Vino Italiano! Wines from the North of Italy - WSET 3.8

Courtesy Wine Folly

When your wine's on your lips,
And you're having some sips,
That's Amoré....

Ah, Italia!

This week was the first of two classes on one of my favourite places to visit, Italy. The focus was on Northern Italy, home of some pretty incredible wines.

First, though, we had another blind taste test and some questions. I think I did well on the taste test which was a 2016 Domaine de la Mordoree Cote du Rhone........ but I might have been a bit too generous with my overall assessment. We also had three short answer questions and I think I nailed two of them and guessed on one....

Now, back to Italy!

Italy is in a yearly neck-in-neck battle for the most wine produced - with France, of course. There are over 2000 varietals (many which never leave Italy), and 20 wine regions.

Northern Italy has a moderate climate with short, hot summers. Altitude is very important here because, together with a fairly large diurnal range, it slows the ripening which keeps the acidity high in the wine. Northern Italian wines are famously high yielding with low densities.

Trentino-Alto Aldige was the first area we looked at and this region has a lot of Pinot Grigio. Alto Adige grows mostly Pinot Grigio but some of it can be actually quite good (if you like Pinot Grigio). Trentino has higher yield Pinot Grigio (which means it's not as good) as well as a red grape called Terlodego which has deep colour, medium to high tannins, high acidity, a medium to full body, and black fruit.

Friuli Venezia Giulia is in the eastern corner of the country, The northern vineyards have a moderate continental climate while the southern vineyards have a warm maritime climate. The big white grape is Pinot Grigio (Oh no! Not again!) which is the richest in Italy with juicy peach and tropical flavours. There's another popular white grape called Friuliano which has aromas of red apples and pear. There are some DOCs (which are the second tier of their highest wine qualification) including Friuli Grave DOC (fertile soil on a plain - white and fruity wines), Collio (means hill) DOC (whites and reds), and Collio Orientali DOC (reds - and premium reds, at that!).

We didn't try anything from either of those two regions but we did try some from the next one - Veneto.

Veneto is the largest region in Northern Italy and is home to two famous appellations, Soave and Valpolicella. This area has a warm climate with moderate rain and sites benefit from the altitude and large diurnal range. Many of these wines are grown on flat plains, especially the more inexpensive Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot, Corvina, Garganega and Trebbiano.

Soave has two areas - the Soave DOC and the Soave Classico DOC. There are also some Soave DOCG wines which are the highest classification in Italy. The vineyards on the foothills have limestone, clay and volcanic soil which are cool so the wines can fully ripen slowly which increases acidity. The vineyards on the flat plains to the south, on the other hand, have sandy soils (that are warmer) which speeds up ripening creating young, fruity wines that have medium acidity. The grape used to make Soave is Garganega and makes wines tasting of pears, red apple, stone fruit, and white pepper which can develop almonds and honey as the wine ages.

The Soave we had was a 2016 Pieropan Soave Classico ($26)  made from the Garganega grape. This wine had aromas of pear, peach apricot, nectarine and apple and had tastes of lime and wet stone. It was a dry wine with high acidity, medium intensity of flavour, and a medium finish. This wine was described to us as a 'simple' wine and garnered a Good rating with a drink now advisory.

Northwest of Verona is Valpolicella where the main grape is Corvina. Again, in the foothills there are limestone, clay, and volcanic soils which contribute to higher acidity while on the flatter areas, warmer gravel and sandy soils dominate.

The Corvina grape can make a pretty simple wine, as shown by the 2017 Folonari Valpollicella ($18) that we had. It had both red fruit and black fruit aromas and sour cherries, cranberries, and plums on the palate. This dry wine had high acidity, high alcohol and a short length. It wasn't a terrible wine and actually had some nice complexity and so, it earned a Good rating - drink it now, though!

Valpolicella can make good wines - but the Italians have done some other things with the Corvina grape - and these things are wonderful!

Amarone wines are made from the Corvina grape but the grapes are picked and then left put in racks in a drying building (called the passito method) and allowed to dry out (this drying out is called appassimento). The grapes basically turn to raisins, which really concentrates their flavours. The drying out averages around 120 days and then the grapes are made into a rich, deep, wonderful wine.

Ripasso wines are made by taking a regular batch of Valpolicella wine, adding the leftover grapes (called the pomace) from making the Amarone wine, and letting the grapes soak or macerate in the wine.  Ripasso basically means 'repassed' and that's what is happening to the grapes.

Recioto wines are basically Amarone wine that has stopped fermentation early - either by running out of nutrients, the alcohol getting to high, or being affected by noble rot. Although we didn't taste one of these during today's class, I did have one when we went out to a restaurant in Vancouver called "Ask for Luigi" where I finished off an amazing dinner with a small glass of Recioto. It was amazing!

The Amarone we had was a 2013 Tommasi Amarone  ($63) - the exact wine I had given a friend recently (which he shared) as a gift for his retirement. This wine is wonderfully rich had medium plus tannins, medium plus acidity, and a great full body! There were tastes of black cherry, black currant, fig, raisins, smoke and even some chocolate. It tastes dry but actually has some residual sugar. A high alcohol wine, this is balanced, complex in taste, super intense in both flavour and aroma, and has a superbly long finish. An Outstanding wine that is great to drink but could age some more.

We also had a Ripasso which is sometimes called the poor man's Amarone as it is cheaper but you get a bit of the taste of an Amarone. This one was a 2015 Tommasi Ripasso ($37) that had aromas and tastes of black plum, black cherry, cedar, tobacco, and raisin. The Ripasso was dry with medium plus body and intensity and medium tannins, acidity and finish. A Very Good wine that is a tasty drink now and could age for a few years longer.

The final region of northern Italy that we covered was Piemonte. This region in the northwest of Italy makes high quality wines and all are at the DOC or DOCG level - there are no IGP (2nd overall tier) wines. The mountains in the north provide a rain shadow for the area which experiences a moderate continental climate with long, cold winters and stormy, foggy summers. It's really a miracle that there is such wonderful wine made here!

In the south east of the region, Gavi wine is made from the Cortese grape. This high acid grape has floral aromas and tastes of citrus, green apple and pear. We tried a 2017 Michele Chiarlo Gavi ($27). This wine was a 'simple' wine with aromas and tastes of apple, peach, apricot, lime and wet stone. There's nothing wrong with a simple wine - it's just not that complex and not that intense. It did have a balanced taste and the finish was OK. Overall, a Good wine that should be consumed now.

Nebbiolo - the dog, not the grape...

In the northwest corner of Piemonte is the home of two regions that make Nebbiolo. Not only is Nebbiolo the name of my grand-puppy, but it is also a wonderful, high acid, high tannin, full bodied grape that can really surprise you the first time you drink it as the colour is quite pale. The two regions that are famous for Nebbiolo is Barolo and Barbaresco.  Barbaresco wines are a bit fruitier and less performed as they ripen a bit earlier. Agieng is different, too, as Barolo has to be aged 3 years (5 for Reserva) and Barbaresco has to only be aged for 2 years (4 for Reserva).

We were fortunate to have a 2010 Giribaldi Barolo Nebbiolo ($115). This wine had aromas of roses, tar, red currant, smoke, cedar and black cherry and had similar flavours on the palate.There were intense aromas and flavours as well as a long finish. Overall, the Barolo was balanced and complex and earned an Outstanding rating - you could drink this now or you could age this for a few years at least.

The last two areas we looked at was Asti and Alba.

Barbera is a grape that is made in either place, although Barberas made from Asti are considered better. This high acidity wine is good with duck which is what I would have had with the 2014 Boffa Barbera D'Asti ($33). This wine had aromas and tastes of red cherry, red plum, pepper, raspberry, and liquorice. It was a fairly balanced wine with good intensity and we rated this one as Good.

The final wine was a Dolcetto from Alba. This wine is sometimes described as being bitter or having a taste of cough syrup. It usually has medium to high tannins and medium acidity. We tried a 2015 Gresy Dolcetto ($35). The Dolcetto did, in fact, have aromas and flavours of cough syrup as well as black plum, black cherry, toast, dried herbs, and an overall earthiness. Although the length was a bit short, it was balanced, complex and had very good intensity, especially on the nose. This was rated as Very Good with potential for ageing.

I really enjoy wines from Italy. I am so looking forward to next week when we taste wines from Central and Southern Italy.

Ciao!

Hands up! A wine class disaster ends up being sweet - WSET 3.3

My third  WSET 3 class was a bit of a disaster - at least at the beginning.

One of the things I look forward to is having a poké rice bowl before class at Pokerito. I left at 4:30, thinking I would get to BCIT in 45 minutes and, because there would be no line up that early, would have a good 30 to 40 minutes to enjoy my tasty dinner.

Unfortunately, it didn't work that way.

By the time I got to BCIT, it was after 5:30. I rushed to Pokerito and there was a line up of about six people. I finally got my bowl and then rushed back to BCIT and started gobbling down my meal. Then, Sarah, from last week, sat down across from me in the outer area and I couldn't be rude so I picked at my dinner while we chatted.

When I went into the room for the study session, things went pretty well until it was time to answer the study question. Unfortunately, I have already lost my name card so the instructor looked my way and called on 'Doug' to answer. I corrected her and then answered - problem is, the guy sitting across from me is actually named Doug and that's who she meant to call on!

Ugh!

This week's focus was on making wine - red, white, rosé and sweet. Although this is an area that I am familiar with, especially since I made wine in my basement for a few years, there are still many things such as winemaking options and the ways that specific varietals are treated that I really have to study. One thing that irked me - I took copious notes on the specific varietals and our instructor didn't go over it that much, although she alluded to the information during the tastings.

My notes that I made from the readings were pretty thorough and I used them to follow along during class. There's a lot of content, especially this past week, but I am hoping that the countries and regions, which are the focus for the next ten weeks or so, will be a bit easier to remember and give some context for what we have learned so far.

Onto this week's tastings....

The idea behind the tastings this week was to  try and figure out the choices made in the vineyard and by the winemaker. It was really difficult! Luckily, this isn't a focus on the tasting exam but it was good to try and be aware of the choices.

The first two wines were white wines.

Courtesy Cuvée Corner Blog

The 2015 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca, Chile ($18) was a grassy almost clear wine. It had some citrus aromas and tastes such as grapefruit and lemon, was light bodied, and had high acidity. It was made without any oxygen (anaerobically) to preserve the fruitiness of the wine, has no oak, and was fermented at around 16 or 17°C. Ready to drink now, this wine was not terribly balanced, had a fairly short finish, had acceptable intensity, and was not a complex wine. This we rated as acceptable.

In contrast, the 2016 Mer Soleil Chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands ($39) was much better. There were some interesting flavours and aromas including peach, nectarine, apricot, and vanilla. It was a wine that was fermented aerobically (with some oxygen). was oaked, had a bit of age on it, and was fermented at a higher temperature. It was a balanced wine with a long finish and great intensity but was not overly complex. This was rated as very good.

The next two wines were red wines.

The first was a Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais made from Gamay ($16). I was a bit stumped on what this even was - some of my group thought pinot noir but I thought it was something else - but not merlot, cab sauv, or cab franc.  I remember drinking this for a while back before I really knew all that much about wine but near the end of my own wine making experience. It was a wine with black and red fruits as well as a candy or bubble gum taste. The main winemaking option was carbonic fermentation where the bunches of grape ferment in CO2 in a closed vat. This gives fruitiness, more colour and less tannins. Ready to drink, this wine was acceptable.

The second of this set was a 2011 Brovia Villero Barolo Nebbiolo ($124). I tasted a lot of red fruit on it which made me think it was a Pinot Noir but our instructor noted high tannins, mushrooms, violets, liquorice, and roses. This wine had gone through pre and probably post fermentation maceration (where the grape skins stay in the juice), cap management (where the grape must is punched down on a regular basis), oak, and light extraction of flavours. After Elena, our pourer, mentioned that it was an unexpected grape and gave the hint, "it's a wine that's old when it's young," I knew it was Nebbiolo! This wine was good to drink now but could spend lots more time in the cellar. This was an outstanding wine!

The next two wines were the same grape but treated (wildly) different. The grape was Zinfandel.

The first was a 2017 Gallo Family White Zinfandel ($9). This medium sweet Rosé was invented by Bob Trinchero in California and was the result of a mistake! I listened to this podcast recently on Grape Nation and actually enjoyed finding out the story behind this super sweet wine. That said, it is not my favourite wine. This acceptable wine is medium sweet with low alcohol, light body, candy red fruit and vanilla. In the winery. it was directly pressed with a short maceration and had the fermentation stopped so that not all of the sugar turned to alcohol, creating a sweet wine.

The second Zinfandel was a 2014 Ridge East Bench Zinfandel from Dry Creek, Sonoma ($63). This definitely had some oak on it as there were tastes of raspberry, cloves, liquorice, blackberry and spice. This high alcohol wine was dry, had good acid, and medium tannins - it was intense, complex and had a long length. We rated this wine as very good.  

Our final two wines were sweet wines. People often think that sweet wines (like the above White Zin) are for beginning drinkers and, if you can't feel the enamel coming off your teeth, it isn't a dry enough wine. I have since discovered, however, that there are sweet wines that are complex and wonderful and are wines for connoisseurs!

The first one, which I guessed correctly, was an ice wine. It was a 2015 Arrowleaf Vidal Ice Wine ($56 for a half bottle). This had some complex flavours including peach, nectarine, honey, fig, raisin and vanilla. Its sweetness was kept in check by its high acidity.The winemaking process included no oak, pure flavour and some pear drop flavours which would indicate lower temperature fermentation. I'm not a huge fan of ice wine but this one was pretty darn good.

