A Wine Festival for 2011!

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Karl Laczko

The region has a wine festival for 2011, but it’s not the one we expected!

After the success of the 2010 North East Wine Festival in Corbridge over a sunny June weekend I know there was a strong intention to carry the momentum through to 2011 with the same event planned for June. As far as I can tell a combination of factors, including an illness, meant that this was first postponed until August, and then ultimately cancelled. It seems though that as the flames finally died on the 2011 NEWF another festival has arisen from the ashes, the 2011 Northumbria Food and Wine Festival.

Northumbria_food_and_wine_fest

Details are sketchy at the moment, the website only seems to have gone live yesterday and there are few details other than Fasol Menin, Barn Asia and The Feathers Inn will be participating. I was at a wine tasting last night where one local retailer had just heard the same news and was trying to find out how to put their name down!

All I can get from the grapevine is that it is to be held on the 7th, 8th & 9th October (let’s pray for an Indian Summer!) at Corbridge (I’m guessing the Rugby Club again) and that The Feathers Inn has more than a passing involvement. For those on twitter keep checking out @nfoodandwine (Stuart Colmer) and  @TheFeathersInn (Helen Greer) – oh, and me, @NorthEastWino!

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Tonight’s Tipple – Aussie Riesling

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Karl Laczko
Tim Adams Riesling

After a couple of disappointing whites recently a mid-week wine was called for that could be relied on to deliver, and Tim Adam’s 2006 Clare Valley Riesling proved up the the task.

This wine was bought for £9.99 in May 2010 from Tesco, a supermarket I infrequently patronise but when I do it invariably results in bottle from Tim Adam’s range making its way into the shopping trolley, his Fergus Grenache is another I have multiple bottles & vintages of.

The wine has a full aroma; fresh, clean and tartly citric, with a dash of petrochemical which I love on a Riesling with a little bottle age. The taste continues the zesty citrus theme, it’s very dry with an underlying bitterness throughout and a hint of residual sugar barely offseting the razor sharp acidity. The flavours are complex, a mix of petrol and citrus which, for £10, is a joy to taste on a weekday night!

Clare Valley in South Australia is by far Australia’s best area for Riesling, and Tim Adams is a great introduction to quality Australian wines – almost worth a visit to Tesco for!

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Greybeard’s Corner – July 2011

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Karl Laczko

With few standout events my regular review of the wine world’s recent happenings is a mixed bag of topics including broken Shiraz, green wineries and melting bloggers.

Wine News: Let’s start with the curious tale of the broken Mollydooker, as a shipping container holding 462 cases of the Velvet Glove Shiraz heading for the US was dropped during transport. Initial media reports suggested all of the bottles were lost – a third of the entire production of this cult wine and worth over £625,000 – but a revised press release suggests that the number of broken bottles is much less, with the winery uploading a video onto YouTube with more information and showing some of the damage.

Another strange story to appear was that of Péter Uj, a Hungarian wine critic who was successfully sued by the state owned producer Tokaj Kereskedőház for decrying the quality of its wine, only to have the conviction overturned by the European Court of Human Rights, as described in Decanter’s “Hungarian Vin de Merde conviction quashed” (and also in Alder Yarrow’s Vinography a day later). I even felt the need to write about it on this blog and suspect many would like to see a few other critics taken to court for their actions, but the story is a reminder that words often have unforeseen effects and also that Justice sometimes needs a second chance!

The next 2 stories have a name theme, first with Italy getting a new DOC approved; DOC Sicilia replaces the old IGT Sicilia (with the IGT category now being used for a generic Terre Siciliane instead). Gabriel Savage in the Drinks Business included some “cautiously optimistic” comments from Francesca Planeta, one of the island’s largest producers.

Here in the U.K. it’s not so calm as there’s a heated debate ongoing on proposals for a generic brand for English Sparkling Wine, with Merret and Britagne (pronounced Britannia) leading the naming suggestions. Controversy reigns, however, with a large group disliking either name or even the whole concept. Decanter reviewed the story so far while Guillaume Jourdan, and Jamie Goode added their personal touches – the comments on Jamie Goode’s post sum up the debate perfectly!

I mentioned last month the advanced state of vine growth in much of Europe and July saw the Loire Valley adding to the list, with Harpers Wine & Spirit reporting on forecasts of a record breaking vintage. As with many regions, harvesting is expected to begin in mid-late August and I suspect many winemakers have already rearranged their holidays!

Parducci_green

I also read with interest the news in The Independent on the “2011 International Award of Excellence in Sustainable Winegrowing” being awarded to Parducci Wine Cellars, America’s first Carbon Neutral winery and a Reign of Terroir favourite. The award, hosted by the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, is only in its second year with last year’s winner also from California – Hall Wines of St. Helena (I only hope this “International” award doesn’t end up only being won by North American wineries, as New Zealand is renowned for its environmentally friendly wine industry).

Parducci has a detailed section on their website including references to Climate change and Global warming, but this topic caused its own controversy last month on the release of data from Stanford University which alarmingly predicted that Northern California could lose 50% of premium wine growing land by 2040. Of course news like this was bound to be well publicised, with a host of media and twitter posts kick-starting the usual “Climate change is real vs Global Warming is a hoax” debate. A CBS video report and The Napa Valley register gave more restrained summaries with winemaker views.

Finally to the Blogosphere, which gathered in Virginia for the 4th annual North American Wine Bloggers Conference, held in Charlottesville with wine guru Jancis Robinson in attendance. I followed much of the conference through twitter and the many blog posts which appeared quickly afterwards, with the sweltering heat being a consistent theme! Cyril Penn of Wine Business.com posted a good report on Robinson’s keynote speech but it seems it wasn’t always a happy time amongst the blogging family, as shown in Dave McIntyre’s WineLine post “Whine Blogging..” and Swirl, Sip, Snark’s “Virtual Slapfight..”. Whingeing aside, Virginia Wine Time presented one local blogs view of the proceedings as a whole in their series of posts on the conference. The 5th NAWBC will be held in Portland, Oregon over 17th -19th August, 2012.

North East Wine: July was a busy month in the soggy North as well, with The Wine Society coming to Newcastle for a Loire and Beaujolais tasting hosted by Joanna Locke MW and Marcel Orford Williams (TWS buyers for the respective regions) and including several of the producers of the wines on show. I was most impressed by the Domaine Seguin 2010 Pouilly-Fumé, a subtle, multi-layered Sauvignon Blanc (which, if you know my tastes, is a variety I tend to be harshly critical off, especially when from New Zealand).

A week later was our regular NEWTS tasting, with wines from 3 local retailers (Majestic, Carruthers and Kent and Richard Granger) focussing on 4 styles; German Riseling, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (!), Toscana Sangiovese and Argentinian Malbec. The Selvapiana 2004 Chianti Rufina Riserva and Michael Schäfer 1991 Dorsheimer Pittermänchen impressed me the most and overall this was a superb tasting in a format we haven’t tried much at NEWTS (both in the sourcing and tasting of the wines), one I hope will be repeated.

It was trying to decide on how much of my notes from these tastings to include in this month’s diary post that led me to finally put together my own blog site concentrating on my wine experiences with a focus on the northeast England. Initially I called it Greybeard’s Corner (for obvious reasons!) but then quickly decided on a rebrand using one of my twitter handles, and North East Wino was born. The Wine Society tasting and NEWTS meeting reviews quickly went up and I’ve also started to backfill some of my earlier writings plus some personal and local posts which have too much of U.K. slant to be appropriate for Reign of Terroir.

