Rebel Rose

Ideally, as stated below, a wine's aromas should 'lead' into similar flavors in the wine. The aroma should give you a pretty solid idea of what to expect in terms of flavor, although the flavor experience should be even richer, offering layers of tasting experience. If you smell apples, butter, vanilla and sage in a white wine, you should expect those flavors to also be evident in the wine, along with a few more pleasant surprises. There are some very evident aromas that do not come through as flavors--the creamy lactic smell of butter, and oak, to name two common aromas. There will be other times when you will smell an herbaceousness in a white wine--this is quite common in the thinner skinned varieties like sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc--but you may not taste it at all. I often detect "pleasant" aromas ranging from wildflowers to freshly mown hay in a sauvignon blanc, but its aroma is also commonly described as "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush." This is a good thing, in a weird kind of way. It's that varietal's signature smell. It's an even better thing that you can't taste it in the wine! It is always possible for a wine to have a set of aromas that don't match the flavor descriptors at all! These wines are generally considered odd. Something went wrong either in the vineyard or the winery. The wine may still be enjoyable, but it's not ideal. Finally, as stated below, subtle aromas of herb, sweet pepper, eucalyptus, or even asparagus are fine as long as they are a) subtle, and b) characteristic of the varietal. When the wine smells more like "dinner in a glass" or Gerber Baby Foods creamed peas, you may safely dub it over the top. Generally, a strong "green" aroma comes from either a very cool vintage in which the grapes perhaps matured in terms of sugar, but were not able to ripen their flavors fully---or conversely, from a hot growing climate where the grapes ripened too quickly in terms of sugar, leaving flavor trailing behind. Here's some more recommended reading: Terrible Terms for otherwise fine wines (includes an interesting discussion on cat pee) Wine 101: Disgusting Things in Wine

That's great! The course materials will remain posted, so you can catch up later as well, and you can contact me any time in the wine forum or by PM as well. Hm. I hadn't thought about that possibility. River stones would probably be best, if you can find some. If rocks are a problem, however, just substitute one of the suggested alternate ingredients.

Here's a link to the "Wine 101: Tannin" discussion, where there's more information about the astringent effect of wine tannins.

A sauvignon blanc would be perfect. Gallo "box" wines are also sufficiently neutral for an aroma kit, and universally available.

An added note on making an aroma kit: the herbs suggested may not need to sit overnight, depending on the strength of your herbs. Check your aroma quarts after an hour or so.

Thanks, appreciator. It isn't necessary to find the specific wines listed--they're just suggestions. You can definitely subsititute dried fruits or other herbs into your aroma kit. A list of wines available in Canada would be greatly 'appreciated, and 'I'm glad everyone so far is looking forward to it!

There's no schedule. The class will be featured for two weeks, and I will remain on hand to answer questions after that, so you can certainly space your sampling over a comfortable period of time.

Yes, 1 pint is correct.

Each grape varietal has its own distinctive character, but fermenting the fruit brings out that distinctiveness, and allowing it to age in oak involves a little evaporation, which therefore condenses the flavor. Recognizing a varietal by tasting grapes fresh from the vineyard takes lots of practice. The wine is an amalgam of everything in the grape package: the juicy pulp, the skins, even the seeds. If you open any red grape, table or wine, you will see that the skin is colored and the pulp is white or pale pink. Most of a red wine's pigment, tannin, and flavor come from the skin of the grape, which is macerated and then softened during the processes of crushing and fermentation. The skins leach their proanthocyandolic goodies into the fermenting pulp juice, and the two yin and yang halves of the fruit become a voluptuous body. For me, syrah and zin are pretty easy to recognize as raw grapes, as is viognier. Syrah has a blueberry-beef character in the skins, and zinfandel's spicy raspberry flavor is usually pretty evident. Viognier grapes taste like forbidden nectar, and riesling has a delicate, feminine flavor. Sauvignon blanc grapes taste grassy and sassy. Chardonnay, merlot and cab are harder for me to identify absolutely. I bet you can identify various hops by their aroma, shape and color. Learning to identify grapes is sort of the same learning curve. . .

Balsamic is a character often found in wines with high volatile acidity, particularly Italian wines. I actually enjoy it when it's subtle. Of course, it can be over the top in some wines . . . Does anyone have any favorite wines that contain this aroma or flavor?

We should submit these to the Literary Smackdown for a Gully Award!

Bad joke/urban legend alert: A table of diners perused the restaurant wine list at length, and everyone chose a glass or bottle of wine except for one diner, who continued to read the entire list while the sommelier hovered. Finally, he laid the list down and said with absolute certainty, "Yes, I'll have a bottle of the cork-ahshe, please, because it's only $9!

Here's a link to another thread with good recommendations: Eminently Drinkable Plonk! All $10 or less and pretty decent

Sorry, I should have been more clear. We will be tasting and evaluating the wines during the 2 week course. So we'll be shopping for classic yet affordable examples of each variety that are drinking well now. Syrahs, too. Thanks for your input!

The eGullet Culinary Institute course on wine will begin February 28, and run for two weeks. Topics will cover * Ten basics of wine evaluation * Pairing wine and food * Cooking with wine * Evaluating white wine varietals * Evaluating red wine varietals * Separating art and technique from nature * Creating your own sensory aroma kit Before and during the class, students will be asked to find and purchase wines that are good, but inexpensive, models of common red and white wines. Suggested varietals will include * chardonnay * sauvignon blanc * pinot gris or pinot grigio * riesling * pinot noir * merlot * cabernet sauvignon * zinfandel Can you help us out by recommending a selection of wines that are in the $10 to $20 range, and generally available (productions of 10,000 cases or more)?

We'll be starting a new Wine of the Week soon, but I'd like to assure everyone that the WOW threads stay open, and if you have a chance to try this wine in the near future, please don't hesitate to compare your perceptions with those posted here. I spoke with Mel in the Sanford tasting room today, and he says there is still plenty of the 2001 Pinot to be had. The winery produced 19,000 cases. Mel reports that tasting room traffic has increased since the movie came out to the point that they have had to increase their staff on weekends. If you can't find the wine in your local store, just ask Mel to send you a bottle of the 2001 "flowers on the label" Pinot.

Several of our retailers have reported exploding interest in Pinot Noir and the central coast, but no one I've spoken with verifies claims that Merlot sales are sinking. In fact, we're seeing a reverse effect and perverse interest in Merlot in our tasting room.

Jerry: Welcome to the wine forum, and thank you for your detailed notes! I hope you'll share your perceptions of your favorite Italians. Also, I've never heard of the Magnificent Wine Company, but I love the name. Please let us know when you uncork that bottle!

That's a good explanation, and it would be an interesting experiment. If we haven't frightened Martin off forever, perhaps he'll try it and let us know what his perceptions are before and after. Probably because they blew themselves up.

For those of you who can join us, Rex Pickett, the author of Sideways, will be autographing copies of his book at the Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival March 18-20.

Welcome to eGullet, Martin, and thank you for joining us! Your website is interesting. I'm afraid I have to agree with endless, however. There are cheap wines that are very, very good and would be ruined by tinkering--and there are horrid wines which simply cannot not be improved. I'm sure the concept is the same with food. Once the dish is finished, a careless and unplanned addition, however small, will ruin a dish that has been thoughtfully produced, just as a small addition of any component cannot possibly rescue the vinous equivalent of burnt macaroni and cheese. And yes, wine producers, notably in South Africa and Australia but also elsewhere, do occasionally resort to essences, additives, and even oak dust. But fine winemakers take the same approach as fine chefs--they like real ingredients. So if you still want to try your experiment, I suggest using a vanilla bean instead of vanilla essence.

I have no idea. A few weeks ago I purchased a box of 'Three Thieves' pinot grigio out of sheer curiosity. The box is like broth or tomato boxes, with a plastic fliptop and a foil seal underneath. Cute! The wine was horrid. It tasted like watered down pear vinegar. We poured the wine out and tried to think of a use for the box. My eight-year-old nephew is planting beans in it. As for why it got better, one can only assume that the wine was awful to begin with, and that oxidation could only improve it.

Simon, we're happy to have you joining us! I am at this very moment enjoying a L'Ecole No. 41 2002 Seven Hills Vineyard Merlot from the Walla Walla Valley. The bottle was supposed to make it home to Paso Robles but it's obviously not going to. I opened it earlier this evening to share with my siblings (our last night together), and I am now relaxing with a little quiet eGullet time and the last of the bottle, before leaving for Bellingham tomorrow. Wow. That was my first impression. (Sophisticated evaluation is difficult with five laughing, singing, wrestling kids underfoot.) 89% Merlot, 6% Cab Sauv., 5% Cab Franc. 14.3% alcohol. $34.95 at an Olympia wine shop. Beautiful deep ruby color, with aromas of cherry underlined with a distinctive oak profile that I guessed would be a combination of neutral French and American, but a quick visit to the website shows me it's 60% new. So I was totally wrong. I was right about the unfiltered, unfined though. While the aroma is somewhat two-dimensional, it's too enticing to linger over, and the first sip hits me with a wallop of full cherry fruit, zingy acidity, cinnamon-like tannins, and just enough oak to be interesting. I would say the winery's description is spot on, except that I didn't get the mint or floral components. It's deep enough to enjoy on it's own, and the brisk acidity will pair well with food. The alcohol is in balance with the other components, and provides an intriguing cherry/strawberry liqueur finish.

Precisely, Jen. How did it happen that a head and tail both ended up in one sandwich? And how did head and tail parts conveniently end up in both halves? Without anyone noticing that rat tail does not resemble spring mix or mustard or sprouts? "Diminishment of earning potential"? What, is he claiming chronic nausea and emesis for the rest of his natural life? "The Changs charge the food was unsafe for public consumption," yet they sure as hell didn't turn right around and take the sandwich back to the deli. I would have marched right in with it and showed everyone there. My SO would have had to hold me back from force feeding the deli staff. I guess some people are just so delicate they'd rather go home and not worry about everyone else eating at the deli that day.

That is indeed exciting news, Daniel! We're so pleased that you are sharing it with us. Congratulations!