Week 10 Highlights

Wow, already in my 10th week of school - time is just flying by! World Viticulture & Wine Styles continues to be a great lecture class - internationally, we've been to France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. This week we started the chapter on California. But since I just noticed that I fell behind a bit after reporting on Wines of France, before we get to CA, here's a brief recap of the most interesting things I learned about Italy, Spain and Portugal:

ITALY
The history of wine and Italian civilization is synonymous - winemaking in Italy dates as far back as 4000 B.C. The Romans actually began the practice of trellising vines off the ground, and they also were the first to use barrels to store and transport wine. As it is in France, wine is present in all aspects of Italian life. Also, like France, Italy has a system of laws and standards for producing wine. The French have the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee) and the Italians have the DOC (Denominazione d'Origine Controllata) laws which guarantee the place of origin of any wine bearing the name of a particular region that has the DOC designation. The DOC system is also as complicated! One could specialize only in wines of Italy and have to know a heck of a lot about the many, many wines that come from the wide range of soils and climate conditions in Tuscany, Piedmont, Lombardy, Sicily, Veneto, Trentino Alto-Adige, Umbria and Campania. The most surprising thing I learned is that Italy is the leader in modern winemaking equipment - in particular, their bottling lines are recognized as the best in industry standards.

SPAIN
Spain has 3 million acres of grapevines - more than both Italy and France - but they are #3 in production behind both Italy and France. And although they make some great wines, they have not been as successful in promoting and marketing them to the rest of the world. It has only really been in the last decade that they've made some big strides to improve their wines and open up markets. Their most widely planted grape is the Tempranillo, which goes into their top red wines. and that, along with Grenache ('Garnacha' there) are used to make a wide variety of rose (rosado) wines. A good value is their sparkling wine, called cava - though they don't rival the best of Champagne or California, they cost a fraction of the price and are considered a "solid" choice since they are better today than they ever have been. Another great value from Spain is their sherry, which is rich and nutty and can be bone-dry or rich and sweet. One fact I found amusing about Spain is that, back in the mid-90's when Chardonnay was so popular and in such high demand, they actually tried to make their own to tap into the U.S. market - why they didn't realize it is way too hot to grow Chardonnay grapes there is anyone's guess! Fortunately, they returned to concentrate on growing what DOES grow best for them, and as a result they are producing some wonderful wines. After this lecture segment, my interest was piqued to explore Spanish wine. My first candidate will be a Grenache recommended by Mr. Berger, our teacher: 2006 Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha, Calatayud @ only $11.00 - "the aroma of this stylish red wine is that of violets and black pepper with hints of other complexity. A bargain, and a great example of excellent Spanish red wine."

PORTUGAL
The most interesting fact I learned about Portugal is that the people there drink "massive amounts" of wine! They consume more than Spain, certainly, but have a much smaller population. Also, they have very good wines, and they are cheap, but for whatever reason they have never tried to create an international image for them - maybe they just want to keep a good thing for themselves! They do, however, make the most revered dessert wine in the world - Port. Port is a wine that is fortified with grape brandy whose high alcohol content (77%) kills the yeast cells before fermentation is complete - the result is a natural sweetness from the residual sugar (final product is 18-20% alcohol). The topic of port is fascinating - not just the fact there are so many 'categories' but also that the majority of the Port houses in Portugal are owned by the British. There is a very interesting system of production as well, with producers having to "declare" each year - in other words, they take turns and individually do not produce a vintage every year. Because smaller quantities are made then, the prices are higher. Important fact: only Port and Champagne control their own destinies by deliberately manipulating volume & prices!

CALIFORNIA
So now we are home in California. I was not surprised to learn that California produces 90% of the wine made in the U.S., and that people in California have the highest per capita consumption of wine at 17% :-) I'm drinking my share!! This past week we focused on Sonoma County, where I now reside - the history of wine here was quite interesting. I was shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that Ronald Reagan was the first U.S. President to bring California wines to the White House - huh, who would have thought? I guess Kennedy and the Clintons had their preferences for French wine. Anyway, Nancy Reagan was absolutely a fanatic for Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, something probably not lost in popularizing KJ's wines all over the country at the time. Here in Sonoma County we farm 60,000 acres of grapes, and currently 350 wineries and vineyards employ more than 5,000 people and generate $15million+ in revenues. Hopefully, there will be a place for me in all those statistics after I graduate! Sonoma is 2nd in recognition only to Napa as one of the premier wine-producing regions in the world. It's special and unique location (coastal maritime influence) makes for warm days and cool nights - this climate allows the grapes to stay on the vine longer, which means they have the chance to build more flavor and greater complexity. The top two varietals grown here are Chardonnay (the "cash cow" of the industry!) and Pinot noir, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Sauvignon Blanc. We have 13 AVA's (American Viticultural Areas) - or wine growing regions in Sonoma County, the most well-known probably being the Russian River Valley, where I attend classes at Shone Farm. More sparkling wine (made from Chardonnay and Pinot noir grapes) is produced in the RRV than anywhere else in CA, and Korbel (for all you French champagne snobs) makes the leading sparkling product in the country - "Naturale" .... ? Huh....well, I'll just have to try that!