A Featured Wine Writer Article

The next Shiraz, varietal wines for Australia

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

But Shiraz has not always held such a hold over the market. Until the mid nineties Cabernet Sauvignon was regarded as the superior variety and this was reflected in the prices paid at the cellar door. But the demand for exports has been mainly for Australian Shiraz and Cabernet has lost ground in the battle for consumer preference in Australia as well.

Shiraz's reign at the top of the tree really started in the middle of the 1950s when it replaced Grenache as the most popular red winegrape variety. In those days a much larger proportion of the wine market was devoted to fortified wine, what we used to call Port.

Looking into the future the role of Shiraz seems unassailable, but there are a few challengers on the horizon. The wine consumer is a fickle creature and fashions can change fairly quickly.

Merlot is the third most popular red winegrape variety in Australia. Much of the production goes into blends with Cabernet Sauvignon, reflecting its major role in Bordeaux. There are quite a few varietal merlots also produced. There are two reasons for thinking that Merlot won't displace Shiraz as our major tipple. Firstly there are viticultural problems relating to poor clones and it performs poorly in cooler regions. Secondly at the consumer end the wine often lacks a distinctive varietal character. There seems to be no consensus among winemakers about what a good merlot should be like. Meanwhile consumers think of Merlot as meaning mellow. It is hard to find any passion, for or against, this variety.

Another contender is Grenache. This variety is widely planted in South Australia, particularly in the Barossa and McLaren Vale regions. In the 1980s it was subject to government sponsored vine pull schemes in the belief that its days were over. Its star is on the rise again both as a varietal and as the key to blends with Shiraz and Morvedre. Notwithstanding this recent return to favour, Grenache will not seriously challenge Shiraz because of its need for a relatively warm climate.

Sangiovese is a variety with a large and growing fan club. There are now over a hundred winemakers using this variety. One factor which has held the variety back in the past has been clonal variation, this has been overcome by careful selection by vine nurseries. Over the past few years a significant number of producers have been able to show just what the variety is capable of. The wines show plum and cherry flavours and to my mind these flavours as well as the Italian wine textures will mean that the bandwagon for this variety will keep rolling for quite a while. The number of winemakers and consumers in Australia with an Italian background continues to provide plenty of champions for the variety.

Spain's answer to Sangiovese is Tempranillo. It is growing in popularity in many Australian wine regions. To a large extent the jury is still as many of the plantings are still quite new. Among the champions of the variety are James Halliday and Mark Walpole of Brown Brothers. Tempranillo matures a little earlier than Shiraz or Sangiovese so it can be grown in slightly cooler regions, Indeed Manton Creek Vineyard in the Mornington Peninsula is one of the more highly regarded producers.

The Durif variety is regarded as a warm climate variety, indeed it seemed as though Rutherglen held a monopoly on the variety. But in fact is relatively early ripening, as demonstrated by John Vale at Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula. The outstanding feature of Durif is the high level of tannins, but if these can be mastered then

There are a few other varieties attracting attention which will figure in the mix over the next decade or so. Petit verdot is becoming much more popular in the warmer areas. It was pioneered in Australia by Pirramirra in McLaren Vale but it is now grown extensively in the Murray Darling and Riverina.

Barbera and Nebbiolo are the two other Italian varieties which are highly regarded in Australia. Lagrein is a little known Italian variety, in fact it is from the North East of Italy. It is an early ripening variety and as such can be grown in the cooler climates. Cobaw Ridge in the Macedon Ranges region has a wonderful Lagrein.

So what is the verdict? Which red winegrape variety will be the next Shiraz? It seems to be a contest between Sangiovese and Tempranillo, with both camps having some firm adherents. My money at this stage goes with Sangiovese, it has the runs on the board.

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The next Shiraz, varietal wines for Australia


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Headlines on Wine Writer

An evening of wine and cheese (The Star)

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:09:03 PDT
IN AN effort to promote European food products, the EU Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUMCCI), in collaboration with the European Bilateral Chambers of Commerce and Business Councils, hosted the annual European Wine, Beer and Cheese Fest on Tuesday.

The Wine List (The Post and Courier)

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:06:22 PDT
Tastings AMUSE: 1720 Sam Rittenberg Blvd., West Ashley. Flights 5-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. $5. Call 573-8778. Avondale Wine & Cheese: 813B Savannah Highway, West Ashley. 769-5444. 5-7 p.m., $5. Carpentier's: 976 Houston Northcutt Blvd. 884-9386.

Nascent Receives Certification by the California Milk Advisory Board for Cheese Products (Centre Daily Times)

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:31:01 PDT
Nascent Wine Company, Inc. (OTCBB: NCTW), dba Nascent Foodservice, Inc., the only nationwide distributor of imported products in Mexico, announced today that it has received certification by the California Milk Advisory Board for its cut and wrap cheese products.

The Cheese Course: (The Capital)

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:13:35 PDT
Le Poteaupré, a washed-rind cheese from Belgium, is soft and creamy with an aroma hinting of toasted hazelnuts. "Stinky" is not an adjective I like to use when describing washed-rind cheeses, even though the smell of them has been likened to everything from dirty gym socks to rotten eggs.

Valley Vineyards sets events to celebrate Ohio Wine Month (The Pulse-Journal)

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:12:37 PDT
Valley Vineyards in Morrow is kicking off June — Ohio Wine Month — by hosting events to celebrate their trade.

Holy Cow Chardonnay - I got a soft spot, dang it!

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:29:52 PDT
"Holy Cow, is this bad. But a good back up for fondue-making if you would rather spend $12 to boil your wine and put cheese in it."


