The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Top 10 Red Wine Grapes

Published by Thursday, May 23, 2013 Permalink 0

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Top 10 Red Wine Grapes

by James Flewellen

My last post covered what I consider the ‘top 10’ white wine producing grapes. Finding a similar list for the top 10 red wine grapes is no less difficult — perhaps even more so with the propensity for red wines to be a blend of a number of different grapes. Again, the order is my own preference, based on commercial importance, potential quality of the grape, and whether it produces a ‘classic style’.

TOP 10 RED WINE GRAPES

10. Malbec

Malbec is one of the six permitted red wine grapes in Bordeaux, although few producers take advantage of its rich, plummy flavours. You are more likely to find Malbec predominating in blends of southern French appellations, such as Cahors, where the grape is called ‘Cot’. These wines are typically full-bodied, deep in colour, with plum flavours alongside ferric, inky notes too. Malbec has found a second home in Argentina, where it is the country’s signature red grape. In Argentina, the mineral notes subside somewhat, and a purer fruit note comes to the fore. The tannins, plentiful in Cahors, are softer in the Argentinian expression.

 

 

 

 

8. Sangiovese

This rather romantically named grape (‘Blood of Jupiter’) is the key component of wines from the Chianti region in Tuscany — arguably Italy’s most famous red wine export. The grape produces ruby-coloured wines with notes of cherries and almond. The palate can show high acid with tart cherry flavours, medium to high levels of alcohol and drying, austere tannins. The best examples develop savoury, tea-like notes with age and undeniable complexity. Brunello di Montalcino is perhaps the most interesting expression of Sangiovese, from a wine-lover’s perspective. Best served with food on account of the fierce tannins though! Sangiovese is also a component in many of the so-called ‘Super-Tuscan’ blends, along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Sangiovese ready to harvest

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Tempranillo

As Sangiovese is to Tuscany, Tempranillo is to the Rioja region — and indeed to many parts of Spain. Rioja is now perhaps Spain’s most famous wine export after Cava and within this region the Tempranillo grape has found a plethora of styles. The traditional style of Rioja saw ageing in mostly American oak barrels, complementing the strawberry notes from the grape with a sweet vanilla and coconut aroma from the oak. The balance between oak and fruit notes depends on the length of time the wine is aged in the barrels. With age, these wines develop pleasant grassy and ‘farmyardy’ aromas. A ‘new’ style of Rioja has emerged in recent years, favouring French oak and pushing fruit notes to the fore. Tempranillo is also a key component in many other regions of Spain, such as Ribera del Duero, and in Portugal too, where it is known as Tinto Roriz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Cabernet Franc

The second Bordeaux grape on the list, although in Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc usually plays second or third fiddle to Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot. This by no means diminishes its importance for the region, however. For a classic expression of a varietal wine we head north to the Loire valley — to classic regions such as Saumur, Chinon and Bourgueil. Here, the grapes produce a medium-bodied purple wine with high acidity and fine, powdery tannins. Due to the cooler climate in the Loire, these wines have leafy, herbaceous notes to go with blackcurrant, blackberry and a distinctive mineral note many describe as ‘pencil shavings’!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Grenache

Grenache is the stalwart of the Southern Rhône, where it makes up the dominant component of blended wines along with Syrah, Mourvèdre and many others. This grape is a the heart of famous appellations such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Vaqueyras. Unusual among grape vines, it can tolerate heat and drought remarkably well with its ability to close its stomata to minimise water loss through evaporation. This feature also explains its success in South Australia — another hot, dry part of the world. The Aussies have followed the Southern Rhône model and produce similar blended wines — typically called ‘GSM’ after the three major grape components. Grenache is also to be found in Priorato and other parts of Spain, where it is known as ‘Garnacha’ and typically blended with Cariñena (a.k.a. Carignan). Grenache produces wines with high alcohol, low acidity and fine, dry tannins. The flavour profile is usually of strawberry with a characteristic white pepper spiciness.

