White Burgundy Might Be Out of My Price Range

Dear Reader,

I apologize for the lack of posts the past couple of weeks. Real life obligations and a sick cat have kept me away from the blog! I do appreciate you all still visiting it while I'm away, though. However, just because I was away doesn't mean I wasn't drinking wine!!

I started our month of Chardonnay with a couple of wines from Burgundy, France. The grape originates from this region and this area sets THE standard for Chardonnays around the world. If your Chardonnay comes from Burgundy, you will see or hear the term White Burgundy used, or if the wine hails from the Chablis AOC, it will be termed Chablis,

Burgundy is a wine region in southwest France that is made up of six smaller regions: Chablis, Cote de Nuts, Cote de Beaune, Cote Chalonnaise, Maconnais, and Beaujolais. The last five are arranged in a north-south(ish) orientation that follows the Saone river. Chablis is all by itself about sixty miles to the northwest. I haven't quite figured out the rules for this area - I think I'll explore that in another post - but some sources say that Chablis and Beaujolais are no longer part of Burgundy and some say they are.

Here's a neat little map of the region, minus Chablis

The first thing I learned about White Burgundies is that they are mostly out of my price range for this project - I spent a long time in the wine store debating with myself if I should fudge the limit and go up a few dollars to include one, or if I should just stick with the sub $15 rule. I decided against breaking the rule - I had already done it with one of the Zinfandels last month (Oppolo) and I knew there were so many Chardonnays out there, that I should just stick with finding the good ones under my limit.

I did manage to find two - both from the Maconnais region. The village-level wines are typically lower in price and are said to be typically unoaked or less oaky/oily/buttery than other Chardonnays. I picked up at 2013 Louis-Jadot Macon Villages and a 2013 Cave de Lugny Macon-Lugny Les Charmes. With these two in hand, I had high hopes for my exploration into lower end White Burgundy.

At first, I was really disappointed by these two wines. Both reminded me of Pinot Grigio: they are bright tasting, with some citrus notes. The Louis Jadot also has some apple on the nose, with a deeper, perhaps nuttier note. I also got some mineral on the palate of the Macon-Lugny. I was thankful that they were nothing like what I hate about Chardonnay, but at the same time I was hoping they would be totally different from what I've tasted before.

Then I started reading tasting notes on various websites and the literature at both wineries website - both wines are described as having a "full-mouth" feel and that there are some lingering buttery notes on the palate at the end. Well both are descriptors for Chardonnays and I really thought the reviews and notes were full of shit. Then I got anxious and thought maybe these wines were too complicated for me. Maybe I'm not ready for anything out of France!!

I went back to both wines and tasted again - really concentrating on figuring out the full-mouth feel that others had noticed. It took some time, but I got it. It was really subtle with both wines, but it was there. Its hard to describe, but about mid-palate you sort of notice that the flavor is all over your mouth, not just on your tongue. Even typing this out, I think it sounds a bit ridiculous....but, to me, that's what it feels like. Also during this second tasting, I noticed that the Louis Jadot's bright notes lingered on my tongue longer than the Les Charmes. I think this may be those buttery notes - so its not really a taste (yes, I was trying to see if the wine tasted like butter), but more of a lingering in your mouth like butter DOES.

Personally, I'd recommend the Louis Jadot over the Macon-Lugny. However, since both were kind of at the top of my budget, I think the next time I would pick this up would be to go with a good dinner or a wine party with good cheeses. There is a lot going on with both these wines, so you need to spend time with them and probably find food that will bring out all their subtleties.

Grape of the Month: Chardonnaaaaayyyyy...and maybe some others

One of my least favorite wines right now is Chardonnay. Every time I try it, I dislike how oaky it is. However, after seeing how wines can differ drastically depending on where they come from, I decided to give this varietal another chance and choose it as my grape of the month for November. Also, it seems like a good wine to bring to family holiday celebrations and I wanted to basically get this over with early in my wine journey rather than put it off.

Chardonnay is a white wine that originated in France, but is now grown all over the world. The climate affects the flavor profile: cooler climes produce a lighter body wine with lighter fruit flavors like apple and pear, but as the climate warms up, the flavors change from peach and melon to tropical notes in the warmest places.

According the to the internet, Burgundy produces THE BEST Chardonnay in the world. You may see Chardonnay from this region termed White Burgundy or Chablis. Wines from here are mostly way above my budget for this project, but I did manage to find a couple that fell within it. Hopefully, I will enjoy them more than I have other Chardonnays.

