Posted by Pamela
I love reading other people’s opinions about wine. Being in wine marketing myself, whether I agree or not, I often find a gem of a perspective that either affirms my strong opinions (me?) or presents me with an opportunity for thoughts as complex as the wines I enjoy. Which is why I delighted in reading Alder Yarrow’s recent ode on Vinography to the masterful wine blend– he’s pleasingly in alignment with my heart…oh, and my palate. And I also get to take exception with one or two minor points…just for fun.
I always smile when my friends come back from Italy and exclaim “Wow! Over there, even everyday red table wine is great!” I smile because they have discovered what Alder describes so beautifully-the elegance, magic and harmony of the artful blend.
To find out more about exactly what it takes to make a killer blend, I chatted with our Wine Spectator acclaimed winemaker Marco DiGiulio (ok, I’m a shameless marketer, and there’s more shameless marketing to come…but it’s all true and frankly, when he described all this to me I really thought it was cool, and I think you will, too.)
First, Marco explained that all good wines are truly made in the vineyard. Apparently you can screw up a good wine, made from top quality grapes, in the lab, barrel and tank, but you absolutely cannot make a top quality wine from mediocre grapes. That’s why we’re glad Marco and our owner, Pat Roney, have been in the wine country for so long, and have so many strong relationships with top growers and other wineries. When there are incredible vineyards available for contract, Pat and Marco often get the call first…there’s simply nothing more important than that.
Marco then described his method for deciding when to pick our grapes– um, very scientific. Basically, he picks ‘em when they taste good! Unlike many who rely heavily, and sometimes entirely, on brix level (sugar level), Marco relies on the fullness of the flavor of the grapes to determine when to pick. He literally walks the vineyards regularly throughout the growing season and every day around harvest time, and tastes the grapes…in every block, in multiple rows. When he feels that the flavors have fully developed to the desired richness, complexity and profile, he calls the pickers.
But wait, there’s more! Marco described the benefits of having multiple small tanks at the winery instead of a few larger tanks. Not only can we pick different vineyards and different varietals at different times, we can also pick different blocks and rows of a single vineyard at different times…and we can keep all of those incredibly small lots separate, developing on their own, until the last moment when it’s time to create the final blend. That way we are not taking any chances on whether these lots will be harmonious after development; instead, we know with precision and certainty.
Ok, then there’s proper barrel programming (who wants to chew on wood with their wine?) The challenge is adding beautiful toasty oak and vanilla accents to the wine, without masking the fruit flavors or rebuilding the forest on the taster’s palate. And of course, there’s the winemaker’s talent, instinct, experience, wisdom, scientific understanding, yada yada yada…
All that said, what does it really take to get a tasty blend? Well, from Windsor Vineyards, it takes about 12 bucks. The other day in a wine training session (coincidentally focusing on blending!) we popped the cork of Windsor’s Three Vines Red, a racy little Rhone-syle blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Merlot. I was truly delighted with that wine, which would pair really, really well with pasta, pizza, burgers, and other everyday foods.
Now, here’s the part where I get to refute one of Alder’s points, just for fun…while it may be true that most Napa Proprietary Reds will cost you several hundred dollars, the Girard Proprietary Red Blend called Artistry, which was named one of the top 2005 red blends and rated 5 stars by the prestigious Quarterly Review of Wines, will set you back only $40 (and that’s without the case discount!)
Of course, if you don’t want to shell out $40 and you want something a bit more complex than the Three Vines, Windsor Vineyards’ 3-time gold medal winner Meritage ($30) will definitely float your boat.
And just so I don’t come off as completely biased, I’d also like to recommend a couple of other winemakers’ blends that I recently tasted and thoroughly enjoyed…check out Cinq Cepages by Chateau St. Jean ($75 at the winery) and Symmetry by Rodney Strong ($55-$65 at the winery).
Cheers!
Posted by Pat
