I have been remiss in posting, but have been quite busy with my WSET Diploma studies. My fellow classmate joined me one Sunday morning to taste through ten different sparkling wines. We carefully tasted each one to try and discover what made it unique from the others so that we will be able to identify it on our upcoming exam. The Cava had a faint burnt rubber aroma, while the Proseccos were much more fruity and floral. The Champagne was the most autolytic in character — yeasty, bready aromas and flavors. Four hours later, we had compiled a comprehensive set of tasting notes and had a better appreciation for the various nuances among sparkling wines. With ten opened bottles, a few were poured down the drain (they shall remain nameless) and the rest were enjoyed, albeit a little less bubbly, over the course of the week with my husband. With sparkling wines behind us, we will next turn our attention to spirits with a tasting session this weekend.

Last night’s class was devoted to the study of brandy, which is, by definition, a spirit made from the distillation of grapes. Among the finest brandies are Cognac and Armagnac, both from France. The former is located north of Bordeaux, while Armagnac comes from the Dordorgne, east of Bordeaux. These spirits are aged a minimum of six months after distillation and are often bottled much later, with bottles labeled XO containing a blend of distillate aged a minimum of 7 years for Cognac and 6 years for Armagnac.

We tasted through eight brandies, primarily Cognacs, along with Grappa (made from the skins of grapes already pressed into wine), Armagnac and a Gran Riserva Brandy from Spain. The highest quality Cognac we tasted was a blend of wines aged between 10 and 70 years old. 

Tasting spirits is hard work, as the alcohol (40% abv) makes it difficult to sniff and sip without dulling your senses too much. The professional way to taste spirits is to cut the tasting portion with up to half as much pure/neutral water. This permits the taster to smell the aromas without burning his/her olfactory nodes. Spitting is, of course, essential, if one wants to stay alert and focused.

After class, a group of us continued our inquiry with an additional tasting session. The conditions were slightly less than ideal as we struggled to pull together a spitoon and tasting glasses from the items available in one classmate’s hotel suite. Nevertheless, we did successfully manage to taste through another 10 spirits, expanding beyond brandy into vodka, rum and whiskey/whisky.

By the end of the night (11:00 PM), having tasted through nearly 20 samples, we were all quite palate fatigued as well as generally fatigued as we bid our farewells and headed home. We were no longer quite as spirtied as we had been at the start of class, but we were much wiser about spirits.

Tonight, I begin Unit 4 of the Diploma of Wine & Spirits. Unit 4 is comprised of Spirits of the World and will be presented over three Monday evenings, with a fourth devoted to a mock exam. The actual exam will be held on November 8, 2006.

This will be my third exposure to spirits, as this class of beverages was included in my two previous certificates. Interestingly, the Society of Wine Educators does not include spirits in any of its exams (at least, to date). I do think it is very useful to know and understand these liqueurs and other alcoholic beverages, as they do play an important role in the marketplace.

A large part of the exam is a blind tasting of three spirits. Accordingly, students are advised to taste beyond the samples provided in class. A group of us will meet directly after class tonight to begin our extra-curricular tasting and, after a flurry of e-mails, will have a fair number of spirits represented.

I look forward to continuing my exploration in the world of spirits.

In case you needed to add to your wine credentials, APCOR, a consortium representing the cork industry, has just launched its Cork Certification Course. As noted in their press release, APCOR is looking to improve its image with consumers and update them with regard to recent changes in technology.

The cork industry has really suffered lately, as faulty corks have continually been blamed for much, if not all, of the problems encountered with trichloroanisol (TCA). Wine contaminated with TCA gives off a musty odor and is considered faulty.  As noted previously, reports of cork failure have been as high as 12%, depending upon to whom you speak.

In an effort to assure consumers that cork still remains the single best wine stopper, APCOR has launched a series of advertisements and has enlisted Lisa Airey of the Society of Wine Educators to serve as a spokesperson. The new website and cork certification appear to be another component of their marketing efforts.

The site itself is fairly straightforward, highlighting the history of cork as well as recent advances in the manufacture of wine corks. The text lauds the naturalness of cork and attempts to tug at heartstrings in relating the ecological benefits of cork, namely serving as a habitat for the nearly extinct Iberian lynx, among other fauna.

To become certified, one must complete a set of twenty-five multiple choice questions, with a goal of scoring 80% or better. After reading through the website, I successfully scored a 96%, earning my new title as a Certified Cork Expert. Now, all I need is a larger business card to fit all of my credentials.

If you browse through a catalog such as Wine Enthusiast’s retail arm, there is a dizzying array of wine accessories. While many of these are fun to look at, it is not necessary for the average wine consumer to stock up on all of them. Unless you are buying a gift for a friend, you can keep things simple.

For most people, a trusty corkscrew will suffice. Unless you only drink wines under screw cap or crown cap (although it is getting easier to do so), you will need a cork screw. There are various models available from fancy counter-top options to the very basic waiter style openers.  I find that I am very pleased with a heavy duty waiter style corkscrew with a serrated knife attached. The knife is helpful in cutting the foil from the bottle.

I have been less happy with the stand alone foil cutters I have purchased in the past. They have either cut through the foil insufficiently or have done so at too high a point on the neck (I prefer to remove the foil below the lip of the bottle so that the wine doesn’t come into contact with the metal) . Hence, I have stopped using them altogether. Also, in many cases, you can slide the foil off the neck in one piece, making it even simpler.

Once the wine is opened, you’ll need some wine glasses and here I would recommend making an investment in crystal. One doesn’t need to purchase a myriad of different size stemware, but the use of a crystal-grade wine glass can enhance your enjoyment of the wine. Both Spigelau and Riedel make glasses at the lower-end of the spectrum, priced at about $10 per stem. An all-purpose glass will hold you in good stead for nearly all wines, with the exception of sparkling wines.

Beyond the corkscrew and glasses, most people don’t really need anything else. So you can save your pennies for buying wine instead.

This past weekend I had the good fortune to teach our From Vine to Wine class in the great outdoors, next to a beautiful vineyard at Vineyard 48. At the end of the class presentation, we were able to bring the participants into the vineyard to witness veraison.

Veraison is the point in the grape’s development when it begins to ripen and take on color. Prior to veraison, all of the grapes in the vineyard are green. Once veraison starts, the red varieties take on their various shades of red, while the white varieties turn more golden in color. This photo perfectly captures this process in action as the grapes shift from green to red and both colors are visible on the vine and, as shown here, even within the same bunch.

As the summer eeks out its last days and we move into fall, the ripening will continue. The sugar levels within the grapes will continue to increase as the acid levels fall. Moreover, the phenolic compounds — tannins and anthocyanins — will develop during this period. Both sugar level and phenolic ripeness are important in determining when the grapes will be ready to harvest.

When these two qualities are in proper alignment, as determined by the winemaker and vineyard manager, harvest will commence with the grapes brought in from the vineyard and into the winery where art and science combine to craft a wonderful wine. I can hardly wait.