Fine for Vegetarians

We invited some friends for dinner recently, one of whom is a vegetarian.  I made one of my favourite dishes – a rich, spicy tagine – but, instead of adding meat or fish as we usually would, we threw in some squash, courgettes and chick peas to make a flavoursome and hearty meal that even a confirmed meat-eater like me could really enjoy.

But what about a wine that our vegetarian friend could drink with a clear conscience?  Surely, wine is just fermented grape juice, so what could be unsuitable for vegetarians there?  The problem comes after the fermentation is complete.  The wine will be quite cloudy with lots of small particles in it like shreds of grape skin or stalk and all the dead yeast cells that have done their work creating the fermentation.  Producers need some way of getting rid of these so that the wine in the bottle you buy looks clear and wholesome.

This process is known as fining and there are several ways of doing it.  The simplest is to leave the finished wine in a tank and, in time, most of the bits will drop to the bottom and the clear wine can be pumped off.  This can be quite time-consuming and won’t always take out everything.  So, more often, a ‘fining’ ingredient will be added to the tank to help – and this is where the problem can arise.  Bentonite clay is one such agent and that, happily, is vegetarian-friendly, however some of the alternatives including egg whites and products derived from milk or fish bladders are not.  And, although no trace of these elements remains in the wine once bottled, the fact that they have been used in the process makes the wine a no-no for strict vegetarians.

I did a quick survey of the wines on our rack and found that fewer than a quarter of the labels mentioned that they were suitable for vegetarians (the websites might have identified a couple more); I think this proportion is probably typical and something vegetarians should bear in mind.

So, what did we drink?  Babich’s delightful, peachy Albariño from Marlborough in New Zealand and Pacheco’s chunky, mouth-filling Monastrell (aka Mourvedre) from Jumilla in south-east Spain.  Both impeccably vegetarian (vegan, in fact!) and both thoroughly delicious both on their own and with the vegetable tagine.

A Family Affair

Grape growing and winemaking is often a family business.  When the leading member of a family retires or dies, one of the next generation will frequently take over.  This is when it’s worth looking out for any changes of style as the new person in control introduces their own ideas.  Of course, transition isn’t always so smooth; under inheritance laws that apply in many parts of Europe, the estate may have to be split between siblings.  Or a son or daughter may be impatient to produce their own wine in their own way and decide to branch out before their parents want to hand over.  As a result, it’s not unusual to find the same family names on wines that are actually from different properties – an easy source of a mistake for those, like me, without a perfect mind for detail. 

But sometimes these lapses of memory work out well.  I saw a bottle of the Loire red St Nicolas de Bourgueil on the shelves at Majestic (£13.99 as part of their ‘mix 6’ deal) and noticed a familiar name, ‘Mabileau’, on the label.  It was only when I got home that I realised that the wine was from Laurent Mabileau and not Frédéric as I had expected.  A little research suggested that there was no obvious family relationship between the pair, despite them working in the same village (although several generations back, who knows?)

Despite my confusion, I wasn’t going to take it back – my wife and I both like Loire reds, many of which are 100% Cabernet Franc, and it was an opportunity to explore a new producer.  I’m pleased we kept it; we found a lovely, soft and rounded wine with attractive red fruits, a hint of tannin (decanting a hour or so in advance is a good idea) and excellent length.  A bargain at the price (Frédéric’s wines are rather more expensive!) and a perfect match with some pan-fried duck breasts – the acidity in the wine cutting through the fattiness of the meat.

I might have bought this thinking I was buying something else but, in the end, my mistake worked out well and we drank a most enjoyable wine.

Cool is ‘Cool’

As climate change continues to have an impact on our world, grape growers are having to rethink how they work.  In many of the traditional areas, harvesting already takes place weeks earlier than it used to so as to avoid over-ripe grapes and excessively high alcohol levels.  Elsewhere, producers are exploring new, cooler areas, either by planting at higher altitudes or in areas close to or beyond the 50° latitude lines where, historically, grapes would never ripen.  England has been one beneficiary of this latter trend but there are many other examples as a recent tasting hosted by Ras of Corks of Cotham demonstrated.

“Wines from Higher Latitudes” explored wines from some of the most northerly and southerly commercial vineyards in the world.  The evening began with a crisp, fresh traditional method rosé fizz from Nova Scotia in Canada (£25) followed by a juicy Bacchus blend from Woodchester Valley in the Cotswolds (£19).  Lovers of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc really should give this a try.

German Rieslings have long been under-appreciated but the extra sunshine and warmth of recent years has made them better balanced and even more enjoyable.  A.J.Adam’s example from a vineyard overlooking a tributary of the Mosel was a delight with the grape’s natural acidity offset by just a touch of residual sugar; clean, aromatic and very drinkable.  Definitely one of the wines of the evening (£19).

