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Orange Wine (Made from Grapes!)

6/29/2013

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I first read about orange wine this year and was pretty intrigued. It isn’t the easiest thing to find, but I got my hands on a bottle and cracked it open this past week with some friends. Apparently it is a rising trend right now in the wine world, so I decided to give it a go. 

The name is a little misleading, as it is not wine made from oranges- rather orange wine is made from white grapes, but due to its processing, it takes on a deep golden, orange (I’d call it marigold) color. Now, normally when you make white wine, the stems are removed, and the grapes are pressed immediately. You don’t want the juice to have contact with skins and seeds, and you definitely don’t want to crush the seeds up in with the juice, since they contain lots of bold, bitter, spicy components such as tannins. However, with orange wine, the grapes are kept whole (sometimes even including the stems!) and fermented for a few weeks. Often they’re even fermented in clay vessels, allowing for a little (or a lot) of oxygenation and breathability that traditional stainless fermentation tanks do not offer. The resulting wines are unusual in that they more closely resemble red wines in taste and smell than they do whites.

The one I sampled, a 2008 Cosimo Maria Maini Daphne, comes from Italy and retails between $25-$30. It is made from Trebbiano grapes and according to the label, was not fined or filtered before bottling. I can see a little cloudiness in the glass, which in that case, makes sense.

It smells like a red wine. It has a teeny floral aroma from the traditional Trebbiano characteristics, but has a spicy, leathery aroma. If I were blindfolded, I’d definitely peg this as a red. It also has a sharp, botanical aroma that reminds me of a spirit, like maybe a gin… I expected it to have a more alcoholic taste based on this smell.

The first thing I tasted in the mouth was a fresh, tart, lightly floral flavor. However, then the bitter took over and ran back along the sides of my tongue. Even though it is only 14% alcohol (which is high for a white wine,) it did taste almost fortified because the herbally flavors have a burn reminiscent of spirits.

I tasted it alone, but am thinking it would benefit from some food. Even just cheese and crackers. It’s likely not something I’d choose to sit and sip on its own, but I’m glad I tried it. If you are in a restaurant that serves orange wine (it’s pretty trendy right now, so you might have an easier time than you’d think,) order a glass. It’s definitely worth experiencing- once… or more if you love it!

Cheers! 

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Summer Sippers!

6/19/2013

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This particular post is inspired by all of the recommendations I've been making at work lately.

Warmer weather is finally upon us. Well, depending on where you live, it may be a little slow coming (ahem, Chicago!) or have already smacked you with 100+ degree temps. But the calendar says summer is just around the corner, and it has me leaving my red wines on the shelf in favor of some more summery sippers. 

I've recently come across some nice ones I thought I'd share and recommend! 


1. Vinho Verde- This little Portuguese number is a perfect (inexpensive) wine for summer. It tends to be relatively low in alcohol (especially the white versions,) has really nice acidity, light fruity flavors (think lemon, lime, green apple,) and a teeny bit of effervescence from a secondary fermentation that takes place in the bottle. There are tasty 
rosé versions as well. I took one to Thai food a few months ago and it really hit the spot. I haven't yet been able to find it, but the Vera Vinho Verde Rosé is very highly rated and I'm searching high and low for it. Chicagoans, if you find it, let me know! 
The white versions are AMAZING with seafood. They're so thirst-quenching and tasty! The teensy sparkle just gives them something different too. Love them. Mmmm.

2. Gruner Veltliner - I admit, I often shy away from the German and Austrian whites. They're usually either too sour for my taste or too sweet! I'm not a German Riesling or Gewurztraminer fan because they're too sugary. So it took me a while to branch out and try the Gruners. They tend to be nice and acidic (but not too sour,) kind of minerally, and really fresh. Nice for a hot day! Also, very food friendly.

