If it’s geeky, funny or silly we sniffed it out this week. We have native grapes from Italy, talk about a geeky Greek grape, and have just a bit of a WTF moment where Champagne and ice cubes collide. There’s a dose of education chased with some banter, and we hope you enjoy our little geek trek into the crazy hot matrix of wine.
Val: “Welcome back to the W25 podcast where we sip, chat and learn – often in the middle of the day. I’m Val and the lovely Steph is here. We’re teeing up episode 60, and dissing that whole “five o’clock” thing.”
Steph: “That’s right. It’s not five o’clock, we don’t care, but gosh Val – there’s so much going on in the wine industry right now to care about, Right? This week we’re going to explore some interesting, weird or just little known wine nuggets. I also think we need to review what the #W25Challenge is about for all the new listeners! The #W25Challenge thing started at the beginning of the year, and it is an invitation for listeners to try to taste and discover new wines, regions, grapes, spirits, cocktails, beers, teas, whatever. When you post pics of them to twitter or facebook, use the #W25Challenge and we will add that entry to a drawing each quarter. The winner will co-host the show and choose the topic for their episode. The next drawing will be at the end of June.”
Val: “You may remember episode 55 with Susan Golicic, our last winner. That was such a blast! So for your chance to win, all you have to do is taste, learn, and explore! And speaking of … Steph? What are you tasting this week?”
Drinking:
Steph
– “I feel silly saying OMG! But that describes my happy, electric buzz of enthusiasm about this wine – 2011 Vietti Roero Arneis (unfiltered) and opened just for this geeky podcast and our beloved – winelover listeners.
“Here’s what the back label reads because it ties in with this episode … it is a quote from the winemaker Alfredo Currado. “In 1967 I experimented with the Arneis grape from the few vines that were left in the Roero area. This is the result; and now some people in Piemonte consider me the father of Arneis Wine…” “
Val – “I’m in Italy today as well with a 2013 Ruche` di Castagnole Monferrato by Cantine Sant’Agata, Ruche` is a red grape that is mostly grown around the Asti area in Piemonte but also in other communes, such as Castagnole Monferrato. Interestingly enough this grape from Castagnole Monferrato has its own appellation and can have up to 10% Barbera or Brachetto blended in at the DOC level. This one is a DOCG and also must be a minimum 90% Ruche`.”
Discussion:
Val: “As Steph mentioned, we had to pay attention to some little known wine factoids and interesting news tidbits this week. My contribution will be this article by Wink Lorch on geeky grapes from around the world. I instantly saw this as a “hey, let’s try to get our hands on these” challenge, of course. Wink Lorch is a wine writer who actually crowd-funded her book, Jura Wine. I won’t give you the book report, but I highly recommend this book chock full of information and travel tips for this wine region. You can find links on how to get it on our website! “
Val: “Back to Wink’s article in Wine Searcher. She discusses the value of indigenous or autochthonous grapes to the wine world. For one thing, there are thousands of grape varieties in the world – I’ve personally documented over 250 that I’ve tasted, but every day discover more grapes I’ve not had or even heard of. She even goes on to say that most of the world’s wine (about 70%) is made with only about 30 or so grapes!
“Saving these grapes and checking them out (hello, #W25Challenge!) not only enhances the story of a wine or region, but did you know that climate change is inciting many traditional growing regions to consider changing the grapes they grow to adapt?”
Steph: “I definitely thought this was some “hot” information… especially the collection of 7800 indigenous varieties at the research center called Domaine de Vassal. This is a great article you found, Val, and I”m happy you are sharing your geek-ness today.”
Val: “She then goes on to recommend some wines made with some geeky grapes. Yes, this is our idea of a good time!”
Steph: “That is one of the reasons why we are kindred spirits, Val. We share this love for obscure grapes and difficult to find wine styles. I think we bonded over it soon after we met. Wink describes this love as a somm’s “wet dream.”
“It’s funny too, because I have a couple friends, not many, that love weird wines, so I’m going to give my Shout-Out a little early and say thanks for the obscure wine selection at your party on Sunday, Denise! I was only there a mere hour, but Denise made sure to show me the two white wines that were designated as obscure – since there was a sea of wine to choose from – nearly 20 bottles. One of the wines was Austrian, and I have a confession to make, in all my wine-speed, I didn’t snap any photos or write anything down – so that info was lost … oy. The other bottle from Spain was a Listan Blanco de Canarias (aka Palomino Fino).
“Where did she get these wines, you may ask? Online through Chamber Street Wines out of NY. They have an obscure Varieties Club (3 bottles/month) with a focus on single-varietal wines.
“But back to Wink’s article and her recommended wine list. The one that stood out for me was Domaine Sigalas Mavrotragano from Santorini, Greece for 2 reasons.
“I’ve been to Santorini and took photos of Domaine Sigalas vines since the tasting room was closed and I didn’t have an appointment. Justin and I rented a 4-wheeler on the island and spent the afternoon cruising around and scoping out vineyards.
I’m drawn to Wink’s description of the Mavrotragano wine she listed – “deliciously deep, wild, and tannic”. Sounds like the crazy, hot, matrix of wines to me! Bring it on!
“Some pearls on Mavrotragano –
- “Mavro” = black
- “Tragano” = crisp
- The berries = small, red, and thick skinned
- Exclusive to the Island of Santorini
- Historically made into sweet red wines
- At one point down to only 2% of the vineyard area on the island
- Things changed in 1997 when the winery Hatzidakis released a dry, stunning red version and woke everyone up.
- The dry version is spicy, earthy, smoky, with cooked fruits, and notes of leather and coffee. Sometimes it is described having similarities to Nebbiolo wines, although Mavrotragano has intense color.”