Grapes for red wines have always been more difficult to ripen than white so pushing the boundaries might have resulted in some thin, tart examples.  Nothing of the sort!  Francois Chidaine’s Touraine Rouge from France’s Loire Valley (18.50), a blend of Cot (aka Malbec), Cabernet Franc and Pineau d’Aunis was beautifully refreshing in the style of a good village Beaujolais with lovely red fruit flavours and a hint of sweet spice.

Bodega Aniello’s Merlot from Argentina (£19), was a real surprise.  Not the sort of food-friendly chunky red I think of from Argentina but far more rounded and fresh, with flavours of red- and dried fruits and a long herby finish.  One of the first wines I can recall tasting from the Patagonia region, way to the south of Mendoza and cooled by Antarctic currents. 

Our final wine brought back happy memories of a visit we made to the most southerly wine region in the world a few years back: New Zealand’s Central Otago.  We had tasted Wild Earth’s rich, black-fruited Pinot Noir then over a delicious lunch at the vineyard, so were happy to reacquaint ourselves with it rather closer to home (£30).  It was as good as we remembered and a fitting end to a most interesting and enjoyable evening.

Rediscovering Cahors

It’s said that the 3 most important factors when considering buying a house or flat are location, location and location!  The same can also be true of a wine – as enthusiasts (or investors) prepared to pay vast prices to get hold of something from a particular piece of land in Bordeaux or Burgundy will confirm.  But there can also be a downside to location as the growers from the Cahors area of south-west France found to their cost.

Wine had been exported from there to England since at least the 13^th Century.  Sadly, however, the historic route from Cahors to the sea passed along the River Lot and then into the Garonne – one of the rivers that flows through Bordeaux.  Once Bordeaux’s own wines became established, the local merchants were unhappy at the competition from up-river and imposed tariffs and restrictions, including a rule that Cahors wines couldn’t pass through the port of Bordeaux until their own local wines had been traded.  The result: Cahors and the other wines from the ‘High Country’ faded into relative obscurity while Bordeaux’s thrived.

Even with modern transport methods and the lifting of these protectionist restrictions, Cahors wines are still not that well-known.  This is a shame, especially as the main local grape, Malbec, is a quality variety and one that has deservedly found fame as the signature grape of Argentina.  So, if that’s a style you like, why not try something from the grape’s native home? 

Chateau la Coustarelle’s ‘La Grande Reserve d’Athena’ is a good example; a medium-bodied, unoaked, fruity red made with 100% Malbec (DBM Wines, £17.99).  Deeply coloured, d’Athena is quite restrained on the nose but, once you taste, you get a rich palate of tart black fruit flavours – damsons and blackcurrants – with some gentle herby hints.  Perhaps not as big as the 14% alcohol might suggest but a great match for lamb or even coq au vin.  Our 2019 bottle was still quite tannic so I’d suggest decanting an hour or so in advance to enjoy it at its best.

And who knows?  One day, the wines of Cahors might even rediscover the prestige they once had.

Beware of Eruptions!

The recent volcanic eruption in Iceland has caught the news accompanied by some spectacular pictures.  But Europe has several other active volcanos, notably Sicily’s Mount Etna, that erupts so often, it rarely makes the headlines.  So why, with the constant risk of destruction, would anyone want to plant vineyards on Etna’s slopes?  One, very understandable, reason is, if you grew up there and see it as ‘your’ land, but the area is increasingly attracting interest from non-locals who know of the potential of the thin layer of volcanic ash containing numerous nutrients that the eruptions leave behind.  Add to this Sicily’s Mediterranean climate and the chance of planting vineyards high on the volcano’s slopes.  What could be better?  Just forget the chance of eruptions!

I opened a bottle of a local red, Torre Mora’s Cauru Etna Rosso, recently (Majestic Wines, £15.99 when bought as part of their ‘mix 6’ deal).  Typical of Italian wines, there wasn’t much on the nose but, by contrast the palate was intense and vibrant.  Lovely clean fruit flavours – cherries and damsons in particular – before a long, herby finish.  The main grape variety here is the native Nerello Mascalese and, although the wine has had 3 months maturing in large oak barrels, there is no obvious oak influence, just a beautifully fruit-forward red wine. 

Made from vines situated on the slopes of the volcano between 650 and 700 metres above sea level (just over 2000 feet), the climate here is cooler and with a large difference between day- and night-time temperatures.  This preserves the freshness and acidity in the wine and makes it very food-friendly.  We paired it with some marinated lamb and the subtly bitter damson flavour in the wine cut any richness or fattiness of the meat perfectly.