Because this wine is produced everywhere, this grape may extend into December. Partly because I want to try out some Beaujolais Nouveau when it comes out later this month. Remember, dear reader, when I tried some wines my mother had held onto for years? One of them was a Beaujolais Nouveau from 2010, which did not drink well five years later. Since this wine is marketed for Thanksgiving in America, I think it would be appropriate to try.

Also, I thought it would be fun to try out some Champagne or sparkling wine for December to get us ready for New Years Eve. Many bubbly wines are made with Chardonnay grapes, so that makes extending this exploration into next month even more relevant!

So far, I will be trying:

2 from Australia

2 from France

4 from California

1 from Oregon

I'm actually excited for this month of exploring! Finding a Chardonnay I like is going to be a challenge!

Field trip! A local wine tasting....and one last Zin!

This past Saturday, I hauled the boyfriend over to a branch of the local chain of beer/wine/liquor stores to try out some wines from Bordeaux. Besides trying The Furst... back in September, I haven't had anything else from France. I know next to nothing about this region and am planning on devoting a month or so to it sometime in the future. One of the few things I do know: the reds here will be very different than those found in California. (Shocking! I know!)

Upon arriving at the store, we found out they had other wines besides the Bordeaux, so we got to try a whole bunch. There was also tequila, I believe whiskey and some malt beverages to taste. If you tried everything, you would be having a pretty great day! Actually, one little old lady did really enjoy herself so much they had to ask her to leave - we encountered her in the parking lot, swearing up a storm. 

I didn't really focus on what flavors I was getting from the tastings, but more on if I liked or disliked the wine. I took pictures of the labels for future reference - so I didn't have to write down or try to remember everything. 

Table 1:

2013 J. Hofstatter Pinot Grigio: This is from the same region (Alto Adige) as our Tiefenbrunner from last month. I liked it! 

2010 Bodegas Luzon Jumilla Altos de Luzon: This is the first Spanish wine I've had. It was a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo (new grape!). I liked this so much, I bought a bottle.

 
2013 Tuck Beckstoffer Cabernet Sauvignon Est 75: From Napa, was just okay.

2012 Buglioni Valpolicella Classico Il Valpolicella: From Italy, did not like this one.

2013 Ponzi Vineyards Tavola Pinot Noir: From Oregon. I liked this, but I feel like I still don't get the appeal of Pinot Noir. 

Table 2 (the Bordeaux wines):

2012 Chateau les Cruzelles

2012 Chateau La Point: This was the favorite of the day. The gal who poured for us said that was the overall consensus of everyone else too.

2012 Les Chenes de Macquin

2012 Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot 

2012 Chateau Haut-Bergey: This one also stood out. For the first time, I tasted mineral in a red wine!  
2012 Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere 

The first four are blends of merlot and the last two are blends of cabernet sauvignon. French wines are rarely single varietal like New World ones. Some people end up liking one style over the other. I definitely ended up liking the French reds over the California reds in this tasting.

Table 3:

2012 Layer Cake Sea of Stones: Bottled in Cali, grapes from Argentina. This was a very interesting tasting red blend. I bought a bottle to explore further.

2013 Layer Cake Malbec: Again, bottled in Cali, grapes from Argentina. Just okay

2013 Mountain Door Cabernet Sauvignon: From Cali. Liked better than the Cab from Table 1.

2013 Layer Cake Cabernet Sauvignon: From Cali. Did not like

2013 Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon: From Napa. This one was interesting in that it had what seems to be two finishes. However, I did not feel like it was worth the price.


Things I learned from my tasting day:

1 - Take advantage of free tastings!! Follow your local wine store on social media, subscribe to their email list, or check out their website and add the tasting dates to your calendar.

2 - Taking pictures of the labels and price tags (I cropped those!) helps to organize your thoughts later on. I use a website called Cellar Tracker to help me with wine stuff and they have a private notes feature that I used to log in my thoughts about these for future reference.

3 - Not every tasting has to be super in-depth, you don't have to feel like you need to identify all the tasting notes. I just quickly went with "I like this" or "I don't like this". The two wines I really enjoyed, I bought to taste further.

4 - Bring a bottle of water with you! And don't eat mints right before you start. I sort of ruined the taste of the Pinot Grigio because I had a mint after our lunch right before we got to the store. 

Finally, tonight, we end with the last of our Zinfandels for October: Beringer White Zin!

I sort of approached this wine as a joke. It was cheap, my mom loved it when I was growing up, and it was super popular in the 70s, 80s and part of the 90s. However, after researching Zinfandel this month, I have a new appreciation for white Zinfandel.