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Today's Spanish Wine Article

Virginia Wine Tasting

Living the Good Life
By Jim Bogaty- Owner Veramar Vineyard

In Virginia winery tasting rooms, learn how to taste wine

A wine tasting tutorial
Do you think people who visit winery-tasting rooms know a lot about wine? Well some do, but most don't. No matter, that's not a hindrance to enjoying wine. The local wine establishments welcome you to visit their tasting rooms. Go out to the winery and meet the winemakers. DO NOT fear visiting a winery. The winery wants you to taste their wine and if they are good, they will do everything they can to make you feel comfortable in their tasting room. Hospitality is everything.

Few things are more intimidating than wine tasting. You may feel that you lack the knowledge and experience to properly taste wines. First thing that any wine taster should do is relax! This is a very personal experience. There are few absolutes in wine tasting or few "right" or "wrong" perceptions. The ultimate evaluation of any wine is Do you like it! Remember, wine is supposed to be fun.

Here's how it goes at most Virginia local winery tasting rooms: The visitor settles in. A small amount of wine is poured - usually a series of whites to start, then a series of reds. Dry wines to begin, then sweeter wines to finish. For the most part, whites are light and easier to taste. Reds tend to have more complex, heavier flavors; you don't want to overwhelm your taste buds by tasting them first. Drink some water or have a cracker after tasting a wine to cleans your palate in order to better appreciate the next wine.

How do I taste wines? Its as simple as 1-2-3.

There are three aspects to tasting any wine. 1 Color- 2 Smell - 3 Taste

First color
First step is to look at the wine in the wine glass. OBSERVE color and clarity. Wines should be clear rather than hazy. When you look at a wine it is important to take your time. Disregard everything you have seen in commercials and movies, 99.9% of that is wrong. Lighting is important, because you cannot observe the colors of a wine in a dark room. Bright sunlight is best. Set the glass on the tasting bar on a white napkin. Do not hold your glass up and look from underneath. The colors behind the glass will influence your impression of the wine's color. Look down at a slight angle into the wine glass. Note the subtle colors. Is it a ruby red? A plum red? Is it a pale straw gold color? Does it have hints of green? Taking time to really look at your wine will enhance your pleasure. Wine color is affected most by: the age of the wine, grape variety, whether or not the wine spent time in oak. White wines vary from clear to deep golden brown, and gain color as they age. Red wines range from ruby to brick. As they age, they lose color and begin to brown. Also, observe the body of the wine by the way it coats the sides of the glass. If the "legs" trickle down slowly, it has more body. If it falls down in sheets, it has less body.

Second smell
The second step is to swirl the wine in the wine glass. Swirling the wine increases the surface area exposure to the air and helps release the wine's bouquet or aroma.
What is the very first thing you think of when you smell a wine? Sniffing the wine from the glass will release smells which can be described as Fruity, Savoury, Dairy, Nutty, Spicy, Mineral, Sugary, Woody, Floral, Herbal.Younger wines have a fruity bouquet whereas older wines tend to have a savoury and spicy bouquet. While different people will smell different things in the same wine, there are characteristic smells generally found in specific varieties. Be sure to smell the wine several times. A wine with great complexity will offer different aromas each time, as well as several scents at one time. There are hundreds of smells in wine!

"Off smells" include:
Sherry - the wine has oxidized from age or improper storage.
Vinegar - the wine contains excessive acetic acid.
Cork/Mustiness - a defective or inferior cork has affected the wine.
Sulfur - the wine contains excessive sulfur dioxide.

And third the Taste
The final step in tasting is to actually take a sip of the wine and swirl it in your mouth. Different parts of the tongue register different tastes. Roll the wine across your taste buds, keeping in mind that a balance of the following characteristic is ideal:

Body - Fullness or thinness. A function of both alcohol and glycerols.

Fruitiness - Intensity is a function of the variety, growing conditions and winemaking techniques.

Sweetness is tasted at the tip of the tongue. The wine can be medium, dry or sweet. - Comes from the wine's fruit flavors as well as any fermented grape sugars left in the wine. If there is no perceived sweetness, a wine is "dry".

Acidity is tasted on the sides of the tongue. White wines have more acidity than red wines. Acidity provides tartness to the wine. Gives the wine crispness and freshness, without which the wine is flat and sour.

Tannin is tasted at the back of the tongue and tastes bitter like a strong cup of tea that makes your mouth fur up (that slight 'pucker feeling'.) - The bitterness you taste comes from grape skins and seeds. It is essential to the finish of a wine. Most obvious in reds.

Alcohol is sensed at the back of the throat and gives a warming sensation. The higher the level of sugar in the grapes before fermentation, the higher potential alcohol the wine will have.

After swallowing, notice the aftertaste. EVALUATE THE FINISH - Savoring. Concentrate on the wine's finish (the sensation and flavors left in your mouth after swallowing. Did you like it? Why or why not? What did you notice about the body? How long did the impression/flavor linger? How long does the wine stay in your mouth? Finish is a term that describes the length of time you can taste the wine once you have swallowed. A crisp, clean and lingering finish is a mark of a good wine.

So please go visit the local tasting rooms at the wineries. Here are some for wineries for you to try; Veramar Vineyard www.veramar.com, Piedmont, North Mountain or Breaux. Visit Virginia Wine Country on the web at http://www.virginiawine.org for a complete listing of Virginia wineries.

There you go and there you have it. Go to a local winery tasting room so you can continue your journey in the world of wine with a better understanding of how to taste wine.

.

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Virginia Wine Tasting


Living the Good LifeBy Jim Bogaty- Owner Veramar Vineyard In Virginia winery tasting rooms, learn how to taste wineA wine tasting tutorialDo you think...


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