Category France

Entries 27 Total

A French Bubbles Tasting Complete with Dressing Up, Friends and Food

May 22, 12 3:14 PM

A Private Tasting and Dinner with the Gang: Tasting French Bubbles

Most of the gang — from left: Fasil, Leah, Katy, Caleb, Fred, Hillary, me, Katherine, Steve, in front of Pizzicletta

Katy and Caleb did a great job making the inside of Pizzicletta even more lovely than usual–pic by Katy Connors

Getting Ready for Tasting and Dinner

Leah suggested we could all dress up for the event, an idea I readily go for

French Bubbles to Taste

A friend in our gang from last night is currently studying French wines, so when planning for our (usually about) monthly private tasting came up, and I offered several different possible themes for the occasion, French bubbles was the one jumped on. (Plus, we all just frickin’ like bubbles, cause we’re super smart like that, as my friend Kate would say.)

The idea for the night was to taste sparkling wines from France made in the Methode Traditionelle style all from outside of the Champagne region, and with unusual grape varieties establishing the cuvee’. Caleb offered to host the location with he and Katy selecting the food choices. Fred provided the pairing to go with the dessert Katy made. I selected the wines.

Here’s what we all came up with.

Opening Wine: Meyer-Fonne Brut Extra Cremant d’Alsace

We opened with a Brut-Extra Cremant d’Alsace by Meyer-Fonne. The wine showcases a blend of 60% Auxerrois, 20% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Blanc, 5% Pinot Noir in a white cuvee’; 12% alcohol.

There is a wonderfully citrus, focused nose on this wine. The weight of Auxerrois shows here as round in the mouth, with an utterly dry presentation balancing the overall structure. The dryness of the wine is again balanced next to good fruit elements–pleasing notes of clementine and lemon zest, light evergreen hints, dried herbal notes, light grass and chalk. This has a medium acidity, and medium finish. The dryness of the wine worked well as an apertif, with just enough texture to push us forward to the second wine, and the food.

I tend to prefer a little more acidity on my methode traditionelle bubbles, but with Auxerrois serving as the primary grape, the acidity levels here were not surprising, and the wine still did well offering a generally clean and balanced presentation. It was a great opening wine, and held up well to the food as we tasted some alongside. Pairs well with herbal dishes.

Wine 2: Jean-Louis Ballarin Brut Cremant de Bordeaux

I felt lucky to locate a Cremant de Bordeaux because there are few imported to the United States. This one by Jean Louis Ballarin focuses on a Brut blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, in a white cuvee’ with 12% alcohol.

The bouquet and flavors of this wine are wonderfully mild, with a soft foam texture. The beads here are impressively small and persistent. This wine offers a lightly tropical floral and fruit presentation showing a floral front palate, fruity mid-palate, and musky finish. The combination of mango skin, light pineapple, meyer lemon and lime zest, show along side a slightly bitter bite and herbal qualities. The wine carries a pleasing medium-plus acidity matched by medium-plus finish.

While we enjoyed each of the wines, this was one of the groups favorites. It also did well alongside food as some of us saved enough to sip it with our meal.

The Food Interlude: Caleb Makes Eats

Involtini: Thinly Sliced Eggplant wrapped around Ricotta, Served in Tomato Sauce Yum (one of my favorite dishes)

Pork Shoulder Rubbed with Pesto, then rolled and tied like Pancetta and slow baked for 8 hours. Also, pleasantly called, “HOLY DEAR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY THANK YOU GOD.”

Caleb and Katy did a fantastic job providing food for the occasion. Katy put together a wonderful herbal green salad, charcuterie plate, and dessert (which I’ll show with its wine pairing towards the end here), and Caleb took the day to make us both Involtini, and slow baked pork shoulder. This is what I like to call, joy.

The gang enjoying the meal, with wine–pic by Caleb

Wine 3: Purete’ de Silex Brut Cremant de Loire

One of the group’s overall favorites, the Purete’ de Silex brings together a cuvee’ of 50% Chenin-Blanc, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Chardonnay in a white sparkling presentation with 12.5% alcohol. (The website for this wine carries a different grape ratio; what I list here is what is printed on the bottle itself.)

The cabernet franc dominates the nose with wonderfully earthy and herbal elements, while the fruit sweetness of the chardonnay shows stronger in the mouth, and the chenin-blanc carries the body–the three together producing a nicely balanced wine. There is a bouquet of wet earth, dried herbs, apple sauce and green apple skin here, while the mouth carries honey dew, lemon peel, and even hints of seaweed. Medium acidity, with medium long finish. This wine is also a nice value.

Wine 4: Effervescence Brut Nicole Chanrion

The final sparkling wine of the night was, for me, the most surprising-this 100% sparkling Gamay with 11% alcohol.

For starters, Nicole Chanrion produces the Effervescence as a vintage cremant but labels it without vintage information. Looking further into her vinification techniques, the elements that surprised me make more sense. There is a woody, herbal quality to these bubbles that stands out, carrying with it a fuller texture than I expected from a Beaujolais–Chanrion, however, chooses full cluster fermentation here, immediately adding a heartier tone to the cuvee’ than might be expected from a just-berry press of the grape.

The Effervesence presents a mix of dried herbs and dried fruit–apricot, strawberry, raspberry and melon–touches of black pepper, with dusty, and even almost gritty flavors. (One of us actually used the word “newsprint” as the first descriptor that came to mind from the mouth. It’s appropriate and meant as more of a compliment than it sounds–it’s unusual, and a blend of dry, bitter, and dusty alongside the fruit characteristics.) The wine offers drying qualities in the mouth (again, this makes sense with full cluster fermentation), alongside medium acidity and a medium long finish.

Dessert: Katy Bakes and Scoops and Mixes: Praise God

Katy’s Dessert: Fresh just-under-ripe Peaches baked in brown sugar, then drizzled with a homemade raspberry sauce, served with homemade vanilla bean and cracked pepper gelato and fresh raspberries.

The dessert was a perfect close to the meal–simple, great texture (the advantage of using just underripe fruit here is that it absorbs the flavors well, while also staying a little firmer after baking, rather than becoming peach mush), fresh flavors, and lightness on a warm summer evening (we’re already having summer temperatures here in Flagstaff).

Dessert Pairing: Chateau de Montifaud Pineau des Charentes

To close and to pair with dessert, Fred selected what is traditionally treated as a French apertif, but with its dryness does very well alongside fruit-based desserts. Pineau des Charentes is a fortified wine, common to parts of Western France, produced from a combination of fermented grape must and Cognac eau-di-vie.

