Rick’s Grape Skinny
January 2017
“What I like to drink most is wine that belongs to others!”
(Diogenes The Cynic)
Bottle Types and Shapes
They’re Big Clues to What We’re Drinking!
Did you ever wonder about all those wine bottle shapes? Well…a good many of you have asked about bottle types…and if their shapes signified anything in particular…so I thought I’d address that very topic. While brushing up on this erudite subject, I stumbled upon a few “aha moments” -- and just when I thought I knew it all!
I never expected there to be quite so much “range of content” related to wine bottles – but being a good little cellar rat, I soon discovered that the subject is rich enough to support a thesis! But…as usual, I’ll spare you the crush and just deliver “the Skinny.”
Most “bottle shape experts” tend to agree that there are five classic bottle shapes…most of which have their forms and figures, if you will, historically rooted in French laws that, over time, virtually regulated and codified the entire industry from vine to vessel.
The five principal bottle types and shapes are:
The Bordeaux; the Burgundy; the Champagne; the Alsace/German; and the Port.
A sixth “authorized” French bottle shape is the Rhône – which is just-ever-so-slightly-slimmer than the Burgundy bottle -- and it’s distinguished from its cousin by a raised coat of arms molded into the glass.
There’s yet a seventh “approved” bottle shape in France known as the Clavelin…which is reserved exclusively for bottling Vin Jaune -- a yellowish Sherry-like white
wine made in Jura, France from the rare and highly prized Savagnin grape. The short and stout little bottle contains exactly 62 centiliters…a quantity set by French law (go figger!) and its stems from the amount remaining from one liter of wine after being aged in cask for 6 years and 3 months!
There are three other bottle shapes of distinction worth mentioning: the Bocksbeutel (which refers to the part of the goat that gets over the fence last) and it’s used for German Franken Wines (and the formerly very popular Portuguese Mateus Rosé); the Fiasco, Italy’s famous Chianti bottle nestled in a straw basket; and the Gattinara – a distinctive and “trademarked” bottle introduced in 1952 by Italy’s Travaligni family to celebrate a phenomenal vintage. It was designed to capture sediment when pouring wine.
Bottle color also is of significance. In Bordeaux, dark green is used for red wine, light green for whites and clear glass for sweet whites. In Burgundy, green is used for both red and white wines. Wines from Alsace, France and from Mosel, Germany also use green bottles while bottles for German Rhine wine are brown. * Images from Lay & Wheeler, Ltd., Suffolk, England, Snooth Blog and Wikipedia
Toast of the Month
“Here’s to no regrets! If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience!”
(Eleanor Hibbert, British Novelist)
The Monthly Bunch!
Cabernet Sauvignon
Intrinsic 2014
Rich, intensely flavorful & super smooth!
(Columbia Valley – Paterson, WA)/$18-$22
# 32 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines for 2016, this may well prove to be one of your favorite Cabernet Sauvignon wines ever! Oh yeah, it’s that good! It’s big, bold and complex, but its fruit-forward soul beautifully tames the tannins and entices you to not want to share this quintessential “lovers’ wine” with anyone – even your lover! What distinguishes this wine from all others was winemaker Juan Muñoz Oca’s choice to leave about half of the grapes on their skins for 9 months after fermentation – where a month is the norm. To boot, about half of this luscious elixir was aged in “experienced” French oak for 14 months – while another small portion was aged in concrete -- a balancing act that both preserves and accentuates a wine’s expressive fruit-in-your-face nature.
www.intrinsicwineco.com
Garnacha (aka Grenache & Cannonau)
Bodegas Borsao Campo de Borja Tres Picos 2014
It’s Lip-smacking Like drinking a Cherry Pie!
(Aragon -- Campo De Borja – Spain)/$12-$15 – # 39 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines for 2016 – and long a favorite varietal of mine -- this 100% Garnacha is at once an exemplar of an outstanding Garnacha wine It’s no wonder why this is one of the world’s most-planted grapes or why it’s so universally popular. Producer Bodegas Borsao is nothing short of Spain’s standard bearer in both viticulture and viniculture…so you’re getting quality and value like none other! It’s also a wine that exhibits the best of what enthusiasts like about Old and New World wines! www.bodegasborsao.com
Red Blend
Cline Cellars Cashmere Black Magic 2015
Deep, Dark & Delicious – a Sensual Sensation!
(Contra Costa – Sonoma, CA)/$13-$15 – This new gem of a wine is so good – you just might be inclined
to drink the whole bottle in one sitting! On the other hand, it’s also one of those wines that you inherently want to share with others who truly value a great wine experience! Cline’s Cashmere has long been recognized as California’s preeminent Rhone style blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre -- but Chief winemaker, Charlie Tsegeletos, and his creative Assistant winemaker, Tom Gendall, teamed to kick it up a notch in complexity and taste by complementing the so-called Holy Trinity of wine blends by adding the inky dark and intensely flavorful Petite Sirah. If you haven’t experienced Umami (the elusive fifth Sense of Taste) in wine before, now’s your chance! Aged for 6 months in “dark toasted” French oak, it’s an amazingly delicious quaff and you’re going to love it!! Promise!
www.clinecellars.com
Sauvignon Blanc
Kono Marlborough 2015
Crisp, Herbal and Mouthwateringly Delicious!
(Aotearoa -- Marlborough, NZ)/$8-$10 -- # 41 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines for 2016, this is not only a simple, straightforward and exceptional wine – it’s an awesome value given the typical price of NZ Sauv. Blancs these days. If ever you wanted to taste what Sauvignon Blanc is supposed to taste like – look no further -- for this wine exudes varietal “typicity” in spades!
www.kono.co.nz/
White Blend
Tenshen White 2015
A Virtual Bowl of Fresh Fruit in a Bottle. Yum!
(Central Coast – Woodland Hills, CA)/$16-$20
# 31 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines for 2016, this is a sassy and vivacious white Rhone style union of Viognier, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Chardonnay. Not your everyday white wine, this gem has been aged for about half a year in an 80%-20% split of neutral oak and stainless steel. This bad boy also packs quite a wallop for a white wine…tipping the scales at a whopping 14.7% ABV! VA-VA-VA-VOOM!! http://www.guarachiwinepartners.com/