New Zealand Dining
In the military they say Hooah as an affirmative. In Marlborough they say Huia (same pronunciation) as a great winery.
In honor of my recent graduation from college ("Lots of people go to college for seven years." "Yeah, they're called Doctors."), and our pending move to The Land of the Long White Cloud good friend J went through his cooking New Zealand style cook book in search of recipes to be made on this side of the ocean. Additionally J pulled out a New Zealand S.B., and two highly anticipated Rhone blends grown in the Paso Robles soil.
The planned appetizer was taking longer than I was willing to wait so I dipped into the cheeses available as dinner ingredients. The goat cheese brie, though mild alone, became incredible earthy and delectable when paired with the Huia.
The 2004 Sauvignon Blanc is made from Marlborough, New Zealand grapes. My nose filled with passion fruit and papaya. As we drank it: much of the same with a healthy blend of acid for a nice balance. It took a bit to open up but when it did we were greeted with plenty of green bell pepper and apricot.
Finally, after five minutes that felt like twenty, the appetizer was ready and we poured out our second wine of the evening. Almost two months ago J acquired this wine and I have been dropping not so subtle hints to open it just about every time we see one another. Just as grateful as I to have a reason to enjoy the bottle’s contents we dipped in nose first.
After reflecting on my past posts it has come to my attention that I am obsessed with Rhone blends and one vineyard in particular. So here again are my praises for this rarely disappointing vineyard and the man who owns it. This wine was one of the last years Justin Smith (of Saxum) and Matt Trevison (of Linne Calodo) made wine together. Under the label of Linne Calodo and with grapes from Smith’s JBV the 1998 Syrah (90), Grenache (5) and Mourvedre (5) blend was better than anticipated. To add some context to that statement let me explain my anticipation. My favorite vineyard with two of my favorite wine makers making wine from my favorite grapes BUT (and this is a big “but”) early in their careers. In most cases as our experience gains so does our talent increase, and as such I was prepared for a good wine lacking the complexity of an experienced wine maker. What I enjoyed was a great wine that had aged too long for optimum enjoyment. Little matter this made to me though, as it’s always fun to try virtually unavailable products, and this was one such item. But I do wish I could have tried it in 2000.
Wine making has changed. When once wines were made in such a way that they had to be aged to reach their full potential; many are now made to be aged for only a few years after bottling. My basic and elementary understanding of this is as such. Once upon a time wine was made, with any regularity and regulating, mainly in Europe. With moderate rain and rules against watering the end product was a lighter, earthier wine with lower alcohol content. By aging these wines the fruity, earthy, smoky and all other imaginable scents and flavors came out to be enjoyed. Now in California, and many other parts of the world, these rules and restrictions do not hold. We can water, prune, trellis, pick and ferment as we please and Oh! the changes this has made in wine. Recent advancements in yeasts have lead to even higher alcohol contents without the slightest hint of residual sugar. As such we are basking in the glory of huge, fruit forward wines that may benefit from short term aging but don’t require it and in some cases you lose the big fruit and flavor that makes this new style so intriguing.
With all that in mind this wine did not disappoint.
Plum, plum and more plum
But not to be out done
Cola and black licorice spice
Just a touch of meat to make it nice
As sappy and corny as it sounds it was indeed inspiring. And that really is what it smelled like, and in that order. One part I left out was brambly, for though I am not entirely sure as to what that is, smells like or tastes like I’m pretty sure it was present before the cola and after the plum.
The taste of the wine was different from the nose. Meatier with less fruit it was also slightly grassy. I’ve read that this is due to unripe tannins.
Tannins develop in two areas of the grape. In the skins and the seeds and often times they ripen later then the rest of the grape. An inexperienced or unknowing wine maker will often times pick when the grape is ripe but the tannins are not. This will result in a slightly vegetal flavor in the wine. Though the grassy flavors were there they were subtle.
The wine had good acid with out any bite to the finish. It was smooth with a pleasing and full mouth feel.
We paired this wine with a mushroom and goat cheese crostada. I was pleasantly surprised when we dipped into the crostada with the wine on the tongue that the earthy elements of the appetizer played up the fruit of the wine while also brining out hints of spice. All in all it was a wonderful experience but outdone by the following wine and its accompaniment. What follows is the description of wine that has been made with great grapes and great skill, thanks, in part, to experience.
To be continued…..
In honor of my recent graduation from college ("Lots of people go to college for seven years." "Yeah, they're called Doctors."), and our pending move to The Land of the Long White Cloud good friend J went through his cooking New Zealand style cook book in search of recipes to be made on this side of the ocean. Additionally J pulled out a New Zealand S.B., and two highly anticipated Rhone blends grown in the Paso Robles soil.
The planned appetizer was taking longer than I was willing to wait so I dipped into the cheeses available as dinner ingredients. The goat cheese brie, though mild alone, became incredible earthy and delectable when paired with the Huia.
The 2004 Sauvignon Blanc is made from Marlborough, New Zealand grapes. My nose filled with passion fruit and papaya. As we drank it: much of the same with a healthy blend of acid for a nice balance. It took a bit to open up but when it did we were greeted with plenty of green bell pepper and apricot.
Finally, after five minutes that felt like twenty, the appetizer was ready and we poured out our second wine of the evening. Almost two months ago J acquired this wine and I have been dropping not so subtle hints to open it just about every time we see one another. Just as grateful as I to have a reason to enjoy the bottle’s contents we dipped in nose first.
After reflecting on my past posts it has come to my attention that I am obsessed with Rhone blends and one vineyard in particular. So here again are my praises for this rarely disappointing vineyard and the man who owns it. This wine was one of the last years Justin Smith (of Saxum) and Matt Trevison (of Linne Calodo) made wine together. Under the label of Linne Calodo and with grapes from Smith’s JBV the 1998 Syrah (90), Grenache (5) and Mourvedre (5) blend was better than anticipated. To add some context to that statement let me explain my anticipation. My favorite vineyard with two of my favorite wine makers making wine from my favorite grapes BUT (and this is a big “but”) early in their careers. In most cases as our experience gains so does our talent increase, and as such I was prepared for a good wine lacking the complexity of an experienced wine maker. What I enjoyed was a great wine that had aged too long for optimum enjoyment. Little matter this made to me though, as it’s always fun to try virtually unavailable products, and this was one such item. But I do wish I could have tried it in 2000.
Wine making has changed. When once wines were made in such a way that they had to be aged to reach their full potential; many are now made to be aged for only a few years after bottling. My basic and elementary understanding of this is as such. Once upon a time wine was made, with any regularity and regulating, mainly in Europe. With moderate rain and rules against watering the end product was a lighter, earthier wine with lower alcohol content. By aging these wines the fruity, earthy, smoky and all other imaginable scents and flavors came out to be enjoyed. Now in California, and many other parts of the world, these rules and restrictions do not hold. We can water, prune, trellis, pick and ferment as we please and Oh! the changes this has made in wine. Recent advancements in yeasts have lead to even higher alcohol contents without the slightest hint of residual sugar. As such we are basking in the glory of huge, fruit forward wines that may benefit from short term aging but don’t require it and in some cases you lose the big fruit and flavor that makes this new style so intriguing.
With all that in mind this wine did not disappoint.
Plum, plum and more plum
But not to be out done
Cola and black licorice spice
Just a touch of meat to make it nice
As sappy and corny as it sounds it was indeed inspiring. And that really is what it smelled like, and in that order. One part I left out was brambly, for though I am not entirely sure as to what that is, smells like or tastes like I’m pretty sure it was present before the cola and after the plum.
The taste of the wine was different from the nose. Meatier with less fruit it was also slightly grassy. I’ve read that this is due to unripe tannins.
Tannins develop in two areas of the grape. In the skins and the seeds and often times they ripen later then the rest of the grape. An inexperienced or unknowing wine maker will often times pick when the grape is ripe but the tannins are not. This will result in a slightly vegetal flavor in the wine. Though the grassy flavors were there they were subtle.
The wine had good acid with out any bite to the finish. It was smooth with a pleasing and full mouth feel.
We paired this wine with a mushroom and goat cheese crostada. I was pleasantly surprised when we dipped into the crostada with the wine on the tongue that the earthy elements of the appetizer played up the fruit of the wine while also brining out hints of spice. All in all it was a wonderful experience but outdone by the following wine and its accompaniment. What follows is the description of wine that has been made with great grapes and great skill, thanks, in part, to experience.
To be continued…..
posted by Charity Anais @ 3:08 PM
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