Three times in the last week, in general-news stories, there have been passing mentions, usually scene-setting, of white wines. Once upon a time, the reference would have been Chardonnay; now, suddenly, it’s Pinot Grigio. A harbinger, or a benchmark?
In advance of the royal wedding, The New York Times ran a story on English sparkling wine, noting the remarkable success of Ridgeview, which won an overall gold medal at last year’s Decanter World Wine Awards. It seems that global warming is creating real possibilities for the future.
Meanwhile, I’ve discovered another: Coddington Pinot Gris, which could also have been called “Pinot Grigio,” as that’s a legal option. The vineyard and winery, established just over 25 years ago, are in Ledbury, just a bit northwest of Cheltenham. They sell by mail order and to a few restaurants. The Pinot Gris is in the style of Friuli, dry and lightly peachy, crisp and lovely. I wish the sparkling-wine producers well, but I’d sure like to see more of this, too.
Rioja keeps on keepin’ on
We talk a lot these days about “the conversation,” whatever the actual subject is, although given the rise of the internet I often think a better word would be “chatter.” Either way, several of the wines that aren’t being talked about are, unfortunately, several of the more attractive ones: German Riesling, for example, or Bourgueil and Chinon, Semillon, Marsala . . . and, most perplexing of all, Rioja.
“Most perplexing” because Rioja, even across a range of styles, offers bright, moderately elegant flavours and, except for a few overblown Gran Reservas, a suppleness that makes it a pleasure to drink and a perfect partner to a wide range of food. Although the tannins aren’t usually aggressive, most of them can age gracefully. (The lightest, easygoing Crianzas, meant to be drunk relatively young, are also good value.)
The recent Decanter “Great Spanish Fine Wine Encounter” featured wines from all over Spain, but the real fun was from Rioja, where several intriguing 2001s stole the show. It was certainly a great vintage, and the wines are delicious now, ripe and full and still luscious, still evolving too. Some remain on retailers’ shelves (La Rioja Alta has just released its Vina Ardanza “Especial” and I spotted some Marques de Riscal recently). They're also on restaurant wine lists, and relative bargains. After the tasting, I cracked open my last bottle of Riscal’s Baron de Chirel 2001—magnificent.
Now, mid-April, it’s the annual Decanter World Wine Awards judging week, and another magnificent Rioja caught my attention: Baigorri de Garage 2005. It’s made from hand-picked and hand-selected grapes from old vines up at high altitudes in Rioja Alavesa, fermented and aged in new French oak and has nearly 15 percent alcohol, but manages to be balanced and extraordinarily harmonious, simply superb. It won the International Trophy last year, and if there’s a later vintage in the competition (we won’t know till later, when the results are revealed), it’ll be the one to beat.
“Most perplexing” because Rioja, even across a range of styles, offers bright, moderately elegant flavours and, except for a few overblown Gran Reservas, a suppleness that makes it a pleasure to drink and a perfect partner to a wide range of food. Although the tannins aren’t usually aggressive, most of them can age gracefully. (The lightest, easygoing Crianzas, meant to be drunk relatively young, are also good value.)
The recent Decanter “Great Spanish Fine Wine Encounter” featured wines from all over Spain, but the real fun was from Rioja, where several intriguing 2001s stole the show. It was certainly a great vintage, and the wines are delicious now, ripe and full and still luscious, still evolving too. Some remain on retailers’ shelves (La Rioja Alta has just released its Vina Ardanza “Especial” and I spotted some Marques de Riscal recently). They're also on restaurant wine lists, and relative bargains. After the tasting, I cracked open my last bottle of Riscal’s Baron de Chirel 2001—magnificent.
Now, mid-April, it’s the annual Decanter World Wine Awards judging week, and another magnificent Rioja caught my attention: Baigorri de Garage 2005. It’s made from hand-picked and hand-selected grapes from old vines up at high altitudes in Rioja Alavesa, fermented and aged in new French oak and has nearly 15 percent alcohol, but manages to be balanced and extraordinarily harmonious, simply superb. It won the International Trophy last year, and if there’s a later vintage in the competition (we won’t know till later, when the results are revealed), it’ll be the one to beat.
Slow Food and Wine for the 21st Century
I’m neither technophobe not technophile; I do regret the demise of the idea of picking up a book to find out about things, but that’s how it goes. The world is what it is, and my son explains it to me more and more now ( I think he was more pleased than I when one of my books went onto Kindle). The other day, at a tasting for wines rated highly by Slow Food that introduced their new book, I also got a preview of their nifty new app. It’s terrific.
The Slow Wine application, which is in English (unlike the book) and compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, was developed by Slow Food Editore, beginning with the book’s database of wineries (1,830) and wines (8,400) reviewed in the paperback edition, then enriched with new features, enabling searching by specific key words, such as the grape variety, the name of the winery, or the wine. There are also numerous wine maps, with information on the regional agronomic background, all easy to use thanks to an integrated Google mapkit.
The navigation of the wineries’ descriptive pages is completely (and easily) interactive, from service tools like telephone and email, to the geographical localization on the map, or a link to the winery’s website. Three thematic sections introduce the reader to the stories of the people behind the wine production, vineyards and viticulture, and to the wines, reviewed in a simple manner and linked to technical information.
Slow Wine is available from the App store in a free trial version, allowing access to the “Everyday Wine” pages (wines that have been highlighted by Slow Food for their excellent price-to-quality ratio), with all the basic tools to save favorites, consult the wine maps, and allows access to the list of reviewed wineries. The complete package can be purchased for £5.99.
The Slow Wine application, which is in English (unlike the book) and compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, was developed by Slow Food Editore, beginning with the book’s database of wineries (1,830) and wines (8,400) reviewed in the paperback edition, then enriched with new features, enabling searching by specific key words, such as the grape variety, the name of the winery, or the wine. There are also numerous wine maps, with information on the regional agronomic background, all easy to use thanks to an integrated Google mapkit.
The navigation of the wineries’ descriptive pages is completely (and easily) interactive, from service tools like telephone and email, to the geographical localization on the map, or a link to the winery’s website. Three thematic sections introduce the reader to the stories of the people behind the wine production, vineyards and viticulture, and to the wines, reviewed in a simple manner and linked to technical information.
Slow Wine is available from the App store in a free trial version, allowing access to the “Everyday Wine” pages (wines that have been highlighted by Slow Food for their excellent price-to-quality ratio), with all the basic tools to save favorites, consult the wine maps, and allows access to the list of reviewed wineries. The complete package can be purchased for £5.99.
Things are looking up Down Under
After years of promotional programs that ranged from somnolent to moribund and allowed much of the rest of the wine world to dictate the conversation, the Australian wine industry has suddenly come awake, and loudly. They’ve remembered they have a good story to tell just in time, too—a tasting panel at Decanter magazine recently declared that Australia has “never been in better form. . . ignore Burgundy and go to Australia for Chardonnay,” and several events at the recent Australia Day tasting in London were standing-room-only; the fact that the subjects covered (and happily tasted) were Riesling, Pinot Noir, and revelations of Terroir certainly proves they’ve turned a page.
The new endeavor is known as “A+ Australian Wine,” and aims to shift our perception away from the bargain-bin dead end the wines have been stuck in for too long, back toward quality and their progress over that too-quiet time. The immediate result of the campaign? Several large conglomerated wineries have dropped out of the program, on the grounds that it’s not “commercially driven” enough. That may be the good news—it was the “commercially driven” idea that landed Australian wine in the dumpster.
Take a look at the new, lively, straightforward and quite informative website that carries the revised message. Australia made things interesting two decades ago, and we may be seeing a return to that: http://www.apluswines.com/
The new endeavor is known as “A+ Australian Wine,” and aims to shift our perception away from the bargain-bin dead end the wines have been stuck in for too long, back toward quality and their progress over that too-quiet time. The immediate result of the campaign? Several large conglomerated wineries have dropped out of the program, on the grounds that it’s not “commercially driven” enough. That may be the good news—it was the “commercially driven” idea that landed Australian wine in the dumpster.
Take a look at the new, lively, straightforward and quite informative website that carries the revised message. Australia made things interesting two decades ago, and we may be seeing a return to that: http://www.apluswines.com/
Oregon Pinot Noir 2008: delectable
There has been quite a buzz building over the 2008 vintage of Pinot Noir in Oregon, accompanied by some silliness about Oregon Pinot Noir “coming of age,” and/or proving a point about the quality of the wine there (slightly more than half is Pinot Noir). “Coming of age” is silly because a few decades isn’t that much in the evolution of vineyards, and a lot of the acreage planted is relatively very new, as are the wineries (in the last 20 years, vineyard acreage increased four-fold, and the amount of wineries went up five-fold, to almost 400); for fine wine, that’s just a blink. As for “proving the point” about the quality of Pinot Noir in Oregon, that’s been done as far back as the 1980s; the further points that have been proven since then are that Oregon’s climate can be challenging, and that an influx of new winemakers, whether starting a second career or just generally on a “back to the land” trip, can set the varied styles of winemaking on something of a zigzag course.
Last week, I got a chance to taste some of those Oregon Pinot Noirs, at the annual tasting of Northwest wines in London. Some are still a bit tannic, oaky and extracted, but most were fresh and lively, blessed with vibrant acidity and relatively low alcohol levels (under 14%, sometimes well under, and even below 12% in a few cases). For whatever reason, not everyone was there, but it was a good sampling. Standouts were two bottlings from Chehalem, “Reserve” and “Ichinnan,” the graceful Benton Lane “Estate,” a slightly funky Sokol Blosser “Dundee Hills,” bolder versions from Argyle “Nut House” and Soter “Mineral Springs Ranch” (both of which had a little more power, but didn’t lack grace—they needed a good 20 minutes to open up and reveal their virtues, as did Elk Cove “Roosevelt,” which seemed indistinct at first, but came around). I’d assume these last three would age nicely. I also liked the very light and pale Erath "Willamette Valley" and A to Z, which were delicious, very fresh and lively, though too light for food. Altogether, an impressive showing.
Last week, I got a chance to taste some of those Oregon Pinot Noirs, at the annual tasting of Northwest wines in London. Some are still a bit tannic, oaky and extracted, but most were fresh and lively, blessed with vibrant acidity and relatively low alcohol levels (under 14%, sometimes well under, and even below 12% in a few cases). For whatever reason, not everyone was there, but it was a good sampling. Standouts were two bottlings from Chehalem, “Reserve” and “Ichinnan,” the graceful Benton Lane “Estate,” a slightly funky Sokol Blosser “Dundee Hills,” bolder versions from Argyle “Nut House” and Soter “Mineral Springs Ranch” (both of which had a little more power, but didn’t lack grace—they needed a good 20 minutes to open up and reveal their virtues, as did Elk Cove “Roosevelt,” which seemed indistinct at first, but came around). I’d assume these last three would age nicely. I also liked the very light and pale Erath "Willamette Valley" and A to Z, which were delicious, very fresh and lively, though too light for food. Altogether, an impressive showing.
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