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Admirable Gusto posted:I got a bottle of Lopez de Heredia's 1994 Gran Reserva on a whim and it was amazing; can anyone recommend other riojas? I know basically nothing about Spanish wine A traditional producer that makes consistently outstanding wines is La Rioja Alta. Seek out their Gran Reserva if you can, but their Reservas are also great wines and priced well. Muga is more of a modern-style player and they make very good stuff as well. Spain has a loving incredible quality:price ratio so it pays to check out the wines. If you're in the USA, look at a bottle's back label and if the importer is Jorge Ordoñez, buy with confidence 'cause that guy imports primo stuff.
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Aug 15, 2015 08:35
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 09:44 |
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Just wanted to share today's wine:  William Fevre Chablis, 'Fourchaume' 1er Cru 2011 The wine is full of beautiful minerality, plus lemon, just-ripe green pear, oyster shell, cheese rind, and almond skin. As Burgundy goes, Chablis represents incredible value compared to the Chardonnays of the Côte d'Or. Even Fevre's entry-level Chablis is a really nice wine and hard to beat at the price point. This particular wine comes from the Premier Cru of Fourchaume. Fourchaume is generally considered one of the best Premier Cru sites partially due to its South-West facing exposure. this is similar to the Grand Cru sites, shown clustered together in one contiguous area on the hillsides North of the town of Chablis itself:  Fourchaume shares this SW exposure, shown here NW of the Grand Cru vineyards. This maximizes the vines' exposure to the intense afternoon sun, which is essential to ripening grapes in such a marginal climate as Chablis. The other Premier Cru sites (with a few exceptions such as Montée de Tonnerre and Mont-de-Milieu) face SE, giving them more of the morning sun and less of the more potent afternoon sun. I don't think I've ever had a truly bad Chablis, and the Premier Cru and Grand Cru bottlings are often stunning. In summary, everyone should drink Chablis, especially if you think you don't like Chardonnay 'cause this poo poo will blow your mind.
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Aug 16, 2015 03:40
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Stitecin posted:Winemakers are partially at fault, but so are restaurant owners, somms, wineshop owners, clerks, "wine educators", and whoever else has failed to convince the wine buying public that screw caps are less risky than cork. It's happening, but slowly. Certain clientele continue to have expectations regarding closures that aren't going to go away no matter what anyone says. As a somm, I've tried to 'convince' my guests that screw caps are not an indication of quality in and of themselves, but that isn't going to stop the occasional individual from sending it back. I was once told by a guest that I should be embarrassed for offering Ben Glaetzer's Bishop Shiraz because it was under screw cap. Of course, he expected me to discount Glaetzer's Amon Ra down to the same price since "the only difference is the cork." It's a consumer perception thing. They expect a luxury product to have a luxurious presentation, and to some people screw cap = cheap or tacky presentation. The upshot is that as we continue to demystify wine, old attitudes are changing. But it won't happen overnight.
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Apr 11, 2016 11:00
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Just passed the Advanced Sommelier Exam in Portland! The San Francisco Bay Area had a good showing this year, and 3 out of the 4 people in my study group passed. The one that didn't pass crushed service & theory but didn't make it on blind tasting. Nerves can be a killer...
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Apr 15, 2016 19:48
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Thanks! Luckily, the blind tasting format allows for some leeway since your final conclusions aren't quite as important as your breakdown & assessment leading up to it. Like math class, you show your work. At the Certified level, it's just one white & one red and the wines are pretty recognizable (I got Mosel Valley Riesling & California Pinot for my Certified exam). Advanced-level wines start to get pretty tough, though. There were six wines and I knew I nailed 4 of them, and my assessment of the others was strong enough to get me through with a good score even if I probably missed the conclusions. I agree that a somm is rarely put in a position on the floor where blind tasting matters. But I see why the Court emphasizes it. I've learned so much and I don't think my palate would be this sharp without all the tasting practice.
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Apr 15, 2016 21:52
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Kasumeat, I understand where you're coming from. It's definitely not a perfect system, but I've gotten a lot out of it. YMMV I actually didn't cowboy/instinctively nail any of the wines. It was all deductive. Lees, barrel-aging, malolactic, impact aromas, etc are all a vital part of the process. Doing it in time is a huge challenge, though. We blinded spirits & sparkling as part of the theory exam, but it is true that they are not part of usual lineup of blind wines. Pass rates have been very low the past few Advanced exams (11-16% or so). The Court made the application process very tough for 2016 in order to hopefully bring up the pass rate. This time around, we had 28 pass out of I think 70, which is a very good success rate. Skinny fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Apr 16, 2016 |
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Apr 15, 2016 23:58
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Thanks! I'm based in San Jose. Our study group is a mix of people in SF itself plus some in the south bay.
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Apr 18, 2016 18:56
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 09:44 |
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To be fair, I'd rather drink something neutral & generic like most Italian Pinot Grigio than something outright offensive like most Argentinian Torrontés. I agree that overly-oaked, overly-alcoholic wines (both new world and old world) are the wine world's equivalent of overly-hopped beer. On the bright side, in both markets the pendulum is starting to swing away from the extreme and we're seeing more nuanced use of oak/hops. It starts & ends with the consumer, like Kasumeat said.
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Apr 22, 2016 08:40
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