 |
Wine Class The Art of "Blended" Wines For decades, the American wine drinking public thought that a wine should boldly state that grape it was made from on the front label or it was of inferior quality. To a certain extent, they were correct. Grocery store brands and jug wine producers used enigmatic monikers or stole European wine names for their blended wines of dubious origin and quality. Names like 'mountain chablis,' 'hearty burgundy,' and 'old world chianti' found their way onto labels from the USA that had no connection (origin, flavor or style-wise) their European counterparts. Those wine drinkers who cared about quality and had more refined palates were thusly justified in their shunning of non-varietal labeled wines. Now that more Americans are drinking more wines, from more places, we're familiar with many European names and just don't realize what they mean. Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne...Chianti, Brunello, Prosecco... Rioja, Port, Madeira... These are all European winegrowing regions/places. The problem is that many American wine drinkers lumped in the old world producers and regions of Europe, where laws and tradition dictated that the place (who made it and where) a wine came from was the most important thing a consumer needed to know, in with genericly labeled wines produced by American wineries. Most climates are suitable to growing more that one type of grape, so why would a winemaker limit him or herself to just one varietal. It would be akin to limiting a painter to one color or a composer to one instrument. A black and white photo, or a solo can be breathtakingly beautiful in their simplicity, but a full palate of colors or a full orchestra can often reach heights that are more than the some of its parts. The same can often be said for wines. Blending allows winemakers to create new flavors, textures and sensations that may not be present in fruit from a single grape or vineyard. It also allows for a winemaker to compensate for any weaknesses some fruit may have by adding those components from other fruit. This merlot could use a little more backbone, add some cabernet; this chardonnay could benefit from some extra aromatics, add some viognier... And a dirty little secret of the American wine industry... many, if not most, of the "single varietal" wines you thought you were drinking are actually blends. For California, only 85% of the fruit has to come from a specific region for it to appear on the label, and a wine only has to be at least 75% of a single varietal for it to appear on the label. So that Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon you had the other night could have been 5% Napa Malbec, 5% Napa Cabernet Franc, and 15% Sonoma Merlot. Wines for the class: Chateau Magneau Bordeaux Blanc Montinore Borealis White Turkey Flat Rose Marrietta Old Vine Red La Colombaia Valpolicella Ripasso Millbrandt Brothers Red Redhead Studios Yard Dog Red Domaine Sobon Chateauneuf du Pape Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 6:00 pm $25 per person RSVP required |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Join Our Mailing List |
Upcoming Events at Taylor's Free Monthly Tasting Wines of South Africa March 7th, 6pm Riedel Stemware Class March 12th, 6pm $55 (take home your $60 value tasting kit) RSVP Required March Monthly Tasting March 21th, 6-8pm Free Featuring Live music by George Fuller April Monthly Tasting April 4th, 6-8pm Antoni Uroz with wines from Spain and Portugal Wine Class #5 The Art of Blended Wines April 9th, 6pm $25 per person, RSVP April Monthly Tasting California Favorites April 18th, 6-8pm Free Winemaker Dinner Stewart Cellars at Coquette Brasserie April 24th, 6pm $90, RSVP required |
 |
Stewart Cellars Winemaker Dinner Stewart Cellars Winemaker Dinner Who: James Stewart, son of owner Michael Stewart and assistant winemaker and owner/winemaker for Slingshot wines. What: A four course wine and food paring dinner at Coquette Brasserie featuring a special menu created for the event by Chef Beth Littlejohn. When: Wednesday, April 24th at 6pm Where: Coquette Brasserie at North Hill's Shopping Center How: Seats are $90 (all inclusive), call the store to RSVP Menu Chicken liver pate dijon mousse, gruyere gallette followed by an amuse bouche Slingshot Sauvignon Blanc and Stewart Cellars Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay Grilled Swordfish provencal with fingerling potatoes & haricot vert Stewart Cellars Russian River Pinot Noir Braised short ribs celery root pea puree, roasted spring vegetables and a braising au jus Slingshot Cabernet Sauvignon and Stewart Cellars Cabernet Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Chocolate Cherry Genoise (gateaux hazelnuts, cherry compote & anglaise) Stewart Cellars NOMAD Cabernet Sauvignon |