Photo courtesy of WineFolly.com

 

 

 

 

 

4. Merlot

Merlot was much maligned by Paul Giamatti’s character in the film Sideways – although in an ironic twist, his prized bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc contains a major component of Merlot. Perhaps Merlot’s unfairly poor image comes from the many mass-produced French and New World wines where the grape is used to make soft, undemanding, plummy, easy drinking wines. However, at its best, Merlot produces elegant wines with savoury flavours combining with juicy plum and fruitcake spice notes. While the grape does not lend to the most structured wines, there can still be relatively firm, drying tannins, allowing the best examples of Merlot to age very well. The most famous examples of Merlot come from the Right Bank of Bordeaux in appellations such as St Emilion and Pomerol. Here, Merlot is typically blended with Cabernet Franc to produce some of the finest wines in the world. Merlot is, of course, a component of the Left Bank Bordeaux wines, although here it comes in second to Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot can also be found in Bordeaux-imitation blends around the world and as a varietal wine in parts of the New World – especially California, New Zealand and Chile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Syrah/Shiraz

Whereas the Southern Rhône follows the model of blending many grapes to create Grenache-dominated wines, the Northern Rhône sticks to a single grape: Syrah. Historically, Syrah has produced the most revered wines in France — emanating from Hermitage, Côte-Rotie, St Joseph and Cornas — and it has only been relatively recently that the focus has shifted to Bordeaux and to Burgundy. The best examples are very long-lived and offer very good value to the fine wine connoisseur. Syrah from the Rhône is medium- to full-bodied, with firm, slightly coarse tannins, crisp acidity and complex notes of plum, blackcurrant, black pepper, roasted meat, liquorice, treacle, herbs, among others. Syrah is, of course, equally famous in Australia, where it is known as ‘Shiraz‘ and found throughout the entire country. In fact, Australia has the oldest Shiraz grape vines in the world, with a number of regions unaffected by the phylloxera blight that destroyed European vineyards in the late 1800s. The classic style is that of the Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale — jammy black fruits, often with notes of spicy salami, black pepper, and eucalyptus. Australian Shiraz is usually more full-bodied with lower acidity than that of the Rhône, although wine from the slightly cooler region of the Hunter Valley can approach a Rhône-like style.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8706849/Syrah-from-Chile-and-New-Zealand.html

Photo link to the Telegraph

 

 

 

 

2. Cabernet Sauvignon

The predominant grape in some of the world’s most revered and expensive wines: those of the Left Bank of Bordeaux. In the right climate and on the right soils, Cabernet Sauvignon offers elegance, power, structure and harmony that few other grapes can match. However, in search of the perfect structure the grape can produce austere flavours in the wine, which is why this grape is best suited to blending with others. This is the origin of the ‘Bordeaux blend’, which sees Cabernet Sauvignon melded with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon brings classic notes of blackcurrant, cedar, and bell peppers alongside vanilla and nuts from maturation in new French oak, which is typical in Bordeaux. On the palate, the grape brings crisp acidity and firm, structured tannins, and both of these can ensure a long ageing potential. The Bordeaux style has found favour in many other parts of the world, from the ‘Super-Tuscans’ of Italy to equivalents in Spain, California, Australia and South America. The best examples of these are among these nations’ finest wines also.

 

 

 

 

1. Pinot Noir

As Chardonnay is the Burgundian king of white wines for me, so Pinot Noir is the queen of reds. Fickle, hypersensitive,  ill-tempered, yet oh-so-magical when it all pays off, tasting a great Pinot Noir is an unforgettable experience. At its best the grape offers up swirling, subtle aromas of raspberry, strawberry, cherry and blackberry, a refreshing minerality and an earthy, leafy quality that is quite indescribable, yet summed up beautifully in the French term sous-bois – or ‘forest floor’. Burgundy still holds the crown for the most desirable Pinots – indeed wines – on the planet, due in no small part to its 1,000-year history in growing the grape. The grape is notoriously difficult to work with and susceptible to very minor changes in climate. Various places around the world have taken on the challenge of making great Pinot – New Zealand, Oregon and Tasmania are considered the best pretenders to the crown and can produce some very good (and much better value-for-money) wines. But these are all new kids on the block, and have a few centuries ahead of them to really get to know the grape, and for the grape to get to know their new homes.

