Tears of Strong Wine

Give your wine a swirl round the glass.

See those gorgeous, syrupy looking drops of wine trickling down the sides of the glass like sleepy little raindrops? Those are tears.

Also known as legs:

Sorry, legs:

The phenomenon was first explored fully in 1855 (a big year for wine, right?) by a British physicist by the name of James Thomson. His work outlined a series of molecular relationships in wine that allow it to not only cling to the glass in gravity-defying wonder but also slink back down again like little blobs of honey.

Basically, liquids are held together by attractive forces between molecules - known as surface tension (essentially what makes it a liquid and not a gas). The same attractive forces exist between the liquid and the surface of a solid substance like glass - known as interfacial tension. With wine and indeed most everyday liquids, the forces of interfacial tension between the liquid and glass are slightly stronger than those of the surface tension, so the liquid will appear to stick to the glass (this is why you can see raindrops on your window for example).   

So even with water in a glass, look closely and you will see the liquid appear to climb up the glass a little around the edges, where the interfacial tension pulls water molecules towards the glass.

But where are the tears?

Well with wine, we have a solution of alcohol and water.

As the thin film of wine clings to the edges of the glass, the alcohol evaporates quicker than the water and the composition of the liquid changes. This is a process slow enough to see happening and as the concentration of water in the liquid increases, so does its surface tension, meaning it forms a nice little round blob.

Eventually, as the surface tension increases and more liquid is drawn to it, the blob becomes so heavy that its interfacial tension can no longer hold it fast, and so it trickles back down the glass - slowly, as the last of the alcohol evaporates and the blob of wine becomes both stickier and heavier. 

In the wine trade they are called tears or legs.

No wine geek worth their salt would not mention them if they were apparent. In fact their observation is a requirement in the WSET curriculum. But my favourite part is that they convey almost no information whatsoever about the wine you are about to drink.

Their presence signifies nothing, except - at most - the presence of alcohol.

Legs. 

Who needs them?

Wine on Paper

A daunting but exciting thought and one worth sharing:

This is where I will be spending my next two years of free time:

Marqués de Cáceres Gran Reserva Pass with Merit

Two of the nicer things I received last week:

• Marqués de Cáceres Gran Reserva 2001 

• WSET Advanced Certificate  

 I already blogged about my WSET exam so I'll share my notes on the wine instead (needless to say I'm very proud of my result and will be pursuing the Diploma with similar fervour!)

Made only in the very best vintages, the 2001 Gran Reserva from Rioja's famous Marqués de Cáceres spent a substantial 28 months in French oak before a further 4 years bottle ageing deemed it suitable for release - 10 years (possibly to the day) since vintage and it certainly showed no signs of slowing.

Deep garnet in the glass, browning towards the rim and fairly syrupy legs left little to the imagination regarding the life of this wine so far.

A good swirl around the glass (note that even after decanting it took a good hour or two to really open up) produced surprisingly lively and deeply layered aromas of redcurrants, black cherry jam and warm fruit compote - all wound up in comforting vanilla, clove and cinnamon spice. A  lovely delicate whiff of leather in there too.

The palate started out dry, with noticeably fresh acidity and smooth but grippy tannins. Red fruit again, this time complimented by wood smoke and liquorice. A subtle savoury element balanced the slightly sweetened fruit character to perfection. The flavour develops well and finishes on a warm vanilla, spicy and mature note.

All in all, an experience not dissimilar to sinking into your favourite armchair on a blustery autumn Sunday evening, while warm candle-lit jazz sets the tone and a comforting sense of self-satisfaction plays gently on your sleepy mind...    

Under the Bridge, Up the Mountain

When I was invited to a 'vertical' tasting recently, I immediately conjured up visions of some kind of extreme-sports wine event, possibly involving abseiling.

My fears were short lived however, as I settled not into a harness but the considerably more comfortable leather chair at Edinburgh's hidden gem of a wine bar - Divino Enoteca. 

Tucked away under George IV Bridge, Divino is an opulent but cosy basement space, full of enomatic wine dispensers and passionate Italian waiters. Today I was there for only one reason:

 

That's right, an ecxiting vertical tasting (meaning consecutive vintages) of Mount Langi Ghiran's flagship Langi Shiraz.

