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Corkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d Magazine

April 2015 Issue

Cork’d Magazine • April 2015 • Issue 1

Contents Famous Blends of the world 14 Gorgeous Wineries by Top Architects

10 Wine Serving Survival Guide

6 11

Does Temperature Really Matter?

What Types of Wine Glasses Do You Really Need? Wine & Cheese Pairings

What Your Favorite Wine Says About you? Guide To Storing An open Bottle of Wine

14 17

How Wines Get their name? New world & Old World Wines Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine

Famous Blends of the World

f you made your own wine blend, what would you make?

Chateuneuf-Du-Pape

Check out the classic white and red wine blends from around the world. Creating the blend might just be the most creative part of being a wine-maker. It’s the moment where you get a chance to exercise your skills at flavor balancing. In fact, the process of blending goes beyond just putting grape varieties together. Many wine makers go through a rigorous barrel selection process to identify the best tasting wines. The top barrels go into a winery’s reserve bottlings, either reserved as a single variety or put together into a cuvée (French for ‘vat’).

Rhone, France A medium-bodied red wine with notes of maraschino cherry, raspberry, leather and faded rose. Grenache Syrah Mourvedre Bourboulenc* Cinsault Clairette Blanche* Counoise Grenache Blanc* Muscardin Picardan* Piquepoul Blanc* Roussanne* Terret Noir Vaccarese *white grapes

Red Bordeaux

Red Rhone / GSM

France A medium to full-bodied wine with notes of graphite, smoke, plum, black currant and tobacco. Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Petit Verdot Malbec

Red Bourgogne

France A light-bodied red wine with notes of cherry, raspberry, peony, and clove Pinot Noir >80% Gamay

France, USA & Australia A medium to full-bodied red wine with notes of raspberry, blackberry, vanilla, bacon fat and allspice Grenache Syrah Mourvedre Others

Chianti

Tuscany, Italy A medium-bodied wine with notes of black cherry, leather, tomato, and vanilla Sangiovese >70% Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc

Cork’d Magazine • April 2015 • Issue 1

Priorat

Spain A medium to full-bodied red wine with notes of raspberry, blueberry brambles, pepper, violet and wet-granite Grenache Syrah Carignan Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

Super Tuscan

Tuscany, Italy A full-bodied red wine with flavors of blueberry, clove and leather Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Sangiovese Syrah Cabernet Franc Others

Amarone Della Valpolicella

Veneto, Italy A medium to full-bodied red wine with bold tannins and notes of fig, dried cranberry, clove, sweet tobacco and leather Corvina Molinara Rondinella Others

Rioja

Spain A medium to full-bodied red wine with bold tannins and flavors of black cherry, black plums, figs and leather Tempranillo >70% Mazuelo (Carignan) Graciano Maturana Tinta

Meritage

USA A full-bodied red wine with notes of blueberry, plum, violets, pepper and vanilla. Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Cabernet France Petit Verdot Malbec Carmenere

Port

Douro, Portugal A full-bodied fortified wine with notes of blackberry, black currant, graphite, figs and raisins Touriga Macional Touriga Franca Tinta Roriz Tinta Barroca Tinto Cao Others

Champagne

France A high acidity sparkling wine with notes of lemon, almond, honeycomb and apple Chardonnay Pinot Meunier* Pinot Noir* *red grape

Cava

Spain A classic styled sparkling wine with notes of white peach, granite and lemon Macabeo Parellada Xarello Chardonnay

Prosecco

Italy A delicately floral sparkling wine with notes of lilies and peaches Prosecco (a.k.a. ‘Glera’)

Barollo

Piedmont, Italy A medium-bodied wine with bold tannins and notes of cherries, leather, clove and anise Nebbiolo

White Bourgogne

France A medium-bodied white wine with notes of lemon, apple, chalk and cream Chardonnay >80% Aligote

White Bordeaux

France A zesty and lightly colored white wine with flavors of gooseberry and melon. A few examples are oak-aged and have a lightly creamy texture. Semillon Sauvignon Blanc Muscadelle

White Rhone

France & USA A full-bodied white wine with notes of cream, apple, lemon curd and Parmesan cheese Marsanne Roussanne Viognier Clairette Grenache Blanc Bourboulenc Others

White Rioja

Spain Wiura (Macabeo) Malvasia Verdejo Garnacha Blanca Others

Provence Rose Soave

Veneto, Italy A medium-bodied white wine with notes of lemon, almond, and occasionally creaminess from oak-aging Garganega >70% Trebbiano Chardonnay Pinot Blanc Others

France A dry rosé with nuanced flavors of strawberry, melon, lavender and orange Cinsault Grenache Syrah Rolle* (Vermentino) Others

“

Drinking good wine, with good food, in good company is one of lifes most civalized pleasures.

