An Amazing Wine Tasting Evening with Friends

A group of friends in the midst of an amazing wine tasting.

WSET is not just for studying....

As I have alluded to before, people make great connections and friendships while doing the WSET course. We were all in it together, trying our best to pass the course, feeling the pressure of learning such a vast amount of information and feeling the pleasure of tasting wine together. 

But it finished in December!

Happily, the group that I have tasted with before - the friends that I have tasted with before - are continuing to get together. The first time, since our test, was a couple weeks ago when I was in France. 

The next time was just last Thursday.

Andrew was our host. He has taken both his WSET 3 and a comparable level of his CMS - Court of Master Sommeliers. He works at a restaurant but also works at a local independent liquor store and, therefore, can get a great deal on great wines!

Verity and her partner, Joey, were also in attendance. I took my WSET 3 with Verity - in fact, she related the story of our first class together - we had a champagne and some minor bubbles like Prosecco in a blind tasting. Both of us proudly announced that the Prosecco was the great wine, much to our chagrin! We both learned an awful lot more about wine since that first class. Verity also completed a comparable level of her CMS.

When I took my WSET, Sarah sat beside me every class - she was my WSET Buddy! It was great to see her at the tasting and reconnect with her once again.

A new person (for me), Steph, was working on the same level of CMS that Verity and Andrew had achieved. She is an actual Sommelier at a famous Vancouver restaurant! 

Finally, my buddy, Stewart, whom I have known since high school (when we used to drank a gallon bottle of Calona Medium White) came along as well.  Although he has not completed a formal wine course, Stew is well versed in the wine world (we've both come a very long way).

After everyone arrived, Andrew welcomed us with a glass of 2016 Crescent Hill Glennallyn Private Reserve Gewürztraminer from the Okanagan. As is common with this varietal, it was very aromatic and was a tasty, light way to start off our night. 

Andrew always does such a good job!

Our next wines were blind tastings. We had three whites and three reds.

Our first white was described by Steph, who spoke with such confidence that I was drawn in, hook. line and sinker, to what she thought the wines were. We tasted, and swirled, and spat. 

It was a Zarate Rias Baxas Albarino from Spain. It was not a strong wine and was not as full bodied as I thought it would be. 

Yellow, or lemon, in colour, this wine had aromas of lemon, apple, and had a minerality. These aromas were fresh, tart and ripe. On the palate, there were the same flavours - fresh or ripe apples, wet stone,  as well as medium plus acidity, medium length and medium complexity. There was also some oak on this wine.

As for all of the wines that we tasted, we all tried to come up with both the varietal and the place. Most people though this was a Chardonnay although some thought it was a Pinot Gris or something Italian. But we were all wrong. Albarino was just not on our radar! Overall, a Good wine.

Our next wine was another white and, this time, I nailed it. For me, petrol is an unmistakable aroma - and that means Riesling. Interestingly, unlike many of the petrol smelling Rieslings I have had in the past, this one was bone dry. This 2014  Howard Park Porongurup Riesling from Australia had additional aromas of rubber. pear, peach,. apple and a minerality. A complex nose with pronounced aromas.

On the palate, it was bone dry, as I said, with tastes of apple. It did not have the same mineral taste and was medium plus in alcohol and medium plus in acidity. This was a great dry Riesling - and I stated that to the group. Before the reveal I had also written down that I thought it was from Australia but hesitated to share that information. A Very Good to Outstanding wine.

Our final white was a real shocker. Verity described it as a 'giant in a sleeping bag' which means that it did not have a very pronounced aroma but when you got your nose close enough, there was an explosion of complex aromas. On the nose - and on the palate - were aromas like cloves, wood, popcorn, butter and vanilla. In fact, it smelled a little like a buttered popcorn Jelly Belly! It had medium acid, medium body and a very complex flavour.

Still, we didn't think it was all that fancy. We narrowed it down to Chardonnay but thought it was from California. You know, a big, oaky Chardonnay with lots of flavour.

Nope.

It was a Pouilly Fuiissé from the Maconnais region of Burgundy.  This 2014  Chateau Fuissé Le Clos Monopolé was not what we expected! It was probably the most expensive wine of the night, worth over $100. However, none of us found the elegance or refinement that we would expect from this kind of wine, although there was great complexity. I would rate this as Good to Very Good.

On to the reds!

