide for my Vinotemp VT-60 and went step by step as recommended. No, it is not the control card, and it seems that the next suggestion from the troubleshooting guide simply recommends replacing the compressor, which not only requires a new compressor, but also some good welding skills and equipment, which is definitely out of my league. Not good. Need better advice, please!
I decided to start looking for just troubleshooting around different parts. LG compressor. Found full spec and the manual – no help. Okay, what is this little cover on the side? I guess it is the relay some people referred to in the posts I saw. I see the part number (P6R8MC), put it in google, and… this blog post comes up, where someone named Chad Munkers is talking exactly about my fridge! Okay, step by step, similar to what I did, yes, the relay and overload protector, and if I will disassemble this small part, take a little disk out, flip, and put it back it will magically work? Seriously? Another 15 minutes, put the plug back in – ahh, I love that sound! This is what a working wine fridge sounds like! Here are some pictures for you – these are just random, and all the actually useful pictures can be found in the blog post shown above:
Wine fridge – view from the back
some tools
and some parts…
Sorry for sharing in such detail – a lot of my DIY, or maybe rather FIY (Fix-It-Yourself) projects are not so successful – for instance, I fully disassembled our Nintendo Wii (twice), cleaned it up, and then even replaced the laser head – only to throw it out later, still not working. So you can see how successfully revitalizing the wine fridge made me happy.
And now – to the wine! My Tempranillo wine for today’s International Tempranillo Day was 2004 Bodegas Ondarre Rioja Reserva DOC ($16.98, 13.5% ABV). 2004 was an outstanding year for Rioja, one of the best vintages ever. This wine was perfectly drinkable from the get-go – nice dark fruit on the nose, the same on the palate with some cherries, raspberries, a touch of plums and cedar box notes, perfect acidity, and soft tannins. Very balanced and enjoyable. The wine was practically unchanged on the second day, so I’m sure it will last quite well in the cellar. Drinkability: 8-.
That’s all for today, folks. Hope your Tempranillo Day experience was great, and I would love to hear about it. Cheers!
September 2022 update: 10 years later, as you can tell, the fridge stopped working again. I decided that the only reason for it to stop working can be that same relay. As the disk was used now on both sides, my only option was to get a new relay, which luckily was readily available on Amazon for only $6. I didn’t disassemble much, just removed the cover, pulled off the old relay, installed the new one, and voila – the fridge is working again! I really hope it will last for many more years, especially considering the prices of the new wine fridges…
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Thursday(s) Celebrations and more
Meritage Time!
It seems that the weeks are flying – I know that I prefer them at the crawling pace, but – not much I can do, right? Okay, let’s start with the answer to the Wine Quiz #35, What is missing. The wine quiz was dedicated to Tempranillo as we will celebrate tomorrow (November 8th) an International Tempranillo Day, and it was asking to fill the gaps in the group of numbers which were related to Tempranillo.
Of course it was obvious that the chain of numbers represented years. And both VinoinLove and thedrunkencyclist figured out that the years represented the best vintages of Rioja – however, they both only got one of the “best vintages” correctly. The 2001 was a great vintage, absolutely, but the vintage of the last century was 1964, not 1970. Here is the reference to the best Rioja vintages from the Vibrant Rioja web site, so you can check all the great vintages for yourself. We don’t have a winner this time, but hey, there is always a next time…
Now, I need your help with something. If you read the Meritage post from the last Wednesday, I mentioned that I’m fighting the writer’s block and trying to write a post for the wine blogging competition. So I managed to overcome the block and wrote the post (here is the link) – and if you like it, I need your vote! You can vote for it here – just scroll down to the bottom of the page and find the link to my blog there. Thank you!
Now, let’s proceed with “interesting stuff” part of the Metritage. First, the next three Thursdays, we will be celebrating different holidays – of course, they are drastically different in scale, but nevertheless, they all fall on Thursday. Tomorrow, November 8th, we are celebrating International Tempranillo Day. It is very easy to take part in the festivities – just find a bottle of Tempranillo wine (Rioja or Ribera del Duero from Spain, or may be some Texas wine?), pull the cork and enjoy (and if you really like it, write a blog post about it or tweet about it, or leave the comment in this blog).
The next Thursday, November 15th, is Beaujolais Nouveau 2012 Day. This year will actually mark 30th anniversary of the Beaujolais Nouveau celebration – you should definitely look for the festivities around you, and as usual, get a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau (I have to say that the wine had been steadily improving its quality over the past few years) and enjoy!
And then the Thursday after that, November 22 is…what, Thanksgiving is already here? Yep, Turkey day is arriving in mere two weeks. There is always a question of wines for the Thanksgiving celebration, so here is my post from the last year – I’m sure the actual wines will be different this year, but the ideas will be the same.
Last (but may be not least) – do you think wine reviews can get you sued? Here is the post by Steve Heimoff – if anything, it is an interesting read.
That’s all for today, folks – the glass is empty. Cheers!
Dreaming of Tuscan Wines
Source: Wkipedia.com
“Tuscany”. Try to say the word out loud. It rolls of your tongue, smooth, round and effortless. It is so easy to picture endless green hills, beautiful little houses spread across the endless green, and of course, sun-soaked grapes.
I visited Italy many times, but not the Tuscany, which still stays on the “dream destinations” list. I can easily picture bringing my family there, renting a little villa (there are many villas in Tuscany), and spending time doing… nothing, just enjoying that beautiful scenery, true, simple and honest food and of course, the wines.
