WSET 2 Part 3 – Riesling

Sugar and acid, Riesling has bundles of both. Going right across the range of sweetness and acidity is both Riesling’s trump card and Achilles’ heel. 

image: Ripe grapes of Riesling. Photographer: Tom Maack, Riesling grapes and leaves. Rheingau, Germany, October 2005. Source: Wikipedia.

If wine circles are to be believed, then those in the know revere Riesling above all the white grapes. It has the required sugars to either leave residual sweetness in the wine and remain low in alcohol, or after the impact of Botrytis, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botrytis_cinerea the noble rot, deliver high alcohol sweet wines, and also be able to deliver dry wines. Temper this with its mouth-watering acidity and its ability to produce balanced, fine white wines that then can be matured to improve them, and it’s easy to see its appeal. To the untutored, though, what to expect of a Riesling has seen its popularity waver. Compound this with the name being used, for a while, to refer to a group of lesser grapes; further confusion with Welschriesling and Riesling Italico not being Riesling (The Germans and Alsatians are keen for these varieties to adopt Rizling for these grapes); and its easy to see how this fairest of fine grapes has had mixed reactions.

The vines are resistant to frost, so make Riesling good for early winter pruning, and more importantly able to survive in regions that cannot support other varieties. The bunches are small and compact and are prone to coulure and botrytis. This vulnerability to botrytis and the plant’s resistance to frost actually give it the ability to enable the harvest for Eiswein, where the grapes are picked late in the year while actually frozen. The resulting juice that is extracted without the crystals of water being melted is super-concentrated and the resulting Eiswein is prized, and priced, as a supreme luxury drink.

Yields can be high and growth vigorous without undermining the quality. The grapes ripen late, so while vines have been lost from certain areas due to this, they have often been reinstated where warmer microclimates enable full ripening. Juice from under-ripe grapes produces a characterless wine, therefore a decline in vine numbers. Over the last half century this selective replanting has resulted in better Riesling wines.

Origins

In the Rheingau, Mosel and Baden regions, mentions of Rieslings date back as far as the middle ages. Confusion exists for exact dates due its similarity of spelling to the other native ‘Räuschling’ grape. By the middle of the fifteenth century it is recorded throughout the wine producing areas of south western Germany, then only slightly later in Alsace.

Territories

A strong candidate in the cooler northern European wine regions of Germany, Alsace, Luxembourg, Austria, Alto Adige in Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and then on into central Asia. Surprisingly, Riesling was the biggest white grape grown in Australia until Chardonnay took over very recently in 1990. The total hectares grown continues to increase, though, as new areas introduce the variety. Present in New Zealand and America, it is in Ontario, Canada and New York State, USA that production of Icewine has led to a surge in popularity again of Riesling.

WSET 2 part 2 – Grenache

Fruit, think Grenache, think fruit. Growing in three grape colours, Noir, Gris and Blanc, the varieties are used in red, rosé and white wine production. It buds early, so can be prone to coulure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coulure,  ripening late, so needs areas with long growing seasons.

 

image courtesy of Josh McFadden

Also known as Cannonau or Tocai Rosso on Corsica and Sardinia, it is more often seen as Garnacha, simply the Spanish spelling. It has a close relative Grenache Poilu or Velu, that is also called Lladoner Pelut or Garnacha Peluda depending which village you’re in.

Showing out in the prized rosés of Tavel, Lirac, Provence and Navarra, and the whites of the Roussillon, Grenache is AC named in many southern French sweeties. Single varietal Grenache red wines are generally fruit led. They can make reds with tannic elements if the vines are old and stressed, but it’s as the bearer of fruit flavours to blends that Grenache is most widely used.

As a vine it’s a tough fruit, resisting phylloxera in the nineteenth century, so making it much favoured when European vineyards were being replanted. The mostly bush grown vines can survive, even prosper, in dry, hot and dusty conditions. Until Shiraz took over in 1970s, it held the number one spot in red grape production in Australia. Unlike in many European territories where it had been removed, Grenache vine numbers have not diminished, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have simply had more new plantings.

