Wine Tasting Week 2

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Wine Tasting Week 2

• January 2006

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Outline

• Chardonnays
• Storing Serving

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Chardonnay

• Made famous in Burgundy Champagne
• Grows happily just about everywhere
• Italy
• California, Oregon, Washington, New York, Texas
• Argentina, Chile
• Australia, New Zealand
• South Africa

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Climate and Chardonnay

• Cool climate (e.g. Burgundy)
• Lighter body,
• Crisp and tangy acidity
• Warm climate (e.g. California, Australia, Texas)
• Fuller body
• Softer, smoother
• Good chardonnays can come from any climate
• Great chardonnays tend to come from select
  regions in cooler climates

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Lees Oak

• One of the only whites to be fermented and/or
  aged in oak
• Especially in warmer climates
• Provides vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and wood
  aromas flavors
• Often left in contact with lees
• Provides creamy texture
• Often undergoes malolactic fermentation
• Softens acids
• Provides buttery flavors
• Reduces shelf life

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Chardonnay Food Pairings

• Suggested pairings
• Buttery or creamy dishes (e.g. alfredo, lobster
  butter)
• Chicken dishes

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White Burgundy

• Chablis is the famous white burgundy
• Less emphasis on oak fermentation aging
• Cool climate characteristics Lighter body,
  green fruit (e.g. apple), citrus (e.g.
  pineapple), flinty, maybe wet wool?

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California Chardonnay

• Most popular California white
• Often spends a lot of time in oak
• Warmer climate characteristics buttery,
  butterscotchy, oak, vanilla, tropical fruit,
  fuller body

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Australian Chardonnay

• Leading Australian white
• First (and most notably) grown in the Hunter
  Valley, which has a warm, wet and humid climate
• Australian wine making philosophy usually blends
  grapes from different regions

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Storing

• 3 key elements to successful storage
• Cool temperature (55-70 F)
• Bottles are upside down or on their side
• No direct sunlight

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Serving Temperature

• Red wines(65 F)
• Room temperature in northern Europe before
  central heating, that is Ice bucket for 5 min.,
  or 30 minutes in the fridge
• Beaujolais other fruity, low-tannin reds (55
  F)
• Ice bucket for 15 min.
• Fridge for 1 hour
• White wines (50 F)
• Ice bucket for 15-25 min.
• Fridge for 1 hour
• Champagne (45 F)
• Ice bucket for 30 min.
• Fridge for 1.5 hours

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Aerating Decanting

• Aerating, or breathing
• Wines soften and open up when exposed to air
• Especially good for young tannic reds e.g.
  cabernet sauvignon merlot
• Not a good idea for most whites and fragile
  reds (e.g. aged pinot noirs, chiantis or riojas)
• Proper aerating
• Pour the wine into a decanter, carafe, or pitcher
• Simply pulling out the cork isnt effective
• Decanting
• A way to remove sediment in aged reds (gt10 yrs)
• Store bottle upright for 1-2 days so sediment
  settles
• Without stirring up sediment, uncork the bottle
• Hold in front of a light source and slowly pour
  wine into decanter, stopping when you see
  sediment in the neck of the bottle

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The Four Essential Glasses

• 1. The White wine glass is small, in order to
  prevent the rapid warming that would occur in a
  vessel with more surface area.
• 2. The Bordeaux glass (which is also appropriate
  for other hearty red wines, like cabernet and
  merlot) is larger, which allows for more
  development of the bouquet.
• 3. The Burgundy glass is the largest in any
  stemware collection exactly because Burgundy-type
  wines (such as pinot noir and other delicate
  varieties) are so subtle that they need a huge
  area in which to gather their aromas.
• 4.The most notable feature of the champagne flute
  is that it's tall, to allow the proper
  development of bubbles.

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Chardonnay Glass

• The Chardonnay glass is designed so that
  Chardonnays low acidity is delivered in a way
  that sets off the alcohol and rich flavors of the
  wine, highlighting it velvety, supple texture,
  emphasizing the fruit and ensuring a long,
  balanced finish. This classic Riedel shape allows
  young wines to express all their invigorating
  freshness, while more mature wines are encouraged
  to deliver the nutty, spicy, mineral flavors so
  typical of the variety. (20.00 dollars)

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Chardonnay Glass
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Pinot Noir/Burgundy Wine Glasses

• Ideal for full-bodied red wines with high acidity
  and moderate tannins. Its slightly tapered rim
  directs the flow of wine toward the front palate,
  highlighting the rich fruit while tempering the
  acidity. The generously sized bowl provides ample
  breathing space for the bouquet to develop,
  capturing the nuances of the wines aromas.

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Burgundy
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Cabernet / Merlot/ Bordeaux

• Ideal for full-bodied, complex red wines that are
  high in alcohol and tannins. The generous size
  allows the wine to aerate in the glass and the
  bouquet to develop fully.
• The shape of the rim directs the flow of the wine
  to the front palate to enhance sweetness, thus
  accentuating the fruit while softening bitter
  tannins.

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Bordeaux
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Champagne

• Highlights the full spectrum of aromas and
  flavors offered by Champagne and sparkling wine
  while preserving their elegant effervescence
• The fluted bowl provides ample breathing space,
  which concentrates the yeasty bouquet and brings
  out the full range of aromas. The narrow rim
  directs the flow of liquid to areas of the palate
  that recognize the creamy texture.

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Riedel

• The finest glasses for both technical and
  hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel. The
  effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound.
  I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they
  make.(Robert M.Parker, Jr. The Wine Advocate)

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• Crystal has a rougher surface, on a microscopic
  level, than regular glass and therefore helps
  wine release its aromas as you drink

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Our Mission

• Try the same wine from a plastic cup, coffee
  mug, burgundy and Bordeaux glass.
• Does it make any difference?

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Why is some wine so expensive?

• By law, the top quality wine regions can only
  produce so many grapes per acre. Once they've
  reached that magic number, they must either plant
  grapes somewhere else or buy grapes from a grape
  grower.

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Why is some wine so expensive?

• A 1997 study by three French economists found
  that the price of Bordeaux wines was mainly
  determined by their ranking in the Médoc
  classification system (which essentially puts
  Bordeaux vineyards into five tiers of prestige),
  even though they found little correlation between
  rank and quality.
• -CNN money

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Why is some wine so expensive?

• Among nearly 3,000 entries at the San Francisco
  2000 International Wine Competition, wines that
  cost 10 or less won a third of the varietal
  class contests.
• -CNN money