The offering from Chateau de Montifaud carries 18% alcohol with a mouth watering medium-long finish, offering flavors of concentrated apricot, date, apple juice, dried peach, and dried herbs with mixed cracked pepper. It’s great for sipping along side slightly sweet baked and fresh fruit, or on its own.

Our Charming Co-Hosts

Thanks to Katy and Caleb for co-hosting with me, and providing the great food and space! Pizzicletta on a closed night is my favorite place to be; even if I love the food there when it’s open too.

Thanks to Fred for selecting and bringing the dessert pairing.

Thanks to the gang for being there–such a good time! And thanks to our friend for taking pictures.

 

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Wine Miracles in Alaska: Number 1: My Parents’ First (and Second) Burgundy

May 8, 12 3:33 PM

One of the things to know about wine menus in Anchorage, Alaska is that they’ve tended to be dominated by California big fruit reds. It’s a recent phenomenon that the lists have changed to begin including, first French wines, and more recently (mainly in wine shops, however), also Italian. As a result, many Alaskans have a decidedly California palate, my parents included.

My Parents’ First Burgundy

My parents’ first Burgundy

Upon hearing my daughter and I were actually literally full on scheduled and booked for a visit to Alaska (I get the 12-year old up at least twice a year but as for myself visits these days are rare), my mom asked if she and my dad could take us out to dinner. My dad just had a birthday so we’d go out to celebrate.

The wine list at the restaurant was primarily California (my parents’ preference) and French (mine) focused but my parents decided to let me select the wine, then my dad excitedly added–get a Pinot! The thing to know here is my that my parents are generally resistant to French and Italian wine; that my mom likes reds she “can chew on” and has a history of strongly disliking Pinot Noir, while my dad reaches for Pinot Noir always first.

When both my parents announced they were getting seafood for dinner I felt compelled to take a risk and see if they were open to trying a Burgundy. After talking to the Sommelier we settled on the Gagnerot 2001 Gevrey-Chambertin with the hopes it would have enough richness of flavor to hit some points for my mom, with the body that would appeal to my dad, and the everything that would work for me. Alongside my dad’s king salmon dinner, and my mom’s scallops on pasta the thought was the wine would also really do well by the food.

To shorten this blast story down finally, here’s the point–they loved it. This really is a moment of family wine triumph. Really. Dinners in the past that have started with my parents asking me to select the wine have all quickly shifted to them suggesting immediately after that I select a California Cabernet Sauvignon, then telling me too which California Cabernet. Being the not-visiting-much-and-so-when-visiting-diligent-daughter in those moments I’ve always complied.

My Parents’ Second Burgundy

My parents’ second burgundy

The miracle continues, however. The sommelier at the restaurant liked us well enough that when we finished our bottle of burgundy she came over and offered us a taste of the house burgundy too–the Bellene 2009–a wine with less subtlety than the Gagnerot, of course, but an excellent value. The wait staff misunderstood the suggestion and poured us each full glasses on the house, and, here’s the kicker–my parents liked that too (the burgundy itself AND the free glasses, of course), and the next day I went to a wine shop with my mom and helped her find the Bellene 2009 for home.

Here’s to building bridges of affection through wine!

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Thank you to Trisha of The Marx Brothers, Anchorage for her generosity, great service, and fun personality. We had a wonderful dinner. The wines were lovely, and the food was fantastic!

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Happy Birthday to Melanie. You are my sister.

Apr 23, 12 3:03 AM

The truth is most of my earliest formative wine drinking experiences showed themselves alongside my sister, Melanie, often with her instigating the wine selections.

from left to right–Melanie, Me, Paula

She introduced me to my first Burgundy. (It changed my life–I became a dedicated red wine drinker because of it.)

I don’t believe she introduced me to champagne. But I fell hard into a glass of bubbles and a long standing love affair with sparkling wine because of her (bubbles might honestly be my best romantic relationship (so far)). Together we’ve had more grower’s champagne, and more expensive champagne than with anyone else (and more champagne in one day together than with anyone else too, if I’m honest). She also promises to take me to Champagne for my 40th birthday, and I plan to hold her to it. (She has a few years to get us there.)

from left to right, me and Melanie HONEST TO GOD getting dressed up to walk into the living room and drink champagne–we’re enthusiastic like that (except we likely posed to take this blast picture only because we were already part way down a bottle while getting dressed up)

Today, April 23, is her birthday. Lots of Love to you, Melanie. You are my sister.

***

Cheers too to our sister Paula! I’m lucky to have such damn good siblings in both Melanie and Paula, who while a willing wine drinker is a less dedicated one. Can’t hold that against her, she’s still from damn good stock.

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Girl Scout Cookie Season Has Descended; Let Us Find Their Perfect Wine Pairings!, for Katherine

Feb 27, 12 10:50 PM

Girl Scout Cookies

Girl Scout Cookie season has hit the United States. Did you know there is even a free iphone app to help you locate where the cookies are available for sale?

I got a request to do tasting note comics for Girl Scout Cookies. On my other comics blog I’ve done that from time to time–draw up tasting notes for random foods. What was desired here was a comic representation of the sentimental favorites’ flavors and general qualities so as to be able to keep celebrating the phenomenon even in their off season.

The truth is, I don’t really eat Girl Scout Cookies. It isn’t that I WOULDN’T. It’s just that I don’t. But the idea of drawing tasting notes for them cracked me up, and the idea of drawing cookie notes alongside wine notes down right made me laugh. So, clearly the way to make the request work was to draw up tasting notes for the cookies alongside their perfect wine pairing.

The goal of any wine and food pairing is to bring together the right elements such that both the food and the wine are improved, so that they become something together they simply weren’t before the combination. It can be nice to have wine and food beside each other even when they don’t improve each other so thoroughly, but it’s a magical experience when the perfect pairing is found.

So, when I announced I was going to take the Girl Scout Cookie Wine Challenge, Katherine offered to bring over cookies in each of the flavors available in our area. Before she showed up I ran to the wine shop where I bumped into James, the head chef of Cuvee 928, and he offered input on my wine pairing ideas. Thank you for his suggestion of the Blanc Pescador and the Oloroso Sherry. And then along the way when a couple of surprise cookies I hadn’t anticipated appeared, @DecantChicago gave a push to go ahead and try a bottle of Demi-Sec Champagne I’d already been considering. Wonderfully by the end of the night we really had hit the perfect pairing for each cookie.