__________________

James Flewellen is The Rambling Epicure wine columnist. James is a biophysicist at the University of Oxford. Originally from New Zealand, the huge range of wine James discovered in Europe spurred his interest in all things vinous. He became involved in the University’s Blind Wine Tasting Society and has recently completed a two-year term as its President. During this time he represented the University in a number of domestic and international wine tasting competitions, winning several awards. He is currently completing the WSET Diploma in Wine and Spirits. James has a passion for wine communication and education and runs the Oxford Wine Blog and wine tasting courses through the Oxford Wine Academy.

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Food Art: Taglioni Violi, food photography by Alessandro Boscolo Agostini

Published by Thursday, May 23, 2013 Permalink 0

 Food Art: Taglioni Violi, food photography by Alessandro Boscolo Agostini

 

Bio of Alessandro Boscolo Agostini

Bilingual English/Italiano

My first love for photography started with a little theft: as a little boy I stole my father’s Vöiglander and I started taking pictures on my own, just using my instinct. At that time my father’s camera seemed to me the best camera possible in the whole world, until I reached junior high school and I gave it up for a Bencini all my own. But my little theft came all back to me; my girlfriend to whom I had lent my camera never gave it back to me: that can be considered petty theft, no?

Growing up, I robbed again: in high school I stole time I might have devoted to photography and dedicated myself to my other passion, music. I studied drums and played jazz music. But it was just an infatuation, because I went back to my first love and never left it again. And as a pledge of love, I gave up my history studies in college, causing great distress to many people, but not to myself.

Today, I rob with no qualms, and I confess it with no shame. My spoils are my sensations, emotions, lines, colours, compositions: I catch everything that stops in front of my camera, I catch it with a click to close it in a graphic cage. It doesn’t matter if its a catalogue or a magazine. What I’m really interested in is the look, my view of the world. In the millions of images that pass in front of my eyes every day, that go on around me, that chase me in my silence. For this reason I  photograph subjects of any kind and still do it every day without specializing in anything in particular. From a luxury hotel suite, to the sexy transparencies of Murano glass. From art exhibitions to a ballet. From a golf course to actors on a stage. The list can go on and on, while this bio must finish here. I hope that I haven’t once more been a thief, that I haven’t taken up to much of your time. If this was the case, please don’t report me to the police, because I will give myself immediately up: I’m Alessandro Boscolo Agostini!

Il mio amore per la fotografia ha inizio con un furto: da piccolo rubai la Vöiglander di mio padre e cominciai a scattare così, d’istinto. All’epoca quella mi sembrava la macchina fotografica più bella del mondo, almeno fino a quando, in prima media, non la tradii per una Bencini tutta mia. Ma il contrappasso per il piccolo delinquente che ero arrivò molto presto, perché una fidanzatina a cui la prestai, non me la restituì mai: di fatto, anche quello fu un piccolo furto! Crescendo, ho rubato ancora: ai tempi del Liceo ho sottratto tempo alla passione per la fotografia dedicandomi per alcuni anni al jazz e allo studio della batteria, altro mio grande amore. Ma è stata solo una gran bella bionda di passaggio, perché alla fine sono tornato dalla mia “vecchia” per non lasciarla più. Anzi, come pegno d’amore, per lei ho mandato a quel paese gli studi storici con sommo dolore di parecchie persone, ma non certo il mio. Oggi, lo confesso, rubo senza più sensi di colpa. Il mio bottino sono sensazioni, emozioni, linee, colori, composizioni: ciò che si ferma davanti al mio obiettivo lo faccio mio, lo catturo con un click, magari per rinchiuderlo in una gabbia grafica. Non importa se è la gabbia di un catalogo oppure quella di una rivista. A me interessa lo sguardo, il mio sguardo sul mondo. Sui miliardi di immagini che ogni giorno attraversano la mia vita, le scorrono intorno, mi seguono in silenzio. Per questo ho fotografato di tutto e continuo a farlo, senza scegliere di dedicarmi a un settore soltanto. Perché tutto può essere immagine, una buona immagine. Da una suite di un hotel di lusso, alle trasparenze seducenti di un vetro di Murano. Da una mostra d’arte a uno spettacolo di danza. Da un campo da golf, agli attori su un set di un film. L’elenco potrebbe continuare, mentre questo scritto si chiude qui. Spero di non aver compiuto l’ultimo furto di questa storia, ossia di avervi rubato troppo tempo. Se fosse così, non denunciatemi, perché mi costituisco subito: sono Alessandro Boscolo Agostini!

