Amarone
della Valpolicella
Amarone della Valpolicella,
or Amarone for short, is created in the Venitian
region of Italy. Originally there was only one
legal region for the Valpolicella name. These
wines are made with the Corvina Veronese,
Molinara & Rondinella grapes. Two sub-groups
emerged, though - recioto, which is a sweet
dessert wine, & amarone, which is a dry red wine
with great body.
Both amarone and recioto are
made with grapes that have been dried on racks
which brings out their flavors. In 1991 these
two were granted their own DOCs. The land area
encompassed by these three DOCs is the same, but
the types of wine are quite different.
Amarone is the 4th biggest
seller in Italy, right behind Chianti, Asti, and
Soave. This fine wine has flavors of licorice,
fig & tobacco. Hannibal of Silence of the Lambs
fame, of course, had his with fava beans. In the
movie version, they had him drinking the more
pedestrian chianti wine type. While some styles
of amarone can be very bitter (that's where the
name comes from), new styles are fruitier.
Amarone can be consumed
young, while still a ruby purple colour, but
they also age magnificently to a dark garnet for
thirty years or more. A typical drinking age is
10 years.
Serving Temperature:
Amarone should be served around 60 F.
Pairings: Pairs well
with full-bodied foods like game or cheese.
Summary: Full-bodied,
red wine, high acid with raisin-like fruit.
Bordeaux
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France.
Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine a year up
to 900 million The wine can range from large quantities of everyday table
wine to some of the most expensive & prestigious wines in the world. 88% of
wine produced in Bordeaux is red (usually referred to as claret), with
notable sweet white wines such as Chateau d'Yquem, dry whites, rosé &
sparkling wines (Crémant de Bordeaux) all making up the remainder. Bordeaux
wine is made by 10,000 producers or châteaux from the grapes of 13,000 grape
growers. There are 57 appellations of Bordeaux wine.
When people simply say " Bordeaux wine", they usually mean the classic red
blend. The red Bordeaux is created with Cabernet Sauvignon, which is often
blended with Cabernet Franc & Merlot. The color tends to be a ruby/garnet
shade. The flavor is typically light, with blackberry, black fruits, wood, &
other notes. Classic Bordeaux is said to smell a bit like a cigar box.
Graves, the dry whites, are
made by blending mostly Sauvignon Blanc with a
small amount of Sauvignon Gris. Sauternes, the
sweeter whites, are made with Sémillon,
Sauvignon & a drop of Muscadelle.
Cabernet
Sauvignon (Or Cabernet)
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine
grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country
among a diverse spectrum of climates from Lebanon's Beqaa Valley to Canada's
Okanagan Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognized
through its prominence in Bordeaux wines where it is often blended with
Merlot and Cabernet franc. From France, the grape spreads across Europe &
eventually to the New World where it found new homes in places like
California's Napa Valley, Australia's Coonawarra region & Chile's Maipo
Valley. For most of the 20th century, it was the world's most widely planted
premium red wine grape until it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990s.
Despite its prominence in the industry, the grape is a relatively new
variety, the product of a chance crossing between Cabernet franc and
Sauvignon blanc during the 17th century in southwestern France. Its
popularity is often attributed to its ease of cultivation - the grapes have
thick skins and the vines are hardy and resistant to rot and frost - and to
its consistent presentation of structure & flavours which express the
typical character ("typicity") of the variety. Familiarity and ease of
pronunciation have helped to sell Cabernet Sauvignon wines to consumers,
even when from unfamiliar wine regions. Its widespread popularity has also
contributed to criticism of the grape as a "colonizer" that takes over wine
regions at the expense of native grape varieties.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the name of both the grape & the wine it
produces. Cabernet is known as one of the world's finest red wines, with its
depth of complexity and richness of flavour. Other names for this grape and
wine are Petit Cabernet, Petit Verdot, & in Italy, Uva Francese.
Serving Temperature:
Pairings: Cabernet goes well with beef, lamb and goose, especially when
cooked with herbs. It also is a great match for brie, cheddar cheese and
chocolate.
Summary: Full-bodied, tannic red wine with rich but austere fruit and
excellent acid-tannin balance.
Chardonnay
The Chardonnay grape is
thought to have originated in Lebanon and in
France Chardonnay became the only grape allowed
to be grown in Chablis, Burgundy.
These white Burgundy wines
were well enjoyed, and the grape is also used in
sparkling wines and Champagne.
