Every month I send out a simple newsletter to the members of Maestrazgo Wine Club; a small group of wine-lovers who meet once a week to explore the world of wine together in a small tasting room in Barcelona. From October onwards, I will start to share this newsletter here as well! For more information on Maestrazgo Wine Club and how to book a wine tasting in Barcelona, check out this page for more information.
Maestrazgo Wine Club Newsletter – Edition 9 – October 2016
October: The harvest is in full swing! Visit any major vineyard, especially those harvesting red grapes at this time of the year and you’ll find a very busy time for most vignerons and wine-makers. Harvesting the grapes is always a delicate negotiation with the weather; the fact that the 12th October would be ideal according to your plans isn’t always factored in by mother nature, who is quite prone to rain at this time of the year, promoting both fungal rot and dilution of the grapes, forcing workers to pick earlier than otherwise desired. The winery itself will be working hard everyday and, in big commercial operations, around the clock to clean, select, destem, press and start the fermentation process for the incoming grapes. Hired hands mix with experienced, full time staff, the fields are alive with the sounds of picking and all this time, whoever owns the operation is praying that this year will see enough healthy, ripe grapes to make a reasonable profit. One of the real beauties of wine is this reliance on the basic crop; the humble grape. With the right phenolic ripeness, balance of acidity and sugar and the attention of a skilled wine-maker, the sky is the limit. Here’s hoping for a wonderful 2016 harvest!
Hello Wine Lovers! It’s so lovely to be back and spending time with you all again. September was a hellishly busy month for a lot of us but we still managed to look at some premium Tempranillo wines, a selection of summer discoveries and even visit the island of Sicily for our international tasting. This month there will unfortunately only be 3 tastings as a short-notice flat move has left me a little short on time to reassemble and organise my new home, so the first Thursday is being sacrificed for this. Nonetheless, we will make it up with a wonderful selection of tastings for the rest of the month! This month we’ll look at a selection of wines from Galicia, famed for its crisp, fresh white wines but also potentially the most exciting region in Spain for red wine at the moment! We’ll also take a sneak at the often misunderstood appellation of Vinos de Pago; small, high quality wineries that don’t fit into their surroundings, all across Spain! Finally, we’ll finish with a look at that mercurial grape, Pinot Noir, and as we’ll need to head around the world a little, this will be our international tasting for the month of October. Strap yourselves in for another round of exploration, bad jokes and late Thursday nights! It’s good to be back 🙂
13th October– Green Spain: The wines of Galicia – 25 euros p/p
20th October – Vinos de Pago:Spain’s single estate wines – 25 euros p/p
27th October – International tasting: Around the world with Pinot Noir! – 30 euros p/p
Articles: I probably spend too much of my time reading online articles about wine. However, as a result I can find and select a choice few to share – here are my three favourites from last month!
‘What about Craft Wine?’ by Jancis Robinson MW. Finally, someone who dislikes the word ‘craft’ as much as I do. Jancis looks at the industry of alcohol as a whole and how craft is being used, or misused, as a marketing tool and how this would apply if it were specifically applied to the world of wine. A really lovely article with lots of comparisons to the holy grail of the alcohol industry at the present moment; Craft Beer. http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/what-about-craft-wine
‘Can it really?’ by Richard Hemming MW. The King of wine-related puns is back, this time looking very briefly at the market for wine stored in cans. I haven’t seen this yet in Spain but the last time I was in England, I passed through a Marks and Spencers store and, lo and behold, wine in cans was available. Lots of things in wine are proclaimed as ‘the next big thing’ but Richard approaches this with a pinch of salt, and whilst we’re becoming gradually more accepting of wine packaging, I think he may have a point here! http://www.richardhemmingmw.com/blog/can-it-really
Wine of the month: I’m constantly on the look-out for wines of real quality and value; I rarely purchase anything over 30-40 euros a bottle and more commonly you’ll find me drinking in the 6-25 euro range.
Philipps Eckstein Grauburgunder 2015 Believe me, I’m just as surprised as you! A German Pinot Gris is my wine of October? In this case, yes, and for a couple of reasons. First of all, this is not a style of wine you can readily access in Spain; we simply don’t have the growing conditions to imitate the steep, stunning Mosel Valley in Northern Germany, nor do we have many plantings of Pinot Gris! Secondly, the price: 10 euros a bottle in Bodega Maestrazgo, simply stunning for a wine of this quality. From the outstanding 2015 vintage, this wine combines a lovely ripe orchard fruit and slightly tropical profile with the high acidity of its regional style, without losing any intensity or balance. The texture is soft, smooth and finishes nicely with a touch of spice – truly a versatile and pleasant wine! Thirdly, with 13.5% alcohol and a slightly creamy texture, this wine is a perfect combination for the slowly cooling Autumn evenings and the gradually meatier dishes that come at this time of the year. Try pairing it with a Thanksgiving Dinner come November and see for yourself! Available at Bodega Maestrazgo.
Wine Facts: Some fun and interesting facts about the world of wine. Terminology, myths and FAQs; as science becomes more ingrained in our industry, we discover new and exciting realities every day!
“Do I need a wine fridge to store my wine?” – Honestly, it really depends on how long you want to keep it for. If you’re planning on drinking your wine within a year or two, professional storage isn’t really necessary and most cool, dark places will do. If you’re fortunate to live in a house with more than one floor, under the stairs is almost ideal for this sort of make-shift cellar whereas for the majority of us living in Barcelona, a bag or box under the bed is probably the next best option. For longer term storage or for particularly poorly ventilated flats (my previous abode turned into Hells Kitchen during July/August) then yes, a wine fridge would be highly recommended!
“What is ‘Fortified Wine’?” – A Fortified Wine is usually a wine that has had neutral grape spirit, 77-96% ABV, added at some point during its creation, often during the fermentation process. This was historically done to make wines more robust for long sea journeys; a certain George Washington famously toasted the independence of the USA with Madeira, a wine that has been both oxidised and fortified to around 19%, making it an ideal drink to send across a 3 month trans-Atlantic crossing in the 18th Century! It is also done to kill the yeast responsible for completing the fermentation, leaving a sizeable quantity of unfermented sugar in the wine. As a result, many fortified wines are sweet; Port, sweet Sherries, Madeira, Vin Doux Naturels etc. Highly under-rated and usually available at very good prices. If you can get hold of a 10-20 year old Tawny Port, chill it slightly and sip at your leisure – you’ll thank me for the tip!
‘What exactly do you plan do once you have your Diploma/MW qualifications?’ – A personal one this week but I get asked this a lot, and the answer is I truthfully don’t know yet. I love the wine industry; learning about it, exploring it, sharing it and of course, drinking it! However, in terms of pinning myself down to a single career choice within it, well, let’s just say I’m not quite there yet. I loved working in a winery last year, I love writing about wine, I love working as a tour guide and I especially love organising tastings on different topics within the world of wine. Whatever happens, I will do my utmost to keep new and interesting tastings available with Maestrazgo Wine Club; organising tastings with Meetup was how I started with wine, and it’s still my favourite part of the week! I hope to eventually grow this small group into a well connected hub of winelovers in one of the most interesting and dynamic cities in the world. Let’s see how we go and what comes up along the way 🙂
Social Media
These newsletters only come out once a month and there is a limit on space for content. If you use Social Media and want to keep up with regular wine updates and occasional rambles, feel free to connect with me on any of the following platforms.
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That’s it for this months Newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it and please, if you have any suggestions or things you would like to see get in touch! Either respond to me here or email to fintankerr@winecuentista.com I can’t wait to see you all soon for more wine, food and good company. 🙂
Fintan Kerr