- Michael Broadbent

Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine

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Gorgeous Wineries 14

n recent years, more and more vineyards have sought to make a statement not just with their wines but with the design of their facilities, enlisting star architects from Renzo Piano to Zaha Hadid. That means wineries are no longer mere side trips en route to the main attraction—they’ve become destinations in their own right. World-class food and drink, stunning architecture, luxury lodgings, idyllic settings—this is the stuff epicurean dreams are made of. In advance of the grape harvest (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least), AD takes a look at some of the most beautifully designed wineries around the globe. In vino—and venustas—verities.

Bodegas Ysios, in Spain’s Rioja region, was designed by Santiago Calatrava and completed in 2001, with an undulating aluminum-and-cedar roof that echoes the mountainous landscape. Its name is a tribute to Isis and Osiris, Egyptian gods closely linked to the world of wine.

Petra Winery, located near the ancient Tuscan village of Suvereto, was designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta and completed in 2003. The structure has architectural features reminiscent of other Botta designs, including a cylindrical core (as seen at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) and a plant-topped roof (similar to the one crowning the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Évry, France), but the building is firmly grounded in the region, with an exterior clad in rough-hewn pink stone from Verona.

L’And Vineyards, in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal, was designed by the Lisbonbased firm Promontorio and completed in 2011. The stark white exterior of this winery and hotel was inspired by the lime-washed buildings common in the Alentejo region. The pièce de résistance? Ten suites feature retractable ceilings, allowing guests to drink in the area’s starry nights.

Rocca di Frassinello, Tuscany, Italy

Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Renzo Piano, Tuscany’s Rocca di Frassinello opened in 2007, the result of a partnership between Paolo Panerai, owner of Castellare di Castellina in Chianti Classico, and Baron Eric de Rothschild of the world-famous Domaines Barons de Rothschild-Lafite. The winery combines traditional forms of Tuscan architecture with an industrial theme. A rectangular tower holds heliostats that reflect light into the building interior.

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Niepoort Winery, in Portugal’s Douro Valley, was designed by Austrian architect Andreas Burghardt and completed in 2008. The stepped, curved lines of the stone façade mirror the vineyard’s terraced landscape.

Marqués de Riscal, a winery in Elciego, Spain, dating from the 1850s, commissioned Pritzker Prize winner Frank Gehry to create a structure that would serve as the center of its new City of Wine. The pink-hued titanium exterior of Gehry’s building, completed in 2006, is evocative of a joyous ribbon wrapped around a present. Along with the winery, the complex is also home to a hotel, restaurant, and a Caudalie spa.

O. Fournier Winery, in Mendoza, Argentina, was designed by Bormida & Yanzon and completed in 2007. The modern concrete, glass, and stainless-steel structure stands in stark relief against a spectacular backdrop of corrugated mountains jutting straight up from the vineyards.

L’And Vineyard, Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal

In 1984, an architectural competition overseen by the San Francisco Museum of Art was held for the commission to build Clos Pegase Winery, in Calistoga, California. The winner was Michael Graves, who completed the project in 1987. The structure— meant to be “reminiscent of southern European agrarian buildings, which control and filter sunlight and relate to the landscape through their colors and materials”—also serves to house owner Jan Shrem’s impressive collection of modern art, including works by Jean Dubuffet, Henry Moore, and César Baldaccini.

An early entry in the statement-winery movement, Napa Valley’s Opus One was designed by Scott Johnson of Johnson, Fain & Pereira and completed in 1991. The structure, which combines traditional European architectural elements and pared-down New World aesthetics, was meant to reflect the unique partnership between the label’s founders, Baron Philippe de Rothschild of France’s venerable Château Mouton Rothschild dynasty and Robert Mondavi, California’s legendary wine-making pioneer.

