The Corkdork - Wine and Food Musing

WBW #24 - yes, that's 2 years - announced - Loire Whites

Alder, the blogger that inspires us all, and, BTW, is a helluva nice guy, is hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday #24. It's been an amazing 2 years since Lenn at Lenndevours cooked up this idea of us all picking a bottle of a particular theme and writing about it on one particular Wednesday.

His choice, is the Loire. Land of some of a couple of those grapes that California has both elevated and abused, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. For those who think Chenin Blanc is one of those Gallo-only sweet abominations, you need to get yourself to Savennières and experience the mineral-laden, sophisticated, surprises that the Chenin Blanc grape is capable of. More proof of why the early days of California wine making were all about trying to capture the magic of their French favorites, but were burdened by different soil, and a different side of the sun.

So seek out something you haven't experienced before, and look towards the Loire for a white of your choosing. Crack open a couple of Kumomoto oysters while you're at it. And post on August 2.

Musing on Tannin

Last night, I found myself thinking about tannins. You'll notice I'm not just saying tannic acid, because tannins are complex polyphenol compounds, and are more than just a simple acid. And you don't get them in your wine just from the incusion of skin, stems and seeds. Oak imparts subtle amounts of tannins as well.
So what was eating me? I was wondering just how tannins soften. We've all said it..."tight tannins" "soft tannins" "gripping tannins"...I could go on. What really happens to tannins when wine ages?

So I started with the Wine Bible, by Karen MacNeil - always the first book I reach for. Among her insights I found enlightening was that part of the genius of a vintner is picking grapes not just when the sugar levels are correct, but when the tannins are fully developed as well. Picking too early, even when the sugar level is nice, may have immature tannin phenol compounds that come back in the wine with green, gripping tartness. How do you tell when the tannins are ripe? Only by tasting the grapes.

So what happens to the tannins when wine ages? The best explaination I found was from this excellent wine site, Wineanorak.com. There are two trains of thought here; one that the tannins get bigger by bonding to different compounds in the wine, which give the perception of softness, and then dropping out as sediment. The more current thinking is that in addition to binding onto other compounds and acids in the wine, tannins are also breaking some of these down into smaller particles. This would explain that many aged wines that show as soft have little sediment.

If you're interested in the chemistry of it all, click the link to the tannin paper above. (btw, Anorak is slang in the UK for dork!)

Climate Change and the Future of Wine in California

Just in case you missed it, it's getting hotter out there. Climate change isn't just going to affect your suntan, but it's going to affect what kind of wines your grandchildren will be drinking in 50 years. This map shows the potential shift in climate in the best grape growing areas of the country and it's not pretty.

What now is a location with a perfect balance between cool coastal breezes and valley heat may end hot to the point where whole new techniques for growing may be needed to stave off the heat. Or, maybe areas like Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Barbara may be abandoned altogether for wine production.

Could California's $45 billion wine industry be in danger? Even if this news is worst-case-scenario, we should all be concerned.
I'm keeping my eyes on this and will try to interview some vintners about their opinions in the coming weeks.

Qinta do Infantado Porto 10 year Tawny

I had this lovely port last night, that came from the Spanish Table in Berkeley (one of my favorite shopping spots for all sorts of Spanish goods), and this morning I was doing a little research on the domaine, Quinta do Infantado. I wanted to share this excellent page written about them on their east coast importer,  Louis Dressner's site. In short, Quinta do Infantado is a true boutique product that uses only top-grade grapes from the Duoro, often better quailty grapes than the big names use.

It's an inexpensive treat, around $17.00 for a 375 ml bottle, and it has a very sherry-like nose. Not huge and cloying like a typical vintage porto, this one has a really distinct character unlike most of the Colhieta (aged Tawny) ports I often buy. Yum.