How Cool is...RIPASSO!

So in the lovely province of Verona, Italy, many wonderful things happen. Star crossed lovers, amazing architecture and Valpolicella! The latter is a DOC, a legally defined region governed by strict winemaking laws.

Valpolicella is a light, fragrant, fruity wine with hints of licorice, cherries and sometimes a touch of a bitter finish (common to Italian wines). It is made from three grapes that you will never remember: Corvina Veronese, Rondinella and Molinara. If you want to take your evening to a whole new level of fantastic, you want an Amarone, the grown up, expensive version of Valpolicella. Right in between falls Ripasso.

To understand Ripasso we must first understand Amarone. The grapes used to make Valpolicella are spread on straw mats and dried in the sunshine while large Italian women stand around and gossip about their husbands. Unlike Sauternes or Tokaji, the goal is to prevent Botrytis cinera (noble rot) and rotting bunches are throw by the wayside. The drying process, called rasinate, concentrates the juice and increases skin contact with the fruit. The resulting wine is big, bold, well balanced, low in acid and deliciously raisiny. It’s also a little pricy.

The poor man’s Amarone is Valpolicella Ripasso. The process is simple: take some Valpolicella (the light, fragrant wine) and re-pass it through the leftover skins, pits, stems, grape mush, lees of the Amarone (called pomace). The wine sits with the pomace for about two weeks and takes on some of the color, tannin and intensity of an Amarone.

And there you have the fantastic trio: Valpolicella, Ripasso and Amarone. Or for the fashionably inclined … work dress, happy hour dress and little black dress.

Cheers!
Sonja

ok I'm back like Chianti

Seriously, there are some great Chiantis out there. Don't rule them out because you had a bad by the glass experience at your local cheap eatery.

I'm going to attempt to keep this guy up and running. I'm not completely sure why, but there must be some benefit in the end when you stick things out. Anyhoo - I need to get a list of topics going and we'll churn some vino insight OUT!

In the meantime keep drinking whiskey. Its good for you.

Patience. Your wine deserves it.

People don't like waiting. Not at all. This is why there is next day delivery. We want it all and we want it now.

A study* conducting in Australia indicates that the average time from wine bottle purchase to consumption is 30 minutes. Get that thing home and crack it open. Most wine is actually made to reflect this demand. Your average bottle of wine does not need to be aged and might be worse off for it. This includes a few wines from Napa.

However, wine is a living breathing thing. It changes. From this minute you pop the cork to the last drop it is changing.

Ever notice that your last glass is usually the best?

Most wine does not taste quite right out of the bottle. It is closed up, tight, maybe a bit medicinal or hot. It won't have complex aromas or flavors. Unfortunately, most wine is consumed at the corking point.

I recommend the corking/cooking guideline. Buy your wine. The second you get home, uncork it. Drink 1 beer. Make dinner. Drink wine.

Give your wine a chance to impress you. It has more to offer than its first impression.

* A lot of imformation that I take as fact was given to me by the sommelier instructor from the International Sommelier Guild. So if you need to know the exact study, ask DJ.

I love ROSE and so should you!

One of the questions on my sommelier exam was: What is the majority of wine consumed in Argentina? 

The answer: Rosé. 

That was a stupid question. 

However, the answer makes you think: Should I be drinking more rosé? Yes. Yes you should.

I know what you're thinking! 'Rosé is sweet and syrupy and a femmy foo foo drink for sissies!' Nonsense! And don't you ever use the phrase 'femmy foo foo' about wine again. 

 

In Argentina and France, the burliest of men can be seen sipping this light hearted refreshment in little glasses. Imagine the rugged farmer blowing smoke out of his nose and pontificating over a cup of pink wine. 

Rosé gets its silly pink color because it has had a shortened contact with the skins of the grape. Saignée is the method of bleeding off the wine after having only a short skin soak. The other method for making rosé is to blend wines (red + white = pink) but this is only done with Champagne. Because of the abbreviated skin contact, the color doesn't develop as deeply, and neither do the flavors. Instead of a deep, complex wine, we experience a lighter, fruity version with aromas and flavors of strawberries, peaches, watermelon and other fresh, juicy fruits.  The rosé can be made from any red wine grape, but is most often Grenache or Syrah. I love the Crios rosé of Malbec and the Robert Hall of Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Different geographical regions will produce different styles. French wines tend to be very dry, light and low in alcohol. California rosés tend to be created in the likeness of a red wine, lengthening the skin contact for denser, richer flavors.  

While a rose can be sweet, there are many that are delightfully dry and wonderfully refreshing. Don't do yourself a disservice by not trying one. If you have spent your life resisting rose, go ahead, give it a go. 

