Gummis

I make no apologies for this post...just trying to stay current here.

The most successful thing we've done in recent years has been our chocolates and now that supplier has recommended we try their chocolate covered gummis, like it's the latest thing.  Well, I guess, from their perspective it is the latest thing.  So we'll give it a try.  I figure it's got to do better than the chocolate mints, which were a real bust.

Anyway, here's what we now know about gummis.

Chewable sweets resembling gummis were first created in Lancashire, England in 1864 as a church charity confection.  They became commercial gummis in 1920's Germany under the auspices of the Hans Riegel candy company, which would soon become known as Haribo, a company still in existence today.

Apparently trained dancing bears in street shows were popular in Europe a hundred years ago so Haribo gummis were made in bear-shaped molds.  To say these bear candies were popular would be to understate things a bit.  They were sold successfully everywhere on the continent.

Gum Arabic was the original gumminess of the candy before gelatin became the base ingredient.  Other common ingredients include corn syrup, sucrose, starch and water, food colorings and flavorings.  The flavorings may be sharpened by adding food acids like citric or malic acids.

The gelatin base is most commonly sourced from pork which is frowned upon in some circles so starch and pectin may be substituted.  And the chocolate coating is the same chocolate our customers say is the best in town.

So what do we pair with this fine confection?  Boylan's Cream Soda, of course!

Cinsault

 Cinsault (san-SOH) gets short shrift in the Rhone Valley where Syrah dominates in the northern valley and Grenache in the south.  So it's basically a blender, adding light fresh red berry flavors to soften Syrah and using those same traits to broaden the profile of Grenache-based reds.  Someone said, Cinsault in a blend is "like squeezing lemon on fish."  It adds complexity, balance, freshness and finesse. 

Cinsault is also an ancient variety, either native to southern France or imported by traders centuries ago.   While flying under the world radar for most of us, it has impacted this industry through its success in the Rhone.  It's now planted in Chile, Algeria, Australia, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa and Lodi and Paso Robles in California.  Total Cinsault vineyard acreage worldwide approaches 57,000 acres.

Why this post now?  Clearly, after it was such a hit at our recent Lubanzi South African wine tasting, the word needs to get out.  This is your ideal all-purpose summertime red.  Light, fresh and fruity; you can marry this one with basically any similarly lighter-styled summertime meal.  And if you feel like passing on your big Cabernet because of the hot weather, try Cinsault with your steak. 

Gigondas and Gattinara

This takes me back a ways.  Gigondas and Gattinara were amongst the first great wines I was introduced to back in the day and of course, I had no reference points to compare them to, which is confusing if you think about it.  When you taste them you know they are special but just how special means you have to taste a lot more of what's out there for perspective.

Gigondas is a southern Rhone Valley wine appellation comparable to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but usually at a better price.  The wine must be at least 50% Grenache with Mourvedre and Syrah usually making up the balance.  The southern Rhone has alluvial soils with red clay, gravel, sand and limestone.  The climate is Mediterranean.

Gattinaras are a DOCG Nebbiolo-based wine from the Verceli province of the hallowed Piedmont region of Italy.  Bonarda and Vespolina grapes are allowed in the wine but it still must be 90% Nebbiolo.  The appellation soils are red in color and rocky with granite and iron composition.  The region has a Continental Climate with the much desired diurnal temperature swing that works so well ripening red wine grapes.  

A Gigondas has aromas and flavors of red fruit, plum, herbs and white pepper.  With age, you may get licorice, dark chocolate, mocha and tobacco.  The Gattinara nose shows floral and spicy aromas while the flavors are a dry and complex mix of fruitiness, earthiness and minerality.  Both wines would complement roasted or grilled red meats and aged cheeses.

Ampelidae

Ampelidae is a French Loire Valley IGP (Indication Geographique Protege) wine producer that we have long known to be very good at what they do.  IGP wines are produced from the appellations designated on their labels but are freer in their winemaking practices than the pedigreed AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee) wines.  Those must reflect the historical practices that made the wines great in the first place.

The Loire Valley is home to the finest Sauvignon Blancs in the world so it is no surprise that Ampelidae specializes in these also.  They market a dozen different wines including both still and sparkling Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay-based offerings and just a couple reds, a Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Franc.  We believe our supplier in Atlanta only stocks the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir since that is all we've ever been offered.  

The Ampelidae.com website leaves much to be desired.  We would love to know where their grapes are sourced but that information is not provided.  What they are proud of is their organic bonafides.  Apparently Ampelidae has been on an extended trajectory toward purity.  While organic accreditation in Europe only requires organic farming, Ampelidae now boasts no sulfites added.