Chardonnay really hit its
prime when it was grown in California, however.
Its popularity has grown immensely in the past
forty years, to where it is now the most popular
white wine available. Winemakers love Chardonnay
because the vines are easy to grow, and have a
high yield. Wine drinkers love Chardonnay
because of the wide variety of flavors it can
take on.
Depending on where it's grown
and how it's fermented, Chardonnay can taste
semi-sweet or sour, heady or light. Typical
flavors are apple, tangerine, lemon, lime,
melon, and oak. Also, Chardonnay is not a "rich
man's drink". A surprisingly good chardonnay
does not cost a-lot of money.
In addition to California &
Burgundy, Chardonnays are also grown in quantity
in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Cool-climate Chardonnays get longer growing
times, & often end up with subtle overtones.
Warm-climate Chardonnays, on the other hand,
become more flavorful & full tasting.
Most chardonnays are meant to
be drunk immediately, but some can age for 5-10
years or more.
Serving Temperature:
Chardonnay should be served at 48F.
Pairings: Chardonnay
is usually dry, and goes best with poultry or
seafood, like lobster or scallops. Good cheeses
for Chardonnay include Gruyere, Provolone, and
Brie. It can even go well with a light red meat
dish.
Chianti (Red Wine)
Chianti [Pronounced kee-ahn-tee] is a famous red wine of Italy, which takes
its name from a traditional region of Tuscany where it is produced. It used
to be easily identified by its squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket,
called fiasco ("flask"; pl. fiaschi); however, the fiasco is only used by a
few makers of the wine now; most Chianti is bottled in traditionally shaped
wine bottles. Low-end Chianti is fairly inexpensive. More sophisticated
Chiantis, however, are made & sold at substantially higher prices.
Chianti was first identified as a type in the 13th century. Its primary red
grapes are Sangiovese and Canaiolo, while the main whites are are Trebbiano
and Malvasia. There are now seven Chianti zones, defined by the Dalmasso
Commission in 1932: Chianti Classico / Chianti Montalbano / Chianti Colli
Fiorentini (Florentine hills)
/ Chianti Rufini / Colli Senesi ( Siena hills) / Colline Pisane (Pisan
hills) / Colli Aretini ( Arezzo hills)
These demarcations are not
quite as well done as the similar ones in
France. The Classico, for example, was initially
set by edict in 1716. With the expansion in
1932, they were pushed to include inferior
vineyards, & suffered as a consequence.
Other areas were expanded in a more logical
manner. It is still wisest to learn about the
actual winery the Chianti comes from, instead of
relying solely on the zone the wine comes from.
Chianti is a red wine, strong
& bold. It goes well with well-seasoned foods.
Current marketing of the Chianti name includes a
"Black Rooster" emblem - wineries in the Chianti
Classico have started using this rooster to
build regional recognition for their wines.
Chianti should be served at 59F (Cellar or Room
Temperature) and is good for up to 10 years, for
a good variety.
Gewurztraminer
Gewürztraminer is an aromatic
wine grape variety that performs best in cooler
climates. It is sometimes referred to
colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is
written Gewurztraminer (without the umlaut).
Gewürztraminer is a variety with a pink to red
skin colour, which makes it a "white wine grape"
as opposed to the blue- to black-skinned
varieties commonly referred to as "red wine
grapes". The variety has high natural sugar and
the wines are white and usually off-dry, with a
flamboyant bouquet of lychees. Indeed,
Gewürztraminer and lychees share the same
odorant compounds. Dry Gewürztraminers may also
have aromas of roses, passion fruit and floral
notes. It is not uncommon to notice some spritz
(fine bubbles on the inside of the glass).
Its aromatic flavours make Gewürztraminer one of
the few wines that are suitable for drinking
with Asian cuisine.
Serving Temperature:
Pairings: It goes well with
Hirtenkase, Munster cheese, and fleshy, fatty
(oily) wild game. Smoked salmon is a
particularly good match.
Merlot
Merlot is the name of a red
grape which traces its ancestry to the "biturica
variety". This was brought to France in the
first century. From this stock came many of the
varieties we know today - Cabernet, Malbec, and
so on. The "Merlot" grape was not named as a
distinct variety until the 1800s. It is known as
a Noble Bordeaux varietal.
