[Cellargal Book & Wine Club] tQsting

tQsting
Inspired by Haruki Murakami’s Novel 1Q84
June 20th 2Q12


IQ84 by Haruki Murakami
 



“Then, as if it had just occurred to him, he asked if they had Cutty Sark*…Not bad thought Aomame. She liked the fact that he had not chosen Chivas Regal or some sophisticated single malt. It was her personal view that people who are overly choosey about the drinks they order in a bar tend to be sexually bland. She had no idea why this would be so.” **



Glenrothes Select Reserve Single Malt Whisky "John Ramsay, the Malt Master for Glenrothes, has taken great care to pick out the finest casks from different years to create the "Select Reserve. From the distillery: "Appearance: Pale golden; Nose: American oak vanilla and coconut, hints of plums; Palate: Full malty flavour, medium sweet, vanilla and orange zest; Finish: Long and slightly spicy."

~
“…and a glass of white wine” (Fuka Eri)

“Tengo opened the refrigerator to see if he had any chilled white wine. In the back he found a bottle of Chardonnay he had recently bought on sale. The label had a picture of a wild boar…it was a bit too chilled, and a bit too sweet, but the alcohol calmed Tengo’s nerves somewhat.”

2008 Mt. Difficulty Chardonnay Central Otago New Zealand "The 2008 vintage in Central Otago was a nearly ideal growing season, with a warm spring and less wind than usual that allowed excellent flowering conditions. The bouquet offers tropical notes, along with a nutty character, spiced apple, pear and lemon citrus highlights."

~
“…the dowager had a glass of Chablis, and Aomame kept her company. The wine was just as elegant and simple as the food.”

2010 Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chablis "Classic nose of green fruit and oyster shells gives way to rich, intense and agreeably racy middle weight flavors that possess a fine minerality on the minerally, pure and linear finish. Like the Petit Chablis, this is worth a look as it offers very good quality at this level. (Burghound) “The 2010 Chablis is simply dazzling, and makes for a great introduction to the estate’s 2010s. It boasts gorgeous, bright fruit supported by attractive minerality. High toned floral notes add further lift on the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.” (WA)

~
“…in fact there is absolutely nothing wrong with the wine. The man is a famous politician who likes to think he’s a wine connoisseur, but he doesn’t know a damn thing about wine. He did it to show off. ‘I’m afraid this has might have a slight edge,’ he says. We had to humor him...this is a highly respected Burgundy …from a noble domain, a good year.” Ayumi: “Who could possibly object to a wine like this?” Aomame: “You can always find somebody to complain about anything”…They were both pretty drunk. The excellent Burgundy in their blood gently coursed through their bodies, giving the world a faint purplish tinge. Aomame: “the world is going to end before we know it...And the kingdom is going to come.”

2002 Domaine de la Vougeraie Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru "Les Marconnets" "Les Marconnets is a vineyard that has been planted since at least the 13th century, and it is one of the first where Dr. Guyot worked at improving vineyard management and invented the now widely-used pruning method that bears his name. It's on the border with Beaune and is just hiting its stride. This wine was burly in its youth, but is now settling down and emerging as a more elegant wine, with finer tannin structure. The vines here are a range of ages, but most all of them were planted between 1929 and 1967, so they have good maturity. Clive Coates writes: "Ripe and succulent. Fresh and stylish. Medium to medium-full body. Good length. Good Plus."

~

*Cutty Sark is a range of blended Scotch whisky produced by Edrington plc of Glasgow whose main office is less than 10 miles from the birthplace of the famous clipper ship (left) of the same name. The whisky was created on March 23, 1923, with the home of the blend considered to be at The Glenrothes distillery in the Speyside region of Scotland. The name comes from the River Clyde-built clipper ship Cutty Sark, whose name came from the Scots language term cutty-sark, the short shirt prominently mentioned in the famous poem by Robert Burns - "Tam o' Shanter". The drawing of the clipper ship Cutty Sark on the label of the whisky bottles is a work of the Swedish artist Carl Georg August Wallin. He was a mariner painter, and this is probably his most famous ship painting. This drawing has been on the whisky bottles since 1955. The Tall Ships' Races for large sailing ships were originally known as The Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races, under the terms of sponsorship by the whisky brand. (from Wikipedia)


