I’m not talking about the get-your-friends-together, open-some-funky-wines, drink-and-discuss-while-you-nibble-on-charcuterie kind of DIY tasting, but rather the put-on-a-blazer, go-to-a-convention-center, taste, spit, and shmooz-your-way-around-the-room industry events. Many of my non-wine friends jealously yearn to attend, but my colleagues and I are all too familiar with the manic chaos that generally comes with the territory.

Why have I never spoken these words aloud? Well, for one thing, some of my compatriots spend months looking forward to certain tastings. For another, these events are a critical part of doing business in the wine world, whether you are there to discover new products or simply to see and be seen. They provide an opportunity to taste exponentially more wines in one place – and chat with far more potential clients – than any amount of running around the city. Not to mention the fact that by some purely oenological standards I am quite a lucky man just to be able to walk through the portal with a mere flash of the business card to taste some of the world’s best wines.

The problem is, it can be really tough – sometimes close to impossible – to actually focus on the wine.

For starters, there’s an obvious correlation between the quality level of wine (and/or geek factor) and the number of people jockeying to taste it. I don’t imagine that crowded trade shows in any industry allow for much breathing room, but in this case, the space is also needed for smelling, tasting, and SPITTING. Picture a book fair. Now imagine everybody at each of the tables with their mouth full of wine, nudging you as they try to use body language to request that you get out of the way so that they can spit into the bucket that is conveniently placed on the table directly in front of where you happen to be standing (in your Sunday best, which you took out expressly for this occasion). The true pros are quite adept at avoiding splashing; needless to say, it’s an acquired skill that not everybody’s mastered. And I won’t go any farther than to mention the peripheral aromas – to put it gently – that occasionally creep into range while you’re trying to ascertain the subtleties in the bouquet of that glass of Barolo.

To further complicate matters, included in this seething mass of humanity is every single individual you can imagine from each of the following categories:

• People you have worked for
• People you have worked with
• People who have interviewed you for jobs that they then did not offer you
• People who offered you jobs that you did not accept
• People who have bought wine from you
• People you have unsuccessfully tried to sell wine to
• People you have purchased wine from
• People who have attempted to sell you wine
• People whose phone calls you keep forgetting to return
• People who really, REALLY, want you to try every single wine on their table, although you’re actually just curious about one, and there are 200 other tables in the room with products you’d like to taste
• People who don’t really want to pour you the one wine you’re dying to try because their sample bottle is almost empty and they know you work for a competitor
• People you’ve accidentally gotten drunk with at previous tastings and said things to that you probably shouldn’t have

Sounds like a relaxing afternoon sipping a glass of wine, right?

Now, don’t get me wrong – some of the wine events I’m fortunate enough to attend are incredibly special. Occasionally they involve travel to VERY cool places, like the annual Omniwines team trip to VinItaly, the world’s largest wine fair, which takes place each spring in Verona, Italy. We’re gearing up to go in a little over a month, and I couldn’t be more excited. But I won’t be packing any white shirts.

My favorite wine accessory of the week?

The ice bucket table attachment bracket – and no, I’m definitely NOT sure if that is what the device is actually called. But whatever name you want to refer to this thing by, it’s definitely a helpful little gadget. On a recent visit to the Croque Madame Cafe in the garden of the Museo de Arte Decorativo, my lunch companion and I were seated at an adorable dollhouse sized round table, fitting with the Parisian jewelry box atmosphere of the place.

As is customary in Buenos Aires, the table top was instantly laden with delicious bite-sized numnums, bread baskets, tapenades, bruschettas with crazy little toppings, long before entrees were even decided upon. So when the waiter showed up with our 2010 Alamos Chardonnay peeping shyly out of its frosty steel ice bucket, he brought with him a strange hook contraption which he dexterously attached to the rounded edge of the table, explaining “para hacerlo más commodo.” And it sure did make things more comfortable – instead of having to worry about the bucket sweating all over the the table or accidentally elbowing the thing off, it remained removed but within reach, competently doing its job, making its cargo crispy cool for us to drink on an otherwise unbearably hot summer day.

A simple little tool that made all the difference…

While we tasted and practiced identifying wines by their color, clarity, aromas, flavors and mouth-feel, we also discussed the differences in Old World vs. New World styles. We spent time, of course, discussing Bordeaux and Burgundy blends but also the creative, wonderful wines that Argentina and Chile are also making and everything in-between. It is amazing how talking food and wine with creative food and wine lovers, increases the intensity of flavors and our ability to taste in more detail.

