Wine Blogging Wednesday 51: Baked Goods

I'm not much of a fan of sweet wines, but I enjoyed the results of participating in this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday. The topic is Madeira: The wine the American colonists drank (according to the Wine Bible we were responsible for importing a fourth of all the Madeira made.)

One of the unique steps in making Madeira is how it is aged. Like port, the fermentation process in a Madeira is halted by introducing clear brandy, which neutralizes the yeast. Your left with a "fortified" wine (read high alcohol content: 17-20%) with varying amounts of sweetness based on how much fermentation went on. Next comes the special step: heating. The original process was accomplished when the Madeira would get hot in cargo holds aboard ships that carried the wine from Portugal to the world. The result was actual enhancement to the flavor, a caramel, toffee flavor.

Some modern Madeiras are heated to achieve this effect. But the better quality wines are aged naturally over years in attics. This can take anywhere from 5 to 20 years. Different grapes can be used resulting in sweater or richer wines. Raisin and caramel are the distinct notes you'll find when drinking a Madeira.

I once had a wine that had been accidentaly oxidized. The wine had a distinct raisin flavor that grew overwelming as I drank it: an unpleasant experience! However, the Madeira I drank for this post was very enjoyable. It too had the raisin flavor and even what could be considered a "burnt" flavor. However, these didn't become overwhelming as I drank the wine. The sugar content was balanced by the alcohol. The wine had a nice medium body that felt nice in my mouth.

The grape used to produce the Madeira I had is called Bual. Bual grapes are grown in warm vineyards and make concentrated Madeiras with a medium-rich style. This style is lighter than port and the malmsey style of Madeira.

I enjoyed the Bual Madeira on it's own mostly. I tried it with ice cream, too, almost like a topping. The raisin flavor added a nice contrast to the sweet, richness of the vanilla in the ice cream. I'm not sure this is how our founding father's enjoyed the wine, but it worked for me!

Cossart Gordon 15 year Madeira Bual (19% alcohol)

Color: Reddish bronze

Aroma: Port like, raisins and caramel

Taste: Smooth mouth feel, raisins

Finish: Nutty with raisin

PS,

This edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday gives me my 52nd grape in my quest for the Century Wine Club!

Wine Blogging Wednesday: French Cab Franc

This month's host for Wine Blogging Wednesday is Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library TV and the topic is French Cabernet Franc. I wasn't able to find a wine that was from a majority of this grape but I did find a nice wine. First, a little information about the grape. (Click on the Wine Blogging Wednesday logo to learn more about this monthly blogging event.)

Cabernet Franc (Cab Franc) is one of the six red grapes permitted to be grown in the Boredeaux. Depending on how it's grown, Cab Franc can be both fruitier or more "vegetative" than Cabernet Sauvignon, although lighter in color and tannins. Wines made from 100% Cab Franc tend to have a spicy aroma and plums. The grape is usually blended with either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot instead of as a stand-alone wine. It "contributes finesse and a peppery perfume to blends with more robust grapes."

The wine I tried was from the Fronsac region on the "Right bank" of Bordeaux. The Fronsac is located where the Isle River flows into the large Dordogne River. This creates a microclimate that reduces night frosts in spring and cools the summer's heat. The steep slopes in Fronsac help the Bordeaux grape varieties grown here create powerful and complex wines. The soils are clay mixed with limestone.

Fronsac wines are described as being "masculine" and full-bodied. Grapes were grown in this are before the more famous Saint-Emilion just down the river. Merlot grows better here than Cabernet Sauvignon, so like other Right-bank areas, Fronsac is know for it's Merlot blends. Cab Franc is used to add spiciness and enhance the tannins.

The Bordeaux blend I tried for this WBW is from Chateau Villars, a two hundred year old winery in Fronsac. For the past two decades, the owners of Ch. Villars have been modernizing their vineyards and wine making practices. One example of this is that grapes are picked at maximum ripeness, causing the harvest to spread over several weeks. I learned from the book Nobel Rot (the Wine Book Club selection for April) that traditionally grapes were picked to insure maximum harvest before rains came. By waiting for maximum-ripeness, wines with fuller, fruitier flavors are produced.

The Ch. Villars wine I had was 75% Merlot, 18% Cab Franc and 8% Cab Sauvignon. It was 100% barrel-aged for a year in oak barrels, a third of which were brand new. This was a really nice Merlot, though it was different due to the amount of oak used. I had never been able to detect oak in a red wine before this wine, but it was definetly present in the Ch. Villars (Gary would make a comment about the "Oak Monster" I'm sure!) When I first smelled the wine, I could detect cherry and a fresh bread aroma. I couldn't name the fruit I tasted but there without being "fruit forward."

