Wine Tasting Etiquette...

 

I've been back in the wine business and behind the tasting room bar for almost a year now. I love the aspect of sharing my knowledge and love of wine with like-minded folks looking for a wine tasting experience. So many people are just as excited and eager to learn about the wine as I am!

Of course, working in the wine industry is not always as glamorous as it seems... Occasionally we do see customers "behaving badly". This can not only alter their experience, but can rub other customers the wrong way as well. Call me Miss Wine Manners if you will, but I have come up with a little list of Do's and Don'ts when you're visiting a tasting room...

Before heading out...
DO call ahead if you have a group of 5 or more people. Tasting rooms are often busy, especially on the weekends. Depending on the room, they may not be able to accommodate a large group. By simply calling ahead, the tasting room can suggest times of the day that may be better for your size group, or they may set up a special area.

DON'T wear too much perfume or cologne. Much of the wine tasting experience involves sniffing wine. If you wear too much perfume or cologne it will alter your tasting experience, as well as others'. Go easy on the scents...or better yet, skip it for the day!

DO make sure you eat a good breakfast or lunch. If you're heading out for a long day of tasting, it's also a good idea to bring some snacks, take some breaks, and drink lots of water! Believe me...I've learned the hard way. ;)

DON'T try to squeeze in too many tasting rooms in one day. It's a good idea to try and plan out your trip. You'll want to make sure you plan at least 45 minutes to an hour for each tasting room. There are many great wine tasting maps online for the area you plan to visit. Try to stick with 3-4 wineries in a day, your palate will thank you!  Make sure you don't show up at a tasting room any later than 30 minutes before closing!  The staff wants to make sure you get the best experience. Showing up 10 minutes before closing is not only rude, but it's a sure-fire way to miss out on all the winery has to offer.

Inside the Tasting Room...
DO assess the tasting room upon entering. The place might be busy, with a full bar. Take your time and walk around, look at the merchandise or the grounds until a space opens up for you. Make sure you don't try to elbow your way through the crowd! Believe me, the staff knows you're there and in most cases they will make a space work for you.

DON'T talk on your cell phone and try to use your "indoor voice". In most cases, tasting rooms are quiet spaces to contemplate the different flavors and aromas in wine. Talking on a cell phone in this space is rude and can be distracting... take it outside and join the tasting when you are finished. If you're with a large group and having a good time, it's hard to keep voices down. Judge the situation/tasting room you are in and act accordingly.


DO listen to the pouring staff and be polite. Staff will often suggest wines that you may or may not usually like. Be open to trying new things! You don't have to like every wine, just make sure you state your dislike in a subtle and polite way. It's okay to use the dump buckets to pour out the wines you are not fond of!

DON'T try to "out-geek" the pouring staff. Their job is to inform you about their wine. They love having engaging conversations with you about wine, just try not to make it a competition of "who knows more".

DO ask genuine questions. As I said before, in most cases, tasting room staff enjoy their job and love to answer questions about their wine and about wine in general. If you do end up with an unpleasant server, quietly take down his/her name and consider leaving a comment with the tasting room manager, either on a comment card or in an email. They usually appreciate a calm and fair assessment of the server's behavior.

DON'T gulp it down: it's a tasting room...not a drinking room! Tasting room pours are small for a reason...you are there to taste the wine, not to get a good buzz going. Try to sip slowly and really be thoughtful about the wine. Also, don't pester the staff for more tastes then they are allowed to give you. Even if you're planning to buy a case, they are bound by law to pour you a certain amount, in order to keep you safe.

DO stop to picnic at a winery that offers an area...just make sure you don't bring another winery's wine!


Hopefully you are already versed in most of these little wine tasting tips! The most important thing to remember is DO have fun and DO make sure you are SAFE! Designate a driver and do something special for them at the end of the day...buy them dinner or send them home with a special bottle purchased during the day!

Happy Sipping!

Decanting, Wine temperature & Storage ~ Group Two ~ Session 1 Cont'd...

To Decant or not to Decant:

Many of us have heard that a big red wine must be aerated or oxygenated for the best flavor profile. So we decided to investigate this idea of decanting to answer a couple of questions. 1. Does decanting a wine really make a difference? And 2. Will decanting the wine improve the flavor, or make it more approachable?