Merlot is not well suited for
long aging, so until recently the wine made from
merlot grapes was used solely as a blending
wine. Soft and compliant, it was used to mix
with Cabernet in the French Bordeaux wines. It
would bring a more mellow aspect to these wines.
Recently, merlot has been
discovered as a delicious wine in its own right.
It is being grown for that purpose primarily in
California and Chile, and in a few other wine
regions. It tends to be more tolerant of soil
conditions than a Cabernet vine is and buds and
can be harvested earlier.
Not quite as harsh as some
other reds, merlot has less tannin than a
Cabernet and can therefore be drunk earlier. It
is mellow but still complex, a bit chewy. Merlot
is known for the flavors of plums, black cherry,
violets, and orange.
Serving Temperature:
Merlot should be served at 64F.
Pairings: It is a
perfect match for beef and other medium-heavy
dishes. Try some with a rich, red pasta dish, or
even a heavy chicken dish. Merlot is also an
excellent compliment to chocolate.
Summary:
Medium-bodied, deep red wine with luscious, full
flavor.
Montepulciano (Red Wine)
Montepulciano is the name of
a red grape that is planted in central Italy. It
is grown in in the province of Siena in southern
Tuscany, (Italy), but it is most widely known
for its use in Abruzzi. Here it is used to
create Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, which is an
inexpensive but tasty red wine. The name
Montepulciano comes from a medieval and
Renaissance hill town.
Montepulciano is best served
around 60F and goes well with red sauce dishes.
Petite
Sirah (Red Wine)
The petite sirah grape
creates a rich red wine. The petite sirah grape
is separate from the sirah/shiraz grape even
though the names are similar. The petite sirah
grape is descended from the Durif Rhone grape of
France. For most of its history, petite sirah
was only used to blend into other wines. The
grape gained a lot of attention in the 1970s
because of the general red wine push, and
because of its full, tannic taste.
Petite Sirah is predominantly
planted in California, where it does well.
Petites are anything but petite - they tend to
be big, strong, muscular, and purple.
California and Australia are
now the two leading producers of Durif grapes.
The grape can also be found in Israel, Brazil,
Argentina, Chile, and Mexico.
Typical flavors include plum,
raspberry, blackberries, & black pepper. The
wine tends to go well with stronger meats like
game, beef, lamb, & spicy sauces. Petite Sirah
can be drunk fresh from the bottle or aged for a
slightly mellower flavor - its high tannin
content makes long aging worthwhile. It should
be served at around 59F.
Pinot
Gris & Pinot Grigio
Pinot gris is white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera.
Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a
grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name ("gris" meaning "grey" in
French) but the grape can have a brownish pink to black & even white
appearance. The word "Pinot", which means "pinecone" in French, could have
been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters.
The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden
yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink. The clone of Pinot gris
grown in Italy is known as Pinot grigio. In Italy and California this wine
is known as pinot grigio, while in Oregon and France it's known as pinot
gris.
Most pinot grigio wines are
created in Italy. The Italian version of pinot
grigio is typically dry (not sweet) and light,
with a mineral taste to it. Californian variants
of pinot grigio tend to be richer in flavor, but
still have the mineral taste. Often, they finish
with a citrusy or lemony flavor.
French pinot gris wines tend
to come from the Alsace region. These are more
fruity and flowery than their Italian
counterparts but they still have that mineral
aroma. Flavors can range from grapefruit
to peach melon.
Serving Temperature:
It should be served at 48F.
Pairings: Pinot grigio
pairs well with light dishes that are still on
the "thick" side such as chicken in a rich white
sauce. Pinot Grigio is a white wine, but it is
able to hold its own against richer flavors.
Summary: Light bodied
white wine, gently aromatic with palate
cleansing fruit acid.
Pinot
Noir (Red Wine)
Pinot Noir is a light red
coloured wine (but can range in color from
cherry red to purple-red & even brown as the
wine ages) first planted by the Gauls before the
Roman invasion. By 150 BC there were vineyards
in France growing this fine grape. The pinot
noir grape is the main grape used in much of
Burgundy. It is used for Red Sancerre wine. Some
experts feel that pinot noir makes the finest
wine in the world.
It was only recently, in the
early 1990s, that pinot noir began to be grown
in quantity in California, Oregon, Australia &
New Zealand. Pinot Noir grows best in cool
climates. It is known as an extremely difficult
grape to grow & to make into wine.
