Browsing the archives for the Spain tag

Midwest Wine School Experience – WSET Intermediate Level – Class 8

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27 Mar, 2010
Midwest Wine School Experience

The final class of the WSET Intermediate Level course was this past Wednesday.  After a short review of the past seven week’s, Jessica Bell led a lively discussion on the topic of fortified wines and spirits.

Fortified wines and spirits represent an extremely wide range of products so we could only cover a very small subset of this genre.  Jessica put together a variety of sherries, ports and spirits, including a French Armagnac and a Scottish whiskey to give us a broad base for comparison.

Fortified wines like sherries and ports are made by adding neutral grape spirits to the wine either before or after the wines fermentation is complete.  In the case of sherry, grape spirits are added after fermentation as stopped, so the wines are usually dry, but there are also numerous sweet versions.  Ports, on the other hand, are always sweet because the fermentation process is stopped before all of the sugar is converted to alcohol.  The grape spirits kill the yeast and boost the alcohol to around 20%.

Sherries are produced in the Spain, primarily in the regions of Jerez de la Frontera and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.  The processes used to create this wines are deliberately oxidative, exposing the wine to air, giving the wines are wonderful nutty character.

Traditionally and legally, Ports must come from Portugal, around the city of Oporto.  However there are numerous examples being produced around the world in a similar manner.  Many of these fortified wines are called “port” so it can be a little confusing when navigating through your local wine shop.  To make matters more confusing, there are numerous types of port raging from ruby to tawny, vintage to late bottled vintage (LBV), traditional late bottled vintage to modern late bottled vintage.  Each of these wines has a very different flavor profile and should be served differently.

Spirits are completely different than fortified wines and are made in most parts of the world.  They are distilled rather than fermented and can be made from almost anything that contains sugar, so grapes are not necessary (except in the case of grape-based spirits like Cognac and Armagnac, to name a few).  Spirits have a higher alcohol content, usually in the range of 40%.  There are so many types of spirits that it would be impossible to list or discuss them all here.  The Armagnac that Jessica selected was a good example of a grape-based spirit from France made from grape varieties like ugni blanc, colombard, folle blanche, and baco.  The single malt scotch whiskey was an excellent example of a grain-based (barley) spirit from the Scottish highlands of Speyside.

Admittedly this was a very short introduction to fortified wines and spirits, but it gave us a good foundation for future study.

This brings us to the end of this course.  It was a great experience that reinforced many of the things I already new, but opened my eyes to how much more there is to learn!  If you want to learn about wine and and taste many examples from around the world, I would definitely recommend this course.  Our final exam is next week.  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Wines and Spirits Tasted (Class 8):

  1. Pedro Romero Fino Sherry (Jerez, Spain)
  2. Lustau Dry Amontillado Sherry (Jerez, Spain)
  3. Smith Woodhouse 10-Year Tawny Port (Oporto, Portugal)
  4. Yalumba Museum Reserve Muscat (Southeast Australia)
  5. Château du Tariquet VSOP Armagnac (Armagnac, France)
  6. Balvenie Doublewood 12-Year Single Malt Scotch (Speyside, Highlands)
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Midwest Wine School Experience – WSET Intermediate Level – Class 6

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20 Mar, 2010
Midwest Wine School Experience

Class 6 of the WSET Intermediate Level course, led by Jessica Bell, was a foray into the world of Rhone-style wines and the varieties that make them so delicious including grenache and syrah/shiraz.  In addition, we spent a short time delving into the riesling variety, discussing where it grows best and the remarkable styles of wine it creates.

Grenache and syrah (or shiraz in Australia) are very different grapes that winemakers have been using for centuries to make single varietal wines or blended wines using variations of the two (or more) varieties.

Grenache, a large thin-skinned grape that originated in Spain (where it’s called garnacha).  It loves hot climates and does well in warm places like Spain and France’s southern Rhône Valley.  It has made its way around the world and can be found anywhere that syrah thrives.  On it’s own, grenache makes full-bodied wines with lots of ripe red fruit and spice, but it gets better when it is blended with other varieties that add some more complexity.  Syrah is just one example.

Syrah is a dark, tannic grape that makes full-bodied wines with dark fruit flavors and complex animal and vegetal chracteristics.  Like grenache, it also does well in warm regions and is usually found in a blend.  Wines from the northern part of the Rhône Valley are made primarily from syrah with grenache and many others filling out the rest of the blend.  Examples of syrah can be found in warm places around the world, inlucding the United States and Australia.  Shiraz, as it is known in Australia, is made into bold, spicy, fruit-forward wines with intense black fruit and sweet spice.

Riesling, on the other hand, is the polar opposite to grenache and syrah.  Riesling is at home in cool regions like Germany, Alsace and Austria.  It can even be found in the cooler regions of the United States, Australia and New Zealand.  But Germany is by far the premier location for riesling.  The Germans have mastered the art of coaxing this grape into ripening under some of the most challenging growing conditions in the world.  The cold northern latitude force the winemakers to leave their grapes on the vine longer so they can fully ripen (if at all).  Steep rocky vineyards along rivers like the Rhine, with their east facing slopes, are difficult to manage but necessary to capture the warm sunlight needed to ripen the grapes. Dry riesling wines can have floral aromas, white fruit and bright citrus flavors with bracing acidity and steely mineral notes.  Riesling can also be made into delicious sweet dessert wines such as beerenauslese, trockenbeerenauslese and eiswein.

Rendell Thomas will present sparkling and sweet wines later this week

Wines Tasted (Class 6):

  1. Perrin et Fils Reserve 2006 (Côtes du Rhône, France)
  2. Domaine la Clotte-Fontane 2006 (Languedoc, France)
  3. Calcareous Tre Violet 2005 (Paso Robles, California)
  4. Layer Cake Shiraz 2008 (South Australia)
  5. Weingut Johann Peter Mertes Riesling 2006 (Saar, Germany)
  6. Buried Cane Riesling 2006 (Washington State)
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Midwest Wine School Experience – WSET Intermediate Level – Class 5

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13 Mar, 2010
Midwest Wine School Experience

Jaclyn Stuart, co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine & Food Pairing, led our fifth class of the WSET Intermediate Level course.  This session was devoted to the wines of Italy, Spain and Portugal.  We spent the majority of the class discussing the wine producing regions of Italy.  The smaller, but no less important regions of Spain and Portugal were covered in much less detail.

Italy’s rich history of winemaking rivals that of France. Regions like Tuscany and Piemonte (among the many others) have been making distinctive wines for centuries.  Italy’s location shape give it many different climate zones where numerous types of white and red grape varieties thrive.  It would be easy to spend the entire course talking about nothing other than Italian wines.

Spain, though much larger than Italy in geographic area, has much fewer wine producing regions and even fewer grape varieties.  Regions such as Rioja and Ribera del Duero make the majority of the quality Spanish wines.  Tempranillo and garnacha (grenache) are the top red varieties, while international varieties, like chardonnay, make up the majority whites.

We spent the last part of the evening discussing the wines of Portugal.  The Duoro region topped the discussion with its high tannin, high acid red wines.  We also spent a short time reviewing Vinho Verde, the slightly fizzy, light bodied white wine that is becoming more popular in the US.

Jessica Bell returns next week to give us the low-down on grenache, syrah and riesling.

Wines Tasted (Class 5):

  1. Camp du Rouss 2005 Barbera d’Asti (Piemonte, Italy)
  2. Poggio Vignoso 2008 (Chianti, Italy)
  3. Levantino 2006 Primitivo (Salento, Italy)
  4. Compania de Telmo Rodriguez “LZ” 2007 (Rioja, Spain)
  5. Bodegas Navarro-Lopéz Laguna de la Nava 1999 Gran Reserva (Valdapeñas, Spain)
  6. Castillo Real Monastrell 2006 (Bullas, Spain)
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Stealing Time For Some Great Wine

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16 Jan, 2010
Tasting Note

After running a few errands in downtown Milwaukee, I found that I had a little time on my hands.  It had been a while since I visited the Public Market so I decided to stop in at the Thief Wine Shop & Bar and sample a few wines.  With several hours before the start of Gallery Night (our local quarterly art review), the owners, Phil and Aimee were already busy serving patrons. Once I found a spot to settle down, I selected a few interesting wines from their wide assortment of wines by the glass, flight, or bottle.

The first wine I tried was a young, but elegant  pinot noir from New Zealand’s Marlborough region.  The 2008 Oyster Bay Pinot Noir ($17.50) has everything you would expect from a cool climate pinot noir with its bright acidity and tart red fruit flavors.  Hidden in the pale ruby color are fragrant flavors of ripe cranberries, cherries and pomegranate with the softest hints of tannin.  Don’t let the light color fool you.  This pinot noir has a pleasant body and mouthfeel with a generous backbone of crisp acidity.

Next up was a Chilean carménère born in the foothills of the Andes mountains.  The 2007 Terra Andina Reserva Carménère ($11.50) was a world apart from the delicate kiwi pinot noir. Terra Andina makes this wine from 100% carménère grown in the Rapel Valley near Santiago.  With deep red and violet hues, its aromas are alive with plums, black currants and blackberries, backed up with layers of cedar and spice.  Its balanced flavors and rich body are enhanced by soft tannins that build throughout the lengthy finish.

The third wine on the list is from Napa Valley.  Madrigal’s 2006 Zinfandel ($17.50) is even bigger and bolder than the previous two wines.  Located in Calistoga at the northern tip of Napa Valley, the winemakers at Madrigal get their grapes from some of the best zinfandel vineyards in the valley. In true zinfandel style, this is a juicy, fruit-forward powerhouse!  Heady aromas of black raspberries and dark cherries fold into rich layers of vanilla and spice.  The flavors are full-bodied, delivering a punch of spicy red berries wrapped in vanilla and caramel following up with a generous finish of pepper and cocoa.

To finish out the quartet, I selected a Spanish sherry from González Byass.  “Solera 1847″ Oloroso Dulce ($11.95) is a sweet sherry made from Palomino and Pedro Ximénez (sometimes called “PX”).  The name of this sherry comes from original solera laid down in 1847 by González and Byass in Jerez, Spain. Within its golden brown, coffee-like tones are alluring scents of raisins, figs, and orange peel blended with a myriad of woody spices.  Creamy flavors of toffee, vanilla and dried fruits are balanced with soft acidity that ties it all together.  Perfect for a cold January afternoon!

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Acústic Cellars 2006

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11 Oct, 2009
Tasting Note

The Montsant region is located in in the northeast corner of Spain, not far from the coast of the Balearic Sea. The Mediterranean climate combined with its soil, a mixture of granite, slate, sand and calcium rich fossils make the region well suited for top quality vineyards.

Acústic is a rustic blend of 45% Garnacha (aka Grenache) and 55% Samsó (aka Carignan) similar to it’s Rhone style cousins. The region’s warm, dry weather helps to ripen the grapes and intensify their flavors.

I have to admit that I really enjoy this style of wine. It’s dark ruby/purple color, reveals rich bouquet of black cherries and spice. The ripe fruit come through in sweet flavors of black fruit and currants with soft tannins. Acústic makes a great everyday drinking wine that goes well with almost any meal. Need to get more!

Acústic Cellars 2006 ($21)
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