Great Wine Made Simple - Andrea Immer [10]
Pick up the glass and take a look—straw yellow, often a little darker than the Riesling. Swirl and smell. It packs a powerful punch. This is one distinctive grape. Go back and smell the Riesling again, and note the contrast. It is unmistakable. Now taste, and you will see it’s fuller-bodied than the Riesling, and feels a bit heavier and richer in your mouth. And that distinctive flavor. Bookmark it in your brain, because that exotically pungent taste is Sauvignon Blanc.
After sampling the Sauvignon Blanc grape, my students often say, “It’s drier.” Let’s don’t go there—yet. “Dry” is one of the more dicey tasting terms, because tasters interpret it in several different ways, and that leads to confusion. For now, just focus on the flavor and style characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc and let yourself identify just that. If you were tasting a lime or an apple, you wouldn’t say “dry,” you’d say “lime-y” or “apple-y.”
I have recommended Sauvignon Blancs from many different places—California, Washington State, France (the Loire Valley and Bordeaux), Chile, and New Zealand. If you decide you like this grape and wish to explore it, make a plan to try a range of the recommended wines over time. I think you will be delighted at the quality and enjoyment you get for the price.
Glass #3, Chardonnay This darling of wine drinkers reigns as Most Popular, hands down. And you’ll see why when you taste it, but first pick up the glass and take a look. The color is yellow-gold, the darkest yet. Now swirl and smell. Did somebody turn up the volume? Absolutely. From the scent alone, you can probably sense that this wine is more full-bodied than the Sauvignon Blanc. Quite different, though, and perhaps quite familiar to you. Chardonnay is the top-selling white varietal wine in this country. Take a taste and feel the difference in body. It is the richest and heaviest white grape of the Big Six, and a high percentage of white wine drinkers prefer this full-bodied style.
The Red Grapes
Glass #4, Pinot Noir Pinot Noir is my favorite red grape. The reason is very simple: It has red wine flavor with white wine texture. It’s soft and not heavy. In fact, to me, the texture is one of the greatest virtues of Pinot Noir (also called Pinot for short). It feels like silk in your mouth, and it’s the lightest-bodied of the red grapes in the Big Six.
You can see this just by looking. Pick up the glass and tilt it against a white placemat or napkin—you can see through it, can’t you? It is obviously lighter-colored, and more translucent, than the other reds you’ve poured. That is a natural characteristic of the Pinot Noir grape—less color pigment than Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. The fragrance and flavor are subtle but seductive, luring you back to the glass.
Glass #5, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon Although everyone’s talking Shiraz these days, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon remain the top-selling red varietal wines by far. I believe that is because both grapes grow well all over the world and in the hands of a skilled winemaker give excellent quality and consistency at every price level, from budget to splurge.
Pick up the glass and take a look. It’s quite dark, almost inky—that is typical of Cabernet and Merlot, dark and medium- to full-bodied. Swirl the glass and smell it. The scent confirms what you expected. It is stronger and more intense than Pinot Noir. It also smells delicious. Cabernet Sauvignon’s scent and flavor profile, in particular, are truly the paradigm for most of the world’s top-quality red wines. That’s probably why so many varietal Merlots are made to have a taste and texture similar to Cabernet.
Taste the wine. It really seizes your senses of smell, taste, and touch. You feel the almost velvety texture and the intensity of this wine in your mouth. And that intensity lingers in the aftertaste, which some tasters love. For others, it is overpowering—more intensity than they care for. It is totally a matter of personal taste.
Glass #6, Syrah/Shiraz Although Syrah (the French) is the classic, majestic rendition, it