In 1994, Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, scion of the French wine- and spirit-making family that produces Grand Marnier, and her husband, Cyril de Bournet, began growing grapes and making wine in Chile’s fertile Colchagua Valley. Ten years later, they completed a centerpiece winery on a hill overlooking their estate. Lapostolle Clos Apalta, designed by Amercanda Architects, is a six-level structure of wood, glass, and steel that looks a bit like a bird’s nest perched on the side of a mountain. Along with tasting facilities, Lapostolle offers Relais & Châteaux accommodations.

Set in Ribera del Duero, one of Spain’s foremost wineproducing regions, Bodegas Portia, part of the Faustino Group, was designed by Foster & Partners and opened in 2010. Along with many modern design elements (Cor-Ten steel exterior walls, rooftop solar panels), the structure also incorporates an old-fashioned gravity-driven wine-making system: During harvest, grapes are dropped on the roof, where they are processed and crushed; the juice then pours down to containers waiting below.

Hoteliers Alex and Carrie Vik hosted a competition among Chilean architects in 2007 for a commission to design a winery for their new label, Vik. Smiljan Radic took the prize and created a long, low building at the center of the couple’s 11,000-acre estate in the Millahue Valley, south of Santiago. Radic, who designed this year’s Serpentine Pavilion in London, kept the building’s profile unobtrusive by creating underground levels for processing and storing wine. An expansive shallow pool that holds water used to cool the lower levels is crisscrossed with concrete pathways and decorated with boulders.

R. López de Heredia, Haro, Spain

In celebration of its 125th anniversary, R. López de Heredia, a venerable winery based in Spain’s Rioja region, hired Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid to design a pavilion to house a shop and tasting room. The architect created a dramatic white triangular structure, completed in 2006, at the label’s headquarters in Haro that serves as a “bridge between the past, present, and future evolution of its worldfamous bodegas.”

When designing a new facility for Château Cheval Blanc, in Saint-Émilion, France, Pritzker Prize–winning architect Christian de Portzamparc drew inspiration from the concrete fermentation vats used by the wine-maker and created a structure topped with a white concrete canopy. From a distance, the wavelike roof appears like a curvilinear sculpture perched atop the surrounding grapevines.

Vik Winery, Millahue, Chile

Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine

Château Cheval Blanc, Saint-Émilion, France

Bodegas Portia, Ribera del Duero, Spain

Opus One, Napa Valley, California

Bodegas Ysios, Santiago Calatrava, Spain

Clos Pegase Winery, Calistoga, California

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Lapostolle Clos Apalta, Colchagua Valley, Chile

Niepoort Winery, Douro Valley, Portugal

O. Fournier Winery, Mendoza, Argentina

Petra Winery, Suvereto, Italy

Marqués de Riscal, Elciego, Spain

Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine

Wine serving survival guide Wine Serving Order and How Much to Pour

I know you can drink a whole bottle, but can your grandmother? Champagne First Sparkling wine is served first, in lieu of a cocktail, before people sit down. I usually start with Champagne and then a cocktail... Anyone can keep drinking bubbles throughout dinner, but it’s more traditional to switch to a red wine with the meal. Follow this logic if you want to fly undetected. But if you want to be remembered, be the guy drinking good Champagne with steak. 3 – 4 oz. per Pour A full glass is 5-6 ounces, but a proper pour is actually half-ofthat. There are two good reasons for this. First, you don’t want to over serve people. I know you have great drinking habits, but your mother-in-law may not. Also, if you’re serving full pours to a party of more than five, you’ll polish off a whole bottle before the 6th person! Sucks for them, I guess. White, Then Red, Then Sweet, Try Not to Tweet!  A serious wine dinner will step-up one by one from light whites, to rich whites, to rosés, to light reds, to high tannin reds and finally to dessert wine. With the listed variety of wines, you can easily consume close to a whole bottle of wine with just 3 oz servings. Sound like fun? Host one yourself. Oh, and… if you’re polite, you won’t pull out your phone to take pictures. But if

you’re like me, you’ll always have an iPad handy. Get the glassware lowdown. Having too many wine glasses and not enough water glasses is not really a problem. Find out what types of wine glasses are out there.