Mount Langi Ghiran is a primarily Shiraz planted vineyard way up in the Grampians region of Victoria - a region consistently ravaged by drought, bush-fires and more recently flooding. Despite these odds, winemaker Dan Buckle was here with much justified pride to show off vintages 2004 - 2009 of one of Australia's finest cool-climate wines.

The vineyard was first planted in 1870 with an original clone from pre-phylloxera Rhone - now staking its claim as one of the oldest Shiraz clones on the planet - and has built a strong reputation worldwide.

Having taken the reins in 2003 with the instruction "Don't change the style!", Dan has wisely ignored this and taken the Langi Shiraz from strength to strength; steering away from the Aussie Shiraz "fruity red booze" style and more towards a classical, Rhone valley style with complex layers of aromatics and exotic spices. As we tasted the wines and he talked us through each vintage (with slight tangents into things like his new XL double thick French oak barrel, or Mango Parker and the pepper research program) his influence on the wines and the directions he was  moving in became more and more apparent:

2004 - A big, big wine with rich sweet and peppery fruit flavours and viscous mouthfeel. The first vintage to be bottled under screwcap and the first to abandon the use of American oak ("French oak seasons the wine, American oak layers flavours on top of it").

2005 - A more typically cool vintage, the '05 shows poise and balance with finer tannin. This is the year in which Dan mapped the vineyard in terms of taste/ripeness, allowing for more careful selection of grapes.

2006 - In 2006 Dan started experimenting with whole-bunch fermentation - a method common in Burgundy where grapes are fermented fully intact and on their stems, allowing a slower, more gentle extraction of complex aromatics, character and finesse. The '06 is a little thinner, peppery but more complex and involving than previous vintages.

2007 - A notable difference here, as if the 'new-style' Langi Shiraz finally holds its head up. By now careful selection of grapes over several passes through the vineyard at harvest, 40% whole-bunch fermentation and specially chosen French oak barriques all contribute to an outstanding wine - firm but elegant with exotic spice-box and tea-leaf  notes, bags of great fruit character and a persistent, intriguing finish.

2008 - Follows well in the footsteps of '07 but a massive heatwave and the several consecutive years of drought gives the 2008 a more stressed, sinewy feel. The elegance is still there though and I detected some distinct floral notes and lots of nice, toasty spice.

2009 - Finally, with just the right amount of rain and with Dan's wine-making techniques now well-honed, the 2009 Langi Shiraz really sets the standard. A stunningly elegant, tight, exotic and complex wine with great perfume and lift and a slowly building tannic structure, all wound up by some lovely spice and peppery notes.

And there it was. Six seasonal snapshots of the mountain. Six years of hard work. Six truly outstanding wines.

Thanks to Dan and all at Mount Langi Ghiran for the wines, Divino and Enotria for hosting.


www.langi.com.au
www.divinoedinburgh.com
www.enotria.co.uk

Off the Beaten Track

Part III - Tasting Notes

Finally, here are some of the wines I tasted during my travels:


Wine: Mezzek
Producer: Katarzyna Estate
Vintage: 2009
Origin: Tharcian Valley, Bulgaria
Grape(s): Chardonnay
Price: 15PLN (£3.20)

A great cheap Chardonnay with a lovely Burgundian streak of flinty minerallity. Nothing too special, but way more fun than most Chardonnay at twice the price back home.



Wine: Ragusa
Producer: Dubrovacki Podrumi
Vintage: 2009
Origin: Gruda, Croatia
Grape(s): Maraština
Price: Unknown

A medium golden colour, this had youthful aromas of lemon zest and green apple, with a lovely whiff of nettles and green grass. The palate showed more pronounced tropical flavours moving through some vegetal notes to a juicy apple finish. Not bad length and lingering acidity. Complex and quite unusual.



