Off the beaten path in regards to California wine country; sits the Ridge Winery high up in the hills just outside of San Jose. This winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains has a long and distinguished history in California winemaking. The winery itself dates back to 1885 when a man by the name of Osea Perrone bought 180 acres on top of the “Monte Bello” ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco. His first vintage under the “Monte Bello” label was produced in 1892. The winery was later abandoned in 1920 due to prohibition, same as a lot of other wineries in California at that time, and did not really get going again until a group of Stanford Research Institute engineers started making wine in the mid 1960’s. They were making small amounts of wine but the wine itself was considered to be some of the best being produced in this time. Then in 1969 a man by the name of Paul Draper joined the team and with minimal experience they moved forward with a really “old world” or traditional method of winemaking. Today with Draper still in charge, Ridge is producing mostly Cabernet and Zinfandel and this estate continues to use this very minimal, all single vineyard approach to their winemaking. They also purchased a property in Lytton Springs; a vineyard site in Sonoma County. These are definitely some of my favorite wines produced domestically. By the way, this winery was involved in the “Judgment of Paris” wine tasting in 1976. Ridge came in fifth among the other California and French wines. When they had the 30th anniversary of the tasting in 2006, the 1971 and 2001 vintages of Monte Bello Cabernets came in first place in the original and new vintage categories.
Ridge uses the term “Pre-industrial winemaking” to describe their method of making wine. They have a great website that explains in depth what this term means, but in short it is just a very minimal, hands’ off approach to winemaking. They are essentially old school methods of hand harvesting site specific wines using native yeasts and minimal intervention in the winemaking process. The final product allows for great intensity and very different tasting wines although they may be the same varietals.
As far as the wines are concerned; their Great! The Monte Bello is such an iconic wine as far as domestic wine is concerned and it still delivers. Some of the best Cabernet I have tasted. I have to admit I am not usually a big California Zinfandel fan, but the options from Ridge are so different from typical Zinfandel and quite good to be honest. The different sites really offer great variety in flavor and the wines are really well balanced, not over the top,
This was a really great visit and believe me the wines are amazing. We do carry a number of Ridge wines here at the store and our selection tends to vary depending on availability.
Enjoy as always,
Nick
Wine Buyer, West Vail Liquor Mart
Monday, September 30, 2013
Thursday, September 26, 2013
MEAD
Mead is an alcoholic beverage that, in its simplest form, is made by fermenting a mixture of honey and water. It may also be made by adding a grain mash to the honey/water mixture, which is then strained. Meads can contain a wide variety of spices, fruits and hops, depending on tradition, culture and recipe. The alcohol content of mead ranges from 8% to 18%. It can be still, carbonated or naturally sparkling, and can be sweet, semi-sweet or dry. Mead differs from honey-wine, which is wine sweetened with honey.
Mead is considered the world's first fermented beverage, with evidence of its production dating back to around 2000 BC. Mead was a common beverage in Ancient Greece, and Aristotle and Pliny the Elder each included it in their writings. From the Greeks and Romans to the Norse, Beowulf to Shakespeare, mead was celebrated and commonly used in celebrations. Mead followed the expansion of civilization, and was common throughout all of Europe, as well as east into Russia and the Baltics, and south into Africa. Mead became especially common in areas that grapes would not grow.
Each culture had its own name for the beverage, and each culture's mead was unique to the area it was produced, depending on the source of the honey, the quality of the water, the type of yeast used, the aging procedure and the various adjuncts (fruits, spices, etc.) that were used. Originally, mead was fermented by the wild yeasts that came from the honey itself, or from the skins of the fruits that were added. Over time these yeasts were isolated, and today mead is made from strains of yeast that are similar to those that are used for making beer and wine.
Mead's decline in popularity began in the late 14th century, and by the 17th century it was only popular in a few areas of the world, overtaken in most areas by beer and wine. A honey shortage in Europe, advances in wine and beer making and shipping all played a role. When the Normans of France conquered Northern Europe, bringing with them their love of wine, mead's popularity was about finished. It has remained popular in Africa, Poland and the Baltics. It has been making a small resurgence, driven in part by the craft beverage movement and advances in chemistry and technology. There are about 60 meaderies in the U.S. and Canada today.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Sangiovese!