 During a break, we trooped back to the kitchen for some food and pulled about 15 spices, herbs, salts and more to put into little wasabi saucers. At first we had lined them up at one end of the bar… it was overwhelming. So we moved to a coffee table in the lounge and all sat around playing with the herbs & spices and looking for their scents and flavors in the wines. Experiential learning is so fun and effective! We were shoulder to shoulder, peering into the little white wasabi saucers, taking pinches of Herbs de Provence, apple salt, celery seed, cinnamon, bits of wonderful rich vanilla bean, cloves, basil, oregano, cilantro, white pepper, black pepper, star anise, fennel, thyme, and, thanks to Trevor, burned apple wood. Remarkable how when smelling an actual herb or spice, that scent will “pop” in smelling and tasting a wine featuring that herb or spice. It is also amazing that when tasting a wine thoughtfully, the first food that pops into your mind as tasting fabulous with that wine, will often the perfect pairing.

Among the  great wines we tasted were some “royalty;” some “pawns,” but all well-made. We tasted four gorgeous Oregon Pinot Noirs – Bethel Heights, Brandborg, Adelsheim and Domaine Serene.  We also tasted “New World” wines- Zuccardi Zeta Malbec-Tempranillo and MontGras Reserve Carmenere. It was incredbile to taste both the Faustino V and the Faustino I to taste side-by-side their differences; when possible choose the primo. But wait, it doesn’t stop there! Some of our Old World highlights included Transhumance, Les Trois Couronnes Vacqueyras, Les Trois Gigondas, Perrin Chateauneuf de Pape, Corteforte Amarone “Osan,” and the Francois Cotat Les Monts Damnes Sancere.

 As you have surmised by now, Tessa is incredibly talented, generous and wise. She enables her staff to learn by tasting the gammit including the very best from her list, so they know how to serve the breadth of Sontes’ clientele and showcase her superb farm-to-table cuisine. She is a genuine aficionado and lover of food & wine and a sterling example of what makes the food and wine community so fabulous.

Stay tuned for next Friday’s story of matching Pinot Noir to forest mushrooms and a Meritage to sweet potato flan…

Cheers,
Barbara Pitcher
Pairing to Perfection, LLC

El Bianchi Extra Brut (Bodega Casa Bianchi) es un espumante blanco elaborado con 62% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir y un atípico 5% de Viognier bajo el método tradicional de segunda fermentación en botella. El contacto con las lías es suficiente aunque no prolongado para lograr un vino fresco, con los aromas de la fruta fresca en primer plano pero acompañados por notas leves de levadura y manteca gracias a los 12 meses en contacto con sus borras. Fresco y complejo a la vez.

Seguimos con un Cruzat Larraín Nature (Bodega Cruzat), un espumante 60% Pinot Noir y 40% Chardonnay, uvas provenientes del Valle de Uco. Sus 24 meses en botella y en contacto con sus levaduras generaron un perfil más complejo, con las notas secundarias de pan brioche y nueces marcadas, aunque un toque cítrico particular que le aporta frescura.

El que siguió fue un Animal Rosado (Ernesto Catena Vineyards), un espumante atípico elaborado 100% con la variedad Syrah. En la copa se olían notas de frutos rojos, aunque también se detectaban aromas cítricos tan comunes del vino espumante. Es un estilo de espumante rosado seco y bien logrado, ideal para acompañar atún rojo o sashimis de salmón.

Para terminar, se descorchó un Vivace Dolce (Bodega Freixenet Argentina), un lindo ejemplar de espumante dulce elaborado a partir de las variedades Torrontés y Moscatel. Es un vino intenso aromáticamente, muy expresivo y exótico. La boca está dominada por el dulzor (tiene nada menos que 75 gramos de azúcar por litro, contra no más de 10 gramos que tenían los anteriores) y una acidez media. Un vino ideal para quienes se inician en el mundo de los espumantes y quienes pretenden comer un postre cítrico o una frutas frescas al lado de la pileta.

2008 La Posta Cocina Malbec (Photo by bradleypjohnson)

De Salta a Río Negro, la Argentina posee un reconocido y admirable “don” para la elaboración del tan apreciado vino. El Malbec Argentino es hoy moda en el mundo y es hora de preguntarse, “Es Argentina algo más que Malbec?” Tan simple la pregunta, tan compleja la respuesta. Argentina está, sin dudas, entre los países productores con mayor cantidad de micro y mesoclimas, distintos suelos, y mayor permisividad a la hora de decidir como manejar un viñedo (gracias a la pobre legislación). Sin lugar a dudas que si nuestro objetivo lo fuese, seriamos mucho más que malbec hablando en términos de Marketing. Y de hecho lo somos.

Pero analicemos un poco la imagen. Como país productor pecamos de “adolescentes”. Apostamos, hasta hace unos años, el 100% de nuestras fichas al Malbec, lo cual resulto fabuloso. De apoco comenzamos a promover nuestro tan distintivo Torrontes (única variedad autóctona, cruce entre Moscatel de Alejandría y Criolla Chica). La estrategia funcionó de maravilla, aunque tanto éxito trae sus problemas.

En primer lugar, carecemos de falta de investigación y búsqueda de excelencia en otras variedades. Con esto quiero decir que como país productor no nos interesa la investigación acerca de porque cada variedad se adapta mejor en los distintos terruños. También hay falta de legislación de dichos resultados, la cual debería existir para contar con un respaldo confiable de que cada producto viene de los lugares donde mejor se dan y mejor se hacen. Lo que sucede que la demanda de Malbec es tan alta (local y global), que producir Malbec (sea cualquiera la calidad y el precio) es “el atajo” en el negocio del vino en la Argentina. Siempre hablando en grandes escalas, no hay bodega o productor que no posea un Malbec varietal en su portfolio.

Malbec Grapes in Mendoza (Photo by Nicole Pontón)

Esto nos lleva a nuestra segunda problemática en relación con este tema. La demanda de nuestra emblemática variedad se ha ido por las nubes, y su crecimiento fue tan rápido como repentino. Como país, no nos preparamos para esto, y hoy en día no solo nos podemos abastecer con calidad, tampoco con uvas de inferiores calidades llegamos a cubrir dicha demanda. Consecuentemente, al mundo, e inclusivo a los argentinos mismos les cuesta creer que somos más que Malbec. Lo cual debería ser nuestra carta de presentación, pero no más que eso.

Una tercera problemática surge como consecuencia. La rotación de los demás varietales es difícil y hasta en algunos casos casi nula, generando así un desequilibrio de mercado y producción. Algo difícil de imaginar si vemos la foto de demanda del Malbec, y viendo que no podemos abastecerla.

Pinot Noir Grapes at Bodega Familia Schroeder in Patagonia (Photo by Uncornered Market)

Sin ser una crítica, este artículo intenta ser un llamado de atención. A los productores que inviertan tiempo y dinero en investigar y apostar a los resultados obtenidos. A las autoridades que fortalezcan la legislación, pensando en proteger las zonas de producción. A los promotores del vino argentino a ayudar a que los productores se sientan “respaldados” de alguna manera, ayudándolos a promover sus apuestas. Y a los consumidores, locales y globales, sepan que la Argentina es mucho más que solo Malbec. Anímense un vino argentino de otra variedad! Simplemente para nombrar algunos ejemplos que se me vienen a la mente, no son acaso bien distintivos los Pinot Noir y Merlot de la fría Patagonia? O los Syrah y Viognier del seco San Juan? O los Malbecs de Lujan de Cuyo y Salta? O el Torrontes Cafayatense o de la Rioja? O el Cabernet Sauvignon de San Rafael y Valle de Uco?

Sin ser los ejemplos más específicos, ni los únicos, nos podemos dar cuenta que en nuestro extenso territorio tenemos más de un varietal que producir, legislar, comunicar y consumir. La Argentina no es monovarietal! Pongamos todas nuestras herramientas a disposición y ayudemos, cada uno desde su lugar, a promover el vino Argentino sin olvidarnos que contamos con una paleta de variedades que se adaptan excelentemente a nuestros variados terruños y que nos dan excelentes ejemplos de que…

…LA ARGENTINA ES MUCHO MAS QUE MALBEC.

In general, the exhibition has gotten a bit bigger, in order to cope both with the increasing number of attendants and the number of wineries and wines available. The food pairing at the event is directed by different hotel restaurants, so you can find many different islands of food, such as a wide selection of cheeses, both cold and hot bites and then the chocolate, ice cream and desserts areas. Among those that were most acclaimed by the attendants were the fried ravioli, tempura prawns and Indian-style rice and lamb.

As I myself am based in Argentina, this is great occasion for me to taste wines from all over the world, so I focused the first night on those ones I haven´t tried before. Starting with the whites, the first wine that really stood out from the rest was the Mouton Cadet Blanc Bordeaux AOC 2010. This typical white blend made by the Baron Philippe de Rothschild estates, composed of mostly Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and a bit of Muscadelle, has a very fresh and aromatic nose, with citric fruits, herbs and flowers; in the mouth a high acidity stands out along with the fresh fruits notes found in the nose. An interesting summer white, which would go perfectly with some salad and seafood lunch.

