pooches in the vineyard

Whenever I've traveled to wine country I've noticed a plethora of dogs hanging out in/around the winery. I didn't think too much about it, figuring pets/animals and rural areas go hand in hand. It always seemed like a great opportunity to ensure a 'friend' was always nearby and an astute property "scout" was happy to help keep an eye on things. I've also been noticing how many pooches appear on labels. A great marketing ploy, I always thought, but it never occurred to me that there might be something more to it. This weekend I was preparing for a private wine tasting party I have coming up. I always like to find out interesting little "fun facts" about the wines I'm introducing; this supplements the more traditional wine information I impart on my clients' guests, too, and helps make a particular wine memorable in another way. I soon discovered that there is a specific reason they use a dog on the Yalumba Y-Series Shiraz/Viognier label. It symbolizes the necessary and fabulous "mateship" between winemakers and growers. Without the other, they wouldn't have anything to cheers to, if you know what I mean.

That one piece of information prompted me to make a more meaningful connection between vineyards and their pooches. I did a little digging to see if there was something more to having dogs around the property and couldn't resist sharing today what I learned.

In California they recently started training golden retrievers to sniff out a troublesome little bug: vine mealy bugs. The bug is new-ish to California and is creating quite a stir. Perhaps not of the same destruction caliber as phylloxera, this little guy is still no fun. When he eats he excretes a sugary, "honeydew" substance that becomes a happy stomping ground for sooty mold. Imagine a grape cluster infested with the honeydew, mold, egg sacs and more mealy bugs and - yep - you're pretty grossed out, not to mention the grapes are completely unusable in wine production and the vines are seriously compromised.

An article on Land of Pure Gold describes just how helpful trained retrievers can be in reducing the impact of these pests. Tim Tesconi writes, if a dog identifies a vine as being infested it can be removed or treated with insecticides. Pinpointing infested vines allows growers to spray specific sites rather than the whole vineyard, which is not only less costly but better for the environment. Cheers to environmentally friendly! Cheers to on-going wine production!

There's plenty more out there on dogs in the vineyards, too. Take a look at some of the cute faces captured at Winery Dogs. As for me, I know what my next toast will be: to the pooches!

What other vineyard dog fun facts have you come across or experienced first hand?

Darwin, God and wine...

What is surprising to me is that wine traditions are so often seen as antithetical to science, wrote known wine blogger and enthusiast Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 earlier this week. I have to say, I quite agree.

Dr. Debs was reporting on her experience at Taste 3, a Mondavi creation now in its third year. The idea is to bring together great minds from across industries and throughout the world to explore the interrelationship between art, food and wine. From what I gather (and please edit me if I'm wrong), each year they pick one larger, umbrella theme and then break the conference into mini-sessions to discuss this from different angles and offer multiple perspectives. Debs argued four main themes emerged at this year's conference: tradition, science, sustainability and activism. What struck me about her report was the dichotomy between tradition and science, something we often grapple with no matter what walk of life we come from or what specific context is the focus.

With Deb's note that sustainability was also on the table at Taste 3, let's briefly consider the practice of biodynamic farming/winemaking given the tradition/science debate. These folks spend a lot of time applying their natural, soil science formulas to their vines, working their land in concert with the cycles of the moon, etc. with their end game to create a self-sustaining system where the land gives back what it receives (in theory, great freaking wine). Some suggest this approach began in the 1920s. My suspicion is it started a hell of a lot earlier than that; it wasn't until someone (Rudolf Steiner) started talking about it that it became a "known" entity, or a "real" practice. I respect the philosophy behind the practice and admire the additional dedication it takes to apply these practices to the art/science of wine. Whatever Higher Being you may/not believe in, biodynamics requires Faith, or a firm belief in something for which there is no proof.* And I believe faith, at its core, is the original, most basic human tradition.

* How can I say there is "no proof" that these wines are "better" than their counterparts? There's too much that goes into winemaking for anyone part of the equation to be wholly responsible for the quality of the result.