Our first red of the night was a difficult one. Pale ruby in colour, it had aromas of mint and earth and a bit of an underbrush aroma. There were red fruits like cherry and raspberry as well as dried cranberry. On the palate, there were tastes of the same with the addition of some sort of leaf - like tomato leaf. It had medium plus acidity, medium minus tannins, and light bodied.

This Sangiovese wine was a 2015 Noelia Ricci Godenza Superiore from the Romagna area of Italy. It stumped us all. I thought it might be a cru Beaujolais although I couldn't detect the hallmarks of carbonic fermentation. There were some murmurings that it might be from Italy but no one had a strong feeling about that. Pinot Noir was another guess made by many of the group. It was certainly a surprise when the reveal came. This was a Very Good wine.

There next wine was probably my favourite. The 2015 Cannonball Merlot from Sonoma County had aromas of pepper, smoke, dark fruit such as plum and black berry,  jam, cedar and mushrooms. This wine had a pronounced intensity on its rather complex nose. On the palate was the same black, jammy fruits as well as some earthiness with medium acidity, medium plus tannins, and high alcohol. This wine had balance, complexity, length and intensity and I would rate this wine as Outstanding.  I first thought it was a Syrah, possibly from the Northern Rhone. My second guess was Merlot from California.

The final red for the night was another tricky one. The Chateau de Cherrière Bourgogne Pinot Noir was a very structured wine with medium plus acid and medium plus tannins, something I did not expect with a Pinot Noir. There were tastes and aromas of cedar, tobacco, farmyard, leather, mushroom, black fruit and black cherry. This was a real stumper as it had that Pinot Noir taste but such strong structure! I would rate this as Very Good.

One of the members of our group had something to celebrate so Andrew brought out a celebratory champagne style wine. The celebrant, Verity, then used a bread knife to sabre the wine! If you have a nice cold bottle of champagne (or other bubbly), you can use any kind of knife to open it. You simply slide the knife from the middle of the bottle up the seam of the bottle and, voila! The cork and some of the bottle will fly off the top!

Verity sabred a 1996 Summerhill Cipes Traditional Cuvée sparkling wine form the Okanagan ($80). I didn't do a formal tasting note at this point (we had finished the bottle leftovers at this point and were refraining from spitting or dumping) but I do recall that this was more than just a bready, yeasty tasting champagne. It had a beautiful golden colour. a nice fizz, and an exquisite taste that included a bit of a sherry.

A wonderful celebration to finish off a wonderful wine tasting evening!

Wassa Matta With You? Wines from Central and Southern Italy - WSET 3.9

This week's class started off horribly - which is appropriate, I guess, as it was Halloween....

My first mistake happened before class - when I went for dinner at Pokéritto. Pokéritto is like Subway except it's for Poké - basically sushi rice, seafood and other stuff. I look forward to going here every class and so I had my usual (tuna, shrimp, crab, bunch of other stuff) but this time I picked the sweet chilli sauce, thinking it would have a tiny bit of heat, like sweet chilli potato chips.

Nope. Couldn't be more wrong.

I enjoyed the spiciness of the food, but I think it made me screw up my wine tasting - at least the first two wines. Mama mia!

Central and Southern Italy wine regions - courtesy Wine Folly

Central Italy has those wonderful Apennine mountains going down the middle so the great wine sites are in the hills of these mountains, facing south, if they are in the best sites. Altitude helps as well because this is a hot climate. Although there are lots of regions, Sangiovese grape is king, no matter the name.

The most famous region is Tuscany or Toscano - which contains Chianti, the oldest wine region in Italy. The Sangiovese is expressed as red cherries, plum and dried herbs and can be regular Chianti, Chianti Classico (grown on traditional sites, usually on hills and aged for 12 months), Chianti Classico Reserva (aged 24 months) and Chianti Classico Gran Selezione (aged 30 months).  In Southern Tuscany there are two excellent wines, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (confusingly, not to be confused with Montepulciano D'Abruzzo). On the coast are the Super Tuscans - basically wines made from international varieties like Cab Sauv, Merlot and Syrah rather than Italian grapes.

East of Tuscany is Umbria where the Orvieto DOC (remember, DOC means the lower of Italy's top tier and DOCG is the top of their top tier) makes a light bodied white containing Grechetto and Trebbiano grapes. Trebbiano is a neutral grape used for a lot of blending. Sagratini di Montefalco is another DOC that makes super tannic red wines.

Lazio is the region around Rome and, in the Frascati DOC, they make a medium bodied white from Malvasia and our mixing friend, Trebbiano. East of Lazio is Marche where Verdicchio is used to make high acidity whites in Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC and a red blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano (the grape, not the place) in Conero DOC.  Finally, in Abruzzo, the ever confusing Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is made from the Montepulciano grape which is famous for a rubber smell and a purplish colour.