 

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Geneva and Lausanne: Sustainable Living Resources in Switzerland

Published by Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Permalink 0

Geneva and Lausanne: Sustainable Living Resources in Switzerland

This is a new list for sustainable living in Geneva and Lausanne and we’ll be adding to it and updating it on a regular basis. We will extend it to other French-speaking cities as we add to the list.

Free WiFi in Geneva and Lausanne

 

 

 

GENEVA

The city of Geneva is in the process of setting up free WiFi hotspots in and around Geneva, referred to as “GeSpots”. The project is a long-term project, but terminals are already available at the locations marked in green. Click here to see the map.

LAUSANNE

Free WiFi hotspots are available in the following locations in Lausanne: Saint-François, Riponne, Flon, Palud, Montbenon, Navigation, Port d’Ouchy and at the Service des Automobiles automobile registration and inspection office and the Blécherette aerodrome.

Farmers and Open-air Markets

Sandrine Chapuis’ own mesclun, mixed greens from hills of Geneva

 

 

 

 

 

GENEVA

This site lists all the markets by day. A handy map is included with each listing so you can see where it is located in Geneva.

LAUSANNE

The Marchés Lausannois site lists the weekly markets:

Downtown/Center of Town Markets

Wednesday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
In downtown pedestrian streets: agricultural produce and products
On Place de la Riponne: bakery, butcher, fowl, mushrooms and non-food products

Nettles

 
 
 
 

Marché de Chauderon / Chauderon Market

Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Flea market

Marché du boulevard de Grancy / Boulevard de Grancy Market

Monday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Marché des Chômeurs

Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Place de la Riponne: flea market and miscellaneous other goods

 

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Food Poetry: Organic Fruit, by Diane Lockward

Published by Wednesday, May 15, 2013 Permalink 0

Organic Fruit

I want to sing

a song worthy of

the avocado, renegade

fruit, strict individualist, pear

gone crazy. Praise to its skin

like an armadillo’s, the refusal

to adulate beauty. Schmoo-shaped

and always face forward, it is what it

is. Kudos to its courage, its inherent love

of democracy. Hosannas for its motley coat,

neither black, brown, nor green, but purple-hued,

like a bruise. Unlike the obstreperous coconut, the

avocado yields to the knife, surrenders its hide of leather,

blade sliding under the skin and stripping the fruit. Praise

to its nakedness posed before me, homely, yellow-green,

and slippery, bottom-heavy like a woman in a Renoir, her

flesh soft velvet. I cup the fruit in my palm, slice and hold,

slice and hold, down to the stone at the core, firm fist at the

center. Pale peridot crescents slip out, like slivers of  moon.

Exquisite moment of ripeness! a dash of salt, the first bite

squishes between tongue and palate, eases down my

throat, oozes vitamins and oil. Could anything be more

delicious, more digestible? Plaudits to its versatility,

yummy in Cobb salad, saucy in guacamole, boldly

stuffed with crabmeat. My avocado dangles from

a tree, lifts its puckered face to the sun, pulls

all that light inside. Praise it for being small,

misshapen, and durable. Praise it for

the largeness of its heart.

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Food Art: Tiramisù, food photography by Alessandro Boscolo Agostini

Published by Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Permalink 0

 

Food Art: Tiramisù, food photography by Alessandro Boscolo Agostini

Bio of Alessandro Boscolo Agostini

Bilingual English/Italiano

My first love for photography started with a little theft: as a little boy I stole my father’s Vöiglander and I started taking pictures on my own, just using my instinct. At that time my father’s camera seemed to me the best camera possible in the whole world, until I reached junior high school and I gave it up for a Bencini all my own. But my little theft came all back to me; my girlfriend to whom I had lent my camera never gave it back to me: that can be considered petty theft, no?

Growing up, I robbed again: in high school I stole time I might have devoted to photography and dedicated myself to my other passion, music. I studied drums and played jazz music. But it was just an infatuation, because I went back to my first love and never left it again. And as a pledge of love, I gave up my history studies in college, causing great distress to many people, but not to myself.

