January: The vines start the New Year in much the same condition as the rest of us; fast asleep. The leaves have long since gone, and the green canes that grew in the summer before will have lignified; that is, turned brown and woody. Any extra carbohydrates will be stored deep in the trunk of the vine and this is a sign that winter pruning can begin. Traditionally pruning starts on the 22nd January or the feast of the patron saint of vignerons, St. Vincent, although for practical reasons it tends to begin a lot sooner. Winter pruning is an arduous but necessary task as it determines the numer of buds left on the vine for this years growing season and subsequent harvest. Not the most thrilling of jobs in the cold winter but there’s little rest when it comes to the production of good quality wine!
Hello Wine Lovers! Happy New Year to you all! 2018 was quite a year in all, with lots of exciting and troubling events in equal measure, both in and out of the world of wine. 2019 looks to be another tumultuous year on both fronts, yet surely the best way to face a rapidly changing world is with a glass of wine in hand? That’s my philosophy anyway, and it’s serving me well so far. On that note, we’re going to kick off 2019 with not one, not two but three wine tasting events, including a special tasting of wines I’m bringing all the way back from Argentina. I’ve got a lot of interesting events lined up all year, so I hope everyone is ready to go! Happy 2019 to you all and looking forward to sharing some wine together very soon. 🙂
17th January– The New Argentina- 35 euros p/p
24th January – International Blind Tasting – 30 euros p/p
31st January – Spanish Winter Gems – 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!
1. ‘The Sweet Spot: Understanding Sugar in Wine’ by Kelli White. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; anything Kelli White writes is worth reading. Another well researched, indepth article, this time focusing on the role of sugar in wine. According to author Therry Theise ‘there’s nothing so understood as sugar in wine’. I’d agree with that, if it weren’t for all the nonsense floating around about the role and impact of sulphur! However, for those amongst you who enjoy getting into the technical aspects of wine, this is a gold mine of information and a must-read for any wine students out there.
2. ‘Marketing Redux by John Atkinson MW. This was probably the single best article I read in the entire of 2018, looking at wine and marketing, yet going way beyond in a meandering, beautifully written piece by one of the industries more thoughtful professionals. I’ll warn you in advance; it takes a few read-throughs to really unravel everything in it, and if the white writing on a black background is a concern, I recommend copy/pasting it into a word document. You’ll be glad you went to the effort.
3. ‘How Low Can You Go? By Tim Atkin MW. The topic of alcohol levels in wine comes up time and time again, and probably will for the foreseeable future, particularly with temperatures heating up across the world. However, instead of looking at the balance issues of high-alcohol behemoths, Tim looks instead of the producers aiming to reduce the level of alcohol in their wines, and wonders at the inherent problems there instead. A really interesting read and much in line with my own thoughts. I’m not in the habit of discounting any wine based on their method of production, and whilst I do tend to drink more moderately powerful wines than their heavier cousins (you’re welcome, liver) I can’t imagine a world of wine without Priorat, Chateauneuf du Pape, Napa Valley and so on.
Wine of the Month: I’m constantly on the look-out for wines of real quality and value; here is my favourite wine of the month:
Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier 2005: Choosing a wine of the month in December is always a nightmare, as it’s usually the time of the year when I’m opening some special bottles and spending a lot of time with friends sharing wine. However, this year this beautiful Shiraz-Viognier blend from Canberra stood out above the rest, drank just before leaving to Argentina. I’d intentionally saved the bottle to share with Martin Moran MW who was visiting Barcelona and it didn’t disappoint! Subtle yet engaging, full of ripe blackberries, damsons, crushed violets, orange rind and warm oriental spices, this kept evolving in the glass as the day wore on. Beautifully fresh and still vibrant, with soft, finely grained tannins and overall, in perfect harmony. A wine to dispel any notions that the New World can’t produce age worthy, elegant wines – a stunning effort.
Rants and Musings
Some off-beat topics about anything related to wine.
There’s nothing quite like visiting a wine region to reignite motivation to learn and to study. I’ve had the great pleasure of visiting Mendoza this month, with 4 days packed full of winery visits, interviews with wine-makers and some completely unwarranted VIP treatment, all of which I am enormously grateful for. From spending 12 hours driving around the 18 different communes of Mendoza and investigating their soils, to visiting the Catena Research Institute and tasting through their top, iconic wines to spending an entire morning with the head winemaker of Bodega Pulenta, it’s been quite a trip! There will be a few write-ups coming on that front, but for now I want to mention my first point; motivation.
For those of you who know me, you’ll know that I prioritise studying highly. However, it’s hard to keep it up eternally and we all need a bit of a lift, especially when the information just isn’t sticking. For a wine geek, it’s trips like this. A big part of that is putting that knowledge to use – I have no intention of becoming a winemaker, but understanding the process of making wine doesn’t just allow me to appreciate the wines of the world, it allows me to understand a process. When Martin Kaiser of Dona Paula is talking about calcium carbonate levels in soils and how it affects photosynthesis and helps to control yields naturally, I get it. I spent a long time scouring Stephen Skelton’s ‘Viticulture’ and a lot of that has stuck with me.When Javier Laforte of Pulenta is talking about different methods of tannin management, I can focus on the finer points of his technique rather than worrying about the broader picture, because I spent the time learning about the differences between pump-overs, punch-downs and so on. It’s the delicious feeling of suddenly getting something in a way you didn’t before, the dots connecting, the light-bulb coming on, and seeing it unfold in front of you, in the glass.
Coming back from Mendoza and putting my notes in order wasn’t just a fun experience, it justified the thousands of hours of studying I put in to this point, and has inspired me for the next round. That lovely feeling of suddenly understanding a subject on a new level has stuck with me from the very beginning, and I intend to chase it until the very end (spoiler: there’s always another level). 2019 is a big one and this has come just at the right moment. I can’t wait to share some of these wines with you and, hopefully, channel some of this new information in the right direction. Salud!
Social Media
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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