The research…

• In our research, we found that there are many reasons for decanting a wine. First, decanting is necessary for wines that have a good deal of sediment in the bottle. (small granules in older red wines) Sediment can signify a fine red wine that has been bottle aged. However, it is unpleasant to ingest while sipping your wine, and does not look very appetizing in the glass!
• Other thoughts on decanting suggest that it is for show. When you put a wine in a decanter it not only looks nice, and it makes people feel like they are drinking an important wine.
• Another reason for decanting could be for faulty cork. If the cork is not coming out of the bottle easily and drops into the bottle, decanting is a good fix.
• Perhaps the most prevailing argument for decanting is to aerate a big red wine. Younger red wines would do well with decanting to allow their characteristics to soften and develop. Older wines will help to blow off bad aromas and to get rid of sediment. Jenn and I have definitely noticed this to be true with some big red wines, and we tend to open a bottle about an hour before we serve it. Some of the literature suggests that if you are to decant a wine it should be done just before serving. If a wine goes through too much aeration, too long before being served, you are risking the loss of bouquet. It is also said that the taster can accomplish aeration in their own glass. If you do use a decanter, you should pour the wine in so that it splashes as much as possible. The bubbles you see are putting oxygen in the wine as it is going into the decanter.

So you may be asking…ok, should I decant or not? The answer is simple. Like much of wine tasting, it falls on personal preference. If you like a wine better after decanting or aerating…do it! If you don’t want to bother with it, don’t! Generally, if you are serving a fully matured wine and want to give it some air, go ahead and decant it a few minutes before serving. Otherwise, you can pour it in the glass and let the taster decide!

Wine Storing and Serving:

Wine Storing: Storing your wine properly is essential to its longevity. There’s nothing worse than saving a beautiful bottle of wine for several years, only to open it up and realize it has gone bad! It is recommended that you store your wine at 50-59°. The lower the temperature, the slower the maturation and the more complex a wine will become. Now, we can’t all purchase 100 bottle wine fridges, or dig a cellar under our houses. So what can you do? The key things to consider are: temperature, light, and humidity. If kept too hot, or exposed to strong sunlight the wine can deteriorate quickly. If too cold, the wine can freeze or the cork can expand and push out.

Here is a general checklist of things to remember when storing your wine:

• Keep wine stored at a constant temperature (ideally 50-59°)
• Avoid dramatic temperature changes
• Do not allow temperature to get over 77°
• Avoid exposure to strong sunlight
• Some humidity is ok, but no more than 75%
• Store bottles on their side, allowing the cork to stay wet

Wine Serving: Serving your wine at the correct temperature has a tremendous effect on its aroma and taste. To take full advantage of a wine’s aroma or bouquet, you’ll want to serve it warmer. When a wine is served too cold, fewer volatiles will escape and it will appear to have no smell at all. This goes for both red and white wines.

General wine serving guidelines:

• Tannic red wines – 59-64°
• Complex dry white wines – 54-61°
• Soft, lighter red wines for refreshment – 50-55°
• Cool, sweet, sparkling, flabby white and rose, and those with off odor – 43-50°

Remember that wine will tend to warm up to ambient temperature, so starting off at the lower end of these spectrums is not a bad thing.

Our Group Investigation...

For this particular exploration, we decided to use a Chardonnay to show the difference in wine temperature. We found that while we could taste flavors well in the unchilled Chardonnay, we enjoyed the chilled version much better! 

Kristen demonstrating
how to decant

To best show off what kind of difference a decanter can make, we used a Tempranillo from Spain. This wine definitely delivered in the tannins department! When we first poured it and tasted it, the tannins were very strong and many of the folks in our group did not enjoy the sensation at all. So we asked them to swirl the wine in the glass a few times to see if it changed. We did notice some change over the course of a few swirls, but the biggest change came with the decanter. Kristen demonstrated pouring the wine directly into the decanter and splashing with as many bubble as possible. ***Please note that this works to decant a tannic red wine. If you are decanting an older wine to get the sediment out, you will want to be much gentler when pouring it into the decanter!*** After pouring it into the decanter and swirling it around a bit, the group noticed that the wine was far more pleasant and we were able to better evaluate the wine for it's flavors, rather than the tannins alone. 

So play with your wines and test out how you want to drink them. A wine can change so much with a little aeration...you might be surprised by what you like after decanting!

