Looking Into Wine

Chianti over centuries had become the equivalent of Italian red wine and grew to be a style rather than a wine that represented a place.
The key producers in the Chianti Classico region were aristocrat Florentine families with interestingly up to the Second World War, a run their estates with a system known as sharecropping. Landowners allowed farmers the use of the land in return for half of the production, which resulted in little incentive to improve quality.
Central Tuscany saw the very first attempt to define a wine production area legally by Grand Duke Cosimo III de ’Medici in 1716, with the boundaries outlined and criminal penalties on any merchant or customer buying wines falsely claiming to be from these areas. This law was never really used, though it was intended to protect the good reputations of these wines and to prevent fraud.
The creation of Sassicaia in 1968 and Tignanello in 1971 inspired the category of Super Tuscans and led to similar wines produced in the 1980s in the Chianti Classico region. Chianti Classico became an autonomous DOCG in 1996. In other words, it is no longer a sub-zone of Chianti.
My guests today are Frances Di Savino and Bill Nesto MW co-authors of ‘Chianti Classico: The Search for Tuscany’s Noblest Wine.’ With which we explore the history of Chianti Classico, how those decisions tarnished the images of Chianti and what the contemporary producers are looking to change that.
Bill is a Master of Wine who teaches in two colleges at Boston University: Metropolitan College, Fran is a corporate attorney who has a background in medieval and Renaissance studies and is Bill’s partner in life and on the wine road

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As South Africa approaches yet another wave of #Covid, I speak to Testalonga is one of the most progressive producers of the country.

This Durban-born winemaker Craig Hawking is all about avoiding stereotypes, an ideology embodied in his self-designed wine labels which we discussed on the show.

They are all constructed from various photos that have appealed to him in some way
Craig was the first producer to experiment with Amber wines in #SouthAfrica not without any resistance from authorities and critics as Craig tells in the episode.

We talked about their new estate the #BanditsKloof #vineyard located in the northern mountains of Swartland and the soils and climate of #Swartland, touch on #Harzeverlu in South Africa.

After travelling extensively in Portugal and Austria learning his craft Craig returned to South Africa and became the winemaker at top Swartland estate #Lammershoek.
Craig now makes his wines from various small, #organic vineyard sites in Swartland and makes his wine naturally, with as little intervention as possible. The climate is Mediterranean with granite soils

And of course, he explained where the name #Testalonga comes from

The district of Swartland has a warm dry climate. Rainfall is around 500 mm per year, though a good proportion of it falls in the growing season.

Soils are diverse but mainly of low fertility, suitable for grape growing. A range of varieties is grown, as in other regions. Soils are diverse but mainly of low fertility granite and shale, particularly around the Paardeberg, which is farmed by many of the top producers.

And a would like to thank Les Caves the Pyrenne to help with connecting to the amazing producer

Here you can find further information about Testalonga and the SA wines:
http://lescaves.co.uk/lescaves-home
https://www.wosa.co.za/home/
Swartland Wine Regions, Coastal Region, Western Cape - Wines of South Africa (wine-searcher.com)

#winecast

Israel is a sliver of a country stretching 424 km/263 miles in length.
The north and centre of the country may be divided into the fertile coastal plain and the mountainous region that runs down the spine of the country, which falls away to the Jordan Rift Valley in the east.

The quality revolution began in the 1890s with Baron Edmond De Rothschild although commercial operations were in place before as my guest Adam explains in the interest.
In this episode we explore the history of Isreal’s wines with details in the various phases that it went through, We also explained how and why are kosher wines produced and lastly we spoke about the unique vicissitudes that Israel faces with bombing and some effected in the vineyards Adam promptly ensure that Israel is mostly a peaceful place to live.

The regional area is as follow:
Judean Foothills (27 per cent) The area between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
Galilee (25 per cent) In the north
Golan Heights (18 per cent) In the northeast corner; a volcanic plateau
Coastal Plain (15 per cent) The hot and humid Coastal Plain was one of the areas first planted in the 1880s by Baron Edmond de Rothschild
Central Mountains (11 per cent) Includes Mount Carmel
Negev Highlands (4 per cent)

Adam S. Montefiore is a wine industry insider turned wine writer. He is the wine writer for the Jerusalem Post, a partner in the Israel Wine Experience and CEO of Adam Montefiore Wine Consultancy. He has been referred to as ‘the English voice of Israeli wines.’ He is the author of The Wine Route of Israel and contributes to Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book & Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine. He is a member of The Circle of Wine Writers.



Some other useful links on the topic
https://www.winesofisrael.com/
https://adammontefiore.com/
https://winesisrael.com/en/homepage-mobile/

Micro-oxygenation, or Mox to its mates, is a controlled, periodically continuous addition of tiny amounts of oxygen to the wine, usually red.

Forget the new world being leaders in technical winemaking innovation. Mox was devised in 1991 by Patrick Ducournau, of Domaine Mouréou in Madiran, as a way of softening the tannins of his home grape variety Tannant which has legendary tannins.

Benefits include the stabilisation of colour, the building up and softening of structure and the lessening of stinky, reductive notes. It’s now widely used across the winemaking globe, on tannic grape varieties. Mox and pinot noir are unlikely ever to be best buddies.

Since Micro-Oxygenation increases the wine’s reductive capacity, it does not reduce ageing time and is not useful for promoting the early release. After the structure is built, if the wine is sent immediately to barrels, frequent racking’s may be necessary to prevent the wine from becoming closed and hard.

My guest Clark Smith, has been working, researching, and studying the use of Micro-Oxygenation in wines since 1997.

We go through some of the myths about Micro-oxygenation and we discuss how most winemakers only use it to stabilise colour and speed up the bottling times but in truth Micro-oxygenation applied at a specific stage can help with the structure of wines tannins.


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In this episode, I talk to Nicole Rolet the co-owner of Chêne Bleu, who has to put Chêne Bleu on the global wine map in just over two decades. Blessed with a convergence of natural factors, Chêne Bleu has the benefit of an exceptional location, multifaceted geology, and a southern Rhône climate with soils more typical of the northern Rhône.

Isolated and protected, high in a mountain saddle, Chêne Bleu has its provenance in a unique, four-corner borderland of the department Gigondas, Cotes du Ventoux, Côtes du Rhône and Séguret come together Nicole explains why they felt that it was right for them to not be part of those appellations.

The story of Chêne Bleu begins with Xavier Rolet, a Frenchman who has made a big mark in the world of finance. In 1993, he came upon a run-down estate in the South of France. The property was so dilapidated and overgrown, that no one had expressed interest in it for 20 years. His first offer was accepted, and he went to work.

In the episode, we explore how the Nicole and Xavier Background has to help to shape the success of Chêne Bleu, their long term vision and having the wit to collaborate earlier on with some of the most important wine specialists in the world. What are the principles of Biodynamic are used at Chene Bleu and what lay ahead for the estate?

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All over the world old vines get proudly mentioned on labels, in many languages. Such is the value everywhere accorded to old vineyards and the wines they produce.

With my guest Sarah Abbot MW who run the Old Vine conference, we looked at what are the values of old vines and why we should care for them? Sarah aims to create a global category for Old Vine which has she say has been successful for South Africa in the last decade

How does a vine actually achieve old age? This is not as straightforward a question as it seems, considering all of the physical, environmental, social, and economic forces working against agricultural permanence.

First, avoiding certain pests and diseases is key. The root louse phylloxera is largely responsible for the lack of truly old vines around the world. But because it is unable to thrive in extremely sandy soils, some regions, such as eastern Washington or much of Chile, still have vines planted on their own roots. Another major debilitating factor is trunk disease.

A handful of these plague viticulturists, but they all operate via the same mechanism: a malevolent fungus enters the vine, typically during or after pruning, reduces productivity, and eventually causes death. Because a vine receives a fresh set of pruning wounds every season, it naturally follows that older vines are more vulnerable. That said, some varieties are more resistant than others

In many countries, less productive vines continue to be ripped out. They might be replaced by other higher-yielding varieties or entirely new crops. Even the most cherished historic plot may have to be grubbed up if it just does not produce enough fruit to be economically viable, given the labour costs associated with the extra attention they often require.

Across the south of France in the 1990s and 2000s, foreigners snapped up lots of "unproductive" old vineyards. The old French growers were pleased to set up their retirement by selling plots that had been hard to work. The new owners generally had lower hopes for yield, and higher ones for bottle prices, and farmed accordingly.

Perhaps surprisingly, it was possible in the mid 2000s to purchase some of those venerable Barossa parcels. But this was more due to a collapse in buying contracts from multinationals.

In this episode, Sarah talks about what she aims to achieve with her conferences. We delve into the hurdles that a vine needs to overcome to get to old age and the Economic factors.

Sarah also highlights research that shows how vines DNA mutate in their old age showing that they are adapting to their ‘Terroir’ making them vital to the diverse pool of vines and she doesn't fail to mention that many hectares of old vineyards are lost every year.

For further information on the fascinating topic:
https://www.oldvines.org/
https://historicvineyardsociety.org/vineyards
https://www.savetheold.com/
https://oldvineproject.co.za/


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Welcome to the first episode of the second season of the Looking Into Wine Podcast, is so good to be back - Mattia

Today’s guest is the Associate Specialist in Cooperative Extension in Enology for the University of California UC Davis Anita Oberholster.

Today she is here to spotlight the incredibly growing concern that is Smoke taint. In recent years she has focused her attention on Smoke Taint leading field and laboratory research on the topic and working with international researchers to fight this catching problem.

In 2020 alone a series of wildfires ravaged parts of Northern California, blanketing much of the West Coast with smoke. This came on the heels of major fire events during the previous three years that burned nearly 3.8 million acres in California alone. Meanwhile, Australia suffered devastating fires in 2019 and 2020 that affected Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. And this year 2021 fires are sprawling around the world from California to France and parts of southern Europe.

As the wine world acclimates to changes in weather patterns, the term “fire season” has become akin to hail in Burgundy and bone-chilling winters in Germany. Like harvests ruined by cold, wet, and disease, harvests in fire riddled regions face unique challenges Smoke Taint – what it is and how it affects grapes and wine.

Smoke taint is one such adulteration. When wildfires strike, the residue of the smoke can settle on grapevines, leaving a film of volatile phenolic compounds. Where many wines flavours are derived from grapes’ phenolics, these compounds are unwelcome intruders. And they infiltrate the grape skin, forming bonds with the sugars just inside the skins. These resulting molecules are called glycosides.

The compounds in smoke primarily responsible for the taint are the free volatile phenols that are produced when the wood is burnt. These can be absorbed directly by grapes and can bind to grape sugars to give glycosides that have no smoky aroma.

Often these glycosides are described as smoke taint precursors. During fermentation (and also over time in barrel or bottle) these glycosides can break apart, releasing the volatile phenols into the must or wine, and allowing the smoky flavour to be perceived. These glycosides can also release the volatile phenols in the mouth during the drinking of wine, which may contribute to the perception of smoke taint.


As promised the here are the links to further readings:
California UC Davis
https://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/industry-info/viticulture-resources/wildfire-impact-ca-grapes
Australia Wine Institute
https://www.awri.com.au/industry_support/winemaking_resources/smoke-taint/

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Wine Barrels made from oak are among the oldest technologies used to produce wines.
But where all the wood to produce all those barrels, what oak is good for Barrels, what do we do next?

With my gest Mel Knox, an international semiretired wine barrel broker with over 40 years of experience in trading and researching wine barrels for winemaking sourcing some of the most esteemed tonnellerie/barrel-maker from France, we explore the ins and outs of this fascinating part of winemaking.

There are hundreds of species of oak, all of which can be broadly separated into two categories, red and white.

The red oaks are porous and cannot, therefore, be relied upon for watertight cooperage. For wine three sorts of white oak are most important, one American and two European Quercus sessiliflora and Quercus robur, Mel Says, Oak can be divided into two types, red oak--it leaks-- and white oak, which is used for barrels.

White oak is found 1/in the area roughly defined by east of the great plains, south of Canada, north of Mexico and Florida, and the Atlantic Ocean.

There is also a bit of Oregon oak found...mostly in western Oregon and Washington,
Also, he adds’ You have different barrel approaches for different varieties. With Pinot, you are trying to beef up the wine whereas with cabernet you are trying to tame the wine.
What is done after the right oak plant to make a barrel is chosen? What can affect the resulting style of wine? What are the risks?

I went maybe ten years without selling anything but 60 gallon and smaller sized barrels. Now larger barrels and tanks are more popular. But it's still a small part of the business.

He also adds on the show how he was working with Robert Mondavi and how he asked to untoasted barrels and used vapour instead that was the first winery to ever do that.

Did you know that oak also contains TCA or Cork Taint? Mel uses high traceability systems to ensure that everything is monitored from source to client.

We also hear about Mel story of sourcing some of the wines for the famous Judgement of Paris and he pays tribute to the late Steven Spurriel

Some other useful links on the topic
http://www.knoxbarrels.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCrkmyQtQIM&t=1s

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Recognized as an AVA in 1981, Santa Cruz Mountains was the first California appellation to be defined by its mountain topography.

As the name suggests, Santa Cruz Mountains is a mountainous AVA that sits between Monterey Bay and San Francisco. The rugged terroir in the mountains can be extremely difficult for vignerons, but those who persevere are rewarded with some of California's most celebrated wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon.

The winegrowing community comprises nearly 300 small growers and wineries, the region is planted to approximately 1300 acres of wine grapes, divided evenly among Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and “Other Varietals” (most notably Merlot and Zinfandel).

Small vineyard surrounded by Redwood trees and native chaparral, growing atop an ancient seabed overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

These growing conditions give the wines a distinct regional identity, characterized by fresh flavours and bright fruit.

Individual and site-specific mesoclimate is an important part of the terroir here. Vineyards planted on western slopes feel the cooling effects of strong winds from the Pacific Ocean. Further inland, vineyards planted on east-facing slopes get some protection from the ocean and are therefore much warmer.

With today’s guest Prudy Foxx, the leading viticulturist of Santa Cruz Mountain, how has been working in the region for the last 25 years we discussed this region in details, what decisions are important to consider when planning vines on the Mountains, what are the exciting new developments, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are taking the heart of Prudy in the vineyards of the south of SCM and we talked how in the recent years more investments are coming on the mountains from producers from all over California.

Some other useful links on the topic
https://winesofthesantacruzmountains.com/
https://santacruzmountains.com/wineries/
https://foxxviticulture.com/
https://wineinstitute.org/

The following are affiliate links, it costs you nothing to use them but I get a small percentage when you buy something, so thanks!
Audio Interface: Zoom H6 https://amzn.to/3qnz7Ht
Microphone: Shure SM58 https://amzn.to/3bcfbAC
Boom Arm Mic Stand with Pop Filter: ShureSM7B https://amzn.to/3tWlMYR
Online Recording on studio-level: SquadCast https://squadcast.fm/?ref=mattiascarpazza

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A transformation has been taking place in the vineyards and wineries of Portugal during the last twenty years, bringing hundreds of new wines onto the international market.

Indigenous grape varieties that were once obscure are now becoming mainstream. Thought of as a country that produced mainly red wine, Portugal is now proving that it has producers capable of making world-class white wines while tapping into its long history for the production of wines.

With my guest, Richard Mayson, author of The Wines of Portugal, we spotlighted where and how those changes are taking place, most important change for many regions has been moving from Co-operative based production to private ownership of wineries as Richard explains.

He expertly divided the country into four broad areas: Atlantic Wines, Mountain Wines, Wines of the Plains and Wines of the Island.

Portugal's temperate, predominantly maritime climate has a great deal to offer winemakers. And there is significant variation nonetheless between its mountains, river valleys, sandy littoral plains and limestone-rich coastal hills.

We explored those areas and what are the key changes that are taking places and what it is that one should know about them.

We also explored the ancient Vinho de Talha and what are the category Encruzado and Garrafeira and more.

Remember to hit the follow the podcast and as always if you have found listening to this podcast valuable, leave a review!



The following are affiliate links, it costs you nothing to use them but I get a small percentage when you buy something, so thanks!
The wines of Portugal, By Richard Mayson - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1999619315/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mattiascarpaz-21&creative=6738&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1999619315&linkId=599cebffa5d909969186e44fa987133f

Audio Interface: Zoom H6 https://amzn.to/3qnz7Ht
Microphone: Shure SM58 https://amzn.to/3bcfbAC
Boom Arm Mic Stand with Pop Filter: ShureSM7B https://amzn.to/3tWlMYR
Online Recording on studio-level: SquadCast https://squadcast.fm/?ref=mattiascarpazza


We would love you hear from you! Reach us on:
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