“Some wines are like mystery books that you read fast, enjoy and forget. Burgundy is like a classic that you take in slowly, assimilate and always remember.” – Jacques Lardière Since Burgundy-based négociant Maison Louis Jadot’s 2013 purchase of the 32-acre Resonance vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton District of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir fans have been in a state of... Read More
The post Producer Profile: Burgundy’s Maison Louis Jadot Debuts Oregon Résonance Pinot Noirs appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
Mother’s Day is fast approaching and I’m sure you’ll be treating Mom to a feast fit for a Queen! If you’re looking for the perfect wine pairing for your festivities here’s 5 Fabulous Wine Recommendations from some of our favorite “Women of the Vine”: GIFFT Pinot Noir Rosé, Monterey, California, 2014 ($16): This wine is the newest addition to Kathie... Read More
The post 5 Fabulous Mother’s Day Wine Recommendations! appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
Mother’s Day is fast approaching and I’m sure you’ll be treating Mom to a feast fit for a Queen! If you’re looking for the perfect wine pairing for your festivities here’s 5 Fabulous Wine Recommendations from some of our favorite “Women of the Vine”:
GIFFT Pinot Noir Rosé, Monterey, California, 2014 ($16): This wine is the newest addition to Kathie Lee Gifford’s GIFFT line of wines created in partnership with Scheid Vineyards (for more information, please click here). This delightful dry rosé is crafted from 100% estate grown Pinot Noir from the Scheid family’s Mesa del Rio vineyard in Monterey, California, a region known for producing beautiful Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The grapes were fermented entirely in stainless steel to preserve the fresh, fruity flavors of watermelon, strawberry, and raspberry. A crisp, food-friendly acidity and lengthy finish will keep you coming back for more.
Elena Walch Pinot Grigio Castel Ringberg, Alto Adige, Italy, 2013 ($22): Elena Walch is a leading wine producer in the Alto Adige region of northeastern Italy. She runs her eponymous winery with the help of her two daughters, Julia and Karoline, and together they produce an array of acclaimed wines. This wine is 100% Pinot Grigio from the Castel Ringberg vineyard. 85% is fermented in stainless steel while the remainder is fermented in used French oak barriques. The result is a lovely incarnation of this grape with ripe aromas of pear, sage and spice with a creamy mouthfeel, zippy acidity and lengthy, clean finish.
Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills Valley, Oregon, 2012 ($44): Maison Joseph Drouhin was established in Burgundy, France in 1880 and the family expanded to Oregon in the late 1980’s upon realizing the potential of the Willamette Valley to produce world class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Véronique Boss-Drouhin is the family’s fourth generation winemaker and is responsible for crafting the family’s wines from both Burgundy and Oregon terroirs. This Pinot Noir is a lovely example of her expertise with enticing notes of violet, earth, pomegranate and cherry pie with supple tannins and a deliciously lengthy finish.
Hall Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, 2011 ($48): Kathryn Hall is the proprietress of Hall Winery and has been involved in the California wine industry since her family first purchased a vineyard there over thirty years ago. Known for her eponymous Cabernets, this wine is a blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc which spent 20 months in 55% new French oak. The resulting wine has delicious notes of red currant, plum, tobacco, mocha and spice and is the perfect choice for Moms who crave big, bold reds with oodles of tannin.
Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec Champagne, France, NV ($70): Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin (aka Veuve Clicquot or Widow Clicquot) assumed the reigns of her husband’s Champagne House in 1805 at the age of 27. Her contributions to Champagne were many including this delicious Demi-Sec, which is slightly sweeter than your standard Brut Champagne, but balanced by an elegant acidity. This blend of all three Champagne grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) exhibits notes of peach, honey and toasted brioche which will make the perfect accompaniment to a lighter, fruit-based dessert.
Please join us this Thursday, May 7th for our Mother’s Day Wine Tasting featuring Kathie Lee Gifford’s GIFFT Wines at Linen Closet in downtown Delray Beach. Come sip, sample and shop with us and for more information, please click here. I’d also like to wish all you fabulous Moms out there a very Happy Mother’s Day!
Cheers,
Last month’s installment of the “The Art of Wine & Food” series at the Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale was themed “Passion for Pinot” and featured three different Pinot Noirs from three well-known wine regions: Oregon’s Willamette Valley; California’s Anderson Valley; and Burgundy’s Cote d’Or. I thought it was apropos to use the word “passion” in the title due to the polarizing effect this grape has on its fans whose fierce loyalty to their favorite region/style rivals that of the most avid sports fan. Each of our featured wines was accompanied by a delicious dish created specifically to pair with it by Chef Remy Gautier of Argentelle Catering. So why compare Pinot Noir from three different regions? My wine loving friends, it all has to do with a little concept called terroir.
“Terroir“ (pronouced tare-WAHR) is a French term which, loosely translated, means “a sense of place.” With respect to wine, it refers to the intersection of grape variety, soil type, climate and winemaking technique which come together to create a unique wine that, theoretically, cannot be produced anywhere else in the world. The art of blind tasting is based upon this concept, that wines can look, taste and smell a certain way depending on where they are produced. This allows even wines made from the same grape to be distinguished from one another based on a region’s known characteristics (i.e. Pinot Noir from Burgundy would be more earth-forward while Pinot Noir from California would be more fruit forward). In short, if a wine is said to express terroir, the wine is believed to represent where it comes from and is considered a “wine of place.”