Remember our discussion on old vine Zin? The vines they use to produce those wines are close to a hundred years old. They have survived two eras where they could have easily been destroyed: prohibition and the 70s. In the 70s, wines like Merlot and Chardonnay were increasing in popularity, while red Zinfandel was decreasing. This meant the Zinfandel vines were in danger of being ripped out to make room for more popular grapes. However, white Zin burst onto the scene and became super popular! Its a sweet wine with a nice finish, making it very easy to drink. Because of this, the vines were saved and we still have those old vines that produce really great Zinny-Zins! (Even though I couldn't tell the difference!)

The white Zin was awful and I did struggle to finish the bottle, but I can now appreciate what the white Zin demand did to save the old vines. I might not drink it again, but I won't make fun of it anymore! 

Old Vine Zinfandel: What is it?

Next time you're shopping for wine, stop by the Zinfandel section and check out how many Zin labels contain "old vine" or "ancient vine". There are actually quite a bit! So what is old vine or ancient vine? Technically, nothing - the terms have no legal definition. However, many claim that vintages made from older vines are much better than those made from younger. Since this month is dedicated to learning about Zinfandel, I thought we should explore this claim.

First, let's talk about grape vines. As vines age, their yield decreases and the quality of the wine produced can also start to degrade. Many popular varieties have lifespans of 30-50 years. In fact, some vines will produce great vintages at less than 10 years. However, Zinfandel takes a long time to even out its flavors and produce good wines - about 30-50 years! Zinfandel vines can live to over a 100 years, so they are right at about middle age when they hit their stride for yield and consistent flavor. 

Once Zinfandel vines hit the last quarter of their life (~75 years), their yields start to decline, but their flavor appears to intensify instead of declining! When wineries put "old vine" or "ancient vine" on their labels, they usually are using vines that are older than 75 years. However, since there is no legal definition to the terms, wineries can use any age vines and term the wine "old vine". Vines of this age produce rich Zins that are characteristic of everything people like about the variety. 

Old vines in Sonoma - really cool looking!

I wanted to set up a taste test designed to see if "old vine" Zins were better than others. I wanted to find wines that hailed from the same area and were made by the same winery, and I found this using Cline Cellars. They have one regular Zin and one labeled ancient vines.

Both wines are from 2013, the regular is from Lodi ($8.99) and the ancient vines vintage ($10.99 on sale) comes from Contra Costa County, which is located between Lodi and San Francisco. 

Let's taste!!

I could smell cherry with the regular Zinfandel, it wasn't very complex. When tasting, I got cherry and strawberry at the start. It's a good blend and I was happy to actually taste strawberry in one of these Zins. I felt it was overpowered in the wines from a couple of weeks ago, I didn't taste it at all. The regular Zin also had some tannins that were pleasant and there was vanilla at the end. Overall, I wasn't that impressed. I think we may need to pay over $11/bottle to find a good Zin. 

The ancient vine Zinfandel was definitely different! It smells like chocolate covered strawberry and you can taste that too. There was also coffee on the tongue. I did like this one better than the regular Zin, but when comparing to other Zins from two weeks ago, it wasn't that great.

Two weeks ago, I tasted another old vine vintage: 2013 Gnarly Head. When compared to each other, the old vine wines were completely different. Cline was not as "jammy" as Gnarly Head. I could not tell if either had more concentrated flavor compared to the regular Zins. In the end, I cannot tell if older vines make better wine. However, we can explore this more in the future, there are some other varieties that are known to get better as the vine age.

So, dear reader, our explorations this week were kind of a bust! However, we got to drink wine, so it can't be all that bad. I'd be interested if you have ever found a difference between older and younger vine Zins and what wineries they came from!

Let's explore the Dry Creek Valley

One of the best known regions in the world for Zinfandel is the Dry Creek Valley in California, and because Zin is our grape of the month, it would be a good idea to learn more about this area. Dry Creek Valley is located in the northern part of Sonoma county and is an American Viticultural Area (AVA).

AVAs are federally-defined areas in the United States the have such unique properties that grapes grown in that area will differ from ones grown in others. So far, I've found AVAs to be easier to understand than designated areas in France or Italy. A new AVA can be created via petition or requests to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. AVAs can span multiple states or cover less than 100 acres.

The valley is compact: 16 miles long by 2 miles wide - it's kind of a slogan for the AVA. It was formed via uplift and then subsidence. Once the valley had subsided, it was filled in with alluvial deposits. This has caused the valley to contain different soil types on the floor of the valley and on the slopes and benches. The hillside vineyards also receive different amounts of sun exposure depending on the direction they face. For such a small AVA, there is an amazing variety of microclimates!

