Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2015 Hess Select Monterey County Chardonnay ($9)

Several wines from the Hess Collection of wines have been featured in my reviews, and this Chardonnay from Monterey County shows the consistency of their wines.  With just a bit of a chill on this one, it exhibits wonderful flavors of baked apple with just a hint of citrus flavors of lemon and lime.

This 100% Chardonnay saw just 25% new French oak that contributes to the baked apple flavor while the remaining 75% was kept in stainless steel to protect those tropical fruit and citrus flavors.

At just 0.2 gms Residual Sugar, this is a dry wine that lets its fruit shine though.

As always in the Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week features, this is a really nice wine at a great value that you should be able to find in your favorite wine store.  A good one!

Where Do All Those Flavors in Wine Come From?

There are only two ingredients in wine: grapes and yeast.  Yet, white wines can be described as having flavors that include lemon, lime, grapefruit, apple, peach, pear and orange.  And red wines can be described as having flavors of cherry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, plum and fig.  And then there are descriptions of vanilla, butterscotch, caramel, chocolate, tobacco, leather, and even tar, just to name a few.  But, if wine is only made from grapes and yeast, how do wines get all those other flavors? 

In a past blog, we reviewed taste and smell as being the elements by which we get our perception of flavors.

But, let's go a bit deeper and do some further exploration of where all those flavors in wine come from.  Basically, wine's flavors come from the grapes, the fermentation process and through aging.

Each of these components provides its own set of flavor compounds that combine to give each wine its own characteristics.

So, next time we'll dive into the most important influence on wine's flavor - grapes. Until then, Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2016 Cloudline Pinot Noir ($15)

Oregon's Willamette has become quite well known for its Pinot Noir and this one from Cloudline is a fine example.

The Cloudline wine was created in 2002 by Dreyfus Ashby who have been

This Pinot is part of the Droughin Family wines

Cloudline Cellars, created in 2002, represents a first for Dreyfus, Ashby who have been purveyor so fine wine and spirits since 1946 — their own wine.

Given their love for Pinot Noir and their long history developing  Domaine Drouhin Oregon, it’s not surprising that they choose Oregon’s Willamette Valley as the home for their own project. And, this wine is vinified by winemaker Véronique Drouhin.

This Pinot is medium-light in body, with delicate red fruit flavors of cherry and raspberry. And, at this price, it's well qualified as a Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week  for its great value.

Where You Drink a Wine Affects How it Tastes

Have you ever noticed that wines can taste really good at a restaurant, wine bar or especially at a winery? It's the whole experience, not just the aromas and flavors, that affect our sense of taste.

As I've discovered, a $15 bottle of wine, when served in a high-end restaurant (where they charge you $45 for that $15 bottle), will taste especially good. Somehow, the lavish surroundings, the great service and the wonderful company at the table just makes the whole wine experience so much better.

And, at a winery it can be even more powerful. You are typically in a beautiful setting surrounded by vineyards and being served by someone who is very knowledgeable about the wine or maybe even the winemaker. This experience can significantly heighten the taste of the wine.

This fact is well understood by the publications that do wine ratings. So much so, that they don't allow their tasters to review or rate wines at wineries or restaurants.  They ensure their tasters are in a neutral setting in order to allow them to focus only on the wine (which, by the way, they are tasting 'blind' with no knowledge of who produced the wine or what it costs).

So, keep in mind that the amazing bottle of wine you recently had at that fancy restaurant was probably made even better by all the other glamour around you. And, that's exactly what the wine experience is all about. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2016 Josh Cellars Rosé by Joseph Carr ($10)

We're quickly coming up on Valentine's Day, and what better wine to have in your glass than a rosé.

This "Josh" rosé from Joseph Carr is a nice one. At 12.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), it's a dry wine but the bright, crisp fruit flavors and acidity give a bit of a sweet sensation on the palate with 5 g/L of residual sugar.

According to their data sheet, this rosé is a blend of 89% Barbera and 11% Muscat that provides hints of strawberries and peach while finishing with a mouthwatering citrus flavor.

So, if you're looking to raise a nice glass of pink wine for Valentine's Day, check this one out. Cheers!