Attributes of Chardonnay

Chardonnay has long been considered one of the three noble white grape varieties that also includes Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. It is interesting to note that although Chardonnay is acknowledged as producing one of the world's greatest dry white wine in Burgundy, based solely on the recently (1999) elucidated genetic parentage of Chardonnay would lead one to some skepticism regarding the variety.
DNA fingerprinting performed on Chardonnay revealed that one of the noble grape’s ancestors was a viticultural “commoner” known as Gouais Blanc and the other was the Pinot grape. Gouais Blanc is nearly extinct now, but both grapes were widespread in northeast France in the Middle Ages.¹ The Gouais grape was grown by peasants on land not considered acceptable for Pinot in fact, the French gou is a term of derision. Gouais Blanc notwithstanding, Chardonnay is among the world's most planted grape due to it's viticultural adaptability and enological malleability.²

Attributes of Chardonnay

• Thrives in cool districts
• Vines leaf out and bud early and are susceptible to damage from early spring frosts
• Cool, wet weather during flowering can produce uneven fruitset (millerandage)
• Relatively thin skinned
• Capable of adapting to various climates and soil types
• Requires well drained soils
• Excessive heat can diminish acidity
• Susceptible to powdery mildew
• Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot in rainy harvests

This is meant to be a companion blogpost to Attributes of Cabernet Franc.

References:
1. Bowers, J., Boursiquot, J.M., This, P., Chu, K., Johansson, H., & Meredith, C, 1999, Historical Genetics: The Parentage of Chardonnay, Gamay, and Other Wine Grapes of Northeastern France, Science: 285, pp 1562 - 1565.
2. Sweet, Nancy, L., Foundation Plant Services, UC Davis, Chardonnay History and Selections at FPS, Foundation Plant Services FPS Grape Program Newsletter November 2007.
3. J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz, Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours, Allen Lane 2012 ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2.

Champagne to Weather an Epic Snowstorm

We are not complaining at all about the so called lack of the epic storm that was supposed to arrive on Monday evening until Tuesday. Yes, we did lose our Internet connection that meant that our phone and television were quiet all day, but we did have power. Not only that, on Sunday, our hunter and his friend, Beau from Cape Code brought for us 2 lobsters and 3 dozen oysters. Beau is somewhat of a celebrity, having shown Anthony Bourdain how to fish on a blustery day:

Since we had power on Monday night, we thought we would make Ina Garten's Lobster Mac and Cheese and paired it with Duval Leroy champagne.

This mac and cheese is not too cheesey so it can almost pass for a healthy mac and cheese. We thought that we could put more lobster in the dish and it could also stand to have scallops and shrimp and some herbs, but then it wouldn't be lobster mac and cheese.
On Tuesday morning, we looked out and saw that the snowfall seemed to be less than what was anticipated, but the snowfall didn't subside but kept on throughout the day. We fueled ourselves with the leftover lobster mac and cheese and took a peak outside to see the extent of the snowfall. Luckily for us, our neighbor had gone down our sidewalk with his snow blower and what remained for us to do was to dig our cars out of our driveway.

2011 Waltz Vineyards Estate Chardonnay

We had this 2011 Waltz Vineyards Estate Chardonnay with home made potstickers, green papaya salad and roasted cauliflower red curry soup in honor of our friend who is retiring soon. She was amazed that a wine of this quality was being made in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I think it is time that we acknowledge that some really good wines are coming out from our friends in the Mid-Atlantic states!
On the label in the back of this bottle, Jan and Kimberly Waltz tells us a little bit more about this particular bottle of wine:
"In 2011, we experienced a hot, dry summer which accelerated the ripening of our Chardonnay and allowed us to complete our hand harvesting process before the rains came. Clones 95, 96 and 76 were aged on the lees for 9 months in French oak resulting in this smooth, elegant wine. 100 cases produced."
I appreciate this type of information that tells me a little more about the contents of the bottle of wine that I am drinking. The oak in this Chardonnay is very well integrated and is indeed smooth and elegant.
Just a little note of what is happening in our region: At this moment, we are hunkering down and awaiting a snowfall that is supposed to be in the all time top 3 for our region. Some weather forecasters are calling it "epic". Here is what the latest model shows for our area.

