Good Morning!

I received an email from a wonderful woman who ask me about why I never mention German wines. She told me her parents were German and they came to the states and both are gone now, but she wondered about her heritage and the wines from her parents homeland.

Well, I have to be honest, I am not sure I have ever had a German wine. If I did try one, I was not aware that I was trying it. When I was fairly young, 22 and pretty much fresh outta college I went to Germany for 3 weeks. I was there to help with a CAD training class. CAD stands for Computer Aided Design and I was not a trainer, but we had this product design system at the plant where I worked as a designer. I honestly think I was ask to go because I was young, did not have a bunch of training myself and they did not want me teaching any of the designers any bad habits on the software. Now, most companies design with solid modeling and parametric driven software, so if you are reading this and thinking, I might be as old as the original Atari…well, I remember playing Pong!

Anyway, we landed in Germany around Mid October and came home the 2nd week in November, so it was Octoberfest, Beer is KING! I was only 22 and might have weighed 125 pounds soaking wet. Even though I was pretty much a year out of school, I was not a heavy weight beer drinker, but the guys I were with were on a mission to drink every waking minute that we were not working. I loved the pageantry of Octoberfest, the music, outfits the total feel of celebration and I did consume my weight in beer during those 3 weeks.

Back to the USA and add 27 years on to my life experiences and you have me sitting here wondering if I have ever had German wine. So, I did a little research and thought I would share with you what I learned. Germany is home to the northernmost premium vineyards in the world and it is a very cool climate. They make mostly whites and Riesling is King of Whites followed by Gewurztraminer and then Muller-Thurgau. The top red is Pinot Noir but they call it Spatburgunder and overall Germany is ranked 9th in wine production world wide.

There are 4 top wine regions Mosel, Pfatz, Rheinhessen and Rheingau and most are located near the Rhine River in the warmer southwestern area of the country. The German wine laws and quality classifications are mostly built around the sugar content of the grapes at harvest time.

The levels of quality are as follows:

Lowest level quality and ripeness level is Tafelwein, which means “Table wine”.

Next level up in quality and ripeness is called Landwein, which means “Land wine”.

Next level up in quality and ripeness is called Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete, which means “Quality Wines from Recognized Regions”. (QbA)

The highest level of quality and ripeness is called Qualitatswein mit Pradikat, which means “Quality Wines with Special Attributes”. (QmP)

Ok, now let’s tackle the 6 styles of wine and what to look for on the label of a German wine.

Kabinett, This means the grapes were picked at the normal harvest time and this wine should be “dry” to “semi-sweet”, this should be a 7-10% alcohol wine with a high level of acidity.

Spatlese, This means this is a late harvest wine, these grapes will have been picked 2-3 weeks after the Kabinett, these wines will have more body and alcohol, could be 10-14% alcohol.

Auslese, means select harvest, which means only select bunches of grapes are hand harvested, this is predominately dessert wines and sometimes this wine can go past 14% alcohol.

Beerenauslese or (BA), means berries select harvest, these are some of the sweetest, rarest and richest wines found. These grapes have been naturally infected with edelfaule (noble not or botrytis). The high acid in this wine will balance out the sweetness, so it will not taste sugary, but the more time to mature in bottle the more AWESOME this wine will become.

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) means this is made from the highest sugar concentration at harvest in Germany. These are ultra-ripe infected with botrytis grapes and they are allowed to shrivel and leaving them with the highest concentrated sugars, this produces the richest, most intense dessert wines in the world.

Wow, I just blasted you with a ton of information about laws and German wine ripeness levels…yikes, I promised when I started this blog not to drag you down with too much info..but today, I might have overstepped my bounds. I am sorry, but I have found German wines to be very interesting. I went out and bought 2 bottles to try this weekend and I will report back after I try them!

Catch you tomorrow!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I received an email last week asking about what the difference is between Old World wines and New World wines and I wanted to take a few minutes and address this in a simple matter. The reason I want to keep this answer simple is years ago, I ask a winemaker what was the difference he launched into the longest answer and he really lost me a minute or two into his sermon.

