Question: What is this latest buzzword for describing wine like “rain on dry soil”?
Answer: PETRICHOR. Wikipedia describes this word with growing popularity as winespeak: “Petrichor” is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word is constructed from Greek petra “rock”, or petros “stone” and ichor, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology. The origin is attributed to two Australian scientists who published in the Nature Journal March 1964 the “Nature of Argillaceous Odour” described as petrichor – this smell of rain and oils released from the earth (especially where there are higher humidity conditions). Something interesting and worth investigating further. Perhaps add it to your wine vocabulary together with that controversial one “minerality” for wines from soils with silica or richer in iron oxide.
Up early today May 10 for 7 am (3 pm London England) Zoom celebration World Final Virtual Winners of International Chocolate Awards. Wrote these awards up here back on October 7, 2013 participating in Vancouver live judging. Your scribe has continued to be involved with last year judging on my own and submitting my scores towards their Canadian Chocolatier winners. These have been posted on their website on November 10, 2020 including several of my delicious favourites of Gold from Guild Chocolates in Flavoured Ganache or Truffle category for Passion Fruit & Praline Bonbon, and two outstanding dark chocolate bars of Gold by Centre and Main Chocolate Co for fantastic Preserved Lemon & Winter Savoury special “Gastronomic”, and Silver by Etat de Chocolate for “Passion” special “Innovation”.
The World Finals today were over 4 hours of virtual celebration for chocolate excellence showing the increasing world wide interest in top quality creativity in stunning craftwork by artists. Lots of educational videos from entrants and sponsors (FBM – Food Boscolo Machines & Pariani – roasted hazelnuts with innovative cold pressed hazelnut oil) and “how we used to judge” past ceremonies presented live. Also a brief seminar on the new judging system presently introduced more similar to coffee judging. The team was led by Martin Christy (London England) Judging Director, Monica Meschini (Florence Italy) Grand Jury Europe, Maricel Presilla (New Jersey USA) Grand Jury Americas. Michaela Schupp Hannover Germany & Jeffrey Lee Hong Kong among many others. Lots of entries and many categories ranging from white, milk, dark, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, spreads, enrobed (especially caramels & popular marzipan), filled (whole fruits, pastes, jellies, gelees, nuts), ganache, truffles, flavoured bars, bean to bar etc. Local ingredients specially spotlighted. Interesting ones to me such as dark with an extract of rose geranium & 72% dark yuzu jelly.
At the end a special award to Cacaosuyo -Samir Giha plus Overall Gold on top of their earlier “microbatch plain – direct traded” category win to beans to bar establishment of Qantu in Montreal of Elfi & Maxime for Oh La Vache Morropan Milk 60% combining “the finesse of Peruvian white cocoa and the sweetness of Canadian milk” for intense smooth flavours! Hearty outstanding congrats to them for great work and to all the winners. Check out the International Chocolate Awards site for soon to be posted winners in all categories. Their next competition starts September 2021 so follow that. Well done!
Question: Can you replace a wine back in the cellar after you bring it out but decide not to drink it?
Answer: Of course you can. Why not? Better to return them to a cooler darker location.Wines can be fragile and don’t like to be disturbed or shaken up or subjected to extreme changes in temperature – which could also affect the cork over a longer period. However wines are also pretty sturdy and forgiving – especially younger wines. Should be no problem. Your scribe often stands up several older wines with sediment deposit to have them ready for decanting in the coming week or so. However if not used I return them to the cellar even though the sediment was moved from the side to the bottom of the bottle. Try to place them on their side in a similar position as before when you return them – generally with the label facing upwards.
By following closely the California wine scene since the late sixties your scribe now believes the decade of the seventies was such a glorious classic one indeed. Arguably their best decade ever. So many wineries and winemakers particularly in Napa Valley receive continuing credit for this contribution – deservedly so. However Sonoma has been less heralded as a region and especially the gifted winemaker Richard L. Arrowood during his tenure at Chateau St. Jean starting in 1974. A big part of that is due to his recognized skills with fantastic white wines rather than his lesser known reds. Chateau St. Jean was under the radar for reds and doesn’t get a mention in Wine Spectator’s Guide of California’s Great Cabernets by James Laube from 1989.The seventies had a string of wonderful vintages for cabernet sauvignon led by 1970, 1974 and 1978 plus others including the 1973 (Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars won the 1976 Paris tasting). 1976 & 1977 were record drought years resulting in some very concentrated over extracted monsters for that time. However Arrowood shone with his amazing Wildwood Vineyard tannic early on yet rich in fruit with balanced acidity and structure that presently are drinking so beautifully. A lot of deposit sediment has been thrown almost like an old vintage port. The lower alcohol levels of 13.1 (1976) & 13.6 (1977) gave them a touch of elegance too. Interesting comment on the 1977 back label signed by RLA: “Sonoma Valley 100% Cabernet Sauvignon entirely Wildwood Vineyards bottled July 12, 1979. Although it can be enjoyed now, due to its tannic and “full bodied” character, it should outlast the next decade.” What an underestimated prediction that turned out to be as both wines show still young deep red colour but marvellously mellow and complex drinking in April 2021. The 1976 was purer impressive mature cherry fruit, so elegant, more Pauillac-like while 1977 softer earthy with roasted spicy plums and sage but both excelled with stuffed chicken thighs and braised fresh partridge food courses.
Necessary to mention the outstanding work RLA did with whites in more detail. Fume Blanc (Forrest Crimmons), Chardonnay & Riesling were pioneered by him as one of the very first with distinct vineyard designations. Remember so well trying so many Chardonnay of 1978 from Bacigalupi, Belle Terre, Frank Johnson, Gauer Ranch, Hunter (lowest abv 13.1), Jimtown, McCrea, Les Pierres (picked at 26 Brix with 15.5 listed on the label), Robert Young, Wildwood plus others. One of my all-time favs was the 1975 Wildwood harvested September 27 at 23.7 Brix fermented 14 weeks at 50-55F at 13.4 with 259 cases. Great memories of Chateau St. Jean unique excellent Chardonnay of the seventies. Credit is due for starting these many individual vineyard selections and all were so different. Well done. The most remarkable wines were the best sweet Riesling picked with botrytis at unbelievable Brix levels (51.3) with Residual Sugar up to 37.5 % by weight from 1978 Robert Young (and also Belle Terre) in the late seventies. Called Individual Dried Bunch Selected Late Harvest or Totally Botrytis Affected (TBA) at very low abv down to 7.3. So thick and viscous rich almost a liqueur more than a sweet wine but will last forever sipping like a Tokaji Aszu. Look for them at auction. Congrats and thanks to a truly great outstanding winemaker – Richard L Arrowood!