**An empty Cutty Sark box serves as a plot device in Haruki Murakami's novel The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, it is a character's favourite drink in the 1978 novel The Human Factor by Graham Greene and featured prominently in Murakami's novel 1Q84. In Charles Bukowski's novel Women (novel), there is a scene where the main protagonist - Henri Chinaski fights over a bottle of Cutty Sark with his girlfriend. Eventually the bottle is broken and he takes a sip from what's left at the bottom. (from Wikipedia)

Sources: K&L Wine Merchants, Wikipedia

[Cellargal Book & Wine Club] Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand + Sake

Sake Survival Guide

A Cellargal* Book & Wine Pairing

Inspired by the Novel

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival,

 Resilience, and Redemption

By Laura Hillenbrand

 04/26/2012

http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/1400064163



Sawa Sawa Sparkling Sake Milled to 70%, this sparkling sake is off dry and very popular with aficionados and novices alike.  It tastes like angel food cake - light, delicate, uplifiting. Not overly sweet, with a hint of marzipan at the finish. This is a lively party starter and/or clever alternative to sparkling wine. It pairs with spicy foods espeically those featuring nutty sweet flavors (e.g. apps with spicy peanutdipping sauce). Packaged in a cute, single-serving bottle, this also makes a clever gift or party favor.

Hakutsuru Excellent Junmai Milled to 70%, this Sake is insanely delicious for the price, great with grilled salmon kama or miso beef! Can be enjoyed warm or chilled.


Taru Sake, Kikusakari Milled to 60% and aged in japanese cedar, which give the distinctive woody aromas and lingering finish that it is known for. It also preserves a sense of freshness and some delicacy, which not all taru-sakes do. One of the best taru-sakes we have tried. Cedar ageing adds a warmness that you can breathe in. pair with smoked tomatoes with burrata and Thai basil.


Ten To Chi "Heaven and Earth" Junmai Daiginjo Sake  Milled to 50%, this sake was originally tasted at the annual Sake Day in San Francisco and has been in demand ever since. Produced by the Kobayashi family on Niigata by toji master Kenji Fujii who has been making sake for more than four decades at the Musashino Shuzo. The rice used in Heaven and Earth is Koshi Tanrei. Grown only in Niigata, the Niigata Sake Institue spent 15years developing the varietal. Heaven and Earth is one of the first Koshi Tanrei based sakes to be made commercially available in Japan and was launced in 2011. Made with 100% soft water sourced from natural spring water from the Maki district of Niigata, this sake has sweet and savory notes of chestnuts, is texturally pleasing, and subtley aromatic. This is more of a powerhouse sake fit for more substantial meals like fettucini alfredo or a cream based soup.


Rihaku "Dreamy Clouds" Tokubetso Junmai Nigori Sake (Unfiltered) Milled to 59%, this unfiltered sake still has the lees in it, which gives it a cloudy appearance and a bit sweeter taste than a more modern filtered sake. Made from the Gohyakumangoku rice by Rihaku Shuzo in the Shimane Prefecture, it is rich, creamy and quite long at the end.

Legend


Junmai: Sake that is made up of water, koji mold, yeast and rice that has been milled 30% with 70% of each grain remaining.
Honjozo: Sake that is made up of rice, water, koji mold, yeast and a portion of added distilled alcohol, and the rice is milled 30% with 70% of each grain remaining.
Junmai Ginjo: Sake that is made up of water, koji mold, yeast and rice milled 40% with 60% of each grain remaining.
Ginjo: Sake that is made up of rice, water, koji mold, yeast and a portion of added distilled alcohol, and the rice is milled 40% with 60% of each grain remaining.
Junmai Dai Ginjo: Sake that is made up of water, koji mold, yeast and rice milled 50% with 50% of each grain of rice remaining.
Dai Ginjo: Sake that is made up of rice, water, koji mold, yeast and a portion of distilled alcohol, and the rice is milled 50% with 50% of each grain remaining.