Onto the reds, I´ve chosen a classic Tuscan Sangiovese, the Banfi Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2005. Ripe red fruits, black pepper, sweet spices and earthiness were present in the nose, while in the mouth you find a yet young wine, intense with medium tannins and a full-body. For the end of this tasting, and many others, I found the enchanting sweetness and refreshing bubbles of the Saracco Moscato d´Asti DOCG. Out of its unique method of production you get a sweet wine (140 g/L of sugar) with a low alcohol level (5.5%) and nice, gentle bubbles (1.5 atm, less pressure than in a sparkling wine) combined with the fruitiness and perfumes of the Muscat Canelli grape. A fantastic swimming pool wine.

On the second night I focused on tasting the new harvest of the Uruguayan wines, looking forward to having the wines I´ve tasted and liked before and also the new labels being released into the market. If I mention wine and Uruguay in the same sentence, I am guessing you may all think of Tannat and you would not be wrong to do so, as this is its flagship varietal and I love many of them. But today let´s talk about what Uruguay has to offer beyond Tannat. As all cool, coastal wine regions in the world, it has a great advantage in whites as you can see when tasting Bouza Albariño 2011, already a classic, or Gimenez Mendez Alta Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2011, the new release of this winery bringing them to a whole new level of Sauvignon Blanc. Among the rosés, never waste an opportunity to try Marichal Reserve Collection Blanc de Noir 2011. A unique rosé made out of blending a Blanc de Noir Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with part of it being kept in oak barrels for a few months – you won´t regret it. Even if it´s not the last harvest, it has a very interesting evolution in the bottle. Among the reds, besides the Tannat, there are many other grape varieties, especially Bordeaux, related, due to the climatic conditions. You will find strong varietal wines like Pisano RPF Petit Verdot 2008, Alto de la Ballena Reserva Merlot 2007, and a top-notch blends such as the Pizzorno Primo 2006, composed of Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Arinarnoa, the newbie grape variety that´s just now coming in strong to the region.

If you attended the event this year I´m looking forward to your comments and feedback on which wines you liked. If not, I hope you are planning to be there next year, as more than 400 wines from over 150 producers are just waiting to be tasted! Cheers!

Martin Krawczyk Pardo
Certified Sommelier by the Court of Masters Sommeliers and member of the Argentina Sommeliers Association

Wine and BBQ (Painting by Olivia Wiley Brantley)

Doesn’t this just look like a BBQ party? It was painted by Pairing to Perfection (P2P)’s sister last summer; a perfect pairing for an evening with good wine, good food, good friends. ©2011, Olivia Wiley Brantley, Atlanta, GA

There are some folks who have a bit of an elitist’s attitude about tasting, especially blind tasting, wines. And to be fair, there are some serious reasons to know how to do a tasting properly and what we are generally looking for, in order to identify at least the correct varietal when we are tasting wines and pairing them with foods. That said, why on earth would we take something as wonderful and fun as enjoying wine with friends and make it as dull and dry as a tasting grid!?

So P2P is working on a game to make tasting FUN and easy to use at home pairing parties…

• Pour a humble glass. Take a sniff from the glass in front of you
• Close your eyes, take another sniff. What do you smell?
• If you smell cherry, strawberry, plum, smooth, you know it COULD be a New World Merlot… but it could also be a wonderful Malbec from Argentina’s Mendoza Region. (On the other hand you may not smell any of that, just a smooth big red that would taste good with ANYTHING off the grill…)
• What foods do you think of as you roll the wine around your mouth? Smoked brisket? Grilled steak? Barbeque?
• Grill favorite meat. Add crisp salad, baked new potatoes, grilled asparagus. Enjoy!

2007 Root 1 Sauvignon Blanc and Grill (Photo by K Wudrich)

Game over. Take the bottle out of its paper bag and pour a “real” glass. This party started with laughter while everyone was pretending to smell what they thought they needed to in order to guess what type of wine they held in their glass. Does it taste good? Did you smell something that would go well with the food being served? If so, you just won the game!

In reality, enjoying wine has everything to do with good food and good company. There already are many talented folks out there who truly make a science of smelling, tasting and pairing so that we can comfortably order a good wine for a specific course. There are also talented folks like those at Entaste who have taken that science and applied it to an app so that we can go to a restaurant and have a wine menu delivered to us on an iPad, right on the spot. It doesn’t get any easier than that now, does it?

