The Chilean Experience

Back in September of 2011, I was chosen along with 4 other wine professionals to (more…)

Wines of Mexico: 400 years in the making

Most people do not realize, Mexico was the first country in the Americas to start planting vines for wine production and dates back to 1597.  The Spanish, upon arriving to the “New Spain” saw that it was an area that was suitable for grape growing.  Although indigenous grapes already grew here, they brought Spanish varietals and started planting in different regions.  The first vines planted were in the state of Coahuila and Durango, known as La Laguna, which lies in Northeast Mexico bordering Texas and the Rio Grande.  This region was first planted in 1593 and is home to the 1st Mexican government recognized appellation, the Parras Valley. (more…)

Wines of Brazil, Campanha a new threshold for Tannat

It all started with a tweet to Wines of Brazil, “where should I visit while in Livramento, Brazil?”

The response was “go to the Cava do Vinhos da Campanha, a shop in Livramento which features the wines from the region of Campanha.”  When one thinks about Brazilian wine, la Serra Guacha is what comes to mind. The Serra Guacha is in the mountains about 120km outside of Porto Alegre near the cities of Caixias do Sul, Garibaldi and Bento Gonzalves. The region was settled by Italians and Germans during the Second World War. So naturally, when I posed the question to Wines of Brazil “where should I visit while in Livramento, Brazil”, a blank was drawn and they sent me to a wine shop. (more…)

Biodynamic Farming at Ampelos Vineyards

Want to make it in the wine business?  Buy a vineyard next to Sea Smoke and Cha- Ching!  Any smart businessman would just cash in, purchase the vineyard, harvest the grapes, produce wine with an abundant use of French oak and throw a little Syrah into the Pinot and money, money, money.  Only a fool would purchase this valuable real estate and make wine the hard way; either a fool or a true visionary.

Owner and winemaker, Peter Work an IT corporate executive from Denmark had the urge to leave the corporate life and dive into his true passion, wine.  His love for wine drove him to the Santa Rita Hills where he found an 82 acre parcel of land which he  devoted to harvesting grapes the way they were intended.  Like all good Danes, Peter’s vision and purpose is a lot more global in thinking.  He wanted to make wine, all the time, thinking of its effects on the ecology and the people living in the area.  His decision to be biodynamic is not a marketing gimmick; there is real soul behind it.  I sat with Peter for about an hour, a very different meeting from other wine makers.  Instead of talking about his wine and the cute story of the name and the design choice behind the label, he discussed in detail the process of biodynamic farming.

image taken from http://www.sshomestead.org/userfiles/image/biodiagram2_sm.jpg

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Wine Tasting Notes April 2012

My wine tasting notes for April 2012 are a little different from past months.  I spent the majority of the month in Brazil.  I tasted many Brazilian wines, not all made the post.  In the next few weeks I will have detailed posts of my excursions in Brazil.  The unfortunate part, is that most of these wines are not available in the states.  I have listed prices in Brazilian Reals, which exchange about 1.8 to the dollar.

If you’d like to learn more about Brazilian Wines

check out the Wines of Brasil Website.

I also have a short video about the Serra Guacha here. ENJOY!

Cordilheira de Sant’ana Gerwurztraminer Reserva Especial Campanha Brazil ’08

Pineapple, fig, baking spice, banana aromas with weight. Alcohol is at 13.5%, a bit higher in comparison to other Brazilian whites.  The acidity is not very high, however the flavors linger on the finish.

R$ 38

Cordilheira de Sant’ana Chardonnay Reserva Especial Campanha Brazil ’05

In comparison to the 2008, the color is a lot lighter.  It has aromas of butter, pear and field flowers.  The wine is creamy on the palate and does not show a whole lot of oxidized notes you would expect.

R$ 38

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