I like to keep things simple so I understand it. I am not that complicated and though I am bright (some may disagree), I do not always need a full break down of all the details. I remember a friend telling me when his kid, who was age 6-7 ask where babies came from, he told the little guy EVERYTHING. I am sure the kid was traumatized and did not understand one bit of the birds and the bees, he just knew he would some day be naked with a woman and that was freaky.

Anyway, back to the Old World vs. New World wine…What “Old World” describes are wines from Europe or produced in the European style and “New World” means wines produced outside of Europe or according to modern winemaking styles.

Winemaking started in Europe and has a history of 1000’s of years. It’s the motherland of wine production and when explorers started finding new places outside of Europe each new settlement would start planting grapevines. Some of the areas were quite successful and others, not so much. Many times when new settlements started after a church was established monks would start growing grapes to make wine for the church.

Weather and climate conditions are very different in Europe than in places the explorers landed like Florida, so the vines did not behave the same way because the climate was so different. So the classic style of wines produced in France, Italy, Germany and Spain could not be reproduced, even if the same grapes were planted. Europe is most of the time cooler than the rest of the world.

Old World countries include: France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Hungary and Romania.

New World countries include: United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Mexico and Uruguay.

The main character differences between the wines are:

Old World wines are Higher acidity, lighter body, lower alcohol, restrained and elegant and Terroir driven. (Terroir is the French word for soil, but it also means every aspect of the environment, weather, shade, all things that encompasses the grape, from root to grape, from beginning to end).

New World wines are Lower acidity, fuller bodied, higher alcohol, powerful and fruit-forward. Also, the laws of winemaking are not as defined in the New World as Old World. Winemakers can try anything and everything to bring out the best of the grapes, using oak barrels, longer aging, not using barrels at all but stainless tanks. There are many wines that need a secondary fermentation (malolactic fermentation) to bring out the more subtle flavors the New World winemaker is free to try it all…the New World winemaker is about 4000 years behind the tried and true winemaking experience found in the Old World winemakers.

Actually, one of the biggest differences in the attitudes and mindset of the Old World, there is not even a word in the French vocabulary for winemaker, the term they use is Vigneron, which means grape grower. They fully believe that the wine is made in the vineyard. They are driven by strict laws, tradition, they rarely manipulate their wines, they label wines by region not by the grape and they use subtle oak flavors.

New World wines have the thought that wines are made in the winery (this is debated all the time), there is sometimes very heavy manipulation of wines, powerful oak flavors, lots of science and technology is involved, loose laws and wines are labeled by the grape.

Ok, enough talk about Old vs. New, the best advice I can give you is go pick up a bottle of Burgundy from France and then pick up a bottle of Pinot Noir from one of the New World producers and take both home, invite a friend or two over and just taste them side by side.

The difference should surprise you at first and by the second glass of wine, you should also be able to taste the similarities! Let me know how the tasting of Old vs New World works out for you! I learned a lot and thanks for the question! You guys ROCK!!!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