Ampelidae's Sauvignon Blanc is a lively, minerally, balanced yet intense tropical fruity offering.  The Pinot has savory aromas before getting into soft floral and round red fruit flavors.   The finish is long and satifying.

Grenache Blanc

Grenache Blanc is the trendy white grape in southern France nowadays and for good reason.  It makes a heady, blowsy, high alcohol, low acid white with citrus and herbaceous flavors.  What's not to like there?

Well..the blowsy part.  That means flabbiness, which applies to a very flavorful wine that is too low in acid.  It uninspiringly just hangs in the mouth.  If there is no concurrent acidity going on, a wine lacks structure and is frankly just dull and...flabby.  Which is why grapes are blended.  What one type is lacking, another will make up for the deficiency. 

Grenache Blanc has siblings in Grenache Rouge and Grenache Gris (gray) that are its most common blending partners.  It is believed Grenache Rouge is a parent to the other two which mutated long ago in Spanish vineyards before moving eastward into France.  All three types are often intermixed in vineyards since original plantings were indistinguishable from each other which also explains the interblending.  Since genetically all three are very much the same, they still need another type to provide acidity.  In Spain it's often Macabeo; in France, Roussane is most common but it also partners with any of a number of types.

The Spanish example we would love for you to try is Les Argiles d'Orto Vins from Montsant.  Our French bottle is Chateau Saint-Roch Old Vine White from Cotes du Roussillon.  The Spanish is a little lighter and finer so enjoy with seafood and salads.  The Frenchie shows stone fruit flavors and is a bit more substantial (oilier) so something more formidable may make this one shine.

Enjoy!

Dao

Earlier this week we tasted eight types from a Spanish wine importer and we brought them all in except for the one that was equally fine but just a little too hard to sell.  We especially liked the red and white Prunus labeled wines which the importer avowed were, in fact, her best sellers.  

That these wines were Portuguese, not Spanish, in origin was good information that we must have missed at the time of our tasting; but it makes sense that the Portuguese would be the cream of the crop based on our history with the region.  Spain is, of course, one of the great wine regions of the world but Portugal is seriously underrated.

If you consider Mateus Rose during the college years, we have a fifty year history with Dao region Portuguese wines and that history has always been one of numbing, head scratching appreciation for what they do.  They just don't get credit for making wonderful wines over there.

Dao is located in north-central Portugal just south of Douro, the great Port region.  It is a plateau with vineyards at 500-1,500 feet elevation sheltered on three sides by mountain ranges.  That shelter moderates temperatures and protects the wine country from heavy weather off the Atlantic.  The name comes from the Dao River.

Dao is an old wine region, receiving its DOC back in 1908.  For most of the twentieth century the region was run by wine co-ops which maintained an acceptable quality level for producers there but once the EU brought back competition in '89, everyone's quality improved.

The great red grape of the region is Touriga Nacional with Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) a worthy second best.  The esteemed white grape is Encruzado.  The reds are rich and full-bodied, cherry-ish wines.  The whites are fresh, fragrant, forward and stone-fruity.  You ought to try them both.

2022 Trig Point Diamond Dust Cabernet Sauvignon

Trig Point Cabernet has always been a fave here at the store.  Although it's only been available sporadically in recent years, it's here now and here are three reasons you may want to pick some up:

1.  Alexander Valley is home to Trig Point and the terroir there has been likened both to Napa and Bordeaux.  That pretty much means Alexander Valley is going to produce a fine example of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Certified as an AVA in 1984, Alexander Valley has actually been known for superior Cabs since the 1960's.

2.  Our winemaker here is Nick Goldschmidt who specializes in 100% Cabernet wines like this one.  He is a highly educated winemaker with an industry resume to back it up.  Among his affiliations in the past have been the following wineries: Carneros Creek, Caliterra, Cloudy Bay, Terrazas, Ruffino, Clos du Bois, Gary Farrell, Atlas Peak, William Hill, Buena Vista, Geyser Peak, Simi and Wild Horse.  Currently he makes and markets his own wines under the Forefathers and Goldschmidt Vineyards labels.  I think he knows what he's doing.

3.  This is Clone 6 or Jackson clone Cabernet Sauvignon which was first brought to California from Bordeaux in the late nineteenth century.  It is best known as Beaulieu Vineyards' clone of choice for their reserve wines including their top of the line George de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon.  On the vine the grapes are small berries in small loose clusters, leading in winemaking to concentrated flavors with robust tannins.