pheloniusfriar (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pheloniusfriar) wrote2013-08-17 08:55 pm
pheloniusfriar) wrote2013-08-17 08:55 pm
White whining...
As the last of the series approaches, and since I'm avoiding working on my school work for the time being (I do hope to finish one class' work tonight regardless... I had some rather vexing computer problems earlier that I have at least come to grips with, if not resolved), I thought I would write about the most recent wine tasting as part of the summer-long CKCU fundraiser. This time around, it was Chardonnay (previous tastings, one per month, were Reisling and Gamay). As a reminder (more details are in my previous posts that I have liked to in the last sentence), the tastings are part of a fundraiser for CKCU and are conducted by internationally recognized wine taster, writer, and academic Rod Phillips.
We started with Chardonnay, which he said got a bad rap because... well, it kind of deserved it a couple of decades ago. In particular, many wineries heavily oaked their Chardonnay to add flavour to cheaply made wine and, as such, there was a lot of plonk on the market (ha ha ha ha, I had to link to the Wikipedia article of that name because of the photo and its caption at the top, lol). I kind of grew up during the 80s and early 90s (at least with respect to drinking age) and certainly learned to avoid Chardonnay wines. Honestly, I don't really know plonk from nectar of the gods, but I can certainly tell when I don't enjoy something, and Chardonnay (if you will pardon the pun) left a bad taste in my mouth. Rod was clear that we have come a long way since then and those still making Chardonnay have scaled way back on the over-oaking and have learned to create balanced flavours in their wines, so it's time to consider them again. He said that Chardonnay is a "balanced" grape, that some call "neutral" in flavour (not too acidic, not too sweet, not too fruity, not to... etc.). In specific, he said "chardonnay is a winemaker's dream because it is neutral and shows off the winemaker's skill"... conversely, I guess it kind of shouts out any lack of skill ;). It grows just about everywhere, but in warm climates it gets too mellow when ripe so the winemaker often needs to add tartaric acid to give it a crisper flavour. In cool climates like Ontario, the winemaker sometimes (depending on the year or region) needs to add sugar. He also mentioned Zinfandel wine which ferments to produce a product with too much alcohol, acid, and sugar... so they add water to it to balance it and it has thus earned the wine-industry title of "Jesus Juice" (they can turn H2O to wine, heh). One last factoid I wrote down was that the barrels used for wine cost around $1000 each and that they are good for 3 to 4 years of production. I inquired about Ontario's Forty Creek Distillery and their "Double Barrel Reserve", and he did indicate that used wine barrels are sometimes purchased by distillers because they add interesting flavour to whiskey and other hard liquors.
So, back to the tasting... we started with Peninsula Ridge's "Inox" (2011, Niagara Peninsula), which was completely unoaked (made in stainless steel.. thus the name "Inox", from "inoxidable" which is French for unoxidizable, and is used to describe stainless steel in French). I found it a bit acidic and it had something of a citrus taste to it, and smelled of fruit like apple or pear. It was, as you might expect, a very clean tasting wine. From there we went to Rosehall Run's "Liberated" (2011, Prince Edward County). This one was oaked, but only lightly. It had a honey-like scent and a had a wonderful long finish (very yum!). We then tried the Cave Spring Chardonnay (2011, Niagara Escarpment). It had been aged for 9 to 10 months in oak and I found it to be acidic and somewhat "zingy" and spicy, but a little bitter despite having some sugar left in it. It did have a nice caramel aftertaste for a long while after having it. Rod indicated that some Chardonnays (I think the Cave Spring, but my notes are a bit jumbled, so don't quote me on it) use a mix (80/20 in this case) of chardonnay grapes and chardonnay musqué grapes (a clone of chardonnay) to give it a greater depth of flavour. Lastly, we had Château des Charmes' "Barrel Fermented Chardonnay" (2010, Niagara-on-the-Lake). It had a flowery smell and a hint of, to me, isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol smell. It was quite sweet and had an almost red wine finish. It had a "softer texture" to its flavour (that Rod said is called "round"), and really filled the mouth. It was definitely too much without having a nibbly plate to have with it (we were provided with plates of local artisanal bread to go with it for all the tastings, it was sooooo good!).