2011 Best Wine by a Women Winemaker
Best Red
Wilson Winery – 2009 Zinfandel Molly’s Reserve – Diane Wilson
Best White – tie
Windsor Oaks Vineyard & Winery – 2010 Sauvignon Blanc – Julie Haglar Lumgair
Best White – tie
Galen Glen Winery – 2010 Gewurtztraminer – Sarah C. Rhodes-Troxell
Best Rose/Blush
Verdad Wine Cellars – 2010 Grenache Rose – Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard – Louisa Lindquist
Best Dessert & Late Harvests (including Ice Wine)
Haak Vineyards & Winery – 2006 Madeira Jacquez – Nadia Hetzel
Best Sparkling
Rock Wall Wine Company – 2010 Blanc de Blanc – Shauna Rosenblum
Best of Show
Wilson Winery – 2009 Zinfandel Molly’s Reserve – Diane Wilson
Best of Class
Sparkling <2.5% rs Gloria Ferrer , NV Blanc de Noir, Carneros ~ Los Carneros (AVA), $20 Rieslings <3% rs Chateau Ste Michelle, 10 Cold Creek Riesling, Columbia Valley (AVA), Cold Creek Vineyard, $15 Rieslings 4% rs>
Orca Wines, 10 Riesling, Columbia Valley (AVA), $6.99
Gewurztraminer <3% rs Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards, 09 Gewurztraminer, Finger Lakes (AVA), $15 Other White Varietals Darcie Kent, 10 Gruner Veltliner, Monterey County (County Appellation), Rara Black Jack, $18 Sauvignon Blanc $10.01>
Navarro Vineyards, 10 Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino (AVA), Cuvee 128, $18
Pinot Gris/Grigio
The Naked Grape, NV Pinot Grigio, California (State Appellation), $7.99
Chardonnay $10.01 – $20.00
Bodega Elena de Mendoza, 10 Chardonnay, Argentina – Mendoza, $10.99
Chardonnay $20.01>
Rock Wall Wine Company, 10 Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands (AVA), $25
White Zinfandel
Barefoot Cellars, NV White Zinfandel, California (State Appellation), $6.99
Other Blush Varietals
Woodworth Vineyards, 09 Golden Maggie, Temecula Valley (AVA), Estate, $17
Rosé Blends
Tassel Ridge Winery, NV Pink Catawba, America (Country Appellation), $13
Pinot Noir $20.01 – $30.00
Gloria Ferrer , 07 Carneros Pinot Noir, Carneros ~ Los Carneros (AVA), $22
Sangiovese
Pizzulli, 08 Sangiovese, Santa Barbara County (County Appellation), $29
Barbera
Morovino, 09 Barbera, Santa Barbara County (County Appellation), $25
Grenache
Therese Vineyards, 09 Grenache, Santa Clara Valley (AVA), $26
Rhone Red Blends
Calcareous Vineyard , 08 Tres Violet, Paso Robles (AVA), $38
Petite Sirah
Wilson Winery, 08 Petit Sirah, Dry Creek Valley (AVA), Sawyer Vineyard, $38
Zinfandel $20.01>
Wilson Winery, 09 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley (AVA), Molly’s Vineyard, $34
Cabernet Franc
Chateau Morrisette, 09 Cabernet Franc, Other, $18.99
Cabernet Sauvignon <$10.00 Barefoot Cellars, NV Cabernet Sauvignon, California (State Appellation), $6.99 Cabernet Sauvignon $10.01 - $20.00 Kiepersol Estates, 08 Cabernet Sauvignon, Texas (State Appellation), Kiepersol Estates Vineyard, $19.99 Red Bordeaux Blends $20.01>
Wilson Winery, 08 Roger’s Fault, Dry Creek Valley (AVA), $32
Proprietary (house) Red Blends
Rock Wall Wine Company, 09 The Palindrome, Yolo County (County Appellation), Tannat Grapes, Solano County, $22
Ice Wine
Hernder Estate Wines, 07 Vidal Icewine, Niagara Peninsula (DVA), VQA, Estate Bottled, $59.95
Fruit wines
DNA Vintners, NV Chocolate Paradise, Cranberry Wine infused with Chocolate, $12.99
Sherry
French Lick, NV Crema Dolce, , French Lick, $18.7
Port
Hawk and Horse Vineyards, 06 Latigo – Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Hills Lake County (AVA), Port Style Dessert Wine, $85
Other distilled beverages
Pilavas Distillery, NV Mastiha, Greece, Patras, Greece, $24

Good Morning!

I saw these results were out and I wanted to share them with you! No, I am not on here yet (maybe next year I will a have wines ready to enter), but there are many of these women whom are big inspirations to me and my career. Plus there are some amazing wines from all over the country on this list, so perhaps there are a few local wines on this list you can try!

Also, my friend Cindy Cosco, her first year outta the gate earned a Silver for her 2010 Unoaked-Chardonnay! Congrats! Make sure you check out www.passaggio.com Cindy just started her wine club and you will not be disappointed in the beautiful wines she is producing!

