These are the Years to Learn From – Thoughts on the 2011 Vintage from Jefferson Vineyards Winemaker Andy Reagan

These are the Years to Learn From – Thoughts on the 2011 Vintage from Jefferson Vineyards Winemaker Andy Reagan

As I noted in my last post, 2011 will be remembered by many here in Virginia, in particular by winemakers, as a year of weather extremes — early(ish) spring frost, consecutive days of triple digit temperatures coupled with oppressive humidity, an earthquake, followed by Hurricane Irene that dumped 10″ to 16″ of rain in many parts of the state.

Unfortunately, the rain continued in the weeks following Irene.  In the Front Royal area, just over six inches of rain fell over the last 30 days, raising fears that 2011 may well end up like 2003 when many vineyards throughout Virginia (and the east coast) suffered as a result of high winds and torrential rains from Hurricane Isabel.

Several Virginia winemakers — Stephen Barnard, winemaker at Keswick Vineyards on the Keswick blog, and Jeff White of Glen Manor Vineyards on the Wine Berserkers forum — have shared their thoughts on these weather challenges.  For additional perspective, I asked Andy Reagan, winemaker and General Manager of Jefferson Vineyards, to share his thoughts on what will become of 2011:

It’s 6:30 am. I just woke up after hitting the snooze button a few times, busy day ahead, probably need more than 2 cups of coffee. After zipping through my normal a.m. routine, I step outside for my first smoke and cup of joe. Another grey, muggy morning brings another sigh. For weeks now I’ve been forced to listen to the sound of tires splashing down the country roads and water dripping off of the gutter… pure torture.  Just another day during the worst vintage I can remember.

To most industry insiders 2003 has been the benchmark for the worst-case scenario sadly 2011 has easily prompted me to think fondly of our prior crappy harvest standard. 2003 was wet, 3 sunny days in May, constant downpours, hot humid funky weather. That year there were 3 hurricanes whose remnants swept through the state in September. Yes, 2003 sucked, but at least there were periods it didn’t rain during harvest. This year we’ve had rain every day for the past 3 weeks. The whites came in well below desired ripeness. The reds, well ours our still hanging, but I’ve heard many folks have lost entire crops. Sorting tables are a necessity this year as rot rules supreme and winemaker interventions will be common. If any winemaker says they were minimalists in 2011, don’t drink their wine, and tell them they should be ashamed for lying. I was amazed last year that we were finished picking by the end of September we accomplished that because of the long dry and hot year with some of the best fruit I’ve ever seen. This year I am again stunned that we’ll finish picking so early, though thoroughly annoyed that it is a result of having no canopy to support the hanging fruit. Honestly it is a year to forget already, can we move on to 2012 please?

Rainy, foggy, crummy weather and all though, we still have a job to do. These are the vintages we have to expect in Virginia, they are inevitable and used to be the norm. We have been spoiled with a string of fortunate years. 2004 was great compared to 2003 but 2005 through 2010 were nothing short of outstanding, I think St. Vincent was feeling bad for us having suffered through 2003, hopefully we’ll kick off another long run of great vintages beginning with 2012. In the meantime dealing with the mess at hand; how will we produce wine of distinction? Can we make a wine with any real complexity? To be frank, (not Frank but frank) it is going to be tough. The whites will be easier than the reds. Our Pinot Gris actually ripened nicely before the onslaught of rain this September. And thank you God for Petit Manseng, by far the toughest grape ever. Between those two the whites will easily be as delicious as ever. The reds though, unfortunately we depend too heavily on seed and skin tannin to help turn that murky juice into the deep beautiful complex mouth filling brilliance we all love in a good red, so unless somehow we get lucky and have a couple weeks of warm sunny days and cool nights, get a little dehydration and somehow stave off the botrytis, well let’s just say I hope rose’s popularity sky rockets soon. I’ll do what I can with the reds, 30% bleeding, delestage twice a day and very hot, short fermentation will be key, judicious use of oak and forest selection will play a big role too, I’m willing to bet something will turn out great. For now, what though remains to be seen.

These are the years to learn from. They test are commitment to making great wine. This is the type of year that reminds us to not take anything for granted, that when it all comes down to it we really control very little in this industry and even in life. We need these standards to remind us to appreciate the better days, the priceless moments we typically expect, these are the moments in life that help us showcase our talents, give us character and some much needed humility. It’s 11:40 a.m. 2 press loads in to the day, sunny, 75° with a light breeze, perhaps the better days to come just arrived.

Thanks Andy for coming in from the rain to share your insights and thoughts on the 2011 vintage.  I hope a few other winemakers will share their experiences and thoughts on the 2011 vintage, weather permitting .  I’m curious how many harvested their whites prior to Irene, especially the Viognier.

