Theloosetannin

January 19th-Bourboulenc

’ve been holding on to this bottle for a little bit looking for the right time to drink it and this week seemed to fit that bill! Bourboulenc is a whtie wine varietal originating in the Rhȏne Valley in southeastern France. When used in France, it is commonly a blending grape. Plantings have been locatedContinue reading “January 19th-Bourboulenc”

January 12th-Prié Blanc

Prié Blanc is a lesser known wine variety that also goes by the name Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle. It is a white wine grape indigenous and grown exclusively in the north western Alpine region of Vallée d’Aoste in Italy. This wine region has some of the highest elevations to produce grapes withinContinue reading “January 12th-Prié Blanc”

January 5th-Armenia

When you think of wine, probably the last place that comes to mind is Armenia. The countries that make up the Caucasus region (Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan) were inhabited by humans dating back to 9000 BC. There have been debates regarding which country has been making wine the longest but in 1997, the definitive answerContinue reading “January 5th-Armenia”

December 29th-Sauternes

Sauternes is a sweet white wine made in the southern portion of the Bordeaux region in France. It is made from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes that are both left on the vine past the normal harvest time until they become infected with Noble Rot, also known as Botrytis. While most fungus is detrimental toContinue reading “December 29th-Sauternes”

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December 22nd-Barbera

Barbera is an often overlooked red wine variety that is extremely food friendly. It’s rich, ruby color can be a bit misleading because while it looks more similar to a Syrah, it drinks more like Pinot Noir (think higher acid, lower tannin, and juicy red fruit and earthy notes). It is indigenous to the PiedmontContinue reading “December 22nd-Barbera”

December 15th-Sekt

Sekt is a sparkling wine, most notably made in Germany but the fruit can originate from outside countries. In many cases, the fruit is made into a base wine by standard fermentation processes then it gets shipped to Germany, or the fruit can be shipped prior to undergoing this step also. Once in Germany, theContinue reading “December 15th-Sekt”

December 10th-Pedro Ximenez

For the final installment of Sherry Week, I will be looking at the dessert wine Pedro Ximenez (PX). Like I referred to last night, this wine is sweet because the grapes are left to slightly dehydrate under the sun. This removes water from the grape juice, which concentrates the sugar content. It is then fortifiedContinue reading “December 10th-Pedro Ximenez”

December 9th-Cream Sherry

Cream Sherry (also referred to as Medium Sherry) is our fourth in our Sherry series. Don’t let the name fool you, Cream Sherry does not have cream in it. It starts out as Oloroso but then a touch of the Pedro Ximenez (PX) grape (can be Moscatel in lower quality versions) is blended in. TheseContinue reading “December 9th-Cream Sherry”

December 8-Amontillado

Amontillado is a dry wine that undergoes both aging using both flor (like Fino and Manzanilla) which is then followed by oxidative aging (like Oloroso). Between these two types of aging, the wine is fortified to 17% alcohol. This kills off the yeast in the flor, which can only survive to 15.5% alcohol. These agingContinue reading “December 8-Amontillado”