I struggle to see why an 'either or' is constantly demanded during any such debate considering the past and the future. It is the marriage of the two that, for me, strikes the most relevant balance: where we are today. Do I believe in tradition when it comes to wine making? Absolutely. Do I believe in applying new techniques? Absolutely.

What's your perspective on tradition vs. science when it comes to wine?

just a little 'squeeze'!

A couple of Wednesdays ago we talked about minerality and I promised to return to the topic of acidity, in terms of why it may/may not really matter. To simplify things for you in an already busy world, here's a quick excerpt to refresh your memory re: the basics on acidity: If you smell a wine and your mouth waters, you are detecting acidity in the wine. If you take a sip and detect a bit of a tingling sensation on your tongue and/or the inside of your cheeks start to water, you’re also in the money. Acidity heightens the flavor of foods, or makes the wine more “food-friendly” (and also helps it age). This is a great thing, so long as the wine offers complementary amounts of fruit and tannin to balance the acidity present. This is also described as a wine where all the major components (acidity, fruit and tannin) are in balance. Too much acidity and you’ll experience a razor blade slicing through the center of your tongue. Not my idea of a good time….

Wait... what was that? Acidity actually heightens the flavors of foods? How can something sour be a good thing?!

Case in point: A couple of years ago I had the great pleasure of making a trip to Cyrpus, a small island in the Mediterranean. I had been to the south of Spain earlier in my life, but this trip really allowed me to experience the Mediterranean culture and cuisine because I was staying with my friend's family. I had a unique opportunity to enjoy the best homecooking and the freshest (of already fresh) fruits and vegetables. Because these ingredients were so juicy on their own, salad took on a whole new meaning. There was no need for even their amazing olive oil to dress it. A squeeze of lemon became our daily marinade - for EVERYTHING. The acidity in the lemon simply enhanced the flavors of the already lushiously delicious flavors of each dish. I live in a lemon-enhanced, dressing free universe to this day.

Remember when it comes to wine I also mentioned the major components of wine need to be in harmony. You want the red, white, pink or bubbly stuff to have enough fruit or other layers of flavors as well as enough dryness (tannin) to complement one another. If acidity is doing the right two-step in your glass, you'll be transported to a higher level of sensory experience, particularly where your food pairing is concerned.

How so? When you pair a wine with higher acidity with foods of a similar profile, the two produce a sweet result. Think of Italian fare and wine. Chianti (made largely from the Sangiovese grape) pairs well with red sauces or tangy cheeses like Fontina. Or think of that Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand paired with grilled veggies dressed in just a squirt of lemon juice. The veggies taste even sweeter and the wine loses some of that acidic bite it has on its own. I love rubbing a wedge of lemon on my corn on the cob, too. No need for butter at my table!

How does acidity play out in terms of various wines? Generally speaking, cooler climates producer crisper, more acidic wines. Think of the grapefruit flavors that often thrive in your glass of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand, for example. Certain grape varietals are also naturally high in acid. Through different processes (the specifics of which we'll save for another day) winemakers can manage acidity during winemaking. This is particularly important for grape varietals that are high in acid, like Sangiovese.

I admit I'm not knowledgeable about the physical or chemical science behind why acidity is such a flavor-enhancer. So if you're a science wiz or everyday food nerd who can give us the skinny, please comment below! Otherwise, I'm happy to just know from experience that there is only truth to this fabulous phenomenon.

What's your experience?

arts and crafts

I'm going to break with tradition today and start from the bottom up (i.e. with my question of the day): What do you do with your corks? I started out with a drawer, moved on to a fish bowl, supplemented with a giant, glass brandy snifter and - as of this weekend - have upgraded to a serious, 18" high, glass mason jar. When I started saving my corks several years ago, I saved them because I wanted to remember certain bottles of wine I quite enjoyed. Then it became a habit and all corks became part of my collection. Then when I was on the wine trail out west, my brother and I started asking for corks at the various wineries we visited. Once we even found a bag of them hidden somewhere and he proceeded to take handfuls of them off their hands and stuff them into my decent sized hand bag. That's when I knew I had crossed over.