Happy Sipping!

The 5 S's ~ Session 1 ~ Group 2

Session 1 with our second group was all about How to Taste Wine...

You may be thinking, "Hey, I have a brain. I know how to taste wine. I take a sip and swallow, noticing whatever flavors pop out." The art of actually "tasting" wine is not that simple. In this session, we went over the *Complicated* rules of wine tasting.

Members of our first group demonstrating good tasting technique!

You drink beverages everyday…tasting them as they pass through your mouth. In the case of wine though, drinking and tasting are two different things. Wine is much more complex than other beverages and has a ton more going on in your mouth. You experience multiple sensations such as softness or sharpness, as well as various flavors, some being more subtle than others.

When you actually TASTE wine you will discover the nuances of wine. The more slowly and attentively you sip wine, the more interesting it will taste.

Remember 2 things as we go through the process of tasting wine 

* Slow Down

* Pay Attention

HOW TO TASTE: 5 S's~ See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip, SAVOR!

~See:

Look at your wine before doing anything else. Just by looking at it it can give you a sense of what it will taste like and even how good it will be before you even sip it. You might begin to notice things such as alcohol content, age of the wine, grape variety and even storage conditions. To get a good look at the wine in your glass only fill your glass half way. Tilt your glass away from you and look at the color of the wine against a white background. Look at how dark or pale the wine is. At the beginning you will mostly just be observing, but as your experience with this technique continues you will begin to notice differences between them and learn to distinguish them.

Also, look for

• Color (to possibly identify age and varietal)

                   *White wines darken with age

                   *Red wines lighten with age.

• See if there are flaws: cloudy, too dark, too light, etc.
• How does it compare to wines you've experienced in the past. This helps you form a baseline.

~Swirl: This is a quick and easy step, yet very important to do before you sniff your wine. It opens up the wine and releases the aromas, which in return prepare you to smell them better. Observe the way the wine runs back down the side of the glass. Some wine will form legs or tears that flow slow down the glass. It USED to be said that legs in wine were a sure sign of rich, high quality wine, but that's not actually the case. The topic of legs is actually very complicated. In general, when you are looking at the legs, you are talking about viscosity.

• Viscosity helps determine alcohol content & presence of residual sugar        
• *Lighter viscosity= faster, thinner legs. Means it's from a cooler climate and has less alcohol. (No residual sugar)
• *Richer viscosity= slower, thicker legs. Means higher alcohol content & grapes are grown in warmer climate. (May be some residual sugar) 

Place your wine glass on a flat surface and rotate it so that the wine swirls around your glass and the air mixes with the wine. Swirling opens up the wine and intensifies the aromas.

Always swirl your glass right before you do the next step…sniffing!

~Sniff: At this point you can let your nose and imagination run wild. Be confident in what you're sniffing and don’t be afraid to share what you notice. No one can contradict you…there's no way to prove you're NOT smelling what you're smelling!

~As you sniff the wine, your MAIN GOALS are to:

• Determine components in the wine:
• Fruits
• Non-fruits such as floral qualities, herbs or spices
• Mineral/Earth such as dirt, rocks, or leaves
• Oak
• Are there any flaws?
• Corked? This occurs when a wine has a bad cork and can contaminate the wine. It will have an odor that resembles a moldy newspaper or damp basement.
• Oxidized? This occurs when a wine has been significantly exposed to air (oxygen), so the aromas and flavors will change. They tend to have a spoiled or flat flavor. An oxidized white wine may actually begin to turn brown.
• Enjoy the smell and sense of discovery

PROCESS: Make sure you swirl your glass as we discussed a minute ago, then bring it quickly to your nose.  Hold the glass at a 30-45 degree angle to your face. Put your nose right in or near the glass.

1. Make sure you're present- focus
2. Sniff- Ask yourself "What's there?"  Smell first for fruits. They are usually most dominant.
3. Make a mental picture of the fruit you're smelling. Hold it there in your mind. Then go back to the wine.
4. Sniff again- Ask yourself again, "What's there?" Make sure to smell BEYOND the things you've already picked out. Make a picture of any new items and "hold" them there. By smelling beyond the past element you are able to discover new elements.
5. Repeat and try to identify all four components. Remember, this will come easier with more experience.

~Everyone finds different ways in which they smell the wine the best,  Some options to try are:

            ~Try smelling the wine with your mouth open a little and then breathing in                            and out gently using both the nose and mouth.

            ~Try  taking two or three quick sniffs

            ~Try taking one deep, sharp inhalation.

            ~Try closing one nostril, sniff, then close the other and sniff again.

            ~Try closing your eyes as you sniff.

            ~Sometimes noses need to be revitalized- try water or bread

**Play with these techniques and see you works best for YOU and how YOU can get the most smell from the win.

            FACT: Wine tasters don't usually use the word smell, rather they use "nose" or 'aroma" or "bouquet". Smell usually has a negative tone, such as an odor.

~Taste: You want to notice what's in the wine

We hope that by the end of series, you'll be able to assess for the following:

• Confirm each element you smelled
• Assess the structure by evaluating:
• Acid
• Alcohol
• Tannin
• Finish
• Check for balance- how the components interact & change in your mouth
• Check for harmony- how all the components work together
• Assess complexity and quality 

PROCESS:

• Take a medium sized sip of wine.
• Hold it in your mouth and coat your mouth as completely as you can
• Purse your lips and draw in some air across your tongue (if you can)
• Swish the wine around your mouth as if you were chewing it
• Swallow it
• After swallowing (or spitting) suck in a little air to get a last impression
• This process should take several seconds.

It's recommended you taste the wine at least THREE times

1. First taste: Compare what you tasted to what you smelled. Did you taste any of the components you smelled? If you want, you can add or remove any items fro your visual collage.

2.  Retaste and look for structural elements: acid, alcohol, tannin and finish (These areas are discussed in depth next session)

3. Retaste again and look for balance and harmony. Too strong? Too delicate? Are they working together?

Use what you saw, sniffed and tasted to help asses the quality and complexity of the wine.

TIP: LOOK up to your left to "lock" things into your memory= try it!

The last S we felt should be added is...SAVOR! Arguably the most important step in tasting your wine is to enjoy it. So pour yourself a glass and go through the 5 S's...you won't regret it!

Happy Sipping!

Sweetness, Acidity, & Tannins ~ Session 2 ~ Group 2

Session 2 with our new group addressed some important components when tasting wine. We decided to look at how to tell when a wine is sweet vs. dry, how acidity plays on your palate and what effect tannins have in both the wine and your wine tasting experience.

We started out discussing sweetness and where it hits on your palate. We had the tasters take a bit of sugar and roll it around on their tongue to see where they taste sweetness. While many in our group did not experience it, we have learned that the tip of our tongue is where we usually taste sweetness. Check out the tongue diagram here. 

What is sweetness in wine?

·         When grapes are pressed, the juice is naturally very sweet and has a very high sugar content.

·         During the fermentations process, yeast cells consume the sugar. If no sugar remains in a wine after fermentation, the wine is considered dry. Any sugar remaining is called residual sugar.

·         Most table wines are considered dry, but there is a range that goes from just the tiniest bit of sweetness all the way to syrupy sweet.(Think honey)

Testing for sweetness 

Is it sweet or fruity?

·         Fruity wines have distinct aromas and flavors of fruit. You smell the fruitiness with your nose, but you can’t taste it. Even in your mouth, you are smelling the fruit as you taste the wine. (Recall the retronasal passage lesson from session one)

·         Sweetness in wine is perceived on the tip of your tongue. Try this to taste the difference: As you taste a wine you think is sweet rather than fruity, plug your nose while you taste. If the wine is indeed sweet, you’ll be able to actually taste the sweetness on your tongue without confusing it with what you smell.

Smelling vinegar...

What about Acidity and Tannin?


Sweetness, acidity and tannin all play a big roll in the overall balance in wine. To show our group how you might experience acidity in a wine we asked them to smell vinegar and to taste a lemon. Many noticed that the edges of their tongues curled up in anticipation of sourness when they smelled the vinegar. They also noticed that their mouths started salivating when they tasted the lemon. Both of these experiences are typical when we anticipate or taste acidic foods or beverages. Check out the tongue diagram here to see where you taste acid on your tongue.


To experience the sensation we get from tannins, we asked to group members to eat a walnut. The thin skins on walnuts and tea both have tannins in them, and will give you a very similar sensation to the one you get when drinking tannic red wine. 