During the day, the coastal mountains protect Dry Creek Valley from the cooler ocean temperatures. This means the valley can see some higher temps, but those same mountains bring in the cool ocean breezes at night. Due to these variations in temperature, the vines are allowed to ripen fully and mature slowly. This is a perfect combination to get the higher alcohol content seen in Zins, giving them their characteristic flavors! If you see a lower alcohol content, this may mean your Zin grapes did not mature fully. Zins from warmer areas will be a bit spicier - this explains why our Dry Creek Vineyards Zin had a nice peppery finish to it.

The valley is also home to other grapes, most notably Sauvignon Blanc. It is actually the most-planted grape in the valley and is grown in vineyards located on the valley floor. The valley has a similar climate to the Bordeaux region in France and is also known for Bordeaux-style blends.

From: www.drycreekvalley.org/ So pretty!!

Dry Creek Valley may be tiny, but it really puts out an amazing variety of grapes grown in a large number of microclimates. Trying a Zinfandel from this region is a definite must!

References:

Dry Creek Valley Wine Region and Appellation

Wine Growers of Dry Creek Valley

Sonoma in Spring

A Guide to Zinfandel Wine Regions

Zinfandel: Not quite sure about this stuff

Well, dear reader, I tried a few Zinfandels the other night, While they were tasty, I ended up feeling like I was drinking jam and almost didn't want to taste the last bottle. That's what Zin is known for: being "jammy". I didn't drink too much Zin before this and I'm not sure I'll drink too much more after this month. Despite that, I still think you should try! Always explore new wines and find stuff you like!

Alright, lets get started, we have a lot to cover!

From left to right, we have:

2013 Dry Creek Vineyard Zinfandel Heritage Vines ($15)

2013 Gnarly Head Zinfandel Old Vine ($9)

2012 Masseria Surani Heracles Primitivo ($14)

2013 Opolo Vineyard Summit Creek Zinfandel ($17)

Let's pause and talk about the prices. I kind went top of the budget ($15/bottle) and a little over on one. Zinfandel appears to be kinda pricey. Especially when I was looking for stuff that came from a specific region. The ones that are blends of Zin from multiple locations are lower in price and I plan to try those later this month. This may be a wine that if you want to grab one for a nice meal (or even pizza, Zin goes great with pizza!) you should to talk to the wine guy at your local store or read up on the differences of the regions to find which highlights characteristics you like.

Alright, back to the tastings - 

The Dry Creek was my most anticipated of the four, so I started with it right away. The Dry Creek area of Sonoma is KNOWN for its Zinfandel vines. On my trip to Sonoma this past spring, I tried a Zin from Valley of the Moon winery that sourced the grapes from a vineyard in Dry Creek and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to try this. Dry Creek Vineyard is also known for their great quality/price ratio wines (QPRs). 

I have to say, this was pretty great! The boyfriend did not enjoy it so much, because of the high tannins. Whoa...slow down...what the hell is a tannin? Let's do an activity! Reader, go to your kitchen and brew yourself a cup of black tea, like Lipton, and lets it steep for about 5 minutes too long. Now take a sip, that feeling in your mouth, that's tannin. It provides structure to your wine. A lot of times these wine terms need to be experienced before you can really wrap your brain around it, that's why exploring different wines is great - you figure out what people are talking about.

We made the mistake of drinking this right after opening, I should have let the bottle stand open (or decanted, but we don't have a decanter) for about an hour before trying. I didn't mind the tannins too much, but they bothered the bf a lot. 

Besides those, we got black cherry and toasted oak when smelling. Wine notes also say black berries but I didn't get those. When we tasted, there was raspberry at first which quickly switched to licorice that quickly switched to pepper at the end. Sounds bad, it wasn't. It's complex and makes you think. Apparently, allspice and Asian spices were also present, I didn't get those.

Score: 5/8 of the tasting notes. That seems about right for me. I still have a hard time picking up real fine or subtle smells and tastes.

On to the next!

The Gnarly Head was my least favorite. It was too sweet for me right out of the bottle (I tried some the next day and it had mellowed). This was literally like drinking toast and jam. The fruit flavors had that characteristic Zin "jammy" quality. This is actually a pretty simple wine, blackberries and mocha on the nose. Got the blackberries on the palate with vanilla and it finished with that toast flavor.