Enjoy!

Thank you to Katherine, James, and Cara Patricia–Decant Chicago–for your help!

Tasting notes appear in recommended tasting order as well.

Trefoils and Blanc Pescador

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Girl Scout’s most classic cookie is their Trefoil Shortbread. The cookie is crisp and buttery with very faint sweetness, and the crunch of a proper biscuit. Honestly one can also taste preservative notes along side the buttery flavor so any good wine pairing would hopefully moderate that lightly bitter element.

The Blanc Pescador is a wonderfully crisp, lightly effervescent Cataluyna table white wine perfect for Mediterranean style seafood dishes. I’ve had it along side fish soup with wonderful results. It even did well as the wine base for Risotto.

It’s made from the same grapes as those allowed for Spanish Cava–50-60% Macabeo, 20-25% Parellada, 20-25% Xarel-lo–but instead of making a full sparkling wine, the winemaker chose to make an effervescent (half-sparkling, basically) style instead.

It’s a perfect pairing for Girl Scout Trefoil Shortbread cookies. The wine increases the buttery flavor of the cookies, while also cutting the preservatives bite, and the cookie ups the mineral quality, and lemon flavor of the wine. Yum!

Savannah Smiles and 2005 Dr. Loosen Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese

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The Savannah Smiles is a lemon flavored shortbread style cookie rolled in powdered sugar and new to the Girl Scouts this year.

This Riesling Auslese is a beautifully balanced sweet wine. It carries a nice mix of rich fruit and light floral qualities alongside pleasing minerals. This style is often thought of as a dessert wine and with its sweeter quality many people drink it only at the end of a meal. But, it’s worth tasting this with a range of other types of food though from spicy thai food, to blue cheese.

The Erdener Pralat vineyards are a mere 4 acres in the Mosel Valley, but are thought to generate some of the finest wines of the region. This is a wine that does well for decades in the bottle. If you have some it’s well worth holding onto but is also drinking nicely now. It’ll simply gain a deepened complexity over time.

Dr. Loosen’s Erdener Pralat Riesling Auslese is also a perfect pairing for Girl Scout’s new-this-year lemon shortbread style cookie rolled in powdered sugar, their Savannah Smiles. When put along side the sharp tang of the lemon cookie the heavier elements of the wine come into even better balance. The wine mellows the cookie tang, while the cookie lightens syrupy elements of the wine.

Do-Si-Dos and Demi-Sec A. Margaine Premier Cru Champagne

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The Do-Si-Dos were an unexpected addition to our tasting evening. I had thought we had five cookies to review, and didn’t know in advance of this one. The Do-Si-Do is a slightly salty, crisp oatmeal cookie with a thin layer of creamy peanut butter inside. With the combination the cookie carries toasted oatmeal, the creaminess of the peanut butter with a slightly salty, faintly sweet palate.

To balance the dryness and saltiness of the cookie it would need something soft in the mouth and slightly sweet. Not as heavy as the Auslese, nor as thick as the upcoming Banyuls.

We turned to the Demi-Sec A. Margaine Premier Cru Champagne, and the combination was perfect. The demi-sec style offers a softer body for the champagne while also giving just a touch of sweetness. The balance of herbal notes with a light brie funk on the nose and touches of yeast and toast bread beside minerals give a range of flavors avoiding the cloying problem. This is an elegant, delicate, and balanced champagne.

The Margaine is a special champagne in that Arnuad Margaine fully produces this champagne himself. Grower’s champagne is a less common version of the wonderful drink, and one that offers a difference in quality from the more mass produced types that dominate the wine type. A grower’s champagne is simply one in which the person that makes the champagne has also grown his own grapes. Margaine does just that making less than 5000 cases a year.

The wonderful thing about this wine really is found in how widely it could be paired. I’d love to drink it with dim-sum, as suggested by Michael Skurnik, or with spicy thai food. Oh… yum.

Alongside the Do-Si-Dos the yeast of the champagne is highlighted in a pleasing way, while the wine makes the peanut butter of the cookie both smoother and creamier tasting. The wine also eases the crunch of the cookie just slightly in a way that makes it work better.

Samoas and Lustau Almacenista Oloroso Sherry

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The Samoas cookie from the Girl Scout combines a crisp cookie center covered in caramel, toasted coconut and touched with chocolate. So it offers a combination of chew with crunch, and some sweetness.There are also lightly buttery elements to be tasted here.

To pair, a dry, full flavored companion is found in Oloroso Sherry, a dry style sherry showing lots of nut, hints of caramel, and touches of rich fruit. The high alcohol content work against the sweetness of the coconut making it more balanced, while the cookie brings out more fruit notes in the sherry uncovering flavors of dried cherry and more raisin. So, while the cookie became less sweet, the wine turned more complex. A pleasing complement.

The truth is a lot of people I know don’t like coconut, and so this cookie comes as the least favorite for them. I don’t mind the fruit-seed but also am not much into sweet cookies. It was a nice moment to see how this wine and the cookie worked together. As Katherine, one who does not like coconut, put it, “the cookie became worth eating” without hiding the coconut altogether.

At this point in the evening the wine and cookie match up was going so well Katherine extended me the following compliment. Thank you! “I salute your ability to pair Girl Scout Cookies with wine. It’s an important life skill.” Katherine, there is no one better to work on such a project with.

Tagalong Peanut Butter Pattie with 2003 Domaine La Tour Vieille Banyuls

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The Tagalong is a cookie topped in creamy peanut butter and covered in chocolate. The flavors here are rich, full, and very buttery and creamy.

The Banyuls is a full bodied, full flavored dessert wine that showcases nut, caramel, dried herbal, and spice notes. The acidity here is medium high helping to balance the sweetness of the wine and the alcohol level at 15.5% gives just enough heat to counter the richness.

When paired with the peanut butter pattie the cookie becomes more creamy and buttery, while the wine becomes less sweet, and a hint cooler. The buttery-ness of the peanut butter works well here against the alcohol heat. The salt of the peanut butter too fights the sweetness of the wine so as to lessen such effects when drinking it, making both the cookie and the wine smoother.

The classic pairing for Banyuls is chocolate, and with this cookie I agree while adding a couple more demands alongside.

Thin Mints and Rihaku Nigori Sake Dreamy Clouds

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The big challenge of the night came in trying to pair Thin Mints. Mint and chocolate are a hard set to make work with a wine. The classic pairing for Thin Mints is, after all, coffee. But I was determined that a wine could be found, and realized that the fumy quality of sake, rice wine, resembles slightly the fumy nature of mint flavor, while the very slight sweetness of Nigori style sake would likely work with the sweetness of a cookie. All my friends were skeptical.

