Great Wine Made Simple - Andrea Immer [46]
So to sample these fruit style differences, we’ll compare two wines—one with everyday quality, the other of ambitious quality, to show how the fruit intensity steps up from softly ripe to quite sumptuous as you ascend the quality ladder. You may wonder why this happens. My research hasn’t yielded a definitive answer, but we can make some educated assumptions based on the factors we covered in “Quality: Where It Comes From”. Specifically, there’s the vineyard source—as we’ve learned, grapes from a flat, fertile site that’s easy to tractor-farm will be less intense than those grown in top hillside sites where the vines have to fight for their moisture and nutrients. Furthermore, grape growers usually farm each vineyard according to its potential. In the top vineyards, they’re likely to restrict grape yields and to tend each vine individually to maximize its potential to make the ripest, most concentrated grapes possible. And as we’ve learned, the more intense the grapes, the more intense the wine. This tasting will illustrate that perfectly. To make the most of the comparison, try to use one of the same-source wine pairs listed here to compare an everyday- versus an ambitious-quality wine from the same winery. In this way, you’ll see a common theme: the higher-quality bottlings across the climate zones yield the most intense fruit style.
Syrah Scorecard
Professional I have noticed some slippage as the Syrah/Shiraz grape’s popularity has skyrocketed. Whereas you used to be able to count on getting this grape’s signature spiciness in even the everyday versions, that’s no longer consistently true. That said, I think the overall quality-for-the-money proposition is still a good one for buyers. The way to make sure you get the best deal is to go with producers I’ve mentioned here, or the personal recommendations of a good wine merchant. With so many new $12-and-under names coming on the market, good retailers are snapping them up and recommending them to their regular customers who are tired of the same-old, same-old. So ask!
Personal As the enormous growth of Syrah/Shiraz plantings continues worldwide, I’m optimistic that quality across all price points will continue to improve. It will have to, to keep consumers trying all the new labels. For all of us red-wine lovers, that’ll keep it fun—yummy wines, affordable prices, and always something new!
Beyond the Big Six—Using the Flavor Map for Regional Wines and Other Grapes
Of course, there is wine life beyond the Big Six, and having discovered the delicious options of these grapes, you won’t want to stop there and miss out on the rest of the wine world, including regional wines, proprietary wines, and other varietals beyond the Big Six. For these wines, which come up in so many everyday buying situations, the power of the Flavor Map is really compelling.
For example, imagine you’re in downtown St. Louis, where the French Brasserie menu has two reds available by the carafe—Beaujolais and Côtes du Rhône. You’re having a heavy, rich braised veal shank, but you’re not sure which to order. Geographically, you know that Beaujolais (a part of Burgundy) is cool zone, and Côtes du Rhône is warm zone. Using the Flavor Map, you theorize that the Beaujolais’s flavor is probably light and cherry-like, and the Côtes du Rhône heavier—closer to prune and fig. Since your dish is heavy, too, you choose Côtes du Rhône—and the flavor is exactly as you predicted.
You want a white wine, but you’re ready to try something new. The shop clerk suggests Vouvray, a wine named for its region in the Loire Valley. You have never heard of that particular one, but since it’s from the cool Loire you foresee a lighter body and apple/pear flavor profile, which is spot-on.
You take a client to dinner in Little Italy, and she says she doesn’t like heavy wines. You skip the big, raisiny red from sunny Sicily in favor of a delicate, cherry like Valpolicella from