Now that I'm in the industry professionally, I have the idea that I'll soon be equipped to make cool things with my corks. I have need for new trivets, for example. I also could use a 3" x 4" door mat, a message board, a serving tray, some coasters.... the list could go on endlessly. My challenge is two fold, however. First, I lack the creative genes my nieces are so lucky to have. When it comes to arts & crafts, I'm not at all endowed; (I even struggle with food presentation, which is a talent I really wish I had given my passion for food/entertaining). Second, I'm not yet at the point where I have enough corks (frighteningly) to make more than one item. A girl can only drink so much!

Peering around on-line here and there overtime, I've bookmarked some pretty cool cork art/stuff. Check out Fistera Studio to see how they managed the rug. Or pay a visit to Gabriel Wiese's website to see what he's managed! Furniture... who knew? The possibilities truly are endless for the creatively enabled. The only item I've ever managed was a cork wreath for my brother (same one referenced above), and it now hangs in his home wine cellar (I appreciate his priorities!). I wish I had a picture. That wreath is probably a foot in diameter and took me about 5 hours to put together using wire (wrapped around each cork) and two needlepoint hoops. My fingers were fairly raw afterwards from working the wire.

I'm not sure why I'm so happily obsessed with my corks. Perhaps it is because they are a dying tradition? Perhaps it is because they each have a story? I'm not going to over-think it, as I'm apt to do being a Virgo and all. Suffice to say, if you're in the Boston area and know of some cool places I can go to pick up a cork item or two, I'd appreciate your comments!

Oh, Canada!

larose-vineyard-canada

Hailing from the Southwest originally, my family was more likely to head across the border to Mexico for vacation than trek northward. And yet now that I'm living in Boston and the Canadian border is not terribly far away, I've never been. That's not to say I haven't heard of the wonderful wines they are producing - particularly their ice wine. Yes, note the operative words: "heard of". From what I understand, it's impossible to buy Canadian wines here in the US. I'm not sure if this is just wrapped up in legalities on either side of the border or if there just isn't enough wine to go around. Perhaps a little of both. Needless to say, it seems Canada is a sneaky, sleeping giant when it comes to wine. In the western most region of the country, British Columbia, they experience a climate much like our own Washington State. Lake Okanagan keeps winter freeze at bay and otherwise there are parts of BC that are so dry it could be considered a desert. The summer temperatures are much more reasonable than you might expect and, in fact, allow some great early-ripening grape varietals to thrive. Not to mention the fact the acidity in their wines are destined to be high - yea refreshing, clean, wines (think New Zealand)!

On the other side of the country Ontario is an ever up-and-coming region in itself. Ice wine (aka "liquid gold") is a guarantee every year. It is a semi-continental climate in those parts, with fantastic support (i.e. more temperate conditions) offered by the vast lakes in the region. Vines do surprisingly well, particularly those producing varietals like Riesling. Pinot Noir is considered a grape with great potential in the Price Edward county, where limestone soil is a natural partner for the Pinot family.

Why is Canada on my radar today, this News/Events/Trends Friday? Well, Wines & Vines reported this week the Canadians are banding together to get their wines ready for export. They don't produce much, but what they do produce is noteworthy. They are eager to become more of a player on the international wine stage. Check out the article to learn the latest first hand.

What's your knowledge of Canadian wines? Have you been so lucky to have a sip?

storing wine, a few tricks of the trade

A question I field at almost every tasting I conduct is... "how long can I 'save' my leftovers"? This is a great question and one I don't mind answering again and again because I keep learning new things through trial and error myself. I'll report on a couple of basics first and then give you a story from my recent experiences to provide a little perspective, too. 1. Always store leftovers in the fridge, red, white, pink or bubbly! The cold climate in your icebox helps the wine's components remain fresh and lively.

