Good Morning!

I know my loyal readers were wondering was I was last week because I did not post a blog. I was in California, but many of you thought I had headed back to my home town in Indiana to cash in on some Super Bowl fun. I kinda wish I would have made the trip to Indy for some celebrity sightings and rowdy parties, but instead I was in the bay area taking care of business.

And by business I mean, I had to sample my wines and see how they are progressing. I am sure I could bottle my white wine called Patio today and it is ready to enjoy, but my feisty young red called Fireplace is in the “timeout” barrel in the corner, learning how to chill out and how to behave around adults…he might need about 4 or so more months before I can move him to a bottle, but he is becoming a more relaxed wine and I will make the decision when to bottle later this spring.

I have to share a few tasting experiences with you from last week…I will not hit you all with them today, but each day this week, I will talk about each place I fell in love with and one winery I have loved for years, but now, my crush with their place is over. Let’s start with Truchard winery and vineyard. I heard about Truchard from a friend who said they sell some amazing cabs and if I had time, go check them out. From the moment I received the call from Adrian Dedering to confirm I was coming for a tour and tasting, I was hooked. Adrian is about as polished and down to earth host as I have met….(note to self, when I set up a tasting room, get Adrian to fall as deeply in love with my wines and my family as he has the Truchards’). Adrian is originally for the Midwest then transplanted to Florida and started his first job in te wine business and he loved this wine so much and the history of the family and their push for excellence, well he now lives in Napa and is living the dream.

I had no idea that the Truchards’ were originally from Texas and they sell lots of grapes to very highly regarded wineries like Nickel and Nickel. The grounds were beautiful even on a grayish day. The wines we tasted really surprised me and I was with other gals and 2 of the women had never taken the tour or been in a full winery, probably should have told them to wear flats, but they looked so stylish, why spoil the beauty factor.

We tried 6 wines from the tasting room and then barrel sampled 2 other cabs. First wine was the chardonnay…this was also the first wine of the day…we were inside a barn, surrounded by barrels and all 6 on the tour commented on how smooth but not traditional this chardonnay tasted, some vanilla, no oak, crisp but not lip smacking tartness. Great start to the day, next we tried 2 Zins and I loved the 2009…not only did I love it, but had to better understand where this was grown. Truchard is really on the Napa/Sonoma line and Adrian marched us up a hill so we could see over the 400 acres and he pointed out about where each grape varietal is planted and we discussed micro and macro climates and the design of the label and where the picture was taken for it’s inspiration.

Then we went into the caves…deep, cool and kinda dark, he walked us around and before we know it the winemaker Sal De Ianni was crawling over barrels and we were sampling several big beautiful cabs. These wines are all elegant and really luxurious. I left the winery with a real sense of family, tradition, hard work and balance. My friends and I purchased several bottles and we took tons of pictures and for their first time being in a winery, cave and vineyard….this stop at Truchard just kicked off our trip beautifully. The biggest surprise to me is one of my pals does not drink white wine and she bought 2 bottles of Chardonnay, yea…that’s how great it was!

Truchard Vineyards is a must if you are heading to wine country, I visit 100’s of wineries a year and I will make a point to brag about Truchard and send anyone who asks my advice, I will send you over to see Adrian and what is going on at Truchard. I am a HUGE FAN!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I have been reading a fantastic book called the Sommelier Prep Course by Michael Gibson. This book has really educated me to a point where I wonder if I knew much about wine before I started reading it. Yes, I know how to make wine, but the history of wine, the countries and laws around wine are not something I have studied much until now. I do not want to be a Sommelier (fancy French word for wine expert), but I’d like to know as much as they do!

Most of the book is a chapter by chapter history lesson on countries and grapes and great insider info and stories. But the last few chapters are all about beer and spirits. Because some customers are not going to enjoy wine with dinner they want a different drink with their meal. I was surprised but the info I learned about beer. The different styles and its origins and how it was made…I knew a little about beer and fermentation because the wine making supply house I hang out at also has beer making supplies and I have become friends with many home brewers. But the history of beer was a foreign concept for me..I figured someone in Germany figured it out and perfected it and somehow beer worked it’s way to the US and now we have Bud and Miller Lite…oh sometimes my ignorance and blind don’t care attitude surprises even myself.

But when is comes to Spirits, I found this whole subject to be reveting and I have now ordered two books to more deeply educate myself. Spirits are divided into 4 major styles: Neutral Spirits, Grain-Based Spirits, Fruit and Plant-Based Spirits and Liqueurs and Cordials. For any fermented beverage to fulfill it’s alcohol destiny it has to have some sort of “sugar source” that meets with yeast to ferment and from that point all these spirits are then distilled…( I will go into distillation in just a second).