Wine: Matus
Producer: Vina Vukas
Vintage: 2008
Origin: Ponikve, Croatia
Grape(s): Plavac Mali
Price: Unknown

Plavac Mali is said to be a close relative of Zinfandel. Maybe if you took some Zinf to the fiery centre of the earth and back, dragged it kicking and screaming through a tar-pit and threw it a few ‘your mother’s so fat’ insults then you might come close to this. Straight up I could see this was a big wine - deep, deep garnet with syrupy legs. Rich, earthy and spicy aromas were the precursor to a similarly dark, tannic and intense palate. Great wine, but not for the faint-hearted.



Wine: Tiblisi Iveriuli
Producer: Tbilvino
Vintage: 2009
Origin: Kakheti, Georgia
Grape(s): Rkatsiteli
Price: 24 PLN (£5.11)

A fresh and youthful white, bone dry with some interesting and unusual fruit character. Did I mention dry? Really, bone dry. Tbilvino picked up some medals at IWSC recently and this seems like an entry level effort, so I’d love to try their higher end stuff.



Wine: Bertram, Egri Cuvee
Producer: Thummerer
Vintage: 2001
Origin: Eger, Hungary
Grape(s): Blauburger, Gamay, Kékoportó
Price: 34PLN (£7.24)

Deep garnet, browning towards the rim. Developed aromas of dried dark fruits, mushroom, and game. Herby and savoury with the slightest oxidation. Initial burst of sweet dark cherry on the palate moves through all the savoury notes of the nose, with more fragrant herbs, firm tannins and a surprisingly juicy and complex finish. Retaining good acidity for its age, with no signs of tiredness yet.



Wine: Maria Anna Cuvee
Producer: Winnicy Maria Anna
Vintage: 2009
Origin: Czudec, Poland
Grape(s): Blend of Polish varietals.
Price: 35PLN (£7.45)

Very pronounced youthful aromas of underripe tropical fruit, marred with a hint of ‘cat-pee’. Gooseberry flavours gave up quickly, leaving only heartburn levels of acidity. A little more bottle age may help, but not likely. Two or more glasses would probably give you an ulcer.



Wine: Ventus Laški Rizling
Producer: Vipava
Vintage: 2006
Origin: Vipava Valley, Slovenia
Grape(s): Laški Rizling (Welschriesling)
Price: 30 PLN (£6.39)

Fantastically exotic Riesling, with floral, fresh fruit and sweet spice aromas. The palate was just off-dry with a great fresh acidity. Fruit character was still gorgeously apparent, and I really wished I had brought more of these back, to drink over the next 5 to 10 years.

  

Off the Beaten Track

Part II - Guerrilla Wine Tours in Poland

So my wife is from Krosno - a medium sized town in the Carpathian region of southeast Poland. We go there maybe twice a year to visit family. The region is known to have some tradition of growing grapes and making wine (in fact a Scot, one Robert Gilbert Porteous of Dalkieth made his fame as a wholesale wine trader on behalf of the Polish king in the early 17th century. His portrait can still be seen in the church in Krosno) but I had thus far been unable to tap the surface of this slowly fermenting industry. None of the regions wines are readily available in shops, and i had never seen or heard of any producers in particular. This trip, for the sake of my dear readers, was going to be different.

The first and most obvious port of call was the local wine shop in Krosno - a great little shop called Wino Przyjaciele or 'Wine and Friends' where I found the very keen and helpful Adam. When asked about the local wine, Adam told me "We have a problem. To buy Podkarpacki Wino you must spend about 90zł (£20) which is enough for a nice Barolo, and it's not so good." That explained why I'd never seen it in shops but didn’t get me very far forward in my quest.

Next, some internet research pinpointed a few nearby vineyards so off we went. We drove around a while. These were small villages of big houses with small patches of corn, sunflowers on their land. On the edge of the village of Jedlicze we stopped and asked a man in a smart suit who was walking into the village if he knew of a vineyard locally. He did, and promptly jumped in the car beside us. The address we had was indeed a vineyard. Of sorts. Three rows of vines, maybe three plants on each then a washing line, then a house. No luck.

After some more roaming around and another unsuccessful visit to someone’s house, we finally got lucky. Off the road out of Jasło, up on the hill was a sizable looking patch of nice bushy green vines. There was no winery. There wasn't even a sign, but the gate was unlocked so we went in. 

