Wisdom for the New Year

For more than a thousand years, wine captured the imagination of scientists, philosophers, and authors. Below is some of their wisdom for you to contemplate as the new year approaches.

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” — Mark Twain

Can you remember anyone drinking champagne without a smile? Perhaps the bubbles make the facial muscles curl upward after each sip.

“I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.” — W. C. Fields

Working in the kitchen goes much more smoothly when the effort is lubricated with wine. Everything smells better too. Just watch your fingers when chopping the vegetables.

“I serve your Beaune to my friends, but your Volnay I keep for myself.” — Voltaire

Once you experience good Burgundy wine you never want to go back to the more affordable village wines. It is the curse of these extraordinary wines.

“My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.” — John Maynard Keynes

If you ever wondered what he meant by stimulus package, now you know. A crate of champagne for every household would surely improve our economic condition.

“When it comes to wine, I tell people to throw away the vintage charts and invest in a corkscrew. The best way to learn about wine is the drinking.” — Alexis Lichine

What better  resolution to make for the new year than to focus on education?

“Life is too short to drink bad wine.” — Anonymous

More often wine is drunk too old rather than too young. Break out that old bottle you saved for that special occasion, as every day is a special occasion.

Cheers and Happy Holidays to all!

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Featured Photo Courtesy of  Don Guerwitz Photography – Reading the Koran. Istanbul, Turkey.

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Prosecco – New Year Sparkles

Prosecco is an Italian white wine — generally a Dry or Extra Dry sparkling wine — normally made from Glera (“Prosecco”) grapes. DOC prosecco is produced in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy, and traditionally mainly in the areas near Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills north of Treviso.

Prosecco is known as the main ingredient of the Bellini cocktail and has more recently become popular as a less expensive substitute for Champagne.

History

Up until the 1960s, Prosecco sparkling wine was generally rather sweet and barely distinguishable from the Asti wine produced in Piedmont. Since then, production techniques have improved, leading to the high-quality dry wines produced today. According to a 2008 The New York Times report, Prosecco has sharply risen in popularity in markets outside Italy, with global sales growing by double-digit percentages since 1998, aided also by its comparatively low price. It was introduced into the mainstream US market in 2000 by Mionetto, now the largest importer of Prosecco, who also reported an “incredible growth trend” in 2008.

Prosecco is protected as a DOC within Italy, as Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Prosecco di Conegliano and Prosecco di Valdobbiadene. From 2009, this will be promoted to DOCG status. To further protect the name, an association of traditional Prosecco growers is advocating a protected designation of origin status for Northern Italian Prosecco under European law.

Production

Unlike Champagne, its main commercial competitor, Prosecco is produced using the Charmat method, in which the secondary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks, making the wine less expensive to produce.

Approximately 150 million bottles of Italian Prosecco are produced annually. As of 2008, 60 percent of all Prosecco is made in the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene area. Production there amounted to €370 million in 2007. Since the 2000s, Prosecco grapes are also cultivated and Prosecco is produced in other countries including Brazil, Romania, Argentina and Australia.

Variants

Prosecco is mainly produced as a sparkling wine in either the fully sparkling (spumante) or lightly sparkling (frizzante, gentile) varieties. Prosecco spumante, which has undergone a full secondary fermentation, is the more expensive variant. The sparkling variants may contain some Pinot bianco or Pinot grigio wine. Depending on their sweetness, in accordance with the EU Sweetness of Wine Regulations for Terms used to indicate sweetness of sparkling wine, Proseccos are labelled “Brut” (up to 12 grams per litre of residual sugar), “Extra Dry” (12-17 g/l) or “Dry” (17-32 g/l).

A still wine (calmo or tranquillo) is also made from Glera grapes – it amounts to only about five percent of production – but this wine is rarely exported.

Wines from the traditional Conegliano-Valdobbiadene production area are labeled as “Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene”, “Prosecco di Conegliano” or “Prosecco di Valdobbiadene” or “Prosecco DOC” from Friuli. Proseccos labeled with another, non-protected designation, such as “IGT-Veneto”, are generally cheaper and of a more varied quality.

Cartizze Prosecco

The hill of Cartizze is a 1,000-foot-high vineyard of 107 hectares (260 acres) of vines, owned by 140 growers. The Prosecco from its grapes, of which comparatively little is produced, is widely considered to be of the highest quality, or even the “Grand Cru” of Prosecco. Accordingly, a hectare of Cartizze grape land is estimated to be worth in excess of one million US dollars.

According to a local legend, Cartizze grapes were traditionally harvested last, as the vines were situated on steep slopes and hard to reach, which made vintners discover that this extended ripening period improved the flavour. Nonetheless, in a blind tasting at the 2006 Vinitaly trade fair, Cartizze spumanti were ranked consistently behind “normal” Prosecco.

Consumption

In Italy, Prosecco is enjoyed as a wine for every occasion. Outside Italy, it is most often drunk as an aperitif, much like Champagne. Like other sparkling wines, Prosecco is served chilled. Unlike Champagne, Prosecco does not ferment in the bottle and grows stale with time. It should be drunk as young as possible and preferably within three years of its vintage, although high-quality Prosecco can be aged for up to seven years.

Compared to other sparkling wines, Prosecco is low in alcohol, about 11 to 12 percent by volume. The flavor of Prosecco has been described as intensely aromatic and crisp, bringing to mind yellow apple, pear, white peach and apricot. Unlike Champagne, appreciated for its rich taste and complex secondary aromas, most Prosecco variants have intense primary aromas and are meant to taste fresh, light and comparatively simple.

Most commonly Prosecco is served unmixed, but it also appears in several mixed drinks. It was the original main ingredient in the Bellini cocktail and in the Spritz cocktail, and it can also replace Champagne in other cocktails such as the Mimosa. With vodka and lemon sorbet, Prosecco is also an ingredient of the Italian mixed drink Sgroppino.

Source: Wikipedia

Smooth Turkey

Thanksgiving is a tough time for families due to the stress of travel, reconnecting, and sharing meals. By planning right – bringing that perfect wine to match the cooking of your grandma – you can thrive during the holidays.

Look for big, expressive, fruit forward “cocktail” wines for the holidays. This allows everyone to enjoy their wine at first sip while utilizing its sedative effects to relieve the stress of the times.

When focusing on what to pick up, look for new world wines from Argentina, Australia, and the U.S. to get things going. Varietals such as Malbec, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc offer drinkable young wines at affordable prices. Also, areas other than Napa that are less well-known offer significant value.

And there is great wine coming out of the Valle de Uco. The 2010 Chaiken Vineyards wine is in a container on a boat sailing to New York harbor with a scheduled arrival date of November 30th. For those of you who ordered futures, I plan to get your wine ASAP. You will hear from me to arrange shipment immediately after the wine arrives in the U.S.

If you have any questions, or want to place an additional order, please contact me.

Have a great holiday season everyone!!

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Featured Photo Courtesy of  Don Guerwitz Photography – Motorcycle. Cappadocia, Turkey.

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Gamay – Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc

Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century. It has been often cultivated because it makes for abundant production; however, it can produce wines of distinction when planted on acidic soils, which help to soften the grape’s naturally high acidity.

The Gamay grape is thought to have appeared first in the village of the Gamay, south of Beaune, in the 1360s. The grape brought relief to the village growers following the decline of the Black Death. In contrast to the Pinot Noir variety, Gamay ripened two weeks earlier and was less difficult to cultivate. It also produced a strong, fruitier wine in a much larger abundance.

In July 1395, the Duke of Burgundy Philippe the Bold outlawed the cultivation of the grape, referring to it as the “disloyal Gaamez” that in spite of its ability to grow in abundance was full of “very great and horrible harshness”, due in part to the variety’s occupation of land that could be used for the more “elegant” Pinot Noir. 60 years later, Philippe the Good, issued another edict against Gamay in which he stated the reasoning for the ban is that “The Dukes of Burgundy are known as the lords of the best wines in Christendom. We will maintain our reputation”.

Characteristics

Gamay is a very vigorous vine which tends not to root very deep on alkaline soils resulting in pronounced hydrological stress on the vines over the growing season with a correspondingly high level of acidity in the grapes. The acidity is softened through carbonic maceration, a process that also allows the vibrant youthful fruit expressions reminiscent of bright crushed strawberries and raspberries, as well as deep floral notes of lilac and violets.

Gamay-based wines are typically light bodied and fruity. Wines meant to be drunk after some modest aging tend to have more body and are produced by whole-berry maceration. The latter are produced mostly in the designated ‘Cru Beaujolais’ areas where the wines typically have the flavor of sour cherries, black pepper, and dried berry, as well as fresh-cut stone and chalk.

Regional Production

In addition to being well suited to the terroir of Beaujolais, Gamay is grown extensively in the Loire Valley around Tours where it is typically blended with Cabernet Franc and Côt a local clone of the Malbec. These wines are similar to those of Crus Beaujolais but with raspberry notes and the signature fresh-peppery nose of the Cabernet Franc.

Gamay is also the grape of the Beaujolais nouveau, produced exclusively from the more alkaline soils of Southern Beaujolais where the grape is incapable of making drinkable wines without aggressive carbonic maceration. The acid levels of the grape grown in the limestone Pierres Doreés of the South are too high for making wines with any appeal beyond the early release Nouveaus.

Gamay is commonly grown in the Niagara Peninsula in Canada, some producers being in the Short Hills Bench, Beamsville Bench and St. David’s Bench to mention a few, as well as in Prince Edward County. One producer even has a regional clone which they discovered, Gamay Droit, which is a recognized mutation. It is also grown successfully by a small number of wineries in Australia to make a range of wines including light bodied red wines suitable for early drinking.

Gamay has also been introduced into Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine region, a place known for its wines made from Pinot Noir, another Burgundian grape. It was introduced by Amity Vineyards in 1988. Tasting notes published by the vineyards at Amity, WillaKenzie and Brickhouse describe wines that match the basic profiles of Crus Beaujolais.

Similarly Named Grapes

The Gamay name has become attached to other varieties grown in California, which at one time were thought to be the true Gamay. The grape ‘Napa Gamay’ is now known as Valdeguié, and the name Napa Gamay will no longer appear on labels after 2007. Gamay Beaujolais is considered to be an early ripening Californian clone of Pinot Noir. Despite similar names the grapes Gamay du Rhône and Gamay St-Laurent are not the Beaujolais grape either but rather the southwestern France grape Abouriou.

Source: Wikipedia

Seeking Proper Wine Service

If you regularly order wine in a restaurant, you understand all too well the differences in quality of the wine service. During my travels around the U.S. and Europe, I experienced a wide range of styles of wine service, learning what works. Considering the typical restaurant wine markup of 100-300% over prices in local wine shops, it is completely reasonable to expect high quality wine service. Here are a few of my wine service tips.

1. Wine List – Any restaurant with a wine list should include basic information about the wines offered. This includes the winery or producer, wine name, region, varietals, and vintage. Too often restaurants omit the vintage year from their list or deliver a wine to the table that is younger than the vintage on their list. Vintage matters as some years are clearly better growing years than others. This is especially important for old world wines where the lack of irrigation and the potential for rains at harvest make the quality of the growing season correlated tightly with wine quality.

2. Glassware – Many restaurants use small bowl glasses that do not allow the bouquet of the wine to collect in the bowl and waft toward your nose. As flavors are mostly conveyed through your sense of smell rather than sense of taste, anything that decreases your ability to smell your wine will decrease your enjoyment of the wine. If you are stuck at a place that does not have quality glassware, consider using the water glass. It may have a bigger bowl than the regular wine glass. Considering the low cost of “restaurant tough” glassware I do not understand why any restaurant with a formal wine list does not use proper stemware to serve their wine. If you see quality glassware somewhere else in the restaurant, ask for it. Some restaurants reserve their good glassware for customers that spend more than a certain amount on a bottle of wine, something I consider both silly and insulting.

3. Serving Temperature – White wine is served chilled, but not ice cold. Red wine is served slightly chilled, about 60-65 degrees, not the restaurant room temperature of 75+ degrees. Do not be afraid to ask your server to cool down your red wine in a bucket of ice before serving, or let your white wine warm up a little so you can taste it.

4. Decanter – Often red wine requires a bit of exposure to air (i.e., oxygen) to “open up” and express itself. Good decanters have broad bottoms that expose a large amount of wine to the air. Water carafes are not a proper decanter. Simply opening up the bottle and letting it stand does not expose the wine to enough air to make much of a difference.

5. Tasting Wine – The ritual of the server pouring a bit of wine in your glass to taste is for you to confirm that the wine is of good quality (e.g., no cork taint) rather than to determine whether the wine is to your liking. If you think the wine has a defect, ask the server to try it. Often the defect is obvious (e.g., smell of a wet basement, oxidation, or vinegar) and the server will smell it too. The restaurant should then replace the suspect bottle with a new one.

6. Pouring Wine – Pour your own wine for yourself and your friends. About two ounces or two inches in the bottom of the glass is enough. There is no guarantee that a server knows how to properly fill a glass of wine and most put too much wine in the glass. This prevents you from experiencing its bouquet. Also, servers often fill glasses indiscriminately, providing wine to those who want more and others who do not. If you pour the wine yourself, only those who want wine will get it, and you will have the added benefit of chatting about the wine every time you refill a glass. In the end everyone will drink less wine but enjoy it more.

Although a few servers offered up funny looks when I followed these suggestions, most experienced wine stewards have nodded their heads approvingly. They then stop by my table to see how the meal is going and to chat a bit about wine. How bad is that?

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Featured Photo Courtesy of  Don Guerwitz Photography – Street Urchin. Monywa, Myanmar (Burma).

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Malbec – Viticulture and Regions

Malbec is very susceptible to various grape diseases and viticultural hazards-most notably frost, coulure, downey mildew and rot but the development of new clones and vineyard management techniques have helped control some of these potential problems. When it is not afflicted with these various ailments, particularly coulure, it does have the potential to produce high yields. Too high a yield, as was the circumstance in Argentina until recently with their heavy use of flood irrigation, the wines become more simplistic and lacking in flavor. Malbec seems to be able to produce well in a variety of soil types but in the limestone based soils of Cahors it seems to produce its most dark and tannic manifestation. There are distinct ampelographical differences in the clones of Malbec found in France and in Argentina, with Argentine Malbec tending to have smaller berries.

Regions

Malbec is the dominant red varietal in Cahors where the Appellation Controlée regulations for Cahors require a minimum content of 70%. Introduced to Argentina by French agricultural engineer Michel Pouget in 1868, Malbec is widely planted in Argentina producing a softer, less tannic-driven variety than the wines of Cahors. There were once 50,000 hectares planted with Malbec in Argentina; now there are 25,000 hectares in Mendoza in addition to production in La Rioja, Salta, San Juan, Catamarca and Buenos Aires. Chile has about 6,000 hectares planted, France 5,300 hectares and in the cooler regions of California just 45 hectares. In California the grape is used to make Meritage. Malbec is also grown in Washington State, the northeastern tip of Oregon, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, British Columbia, the Long Island AVA of New York, Oregon, southern Bolivia, northeastern Italy and recently in Texas and southern Ontario, and in the Baja California region of Mexico.

France

At one point Malbec was grown in 30 different departments of France, a legacy that is still present in the abundance of local synonyms for the variety which easily surpass 1000 names. However, in recent times, the popularity of the variety has been steadily declining with a 2000 census reporting only 15,000 acres (6,100 hectares) of the vine mostly consigned to the southwestern part of the country. Its stronghold remains Cahors where Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) regulations stipulates that Malbec must compose at least 70% of the blend, with Merlot and Tannat rounding out the remaining percentage. Outside of Cahors, Malbec is still found in small amounts as a permitted variety in the AOCs of Bergerac, Buzet, Côtes de Duras, Côtes du Marmandais, Fronton and Pécharmant. It is also permitted in the Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) of Côtes du Brulhois. In the Midi region of the Languedoc, it is permitted (but rarely grown) in the AOC regions of Cabardès and Côtes de Malepère. There is a small amount of Malbec grown in the middle Loire Valley and permitted in the AOCs of Anjou, Coteaux du Loir, Touraine and the sparkling wine AOC of Saumur where it is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Gamay. But as elsewhere in France, Malbec is losing acreage other varieties-most notably Cabernet Franc in the Loire.

The grape was historically a major planting in Bordeaux, providing color and fruit to the blend, but in the 20th century started to lose ground to Merlot and Cabernet Franc due, in part, to its sensitivities to so many different vine ailments (coulure, downy mildew, frost). The severe 1956 frost wiped out a significant portion of Malbec vines in Bordeaux, allowing many growers a chance to start anew with different varieties. By 1968 plantings in the Libournais was down to 12,100 acres (4,900 hectares) and fell further to 3,460 acres (1,400 hectares) by 2000. While Malbec has since become a popular component of New World meritages or Bordeaux blends, and it is still a permitted variety in all major wine regions of Bordeaux, its presence in Bordeaux is as a distinctly minor variety. Only the regions of the Côtes-de-Bourg, Blaye and Entre-Deux-Mers have any significant plantings in Bordeaux.

Source: Wikipedia

Bottling Now

The wait is over. As you read this my wine is being racked from its barrels into bottles for corking, labeling, and packaging. The wine is expected in the U.S. by early December, just in time for the holiday season.

The wine required a few extra months of barrel aging than expected due to its high quality. This is great news as it is one indication of what wonderful surprises might be in the bottle. My Vines of Mendoza team reports that the wine has matured gracefully since my blending session in January. The wines are concentrated, expressive, and show great complexity. Am I excited? Absolutely!!

More than five years ago I first visited the Valle de Uco, looking over a stretch of land covered with desert weeds and glacial rocks. Today, rows of healthy grape vines fill my five acres preparing themselves for another growing season. Seeing the transformation of the land from barren desert to lush green vineyards brings a great sense of accomplishment to me and everyone involved with this project. Thanks to all of you who have supported Chaiken Vineyards these past few years.

I am committed to producing the finest wines possible from the land, allowing the terroir – geography, soil, and micro climate – to express itself. Wine is made in the vineyard and nurtured in the winery. When you taste your first bottle of my wine in December, you will be one of the first to experience Nature’s expression of place – Chaiken Vineyards in the Valle de Uco. I am hopeful you will be pleased.

Sincerely,

Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards

info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Featured Photo Courtesy of Don Guerwitz Photography – Monk Dancers. Tiji Festival, Tibetan Kingdom of Mustang, Nepal.

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Malbec

Malbec (pronounced: [mal.bɛk]) is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are long known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. The French plantations of Malbec are now found primarily in Cahors in the South West France region. It is increasingly celebrated as an Argentine varietal wine and is being grown around the world.

Called Auxerrois or Côt Noir in Cahors, called Malbec in Bordeaux, and Pressac in other places, the grape became less popular in Bordeaux after 1956 when frost killed off 75% of the crop. Despite Cahors being hit by the same frost, which devastated the vineyards, Malbec was replanted and continued to be popular in that area where it was mixed with Merlot and Tannat to make dark, full-bodied wines, and more recently has been made into 100% Malbec varietal wines.

A popular but unconfirmed theory claims that Malbec is named after a Hungarian peasant who first spread the grape variety throughout France. However the French ampelographer and viticulturalist Pierre Galet notes that most evidence suggest that Côt was the variety’s original name and that it probably originated in northern Burgundy. Despite a similar name, the grape Malbec argenté is not Malbec, but rather a variety of the southwestern French grape Abouriou. Due to the similarities in synonyms, Malbec has also been confused with Auxerrois blanc, which is an entirely different variety.

The Malbec grape is a thin-skinned grape and needs more sun and heat than either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot to mature. It ripens mid-season and can bring very deep color, ample tannin, and a particular plum-like flavor component to add complexity to claret blends. Sometimes, especially in its traditional growing regions, it is not trellised and cultivated as bush vines (the goblet system). Here it is sometimes kept to a relatively low yield of about 6 tons per hectare. The wines are rich, dark and juicy.

As a varietal, Malbec creates a rather inky red (or violet), intense wine, so it is also commonly used in blends, such as with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to create the red French Bordeaux claret blend. The grape is blended with Cabernet Franc and Gamay in some regions such as the Loire Valley. Other wine regions use the grape to produce Bordeaux-style blends. The varietal is sensitive to frost and has a proclivity to shatter or coulure.

Wine

Wine expert Jancis Robinson describes the French style of Malbec common in the Libournais (Bordeaux region) as a “rustic” version of Merlot, softer in tannins and lower in acidity with blackberry fruit in its youth. The Malbec of the Cahors region is much more tannic with more phenolic compounds that contribute to its dark color. Oz Clarke describes Cahors’ Malbec as dark purple in color with aromas of damsons, tobacco, garlic, and raisin. In Argentina, Malbec becomes softer with a plusher texture and riper tannins. The wines tend to have juicy fruit notes with violet aromas. In very warm regions of Argentina, Chile & Australia, the acidity of the wine may be too low which can cause a wine to taste flabby and weak. Malbec grown in Washington state tends to be characterized by dark fruit notes and herbal aromas.

Synonyms

The French ampelographer Pierre Galet has documented over a thousand different synonyms for Malbec, stemming in part from its in peak period when it growing in 30 different departments of France. While Malbec is the name most commonly known to wine drinkers, Galet suggest that Côt was most likely the grape variety’s original name and the frequent appearance of Auxerrois as a synonym suggests the northern reaches of Burgundy as being the possible home of the varietal. In Bordeaux, where the variety first gained attention, it was known under the synonym Pressac.

Other common synonyms for Malbec include Agreste, Auxerrois, Auxerrois De Laquenexy, Auxerrois Des Moines De Picpus, Auxerrois Du Mans, Balouzat, Beran, Blanc De Kienzheim, Cahors, Calarin, Cauli, Costa Rosa, Cot A Queue Verte, Cotes Rouges, Doux Noir, Estrangey, Gourdaux, Grelot De Tours, Grifforin, Guillan, Hourcat, Jacobain, Luckens, Magret, Malbek, Medoc Noir, Mouranne, Navarien, Negre De Prechac, Negrera, Noir De Chartres, Noir De Pressac, Noir Doux, Nyar De Presak, Parde, Périgord, Pied De Perdrix, Pied Noir, Pied Rouge, Pied Rouget, Piperdy, Plant D’Arles, Plant De Meraou, Plant Du Roi, Prechat, Pressac, Prunieral, Quercy, Queue Rouge, Quille De Coy, Romieu, Teinturin, Terranis, Vesparo, Côt, Plant du Lot.

Source: Wikipedia