Ask Sid: When is the word Pyrazine appropriate to be used for describing wine?

pyrazine wine

Question: What is Pyrazine?

Answer: Usually it is the technical word to describe those aromatic compounds showing green pepper vegetal notes you find in certain wines. New Zealand sauvignon blanc usually has lots of Pyrazine and you can also find it even in different red varieties such as unripe cabernet sauvignon often grown in cooler regions. More recently it also has been used to describe a ladybug taint in a wine that results from infestations of those insects during the grape crushing procedure of wine making. Useful word.

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Searching for Wine Bargains in Maui & Finding World’s Best Value White

Hawaii wine

Started off 2018 on a lovely Hawaiian break but was still looking for wine bargains. Many moons ago your scribe first became a Costco member in Maui to take advantage of the good wine buys then available. Everything now has changed with the proliferation of brand names and price explosion for special terroirs but the usually futile search nonetheless continues.

On Maui first checked out Long Drugs that has competitive retail prices and which was long ago a treasure trove for Champagnes & Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne but they sure have downgraded their wine selections. However went heavy on the Mauna Loa All Natural Dry Roasted Macadamias with Sea Salt 11 ounce bags on sale for only $8.99 (usually $12.99).

Next stop was Tamura’s Fine Wine in both Kihei & Kaanapali. Impressive wide selection of particularly California but not giving anything away. Some bubbles on sale but my choice of Gosset Brut Excellence was sold out so settled instead for a bottle of Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut for $39.99.

On to Foodland to buy some groceries. Delightfully surprised to see they have lots of wine stocked and much of it on special sale if you buy 3 bottles. Grab 3 of Taittinger Le Francaise (balanced 45 chard/35 pinot/25 meunier) $39.98 and a trio of dependable 2015 La Crema Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast at only $18.98 (cheaper than Costco).

End up at Costco and their wine section as usual is very busy with anxious customers. Carefully check out their many wines and vintages. Usually the high mark vintage score posted for most wines is for an earlier year than the one presently in stock. Frustrating. Get out your IWFS vintage card! Notice an old favourite still reasonably priced Barbera d’Asti Le Orme from Michele Chiarlo that pairs well with local Kalua pork dishes. Buy a gently floral co-op Nicolas Feuillatte Limited Edition Champagne for $26.99 and their 2015 Kirkland Chablis Premier Cru for $14.99. Know their Kirkland brand wines enjoyed with mixed success including their Champagne at only $19.99 but hadn’t tried this new Chablis. Opened it that first night with fresh Opah fish and amazed at the true expression delivered. Smart by Costco to blend fruit from 2 rather obscure Premier Cru of Vau Ligneau (most westerly from Vau de Vey) & Vaugiraut (left bank north of Vosgros) using 12 months in stainless to show off the floral citrus well balanced mineral acidity of the appellation. An excellent wine pairing with fresh fish and a remarkable bargain found at last for this outstanding value. Well done!

Have you recently found a wine bargain?

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Ask Sid: Different fermentation temperatures for red wine

red wine fermentation temperature

Question: On my winery visits the winemakers often specify the temperature at which their red wines are fermented. What difference does it make?

Answer: Very good technical subjective issue which will be hard for me to answer fully in this forum. Yeasts (and whether they are cultured or native) are an important factor but generally red wines are fermented in a range of 25-35 Celsius (77-95+ F) with optimum yeast multiplication at the lower end but usually more colour and tannin extraction at the higher end. However if the temperature goes way too high it will slow down the fermentation by killing off the various yeasts. Francois Faiveley in Burgundy always told me he wanted to keep his temperatures just below 30 to retain more aromas that could escape from too high a temperature ferment. It is a learned art or very skilled craft to have your fermentation at the perfect temperature to maximize the key elements you want in the resulting wine. Interesting subject!

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Most delightful surprise of food & wine in 2017

siddelightful

Happy New Year 2018 to everybody! Hope you all enjoyed some interesting culinary wine & food matches to end 2017. Part of our own ritual is thinking back on some of the most surprising quality food and wine we enjoyed during the previous 12 months. Really hard to pick the best because we have been so lucky to have many delightful treats to choose from. Anyway here goes:

FOOD: NEWFOUNDLAND COD – Blown away with the high quality of their fresh cod. Other spots including Alaska & Iceland (with 10 times the volume) also are raising the bar for sustainable fresh fish but what a comeback in Newfoundland from 25 years ago for this industry. The production now is increasing but there are concerns about stocks being still “in the critical zone”. An excellent article last month in the Globe & Mail provides more interesting details at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/newfoundland-cod-fishing-sustainability-fogo-island/article37170825/ Nevertheless their cod product is fantastic however cooked even as the world’s best fish & chips!

WINE: Hundreds of fine bottles enjoyed to choose from both the low and high end. Picked a white and red both being mid-priced Burgundies as quality surprises. Not cheap but not overly dear either in this high demand top wine market. The 2010 whites really are impressive and so well balanced. What a delightful surprise the 2010 Meursault Perrieres from Bouchard Pere delivers in both a mini vertical and on its own with food. Classic terroir and complex minerals with ability to age. Look for it. On the red side so many possibilities around the world but 2009 red Burgundy are super sumptuous. Admire the rich ripe intense fruit of 2009 La Dominode vineyard in Savigny-les-Beaune by Domaine Pavelot that is enjoyable now (especially with fresh grilled or roasted quail) but will continue to evolve to higher heights of complexity. Another fairly priced winner that is a wonderful surprise for this scribe.

Do you recall a food or wine that delightfully surprised you in 2017?

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