Just a quick pointer today: Stuart Pigott, a German-speaking English Riesling maniac, came across a 1964 encyclopedia of wine written by Frank Schoonmaker and it contains some amazing stats and information, especially on the California wine industry in the 1960s.
Spoiler alert: There were less acres planted with Chardonnay than Riesling in California back then…it’s a very interesting read!
Happy Sunday!
Quite the surprise!
We threw a party last weekend and our usually pitch line is bring your own booze. Most of the booze that arrives at our house this way is Bud Light, Heineken Light (yuks) and other sorts of beers. Another significant share is hard liquors like Candian Club and stuff…it’s a grad student party, so hey.
Occasionally, though, someone brings a bottle of wine, and I do jump right onto those when they come. I want to taste and experience what others drink and bring. This bottle was brought by our friends who also attended the Michigan vs. Mosel Riesling Tasting. They were the ones that first introduced me to Chateau Grand Traverse wines earlier this year. In short, I trust them.
But when I looked at the label and saw that it was a chardonnay, I cringed. I am not a very big fan of this ubiquitous grape. All too often, especially in this hemisphere, you get a buttery, over-oaked heavy weight that has nothing in common with its lighter, fresher, crisper cousins from Burgundy. But even those just never feel overly interesting to me. The grape is solid, and so are the wines, but they lack interest for me. And then a late harvest? I wasn’t so sure. But I trust my friends, so I was willing to give it a try.
And, boy, what a surprise. The wine had 10.5% ABV and 4.2 BRIX of residual sugar, which, if I am not mistaken, should translate to about 40 grams of residual sugar/liter (please, my American friends and experts, correct me if that is wrong…I am still struggling big time with this BRIX thing!). Upon pouring, a light golden, very inviting colored wine presented itself. On the nose, I got tropical fruits (in a chardonnay, seriously!!), very fruity, and it did remind me of a riesling nose. Nothing of the usual chardonnay aromas at all. On the tongue, it was nicely fruity as well, with a good spätlese texture, friendly sweetness and enough acidity to go around. It was such a surprise. I cannot recall ever trying a chardonnay that was that yummy. There are winemakers in Germany making chardonnay, sometimes as spätlese, but they tend to make dry wines out of it. This wine presented a side of chardonnay that I was not aware of, and I am really happy I got to meet chardonnay this way. I will try to pick up another bottle sometime soon to re-taste it and see whether my tastebuds were already tainted from the Bud Lights and PBRs I had had, but if this holds up, that would have been THE surprise of my August tastings…
Trader Joe’s find
Another short tasting note. We’re heading out for Germany tomorrow, so things will be a bit more silent, although I probably will not be able to contain my excitement along the way and post short updates.
I am not a big chardonnay fan, if, then I tend to go for the steel vinted ones, no or just little oak. Sometimes this seems to be described as “the French style”, but I guess there are oakier French chardonnays, too.
I was cooking a Southern French inspired lemon-thyme-broth chicken with tons of garlic for friends of ours. The recipe is wonderfully simple, and incredibly delicious. Given the lemon and its provenance, I decided to go for a Southern French white, and Trader Joe’s was carrying this chardonnay from the Pays d’Oc. It was $5.99, I believe, so I thought we should give it a try. I was completely fine with it, it met my expectations. I wanted a somewhat medium-bodied white that could stand up to the acidity and hold its own without being overbearing or heavy. This wine paired really well. Light in color, mineralic in taste. It held its ground against the succulent chicken and brought new flavors to the dish. When I had a sip after dinner, I was less impressed. Just a basic wine. But a fine dinner companion indeed. Give it a try, if you get a chance!
More from Germany in a bit!
the winegetter 