The purpose of featuring three different Pinot Noirs from three different regions was to illustrate the concept of terroir and demonstrate how these wines look, smell and taste different from one another even though they are made using the same exact grape. We started with the New World wine regions (Willamette and Anderson Valley) and finished with what is perhaps the birthplace of terroir: Burgundy, France. In 2oo AD, winemaking was introduced to this region located in east central France. While at first under the control of nobility, the vineyards of Burgundy eventually became the charge of the Catholic church. The Benedectine monks, specifically the Cistercians, were the first to realize different vineyards produced different wines and that not all of them were created equal. It is their observations which are responsible for creating the vineyard landscape of this world renowned wine region and establishing the framework for the Burgundy cru system.
The newer of our two New World wine regions was Oregon’s Willamette Valley which was represented by the 2010 Biggio Hamina “Zenith Vineyard” Pinot Noir ($42) from Eola-Amity Hills, one of the Valley’s sub-AVAs. The Willamette Valley was established in 1984 and is the largest AVA in the state of Oregon. This geographical region benefits from the winds off the Pacific Ocean that enter through the Van Duzer corridor, a gap in the Oregon Coast Range, which moderates warm summer temperatures. The name Eola is a tribute to the windy conditions in the area, and is derived from Aeolus, the Greek god of wind.
Biggio Hamina was founded in 2007 by winemaker Todd Hamina and his wife Caroline Biggio and this winemaker’s goal is to let the terroir do the talking. During positions at Archery Summit, Elk Cove and Patton Valley, Hamina worked with some of Oregon’s most renowned winemakers including Adam Campbell, Gary Andrus and Sam Tannahill. This valuable experience greatly informed his style of winemaking which he describes as non-interventionist and as “hands-off” as possible.
The Zenith Vineyard is a volcanic site with alluvial soils known for producing wines with notes of red fruit and minerals. During a conversations with Hamina he described 2010 as an optimal vintage and his decision to harvest was dictated strictly by physiologic ripeness and was not influenced by any adverse, external factors. The 2010 Hamina Zenith Vineyard Pinot Noir was 47% whole cluster fermented and spent 24 months in barrel, resulting in a wine with perfumed aromas of red fruit preserves, potpourri and smoky minerals, with an exotic black cardamom nuance. This wine has an elegant character with raspberry and cherry-cola flavors and finishes with lingering floral notes and a hint of minerality. It paired deliciously well with Chef Remy’s Warm Wild Mushroom Salad with Truffle Vinaigrette.
Our next New World wine region was California’s Anderson Valley and our representative was the 2010 Copain “Les Voisins” Pinot Noir. Established in 1983, the Anderson Valley is located 10-15 miles from the Pacific Ocean and has a cool, coastal climate with a wide diurnal temperature shift, meaning warm, sunny days followed by cool nights. The region’s soils are primarily alluvial with clay and, together with the climate, create optimal conditions for growing cool climate grape varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from which both still and sparkling wines are produced.
Copain was founded in 1999 by winemaker Wells Guthrie who chose the French word for “friend” or “buddy” as his winery’s name, based on his belief wine is an experience best shared with friends and family. Guthrie was deeply inspired by his time spent in France’s Northern Rhône valley, apprenticing with the renowned Rhône winemaker Michel Chapoutier. Guthrie’s goal today is to make some of the most balanced, low alcohol, and food-friendly wines in California. He achieves this through combining French sensibility with California fruit, focusing on the Anderson Valley and Mendocino County.
“Les Voisins” is French for “the neighbors” and the grapes for this wine hail from three neighboring vineyards which are planted on Franciscan sandstone soils. 2010 was an unseasonably chilly vintage which meant a slower ripening of fruit which ultimately produced wines with more structure and acidity. The 2010 “Les Voisins” Pinot Noir was aged in neutral French oak barrels and has lovely aromatics of red fruit and spice. On the palate, flavors of red and black cherry, cassis, cedar and a dash of smoke accompany silky, supple tannins and a bright acidity. The flavors complemented Roasted Chicken with Mushrooms beautifully.
Our final Pinot Noir of the evening came from Burgundy, represented by the 2011 Vincent Girardin Pommard “Les Vignots” ($50) from the Cote de Beaune. It is important to note. however, that in Burgundy you will never find the words “Pinot Noir” on the label. Because wines produced here are all about place red Burgundy is always assumed to be Pinot Noir.
Vincent Girardin is the 11th generation of a winemaking family whose origins date to the 17th century. Girardin began his career in 1982 with only 5 acres of vines and he has since grown his holdings to 54 acres as of 2010. Girardin is known for his pure, focused wines which represent one of the few sources of vinous value in this prohibitively priced wine region. Much like his fellow Burgundians, Girardin’s goal is to produce wines which respect the individuality of their terroirs.
The most prized vineyards in Burgundy are located in the Côte d’Or which is divided into the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits. Pommard is a commune in the Côte de Beaune known for producing powerful, richly flavored red wines. “Les Vignots” is a vineyard parcel in this region whose vines are 65 years old and soils are comprised of limestone and clay. Fermentation begins with natural yeasts and the wine is aged in French oak (10% new) for 14 months. The 2011 Girardin Pommard “Les Vignots” has a purplish-red color with fragrant aromas of dark fruit, violet and wet earth. On the palate complex flavors of black cherry, raspberry, spice and earth accompany a bright acidity and lingering mineral and spice-tinged finish. It paired wonderfully well with the classic Boeuf Bourguignon.
A very special thank you to Hank Hill of Four Hills Media for the fabulous video of our evening and the photos for this post! To see more of his wonderful work please visit www.fourhillsmedia.com. For information on purchasing any of our featured wines, please visit The Wine Atelier, our online wine boutique by clicking here. This week we are sfeaturing a selection of Pinot Noir and are offering 10% off your Pinot purchase of $100 or more! To receive the discount, just enter the code PINOT10 at checkout, offer is good through Sunday. So what’s your favorite region for Pinot Noir? Do tell in the comment section below – I’d love to hear from you!
Cheers,
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