Getting to know St. Francis Winery

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Wednesday nigtht, in the intimate setting of Osteria del Mondo, 1028 E. Juneau, Marc and Marta Bianchini hosted a six course dinner featuring the wines of Sonoma Valley, California’s St. Francis winery.

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Getting to know Bordeaux

By KRISTINE NICKEL Correspondent Forks & Corks is bringing world-class Bordeaux vintners to the Gulf Coast

Read more on The Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Riesling is an aromatic little white grape, which is full of flavour, sugar and acid. It really takes on the conditions of its surroundings, meaning that the wines reflect the environment in which they are grown, be it the soil type, the climate or how the grapes are treated. Riesling wines come in a variety of styles from very dry through to lusciously sweet.

Styles Of Riesling

Riesling will happily grow in cool climates and where it does the wines have green fruit flavours with floral, and sometimes mineral, notes. In warmer regions, the wines will typically display more tropical flavours, with hints of mango, pineapple and peach. Riesling is rarely oaked, although its high levels of acidity and intense fruit helps develop honey and toast like aromas when aged. The key thing about Riesling is that it is so versatile. So if you have tried Riesling before and didn’t like it, try another style and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Riesling Regions

Germany is the home of Riesling. In the past, much of this has been exported as Liebfraumilch or Piesporter and, as a result, Riesling has gained a somewhat negative reputation for being sickly, sugary and tasteless. However, German Riesling is not all like that – far from it. Wines range from light to full-bodied, dry to sweet and with green fruit through to exotic and citrussy fruits.
Across the border in Alsace, the long dry autumns provide ideal growing conditions for medium bodied Rieslings, although fuller bodied versions are also produced here. Riesling is also big business in Austria where the wines typically have citrussy, stone fruit flavours with minerally aromas and medium to high acidity.

But it’s not just the Old World that is suited to the growing of Riesling. Australia produces some fantastic quality Riesling, typically with tropical, citrus flavour fruit and sometimes smoky aromas. Eden and Clare Valleys in particular are the key Riesling growing regions.

Across the water in New Zealand, there are some lovely fruity Rieslings being produced, especially in Marlborough and Nelson. Alternatively, try Riesling from Chile and Argentina where it is often blended with other white grapes such as Viognier or Chardonnay.

Rotten Grapes

It might sound strange but rotten Riesling grapes produce great dessert wines. Natural fungus called Botrytis is encouraged to grow on the grapes. In turn, this sucks the water out of the grapes, concentrates the sugars and creates its own sweet, honeysuckle flavour, which is then bottled as dessert wine. Try it next time you serve a dessert and see for yourself.

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Pinot Noir is a fiddly little grape to grow but when it’s at it best it produces some of the most esteemed and expensive wines in the world. Read on learn more about this exciting little grape.

Styles of Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned grape and it produces a light to medium bodied red wine. Depending on where it is grown, styles range from red fruit through to back cherries accentuated by spices and flavours of mushrooms.

Prestigious Burgundy
The classic region for Pinot Noir wines is Burgundy in France. Some of the most prestigious reds wines in the world, such as those from Gevrey Chambertain, Vosne-Romanee and Chambolle Musigny, are all made from here and from the Pinot Noir grape. Wines from these wine-making areas are mostly barrel aged and are fine wines of great finesse and expense.

However, if your pockets aren’t deep enough for top end Burgundy, there are less prestigious, better -value versions available. Bourgogne Rouge AC is also made from Pinot Noir and also from Burgundy but the difference is that it doesn’t have such a posh name attached. Try wines from here or the lighter, yet lower cost, versions from across the valley in the Jura.

Pinot Noir Around the World

Pinot Noir is the most widely planted red grape in New Zealand and here it shows great promise to rival the best from Burgundy. Pinot Noir from New Zealand is generally fuller bodied and has intense fruit, with lots of spicy notes. Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago are the key Pinot Noir growing regions in New Zealand.

If you like you red wine very fruity but with soft tannins, look to Pinot Noir from Germany. It is the most widely planted grape here and is known as Spatburgunder.

Pinot Noir is also grown in the USA, Chile and Argentina and these countries offer great value alternatives to Pinot Noir from Burgundy. The style of wine tends to be darker and richer.

Champagne and Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir isn’t just famous for its role in Burgundy reds. It is also one of the three permitted grapes used to make Champagne. More Pinot Noir grows in Champagne than in any other region of France and it can be blended with Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, or used on its own making Champagne called Blanc de Noirs.

Tricky Little Grapes

Pinot Noir can be a tricky little grape to grow. It requires a relatively cool climate in which to grow – anything too hot and this results in over ripe and jammy wines. Pinot Noir is prone to almost every disease going and it has a disliking to frost. Not only that but it is also an awkward little grape to vinify. Skilled and careful handling is required to turn this fiddly little grape into the fantastic wine loved by so many of us.

Partnering Pinot Noir and Food

The soft, smooth nature of Pinot Noir makes it a good match for simple but rich dishes such as grilled salmon or plain roast beef. You’ll find that the flavours will also go well with any mushroom based dish. Many French dishes such as Coq au Vin or Boeuf Bourguignon are based on Pinot Noir so these make a great food and wine combination.

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Product Description
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Journey To The Chianti: Getting To Know An Ancient Tuscan Region

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