Progress with time
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC, Out and about
It may have taken a day of hard debating, but any sceptics finally came around to the merits and potential of Grenache yesterday at the Symposium in Le Crestet, South France. Where Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyards had reservations of the development of discussions on Friday, he soon warmed to the belief that producers and writers can raise the profile of the grape to a greater state. You can watch the video interview on the Wine Challenge You Tube Channel.
Aside from this glass half full/half empty syndrome, you could not move for the enthusiasm and drive at yesterday’s symposium. Viticulturists kicked off the morning sessions with a long and heated debate on the ideal soil types and site that favour the variety. We were told how most Grenache vines do not have their own roots, but rather are grafted to root stocks which do the work in it’s place.
The panel of winemakers, largely Australian, lightened the mood of the gathering by taking a simplistic approach to understanding the workings of the vine. Peter Schultz, of Turkey Flat Vineyards, pointed out the fact that Grenache is the most widely planted old vine variety in the world, lots of it still producing quality fruit. It’s ability to do so, whilst maintaining fresh acidity in challenging conditions, is testament to the virtues of the variety.
What the second panel of winemakers lacked in presentation skills they made up for in expertise. With the Library Collection in mind, I asked the panel for their thoughts on the age ability of Grenache. The response could not have been more enthusiastic. Vincent Avril of Clos Des Papes in Chateauneuf De Pape told us of how it played such an important role in his blending every year and credited it to the central role of Grenache played. The panel continued with the metaphor of how the grape is like the engine around the motor car styles of most Rhone style blends.
Then it was over to the panel wine writers commenting on the grape in established markets who coined the phrase “Grenache – You know it – you just don’t know it”. They went with the idea of focusing a campaign around three P’s – Pleasure, Price and Partnership – all of which they believed were outstanding merits for the variety. There was a strong call for the wines to be served at a cooler temperature , 15-16 degrees, though some believed even cooler was necessary. International Wine Challenge Co-Chairman, Tim Atkin MW, suggested Grenache should be seen as the mother or father of the Mediterranean family of grapes, continuing later to highlight that old plantings of Grenache gris and blanc in the Rousillon are making extraordinary wines, both just as exciting as the red version.
I will be covering the Emerging Markets panel discussion in Harpers Wine and Spirit in the next issue, but it is suffice to say there were some real revelations from this team – notably the advice to wine makers not to continue to say that there wines go well with Asian foods as there is such diversity in cuisine in any single Asian country.
Discussions were concluded with two panels for the On and Off trade who went over all was had been said already, not a problem as each panel needed to present their own interpretations of the grapes potential. It was suggested that Robert Parker’s love of Grenache could be seen as a major opportunity for the grape. To encourage a better understanding of the grape for consumers the panel suggested a neck tag for these wines as well as listing the varieties and their percentage on the back label.
Nicole Rolet and Walter McKinley wrap up events
We were then treated to a fantastic tasting of Grenache based wines from around the world, which provided a great opportunity to compare global styles. Finally a wonderful meal gave the delegates time to relax and network whilst discussing the outcome of the day’s events.
It was a world class show with world class speakers. Congratulations to the entire team of the Grenache Symposium for pulling off an event which was deemed by everyone to be a seriously high calibre.
Wines of Israel
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC, Out and about
Today has been a complete eye-opener. There are times when you think you have a wine region summed up or a a good over-view of a style of wine. The Wines of Israel tasting at the Landmark Hotel in London today managed to convince a room full of people that there is so much more to Israeli wines than just stories of Kosher production.
Tim Atkin MW, co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge, led a straight forward yet very informative master class that gave me the basis on which to asses the wines in the room when talking to the producers who had flown over. Interestingly, it is only a 4 hour drive from the cool wine region of Galilee in the north to the desert region of Negev in the very south. When comparing it to a country such as Chile, Israel’s diversity in climate per distance covered is quite extreme in comparison. The soil varies also from Volcanic and Terra Rossa soils in Galilee to the almost arid land in Negev down south. This map is compliments of Carmel Winery.
In 1882, the owner of Chateau Lafite in Bordeaux, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, originally brought grape varities he found to suitably match the Mediterranean climate. These included Alicante Bouchet, Carignan, Grenache, Clairette, Muscat and Semillon. Today, the noble grape varieties reign with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot accounting for 45% of production. Once the country’s main grape variety, Carignan has seen a decline from 41% to 16% from 1990 to present day.