The wines of Tuscany hold its own special and unique place in the wine world. True, the wine making was born outside of Italy ( Georgia and Greece are the top contenders for the title of “cradle of the winemaking”). But where else you can find wineries and winemaking families which are almost a thousand years old (look at Barone Ricasoli, which is tracing its wine history to 1141, or Castello di Ama, which goes all the way back to 1210), next to the wineries which propelled from non-existent to the world’s best in mere 30-40 years, as many of so called Super-Tuscan wines did? Tuscany offers tremendous diversity when it comes to wines, and I want to take you on a little tour of Tuscan wines.
We are going to start with Chianti, one of the oldest wine-making areas in Tuscany, located in the center of region. Sangiovese is the main grape which is used to produce Chianti wines, but other grapes can be also blended in, including both red and white grapes.
Then there are all sorts of classifications for the Italian wines – but I really don’t want to bore you with the details of it. While classification information is very important, there are so many available resources covering subject in depth, like this Wikipedia article, for instance, you can definitely learn about it without my help. As a side note, I want to mention that in the end of the day, DOC, DOCG, IGT , the producers and the wine ratings are all important, but you really have to let your taste buds be a judge when it comes to finding the wine you like.
Chianti are some of the oldest wines with the world, with the very rich history having its up and down times – it is impossible to cover Chianti’s history at any good depth in the blog post, so again I have to refer you to the great source – the Wikipedia article. Chianti wines are usually split into two main groups – Chianti and Chianti Classico. Chianti Classico, which comes from its own part of the Chianti region, is available as Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva, which is usually aged for more than two years before it is released. If you are looking for a good bottle of the Chianti, you can always play it safe and go by a good producer – Antinori, Castello Banfi, Castello di Ama, Fontodi, Frescobaldi, Monsanto, Ricasoli, Ruffino are all well known producers and represent a good bet as you are looking for your next bottle of Chianti.
Let’s move down south from Chianti to the town of Montalcino. A bit younger than the Chianti, only going back to the 14th century : ), there was a local wine produced there, which was called Brunello, referring to the name of the local grape. Eventually it was established that the actual grape was a clone of Sangiovese, called Sangiovese Grosso, but the name of Brunello always stayed with the wines called Brunello di Montalcino (often referred to simply as Brunello).
In order to be classified as Brunello, the wines have to be made from 100% of Sangiovese Grosso (no other grapes allowed). Over the many years, Brunello built a reputation as some of the best wines in the world – power, finesse and ultimate ageability make them very desired wines among wine consumers and collectors. Biondi Santi is probably the most legendary producer of Brunello wines, but Altesino, Casanova di Neri, Castello Banfi, Poggio Antico, Valdicava are all well worthy of your attention.
Continuing our tour from the town of Montalcino, we got two options – we can move east, to the town of Monepulciano, or west to the region called Bolgheri. Let’s talk about Montepulciano first, as Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines are rivaling Chianti in its history. The first references to the vineyards around Montepulciano go all the way back to the 8th (!) century, but it was not until 1925 that the wines from the region are actually assumed the Vino Nobile name. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines are again produced from Sangiovese clone, known as Prugnolo Gentile, and often blended with other local grape varieties. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are lesser known then Chianti wines, but they are worth looking for as they still provide a good value.
And now, let’s go all the way west, to the coastal area of Tyrrhenian Sea, to the town of Bolgheri, where some of the best wines in Italy are made. I’m sure you heard the term Super-Tuscan – these are the wines made in Tuscany, but in completely non-traditional way. Starting from 1960s, Bolgheri was a center of Super-Tuscan wine revolution – instead of making the wines by the strict Chianti rules, many vintners started producing wines based on terroir, always looking for the best grapes from particular vineyards. In 1978, Antinori started producing the Sangiovese-Cabernet Sauvignon blend wine called Tignanello, which became a great success. Many winemakers turned their attention to traditional Bordeaux varieties, such as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, eventually producing the wines rightfully called some of the best wines in the world. Today Super-Tuscan wines need no introduction, and absolute majority of wine lovers can’t pronounce the names such as Ornellaia, Solaia, Masseto, Sassicaia, Redigaffi without their breathing stopping for a second and eyes rolling up to show utmost respect. You don’t need to take my word for it – get a bottle and taste it for yourself, and you can thank me later.
Before we are done here, I want to share some interesting numbers with you. You probably heard of Wine Spectator, a very famous wine magazine. Wine Spectator has their 100 points rating system and obviously, it is not simple to get a 100 points, as the wine should be truly ultimate to get such a high rating – only 74 wines out of more than 250,000 rated wines received 100 points. Out of those 74, 13 are Italian wines. Out of those 13, 6 are the Tuscan wines. And out of those 6, 2 are Brunello di Montalcino wines, 3 are Super Tuscan, and one wine is a Vin Santo – another famous Tuscan wine, this time it is a dessert wine, made out of Trebbiano and Malvasia white grapes. And to complete the picture, do you want to guess what grape those 100-point Super Tuscans are made from? Sorry Miles ( remember movie Sideways?), but all three 100-point Super Tuscans (Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masetto, Tua Rite Redigaffi and Le Macchiole Messorio) are made out of 100% Merlot!
I think it is time to finish our tour. Tuscany makes a lot of great wines, and there are many books, articles and blog posts covering those wines from all possible angles. I think my top tip for choosing the Tuscan wines will be very simple – go out and play! Open a bottle of Tuscan wine, and be transported in the instance to the warm and inviting land of great food, wines and people. Salute!
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