Why are Zins so sweet and jammy? It has to do with their alcohol content. I guess the higher the alcohol, the sweeter the Zin. I would say if you are an entry-level Zin drinker, this may be a good choice for you. The bf ended up liking this one the most.

Gnarly Head is based in Lodi, which is also a big Zinfandel area. In fact, its a very important region because the vines survived Prohibition. Lots of "old vine" Zins originate from Lodi. I know in the last post we talked about "old vine" status and the fact they are supposed to produce better Zins. I'm not so sure with this one. We shall revisit the "old vine" claim with two wines from the same winery - one regular, one old vine. 

Score: 4/5 of the tasting notes.

Number three!

The Opolo Summit Creek - this one was my favorite! The winery/vineyards are located in Paso Robles, which is located in the Central Coast area of Cali. They are supposed to produce less full bodied, less tannin-y Zins. I was a little worried, this Zin comes in at 15.5% alcohol. It could have ended up too sweet, too jammy for me. However, I really enjoyed this one!

There is the jam, but its not overly sweet. Amazing raspberry smell and flavor. The tasting notes also say strawberry, but I never really got that. I think it gets overpowered by all the rest. The tannins are definitely softer in this one. Cinnamon comes in at the very end, but its a pleasant flavor and not overwhelming. The notes also say tea leaves and maybe they are there, perhaps they work to mellow out the cinnamon.

This bottle ran us $2 over budget, but I think it might be worth it. Definitely a great bottle to take to a party. The winery also does Zins sourced from different vineyards and I found their Mountain Zin at my local, non-chain wine store. I grabbed it and I'm going to buy another bottle of this Summit Creek. At some point next year, I'll open them and compare.

Score: 3/5 of the tasting notes, not too shabby!

Finally, the Primitivo!

By the time we got around to tasting this, I was almost done with wine for the night. I was overwhelmed by the jammy flavors and, frankly, feeling the alcohol. But I persevered. 

This wine smells weird, I think it might be licorice. Its not really that fruity on the nose. Overall, its not that jammy. It reminds me of the Opolo, its not as full-bodied or filled with tannins like the Dry Creek. The fruit and spice work together instead of one following the other. I got cherry and licorice on the palate, but strawberry is supposed to be there too. I didn't get that one, though. For me, it tied with the Dry Creek. Primitivos are interesting and I think you should definitely try them!

Score: 2/3 of the tasting notes!

Thanks to the tasting, I now have 5 bottles of open wine that I'm making my way through....really my life is rough! 

So that's Zin...it's jammy, it has a lot of alcohol and it varies quite a lot depending on the region in Cali it comes from. Its not my favorite varietal, but it was fun to try new things. I think I have a good understanding of what tannins are now.  It really helped to taste them in order to understand them.

Grape of the Month: Zinfandel

I wanted to pick a red wine grape this month - it's fall and red wines just seem to make sense! I haven't tried too many Zinfandels, I mostly drink Cabernet Sauvignon (I'm not very hipster with my wine choices!), and thought it would be fun to explore Zins. With a ton of Halloween parties happening in a few weeks, I think this would be a great wine to bring.

Beautiful Zinfandel Grapes!

Zinfandel was thought to only be planted in the United States, but recent DNA evidence has found that it is a clone of the Primitivo grape from Italy and Crljenak Kastelanski in Croatia. I'm totally digging the use of genetics to help solve the mysteries of grape lineages, I get to indulge my nerdiness with lots of neat trivia.

Because Zinfandel is really just grown in a few areas in the world, I thought it would easy to find just a few examples to highlight what people do with it. Well.....I was sooooo wrong. California alone has about a half dozen areas that are known to be great Zin producers. This is gonna be tough.

Zin is known to be a high alcohol wine - think 15-16% in some! The higher the alcohol, the bigger the Zin. The characteristic Zin comes from warmer climates and lower altitudes, but higher altitudes, cooler climes and lower alcohol content can produce some softer versions of it. A lot of Zin labels currently have the "old vine" or "ancient vine" wording added, while this has no legal definition, older vines are thought to produce better tasting Zins.

So this month, I want to find and try the following:
One from the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma - one of the best places for Zin, apparently.

One from the Lodi, California area - also known for their Zin. However, some in my forum community do not like the Lodi Zins, I would like to see if I can figure out why.

One from Paso Robles area - these are less full bodied than other areas in the California, so I'll see if I can taste the difference.

A Primitivo from Italy - I cannot find any Croatian vintages near me, but the local store does have one from Italy.

