Le Cordon Bleu - Wines of the World #2

Class #2 brought us back to Old World wines. Greater Europe – home of 80% of the world’s wine production. With equaling consumption rates.

Vines were distributed throughout Europe by the Roman Empire. Beginning in present day Iran. Moving toward Egypt and Greece. And exploding to far off lands like China, South America and the U.S.

Today, some successful vines as far north as Sweden and Denmark can be found. Confirming the global warming.

Austria. Nearly 50,000 hectares makes this one of the lowest producing countries. The 1985 debacle of adding poison to their wines not only gave Austrians a bad reputation, but may have stunted growth as well.
The generally cool climate creates mainly white wines (2/3) which are generally dry, light in alcohol and slightly sparkling.

Separated into four regions – Lower Austria, Burgenland, Styria, and Vienna. The most common white grape varieties are Grüner Veltliner, Müller-Thurgau, Welschriesling, and Weisser Burgunder. Whereas the reds are Lauer Zweigelt (dark and tannic), Blau Frankish (sappy and perfume-y), and Blauer Portugiser (rustic).

TASTE. Weingut Brandlmeyer. Kamptal. Grüner Veltliner, trocken. 2006.

Let’s break this wine label down. Weingut, means chateau or winery. Brandlmeyer is the producer. Kamptal is the region, actually a sub-region of Burgenland. Grüner Veltliner is the grape or type of wine. Trocken means dry. Like German wines, Austrian wines have a series of words to describe the dryness. Trocken being the driest.

This was a simple wine that would be best served as an aperitif. Probably not complex enough for food. Pale golden with silvery lines, it smelled of grass, tart, citrus, and floral. The initial taste was large and round, but fresh. An average evolution and less exciting finish keeps this wine simple. Acidity was nice – similar to what is smelled on the nose.

Greece. Wine is not this country’s area of expertise. With only 12% being quality wine, most production is for basic table consumption.

There are over 700 varieties grown on the 130,000 hectares. Many of which are dried for raisins. Those that tend to make it to a wine bottle are Assyrtiko, Debina, Robola, Rhoditis, and Savatiano (flavored with pine resin) for whites. And Xynomavro, Agiorgitiko, Mandilaria, Liatiko (Crete), and Mavrodaphne (sweet wine) for the reds.

TASTE. Gaia. Nemea. Agiorgitiko. 2003. (The label description are in the same format as Austria’s example.)

A dark red wine with orange near the horseshoe – edge of wine in a glass when tipped horizontal – indicates aging. The clean, medium intense nose gave way to smoke, toast, jammy fruit, tobacco, leather, macerated cherries, and licorice notes. The long, developed finish on the palate supported acidity that melted, minimal tannins, and a slight warming aftereffect from alcohol. A great wine, perfect with lamb, beef, or duck in a rich sauce. Or with a small slab of brie cheese.

Italy. The number one wine producing country in the world. Exporting over a third from its 900,000 hectares.

Many grapes are grown, but the principal white wine varieties are Trebbiano (known as Ungi Blanc in France), Verdicchio, Vermeninto (dry and fruity), Canaiolo, Greco, Moscatel, Vernacchia, and Malvasa (sweet wine). The reds: Sangiovese, Nebiolo, Montepulciano, Barchetto, Aglianico, Nerodiavola, and Lambrusco (sparkling wine).

All produced in the area’s five regions. The north. The centre. Tyrrhenian Sea. Mediterranean Sea. And Adriatic Sea.

There are about 220 DOC – AOC equivalent – throughout Italy. Italians rank the top consumers with 50 liters per person per year (compared to Austria’s 33 and France’s 49).

TASTE. Rapido Red. Chianti. Sangiovese. 2009.

Deep purple with no coloration suggests the youngness of this wine. Fruit explodes on the nose – blackberry and currant – with added licorice and floral notes. A smooth, mild wine all around calls for BBQ, charcuterie, or some sort of fruit compote.

Spain. Some of the oldest vines dating back to the 10th century can be found throughout the 60 protected appellations. While grape production ranks the highest in the world on 1,200,000 hectares only about a third makes it to wine. Setting it behind Italy and France in overall wine production.

Airen, Maccabeo, Palomino, Pedro Ximinez, and Xarello (sparkling wine) make up the white wines. Sister reds are Grenache, Tempranillo, Carinena, Monastrell, and Graciano.

There is an added labeling system within Spain that indicates the age. Joven (young, unoaked). Crianza (6 month in oak; 12 months in bottle). Reserve (12 months in oak; 24 months in bottle). And Grand Reserve (24 months in oak; 36 months in bottle).

TASTE. La Raymundo Palazio. ???. Rioja, Reserve. 2006.

Busted. This bottle was corked beyond corked. No tasting here.

Corked refers to when the bottle has gone bad due to the drying of the cork. Contaminated with TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole). And the ruining of the flavor. It is harmless to drink, but usually incredibly unpleasant. Twelve percent of wines (those that use cork stoppers) are corked. A move to plastic and screw tops helps prevent this all together.

Portugal. This country is more known for its port production than table wine. Nonetheless a fragmented 260,000 hectares exist.

Rabigato (white port), Alvarinho, and Encruzada are the whites. And Touriga Nacional (red port), Tinta Francesca, Tinto Roriz, and Touriga Francesca are the reds. Eight regions with the addition of Madeira – small island next to Africa where Madeira wine is produced – are present.

TASTE. Quenta do Vallado. Douro. Touriga Nacional and Touriga Francesca. 2005.

Very dark, almost black violet color. Cherries, prunes, confit jam, spice, mint, tobacco, and pepper dominate the nose. Described as a typical Portuguese wine, the soft fleshy, well developed taste made for a rich, but great wine. Best paired with a big, juicy steak or roasted meat.

Hungary. Most people know about Hungary’s Tokaji sweet wine and not so much about regular table wines.

Approximately 95,000 hectares produce Furmit, Harsluvelu, Ezerjo (whites) and Kadourka, Kefrankos, Kekoporto (reds).

An AOC-like system has been in place since 1984 properly regulating production.

The four main regions of this country are: The Great Plain, Northern Transdanubia, Southern Transdanubia, and Northern Hungary.

TASTE. Oremus. Northern Hungary. Tokay Aszu. 1999.

Very sweet wine, amber, dark yellow, golden color. All suggested by its age. One whiff of this filled you with marmalade, flower blossoms, honey, beeswax, jasmine, and candied citrus zest aromas. The palate was overjoyed with a tart sugariness. Hard to pair with food, sweet wines tend to stand alone. However. A nice slice of foie gras or Roquefort may go nicely.