The final wine was a lusciously sweet recioto - a 2014 Ben Ryé Donnafugata Passito di Pantelleria from Italy ($54 for half a bottle). With Recioto wines, the grapes are picked, then laid out in the sun and they become raisins, concentrating their sugars. This is called Passito style. When it is fermented, the fermentation is stopped early (unlike Amarone, another Passito style) so it is very sweet - but also highly acidic. This wine, made from Muscat, is definitely oxidized in the winemaking process (the colour was actually amber) and had considerable oak. The flavours including orange peel zest, raisin, fig, and marmalade. It was very tasty! This is my first Recioto but will definitely not be my last! Bonus - it supposedly pairs really well with chocolate!

Sweet Barrel-O-Wine! WSET class #7 - Part 2

Hmm - it seems that Class #7 has a Neil Diamond focus; first it was Cracklin' Rose (well, Cracklin' Champagne ) and then Sweet Barrel-O-Wine (rhymes with Sweet Caroline?).

The second half of the class looked at sweet wines - not my favourite, but important, all the same.

First, the lesson. There are a few ways that you can make wines sweet.

Interrupting the fermentation is the first one we looked at. This can be done by removing the yeast, fortifying the wine (like adding sulphur dioxide or alcohol) which is what they do to Port and to fortified muscats like Muscat de Beams de Venise.

The second way to sweeten wine is to add a sweet component to the blend. One way is to add unfermented grape juice (süssreserve), like in a German liebfraumilch, but the juice has to be made of the same type of grape as the wine. The second way is to add sweet wine. One famous one to add is called PX with stands for Pedro Ximenez which is a super sweet, almost honey-like wine that is used for sweet Sherry.

The last way to sweeten wine is to concentrate the sugars in the grapes. This is done by using dry grapes, either on the vine, like late harvest wines (e.g. spätlese) or letting the grapes dry on racks, etc., until they are like raisins which concentrates the flavours in wines such as Recioto (made form Corvina grape) or PX - the sweetest wine of the world. Another way to do this is by using noble rot  where grapes are in a damp area and develop a specific type of mould. The mould attack the grape and causes it to shrivel. This has to be done with grapes that are highly acidic and thinned skin.  The final way to concentrate sugars is freezing the grapes to make Ice Wine!

Our first wine was from Pantelleria which is an island that is south of Sicily. This wine (I believe it was a Recioto) was deep amber in colour and had medium plus intensity with aromas of raisin, fig, prune and a bit of floral. On the palate, it was nutty, raisin, vanilla, sultanas, and a jammy hint. It was sweet (almost lucsious) had medium plus acidity, full body, and a medium plus finish. This wine was rated as Very Good and was a Passito di Pantelleria made by Donna Fugato ($40 for 375 ml).

The second was a Noble Rot wine. It was from Vouvray (which is in the Loire region) and was made with Chenin Blanc.The colour was medium gold and it had a medium plus intensity on the nose, with aromas of raisin, earth, and lots of stone fruit. On the palate, there was jam, plum, fig, fresh fruit and, again, an earthiness. It was a sweet wine with high acidity, medium plus body and a medium plus finish. This 2005 wine from Nectar Moncontour was also rated as Very Good and cost $72 for 500 ml.

Next up was a Tokaji wine - our instructor's favourite wine! It was medium gold in colour and had medium intensity on the nose with aromas of marmalade, peach, apricot and tropical fruits like mango. On the palate, it had flavours of tech, pineapple and apricot jam with an earth flavour. It was a sweet wine with high acidity, medium body and a long finish. Tokaji wines are rated on sweetness by puttanyos which range from 3 to 6 - this one had 5 puttonyos. This 2009 Tokaji from Chateau Dereszla had 11.5% alcohol,  cost $50, and pairs well with veal and chicken.

The final wine was soooo sweet. If you like sweet wines, this is the one. It was medium gold in colour, and had a medium plus intensity on the nose with aromas of raisin, lychee and pineapple. It was a lusciously sweet wine (the level above sweet is officially called 'luscious') and had tastes of pineapple, raisin and apricot. There was high acidity, full body, and a long finish with 7.5% alcohol. This was a Mission Hill Reseve Riesling Icewine from 2014. It pairs well with cheese and costs $56 for 375 ml.

I definitely learned a lot about both sparkling and sweet wines during this class of my WSET. I was able to pinpoint the tastes that makes sparkling Champagne so desirable and I have an understanding of how sweet wines can really vary.

Our next class deals with Port and Sherry - two wines that I am not all that familiar with. Time for some more learning!