The first wine we tried was from Marche and was a Sartarelli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico ($26). I was totally off on this wine - I do struggle with the whites at times - so I am relying on my group's skills for this tasting note rather than my own. On the nose, this wine had pear, lime and citrus flavours while on the palate, there were also almonds and a minerality expressed as wet stone. This wine had medium everything - acidity, alcohol, body, finish - and was rated as a Good wine that should be drunk now.

Next, from this part of Italy, was a 2015 Toscolo Chianti Classico ($29). I fared better on this one, getting red cherry, red plum, and cedar on the nose with tobacco and wood spice on the palate. This dry wine had high acidity - ready to cut through a tomato based pasta dish - and medium or medium plus in most other areas. It was Very Good and should be consumed now.

From the same wine region was a 2012 Sassetti Livio Brunello di Montalcino ($90). This was a medium garnet wine that had pronounced intensity on the nose - those same aromas of cherry and plum but also with cedar, game and farmyard. Developing on the nose, it also had similar tastes on the palate. This wine had high acidity, medium plus tannins, full body and pronounced intensity. A balanced, complex wine with a long finish, it was rated as Outstanding - with definite ageing potential.

The last wine from Central Italy was a 2016 Illuminati Montepulciano D'Abruzzo ($20). This had black fruits like black cherry, black plum and black currant on the nose as well as violet and cedar. It was on the cusp between youthful and developing. On the palate were similar flavours with smoke and balsamic vinegar added in. This was a high acidity wine with most other areas being medium. A balanced wine with some complexity, it was rated as a Good wine to drink now.

Southern Italy is hot and dry, especially inland. The vines there have traditionally been bush trained (the vine literally looks like a bush) to protect from the sun but some trellising has been used more recently. The best vineyards are, surprise, on the slopes of the Apennines.

Campania is the region around Naples. Three of the grapes that are grown are Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico. Fiano di Avelino DOCG makes a medium to full bodied white wine with stone fruit and medium acidity. It can age where it develops tastes of wax and honey. Greco di Tufo DOCG makes a high acidity white wine with tastes of green apple, stone fruit and passion fruit. This, too, can age and can have honey and mushroom flavours. Aglianico is made in the Taurasi DOCG (a great wine for the price) and is a high acid, high tannin red wine with black fruit and an earthy flavour. The Basilicata region is in the instep of the heel of Italy and also makes Aglianico in the Aglianico del Vulture DOC.

In the heel of the boot is Puglia. There they make Negromaro and Primitivo, both red wine grapes. Wines made here can be high yielding, 'lake of wine' type wines but there are good quality wines available as well. Negromaro can be full bodied with medium tannins and acidity and tastes of baked red and black fruit. The best can be found in the Salice Salentino DOC. Primitivo is genetically the same as Zinfandel and has a similar taste profile to Negromaro.

On of the islands off the west coast of Italy is Sicily. Nero D'Avola is a red wine grape with full body, medium acid and tannins, and tastes of plum and black cherry. The Etna DOC of Sicily makes both Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappucio which can be elegant, fragrant red wines with high acidity and tannins and tastes of sour cherry, strawberry, and cranberry.

The white wine that we tried from Campania was a 2009 Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano di Avelino Pietracalda ($41). This was the other wine that I flubbed, thinking it was the Verdicchio - so the notes here are, again, thanks to my brilliant group! This wine had stone fruit and pear on the nose and on the palate. The Fiano was dry with high acidity, medium body, medium plus intensity and a medium plus finish.  It was balanced and complex and earned a Very Good rating.

Also from Campania was a 2011 Taurasi Aglianico also made by Feudi di San Gregorio ($50). This lovely ruby wine had tasted of blueberry, black plum, stewed fruits, earth and charred wood on the nose and palate. It was a high tannin, medium plus acidity, full bodied wine with a long finish. It was balanced, complex and had an intense flavour and was Outstanding. You could drink this wine now or your could age it for a few years.

From Sicily was a 2016 Feudo Maccari Nero D'Avola ($26). This is a great pizza wine having black plum, cherry, cedar and black cherry on the nose and palate. Most other areas were medium but it was a pretty balanced wine and earned a Good rating. Definitely good for food!