Sicily produces some delicious wines in a range of styles and, indeed, bottles labelled ‘Etna Rosso’ can vary considerably but for a fresh, fruity red, this is excellent value for the money you pay.

The Hidden South-West

Travel a couple of hours south from Bordeaux you’ll find yourself in an area of France, close to the foothills of the Pyrenees, where they produce a range of very distinctive wines, most of which are barely known outside the immediate region.  The climate this far south is quite warm, so chunky, full-bodied reds abound, but this is also the home of one of my favourite sweet wines: the fresh, honeyed Jurançon.  You’ll occasionally see a bottle in the UK; if you do, I recommend you give it a try.

But back to those big reds.  I was given a bottle of Madiran a while back and promised that I wouldn’t open it for at least 3 years.  Well, it’s now spring 2024 (even if the weather doesn’t feel like it!) and, as the bottle is from the 2019 vintage, I decided it was time to rescue it from our wine rack under the stairs.

Chateau Barrejat is made with the main grape variety from the Madiran region, Tannat, but with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc added.  I often mention old vines in my blogs but, here, they claim that the vines are aged between 80 and 200 years – truly historic!

The old vines gave the wine a real depth and intensity.  There’s some black fruit there but really the fruit flavours are more dried than fresh – prunes and figs – and all with a pronounced spicy, savoury oak background.  I opened and decanted it a couple of hours before drinking to get some air into it to release more of the flavours and to soften the tannins which were still quite noticeable, even in a 4 year old wine.

The food match?  Probably the locals would choose Cassoulet but, for us, it had to be a robust full-flavoured casserole.  Beef would have worked fine, but we used some venison that we’d frozen last autumn instead and that paired well, too.

The far south-west is an interesting area of France, often ignored by tourists, but wine lovers should take note as Jurançon and Madiran are just 2 of the exciting hidden gems to be found there.

Avoid the Trap

Wine buying is full of traps for the unwary.  Take Pouilly Fumé and Pouilly Fuissé for example.  Easy to confuse but two very different wines, one a Loire Sauvignon, the other a Chardonnay from Burgundy.  Or, how about Chinon and Chenin: a French wine region and a white grape variety respectively.  Talking about grape varieties, the same one can have different names depending on where it is growing – Syrah/Shiraz is just one of many examples of that.  And even wines with the same name can taste very differently to one another; the familiar Côtes du Rhône can come from a vast area of vineyards and producers can blend from more than 20 grape varieties depending on their preference – so, if you find one you like, stay with it, others may not be to your taste!

But perhaps the prize for the biggest trap of all goes to Montepulciano.  The same name is both a red grape variety, grown mainly in Eastern Italy (you may know the easy drinking fruity red Montepulciano d’Abruzzo) and a village in Tuscany which, just to add to the confusion, uses an entirely different grape for its famous wine.  The austere and ageworthy red Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is made from the Sangiovese variety, beloved of devotees to Chianti. 

The village of Montepulciano also makes a 2^nd, more approachable (and significantly cheaper!) red wine, also using Sangiovese and we opened a bottle recently.  Duca di Saragnano’s Rosso di Montepulciano (DBM Wines, £11.99) is deeply coloured with berry fruits and spice on the nose.  The palate is quite intense and rich with flavours more reminiscent of dried fruits and sweet spices leading to a long, dry finish.  The well-integrated tannins of the 2021 vintage indicate drinking now or in the next year or so, rather than a wine for keeping.  Interestingly, the label suggested pairing with roasted white meats – we decided on braised lamb shanks instead, which my wife and I think worked really well.

So, next time you see ‘Montepulciano’, look very carefully at the other words on the label – it’s one of the easiest traps to fall into and if you buy the wrong one, you’ll open a very different wine to the one you were expecting.

Curry and…..?

How do you match a wine with the assertive spicy flavours of a curry?  Many would say, ‘don’t bother, have a beer instead’.  But what if, like my wife and I, you don’t enjoy beer?  Do you just stick to water?  In reality, it depends; there are countless different variations of the dish – not surprising when my dictionary says that the word ‘curry’ derives from an old Tamil word meaning ‘sauce’.  How many different sauces are there?  It must run into the thousands.  So, rather than dismissing the idea of wine with a curry, it’s important to check what flavours are in the particular dish and see if you can match them.