As promi
sed, here is the link to the Decanter Rare Wine Grapes Quiz if you’d like to get your geek on. Come on, you know you want to!
Winoradar:
Val: *sigh* “Here’s what Moët is doing … and it is pronounced Mo-ETT, not Mo-AY. Just saying.
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2016/05/moet-launches-ice-imperial-rose-champagne/
“OK, here’s my thing. And here comes the rant … ice. Restaurant ice? Don’t put that crap in my glass. I don’t even understand Americans and their whole ice water obsession – particularly when it’s 30 degrees out. Ice water just pisses me off. Even the ice that comes from our filtered water in the fridge is not great tasting. Of course that’s a personal thing. Although, I now wonder, how often do ice machines get cleaned? I mean, when was the last time you cleaned your home ice maker/reservoir? So … ice? Can have as much bacteria in it as your toilet seat, and I guarantee you clean your toilets (or good gawd hope so) more than your freezer. Of course we don’t (most of us) sit in our freezers. You know.
“So while I’m not going talk about the experiment from a middle school student that found that 70% of ice machines tested were filthier than samples from the toilets (and brava, young lady!) I will post some articles about why ice has no business in freaking Champagne.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/16/ice-cubes-gross_n_5475301.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2334533/Ice-restaurants-bacteria-water-toilets.html
“All that said, I used to be an ‘ice cruncher’ and still occasionally will do it when I have lovely clear cubes in my cocktail.
“Steph? What is your take on all this?”
Steph: “First – my comments on the dirty ice that people don’t know about – gotta say that I’m a little grossed-out and will be more cautious. I’m definitely doing myself a service by ordering my water with no ice already, but I do enjoy a cocktail or two quite often when I’m at a bar or restaurant. I don’t think I’ll stop doing that. Maybe my immune system is better for it. Huh… the awareness is what it most helpful. After all, there are somethings that are out of our hands. Now, the other bullet point in the GrubStreet.com article that peeked my attention was the one about contaminated soda lines. I immediately thought of Jeff Solomon on WLD! I bet he’d appreciate that nugget. Plus, I’m giving myself a pat on the back because I don’t drink soda and therefore don’t order it when I’m out.
“Second – It’s strange that I didn’t know about the Imperial Ice Champagne when it first came out as the blanc. Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE Moët! But just in case anyone was wondering … it is pricey just like you’d expect from Moët ($62+). Now I haven’t tasted it, so I don’t want to “drink shame” anyone… and I can’t take credit for this term “drink shaming”… I find it hilarious and wanted to share it with Wine Two Fivers. I heard it recently when I was looking for new podcasts to listen to and found the Unwritable Rant with host Juliette Miranda. That’s a pretty entertaining show. Check out what I’m talking about on Unwritable Rant’s episode 34.”
Val: “Um – she had me at ‘... landing in Chicago …’. Subscribed. Love her snark and can’t wait to hear more, particularly after, ‘Can you believe this bitch drink shamed us? On vacation?’
“Absolutely we are not about drink shaming. Although I brought this up with a guy Sunday who does the distributor thing and his thoughts were along the lines of leaving the consumer to fill their glass, perhaps with ice, then take a sip of this now diluted Champagne and give it a bad rap. I suppose that’s just like drinking a hot, cheap Cabernet out of a plastic cup after taking a bite of milk chocolate and then thinking all Cabernet sucks.
“That said, I think this warrants maybe just a little drink shaming: “Prosecco-flavored soda. It’s gone too far.” https://dobianchi.com/2016/05/31/prosecco-central-market-heb-texas/ Again. Cue Jeff Solomon at We Like Drinking who can drink some hateraide & deliver classic rants when it comes to soda. My whole thing … why?!”
Steph: “On my Winoradar is Jenny Mackenzie’s wine micro-blogging on social media and specifically I like her Pinterest board “If People Were Wine” … it might be fun for our listeners to describe themselves – or someone they know – as wine. GO! We’ll pick the ones we like the best, send you a surprise, and give you a shout out.
Val: “We already know Val needs to be decanted and she is unfiltered. Casa Valeria – Vivendo Fuori la Scatola IGT Toscana shelf talker would look something like this, and it was written five years ago: Gutsy smart-alecky tannins, too complex to even bother comprehending, dripping with ripe black fruit and sarcasm, spice and hard-core dark chocolate persistence to keep even my trap shut for a good 10 seconds. Make sure you decant – I haven’t been filtered. Serve me with roasted meat and medium-aged cheeses. Or else.”
Steph: “Val, That is the perfect descriptor. I love that. Now everyone knows what we’re talking about. This is how you would describe yourself as a wine. Give it a go, try it for yourself, or humor yourself by describing your spouse or best friend and leaving yourself out of it completely. Send us your descriptors of people who are wine.”
Connect with Val on Twitter @WineGalUnboxed and on the Vino With Val FB page, and on instagram as Vino with Val.
You can find Steph on Twitter @Albarellosoap and on the AlbarelloSoap FB page, and check out the videos on the Albarello YouTube channel!
Val: you can visit us on the WineTwoFive website, FB page, Twitter, Pinterest & YouTube or check out our contact page.
Also, if you want to build your collection of wine books – particularly the ones we’ve mentioned on this show, you can check out our store! We chose some of our favorite items and linked them up through our website.
We hope that you’ll share Wine Two Five with your friends and online community.
We appreciate all your involvement and feedback and especially iTunes reviews.
One more thing… Don’t forget to use the #W25Challenge when you are trying new wines and drinks & thank you to those who have been posting like crazy this week.
So until next week – Cheers!