 A sandy clay south-facing slope, about the size of a football field, sheltered by hills to the north and thick trees on each side. A pretty place. Frustrating as it was to have no information whatsoever, it really was great to be amongst the vines. There seemed to be a lot of experimentation, with almost every row of vines varying in grape variety or training method or canopy management. Some old vines, some young, some high yields, some low. Being mid July, veraison had not yet occurred and so I couldn't tell if any red grapes were amongst those planted.

I left with the satisfaction that someone in the region was seriously growing grapes - but where was the wine? I hoped the upcoming Winna Góra 2011 wine festival would yield some results.

The festival was a showcase of two vineyards – one Austrian and one Hungarian – hosted by the guys from Wino Przyjaciele in Krosno. The setup was interesting: a deposit was paid for a glass then you paid to taste each wine. Unfortunately this meant using the same glass for all wines and full glasses were poured making it fairly difficult to seriously taste the wines. It was lots of fun though and while I tried some nice stuff, I won't go into too much detail about the wines here.

Then finally, just as we were getting ready to leave I spotted it… Polish wine! For sale! Produced locally! I snapped it up. I had trailed around the region searching high and low for the local plonk and at last, two days before my flight back to Edinburgh, I had some.

How was it? I hear you ask. Look out for Part III – Tasting Notes very soon!

Off the Beaten Track

Part I - Old World Exploration

France, Italy, Spain. Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay. Classic European wines; classic wine producing countries.

Most oenophiles like myself will spend their whole lives familiarizing themselves with all the vineyards of Bordeaux and Burgundy, or learning the native Italian or Portuguese grape varieties. But stray just a little off the path and some of the less famous wine producing countries of Europe have a wealth of exciting wines to offer, with indigenous grape varieties, unique micro-climates and in many cases, hundreds of years of untouched tradition.

Problems with infrastructure, demands of the EU and major supermarkets insisting on importing only recognised varietals are just a few of the reasons many of the gems of Eastern and Central Europe remain hidden from all but the most vehement wine adventurer.

The rewards are there however, and a recent trip to that neck-of-the-woods allowed me the opportunity to taste some truly weird and wonderful things. Tasting notes will follow but first let's take a quick look at the countries I vinously visited on my tasting travels:

Bulgaria: Famous in the late 70's for it's Cabernet Sauignon, Bulgaria has consistently steered its wine production towards the export market. Local varieties such as Mavrud and Pamid can be hard to come by, although this does seem to be changing, with winemakers increasingly turning their attention to native grapes.

Croatia: An important wine producer and a treasure trove of illusive indigenous varieties. The north shares climate, soils and some grape varieties with north east Italy, while further south on the dalmatian coast and up the steep slopes around Dubrovnik, Crljenak Kastelanski and Plavac Mali produce dense and potent reds. 

Georgia: Arguably the oldest wine producing region in the world. Archaeological evidence points to great reverence towards wine production 5,000 years ago. Pre-classical methods are still used in production, where wine is fermented in earthenware pots called kwevri which are buried in the ground. A major blow was dealt to the industry in 2006 when the Kremlin banned all Georgian wine imports.

Hungary: The legendary Tokaji aside, Hungary has much to offer - from golden spicy whites to full bodied 'Bulls-blood' reds. The majority of wine is produced on the great plain between the Danube and Tisza rivers, with Eger, Villany and Sopron also contributing.

Poland: Polish wine has a way to go, but interesting work is being done with Hybrids - varieties native to Canada are important due to their ability to withstand harsh winters. Close to the German border to the west of Wroclaw, and the Podkarpacki region to the southeast of the country offer occasional micro-climates suitable for fresh, acidic whites and light reds.

Slovenia: Borders with Italy, Austria and Hungary suggest Slovenia to be a perfect location for wine production. Primorska, on the coast, shows wines similar to those of Friuli with aromatic dry whites and firm but fresh reds. The Podravje region is the most respected however, with Laski Rizling and Sipon producing very high quality wines.


An exciting journey I hope you'll agree. Coming up in Parts II & III - Guerrilla Wine Tours in Poland and Tasting Notes!

Got pencils, need wine.

A review of the WSET Advanced exam.