Here is the full list of all wines and if you have a chance to try these, I’d love to hear about them!!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

2011 Best Wine by a Women Winemaker
Best Red
Wilson Winery – 2009 Zinfandel Molly’s Reserve – Diane Wilson
Best White – tie
Windsor Oaks Vineyard & Winery – 2010 Sauvignon Blanc – Julie Haglar Lumgair
Best White – tie
Galen Glen Winery – 2010 Gewurtztraminer – Sarah C. Rhodes-Troxell
Best Rose/Blush
Verdad Wine Cellars – 2010 Grenache Rose – Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard – Louisa Lindquist
Best Dessert & Late Harvests (including Ice Wine)
Haak Vineyards & Winery – 2006 Madeira Jacquez – Nadia Hetzel
Best Sparkling
Rock Wall Wine Company – 2010 Blanc de Blanc – Shauna Rosenblum
Best of Show
Wilson Winery – 2009 Zinfandel Molly’s Reserve – Diane Wilson
Best of Class
Sparkling <2.5% rs Gloria Ferrer , NV Blanc de Noir, Carneros ~ Los Carneros (AVA), $20 Rieslings <3% rs Chateau Ste Michelle, 10 Cold Creek Riesling, Columbia Valley (AVA), Cold Creek Vineyard, $15 Rieslings 4% rs>
Orca Wines, 10 Riesling, Columbia Valley (AVA), $6.99
Gewurztraminer <3% rs Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards, 09 Gewurztraminer, Finger Lakes (AVA), $15 Other White Varietals Darcie Kent, 10 Gruner Veltliner, Monterey County (County Appellation), Rara Black Jack, $18 Sauvignon Blanc $10.01>
Navarro Vineyards, 10 Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino (AVA), Cuvee 128, $18
Pinot Gris/Grigio
The Naked Grape, NV Pinot Grigio, California (State Appellation), $7.99
Chardonnay $10.01 – $20.00
Bodega Elena de Mendoza, 10 Chardonnay, Argentina – Mendoza, $10.99
Chardonnay $20.01>
Rock Wall Wine Company, 10 Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands (AVA), $25
White Zinfandel
Barefoot Cellars, NV White Zinfandel, California (State Appellation), $6.99
Other Blush Varietals
Woodworth Vineyards, 09 Golden Maggie, Temecula Valley (AVA), Estate, $17
Rosé Blends
Tassel Ridge Winery, NV Pink Catawba, America (Country Appellation), $13
Pinot Noir $20.01 – $30.00
Gloria Ferrer , 07 Carneros Pinot Noir, Carneros ~ Los Carneros (AVA), $22
Sangiovese
Pizzulli, 08 Sangiovese, Santa Barbara County (County Appellation), $29
Barbera
Morovino, 09 Barbera, Santa Barbara County (County Appellation), $25
Grenache
Therese Vineyards, 09 Grenache, Santa Clara Valley (AVA), $26
Rhone Red Blends
Calcareous Vineyard , 08 Tres Violet, Paso Robles (AVA), $38
Petite Sirah
Wilson Winery, 08 Petit Sirah, Dry Creek Valley (AVA), Sawyer Vineyard, $38
Zinfandel $20.01>
Wilson Winery, 09 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley (AVA), Molly’s Vineyard, $34
Cabernet Franc
Chateau Morrisette, 09 Cabernet Franc, Other, $18.99
Cabernet Sauvignon <$10.00 Barefoot Cellars, NV Cabernet Sauvignon, California (State Appellation), $6.99 Cabernet Sauvignon $10.01 - $20.00 Kiepersol Estates, 08 Cabernet Sauvignon, Texas (State Appellation), Kiepersol Estates Vineyard, $19.99 Red Bordeaux Blends $20.01>
Wilson Winery, 08 Roger’s Fault, Dry Creek Valley (AVA), $32
Proprietary (house) Red Blends
Rock Wall Wine Company, 09 The Palindrome, Yolo County (County Appellation), Tannat Grapes, Solano County, $22
Ice Wine
Hernder Estate Wines, 07 Vidal Icewine, Niagara Peninsula (DVA), VQA, Estate Bottled, $59.95
Fruit wines
DNA Vintners, NV Chocolate Paradise, Cranberry Wine infused with Chocolate, $12.99
Sherry
French Lick, NV Crema Dolce, , French Lick, $18.7
Port
Hawk and Horse Vineyards, 06 Latigo – Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Hills Lake County (AVA), Port Style Dessert Wine, $85
Other distilled beverages
Chardonnay $10.01 – $20.00
Double Gold
Bodega Elena de Mendoza, 10 Chardonnay, Argentina – Mendoza, 0.5% rs, $10.99
Gold
Gray Ghost Vineyards, 10 Chardonnay, Virginia (State Appellation), $17
Sorelle Per Sempre, 10 Chardonnay, Central Coast (AVA), The messenger Red wine number one, 0.06% rs, $11.99
Silver
Four Vines, 10 Naked Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County (County Appellation), $12
Galer Estate, 10 Chardonnay, Pennsylvania (State Appellation), 0.3% rs, $19
Gloria Ferrer , 08 Chardonnay, Carneros ~ Los Carneros (AVA), $N/A
Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards, 10 Chardonnay, Finger Lakes (AVA), 0.4% rs, $15
Passaggio Wines New Generation, 10 Unoaked Chardonnay, California (State Appellation), 0.2% rs, $19
Bronze
Airlie Winery, 09 Chardonnay, Willamette Valley (AVA), Dunn Forest Vineyard, Estate Bottled, $14
Balletto Vineyards, 09 Estate Chardonnay – unoaked, Russian River Valley (AVA), unoaked, 0.28% rs, $20
Coyote Moon Vineyards, 09 Naked Chardonnay, New York (State Appellation), Unoaked, 1% rs, $13.95
D & L Carinalli Vineyards, 10 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley (AVA), Estate D & L Carinalli Vineyards, $20
Peirano Estate Vineyards, 10 Chardonnay, Lodi (AVA), 0.31% rs, $14.99
Spangler Vineyards, 10 Chardonnay, Southern Oregon (AVA), $20