Good Wine Etiquette Will Make You Shine

Without a wine server or sommelier managing your booze, what should you do? Here are the basics of wine etiquette. Ladies First  Start with your grandmother, end with your teenage niece… I mean your 21 year-old niece. Then, serve old fogies to young bucks. Walk clockwise around the table to serve your guests until you are dizzy. Ladies get first option because they usually peeter out first (unless they are my girlfriends; then you’re in trouble). Ask Before You Re-pour Yourself  Ask your seat neighbors if they’d like a fill ‘er up before hitting your own glass. Don’t worry about your across-the-table neighbors unless they perk up. If this happens, get up from your seat and pour them more. You’ll get hero status if you do this. The Last Bite Rule  Just like with food, if there is a last pour of wine that you really want, ask. Do something like this: “Would anyone like to share this last pour with me?” More than likely, other guests with

Cork’d Magazine • April 2015 • Issue 1

social manners will insist you enjoy it all. Aren’t you are such a gentleperson!

Opening and Serving Wine at the Table

Some of the finest restaurants in the world don’t actually open wine at the table. They have a separate guéridon or side table to do the dirty work. You can emulate this proper technique by opening your wine bottles before dinner. How Much Should I Open?  The usual rule is that 1 guest will drink an entire bottle of wine throughout a proper meal. However, there’s more to it than that. Take a look around at the scene. Is it a long table? You should make it easy for people to drink and have a bottle within reach. How Should I Open a Wine Bottle?  Seems like serving a wine should be easy enough: Just open and pour. But anyone who has ever struggled with a crumbling cork, or listened to a debate over whether the Cabernet they’re drinking needs to “breathe” more, knows that sometimes it’s not quite so simple. Ever been stymied by an unfamiliar wine closure or unusual bottle, puzzled over serving etiquette or wondered why there are so many different types of corkscrews? Here are some tips for opening any bottle with ease and grace, or dealing with a cork that’s gone awry.

Pulling a Cork Most wines are finished with a cork of some type—all-natural cork, composite cork or a synthetic—covered by a capsule of either metal or plastic. To open: 1. Remove the top part of the capsule, cutting around the neck just below the lip of the bottle. 2. Wipe the top of the bottle with a damp towel or cloth if necessary. 3. Use a corkscrew to remove the cork. There are several different models of corkscrews available (more on those later); the choice is a matter of individual taste. 4. Pour a small taste and check that the wine is in good condition—musty, moldy aromas are a sign of TCA, while those of old, browned apples indicate the wine may be oxidized—before serving to guests. Decanting is Just Plain Badass! Everyone I know who is in the biz recommends decanting red wines, especially full bodied red wines.

“

Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.

”

- Benjamin Franklin

ou have everything lined up. There’s flowers on the table, the guests have boozy drinks in their hands and your charming guest of honor (mine is usually clad in a Battlestar Galactica T-shirt) is ready to move this whole party to the next level. It’s time for wine-ing and dining.

SPARKLING WINE “ICE COLD” 38-50˚F eg. Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, Cremant, ect. HINT: Put bottle in freezer 1 hour before opening. The fancier the wine, the warmer it can be.

White Wine “FRIDGE COLD” 44-57˚F eg. Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner ect. HINT: The lighter and zesty the wine, the colder it can be. Oaked white wines are better warmer.

Temperature

Does

LIGHT RED When you’re at a table that’s not orchestrated by hospitality staff, how do you handle the social rules of wine serving? For instance, who gets refills first? How should wine be presented? And what about showing each wine in its best light? Believe it or not, wine serving temperatures really matter! Below are 4 reliable wine serving tips you can trust. They are respected by serious winos and etiquette hounds alike. Believe me, I know what it feels like to receive Tiffany’s Table Manners for Teenagers from my grandmother as a birthday present. A gift like that is a deprecating reminder that your family knows you fail at social etiquette.

