November: This is typically the last month of the harvest for most wine-makers and indeed, practically all the white grapes and most of the reds will have been picked, pressed and begun fermentation already, with the exception of some late-ripening varieties or those small pockets of grapes in particular micro-climates. The big task in November is making the wine; with winery space at a premium and stainless steel tanks, barrels and concrete eggs all full of fermenting wine that has to be monitored constantly in order to make sure the temperatures, nutrient levels and volatile components are all in check. It can be a pretty stressful place to be! Now the time in the vineyard is more or less over, biology takes a back-seat to chemistry as science and artistry vie for control of the process. If the harvest was good and a good crop of healthy grapes was brought in, the sky is the limit for a skilled wine-maker. If the yield was low and/or poor quality due to rots, fungi, weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances then the wine-maker will have a challenge on their hands to turn it into a good quality wine that can return the investment of the year.

Hello Wine Lovers! It feels like we’ve practically skipped Autumn and gone straight to winter, with temperatures dropping overnight and warm clothes coming out rather rapidly! On the plus side, it’s perfect weather for drinking wine and that’s exactly what we have in store for you this month. We’re going to be organising 3 separate tastings, including some different nights than usual, with the intention of really mixing it up. We’re going to aim for a warming, delicious lunch with some Spanish wines ideal for this cooler weather, explore Germany through Riesling and Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), before embarking on our monthly International Blind Wine Tasting. There’s a lot of great wine to taste, new experiences to enjoy and of course, new people to meet! I hope to see you there for a fun evening of wine tasting 🙂

For more details of these events, be sure to check our Maestrazgo Wine Club page.

Events: Maestrazgo Wine Club:

10th November – An Autumnal Lunch in Spain – 30 euros p/p
22nd November – The Wines of Germany – 30 euros p/p
28th November – International Blind Tasting – 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. ‘Do Winemakers Improve with Age?‘ by Tim Atkin MW. Tim Atkin is a wonderful writer and journalist, and this is the best piece I’ve seen him write for a while. I’ve always felt that human effort was an intrinsic part of wine typicity, or terroir if you like, particularly when you have consistency within a family/team for a number of years or decades. Do winemakers get better at making wine as they get more experienced, or do they lose a certain creative spark?

2. ‘US Master Sommeliers Shrink and Compensate‘ by Elaine Chukan Brown. If you follow the Wine Cuentista Facebook Page, you’ll have noticed an article I linked earlier during the month, detailing the scandal to have hit the Court of Master Sommeliers in the US, with vital exam information leaked. There’s going to be a few more twists in the tail yet, but the candidates forced to retake the tasting exam have already started seeking outside counsel and it’s likely that the whole thing may yet go to court. For an updated list of events, as well as some interesting commentary on how the Master of Wine Institution might look at such an affair, give this article 5 minutes of your time.

3. ‘How to Properly Design a Wine List‘ by Alder Yarrow. I recently posted this but have to include it again, as it’s a wonderful piece for any aspiring sommeliers out there. I don’t eat out as much as I would like to, but I almost exclusively dine at places with good wine lists; for me it makes an enormous difference to the experience. Alder Yarrow has seen thousands of wine lists, and he’s here with some practical, easy-to-implement advice on how to make your own stand out, mainly from a design point of view. There’s a lot of things in here that are so important and I’d never even considered before. A worthwhile read!

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:

Fazenda Pradio Tinto 2014: I’m a huge fan of Mencia and Mencia based blends, particularly those from the beautiful, extreme slopes of Ribeira Sacra. There’s something about the crunchy red fruits, sappy herbs, spicy pepper and refreshing acidity that just sets my palate alight. A producer I discovered a couple of months ago is the wonderful Fazenda Pradio, a small producer farming biodynamically on the characteristically steep slopes overlooking the river Sil. Their ‘Tinto’ wine is 100% Mencia, fermented and aged in stainless steel, and it’s a wild, meaty and fresh expression of this wonderful grape. Ripe red cherries, smoked meat, crushed rocks and wild thyme tumbles out of the glass, with refreshing acidity and lovely, supple tannins. Savoury, untamed and hugely drinkable.

Rants and Musings
Some off-beat topics about anything related to wine.

You may have read my most recent article about my trip to London for the Union des Grand Crus Bordeaux 2018 tasting, where I spent a lot of my time tasting through the right-bank wines of Bordeaux. For those studying, you’ll know that the right-bank of Bordeaux is characteristically different to the left, being planted as it is with more Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and less Cabernet Sauvignon. The main reason for this is the sub-soils, with the right-bank having substantially more clay. Clay is cooler and retains large amounts of water, meaning that Cabernet Sauvignon struggles to ripen reliably, even in the warmer sites.

Well, this is what you read in the textbooks, anyway. I suspect there may be more to it than simple ripening, particularly as the big problem at the moment on the right-bank is keeping alcohol levels in check. Merlot, which has historically flourished in almost all parts along this bank, is now reaching levels of maturation that aren’t entirely unlike their cousins in California. 15% ABV isn’t an exception anymore, and the subtleties of this wonderful grape are being lost in translation from over-ripe grapes to wine. The taste I had of Chateau Troplong Mondot 2016 was an example of wine-making stretched to the limit to contain such huge fruit, and the result wasn’t at all bad, but it certainly wasn’t recognisably Bordeaux.

I’m referencing Bordeaux because it’s a clear-cut example, with certain grapes predominanting in certain regions, but the same is true across the wine world. This year, in 2018, Champagne declared their earliest ever harvest, beginning just after the mid-point of August. By the 22nd of August, some Burgundy producers were already starting to bring in their Chardonnay on the Cote d’Or. Spanish harvests are increasingly likely to be completed by the end of September, with only certain varieties making it into the traditional harvest zone of October. All this has become particularly noticeable within the last 2 decades or so, mirroring the accelerating effects of global warming in the world.

So, what’s the result of all this? Classic regions that have defined styles based on typical grapes and blends may well have to drastically change, redefining themselves completely. Areas of the world currently producing wine may well be completely unsuitable, whether through temperature of water availability, putting thousands out of jobs. Livelihoods depend on healthy crops of grapes that can be sold to wineries, which means that growers will have to adapt to changing circumstances, but how fast can those circumstances change? Vines need a minimum of 3 years to bear fruit once planted and don’t usually get into the swing of things for another 20 or so. With temperatures increasing so rapidly and consistently, the right grape planted today may be the wrong grape when the vineyard comes to maturity.

It may sound churlish to be musing on the effects of global warming on the wine industry when the rest of the world is suffering very real, often disastrous consequences, but then wine is what I’m all about, and I don’t recall seeing much of it in Mad Max: Fury Road. Whilst the industry will adapt and try to stay ahead of a rapidly changing world, I’m going to enjoy as many of the classics as I can whilst they’re still here. Syrah from Burgundy may be all the rage 40 years in the future, but I want to be the old man reminiscing about those long forgotten grapes, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and how they could take your breath away. The times they are a changin’, but I’m not ready. Not yet.

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