The local store also carries regular and old vine varietals from the same winery, so I'll grab those and see if there is a noticeable difference

A Zinfandel with a cool label! Cause those are really fun to bring to parties. Some of the cooler looking labels are blends of Zins from around California, so this might produce a uniquely tasting wine. I'm hoping it will be just as great an experience as the A to Z Pinot Gris.

And finally.........I'll turn into your mother and try it, oh you know, you know! WHITE ZINFANDEL
My mom used to drink this and I think its disgusting, but, dear reader, we must persevere in the name of research.

Wow! This is gonna be a big month. Lots to drink. My life is sooooo difficult. :)

Drinking wine found in your mother's closet is not a good idea......

And we finish up September with a Pinot Gris from Oregon


Last week, the boyfriend and I traveled to Montana to visit my parents. It was a super fun trip, but I didn't get the chance to drink any wine. We did try a out a great brewery: Madison River Brewing in Belgrade, MT - go if you ever get a chance!

While we were visiting, my mother gave me a couple of bottles of wine she received as gifts a few years ago. They had been sitting in the back of her closet forever and she couldn't remember who gave them to her. My mother doesn't drink much or particularly like wine, so I was blessed (aka cursed) with the gift of wine of questionable origin.

Also gifted to me this week was a huge wine glass from my coworker. I'm pretty sure I could fit an entire bottle of wine it, but I wasn't about to do that with the two bottles from my mother. Seriously, these were bottles I wasn't sure I even wanted to open. But in the spirit of education, I bit the bullet.

The wine on the left is a Beaujolais Nouveau from 2010 by Georges Duboeuf. The deal with Beaujolais Nouveaus is that they are meant to be drank right away.....so I tried it about 5 years too late. These are red wines from the Beaujolais region in France and made from the Gamay grape. They are bottled after a short period of fermentation. It used to be a big deal - I can't tell if it is anymore. Its released on the third Thursday of November and in America it is marketed as a wine for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure I want to invite this guy to the table though.

So what does a wine that was meant to be drunk at Thanksgiving 2010 taste like when drunk in September 2015? Fucking awful is what it tastes like!! It smelled like cough syrup and tasted worse. I can't even describe the flavor beyond pure awfulness. I took one sip and the rest went down the drain.

The wine on the right is a 2009 Cabernet Franc by Lazy Bones. Searching for Lazy Bones revealed nothing about the company that produced it. It appears to be sold at Trader Joes and has had mixed reviews over the years. I did eventually find the company that owns it, but they are a bottling/storage company in California that services many different wineries. I'm not sure how that leads to the production of this wine.

Cabernet Franc is mostly used in red blends such as Bordeaux and Meritage. It's rarely sold as a single varietal. It's actually a parent grape of Cabernet Sauvignon. So knowing that this grape is not really great by itself and that there is no information about the winemaker for it, I did not have high hopes. That....and my mom found it in her closet.

After pouring, I smelled it: cherries, brown sugar and wood. It smelled pretty good, so I had some hope. But that was quickly dashed by tasting. It was like a sudden bright note of generic fruit and then nothing but the taste of alcohol. This bottle should have been drank years ago. Two sips and the rest was poured out. The best part of the night was watching the first James Bond movie, Dr. No.

I think this was definitely a lesson in doing some research into wine you would like to buy, just bought or received as a gift.

So after that awful awful experience, let's finish up our grape of the month: Pinto Gris/Grigio.

If you remember from earlier, I want to find a variety of wines made from this grape that would showcase the different styles you can find around the world. I managed to find a very nice fruit-forward one from California (Estancia) and a fun, mouth-puckering, full of minerality one from Italy (Tiefenbrunner). However, I didn't quite land on one that shows off how they do it in France. My local wine store has a few from Alsace, but all at price point I don't really want to pay.

I received some good advice from a forum community I'm joined - they advised I look at Oregon, specifically the Willamette Valley. So I bought a Pinot Gris from the A to Z Winery. At $13, this is an amazing wine!! The winery uses grapes from many different vineyards to capture a ton of different flavors and smells.

There was a lot to smell and taste with this wine and I definitely did not pick up everything. As the wine warms up, the scents and tastes will change, which was super fun to experience. My favorite was probably the honey notes that came out as the wine warmed up. This is definitely way different than the Estancia or Tiefenbrunner, which are much less complex wines. I would recommend bringing this to your next dinner party!

In the end, I'm glad I picked Pinot Gris as the first grape. It changes drastically depending on where its grown and I managed to find some good examples of that for less than $15. So, dear Reader, go out and pick some others - report back what you found!

