Grand Cru Classes
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T j|Çx yÉÜ TÄÄ fxtáÉÇá GRAND CRU CLASSES 3985 Sound Avenue, Mattituck, NY 11952 646-279-8494 cellular ● 631-298-1231 voice mail ● www.GrandCruClasses.com T j|Çx yÉÜ TÄÄ fxtáÉÇá Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., DWS, CWE Chief Education Officer Grand Cru Classes 3985 Sound Avenue, Mattituck, NY 11952 646-279-8494 cellular ● 631-298-1231 voice mail ● www.GrandCruClasses.com November 12, 2008 Dear Friends, Each month, it is both a privilege and a pleasure to share my wine knowledge and tasting notes with our newsletter list. In putting together the articles, I try to identify a topic of interest to our readers that will not only add to their knowledge of wine, but also deepen their enjoyment of this luscious elixir. For me, wine is truly a labor of love and I endeavor to impart this love to fellow wine drinkers. Finding connections between wine and the seasons is relatively easy, but of course, wine is timeless and seasonless. In fact, wine is perfect any time of year and with any occasion. Yet, there are times when certain wines seem more apropos than others. In this vein, the themes and wines presented each month reflect these rhythms and synergies. I hope that these newsletters will inspire you to try new wines and expand your wine horizons. And, may you always find a wine for all seasons… Drink wisely and well! Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., DWS, CWE CEO: Chief Education Officer NB: Previous newsletters always included a link to a retailer where one could purchase the wines we highlighted in the tasting notes section. As we do not receive advertising revenue for publicizing these vendors, nor did it appear that readers were clicking through these links, we abandoned this practice. Instead, we would like to advise you of www.Wine- Searcher.com, a free website where one can type in a particular wine and find out where it is currently sold. Alternately, many wineries are now selling direct from their websites, so it is a good place to start as well. JANUARY Last January, Jared quit his job and Tracy asked, “What next?” The answer to that question took us on a journey through the wide world of wine careers. Along the way, we read lots of books, made the acquaintance of many vineyard and winery owners and traveled to Napa and Vancouver. Arriving at our destination (destiny?) as wine educators and staunch supporters of the Long Island wine region, Grand Cru Classes was born. Not fully knowing where this dream would take us, we vowed to make the commitment to see it through. Now, a year later, we can point to several key accomplishments as measures of our early success, including the incorporation of our company, development of our business plan, completion of initial wine education certifications and the introduction of this newsletter. Despite this impressive list, there is still much to do in the months ahead as we move closer toward our launch. While we may not always know where our efforts will ultimately lead, we’ll always stop to ask, “What next?” ZÜtÇw VÜâ Grapevine January 2006 Riesling in the New Year With the dawn of 2006 upon us, many people choose to use the newness of the year as a way to adopt new habits and behaviors. Among your resolutions this year, we suggest you resolve to drink more Rieslings. Riesling wines are particularly aromatic with perfume (i.e. rose or violet) and petrol as their classic notes, along with aromas and flavors of stone fruit (peach, pear and apricot) and minerals. The grape does well in cool climates and is found in several northern wine regions. Abroad, the Riesling grape is at home in Germany (primarily Reingau, Rheinhessen, Mosel and Pfalz) and the Alsace region in France. Alsatian Rieslings tend to be drier than German Rieslings. Closer to home, the grape does quite well in New York State, in both the Finger Lakes and Long Island regions. The grape is also starting to find some acclaim in Washington State and, to a lesser extent, in Oregon. These white wines have very nice sugar/acid balance to them and a slight oily character, making them an excellent match for food, especially more robust cuisine such as Asian-inspired dishes. However you decide to pair them, we hope you will find lots of reasons for drinking Rieslings in the New Year. Drink wisely and well, Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., CSW CEO: Chief Education Officer and Jared Michael Skolnick COO: Cork Opening Officer Tasting Notes Peconic Bay Winery, Riesling, 2004, North Fork, USA, $14.99 With its floral (rose), peach and lychee aromas, this dry, white wine offers typical Riesling