After 16 weeks of classes and a recommended 100 hours of self-study, my knowledge of wine so far was put to the test recently in a 2 1/2 hour exam.

The exam was held in a lecture room at Napier University, Craiglockhart campus - a good half  hour bus ride to the edge of the city. I arrived early to find most of my fellow students sitting on the grass outside - some cramming in a little last-minute revision, others had decided like myself that if they didn't know it by now, the next 10 minutes wouldn't help much.

Exam time came and in we all went. One of our course tutors was adjudicating and she carefully explained how to fill in all the bumf and checked all our I.D's (photo ID is required - apparently in case anyone sends their Master of Wine friends along to sit the exam for them). We were ready to start.

First up was the Tasting paper - 25 marks available for each of two wines, based on writing a blind tasting note using the Systematic Approach. I found out later that our wines were an Alsace Gewurztraminer and a Californian Zinfandel. The first was obviously much easier to identify and quite delicious I might add. A real confidence boost. I thought the Zinf was fairly poor in quality - making it much trickier. No big deal though, since identifying the wine is only 2 of the available 25 marks. 55% needed to pass this part.

A quick break then straight into the theory paper. 50 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions, again 55% was the pass mark. The first question was about a sparkling wine AC in France. I had NO IDEA. Not such a confident start for me. Things picked up though and I was soon drawing neat little lines in the neat little boxes with all the confidence of an MW. The written paper was much bigger than I had expected - 5 long answer questions worth a lot of marks. A surprise for me was a big chunk of points to score for knowing the the legal stuff about selling alcohol in the UK, with a lot of governmenty responsible-drinking jargon. Also, a huge question on Fortified wine felt a little out of proportion to the amount of study in that area.

And that was basically that. I left before a few people but a few had already finished. Now a rather agonising 8 - 12 weeks until the results plop through my letterbox in a big brown envelope.

Fingers crossed.

Grape Juice

.

At some point or other, we all in the wine business have probably been asked that most intimate, reflective and often challenging of questions: why wine?

But really, what makes wine so special? I mean, you grow some grapes, squash them, add yeast, bottle it and then it makes you drunk, right?

Well yes, but here are just a few (and I'm talking tip of the iceberg) examples of the magical little quirks that, for me at least,  make it so very much more than that:

The vineyards of the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape in southern  Rhône are strewn with large round stones called 'galets' or 'pudding stones'. These stones spend all day absorbing heat from the sun and all night warming up the vines. Nobody put them there, they're just there. But it's these stones that mean the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape have more body, intensity and structure than most in the world, and warrant their esteem.

Despite the fact that the bottled product may spend months or years maturing in a cellar, be shipped around the world in planes, trains and automobiles, and spend goodness knows how long sitting on a shelf in a shop; many grapes are picked at night, when it's a bit cooler, to retain their freshness.

Some wines, particularly sweet white wines of Sauternes for example, are capable of aging over a century, and offer a different drinking experience on any given day of its lifetime. The French red Beaujolais Nouveau is best drunk within a matter of days.

Why wine? 

Because wine has more depth, more character, more expression of its origins, more heart and more soul than I can even begin to describe.  

Grape juice it may be, but my God it's special.

Look what the cat dragged in...

It's really amazing what you find lying around in your cupboards.

Here we have four wines that I've bought over the last four years and stuck in the 'not for immediate consumption' pile, hidden away in the closest thing I have to a cellar, behind the hoover in the hall cupboard.

Starting on the right we have that good old Oddbins favourite: 'The Chocolate Block' from South Africa's ever-zany Boekenhoutskloof. It's the 2006 vintage, I bought it four-and-a-bit years ago at my local Oddbins branch, well aware of the cult status it had amongst oddbinners at the time. The blend of Syrah (55%); Grenache noir (17%); Cinsault (15%);Cabernet Sauvignon (9%) and Viognier (4%) means it should have enough fruit and tannic structure to have settled down nicely over the 5 years since vintage and I'm hoping to pop it open in the not too distant future - watch this space.