40,301,927 Argentines can't be wrong. 

Sonja Goes to Sonoma!

I was recently informed that when you find yourself a bit stretched at work, tired, perhaps irritable (not me - this is just a generally speaking) there is this vacation thing that apparently makes all that go away. Being one to try new things, I'll be going on "vacation" the second week of June!

Sonja goes to Sonoma! I'll be focusing on the Russian River Valley, but since I'll be there for about a week I'm sure I can branch out.

I'm very excited, especially since I have been working at WineStyles for 2 years now (in September) and have yet to go wine tasting anywhere outside of Temecula.

SO! This is where the reader participation comes in - where have you been, what are your favorites, where should I avoid?

Wine and Food Pairing

Wine and food go together. The end.

Ok there's a bit more to it than that, but for the most part you should be drinking what you enjoy. Beyond that there are a few simple suggestions to follow and no reason to panic. The following is a collection of items to consider when food pairing. 

1) Body. Most of the time you will pair a wine that is equal to the weight of your food. Example - Buttery chardonnays like buttery foods: creamy soups, buttery lobster, oily fish like salmon or trout. Lighter items like a salad or grilled scallops want a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Sweetness is the same. Either pair a dessert wine with something equally sweet or an item that contrasts (ice wine or port with custards or chocolate; Tokaji with stilton cheese).

2) FISH DOES NOT LIKE RED WINE. There is a chemical clashing that occurs when you do this that will cause a funky metallic/rusty taste in your mouth. Ugh. Don't ruin your  meal. There is one exception - Pinot Noir pairs well with the heavier, oily fish and is a classic pairing with salmon. Other than that, don't try it!!

3) It's all about chemistry. High acid wines can either pair with equally acidic dishes (Sauvignon Blanc with a lemon based item, Sangiovese with tomato based) or a nice creamy dish to cut through all the fats and refresh your palate (Thanksgiving gravy = crisp chards, pinot gris, etc; Riesling cuts through the fat in pork). 

4) Think regionally! What are common meats, veggies and dishes found in the region? France loves lamb, Spain loves seafood.

Here are a few classic items:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Lamb (actually more classic than the presumed steak pairing, but steak is great too)

Syrah and Lamb

Riesling and Pork

Sauvignon Blanc and goat cheese or lemon or both

Zinfandel and BBQ

Merlot and red meats/sausage

Gewurztraminer and spicy foods

Here are a few great links for wine and food pairing:

Food

WineAnswers.com has a lot of great tips for pairing as well as an interactive pairing menu

Cheese Pairing!

Another interactive pairing board

Food Network Pairing

Kendall Jackson's Chart

How Cool is...Tokaji?

Wine can be pretty basic and enjoyable, no need to search outside the box. You grab a Cab, pop it and your steak is suddenly 10x better. Over time you learn a few things, how wine is made, where it came from, etc. At some point, the more you learn about wine, the more you appreciate it for the creation process and not only its ability to get you through dinner with the in-laws. That appreciation is why fanatics will pay $1000 for a bottle of wine that tastes like a barnyard. 

Some wines are just too phenomenal to not know about. One of these is Tokaji Azu, a hungarian dessert wine, one of the greatest dessert wines in the world. 

The wine has only recently begun a revival. The 20th century hasn't been particularly kind to Hungary, and until 1989 when it formed a democratic republic, Tokaji production came to a standstill. 

To make the wine, we start with healthy, ripe grapes. There are four varietials used: Furmint (making up about 60% of the mix), Harslevelu, Muscat blanc and oremus (You will never need to remember those). The grapes are left on the vine until they are affected with botrytis cinera - the noble rot that is used to make delicious dessert wines around the world (Sauternes!). The grapes are hand harvested, lightly crushed and separated. The grapes that have been affected by the noble rot are piled up on straw mats to sit and rot. Eventually the shriveled, concentrated, raisinated grapes begin to ooze a sweet, syrupy paste (aszu) that is collected in a special bucket called a puttonyos. 

The puttonyos is dumped into a giant barrel called a gonc to mix with a standard base wine made from non rotting grapes. The more puttonyos, the sweeter and more expensive your wine will be. Four puttonyos is about the equivlent of a Sauternes, five is pretty standard and wonderful, six is sinfully wonderful. The next level is called Eszencia - there are no words. 

This wonderful process, resulting in an amazing wine was the preferred drink of Louis XIV. Cab may be the king of wines, but Tokaji is the wine for kings! 

Please drink Tokaji responsibly, too much pleasure in one bottle can be dangerous. If you want to really live on the wild side, pair with some stilton.