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.

Yesterday, I attended a symposium on Understanding Regional Identity through Wine Styles. Presented through the Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and sponsored by several local winery and industry organizations, the program centered around Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW and Ed McCarthy’s new book, Wine Styles.  In addition to hosting these authors, the symposium featured Collin Alevas of The Tasting Room restaurant and Jean-Luc Le Du of Le Du’s Wines.

After a brief welcome and introduction by Larry Perrine of Channing Daughters, Mary kicked off the event with a discussion on the need to approach wines through a new lens. Previously, wine has been parsed by region, grape variety and score, but none of these options lends itself well to the average consumer. If, instead, we group wines by their overall style, such as fresh, unoaked whites or spicy reds, we can empower the consumer to trust his/her palate and encourage a diversity of wine tastes. Mary and Ed’s premise and fuller conversation bring up a number of important points, which will be examined further at another time. For now, it is sufficient to note the relevance of their remarks to promoting diversity in wine styles by giving people permission to like whatever style of wine their palate prefers, removing the element of judgement or a sense of right and wrong.

The program continued with a presentation by Collin on the selection of wines for his restaurant, which exclusively offers American wine. He provided the participants with an opportunity to taste two wines — a unique CA Pinot Noir, with a cloudy appearance and interesting story as well as a WA Nebbiolo. Overall, his message was that of the need to tell stories about wines to engage consumer interest and sell wine. After a lively interaction, the group broke for lunch, during which participants had the chance to taste through wines from Channing Daughters, Raphael and those poured during the earlier tasting exercises.

Resuming in the afternoon, Jean-Luc shared his experience in the wine trade, first in his role of sommelier at Daniel restaurant and now in the context of a wine shop owner. He spoke about the difference inherent in Collin’s life — the restaurant customer is a captive audience — compared to his, whereby the retail customer can comparison shop (moreso than ever with the Internet) and his inability to be there when they open the bottle.

As a final installment to the day, Ed led a roundtable discussion of the panel, with Collin replaced by Richard Olsen-Harbich of Raphael, given his early departure. The participants were eager to ask questions of all panel members and many interesting discussions took place regarding wine styles and other wine topics. Overall, it was a very productive conference, as the wine industry came together to both explore and share many ideas about the world of wine. All in all, a definite class act.

Regardless of the course topic, food and wine pairing is a subject that comes up frequently in my classes. It seems that many consumers feel completely in the dark when it comes to selecting a wine that will complement their food choice. I find this especially interesting since it is only relatively recent that we, as a nation, have begun turning to wine as a beverage of choice. Many of our citizens still reach for soda, juice or milk when dining and probably never give it a thought.  I can’t imagine someone considering the merits of a lemon-lime soda (white) versus a cola (red?) to pair with their meal.

But, of course, wines can truly accentuate a meal in ways that other beverages can’t. When drinking wine with food, there are changes that occur in the way that the food is perceived on the palate. Similarly, the food influences the way that the wine tastes. When chosen wisely, beautiful harmonies can result. Matches selected with less precision may provide lesser experiences, but few matches are really disastrous. At least not more so than drinking lemonade with an osso bucco or other non-wine mismatch.

So, why does food and wine pairing strike fear in the heart of the consumer (and here, the noun consumer is all the more appropriate)? I would suggest that the mystery, snobbery and structure that surrounds the world of wine places the less-knowledgeable wine lover in a defensive position. He or she has been taught that there is a right way and a wrong way. However, unlike non-wine beverages, there is no admonishment to choose the right one. Thus, anything other than wine comes naturally, while wine choices are fraught with the stress of picking the perfect wine.

Perhaps if the message that there is no one perfect wine for a given situation was sent to consumers more often, they could all relax a bit more and enjoy their wine and meal without getting a headache before the wine is even drunk.

Among the sessions I attended at the SWE Conference was one on Rias Baixas (pronounced ree-ahss bye-shas), presented by Mary Gorman, MW candidate, and Linda Lawry, Director of the International Wine Center.  This lesser-known Spanish wine hails just north of Portugal, within the Galicia region. The region, referred to as "green Spain," is a far cry from other regions in Spain such as the extremely arid La Mancha. Photographs shared in the session depicted lush rolling hills and verdant greenery reminiscent of Mary’s native Ireland. Located along the Atlantic coast, the ocean imparts a great influence on the climate which brings lots of rain; hence the beautiful scenary.

As a consequence of the heavy reains, mildew is among the biggest problems in the vineyard. To combat this, a pergola trellis and training system is used. This approach provides aeration and circulation, while keeping the grapes off the ground and away from the precipitation. It make for a difficult harvest as pickers must stand on a crate to reach the hanging grapes. For larger vineyards holdings, the Espaldera is sometimes used, which is a local variant of the Geneva Double-Curtain. This system results in lower yields and higher quality, but is more expensive and thus, not appropriate for small plots.

The wines are made primarily from the Albarino grape, which is very aromatic and has characteristics similar to that of Riesling. This grape originated here and has been cultivated for centuries. Several other grapes are permitted, which bring their own special character to the blend. For example, Loueiro Blanco provides a laurel note, while Treixadura adds a white, floral aroma.

Winemaking primarily centers on stainless steel fermentation, preserving the freshness of these wines, although a few are experimented with oaked Albarino. Some malo-lactic fermentation is used to manage the acidity, especially in the Val do Salnes subzone, from which 70% of the wines are produced. A pre-fermentation maceration is common with the grapes held at 50oF for six to ten hours. Overall, these wines are clean with crisp acidity and a balsamic (think balsa wood, not the vinegar) character in the finish. They are meant to be drunk young and given the region’s proximity to the sea, match very well with shell fish.

If you have been enjoying Vinho Verdes from Portugal, the next time you are in your local wine store, you might consider figuratively heading north just over the border to try these rising stars.