The wine has a medium mouth feel and really nice tannins that don't overpower the fruit or my toungue. Then just before I was about to swallow I could detect the oak. It wasn't excessive, but contributed to make the wine seem fuller. Some may not like it, though. The finish left a pleasant sour cherry taste and lasting tannins. This wine would be really good with food.

Its interesting how the oak effect the middle of my tongue more than any other area of my mouth. The oak also came back again in the finish. I've had other Merlots before, but I'm not sure what part the Cab Franc contributed to this wine to make it different. The oak was more detectable for me. I'll have to read other WBW posts today and try to find some of those wines to get a better feel for what Cab Franc offers. It would be cool to taste a 100% Cab Franc, a 100% Merlot, and then my Ch. Villars blend to see if I could then pick out the different varietals in the blend. I would definitely buy this wine again. The winery website said the wine will be best between 2012 to 2025. It would be nice to try it then to see how the wine deveolops.

Tasting Notes:

2005 Château Villars Fronsac ($19.99)

Color:  Dark purple

Aroma:  Cherry and bread (wonderful Merlot nose)

Taste:  Fruit and oak, medium mouth feel

Finish:  Sour cherry, medium tannins and oak

Wine Blogging Wednesday: 7 Words

This special Wine Blogging Wednesday has given us the difficutlt task of discribing a Italian red wine in seven words or less. For this exercise in linguisitc minimalism, I chose the 2005
Cusumano Nero d'Avola. I wanted to try this wine because of Dr Deb's recent challenge to try a
taste of Sicily in February. Plus, this wine adds a new grape to my count: #46.

Nero d'Alvola is considered a native of Sicily by some. People have tried planting Nero in other parts of Italy, but with little success. The grape is "thin-skinned and susceptible to rot, as well as a late-ripener." The long, hot, dry growing season of Sicily is ideal for this black skinned grape that requires twenty days longer to mature than other red grapes.

Many wineries in Sicily are blending the grape with Syrah, Merlot or Cabinet Sauvignon to produce some interesting wines, but the grape has been used on it's own to produce a wine that Sicily is known for. Some people compare the taste of Nero to Syrah because it's "rich with black fruits with firm tannins." Unfortunately, I didn't get that impression.

I don't know if the bottle I got was bad, or if it is just the normal flavor of a Nero, but here is my seven word description:

Two scoops of raisins in every swallow.

Wine Tasting Wednesday: Friuli-Venezia Giulia

This is the first time I am participating in Wine Blogging Wednesday. (Gosh, they’ll let anyone participate!) This virtual wine tasting event picks a theme each month which bloggers post an entry on all on the same day. This months topic is white wines form the Italian wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the North-eastern most wine region in Itay.

According to “Vino Italiano” in Friuli there is a distinction between white wines similar to the distinction we make between red and white wine. There are the fresh wines, wines that are fermented in stainless steel resulting in clean wines with high acidity. Then there are the barrique wines, wines fermented and aged in oak resulting in heavier wines with lots of “character.” While the fresh wines (like Tocai Friulano and Pinot Grigio) would go well with lighter fare like a shrimp dish, the barrique wines can stand up to richer foods like an herb-filled ravioli. The barrique wines have also been called the “super whites.”

I tried one of the fresh wines, the 2005 Sirch Tocai Friulano. This grape is thought to be related to the Sauvignon blanc grape, which is what the Sirch reminded me of. It was a little light in flavor, but it had nice acidity. I also read in “Vino Italiano” that some of the cold fermentation went too far and “stripped the wines of any real character.” I wonder if this is what happened to the Sirch. It may just be my inexperienced palate, so I’m going to have to try some more Friulanos to compare.

The Sirch was $13 from WineLibrary (episode 254, I couldn’t find one in any wine stores in the Sacramento area.) I would prefer a Vino Verde from Portugal for a similar light wine that is less expensive. I’m not writing off the Friulano, just wishing it was easier to find some to try.

There are so many different wines from Italy I like to try, but finding them locally is difficult. Even a local wine store that specializes in Italian wines didn’t have any Friuli-Venezia Giulia wines. How do others of you find wines made from less popular grapes? I would really like to try one of the “super-whites.” If you know of a great Italian wine store in or around the Sacramento / San Francisco bay area, please let me know!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Light yellow

Aroma: Slight citurs smell, almost like a Sauvignon blanc

Taste: Light flavors, almost like a Sauvignon blanc with nice acidity

Finish: No real finish