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Question: Name of the wind affecting Rioja vineyards?
Answer: There is a strong wind called CIERZO. It flows from northern Spain through the Ebro River Valley affecting several regions in Spain including Rioja plus Aragon & Navarra. Similar to the MISTRAL in the Rhone Valley of France. The positive result of the winds is usually a benefit to the vineyards in moderating temperatures and humidity levels allowing the grapes to ripen more gradually with less disease pressure.
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Lunar New Year celebrations seem to have expanded in 2022. The Chinese calendar is based on the cycles of the moon so this Year of the Tiger begins with the start of the new moon on February 1 running on for 15 days, Asian communities especially are celebrating their important festive holiday for looking forward, renewal and friendship. The Year of the Tiger (king of beasts in China) signifies endurance, fortitude, resilience, and strength plus looking after each other. This celebration is bigger than ever in Vancouver right now with more restaurants featuring festive celebratory dishes for families and friends. Of course many menus make use of traditional food items that symbolize forthcoming good fortune including noodles for longevity, fish for abundance or surplus, Spring rolls & dumplings for wealth, pistachios for a happy year ahead, Mandarin oranges, pomelo, & tangerines for good luck and so on.
On February 5, 2022 your scribe celebrated Lunar New Year with a dinner in grand style at the thriving Mott 32 inside the just rebranded Trump International Hotel now named Paradox Hotel. They highlighted an 8 course Chinese New Year Menu shown below with prominent lobster and prawn dishes plus chicken & duck. We enjoyed a
table of 6 in a private area displaying appropriate hanging red lanterns. Our own menu was pre-ordered and paired with quality wine gems less known but acquired and chosen by true professional Wine Director Robert Stelmachuk (also Vancouver Magazine 2020 Sommelier of the Year). Mott 32 has developed a top reputation for the best dim sum in town made to order from the finest fresh ingredients. We started with two exquisite dumplings of beetroot, scallop & shrimp in a most delicate wrapping followed by a Siu Mai of Iberico pork, quail egg, and black truffle. The matching celebratory bubbles of Laieta 2011 Gran Reserva Brut Nature worked fine. Next came a crispy roasted pork belly perfectly paired with an interesting Hungarian Tokaji Furmint 2013 from that special vineyard with volcanic rocks of Szent Tamas showing dry (often sweet in their dessert Aszu wine) full with good balancing acidity Riesling-like. The piece de resistance was the fantastic whole Peking Duck apple wood roasted presented and then
carved with separate golden skin plus the thinnest ever wraps with all the accoutrements. Outstanding culinary work! Three unique reds served of 2015 Scholium Project 1MN Bechtold Ranch Cinsault 13.32 abv own root planted in Lodi California in 1870; 2013 Alto Moncayo big 16+ abv rich intense powerful Garnacha from Campo de Borja in Spain; and 2014 L.A. Cetto Nebbiolo Reserve from Valle De Guadalupe in Baja Mexico earthy, peppery, smooth and much riper than classic Piedmont. More tasty beautifully prepared dishes including prawns, smoked cod at the
table, vegetables, crunchy fried rice with flying fish roe, soy ice cream with Valrhona white chocolate. What a wonderful way to celebrate the Lunar New Year!
Please chime in with your own experience. Anyone matching food with improving cabernet sauvignon from Ningxia (north central China) or newer marselan grape wines all from China?
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Question: Is there a wine to celebrate Groundhog Day?
Answer: Unusual request. February 2 is always Groundhog Day when people in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania from 1887 are watching out for that furry marmot Phil. If he sees his shadow that means 6 more weeks of Winter. The local wineries in Penn. will be busy including the aptly named Groundhog Winery serving their 26 different wines. Similarly in Canada we have Nova Scotia Sam and Ontario Willie who in 2022 have reached conflicting opinions. Sam predicts a long cold winter while Willie says an early Spring is on the way. However, Phil agrees with Sam so
be prepared for more wintery weather. Any celebratory wine will do but perhaps start your own February 2 tradition tasting the next new vintage of your go-to libation. Groundhog Day is also the name of a funny movie starring Bill Murray.
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Alsace is a fascinating wine region with a long history of dedicated winemaking families. Your scribe has been a devoted fan of their wines since way back in the seventies. Got quite familiar in identifying the different grape varieties grown there through the availability in Vancouver of Alsace wines particularly from Hugel (rich full style)
and Trimbach (balanced dry style). Always admired the clear definition shown in the wines produced from the different varieties and on visits to the region successfully passed their fun tasting test to become a member of the Confrerie Saint-Etienne. This northern region is situated in a valley between the Vosges mountains and the Rhine Valley and is much drier and warmer than most people recognize. Most of their wines are reasonably priced, friendly drinking young, and match so well with food. Yet there is another level of key sites recognized since the 9th century but formalized by the INAO in 1975 now with 51 AOC Alsace Grands Crus (only 4% of the region). Interesting to examine the dominant geological soil characteristics of each of these vineyards. Note that only Rangen (check out Clos Saint Urbain from Zind-Humbrecht) in the most southerly area of Thann has volcanic soil.
Riesling is always a favourite of mine among the 4 varietals (with a few exceptions) that are allowed Grands Crus status with Gewurztraminer, Muscat, and Pinot Gris. Collected and enjoyed lots of Alsace Riesling over the years. Tried whenever I could the top standard of Clos Ste Hune from Trimbach, a tiny 1.67 hectare plot of Rosacker on “dolomitic limestone” that rewards a deep, full, most complex and ageable treasure. Lucky to try some memorable bottles of Hune with avid collector Jean Joho of Everest restaurant Alsatian cuisine in Chicago which just recently closed. More available to me were bottles of Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling from Trimbach, particularly the 1981 vintage that I purchased throughout the eighties at $11.95/bottle. In May 1989 BCLDB put the remaining slow moving inventory on sale for $7.95/bottle. Your scribe astutely bought those 62 bottles and has been delightfully monitoring the progress of 1981 ever since. It is composed of 2 Grands Crus at Ribeauville of Geisberg (marl-limestone-sandstone) & Osterberg (marl) from high elevation steep S/SE exposure of older vines. Trimbach also has another leased site for making Geisberg Vignoble du Couvent de Ribeauvillé (check out 2009, 2016, and 2019). An outstanding Riesling from Hugel is Jubilee 2001 (own vineyard 100% Schoenenbourg Grand Cru from Riquewihr) called by the late Etienne Hugel their “best one since 1990”. On January 28, 2022 we drank our last bottle of that 1981 cache at 40 years of age compared with the same vineyard & producer of top vintage 2001 at 20 years. These paired so well for courses of smoky roasted eggplant with ricotta wrapped in shredded phyllo pastry (kadaifi) plus “gourmet” Bretagne sardines Vintage Year 2015 by Rodel (bought in Paris) with fresh dill potato salad. Both worked magically. 2001 was 12.5 abv fuller richer floral ginger mineral notes while 1981 was an easy lower brilliant 11.2 abv so bright elegant petrol well structured acid vibrancy. Perhaps some of the earlier 62 bottles had more fruit left (if you prefer that) but this last one is really lovely now – ethereal and so beautifully drinkable. Wish we had more bottles left. The Trimbach website says “potential is for aging 20+ years”. They might want to change those notes to read at least “40+ years”!
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