I know way more about wine than I did before starting the tasting series, but more than nothing is still not very much. One of the things I like most about Rod is that he's definitely no bullshit: the cost of the wine doesn't really determine quality, and everyone has different likes and dislikes. Drink what you like and "to hell with wine snobs" is his advice. He did say that there is something of a price point above $30-$40 per bottle where winemakers can afford to put more care into their ingredients and process that they can't when they have to hit a $10-$20 price point, but above that, it's kind of hit or miss even with expensive wines. If nothing else, I feel less intimidated by wine and that's a good thing I guess. He has also given me a much better appreciation for Ontario wines, and that's kind of cool as well.
Up next (and last) this month: Cabernet Franc.
We started with Chardonnay, which he said got a bad rap because... well, it kind of deserved it a couple of decades ago. In particular, many wineries heavily oaked their Chardonnay to add flavour to cheaply made wine and, as such, there was a lot of plonk on the market (ha ha ha ha, I had to link to the Wikipedia article of that name because of the photo and its caption at the top, lol). I kind of grew up during the 80s and early 90s (at least with respect to drinking age) and certainly learned to avoid Chardonnay wines. Honestly, I don't really know plonk from nectar of the gods, but I can certainly tell when I don't enjoy something, and Chardonnay (if you will pardon the pun) left a bad taste in my mouth. Rod was clear that we have come a long way since then and those still making Chardonnay have scaled way back on the over-oaking and have learned to create balanced flavours in their wines, so it's time to consider them again. He said that Chardonnay is a "balanced" grape, that some call "neutral" in flavour (not too acidic, not too sweet, not too fruity, not to... etc.). In specific, he said "chardonnay is a winemaker's dream because it is neutral and shows off the winemaker's skill"... conversely, I guess it kind of shouts out any lack of skill ;). It grows just about everywhere, but in warm climates it gets too mellow when ripe so the winemaker often needs to add tartaric acid to give it a crisper flavour. In cool climates like Ontario, the winemaker sometimes (depending on the year or region) needs to add sugar. He also mentioned Zinfandel wine which ferments to produce a product with too much alcohol, acid, and sugar... so they add water to it to balance it and it has thus earned the wine-industry title of "Jesus Juice" (they can turn H2O to wine, heh). One last factoid I wrote down was that the barrels used for wine cost around $1000 each and that they are good for 3 to 4 years of production. I inquired about Ontario's Forty Creek Distillery and their "Double Barrel Reserve", and he did indicate that used wine barrels are sometimes purchased by distillers because they add interesting flavour to whiskey and other hard liquors.
So, back to the tasting... we started with Peninsula Ridge's "Inox" (2011, Niagara Peninsula), which was completely unoaked (made in stainless steel.. thus the name "Inox", from "inoxidable" which is French for unoxidizable, and is used to describe stainless steel in French). I found it a bit acidic and it had something of a citrus taste to it, and smelled of fruit like apple or pear. It was, as you might expect, a very clean tasting wine. From there we went to Rosehall Run's "Liberated" (2011, Prince Edward County). This one was oaked, but only lightly. It had a honey-like scent and a had a wonderful long finish (very yum!). We then tried the Cave Spring Chardonnay (2011, Niagara Escarpment). It had been aged for 9 to 10 months in oak and I found it to be acidic and somewhat "zingy" and spicy, but a little bitter despite having some sugar left in it. It did have a nice caramel aftertaste for a long while after having it. Rod indicated that some Chardonnays (I think the Cave Spring, but my notes are a bit jumbled, so don't quote me on it) use a mix (80/20 in this case) of chardonnay grapes and chardonnay musqué grapes (a clone of chardonnay) to give it a greater depth of flavour. Lastly, we had Château des Charmes' "Barrel Fermented Chardonnay" (2010, Niagara-on-the-Lake). It had a flowery smell and a hint of, to me, isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol smell. It was quite sweet and had an almost red wine finish. It had a "softer texture" to its flavour (that Rod said is called "round"), and really filled the mouth. It was definitely too much without having a nibbly plate to have with it (we were provided with plates of local artisanal bread to go with it for all the tastings, it was sooooo good!).
I know way more about wine than I did before starting the tasting series, but more than nothing is still not very much. One of the things I like most about Rod is that he's definitely no bullshit: the cost of the wine doesn't really determine quality, and everyone has different likes and dislikes. Drink what you like and "to hell with wine snobs" is his advice. He did say that there is something of a price point above $30-$40 per bottle where winemakers can afford to put more care into their ingredients and process that they can't when they have to hit a $10-$20 price point, but above that, it's kind of hit or miss even with expensive wines. If nothing else, I feel less intimidated by wine and that's a good thing I guess. He has also given me a much better appreciation for Ontario wines, and that's kind of cool as well.
Up next (and last) this month: Cabernet Franc.