Origins

The kingdom of Aragón, Spain, spread Garnacha vines with the expansion of their realm until the mid seventeenth century.  East to Duero, south to Valencia, north into Roussillon and west to the Mediterranean islands. Curiously it was not planted in the Aragón region of Rioja (I know you’ve heard of it), until the twentieth century.

Territories

In Europe its northern most situation is the northern Rhône. Not permitted in the mix with Syrah in the top end ACs, it has a presence elsewhere. It is top banana though in the southern Rhône, I’ve already mentioned the rosés of Tavel and Lirac. The most famous red, Châteauneuf du Pape, is synonymous with Grenache, as are the surrounding blockbuster ACs. It is the lead grape, but generally has a supporting role from Syrah to add much valued tannin and substance, as well as a large cast featuring Carignan, Mouvédre, Cinsault and more, up to thirteen in some. There is so much down there it’ll have its own post. Neighbouring Provence and Languedoc Roussillon for whites, rosés and reds. Then over the border to north east Spain, where as Garnacha, it is a solo star of the Navarra rosados; for the past century adding fruit to the harder Temperanillo in Rioja; and as the headline grabber in the ever more popular Priorat blend.

In Australia it holds its volume, if not its poll position, where due to irrigation its flavours can become somewhat dilute. In California it has its place as ‘White Grenache’ rosé that I sense it blushes slightly from. Those ‘Rhône Rangers’ there  are thankful for that somewhat dubious patronage as it has allowed Grenache vines to mature in the Californian vineyards, where it may have been uprooted for more modish varieties.

WSET Lesson 2 Part 1 Syrah

A black grape that is small and thick skinned, so juice extracted from Syrah* grapes and skins has a good helping of tannins (we know already how vital these are to red wine). The vines are late budding, so they don’t fall foul of climatic troubles early in the growing season. They are fairly disease resistant, except for Chlorosis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorosis that can affect the rootstock. Syrah needs warmth to ripen, in a warm area this will happen by the middle of the harvest season, again avoiding the troubles the climate can wreak on later ripening grapes.

image courtesy of user Bethling at wikipedia (CC-BY-2.0)

The red wines produced from Syrah are always full-bodied, always tannic and exhibit characteristics of dark fruits, black pepper and spice aromas. The exclusively Syrah classic Northern Rhône wines of Côte Rôtie and Hermitage are big boys whose tannins take years to soften. In Australia it is called Shiraz and is typically grown in warmer conditions, so the resulting wines have more fruit characteristics, but are no less well built.

Origins

The disparity of the name illustrates the unanswerable question of Syrah’s origins. Although synonymous with the Rhône valley, it was definitely an introduction. The variety has been traced back to Shiraz in Persia, where it still grows. Archeological exploration has shown wine production in the Rhône area for over two millennia, though this is unlikely to have been from Syrah. If the variety had been introduced by the Greeks then it would have borne the name of Shiraz in the first century BC. If the Romans had introduced it two and a half centuries later it would have taken its name from Syracuse where the legions were based. We know it was the Romans who introduced Viognier to the region. By the third century AD Syrah was much in evidence in the Rhône, growing wild having seeded itself beyond the confines of the vineyards.

Territories

As a variety it dominates the Northern Rhône, being the only red grape allowed into the Appellation Contrôlée red wines of the region. Viognier, the perfumed white grape, is the only other addition permitted (only up to 5%), and only as juice for co-fermentation. Blending of red and white wines after fermentation is outlawed across the world. As Shiraz it is dominant in its other great territory, Australia, where it constitutes 17% of red grape production. Sold as a single varietal right across the quality spectrum, it is often successfully blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the past three decades Syrah has increased in popularity across the globe. Particularly heading south down the Rhône, where its strong flavour backbone has made it the major blending variety with the principal variety of the region, Grenache. From there its popularity spreads in all directions around the Mediterranean, particularly as a single varietal Vin de Pays in Languedoc. California has increased its planting of Syrah mostly down to a loose collective named the ‘Rhône Rangers’ http://www.rhonerangers.org, whose practice of emulating the Old World wine making styles bucks the established trends of the region.

*not to be confused with North American Petit Sirah, although small amounts of this grape are permitted in the blends of Rhône Ranger wines.

WSET Lesson 1 part 5 – Keeping it

There are leftover ends of wine in my household, honestly, but should you not be going down the Nigella route of freezing your wine leftovers for gravies, then how to keep it fresh?

There is nothing as great as a freshly opened bottle for white and rosé wines, and those reds open for the correct breathing time cannot be beaten. Once open contact with oxygen makes the wine oxidise and spoil. This is a big problem for restaurants and bars offering wines by the glass, an inconvenience for the domestic drinker who only fancies one or two from the glass per evening.

Whites and rosés resealed and popped back in the fridge are fine, generally, the next day. Reds are usually less happy. A trick for home drinking is to pop the cork back in and pop them in the fridge too. Remember to take the red out of the fridge a good while before drinking it if you want to continue drinking it ‘à chambre’. Getting it in the glass will get it back to room temperature quicker.

Sparkling wine is fizzy because there is CO₂ dissolved in it. This stays in solution in the bottle because the cork prevents the gas escaping. The small air space in the bottle becomes pressurised so no bubbles can escape from the liquid. It is true for any sparkling drink in whatever container; beer kegs do a similar job. This is why a cage is fitted over the cork of bottles to stop it being propelled out, or a crown cap is used. The pleasing sensation of sparkling drinks is those bubbles of CO₂ coming out solution over your tongue, and why they invariably make you burp.

Exposed to the atmosphere those bubbles continue to escape until the drink is flat.

This Champagne stopper does a good job to keep the fizz in the sparkling wine by forming a seal at the neck of the bottle that prevents any gas escaping from the bottle. As the CO₂ comes out of solution and becomes gas, this causes pressure to build up in the bottle. Once the pressure of the gas in the air space equals that of the bubbles, no more bubbles come out of solution. The arms hold the seal in place otherwise it would be propelled off. This is a good solution if the bottle is to be used fairly quickly. The more airspace there is in the bottle the less effective the preservation, as some fizz is lost into the air space every time the seal is broken.

There is an old wives’ tale that a silver spoon in the neck of the bottle helps preserve the fizz. That debate continues: http://blog.kumkani.com/?p=730

CO₂ is heavier than air, so within that enclosed space the CO₂ actually forms a barrier between the wine and any oxygen, so preserving it for even longer.

So, this is a fine solution, but not a perfect one. The Verre du Vin http://www.bermar.co.uk/

preservation system is altogether better. This system has a secured seal again, but pressurised CO₂ is then pushed in so very little CO₂ escapes from the wine. This works for beer, cider, and even non-alcoholic minerals. Of note here, pressurised air wouldn’t work, as the presence of oxygen would spoil the wine.

The rather slick Verre du Vin site also shows the vacuum system for the preservation of still wines. The absence of oxygen in contact with the surface of the wine would mean that oxidation is greatly slowed. For domestic situations http://www.vacuvin.com/Vacuum_Wine_Saver_215.html is great. These systems are good, but have a flaw in that the airspace is mostly empty in the bottle, but is not an absolute vacuum.

By far the best system is to flood the airspace above the wine with inert gasses to exclude oxygen contact. Many systems are on the market and more are being developed.

This concludes my round up of lesson one. In my next posting I shall move on to lesson two where we shall learn about Syrah, Grenache and Riesling grapes and the areas these are synonymous with.

