Articles

Summer Sparklers

As I have gotten older, there are still certain things that bring out a childlike exuberance within me.  Sparklers still touch off that excitement for me  Not the ones from our youth that gave us 30 seconds of bright light, and left you holding a glowing metal rod.  I'm talking about sparkling wines, that awe-inspiring elixir from every great celebration.  In this issue we review 16 sparklers and discuss the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine.  We need to break the myth though, that Champagne and sparkling wines are all expensive and only to be enjoyed on special occasions.  In fact, they are almost the perfect food wine and can be paired with anything from sushi to steak.  My favorite pairing I have ever heard suggested is Krug Champagne and popcorn.  It may seem far-fetched, but tastes great together.

What is the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine.  While all Champagne's are sparkling wines, only sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France may be called Champagne's.  A wine with "méthode Champenois," or "méthode traditionnelle"  on the label means it is a sparkling wine that was produced in the traditional Champagne method.  In Champagne three traditional grape varieties are used; Chardonnay (white), Pinot Noir (black), and Pinot Meunier (black).  Sparkling wine production around the world uses a varying list of grapes differing from country to country.  In the United States, Pinot Blanc (white) is sometimes added to the mix for Champagne style sparkling wines.  The Loire Valley of France uses Chenin Blanc (white) in its cremants.  Germany uses Riesling (white) and Elbling (white) in its sekt.  In Italy, Muscat (white to near black), Brachetto (black) and Prosecco (white) are used for spumante.  Spain uses Xarel-lo (white), Macabeo (white), Parellada (white) and sometimes Chardonnay (white) in its cava.  In Australia they even use Shiraz (black).

Let us explore  some of the common misconceptions about Champagne.  Dom Perignon; born Pierre Perignon in 1640; did not invent Champagne.  He is also not responsible for the famous quote: "Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!" after tasting his creation for the first time.  The quote appears for the first time some time in the late 19th century in a printed advertisement.  Dom Perignon did try to develop methods to avoid refermentation of wine within the bottle; but so did all other winemakers in cold regions.  Wine making practices of the era would sometimes leave the fermentation process incomplete as Fall weather would cool the cellars.  Come Spring time, as the weather warmed up, the fermentation process often restarted within the bottled wines causing them to explode.  The process did not become controlled and desirable until early scientist's like Chaptal refined the process.

Why is this all important to understand sparkling wines?  For the simple fact that Dom Perignon is synonymous with Champagne due to marketing.  We think of all sparkling as Champagne.  We assume it to always be expensive and don't dare open a bottle except as a celebration.  All again due to marketing and perhaps music videos.  Be daring... open a bottle of sparkling wine for dinner tonight or at your next barbecue.  I give you permission, you'll enjoy it.  And by the way, our top pick in this tasting is Varichon et Clerc Blanc de Blancs "Privilege."  It is a French sparkling wine produced in the méthode traditionnelle, and can be found for around $10. For full tasting notes on all the wines tasted,  please read through our review section.

Tom Cook

"Champagne!  In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it."                         
        ~Napoleon Bonaparte



 To Beaujolais or not Beaujolais

In this edition we take a look at a wonderful assortment of summer wines. If you are like me, you know red wines are not only to be enjoyed three months out of the year, and whites for the other three.  To start, we taste through a flight of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais‘.  Do they deserve all the hype that has garnered the 2009 vintage, or not.  We promise to find out.  Next, we taste a mixture of Zinfandels.  Not the sticky, sweet wanna be “white” version that has become synonymous with the word zinfandel; but the dark red brooding variety that barbecues beg for.   Finally, we round out this edition’s tasting’s with a quirky mixture of white wines that prove to be anything but ordinary.  There is not a chardonnay or pinot grigio to be found here.

I must state that Beaujolais’ are one of my favorite wines, but unfortunately, it is also one of the most misunderstood wines of Burgundy.  In the 80’s the region kicked off mass marketing campaigns to sell it’s Beaujolais Nouveau’s. So successful was this marketing, that now every year on the third Thursday of November; designated “Beaujolais Nouveau Day,” we look for the release of these wines. Grapes for Beaujolais Nouveau are harvested in August-September, fermented for a short time and released right before Thanksgiving complete with a race to get them to market.  These wines are intended to be consumed before the new year and not aged at all. Beaujolais wines, made from the same Gamay grape are quite different.  These wines tend to be food friendly as well, light in body, fruitful  and have a firm acidity.  The biggest difference is the ability to age.

Beaujolais is the southernmost and largest district in Burgundy.  It accounts for about 50% of all wine production in Burgundy. The district can be divided into three major appellations; Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, and Cru Beaujolais.  About 50% of the district’s wine production comes from Beaujolais.  About half of this is sold as “Beaujolais Nouveau.”  Beaujolais-Villages produces about 25% of the district’s annual production.  The remaining 25% of wine production comes from the Cru Beaujolais.  This zone is situated in the northern third of the Beaujolais District and is considered the best terroir for the Gamay grape. Cru Beaujolais is made up of ten communes or villages.  These villages are: St-Amour, Julienas, Chenas, Moulin-a-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnie, Cote de Brouilly and Brouilly.

The 2009 vintage in Beaujolais was one of the best the region has ever seen,  or was it?  I seem to recall George Duboeuf; one of the top producers in Beaujolais; making similar claims about the 2003 vintage.  When the 2003’s were released, I tasted many bottles and put away a small amount of my favorites.  I only wish I was smart enough to put away more. Duboeuf claimed that the 2003 vintage was unlike any he had ever experienced.  The wines were touted as having great aging potential.  My experience had been that although Beaujolais were wonderful food friendly wines, their potential for longevity was very short lived.  George was right! These 2003 have been nothing short of amazing, and the better bottles are just coming into their own now.  If you are lucky enough to find a bottle, what a treat for thanksgiving dinner.  So what about 2009, can lightning strike twice so close together?  Duboeuf claims 2009 is “The Vintage of  a Lifetime.”  I would have to agree.  While some of his top wines are not pleasant to drink today, their futures will be talked about for a long time to come.

While Beaujolais have always been a favorite of mine, I hope you will welcome them into your daily regiments as well.  Take them on a hike with a loaf of bread and your favorite cheese, or try them with grilled chicken.  In this edition we reviewed eight of George Duboeuf’s wines.  All of the wines were truly wonderful in there own way.  The Beaujolais-Villages is probably the best indicator of the quality of the vintage as it can be made up of wines from the entire region.  It’s nose held a symphony of aromas that eluded to what lay ahead. While soft and quaffable in the mouth, it left me wanting more of what the nose had to offer.  The real gems were the Morgon, and the two Moulin-a-Vents’.  Two were cellar selections, and one was ready to take to the party.  The Moulin-a-Vent, Domaine des Rosiers would be a fine addition to any affair.  For full tasting notes on all the wines tasted,  please read through our review section.  Have a wonderful summer.

Tom Cook

Vertical Tastings

At a recent get together with friends, the topic of vertical wine tasting came up.  They were intrigued about what it meant to do a vertical wine tasting and why you would do them.  In my effort to find more reasons to drink wine and educate my friends we will examine some of the reasons to age wine.  We will discuss the history of Simi from Sonoma County, California and examine the Cabernet from their Landslide vineyard.

What is a vertical wine tasting and how do you do them?  A vertical wine tasting is simply a wine tasting of wines all from the same vineyard but of different vintages.  You then taste the wines in vertical order from oldest to youngest.  You taste the  oldest wine first and not last because it will be the most delicate and subtle.  The youngest wines will be Bolder and harsher.  If they were tasted first they could mask the flavors of the older wines.

To understand the merits of a vertical wine tasting, you must first understand why you would age or cellar a wine.  When my friend asked me this he wanted to know what happens to a wine as it ages; does it taste different?  The short answer is yes.  In the same manner that most wines are different from one vintage to the next; they are equally different as they age.  Imagine if you will the conversation you might have with a 6 year old, and then again talking to the same person in their 20's, 40's and 60's or even older.  As the person ages, the conversation gets more complex, more elegant.  Wine evolves in much the same way, and just like the person it too eventually dies or turns to vinegar.  Well how do I know how long to age a wine?  If only we had crystal balls, this would be an easy question to answer.  Some people prefer conversation with the 20 year old, and some the 40 year old and so on.  My best advice is to find a reviewer who's tasting notes or style you agree with.  Then follow their cellaring advice as well until you find a median age or style you enjoy.  Or you can buy several bottles of the same wine and keep opening them in 6 month intervals.  Take careful tasting notes and compare them over the life of your collection.

So now we circle back to the same question; why cellar wine?  Have you ever gone to a restaurant, looked at the age of some of the bottles and then looked at the prices?  Don't they usually get more expensive the older they get?  If the wine didn't get better. why would they bother to keep it for so long? Reason #2 for aging wine, they increase in value.  Why then are some wines made to be drunk young and some wines made to age?  Sometimes it is because of the type of grape used in making the wine, other times it is due to the quality of the juice used to make the wine.  How the winemaker handles the grapes is also a factor.  The longer the winemaker leaves the grape skins in contact with the juice during the fermentation process, the more tannins are extracted from the grapes.  In turn, the higher the ability of the wine to age.

The wine we chose for our vertical tasting was Simi Landslide Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.  The Landslide Vineyard is a 170 acre vineyard in the southern Alexander Valley.  The Landslide Vineyard has numerous soil types and microclimates that were created by an ancient volcanic landslide from nearby Mount St. Helena.  This diversity of soil type and topography result in a varying bud break, flowering, veraison and harvest times in the different vineyard blocks.  Along with these complexities, Simi has planted nine different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon and small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec.  To see how these factors translate into the bottle, please read our tasting notes. We tasted a 5 year vertical from the Landslide Vineyard starting with the 2001 vintage.  We then tasted the 2005-2008 vintages.  My friends were quite shocked to taste how different each vintage was.  This was a true testament to the diversity of the vineyard site and grape selections

Simi Winery has a long and varied history as well.  Started by Giuseppe and Pietro Simi, two immigrants brought to California from Tuscany, Italy by the gold rush.  By 1876 they had settled in San Fransisco and started Simi Winery.  When they discovered Sonoma County it reminded them of home.  In 1881 they moved their winemaking operation to Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County. In 1890 they completed construction of Simi's first stone cellar; built into the hillside from native basault for natural insulation.

Early success led them to double the size of their cellars in 1904.  Tragically both brothers died shortly there after within four months of each other; leaving Giuseppe's daughter Isabelle to take over management of the winery at the age of 18.  Isabelle Simi married banker Fred Haig, together they ran the winery until Prohibition began in 1920 forbidding them to sell wine.  Although they were forced to sell most of the vineyard property to save the winery itself; they continued to produce and cellar their wines for the 15 years Prohibition lasted.  When Prohibition ended December of 1933 they were ready with a large stock of perfectly cellared wines to sell.  They celebrated by planting a grove of redwood trees around the winery that still stands today.

Isabelle established Simi's first tasting room the following year out of a 25,000 gallon Champagne tank.  Isabelle continued to run Simi Winery until 1970, when she retired and sold the winery at the age of 84.  Simi returned to it's beginings in 1982 by acquiring the Landslide Vineyard in Alexander Valley.  In the following years Simi continued to acquire estate vineyards in both the Alexander Valley and Russian River Valley.  These changes have in part lead to the critical acclaim today that is Simi Winery

Tom Cook

"wine is sunlight held together by water"

              Galileo Galilei

Vineyard vs. Winemaker

What's more important, the vineyard that creates the grapes or the winemaker who creates the wine?  I was once told that any chef can make great food with great ingredients.  Does the same hold true for winemakers?  I worked in kitchens long enough to see some good chefs ruin great ingredients with all the best intentions; so I don't know.  I do know that  great wines are made in the vineyard.  Does that mean that vineyard sites can guarantee a wines quality.  According to the French government and the classification of 1855 the answer is yes.  The soil composition, climate, sun exposure and water conditions all play a part on the grapes quality and complexities. Conditions affecting the quality of the fruit however, don't end there.  The owner's selection of what grape varietals to plant on this site, the vine's age, how they are pruned and trellised, as well as how much fruit is allowed to ripen all affect the quality of the grapes.  Now let's not forget about the weather.  Temperature, rainfall and the possibility of storms (snow, ice, frost, hail) all have possible affect on the outcome of the harvest.

For the sake of argument, let's say conditions for the growing year were perfect.  The vineyard in question is owned by the farmer. Each year he can control all factors of his vineyard, or he can contract control to a winemaker or winery. If he contracts to someone else, they usually dictate how the vineyard is farmed. They determine how the vines are trellised, pruned, how much fruit is allowed to set per vine and when the fruit is harvested.  All have a huge affect on the outcome of the bottled wine, but again, these are all factors determined in the vineyard.  Let's say this farmer kept control of his vineyard this year and grew a perfect crop of grapes.  He harvests the grapes and sells the crop equally to three different wine makers.  Now the remaining outcome of the wine to be made rests in the hands of the winemaker.  He may now choose how to press the fruit, how long to ferment it and with what yeast and what type of barrels to age the wine in and for how long.  The three winemakers that received the farmer's fruit now have many choices to make.  Winemaker #1 crafts a beautiful wine and some critic rates it 89 and a best buy.  Winemaker #2 crafts a beautiful wine and it receives a rating of 92.  Winemaker #3 makes what some feel is a beautiful wine.  All except one well known critic.  He tasted the wine twice and felt the wine was corked.  He rated the wine a 69 and possibly tarnished the reputation of the winemaker.

What's more important, the vineyard, the winemaker or the media?  I still don't know.  Why did I ask the original question?  I am drinking a Chardonnay from the historic "Bacigalupi Vineyard" made by a winemaker I'm not familiar with.  I've had some great wines from the vineyard but have never had a wine from this winery, so I thought I would try it.  The wine is wonderful, rich, oaky, and has a big mouth watering balance. It is complemented with notes of caramel and tropical fruits.  A delicious effort by the winemaker.  I would definitely buy this wine again.  What I found most interesting about this vineyard as I did a little research was this.  In 1973 the owner's of the Bacigalupi Vineyard; located in the Russian River Valley in Sanoma County, sold grapes to Chateau Montelena in the Napa Valley.  So what, happens all the time.  Are you familiar with a little event that happened in 1976 known as "the Judgement in Paris?"  At that time, French wines were touted as the best in the world.  California wines were barely on the map.  The Judgement in Paris was a blind tasting of wines, pitting California against France.  The white wine that won...  1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay.  If your not familiar with the story, you can watch Hollywood's version in the movie "Bottle Shock."  So what makes the wine?


Tom Cook

"In wine one beholds the heart of another"