Tag: Red Wine

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52 Drinks 52 Weeks – Cabernet Sauvignon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5Ty2D8octc&t=237s

The birthday of monarch of red grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon is approaching on the 30th of August. Here are few snippets for all the vino enthusiasts out there

The Personality

It grows with relative easy in any place moderately warm, it has a thick skin, resistance to disease, modest yields, easy ripening, and lovely luscious wines made this an early crowd pleaser with mouthwatering high acidity, tannins, and alcohol, all held together with notes of blue and black fruits, mint, game meants, tobacco, leather, and much more as it ages. The term Sauvignon comes from sauvage, meaning ‘wild’, perhaps hinting at its origins. But it was only in 1997 that the world was shocked into realisation that Cabernet Sauvignon was an accidental cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.

The Origins

What we do know is that it truly became famous once Bordeaux took a liking to it, where it was initially called Petite Vidure, perhaps from the hardness of its wood (vigne dure) And it worked for their soils and type of wine. The weather suited it, the barrel ageing added wonderful facets to this rough diamond, and its potential for long term ageing made it aptly placed to become a royal among grapes.  From here it spread out to the rest of the world, creating new nomenclatures like Meritage in California, Cape Blends in South Africa, and Super Tuscans in neighbouring Italy.

Steven Spurrier’s International tasting which usurped Bordeaux and established the legitimacy of Californian red wines at the Judgement of Paris in 1976, only furthered the reach and reputation of this grape. Movie has been made depicting this event, Bottleshock.

The Champion Indian Wines

In India, there have been a few contenders for world class Cabs, KRSMA comes to mind, so does Sula’s Dindori reserve, and Reveilo’s Reserves range Cab. York’s Arros and Grover’s La Reserve and Vijay Amritraj have a blended template. The Vallonne Vineyards’s Anokhee and also for their 10th Anniversary reserve red which was an exclusive 2400-bottle production of an outstanding varietal aged Cab. 

Must Trys’ International

If you want to have a good intro to this grape, you need to find a reliable producer from a reputed region. Apart from Bordeaux and Napa, try Cabernets from Tuscany in Italy, Coonawarra and Margaret River in Australia, Gimblett Gravel in New Zealand, Chile’s Colchagua and Maipo Valleys and South Africa’s Stellenbosch and Paarl regions.  well aged Paulliac and definitely the guts of a Coonawarra, and when the pocket is light, a Barossa red
It’s also given its strong pillars of acidity, alcohol, tannins, body, and flavours, Cabernets can age well and develop seriously complex examples. Be it the controversial 1787 Chateau Lafite, or James Bond’s pick Chateau Angelus, the Judgement of Paris winner Stag’s Leap, or California’s famed Screaming Eagle and Opus Ones. The Aussie Penfolds’s Block 42 claims to have the world oldest still producing Cabs vines which are a fabulous sight by all means, or Chile’s Errazuriz and Montes, or South Africa’s Thelema.

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Blog Videos

#52Drinks52Weeks – Barolo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzFXuOwLp5I

King of Wines and Wines for the Kings, Barolo is Italy’s pride. But did you know it wasn’t always red, it wasn’t always dry. It was sweet and sparkling. With time it has evolved and now rule palates and imaginations the world over, like a king.

On the Northwestern edge of Italy are the hills of Piedmont, which in Italian can literally be translated as the foot of the mountains. Wines have been made for centuries. By the Celts, Romans, and even the French under the Kingdom of Savoy. However, the Nebbiolo grape came here only on the 1266.

It’s a finicky character, and ripens late, even on the sunniest of Piedmontese slopes, and are picked in early winters by when the fog sets in. The Italian term for fog is ‘nebbia’ which gives it its name. At one time it was locally said, when the fog sets in, pick the grapes.

Other story suggests it is because of the heavy bloom or white powery yeast on its skin that’s why it’s called so. Whatever be the true story, this thin skin red varietal is a local hero, and works perfectly well in the hills of Piedmont. It claims the hills as its world-famous permanent address, which now is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By the time the term ‘Barolo’ first featured on the wine labels, in the 19th CE, it was a dry red wine with mouthwatering acidity, supple tannins, and a personality that couldn’t be ignored.

The first few generations of Barolo producers would age the wine in huge oak barrels for long and make them rest further for decades before drinking them. These producers were called the traditionalists. They’d say, buy now, but drink after 20 years. But then came the younger generations who were a little impatient, or excited, to show their wines. They brought in smaller barrels that made wines age faster, or literally cut down the massive ones from their papa’s cellars with a chainsaw. 

These wines were fruitier, fresher, more vivacious, and less oak driven, ready to be relished upon release. Though the dads and grand-dads didn’t appreciate this tinkering with the personality of Barolos, consumers called these young guns, the modernists. And this war on oak-usage sparked what is now called the ‘Barolo Wars’. This divide has stayed and even movies are made on this now. Watch the famous documentary Barolo Boys to find out more about.

This has to be the biggest wine war in a region. So much so that kids of traditionalist winemakers weren’t allowed to be pals with those of the modernists. They may disagree on the style, one thing they agree on is the recipe. It had to be a Nebbiolo-only wine, aged for a minimum 3 years to be called Barolo, and for 5 years for Riserva, before they was released. This recipe was conferred with the coveted DOCG title in the year 1980, the highest quality level for Italian wines

Now there are various styles of Barolos and one must understand the differentiations between its communes and villages, and crus and winemaker’s style to pick their favourites. The more aromatic ones come from Barolo & La Morra, while the Castiglione Falletto, and Monforte d’Alba will give you more structured and age-worthy wines. Serralunga d’Alba is a bit spice and muscular. This is all thanks to the divide of the the Tortonian and Helvetica soils under the grape wines.

Be it the traditional style or the modern one, it’s a gastronomic delight when paired with the local Alba truffles, Agnolotti pasta in Ragu sauce, or a good game dish. If not this fancy, try a mushroom-heavy pasta or risotto and you’ll see the magic unfold.  Even better if the Barolo is decanted and drunk after its 10th birthday, or if it is a Riserva make it its 15th birthday. But do note, good Barolos can age up to 30-40 years as well.

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Blog TippleTalk

#TippleTalk – The Art of Blending

The world of wines would be very monotonous if it weren’t for the fact that no two wines are ever alike. Different grapes yield forth a diverse array of wines and the same grape planted in different soils will exhibit differences in character. Even the same wine from the same winemaker will change from one year to another. With all this diversity, the real trick is not variety, but rather consistency. He who can make the same wine year on year has a higher chance of being successful than another who may make good wine, but can’t deliver a nearly similar product with every harvest.

Which is where the art of blending comes in. Blending wines is not a new concept, it has been practised since hundreds of years. More recently, Dom Perignon at the Abbey of Hautvilliers was credited with being one of the first people to make ‘Assemblage’ an accepted method to ensure quality and consistency.

So why blend? Isn’t wine supposed to be a natural beverage with minimal (human) intervention? Blending, luckily, isn’t really considered to be tweaking. The idea of a blend is to take the natural potential of grapes and to combine them in a manner so that the total is greater than the sum total of their individual strengths. Put otherwise, the different components contribute to a greater new goodness, one which wouldn’t have been possible by using simply one grape.

Blending is a complex process and requires expertise

Cabernet, for example, shows great aromas and a lasting finish, but can often be lacking on the mid-palate. Blending it with Merlot, which is a very soft grape, helps fill that gap. When blended with Shiraz, not only is that space bridged, it is further enhanced with added aromas and layered complexity on the palate.

Other times, blending is done to tone down strength, as is the case with using some white Viognier grape in Syrah wines, thus yielding a full-bodied red wine with lovely floral aromas and a taut palate.

And then, blending is done with the same grape coming from different parcels. The same grape grown in varied patches of soil will highlight different aspects in the wine and by combining a few such samples, we can come up with a fairly layered multi-faceted blend.

These three mentioned above are the main types of blending to be found. In each case, the blend is meant to enhance the overall enjoyment. It also helps protect against the anomalies of nature to help create uniformity in the product. In case one patch of land gets too much rain, we may need to cut back on the crop from there, shifting focus instead to a site, which saw more amenable weather. And this is one chief method to ensure consistency.

Blending wines is not a new concept, it has been practised since hundreds of years

But the most important aspect of creating a blend is not just about having all the necessary constituents. Once we have the requisite ‘ingredients’, we need a great chef to put them together and this is where the winemakers’ skills matter. It is their job to ensure that the resulting wine is (a) the best possible in the given year; (b) can be made in large quantities at a (c) price-point that won’t fluctuate too much every year; and (d) can be made every year in such a way that even on ageing the wine’s taste doesn’t deviate too far from an established path.

And this is where the importance of the winemakers is highlighted. It is never enough to make a good wine one year; it should be second habit, something that can be repeated almost voluntarily and endlessly.

And yet, in spite of all the reasons in favour of blending, many people prefer to make mono-grape wines. Nothing wrong with that, even if they don’t admit to using different vineyards to bring together the same wine. Thing is, these people feel that blending creates too much homogeneity, which is not a desirable trait. For them, wine should vary, oscillate like a wicked pendulum if it wishes to, but it should never be straitjacketed into being the same every day.

Personally, I am in favour of blends and consider people who eschew blending as just plain lazy. Wine is a pleasure, which enriches each conversation it oversees.

The writer is a sommelier.


This article was originally published in Financial Express.