3. Sparkling wines! OK, so I know a lot of people keep their sparkling wines for special occasions and I think this needs to stop! Yes, they can be fun and celebratory, but many of them are totally affordable, clean, light, and perfect for summer. I think you can generally find some nice quality French ones if you look for a Blanc de Blancs, which are usually 100% Chardonnay ($10-$15 will get you some good tasting stuff- no need to break the bank.) I also have recently really enjoyed some good Blanc de Noirs (especially those made from Pinot Noir- even though I’m not a huge PN fan normally.) When my Wines of the World Group did our Australia night, we had a $20 bottle of sparkling made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. It was memorably tasty. All of those I recommended are very dry. Especially in the summer heat, I prefer to eschew too much sugar.

4. Rosé
. I could dedicate a whole post to rosé- heck, I probably will. I think it is delish. Rosé often gets a bad rap because things like White Zinfandel (ever so popular in the 80s) led people to assume all pink wine tasted like melted candy. WRONG! I love a dry, balanced rosé  They can have the acidity, freshness, and levity of a white wine, but are often more interesting in terms of their berry fruit notes, and are terrific alone or with food. I think everyone should embrace them this summer! Do it! You can find dry rosé versions of many of your favorite grapes- Grenache, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Gamay (more unusual, but tasty!) and more- as well as lots of blends. They’re so versatile. Give them a shot! 

That's it! Those are my recommendations. Go forth, beat the heat, and sip away-but remember to hydrate with water too!

Slurp… ahhhhhh… (don’t mind me!)

Did you know?
Ros
é wines are made from red grapes, but rather than let the wine ferment with contact with the skins and seeds, the juice spends very little time with the skins- just enough to absorb a little pink color and a little flavor (sometimes this is only a few hours!)  That’s a very basic breakdown, but I’ll save the details for another post.
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Port!

6/12/2013

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This post was requested by Stacey, who wanted to learn more about port. I’m not much of a port/sherry/dessert wine gal myself, so it required a little research on my part. A good learning experience for all!

Port falls in the classification of fortified wines, which means that it is wine that has had hard alcohol added to it.  True port must be made in the Douro Valley of Portugal, though many wines are made in the style of port in countries all over the world. The US generally has more lax labeling laws with such things (as in the case of champagne,) and any wine made in the style of port may be labeled “port.”  Ports actually from Portugal will likely be labeled as “porto,” “Oporto,” or “Vinho de Porto.” 


Though made in Portugal, the “inventors” and early manufacturers of port were actually British. Importers of Portuguese wine ran into quality issues as the wine often didn't hold up very well in its maritime journey back to Britain. In order to combat the weird spoilage issues they were having, they began adding brandy to the wine and port was born. Through history, it has traditionally been an elite, male consumed drink (think about movies and TV shows with proper British ladies retiring to their own parlor after dinner while men sat around and smoked cigars and drank port. That ain’t so far from the truth.) 

In the production of port, grapes are fermented as usual, but neutral alcohol is added relatively early in fermentation (traditionally this was brandy, but it isn't the same as today’s commercial brandy.) Generally about one part alcohol is added to four parts wine. The alcohol stops fermentation and leaves a product with about 10% residual sugar and 20% alcohol. (For comparison, most dry table wines have somewhere between 0.02%-0.04% residual sugar and between 11 and 15% alcohol.) Now, the special part of port comes into play- the aging process. Wood aged ports are drinkable pretty soon after bottling (1-2 years.) Bottle aged ports are aged on wood only briefly, and then are aged for many years in the bottle. It is therefore recommended that they be decanted, to remove heavy sediment.
It is generally these different aging nuances that allow port takes on the following different styles (sorry if the list is a little exhaustive, I'm trying to break it down as a reference guide if you decide you want to shop for some ports yourself):

1.     White Port: Only a small production of port is made this way. It is made from obscure white grapes and the less expensive ones are aged only in tanks before bottling. Slightly better quality white ports will be aged in oak for a short time, giving a toasty nutty flavor. The majority are not exceptionally sweet, but a few are. Those called "lagrima" are very sweet, whereas "leve seco" white ports are extremely dry. White port is usually served chilled and often will be mixed with soda. Once you’ve opened a white port, you should refrigerate it and drink it within a few months, tops.

2.     Ruby Port: This is the simplest of the red ports and is usually pretty affordable. It will be fruity and is seldom bottle aged at all. It is made from a blend of red wines from varying vintages (it’s actually kind of cool- They schedule and rotate the amount taken from each year’s batch, keeping the bottled port very consistent from year to year, and ensuring that the newer wines can continue to age in barrels, while the older wines get used little by little till they're gone.) Once opened, ruby ports should be consumed within 3 months.

3.     Young Tawny Port: Like ruby port, young tawny is pretty basic. Its grapes often yield light colored wine (this can be manipulated depending on the time the juice is allowed contact with the skins- much like regular wine.) They’re often sipped on their own. Any port that is just referred to as “tawny” is probably a young tawny (aged tawny ports tend to specify.) Like ruby port,  young tawnies should be consumed within 3 months once opened.

4.     Aged Tawny Port: These are usually between 10-40 years old and the vintage will be specified on the label. They are blends of ports that have been allowed to age in barrels for several years. The oak gives, a nutty, caramel, vanilla flavor and mellows out the texture and bite of the alcohol. Aging changes the color from a ruby red to a nice tawny brown. They’re the most prized (and expensive) of the ports. They can be consumed both as an aperitif before a meal, and as a dessert wine at the end of a meal. Very special aged tawnies are referred to as “colheita” and are aged a minimum of 7 years. Though they can be aged up to 50 years. They’re rare and account for less than 1% of port production. Once opened, an aged tawny should be consumed within a year.

5.     Late Bottled Vintage Port (LBVs): These are ports that are from a single vintage (as opposed to blends) that are aged in barrel for 4-6 years. They don’t usually age well much beyond that and should be consumed pretty much right away. They’re made every year and are typically pretty cheap. They’re common in restaurants because they don’t require decanting. They should be consumed within 2 months of opening.

6.     Traditional Late Bottled Vintage Port:  Only a few of these are still made. They’re made like vintage ports, but come from better vintages and are aged for a few years longer. Unlike LBVs, they’ll continue to age well for decades. However, once they’re opened, they should be consumed right away- within a maximum of 2 weeks.

7.     Vintage Ports: These are the most expensive, most desired of all. Only ports from very, very good years will be declared a vintage. All grapes in the blend will be from that year and they will come from only the best vineyards in the region. They’re first aged for 2 years in barrel, and then are often aged for a long time in bottle before consumption. Once opened, they generally should be consumed right away. The older the vintage, the more quickly they should be consumed (within a day for really old vintages- just go for it once you pop that sucker open!)

In enjoying port, remember that only older ones need to be decanted (they’ll have sediment) and in that case, they should be decanted 3-12 hours before serving. Older wines should be decanted for shorter amounts of time, and younger ones can go a little longer. You can drink them out of a regular wine glass (get one you can swirl, just like with table wine) but pours are usually only 2-3 ounces.

If you have any ports you love, or if you find any gems, please post them in the comments! 


Did you know?
Vintage isn’t just for sweet used clothing! The vintage of a wine can affect its quality and its price. Some years are awesome years for grapes, whereas some years, there might be a horrible freeze, or not enough sunshine or there might be some damaging disease infestation that wipes the fruit of a region out altogether. Wine from certain years will fetch a really high price, or sell very quickly because those in the know will associate quality with the year it was produced. Stay tuned for a full post on this subject!

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Taste-Along-at-Home (with a twist!)

6/5/2013

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In honor of my good friend Sonja, who asked me to help pick wines for her June wedding (I was super excited,) this is a taste-along-at-home post with a tricky twist. The wedding will take place at a winery in Northern California, and as part of the package, they will be getting about half the wine supplied by the winery- a red blend and a Sauvignon Blanc. The rest is up to them. The tricky part? She lives in Pennsylvania, I live in Illinois, and the wine needed to be purchased in California. But I like a challenge.

I narrowed it down to about 3 white wines and 3 red wines I thought would be decent, were reasonably priced, and that I knew I could find here in Chicago and that we could order for her parents to pick up in California… Part way there!

So… for this first post, I’m comparing two Viogniers. I thought they’d be comparable to a Chardonnay without the whole oaked/unoaked debate that alienates so many Chard drinkers (plus, on a selfish note, I'm not a huge Chardonnay fan, myself.) It’d be good with food and a nice summer sipper. I debated choosing another Sauvignon Blanc, but thought it’d be fun to have something different. (Though if we hate them both, there’s a Chenin Blanc waiting in the wings. Split the difference between Sauv Blanc and Chardonnay.)

Further complicating things, my allergies were on the warpath, so I was using Flonase which kills my sense of smell! Doh! I decided to combat this by enlisting a friend. My first tasting I did at home in the evening, the second tasting I did with my friend, Lilly, who was nice enough to help me out (plus, she went into it pretty blind- not knowing prices or having any pre-preferences…)

The first wine I picked is a 2011 McManis Viognier from CA.
It has a nice bright, clear, straw yellow color. 

On first sniff, the nose (from what I could tell) is pretty heavy on peach, but also has something reminiscent of canned vegetables going on. Not in a bad way...
The first sip was acidic and not sweet on the front, then I picked up some minerally notes and again got the vegetable thing. However, it had a surprisingly tropical fruit finish. Pineapple, I think. 
On the first sip, I think I like the aftertaste better than the actual taste... 

I decided to close it up and try it again the next day. With food and a friend.

The second time, it really opened up and lost some of the veggie notes. It had definitely more tropical fruit on the nose (confirmed by a non-stuffed up friend.) And this time, I detected a more viscous mouthfeel- something I really like in a wine. The tropical fruit continues to come out in the flavor as the wine opens up as well. I'm thinking, on that note, that since the first wine is a Sauv Blanc, this one might be a good bet.

The second Viognier we tried was the 2011 Yalumba Y series from Australia (side note- Yalumba does pretty good, reasonably priced wines. I dig them.)

This wine had a brighter, slightly more greeny yellow color than the McManis, but had a similar crystal clarity. 
On the first go, it had a very peachy nose, with no canned veggie thing like that McManis. The taste similarly had no canned veggie thing and has a touch more acid on the front of the tongue. 
However, it has more of a savory, funky thing going on as well. Lots of mineral notes come out in the aftertaste. Reminiscent of a Chardonnay, moreso than the McManis.
 

The second go-round (with Lilly's assistance) I detected a sort of smokiness in the nose, followed by an almost cheesy funk. This time, the fruitiness was almost undetectable. The taste had a mild apricot thing going on, but had more of a complex, veggie flavor this time. It seems to have opened up and the fruit flavor compounds have dissipated a bit. Lilly liked this one best, if it were something she'd be drinking herself. She agreed with me that the McManis is more like an unoaked Chardonnay (see my previous taste-along-at-home post) whereas the Yalumba has a more vegetal complex funk. It doesn’t really have the caramel or toasted notes of a heavily oaked chardonnay, but does taste as if it was barrel aged, likely in older oak (which is less likely to impart flavor as it has all been leached out by previous wines.)


Faced with the task of making a decision, we talked it through and ultimately decided that both were tasty and would’ve been fine for the wedding- but even though the Yalumba was a shade more complex, the mellower, fruitier McManis would be more likely to compliment a Sauvignon Blanc and not alienate folks. A crowd pleaser, if you will. Here’s hoping it’s a success! 

Stay tuned for the Cabernets!
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    I'm a wine-loving actress in the Windy City who holds certificates in Enology and Viticulture from Washington State University. I also own a hilarious cat.

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