Oh, one last word … it rained today.

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I Like Soup

I Like Soup… and Cru Beaujolais – A Perfect Chilly Weather Pairing

For a summer that included weather conditions that would be considered extreme in most areas — consecutive days of triple digit temperatures (ask anyone who attended WBC11) coupled with oppressive humidity, an earthquake, yes, an earthquake, followed by Hurricane Irene that dumped 10″ to 16″ of rain in many parts of the state — fall weather has set in quickly.   Our corner of Virginia saw a 30 degree temperature drop from one day to the next — 87 degrees and sunny one day, then 57 degrees and rainy the next.

Though I appreciate the beauty that fall brings to Virginia with red, orange, and yellow foliage against a backdrop of green rolling hills, I’d much prefer to ease in to fall with progressively cooler temperatures.  For some reason, I seem to get rancid colds when the temperatures drop so significantly.

I’m hesitant to complain too much since weather is a simple inconvenience for me, but my winemaking friends have been dealt the weather equivalent of a 2 – 6 offsuit hand this year.  (Ed. Note — Of the roughly 170 different possible starting hands in Texas Hold ‘em, this is one of the worse, requiring creativity and large dose of luck to turn in to a winning hand.)

In terms of the weather in Southeastern, VA, the only constant is change, and much warmer temps will no doubt return soon.  Until then, the cooler weather provides a reason to try a new soup recipe — Jacque Pépin’s take on bean and ham soup — and open one of my favorite summer-to-fall transition wines, cru Beaujolais.

Jacque Pépin's take on bean and ham soup paired with the Duboeuf 2009 Juliénas (don't let my poor photography skills turn you off, the soup was better than this photo)

I’ve long been a fan of bean and ham soup, and the many variations available in nearly every cookbook that contains a soup section, but Jacques Pépin’s version is one of my favorites (I believe there is another version of this soup in Pépin’s Fast Food My Way):

Ingredients:

• Most importantly, 1 bottle of Cru Beaujolais.  I went with one from Juliénas.
• 4 smoked ham hocks (get the meaty ones)
• 1/2 pound dried cannellini beans (1 1/4 cups)
• 3 quarts water
• 2 medium red-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut in to 1-inch pieces
• 1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large carrot, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large parsnip, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (can do without parsnip)
• 1 large celery rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound cabbage, cut into 2-inch pieces (we used kale as a substitute)
• Salt and pepper, obviously
• Loaf of fresh French bread, sliced, lightly toasted
• 2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese (to top the soup and toasted bread slices). I hold the opinion (very strongly) that Gruyere makes everything taste better, and the Gruyere atop toasted bread added a nice crunchy compliment to the soup.

Detailed preparation instructions can be found on page 204 of the October 2011 issue of Food & Wine or visit the F&W recipe page.

Juliénas — A great pairing:  As I’ve noted here a number of times, I totally dig Beaujolais (with the exception of Nouveau), and can’t figure out why more of my wine savvy friends don’t appreciate wines from the Crus.  Perhaps the simple virtue of Cru Beaujolais — bright, juicy, low tannin, high acidity, and practical price points — is lost on some (or maybe I’m too simple to know any better ).

I attended a Beaujolais tasting in the spring and had the chance to taste the George Duboeuf 2009 offerings from each of the ten Crus.  The Morgon and this Juliénas were by far my favorites.  The Duboeuf 2009 Juliénas is full of blueberry, violets, mineral and black tea components.  True to form, nice acidity that worked well with this soup.

Both the bean and ham soup and the Duboeuf Juliénas were a perfect accompaniment to the chilly temps.

What is your favorite cold weather soup (maybe leave recipe)?  What is your favorite summer-to-fall transition food/wine pairing?

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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

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The Wine Shield Trials

The Wine Shield Trials

Like most wine bloggers, I regularly receive offers of wine samples, books, wine trinkets, stemware, different accessories like wine stain removers, aerators, and even a tchotcke that supposedly ages wine in just a few minutes (only imparted a metallic taste for me).  As a natural skeptic I tend to view all wine trinkets and accessories with a jaundiced eye.

Recently a company called Wine Preserva, an Australian firm, contacted me about trying their wine preservation product, the wine shield — a thin plastic disc that, when inserted into an open wine bottle, creates a barrier between the wine and the outside world thereby reducing oxidation and keeping the wine fresh for consumption over the course of several days.

The wine shield, post-use, and spear (thingie used to get the disc in to the bottle).

There was a time in the not too distant past when an unfinished bottle of wine was an unknown phenomenon in our house.  Now, with a newborn, my wife and I rarely have time (or, um, energy) to enjoy a full glass, much less finish off an entire bottle in a night or two.  It’s routine for a bottle of wine opened here at Chateau Morgan on a Friday night to last well in to the next week.