Today, I rob with no qualms, and I confess it with no shame. My spoils are my sensations, emotions, lines, colours, compositions: I catch everything that stops in front of my camera, I catch it with a click to close it in a graphic cage. It doesn’t matter if its a catalogue or a magazine. What I’m really interested in is the look, my view of the world. In the millions of images that pass in front of my eyes every day, that go on around me, that chase me in my silence. For this reason I  photograph subjects of any kind and still do it every day without specializing in anything in particular. From a luxury hotel suite, to the sexy transparencies of Murano glass. From art exhibitions to a ballet. From a golf course to actors on a stage. The list can go on and on, while this bio must finish here. I hope that I haven’t once more been a thief, that I haven’t taken up to much of your time. If this was the case, please don’t report me to the police, because I will give myself immediately up: I’m Alessandro Boscolo Agostini!

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Ethical Coffee: How far can one go to suit customers and remain ethical?

Published by Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Permalink 0

When Ethics and Business Meet

When you choose a coffee shop, do you think about ethics? How far are you willing to go to remain ethical and natural? Should it be natural pure cane sugar, recyclable cups and napkins, and ethical coffee beans, or can you throw in a little artificial sugar and refined sugar so that everybody is happy? What are your thoughts?

These are just some of the questions raised by Chris MacDonald on Canadian Business.

 

Roasted coffee beans Español: Granos de café tostado (natural). Bahasa Indonesia: Biji kopi alami yang telah disangrai. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Roasted coffee beans Español: Granos de café t...

 

 

 

 

 

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Food Art: Breaking Bread, watercolor painting by Thomas Needham, 2012

Published by Tuesday, May 14, 2013 Permalink 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A New Series on The Rambling Epicure: Food Art: Breaking Bread

Click here to read more about Thomas Needham’s contemporary paintings and biography, for sale on his website.

 

 

 

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Food Vocabulary: What’s a Femivore?

Published by Monday, May 13, 2013 Permalink 0

by The Femivore’s Dilemma

Are you a Grist? This word was recently added to the Urban Dictionary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Origin of the Term “Femivore”

The word was coined by Peggy Orenstein in her essay “The Femivore’s Dilemma” for today’s New York Times Magazine, says Natural News, and is obviously inspired by the term “locavore.”

Educated career women, or “femivores”, all over the U.S. are choosing to give up their careers and go back to the farm (sometimes an urban farm) and back to the kitchen — often the same women who refused to take anything even vaguely similar to a Home Economics class, much less a class in agriculture. DIY, raising chickens and gardening are back, and there is an abundance resources available on the Internet for those who are new at it offering detailed how-to’s and recipes for all of it, with popular DIY sites such as Mother Earth News, Middleground Farm, and Mother Earth News. Femivores often reach out from their newly chosen isolation through blogs and social networks, and share their discoveries, successes and failures with other femivores, such as writer Esmaa Self on Middleground Farm or “backyard eggs”.

This became the subject of a heated debate a few weeks ago when Michael Pollan’s book came out. On Is Michael Pollan a sexist pig? Emily Matchar questioned whether Pollan was a “sexist pig” in saying “we need to get back in the kitchen,” since “American women cook 78 percent of dinners, make 93 percent of the food purchases, and spend three times as many hours in the kitchen as men.”

 

 

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Reference Reading: Food Art at the Frieze Art Fair in Manhattan

Published by Sunday, May 12, 2013 Permalink 0

The Rambling Epicure loves Food Art of all kinds and the Frieze Art Fair on Randall’s Island, Manhattan, and two artists at the Soho Restaurant FOOD have recreated the menus. When artists become foodies…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more about it in The New York Times Diner’s Journal, “Celebration of Food and Art,” an article by Elaine Louie.

 

 

 

 

 

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Reference Recipes: Melissa Clark’s Small-Batch Pulled Pork

Published by Saturday, May 11, 2013 Permalink 0

by

With summer on its way, you may just want to have pulled pork for smaller family weekends, before all the big summer festivals start. Here’s an easy video recipe from Melissa Clark at Pulled Pork, for Crowds Large or Small.

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