Tag: Guide

White Wine Grapes Guide

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Grapes used to make white wine produce an array of flavors and colors, with colors ranging from clear to a golden yellow as the wine ages. Since different climates affect the flavors of the grapes, different regions produce drastically different wines.

In extremely warm regions, the grapes become less acidic and the color of the wine tends to be more golden yellow. In temperate climates, there is more of a balance of acidity and also sweetness in the wine. Cool climates produce more acidic wines where the crop is prone to frost damage if not picked within the season. Chardonnay is perhaps the most well-known grape.

It is grown throughout wine producing regions of the world, but originated in Burgundy. The wine is typically light golden in color with melon and tropical flavors emerging in the wine. Riesling grapes produce a lighter bodied wine than Chardonnay and wine made from this grape usually is sweeter and has a flowery aroma. Sauvignon Blanc is a grape predominately found in France’s Loire Valley. It is a lighter wine that is often paired with a variety of food, including fish and poultry.

Pinot Blanc is a crisp wine that is sometimes made into sparkling wine in France. Champagne is the famous sparkling wine from the French region of Champagne. Only wines produced in this region can legally be called Champagne under a Protected Designation of Origin status.

Chardonnay grapes are most often used in making champagne, but blends with Pinot Noir are not uncommon. White wine grapes produce wine that is lower in tannins then red wine, since the wine is produced with minimal contact of the juice with the grape skins and seeds. The absence of the dry and intense flavor from high amounts of tannins make white wine easier for wine novices to begin tasting and enjoying wine.

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A Wine Lover’s Weekly Guide To $10 Wines – A Peloponnesian Greek Wine

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This will be our third Greek wine review. The first was a sweet wine from the island of Samos. Then came a red from the island of Crete also made by today’s producer. Now we continue with a white from the Peloponnesian peninsula. This particular wine comes from pink Rhoditis grapes in the foothills near Patras at an elevation of about 650 to 1500 feet (200 to 450 meters). The producer Kourtaki has the largest wine production facility in all Greece, which is not surprising when you consider that it is the largest producer in the country. What may be surprising is that they are the first in Europe to use the patented “Crystal Flow” wine stabilization method. There is a lot happening in the world of wine, and Greece is no exception. By the way, should you so desire they still bottle and sell that classic standby, Retsina. Don’t look for a review of Retsina here. Ever. And yes, I have tasted it.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Kourtakis Kouros Patras 2008 11.9% alcohol about $ 10 Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials.

“Tasting Note : Straw/lemon yellow color; lanolin, lemon and mineral aroma; crisp apple & lemon flavor; light body; crisp finish. Serving Suggestion : Pasta salad & olive oil dressing; fried seafood” And now for my review.

At the first sips the wine presented refreshing acidity. It was lemony. The initial meal centered on a soy-barbecued chicken breast. The wine showed strong lemon with good acidity. It was tasty. I got the feeling of the Greek seaside. The meal included an old favorite of mine, potatoes roasted in chicken fat. (The Greeks do their roasted potatoes differently.) The wine cut the grease. With a white corn and black bean salsa the wine’s acidity picked up but its fruit descended. With the dessert of fruit juice candy I got the lanolin that I had been promised.

The next meal involved a packaged eggplant rolatini with tomatoes, ricotta and mozzarella cheese that I slathered with grated Parmesan Cheese. This wine presented strong lemon flavor and acidity with a moderate length. Dessert was a high-quality, French lemon pie with a buttery crust. The wine was thin and yet pleasant. The two lemons meshed.

My final meal involved an omelet perked up with garlic powder and crushed chillies. The wine was pleasantly acidic and round with a side of moderately spicy guacamole. The wine became more acidic but remained pleasant and refreshing. This was a summer terrace wine. Before the traditional two cheeses I enjoyed some Matjes herring. The wine became sweet with a delicate lemon flavor. This was a pretty good pairing.

The first cheese was a local Provolone. This relatively flat cheese managed to weaken the wine. With a nutty Swiss, the wine wasn’t very present and not worth wasting on the cheese.

Final verdict. I have no plans to buy this wine again. There is just too much competition out there. But it did come close. Why can’t they do better?

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A Wine Lover’s Weekly Guide To $10 Wines – A Red Crete (Greece) Blend

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This is one of our first Greek wine reviews and the first review devoted to a wine from the island of Crete which produces about one fifth of all Greek wine. Kourtaki, the producer, was founded way back in 1895 by Vassili Kourtakis; perhaps the first Greek to obtain a diploma in oenology, the study of wine. This company started with retsina, but happily moved on to better wines. Kourtaki is now the largest producer of Greek wine, bottling an estimated thirty million bottles a year, half of which are exported. They are still producing re;sina wine, but frankly the less said about retsina (which by European Economic Community policy may only be produced in Greece) the better. The wine reviewed is a blend of the red Kotsifali grape found mostly in Greece and the red Mandilara grape, the most widely planted Aegean red variety. These two grapes are often blended together.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review have been purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Kourtaki Vin de Crete Red 2008 12.0% alcohol about $ 8.50

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note : Deep purple color ; cassis and red berry aroma ; berry fruit flavor, medium body and medium length. Serving Suggestion : Serve with souvlaki or pork kebobs. And now for my review.

At the first sips this wine was strongly acidic with some berries. It was not unpleasant. Its first pairing was with barbecued beef ribs in a sweet ketchup sauce. The wine’s acidity was tamed. There were no tannins and not much flavor. The accompanying potatoes roasted in chicken fat gave this wine more body. In the presence of an overly spicy salsa with tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and cilantro the wine picked up some power.

The next meal involved zucchini stuffed with rice and ground beef and a side of green beans in a tomato sauce. The wine was somewhat harsh and short. I tasted berries. With the green beans the wine’s acidity toned down and as the meal proceeded the its harshness dropped. The dessert of orange fruit juice candy rendered this wine essentially tasteless.

My final meal was composed of beef stew with potatoes. The wine was thin and tasted of tobacco and berries. When I added powerful jalapeno pepper sauce the wine’s fruit intensified. The oriental-style side salad composed of tomatoes, pimentos, and garlic made the wine longer.

I ended the bottle with Matjes herring and two local cheeses. With the herring the wine was lightly acidic with virtually no tannins and tasted of red cherries. A relatively tasteless brick cheese managed to overpower this wine. When facing a somewhat tastier marbled cheddar cheese, the wine perked up a bit; the fruit was back.

Final verdict. I will not buy this wine again. But if you don’t like tannins and want a red wine other than Beaujolais you might consider this wine.

A Wine Taster’s Guide to Environmental Wines – A Look at Lageder Reds

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With today’s global attention focused on environmental health, entrepreneurs, citizen groups, and national governments attempt cooperation to improve air, water, and soil quality, to safeguard oceans and forests and especially to control climate change.

You can join the effort at your next wine tasting party by choosing wines from an eco-friendly winery like Alois Lageder. As you pour your guests a glass of these planet conscious wines, you can pass on knowledge that shows this historic Italian winery is no newcomer to environmentalism. This article looks at the aspects of eco-friendly winemaking including how winemakers create a natural balance to increase the vitality and pest and disease resistance of vines with a focus on one of the long time advocates of environmentalism in wine.

Alois Lageder

Winemaker Alois Lageder is one of many with environmental concerns, but for him, they are not recent. Born in 1950, Alois Lageder owns family vineyards located on steep Alpine slopes far from any beaten path in Alto Adige. The region borders Austria where residents speak both Italian and German and the past still dominates viticulture and winemaking. However, Alois Lageder’s visionary plan has always embraced modern technology. Instead of operating at cross-purposes, he sees nature, humans, and technology as cooperative forces with art as an expression of nature that informs people, an outlook that sends him to the top of any eco-friendly red wine club list.

Alois Lageder was named after his great grandfather who founded a winery in Bolzano in 1855. In 1934, the family acquired the Lowengang estate in Magre’ now planted with 77 acres of grapes and subsequently acquired other vineyards in prime locations in Alto Adige including the Cason’ Hirschprunn estate in 1991 planted with 79 acres.

Aspects Of Biodynamic Winemaking

Lageder grows vineyards on steep slopes from 750 to 3,250 elevations above the Adige Valley. All have been organically farmed, and the Lowengang estate is now farmed biodynamically, an even more rigorous and sustainable farming method than organic. Rather than unnatural single crop planting, Lageder cultivates multiple varieties in any given vineyard together with other plants, uses compost instead of artificial fertilizers, and fights parasites with natural predators. Lageder’s goal is to imitate the balance in nature and increase the health and vitality of the vines so they are resistant to parasites and disease.

Completed in 1996, the winery at the Tor Lowengang estate is a marvel of new technology, entirely eliminating the consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels. The winery employs solar energy, geo-thermic warmth, and natural convection currents. The building leans into a cliff that cools and warms fresh air for ventilation. A photoelectric system makes use of solar energy, delivering most of the winery’s electrical needs. And solar collectors heat water. The 50 feet tall vinification tower harnesses the force of gravity in such a way that pumps or other mechanical means for moving the grapes and must are unnecessary. The grapes and must flow down from one vinification phase to the next and end in fermentation vats arranged in a circle around this central axis. After fermentation, the wines rest in vaulted cellars until picked up by red wine club associations and distributors.

By sharing this information at your next eco-friendly wine tasting party, you can help Lageder’s wines and other environmental wines taste a little sweeter to your guests.

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A Wine Lover’s Weekly Guide to $10 Wines – A Red From Montenegro

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This is our first review of a wine from Montenegro, a small country in southeastern Europe that was part of Yugoslavia. Montenegro has been producing wine for more than two thousand years, so perhaps it’s time to take a look at one of their products. This particular wine is produced from the red Vranac grape whose name means black stallion. So let’s guess that we are looking at a powerful wine. The company’s vineyard is one of the largest in Europe, containing over 10 million vines.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Palntaze Monte Cheval Vranac, 2006 11.5% alcohol about $ 8.00

Let’s start with the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Medium garnet; leather and earth with a hint of plum and spice; earthy dried fruit flavor with a hint of spice. Serving Suggestion: Stew and casseroles. And now for my review.

At first tasting the wine was dark and oaky with round tannins. It was mouth filling and chewy but relatively short. The initial meal involved slow-cooked beef ribs and potatoes. I tasted cherries and chocolate. Its palate cleansing acidity was good because the meat was fat but this Vranac seemed to fade away. It did not pick up when I added spicy green jalapeno pepper sauce to the meat.

The second meal consisted of commercially barbecued chicken thighs in a light herb sauce and deli potato salad. The wine was powerful, but perhaps a bit too acidic. It showed dark fruit but didn’t overpower this lightly flavored dish.

The final meal was based on Merguez, North African spicy lamb sausage. The wine was mouth filling and I tasted stewed fruits. It cut the grease and, believe me, this meal was greasy. The deli potato salad muted the wine. When I added spicy green jalapeno pepper sauce this time the wine stepped into the background and its fruit was gone.

I finished the tasting with two cheeses. The first cheese was a marbled cheddar. The wine was dark and tasted of cherries and plums. It seemed well balanced. With a sheep’s milk feta cheese the wine lost a lot of its character. This cheese was too much for this wine.

Final verdict. I won’t buy this wine again. It is better than many $ 8 wines but with all the cheap wines out there, I won’t hold the presses for this one.

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