Buyer Beware

Are you passionate about wine?  Do you have a "latest" favorite varietal that gets you excited when you discover that the new winery your visiting has it on their tasting list?

Several of the Rhône Valley grapes bring me shivers of anticipation when I find them in my glass, among which is the Syrah grape.

I found this wine online and it peaked my interest because of the "blend" that was used.

Do you catch the "error" in this description?

La Sirena “Le Barrettage” Calistoga 2013 ($97). Barrettage is a take off on the Northern Rhone appellation of Hermitage with this red wine crafted from predominantly syrah with a dash of grenache and petite sirah. Made in a distinctive Rhone style with ripe plums, pepper and mocha notes and a hint of minerals.

Time's up. An authentic Hermitage is made from Syrah alone without any other red grapes blended in.  Yes, it's a bit persnickety but I am passionate about my French wine.

Here in the USA, anything goes!  Blend whatever suits your fancy if it tastes good to the winemaker.  In France, there is no such luxury, wine is strictly regulated and the varietals allowed in regional wines, such as Hermitage (Northern Rhône Valley) is sacred.  

Point is, if you want to experience the Real McCoy of Syrah, then head to the town of Tain-l'Hermitage!  I'll be glad to take you there on my next visit!

Bend Walking Wine Tours

Yes, there are wineries in the Bend Oregon area.  While Bend is better known as a Beer Town, the wine still flows here as well.
It's true that the list of local vineyards is small, but that doesn't diminish the enthusiasm for fine wine in Central Oregon.  While not yet an AVA (American Viticultural Area) it will only be a matter of time before this area gets added to the existing 18 AVA's of Oregon.

Wine is about passion and that is well demonstrated in the 6 local tasting rooms in and around Bend.  Half are simply tasting rooms for their labels, as for example, Bledsoe Family Winery, whose wine making takes place in Walla Walla, Washington.  There's a micro winery at Elixir, right here in Bend.

So fear not fellow wine enthusiasts, you can get s splash of Syrah while riding your bike along the city streets, or join a group of tasters on one of my Bend Walking Wine Tours, coming to town soon!

Time to Recoup

Winter is here!  For the grapes it's time to take a rest from all that hard work of making all those plump juicy berries.

We say they are "dormant."   This is why they can survive the severity of Winter and come back swinging in the Spring.

Not much is happening at this time, perhaps a little root growth if the soil is not too cold.  It is the time that the old growth is pruned back .

Winemakers are after the berries and not to grow massive vines.  Vines are pernicious and will grow to impressive mass if left to their own devices.  Winter becomes a vital time in the vineyard to control this growth.

This is an annual stage and part of the life of a grape vine.  I've been asked if grapes produce more than one crop a year.  The answer is no.  After each crop comes the annual rest period until the next Spring.

A Balanced Wine

Let's talk Balance in a wine. It's what really makes for a pleasant tasting experience.

In the most basic terms we are looking for a balance between the sugars and the acids in the grape.  Too much sugar equals "hot" wines with high alcohol.  Too much acid and you get what we call a "green pepper" taste. Both are not good.

 Here is an excerpt from a website selling acids for winemakers.  It's pretty technical but the point is that pH and TA levels are vital to a fine wine.  It points out the importance of these elements in winemaking.

There are two ways to look at acidity in a winemaking: TA or pH:  
 

The TA is a measure of the actual physical grams of acid in one liter of your wine and is expressed as “_ g/L of acid”, or in tenths of a percent of acidity as in “0.1% total acidity”. Both terms are equivalent and can be used interchangeably by moving the decimal point; e.g: 6.5 g/L = 0.65% TA. 

The pH is a measure of how strong the acids are in relation to all of the other compounds in a wine/must. The lower the value, the more strongly acidic the sample will be; i.e: apH of 3.3 is more acidic than 3.9. In winemaking, most pH values will be between the 3.0 and 4.0 ranges, with most of the focus happening in the range of tenths between these two ends (“3._ pH”). While the TA will tell you how much physical acid there is in the wine/must, the pH tells you how this acidity will be perceived.   

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Let's look into Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CDP).  My current tour offering centers around CDP and it's vineyards. And for good reasons. While not as well known to the American market, the varietal (grape) that stands out in CDP is the Grenache. It is among 13 authorized grape varietals. 

Actually the history of this grape starts in the Aragon region of Northern Spain where it's called Garnacha.  It didn't have to travel far to arrive in Southern France where it did well in the warm climate of the Southern Rhone. When combined with Syrah and Mourvèdre, it creates the popular blend GSM. 

Among the various soil types of the region,  the best known are the Galets Roulés (rolled pebbles), that distinguish this wine with it's distinct regional flavors and aid in the ripening of the grape. 

 

Splash Wine Tours

I'm back!  These days I am offering active wine tours to the Rhone Valley France.

After 11 years of local wine tours of both California and Oregon, I shifted my attention to my long established attraction to France and her wines.  Over the past 20 years I've been back to France 15 times.  Yes, I am still awe struck with the beauty and the wine.

One of my favorite regions is Chateauneuf-du-Pape (the new castle of the Pope) and its red wines based on Grenache.  I've come to appreciate the softer tones of the wine and complex palette they offer.

This was one of the first wine regions in the world to be regulated by a governing body.  Even today only certain grapes are allowed in the wine.  With 13 grapes to choose from the wine can vary from one winemaker to the next.
This makes it even more of an adventure to find your favorite blend!

Find me at: Splash Wine Tours

Ashland Wine Tasting Party

I have a motto: "Everyone knows how to Drink wine; Very few people know how to Taste wine."

It's really very simple, if no one ever taught you how to taste wine, then likely you learned by watching others that never learned how.

So what's the big deal you say?  The short answer is: if you are simply "downing" your wine, then you are missing so much of the pleasure of wine that comes from the thoughtful tasting of wine.  The pleasure comes from the aromas and hundreds of compounds found in wine.

I am offering to come to your home to share my "Wine Tasting 101 Seminar" that I have developed over the many years of exploring the world of wine and guiding hundreds on my tours.  These "parties" are offered in the Rogue Valley AVA surrounding Medford, Oregon.

The seminar consists of the how and why of tasting, "practice" with a local red and white wine, history of Oregon wine and a Q & A session.  The class takes approximately one hour and costs $200, including two bottles of local wine.