characteristics. The acidity is medium-high, with the lushness of lychee and apricot rounding out the tartness of the acid. There is also a slight spice flavor in the finish. Poet’s Leap, Riesling, 2003, Columbia Valley (Washington), USA, $21.99 As a classic example of Riesling, the Poet’s Leap offers distinctive aromas of petrol, lychee, apricot and the sweet spice notes of cinnamon. These aromas are carried through to the palate with the addition of gooseberries and stone. The wine is medium-dry, which is balanced by the medium-high acidity level. Selbach Piesporter Michelsberg, Riesling Spätlese QmP, 2000, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany, $12.95 With Germany’s northerly latitude, grape ripeness levels take on more importance and the better wines are classified by sugar levels. These wines are labeled as QmP (Qualitätswein mit Prädikat) – quality wine with attributes and range from Kabinett (dry) and Spätlese (may be semi-dry to sweet) to Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese (all of which are sweet). Drier wines often include the words trocken (dry) and halbtrocken (half-dry). On the nose, this wine has a real freshness to it, with lychee, pear and a green or herbaceousness to it and an undercurrent of petrol. As a Spätlese wine, it is sweet on the palate with ripe lychee and pear, along with hints of stone and white pepper. Waters Crest Winery, Riesling, 2004, North Fork, USA, $17.99 This New World Riesling is very reminiscent of Old World wines with its complex nose and limited emphasis on fruit. It provides a wide range of notes including orange blossom, cotton candy, apple cider and a hint of minerality. On the palate, it is dry with medium acidity and flavors of pear, spice and the herbaceous quality of green pepper. Toward the back of the palate, there is a faint note of white pepper. The full spectrum of flavors is especially balanced and results in a very elegant wine. Happy New Year! We hope you had a lovely holiday season, filled with family, friends and fun, along with wonderful wines and great memories. With the hustle and bustle of December behind us, it is time to focus on the new year at hand. This is a time for making (and breaking) resolutions and perhaps, a time to put your house in order. As you set your agenda for 2007, this might be the perfect opportunity to live by the motto: a place for everything and everything in its place. To that end, this month we explore your options for storing your wine collection, whether it be just a few special bottles or a dozen cases. For us, this motto means that we will finally be able to present our public wine classes in their place – our brand new tasting classroom. We have made tremendous strides in getting the renovation complete and plan to kick-off the 2007 season with an open-house in the new space sometime this March. We continue to be grateful to those wineries that graciously provided us with space, but, as Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home.” Of course, for our private events, we recognize that sometimes there is no place like your home (or business). ZÜtÇw VÜâ Grapevine January 2007 Cellar-Stocking Stuffers II Last December (2005), we provided you with a list of wines to stock up a friend’s or your own wine cellar. But, perhaps you still have all of your wine stored in various places around your home. Whether you have enjoyed the pursuits of wine for ages or have only recently come to appreciate its virtues, you may find that your purchasing habits are beginning to change, as you buy wine by the case rather than in single bottle purchases. Or, maybe you are buying more wine to hold rather than drink now. While there is no one right solution, there are a few things you should keep in mind in order to ensure that your wine will provide you with pleasure upon opening. Most of us do not have the wherewithal to build a grand cellar in our basement, especially if that basement serves as the condo’s laundry room, but such extreme measures are not necessary to preserve your wine collection. Wines which will be consumed within the next few weeks to several months aren’t too much of a problem. However, wines you intend to hold onto for six months or longer should be kept under more ideal conditions, especially as the average bottle price increases. Such ideal conditions include a constant temperature (50-70o F), along with 60% humidity. The moisture will help keep the cork from drying out and thus prevents the wine from coming into contact with oxygen, which would result in oxidation. To better understand the nature of oxidation, you might think about the browning that occurs when cutting up an apple.