2006/08/16
I just stumbled upon (ok, my mom pulled it out for me) an article in The Kansas City Star about Oregon wine regions. Living in Oregon and being interested in wine, it was pretty interesting. You can read it here. One of the things I have been recently thinking about is how I tend to think of the taste of wine based on the grape rather than the region. As the writer points out, this is not as typical in Europe, where tastes are more often defined by region. This explains why many French wines will not even state what grapes are used in their blends, although you can guess based on region - even some wineries in those regions throw some odd grape in the blend. But somehow it's true - that the taste comes through based on the region despite the presence of a bit of something else in the mix.
As a current resident of Oregon, I think it would be neat to have a similar region identity in Oregon - so I could go looking for a particular taste and locate a vineyard in a certain region. I can do this with French wines (I love wines from the Rhone region, and typically like a good Bordeaux), but to be able to do this with an American wine would be cool.
Posted by Cara Bohon on 2006/08/16 @ 23:08 | Comments (1) | EatFoo 1.0 Posts
Comments
The Pinot Noir grape is nicknamed the "heartbreak grape" for good reason. She's a finicky one, that Pinot. Here's why:* Thin skin – The thin skin on the Pinot grape makes it difficult for the fruit to fully ripen. It needs just the right climate and temperature to mature. If the weather is too hot, the wine ends up flabby, too cool and it ends up thin or lean.* Growing season – Pinot grapes must have a long and cool growing season in order to mature and fully ripen.* Mutation – This is also referred to as being "genetically unstable." Sounds scary. Basically, the mutation of grapes means that its characteristics change on a genetic level. When this happens, the wine is inconsistent.
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Gwenstefni
Posted by: gwenstefni at November 15, 2008 5:01 AM