WSET 1 tasting notes 6 – 2000 Royal Tokaji Wine Company, Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos,

Hungary 12%, £28

http://www.royal-tokaji.com/

Colour: clear – pale ­– gold

Nose: clean – pronounced – honey

Palate: sweet – medium acidity – no tannins – honey, pear, caramel, pineapple – long length

Conclusions: exceptional

Understanding the label

2000 the vintage – legally the same for both the base wine and the aszú

Royal Tokaji Wine Company the producer

Tokaji Tokaj is a village in Hungary. The ‘i’ translates as ‘from the region’ around.

Aszú a Hungarian term for a dried or raisined grape

5 Puttonyos this’ll take some explaining.
Puttonyo translates as ‘hod’, the carrying device. Their hods hold approximately 27l. The addition of an ‘s’ grammatically adds an ‘ed’.
So this wine is ‘5 hodded’.
‘Hods of what?’
Aszú of course.
‘So 135l of aszú per bottle?’
Errrmmm. No, it’s per Gönc.
‘Ok, errrmm?’
Gönc is a 136l barrel in which the base wine (non- aszú) has the puttonyo of aszú added to it.
Just so now that it’s not absolutely clear, this is not actually how it physically happens anymore, but the levels of concentration for the juice is still measured this way.

Tokaj was very highly prized all around the old world. Devastation by phylloxera, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Second World War, and Soviet Communist domination saw Hungarian wine deteriorate. The annexing of areas of Tokaji by Slovakia and Poland could have seen the demise of the prized wine, however it was not so. Individual producers had continued with the complex traditions of its viticulture and vinification.

Hugh Johnson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Johnson_%28wine%29 founded the Royal Tokaji Wine Company with other investors. The very pleasing results are now prized all around the world. 

WSET 1 tasting 5 2005 Radcliffe’s Barolo, DOCG Piemont

Italy 13.5%, £19.49

Colour: clear – medium – garnet

Nose: clean – light – spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried fruit

Palate: dry – medium acid – high tannin – liquorice – short length

Conclusion: (poor) acceptable

I didn’t manage to bite my tongue despite having swilled wine all around it. Radcliffe’s is the own label of Threshers. After swallowing up many a chain to become the behemoth of the UK wine retail industry. ‘Lower your glasses and surrender your sips. We will add your biodynamic and retail distinctiveness to our own. Your (retail counter) culture will adapt to service us.’

Average room temperature is 20–25°C, to detect assimilation of a retailer an early sign is its internal temperature rises to 39.1°C. Nice to see the basic rules of wine storage ignored by the largest ‘independent’ (non-supermarket) retailer. Its leaders expressed disappointment on losing trade to the supermarkets. I say no more. After the sad demise of the Nicolas franchise in the UK, it is heartening that Oddbins is back in family hands.
So little to say about this actual bottle of wine that should promise a whole story.

Understanding the label

2005 vintage

Radcliffe’s the ‘producer’

Barolo is a wine style from Piemont, Italy

DOCG the top categorization of Italian wine

Barolo is not just any old wine style ‘the wine of kings, the king of wines.’ So called for many reasons.

Not only one of the finest of wines, it is said to be the greatest example of wines made from the Nebbiolo grape.
Beloved of the local Torino nobility, but additionally within the Barolo region the Verduno, Roddi and Serralunga d’Alba estates were in possession of the Italian royal households in the nineteenth century. This historic patronage, whilst a good spin, would mean nothing if the wine didn’t continue to deliver.

Piemont, Italy, is often compared to France’s great Burgundy. The regions within Piemont a great interlocking mass on the map. DOC statuses were marked in 1936, the same era as the ACs were being marked in France. DOCG status awarded to the finest Barolo estates in 1980.

