Cheers from Vintage Connections 

Welcome to Part 2 of the preview of our wine seminar, Wine Appreciation Basics: Red and White.  We're offering this seminar on both Thursday, May 12 in the evening and on Friday, May 13 in the afternoon at Pinnacle Ridge Winery, north of Kutztown.  On May 26 and 27 we're offering Wine Appreciation Basics: What's in a Name?  Each class is two and one-half hours and is $35 per person.  For more information on these classes or to register, email us at Vintageconnections@Comcast.net, call us at 610.469.6164, or see our Vintage Connections Wine Blog.  You can also register at the winery.

Back to the Basics

Scroll down to last week's Grapevine posting for information about the wine tasting process.  These simple steps will help you enjoy and appreciation wine even more than you already might.  Last week we also discussed the variable characteristics and tasting of Chardonnay.  May I also note that NO ONE commented on my clever use of the Pinnacle Ridge's Naked Chardonnay label to complement the Back to the Basics title of the posting!  I'm so disappointed.

More Whites

Last week we noted that it's best to taste your way from light to bold and dry to sweet(er) wines.  If you are tasting both reds and whites, this means beginning with the dry whites.  We started with Chardonnay, but sometimes it's a toss-up whether to begin with Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.  Chardonnay gets everyone's attention and is the most popular white wine in the world, so we started there.  However, when pairing wine and food, often we'll start with Sauvignon Blanc because it pairs so well with salad and Chardonnay pairs well with a lighter main course (chicken, fish, pork, as well as others).  

For extensive information about our favorite Sauvignon Blancs, those from Marlborough New Zealand, scroll down to the April 13 posting in this blog.  For a short primer on Sauvignon Blanc in general, read on!

Sauvignon Blanc is another one of the most popular white wines in the world.  It is one of the two major grapes used to make White Bordeaux and is the grape in the famous Sancerre and Pouilly Fume wines of the Loire Valley (France).  Sauvignon Blanc is now grown almost world-wide, but sadly we rarely find it on the East Coast.  Sid Butler, who owned Slate Quarry Winery near Nazareth, PA, used to grow and produce an exceptional Sauvignon Blanc, but he retired years ago and this treasure was lost. 

Because it is so sensitive to soil and climate, Sauvignon Blanc takes on different flavors and characteristics depending on where it is grown and on individual wine maker styles.  In Bordeaux, it is blended with Semillon and sometimes Muscadelle (and several other minor grapes).  In Sancerre and Pouilly Fume, it's has a hint of mineral (chalk, limestone) because of the soil in this part of France.  In New Zealand, it often has herbal and grapefruit aromas and flavors.  In California, it's more floral and fruity.  When aged in oak (mostly just in California where it's called Fume Blanc, thanks to Robert Mondavi) it takes on an oaky, smoky aroma and flavor imparted by the oak.  

We've seen a triangle symbolizing the flavors of Sauvignon Blanc, with Fruit in one corner, Vegetable in another corner, and Mineral in the third corner.  Depending on the source of the grapes and winemaker style, any one of these flavors and aromas can predominate, or the wine can reflect a combination of these flavors and styles.  

We love Sauvignon Blanc because it can vary so much from region to region and winemaker to winemaker.  Tasting Sauvignon Blanc is an adventure, and it is one of the few wines that pairs well with salads and other high acid foods.  If you don't like the grassy, grapefruity aroma and flavor from Marlborough, try the softer, more floral White Bordeaux blend, or a more minerally version from the Loire Valley.  If you like higher alcohol and some oak, try a Fume Blanc from California.  We'd love to hold a Sauvignon Blanc tasting or class and taste our way through six very different Sauvignon Blancs.

Riesling

Riesling, oh Riesling, how you have been mistreated.  Just last week we heard someone say "I don't like Riesling."  Like with most wines, that's because she hasn't tasted the right one.  Riesling varies in style, from very dry to very sweet, and pairs exceptionally well with spicy (Thai, Chinese, Indian) food.  It's most universal characteristic is its floral aroma and flavor, which is enhanced, or somewhat subdued, by its sugar, acid, and alcohol content.  A well-balanced, even slightly sweet Riesling can be wonderfully refreshing, like a perfect lemonade can be both sweet and tangy at the same time.

Riesling originated in Germany and for years was known as a poorly made, overly sweet, white wine (Black Tower, Blue Nun, etc.).  Germany passed wine laws to improve and classify its Rieslings so now you can find exceptionally fine German Riesling, ranging from very dry to very sweet.  There is, literally, a Riesling for everyone.  Germany's wine laws and naming system is complicated and we're not going to try to explain it here.  If you really care, Google German Riesling and read, read, read.

In short, Riesling can range from very dry to off dry to semi-dry to semi sweet to very sweet as in ice wines and dessert wines.  Riesling can also greatly vary in alcohol content, from as low as 7% to has high as 12%.  Often, you'll find Rieslings at about 11% alcohol by volume.  We often taste (and use in classes) a semi-dry Riesling.  All have that floral aroma and flavor, but the variation among different wines is amazing.  

Riesling is the famous grape (and wine) of the Finger Lakes in New York.  The climate is cool, like Germany and Northern France (Alsace Rieslings are usually drier than German ones) and some of the world's best Riesling is from the Finger Lakes.   But, many PA wine makers produce wonderful Rieslings in dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, and in late harvest, dessert, and ice wine styles.    Usually, one winery will only produce Riesling in one style.  Galen Glen has begun making Riesling in two styles, along with several other white wines with German and Austrian  influences.

That's it for this week.  Next week, we launch into a couple of reds.

Upcoming Events

In addition to our classes at Pinnacle Ridge, please note the following:

Blair Vinyard is hosting Unleashed on Saturday May 14^th & Sunday May 15^th at their location at 99 Dietrich Valley Road, Kutztown.  This event, which supports the Berks Humane Society, will have vendors on site, the Pet Adoption Vehicle from the Humane Society, food, music and wine.  This event is a pet friendly event, but dogs must be leashed (despite the title of the event).  Blair's event calendar is full of fun, wine activities.

Calvaresi Winery 's  SPRING WINE FESTIVAL is Sunday - May 15, 2011
1:00 - 5:00 pm, Rain or Shine.  Enjoy award winning wines, along with the "Fabulous Tom Miller" singing the songs of 'Elvis' and other great oldies!

Fun Fact (from Wikipedia)

The most expensive wines made from Riesling are late harvest dessert wines, produced by letting the grapes hang on the vines well past normal picking time. Through evaporation caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea ("noble rot") or by freezing, as in the case of ice wine (in German, Eiswein), water is removed and the resulting wine offers richer layers on the palate. These concentrated wines have more sugar (in extreme cases hundreds of grams per litre), more acid (to give balance to all the sugar), more flavour, and more complexity.