-Sake can be made in different fashions to produce more variations of sake. For example if a brewer were to leave in some of the rice polishings the result would be a cloudy sake commonly referred to as Nigori (unfiltered sake). If a brewer decided to store his freshly brewed sake in cedar tanks this would result in Taru (cedar sake). Or as most breweries in Japan do, if they release a sake that has not been pasteurized the typical two times - in most cases - then the result is Nama (unpasteurized sake.)


-If brewers decide to age their sake longer than a typical fermentation cycle, then the result is Koshu (aged sake). If brewers are looking to try something different by adding more sake instead of more water to the brewing process the result is Kijoshu (dessert sake). And lastly if a brewer decides to allow his sake to reach peak fermentation without adding the typical amount of water to bring sake back to a diluted state of roughly 15%-16% alcohol level then the result is a sake that has a alcohol percentage along the lines of 17%-19% called Genshu (undiluted sake).

The Marriage Plot: A Tasting




The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

The Marriage Plot: A Tasting

A Cellargal* Book and Wine Pairing
Inspired by The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

January 18, 2012

mar•riage

noun \ˈmer-ij, ˈma-rij\

Definition of MARRIAGE (from Merriam-Webster)

1 a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage
b : the mutual relation of married persons : wedlock
c : the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage

2: an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected; especially : the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities

3: an intimate or close union

Examples of MARRIAGE

1. “A marriage between form and function.”
Michel Arnould Verzenay "Brut Reserve" Champagne
75% Pinot Noir , 25% Chardonnay from estate vineyards in the Grand Cru of Verzenay.

2. “A marriage of science and art.”
2010 Cyprus Russian River Valley Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay. From one of the oldest vineyards in the Russian River Valley. 100% French oak (40% new)

3. “A marriage of sweet and spicy flavors.”
2010 Ligeriens Rosé d' Anjou
Demi-sec (off-dry) blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay and Grolleau, made from the saignee method.

4. “They have a very happy marriage.”
2008 Valle dell'Acate Cerasuolo di Vittoria
70% Nero d'Avola (aged in oak) and 30% Frappato (aged in steel)

5. “She has old-fashioned ideas about marriage.
2010 Bedrock Wine Company "Heirloom-Pagani Ranch" Sonoma Valley Red Wine
From the historic Pagani Ranch vineyard in northern Sonoma, planted in the 1880's to a field blend of Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir de la Calmette, Petite Sirah, and Lenoir. Co-planted and co-fermented with native yeasts and aged in 40% new French oak.

"That is my point about “The Marriage Plot”: you read books and they change your life." -Jeffrey Eugenides



Pettigrew's Last Stand; Sherry's Second Coming?

Sherry's Second Coming?

A Cellargal* Book and Wine Pairing Inspired by

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel

by Helen Simonson



http://www.amazon.com/Major-Pettigrews-Last-Stand-Novel/dp/product-description/1400068932/ref=dp_proddesc_0/177-4411954-3289460?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books



November 9, 2011 

"If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack."  -Sir John Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2.

Even though Sherry is deeply rooted in Andalucian winemaking traditions, most people associate drinking Sherry with being English. This is because Sherry has been popular in England for centuries - more widely popular than it had ever been in modern Spain. Following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Sir Francis Drake brought 2900 butts/barrels of Sherry to England from Cadiz, and the English have been hooked since. At that time, it was called "Sherris sack" or just "sack" ("Sherris" and the modern-day "Sherry" are Anglicized versions of the word "Jerez," the province in Spanish Andalucia where Sherry is produced.) Many of the Sherry houses in operation today were originally established by the English.

Over the last century, Sherry has fallen out of favor among wine drinkers, along with other sweet and/or fortified wines. In popular culture Sherry has come to be associated with fuddy-duddy English people (the Pettigrew set) and thier wannabes (think: Frasier) because those up until recently, those were the only people drinking Sherry: British folk too old and stuck in their ways to change their wine drinking habits with the times.