“COOL” 53-63˚F eg. Grenache, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent, Zinfandel, Burgundy, ect. HINT: The more fruity the wine, the warmer it can be. Put the bottle in the fridge 30 minutes before opening.

Rich RED “SLIGHTLY COOL” 63-69˚F eg. Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Rioja, Douro Reds HINT: High tannin wines smooth out a bit at warmer temperatures. Remember, it’s easier to warm your glass than cool it.

Really Matter? Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine

What Types of Wine Glas W

ine is a peculiar beverage because even serving it in different glasses can change the way it tastes. This simple guide aims to help with the basics of serving wine and picking glassware to ensure that your wine tastes the best it possibly can.

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What Type of Stemware is Right for You? There are a gazillion different types of wine glasses out on the market. So, what should you buy? Discover what glassware fits your wine drinking habits and what the best options are to build a proper wine glass set. Check out this cool chart on the different types of wine glasses. Identify the different styles so that you can better decide what to buy based on your needs.

A proper glass will make any wine taste better.

Although the highest quality crystal glasses are thought to provide a better wine tasting experience, the high cost of these glasses often prevents many from purchasing them. They are also very fragile, so you will experience a higher replacement cost than with thicker plain glass.

”

In 1986, Georg Riedel, a 10th generation Austrian glass maker, came out with a line of affordable machine-made crystal glasses called Vinum. The line featured different glass shapes for different types of wine which caused a lot of confusion. Consumers were accustomed to using just one wine glass and the Vinum line seemed to be complete overkill. Georg Riedel had a clever solution, he started hosting ‘wine glass tastings’ to prove first hand the difference a glass can make. Regardless of his profit motives, Georg was right. Even novice wine drinkers noticed a sizable difference between certain glass shapes. Ten years later, Georg was awarded Decanter Man of The Year for his contribution to the wine world. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you have to buy the entire line of Riedel, Scott Zweisel or Zalto… it just means that you might want to figure out what wine glasses fit your drinking style, because it will make your wine taste better.

unleaded. Unleaded crystal uses barium carbonate and zinc and titanium oxides to replace the traditional lead oxide that’s often found in crystal glassware. These glasses feature similar properties as lead crystal, such as temperature control and the ability to accentuate the aroma and flavors of wine. They also feature a similar refractive index to lead crystal, but are lighter in weight.

Does a Different Glass Really Affect the Flavor? Yep! How we drink can change

the taste because of our noses. Repeat after me: olfactory is key. From coffee to wine, some vessels are designed to capture the “perfect” amount of aromas. That being said, just be sure to leave a little room in your glass to collect smells.

The Difference Between Crystal and Glass Stemware Wine glasses are typically made out of glass or crystal – but what’s the difference? All crystal is glass, but not all glass is crystal. In general, it is the lead content of glass that is the main determinant in the classification of something as either glass or crystal. The presence of lead softens the glass in crystal, therefore making it more easily cut and engraved. It also increases the weight of the glass and causes the glass to diffract light; traditional glass on the other hand is generally lighter in weight than crystal, and light will not diffract through it. In traditional lead glassware, the lead has a tendency to leach out of the crystal. To combat this, today’s crystal glassware is typically

Cork’d Magazine • April 2015 • Issue 1

Red Wine Red wines are made from “black” (red-colored) grapes fermented with the skin included. The skin is what imparts the red color to the wine. Red wines typically have a more robust flavor, and pair well with food that is similarly robust, such as red meats (beef, lamb), hearty pasta dishes, etc. They are usually drunk at or just below room

ses Do You Really Need? temperature.

Sparkling Wine

Red Wine Glasses

White Wine

Red wines are best served in large wine glasses. The bowls of these glasses will be fuller and rounder with a larger opening than other wine glasses of similar capacities in order to allow you to dip your nose into the glass to detect aroma. This bowl style is also imperative because the complex aromas and flavors of red wine demand a glass with a larger surface area to ensure that the wine comes in contact with more air.

White wines are from either “black” (red-colored) or “white” (green-colored) grapes, fermented without the skin, and are often combined with citrus and spicy flavors.

Sparkling wine, or champagne, adds a hint of luxury, through a fizzy/bubbly texture. The “sparkles” in sparkling wine are bubbles of carbon dioxide, which is a natural byproduct of the fermentation process.