Next up is a 2005 Abadia Retuerta Sardon de Duero 'Seleccion Especial' which apparently won the IWC red wine trophy in 2005 - so it must be good. I picked it up from the awesome little wine shop in North Berwick for about £20. Its a Tempranillo/Cab/Merlot blend with 18 months in oak, so I'm sure a couple more years in the bottle wont go amiss, but not much more.

Gewurztraminer sticks its exotic nose in next - Wolfberger 2008 from Alsace. Got it in Amsterdam last feb. Who's gonna argue with giving a Gewurz a few years in the bottle?

Finally making a well deserved appearance is a lovely little Pinot from Côte de Nuits Villages. Clos des Langres 2006 'Monopole'. £20-something after ex-staff discount (it pays to have had a few jobs around town) at Oddbins again, early this year. Who knows how this one will age? It's definitely going back in the box for a while though.

So there you have it - an eclectic mix, special perhaps because of memories more than aging potential, but should still be a pretty fascinating journey through a few years of wine.

Check back for tasting notes when they finally reach the glass!

Longing for Languedoc: 3 great wines for under a tenner

So I tweeted (or is it twote?) recently that the first wine we sold out of at work was rather interestingly a Picpoul de Pinet. How, I ask you, could I let something like that go by without passing comment, hmm? Well I just couldn't. So here are my thoughts on what turned out to be a trio of fab little wines from the South of France:


Baron de Badassiere is the name on the bottles here, the grapes from the Picpoul de Pinet region of Languedoc. The wines are made by kiwi winemaker Graeme Paul at a co-op named Cave de Pomerols.

Baron de Badassiere Sauvignon Blanc, 2009

Lemon-gold in colour, the Sauvignon puts forward fairly lively aromas of gooseberry, citrus fruits and green apple. The palate is refreshing and zippy, with a respectable transition from lemon and apple through to a surprising tweak of minerality. Varietal accuracy seems to be the goal with this one and it doesn't disappoint.

Baron de Badassiere Viognier. 2009

Although a bright looking wine in the glass, you really have to stick your nose in this one. The rewards are there however with lemon zest, apricots and orange blossom. On the palate, the apricot continues, with a twist of pink grapefruit. The Viognier finishes on a bit of a down note with a slightly over-ripe resemblance of tinned pineapple. Good all-rounder though.

Baron de Badassiere Picpoul de Pinet, 2009

A pale lemon-green wine here. The official tasting note from Liberty Wines says "fresh fruit aromas and some floral notes". My scribbled notes at the time of drinking say "youthful, pear, orange blossom, unripe mango, petrol". The quirkiness continues on to the palate with  good acidity and flavours of orange, grapefruit, pear and white peach. An elegant finish rounds off a wine that terms like 'more-ish' were coined for.


In conclusion then, at £8 a bottle I'd be satisfied with the Viognier, pleased with the Sauvignon and come back time and time again for that cheeky little Picpoul - a really great wine for the price.

All three are exclusive to Liberty Wines and can be bought (from me!) at Berits & Brown, Edinburgh.

Big thanks to Simon & Audrey for this one.

My first blog!

Well here it is - my first ever blog!

The excitement is almost enough to make me chew my own foot off, but fear not, I will contain myself.

The idea here is to write about wine. Drinking wine, buying wine, selling wine, drinking wine, studying wine drinking wine, and so on.

Firstly though, here's some of my background (with a few name-checks thrown in!):

My good ol' dad has always been a wine drinker so I guess I have him to thank for my ever being interested in the first place. Professionally, I started at Oddbins in Dunfermline many moons ago where Paul took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. I've since done some winey work for Sainsbury's, more Oddbins in Edinburgh, a brief stint at Valvona & Crolla and am now at a newly opened winebar/coffee shop/bistro/deli/little bit of everything Berits & Brown at the top of Leith Walk. It's fun, I like it there.

I am studying WSET Advanced at the moment (well, should be, but actually I'm blogging) with Case Studies Wine School and, under the very knowledgeable guidance of Claire Blackler and her crew, I am well on the way to passing my exam in a few weeks time.

Right, enough about me. Here's some links:

 Case Studies Wine School:
www.casestudieswineschool.co.uk

 Berits & Brown:
www.beritsandbrown.com/edinburgh