Trebbiano

What can you say about Trebbiano?  It's the most widely planted white wine grape in both Italy and France...but with a caveat.  In Italy the name Trebbiano refers to a family of similar grapes that got lumped together under that heading; while in France, Trebbiano is called Ugni Blanc and is almost always distilled into brandy; notably, Cognac and Amagnac.  And by the way, Trebbiano is also the base wine of Balsamic vinegar.

So why write about it now, especially now that red wine season is upon us?  We tasted one recently and it was a nice simple dry white wine and caused us to wonder why this type seems to get no respect in the marketplace.  To our tastes, Trebbiano is at least as enjoyable as most everyday Pinot Grigios yet those Pinots get more than their share of the business, no doubt, because of the pinot name.

Orvieto is the Italian white wine that currently shows the best of Trebbiano's potential.  Frascati is also Trebbiano-based and quite good.  And if you like Italian Soave, the Garganega grape is a close relative of Trebbiano.

Earlier we said Italian Trebbiano was a family of grapes.  Lugana used to be the best Trebbiano we knew of but it has now been spun off as Turbiana.  We suspect the genetics showed there was no real connection to Trebbiano.  So now we have to wonder about all of the other regional Italian Trebbianos and just how connected genetically to type they may be.

Trebbiano can show aromas of green fruit, lemon, stone fruit, apple and pear.  On the palate you may get nectarine, peach and a floral component.  The finish may show bitter almond.  When blended with other grapes it adds those aromas and flavors along with distinct minerality and crispness.

Trebbiano is a versatile summer wine suitable for simple lunches and seafood, salads and Italian cheeses.

And now, an anecdote: My friend was an importer of Italian wines.  His wife worked for the largest distributor in Atlanta.  They were attending a major industry banquet where Caymus Special Selection Napa Cabernet Sauvignon was on each table.  The Cab was a $150 bottle at the time.  After she tasted the red she asked for a glass of Tolo, my friend's bargain brand ($7.99) Italian white.  She said she preferred it to the Caymus...and instantly became my hero! 

Comte de Bernadotte

We just got in a couple cases of Comte de Bernadotte Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, probably the best buys in the store for those two types.  Wanting to learn more about them, we reached out first to our supplier which was no help; then to the importer, again, very little help and finally to the source, one Jean-Marc D'Anjoux.  

Why didn't we start there in the first place?  Because these wines are negotiant wines and there is a lot of secrecy in where they are sourced.  Another name for these kinds of wines in the trade is zipcode wines.  Zipcode wines always have a series of numbers on the back label that, if you have the industry map in front of you, you can pinpoint the location where the wine is sourced.  Bernadotte has two sets of numbers, one where the juice is sourced and one where it is bottled. 

Jean-Marc's name isn't on the label anywhere.  Les Vins Aujus is on the label but it too was a dead end in our research.

Before we go any further down this rabbit hole, if you like pinot and/or chard, you should try these wines.  They are priced humanely and the wine is made in the less-austere style we Americans like.

It turns out home base for Jean-Marc and Les Vins Aujus is in southern Burgundy, France where their main business is making Beaujolais and Macon Chardonnay.  The finest chards and pinots in the world come from a little further north in the Cotes d'Or.  We have learned that Comte de Bernadotte is made right there in the Aujus winery.  The grapes are sourced from elsewhere.  One of the hats Jean-Marc wears is that of negotiant so his job is that of a middleman in the production of wines and getting them to market.  We have also learned he owns property in Herault in the Languedoc region where half the wines of France originate.  So Bernadotte may be sourced there in Herault, but without the zipcode map, it could be from elsewhere in the Languedoc.

The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are both 100% varietal wines.  The Chardonnay shows citrus and floral flavors along with a little vanilla.  The Pinot goes through a cold maceration and fermentation to create a round fruity structure with some strawberry-ish flavors.  Since the winery is located in the Beaujolais region I'm betting we have the same carbonic maceration fermentation here as we've been writing about recently.