Although I am happy with the vacu vin and argon gas system we use at home, the wine shield interested me because I’ve been looking for a practical, travel-friendly alternative to my small vacu vin to preserve wine while I’m on travel.  In the past, when I was traveling nearly every week, I would pack a small vacu vin and bottle plug to keep a bottle of wine drinkable throughout the week at the hotel.

Since the wine shield appears to be travel-friendly — small, thin, individually wrapped — and claims to preserve the taste and nose of a bottle of wine for up to five days, I was looking forward to testing this product.

I conducted three rounds of testing with the wine shield just to complete this experiment.  I scrapped the first experiment due to a technical problem with the wine shield disc. The second attempt ended prematurely due to over-consumption.  The third and final round — a more controlled yet-far-from-scientific test with two bottles of the same wine — was completed without operator/experimenter error or technical problems.

Chester Gap 2008 Merlot ($19)
My first impression of the wine shield usability was not positive.  I had difficulty getting the wine shield out of the wrapper and in to the bottle because the outer edge of the wine shield disc was sealed in the seam of the plastic wrapper, which caused two of the tabs on the outer edge to tear when I tried to separate them.  The wine was great on the first night open, but the aromatics and flavor dropped off considerably after the second night, as one would expect from leaving a bottle of wine open on the counter with no closure.  It’s obvious that the wine shield can not shield if damaged.  Damn, that was over 1/2 bottle of Chester Gap — one of my favorites!   Round one: cheap wine tchotcke 1, wine shield 0.

Hahn 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ($12)
I opened this bottle along with several other Cabernets as part of a get together we hosted for #CabernetDay. I poured a couple glasses, put in the Wine Shield and set the bottle aside with the intent of tasting over the next few nights.  This was one of the more popular Cabs of the evening so it ended up empty by nights end.  To that end, this bottle didn’t last long enough for me to reasonably conclude on the effectiveness of the wine shield.    With baking spice, dark berry, eucalyptus components throughout, this wine offers nice QPR at the $12 price point.
Note:  Received this wine as a sample.

For my third and final wine shield trial, I went with a more controlled format with two bottles of the same wine — the White Hall 2009 Cabernet Franc.  One bottle was preserved with the wine shield, and the other with a vacu vin and a schtickle of argon.

White Hall 2009 Cab Franc (~ $13)
I choose this particular Cab Franc because this is one of the few reds that I happened to have two bottles of the same vintage at a reasonable price point.  I also happen to enjoy the wines from White Hall because they are consistently solid.

Night 1 — The Beginning:  

A separate taste from both bottles — purple in color, this wine smelled of raspberry, violets, earthy components, and hints of leather.  No methoxypyrazine (herbaceouness, or bell pepper aromas) that I’ve come to expect from many east coast Cab Francs lately.  This is a lighter example of Cab Franc with a reasonable (and appreciated) 13% alcohol level.

Night 2 — Neck and Neck:
As is the case with many reds that I open, I liked this wine better the second night.   The wine shield wine displayed brighter fruit — raspberry, cherry, and even hints of spice that weren’t apparent on night 1.  Same finish — short.  The bottle sealed with the vacu vin exhibited more dark cherry components.

Night 3 — A Noticeable Difference:
A noticeable difference between the two.  A lipstick-like cosmetic aroma that was not present in the first two nights, was lingering in the bottle sealed with the vacu vin.  The glass from the wine shield bottle continued to hold it’s own with aromas of red fruits still prominent with acidity and tannins still intact.

Night 4 — The Experiment Ends Here:
Noticeable decline in both wines — loss of aromatics and flavors, and the acidity is MIA — more so in the bottle sealed with the vacu vin.  Although the wine shield claims to preserve the aroma and taste of wine up to five days, I didn’t see any point in tasting another night as both bottles had declined and the winner in this case was obvious.  The bottle preserved with the wine shield faired better overall — stayed consistent, better aromatics, flavor and balance — than the bottle sealed with the vacu vin (which is surprising).

Conclusion:  The wine shield is simple, easy to use and is travel friendly.  Most importantly, it works (well, at least as far as I’m concerned from my less-than-scientific testing).  I could see this product being placed for sale in Vino Volo airport wine bars and/or in airport and hotel shops.

Since the wine shield is intended to be a single-use product, and ranges in price from 60 cents to $1 per use (depending on quantity purchased), the price seems reasonable when used to keep a $20+ bottle of wine.  Not sure this makes sense to use for that Tuesday night $8 bottle.

For more information about wine shield in the US, visit Buy Wine Shield.  In Australia, visit Wine Preserva.

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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

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