2007 I Carpini Barbera Superiore

We didn't exactly come home empty handed when we went on our snowy winter's roadtrip to Milk and Honey Bazaar and Newport Vineyards. We also made a stop at Bellevue Wine & Spirits in Newport, Rhode Island. The owners of Bellevue Wine & Spirits also own the Milk and Honey Bazaar and we thought that we might be able to pick up some of their cheeses at the wine store. It was not to be. But, my husband was still on our singular quest for finding Cabernet Franc wines and he thought that we might be able to find some at Bellevue from the Loire. We weren't able to find any Cabernet Franc, but we were able to find this 2007 I Carpini Barbera Superiore. We took the bottle home and had it with our dinner of shiitake mushrooms sauteed in finely chopped garlic, olive oil and butter, over which a cup of heavy cream was poured then some grated parmesan. Hot cheese tortellini was thrown into the pan and served with a sprinkling of fresh flat leaf parsley. Yum. When we opened the bottle, the cork was soaked 3/4th of the way up, usually not a good sign, but this 8 year old Barbera was still alive and very dry with good color. It went well with the pasta dish.
I wanted to find out more about this wine so I located a website that provided more information. The 2007 I Carpini Barbera Superiore is grown in the Piedmont in the Denominazione de Origine Controllata (DOC) Colli Tortonesi.

The 2007 I Carpini Barbera is a premium wine designated "Bruma d'Autunno", grown from old vines planted in 1926. The wine spends 5 years aging in steel and oak. The managing director is Paolo Carlo Ghislandi. The winery is a founding member of FIVI (Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti), as well as a member of Consorzio Tutela vini doc Tortona, Coldiretti and Slow Food.

What are Tannins?

There are three articles in the two trade journals, Practical Winery & Vineyard and Wines & Vines that we received this month, that focus on tannins. Anna Katherine Mansfield wrote a really good article in the January 2015 issue of Wines & Vines, called A Few Truths About Phenolics which makes the subject of tannins readable and relatively approachable.
Tannins
Tannins are responsible for the astringency we experience because they bind to the proteins located on our tongue. They are also responsible for the mouthfeel associated with high-quality red wines therefore, the understanding of what a tannin is, is important if making quality red wines is the goal.
Tannins are part of a class of molecules that contain a phenolic group, so they may also be referred to as a polyphenolic or also as a flavonoid, specifically a member of the flavan-3-ol class of molecules, due to their chemical composition. The flavan-3-ol molecules found in grapes include (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin,
(-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechin gallate.

From a winemaker’s point of view, there are two types of tannin relevant to winemaking:

• Condensed
• Hydrolysable

The condensed tannins are ogliomers or polymers (short or long chains) of flavan-3-ols. Tannins originate in the skins and seeds of grapes. Although seeds have a higher tannin concentration, they are less extractable, so skin tannin predominates in most wines. This is an important distinction because seed derived tannins are shorter polymers of flavan-3-ols (4-20 subunits) and tastes bitter and skin derived tannins are longer polymers of flavan-3-ols (25-100+ subunits) and contributes to the sensation of astringency.
Hydrolysable tannins are wood-derived and historically found only in barrel-aged wines. Hydrolyzed tannins will be less likely to stabilize color but may promote fuller mid-palate and a softer mouthfeel due to lower, slower protein interaction.

Condensed Tannins	Hydrolyzable Tannins
Derived from mainly from grape skin and some from grape seeds	Derived from wood and histroically found only in barrel-aged wines
Subunits include (+)-catechin, (-)-epi-catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechin gallate	Major subunits include gallic and elagic acids
Binds with protein at a ratio of 20:1	Binds with protein at a ratio of 40:1
Aids in color stabilization by binding with anthocyanins	Less likely to stabilize color
Higher proportion of skin-derived tannins has been found to enhance perception of red wine quality	May promote fuller mid-palate and a softer mouthfeel due to lower, slower protein interaction

The current state of tannin research is complicated. Although some chemical information about tannins is known, the impact of tannins on taste is affected by the wine matrix and it's resultant impact on sensory perception. Acidity in wine increases both the bitterness and astringency, an increase in alcohol concentration reduces the perceived astringency and increases bitterness and residual sugar decreases the sensation of astringency.

References:
1. Anna Katherine Mansfield, A Few Truths About Phenolics, Wines & Vines, January 2015.
2. Douglas Adams, VI257, Lesson 8, pg. 50.
3. Jackson, Ronald S., Wine Science: Principles and Applications, Third Edition, Elsevier, Academic Press, 2008.
4. Matthew R. Revelette, Ralph S. Yacco and James A. Kennedy, STICKINESS New concept in grape and wine tannin analysis, Practical Winery & Vineyard, January 2015, pg. 32-37.
All structures were drawn by the freely available drawing program from ACD Labs called ACD/ChemSketch Freeware.

Visiting Newport Vineyards, Rhode Island

Today, we took a roadtrip to visit a cheese shop in Tiverton, Rhode Island called Milk & Honey Bazaar. When we got there, we learned that they were closed for the entire month of January! It's a good thing that we also had a visit to Newport Vineyards on our adgenda! When we arrived there, it was snowing! We anted up for a tasting and it was $12.00 for any 5 tastes from a substantial list that included whites, reds, roses and dessert wines. We filled our wine card with the wines we wanted to taste. We were specifically interested in their Cabernet Franc since we are trying to learn about the expression of this grape in our area. We enjoyed the 2012 Cabernet Franc which was smokey and had a chewing tobacco flavor. John and Paul Nunes are the proprietors and they grow 62 acres of grapes that goes into making their wines.

Cabernet Franc Clones

When my husband did the research to find the best clones of Cabernet Franc to plant in our vineyard the first thing he did was to consult the Foundation Plant Services (FPS) to see the list of available clones. In order to be registered at the Foundation Plant Services, all clones undergo microshoot tip tissue culture therapy in order to ensure that the vines do not contain the viruses that can be tested for. He also consulted the National Grape Registry for more specific information on the various clones.
The table lists information that I retrieved from both sources as well as information specific to the U.S. East Coast that might be appropriate for us here in southeastern Connecticut.

Clone Type	Attributes
FPS 01	High yielding compared to clones developed in Europe (Montpellier Olmo Selection); wine can be charming in very warm vintages, otherwise lacking in depth
FPS 03	Comes from Conegliano, Italy, also known as ISV1
FPS 04	Generic French clone 332
FPS 04.10.1	Same as Cabernet Franc 04 vines but tested for the 2010 Protocol diseases and qualified for the new Russell Ranch Foundation Vineyard, where the selection was planted in 2011 as Cabernet franc 04.1.
FPS 05	Generic French clone 331
FPS 09	A Rauscedo selection also known as VCR10
FPS 11	Generic French clone 214
FPS 11	Generic French clone 214; same as FPS 11 but material underwent microshoot tip tissue culture therapy at FPS in 1996 and again in 2012 to qualify for the Russell Ranch Foundation Vineyard.
FPS 12	Generic French clone 327
FPS 13	Generic French clone 312
FPS 13.10.1	Same as Cabernet franc 13 vines but also underwent successful testing under the 2010 Protocol and qualified for the new Russell Ranch Foundation Vineyard, where it was planted in 2011
FPS 14	Niebaum clone via Hyde vineyards (Larry Hyde), Carneros region, Napa County, California
FPS 15	Vincent #1 clone; a donation from an anonymous, well-respected producer of French wine near Bordeaux, France
ENTAV-INRA 214	Highest rating; characterized by raspberry and violet flavors in France; a high performance warm vintage clone with dark fruit flavors, tannin structure and less green, herbal flavors
ENTAV-INRA 327	Released in 1975; highest rating; like 326 produces structured and powerful wines; weaker of the two ENTAV clones, higher acid, brighter fruit, tends to be more herbaceous towards dill, muddy flavors
ENTAV-INRA 394	Authorized clone from ENTAV in France
ENTAV-INRA 395	Authorized clone from ENTAV in France
ENTAV-INRA 623	Medium to high rating; produces very elegant wines

The clones recommended for planting in our area included ENTAV-INRA 214, ENTAV-INRA 327 and ENTAV-INRA 623. We chose clones ENTAV-INRA 214 and 327 from our nursery, Mercier Grapevine Nursery. We are going to be busy in 2016!
References:
1. Anthony Hanson, MW, A Fresh Look at Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux, The World of Fine Wine, Issue 28, 2010, from which the following articles were consulted:
Rhonda Smith, Cabernet Franc extracted from The Wine Grape Varieties in California.
Cabernet Franc extracted from A Concise Guide to Wine Grape Clones for Professionals, 2nd Edition by John Caldwell
2. Lucie Morton, Why are you here today?
3. Growing Cabernet Franc in the Mid-Atlantic is an excellent guide to growing Cabernet Franc written by Mark Chien and presented at the 2012 2012 Eastern Winery Exposition.

2010 Charles Joguet Chinon

A few nights ago, my husband made Laura Calder's duck l'orange and our friends brought over this 2010 Charles Joguet Chinon. It was most appropriate because I had just started to read about Cabernet Franc but my husband, who is much more of a fine wine connoiseur, was already familiar with the Charles Joguet Chinon.
I used to be a huge fan of duck l'orange and would order it to see how various restaurants prepared it. One memorable duck l'orange that I had was at a restaurant called The Corner Cupboard, a restaurant located north of Ithaca, N.Y. This memory is more than 30 years old and you know how memories can play tricks. In any case, the Laura Calder duck l'orange is delicious and fresh tasting because you use fresh oranges, zest and sections to prepare the sauce. It paired very well with the Charles Joguet Chinon, which had a dark maroon color and was a full bodied version of Cabernet Franc with spicy notes.
Later, in one of the articles that I was reading, The Sad Plight of Cabernet Franc, Mike Steinberger opines that Charles Joguet Chinon is among the earthiest and most sensual wines on the market!

Attributes of Cabernet Franc

One of the papers that my husband consulted when he did the research for Cabernet Franc for our replanting, was a paper available online called A Fresh Look at Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux, written by Anthony Hanson, MW. This link is actually a concatenation of several papers all on Cabernet Franc including:

• The Sad Plight of Cabernet Franc by Mike Steinberger
• Cabernet Franc extracted from The Wine Grape Varieties in California by Rhonda Smith
• Cabernet Franc extracted from Wines, Grapes and Vines by Jancis Robinson
• Cabernet Franc extracted from A Concise Guide to Wine Grape Clones for Professionals, 2nd Edition by John Caldwell
• Cabernet Franc extracted from A Practical Ampelography Grapevine Identification by PierreGalet translated by Lucie Morton
• Optimizing Varietal Fruit Character in Cabernet Franc condensed from a seminar given by Adam McTaggert at the Eastern Winery Exposition

I found that the above papers were very interesting reading and learned that Cabernet Franc is the most ancient known grape in Bordeaux, father of two other prominent grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon (Cabernet Franc x Sauvignon Blanc) and Merlot (Magdelaine Noire des Charentes). The traditional heartland of Cabernet Franc is the Right Bank in Bordeaux.

Attributes of Cabernet Franc:

• Needs to be planted on soil that does not filter water too quickly
• Suited to cooler climates
• Buds and ripens considerably earlier that Cabernet Sauvignon
• More vigorous and more productive that Cabernet Sauvignon
• Amenable to cane pruning and vertical shoot positionting (VSP)
• Can dehydrate if it is too water-stressed, blocking the fruit ripening process
• Good resistance to diseases, but susceptible to downy and powdery mildew
• Difficult to bring to full maturity
• Can reach optimum sugars and natural acidity levels ahead of phenolic ripening, yielding vegetal aromas
• Brings green pepper notes if unripe, minty notes if just ripe and black currents if fully ripe
• Can bring complex perfume, finesse and subtlety to blends
• Brings and important structural element, complex perfumes and freshness in Merlot blends
• Has a paler color than Cabernet Sauvignon and less concentrated polyphenols

Cabernet Franc has been shown to be a viable red variety in the Mid-Atlantic states and also in our coastal area in Connecticut, where Preston Ridge Vineyard, Stonington Vineyards, Jonathan Edwards Winery and Saltwater Farm Vineyard all offer Cabernet Franc.

References:
1. Anthony Hanson, MW, A Fresh Look at Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux, The World of Fine Wine, Issue 28, 2010.
2. Growing Cabernet Franc in the Mid-Atlantic is an excellent guide to growing Cabernet Franc written by Mark Chien and presented at the 2012 2012 Eastern Winery Exposition.

Ordering Replacement Vines

The work in the vineyard was on pause as the holidays approached. We're still not back outdoors but we are now researching and deciding what type of vines to order to replace the ones that did not make it in their first year after planting. Since so many plants died, we did a bit of rethinking about what varieties to order as replacements. My husband did all of the research and we discussed the merits of the choices and here is what we came up with:

• Auxerrois FPS1
• Auxerrois FPS2
• Chenin Blanc ENTAV 982
• Chardonnay ENTAV 76
• Chardonnay ENTAV 96
• Cabernet Sauvignon ENTAV 412
• Cabernet Franc ENTAV 214
• Cabernet Franc ENTAV 327
• Barbera VCR 15
• Barbera VCR 19

The rootstock for all of these plants will once again be 101-14 Mgt (Millardet et det Grasset) which we used for our original planting done in the spring of 2013. We researched what rootstock would work best in our area and one document that came in handy was the University of California Rootstock Selection, a guide written by L. Peter Christensen. Our rootstock choice, 101-14 Mgt, is a cross between Vitis riparia x Vitis rupestrus and has the following attributes:

Phylloxera resistance	Nematode resistance: Root knot Dagger (Xiphinema index)	Drought	Wet Soil	Salinity
High	Medium high Medium	Low-medium	Medium	Medium
Lime	Influence on scion	Mineral nutrition	Soil adaptation	Ease of propagation
Low-Medium	Medium	N, K: med.–high P, Mg, Ca: low Zn: med.	Moist, clay soils	High

We will once again be working with Mercier Nursery in California. The time to order is now because they will begin the process of preparing the grafts. Since these will be custom tall grafted vines, they will take 18 months to grow and we will receive the dormant grafts ready for planting in the spring of 2016.

A Trio of Champagnes

Our friends and we convened on New Year's Eve and contrived a potluck that celebrated the coming of a new year. Our friends supplied the Krug and the Egly-Ouriet and we antied up the Volleraux.

We have enjoyed the Egly-Ouriet Les Vignes de Vrigny as well as a Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru but this is the first time that we have been treated to the 2002 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé! The label on the back of this bottle stated that the champagne spent 106 months on lees and was disgorged in 2012. Our friends tell the story of taking a bottle of this champagne to another party where it was part of a line-up of champagnes. That group really enjoyed the Egly-Ouriet but they were put off by the surfeit of tiny bubbles. (Smiley face!) The Egly-Ouriet and the Krug were the champagne stars of the evening. On the back of the Krug bottle was an I.D. 412073, so I went to the Krug site and typed the number in and got the following information: This bottle is an extraordinary blend of 142 wines from 11 different vintages, the oldest from 1990 and the youngest from 2006. Every glass of this bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée is the fruit of more than 22 years of craft and patience.
We had a bevy of appetizers including oysters to go along with the trio of Champagnes but what stole the show was the trio of ceviche that our friend made.

Who knew that ceviche pairs excellently with champagne! We lingered over the appetizers, savoring and remarking on the pairings, enjoying the slow-food dinner since this was only the first course.

Happy New Year---Wine Tastings in 2014

Wishing you all a Happy 2015! In keeping with a blog tradition I began in 2011, here is a summary of the wines we tasted and blogged about in 2014.
Egly-Ouriet Champagne
2010 Vietti Barbera d'Alba
2005 Bonaccorsi Syrah Star Lane
2008 Brewer Clifton Pinot Noir
2011 Failla Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
2011 Norman Hardie Chardonnay
1988 Faiveley Grand Cru Clos des Cortons
2010 Wolffer Perle Chardonnay
2012 Adelsheim Auxerrois
2006 Westport Rivers Brut Cuvée
2013 Chateau de la Chesnaie Muscadet
1999 Cristom Marjorie Vineyard Pinot Noir
2012 Henri Bourgeois En Travertin Pouilly Fume
1995 Domaine Maume Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques
2010 Paumanok Tuthills Lane Cabernet Sauvignon
2011 Grgich Hills Fume Blanc
2009 Vajra Barolo
2014 Jacky Truchot Morey St. Denis Clos Sorbes
2011 Joseph Drouhin Macon Villages
2010 Les Granges Paquenesses Savagnin
2010 Richard Leroy Noels de Montbenault Chenin Blanc
2011 Uranos and 2012 Kyklos