September 2011
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Fieldtrip to Chase Family Cellars
Our first class field trip was to Chase Cellars, where winemaker Jeff Blaum showed off his old Zin vines — the oldest in the valley.
Hayne Vineyard
Old Vine Zinfandel
Seeds turn brown when the grapes ripen. Time to pick soon!
Cabernet grapes
Chase Family Zinfandel
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WatchI’m watching them make barrels at Demptos.
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The Wine is in the Soil
“Without the complex nature of the soils, there would be no terroir.”
—Paul Skinner, Soil Scientist
Although it is obviously not the only element of a vine’s environment that would affect the quality and character of it’s grapes, soil has the greatest impact on the grapes’ development; and I therefore find it to be the locus of the terroir as it is defined more generally. The soil of a...
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I just want to keep my palate honest.
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Vinis Vinifera and Non-Vinifera Wines
Yesterday in class we learned how to tell the difference between the more pervasive vinis vinifera and non-vinifera wines. We tasted:
Markham Chardonnay (vinis vinifera) Napa Valley 2009 Duplin Scuppernong (vinis muscadina) Carolina
NV
Montelle Seyval Blanc (hybrid) Missouri 2010 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon (vinis vinifera) Napa Valley 2008 Swedish Hill Concord (vitis labrusca, hybrid) New...
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While eating dinner with my fellow AWBP students, one of the head chefs at the C.I.A. came to our long table and proceeded to place small ramekins of creme brulet in front of all the students along the table, insisting that we try it. This place is magical.
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“For me, sometimes the complexity comes from the fact that something...”
– Robert Bath, my instructor, referring to the challenge of locating taste points in a wine.
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La Follette Pinot Noir(s)
Last week my class was graced by Greg La Follette of La Follette wines, who showed up equipped with not one, not two (not three), but four of his excellent pinot noirs for us to try and compare.
Before becoming a winemaker, Greg La Follette played a bagpipe on the Queen Mary and later was involved in early A.I.D.S. research at UCSF. While earning a Masters in Food Science and Technology at UC...
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“Winemakers die with their boots on.”
– Greg LaFollette, of Lafollette wines, regarding the relentlessness of winemaking as a career.
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T.V. Munson
I’m currently reading about Phylloxera and grafting in my textbook, Exploring Wine. I’m kind of shocked that the book makes no mention of T.V. Munson (a Texan), who is credited with developing the phylloxera-resistant root stocks sent to Europe after much of Europe’s vineyards were destroyed at the end of the 19th century.
His wikipedia page reads as follows:
‘Munson...
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me, by the glass...
or the bottle.
In this blog, I hope to chronicle my voyage into the wonderful world of wine (and, occasionally, other libations). This will initially include snippets from my studies at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and continue on with insight into whatever I am drinking thereafter.
Cheers!
-Lulu