Finally, we had a 2015 Benanti Nerrelo, also from Sicily ($25). This was the last wine of the night and I find that sometimes my palate gets a little tired. This was a fairly delicate wine (think Pinot Noir) and after some of these full bodied wines, it sort of got lost. It was a light garnet wine with aromas of cherry, raspberry, strawberry, cooked fruit and smoke, On the palate it seemed to have the same flavours but less intense (hence, its delicateness). Lynn assured us that it was a Very Good wine that would pair well with salmon or tuna.

Italy has so many wines and we've just scratched the surface. Luckily, we had two weeks looking at the vast numbers of wines and regions. Next week we are apparently tackling Spain and Portugal together which seems like a rather daunting task, seeing as there are so many areas, especially in Spain. I guess I will just have to 'press' on in my 'thirst' for wine knowledge!

Ciao!

Now that's Italian! Italian wines from WSET Class #6

Tuesday night's class marked the two thirds mark in our course of nine classes. It seems like time is accelerating - both at my job and at the WSET course!

Ah, Italy! It just seems last week (not two years ago) that my wife and I were spending time in Rome, walking the streets, sampling the food, admiring the amazing variety of ancient wonders, and drinking the wine.

You can have at least some of that experience here - you can cook yourself a wonderful meal, watch a great Italian movie, and sip a Pinot Grigio or a Nebbiolo as you recapture your great memories.

Cin cin!

Tonight's class focussed on a variety of wines but the first half looks at Italian wines.

We started with the whites. Italian whites are, for the most part, pale lemon in colour and tasting of green fruit. There are not a lot of differences between the different white varietals but that made it only more interesting as we proceeded to blind taste two different Italian whites and a Spanish one.

First things first, though - I discovered that Italy has over 1000 indigenous grape varietals. In Soave the grape is Garganega and in Gavi it is Cortese. Trebbiano is the most widely planted grape in Italy but you don't often see it on its own. There is also Verdicchio from Castello di Jesi.

Our first three wines were white wines - one was a Pinot Grigio (lighter than the French interpretation of the grape called Pinot Gris), one was a Soave (Garganega grape) and one was a Spanish grape called Albarino which is the signature white grape of Spain.

It was a pretty good evening for our group - and even for me! We were pretty much bang on with our assessments of the wine - or at least, that's how I remember it! The first wine was a 2015 Tolloy Pinot Grigio which was - well  - pale lemon in colour. It had a medium minus intensity nose and smelled of underripe peach and pear. On the palate, it was dry with high acidity and a medium minus body. I tasted the same fruit with a bit of grapefruit and lemon. It had a medium minus finish, was from the Alto Adige area (famous for Pinot Grigio) and cost a mere $20. It was rated Good.

 

Next was a better wine.Pale lemon in colour, it had medium intensity on the nose, lemon, grapefruit and apricot on the nose with a definite floral aroma. On the palate, there were the tastes of citrus, grapefruit and lemon and it had a dry taste (drier than the Pinot Grigio) with high acidity, light body and a medium plus finish. It was balanced, intense, complex and expressive and therefore earned a rating of Very Good. It was a 2015 Pieropan from Soave (made with Gargenega grapes)  priced at $29. 

 

The final white of the evening was a Pazo Senoran wine made with the Albarino grape which is the signature white grape of Spain! It was (surprise) pale lemon in colour and had medium intensity on the nose. There were aromas of ripe apple and pear, stone fruit and nectarine. On the palate, it was dry with medium acidity. medium body, and flavours of peach, white pepper, melon, and grapefruit. It had a medium finish, was rated Very Good, and this fabulous wine costs $37 

Switching to reds, we looked at a  famous Italian area. The first was a Chianti (made from Sangiovese grapes) from Castello di Bossi. It was pale garnet in colour and had a medium plus intensity on the nose with aromas of cranberry, cherry, violets, tea, and spices. There were similar flavours on the palate including red fruit such as plum, and high acidity, medium plus body, and medium plus tannins. The finish was medium and the overall rating of this $33 wine was Very Good. It was a pretty nice wine but paled compared to the next one.

This was a 2010 Uccelliera Brunello (di Montalcino), also made from Sangiovese grapes, and made south of Tuscany.  This was also medium garnet and was also clear. It was medium intensity on the nose and was very complex on the nose - red currant, raspberry, red cherry, plum, fig, cloves, spice and smokiness were all apparent. The palate also had plum, back currant, leather and tobacco. This dry wine was high in tannins, high acidity, full body with a fantastic long finish. I would rate this $100 wine as Outstanding. And a great way to finish off our wines of Italy!