In a nutshell, distillation is when you are producing alcoholic spirits and the process of distillation separates and caputres the ethanol (alcohol), so the booze is separated from the water. Distillation occurs because ethanol and water have different vaporization points. Ethanol begins to vaporize at 173 degrees F. and Water begins to vaporize at 212 degrees F.

If you have seen the old time stills, you know it looks like a lot of liquid is in the pot and a little copper coiled tube is where the distilled spirits drain into the container.

Neutral Spirits are Vodka and Gin, sugar source for vodka is normally cereal grains and sometimes potatoes. Gin has a sugar source of grain mostly corn or malted barley. Both these spirits are clear and mostly tasteless after they have been distilled.

Grain-Based Spirits are mostly Whiskey with a sugar source of grains, barley and corn.

Many types of Whiskeys’: Irish, American, Tennessee, Canadian, Scottish, blended American Whiskey and Bourbon. Did you know Bourbon can only be produced in the United States and most is in the state of Kentucky (plus it has to be made of at least 51% corn). Another fact I picked up is Scotch can only be made in Scotland.

Fruit and Plant-Based Spirits are Rum, Tequila and Brandy. Sugar cane and molasses are the sugar sources for Rum. The sap of the Blue Agave is the sugar source for Tequila (the Blue Agave is not a cactus, it is kinda like an aloe plant). Brandy is actually distilled wine so the sugar source are the grapes.

Last style of Spirits are the Liqueurs and Cordials are divided into 2 categories: Generic liqueurs are flavored spirits like Triple Sec or peppermint schnapps. And Brand-name liqueurs, like Grand Marnier or Kahlua or Amaretto and Bailey’s Irish Cream.

So, I felt like sharing tons of info with ya today! Sorry for the novel, but if you really like to know more get the book The Sommelier Prep Course.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

After receiving an email asking me if I preferred Sake (I know there is supposed to be a ‘ over the e on Sake, but I have no idea how to make that happen) or what wine do I enjoy when eating sushi? I have enjoyed many great Sake’s and I like how clean and crisp they taste with the great flavors of sushi. I have to say, Sake hits me hard, for some reason the alcohol really pumps through me. Sake makes me hammered, so I normally go with a Sauvignon Blanc. I know many people like the warm Sake, but I only order Sake once in awhile.

I did a little research on Sake and found out some really interesting history and facts. Sushi is not rice wine or even a beer, the fermentation process and ingredients are different so it falls into it’s own catagory of fermented beverages. It is said to originate from China and made it’s way to Japan. Regular rice is not used to make Sake, it is a different type of rice. 1000’s of years ago it was referred to as kuchikami no sake, which means “mouth chewed sake”….YUCK??? This was the term because very young girls would harvest the rice and they would bite and chew the rice then spit it out into a communal vat. It was believed these girls were all virgins and they were pure and them biting into the grain of rice would expose the inside of the rice and then the fermentation would start with their saliva…YIKES!

Well, it’s not done like that anymore…I am personally glad about that and I am sure you are as well. So the reason why it was done that way was to start fermentation yeast must be able to get to the “sugar source” of anything to start the fermentation and the outer layer of the rice grains would not let the yeast get inside. SO to make Sake, you need water, rice, yeast and koji, koji is a mold that will break starches into sugars (replacing the saliva).

OK, so that disturbing part is over…there are 4 classifications of “Special Designation Sake”

Daiginjo – This is the highest quality classification and the really important thing to remember is that the rice is milled down by over one half to expose the inside of the grain of rice so the fermentation can take place more easily and it will taste quite pure.Sometimes distilled spirits are added to this Sake to boost the alcohol.

Ginjo – This is a close second in quality to the Daiginjo the rice is milled down by 40% and it is made without adding of distilled spirits.

Junmai – No distilled alcohol is added to this Sake and the rice must be milled by 30%.

Honjozo – This Sake added small amounts of distilled alcohol added before pressing to help extract more flavor from the rice solids.

These 4 Sake’s are the highest quality…watch for these names when you are in the hunt for excellent Sake.

There are 4 styles of Sake

Namazake – Unpasteurized sake that requires refrigeration.

Nigori – Unfiltered or cloudy sake, after fermentation it is not pressed but it is passed through a filter/mess screen and it lets the rice particles to pass through.

Genshu – Undiluted Sake that has no water added before bottling to dilute alcohol content. These Sake’s will often be 18% abv or higher.

Koshu – Sake that is aged for extended periods. This will develop cmplex and rich flavors and might take on a darker color.

I have been told that in the United States, Oregon is really starting to make some top quality Sake, it is very fresh and delicious!

I do enjoy Sake, I don’t drink it as often as I should, but I plan on going out and finding these Sake’s and doing some tasting!