White wines are usually drunk cold, with lighter foods such as poultry and fish.

Sparkling Wine Glasses

A specific type of red wine glass, the Bordeaux glass, is taller than traditional red wine glasses, yet the bowl is not quite as large. It is designed for full bodied, heavier red wines such as Cabernet’s and Merlots. The tallness of the glass allows the wine to proceed directly to the back of the mouth to maximize its flavor. Another style of red wine glass, the Burgundy glass, is designed for lighter, full-bodied wines such as Pinot Noir. It is not as tall as the Bordeaux glass, but the bowl is larger than the Bordeaux glass, directing the wine to the tip of the tongue to taste its more delicate flavors.

White Wine Glasses A white wine glass’ bowl will be more U shaped and upright than that of a red wine glass, allowing the aromas to be released while also maintaining a cooler temperature. The white wine glass style that’s best for younger whites has a slightly larger opening directing the wine to the tip and sides of the tongue to taste its sweetness. The glass for more mature white wines will be straighter and taller to dispense the wine to the back and sides of the tongue to taste its bolder flavors.

A sparkling wine glass (or champagne flute) will be upright and narrower than most wine glasses to retain the carbonation and capture the flavor in the beverage.

Stemless Wine Glasses Offering the same shapes and styles of bowls as traditional stemmed wine glassware, stemless wine glasses deliver function with modern style and a limited risk of breakage. Wines may be warmed faster than with stemmed glasses, but the stemless design of these pieces exudes a contemporary appearance that’s all the rage and definitely worth the risk. Additionally, since the delicate stems are no longer present in these glasses, less care ought to be required to maintain them.

Questionnaire: Which Type of Wine Glasses Should You Buy? Answer these questions honestly to figure out what kind of stemware to buy. 1. Do you ever hand wash special kitchen tools such as knives? 2 Do you have places to store tall wine glasses? 3. Do you enjoy a glass of wine almost every night? 4. Do you wash your dishes after dinner? 5. Do you take pleasure from cleaning and organizing your kitchen or bathroom? 6. Do you have safe areas that are off-limits from kids? If you answered mostly “No” Owning crystal stemware will drive you insane. Instead, get glassware or stemless crystal glasses. These will be easier to maintain and won’t give you a conniption if they break. You can also wash them in the dishwasher. If you answered mostly “Yes” You are neurotic enough to keep crystal glassware clean and sparkly. You should look into getting a set of 4-6 matching crystal wine glasses that you can use for years to come.

Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine

Wine & Cheese W

e have fondue, triple cream, and stinky blues lined up for your next glass of wine. Check out these modern variations on classic wine and cheese pairings, then dig into the details below for specific wine and cheese recommendations.

Bold Red Wine & Cheese

Wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Zinfandel match up well with equally intense cheeses. Match them with a cheese that’s firm and a bit salty, perhaps with tyrosine crystals. You’ll find that the cheese will be best enjoyed in small bite-sized pieces over grilled bread.

Cabernet Sauvignon does well with aged cheddars and peppery cheeses.

Candied and fruity Garnacha wines are a complimentary match to a 4 month Spanish Manchego.

Emphasize the tobacco notes in Shiraz with a smokey cheese.

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Create a Perfect Pairing

Every wine is unique. Is your wine dry and spicy? Smooth out rigid tannins and bracing acidity with a slightly less firm cheese. The fat content will compliment the tannin and the texture will absorb high acidity. For example: a 5 month aged Bra Duro with Barollo. Learn about the basic characteristics in wine to fine tune your own pairings. More Bold Red Wine & Cheese Pairings: • Aged Gouda • Bandage Wrapped Cheddar • Goat Cheddar • Smoked Cheddar or Gouda • Nufenen • Basque Sheep’s Milk Cheese • Grana Padano • Fiore Sardo • Toma del Lait Brusc – Northern Italy • Pecorino • Azores Flores • Manchego

Light Red Wine & Cheese

Light red wines like Pinot Noir and Beaujolais match up nicely with delicately flavored, washed rind cheeses and nutty, mediumfirm cheeses. Gruyere is a great example of a nutty cheese and Taleggio is a semi-soft, washed rind cheese that is not overly intense. If you enjoy a softer style, try a soft ripened cheese like Brie or Camembert.

A good rule of thumb to follow is, “the funkier the wine – the funkier the cheese.” A very rustic wine will do wonders when matched with an odoriferous cheese and a sweet berry wine will beg for a cheese that’s well… cheesy. More Light Red Wine & Cheese Pairings: • Gruyère – Comté Extra • Swiss • Raclette • Provolone • Caciocavallo • Saint-Nectaire • Pont L’Eveque • Ossau Iraty • Nocerino • Fontina • Brie • Camembert • Coulommiers • Raschera • Taleggio

White Wine and Cheese

White wines typically match with a much wider array of cheeses than reds. This is because white wines are devoid of tannin making it much easier to match them together. If there’s one cheese that doesn’t match up too well with many white wines, it would be blue cheese. It tends to overwhelm. Here are a few classic pairings to consider:

Pairing Ideas In the Loire Valley, where Sauvignon Blanc originates, you can find many goat herds. The goat cheeses from the Loire aren’t as soft or as fresh as goat cheese found in the US. French goat cheeses tend to be firmer with a chalk-like taste texture due to high calcium content. As they age, the cheese develops a spiciness that will match up fantastically with a Sauvignon Blanc or an unoaked Chardonnay (the Loire makes a few of these too!). Check out cheeses like Crottin de Chavignol or Humboldt Fog as great options for a white wine cheese.

Around Veneto, you’ll find vineyards of Garganega (‘garGAN-neg-uh’) which make the wines of Soave. Soave is crisp, like Sauvignon Blanc, with a slightly bitter almond note on the finish. The bitterness in this wine makes it a fascinating match with a young asiago (that’s not too firm). The aged versions of Asiago go surprisingly well with a fruity, off-dry Prosecco or Moscato d’Asti.

Off-dry styles of Riesling, such as a German Riesling from the Mosel, match up wonderfully with fondue. The sweetness and acidity compliment the nutty robust fondue flavors and make everything taste delicately sweet and salty. Hungry yet?

Chardonnay tends to grow better in slightly cooler climates where it develops complex, floral and fruity smells that compliment oak-aged flavors of vanilla and toffee. Interestingly enough, washed-rind cow’s cheeses (like Époisses de Bourgogne) are made in the same regions where Chardonnay grows. They are a bit stinky with a pungent flavor from a mold developing on the rind of the cheese. Usually, you can identify them by their wrinkly orange rind. When matched with Chardonnay, the stinkiness goes away! Examples of this style of cheese include Époisses de Bourgogne, Good Thunder (Alemar, seriously funky) and Red Hawk (Cow Girl Creamery). If you are a stinky cheese wuss, opt for a traditional triple cream cow’s cheese such as Delice de Bourgogne, Brie or a fresh style Tomme.

Dessert Wine Cheese Pairings

The cheese course is still served at the end of a meal at a proper dinner in Europe (even after dessert). Perhaps there’s a method to this madness, because it’s one of the most inspired pairings known to cheese. Even the most pungent blue cheese transforms when matched with a vintage port.

The older the vintage port, the stinkier the blue cheese you can get. What happens as Vintage Port ages is the tannins soften and the acidity lessens revealing a much sweeter tasting wine. The sweetness of dessert wines compliment and shape a stinky cheese.

Pairing Challenge: White wine is a great place to start when exploring cheese pairings as it’s very versatile. Try picking a wine you’re already familiar with and pairing it against a range of cheeses to see how they influence its flavor profile.

Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine

What your Favorite Wine says About you Find out what your favorite wine says about your personality. Although, to be fair, as long as you’re drinking wine, there is already something very correct about you.

If you love Malbec…

You have a box full of adult toys and you like to dip your pizza crust in ranch. Who wouldn’t want a wine that tastes like chocolate cake?

If you love Pinot Noir…

You’re the person who loves the idea of the beach but hates sand in between your toes. Pinot Noir is the ideal wine because it’s not too fruity, not too herbaceous, not too tannic and not too bold. Your go-to color to wear is gray. You have a silver car.