Today, with the emergence of the young global wine geek set, Sherry has been given a second chance. It is experiencing a renaissance as folks discover that there is more the Sherry than sweet, mass-produced styles, and that it is anything but fuddy-duddy. The wines from these centuries-old soleras are arguably some of the most labor-intensive, distincitve, and complex white wines in the world.

La Ina Fino Jerez  

http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1075803

"Formerly owned by Domecq, this is one of Andalucía's most beloved, everyday fino sherries. Lustau recently purchased the solera as well as the trademark to this delicious fino. This is a recently bottled, impeccably fresh, salty, bright fino which would make for an excellent aperitif, or accompaniment to salted nuts, olives cheeses and a bevy of other savory foods and snacks."

Herederos de Argueso Amontillado Sanlucar de Barrameda
http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1061689

"What a terrific Amontillado! Produced from their very old solera, this is a completely dry amontillado that shows beautiful aromatics: imagine toffee and orange candies, but without any of the sweetness. On the palate, the signature Amontillado intensity and nuttiness are evident, but with the citric, salty tang of one made in the seaside town of Sanlucar de Barrameda. This is a terrific, dry, invigorating aperitif, especially with cheeses."

Gutierrez Colosia "Sangre y Trabajadero" Oloroso El Puerto de Santa Maria (375ml)
http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1064438

"This oloroso is a lighter style, just fortified to 17.5% abv, and even shows a hint of that salty tang which Gutierrez Colosia is known for given their prime location near the Atlantic in El Puerto de Santa Maria. It is called "Sangre y trabajadero" to honor the hard working butchers who favored this oloroso. Truly an exemplary dry oloroso to enjoy before, during or after a meal."

Emilio Hidalgo "Morenita" Cream Jerez
http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1069154

"What a lovely, slightly sweet, style of sherry! In today's sherry renaissance, as it were, it seems as though the dry styles (fino, manzanilla, amontillado, some olorosos) have been favored. However, a delicately sweet cream such as this one, from one of the most respected bodegas in Jerez, is not to be missed. On the label, you will see two beautiful terms used to describe the slightly sweetened style: vino generoso and abocado. These mean that this is a cream sherry that is still enjoyed by the old timers (and younger folks as well) in Jerez; it is not sweetened, inferior juice sent to the UK and export markets. Composed of Palomino and Pedro Ximenez, there is a wonderful balance of sweet date, candied orange peel and ginger flavors. This would be perfect with cookies, pan dulce, lemon cake, or any other type of sweet but not over the top, lighter dessert."

**

And a bonus wine...in honor of the the Major's Churchills (guns)..after all it wouldn't be a truly British evening without ending with some Port!


Churchill 10 Year Tawny Port
http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1078613

"This house, one of the youngest in the Oporto region and owned by Johnny Graham, whose family was the original ower of the more recognizable port house of Graham, makes a truly lovely 10 year tawny port, one of the prettiest we have tasted. Spicy, fruit cake aromas lead to a palate that has a lovely balance between fresh fruit and woody, slightly nutty tawny flavors. It is elegant and very well made."


Notes from K&L Spanish and Portuguese Wine Buyer Joe Manekin.

***

Styles of Sherry:

Fino ('fine' in Spanish) is the driest and palest of the traditional varieties of sherry. The wine is aged in barrels under a cap of flor yeast to prevent contact with the air.


Manzanilla is an especially light variety of fino Sherry made around the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Manzanilla Pasada is a Manzanilla that has undergone extended aging or has been partially oxidised, giving a richer, nuttier flavour.

Amontillado is a variety of Sherry that is first aged under flor but which is then exposed to oxygen, producing a sherry that is darker than a fino but lighter than an oloroso. Naturally dry, they are sometimes sold lightly to medium sweetened.

Oloroso ('scented' in Spanish) is a variety of Sherry aged oxidatively for a longer time than a fino or amontillado, producing a darker and richer wine. With alcohol levels between 18 and 20%, olorosos are the most alcoholic sherries in the bottle.[11] Again naturally dry, they are often also sold in sweetened versions (Amoroso).

Palo Cortado is a variety of Sherry that is initially aged like an amontillado, typically for three or four years, but which subsequently develops a character closer to an oloroso. This either happens by accident when the flor dies, or commonly the flor is killed by fortification or filtration.

