Wine Tasting Questions
Question connosieurs wine …?
I am an occasional wine drinker. I can tell the difference between gas dollars to season three of wine and a decent bottle from a wine quality. This spring I will travel to Italy for 2-3 weeks with my father and brother. My father (an avid wine drinker) will lead to wineries across the country for tastings and tours. Will I be able to develop a more sophisticated palette of wines with 2-3 weeks of wine tasting regular in Italy?
Of course. I also firmly believe, having traveled there many times, that Italians do not export their best wine. You are in for a treat. Before you go you should try to find a book or a class on wine tasting methods. How to analyze the wine really looking at it, smell it and finally prove it. You'll be surprised how much more enjoyable the experience is when you can tell the difference between tannins and acids.
Visit a winery for a tasting Barrel
An exciting and fun learning is a barrel tasting. Some wineries offer different types of tours that include tasting barrels. Others offer barrel tastings to their club members at certain times during the year. Check the wineries where you are visiting to see if they offer tours that may include a barrel tasting. If you are a member of the club, to see if a barrel tasting is one of the benefits of membership.
Up likely when testing a wine from a barrel that is not ready for launch. Barrel tasting offers the opportunity to taste a wine that can be months or years away bottling and sale. Although wine can taste, try to determine what additional aging can do for him. Is it balanced wine or alcohol, acidity, oakiness, or predominantly of fruit?
In April 2007, we had the opportunity to attend a barrel tasting at Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery in Leon, Virginia. Brad Hansen, winemaker, led 40 people down a flight of stairs from the spacious tasting room. We enter a rectangular room, barrel aging with a curved roof. Small lights provide general lighting. Barrels lined the walls of this room except for two corners that had beautiful murals field painted with scenes of old wine world.
In the middle of the room a long table, the wood was set with glasses of wine, cheese, olives, biscuits and water. Brad welcomed and indicated that this was a barrel tasting in honor of the Wine Club Members. He chose four wines to show us a picture "of what is happening in production."
Brad began the tasting with the story of Prince Michel Vineyards. It discussed the challenge of the vineyards on the land next to the winery and address of the owners there have been new. Sixty percent of the harvest of Chardonnay around the winery was lost at 16 ° – 19 ° weather in mid April. The previous time was warm and the buds began to swell and the leaves began dating when they were hit by cold weather. The buds turned brown and fallen. Brad explained that the difficulty in this area of Virginia is that cold air rolls over the mountains and settles on the matter right. This Chardonnay vines a few minutes are fine. Fortunately, Prince Michel Vineyards owns or has partnerships throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Acquire most of Chardonnay from a vineyard on the east coast. The influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay to keep the soil on the east coast warmer. Temperatures Recent freezing around the winery did not affect the Chardonnay grapes in the area of the East Coast. Having vineyards across Virginia Association risk "lying around."
The first wine offered the group was Brad Petit Manseng. This is a new grape planted by Prince Michel and Brad is very happy with the first release that will be available in just a few weeks. Brad produces this wine in a French style dry. Petit Manseng grapes can produce very high levels of sugar and make a wine very sweet. Brad grape harvest this early, while sugar levels are low. We enjoyed this wine. While dry, it seems sweet and had a beautiful bouquet and a good balance between the citrus flavors, acid and alcohol.
The next wine we tried was selected Chardonnay barrel 2006. This came to see another eighteen months the barrel before release. I was out of balance at this point, with too much oak flavor. Brad explained that during the next eighteen months, the yeast cells dead will give the flavors of wine and fruit flavors and balance will be more intense.
Then he tried the old barrel Syrah made in the French style. This was a very light Syrah and Brad are thinking of mixing it with Merlot about five percent. Will be several more months in barrel before release in the fall this year. The final wine was tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon that has a summer release date. Brad explained that he would like to use this wine on a mix of Prince Symbius Michel, a Bordeaux style blend.
During the tasting, most people drank wine and only a few people dumped their wine in the dump buckets. Pending a portion of wine, people often visited the table to the cheese, olives, crackers and water. Then we tried the Cabernet Sauvignon, Brad asked the group questions. There were several questions. I do not know what the producers of grape growing areas of Virginia the best varieties? What characteristics do be taken into account when Symbius mix? Brad explained that Virginia is new to the wine and are still discovering what varieties grow best areas and the experimentation with varieties can do well in different climates in the state. He spoke about the success of Viognier grapes statewide. Brad believes that the Petit Manseng also will be successful. Brad pointed out that wineries throughout the state making similar wines. However, they look for their wines to be similar with a difference. "If our wine tastes like the others, why come here? "Many produce Bordeaux style blends. However, each of these mixtures is different. He blind taste different wines until he comes with what is going to make a mix Symbius Michele Prince.
Be sure to check out your favorite wineries and stores have not visited yet, and see what kind of barrel tastings, they have to offer.
About the Author
Terry Sullivan is a retired educator and wine enthusiast who designed the website
Wine Trail Traveler
. He looks forward to relating his travels about wineries to the website visitors. He develops instructional modules about wine topics for readers.