A good friend (and her cat!) invited us to dinner recently and told us that she would be cooking Prawn Rendang, a dish from Indonesia or Malaysia.  I had an idea that it was a sort of curry but didn’t know any more than that, nor which wine I might take to accompany it.  I checked some recipes; typically, the ingredients would include coconut milk, chillis, garlic, ginger, turmeric, lemon grass, tamarind paste and sugar.  The ginger, lemon grass and tamarind are all quite fragrant and, with our friend’s assurance that she would be gentle with the chillis (hot chilli flavours are definitely wine killers!), I decided to look for a white wine with some aromatic qualities to it. 

A Riesling, especially one from Australia, or a Torrontes from Argentina, perhaps?  In the end, I settled on Kuhlmann-Platz’s Gewurztraminer from France’s Alsace region (Majestic Wines, £10.99 if bought as part of their ‘mix 6’ deal).  Quite full-bodied but cool and fresh with tropical flavours of melon, mango and lychee and peppery hints.  It seemed to work well with the dish, reflecting the deliciously aromatic flavours and sitting nicely alongside its restrained heat.

Wines made from the gewurztraminer grape variety are quite distinctive and some of the more floral, perfumed examples wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste but more elegant bottles such as this can be very attractive and solve the question of what to drink with mildly spicy curries.

Not Just Sauvignon

New Zealand has emerged onto the world wine scene over the past 2 decades thanks, mainly, to their success with one grape: Sauvignon Blanc.  But look more closely and you’ll realise that the country is far from a one trick pony. They are producing some fantastic Pinot Noir in a range of styles – try examples from Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago and you can hardly fail to notice the different characteristics each region brings to its wines.  And then there’s some delightful Chardonnays – see my blog from January 2023, ‘Can I tempt ABCs?’ for a great place to start exploring New Zealand’s take on that variety.

And there are some surprises, too, like elegant Syrah (aka Shiraz) – you might not expect New Zealand to be warm enough to ripen that but, in a few places, it is.  There’s also vibrant Riesling, aromatic, spicy Grūner Veltliner (I blogged about that, too, last year) and, perhaps the ‘other’ variety that, in my opinion, shows most promise: Pinot Gris.

Nothing like the thin, bland Pinot Grigios you often find (Gris and Grigio are one and the same), the bottle from the Kumeu River Estate, north of Auckland, was delightfully rich and mouth-filling, though not in any way cloying.  Quite pale in colour with a lovely apricot nose and a palate with floral hints, grapefruit, tinned pineapple, tangy spice and excellent length.  Perhaps the one downside was slightly too prominent alcohol – although the label said 13.5%, it tasted more; my wife (who often remarks on high alcohol wines) complaining of a burn on the end palate.  Despite New Zealand being considered a cool climate wine country, Auckland sits at latitude 37°, the same as southern Spain in the northern hemisphere, so is perfectly able to harvest fully ripe grapes including, as I already mentioned, Syrah.

So, a wine about as far different from New Zealand’s signature Sauvignon Blanc as it’s possible to be.  Perhaps not an ideal aperitif but a good match for, say, poultry in a creamy sauce or even a mildly spiced curry.  Available from DBM Wines of Bristol, £16.49.

Tasting the Camino

Another week, another tasting!  This one focussed on one of the most unusual and interesting themes I have encountered in the many years I have been attending tastings: the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.  The Camino is the network of ancient pilgrims’ routes to the shrine of Saint James in Compostela in North West Spain.  The tasting, ably hosted by Raz from Corks of Cotham, featured some of the wines that present day pilgrims, who number more than 200,000 a year, might find along their way.

Over the centuries, many pilgrims will have travelled through France, crossed the Pyrenees and found themselves in the Basque region of Spain and that’s where our tasting began.  Gaintza’s Txakolina (£19 – all wines mentioned are available from Corks) is a dry, delicate, saline white and, as Raz suggested, one of the few wines that pairs well with olives.  Our ‘journey’ continued away from the coast into the Rioja region where we tasted Inedito Turrax (£22), a rich, full-flavoured white made from 2 rare native grape varieties, and Marques de Zearra (£16), a proper traditional oaky red which had benefitted from 18 months in American barriques and clearly will still be drinking well several years from now.

Moving closer to our destination – Compostela is in Galicia – we tasted another white, the deliciously floral Noelia Albariño (£22), one of my favourite wines of the night – a view not shared by our table-mates! – and a pair of very different reds. 

The first, Peixe da Estrada (£23) was my joint winner of the evening; fresh and quite light-bodied with lovely red fruits and herbs while the other, Mauricio Lorca’s Viña Peon (£20) was more extracted with intense smoky dark fruits, a style reflecting, perhaps, the Malbecs familiar to the Argentinian winemaker.  This was another wine that split opinions among those present at the tasting.  The wine world would be a worse place if we all liked the same!

An altogether fascinating and most enjoyable tasting – and all without leaving our seats in Bristol!