Thin Mints are as they sound, a thin cookie with a thin layer of mint dipped in chocolate. They do well being frozen and then eaten after an overnight in the cold state.

Nigori Sake is left slightly cloudy in comparison to other types of sake, which are, by contrast, filtered. Nigori holds some rice sediment still, which keeps a slight haze in the cup, and works to help generate what is thought of as the sweetest of sakes, though still only slightly sweet. Due to the rice and yeast used, the Rihaku sake is also quite fragrant with dried plum, hints of banana, and a rice tang.This style is also meant to be finished once the bottle is open as oxidation will quickly change the flavors. Rihaku Dreamy Clouds is a super clean, pleasant sake.

I’ll admit the sake and cookie were a surprising flavor combination. I hadn’t had Nigori sake in a while and after a steady stream of grape wine tastings up till this point it was a significant contrast. Still, once the sake and cookie were tasted together the combination worked. The sake made the mint even more palatable, also cutting the waxiness of the chocolate, while the cookie erased the banana elements of the sake.

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Thanks again to Katherine, James, and Cara for your enthusiasm and suggestions! Thanks too to Katherine for providing the cookies. :)

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Have a wine focus you’d like to see explored here through comics and write up? Please feel free to email me at lilyelainehawkwakawaka (at) gmail (dot) com . I enjoy the challenge, and hearing from you too!

Copyright 2012 all rights reserved. When sharing or forwarding, please attribute to WakawakaWineReviews.com

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Considering Biodynamic Red Wines from Paolo Bea, Chapoutier; Quintessa, and Eyrie Vineyards

Feb 15, 12 4:53 PM

Monday here hosted a comics-based examination of biodynamic practices in relation to wine. Following are reviews of four very different red wines from four different regions. The first two are made using biodynamic practices, and the second two are made using non-petrochemical practices.

Paolo Bea 2007 Umbria Rosso

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The complexity on this particular Paolo Bea was astounding. The tannins here are higher than on any other wine I’ve tasted. As such, it demands food (fatty salami is perfect) to help bring out the flavors, and time with open air on it. Without food the tannins make this Rosso a challenge to drink, with food the fruit is rich and lovely, accompanied by herbs. That said, I very much enjoyed drinking this wine, even with the challenge. The textures were rich, not only because of the tannins, but because of the dense sediment within the glass.

Paolo Bea is thoroughly invested in biodynamics, working a farm with grapes as only one small part of the overall estate. He is known too for saying that filtering a wine removes its soul–one is meant to experience what the grapes have to offer complete. Skimming reviews and articles on his work you’ll regularly see his wines described in this language too, as having soul with the import being that the metaphysical quality is somehow extra to what other wines would seem to offer.

Bea’s wine making practices are also manageable partially because of his focus on economy. His goals are to produce only as much wine as he can sell, rather than to push for making extra money, and also to make only wine he loves. What Bea loves is to allow nature to do its work, rather, as he puts it, than trying to dominate it.

To add to the interest of this particular Bea wine, it’s a Sagrantino blend, bringing in Sangiovese, and a touch of Montepulciano. Sagrantino is indigenous to the Umbria region where Bea grows and makes his wine.

M. Chapoutier 2005 Crozes-Ermitage

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At the end of a hard day I decided to pick the one wine I knew that would pull me in and occupy my attention with joy. I turned to this Chapoutier. The 2005 Crozes-Ermitage has just enough age on it to bring out the complexity and richness of the Syrah, but has at least 15 years more aging potential in the bottle. The flavors here bring together rich fruits, spice, and earth, with a smooth texture.

Chapoutier is known for his biodynamic commitments. He helped start a wine-focused biodynamic certification program in Europe, and freely offers critique of other biodynamic programs and their perceived limits.

The quality of Chapoutier’s wines is reliable, over a range of price-points. Currently his name carries a large presence in the wine world as he is regularly seen commenting on the current state of various areas of the Rhone, and also working with other wine makers to develop new projects.

** Post Edit for Clarification: Vineyard Practices Contrast

The first two wines mentioned in this post draw strongly on biodynamics as a system. The following two American wines utilize *elements* of biodynamic practices without carrying certification, and while allowing other non-petrochemical practices that they believe best suit their purposes. If you are interested in certified biodynamic wineries within the United States, consider the list linked at the end of this post from Wine Anorak.

**

Quintessa 2005 Rutherford Red Wine

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Quintessa is a beautiful estate in the Rutherford district of Napa Valley. Their Meritage red blend begins with a base of Cabernet Sauvignon, and brings in various amounts of other Bordeaux-style blend grapes, namely, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and/or Carmenere, depending on the vintage.

Quintessa’s estate utilizes biodynamic practices, without showcasing certification, focusing on diversity of plant life on the property, and the advantages of animal composts.

My sister and I visited Quintessa Estate in 2008 taking a private tour of the vineyards, and winery. They offer a barrel tasting coupled with a tasting of the vintage the relevant barrels then blend into, all alongside food pairings created by a Napa area chef. The experience was a treasure, and led to drinking this particular bottle several years later.

The 2005 Quintessa is perfectly aged now. It shows an interesting blend of both dried and fresher fruits, with earthy elements and a pleasing briny quality. Though the sardine reference might seem unusual, here it offers savory and briny elements that make the wine refreshing and nicely balanced, while still carrying the fuller qualities of a Meritage wine.

Eyrie Vineyards 2008 Pinot Noir

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Eyrie Vineyards helped start the Willamette Valley wine region. In the 1960s David Lett brought Pinot Noir, and Pinot Gris to the valley becoming the first to plant the former in the region, and the first to plant the latter in North America. Their wines bring with them consistently good quality, and I’ve become a fan of each of their grape varietals.

Jason Lett now continues the Eyrie project his father started, as well as his own. Eyrie is known and respected for its biodynamic practices showing a small but functioning farm with a range of animals (I particularly enjoy seeing how the Lett’s reference their chickens with a fondness), and other plants.

The 2008 begins with a lot of wet leaves and forest floor, and opens into a balanced range of red fruit with the spice of hatch chile, and hints of smoked bacon that surprised me. The wine is pleasantly rich flavored while medium-light bodied. I enjoyed it on its own but would be happy to drink it alongside cedar-plank or grilled salmon.

*** Post Edit: Jason Lett, the President and Wine Maker of Eyrie, has clarified that their vineyard is not strictly speaking biodynamic. My inclusion of Eyrie and Quintessa was purposeful–that though they do not showcase biodynamic certification, they do follow important aspects of biodynamic practices. As Jason Lett clarifies, they have developed “a strict set of practices all [their] own.” In other words, while the Eyrie approach strongly overlaps the focus of a healthy environment seen in Biodynamics, they part ways when it comes to the treatments mentioned on the last page of the Biodynamics comics shown here Monday. My view of these ideas is that one can share overall purposes without having to strictly follow entirely identical practices. In other words, cow manure buried in a horn in the ground might not be the only way to fulfill our goals of a healthy environment. Thanks for responding, Jason!

***

For a good, though partial list, of biodynamic wine makers check out Wine Anorak’s list here: http://www.wineanorak.com/biodynamic3.htm .

Again, it is good to note that some wine makers have biodynamic practices without certification. There are also wine makers that draw on biodynamic practices to develop a non-petrochemically based practice their own. In this way their goals of creating a healthy environment may be similar without the practices being entirely the same.

If you’re in the United States, for a good source of biodynamic wines online check out the following retailers:

Out of NYC

Italian Wine Merchants: http://www.italianwinemerchants.com/

The Natural Wine Company: http://www.naturalwine.com/catalog

Out of SF

Biondivino: http://www.biondivino.com/

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Friday will take a look at how orange wines are made. Then next week we’ll review first some biodynamic orange wines, and then later in the week some other orange wines.

Copyright 2012 all rights reserved. When sharing or forwarding, please attribute to WakawakaWineReviews.com

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Considering Treatment of the Grape Pinot Blanc, and Tastings from 2009

Jan 30, 12 1:09 AM

It turns out Pinot Blanc veils it self in mystery. The grape presents in many cooler climate regions of the world; as a close cousin of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris it shares their delicate skins and selective temperaments. But, the grape finds itself misnamed in many of its apparent homelands, being more commonly blended with other whites when showing itself on the label, or simply altogether tricked out of the bottle that boasts its name. In two of the regions we’ll examine below the legal requirements actually allow for a wine to be named Pinot Blanc without carrying any of the grape’s product at all.

When Pinot Blanc does show itself though, it is considered one of the most food friendly white wines due to its combination of healthy body and ripe acidity.

Pinot Blanc in Germany

Typically labelled “Weissburgunder” in Germany (though sometimes re-labeled Pinot Blanc when sold outside the German market), Pinot Blanc has been increasing in attractiveness in Germany over the last decade, and has become recently a well-respected grape there. It’s delicate qualities do well in the Northern Climate, where it is generally produced in a clean style with little oak influence, though more producers in Germany have been experimenting with some barrel aging.

The variety is produced in Germany as either a sweet, or dry style.

Becker Estate Pinot Blanc 2009, Pfalz Germany

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The Becker Estate drank as the most well-balanced, and simultaneously approachable plus interesting of the four wines mentioned here. Of the four it was the one I’d most want to stick with through a meal, or to continue drinking through an evening on its own. We have nice fresh minerals, developed fruit, hints of wood, and pleasing acidity, all showing through a lush bodied wine. This wine is more mineral, than fruit driven.

The Becker Estate is a nice example of the good quality dry white wines that Germany produces. This wine stands up to drinking alone, for those that enjoy Pinot Blanc, but has enough flavor and acidity to add to a meal as well. Would pair well with fish or poultry. I’d love to have this wine with sauteed white fish, and white asparagus.

Pinot Blanc in Alsace

In Alsace France, this grape is one of the primary plantings, and carries the body of a number of the area’s popular wines. Even so, it is not necessarily the most respected grape of the region, and tends to be used in blend with other whites, or presented as Pinot Blanc while blended with Auxerrois, a grape with lower acidity. In combination, the distinctiveness of Pinot Blanc is mellowed significantly by the fuller body, and flatter flavor of the Auxerrois.

When purchasing an Alsacian Pinot Blanc it is actually difficult to know what the precise grape selection happens to be because legally the designation “Pinot Blanc” on an Alsacian wine can contain some combination of actual Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois (the most common partner), Pinot Gris, and/or no-skin (therefore no color) Pinot Noir. It is even possible to purchase an Alsacian Pinot Blanc that in actuality is 100% Auxerrois. For a true Pinot Blanc from the area, the best bet is to look for a bottle labelled “Clevner.”

Still, the area is also known for producing what is considered a truly distinctive Alsacian Pinot Blanc, which shows a smokey floral quality that many love, and that some wine makers from other regions strive to emulate.

Gustave Lorentz Reserve Pinot Blanc 2009, Alsace France

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This wine had the lightest flavor of the three, and did not carry the smoke on the nose that many associate with an Alsacian style. However, the bouquet did offer interesting floral and mineral notes, that show as much lighter on the palate. In fact, the contrast between the nose and palate was a bit of a surprise to me. I’d describe the Lorentz as a very approachable wine that shows some interesting complexity, but even so wants to be had with food. The focus on this wine is good value, rather than being a stand alone.

It is pleasantly mouth watering, and would drink well along side lightly flavored scallops, a seafood risotto with touches of citrus, or other white seafoods.

Pinot Blanc in the United States

Interestingly, the history of this grape in North America runs confused and still not entirely clarified. Pinot Blanc took hold in California as what was considered an alternative white varietal to the already popular Chardonnay. Some producers even choose to make their Pinot Blanc wines remarkably similar to what is considered a California-style Chardonnay, that is, strongly oaked and buttery. In the 1980′s, however, examinations of the Pinot Blanc root stalk grown at the UC Davis experimental vineyards were done by French botanist, Dr. Pierre Galet. He found that what the university had certified as Pinot Blanc was actually a different French varietal, namely Melon de Bourgogne. The result of the university’s error was that numerous viticulturists all over the state of California were actually growing Melon vines under the Pinot Blanc name.

Oregon suffered the same fate as its southerly sibling, at least initially. David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards had brought vines from UC Davis north to the Willamette Valley in the 1960s, instigating the start of the Oregon wine industry. But he arrived with some mis-labeled vines as well. and planted vineyards of Pinot Blanc only to discover them to be another grape type entirely. Interestingly, Lett’s claim was that his vines were not originally Melon de Bourgogne, but instead actually misnamed Chardonnay.

The two states have dealt with the mixed-up history quite differently.