Probably the most under the radar recognized Italian grapes. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and many other famous wines are composed of primarily Sangiovese or its relatives; Sangiovese Grosso and Sangiovese piccolo. There are so many different clones and variations of Sangiovese that it is hard to nail down a certain clone or area and say this is the real Sangiovese. It has many names depending on where you are in Italy; like most grapes in Italy. For example; Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is called Prugnolo; Morellino di Scansano is called Morellino. It is planted pretty much all over Italy and done with varying degrees of success. It has a natural high acidity and tannin which is not always the case with red grapes. This allows for Sangiovese to produce light fruity wines and also big, dark, tannic wines depending on where and how it was cultivated. They seem to age well overall and love the company of oak ageing. Overall this is a very versatile and important grape that has many different faces; chances are you will find a variation that is pleasant to you. I have listed a few wines below that are available at the West Vail Liquor Mart.
Montalcino
Just south of Chianti is Montalcino. One of Italy’s most famous wines, Brunello di Montalcino is produced in this region. Brunello is a DOCG region. DOCG mean Donomintation of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin. It is basically the governing body of Italian wine guaranteeing that a particular wine meets the standards that the particular region requires. Brunello is required to be 100% Sangiovese according to the DOCG requirements. They are using Sangiovese Grosso to make Brunello and the lighter declassified “Rosso di Montalcino.”
Banfi Rosso Di Montalcino (24.99)
Chianti Classico
In the hills south of Florence is Chianti and its sub zones, one of which being Chianti Classico. This is a DOCG region that requires the blend to be at least 85% Sangiovese. Chianti kind of developed a bad reputation over the years as being a very budget table wine. During the 1980’s through a series of wine consultants, really changed the idea of Chianti; especially Chianti Classico. The wines have gone from thin, astringent table wines to denser, darker more ageworthy wines. The wines are still very elegant and graceful.
Castello di Meleto Chianti Classico (16.99)
Molise
Molise is a wine growing region in the eastern center part of Italy, close to the region of Abbruzzo. It was not effectively its own region until 1970 making it Italy’s newest wine growing DOC. They grow Greco, Fiano, Falangina as well as Aglianico and Sangiovese. Relatively unexplored for wine making this region has a lot of potential.
DiMajo Norante Sangiovese (12.99)
Enjoy,
Nick, Wine Buyer
Montalcino
Just south of Chianti is Montalcino. One of Italy’s most famous wines, Brunello di Montalcino is produced in this region. Brunello is a DOCG region. DOCG mean Donomintation of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin. It is basically the governing body of Italian wine guaranteeing that a particular wine meets the standards that the particular region requires. Brunello is required to be 100% Sangiovese according to the DOCG requirements. They are using Sangiovese Grosso to make Brunello and the lighter declassified “Rosso di Montalcino.”
Banfi Rosso Di Montalcino (24.99)
Chianti Classico
In the hills south of Florence is Chianti and its sub zones, one of which being Chianti Classico. This is a DOCG region that requires the blend to be at least 85% Sangiovese. Chianti kind of developed a bad reputation over the years as being a very budget table wine. During the 1980’s through a series of wine consultants, really changed the idea of Chianti; especially Chianti Classico. The wines have gone from thin, astringent table wines to denser, darker more ageworthy wines. The wines are still very elegant and graceful.
Castello di Meleto Chianti Classico (16.99)
Molise
Molise is a wine growing region in the eastern center part of Italy, close to the region of Abbruzzo. It was not effectively its own region until 1970 making it Italy’s newest wine growing DOC. They grow Greco, Fiano, Falangina as well as Aglianico and Sangiovese. Relatively unexplored for wine making this region has a lot of potential.
