Let’s think about wine, baby
Hawke's Bay wine expert Yvonne Lorkin is Chief Tasting Officer for www.winefriend.co.nz.
It’s not my fault!
Does your wine taste a little dull? A little manky perhaps? Before you blame the winery – take a really good look at your glassware. I’ve lost count of the number of times that a good wine has been ruined by the state of the glass – and it happens a lot when I’m at events where a lot of glasses have been hired. People often make the mistake of serving wine into glasses taken directly from storage boxes or from those old, musty cupboards without cleaning them beforehand. Glass and crystal can absorb icky aromas from things like cardboard boxes, dishwasher chemicals and unventilated spaces. Wash your glasses in warm water with fragrance-free detergent then rinse thoroughly with hot water before drying with a clean cloth. Or put them through a hot dishwasher cycle with no detergent. It might seem like a hassle, but it’s worth it.
Word to that…
HUGE news. The word “Wine-O-Clock” has now been added to the Oxford Dictionary. I feel partically responsible for this. This word is used to describe the time of day in which you feel completely comfortable with drinking your first glass of wine. For most people I imagine it’s after 5pm once they’ve finished work – but on the weekends it can be different, particularly if you’re having bubbles with brunch or a cheeky red with your lunchtime pizza. But wineoclock joins beeroclock and words like ‘Hangry’, NBD, Fur Baby, Bants and Pocket Dial and MKay in the OxfordDictionaries.com quarterly update on current definitions of English words. Despite the addition of many slang terms Fiona McPherson, senior editor of Oxford Dictionaries, said it did not represent a dumbing down of English.
“There’s always been new slang words”, she said. “I just think we are more aware of them because of the ways in which we consume and live our lives now. We are bombarded with more and more avenues where those sorts of words are used, and we just think that there are more of them. I don’t necessarily think that’s the case. From my point of view, as a lexicographer, it’s not really about dumbing down, it’s more creative ways that people are using language.”
Plus a wee history snippet…
I read in the Smithsonianmag.com that during Prohibition American wineries used to sell ‘wine bricks’ instead of wine.
During prohibition, people all over the US found ways to sneak around the law, and winemakers were equally creative.
The entire winemaking industry, was, of course, threatened by Prohibition. But rather than risk tearing down their vineyards and face permanent ruin, vintners decided to team up with bootleggers. Rather than making the wine on the premises, they created "wine bricks" out of concentrated grape juice for home brewers (and bootleggers) to dissolve and use in the privacy of their own homes.
Since grape juice wasn’t illegal winemakers simply marked the bricks with warnings that they were for “non-alcoholic consumption only”. They even included a “warning” that helped people make wine at home. So on every brick there’d be a note explaining how to dissolve the concentrate in a gallon of water. Then right below it the note would say “Do not leave the jug in a cool cupboard for 21 days because it will turn into wine”.
Some Sips I’m loving…
Zaria Hawke's Bay Rosé 2018 $20 (4 stars)
100% malbec grown in Bryce Edmonds’s ‘Lesley’s Vineyard’ in the deep, iron-rich gravels of the Bridge Pa Triangle is what provides the spine of this rosé. Perfectly poised fresh pepper and blackberry layers are juicy and beautifully balanced by hints of raspberry and soft cranberry on the finish. Bryce even wrote a haiku and gave it to me with the wine: 'Ballerina pink. Raspberries and marshmallows. Dance on the palate. Smooth and delish.' Sip with paprika-dusted rockmelon.
Elephant Hill Hawke's Bay Pinot Gris 2017 $28 (4.5 stars)
A super-shiny vintage from Elephant Hill, and I couldn't be more excited. Well, I could, if Prince Harry challenged me to a game of peanuckle or something. The lift of cornflower confection on the nose of this wine is joined by fresh pear and Jazz apple flavours and a hefty ice-bucket challenge (remember that?) of bracing acidity and juicy fruitiness. Winemaker Steve Skinner is clearly an ultra-adaptable talent with delicate aromatics like pinot gris. Fresh, cleansing, and absolutely fabulous with a chunk of cumin seed Gouda.
Beach House Gimblett Gravels Malbec 2017 $25 (4.5 stars)
Chris Harrison’s winemaking career has strapped rockets to his shoes and shot him to stardom in recent years, because he's wowed the crowds with every release. Malbec is a new addition to his repertoire, and how glorious is the crimson-a-go-go colour of this wine? Bright and riddled with raspberry and cherry-tastic characters followed by smooth and woolly tannins, this has incredible depth and fruit concentration alongside violet and peppery soy notes that rule with gourmet mince on toast.
Cypress Terraces Hawke's Bay Syrah 2014 $42 (5 stars)
Mel and Gus Lawson knew their terraced hillside vineyard would produce sensational syrah. I'd say they could feel it in their waters — but truth be told, water isn’t something they see much of, and the vines border on starvation every season. Superb wine is the result. A 'Terraces' is produced only in exceptional years, and the 2014 is velvety-smooth and layered with intense pepper, violet, and cocoa drizzled over dark berries. It's a beautifully moody wine crying out for lamb meatballs swimming in tomato sauce. Drink now through 2030.