Typical flavors include
earth, leather, vanilla (from the oak barrels),
jam and more. the fruity flavors of the jam
often taste like raspberry, strawberry, and
plum.
While some pinot noirs are
meant to be drunk immediately, a fine pinot noir
can easily age for 10+ years.
Serving Temperature:
It should be served at around 61F.
Pairings: Pinot Noirs
go well with pasta with red sauce, or lighter
beef dishes.
Summary: Medium-bodied
red wine with berry fruitiness and earthiness.
Sauvignon
Blanc
Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the
Bordeaux region of France. The grape gets its name from the French word
sauvage ("wild") and blanc ("white") due to its early origins as an
indigenous grape in South West France. It is now planted in many of the
world's wine regions, producing a crisp, dry, and refreshing white varietal
wine. Conversely, the grape is also a component of the famous dessert wines
from Sauternes & Barsac. Sauvignon blanc is widely cultivated in France New
Zealand, Australia, South Africa, California, and South America.
Depending on the climate, the flavor can range from sweetly tropical to
aggressively grassy . Sauvignon Blanc has pronounced flavors of a herbal
variety, with grassy and apple flavors, plus olive and a soft, smoky flavor.
They can be anything from sweet to dry, but are typically very light.
Sauvignon blancs tend to be crisp and acidic, helping the wine cut through
heavy food flavors. It pairs well with thick sauces and stews.
Wine experts have used the phrase "crisp, elegant, & fresh" as a favorable
description of Sauvignon blanc from the Loire Valley & New Zealand.
Sauvignon blanc, when slightly chilled, go's well with fish or cheese. It is
also known as one of the few wines that can go well with sushi. It also
pairs well with thick sauces & stews. Sauvignon blancs tend to be
crisp and acidic, helping the wine cut through heavy food flavors.
Along with Riesling, Sauvignon blanc was one of the first fine wines to be
bottled with a screw cap in commercial quantities, especially by New Zealand
producers. The wine is usually consumed young, as it does not particularly
benefit from aging.
Dry and sweet white Bordeaux, typically made with Sauvignon blanc as a major
component, is the one exception.
Serving Temperature: Sauvignon blanc should be served at around 52F
and should be drunk within a few years.
Pairings: Serve with light herbal and/or tangy foods to complement or
contrast with slight oiliness, richness or delicate creaminess.
Shiraz
and Syrah
Shiraz and Syrah are both
names for the same red wine grape. This grape is
NOT the same as Petit Sirah, a different red
wine grape grown mostly in California.
The Shiraz / Syrah grape is
called Syrah in the US, France and many other
countries. In Australia it is called Shiraz,
where it is considered the finest red wine grown
there. Shiraz is certainly the most widely
planted red grape in Australia. Now that Shiraz
has become well known & very popular, some
wineries in the US who are making an "Australian
style wine" with this grape are calling their
wines Shiraz as well.
The Shiraz grape was once
thought to have originated in Persia, but recent
research indicates the grape is a native of the
Rhone valley in France. It is best known for its
usage in Hermitage, in the Rhone valley. The
grape creates a heavy red wine that has recently
fallen out of flavor with many wine lovers.
Shiraz is known for its spicy
blackberry, peppery and plum flavors. There can
often be additional notes of licorice, bitter
chocolate & mocha. Shiraz is even affected by
growing temperature - warmer climates bring out
the mellower flavors of plum, while cooler
temperatures spice up the wine.
The grape is also known under many other synonyms that are used in various
parts of the world including Antourenein Noir, Balsamina, Candive,
Entournerein, Hignin Noir, Marsanne Noir, Schiras, Sirac, Syra, Syrac,
Serine, and Sereine.
Serving Temperature:
Pairings:
Soave:
Pronounced SWAH-vay is a dry white wine from the Veneto region in northeast
Italy, principally around the city of Verona. It is one of 41 Italian
Denominaziones di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) as of August, 2008.
Garganega is the designation’s principal grape variety, and over the
centuries it has found an ideal habitat.
It's designed to be drunk a year or two after
the vintage. It is a user-friendly white, which
offers good value for money: a wine from which
one expects neither complexity nor ageing
potential but rather a clean fragrance and an
appealing freshness and delicacy. It is vinified
in stainless steel, a method which allows the
wine's attractive floral and fruity notes to
express themselves fully.
Valpolicella
The red wine known as Valpolicella is typically made from three grape
varietals: Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara.