DiMajo Norante Sangiovese (12.99)
Enjoy,
Nick, Wine Buyer
Chilean Wine
You often hear the terms, new world and old world wine. This is just a reference to different wine regions throughout the world. Old world wines generally refer to European countries (France, Italy, Spain etc.) who have been wine producing countries for many centuries. New world wine is referring to those countries who have only been involved with wine production for the last 100 years or so (USA, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, etc.). Most of these new world countries have had European immigrants and basically brought old world vines and techniques to their new homes and started making wine. Chile is one of these regions that have a lot of European influence and it shows through the varietals they have decided to plant there. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate the production coming from Chile, with Pinot Noir constantly on the rise. Although Chile is going through a Boutique movement currently, with a lot of small, independent wineries popping up; its’ winemaking history has been dominated by a few large scale producers within the country. For example, Los Vascos is a very popular and recognizable Chilean Brand. Los Vascos is a Rothschild project; which is a very renowned name in Bordeaux. Most of these Chilean wines got there start from a foreign organization coming in and starting the process. Along with the right climate and soil, this is what influenced the decision when planting these certain varietals. Chile offers great options at what I believe still to be very affordable prices. With the Malbec boom in Argentina and the Sauvignon Blanc boom in New Zealand, Chile is still trying to find there big breakthrough in the wine world. Chile is a lot like California. A long narrow profile all along the Pacific Coast to the west and the Andes Mountains to the east allow for ideal wine conditions pretty much all over the country, with a few exceptions. This allows so much versatility in what you can grow well here. Chile is still discovering what they do well, but has a lot of established great wines. Here are a few of my favorite wines amongst the before mentioned varietals from Chile….
Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc (10.99) I mentioned before Los Vascos is one of the most recognizable estates in Chile. Managed by the Rothschild family, whos’ involvement began in the 1980’s, The Sauvignon Blanc is produced from the Casablanca and Curico Valley’s. These areas do have a lot of similarities to Bordeaux, where they produce oddly enough a lot of Sauvignon Blanc. It is a coastal cool climate that lends itself to Sauvignon Blanc and the more widely planted chardonnay. This is a very classic style Sauvignon Blanc with plenty of citrus tones and bright acidity. This wine is definitely a great option for the price.
Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay (12.99) Lapostolle is another heavy hitter in the Chilean wine game. Founded by the Marnier-Lapostolle families in 1994 this has grown to be one of the largest exported Chilean Brands. More French influence! This Chardonnay is from the Casablanca Valley as well. 100% Chardonnay that has just a touch of oak influence (16% mixed between new and experienced oak barrels, the rest in stainless steel) which makes this a classic version of Chardonnay with pear and apple flavors complimented by good, fresh acidity.
Santa Rita Reserva Carmenere (14.99) Carmenere is a lost Bordeaux varietal believed to be Merlot in Chile for a long time. It has now become kind of their namesake in the case that it is pretty much exclusively produced in Chile. It has the stereotype of being “green” which is a wine term to describe that sort of bitter, vegetal taste in the wine. Although some Carmenere and Cabernet in Chile definitely have this negative characteristic, some don’t. Santa Rita has 120 years of winemaking history making it one of the oldest wineries in Chile. This Carmenere is from the Rapel Valley which is just South of Santiago. This wine has great fruit and spice expression integrated with smooth but definitely present tannins. This is what I believe to be a classic example of Chile’s signature grape; Carmenere.
Santa Ema Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (16.99) Although this winery began production in the 1950’s it did not start exporting wine until the 1980’s. The Reserve Cabernet is from the Maipo Valley which is just southwest of Santiago sandwiched between the Pacific and the Andes. (As are all the winegrowing Valleys in Chile, they generally run east to west along a river between the mountains and the ocean.) This wine sees 8-10 months in French oak creating a very complex wine for the price. It has notes of cherry, prune, tobacco and coffee. This is a great value for good Cabernet if California prices have offended you a little lately.