Italian Pinot Grigio - Let's Talk Details

Last week I tried three different examples of Pinot Grigio or Gris from different parts of the world. I was hoping to capture good examples of three different styles. I think I hit the mark with two out of three! I'm not going to pat myself on the back too much....I mean I did pick an Italian wine to highlight the Italian style and a California wine to highlight the New World style....it was just hard to hit the Alsace style with something from California.

Anyway......lets talk about that guy from Italy!

Hey there it is again! As a refresher, it had nice straw color, had a strong mineral smell (nose) to it and a even lemon/mineral taste with good acidity. Overall, it was a good, simple wine that was fun to drink!

But let's talk about where it comes from, why it has high acidity and a lemon flavor - let's get to know this guy a bit better!

Most of Italy's Pinot Grigio is grown in a region called Alto Adige or Suditrol, so be on the look out for that on the label or wine notes if you're doing some research before buying. This area is known to grow great Pinot Grigio. And why is that? Well just look at this place.....

The village of Cortaccia, Italy

Its fucking gorgeous! Literally nothing here could be bad! Actually, this area of Italy has been a major wine producing region for thousands of years and the valley was an important route for trade and migration of people. If we are going to start learning about wine, this is a VERY IMPORTANT PLACE. It used to be part of Austria-Hungary, so they speak mostly German here and you will see a lot of German place names on maps and labels.

Zoomed in on our area of interest

Actually, it's known to grow great Pinot Grigio because of a relatively cool climate caused by a higher elevation. This cool climate contributes to the acidity of the wine, which is what makes Pinot Grigio great! Fermentation of this grape in stainless steel helps too. However, a high acidity can also mean the grapes were picked too soon. How can you tell the difference? Right now, I have no clue, but I'm going to guess the acidity of grapes picked too soon can be unpleasant to smell and taste.

Pinot Grigio also needs long ripening times and goes through a spectrum of flavors that indicate how long it had to ripen. The folks over at Wine Folly have a great chart illustrating this. Our Tiefenbrunner had a distinct lemon flavor, so we know that it had a good long time to ripen.

This region is known for some other grape varietals that I hope to try out in the future.

Sources:
http://www.altoadigewines.com/en/home.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Tyrol_wine

http://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-381-pinot-grigio

http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-trentino-alto+adige

http://winefolly.com/review/whats-the-difference-between-pinot-gris-and-pinot-grigio/

http://www.weinstrasse.com/en/

http://winefolly.com/review/wine-characteristics/

http://iv.ucdavis.edu/Viticultural_Information/?uid=27&ds=351

Pinot Grigio - versatile and fun!

Last night, the bf and I tasted three different Pinot Grigio/Gris. I tried to pick out examples of the three main styles of this grape: Dry and Fruity from the New World, Dry and Minerally from Italy and Sweet and Fruity from France.

Quick Fact: The drier the wine, the higher the alcohol content. The sweeter wines have lower alcohol content.

We started with the 2014 Estancia ($8) which I had selected for a New World style. So we are expecting fruits with some good acid (meaning dry). This wine also is supposed to have a green tint to it, but all I saw was light straw. :( 

(So....50% on the color)

We were supposed to smell passion fruit, sandalwood and grapefruit. We did not smell passion fruit.

The taste is amazing! You get three distinct flavors here, but you really have to concentrate for the first one. It starts off with green apple (try using the tip of your tongue for this flavor), then you get pear in the middle and finally lime at the end with the acid.

In the end, I got 6/8 of the what the internet said is in there. That’s not too bad!

Next up was the 2014 Hahn Pinto Gris ($11), which I thought would be representative of the French style. No go on this. Its supposed to be a sweeter wine, but with 14.5% alcohol content, I don’t think so!

Neither of us liked this one. You get a muddled peach and pear when smelling, it was hard to pick out either one. Both appear when tasting and it has lemon notes at the end and not much acid. It feels silky at the end and it feels “round”.

This was a 4/7 on picking up what the internet said.

Finally, the one I was looking most forward too: 2104 Tiefenbrunner ($7) from Italy.

This was a great simple wine. Very pretty straw color! You can really smell the acid/mineral right away but that wasn’t overpowering in the taste. It had some lemon and minerals with a nice round finish. It was too dry either, very even tasting. 

So I did a good job picking out three wines that each did something different with the grape, but I’m still on the look out for a French style Pinot Gris.

We then watched Lord of War with Nick Cage - not the best but I was easily entertained at that point, having drank most of the bottle of Estancia.

I’d recommend getting both the Estancia and the Tiefenbrunner - they would be easy to compare/contrast.