2. It's worth investing in a cheap-o Vacu-Vin pump. Yes, I said it. For a few dollars, you can pick up a plastic wine pump that will give your wine remarkable 'life' if combined with fridge time. It comes with a couple of bottle stoppers specifically designed to collaborate with the pump and suck the air out of your wine bottle. This prevents the wine from getting stale or, worse, completely oxidized (depending how many days it'll be hanging out with your milk carton).

NOTE: Bubbly requires a special champagne stopper; it has little arms that clamp down on the top of the bottle to prevent the cork from popping out. You will not be able to pump out the air of this bad boy (or you'd pump out the wine's bubbly mojo), but it will give you another day or so in the fridge.

CULINARY TIP: Left over champagne is particularly fabulous if you are cooking any kind of fish, shelfish or otherwise. Put a little bit of the bubbly in the skillet to sear your shrimp and you won't need an ounce of butter. I've done this even when the near-empty bottle has been in my fridge for weeks and had a good result. Give it a go!

The "experts" say that if you simply leave a bottle in the fridge with the cork tucked deeply in the neck (no pumping) you can drink the wine fairly reliably the next day. (White) wines that are higher in acidity (like Sauvigon Blanc) will hold up better and longer, too. (Red) wines with more tannin tend do better as well. Those components in wine act as the backbone of the wine and allow it to age (while in the bottle). Once open, those components help the wine 'stay together' or stay fresh and tasty, if you will.

My opinion is this - with pumping out your wine, you can do very well for several days if not weeks. No joke. It depends on the type of wine, of course. But I have found (mid-priced) well-made wines do surprisingly well. Case in point: late June I opened a bottle of Graham Beck's 2007 Gamekeeper's Reserve Cab. I only had a glass and a half or so and then pumped it out and fridged it, thinking I'd have company the next night to polish it off. Well, I ended up going out to dinner the next night. After that I had fish on the menu and opened a bottle of white, then it was the weekend and I was out again, etc. Eventually it was ten days later and I headed out of town for 4th of July for another week. Once home again I was in the mood for a glass of wine and remembered the Gamekeeper still in the fridge. I decided it was worth pouring into a glass and seeing what was what before just dumping it out and opening a new bottle. SUCCESS! The wine did remarkably well despite my neglect. The fruit was still full, the acidity intact and the dry tannins had mellowed a bit (bonus!). I was amazed - and thrilled - how well the wine held up after 2.5 weeks!

So let my little inadvertent experiment be a lesson to us all: don't relegate a wine to "cooking" or "dumping" status before you've given it a quick taste. You may be SOL, but then you're no worse off either, are you? Just make sure you give yourself half a chance and pump it out and get it on ice.

Have you had a wine life (longevity) surprise lately? What wine was it that held up beyond your expectations?

hidden treasure in a clear bottle with a green label...

Portugal as a wine-making country is just cool. First off, this little(ish) country west of Spain often gets recognition for its solid wines retailing for oh-so-delightfully low prices. Strangely, as the Euro creeps up and up, Portuguese daily sipping wine prices are staying pretty stable, too. Saude! Second, it sports the oldest appellation system in the world, with recognition for quality wine-producing in the Douro Valley beating France out by 200 years. Third, while everyone and their global brothers and sisters were trying to 'compete' with the French by cultivating native French varietals, Portugal stuck to its guns and continued to cultivate native varietals like Touriga Nacional (grape used in Port), Touriga Franca, Tinto Cao and Trincadeira, to name a few. Overtime the Portuguese wine-making community discovered many of its native varietals could be made into solid table wines, rather than just fortified, dessert wines. And here we are in 2008 benefiting left and right.... One of my go-to wines this summer is the 2007 Quinta da Alorna Arintho. Never heard of Arintho? Not to worry! You're in good company. And fortunately you have me here at Pour Favor to give you the skinny on this versatile, food-friendly, palate-loving white wine.

