Thanks to Robert Henderson of the Toronto Branch for sending me this audio file of André Simon discussing the importance of wine.  Recorded during the late 1960s or early 1970s, his message proves to be relevant to this day.

Enjoy!!

Photo credit: www.alumni.ubc.ca

The University of British Columbia Alumni has started an interesting new event called The Grape Debate. It is becoming an important spotlight on issues involving the wine industry and is partnered by Wines of British Columbia (www.winebc.com) and Vancouver Tourism Dine Out Festival (www.tourismvancouver.com/dine/dine-out-vancouver-festival).

The inaugural one held last year had the topic “Should British Columbia have a Signature Wine Varietal?” (www.alumni.ubc.ca/2012/events/the-grape-debate). A panel of 3 for each side argued pro and con with yours truly arguing for limiting the present 60+ grape varieties to the ones that have so far shown the most distinct potential like: cabernet franc, chenin blanc, pinot noir, riesling, syrah, and white blends. Presently the most planted varieties are pinot gris & merlot as well as a fair amount of cabernet sauvignon which most years has difficulty in reaching phenolic ripeness. A hand vote by those attending the Debate showed a preference for allowing the 200+ wineries to continue to experiment and not be tied to any one signature variety.

The 2nd Grape Debate (www.alumni.ubc.ca/2013/events/the-grape-debate-2014) was just held this last weekend and the question posed was “Is wine made in the Vineyard or in the Winery?”. The issue was stated as follows: “Every wine is unique in some way. Some would attribute these distinctive qualities to “terroir”, while others would consider them to be a reflection of a winemaker’s style. Vineyard location and weather during the growing season certainly impact the grapes in many ways, but the winemaker’s attention to detail and signature techniques may also have significant effects on the final product. Is the importance of “terroir” overstated? Are talented winemaker’s undervalued? And where do vineyard managers fit into all of this?”

Same format as last year and your friendly blogger naturally chose the terroir/vineyard side. After all I really appreciate the unique terroir shown by vineyards in Burgundy (including Chablis), Bordeaux, Piedmont and so many other top unique vineyards around the world. For me wine always starts out as being made in the vineyard and the greater the wine the more true it is – wherever grown! However the average consumer seems to be driven more and more by price and a consistency of style and flavours that they enjoy. Wine is being made better everywhere in the world thanks to so many skilled winemakers and consultants. However a growing emphasis on branding, packaging and higher residual sugar is worrisome. Super ripe grapes, warmer climates, and too much new oak tend to mask the terroir while aged vines and older larger size oak help show it. I like a couple of quotes from experienced winemaker’s as follows: “One must have the courage to do nothing” (Dominque Lafon’s father) & “A winemaker is like a doctor. Must know when there is a problem and how to cure it. Skills are prevention to protect the natural wine from colds, the flu and other maladies. Sometimes doing nothing or as little as possible is the most important thing” (Andre Machetti of Mastrojanni Brunello).

The straw vote taken was very close indeed but the crowd slightly preferred the winemaker/winery influence over the terroir/vineyard. What are your thoughts on this topic? Also please suggest a hot new grape/wine topic we can explore in debate for 2015.

A video of our debate will be posted soon on the UBC Alumni site. Check it out.

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By Zwarck (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I have a soft spot for detailed vineyard maps of vineyards around the world. Checking them out for their relative locations to one another in any specific wine region is a real pearl of knowledge in helping you to understand terroir. They are invaluable when you are visiting. Who hasn’t torn out pages from a wine book or photocopied maps for their wine trip. I have really enjoyed over the years The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson and was given as a Christmas gift the excellent 7th Edition 2013 completely revised & updated.

One of the clear advantages of our increased use of technology is the satellite or mobile phone to check out our planet Earth. This includes the new innovations of computer street searching and mapping. This is a real joy to check out and use to locate places. It continues to expand and now many of the world’s vineyards are available. An excellent one is https://burgmap.com which has an IOS App for your mobile phone. Fun to check out exactly where La Cabotte is in Chevalier-Montrachet and Clos des Perrieres in Meursault. What a benefit!

Are you accessing vineyard maps on your smart phone? Do you have a smart phone yet? Time to get one and move into the 21st century. What other wine regions presently are well mapped? Check out the visual map guide in PDF of many wine regions on the Wine Spectator site www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/42427

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I am a daily consumer fan of 0% non fat yogurt. I believe it is a very healthy product providing protein, calcium and probiotics (live and active bacterial cultures) that are good for your gut and your digestion. Recommend it to you. Though yogurt also comes at many levels of fat all of which are lovely I still stick to skim milk and skim milk powder. Greek style strained to remove excess liquids is becoming increasingly popular and provides a creamy thicker style even at 0% fat. A disconcerting issue is the increasing number of additives (from gelatin to colouring agent “carmine” to carrageenan emulsifier to guar gum). Specifically always avoid any yogurt containing artificial sweeteners like sucralose (Splenda). Look for 100% natural ingredients. Check the ingredient label on your chosen yogurt closely. Unlike wine where you can’t check luckily you can do so on food products like yogurt. I avoid paying for added fruit too. Admit though I really enjoy sometimes adding Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Jam or Non-Pasteurized Natural Honey to my plain yogurt. Delicious! Support brands like Olympic and Liberte Organic (now part of Yoplait/General Mills). Do you make your own yogurt? Your thoughts on yogurt and which one do you choose?

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I am a big fan of Riesling wine in so many styles. Certainly it is right there at the top level for best most versatile grape variety resulting in a full range of wines from bone dry to very sweet. Trocken (dry) style is in vogue at the moment whether from Australia’s Eden or Clare Valley (lime & minerals), Alsace, Austria and Germany. Even the cooler regions of New York (Finger Lakes), Ontario, Oregon, Washington and BC are successfully producing world class examples. Not only is Riesling in all the versions always so lovely fresh vibrant drinking but because of their natural acidity also so suitable with food. Are the increased use of screw caps helping to keep them fresh? They certainly will age very well developing a unique distinctive “petrol” (or “kerosene”) character but descriptors which now to some tasters have become derogatory words to use and instead prefer “lime marmalade”.

Hard to match that enticing fantastic fruit acidity shown from the Mosel terroir! A wonderful website is www.moselfinewines.com. It is an independent online wine publication dedicated to Mosel Riesling by Jean Fisch & David Rayer. They do an excellent job covering the vintages (detailed 2012 reports), top estate property profiles, wine reviews and drinking windows. They cover the winemaker association top casks two Mosel Auctions held every September by Bernkastler Ringer & Grosser Ring/VDP. They just produced what hopefully will be an annual update of their first Visiting Guide to the Mosel 2014. Personal valuable resource of where to eat, buy wines, and must visit scenic charming spots (including my favs of Bernkastler Doktor & Wehlener Sonnenuhr). The good news is that it is free of charge so subscribe now at newsletter@moselfinewines.com.

Do you have a preferred region for Riesling? What sweetness level do you prefer for that variety?

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