A chef is truly the "creator" of a dish by sourcing many individual ingredients, skillfully blending them together with great expertise to fashion a culinary delight that up to that moment may have only resided in his imagination.
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The implication of wine etiquette can be observed in many situations that all have simple, informal and common sense alternatives.
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Last week the wine community lost a beloved icon and I lost a dear friend of 44 years. Miljenko “Mike” Grgich passed away peacefully at his Calistoga (Napa Valley) home surrounded by family on December 13.
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Wine preservation systems that rely on pumping the air (unavoidably, along with the aromatics) out of a leftover bottle through a rubber stopper to avoid oxidation, often leaving the remaining wine flat and without character.
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So, how do we distinguish between what is commonly referred to as a "blend" and what is more specifically called a "field blend?"
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A bit of history here. Sauvignon Blanc (aka its “nickname” Sauvignon) originated in the Loire Valley in the early 16th Century, but through state-of-the-art genetic research only one-half of its parentage (Savagnin from France’s Jura region) is known.
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Most of the wines we enjoy during our holiday celebrations trace their ancestry to often remote Old World growing areas but are readily available in local markets with most at affordable prices.
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To commemorate Mike’s 100th birthday earlier this year, his daughter Violet (President and CEO) and nephew Ivo Jeramaz (Winemaker/V.P. of Vineyards and Production), along with their Grgich Hills Estate team planned several intimate celebratory events in late spring.
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Calafia is now entering its 45th vintage and the basic tenets of varietal character, sense-of-place and Bordeaux-style blends remain the cornerstone of the brand.
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Portugal is home to diverse vineyard locations and second only to Italy with the number of indigenous varieties grown.
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Starting our adventure in Spain, we first visited Barcelona and the Catalan region with its surrounding wine country of Corpinnat in the Penedès to the northwest and Priorat in the steep slate hillsides to the southwest of the city.
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For centuries tasting notes have been intended to convey the quality and character of a wine in terms that are accessible to the reader and offer guidance about what to expect when sampling the wine.
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A bit of a chill for the lighter bodied reds such as Beaujolais and Dolcetto is definitely in order and stays true to their indigenous roots.
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But the ultimate impression of the wine is yours to determine regardless of price or the often meaningless numerical scores a particular wine may have garnered.
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White wines offer us some of the most varietally characteristic and versatile choices found anywhere in the vinous world.
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Verona was in fact founded by the Romans in the 1st Century BCE and later became part of the Republic of Venice from the 15th to 18th Centuries. Today, Verona is tied with Florence as number three in Italy’s most popular tourist destinations.
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Properly aging select wines for years or decades can be truly rewarding, although some may have gone past their prime leaving the collector wishing the cork had been pulled a few years earlier. So, how can we determine which young wines will benefit from extended time in the bottle and when to pop the cork?
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It seems like every year, as January 1st approaches, I resolve to dig deep in the cellar and pull some treasured “oldies” to enjoy and share with others in the New Year.
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