Alta Maria & Presqu'ile

One of our favorite suppliers sold us on Alta Maria Vineyards Pinot Noir and Presqu'ile (press-keel) Chardonnay.  We tasted the Chardonnay and it was magnificent and consequently sold very well.  We didn't get to taste the pinot but were assured it was also quite good.  Unfortunately that one has a problematic label and in this business, labels will either make or break a wine...so we decided to do our homework on the stuff.

Alta Maria is the project of the Ontiveros family of Santa Maria Valley where they have farmed for ten generations since 1855.  The winery was established in 2005.  But there's more...the Ontiveroses have traced their family tree back to Rioja, Spain in the 1500's!

Presqu'ile is the project of the Murphy family who farmed for four generations through the twentieth century in Louisiana.  The name Presqu'ile is creole for "almost an island."  They bought their Santa Maria property in 2007 and invested heavily in their vineyards and winery to the point where they have become a destination for both wine lovers and lovers of natural beauty.

The Ontiveroses have always collaborated with others in the Santa Maria Valley and have multiple partners at this time.  When the Murphys came along "just down the road" from them they seemed like a natural partner.  That partnership was formalized in 2012.  Now all Alta Maria wines are made at the modern Presqu'ile winery.

Santa Maria Valley is a cool weather haven in southern California courtesy of the transverse mountain range that funnels ocean breezes into the valley.  Pesqu'ile is located sixteen miles from the Pacific Ocean.  Both wineries do a lot of the whole grape cluster fermentation that we just wrote about.

Manchego

We've covered Manchego cheese here several times, yet somehow we still found a few new factoids for your files.

We knew Manchego was popular but did you know 60% of all Spanish DOC cheeses are Manchego?

Manchego was historically formed in grass baskets.  The zigzag pattern on the rind of all Manchegos is a reproduction of the weave embossing from the grass baskets.  

If the Manchego rind has a wax exterior, do not eat the rind.  (Duh)  Otherwise the rind is perfectly fine to eat.

Olive oil is brushed onto the rind of all Manchegos.

The only permitted additive in Manchego is rennet.

All Manchegos have a standardized size and shape.

Manchego cheese is not recommended for melting.

And finally, there are four types of Manchego depending on the age of the cheese but you will only see two.  The fresh Manchego (aged 2 weeks) doesn't travel well so it stays in Spain and the Viejo (aged 1-2 years) has not caught on with the international market.  So our choices are the Semi-curado (aged up to 4 months) and the Curado (aged up to six months.)

Most cheeses pair with red wine.  It is our considered opinion that Manchego will go with reds, whites, roses and bubbly.  So stop in and pick up some Manchego!

Carbonic Maceration

The inherent charm of French Beaujolais doesn't come about by traditional fermentation which converts sugars to alcohol using yeasts.  Carbonic maceration is how the winemakers in Beaujolais (and elsewhere) do it.  This fermentation process uses an anaerobic tank of carbon dioxide to initiate fermentation using the enzymes of whole, not crushed, grapes as a catalyst.  The release of the enzymes in such an environment breaks down the grape sugars into alcohol without introducing yeasts from somewhere else.  CO2, being heavier than oxygen, permeates fruit skins forcing oxygen out while breaking down sugars and malic acid to produce alcohol.  This is intracellular fermentation.

Does wine made using this process taste different from wine traditionally fermented?  While Beaujolais and other whole grape fermented wines still show the polyphenols (antioxidants), color, flavors and tannins in traditionally fermented wines, they are lighter, fresher and fruitier and lower in tannins than traditionally made wines.  It's a wine style very much in keeping with modern tastes.

Our preceding post was about the ten best vineyards in Beaujolais.  Each region has their own winemaking methods.  The more southern regions have the benefit of a longer growing season and the region's Mediterranean climate.  Carbonic maceration makes sense there.  The northern parts want a more Burgundian product so they typically finish their fermentation the traditional way to get a bigger wine.