Salut!

P2P

Eucharist offered at Iglesia de San Nicolas, Pamplona, Spain (Photo by Vladimer Shioshvili)

Wine has been around for 8,000 years and the culture around it has constantly evolved during that time. It made an appearance at the Last Supper (Gospel of Luke 22:19) and since then has been used in the Christian rite of the Eucharist. The Greek god Dionysus used it as a sacramental entheogen to induce a mind-altering state. The Zen Buddhists used it for meditation. The Egyptian pharaohs were entombed with it.

21^st century American college co-eds enjoy it too…

Slapping the Bag (photo by Ryan and Karin Keranen)

Urban Dictionary defines slapbag as: “A drinking game using boxed wine. The bag is removed from the box and held by one person while the drinker slaps it as hard as they can before they drink. Most often associated with Franzia boxed wine. E.g.: “Dude, the party was weak until somebody busted out the Franzia. We played slapbag all night.”

The game is usually played until the entire bag of wine is gone, either consumed or spilled. It is a particularly messy game, often leaving players with sticky faces and a floor covered with wine. In many cases, the bag is verbally abused either before or after it is struck and is thus an outlet for pent up aggression. At pre-game tailgate parties and other sports-related gatherings, for example, the bag is often associated with the opposing team and is treated as such. Slapping the bag is also a popular way for college students to release stress during final examination period.

Franzia Sunset Blush (Photo by Ernie Bello)

As mentioned in the official definition of the game above, Franzia boxed wine is the #1 choice for “slapping the bag”. An extremely versatile brand, Franzia offers three different styles: Vitner Select (described on their site as “easy to drink wines that are ‘true to the varietal’ flavor without the overpowering flavor of oak”), World Classics (true to their “old world” heritage – White Zinfandel, White Grenache, Chablis, Burgundy, etc.) and House Wine Favorites. Of these styles the latter is often chosen, with the most popular flavor being “Sunset Blush,” which the site describes as “Delicate pink hue with strawberry flavors; easy to drink and very refreshing… Serve chilled.” At $10.99 for a 5L box, Franzia Sunset Blush is quite the bargain and at 95 calories per 5-ounce serving (nutrition facts supplied by Franzia website) it is also particularly figure-friendly. Crisp White and Refreshing White are also popular flavors for “slapping the bag” as they are very light in color and thus easier to clean out of a carpet or clothing. Chillable Red, on the other hand, is not recommended as it leaves difficult stains.

BC grapes

I began this post by considering the question, “How does one even begin to explain the development of one of Canada’s two major wine growing areas?” Through my journey and experiences within the wine industry in British Columbia (“BC”), the answer has popped up time and again with clarity: BC’s wine industry is all about the people and their stories. The hard work and perseverance of the winemakers contribute to making this wine-growing region so interesting, diverse and exciting. Over the last few years we have seen BC wines accelerate in quality and gain respectability at home and abroad. So now – I am ready to dive into and explore this wine region with you once again. I hope to continue to expand my knowledge of this region and share it’s stories with you through my articles.

BC wine corks

Within BC, there are 196 grape wine wineries, and several pending. There are 5 main wine growing regions; within which the ratio of white wine produced to red is 49% to 51%. That is without considering fruit based wines. And did I mention ice wine? Oh, and what about local sake? From Burrowing Owl to Dirty Laundry, there definitely are some wineries to learn about and wine to drink!

Not only does BC produce quality wines, there is a whole world of fresh and local foods. From swanky urban restaurants, fresh from the farm free-range local eggs sold at the side of the road, and delectable seafood pulled fresh from the ocean, the province showcases a wide variety of foods to sample. The range of talented farmers and chefs that the province boasts, produce distinctive west coast cuisine that complements the region’s distinctive wines. I look forward to introducing you to a few talented chefs that I have met along my travels in upcoming posts. I may just even learn how to cook (it’s going to take some work – as boiling water can at times be a challenge for me)!

A great jumpstart into the world of BC wine is attending one of the many wine festivals that happen within our province. Most of the wine festivals focus on showcasing both BC and international wines. These are great for the first time sippers or experienced sommeliers. So, if you are a local in the area or an international traveler that has some frequent flier points to use up – you should check them out! Some of my favorites are the International Playhouse Wine Festival in Vancouver, the Cornucopia Festival in Whistler, the Okanagan Wine Festivals in Kelowna, and the Taste Festival in Victoria.