If you love something French…

You studied philosophy and know the proper way to pronounce “Anaïs Nin.” French wine may be rustic and hard-to-drink, but nothing truly profound is ever easy to swallow.

If you love Italian wine…

You’re a family guy/gal but you’re also a bit sadomasochistic. Arguing and bitter vegetables turn you on. Well hello there, radicchio.

If you love Sparkling Wine … If you love Pinot Grigio…

You got into P. Grigio because it is the lowest calorie sugar-free drink that looks classy. Now you’re kinda stuck with it.

If you love Cabernet Sauvignon…

You like music with real instruments played by real musicians. You live by the motto: “No pain, no gain.” No one would dare use the word ‘subtle’ to describe your personality. Cabernet Sauvignon seems fitting.

If you love Sauvignon Blanc…

You heard that smart is the new sexy. This is great news because you’ve been a sweaterwearing smarty ever since you were eight. You like Sauvignon Blanc because it’s made in New Zealand and the Loire Valley of France; two places where sweaters are popular.

If you love Rosé…

You’ve figured out the socially acceptable way to day-drink.

Cork’d Magazine • April 2015 • Issue 1

Here are your thoughts on cocaine: 1. You’ve never had it and you never will. You’re certain you’ll become addicted. 2. You love it.

If you love Port…

There are very few things better than cuddling up alone with a good book, a square of dark chocolate and a glass of fine Port. Now, please leave me alone.

If you love Biodynamic wine…

Your bag is made of leather or a natural material like canvas. You ride a bicycle to work. You think that Biodynamic wine is the only responsible wine to drink. Get with the program people.

If you love White Zinfandel… You’re really not that into wine.

Guide to Storing an Open Bottle of Wine Chances are you’ve been stumped by this question: How do you save an open bottle of wine and ensure it will be delicious the next day?

Ditch the fancy gadgets & gizmos. Follow these two tricks! Oxygen is a frenemy to wine. Oxygen initially improves the taste of wine, but extended exposure can ultimately ruin a wine. While there are several fancy gadgets on the market that can help you remove oxygen from unfinished bottles, if you follow one of our two tricks, you won’t need to waste a small fortune to ensure your wine will last another day.

Trick #1:

One of the biggest threats to wine is surface area. The more wine in contact with oxygen, the more quickly it will start to degrade. If you’ve only drank half a bottle of wine, this means the leftover wine in the bottle is now exposed to a half bottle of oxygen — no good if you want to drink the wine tomorrow. A neat trick to avoid this problem is by transferring your wine into a smaller container. For this, we like to use a half bottle (375 ml) of wine. Half bottles can be found at most stores that also sell regular bottles (750 ml) of wine, and they are perfect for storing wine you want to save for another day. Simply drink the wine that originally came in the

half bottle and then rinse out the bottle well with water. When you have a wine you want to save, transfer the leftover wine from your regular size bottle into the empty half bottle, and then close the bottle with a cork or even saran wrap — you just want to make sure there is a seal. Next, place the bottle in the fridge (more on why you should do that below). The wine should last at least 2 more days in it’s new, smaller home. Once you finish up your wine, you can rinse the half bottle and use it again and again — no need for a fancy gadget.

Trick #2:

If you don’t have a half-bottle or small container lying around, a great way to ensure your wine will last at least another day is by placing it in the fridge. Due to the cold temperature inside your refrigerator, oxygen is not able to inflict the same damage at the same speed as it would if you left the bottle out on your counter. In order to ensure the wine still taste great tomorrow, simply replace the cork or screw the cap, and move the bottle into the fridge. Your wine should still be great the next night, ready to be polished off when you get home from work.

Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine

How Wines Get Their Name?

he distinctions between Old World wines and New World wines are commonly misunderstood. Many people throw these terms around broadly, saying they prefer Old to New or New to Old without really knowing what the difference is between the two styles, or what makes a wine truly Old World or New World. I don’t believe one style is better than the other, but I’m going to break down what each term means so you can better understand and use them.

Old World Wine vs. New World Wine When someone uses the term Old World they are referring to wines made in countries that are considered the birthplaces of wine, basically that’s Europe and the Middle East. