What the %$*#@ do wine labels actually mean?

First things first,...my apologies for not posting in a ridiculous amount of time. You know when you think your time will be better spent else where,...then you realize that its actually not,...well, thats pretty much what happened to me. I won't bore you with the mundane details, needless to say I am back spending time on an aspect of my life that should become more of a focus,...ie. everything wine.

On to more important matters,...what do wine labels really mean, and why are we always confused by them? Well I think the first thing you should know is that wine labels lack uniformity. The most general international standards include providing info on alcohol content, volume, and the address of the people who are responsible for producing the product.

K,...bad news first,...it will probably take you knowledge of several foreign languages, and a good idea of local wine laws to really understand what is going on, so I'm going to try break down the basics for you.

Wines are generally labelled in one of 3 ways:

1. Region
2. Grape Variety
3. Brand

Regional Labelling (the place where the grapes are grown):
There are some important things to remember about the wine world, especially when talking about geography. Some lots of land, because of their make-up and location (soil, slope, sun exposure etc) have greater ability to producce better grapes than the chap down the road. Doesn't it seem appropriate then that the wine maker make this evident on the label.

The French have an almost mystic word for the what we taste in wine. They believe, as o I, that when you taste the wine, you are experiencing the total environment where the wine is made and grapes are grown and cultivated. this word is known as terroir. Regional labels, as you have probably already seen are far more common in the old world (Europe) than the new world (everywhere else). The next time you pick up a European wine, go to Google and type in the name of the region on the bottle and learn a bit about the area and what is grown there, it'll definitely give you more of an appreciation for what you are drinking.

Varietal Labelling (what grape is used):
Mostly associated with the new world, this type of labelling requires that when varieties are listed, then the wine must contain the minimum percentage of that grape according to local wine law. Becuase wine is now a global pass time, varietla labelling is seen as a way to assist wine drinkers in establishing similarities across a range of wines.

Brand Labelling (what marketers tell you it is):
Brand names may include the name of the producer, the name of the winery, the smelly substance between someones toes, a large fat uncles name you want to forget,....pretty much anything that speaks to the demographic that the marketer is trying to reach. The nice thing about branded wines is that novice drinkers can pick one up knowing it will deliver consistent product and price.

Now you know the basics of labelling,...make sure you do your homework, and the next time you buy a bottle, do some research and find out what its all about.

Watch for my next post on wines governing bodies, notations,and approaching grape varieties,...a little boring, but very important.

The Buttery Goodness that is Chardonnay

What is it about Chardonnay that makes it so smooth and buttery? How come some styles go so well with cream sauces and rich white meats, but other styles of Chardonnay are so good with light white fish and even oysters?

Oh,..forewarning - my French spelling is brutal,...there are no accents on the words,...mainly because I don't know how to add them.

Hopefully I can answer some of these questions. First things first,...Chardonnay is a grape,...not a style of wine. It has large yellow berries with brown spots. It buds and ripens early, pretty hardy and yields tend to be quite large.

I'm examining a glass of it right now, ...man am I thirsty. Anyway,...why is it so buttery? Well,...the grapes go through malolactic fermentation. Basically what happens is that lactic acid bacteria consumes the malic acid (the stuff that gives some white wines that distinctive bite) to convert it into lactic acid (the stuff in milk that makes it buttery).

That glass of the buttery goodness that is Chardonnay has now become a part of this blog,...tasty.

What regions are famous for Chardonnay? Most famous Chardonnays come from Burgundy,...most notably; Chablis, Meursault, and Pouilly-Fuisse. Let's not forget about California,...the wine that put California on the map for wine. Chardonnay, because of its hardiness, can be grown all over. Places like Chile, New Zealand (awesome Chards from NZ!), Argentina, South Africa, and even Oregan (pretty good as well) are rocking in the world of Chardonnay.

The nose on Chardonnay can vary (dependent on the climate and a bunch of other things). You'll probably gets smells like green apple (from the malic acid), pear, lemon, mango, and flint. You can also get popcorn, butter, cream (a lot of this comes from the oak).

A good Chardonnay should have a palate of medium acidity, moderate to high alcohol, and a medium to full body.

Serve the oaked style of Chardonnay with creamy sauces and rich white meats, and the unoaked stuff with light white fish and lighter foods in general.

Gotta get back to drinking the wine, we'll talk more later, What are your favourite Chards? Let me know.

A Weekend of Wine

This weekend I went to a wedding. My fiance is Italian, and her family is HUGE, and loud, but the most loving caring people you will ever meet. As such there are weddings to attend all over the country at any given moment in time. At the most recent wedding we went to I enjoyed a myriad of home made wines and I understood about 1/2 of what was going on (lots of thick Italian accents). Now I know what you're thinking,..home made wine,...gross. The truth is, that this wine was actually quite good.

We started off on the Friday night after arriving in town with a cab/merlot blend (13.5% alcohol, clean on the nose and taste, medium tannin, low acidity) that one of the "uncles" had been letting age for about 13 months. After about my 7th glass and us talking back and forth about wine I think he a had sized me up he deemed me worthy to view his cellar down stairs in the basement. As we walked down his tiled staircase to the basement he explained to me the wine isn't just something that Italians drink, it's a part of their life, part of who they are and it is essential at every meal. We got into his production room, which also double as a canning room for delicious fruit preserves.

Now this wine isn't made from powder or concentrate. He actually ships the grapes in and makes the wine from scratch in his 35 gallon stainless steal cask and taps them off into huge glass amphorae to age.

The truth is, this guy grew up making wine in Italy, born from the vine if you will. His passion for wine could be seen in the decorative grape vines he had growing in his back yard and the delicious blends he was making down in the basement. In fact the entire family enjoyed every aspect of the vine. After a long night night of drinking and laughing and really just enjoying wine I got taught an important lesson about how Italians view their wine. "Wine isn't about what you're drinking, it's about who you're drinking it with." And it was clear then that family is the most important aspect of these peoples lives.

I went on an enjoyed the rest of the weekend, the ceremony and reception were beautiful and the bride and groom looked so happy. Those words stuck with me though and made me realize that wine is more than just a drink that we analyze and breakdown, to pair with food, or to be written about in blogs and magazine articles. Wine brings people together. People give their lives to this drink, they toil and stress and push to create something that will uncover memories, make people laugh, cry, and sing.

I hope that all of you can experience wine in a way that I experience wine, that you all enjoy it with great food and even better people.

Look out for my next post on Chardonnay,... I swear this time its coming.

The Basics of Wine and Food Pairing

Wine and food pairing can be daunting. And through a little education and some trial and error (and I mean like,"Holy shyte what the hell did you do to my mouth error"), I've put together a little guide to help you along your way.

I'm going to teach you some easy wine and food pairing tips that will totally turn around your perception of the "science/art" that is pairing. First though,...remember this; everything in wine (when it comes to guidelines) is based on generalities. There will always be exceptions to the rule, but that is what makes wine so fun. Follow these guidelines, and you'll only go wrong some of the time, but you'll be right most of the time.

Basics:

• Wine refreshes the palate between bites - and helps you to slow down and enjoy the meal.
• Elements in food and wine can complement or take away from each other.
• Practice, practice, practice - If you pair more of your food with wine, you're bound to find something that works.
• The weight of the wine needs to match the weight of the food - rich heavy wine with rich heavy food,...and visa versa.
• Wine flavour can contrast or complement the food you're eating (in terms of flavour) - it all depends on the desired effect.
• Match simple food with complex wine (and visa versa),...that way one doesn't steal the spotlight from the other.
• Do your research - Figure out where your wine comes from,...right down to the region, then figure out what the people in that area eat with their wines - works best with old world wines.

These basic guidelines should help you figure out what to do. Also, don't forget that the character of the food will change the flavour of the wine. Chefs know this best, but here's a quick way for you to cheat and win:

• Alcohol accentuates heat (spicy foods need to be paired carefully) - Rieslings are good with Thai - personal note of experience.
• Sweetness accentuates acidity
• Fat and proteins reduce the perception of tannins (why do you think the thick heavy red tastes better with a steak - because they do)
• Salt also reduces the perception of tannin, but watch out for this because too much will destroy your wine experience, and it just tastes gross if there is too much.

Boom,...you're ready to rock with your wine and food pairing skills, impress the gf/bf/significant other/friends etc etc etc with your new knowledge.

Look out for my next post,...I'm thinking Chardonnay,...what do you think?

Everybody is talking about it.

The economic crises in the States is reaching new levels of "Oh my God!" daily. And,...everybody is talking about it,...its everywhere, you would think we would be safe from the negativity of the economy in our wine,...and it turns out we are,...ahahahaha, take that Lehman Brothers.

With the financial markets in turmoil, investors are turning to the good stuff,...vino my friends. London's most famous wine merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR), has had a killer week, one of its best in over 310 years. Turns out it has sold $112 million in wine since April,...ka ching! More investors are turning to investment wines. To all of you who haven't read it yet,...read: "Wine Investment for Portfolio Diversification". In that book, Mahesh Kumar (author), talks about how to invest in what he calls the "Fine Wine Index". Making money off what I love, sounds like recipe for awesome!

Prices of some of the best vintages have increased by up to 50% since the start of last year, unlike the market, which has decreased 15%.

So,...what's the moral of the story? Buy good wine, if you fall on your ass out of bankruptcy you can always sell it,...or if you make a ton of cash selling short on the market or buying real estate on the cheap, ...you can always drink it.

Click here for the article in Business Week.

Wine is awesome!

So I love wine,...I love everything about it, an this blog is going to be about me trying to share this love of wine with as many people as I can. I will have my most recent tastings, wine news, and hopefully a place where all of you can write about tastings of the wines that you've just had.

I will also shamelessly promote myself as a "go to guy" for your marketing needs if you are in the wine industry,...big fan of marketing,...big fan of internet marketing (the industry I work in).

I hope you enjoy this blog, and try some of the wines I write tasting notes on, feel free to agree/disagree/add to my tasting notes. Wine is different experience for everyone and I'm hoping that we get a bunch of people talking about a whole stack of different wines and learning from each other.

Look for my next post on the weekend where I'll cover 4-6 new wines.