As a style it is a big wine, the flavours whilst the wine is young too big to sit comfortably in a glass together. Most Barolos are aged for several years, up to several decades for the finest, the aggression dies down in the dominant flavours so the whole thing sings harmoniously. There is so much about Barolo, its fine traditions, its modernisation, its unique microclimates, its various ‘terroirs’ (what is Italian for terroir?). I’ll just pop this link in as it leads to many, many more: http://www.jancisrobinson.com/ocw/CH270.html

WSET 1 tasting 4 – 2008 Valpolicella, Allegrini, DOC Veneto

Italy, 13%, £8.95

http://www.allegrini.it/allegrini_it

Colour: clear – pale – purple

Nose: clean – pronounced – black cherry, bread

Palate: dry – medium acidity – low tannins – medium body – black cherry, red fruits – medium length

Conclusion: acceptable

No hoopla for this more than functional example of a Valpolicella.

Understanding the label

2008 vintage

Valpolicella is the wine style. Like the Soave before it has to be made in Veneto, Italy.  Again it states both of these. It is primarily made of the Corvina grape.

It’s a DOC of Veneto

Like French Beaujolais, Valpolicella can be enjoyed lightly chilled. In addition to the light style there is Recioto, made from dried or raisined grapes, which is sweet. Almost by accident this led to the Amarone style.

In the mid twentieth century quality had diminished, the name had become diluted, and the price had fallen below viable production in the historic zone between Sant and Verona. The creation of a DOC in1968 encompassing the historic zone, that now carries the label of Classico, and the valley along the river Po right up to Soave country revived the Valpolicella name. Additionally the Valpaneta is another region of high regard.

Like its neighbour, Soave, the 2005 application for DOCG status resulted in tighter rules. It has been the Recioto and Amarone styles that have garnered the attention. They are limited to the traditional hillside vineyards; they have the inclusion of the Rondinella grape limited to 5–30%; and have excluded the Molinara grape that is seen as an interloper even in the light style.

Additionally more quality styles are now ‘Ripasso’, translates simply as ‘repassing’. The wine is passed over the grape skins to bolster the flavours. Valpolicella is enjoying an invigorating rebirth currently.

WSET 1 tasting notes 3 – 2007 Gewürztraminer, Wunsch et Mann, AC Alsace

France, 13%, £10.99

http://www.wunsch-mann.fr/ 

Colour: clear – medium – gold

Nose: clean – pronounced – perfumed, clove

Palate: medium – (high) low acidity – no tannins – medium body – ginger, ripe apple, rose petal – medium length

Conclusion: (very good) good

Ok, so a bit of a favourite for me. The room was divided. What was concluded, with our personal preferences put aside, was it was a good example of type for the money spent.

Understanding the label

2007 the vintage

Gewürztraminer the most unpronounceable grape variety name for a Brit.

Wunsch et Mann the producer

AC is ‘Appellation Contrôlée’

Alsace the region of the named country France

Gewürztraminer is a pink-skinned variety of the Traminer white grape family, originally a native of the Tyrol region of northern Italy. The addition of the ‘Gewürz’ from the German word for ‘spiced’, used here to mean perfumed, is applied to the descendant grown mostly in the Alsace region of France and sparsely in the neighbouring region in Germany. Fragile to grow and low yielding it produces a highly perfumed wine with low acids. Drier styles and wines from higher yielding crops have been criticized for weaker character.

AC is short for AOC, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. This is the French mark that led to the creation of all the other European QWPSR. Following three devastations of the European vine stock in the late nineteenth century, the greatest being from the Phylloxera insect, many old and established regional wines became almost unavailable. An influx of cheaper, inferior wines to plug the gap led to many French regions drawing up classifications to differentiate themselves from these as production recovered. By the 1920s Baron le Roy of the Châteauneuf du Pape region drew up further codes limiting grape varieties, farming practices and ABVs for each region’s producers. Hence 1936 and 1937 is when France’s major appellations date the introduction of their controls. Rules within them are tweaked, but rarely majorly altered. The model was adopted in the European QWPSR marks and similar practices exist in the other major wine producing parts of the world.

Alsace as an appellation is unique in its climate and culture. Having been part of France, then Germany, and fought over back and forth throughout history, culturally it is between the two, and more importantly distinct from them both. The same can be said for its distinctive wines.