The 'experts' say (and I have a hard time not agreeing) Arintho is one of the varietals in Portugal with a large potential for the production of quality wine. The grape originates from Bucelas, not too far from the capitol city of Lisbon. The Quinta da Alorna take is made from 100% Arintho grapes, so you're getting as authentic an experience as you can, particularly if this is your first try of Arintho. The nose is immediately enticing. It delivers fresh and fruity flavors as soon as you dive in, too. It's tough to put your finger on, admittedly, but I always get pear, white peaches and wet stones. My fellow sipping companion last night picked out cantelope (I got noth'n on that one), grapefruit, and lychee fruit (good call). The palate is fairly weighty - perhaps best described as "creamy, citrus goodness" - with flavors of mineral, pink grapefruit and a touch of pear nectar.

Suffice to say, if you've been enjoying your Vinho Verde, dole out the extra $2 and give yourself a real Portuguese treat! Find yourself the Quinta da Alorna Arintho. And quickly. I'm liable to scour the city for every remaining bottle.

What's your Portuguese go-to white this summer?

beating the beantown broiler!

decorum-cartoon

It's gonna be a SCORCHER in the city this weekend! What better way to cool off than by tasting wines or, better yet, bringing home a bottle or two to enjoy sitting in front of your AC watching the game? (Yippee! Baseball is back!) This Friday I bring to you three spots around the city "tasting out" wines worth checking out. For those of you looking to get ahead of the game (no pun intended), note that two are on tap for tonight. Or, if you're like me and afraid your freckles might melt off should you head to the beach, plan to spend some time in Brookline on Saturday afternoon. Here's what I know (listed in order of tasting time):

Ball Square Fine Wines ~ Friday, July 18, 4:30p - 7:30p

Looks like Ball Sq is serving up a red (Petite Verdot) and white (Sauvignon Blanc) from Australia, care of Dee Bortoli; a cool, summer white blend from the Pacific Northwest; and a red Vin d'Pays (France). Survey says?? Cheers to that!

Bon Vivant Wine Company ~ Friday, July 18, 5p - 7p

Bon Vivant is tasting out Riesling this weekend. They write, "It is a great varietal for new wine drinkers to explore and expand their palate moving closer to the dry side. The two wines, Sohne Relax and Trimbach from Germany selected to taste this week are great values. Both of these wines have some residual sugar and go great with spicy foods." Prost!

Brookline Liquor Mart ~ Saturday, July 19, 1p - 5p

BLM is tasting out Wines of Italy on Saturday. They say, "Italy's varied wine regions and many grape varieties makes for some of the most interesting discoveries. Often we find great values!" I couldn't agree more!! They will be tasting out 10 different Italian vinos. They recommend getting there early "to avoid disappointment". Salute!

A few words on decorum. Wine tastings held at local stores are not invitations to get blitzed. Expect a small taste of each wine and feel free to ask the host/pourer about the wine itself - who makes it, what the varietal is, where in the world and how it was made, etc. Then take the time to think about what you are tasting. Give the wine a sniff to see if anything connects for you (does it smell like the leather of your baseball glove? fresh raspberries? citrus? butter? toast? etc.). When you take the first sip, let the wine swirl in your mouth a bit to let the flavors emerge, then savor it as you swallow. Think about how it finishes. Does it satisfy your palate? If not, why not?

You do NOT have to buy a bottle at these tasting. The idea is to allow customers to explore wines you may not pick up on your own, ask questions or peruse the store. Tastings present a fabulous opportunity to see if the store provides adequate customer service, is well-organized/laid out, clean and whether it offers unique or boutique wines. If I offered 2 solid 'rules of engagement' for these kinds of tastings they would be: 1) Be respectful & 2) Have fun with it!

What other shop tastings do you know of this weekend? Do you plan to attend one?

what in the world does "minerality" mean?

When I first started actually tasting what wine was in my glass - you know, the 5 S's: see, swirl, sniff, savor, swallow - I had a really hard time discerning when a wine offered minerality and when it just had nice acidity. To my beginner palate, the mouthwatering juices in my mouth were one in the same with a wine with a little 'bite', if you will. I found I struggled with this concept when tasting white wines more often than reds. Many whites offer crisp, citrusy flavors. I associated this crispness with minerality. But when I really got the hang of tasting - whites and reds alike - I was able to disassociate the two, or detect each of these components separately, should they be evident in the wine. Let's start with acidity. If you smell a wine and your mouth waters, you are detecting acidity in the wine. If you take a sip and detect a bit of a tingling sensation on your tongue and/or the inside of your cheeks start to water, you're also in the money. Acidity heightens the flavor of foods, or makes the wine more "food-friendly" (and also helps it age). This is a great thing, so long as the wine offers complementary amounts of fruit and tannin to balance the acidity present. This is also described as a wine where all the major components (acidity, fruit and tannin) are in balance. Too much acidity and you'll experience a razor blade slicing through the center of your tongue. Not my idea of a good time....

Now on to the more challenging of the two: minerality. When I think of minerality in wine, I think of it falling into two camps. My preferred of the two is wet stones, you know, like when you are out on a hike and you can almost taste the wet rocks leading up to the waterfall. (Or if you were more adventurous as a kid, just remember actually licking the stone.) Otherwise, minerality for me is more like seltzer water where there is that extra bit of salinity lingering on the midpalate or finish. I know others who associate minerality with chalk dust that floated from the teacher's chalkboard back in grade school; in that case you'd be experiencing more of a clean, dusty, earthy kind of minerality thing going on. It's all good.

Why does minerality matter (we'll save the same conversation on acidity for another day)? It doesn't really, I suppose. It's essentially just another term to pick apart all the fun things that could be going on in your glass with any given pour. To me it's one particular wine term that comes up more often in the summer months, when you're sitting on your porch drinking some truly fabulous whites, like those from the Loire Valley in France (think Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc), for example).

What does "minerality", one of the wine world's most elusive flavor concepts, mean to you?

recreating "the moment"...

You are sitting at a little table in Provence. You have found a quaint cafe, where a small bowl of salted almonds is at the ready before you even have a chance to ask for a glass of water or rose to quench your thirst on a hot day. You quickly find you and your partner are nibbling on local fare - the cafe's own tapenade and a bit of bread seemed like a good starting place - while you wait for your Nicoise salad to arrive. The St. Andre de Figuerire Vielles Vines rose is taking the edge off, too. Ahh... not too shabby. No, better than shabby. "Now, THIS is summer luv'n", you think! Your journal reflects the experience perfectly - even the name of the wine you were drinking... is it possible to have such sensual, tasty goodness at your fingertips again? Once home, you call your local shop and discover they - somewhat shockingly - can get the St. Andre rose you had at that little cafe. Success! The wine buyer agrees to purchase a case for you, just in time to spend the remaining weeks of the summer with your feet up on your own porch patio after a long, hard day back in the daily grind, drinking through that lovely case. And it's guilt-free drinking too, as you know the 2007 rose won't last 'til next year - and who knows what next year's batch will bring?! No need to save it - you're more than willing to dive right on in.

A couple of weeks later you pick up your much-anticipated case. You quickly return home to prepare a bouillabaisse and whip together a little appetizer of pan bagna so you and your honey can snack a bit sipping on your St. Andre and reminiscing about Provence before you dive into the main course. The wine is already chilled and you pour two glasses enthusiastically. The evening is warm, the bugs aren't biting and the tapenade is one of your best concoctions yet. Plus, you've both had fairly easy workdays and even made it to the gym.

The wine - and moment - is pretty fabulous; and yet somehow it isn't quite as mind-blowing as what you had remembered. What the !@#?$???

The last time I had a wine I loved during a memorable occasion was the last game of the 2007 (Boston Red Sox) World Series. We were drinking the Winner's Tank Shiraz. I'll never forget it. First, it was darn good wine that paired well with our homemade pizza; and second, we won (again)!! And yet I haven't been able to pick up that bottle of Shiraz again. I'm afraid it just won't be quite the same...

When's the last time you savored a bottle and dared to try it again, or couldn't quite bring yourself to do so? For all of you hanging out on the Pour Favor blog sidelines, this is your moment to "dish"! ;)