Getting “Viggy” With It – Thoughts on Virginia Viognier

In the lead up to #WBC11 my excitement grew for many reasons, but the opportunity to taste Viogniers made by many of the Virginia wineries was a highlight. I love Viognier and always seek out and try new ones where I find myself.

Last week I had a sneak peek opportunity to taste 6 different styles of what may soon become Virginia’s official signature grape and wine. I had a mixed experience due to what was most likely issues with the shipping of the wines, and not the wines themselves. Read a bit farther for my thoughts on second tastes of those wines.

After two days of tasting Viognier on the ground and in their home environment I feel like I am starting to see two different styles trying to play together in the sandbox. The first, and the predominant, style is an oak influenced version where some or all of the wine is fermented and/or aged in oak, with a few seeing a fraction of MLF. The second style is a 100% stainless with no MLF and the most pleasing (to me of course) selections have a tad of residual sugar to help with the appreciation of the floral aromas. I found the latter style in many fewer instances and on several occasions was told the non-oaked version was not the typical for the maker and may or may not be a annual product.

I like the latter style more, and based on past experience it seems like the one that would be more recognizable by tasters from outside the region. To me the beautiful floral aromas that can be coaxed out of Vigonier are best finished with force with a tad of sugar in the mouth. I’ve had several made in this way from California and France and have also made it is in the same way several times; netting gold medals with very high scores.

On to the most common style. The oaked versions have not disappointed me and I can’t say I found any flaws in the ones I have tried. I am warming to this style, but will clearly state that you must approach it with different expectations. The potent nose filling floral aromas are not often found, and broadly the aromatics shift to baking spices, wood and dried fruits. As I have taken my tour of Virginia Viogniers I have found a wide range in the oaked vs. un-oaked fractions and I don’t believe I can clearly say that within this class there is a clear best practice. The versions that have some roundness and a little residual sugar do in fact evoke similarities to the un-oaked style, but the flavor profile of the finish will then be a bit more like figs or sweetbread.

I hope to try a few more (of both styles) before I go home which will give me a broad cast of characters to pick from for some direct shipping and future enjoyment.

Another great outcome of my magical Viognier tour has been the chance to try the wines from Barboursville and Blenheim again after my question marks from the pre-conference tasting. Furthermore I was able to do my tastings right in front of the winemakers share my honest feedback.  In both cases the makers knew my name before I shook their hand for the first time and also hoped I would give the wines a second chance. How cool! Both wines presented me with increased aromatics and richer flavors than the first time. Nothing I noted, and I checked my blog post, from that first tasting was found the second time around.

Several times today it was mentioned that Viognier may soon become the official grape and wine of Virginia. I don’t think this can be a bad thing, but with two styles clearly vying for attention from mom & dad, which will it be? Can it be the official wine of the state without making this choice? Maybe, but that could be dangerous.

I’d love to hear from others on what they think of the Viognier binge we have all been able to go on this week.

Cheers!

Jason

Fantastic Fermentations

The week since we got back from Washington & Oregon has been busy tending to my "children". In all I have ten batches of wines fermenting, all at various stages on their journey to blends and varietal bottlings that with some age should proved to be quite good.

I picked up grapes from Chile and frozen white grape juice from Lanza Vineyards and Sutter Ridge, all through M&M Wine Grape in Hartford, CT.

http://www.juicegrape.com/

I also made a few changes this year with the addition of a yeast re-hydration agent and a gentler yeast nutrient to use along the way. Go-Ferm and Fermaid are products from Lallemand, a well known and trustworthy source of yeasts, enzymes and cultures. The equipment shop at M&M had these on hand.

Once the buckets warmed up from being frozen, on the count of me being out of town for a week the day after the grapes arrived :(, I tested them for pH, TA and Brix and decided not to make any adjustments based on other numbers and notes I had seen from folks using similar products.

Above is a picture of the top of one of the Malbec buckets. I have been punching the caps down on all the red wine buckets several times a day all week!

All the buckets had been sulfited before freezing so once I hit the mid 60's in temperature I had to be ready to pitch the yeast and keep an eye on them.

I also used Opti-Red and Opti-White this year. These are enzymes formulated for to sequester more of desired molecules in a grape must and either make them available to the fermentation or drop out of the process. Everything I had heard and read suggested this step as a big enhancement.  What you see to the left is the new Cab/Syrah blend in the picture on the left and five gallons of a jalapeno cooking wine that will be used to make drinks and sauces on the right. The other reds are a Cab, Syrah and a Malbec.

Rehydrating the yeast with Go-Ferm according to the very easy steps on the package resulted in a start and no problems since for every single bucket I pitched. Including the smaller buckets that makes 15 total!!

Last night the first batches of whites went from bucket to carboy. They are moving along nicely with pleasant aromas and some nice color. Before blending I will have two buckets of Chardonnay, one Sauvignon Blanc and one Viognier. I'm not sure what the configurations and bottle counts from the remaining will be just yet.

Overall I am very happy with the fruit, but not until the wines get a bit farther along will I really be able to say how wine made from it will be this year. With no fermentation troubles I am hopeful that I'll have lots of fun stuff to do.

