Posts Tagged ‘Napa Valley’

Safety Wine: Sauvignon Blanc — the New Chardonnay?

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

sauvignon blanc grapesA recent WSJ wine column features Sauvignon Blanc, sometimes referred to as Fumé Blanc. Without providing any data, the writer seems to believe that sauvignon blanc is second to chardonnay in white wine’s popularity, ie. sales. Interestingly enough, according to this site’s wine poll, visible on the sidebar here, it’s 2nd, but trailing pinot grigio by a handsome margin. Probably reflecting this site’s younger readership, chardonnay isn’t very popular.

There are a few explanations. There is the anything but chardonnay (ABC) backlash and the fact that inexpensive chardonnay doesn’t stack up well versus inexpensive pinot grigios or sauvignon blancs. I did share an excellent bottle of chardonnay a few weeks ago (2007 Mondavi — they make some good ones I guess). At $20 from the grocery I guess it wasn’t cheap — 2007 represented a strong year for Napa chardonnay.

Personally, Sauvignon Blanc is my favorite wine and a near certainty when paring with most whitefish  and some types of shellfish. It’s crispy acidity is a nice complement, without being overbearing. Add that to the fact that there are good bottles under $10 and it’s a winner. Note that I live in California and proximity to the vineyards probably lowers the cost of locally-grown wines. Regions that I favor are: Central Coast (Monterey County, Santa Barbara County / Santa Ynez Valley), as well as the always strong Napa and Sonoma Valleys. While I prefer dry, herbaceous wines, don’t be surprised if your bottle is a bit different, perhaps with a stronger oak influence. I won’t recommend any particular bottles, but test a few out and as long as you don’t try pairing with ribeye, there should be a bottle for everyone.

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Movie Review: Bottle Shock

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Movies will be reviewed when they are seen, which is to say no particular order at all. I’m by no means a movie critic, but watch a lot of movies and I’ll discuss those pertinent to the site.Bottle Shock movie

I was somewhat surprised that Bottle Shock didn’t rate highly on Rotten Tomatoes (48%). But a lot of the rotten reviews focused on comparing it to Sideways, the other semi-popular wine movie of the 2000s. Sideways was an awesome study of men, relationships, character, and why Pinot Noir is superior Merlot, as Miles would have you believe. There was even speculation that the “Sideways Effect” affected American consumer preferences.

So Bottle Shock wasn’t Sideways, but there was an intriguing story: how California’s Napa Valley got on the worldwide “map” as a region for premier wine. I’m sure there were some artistic liberties taken, but the competition in Paris seemed to be the tipping point for California wine. Beyond the Chateau Montelena’s Chardonnay, the other winner from the competition was the eponymous Stag’s Leap Wineries (founded 1972), its region now widely recognized as producing premier Cabernet Sauvignon.

Some other observations:

Gustavo and the intern from Bottle Shock

It was all downhill from here for Gustavo

  • The best actor was Bill Pullman, playing the ascetic owner of Chateau Montelena. The rest of the actors were marginal, with the exception of Alan Rickman, who may or not have been overacting.
  • I was left wondering what happened to Gustavo’s character: first he makes an unbelievable wine, but gets into a fight with his employer and suddenly he and his wine become marginalized. Apparently, it’s because the real Gustavo didn’t appear on the vineyard until after the story’s timeline so Gustavo was a real person whose story was made up and thus the screenwriter forgot to put any closure on his character.
  • Its probably not a good idea when the protagonist is an entity (a vineyard) and none of its members are likable. It’s like making a movie about Duke winning a basketball championship.
  • The Parisian shop owner and organizer of the climactic competition was named Steven Spurrier. I was really confused in the movie’s opening minutes wondering when and why coach Steve Spurrier owned a wine shop in Paris.
  • Chateau Montelena seems like a neat place to visit. Next time I’m in Napa, I’ll stay in Calistoga and will check it out.

Conclusion: Recommended with reservations. If you’re into wine, it’s pretty awesome. If you’re just a movie buff, it’s a pass. After writing this, the 48% seems a bit more justified.

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Sweet or Dry: Residual Sugar in Wine

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Wine Chart

A Visual Display of Dry vs. Sweet

Hmm, maybe I could’ve chosen a better title, but anyone who’s been over to the wine page and fooled around with the calculator probably has a question or two about residual sugar. For starters, it helps to know where a wine falls on the dry – sweet spectrum. As the graphical representation done by a friend of the site suggests, it’s not so simple. Moving onto the why: Here’s a quick breakdown of the wine making process:

  • Grow Grapes
  • Harvest Grapes (Later Harvest = Sweeter Grapes)
  • Use Yeast to Ferment Sugar into Alcohol

That’s it. The final step is interesting though, because the yeast is picky. If there’s too much sugar, heat or alcohol, it’ll quit. So, the winemaker has control over the yeast’s effectiveness. In the “efficient” varietals, the yeast ferments through all nearly all of the sugar, so that value is quite low ( .5 – 5 grams / Liter). There are plenty of exceptions.

In port, fermentation is halted by brandy, so there’s lots of alcohol and lots of residual sugar. In sweeter champagnes, sugar is added-post fermentation. And in dessert sauvignon blancs, which are being pushed by Napa wineries lately, the grapes stay on the vine super-late and end up with a high sugar content. The fermentation process is halted somewhat prematurely by altering temperature and a sweet, moderately alcoholic wine is the result.

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