Winecast

Today's podcast is a return to my vintner profile format with an interview with Jason Korman and Hugh Macleod of the Stormhoek Winery.

Show Notes:

00:22 - Welcome

01:07 - Introduction of Stormhoek Winery

02:32 - Interview with Hugh Macleod and Jason Korman

29:16 - Tasting Notes

29:28 - Stormhoek, Pinot Grigio 2005 ($10)

29:46 - Stormhoek, Semillon, “The Sixteen Barrel” 2004 ($20) *

30:26 - Stormhoek, Pinotage 2005 ($10) +

30:51 - Best of Tasting *

30:56 - Best Value +

31:06 - Contact Details

31:45 - Next show theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today's podcast is something completely different than I have ever attempted, a live recording from a podcast event held in Minneapolis on June 12, 2006. Although I am flying a bit by the seat of my pants before a live audience, I do talk about wine tasting tips, feature a virtual tasting of a wine and answer a few wine related questions from the audience. Back to a more normal podcast format later this week, I promise ;-)

Show Notes:

00:22 - Introduction

01:13 - Soundboard recording from "Live to HD" event

25:00 - Contact Details

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

This month Wine Blogging Wednesday returns to it's normal first Wednesday of the month and host Vivi's Wine Journal has picked a very appropriate theme for July: Barbecue Wines (or is it BBQ, or Bar-B-Que?). The history of BBQ appears to be an American invention, but there seems to be some debate on this if you look closer. Whatever the derivation, today the term means either the slow cooked meats prepared across the southern U.S. from pork, beef or chicken or grilled meats in general. I took the latter definition for the purposes of this post and podcast and chose three wines I think would pair well with summer grilling. Different than in the other months I have participated in this event, my three wines will be a white, a rose and a red. All quite dry and loaded with fruit flavors to stand up to the heartiest summer fare.

Since yesterday was Independence Day here in the U.S., my grilling choice was classic Wisconsin brats and traditional side-dishes, potato and macaroni salad. Whatever wines I select, they would need enough acidity to cut through the mayonnaise in the salads and brown mustard on the brats. I selected two different kinds of brats, the common "beer brats" and a new-age chicken with bacon and swiss cheese. Both presented an interesting flavor profile to deal with in matching wines, where in past years I've just reached for an IPA or dark beer.

Of course, the best wine for Bar-B-Que or grilled meats depends upon the type of meat roasted. If I made steaks, for instance, I would have probably selected three red wines to match here. But since I had foods that were not overpowering in their flavors, I had a pretty open spectrum of wines to choose from. My strategy was to find wines with enough flavor to stand up to the food, but also enough acidity to enhance the flavors and not overpower the food. The rule of thumb at this time of year is to choose a dry rose, so my first match was a Wolffer Rosé 2005 the winery sent me recently as a sample. You probably remember Wolffer from my interview with winemaker Roman Roth in Winecast 56. Their rosé is made from 48% Merlot, 39% Chardonnay, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with the red grapes given a short time on the skins to minimize the color. The wine was totally made in stainless steel to accentuate the freshness of the fruit and retails for a reasonable $14 a bottle. This rosé is salmon in color with aromas of peach and fresh flowers. Rich and crisp in the mouth, showing cherry and citrus with a bit of white pepper on the dry finish. A very nice rosé for a hot summer’s day and nice accompaniment to my grilling yesterday. In fact, this might be the most versatile wine for grilled meats in the round-up. 11.5% ABV. Finished with natural cork. Score: 8.5/10

I usually don't think of white wine and grilling, but I do think about white wines on hot summer days so I thought I would pick one from my cellar to see how it might work here. I’ve always liked the aggressiveness of Sauvignon Blanc, particularly from New Zealand, but I didn’t have any bottles handy from that country. What I did have was the 2005 vintage of Veramonte’s Sauvignon Blanc from the Casablanca Valley of Chile. I first tried this brand in my round-up on Winecast 12 last year and it has made it into my cellar ever since as a great value for hot summer days selling for $8-9 a bottle. The wine is light straw with a slight green hue. Fresh hay, lime and pineapple aromas with some gooseberry reminiscent of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. On the palate, there is tart grapefruit flavors with nice acidity to match with food. The match was especially good with the chicken brats adding an nice counter-point to the bacon and swiss cheese flavors. I’d recommend this one for grilled pork too, as long as there is not spicy BBQ sauce involved in the preperation. 13.5% ABV. Stelvin closure. Score: 8/10

Finally, I wanted to try a fruit forward red wine. After considering Syrah/Shiraz, I fell back on my old favorite Zinfandel, selecting a 2003 Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, "Giana," which sells for $28 a bottle. I first tasted Chiarello Zin at ZAP this past January and was very impressed with all their wines. You might recognize the family name from owner Michael Chiarello's Napa Style TV show, book and website. If anyone knows how to make food-friendly wines, it’s Mr. Chiarello, but I have to say that you need a steak or, better yet, Mexican food to match with this Zin. The wine is garnet-purple in color with powerful aromas of blackberry, plum and licorice. In the mouth it is substantial with blackberry jam, black pepper, spices and silky tannins. A hedonists Zin that somehow balances the substantial alcohol with fruit. Delicious, but overpowering to my 4th of July brats. 16.1% ABV. Finished with natural cork. Score: 9/10

So what did I learn this month? That a range of wines go well with grilled meats. If I had some true Bar-B-Que to match here, I think only the Chiarello Zin and Wolffer Rosé would have made the cut. For best wine, it easily goes to Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, "Giana" 2003 and best value to the versatile Wolffer Rosé 2005. Thank to Joel over at Vivi’s Wine Journal for hosting this month and a great theme. I'm looking forward to seeing what founder Lenn has in store for the two-year anniversary of WBW next month.

Show Notes:

00:21 - Welcome and show theme

01:10 - Matching wine with Bar-B-Que or grilled meats

03:56 - Veramonte, Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley, Chile 2005 ($9)

04:58 - Wolffer Estate Vineyards, Rosé, Long Island, New York 2005 ($14/sample) +

06:20 - Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, "Giana" 2003 ($28) *

07:50 - Best of tasting

07:58 - Best value

08:15 - Wrap-up and contact details

08:50 - Next show theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

This edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW for short) is a bit different than normal for me as I’m the host wine blog this time. The theme I picked was also a bit of a change for both WBW and my podcast. I asked participants to pick a red wine with an alcohol content of 12.5% by volume or less. Sounds easy enough. No specific varietal or wine region; no fancy label or food matching required. This was a bit more of a challenge than even I expected, however, in this day and age of powerful, fruit driven wines that average 13.5% ABV and up.

Tastes and technology in modern winemaking has changed quite a bit over the past 20 years or so. Most of this change has been for the good. No more are there thin, marginal wines with green flavors on the shelf and most red wines these days have concentrated fruit flavors and aromas. But this has also encouraged vineyard practices of leaving the grapes on the vine as long as possible to extract the most flavor possible. This long “hang time” also increases the sugar levels which is converted to alcohol during fermentation. There are things winemakers can do to deal with this such as watering back the wine or even removing alcohol from the finished wine but the most common approach is to release the wine with a higher level of alcohol that was thought excessive not so many years ago.

So why is this a big deal? The first reason is the obvious public safety issue of drunk driving. These wines can start to cause impairment in the normal half bottle serving which commonly is the portion consumed by wine lovers at a restaurant. Even the old “2 glass” rule of thumb can go out the window with a 16.5% Zinfandel. The second reason is the deadening of the taste buds caused by the attack of alcohol and how it intensifies the wines flavors. Many of these high alcohol wines do not match well with food as a result, which for me is at least half the fun of enjoying wine in the first place. The final reason is the most basic from a winemaking point of view: balance. All the elements in a wine need to be in harmony; the fruit, acidity, tannins and, yes, alcohol level should be balanced in order to produce a fine wine that will stand the test of time and be enjoyable in it’s youth.

I thought this would be an interesting challenge because when I first got into wine, back in the early 1980’s, it was rare that a wine got up to 13% ABV. I remember Sonoma Zinfandels that were 12.8% and even some Napa Valley Cabs right at or slightly under 12%. Yes, there were some green, vegetal aromas and flavors in some of them, but there were also plenty of great wines that never got out of the 12% range. Would there be any out there today? The first thing to do was look over my cellar. Right away I went for the cold climate wines, including a Frontenac from Minnesota that clocked in at 11.5% ABV. This was taking the easy way out and not something I thought would make for a compelling post or podcast (I’ve already covered local wines a couple of times here in the past). So I found some Bordeaux from the mid 1990’s that were 12 to 12.5% ABV. Again, nice to see, but how about some of the 2000’s or later? All my Zinfandels and Syrah’s were off the charts with the most moderate example at a “sensible” 14.4%; most were in the 16% range including one that was labeled 16.8%! So I began my search of the local wine stores reading the fine print and talking with the staff to find some acceptable wines. My goal was not to pick a cold climate appellation, but regions more typical of these high octane wines. This meant California, Australia, Spain, Italy and France’s Southern Rhone. Could I find a Zinfandel, Shiraz or Grenache that would come in under the limit?

I guess the first thing that somewhat surprised me is there are quite a few wines in the stores these days that are labeled 12.5% from Bordeaux and the Northern Rhone. I also found some reds from cool climates that easily came in under 12%, including one from Germany that checked in at just 9.5% ABV! But I was after a more illusive prey; a hot climate region that produces a lite (alcohol) red wine. Sadly, I had to cross off my beloved Zinfandel off the list early with the lowest octane version coming in at 13.4%. Ditto for Cabs and Merlots, although some of these were closer to the mark. What follows are the three wines I picked up for tasting this month that I think meet both of my criteria. Here are my tasting notes:

Viña Albali, “Altos de Tamaron”, Tinto, Ribera del Duero 2002 ($10) – At 12.5% ABV, this bottle is at the limit, but I was intrigued to see what might be missing from this 100% Tempranillo at lower than normal alcohol levels.

This wine is bright ruby in color with pleasant, but restrained, aromas of cherry, strawberry and a touch of violets. In the mouth, it has medium body with tart bing cherry and strawberry fruit flavors finishing smooth without noticeable tannins. Overall, a nice food wine but a little light in the aroma department. Score: 7.5/10

Vinum Cerbaia, “Il Valore”, Toscana, IGT 2002 ($6) – I found this one on the shelf next to the $4 Primitivo from the same producer at the new Trader Joe’s market here. It was surprising to see that this 100% Sangiovese clocks in at only 12% ABV, so I thought it would be worth the chance for $5.99 (your price might even be lower). I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised here, since I did later find several Chianti that would also qualify that come from the same area and grape.

The wine is medium ruby in color and has the classic Tuscan Sangio aromas of strawberry and violets. The flavors are typical of an inexpensive Chianti (think straw covered bottle), with plums and strawberry dancing over nicely high acidity and medium tannins. Not complex, but a perfect foil for tomato sauces and the kind of wine you drink from a water glass in Italy. This is also a nice value for six bucks a bottle. Score: 7.5/10

J. Lohr, “Wildflower”, Valdiguié, Monterey 2004 ($10) – Finding a red from my native state of California proved most difficult, but I did notice this wine online and was pleased to see it in a store near my home I sometimes visit for their eclectic selection. Seeing that this vintage produced a 12% wine also piqued my interest here that outweighed my concern that this wine might be a little long in the tooth. If you are not familiar with Valdiguié, it’s a grape with a long tradition in California. For many years, wines made from this grape were labeled Gamay Beaujolais, Napa Gamay or Gamay Noir, the true grape of Beaujolais. These sometimes made for light, fruity and enjoyable wines but they never reached the quality level of most Beaujolais. Recent DNA testing shows that only a few acres of these vines were actually Gamay Noir and that most was actually Valdiguié or a lesser clone of Pinot Noir.

This wine had a deeper color and a lot more aromas than the first two wines tasted. The rich ruby color and fruity strawberry aromas made me think of Cru Beaujolais. Bright flavors of strawberry and cranberry fills the mouth finishing with wild cherry cough drop flavors and tart acidity. No tannins are present to slow you down and the wine almost has too much fruit for it’s own good. Would be nice served chilled, a la Beaujolais Nouveaux. Score: 8/10

So the best of tasting will go to the J. Lohr, “Wildflower”, Valdiguié 2004 and best value to the Vinum Cerbaia, “Il Valore”, Toscana 2002.

So what did I learn from this experience? It seems that most low octane wines available in the Twin Cities market are on the low end of the price scale, although I did see some $50 and $60 Northern Rhone wines I could have picked up labeled at 12.5% ABV. I also didn’t note any green flavors or lack of flavor concentration in any of the wines. The first two tasted were a bit shy on the aromas, so perhaps the alcohol does intensify that aspect a bit. Lastly, all three wines had pleasantly high acidity, which bodes well for a good food match.

One note on the U.S. wine labeling laws. According to a great piece by Blake Gray of the San Francisco Chronicle, there is a 1.5% loophole in U.S. labeling that means that wines marked 12.5% ABV might actually be between 11 and 14%. Over 14% ABV, there is a higher tax rate so some wineries, particularly from France, label all their wines 12.5% regardless of the actual alcohol content as long as it’s under 14%.

As I write this post entries are pouring in from around the globe. We even have some Shiraz that passes the low octane limit and several other surprises. I’ll be posting a summary of all entries on Friday, so if you are a day or two late in posting, you will still make it in my write-up. Thanks to Lenn for a great idea and for allowing me to direct the proceedings this month. I’m very much looking forward to the next installment in July and the two-year anniversary of WBW in August.

Show Notes:

00:21 – Welcome and show theme

01:20 - Alcohol and wine styles

09:07 - Wine ratings and tasting notes

09:15 - Viña Albali, “Altos de Tamaron”, Tinto, Ribera del Duero 2002 ($10)

10:15 - Vinum Cerbaia, “Il Valore”, Toscana, IGT 2002 ($6)

11:59 - J. Lohr, “Wildflower”, Valdiguié, Monterey 2004 ($10)

14:04 - Best of tasting

14:09 - Best Value

14:15 - Wrap-up and contact details

17:26 - Next show theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The podcast today is another dispatch from Beau Jarvis of Basic Juice on his Live Austrian Wine Adventure.

Show Notes:

00:22 - Welcome and introduction

01:09 - Beau’s interview with Domäne Müller

14:25 - A conversation with the Neumeister winery

25:09 - New poll on the blog and contact details

27:06 - Next show theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today's podcast is another vintner profile interviewing Willamette Valley Vineyards founder and President Jim Bernau. I also play a podcast promo and talk about a new poll on Winecast.

Show Notes:

00:21 - Welcome, show theme and sponsor message

03:07 - Interview with Jim Bernau

19:44 - Tasting Notes

19:58 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Riesling 2005 ($12)

20:56 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Gris 2005 ($16) +

21:15 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, "Whole Cluster" 2005 ($18)

21:45 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, "Vintage Selection" 2003 ($22)

22:06 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, "Estate" 2003 ($40) *

23:04 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Noir, "Freedom Hill" 2002 (~$45)

23:38 - Willamette Valley Vineyards, Frizzante 2002 ($12/half bottle)

24:19 - Best of Tasting *

24:55 - Best Value +

25:25 - The Frank Truth promo

27:15 - New poll on the blog

29:02 - Contact details

29:31 - Next show theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Sponsored by iBank 2 from IGG Software: http://www.iggsoftware.com

Today's show is the first special edition from Beau Jarvis' Live Austrian Wine Adventure featuring interviews with Weingut Wohlmuth and Weingut Gross. You can find more information and stay up-to-the-minute at Beau’s blog.

Show Notes:

00:22 - Welcome and Introduction

01:12 - Beau's interview with Weingut Wohlmuth

12:50 - Interview with Weingut Gross

21:49 - Wrap-up and contact details

22:23 - Next show theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

This month, Wine Blogging Wednesday is on a Friday because founder Lenn Thompson of the Lenndevours wine blog has teamed up with Alberto from Il Forno a premier food blog and founder of Is My Blog Burning. So for IMBB 26 and WBW 21 the rules are fairly simple. For us wine bloggers, pick a bottle from your cellar and find a recipe to pair with it; for food bloggers it’s the other way round choosing one of their favorite recipes and then finding a wine.

So when I read about this theme last month, I immediately thought of a food podcaster, Anne Bramley of Eat Feed, to give me some recipe ideas for the wine I chose. I spoke with Anne earlier today and she gave me several recipe ideas that might match with the White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir I selected from my cellar.

After considering all of Anne’s suggestions, I picked the pork with apples and brandy cream we spoke about and cooked it for dinner this evening. Anne suggested a couple other recipes that can be found online here:

- Pork Chops with Quinoa Pilaf and Dried Fruit

- Pork Tenderloin with Gorgonzola and Figs

Here are my tasting notes for the wine and match with the meal. Much more detail is available on the podcast:

White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir, White Rose Estate Vineyard 2002 ($65/gift from Jay Selman from Grape Radio) - Ruby in color with powerful aromas of earth, black cherry and spice. Some people might be put off by the gamy, earthiness of the aromas of this wine, but I rather like this aspect. In the mouth its concentrated raspberry, black cherry and a little earth, finishing with supple tannins and good acidity to match with food. I really found this wine to be delicious, but I can see why others might not like this style at all. Score: 9/10

As for the match with the dish, I thought that the shallot cream sauce and the mild gaminess of the pork tenderloin matched almost perfectly with this wine, really enhancing the fruit. But when tasted with the sautéed apples, it really didn’t work too well. I think the next time I make this dish I’ll omit the apples or at least reduce the quantity down to a single apple.

Thanks for Alberto and Lenn for a great idea to merge the two leading wine and food blogging events and to Anne Bramley for some great recipe ideas. I’ll see you next month for WBW 22, where I most likely will not have to cook ;-)

Show Notes:

00:22 - Welcome and show theme

01:12 - Conversation with Anne Bramley of Eat Feed

15:03 - Selected recipe

16:58 - White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir, White Rose Estate Vineyard 2002 ($65)

18:14 - Wine and food match

20:12 - Contact Details

20:31 - Next Show Theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today's super-sized podcast is an overview of the wines of Austria, featuring an interview with Beau Jarvis of Basic Juice as he kicks off this Live Austrian Wine Adventure.

Show Notes:

00:21 - Welcome and show theme

00:36 - Wines of Austria

03:13 - Interview with Beau Jarvis of Basic Juice

14:50 - Beau's first LAWA 06 interview - Hotel Rathaus Wien & Design

25:58 - Tasting Notes

26:31 - Schloss Gobelsburg, Riesling, "Gobelsburger" 2004 ($14/provided by listener Tony)

27:08 - Weingut Stadt Krems, Grüner Veltliner, "Sandgrube" 2004 ($14/Solo Vino sample) *+

27:39 - Weingut Glatzer, Blaufränkisch 2004 ($14/provided by listener Tony)

28:05 - Best of tasting and best value *+

28:24 - Contact Details

28:44 - Next Show Theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today’s podcast is based upon last month’s WBW post that featured the Spainish white grape Verdejo, and I also welcome my first show sponsor, iBank 2 from IGG Software

Show Notes:

00:22 - Welcome

00:33 - iBank 2 Sponsorship

01:41 - Verdejo Background

03:42 - Tasting Notes

03:50 - Marqués de Riscal, Verdejo, Rueda D.O. 2004 ($8/provided by listener Tony) +

04:29 - Vina Sanzo, Verdejo, Rueda, Spain 2004 ($15/sample) *

05:26 - Bodegas Garciarevalo, “Casamaro”, Rueda, Spain 2005 ($9/sample)

05:55 - Woop Woop, “V 2005", Verdelho (Verdejo), Southern Australia 2005 ($9/sample)

06:43 - Best of Tasting *

06:48 - Best Value +

07:35 - Contact Details

08:32 - Next Show Theme

Feedback: [email protected]

Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/