Happy Monday!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

There is a saying that in order to make great wine, you have to drink a lot of beer. I think this is a very true. I used to be a huge beer lover, but now I love my beer when I am working and hot and sweaty. That is not the only time I drink it, but nothing quenches my thirst after a day in the vineyards in the warm sun. I also love those days when the grapes are in the tanks and we are doing punch downs, pump overs and just a lot of climbing around, hooking up hoses, cleaning and just plain old hard work…when you end the day with an icy cold beer.

I have a few favorites and they are mostly the light ales or amber beers, they go down easy and I don’t like the bloating feeling so I have not acqquired the taste for the stouts yet. Killian’s Red is one of my favorites and my old stand by is Miller Lite. I catch a lot of flack for the Miller Lite. People say, that is not beer, it’s flavored water…well just like my first rule in wine, Drink what you like, but make sure you try new things too!

I found out a few things about one of my fav afternoon refreshers…Beer has been around about 7000 years and it uses 4 basic ingredients to create: Malted Barley, water, hops and yeast. Much like all other fermented beverages, it is assumed that someone did not seal up the barley and some moisture made it’s way in and it germanted and someone took a taste and though it was nasty, they liked the “buzz”. From what I have read most folks believe beer was started in Mesopotamia. Europe seems to have found all the fun stuff…beer and wine at least!

While I was reading I learned the difference between a brewpub and a brewery was a brewery makes beer intended to be sold to retailers and a brewpub makes beer to be served onsite and normally it is made to pair with the food of the attached restaurant.

Barley is the ingredient that needs the most help in this process. Barley in it’s raw form has no real ferment-able material and has to go through a process called malting to become a sugar source for the yeast to do it’s magic. The barley is put in a warm, dark moist environment and the kernels will begin to germinate and the enzymatic changes in the seed will create a starch reservoir as an energy source. This starch is needed for the mashing stage, where the starch is converted into sugar, then the sugar will meet up with the yeast and the whole alcohol and carbon dioxide fermentation take place.

Once this fermentation is finished, they take the kernels and put them in a kiln, this is where they gain their color, pale, amber, or dark malts. Then water is added and beer is 95% water, and a boiling process begins. All beer makers swear by the water they use, normally a local water and they are convinced the water is the secret to the perfect final product. Once the boiling is over along comes the yeast and the fermentation stage starts.

There are 2 types of yeast: to make ale you use a top-fermenting yeast and for a lager use a bottom fermenting yeast. The yeast has a large impact on the final flavor or the beer. Hops are all about the aroma’s and flavor profile they can help create in the final produce as well.

So, this weekend when I am cleaning out the garage, moving cases of wine or planting herbs…I will enjoy a beer during and after my project is over and I will better understand the history and process of beer making!

Happy Friday!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

This week, for some reason, I am all about sharing information. Have I been reading too much time reading on my NOOK I received for Christmas? Perhaps. I have 44 wine books loaded on it and 78 other books ranging from political bios to comedians’ bios to history and some classics. I have read 6 books so far this year and I know it’s my “slow” time of the year, but soon I will not have time to remember to shower, so I am taking full advantage of the time to learn.

But, this information I want to share with you is not from a book but from my travels last year in Chile and I’d like to discuss my love for the food and wine of Chile. Chile is I think maybe the longest and skinniest country in the world. It is about 3000 miles long, but only about 100 miles wide and on one side is the South Pacific ocean and the Andes Mountains. They are the #10 largest wine producers in the world. They have never had to deal with phylloxera (a nasty vine disease, that you have to replant the vines with the disease resistant root stock), they have never been infected because of their isolated location.

The top red grapes grown in Chile are Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere and white grapes would be Chardonnay and I have to say the Sauvignon Blanc in Chile, rocks my personal taste buds, but it is not gotten the PR it richly deserves! There are 4 major wine regions in the Central Valley (Valle Central)…north of central valley is a desert, so nothing grows up there and down south of the central valley, it is too cold to grow grapes.

When I was in Chile I was told that for years they thought the grape Carmenere was Merlot, but they did some DNA testing years back and found it to be Carmenere….If you want to pronounce this grape correctly…the Chileans say “Car” Men Air. One thing I found so interesting in Chile is all but one of the winemakers I met was from France, only one was from Chile. Chile follows the 75% rule, that means if it says Cabernet Sauvignon, that there must be at least 75% Cabernet. They are a New World wine country and dollar for dollar I think they give you a lotta great wine for the dollar.

Again today, I have given you some highlights of Chilean wine…of course I will put in a shameless plug for my favorite winery and wines in the world by saying you must visit the winery of Clos Apalta and Lapostolle…their place is really the most beautiful place I have ever been.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi