Question: What is the Ortega grape?

Answer: A variety used to make white wine with a German origin but grown successfully now elsewhere including Vancouver Island and some Gulf Islands in BC. It is a cross between Muller-Thurgau & Siegerrebe (itself a cross between Madeleine Angevin & Gewurztraminer).

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The annual trade wine tasting for Wine Australia “Up Close” on May 1, 2018 gave Vancouver a diverse showing of 165 wines from 17 regions. Impressed with some Riesling including certified organic limestone soil fresh Grosset “Springvale” Clare Valley 2017 and an older delicious textbook Pewsey Vale “The Contours” Eden Valley 2012. Also some Chardonnay like tangerine notes from BK Wines “One Ball” from Adelaide Hills 2017 and Voyager Estate “Broadvale Block 6” 2015 from moderate maritime Margaret River with that signature grapefruit combined with complexity exquisite balance.

The emphasis of a seminar brilliantly led by the entertaining knowledgeable Mark Davidson was focused on sustainability with 3 flights of wines divided into Organics & Biodynamics, Water Management, and Alternative Varieties. It was this latter category however that was a real eye opener. Mark prefers calling them Emerging Varieties but stats from a few years ago show still small but increasing fashionable plantings in hectares of: Tempranillo 750, Sangiovese 450, Vermentino 120, Fiano 110, Nebbiolo 110, Nero D’Avolo 80 among others. Six wines that were unique and quite “cool”:

1. Paxton Wines “Organic” GRACIANO McLaren Vale 2017: Lovely aromatics here with funky Morello cherries. Mark calls it a “smashable red” for refreshing drinking like a Beaujolais!

2. Alpha Box & Dice “Dead Winemakers Society” DOLCETTO Adelaide Hills 2015: Made from 15 year old vines uniquely different from Italy but so stylish.

3. Brash Higgins “NDV” NERO D’AVOLA McLaren Vale 2016: Made by an ex New York Sommelier in small clay amphora pots spending 180 days on the skins resulting in a soft aromatic style – very pure apple cider nose!

4. Massena “Dadd’s Block” PRIMITIVO Barossa Valley 2017: Different from the usual ripe prunes expected because so much fresher.

5. Lost Buoy “Sand and Pebble” FIANO McLaren Vale 2016: Grape from Italy’s Campania displays here from the sea breezes a dry fresh lemony acidity for the floral notes plus pears and spicy ginger apples.

6. Soumah “Hexham Savarro Single Vineyard” SAVAGNIN Yarra Valley 2017: All lemon & lime in a different take on the Sherry-like Vin Jaune from the Jura. Also check out their more expensive 2015 Wild barrel ferment plus use of full solids.

Have you tasted any of these new alternative grape varieties being grown in Australia? Well worth checking out their progress.

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By Joseph Temple

Were you a wine drinker back in the 1970s or 1980s?  If so, then you must know what happened every year on the third Thursday of November.  Whether one lived in New York City, London, Paris, or Tokyo, that date on the calendar marked the arrival of the latest vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau—also known as Beaujolais Nouveau day—one of the hottest trends in the history of wine and an act of pure marketing genius.

The concept was simple: while other regions across France transferred their annual harvest to casks for months of aging, the vineyards of Beaujolais (located in Burgundy although its climate and geology differs from other areas in the region) could deliver their vin de l’année to the consumer in less than ninety days. From a late summer harvest to the dinner table just in time for the holidays, Beaujolais Nouveau, a fresh light-bodied red wine made from Gamay grapes and intended for immediate consumption became the first crack oenophiles got of that year’s vintage.  But unlike the wines from Bordeaux or the Napa Valley, tasting Beaujolais Nouveau became an event like no other!

Beginning in the early 1970s, vintner Georges Duboeuf spearheaded a PR blitz to promote the region and its unique sales pitch.  At first, it became a race to Paris as trucks and vans frantically headed out just after midnight on November 15—the fist day they could legally sell the wine—to the various cafes and restaurants.  With signs reading “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé,” competing establishments fought tooth and nail in order to be the first to offer the newest Beaujolais to their customers. As the phenomenon quickly spread to Great Britain and later to North America and Asia, in 1988, Nouveau represented approximately 60% of all the wines produced in the region.

At Kennedy Airport in New York, models and press agents eagerly watched as the first cases arrived from Paris.  By the 1980s, it was estimated that nine million bottles were shipped to over a dozen countries in a period of 4 to 5 days making it a logistical nightmare for some.  And in order to capitalize on a growing international market, the rules were changed from a start date of November 15^th to the third Thursday of that month.  Suddenly, Beaujolais Nouveau day became the unofficial kickoff the holiday season where in the United States, this frantically vinified purple-pinkish wine was promoted as the perfect pairing for turkey on Thanksgiving.

For vintners, it was a financial boom.  While other wineries would have to wait at least a year for the profits to trickle in, the Beaujolais could sell up to half the year’s crop within weeks of the annual harvest, getting paid immediately for their efforts.  It was a gigantic leap from previous decades where the poor and remote region often suffered as its neighbors prospered.  In fact, had it not been for its close proximity to Lyon, a city that eventually became a hotbed for gastronomic excellence, few Parisians, let alone millions across the world, may have never even tasted Beaujolais Nouveau.

Unfortunately, what goes up must eventually come down.  Although there were plenty of fans, many purists scoffed at the trend, considering it heresy to drink something that had just come off the tarmac.  And as the 1990s rolled on, the whole spectacle began to wear thin as Beaujolais Nouveau, described as a happy wine was considered by many to be overhyped.  While some still celebrate its arrival each year, it is a shadow of its former glory.  However, there is no denying the important role that Nouveau played in opening many new eyes to the wonders of drinking wine in the 70s and 80s.  Making it an extravaganza that spread like wildfire across the globe, allowing individuals to partake in a history-making event is something that seems to be sorely lacking throughout the world of wine in the current era.

Sources:

Chapuis, Claude. Sustainable Viticulture: The Vines and Wines of Burgundy. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2017.
Clarke, Oz. Oz Clarke’s New Wine Atlas: Wines and Wine Regions of the World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002.
Harding, Julia. The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Martin, Scott C. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural and Historical Perspectives. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2014.

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Question: Lots of Rosé wine out there to try but some are called in the Provence style? What does that mean?

Answer: Generally refers to those Rosés made in a style of those wines coming from Provence in southern France. That is they have quite a light pink colour with a drier crisp refreshing taste that exude lovely drinkable charm. In Provence the grapes used include Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mouvedre, Carignan and Tibouren but Rosés from elsewhere often use their own local grape varieties. Enjoy!

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Never been very excited by the prospects for 2004 Bordeaux wines and didn’t buy them on release. They always seemed to have the difficult fate to be sandwiched between two celebrated years of the hot ripe more forwardly 2003 and the classic outstanding agers of 2005. However a dinner-tasting this month featuring only the 2004 vintage made this scribe take a second look. 2004 developed in good early conditions with the flowering resulting in a potentially very large crop that required thinning to reach the best quality of grapes. But Summer was disappointing with cool rain though better September to early October saved the harvest. Still uneven ripening in the copious bunches necessitated careful management of the vineyard which can be expensive. Nonetheless all the wines tasted were delightful drinking. The Right Bank with higher Merlot content if picked too early in 2004 showed more herbal notes but Le Bon Pasteur & Canon La Gaffeliere were both lovely with L’Eglise Clinet much more powerful fruit. Haut Bailly Pessac-Leognan is pure delicacy and elegance compared with the denser more closed Leoville-Poyferre of St. Julien. The surprise was Lafon-Rochet in St. Estephe with an amazingly fragrant nose and smooth textures – an undervalued success in 2004. The red wine star of the evening was the Palmer from the Margaux AC a region which has quite a few properties that excelled in this year. Most delicious was the 2004 Climens in Barsac that suffered through a damp August but added fat at the end of the year to achieve this excellence.

In summary 2004 Bordeaux is a most pleasant surprise exceeding 2002 and drinking lovely presently. Go so well with food. Check some out.

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