Grape of the Month: Pinot Grigio

Not to be confused with the current pet grape of Pinot Blanc.

I swear I won’t be discussing just Pinots on this blog! Or Pintos as I sometimes accidentally type them.....

Here we see 3 varieties of Pintos....blanc, grigio and noir. 

I do such good work in paint!

Actually the grapes aren’t really gray....more of a lighter purple color.

Pinot grigio and pinot blanc are the result of mutations in the DNA of pinot noir. There appears to be lots of research into which came first or if blanc is a mutation of grigio. With the help of the The Furst...., I only had the attention span to read one of these papers, which determined that grigio and blanc are separate mutations. 

Pinot grigio is the Italian name for the grape, but it goes by pinot gris in France or grauburgunder in Germany or a bunch of others depending on where you are in Europe. If you are super interested, go check out wikipedia.

Apparently, this grape is super versatile and super popular. Its grown all over the world and vintners do a shit ton of different stuff to it. From immense research (I looked at like 4 or 5 websites), I can tell you that its best represented by 3 styles: the kind you find in Italy, the kind you find in France (Alsace where that fucker the Furst... is from) and the kind you find in places like California. 

Tomorrow, I’m tasting 3 different kinds, hopefully I picked ones that are representative of these regions (really it just happened to be what Binny’s had on sale). Also watching Lord of War with Nick Cage, so it really should be a good time. Stay tuned!!

The Furst...

Is the wurst.......

Eh? Eh? Yeah no, I know. This wine would not go well with sausage (at least I don’t think so), but it did pair surprisingly well with 4-cheese Cheez-Its. I wonder if I could start adding how the wine pairs with Cheez-Its in my cellar tracker tasting notes.....

Tonight’s tasting was of my current “pet grape” pinot blanc. What is pinot blanc? A mutant cousin of pinot noir! I’ll cover that in another post. 

I tried pinot blanc for the first time this past May when I traveled to Sonoma for the boyfriend’s sister’s wedding. I remember really liking it and since I had never even heard of it before, I chose it to be the first “pet grape” that I drink a lot of over the course of a few months.

So back to tonight and this crazy looking motherfucker on the bottle. This is a 2013 The Furst... Pinot Blanc that I found at Binny’s for $15. Furst of all..., (ha ha ha) this looks like it’s going to be a good time, I mean look at this guy. It comes from the Kayserberg in the Alsace Controlee appellation in France. And is produced by a Cave. Whoa....what...oh, I guess a cave is a group of small growers that pool their grapes to produce a wine.

Kayserberg

So back to the wine:

It was a nice pale straw color

(NOPE - according to the internet, it is a pale gold!)

I smelled it....it smelled like fruit and flowers

(GOT THAT RIGHT! well....50% the fruit is pear!)

I tasted it....I furst (ha ha ha) got lots of fruit, I could taste the pear this time and then good amount of acid, but a short finish. 

(Nailed the acidity!) 

So of the four tasting points mentioned on the importer’s website, I got two. :(

He’s judging me with those googly eyes!

Would I buy again? No....unless I was having a Cheeze-It party and needed a wine. Cause damn that was amazing! 

Score: 83 The Furst....wasn’t the wurst, but not the best.

Where to begin.....

So far the biggest hurdle on my wine journey has been where do I even start?

Do I get some wines for a “cellar” (aka my closet)? Do I buy multiple bottles of the same wine? Do I learn about a region or a grape or a winery? Do I just buy random bottles of different wines and see how that goes?

I finally settled on learning by grape! So here are the rules:

1) Learn about one grape a month

2) Try some representative wines with this grape

3) The wines have to be less than $15 - preferably less than $11

4) I get one bottle every two months to put into my “cellar” for later drinking - this bottle can be up to $25.

5) I’ll also try bottles of a “pet grape” throughout the months. Not sure how often this will change.

I’m open to suggestions for wine to try, questions to research, etc.

LETS DO THIS!!

Obligatory First Post

Recently, I decided to learn more about wine - how to drink it, how to taste it, how its grown.....you get the idea. However, I don’t think I know anyone that has a TON of wine knowledge that I could hang out with and learn from, so this endeavor is kind of on my own.

My friend suggested I start a blog about it and I thought that was a perfect idea! I can learn by blogging! I also started an account with cellartracker.com that will help me track what I’ve drank, what I’ve bought and serve as a resource to decide what to drink/buy. If you have an account on there, add me as a friend! My user name on there is also tzusanna.

I hope to have lots of fun with this....I’ll try to keep things interesting!