Jerez Dulce (Sweet Sherries) are made either by fermenting dried Pedro Ximénez (PX) or Moscatel grapes, which produces an intensely sweet dark brown or black wine, or by blending sweeter wines or grape must with a drier variety. Cream Sherry is a common type of sweet sherry made by blending different wines, such as oloroso sweetened with PX.

Source: Wikipedia

Grape Muttations: The Hunger Games Trilogy

Grape Muttations

A Cellargal* Book and Wine Pairing

Inspired by the

Hunger Games Trilogy

By Suzanne Collins

A grape cross is a variety that has been created, either naturally or manmade, by crossing two vine varieties of the same species. For example,  Cabernet Sauvignon is actually a cross of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc that is said to have occurred spontaneously in the vineyards of Bordeaux prior to the 18th Century., while Pinotage is a genetically engineered cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, the product of an effort in South Africa in the 50s to develop a varietal with Pinot Noir’s aromatics and the  heartiness of Cinsault, which could withstand the harsh growing conditions of the region.


A grape hybrid is the offspring of two varietes of different species. These can also occur naturally or on purpose.  The French Baco Noir is a hybrid varietal.


A grape mutation is a spontaneous change to genetic material occurring during cell division in the grapevine itself. Here's a factoid to note: ancient grape varietals were dark-skinned; the light-skinned characteristic in vinifera grapes is actually the result of a mutation.  Mutation is generally thought to be negative (think recessive trait) but man has had many centuries to select those vines which perform best, a process called clonal selection, thus enabling vines that start as mutations (e.g. Pinot Blanc or Grenache Blanc) to survive and reproduce independently.

***

The Wines: 

2010 Cederberg Bukettraube Cederberg   

100% Bukettraube  [Cross: Silvaner x  Schiava Grossa]. Sebastian Englerth is supposed to have created this cross in Randersacker in the 19th century (Germany), although an Alsatian origin has also been claimed.

2009 Racine de la Terre Marselan IGP Pays d'Oc
100% Estate grown Marselan [Cross: Cabernet Sauvignon x Grenache],  A new crossing of Cabernet and Grenache Noir made by the INRA and authorized for VdP in France in 1990.  Developed specifically for the Langeudoc, where it copes with wet and dry growing seasons and while being resistant to vineyard diseases.

2008 Henry of Pelham Baco Noir
100% Baco Noir [Hybrid:  Folle Blanch (Vitis Vinifera) + variety of Vitis Riparia ]. It’s parents are the Vitis Vinifera varietal Folle Blanche and a variety of Vitis Riparia, mated in 1894 by nurseryman Francois Baco, (famous in his day and through most of the 20th century for his successful Baco Blanc and other hybrids) with the intent creating a phylloxera-resistant red grape varietal sibling to the white hybrid, Baco Blanc. 

2004 Bründlmayer St. Laurent Ried Ladner
100% St. Laurent [Mutation: from Pinot Noir].  St. Laurent is a traditional Austrian grape variety – and presumably was named for its early maturity around the Catholic calendar day of St. Laurence rather than for a French village. Nevertheless, genetic sequencing reveals a close relationship to Pinot Noir. Over the centuries, the mutation-prone variety has undergone a process of adaptation to Austria's terroir and now shows more texture, color, tannins, and fruity flavors than its famous relative.

2008 Viñedos de Ithaca "Akyles" Priorat
Field Blend; contains Garnacha, Cariñena, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, plus Grenache mutations Garnatxa Peluda & Garnatxa Blanca;  Touriga Nacional and Pedro Ximenez. Grenache Blanc is an albino mutation of Grenache Noir; Grenache “peluda” is a fuzzy-skinned version (from Spanish “pelo” – “hairy”).

May 2011: Wine-amic Duos

May 12, 2011
Wine-amic Duos

A Cellargal* Wine Tasting
Inspired by the Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clayby Michael Chabon

Joe Kavalier: Czech artist, upper-middle class, physically strong, educated, fighter...
Sam Clay: Brooklyn-born, working class, physically weak, self-made, conflicted, peacemaker...

Synergy, from the the Greek syn-ergos, meaning "working together," describes two or more things that function better together than apart at a given task or in a certain context. In the context of Chabon's novel, the protagonists Sam Clay and Joe Kavalier are able to acheive success as a result of their combined skills and efforts. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole...

In life, we experience synergy everywhere, from the workplace, where we may work as part of a team or our company may serve a function that supports a greater corporate whole, to our romantic life (after all, someone needs to be able to change the lighbulbs, put chains on tires, and take out the trash...) to the kitchen, where cooking is essentially our effort to allow the synergy that can exist between proteins, fats, vegetables, and starches yield something delicious to eat that is better than any one ingredient by itself. (Thankfully my husband completes me when it comes to matters in the kitchen).

In wine, synergy is also at play. While most wine-loving Americans are accustomed to single varietal wines (I'll have the Cab, please) and might suspect a blended wine to somehow be inferior to a single varietal, this is not the case in the classic old world winemaking regions of Europe. In the French regions of Champagne, Bordeaux, and the Rhone, blending traditions have evolved out of centuries of vintners figuring out what works best given the context of climate, soil type, and local culture.

By producing wines that are blends of different varietals, vintners are able to let the strengths of one varietal (say, structure and tannins) be balanced out by the strengths of another (say, suppleness and aromatics). If vinified separately, these varietal wines might be undrinkable. Blend them together, and you get the best of both.

The Great Wine-Amic Duos of France:

1. Pinot Noir & Chardonnay

Tradition in: Champagne
Why? Pinot provides structure and depth of fruit in the blend; Chardonnay adds weight, richness, and body for ageing.

Leclerc Briant Reserve Brut Champagne
70% Pinot Noir /30% Chardonnay


2. Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon

Tradition in: Bordeaux

Why? Semillon tends to fatness and has little aroma when young; Sauvignon Blanc is highly aromatic and high in acid but lacks substance.

2008 Bonnet, Entre-Deux-Mers Blanc50%, Sauvignon Blanc, 40%, Sémillon, [+10% Muscadelle]

3. Syrah & Viogner

Tradition in: Northern Rhone/Cote Rotie

Why? Syrah can be very dark and brooding when young; Viognier adds floral aromatics, enhances the texture and viscosity to the wine, and deepens and stabilizes color.

2007 J. Boutin "Bonnevaux" Côte-Rôtie (Stéphane Vedeau)

88% Syrah and 12% Viognier; cofermented. (Cofermentation= the simultaneous fermentation of two or more varieties in the same vessel.)

4. Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot

Tradition in: Bordeaux

Why? Cabernet Sauvignon has great potential for structure and to be a vehicle of expressing vintage and terrior attributes but can be difficult to ripen and is very tannic when young. Merlot is ripens early and yields plump, lush fruit; it softens and Cabs edges and adds fruitiness to the wine in youth.


2006 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge, Pessac-Léognan63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot [and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc]

**
"When men drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends. Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever."

-Aristophanes c. 450 - 385 B.Knights [424 B.C.], l. 92

Special Topics in Calamity Phenolics

A Cellargal* Wine Pairing

Inspired by the Novel

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

by Marisha Pessl

Image 1.0.

March 24, 2011 Tasting Syllabus

(see Map 1)

2008 Pheasant's Tears Rkatsiteli Republic of Georgia (Former Soviet Union) (4)

2009 Pfneiszl Kékfrankos Sopron (Blaufrankisch) (Hungary) (5)

2008 Antonelli Contrario Sagrantino (Sicily, Italy) (6)

2006 Domaine Berthoumieu "Charles de Batz" Madiran (SW France) (7)

2008 Henry of Pelham Baco Noir (Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada) (8)

Map 1

Notes on the subject:

In wine-speak, the term phenolics, (sometimes called polyphenolics or polyphenols) refers to the very large group of highly reactive chemical compounds of which phenol (C6H5OH) (1) is the basic building block. Phenolic acids are largely present in the pulp, anthocyanins and stilbenes in the skin, and other phenols (catechins, proanthocyanidins and flavonols) in the skin and the seeds. (2) These collectively produce the skin colors, tannins, and flavors of grapes that, when made into wine, determine its properties (what we see, smell, and taste) (2) as well as any health benefits that might be associated with consumption. They are also at the root of the changes [see Image 1.0 top] that take place in a wine as it ages. (3)

Additional Notes and References

(1) Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5OH. It is a white, crystalline solid at room temperature. It consists of a phenyl (-C6H5) group, bonded to a hydroxyl (-OH) group. It is produced on a large scale (about 7 billion kg/year) as a precursor to many materials and useful compounds.[2] It is only mildly acidic but requires careful handling due to its toxicity and its propensity to cause severe burns. See: Wikipedia.

(2) See Wikipedia: Phenolic compounds in wine

(3) Robinson, Jancis. "Phenolics," The Oxford Companion to Wine; 3rd Ed. pp 517-518).

(4) White wines contain phenols too. Just not as much, generally. Red wines are credited for containing significantly higher amounts of the heart-healthy resveratrol (a natural phenol present in the skins, seeds, and stems of grapes) than white wines because red wines are fermented in contact with the skins (thus adding pigment and tannin and the phenols that come with them) and white wines are not. This Rkatsiteli is an example of what wine geeks call "orange wine" - a white wine that takes on color and tannin due to prolonged exposure contact with the skins and extended ageing on the lees. Pheasant's Tears follows the ancient Georgian tradition of ageing the wines underground in beeswax-lined clay amphorae, which permits the development of very distinctive flavor and textural characteristics.

(5) Why Blaufrankisch? Blaufränkisch (German for blue "Frankish") is a dark-skinned variety of grape that produces red wines with high phenolic content. (see wikipedia: Blaufrankisch). Blue is the name of the main character in Special Topics in Calamity Physics. “My mother decided to call me Blue, because for her first year of Lepidoptera study with the Southern Belles’ Association of Butterflies, with its Tuesday night meetings at the first Baptist Church…the Cassius Blue was the only butterfly Natasha could catch (see Leptotes cassius,” Butterfly Dictionary, Meld, 2001 ed.).”

(6) Ah, Sagrantino. People discover and fall in love with it when they travel to Sicily, and then come back and drive around in their blue volvo looking for it, nowhere to be found. Well, this is because most of it isn't that great (sorry, Sagrantino!) and because what does make it stateside is often the bulk-produced junk for export, relying on resveratrol and the promise of health (famously high in polyphenols, Sagrantino is credited for playing a key role in the abnormally long average life expectancy of Sicilians) for sales rather than actual quality, which just don't cut it at respectable wine merchants. The 08 Antonelli Contrario happens to be a good one, though.

(7) Tannat is a thick-skinned red grape native to Southwest France. Madiran AOC is the most significant appellation in France for the production of Tannat and Tannat-based wines. Tannat is known for it's high tannins and tendency towards bitterness and astringency. Efforts to tame Tannat and produce more drinker-friendly (and by extension Parker-friendly) wines led to the development of the controversial (see the movie MONDOVINO for an indie filmmaker's insight into this controversey) technique of micro-oxygenation. Tannat cuttings were brought to Uruguay by French immigrants in the 1800s, and since then have faired well in quasi maritime climate in the hills north of the resort city of Montevideo. After all, who wouldn't?

(8) Baco Noir is what we call a hybrid grape varietal - a cross between two varietals from different species of the the vitis (grape) family. It is a cross of the French Folle Blanche (Vitis Vinifera; native to Europe) and an unknown variety of vitis riparia (native to North America). Over time, native American grapes had to develop resistant to the predatory phylloxera beetle, also native American, in order to survive as a species, a slow, evolutionary process that included the development of phenolically dense, protective skins and root-stalks. We have American root stalks to thank for still being able to enjoy (the superior) wines made from vinifera vareitals today...once the phylloxera beetle landed on European vineyards in the nineteenth century (see Phylloxera Plague), it nearly wiped out the entire industry in a matter of years. Only by grafting vinifera vines onto riparia rootstalks were the Eurpeans able to replant and recover.