WineLife365

Posts Tagged ‘wine reference’

I love wine books that are fresh, easy to digest, and challenges your personal beliefs or thoughts about wine.  The Wine Trials 2010, in a nutshell, tries its best to answer one simple, yet difficult question:

“Do expensive wines taste better than cheap wines?”

According to the results of a rigorous study conducted by Robin Goldstein & Alexis Herschkowitsch, the authors of The Wine Trials 2010, the answer was a resounding – NO.  The majority of wine drinkers that participated in the Wine Trials’ blind tastings actually preferred the taste of wines costing between $6 and $15 over those costing $50 or more.  

Yep, sounds kind of funny and made up.  However, in a series of blind tastings conducted around the country, with more than 6,000 glasses of wine poured from brown bagged bottles, and three book pages full of willing and ready tasters up for the challenge – the cheap stuff came out on top!

Before the authors unveil there killer values, the first 58 pages of The Wine Trials 2010 is dedicated to providing readers with all the necessary “nuts and bolts” that went into the actual experiment.  Within these pages, it also explores the psychological side of why we all have the tendency to associate cost with a particular level of quality – The Placebo Effect, as it’s called.  In this particular scenario, “A more expensive wine must taste better than a cheaper one”.  Before turning the spotlight on the wines themselves, the authors also weigh in on the industry and the folks that write about it.  Without giving away any juicy details, you’ll see why at least one of these industry movers would have much rather gone unmentioned in this book.  Finally, the authors get on with the show and take you for a ride with the 150 value wines that they say beat out the pricier stuff.  To this point, my only real beef with The Wine Trials 2010 is that the authors fail to reveal the identity of all of the expensive wines that bit the dust against their Top 150 values. The only high dollar wines that are mentioned in the book are Dom Pérignon, Beringer, Cakebread, Veuve Clicquot and a Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru from Louis Latour.  Which leads me to assume that these wines were only mentioned because they were the most recognizable high-end wine names?

Overall, I found The Wine Trials 2010 to be a great read!  It’s like getting two books for the price of one:  The Wine Trials Story and a guide with 150 wines under $15.  Several, if not many, of the value wines recommended in it are truly outstanding and certainly worth trying.  Pick up a copy, keep it in your car glove box and pull it out each time you go wine shopping.  At the very least, it’ll give you some very affordable picks that you might have otherwise passed on merely because of the price tag.  

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Many guides differ slightly when giving the pronunciation of this native Rhone Valley white grape.  Some say vee-own-yay, while others say vee-on-yay.  Vee-on-yay with a short o is actually the correct way to pronounce it.  But hey, it’s all good no matter how you say it.

This awesome white grape that was originally born in the Rhone Valley of France is now being planted all over the globe.  In it’s native France, the majority of Viogniers are sold as  “Vin de Pays“, or “country wine” in the Languedoc wine region of France.  In the Rhone wine region, the Viognier grape is often blended with other native French white wine grapes like Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache blanc, and Rolle.  Finally, in Northern Rhone, Viognier is sometimes blended with the Chardonnay grape.

Most Viogniers exhibit a rich, flower shop aroma that is similar to the Torrontes white grape from Argentina.  Most also have an apricot and citrusy flavor.  They’re usually made in a dry style with a hint of sweetness, and leave the oak in the woods where it belongs.

Viognier is a great summer sipping wine.  It partners very nicely with a variety of different foods and I really think it goes great with spicy ethnic dishes, too.  In addition, this white wine is also pretty darn good with soft French cheeses, such as Brie.

One piece of advice to remember when considering purchasing a bottle of Viognier – buy the youngest ones that you can find.  Most Viogniers don’t typically age very well.  

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Hey, is that Kool-Aid that you’re drinking?  Nope, its Rosé wine.

So what the heck is Rosé wine anyway?  Well, it can be a simple mix of white and red wine.  But, in most cases, a Rosé wine is just the by-product of a red-skinned grape.  Rosé wines are usually made by removing the skins just before the juice is a deep ruby red color.  This contact period with the juice is usually about 2-3 days to achieve its “pretty in pink” color.

Rosé wine is usually on the lighter side and exhibits some strawberry-like flavors.  Here in the US a lot of consumers enjoy White Zinfandel.  However, this popular pink concoction is not considered a true rosé, but rather a “blush”.

Rosé wine is a great hot weather wine that matches up well with BBQ sauce slathered chicken, ribs, fried fare, and believe it or not – Easter ham.

If you’re in the market for the real deal in Rosé, I highly recommend trying one from Spain, Portugal, or France.  Chill well before drinking.  

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If you like Chardonnay, I mean really good Chardonnay, and you’ve got at least $40 to spare, then you might want to consider getting to know the awesome Chardonnay made in Burgundy, France.  Burgundy, France is home to some of the finest Chardonnay Chateaus in the world.  However, this dive into the great unknown of French Chardonnay can be awfully intimidating.  Unfamiliar French words like Montrachet or Macon, Grand Cru and Premier Cru are enough to scare you right back to that familiar aisle marked, “California Chardonnay”.

Stop!  Put down that Cali Chardonnay and march back over to the White Burgundy aisle.  You need not despair if you write down or remember these three White Burgundy names:

1.)    Puligny-Montrachet - the Mecca for many of the worlds finest Chardonnays.  It’s low on the oak and heavy on flavor.  However, the “best-of-the best” can be priced as high as a used 1995 Chevy Malibu.

2.)    Chassagne-Montrachet - Chardonnay with great complexity, sometimes even bigger or fuller in taste than the Puligny-Montrachet, but often times priced less expensive. Think dinner for two at Applebee’s prices.

3.)    Meursault – A lot more oaky and buttery in most cases than the other two, but the price tag can still give you a nose bleed.

There you have it – the only 3 names that you need to memorize the next time that you’re in the market for a “special occasion” Chardonnay.  They also have the added cachet of being French.  Don’t forget to bring some extra cash with you though!

Cheers!

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Torrontes is the most popular and widely grown white grape in Argentina. This native Argentinean white grape is grown mainly in the provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan and Rio Negro.  The Torrontes grape produces wine with a very strong floral scent to it – and I’m not joking when I say a strong floral scent!  It hits you like you’ve just walked into a flower shop.  The Torrontes wine shares many similar attributes to a Viognier wine:  Torrontes wines exhibit a floral scent and generally have a powerful punch of peach and citrus flavors, similar to Viogniers.

Torrontes is a great sipping or “stand-alone” wine.  It’s terrific with salads, cheeses and grilled/smoked meats.  It’s really awesome with spicy dishes as well!

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