Tag Archives: wine grapes

Winebits 798: It’s all about the grapes

Red grapes hanging on a vineThis week’s wine news: Odd and unique grape varieties are popping up around the world

• Hybrids: Kate Dingwall, writing in InsideHook, offers a fine analysis of hybrid grapes and their role in the future of wine: “Hybrid grapes aren’t particularly cool. They boast names like Montreal Blues, Kay Gray, Cayuga, La Crescent and Chambourcin. … But weird names be damned; in a climate-ravaged world, these lesser-known, non-name-brand grapes offer a whole lot of potential.” This is a point we tried to make during the Drink Local Wine days, and it’s good to see that the next generation of wine writers are picking up on it. It’s also interesting to see that Dingwall found lots of mainstream wine people to quote in the story. Maybe there’s hope we can finally convince the wine world there is more than cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.

• Saving Swiss grapes: Slow Foods, the artisan food group, has launched a project to help save two native Swiss grapes, bondola and its close relation bondoletta, which are near extinction. Bondola, a red grape, was predominant in the Swiss Ticino region for the first 50 years of the 20th century before it was replaced by merlot. Today, bondola and the related bondoletta are the only native varieties still being produced in Ticino, with just 1.5 percent the surface under vine.

• New in Peru: Decanter reports that six new Peruvian wine grape varieties have been identified by researchers in southern Peru, and two — the white Jaén and the red Cantarilla — may have potential as wine grapes. The grapes were found in the isolated and desert-like Caravelí region, about 5,500 feet above sea level. Peru, though not known for wine, shares a winemaking heritage with its Spanish-colonized South American neighbors.

Winebits 374: Wine snobs, wine grapes, lawsuits

wine snobs ? Because we’re better than you are: The Wine Spectator reports that the next big grape will be cabernet franc, mostly because of its “gossamer structure.” The Wine Curmudgeon has absolutely no idea what this means, because, as the article points out, I’m one of the many who aren’t hip enough to appreciate the grape. Plus, there are cabernet franc wines at trendy places in Manhattan. Plus, quotes from sommeliers. Need we say more? This is the kind of wine writing that makes me grit my teeth, knowing I still have so much work to do.

? Something besides the usual: The always erudite Andrew Meggitt writes that wine drinkers should not limit themselves to the usual, but should be willing to experiment with wine made with different grapes and from regions that aren’t California. And, somehow, he doesn’t use the word gossamer once. Meggitt, the winemaker at Missouri’s St. James, has been working wonders with norton for more than a decade, and also recommends vignoles, chambourcin, and riesling. Maybe I can introduce him to the writer at the Spectator.

? Bring on the attorneys: How else to explain this sentence? “Beam Suntory ?s lawyers have argued that a reasonable consumer would understand that having ‘handmade’ on a label does not infer that no machines were used throughout the entire production process.” No wonder my mother wanted me to go to law school — you can make words mean what they don’t, and get paid lots of money for it. This is from yet another deceptive label spirits lawsuit, arguing that it’s not possible for a multi-million case brand to be handmade or handcrafted or artisan. So far, the suits target spirits, but the Wine Curmudgeon’s advice makes sense: Don’t wait for a judge to tell you to change your labels.

Winebits 223: Baseball players, college wine, expensive wine

? What's in a name? This week marks the start of baseball season, and what better way to note it than with this incredibly clever post from the U.S.S. Mariner baseball blog, which ranks baseball players who have the same last name as wine grapes. The Wine Curmudgeon had noticed that an Oakland pitcher, Andrew Carignan, had the same name as the Rhone grape. While I was trying to figure out a way to be funny about this, Marc W did so with his post. His only flaw? He limited his search to vinifera, the European wine grape, and didn't include hybrids or native grapes. That meant he missed five players named Norton and an outfielder named Jose Vidal. What strikes me, after spending way too much time on this, is that there aren't a lot of baseball players with the same names as wine grapes. Which seems odd.

? Sip and spit: The Illinois legislature is apparently going to do the right thing and let underage cooking students taste wine. A state Senate committee approved the bill by a 12-1 margin, reports the Chicago Sun-Times, and it now moves to the full Senate. The bill's sponsor said it would help students under 21 learn how to cook with wine and spirits, as well as helping them with wine and food pairings. The Wine Curmudgeon, who once taught culinary students just this subject, applauds the Illinois senate for its progressive stand. It's a whole lot better than what so many of its members usually do, which is to get indicted. (One learns a lot about politics by growing up in Chicago.)

? What makes expensive wine so expensive? Victoria Moore, who writes for The Telegraph in London, tackles this question from a reader, and makes some good points. The biggest difference, she writes, is grape quality. It's "a limiting factor when it comes to the quality of the wine, and you immediately stumble into 1,000 decisions, all of which cost money." I don't think she spends enough time discussing the cost of land, which is a huge factor in California, but otherwise it's a fine primer on the subject.