All in all I think there is still a lot of bang for your buck in Chile. I believe it sometimes gets looked over and forgotten in the wine world. With so many possibilities because of their climate and terrior, I am excited to see what comes out of Chile over the next couple of decades. That being said there are plenty of great wines already being produced and worth trying,
Enjoy,
Nick
Wine Buyer
Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc (10.99) I mentioned before Los Vascos is one of the most recognizable estates in Chile. Managed by the Rothschild family, whos’ involvement began in the 1980’s, The Sauvignon Blanc is produced from the Casablanca and Curico Valley’s. These areas do have a lot of similarities to Bordeaux, where they produce oddly enough a lot of Sauvignon Blanc. It is a coastal cool climate that lends itself to Sauvignon Blanc and the more widely planted chardonnay. This is a very classic style Sauvignon Blanc with plenty of citrus tones and bright acidity. This wine is definitely a great option for the price.
Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay (12.99) Lapostolle is another heavy hitter in the Chilean wine game. Founded by the Marnier-Lapostolle families in 1994 this has grown to be one of the largest exported Chilean Brands. More French influence! This Chardonnay is from the Casablanca Valley as well. 100% Chardonnay that has just a touch of oak influence (16% mixed between new and experienced oak barrels, the rest in stainless steel) which makes this a classic version of Chardonnay with pear and apple flavors complimented by good, fresh acidity.
Santa Rita Reserva Carmenere (14.99) Carmenere is a lost Bordeaux varietal believed to be Merlot in Chile for a long time. It has now become kind of their namesake in the case that it is pretty much exclusively produced in Chile. It has the stereotype of being “green” which is a wine term to describe that sort of bitter, vegetal taste in the wine. Although some Carmenere and Cabernet in Chile definitely have this negative characteristic, some don’t. Santa Rita has 120 years of winemaking history making it one of the oldest wineries in Chile. This Carmenere is from the Rapel Valley which is just South of Santiago. This wine has great fruit and spice expression integrated with smooth but definitely present tannins. This is what I believe to be a classic example of Chile’s signature grape; Carmenere.
Santa Ema Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (16.99) Although this winery began production in the 1950’s it did not start exporting wine until the 1980’s. The Reserve Cabernet is from the Maipo Valley which is just southwest of Santiago sandwiched between the Pacific and the Andes. (As are all the winegrowing Valleys in Chile, they generally run east to west along a river between the mountains and the ocean.) This wine sees 8-10 months in French oak creating a very complex wine for the price. It has notes of cherry, prune, tobacco and coffee. This is a great value for good Cabernet if California prices have offended you a little lately.
All in all I think there is still a lot of bang for your buck in Chile. I believe it sometimes gets looked over and forgotten in the wine world. With so many possibilities because of their climate and terrior, I am excited to see what comes out of Chile over the next couple of decades. That being said there are plenty of great wines already being produced and worth trying,
Enjoy,
Nick
Wine Buyer
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Non-Alcoholic Beer
Non-alcoholic beer dates back to the dawn of prohibition in 1919, when breweries were trying to find ways to stay alive. Some turned to making soda or root beer, while others continued to make beer that had a very low alcoholic content, which was allowed by law to be less than .5% alcohol by volume. During prohibition, these beers were called "non-intoxicating". Over time the name evolved into "non-alcoholic", even though they do contain a small amount of alcohol. This differs from the term "alcohol free" which legally in the U.S. means there is no detectable alcohol at all. Once prohibition had ended, there remained a small market for non-alcoholic beers, and for good reason. Pregnant women, designated drivers, those on medication or those that have quit drinking but still like the taste of beer all make up the market for non-alcoholic brews.
There are several ways to make non-alcoholic beer. The most common is by brewing the beer as normal, and then removing the alcohol prior to bottling. One way to do this is to boil off the alcohol. Since alcohol has a much lower boiling point than water (about 173 degrees at sea level), the beer can be heated to slightly above that point until enough alcohol burns off to bring it below .5%. However, reheating the ingredients in the beer changes its flavor significantly. Some brewers get around this by using a vacuum to lower the boiling point of the alcohol, thus reducing the temperature needed to boil off the alcohol and minimizing the effect of heat on the remaining ingredients. Another way to remove alcohol from beer is to use reverse-osmosis by running the beer through a very fine micro-filter through which only alcohol and water can pass. The alcohol is then distilled from the water using conventional means, and the remaining liquid is added back to the ingredients that didn't fit through the filter. This method is more labor intensive and requires more equipment.