And so to my own wine dabblings for the month, with the purchases a typically modest range from around the world including a 2001 Sauternes from Château Filhot (Costco, £12.00), the Ara Composite 2008 Pinot Noir from New Zealand (co-op, £9) and Dr. Loosen’s 2009 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett (Sainsburys, £11.99).

Rebenhofandcarlou

Of those opened and drunk the best included the perfectly balanced Glen Carlou 2003 Grand Classique, a savoury Bordeaux blend from South Africa, the light and fruity Cave du Château de Chénas 2009 Fleurie and two Rieslings; Rebenhof’s textured, off-dry 2009 Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese feinherb Von alten Reben and the lime & kerosene Cono Sur 2008 Riesling Reserva. (See previous “Tonight’s Tipples” posts Smiling Gods and A 2009 Beaujolias).

Cellar Trivia: One Riesling in, two out last month and a look at the database sees that this is easily my favourite grape variety with 18 bottles still to hand; 11 from Germany (all but one of those from the Mosel), 4 Australian, 2 French and a lone New Zealander. As befits this most versatile of grapes these cover the gamut of styles from bone dry to immensely sweet.Looking forward: August will see Northern Hemisphere winemakers preparing for harvest at the end of the month and into September, but for consumers it’s a bit quieter;

  • August 13th & 14th for the 3rd annual Finger Lakes Riesling Festival at Canandaigua, N.Y. with over 20 Finger Lakes wineries taking part.
  • September 1st is the first International Tempranillo Day, a new initiative hosted by The Tapas Society with the hope that everyone, everywhere will “open a bottle of Tempranillo, enjoy the fun, and share their experiences online” (I already have a something from Ribera del Duero lined up!)
  • September 1st to 5th sees the Bernkastel-Kues Middle Mosel Wine Festival, the largest of the many Mosel wine fests throughout the summer from this picturesque town.

Time marches inexorably onwards, summer moves closer to autumn and I’ve reached the end of this post.

Slainte!

Greybeard

Also published on August 8th 2011 on Reign of Terroir

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Taste’s Grey Zone

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Karl Laczko

There’s an old saying that “Bad luck always comes in threes” which I thought of as I drank the last of 3 bottles of wine at home recently, each of which had got me thinking about another saying, that “Life’s too short to drink bad wine” – but what really constitutes a bad wine? Of course nobody intentionally goes out to buy unpleasant wine, but for one reason or another we all eventually end up with a glass in hand thinking “is there something wrong with this?” and then trying to decide whether life really is too short to continue with it.

I am all for quickly disposing of an obviously corked bottle or any liquid that bears close resemblance to paint stripper or vinegar, but taste is such a subjective matter that the buffer zone between undrinkable and “a goodly wine” (insert your scoring threshold of choice – 90/100, 16/20, 4 stars, Gold Medal – here) is disputed territory, moulded by your palate, experience, emotion, situation and budget. This is a truly grey area of wine drinking which encompasses several battle cries, including;

  • “tolerable” : Emotion is the usual modifier in these situations – Do you persevere with that slightly oxidised glass or where there’s only the faintest whiff of TCA? How about that pleasant enough 10 year old red that should have been drunk 5 years ago?
  • “somewhat unbalanced” : Palate and context take control here – Good grip or hashly tannic? Food-friendly or overly acidic?
  • “lacks character” : High expections usually leads to this one – Inoffensive but bland? Pleasant, but for the price paid?
  • “not typical” (of the grape, region or producer) : Experience & expectations lead all too often to this as a criticism, sometimes ignoring the fact that there’s a good wine in the glass –  A deeply coloured Pinot Noir? An oaked Riesling?
  • “not to my taste”: The grandfather of taste subjectiveness in wine drinking – effectively there’s nothing particularly wrong with it except it’s not your style. Unfortunately over analysing this one usually forces the previous 3 into play.
  • “not what one is accustomed to”: The battle hymn of a wine drinker with a healthy bank balance, sadly all too often used to decry perfectly good wine regardless of value for money.

So what were the three wines that set me off on this post, and exactly where do they fit into my rudimentary grey zone of taste?

The first was Yealands Estate 2009 Gewurztraminer (£9.49, Dillies, Hexham, May 2011). I first encountered Yealands in 2009 with a bottle of their 2008 Sauvignon Blanc which inspired me to write about the winery on Reign of Terroir in the post Little Sheep and Green Wine. Sadly I didn’t enjoy that bottle (an extremely over-the-top Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc) nor their 2008 Pinot Gris I tried last year (a little dull). Hoping for a “third time lucky” experience I was again disappointed by a strongly perfumed wine with a thick, glycerol texture that just seemed too rich, too heavy and lacking in freshness.

Compared to many an Alsace Gewürztraminer I’ve enjoyed this was an extreme disappointement but there wasn’t any fault as such in the wine, being a mix of “lacks character” and “not to my taste”.

Next was Bethany 2009 Barossa Chardonnay (£7.50, co-op, Prudhoe, August 2010). I’m a signed up member of the ABC society (Anything But Chardonnay) but every now and again I try a bottle to see if my tastes are changing – with this bottle I just renewed my 2011 subscription. The Bethany website indicates “restrained oak nuances”, unfortunately the oak was far from restrained and there was also slight reduction on the nose, while the texture was thick and a little cloying with a bitter finish to the flavour. It did improve the next day, with some buttery fruit coming out and a lemon aspect, but the woody bitterness never quite went away.

I imagine lovers of oaky Chardonnay would be OK with this, but for me it was “somewhat unbalanced” and definitely “not to my taste”.

Finally the Ingelheimer Winzerkeller 2007 Spätburgunder Classic (approx £4, Germany, November 2009). I knew that this was likely to be a struggle before I opened it, part of an inexpensive gift pack of 6 wines from a local wine shop in Ingelheim, Germany. This Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir by any other name) did not smell particularly sweet, in fact it was a little sweaty with some jammy fruit but with a chemical component. The taste was also on a fine edge between jammy cherry fruit and green & unbalanced. It wasn’t unpleasant, and benefitted from being drank slightly chilled, but at the same time there was something that wasn’t quite right.

This one was a combination of “tolerable”, “lacks character” and “not what one is accustomed to”.

After nearly 2 weeks of wine “tolerance” tonight I’m back on track with a very enjoyable Bordeaux, the smooth Château du Val d’Or 2005 St-Emilion Grand Cru (£7.49, Tesco, October 2008) with plenty of cassis fruit and fine chocolatey tannins to keep me interested; a very characterful, typical, balanced wine, perfectly to my taste and which I can easily become accustomed to.

In wine you often make your own luck and there are very few truly bad wines, but in matters of taste there is no golden rule.

Slainte!

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Hungary, you cannot be serious!

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Karl Laczko

In early 2008 Hungarian wine critic Péter Uj took criticism to an extreme in the national newspaper Népszabadság – decrying the poor quality of much Hungarian wine and going so far as to describe the produce of one of the major State owned wine traders (Tokaj Kereskedőház) as “shit”.

Tokaj Kereskedőház took offence at this and sued Mr Uj, with the Budapest district court convicting him of defamation in June 2009. An appeal followed to the Budapest Regional Court who changed the verdict to libel in Novermber 2009, and a further appeal to the Hungarian Supreme Court failed in May 2010. While this may sound somewhat surprising (a critic being convicted for being critical, shock..horror!) the verdict was apparently on the grounds that describing the wine as ‘shit’ was unnecessarily insulting and affected the wine producer’s good reputation.

Luckily for Uj Hungary is now part of the European Union and he took his appeal higher still, to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg who overturned the conviction last week, as reported on the Politics.Hu website. Uj was also awarded costs of over €3500 to be paid for by the Hungarian State (although there is scope for a retaliatory appeal over the next 3 months). Unsurprisingly the news has made the Wine media, with Decanter reporting on it last Friday and US wine blog Vinography a day later – both are well worth a read.

As a half-Hungarian wine lover I can only shake my head at the absurdity of this going as far as Strasbourg – Hungary has been out from under the communist thumb for long enough to realise the importance of freedom of speech, especially in the EU, and its courts should have known better than to uphold the convictions for a mere journalistic rant.

As Alder Yarrow states on the Vinography blog Hungary makes some great wines; from the sweet Tokaji Aszú (Marks & Spencer do a tasty 5 Puttonyos by Hilltop for about £17) to some superb dry Furmint (Waitrose and Carruthers & Kent both have the Patricius, Richard Granger do the Disznókö – all for around the £9-10 mark), so we shouldn’t need to endure the oxidised shit that Uj was complaining about!

Egészségedre!

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Die Riesling Manufaktur

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Karl Laczko

Johannes Schmitz isn’t your typical Moselian, his Rebenhof winery on the southern edge of Ürzig is testimony to that. In contrast to an otherwise traditional Mosel village his glass, steel and concrete monument to the 21st Century proudly pronounces the establishment as a “Riesling Manufaktur”.

As a self-confessed Riesling lover I’ve known about Ürzig and its Würzgarten (Spice Garden) vineyard for many years, so I was thrilled when I saw the name appear on the Sat-Nav screen as I drove up the Mosel, heading for the town of Bernkastel-Keus. The scenery matches much of the region – slopes with impossible angles rising from the riverside, carpeted with vines – but stands out more than most with gashes of red on the cliff-face as the river loops past the village of Erden, on the opposite bank (famous for its Prälat and Treppchen vineyards).

It’s the rock colour that helps make Ürzig wines distinctive from the neighbours; the Würzgarten grows on Permian (299 to 251Mya) sandstone, volcanic rhyolite and red Slate, contrasting the primarily Devonian (416 to 359Mya) blue-grey slate that much of the Mosel (-Saar-Ruwer) sits atop. The dark, iron-rich soil retains heat well and affects Riesling’s flavour profile, giving an earthy spiciness that explains the vineyard name.

A short walk around the village initially didn’t throw any surprises;

  • Steep Riesling vineyards … check
  • Quaint, old-style houses, narrow streets and alleyways … check
  • Traditional, Gothic script “Weingut” frontage signs … check
  • Everything looking shut even though it’s Saturday afternoon … check!

After a good hour wandering I ended up on Hüwel street, on the southern edge of the village, and the last building suddenly came into view with banner-flags flying, a patio-style seating area out front and framed by vines on the slopes behind. Intrigued by this sharp contrast of modernity plus the fact that it was clearly open for business (people visible at the tasting bar confirmed this, a bonus of glass fronted buildings!) I walked in and let the tasting begin.

A charming woman obligingly poured a first glass and we exchanged pleasantries in her broken English and my broken German, but when I started asking some more involved questions she hesitated, clearly not completely comfortable with the language, and called over a man to take her place at the bar. This turned out to be Johannes Schmitz, the owner and winemaker of Rebenhof (the woman was Doris Schmitz, his wife) who was more confident with English and we quickly got talking about each of the wines he poured, as well as the winery and winemaking.

Rebenhof (literal translation, Vineyard) was founded in 1875 or 1884 (depending where you read) but it wasn’t until 1990 that its current incarnation began when Johannes took over from his father, Paul. There are 4.4 hectares producing 35-40,000 bottles of Riesling with an average vine age of 60 years, although some are over a century old. 80% of the plantings are on original, ungrafted rootstock with average yields of 65hl/ha – the Kabinett often comes in at 80hl/ha while the Alte Reben (Old Vine, from 80+ y.o. plants) is less than 40hl/ha.
Normal harvest time is late October, however, in line with other European wine regions, the 2011 harvest is likely to be early with the Riesling grapes already 4-5 weeks ahead of normal development, as discussed in my June Greybeard’s Corner post.

I asked about the new building we were standing in, only opened last year, and the obvious difference to the rest of the village. Johannes is happy to admit he is not enough of a romantic to blindly follow tradition and practicality won out when expanding from the old building just down the street (which now doubles as a guesthouse).

This modern business attitude is carried through into the winemaking and general running of the winery as well with the use of Stelvin closures and a high export rate of wines outside Germany. Unfortunately things like this haven’t made him too popular amongst his Ürzig peers – one can almost imagine the older generation gathering behind closed curtains complaining of this “upstart” and his new fangled ideas!

Unsurprisingly Johannes doesn’t shirk away from media attention either. Along with the likes of Ernst Loosen, Markus Molitor and others he is an outspoken critic of the controversial Hochmoselübergang bridge which will be painfully visible as it crosses the river just upstream from Ürzig. German speakers can read more of Schmitz in this anti-bridge article from the Stuttgarter Zeitung and see him talking about Rebenhof on a YouTube clip from earlier this year.

As for the wines, we tasted our way through a dozen different styles and vintages of Riesling starting with a dry Kabinett, the 2010 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Von wurzelechten Reben (from ungrafted vines, 12% abv). This was the only reference in print to the 80% of all the Rebenhof vines being on original rootstock, a key marketing point for some other wineries but not for Schmitz who lets the wine quality speak for itself.
This had a creamy nose with a little perfume, a rich texture, a dry mid-palate with a little spice and a strong honey finish – a solid 3 star wine.
The 2009 Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Trocken (12.5%) had a similar nose to the Kabinett with more concentration and a richer texture, a spritz at the front, more minerality and a long finish with a touch of honey at the end.
The 2010 Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Trocken Alte Reben (13.5%) had a deep, dark nose with dense flavours and an earthy rawness to it – a truly delicious 4 star wine. At 13.5%, it was a full percentage point higher partly due to the old vine grapes but also the 2010 vintage itself, something of an aberration in the region producing ultra low-yield wines compared to previous vintages. This was recently highlighted by Jon Bonné in his SFGate post “Germany’s Bizarro 2010 vintage” (memorable for the line “a vintage that wants to Taser me into appreciation”).
Next we moved up in residual sugar to the 2009 Vom Roten Schiefer Riesling Kabinett Feinherb (11%). Without the Würzgarten provenance Schmitz identifies the soil type as the wine’s selling point, Roten Schiefer being the famous red slate of the area. The wine had a clean yet creamy nose with good acidity to balance the increased sugar and a marked minerality.
Feinherb is simply a term used to denote wines of approximately 9 to 18g/l of residual sugar, replacing the less fashionable Halbtrocken (half-dry) in today’s marketing conscious world.
We stayed with that style with the 2009 Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Feinherb Alte Reben (11.5%) which had a warm, buttery nose with a sweet lemon & lime spritz at the front. This was a well balanced 3+ star wine with restrained sugar, a dry mid-palate, classic minerality and a grapefruit finish.
The vintage contrast became apparent with its younger sibling, the 2010 Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Feinherb Alte Reben (13%). This was golden in the glass with a honey and candied tropical fruit nose, a big wine with more noticeable sugar to go along with the hike in alcohol. Unfortunately it didn’t have the elegance of the ’09 with the fuller flavours not marrying together, give it a few more years though and this could be superb.
We moved away from Ürzig as Johannes poured a taste of 2010 Grauer Schiefer Riesling, grown on the grey slate of the Lösnicher Försterlay vineyard further downstream. This was intended to contrast the Würzgarten and indeed showed a different fruit profile, sweeter and in a more easy drinking style, almost a palate cleanser for the high sugar wines about to follow, starting with the 2009 Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Alte Reben (9%).
This was much richer with a smoky nose and a pleasant fresh apple aspect along with its delicate sweetness. Delicate was not an apt descriptor for the 2010 Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Alte Reben (8%) which continued the theme of this vintage having extra depth. It was beautifully complex with a perfumed nose and a honeyed richness – another 4 star wine.

Then came the 2008 Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese (9%), although, as the grapes were picked at -10ºC on 30th December, it met all the criteria for an Eiswein (but Schmitz didn’t want to label it as such, only putting “Kleine Eiswein” on the back label). This was a very dense wine with a sweet baked honey nose and a very long finish, another 4 stars.
The 2010 Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese, Fass Nr. 12 (7.5%) was a more traditional Auselese with a tropical fruit nose. It was good, but I felt it suffered in comparison to the little Eiswein as it had a simpler sweetness.
Following the principle of saving the best until the end the final wine poured was simply superb, as long as you don’t mind a bit of sugar! The 4 star 2009 Ürziger Würzgarten Beerenauslese showed candied fruit on the nose, deeply sweet but beautifully balanced with gentle elegance and preserved fruit flavours on a long finish. The wine had a long life ahead of it where it would develop greater complexity, but for now it coated the mouth with rich, sweet fruit.
Unfortunately for €45 a half-bottle this was too rich for my budget, almost twice the price of the ’08 Auslese (€24.50) and over three times as much as the various Alte Reben bottles (€13.50). Still, I happily put together a mixed 6 bottle case from these as I finished off interrogating Herr Schmitz for a few last facts.

I mentioned earlier that Rebenhof is unusual for many Mosel wineries as it exports the majority of its wines, 65% to be precise as far afield as Beijing and Shanghai.
Schmitz shows common sense here as well as he keeps each individual allocation small and spread over many countries to shield against the normal market fluctuations. It’s a principle that has saved him a lot of pain as, in 2002 & ’03, his US importer (based in Chicago) offered to take the entire production but Schmitz declined, which was just as well as the same importer hardly ordered a case in ’07 and ’08.

I finally closed my notebook, paid for my wine and left Johannes and Doris preparing for the arrival 100 guests that evening for a wine & dine party, another good use of that polished new building on the edge of Ürzig.

Prost!

Subsequently published on Reign of Terroir, July 31st 2011.

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Grapevine DNA – The genetics of wine

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Karl Laczko

At first glance Genetics may seem a strange topic for a Wine Blog, but look closer and you’ll discover that humans have been genetically modifying the grapevine ever since it was first farmed over 6,000 years ago by selecting the best growths and characteristics (results of genetic variation and mutation) and then locking them in by vegetative propagation (aka cloning). As we progress into the 21st Century advances in molecular genetics allow us to look deep into the DNA of this intoxicating plant to uncover its history and potentially allow further manipulation of its future. 

First some background Biology. There are over 60 distinct species of fruit producing vines of the Genus Vitis, in the Family Vitaceae, but, with a few rare exceptions (such as the Norton grape) there is only one that attracts the attention of you and I, the Eurasian vine Vitis vinifera L. used in the production of table grapes, raisins and wine which has spread around the world with human agriculture (the L. shows that this was one of the original plant species named by the founding father of biological classification – Carl Linnaeus in his Species plantarum in 1753).

Genetic research by scientists in Australia show that originally all grape varieties were red, but several thousand years ago two independent genes involved in skin colour mutated at about the same time to produce the first pale fruit, the ancestor of today’s white varieties. The earliest known white wine has been confirmed from the time of Tutankhamun, more than 3300 years ago.

Most members of the Vitis species, and all V. vinifera, have 19 pairs of chromosomes; 38 units of hereditary that carry the DNA within each cell and on into the next generation. Research has shown that V. vinifera has approximately 30,000 genes spread over 500Mb of DNA (Mb = Megabase pairs, a unit of DNA length). Compare this to humans, who have 23 pairs of chromosomes containing 3300 Mb of DNA carrying..… 30,000 genes. Yes, as a species we have no more genes that a grapevine, just a lot more junk DNA in between them!

The majority of Vitis are dioecious, separate plants are either male or female and cannot pollinate themselves, while V. vinifera are hermaphrodes and can self-fertilise (the Norton variety mentioned above is referenced as V. aestivalis, but the fact that it can self-fertilise suggests more than a touch of V. vinifera in its parentage). Rather than let nature take its course modern viticulture is based on using cuttings (cultivars) to produce clones of the original plant to preserve their desirable characteristics, such as fruit quality. There could be up to 10,000 cultivars of V. vinifera in existence (about 7000 red and 3000 white varieties) and these are the names we see on the labels of our favourite wines; Cabernet, Syrah, Riesling, Verdejo, Assyrtiko etc. In trying to visualise the varieties genetically I liked the description found on “Professional friends of wine”  likening them to human populations “each variety should be considered a “surname” which can have its own close family and extended relations stretching back in time, but which may have different names or marriages into other families”.  

In their 2006 paper Vouillamoz & Grando of the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige discussed a key aspect of cloning; namely that it was difficult, often impossible, to know the family history of a single cultivar – genetically it may be tens, hundreds or even thousands of years old.

While leaf morphology was used to guess relationships in the past now molecular genetic techniques allow for more precise identification of related varieties of V. vinifera. Similar to the 1997 finding at UCDavis that Cabernet Sauvignon is the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc they showed that Pinot Noir, “one of the most ancient western European cultivars still in cultivation today”  is related to Syrah (either a “great-grandfather, great-uncle or cousin”). Unfortunately they also pointed out that getting a complete family tree of the major varieties is not realistic as many of the contributory family members will likely be extinct, something just avoided with Gouais Blanc, the almost defunct white variety which, along with Pinot, was involved in the parentage of grapes such as Chardonnay and Gamay.
Nevertheless a glimpse of this family tree was presented in January 2011 in New Scientist magazine from a study by Sean Myles of Stanford University.

Cloning of our favourite varieties is not the only genetic dabbling done in the name of viticulture, how about hybrids and chimeras?  The devastation of European vineyards by Phylloxera in the 19th century led to the widespread grafting of old world V. vinifera onto the rootstock of native American species such as V. aestivalis,  V. riparia, V. rupestris, V. champinii, V. candicans etc. (or on crossings of these with V. vinifera).
Let’s just be clear here, the grafting of components of one distinct species onto another separate species or a hybrid cross of mixed species – that is genetic modification of the highest level, and something done in agriculture for hundreds of years, not just with grapevines. Of course all of this is done primarily for disease resistance and maintaining plant and fruit characteristics.

Like many plants V. vinifera is highly heterozygous, meaning that for its 19 pairs of chromosomes the 2 members of each pair (the homologues) show a large degree of DNA variation when compared to each other. This was highlighted in the 2007 mapping of the Pinot Noir genome by Riccardo Velasco & colleagues, also of the Istituto Agrario di of San Michele all’Adige. Their findings showed that, on average, there was an 11.2% variation between each of the 19 sets of homologues, which is an enormous amount. As both of Pinot Noir’s parents provided one of every homologue this shows how different, genetically, those parent varieties were, and by assumption all V. vinifera varieties – that level of variation is greater than across all the members of the great ape families; Orangutans, Chimpanzees, Bonobos, Gorillas and, of course, Humans. This also explains why vegetative propagation of grapevines is a necessity, since V. vinifera does not seem to tolerate any degree of inbreeding and in normal sexual reproduction actively mixes up the DNA it passes onto the next generation, which would create chaos for viticulturists trying to maintain favourite features. I wish the adventurous Randall Grahm luck with his recently announced plan to grow a vineyard entirely from seedlings, given the recombination data above each new plant is likely to be radically different to its parents!

Velasco’s paper is the grape equivalent to the Human Genome project and is a fascinating, if somewhat technical, read showing how genes for disease resistance make up a large proportion of the genome. But if this is so why are commercial varieties so vulnerable to disease while wild grape varieties typically exhibit significantly more disease resistance?
Wild vines reproduce sexually and resistance evolves competitively with the diseases and vectors they’re exposed to – think of it as allowing their genes to download the latest Operating System updates and Anti-Virus software. Unfortunately, because of long-term cloning, the Pinots, Cabernets etc have had their automatic updates disabled and are no longer able to counter any new pathogens the vine is exposed to. Of course you could cross wild and cultivated varieties to breed in the new resistance, but this would also affect the grape characteristics you want to keep.

Velasco suggests the research could lead to new “molecular breeding” programs, where clusters of resistance genes from wild strain vines could be selectively crossed into the domesticated  varieties without losing the genes involved in grape or wine quality.This was the premise of the planting of a GMO Vineyard in France (Steve Savage summarised the plan concisely in his 2010 blog post), unfortunately in a Luddite incident barely a month later the vines were destroyed by protestors.

It’s not just the vine itself that is now open to genetic changes, there’s another species involved in winemaking – Yeast. There are already new strains of these single cell organisms that can tolerate higher alcohol levels than ever before, perfect for the “No Wimpy Wines” generation and others designed to finish at lower levels to counter these Frankenwines, but that would be the start of a whole new controversy, so I’ll bring this article to an end with Dennis Gray of the University of Florida, who has been working with Muscadine grapes for many years.
In The Economist review of the Pinot Noir sequencing Gray was mentioned as having started field trials of genetically engineered grapes against Pierce’s Disease, a bacterial infection which has been touched upon in an earlier Reign of Terroir post. More recently he’s been working on fungal disease resistance with Thompson Seedless table grapes the hope of producing disease-resistant varieties of Chenin Blanc able to thrive in Florida’s climate.

Researching this topic allowed me an intriguing glimpse into aspects of viticulture and winemaking I had not truly appreciated and begs the question, should we be afraid of future genetic tinkering with our favourite beverage? For me, as a trained geneticist, the answer is no; partly because the fermented grape juice that makes it into our glasses doesn’t contain active DNA anyway, but mostly because we’ve been genetically modifying the vine for thousands of years – so why should we stop now?

Greybeard

(Based on, and updated from, an original article published March 3rd, 2008, on Reign of Terroir)

Additional reading from Science Daily:
Bringing Better Grapes a Step Closer to Reality
Pinot Noir Grape Sequenced
Ripening Secrets Of The Vine Revealed

Posted in In Vino Veritas | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

4 by 3…a NEWTS tasting

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Karl Laczko

4 classic wine styles, 3 local retailers each offering an interpretation from their range; this was the premise for the July meeting of the North East Wine Tasting Society and meant a record 12 wines for the 2 hour meeting.

The tasting was the brainchild of Laura Kent, until recently the manager of the Oddbins Newcastle branch, who approached Newcastle wine merchants Richard Granger, Carruthers & Kent and Majestic for an example bottle of German Riesling, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Toscana Sangiovese and Argentinian Malbec to go head to head for the assembled NEWTS.

German Riesling;

  • Michael Schäfer 1991 Dorsheimer Pittermänchen, Nahe. 9.5% £6.49. (Majestic)
  • Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2006 Spätlese, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. 9.5% £21.60. (Richard Granger)
  • Reichsrat von Buhl 2010 Riesling Trocken, Pfalz. 12% £12.49. (Carruthers & Kent)

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc;

  • Moncellier 2010, Marlborough, £10.98 (Richard Granger)
  • Sherwood Estate, Clearwater 2008 , Waipara Valley. 13% £13.49 (Carruthers & Kent)
  • Astrolabe 2010 Discovery, Marlborough. 13%, £19.99. (Majestic)

Toscana Sangiovese;

  • 2009 Poggio Del Sasso, IGT Toscana. 13%, £8.82. (Richard Granger)
  • Nipozzano 2007 Chianti Rufina Riserva. 14%, £17.99. (Majestic)
  • Selvapiana 2004 Chianti Rufina Riserva. 14%, £24.99. (Carruthers & Kent)

Argentine Malbec;

  • Viñalba 2008 Gran Reserva, Mendoza. 14.5%, £13.99. (Majestic)
  • Pulenta Estate 2008, Mendoza (Lujan de Cuyo, Alto Agrelo). 14.5%, £15.84. (Richard Granger)
  • Colome Estate 2009, Valle Calchaqui, Salta. 14.5%, £15.99. (Carruthers & Kent)

Unfortunately Laura couldn’t make it on the night as she is in the middle of setting up her new wine enterprise, the Yorkshire Wine School (a franchise of the Newcastle Wine School) due to start in September. As a last minute replacement Richard Whinney stepped in using her notes (not as daunting as it sounds as Richard has presented to the group before and used to be in the wine trade, so knows his stuff).

The 12 bottle table looked daunting, especially knowing the NEWTS ability to procrastinate on any single wine, but Richard prevented a midnight finish by pouring 3 at a time rather than the serial pouring we usually follow and, with all three Rieslings in glass, we began the discussion.

Riesling, my favourite varietal, is a great way to start an evening and was enhanced by Majestic’s bottle-aged example, part of a batch from Weingut Michael Schäfer which they are currently marketing nationally. The QbA Dorsheimer Pittermänchen (Dorsheim is the Nahe town, a Pittermänchen was a small 16th Century silver coin) had a deep petrochemical nose with creamy sweetness, gentle acidity and a sweet lemon, citrus finish. The 20 year old wine was in the twilight of its years, but still delicious and a bargain at £6.49 (although you do have to buy an unbroken 6 bottle case).
The Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg from the Mosel (Ruwer, to be precise) is named from the monastic Carthusian’s hill vineyard outside the town of Eitelsbach and was even more popular with the group, a floral, lemony nose and a richer, more opulent texture (befitting a Spätlese) – sweeter and younger with someone commenting on Mango & Passion fruit. Popularity came at a price though, as this was the night’s second most expensive wine and I found the sweetness a little too simple, probably due to its relative youth.
The final Riesling, a dry Kabinett from Reichsrat von Buhlwas not so popular, a nose more reminiscent of a sweet Sauvignon or Verdejo (white peach was mentioned); light and acidic in the mouth, thin and too atypical for my taste, finishing with some grapefruit bitterness. Comparisons were made to a New World Riesling, and, as the youngest of the trio, some were curious whether bottle age would bring out more complexity (but I had my doubts).

The group voted the Karthäuserhof best (although I preferred the venerable Shäfer), giving Richard Granger the lead as we moved to the Southern Hemisphere for round 2. It should be noted that I hesitate with Sauvignon Blanc, especially from New Zealand, as I dislike the over-the-top style that has become synonymous with that country and Marlborough in particular.

The Moncellier had a pungent nose with a touch of epoxy, mellowing in the glass to a nettle aspect. It was fresh, clean and a touch acidic with a lemon sherbet component. A little lean and not as bitter as I’d expected from the nose there was a slightly metallic finish which gave a bit of character – a solid 3 star for me but the least popular with the group.
The Clearwater (Sherwood Estate’s UK brand for their Heritage Collection) was very smoky with a struck match aroma – reductive and sulphurous, which stayed for a while. It had a thin texture, a mild butteriness washed away by its lightness and low on complexity. This lacked character and was not to my taste (although it was the group second favourite ahead of the Moncellier).
The Astrolabe represented exactly what I dislike about the genre; thick, concentrated and a wine that was just trying too hard. The nose was pungent and tropical, while in the mouth there was a syrupy sweetness backed by tropical fruit but very flabby in the middle with a touch of blackcurrant (reminiscent of Ribena, which I felt was just wrong!).

I was in the minority with my disapproval though, as the group winner was the Astrolabe, nudging Majestic into the lead ahead of Richard Granger for the whites. Now it was back to Europe for the reds with Tuscany, specifically Sangiovese.

The Poggio Dell Sasso 2009 from Cantina di Montalcino was a young, fruity and very drinkable “quaffer”; slightly chemical fruit with a hint of blackcurrant and mild, youthful tannins, although finishing quick. This was a “nice” wine – a term frowned upon by the Chairman, but perfectly apt for the Poggio; inoffensive, pleasant with no faults but no great character either.
Next to the ubiquitous Nipozzano, for some reason a wine I’d never managed to taste before.  This had a creamy fruit nose with some chocolate mint but was a little lean and acidic at the start with very dry tannins overpowering the mid-palate, almost obscuring a medium length vanilla-oak finish. This felt a touch unbalanced and, at twice the price of the Poggio, was overpriced for what it is, no doubt partly due to the Frescobaldi name.
The last Italian was the Selvapiana 2004 Chianti Rufina Riserva Bucerchiale, a true 4 star wine and easily the best of the night. This had a beautifully developed, smoky nose with a touch of liquorice and there was subtle sweet fruit. This was actually quite light in the mouth but with very smooth chocolatey tannins, lots of flavour complexity throughout, very well integrated and a subtle but long finish – delicious, worth the £25 price tag and a clear favourite taking the group vote with the largest majority of the night.

With that last vote bringing Carruthers and Kent into play, overtaking Richard Granger for second place, we finished the night with the trio of beefy Argentinian Malbecs, each coming in at 14.5% abv, which proved to be the closest comparison of the night, each wine having its strong points.

The Viñalba Gran Reserva was fruity with a dry ash component to the nose, smooth creamy fruit in the mouth moderately mild tannins kicking in at the end – a good, uncomplicated 3+ star wine.
Pulenta Estate weighed in with a 2008 Malbec with a funky, meaty nose and a raw earthiness. Unfortunately, even with pleasant fruit underneath, there was an oaky character throughout this one that didn’t seem to blend – it’s not an oak monster, it’s not unpleasant, but the oak is too “added” and seemed completely unnecessary. I still rated it 3 stars nonetheless and I was in a minority in overtly criticizing it.
Bodega Colomé finished the night with their Malbec from the Calchaquí Valleys in Salta, home to the highest vineyards in the world at 2300-3100m above sea level. This had a sour, meaty nose with a green aspect and some blackcurrant, while there was a freshness to the taste that I liked. It has some herbal character, good blackcurrant fruit and was quite perfumed – the only failing was a lean finish, a bit too much acid over tannin, but still 3+ star.

It was the Colomé that took the last vote, narrowly beating the Pulenta on a tie-break (although I preferred the Viñalba for second place – a little under £2 the price for a similar wine without the obtrusive oak). This gave Carruthers & Kent a clean sweep in the red wines and just put them ahead of Majestic for the night.

The Selvapiana 2004 Chianti Rufina Riserva was the best wine of the 12 but also the most expensive at £24.99, while the best buy had to be the Michael Schäfer 1991 Dorsheimer Pittermänchenat £6.49 – I even managed to rescue the remaining half bottle of it at the end of the evening to enjoy at home!

When comparing my own scores to the group consensus I shouldn’t be surprised that the biggest deviation was in the notoriously fickle Sauvignon Blanc category, where I rated the Moncellier highly and the Astrolabe less so, however, with the Moncellier at half the price of the Astrolabe I’ll stick to my guns in recommending it as a good example of an understated NZ Sauvignon (if that’s your thing).

Slainte!

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Wine Society Summer Tasting

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Karl Laczko

Last week The Wine Society came to town with a tasting at The Royal Station Hotel in Newcastle. The theme was Loire and Beaujolais, a summery focus as both regions produce light, fresh wines.

As usual the tasting was held in the Collingwood Room at the Royal Station Hotel, a large banquet hall where the tables are laid out around the edges, allowing the tasters to mill around the centre the several tactically positioned spittoons. Liz and Emma were present from the tasting team but the big guns were out in force with Society buyers and resident experts Joanna Locke MW (Loire) and Marcel Orford Williams (Beaujolais) along with a selection of producers and distributors for some of the wines.

There was an impressive 28 wines on show that evening from Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine in the far west, through the central Loire and east to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, then down to Beaujolais in the southeast. As usual I stuck to a white-then-red plan for the main tasting (revisiting a couple of favourites before the end). It was interesting to see Irwin Thompson of Tyne Wines checking out the completition, as he specialises in France and in particular Beaujolais. I’ve restricted my notes to the more intriguing wines that stood out or contrasted the most.

Les Domaines Chéreau Carré had 3 Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine but it was their 2010 Château L’Oiselinière de la Ramée that impressed with a smooth and gentle taste and some lemon sherbert dryness on the finish, a good wine at £7.95 a bottle.

Chenin Blanc was next and Domaine Huet is the most prestigious names in Vouvray, the Loire’s Chenin-only appellation. The 2006 Vouvray Pétillant was made using the méthode ancestral technique, where partially fermented wine is bottled and fermentation completed in bottle, resulting in a lightly sparkling wine with about half the pressure of a méthode traditionnelle. This had a strong, somewhat unusual nose and taste, a little toasty yet savoury. The fizz made it interesting, but the strange flavour profile meant I wasn’t sure I liked it. More to my taste was the 2002 Le Mont Sec, in half bottles for £11.95. This had an intense floral nose and was very dry but with a luxurious texture. The finish was even drier with the floral aspects returning – a thought-provoking wine.

We changed grapes to Sauvignon Blanc with la Famille Bougrier and the Domaine Guénault 2010 Touraine Sauvignon. This had a strong, pungent nose reminiscent of New World Sauvignons, fresh with a dry bitterness, but not my style, unlike their 2010 Les Hauts Lieux Touraine Sauvignon which had a smoother nose and a full bodied texture, gently balanced with some lemon and nettle giving it an interesting edge, a bargain at £7.25 a bottle.

The final Sauvignon of note was the Domaine Seguin 2010 Pouilly-Fumé with a mellow nose, just enough hint of Sauvignon to state its case, but wrapped in subtlety. There was a little tingle on the tongue on the first sip and then a dry citrus acidity carrying through to the finish. This was an excellent wine, multi-layered flavours with a superb texture and, at £12.50 a bottle, definitely worth trying.

Unfortunately Loire rosés and reds were in short supply, I talked with Joanna Locke about this and she admitted that the joint theme with Beaujolais meant the Loire was always going to be dominated by the whites with no representation from some of my favourite Cabernet Franc areas (Chinon, Saumur-Champigny and Bourgueil).

Sadly the best description of the rosés was “avoidable”.  Famille Bougrier showed their 2010 Rosé d’Anjou which was a deep, vibrant pink with a candy sweet nose which continued into the taste – too sweet, too simple and too confected. Domaine Serge Laloue had their 2010 Sancerre Rosé which was at the opposite end of the spectrum; a light, delicate salmon pink colour with a pleasant creamy red fruit nose but followed by a sharp attack. Although the finish was enjoyable this was otherwise a severely dry wine with unbalanced acidity

The Beaujolais reds were most noteworthy, with Maison Trenel dominating the table with 6 wines on show. They were also the only one from Beaujolais to show something other than red with the Crémant  de Bourgogne Brut Nature, which had a part-baked apple nose, dry in the mouth with good texture and ripe fruit flavours – good value at £13.95 a bottle.

Staying with Trenel and the 2010 Chiroubles showed young, sweet fruit which continues into the taste. There were youthful tannins on the mid-palate and a dry, slightly bitter edge on the finish – a little austere but still good. The 2009 Esprit de Marius Sangouard Juliénas (named in tribute to an old winemaker from the area) had a savoury, meaty nose with strong underlying fruit, mild tannins on the mid-palate and a dash of quinine bitterness on the finish – an excellent balance of textures and flavours and a bargain at £9.50 a bottle.

The 2009 Fleurie was the only Trenel wine that was disappointing, there was a lack of balance which didn’t sit right in comparison to the other wines around it, such as their 2009 Côte de Brouilly which had some depth to the nose with berry fruit and ash. It was smooth and warming with an interesting grip, good underlying fruit and a long finish.
The final Trenel wine was the Domaine de la Tour du Bief, Tirage Limite 2005 Moulin-à-Vent, an unusual bottle-aged Beaujolais which had an intriguing spicy/sour nose with a meaty aspect. This was a light wine, very smooth with gentle tannins – any primary fruit had long gone but was replaced with complex, delicate secondary flavours and I enjoyed this a lot (although others in the room didn’t feel the same).

Of the other Beaujolais producers in the room the Domaine des Hautes de Chasselay 2009 Coteaux du Lyonnais by Jacques Depagneux had a smoky nose with underlying red berries (a consistent theme of the evening). Well balanced with a dry mid-palate and a hint of strawberry on the finish this was a well made light red, as was The Society’s 2009 Beaujolais Villages which had a tight nose but was very easy in the mouth, light but with just enough tannins to interest and good value at £6.95 a bottle.
Château du Ringuet 2010 Beaujolais-Perréon had a structured nose which suggested more age and integration than the 2010 on the label stated. There was some creamy berry fruit and a pleasant mouthfeel, the taste more youthful than the nose, with a slightly bubble-gum aspect which did not detract.
Durand 2010 Brouilly Pisse-Vieille is named for Brouilly’s famous Pisse-Vielle vineyard. The legend goes that an old lady was being given absolution by the local priest but when he said “Allez, et ne pêchez plus” (Go, and sin no more) she misheard “Allez, et ne pissez plus” (Go, and piss no more). Distraught at such a command the woman tried to obey, but her concerned husband soon went to the priest and learned the mistake, rushing back and shouting before he got through the door “pisse vielle! pisse vielle! le curé la dit” (Piss old woman, the priest has said so!). Luckily the wine bore no relation to the label, with a fresh nose and hints of fruit, although not too expressive. There was good acidity, light tannins and enjoyable fruit, uncomplicated and pleasant drinking.
The Society’s Exhibition 2009 Moulin-à-Vent had a creamy fruit nose with fresh flavours, balanced with mild tannins on the mid-palate and a well integrated finish with decent complexity, another good wine and the last of the notes.

The Wine Society has a good selection of Loire and Beaujolais wines (although some suffer from France’s inability to offer competetive prices compared to pure quality). These regions are often overlooked by consumers but they can both produce decent, if somewhat light, wines in a fresh style – perfect with food.
For me the stand out wines of the night were the Domaine Seguin 2010 Pouilly-Fumé and three of the Trenel wines, the 2009 Esprit de Marius Sangouard Juliénas, 2009 Côte de Brouilly and the Domaine de la Tour di Bief, Tirage Limite 2005 Moulin-à-Vent. Each of these had a special character that raised them above the other wines, and I suspect that an order to the Wine Society in the next month or so will include these, if they’re still available of course.

It was also good to see wine producers pouring & talking about their own wines and to be able to talk with Society buyers at a tasting (the first time since I joined the Society that any have ventured to the frozen North East!).

Slainte!

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Greybeard’s Corner – June 2011

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Karl Laczko

The 2011 harvest in both hemispheres dominates the recent wine news while Germany fills up a large part of my own wine experiences in this month’s Corner post.

Wine News: Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. When I first heard of the shocking vandalism at the Terroir Al Limit winery in Priorat it was hard to believe, with tanks opened to let wine drain away and bleach added to others. CataVino were one of the first to publicise the news from the Blogoshpere on the 19th June (the deed was carried out on the 13th) but other than the expected round of condemnation from the wine world (and speculation on the wine forums) it looks as though there is no idea who did this or why. For me and many wine lovers this is akin to book burning and I hope that justice will eventually catch up with the perpetrators.

New Zealand released figures showing the 2011 harvest was 23% up on 2010 coupled with a healthy increase in global sales over the last year. The potential quality of 2011 is high, adding to the positive spin given by the New Zealand media with South Island and Sauvignon Blanc contributing most to the growth – Marlborough itself saw a 34% rise in the harvest.

Harpers also reported on Australia’s bumper (sic) harvest – a rise of 1% on 2010. While not as dramatic as New Zealand’s figures it is accepted that Australia has an oversupply problem which won’t be helped by the news.

While the 2 New World neighbours share harvest increases the two original old world neighbours, France & Italy, traded places in 2010 with the Italians now the world’s largest wine producer.

Although French production may be falling the 2011 grapes are doing their best to get here faster than normal with Decanter reporting on Bordeaux and Burgundy producers preparing for harvesting to begin at the end of August, while in Champagne there is even talk of mid-August if the clement weather continues.
The same seems to be true of England and Germany as well, the latter I can personally testify after my mid-month visit to the Mosel where one Ürzig winemaker confirmed the grapes were 4-5 weeks ahead of their normal development and an August harvest is on the cards.

The Mosel also got a mention in the media with Wine Spectator running a piece on the controversial Hochmoselübergang. The Spectator has joined the debate late in the day and as the dust is starting to settle – Decanter have been running the story since January 2010 and, sadly, the green light for construction has been given – but at least that means they can cover the all pertinent facts of the story.

Finally in France the Saint Emilion debacle looks to have been resolved with the French government finally approving the revised  classification system 6 months after the INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine) initially announced the new regulations and a full 5 years after the disastrous 2006 classification which saw bitter infighting between Saint Emilion producers and compromised the whole system.

The new classification will be managed by an independent panel (i.e. not from Bordeaux) and includes evaluation of Chateaux reputation, terroir and production methods but will be heavily based on blind tasting of recent vintages. Nick Stephens review on his Bordeaux Undiscovered blog provides plenty of additional information.

June for me meant Germany…. to be precise the small town of Wetzlar, near Giessen. I was encamped there for 2 weeks on business and managed to expand on my German wine education in the process. Central to this was a weekend in the Mosel, driving from Koblenz on the Rhine along the river road stopping at Cochem, Ürzig and Bernkastel-Keus.

This is an intensely beautiful part of the world with ancient riverside towns watched over by Medieval castles, insanely steep vineyards and a relatively relaxed take on life. Riesling was at the heart of the wine experience, the region favours this noble variety with 50% of total Mosel production, but far higher for the Quality wines and almost 100% for many producers with prime vineyards. The Spring frosts that decimated many German wine regions didn’t affect the steep vineyards, so quantity is good along with the early growth already mentioned – by late June some of the Riesling bunches were beginning to hang, the weight of the grapes too much to resist the pull of gravity.

The short visit was crowned with a superb tasting at Ürzig producer Rebenhof, where winemaker Johannes Schmitz poured and talked through a dozen of his different offerings from the Ürziger Würzgarten vineyard, including a sublime 4-star 2009 Beerenauslese. I’m preparing a separate post on that tasting.

Back in Wetzlar and local restaurant Malcomess provided a broad range of German wines to accompany a delicious tasting menu (especially the trio of Kid). The restaurant is run by husband and wife team Kai & Manuela Malcomess and it was Kai who gave a brief description of each wine served, including a creamy 2009 Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) by Weinhaus Jochim and a young, but structured, 2008 Spätburgunder by Markus Schneider. What was also intriguing was that all the wines were served in The Gabriel Glas, the first time I’ve seen this “one for all” wine glass (made by the Austrian glass manufacturer Quatron) which is meant to enhance the aromas and flavours regardless of wine style or colour. Kai brought out one of the previous glasses they used to use in the restaurant (a Schott Zweisel) for a quick comparison test and I have to admit the Gabriel Glas(s) did give a fuller nose, bringing out the fruit more.

An enjoyable bookend to the trip were the lounge wines on offer at Amsterdam Schiphol airport during my transfers between Newcastle and Frankfurt. On the way out the Villa Maria 2009 Pinot Noir was light and fruity with just a touch of smoky vegetation, a more autumnal colour than I’d have expected for an ’09 with light forest fruit flavours, but true to the variety.
Coming back and it was across the Tasman sea to Australia with Ben Glaetzer’s 2008 Heartland Cabernet Sauvignon; a dense, syrupy wine with immense fruit (predominantly cassis) and a touch of mint. This was almost too much for me, a big wine with a slightly confected feel to all that dark fruit, only a basic tannin structure and a 14.5% abv which gave a warm finish – pleasant enough, but only for a small glass or two and it would struggle with food.

North East Wine: Unfortunately while I was away I missed the monthly NEWTS meeting – a Spanish tasting given by venerable member Harry Rose, whose previous tasting on the red wines of the Western Languedoc was my first ever meeting. Luckily local retailer PortoVino had their summer tasting at the end of the month where I could catch up with fellow North East oenophiles over a glass or three of Portuguese vinho – the 2006 Falcoaria by Quinta do Casal Branco was my favourite red of the evening.

A weekend in the Mosel meant that my purchases were always going to be dominated by Riesling and I returned home with 5 bottles in my luggage; a selection of Ürziger Würzgarten all from Rebenhof, including their 2008 Auslese which was harvested to Eiswein standards.

There were only 4 other incoming wines bought in the UK over June; Dow’s 1999 Quinta do Bomfim Port, California’s Seghesio 2009 Arneis & Bogle Vineyards 2008 Petite Sirah, and yet another Riesling with the Cono Sur 2008 Riesling Reserva from Chile.

Drinking at home was also reduced, the most notable being a La Motte 2005 Shiraz from the Franschhoek Valley in South Africa, a wine which blossomed after being opened for 24 hours with spicy tar, fine tannins and juicy acidity. Also worth mentioning was the Cave de Turckheim 2008 Pinot Gris Reserve from Alsace, with classically rich, not-quite-sweet grapefruit aspects and a great waxy texture.

Cellar Trivia: The arrival of the batch of Riesling got me looking at the breakdown of my home collection (currently standing at just over 150 bottles) compared to a couple of years ago. White is now up from 21% to 26%, while reds are down from 63% to 53%, confirming my thoughts that I’m not buying as much red as I used to. Biggest change is the doubling of fortified and sweet wines from just under 7% 2 years ago to just over 13% now, with a similar increase in Sparkling and Rosé (but they only make up 3% of my current stash). I don’t know if it’s a typical phase, but I’m definitely enjoying more non-red wines than ever before.

I’ll bring this month’s post to a close with the usual look forward to key wine events coming up, which are pretty much U.S. dominated;

  • July 14-16 sees the California Wine Festival hit Santa Barbera  showing a range of wines from all over the state.
  • July 15-17 jumps over to the East Coast for the Finger Lakes Wine Festival in Watkins Glen, New York, showcasing 600 wines from 80 wineries.
  • July 22nd-24th and it’s the 4th (North American) Wine Bloggers Conference  in Charlottesville, Virginia, safe journey and well wishes to all those attending
  • July 29-31st is the 2011 International Pinot Noir Celebration from McMinnville, Oregon, with over 70 international Pinot noir producers at this 25th anniversary festival.
  • August 13th and for anyone in Northern California you could do worse than head to the 19th Annual Winemakers’ Celebration in the picturesque town of Carmel for a taste of Monterey Wine with 40 local wineries on show.

Otherwise August looks remarkably quiet (well, maybe not for the European grape growers!) although there are a couple of wine competitions which have entry closing dates;

We’re well and truly into summer now and, for the Northern Hemisphere, the 2011 harvest is fast approaching (faster than usual in many places). For everyone getting ready for the start of the “mad period” in the vineyards and wineries I wish you a few more weeks of relative calm.

Slainte! 

Greybeard

Also published on July 12th, 2011 on Reign of Terroir

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