You can see the orange color of the Viognier to the right, it is the second carboy from bottom. The image with the full carboys staring down their former containers was unintended, but it is pretty entertaining.

We started our first malo-lactic fermentation on a Chardonnay last night. Should be interesting to see how it comes out compared to the other batch that won't see MLF or oak.

Thank you to my wife for being crazy enough to let me do this, M&M Wine Grape for good products and services and WineMaker Mag for the conference and chance to meet some very nice and very helpful people.

Cheers!

--Jason

Washington Wine Reviews

While on the trip for the WineMaker Magazine Conference Margot and I picked up some Washington wines to bring to meals and share with our new winemaking friends. Based on the responses we got everyone sure liked meeting us with wine in hand!

White Salmon – San Crispin Field (Rhone Style Blend)
Underwood, Washington
http://www.whitesalmonvineyard.com/

This was the most balanced and food-worthy red wine I had on the whole trip. With aromas of red fruits and peppery/spicy flavors it wasn’t overpowering nor was it too subtle to be taken seriously. I had it with dinner which consisted of rare prime rib, steamed salmon, steamed vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes. The wine went well with everything and especially the prime rib for me because I don’t like it rare. Wine saves the day!

Coyote Canyon – Viognier 2008
Prosser, Washington
http://www.coyotecanyonwinery.com/

This was a truly delightful wine shared over lunch at the conference. The aromas from this wine were exceptional with abundant flowers and fruit. The wine was medium dry with that very slight hint of sweetness that made it versatile with a variety of food flavors. I love Viognier and have made it every year I have been making wine. I now have a new target to shoot for with my newest batch I am starting this week.

Brehm Vineyards – Riesling 2008
Underwood, Washington
http://www.brehmvineyards.com/

Peter Brehm was a presenter at the conference so I was excited to meet him and of course wanted to try some of his wines. He is also involved in the White Salmon winery from which the first selection came. This Riesling is what I would call a classic and “true” representation of the origins of Riesling. Tight and focused with moderate aromas of stone fruits this wine is dry and reminded me of an Alsatian style Riesling. We included this in our farewell wine & cheese tasting. It paired well with apple slices and the Willapa White sheep’s milk cheese. Peter’s claim to fame at the conference is his frozen grape business of which I have yet to take advantage. Based on my tastings of his wines I just might have to get some grapes and try my luck!

Overall our experience with wines from Oregon and Washington was excellent, and we only scratched the surface. I don’t have any words of wisdom on how to select which vineyards to visit or what wine bars to drink at, but I can tell you that trying a broad range of selections from the region will turn up many winners.

Cheers!

--Jason

Viognier with Mustard, Herb & Cheese Crusted Pork

I saw this recipe for Mustard, Herb & Cheese Crusted Pork in today's Foodbuzz Top 9. It comes from the Joelen at the What's Cooking Chicago? blog. http://www.foodbuzz.com/blogs/2275145-mustard-herb-cheese-crusted-pork-

For several years I have made a Viognier, but only one year (the first) was very good in my opinion. Since then whenever I can find a Viognier I haven't had I will grab it and give it a whirl. I love the powerful nose of flowers and the fact that it often has a full body and is lush with a long finish. It is a very food friendly wine. And since I LOVE wine and food it is a hit for me.

I had a 2007 Viognier yesterday from Coyote Canyon Winery. The nose was very floral and enticing. With just a hint of residual sweetness the wine oozed with apricot and had nice full body. I checked the winemaking notes at the web site and found that they uses sur-lee aging on this wine to increase the body and mouthfeel, definition a good choice.

For those not familiar with this technique a quick explanation will be useful. When wines have ceased fermentation and begin to settle the sediment creates an obvious (in a glass vessel is where it is most obvious) layer at the bottom of the container. These are the lees. Around the world there are many strategies for using the lees or not, and for how long. Sur-lee aging is the process of retaining the lees and periodically mixing the wine to re-distribute the lees and the wonderful flavor and aroma compounds present in them. This can be tricky because other stuff can be hiding there, so you have to know your fermentation to make this choice successfully. When this does happen properly the wine is enhanced with aromas and flavors that make it even more pleasurable to drink.

I make this wine and food pairing recommendation based on the wine's ability to balance the bite from the mustard and for it's body to hold up to the cheese and crust on the pork. The pairing will the pork will, aside from the seasoning, will also be quite nice, something my wife and I have tried several times.

Cheers!

--Jason

Cellar Update

The second half of 2009 is well underway, although I didn't take a noticeable summer break this year as I have in the past. The fresh fruit from the local farms is rating very highly from the tastes so far. Strawberry and Peach with Plum and Hard Cider on the way. We have so much to celebrate this fall!

A new Viognier, Bordeaux Blend and Exotic Fruit Zinfandel from kits are also underway. We have some blending plans for the fall and will let you all know about those in time.

We have tasting this week with friends over at Salon Outlooks. Check us out Tuesday night from 6-9 at the Londonderry location on Sheffield Rd.

We are also gearing up for out annual cancer fighting wine tasting in September. We have so many resveritrol particles and so little time to cure cancer!

Cheers!
--Jason