For a more in-depth discussion on acidity and tannins in wine, and their importance in wine balance, please click here!


Wines used in this session:

St. Francis 2009 Russian River Valley Viognier
Viognier is a French varietal that often produces a fruity, somewhat dry wine. This was by far the group's favorite wine of the evening.














Kathryn Kennedy 2010 Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a varietal that tends to be on the acidic side. The acidity in this particular wine is bright, crisp and refreshing.










Rock Wall 2009 Zinfandel Contra Costa Co. Jesse's Vineyard
We chose this wine to be an example of a slightly sweet red wine. This wine ended up being a little more tannic than we expected. It did have the sweet taste we were looking for and ended up pairing well with some chocolate covered almonds at the end of the evening...Yum!

Terredora Dipaolo 2005 Taurasi 
It is made with the Aglianico varietal and comes from Italy. This wine was chosen as a good example of a tannic red wine. Boy did it deliver! When it was first opened and poured it had intense tannins and really showed our group what tannins in a wine is like on our palate. This wine did open up over the evening once it was put in a decanter and although not all of the group appreciated it, some of us really enjoyed it!

Although some of these wines were a turn off to some in the group, we encouraged everyone to continue trying new things. As group leaders, we have been able to expand our palates and broaden our enjoyment of all kinds of wine!

Happy Sipping!

A New Meaning to Blind Tasting...Take Two!

Welcome to our new group of wonderful wine tasters!

Our wine study group has peaked the interest of many, so we started a new group with another fabulous set of oenophiles!

Oops, we did it again! We decided to engage our friends in a little blind tasting. Before you think you know all about blind wine tasting, think again...we blindfolded the tasters, not the wine!

In this first activity, we wanted to test our new group's ability to tell the difference between a red and white wine. In order to make the test a bit challenging, we chose two wines that would be very similar to each other in structure and as close as possible in taste. We served them at room temperature, and did not allow the tasters to see the bottles before the blindfold activity. This was trickier than you might think! 

Here are the wines we chose to use:

Red: 2009 Georges Duboeuf Boujolais-Villages Nouveau - This is a Beaujolais wine from an area near the Burgundy Region in France that is light in structure and taste.

White: 2009 Louis Jadot Pouilly Fusse - Also from France, this white wine is a 100% Chardonnay. The structure on this wine was firm enough to stand up to a light red.

You may be wondering why we would torture our friends this way, but there is a method to our madness. In addition to being a fun activity to break the ice during our first gathering, we also wanted to begin showing the connection between all of our senses when we go about the process of tasting. By blindfolding ourselves, we take away one of the senses that gives us a clue about what we are going to taste. In a way, our brain likes to give us clues about what we are about to eat or drink in various ways. Not being able to see the wine, takes away one of the preconceived notions we might already have about a “white” or a “red” wine. This leaves us with only the sense of taste, and smell.

Why is this important? We do not taste with our taste buds alone...

The importance of the Nose:

• Smell is the most acute sense (1,000 times more sensitive than taste)

• Flavor is determined by about 75% smell and 25% taste

• “Taste” is actually something that is determined by what we sense with our noses and mouths combined

• We actually taste and smell at the same time when we are chewing. Vapor will travel up to our olfactory receptors, sending our brain messages about what we are eating.

• Volatile substances (like wine) shoot flavor elements (vapor) off into the atmosphere all the time, making them an interesting and rewarding experience.

• By actively smelling everything you drink, and eat, you can at least double the pleasure it gives.

Point To Ponder...Try this the next time you go to sip your wine... As you bring the glass up to your lips, breathe in through your mouth at the same time that you're smelling the wine. What do you notice?

Barbera and Zinfandel Exploration ~Session 7

This month we continued our varietal explorations with Barbera and Zinfandel. We paired these two up this month because they each have a unique history in California!

Barbera friendly AVA’s:
Originally hailing from Italy, this grape is the opposite of our last two varietals, in that it grows best inland, where there is a warmer climate. The Barbera grape grows best in less fertile soil so the yields can be kept in check. Barbera likes to grow and grow, but large yields often diminish the quality. To help keep good quality, Barbera needs to be tended and pruned often. Grown in the right environment, Barbera can produce good fruit characteristics, acidity, color and tannin structure. The top region for Barbera is in Piedmont, Italy and of all the varietals from that region, it is the most successful here in California. Popular regions for Barbera are Sonoma County, the Central Valley, and the Sierra Foothills (Amador County).

Flavor Profile of Barbera
Trivia Fact!...A little history of Barbera in California.
Barbera was first planted in 1885 at the Italian Swiss Colony at Asti in Sonoma County. From the stories I’ve heard, it was grown by farmers, and made into field blends (a mixture of different varietals planted in the same vineyard). Barbera was originally thought of as a good blending grape for its low tannins and high acidity, helping to create a softer and more balanced wine. Before the 1970’s it was rare to see single-varietal Barberas, as we do today.

General Barbera Tasting Profile…
• Low in tannins, soft tannins
• High in acidity, yet usually pleasing
• Medium to full bodied
• Deep ruby color, usually has a pink rim
• Fruit driven, robust with intense, but well rounded fruitiness
• Juicy berry flavors, plum, spice, cherries
• If overripe, it can have a raisony flavors.

2007 Barbera d'alba Rocca Felice- 13% alcohol:
• Intense, ruby red color
• Cherry, raspberry and vanilla notes.
• Silky, supple palate
• Delicate and light bouquet
• Spicy finish
• Aged in oak casts for 10 months
Notes From Our Group: Aroma: Earth, dust, "garage". Palate: fizz, lively acidity, high alcohol, medium bodied, pleasant finish, not too complex. **As expected, this Italian wine was not a favorite with the group until we began eating our snacks. We have often found that European wines do not appeal to our palate alone, but when paired with food are quite lovely.

2009 Palmina Santa Barbara County- 14.6% alcohol
• Bright purple in color
• Black and blue fruits on a highly fragrant nose
• Deep cherry and blueberry flavors complemented by notes of candied violets and cracked pepper.
• Blackberry, mulberry, cranberry, cherry and plum fruit notes
• Under currants of sage, rosemary and chocolate that cover over to the finish
• Earth and toast notes
• Good length and cherry notes last
Notes From Our Group: Aroma: Welcoming, complex, "smells like home", black cherry, plum. Palate: Firm, yet soft tannins, cherry on the finish. Yum...We liked this one!

Zinfandel friendly AVA's:
Zinfandel: California’s Signature Grape
Although many consider Zinfandel a California native, there has been much controversy about its heritage. In 2001, DNA profiling of an ancient and almost extinct varietal in Croatia, called Crljenak Kastelanski, was indeed found to be Zinfandel. This determined that Croatia was the birthplace of what we know of as California Zinfandel today. How did Zinfandel get to California? Zinfandel was imported and originally grown on the East Coast, but made its way to California with the Italian Immigrants headed west for Gold Country in 1849. It flourished in our dry climate and was originally considered “a low-priced, honest, Italian-American working man’s wine”. As we now know, all that has changed.

In need of a long growing season, Zinfandel does best in warm, but not hot regions. It also does best growing on hillsides, where the soil is well-drained. This helps to prevent bunch rot (making a wine taste almost moldy, and a considerable loss of fruit.) Premier growing areas for Zinfandel include Dry Creek Valley and Lodi, however other areas are beginning to get a name for their Zinfandel. Paso Robles, Russian River, and even Napa Valley are producing excellent Zinfandel.

So what’s the deal with Old Vine Zinfandel?
Old Vines are considered to be 50-80 years old. Praised for surviving phylloxera (microscopic insects that feed on the roots and leaves of vines, and depending on the strain, leave deformations and fungus on the grapes), and prohibition, old vines are considered to have smaller yields, which may produce a more concentrated, complex and pleasing wine. Old Vine Zinfandel is often considered to be an accomplishment for winemakers to make a superior wine with such old vines. Be careful though! The term “old vine” is not protected by laws and guidelines. It can be used as a marketing term, not unlike “reserve”.

Trivia Fact!...Primitivo
Primitivo is an Italian varietal that has remarkable similarity to Zinfandel. In fact, both grapes have had DNA traced back to the same varietal that originated in Croatia, as explained before. So when you see a Primitivo…try it out! It may be very similar to the Zinfandel you know and love.

General Flavor Profile of Zinfandel
• Rich and dark in color
• Medium to high tannins
• Generally higher alcohol content
• Wild berries, raspberry, blackberry, cherry, plums, raisins, jam, candied fruit
• Spice and black pepper
• Various intensities of oak

2009 Cameron Hughes Lot 245 North Coast- 15.2% alcohol
• Aromas of pepper and cherry-berry fruit, incense, fresh flowers, and forest floor
• Fruit forward
• Chewy mouth feel
• Delivers opulence and elegance throughout the palate
• Long finish
• Won Gold medal in CA state fair 2011
Notes From Our Group: Aroma: Raspberry, tart cherry. Palate: Light-bodied, tobacco, blackberry, smoky, pepper, long finish, subtle and milder than expected from a zinfandel.

2008 Klinker Brick Old Vine Lodi- 15.8% alcohol
• Loaded aromas of crushed blackberries, fresh strawberries, cherries, plums, smokey black pepper, and toasty oak
• Explosive fruit
• Complex and bold
• Well balanced and has a silky smooth texture
• On the palate there are layers of dark fruits, sweet vanilla and spice,
• Full bodied with a velvety mouth feel and supple tannins.
• Smooth, long, lingering finish.
Notes From Our Group: Aroma: Bacon! Smoked meat, beef jerky, mesquite. Palate: Jammy, blackberry, plum, blueberry, well-balanced, heat, white pepper, does not taste "hot" (despite the higher alcohol), vanilla, silky, long lingering finish...another favorite!

Point to Ponder...
As you sip wine this month, consider what you have learned tonight. Have you ever encountered a wine that is not your favorite to sip on alone, but changes dramatically with food? Keep on practicing, and try new things!

Happy Sipping!

Pinot Noir and Syrah Exploration ~ Session 6

Happy Holidays to everyone! This season was quite busy for The Self-Made Sommelier, but we made sure to "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry" with our friends and loved ones. We hope yours was a wonderful season as well!

This month we delved into two red varietals: Pinot Noir and Syrah. Read along and learn about these wonderful and interesting varietals!

Last month we introduced the term AVA (American Viticultural Area). We will continue to discuss AVA's throughout the rest of our Varietal Exploration Series.

Pinot Noir friendly AVA’s
A lot of the same things apply when talking about AVA's regarding Pinot Noir as they did in our last session when we spoke about Chardonnay. Premium quality Pinot Noir thrives when planted in areas that are along the coast, and heavily influenced by fog and coastal breezes. The heat of the day help the grapes to mature, while the cool evening breezes and temperature drops, help to prolong the growing season. This helps the grapes to gather intense flavor, while maintaining balanced acidity. Terroir characteristics can influence the wine. We can go into more detail as we taste. Some of the premier growing areas in California are: Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands, Carneros (Napa), Monterey and Anderson Valley. There are also a lot of really good Pinots coming out of Oregon these days, due primarily to the coastal climate patterns. Tonight we will be highlighting 2 Pinot's, 1 from Russian River Valley and 1 from Anderson Valley.

Trivia Fact!
The word pinot, is the first word of many French vine varieties, and is thought to refer to the shape of Pinot grape bunches. Pinot bunches are in the shape of a pine (pin) cone. It is thought that there are no fewer than 100 different types of Pinot (most of them being clones or seedlings). The well known varieties being…Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and of course, Pinot Noir. Chardonnay can also be called Pinot Chardonnay occasionally.

General flavor descriptors of Pinot Noir:

While this grape is “finicky, troublesome, enigmatic and challenging”, it can also it can also produce “one of the greatest wines ever”. (Wine for Dummies).

• Light to medium in body
• Can be high in alcohol
• Fruit aromas of cherries (black & red), raspberries, strawberries and sometimes, currant.
• Aromas of earthiness, smoke, or woodiness
• On the palate: cherries, plum, berries, soft tannins, smooth acidity

Savannah Channelle 2009 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir:
•Aromas: Subtle hints of oak and vanilla gave way to bright red bing cherry notes and dusty earth.
•Palate: Blackberries and black cherries show magnificently on the well structured full and long palate.
•Great color, balanced acidity and silky soft tannins make this wine a prime candidate for aging, but it certainly drinks well now.
Notes from our Group: Aroma: Earth, rasberries, black cherry. Palate: cherry, soft tannins, smooth, bright, complex

Decoy 2010 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir:
• Aromas: ripe strawberry, French Plum, loganberry and anise with hints of blueberry, cola and spice.
• Palate: medium weight, graceful and inviting with red fruits – raspberry, cherry and plum as well as sophisticated elements of forest floor and tobacco leaf.
• Supported by “age-worthy tannins, and a streak of uplifting acidity”.
Notes from our Group: Aroma: spicy, woody Palate: tastes better than it smells, although it has the same amount of alcohol, it is more prevalent in the Decoy. **Note: after it sat in the glass, there was a noticeable increase in a strawberry aroma.

Syrah friendly AVA's:
Originally hailing from the Rhone Valley in the South of France, Syrah has been growing in popularity here in the United States and Australia. Syrah grows best in climates that are warm, but not too hot, and on well drained, rocky soils. While Pinot Noir is a fussy grape, Syrah is a relatively easy grape to grow. It doesn’t cause too much trouble, it buds late and ripens early, and is not prone to disease or rot. The oldest known Syrah vines are in Mendocino County, but the Central Coast tends to be a better region for growing this varietal due to it being the driest of all the coastal regions. The days are warm and the nights are cool, ensuring a balanced growing season. (Rhone Rangers website)

General Flavor Descriptors of Syrah:

• Dark fruits, smoke and meats (particularly bacon), leather and a white pepper finish.
• Cooler climate Syrah: black pepper, green olive and spice aromas
• Warm climate Syrah: pronounced raspberry, cherry, and earthy notes.

Is it Syrah, or Shiraz??
Yes! Syrah and Shiraz are indeed the same grape. While I have read that it could imply two different styles of wine (a light, Rhone style for Syrah, and the full-bodied fruit bomb style of Australian Shiraz), the simple answer is that the European driven name is Syrah, and the Australians call it Shiraz.

Hahn 2009 Central Coast Syrah:
• Aromas: intense dark fruit aromas with hints of vanilla and sweet wood.
• Palate: black cherry cola and tobacco, with notes of leather, pepper and tobacco.
• Silky and round tannins, with a long and memorable finish. Zesty acidity ensures a pleasing food pairing experience.
Notes from our Group: Aroma: blueberries, spice, vanilla, root beer Palate: warm climate, cherry cola, firm tannins, medium complexity, pleasant and long finish

Henry's 2007 Drive Dead Letter Shiraz:
• Aromas: red and blueberry fruit with complex characteristics of red licorice, cinnamon and vanilla spice
• Palate: vibrant berry and red currant fruit with a dense, tarry spicy notes. Mid palate flavors of spearmint and lavender offer up a fresh, long finish.
• Ripe, soft tannins lead to a round mouth feeling, with fresh acidity.
Notes from our Group: Aroma: Meaty, "Christmas" cinnamon, nutmeg, hazelnut, almond paste/marzipan, ripe fruit. Palate: firm tannins, needs to be paired with food, full bodied, short finish, not very complex.

Dessert Wine and Food Pairing...
Jennifer and I were in charge of snacks this month, so we decided to create a wine and dessert pairing. What resulted had us all in wonder at the beauty of a good match! What was this magnificent pairing?

We served this J.Lohr Late Harvest Riesling with the dessert pictured below. This wine is a dessert wine, and is quite sweet. On its own, it tastes like honey and apricot, and is very rich.

Paired with the Riesling was a hunk of blue cheese, covered in honey. Top it with candied pecans, and a touch more honey! Serve on bread. The combination of the two is mind-blowing! Even those who won't go near "sweet wine", would be singing a different tune after this dessert.

But wait...there's more!
In the spirit of the Holiday Season, Jennifer and I wanted to extend our thanks to this special group of Oenophiles. They have stuck with us on our first journey into wine education, and they deserve a giant THANK YOU! In this spirit we toasted with some sparkling wine to this fine group of people (those not present were in our thoughts!). They also recieved a gift of a personalized charm from us to them...


Point to Ponder...
As you sip wine this month, continue to think about what flavors you get from your wine. Whether what you smell or taste falls into the flavor profile or not, don't doubt yourself! We all have different physiology, and will get different things. Trust your palate, and enjoy what you drink! I also continue to encourage you to keep trying something new. Every wine has its place!


Happy New Year...and Cheers!