And how do they taste? Personally, I struggled to find any dud wines. The majority on show were fantastically fresh, which was the biggest misconception I had when considering the hot climate there. It is of course down to altitude – up to 1200 metres in the Golan Height- and good diurnal variation that maintains this fresh style to the wines. Only one producer I spoke to added any tartaric acid, 2 g/l, which was barley noticeable.
The Bordeaux blends throughout the room tasted like they have been made like this for centuries. In my opinion this comes down to skilled winemakers taking careful attention to harvest dates, some as early as late July, to achieve ripeness without excess alcohol. Margalit Winery in the Galilee mountains produces exceptional examples of these blends with their top wine Enigma showing the best. 2007 appeared a lot fresher than the warmer vintage of 2006.
Chardonnay seems to be a darling in Israel as well. Both the barrel fermented and stainless steel styles were handled very well and would be a match, if not trump, many Chardonnays in the world. Domaine du Castel’s version from the Judean Hills was the best Chardonnay I have tasted in a very long time, reminiscent of the premium, but not over oaky styles from Napa – and at £30, the price tag to match.
Of all the Syrahs I tasted, Dalston Winery in Upper Galilee was both the best value and best quality. The Shiraz Reserve with 5% Viognier would give any Cote Rotie a real run for its money. It was beautifully structured with deep meaty and pepper notes and a great long length full of rich intensity. £19. It would be wrong not to mention the Viognier from them as well. Again, one of the best Viogniers I’ve tasted this year. Barrel fermented, it is fantastically aromatic, with apricot and nutty aromas and an elegant, silky mouth feel. £15.
So a complete surprise, but a very pleasant one at that. Most of these wines are only currently available in Jewish neighbourhoods in the UK. As these would be a hand sell to begin with, the restaurants are faced with the issue of the price factor as they to make their regular mark up.
It may take time for it to catch on, but this is a fantastic wine producing country making exceptional wine.
Tags: Galilee, Israel, Judean Hills, Tim Atkin, wine
Progress at the Barbican
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC
Since moving in on March 11th the team at the Barbican have transformed the place in to a wine wonderland. 14 wine enthusiasts have been working harder than ever before and breaking their backs to off load all of this year’s entries to the International Wine Challenge. Each wine is doubled checked against our database to ensure it is given the right category (i.e all the Cabernet’s together) and placed in it’s respective spot on the floor.
With the help of every sort of music from Motown to Samba the team plough through the work tirelessly every day. Meanwhile, in another warmer, far more comfortable room at the Barbican another team undertake the task of flighting all the wines in to the most suitable flight lines to give every wine the best possible chance of expressing its individuality.
Less than two weeks to go before we kick off. I hope anyone tasting the en primeurs down in Bordeaux manages to save some teeth and gums for the ocean of flights awaiting them here.Looking forward to reciving Oz Clarke and Victor de la Serna here as well as they take up the task alongside Tim, Derek, Sam and Charles as Co-Chairmen for 2010. Watch out for video interviews with the judges during the judging weeks, April 12th- 23rd.
Tags: Barbican, International Wine Challenge, Oz Clarke, wine
Crawling out of hibernation
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC
Hello again,
There’s been an obvious absence in my posting over the past few weeks. Mainly due to the Christmas holidays when team IWC went underground in to hibernation. Since the return we have been being getting stuck in to business and working on the great tasks ahead of us this year. I believe if you’ve nothing interesting to say then maybe just hang on until there’s something worth commenting on before writing it up.
I’m happy to say I’ve been lining up some worthy interviews at the upcoming tastings in London. The diary is packed full of events. I am about to take out dental insurance to manage the damage to my teeth from all the wines I’m due to taste. Honestly.
Some of you may have noticed there was glitch in posting comments on the blog. But, as the amount of spam I’m receiving can tell me, that is now fixed and we are up and running so please feel free to share your thoughts on any of the postings or videos you see up here. The IWC has been around for a long time and has reached many people in the trade so I would think some folk might like to share their two cents on what’s happening in the world of wine. Also, keep me posted if you are aware of anything worth covering.
So, tune in next week for the first of many rants from me, wine producers and maybe even you!
Tags: interviews, wine
Grand finale panel discussion @ Wine Future
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Wine Future
Whatever decisions come from the Copenhagen treaty, you’re guaranteed a press bonanza with rolls of column inches and photos dedicated to covering the assembly of the world’s most influential figures. We can expect a similar amount of chatter, although increasingly online, about the global leaders of the wine industry who stood side by side on stage for photographers before sitting down to solve the issues of wine’s future. Pancho Campo MW was efficient in his mediation and relayed questions from the audience, including a tweeted question, to the panel of experts. Sitting from left to right was Mel Dick, Jorge Ordoñez, Robert Parker, Don St. Pierre, Christopher Cannan, Jancis Robinson MW, Paul Pontallier and Justin Howard-Sneyd MW.
The wireless microphone was passed around the group to Parker to answer the issue of high alcohol wines, who is often regarded as favouring bigger wines with similarly large abv figures. He assured the gathering that he was against excessively high alcohol in wines and acknowledged the social responsibility of drinking these wines. In the face of government legislation versus the artistic contribution of a wine maker he knows he will always side with the latter, believing that they should be allowed to make the greatest expression of wine from whatever vineyard they have. “If that results in a wine that’s 15% alcohol, and that’s the best wine they can make, I’ve no problem with that.” He continues to say that the interferences of the French government in restricting the level to 13% abv in certain appellations is compromising the quality of their terroir and the integrity of the varietal, which would be manipulating what is essentially a natural product.
On the subject of consumption, in his own slow drawl, Mel Dick predicted that the U.S. will be the largest wine consuming nation in the future. Only 9 litres of wine per adult is currently consumed in the states compared 30-40 litres in other leading wine producing countries, so, he says, “the future for fine wine is wonderful. There will be many many years of great growth, great opportunity for everybody in the wine industry.”
Submitting her point from the crowd, Su Birch of Wines of South Africa, criticised the conference for being too ‘Euro-centric’ and asked the panel did they not see a role for the Southern hemisphere in the future of wine. Jancis Robinson responded to this accusation and turned the spotlight on Australia when considering the opportunities and challenges. She declared that Australians are on the frontline of being affected by climate change she also touched on the current off loading of vineyards and wineries as growers go out of business.
Parker added that in the last 10-15 years there has been an explosive interest in new wines. The growth in production and higher quality styles of wines from these regions has out stripped demand for these wines, even though there is an increase in interest in wine. He says the problem is that they couldn’t stay abreast of so much wine from so many different areas and that issue has come to the fore in the past year. “We are going through a massive correction because of the world economy….., but we will come out of it, I am very much an optimist for the long term.”
His positive tone was quickly muted when the topic of speculation on wine arose. Raising strong applause from the crowd he said wine is meant to be consumed and enjoyed, adding that speculation is “a dirty word” and resents the fact that his scores are used for this purpose. Robinson referred to the recent influx of wine investment funds as “dreary” and “depressing” questioning whether any one of the people who run these operations actually drink any wine. Someone who is a major link in this chain is Paul Pontallier, whose Chateaux Margaux wines achieve some of the greatest figures in those circles. He agreed that speculation has affected the market and the price but denies that this would have any effect on the quality. He suggested that it may even increase the attention awarded to wine making techniques, given the influence it has had on prices and that nobody in Bordeaux makes wine for this purpose. Big statement, but I think he wanted to use this soap box to dismiss what he must have felt was an industry observation of the Borealis.
To conclude this potentially long-winded post I would just mention the quality of speaking from Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, Waitrose wine buyer, who was extremely clear and articulate in his comments on stage, refraining from unnecessarily dragging out any answers. His ‘best-bits’ included his approach to people who enjoy drinking sweeter style wines, suggesting introducing them to higher quality wines that still maintain that sweetness, such as Vouvray or good German Rieslings, as opposed to ‘correcting’ their taste buds. He advised any youngsters who are considering entering the wine trade to avoid it if they are expecting to make lots of money. Author of The Wine Advocate, Robert Parker advised them to become a lawyer if money’s what they’re interested in.
Pancho Campo and his team deserve huge credit for professionally organising such an essential event to the wine trade, even if some of the speakers weren’t up to the mark. As I congratulated him after the official dinner he told me Kofi Annan was booked in for next years conference on climate change and that as Robert Parker was hugging him on stage he whispered “I’m definitely in for the next one” which is due to be held in 2011.
Tags: alcohol, Jancis Robinson, Kofi Annan, Robert Parker, Waitrose, wine, Wines of South Africa
-
bathmate...