A Discussion on Wine Tastings by Chris Capiris

Typicity is a term tasters may use when referring to a typical or traditional style of a grape variety or growing region.

Professional tasters taste only in the morning, when their palate is at its peak.

When doing wine tastings a pitcher of water and a water glass should be provided. Tap water or still mineral water is best.

Serve the less powerful dry whites and sparkling wines before the more tannic reds. Rose wines may be served in between the whites and reds.

A tasting portion is generally 1-1.2 ounces. So a bottle of wine should provide 16-25 tasting portions. Use a napkin to wipe the lip of the bottle, so that no wine splashes.

Three Basic Steps to Tasting Wine:

Appearance: A wines appearance is the first clue to its taste. An intensity of color is often an indication of a wine’s power. Lighter reds; paler white wines are usually from cooler growing areas or vintages beset by wet and cool conditions close to harvest.

Smell: Sauvignon Blanc smells of green plums and gooseberries, while Chardonnay wine smells of apples. The smell of a young wine is called its aroma. Bouquet is the product of the aging process of the alcohol, acids, enzymes and other chemical compounds. To be a proficient wine taster you should know the smells of spices and fresh herbs.

Taste: A hot sensation down the center of the tongue indicates high alcohol content. Salty, Sour, Sweet and Bitter are the four main tastes that your tongue can experience. Wines high in acid always increase saliva flow, while very astringent or tannic wines leave the mouth feeling dried out. One should swirl the wine in your mouth for at least 10-30 seconds.

Oaks impact on the taste of wine is twofold. American oak gives the impression of a coconut flavor, while French and Eastern European oak displays more of a vanilla flavor.

When doing a vertical tasting, start with the youngest most powerful wines and proceed chronologically to the older vintages.

Best of List by Chris Capiris                                   

The following is a fun listing of locations where the best grapes/wines originate.

Best Wine: Chateau Latour 

Best Place for Cabernet: Bordeaux France.  Second best, the state of California.

Best Place for Pinot Noir: Burgundy, France. Second best, the states of Oregon and California.

Best Place for Riesling: Germany, runner up Alsace, France (Located on the French/German Border).

Best Place for Sauvignon Blanc: Loire Valley, France, next best is New Zealand.

Best Place for Chardonnay: Burgundy, France, next best is the state of California.

Best place for Merlot: Bordeaux, France (St. Emilion and Pomerol). Next best is the state of California.

Best Dessert Wine:  Chateau d’ Yquem, next in line would be Domaine Disznoko Tokaj Aszu “4 Puttonyos”

Keep watching for more wine trivia and facts, and don’t forget to Ask Chris.

Interesting Wine Facts
by Chris Capiris

California:

Even although all 50 states now produce wine, California represents 90% of the wine produced in the United States.

There are 288,000 acres of red grapes planted.

There are 201,000 acres of white grapes planted.

There are a total of 1689 wineries in the state.

Only 15% of the wineries in the state are located in Napa Valley, the actual number is 250. Although Napa is the mecca for wine in California, it is a small geographic area without a lot of wineries.

The top three red grapes planted in California are: Cabernet, Zinfandel (yes, Zinfandel is a red grape) and Merlot.

All California Cabernet’s are dry.

To specify a grape variety on a label, 75% of that wine must contain that particular grape.

Napa really is red wine country; there are 27,000 acres of red wine grapes planted vs. 11,000 acres of
white wine grapes planted.

In 1960, there were only two acres of merlot grapes planted in the entire state of California; today there are more than 50,000 acres.

General wine facts:

55% of Americans drink red wine, while 45% drink white wine.

If you’re on a diet or just watching your calories here are some interesting statistics:

5 oz. of wine = 100 Calories
12oz of Beer = 150 Calories
1.5 oz. of distilled spirits = 100 Calories

Believe it or not, one of the hottest wines today is White Zinfandel. Note: A wine snob would never admit to this, because white zinfandel, is not really considered a wine varietal in their circles. But somebody must be drinking it because 35 million cases were sold last year.

Keep checking in for more stories, articles and facts…

Enjoying French Wines
by Chris Capiris

I would like to offer you an interesting tidbit. Let me say that people do not realize that all wine is made up of 85%-90% water and 10%-15% alcohol. The four wines that I have selected to discuss in this piece are all from France. One is from Burgundy (The Northeast part of France), two are from Bordeaux (The Southwestern part of France) and the fourth wine is from the Rhone Valley (The Southeastern part of France).

The first wine is from Burgundy. Burgundy is one of the world’s most famous wine growing regions, located in the Eastern part of France, southeast of Paris. There are (5) basic regions in Burgundy. They are Chablis to the North, the Cote D’ Or, Cote Chalonnaise, Maconnais and Beaujolais to the south. Pinot Noir and Gamay are the red grapes and Chardonnay the white. The first wine I’d like to tell you about comes. From the Chablis region of Burgundy. The wine is called Domaine W. Fevre Chablis 1er Cru Mont mains ’04. Domaine is the French term for estate. This term is most often used in Burgundy. W. Fevre is the producer, 1er-designates premier Cru, which indicates the vineyards ranking and Mont mains-is the village designation. There is only one ranking above Premier Cru, which is designated Grand Cru. This wine is creamy, medium-bodied and beautifully integrated. The flavor profile opens up into aromas and flavors of apple, lemon and mineral. This wine is offered with an alcohol percent of 13. This is an elegant and focused wine. This wine would retail for approximately. $25.00 per bottle.

The next two wines come from Bordeaux. This region is considered by wine enthusiasts as the world’s greatest wine producing region. 500 to 750 million bottles of wine are produced annually from this region. Bordeaux gains most of its fame from its red wines, which make up over 75% of the total production of wines produced. Nevertheless, the regions rich, sweet white wines from Sauternes are world renowned.

The Classification of 1855 divided the Cru’s (The Vineyards) rankings into five sub categories. Premier Cru (First Growth)-Fifth Growth. There has only been one change since 1855, the addition of Mouton Rothschild to first growth status in 1973.

Bordeaux wine makers blend their grapes when making wine, as opposed to the U.S. for example that generally produces only a single varietal type of wine. The exception to this is California. They have started to blend wines using Bordeaux grape varieties, and the style has been come to be known as Meritage.

The first wine from this region that I would like to discuss is a wine called Chateau Belgrave (Chateau means castle, but in wine lingo stands for vineyard)’04, Haut Medoc, Bordeaux (the vineyard is located on the left bank of Bordeaux). This wine is a Bordeaux blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc. This is a fifth stage classification wine. This wine delivers luscious soft tannins and ripe fruit. It will match well with chicken, duck, lamb or beef. It will retail for approx. $13-$15 per bottle.

The second selection from Bordeaux is Chateau Tuilerie des Combes Montagne St Emilion ’04. This is an elegant blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which offers aromas of caramel and plum. Soft tannins, ripe plum flavors with hints of licorice and spice and a velvety finish. This wine would retail for approx. $18-$21 per bottle.

The fourth wine is a dessert wine, from the Southern Rhone Valley of France, which is located, as discussed earlier in this piece, in the South eastern part of France. The Rhone is broken up into two distinct portions, the North and the South. The North is known for its Syrah, while the South portion has the famous appellation Chateaneuf-du-Pape, which is known for its Grenache. More blending goes on in the South of Rhone as opposed to the North. The wine selected for this piece is Domaine De Coyeaux Muscat De Beaumes-De-Venise ’03. This wine is from a small Village in Southern Rhone best known for its naturally sweet wine, golden in color and made entirely from the Muscat grape. This wine is made with the Muscat Petits Grains grape. These grapes are late harvested and fortified to a level of up to 21.5% alcohol. This wine can be enjoyed with your dessert or can be your dessert. This wine would retail at approximately. $38-$42 per bottle.

Please always remember that wine drinking is subjective. The above wines are a nice sample of French style wines, which are not sold at an exorbitant price. I highly recommend trying these wines.

Enjoy!!

 Food and Wine Pairing
by Chris Capiris

There has always been a great debate on what wine to drink with what food. In the past it was always traditional  to drink white wine with poultry and fish and red wine with red meats. Even though it is possible to drink any wine with any food, some wines will clash with certain foods or other wines may not suit particular occasions.

The key factors in deciding which wine to drink with what food, is to drink wine that you enjoy! But there are some mitigating factors to this philosophy. What setting are you drinking the wine in? What is the context that you will be enjoying your food and wine in? Is the occasion a backyard picnic or barbeque or is it more of a formal setting, such as a wedding or baby shower? What time of the season is it? Is it wintertime with a foot of snow on the ground? Or is it a sizzling hot summer day?

Riesling is a light crisp wine, which would be well suited for a hot summer day. Rieslings provide great value for the money. On the other hand, a light red Italian wine or something similar, goes well with a nice summer barbeque or informal dinner.

Without trying to complicate the matter, some sommeliers will tell you that any wine will do as long as the wine and food, including sauces are in synchronization with each other.

In summation, your rule of thumb should be to drink what you like, with whatever you choose to eat, as long as the food  doesn’t overwhelm the wine. Pick your favorite wine and enjoy!

Have a question? Ask Chris!