Tasting Rioja: Wines from a Region

To begin with, Rioja is a region in Spain, not a grape.  To say that you like Rioja wine is like saying that you like Champagne or Burgundy wines.  Rioja generally runs south of the mountains along a river with moderate climate that is less windy.  It has three regions: alta, baja, and alavesa.  Each region has slightly different climates in which different grapes thrive.  I tried six wines from Rioja.

Muga Rose, Rioja 2010 – This wine was made from the same grapes as a red wine by the same maker, using Tempranillo grapes.  It had a fruit smell and was not overly fruity or dry, it tasted balanced.  It struck me as a good summer “porch” wine, and for those who pair their food and wine, it is recommended for chicken and tapas.

Cerro Anon Reserva Rioja, Bodegas Olarra 2004 – In case you didn’t know, “reserva” means that the wine was aged for three or more years, and kept in oak barrels for at least one year to add flavor.  Tempranillo was the predominant grape in this wine, which had a subtle, blended scent and a dark and dusty flavor.  It is highly acidic, so it would go well with rich or fatty foods.  It was my third favorite wine.

Rio Madre Graciano 2010 – This wine had a fantastic smell that was somewhat floral with vanilla.  It was made with Tempranillo grapes, was aged for 12 months in a tank, and it was oaked for four months in French oak with the yeast it was made from ("lees").  The wine was also unfiltered.  As a wine, it’s a great conversation piece because the vintner obviously was trying very hard to work with the grapes' strong flavor by refining it: aging, oaking, exposing it to the yeast from the fermeting process, and not filtering it all speak to the desire for layering the flavor.  It was not a favorite for me to taste, but it had a great scent!

La Rioja Alta, Vina Alberdi, Seleccion Especial 2005 – This wine was made 100% from Tempranillo grapes.  The wine was made in the traditional style, meaning that the wine maker used older methods in making the wine, to retain the flavor that Spaniards are accustomed to in their wine.  I liked this wine a lot, it was spicy and I just thought “yum” after one taste.  One reason this wine may have been so good is that it aged in the bottle for seven years before it was tasted.  Some wines taste better after aging, even if they just age in the bottle.

Conde de Vademar, Crianza 2006 - In case you didn’t know, “crianza” means the wine was aged for at least two years.  This wine had a fruity smell and a very light flavor, and can best be used as a general table wine for chicken or turkey.  I wasn’t crazy about this wine, and although the below wine had a lot more flavor, the store said that this wine’s style is typical of the vintner’s wines.

Conde de Vademar, Reserva 2005 – This was my favorite wine, and was also the most expensive!  It had a leather and berry smell, and a very balanced and blended flavor.  It is a complex wine that is very acidic – so it too would go well with richer foods. 

A Day of Wine! Learning & Tasting

Today I took a Tasting 101 class, went to a Wine Expo, and then a wine store's tasting.  It was a day of endless exploration and enjoyment, and below I am going to share some highlights.

Wine Tasting 101 Highlights
In addition to learning vocabulary, and the source of the tart and sweet flavors of wine, we were able to ask questions as the class went along.  Below are some pointers any wine drinker could use.

• Which sparkling wine is dry, which is sweet?

Forget your wine vocabulary in this case, it will lead you astray.  Brut sparkling wine is dry, and "very dry" sparkling wine is sweet.  I know its confusing, but a professional from Wine Enthusiast herself shared this information.

• Whats the difference between prosecco and champagne?

 Prosecco is from another region, and is sweeter.  Only sparkling wine grown and made in the Champagne region of France can be called champagne.  Other sparkling wines must go by a different name.  There's no real quality difference, its a matter of taste.

•  What is the deal with oaked wine?

Sometimes vintners taste their wine as-is, and they think it needs a little more flavor.  When this happens, they might store the wine in an oak barrel for a short period of time.  Sometimes French oak is used, sometimes American oak is used -- the decision is based on which oak would accent the wine best.

• Is wine in bottles with cork better than screw cap wines?

"Better than" is completely subjective, and as people in the wine industry will tell you, there really isn't a hard and fast standard to judge by.  That being said, "Old World" (Western European) vintners are traditional and old-fashioned, and prefer corks.  There are problems with corks though -- they can affect the wine's flavor, they can "cork" the wine, making it go bad, and they can break when you're trying to remove them. Finally, cork trees are extinct so its not sustainable practice to use them.  In the alternative, many "New World" vintners are using screw caps or plastic corks.  The wine industry continues to search for a good bottle sealant that is easy to use.

•  Some foods are better than others at cleansing the palette

To really cleanse your palette between wines, use bread or crackers and water.  Cheese is tempting for many wine lovers, but it can leave too much flavor in your mouth and coat your taste buds so that you don't really know what you are tasting. 

Stay tuned for more information from class!

Tips on Wine Expos
My wine tasting class was attached to a wine expo that I went to.  I hadn't been to a wine expo in a while, so I forgot what they are like.  In case you haven't been to one, or can't remember going to one, I am sharing tips for those.

• Have a plan for your tasting

There are many wineries and wines at these things, and they get swamped as time goes by.  It is best to know one of the following:

1. what type you like to taste (ie: Merlot or Zinfandel), or
2. a region you like to taste from (ie: France, Finger Lakes, California), or
3. find a winery that has a lot of wine so you get bang for your buck (not literally)

 The wine expos are swamped and there is going to be a lot of wine that you won't like.  It's true.  If you like sweet wine, and you're not planning your approach, you will taste a lot of dry wines.  Also, you will be waiting behind people who consider it their God-given right to hog the attention of the person serving the wine, so if you're going to fight for your taste, it had better be what you like.  If you don't know what you like, or you are exploring, find a winery that is tasting multiple reds and whites.  That way, your fight through the line will reward you will more tastes.

• Be prepared to ask for what you like

At some wine expos, you can buy a bottle of what you like then and there.  In some cases, though, you need to tell the winery that you want to buy their product, and you need to ask how you can do that.  The scary truth is, very often your local store won't carry the wine yet.  Don't walk out of the event with a list of wines you love without asking how to get them.  You may never see the wines again!

Lessons from a Store's Wine Tasting
I ended my day of wine passion by going to a local wine store's tasting of four wines.  I knew they were giving Syrah tastings, and I like Syrah, so I went.  For the first time, I enjoyed all four wines I tasted in a wine store, including a white wine!  Tonight they tasted three reds and one white, two from France and two from Italy.  Therefore, I knew they weren't from one winery.  My next guess was that they are from the same distributor.  I was told that they are -- Pollaner -- as in, Pollaner jelly!  My take-away from this was that I probably will like other wines that Pollaner distributes, and if so, I may one day be knocking on their door for a job!

Final Tips
This may be obvious to some, but eat and drink water if you have a wine tasting day that's this long.  Otherwise you'll be so drunk you won't remember anything!  You're there to enjoy wine, not abuse it. ;-)

By the time this day of wine ended, I was ready for dinner and a glass of my familiar Argentinian Malbec at home.  Its good stuff!