Oregon wine laws demand that bottles labeled Pinot Blanc must contain certified (correctly) juice from the grape the name implies. So, wine makers in Oregon really do make Pinot Blanc wine from actual Pinot Blanc grapes, and those that arrived with mis-labeled vines have corrected the error either by replanting what they’d rather grow, or simply correctly renaming what they continue to grow.

California, on the other hand, has decided that the agricultural history of the state makes its own demands. Legally, wine labeled “Pinot Blanc” in the state of California can be made with any of the grape types that have been historically understood as Pinot Blanc in that state. That is, if a vineyard planted what was actually Melon de Bourgogne, believing it originally to have been Pinot Blanc, then wine made with Melon can still be labeled Pinot Blanc. However, to confuse matters further, it is also legally allowed for these wines to be labeled Melon now that the error is known. Most wineries choose to retain the Pinot Blanc name for their bottlings, however, rather than use the botanically correct Melon reference.

Interestingly, some wineries in California, particularly in the Carneros area, have established newer plantings of what has been correctly certified as Pinot Blanc vines. Trying to determine which wines from the state are made from Melon but labeled Pinot Blanc, and which really are made from the grapes of the correct designation is a challenge, however. Most winery websites don’t clarify the issue, and the bottles don’t either since the law simply doesn’t demand such certainties.

Of the four wines tasted, the Robert Foley, and the Eyrie were the most challenging in that they both offered fascinating, but also slightly strange characteristics. To be clear, I’ve never minded a challenge when it comes to wine, so I describe them as such as in no way slighting. For those that want simply approachable wines, however, you will not find them here.

Robert Foley Pinot Blanc 2009, Napa California USA

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A fan of Alsacian wine, Robert Foley describes his Pinot Blanc as an attempt to emulate the best of that region’s Pinot Blanc varietals. The style shows itself here, as his rendition certainly carries the strong floral wine for which a good quality Alsacian Pinot Blanc is known. He does well too at offering good quality.

To the American palate Foley’s style comes as a surprise showing an almost strange mix of evergreen, fragrant white flowers, alcohol-heat, and moderate acidity. That said, I found his wine thoroughly intriguing as I kept putting my nose back in the glass to take in the mix of qualities I found there.

Foley keeps this juice in stainless steel, with no oak influence or malolactic fermentation, in order to keep his wine clean and focused on what the grapes themselves have to offer. As a result, there is pleasant fruit here with white peach, and light meyer lemon plus lime coming together with jasmine on both the nose and palate. I mention hints of clove in the comic not to reference oak indicators, but instead to capture the kind of rich spice-heat that hovers about this wine. The wine deserves to be chilled, as the combination of flavors holds together best when served cooler.

The Robert Foley Pinot Blanc would pair well with fish, or light pasta with fresh ingredients.

** As mentioned above, California winemakers are not obligated to distinguish their Pinot Blanc as genuine PB or Melon. As a result, it can be hard to know for sure which grape you find in the bottle, as either grape can be named the same. In this case I have as of yet not been able to find definitive information, but am hoping to hear back from the wine maker via email. I’d love to hear in comments or email if anyone else has further information on the matter, and I’ll be sure to fix a post-edit when the info is confirmed. Pinot Blanc is one of those grapes that is readily mistaken for a couple of other white wines and so it is hard to make a commitment here based simply on having tasted it. That said, the flavors and structure on this wine were consistent with other actual-Pinot Blanc varietals I’ve tasted either here, or previously.

Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Blanc 2009, Willamette Oregon USA

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The Eyrie Pinot Blanc is a true varietal. Jason Lett, the president and wine maker of the label chooses to rest the juice on lees, adding body to the wine, and to allow malolactic fermentation as well, bringing a buttery smoothness to the final drink.

The Eyrie clones originate from the Alsace region, and this wine is produced as a limited bottling, adding to the treasure of tasting it. It is also readily considered unusual when compared to its Willamette counterparts in that the Eyrie presents with richer, creamier texture.

The grapes offer a rich, savory, dried herbal quality to complement the melon and citrus notes. The acidity is lower, but the alcohol higher compared to either the Becker, or Lorentz offerings, as a result the Eyrie leaves more of a sense of heat in the mouth.

The Eyrie would pair well with an avocado-citrus offering such as Avocado-Ahdi, and buttered scallops. This is also the perfect picnic wine.

What I really want with this though? Dungeness Crab. Amen.

This wine is so much Oregon sea coast and forest to me. It tastes like fog, with fresh sea air, the forest surrounding you, and your best friend there on a picnic. For those of you familiar with the area, you’d drink this where Ecola State Park meets the Pacific. It’s beautiful there, and totally intriguing.

Cheers!

Copyright 2012 all rights reserved. When sharing or forwarding, please attribute to WakawakaWineReviews.com

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A Night of Riches

Jan 25, 12 12:00 AM

One Way to Arrange a Birthday Celebration

A friend just had a birthday, and we went to celebrate the same weekend another friend was getting ready to leave town. We decided to focus on a selection of some of our favorite rich-flavored French wines to acknowledge both occasions.

Following are the three wines chosen by a small group of wine lovers to indulge in the cool weather fullness of Northern Hemisphere January weather, and celebrate a special occasion with ease.

Rene’ Geoffroy Rose’ de Saigne’e Brut Premier Cru Champagne

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I’ve reviewed this champagne before. It’s a wonderfully full bodied, pleasantly spiced, red berry driven sparkling wine with lovely rose scents. The Rene’ Geoffroy is made beautifully via the Saigne’e method–the first portion of the wine making process keeps the juice in contact with the skins adding color, body, and extra flavor to the juice. A lovely way to open the palate, and begin a celebration.

Chapoutier “La Bernardine” 2005 Chateauneuf de Pape

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Years ago I was friends with a woman that after a glass or two of wine would start talking about going home and putting on her 3/4-length mink coat inside out to wait for her husband to get back from work. It was her expression of feeling good, ready for a luscious sensory experience.

A glass into Chapoutier’s “La Bernardine” I found myself explaining to Katherine, the birthday girl, that if I owned fur I’d be heading home to put it on inside out myself, even without a husband to wait for. This Chateauneuf-du-Pape has that sort of luscious texture, and sensuous balance of flavors with structure.

This is a rich, red wine perfect for the January weather of the Northern Hemisphere. It carries the elusive umami quality offered by aged wine, described as a sort of completeness of flavor–a savory deliciousness when the structure and flavors of a wine come together in balance, feeling full in the mouth. This fullness is expressed through dried red fruits in concert with dried herbs, hints of coffee, and black truffle.

2006 Domaine Tempier Bandol “La Migoua”

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The Domaine Tempier is considered a wine geek dream. The wine suits such a mention both because of the incredible complexity of flavors dancing through the glass, and because of the unique location from which it originates.

The rich chalk and clay soils of this vineyard show themselves in the balanced dryness of this wine. The minerals are subtle but layer in a nice lightness and grounding to the red fruits and earth elements. I was impressed by the very many layers of this wine–the finish offering cedar, and cigar box notes after the richly polished tannins. The acidity in no way dominates here but brings a nice balance to the dry features of the wine.

Happy Birthday again, Katherine!

Cheers!

Copyright 2012 all rights reserved. When sharing or forwarding, please attribute to WakawakaWineReviews.com

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Two Bordeaux Blanc Blends: Signorello 2008 Seta, Chateau Haut Bian 2010

Jan 13, 12 1:53 AM

Bordeaux Blanc Blends

A good Bordeaux blanc carries the herbal-woody nose of Semillon, with the crisp fruit of the Sauvignon Blanc; the weighty middle palate of the Semillon, with the fresh acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc. The blend of the two grape varieties offers a light candy bouquet.

The following two wines represent two different quality levels, and origins for Bordeaux blancs, both great for white seafood, shellfish, or as an apertif.

Chateau Haut Rian 2010 Bordeaux Blanc

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The Chateau Haut Rian is a good value table wine with fresh, crisp citrus, tart green apple, and star fruit accompanied by dried grass and pleasing minerals. In the mouth there are also light notes of white pepper, and medium-plus acidity keeping the flavors distinctive and bright.

Signorello 2008 Seta Napa Valley

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The Seta 2008 by Signorella offers clean, fresh, distinctive flavors showing the herbal woody qualities of semillon balanced by the acidity and fruit of the sauvignon blanc. The flinty minerals bring a lovely balance. This is a nice quality wine that is a pleasure to drink.

 

Copyright 2011 all rights reserved. When sharing or forwarding, please attribute to WakawakaWineReviews.com

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Tasting Through Sauvignon Blanc: Wine Reviews, Regional Differences, and Varietal Characteristics (with a hello to Julie!)

Jan 6, 12 2:40 AM

Thanks to Julie for her interest in Sauvignon Blanc!

***

Sauvignon Blanc is yet another grape that carries uncertain origins. There are a number of potential parent plants, each placing its possible motherland in differing areas of the world. What we do know is that its more contemporary history roots the grape in Western France, both Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. From here the vine has traveled throughout the wine growing regions of the world.

The phylloxera outbreak of the late 1800′s deeply impacted the grapes production volume throughout Europe, resulting in vines now younger than the crisis in that region. However, the planet still showcases Sauvignon Blanc vines older than the phylloxera epidemic as cuttings were transported to Chile before the infestation of Europe. Chile remains the only country in the world never impacted by the phylloxera louse as its geography offers natural protection through the desert in the North, the mountains to the East, and the ocean on the West. As a result, some of the oldest vines in the world (of other grape types too) reside in the Chilean countryside.

Sauvignon Blanc Varietal Wine Reviews

Below the preferred wine from each region is reviewed through a wine review comic. However, a number of other Sauvignon Blanc varietals are also reviewed here through a text-only review. Each review is demarcated in this post with a bold title section. At the bottom of the post a brief note indicating which Sauvignon Blanc wines came out as favorites.

France

Sauvignon Blanc generates several world famous wines originating in Western France. In Bordeaux, the grape is one of several allowed as part of the dry white blend known as Bordeaux blanc–we’ll look at examples of such blends next week. It also plays a key role in the sweet wine blend, Sauternes (another we’ll look at next week). In the Loire Valley the wine is most well known for its production focus as Sancerre.

White Sancerre brings a mineral focus, and elegance to the grape, cultivating Sauvignon Blanc in either chalk or flint soil, both of which can be sensed in the final varietal when fermentation temperatures are kept high. While flint tends to offer leaner, long lived renditions, chalk instead generates a wine, by comparison, with a heftier body and mouth feel. Sancerre is generally placed in Stainless Steel vats for fermentation, thus abstaining from any oak influence on the flavors or aging potential of the wine.

By many, Sancerre is considered one of the most elegant, dry, and pleasing white wines in the world.

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Wine Review: Daniel Chotard 2009 Sancerre Imported by Kermit Lynch

Sancerre is generally understood to be less grassy than other varietals from this grape. This Chotard is no exception. The fruits are distinct, and pleasant, carrying noticeable and refreshing flinty minerals. Subtle white flowers lift the citrus, and slight tropical scents and flavors profile. The acidity here is also pleasing, bringing a nice mouth watering crispness to the fruit.

More on France

Though Bordeaux and Loire Valley are the largest production areas for this variety, it is grown throughout the country with differing styles of wine resulting. Though it does not play a huge role there, Sauvignon Blanc is one of the many grapes grown in the Languedoc-Rouissillon region of the South.

Wine Review: JeanJean 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Languedoc

This wine from JeanJean offers a clean, fresh fruit focused varietal with medium complexity, and finish. The nose hosts Meyer lemon, lime, passion fruit, and scents of honey suckle. On the mouth, you find Meyer lemon, lime, and tropical fruits. Refreshing, approachable, and pleasing to drink.

Though I did not draw a wine comic for the JeanJean, if you are looking for a Sauvignon Blanc to drink, this wine is recommended. I appreciate the clean, citrus focused, mouth watering elements of this wine.

California

Introduced to California in the 1880′s, Sauvignon Blanc went through a long period of being out of favor in North America. This reputation was changed when Robert Mondavi coined a new name for it–Fume Blanc–and marketed it as an exciting new dry white alternative to chardonnay. The pitch worked.

The Fume Blanc name is unregulated through the state, thus allowing wine makers to choose if they’ll sell their wine under the varietal name, or the Mondavi nickname. Because of the lack of regulation the production style with either moniker can vary widely.

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Wine Review: Hanna 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley

The grassy elements common to Sauvignon Blanc show lightly in the Hanna. They are well-balanced with fruit elements, and acidity that offers distinctive, recognizable fruit flavors. Fresh citrus, and light lychee notes dance in the nose, while citrus zing into balance with deepening melon flavors on the palate. The wine also showcases crisp pear as it warms. This wine is very refreshing both for its well-defined flavors, and fresh fruit focus, as well as the mouth watering acidity. Well-balanced, fresh, and crisp varietal here.

Wine Review: Frog’s Leap 2010 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

I want to note that I appreciate the humor offered from the Frog’s Leap label that puts the words “open other end” near the bottom, as if anyone could open the bottom of a bottle without simply breaking it. In the midst of wine tasting I appreciated finding the subtle humor.

The Frog’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc (SB), however, was my least favorite of the many SB varietals I tasted. Sauvignon Blanc does best in climates where the temperature at any one part of the day does not reach too high–in more extreme conditions the grape tends to ripen quickly resulting in less distinct flavor components in the final wine. Here we find mushy flavors–they are not distinct or crisp, and instead traverse your palate as washed out fruit. The nose is very light with faint tropical fruits, and oak. The mouth shows a powdered candy taste alongside lime and passion fruit.

New Zealand

Though the grape was originally planted in New Zealand as an experiment to be mixed with other white varieties, here SB varietals are now famous. New Zealand established an internationally known wine industry for its strongly fruit focused, tropical notes rendition of the grape. Interestingly, production practices in the area have been strongly influenced by geography historically. Because there had only been proper production facilities on one island, while the grape was grown on both, grapes had to be transported by truck over long distances before they could be separated from their skins and pressed. As a result of the extended skin contact in transport, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc tended to offer fuller flavors and intensity in the wine.

The growing conditions here vary widely from vineyard to vineyard, thus creating very different flavor elements within the region. Still, due to the maritime climate of the long, narrow islands, the grape celebrates one of the longer growing seasons seen anywhere in the world. As a result, the New Zealand flavors tend to be ripe, rich, and full of fruit.

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Wine Review: Nine Walks 2011 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

The Nine Walks Sauvignon Blanc has a light nose of candied lime, and tropical fruits. The palate carries forward the tropical fruit with fresh lime, meyer lemon, passion fruit, and hints of pleasing pepper and oak. The minerals here are very light. This varietal is subtle in its delivery, and crisp.

Wine Review: Long Boat 2009 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

The Long Boat offers both herbs, and minerals with sage and subtle flavors of river rocks. The focus on both the nose and the palate are youthful green apple, passionfruit, and meyer lemon, along with unripe pineapple. Accents of white flowers raise the profile. The grass, and green pepper elements common to the grape variety are also present here.

Wine Review: Nautilus 2010 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

This wine shows a clear tropical fruit and citrus focus. There is also green pepper, and light oak showing themselves here. Very fruit focused wine. Not a favorite.

Wine Review: Kim Crawford 2010 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

The grass tendencies of this grape show here on both the nose, and mouth. The Kim Crawford offers the classic full flavor rendition that New Zealand is famous for. The nose has tropical fruits, and passion fruit, while the mouth continues this blend, along with some peach notes, and obvious oak-bite and heat. There is quality here but it is not my style of wine.

Chile

Recent focus has developed quality Sauvignon Blanc in Chile. The well-aged vines of the region along with the more recent focus on quality wine production in the area have combined to produce crisp, flavorful varietals. Contrasting the wines of this region against others mentioned, the Chilean Sauvignon Blancs are generally considered closer in French style, rather than New Zealand. That is, the flavors are more often refined, and cleaner with more of a tendency towards citrus and minerals, and less towards tropical fruits.

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Wine Review: Veramonte 2010 Casablanca Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Bright distinct fruit are found here in both the nose, and the mouth. Lime, meyer lemon, and passion fruit fill the nose, with them carrying forward in the mouth alongside juicy pear, and hints of tropical fruit. This wine is smooth, with a touch of spice.

Wine Review: Arenal 2009 Casablanca Valley Sauvignon Blanc

The flavors here are light, and less distinct. There are notes of candied lime in both the bouquet, and flavors, along with tart green apple, pineapple, grapefruit, light white flowers, and subtle tropical fruits. This wine offers mild heat. It is light, and smooth, showing citrus-candy flavors with a citrus bite. Not a favorite, though I’d recommend it above most of the New Zealand wines mentioned.

Varietal Characteristics: Sauvignon Blanc

Typical to this grape are fruit elements ranging from citrus and tropical fruit. Tropical fruit flavors tend to be more commonly found in New World wines, while citrus elements are generally common throughout. The grape is also known to have an herbaceous quality most commonly showing as grass, and bell pepper.

In less ripe growing seasons Sauvignon Blanc takes on an incredibly pungent (even often called aggressive) odor that people politely refer to as “cat box”, or more pointedly call “cat pee.” This characteristic is less commonly found in the varietal today as the link between this bouquet-flavor component and ripeness levels was recently discovered. Greater sun exposure in cooler climates is one solution to avoiding such flavor elements. In other words, cat box characteristics occur due to temperature, and sun exposure related growing conditions, and are not considered a flaw in the wine. For some, the quality is desirable.

Though the grape is most widely produced in Bordeaux, Loire Valley, California, New Zealand, and Chile, it is also found in small production numbers in South Africa, small portions of Australia, and in other areas of Europe.

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Which SB Wines Win?

Along with the JeanJean, the four wine review comics indicate my favorites of those tasted. Of the styles addressed here, Sancerre is my preference, with the clean, mouth watering qualities of the JeanJean, and the Hanna being next.

***

Monday will consider a side-by-side wine tasting of two very different Semillons, one offered young from Barossa Valley, Australia, and the other an older release from California.

The rest of next week will explore the commonly side-by-side relationship of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon through a comparison of Bordeaux blanc blends (from Bordeaux, and from elsewhere), and then of late harvest wines in both blended and varietal versions of the two grapes.

Copyright 2011 all rights reserved. When sharing or forwarding, please attribute to WakawakaWineReviews.com

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Wine Review: Pierre Gimonnet 2005 Gastronome Brut

Dec 23, 11 5:03 AM

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***

To prepare for the holiday, and get a rest after the close of a busy Fall-Winter semester, Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews will be taking it easy this coming week.

A wine review comic will be posted Monday through Friday, but without the written follow-up. Also, the wine review comics for this week will be reviews previously done for The Wine Loft, Flagstaff, AZ without having appeared here.

More new reviews will start December 26.

Beginning December 26 the format of Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews will change a little bit. At that time posts will appear here Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with a shift to more of a feature focus. The new format will allow me to take a more in-depth approach with, for example, a look at particular wineries, or side-by-side tastings of similar wines from different regions.

Have a wonderful holiday!

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