Other less common ways to reduce the alcohol in beer are to limit the malt/water ratio in the mash to lower the original gravity and thus the alcohol level, to ferment the "second runnings" from a stronger beer mash where the amount of fermentable sugars has been reduced, to use a cold contact method of fermentation by pitching the yeast at near freezing temperatures which limits the fermentation but still provides some flavor development, or by stopping the fermentation at a desired point by pasteurizing or crash cooling the batch.
We did a blind tasting of non-alcoholic beers with the staff here at West Vail Liquor Mart, and it was quite interesting. While all of the beers tasted quite light, and perhaps a little sweet, there was quite a bit of difference in the way they each tasted, and in how our staff rated them. The over all favorite was O'Doul's, which, despite being quite light, had enough going for it that everyone put it in their top five. The other beers that received a majority of votes were Buckler, which was considered to have some hop character for an N/A beer; Clausthaler Premium which was considered to be light and drinkable with just enough malt taste and Clausthaler Amber, which exhibited a good malt flavor, without tasting too sweet or having a weird aftertaste. Becks N/A and Erdinger N/A also were favored by a majority, with Becks being considered a little sweet and Erdinger a little malty. We generally keep Thomasbrau N/A in stock, but the distributor had been out of stock for several weeks prior to the tasting, so we weren't able to compare that one.
We generally keep 5 flavors of non-alcoholic beer in stock, and will rotate between those mentioned above. We encourage any requests and feedback that you, our customers, may have.
Cheers!
Chip
Beer Buyer
There are several ways to make non-alcoholic beer. The most common is by brewing the beer as normal, and then removing the alcohol prior to bottling. One way to do this is to boil off the alcohol. Since alcohol has a much lower boiling point than water (about 173 degrees at sea level), the beer can be heated to slightly above that point until enough alcohol burns off to bring it below .5%. However, reheating the ingredients in the beer changes its flavor significantly. Some brewers get around this by using a vacuum to lower the boiling point of the alcohol, thus reducing the temperature needed to boil off the alcohol and minimizing the effect of heat on the remaining ingredients. Another way to remove alcohol from beer is to use reverse-osmosis by running the beer through a very fine micro-filter through which only alcohol and water can pass. The alcohol is then distilled from the water using conventional means, and the remaining liquid is added back to the ingredients that didn't fit through the filter. This method is more labor intensive and requires more equipment.
Other less common ways to reduce the alcohol in beer are to limit the malt/water ratio in the mash to lower the original gravity and thus the alcohol level, to ferment the "second runnings" from a stronger beer mash where the amount of fermentable sugars has been reduced, to use a cold contact method of fermentation by pitching the yeast at near freezing temperatures which limits the fermentation but still provides some flavor development, or by stopping the fermentation at a desired point by pasteurizing or crash cooling the batch.
We did a blind tasting of non-alcoholic beers with the staff here at West Vail Liquor Mart, and it was quite interesting. While all of the beers tasted quite light, and perhaps a little sweet, there was quite a bit of difference in the way they each tasted, and in how our staff rated them. The over all favorite was O'Doul's, which, despite being quite light, had enough going for it that everyone put it in their top five. The other beers that received a majority of votes were Buckler, which was considered to have some hop character for an N/A beer; Clausthaler Premium which was considered to be light and drinkable with just enough malt taste and Clausthaler Amber, which exhibited a good malt flavor, without tasting too sweet or having a weird aftertaste. Becks N/A and Erdinger N/A also were favored by a majority, with Becks being considered a little sweet and Erdinger a little malty. We generally keep Thomasbrau N/A in stock, but the distributor had been out of stock for several weeks prior to the tasting, so we weren't able to compare that one.
We generally keep 5 flavors of non-alcoholic beer in stock, and will rotate between those mentioned above. We encourage any requests and feedback that you, our customers, may have.
Cheers!
Chip
Beer Buyer
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