My Half Full Glass - April 16th, 2013

Cider Rules

Last Wednesday night I had the honor of talking about cider as a guest for #winechat. Prior to the event I tasted through several styles to remind myself of the incredible diversity in cider-making traditions around the world.  I also wrote two posts (Cider Tales and More From The Orchard) on the topic of cider to help those unfamiliar with it learn more about a beverage that I both make and frequently enjoy.

One bottle I had on hand that didn't open was the Newtown Pippin from Original Sin. The Newtown Pippin apple has a great American story, originating in Long Island, NY and spreading to many locations including Virginia where both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington grew it. In modern times it is considered an heirloom apple variety and is largely used in cider-making, although it can be found at farm stands in the Eastern part of the United States. I've never actually eaten one, but have had it in cider form several times.

The Original Sin Newtown Pippin is a dry, sparkling cider that pours a light gold color. The aromas are tart apple, crab apple and apple blossom to me. In the mouth it is dry, but not bone dry, with very straightforward tart apple flavors. What I like about this cider is the balance. Dry, tart ciders can often create a sour sensation pretty quickly. This one is more gentle, not creating a big mouth pucker until late in the finish.

Aged Homemade Wine

I've only been making wine for nine years and for the first several of those years I made small enough quantities that most of it was consumed within the first year of its life. More recently I've made wine in higher volumes as well as have branched off into other beverages (cider and mead) so more of my wine has been able to age.

I recently uncorked a bottle of a Cabernet blend (Cab Sauv & Ruby Cab) made in the Spring of 2008 from buckets of juice. The wine drank well early on and I had hoped it would age. It has aged and well enough to be drinkable, but it has not really improved at all with age; not that I expected it to. When I made this wine I still had minimal experience with the process, and the ingredients I used were good, but not the best out there.

The wine is drinkable on its own, but comes off a little sweet and a bit candy-ish. The candy / bubblegum nose is a dead give-away for methyl sorbate in homemade wine, a chemical byproduct from the use of Potassium Sorbate as a stabilizer, and potentially in a larger than necessary amount. Lesson learned. I've rarely come across this attribute in my wines so for this to be found in wines I made nearly 5 years ago shouldn't be a surprise. So what to do with the wine?

Cut it with Coca-Cola, add some ice and enjoy a wine cocktail!

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - January 10th, 2013

Wagner Sparkling Riesling

I opened several different sparkling wines over the holidays. Knowing my guests would be in the mood for something celebratory, I used the bottles in that very stereotypical way. I'll raise a glass of bubbly anytime, but not everyone has evolved to that sensibility.

One of the bottles we opened was the Wagner 2010 Sparkling Riesling, part of an order I placed with Wagner Vineyards during my last visit in 2011. I had only tasted it once, but being a great value AND something a little different in the sparkling category I knew the right moment to share it would come along soon enough.

It pours the color of dry straw with abundant carbonation. It is very gently sweet and I believe the restrained sweetness is a huge asset. It is unmistakably Riesling from the first fruity whiffs coming off the glass. Citrus is the driver, and felt both lemon and orange were present.  Some ripe peach comes through in the mouth and overall it does have a subtle fruit salad characters to it. The whole package is crisp and clean and the gentle sweetness fades through a lengthy, tart finish.

Margot, my mother and I finished this bottle off with cheeses and snacks on Christmas Day. The balance of fruit and sweetness was fitting for a lazy day, actually the first day of that holiday weekend where we neither had to go anywhere nor host a house full of people!

Ancient Fire Malbec 2010

If there is one thing I've learned from my wine-making activities, it's patience.

I've had mixed feelings about this wine since it went into the bottle in 2011. It was my first 100% grape wine using the full process of cold soaking, crushing, pressing, malo-lactic fermentation and extended bulk aging. The press cake from the first half of the batch is in the pic to the left. Up until I inoculated it with the malo-lactic culture the wine had been trending much like many others I had made. I have always felt like something took a turn after that, and not only because of this batch of wine. I made Cabernet, Syrah and a couple blends at the same time, with the same method and the same grape source. The Cabernet fermented fine but then continued to bubble into a stinky mess that ended up getting dumped. The Syrah and Cab/Syrah blend turned out OK, but the Cab/Syrah blend and Malbec always seemed a little acetic (vinegary) to me. The Syrah was the best of the bunch and I think we've succeeded in drink all of it already! I believed I had come in contact with some type of spoilage bacteria and when an unrelated new batch of wine went south I proceeded to replace all my plastic and hard-to-clean equipment in hopes of getting rid of the bugs.

I was pretty happy when I opened a bottle of the Malbec recently and found that the acetic component had faded considerably and a measure of earthiness was now detectable. It still has some mild flaws, but I'm alright with that. The fruit and non-fruit facets of the wine are balanced fairly well, and the additional body in this wine when compared to some of my juice based wines is nice to be able to identify. It is unmistakablely a Malbec, but I don't have enough experience with Chilean Malbecs to compare it to those wines from the region where the grapes came from. I didn't immediately pick up any other funkiness so I am hoping that the time I allowed this wine to sit around undisturbed has been beneficial. I hadn't been making enough red wine up until 2010 to really know what a year or two (and more) of aging would do to homemade wine firsthand. Finally being able to have that experience does bring a reward in knowledge and considerations for future projects.

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass – December 27th, 2012

Hermann Wiemer 2010 Magdalena Dry Riesling

The team at Hermann J. Wiemer in the Finger Lakes are producers of world class wines. I’ve visited them twice, tasted the wines several times so I know this first hand. There isn’t anything I’ve had from them that didn't make me reflect on how lucky I am to be able to enjoy their products.

Earlier this year I placed an order (a refill if you will) that included several bottles of the 2010 Magdalena Dry Riesling. I had seen a recommendation for it from Lenn Thompson of the New York Cork Report. The description of it made me think of wine at a whole other level than I knew from the producer, and I knew I must try it for myself. Soon after the wine arrived, and I immediately forgot about it. I was reminded of it by Lenn again this week, but this time I opened one.

This wine is an impeccable example of what top notch Riesling tastes like. It is labeled as dry, and I maintain that it is, but it is the most luscious and textural domestic dry Riesling that I have ever had. The nose is captivating, pushing forth both fruit and mineral components. Everything after the first sniff builds even higher. The body of the wine almost feels like a light syrup and the flavors of citrus, pear, peach and accessible and refined. I could say many more good things about this wine, but I believe I've said enough to convey my fondness for it.

Ancient Fire Spiced Wine

I’ll admit up front that I haven’t consumed much of this homemade batch of wine yet. I should also disclose that is a second wine, one made from fresh grape leftovers, and that is was infused with spices and orange. Some of you might be asking yourself “why would he do this?” Because I can. The grapes were softly pressed and still minimally viable, so I decided not to throw out what I could use. I modeled the result after Swedish Glogg or German Gluwhein, except that I put everything needed to serve it in the bottle, obviating the need for the mulling process.

Warming it before service is my suggested method, and depending on how much of the added sweetness was retained, a little bit more may be added. The base of the wine is Concord grapes and it is very purple in color. The spices, allspice, cinnamon and clove, as well as the orange are present in the nose. The wine trends quite tart, although the sweetness in the middle to finish should mitigate the perception of the tartness. The final blend did also include some dry table wine to bring the body up a bit. I used some homemade Malbec and Tempranillo from 2010 to achieve this.

A simple wine with a punch-like character, it should do nicely as a winter warmer with no strings attached. I don’t plan on any serious consideration of it, and if you are lucky enough to try some, I don’t expect you to give it a formal tasting either.

Cheers!

Jason