Carbonic maceration is as old as grapes, themselves, by the way.  Whenever fruit is held in a container, even a slatted wooden crate, the weight of the fruit at the top crushes to some extent those at the bottom releasing carbon dioxide facilitated by ambient yeasts.  The heavier CO2 forces the O2 away creating a carbon dioxide-heavy environment.  The whole fruits higher up in the container will then naturally start to ferment.  

Cru Vineyard Beaujolais

If you like French Burgundy, and I'm talking Pinot Noir, but can't afford the good stuff, look south to where the Gamay grape is king.  It's still Burgundy (geographically speaking) but without the pretense and pricing of the great wines to the north.  

Further to the south is Beaujolais proper where oceans of light fruity quaffing wine originates.  What we're talking about is the area in between where the qualitatively better Gamay comes from, the stuff that approximates the pinots to the north at that more comfortable price point.

There are ten crus in the region, ten vineyards that have historically produced wine of superior quality.  About halfway down this north-to-south list the terroir changes.  The first five crus resemble Pinot Noir country climate-wise while the last five to the south, with one outlier, resemble the Mediterranean Cotes du Rhone climate to the south.  This is a generalization but the bigger reds come from the north and the softer reds come from the south.

All Beaujolais show berry flavors in abundance and our northernmost cru, Julienas, is all about strawberries and lingonberries.  St. Amour is difficult to peg down flavor-wise.  It's sort of all over the map.  Chenas is big age-worthy red wine.  Moulin a Vent is decidedly full-bodied and tannic.  It's big red wine that turns more pinot-ish with age.  Fleuries are floral, as the name implies, but still capable of aging well.

The five crus to the south start with Chiroubles, a soft, lighter-styled, delicate red.  Morgon is the outlier mentioned above.  It is a full-bodied, rich and powerful, meaty, age-worthy cherry bomb that also turns pinot-ish with age.  The last three; Regnie, Cotes de Brouilly and Brouilly; are all soft and rich fruit bombs.  They are more like the Beaujolais to the south but still qualitatively better. 

So, to summarize: The big reds are Morgon, Moulin a Vent and Chenas.  All three are capable of aging up to ten years.  In a good vintage any cru should hold/improve for three to five years.  And the lighter ones you can enjoy anytime. 

So why this post now?  Because these wines are selling better than ever.  Maybe they've been discovered.  You should try one. 

Coffee, Wine and Tea

Coffee, wine and tea have historically consumed the beverage category in my life.  I used to tell people I drink a pot of coffee every morning, a pot of tea in the afternoon and a pot of wine in the evening...and that's not far from the truth!  But things change when you get older and tastes have to be tempered.

What I find fascinating in life is how our tastes change over time and relatedly, how we think about what we consume.  I have never been a coffee connoisseur, but at the same time, I'll pass on a bad cup any time.  My cup of coffee has to be just good enough, as I define that term, to pass muster with me. 

I always thought tea was tea, whether hot or cold.  Why waste time considering the merits of a product that is so basic; that is, until I recently picked up a couple jugs of the pre-made stuff from the grocery store.  I had forgotten my home brewed tea from bulk leaves that day and figured the jugs would suffice.  That's when I learned there is a difference.  I know now that my appreciation for tea has evolved.

So what's my point with this vacuous post? It's simply that it's all so personal what we like in our beverages.  Me?  I like good enough coffee and tea that others may not.  And I'm admittedly not a connoisseur of either.  Wine is different.  I am a connoisseur of fine wine but I'm also realistic.  I can't afford the great wines so I look for value.  And if that's got you curious, you should stop in the store.

And forget what others say.  Especially the experts.  Like what you like.  And remember, whether you think you know your stuff about coffee, tea and wine; it's always subject to change.