WSET Lesson 1 Tasting 2

2005 Kanu Chenin Blank, WO Stellenbosch, South Africa, 14%, £8.65

Colour: clear – medium – gold

Nose: clean – pronounced – kernel, oaky

Palate: off dry – medium acidity – no tannins – medium body – grapefruit, peach, honey – medium length

Conclusion: acceptable

Many more aroma and flavour sensations going on here. We are introduced to an oaked wine, a wine matured in the presence of oak. I’ll go into more detail about oak and wine in a whole post later. I’ll just leave it as a new dimension here.

Understanding the label

2005 vintage.

Kanu is the producer.

Chenin Blank being the Afrikaans for Chenin Blanc.

WO is the ‘Wine of Origin’ mark, established in 1973 it is similar to the QWPSR marks used in the EU. The area it refers to is Stellenbosch, the centre for viticulture in the named country, South Africa.

Chenin Blanc is a grape variety native to the Loire valley, France. Also called Pineau or Pineau Blanc there, it is late budding and late ripening. This makes it an awkward grape to grow in the damp environment of the Loire. The resulting wines have a honeyed/ damp straw quality to the characteristics, yet are quite highly acidic.

In the New World Chenin grows more vigorously. If yields are too high the resulting wines can be nondescript. In South Africa the grape is sometimes called Steen. It makes up 17% of South Africa’s vines. Used as a base for basic dry table wines; for better quality single-varietal wines; for sparkling wines; fortified wines; even as a base for spirits. 

WSET Lesson 1 Tasting 1

2007 Soave Classico, Rizzard, DOC Veneto, Italy, 12.5%, £6.95

Colour: clear – medium ­– gold

Nose: clean – (medium) light – (thinners) elderflower

Palate: dry – medium acidity – no tannins – medium body – grapefruit, pear – medium length

Conclusion: good

Starting out gingerly we were congratulated on picking up quite so much character from one of the lightest of wines. Alun did comment that it actually had a bolder character than Soave often has. Its accessible price tag led to the unanimous conclusion of ‘good’ for what it was.

Understanding the label

2007 is the vintage, the year the grapes were harvested.

Soave is the wine style. It has to be made in Veneto, Italy. If you didn’t know this already the label tells you where it’s from clearly anyway. It is primarily made of the Garganega grape. EU law allows it to include other grapes, which ones continues to be more regulated.

Classico means the grapes are from a specific area of hillside above the Adige river. Rizzard is the producer.

This is an important element of reading Italian wine labels its mark of QWPSR (Quality Wine Produced in a Specified Region).

DOC — Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which this one is, there is also

DOCG — Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita.

Then it tells us which DOC it is from, Veneto. A bit more information on Veneto (http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a2008090526.html).

The country of origin: Italy.

Finally the ABV (Alcohol by Volume) in %.

Veneto was awarded DOC status in 1968. This meant wines from certain areas that exemplified the style of the region could use this denomination. The major grape variety used has to Garganega, other grape varieties are allowed to make up 30% of the wine. Trebianno di Soave (known as Ugni Blanc elsewhere), Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco could be added to the DOC. Trebianno di Toscano has become excluded from the DOC. It often makes up part of ordinary Soave, many of the grapes for this now are grown in the alluvial plain of the riverbed rather than the traditional hillside terraces. We tasted a Classico, this is a specific hillside region. There are other hillside regions to the east, which are ‘steely’ in taste as the soil is volcanic. The hillside regions to the west are limestone and warmer so give have more forward, upfront, ‘sunny’ flavours.

In 2002 DOCG status was awarded to certain areas. The rules became even stricter for the DOCG and led to a specific system of naming: From the Classico zone, Classico Superior; from Recioto di Soave, Soave Superior; from other regions Soave Colli Scalegeri Superior. Whilst holidaying in Rome a DOCG Soave pleasantly surprised me. I wasn’t expecting so much flavour having become used to the much thinner examples we are so often served in the UK.