Good Morning!

I received an email yesterday that ask me if I were stuck on an island with only one wine to drink for the rest of my life, what would it be? My mind went into overdrive, do I have a corkscrew? If not, I want a screwcap wine and since it is an island, it will be warm so should I do a crisp white wine or do a red because it would warm my spirit in the cooler nights. Then I was worried about what kinda wine glass would I have? Our would I pull a Mrs. Howell and use a coconut as my container?

This really had me wound up for a few minutes, then I took a deep breath and said what would I want? It came down to two wines I would either want my wine, TJR Select Fireplace (it’s a red, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend) or I would want Don Melchor Cabernet 2006, This is by far one of my favorite wines ever.

Why these two wines? I figure, I do not have refrigeration, so whites and sparkling wine would not thrill me. Then, I thought if I was stranded, I would miss home and drinking a wine I made would make me feel still connected to my life back home. Then I thought if I could not drink TJR Select, I would go for the Don Melchor because I have enjoyed that wine all over the world with friends and at many special occasions and maybe that would make me feel better since I would be sitting there, with nothing but time on my hands.

Both wines are great, my TJR Select will be coming outta the barrel in April and I can’t wait for you to try it. I started to think about whether the wine would come in bottles or barrels. If the wine came in bottles, I would write notes in them and put the cork on, throw them in the water and hope someone will find me….if the wine came in barrels, maybe after I have finished off 4 barrels, I would pull a Tom Hanks and strap them together put a board on top and set sail for someplace new. I would hope that I could find something to call my friend like, he had Wilson. Maybe I could find a Coconut and name it after my best friend Cubby and talk with it while I was pondering life and drinking wine.

Who knows? I hope I am never in the position to be stranded. Life without blogging about my random thoughts might be pretty dangerous!

Happy Monday!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi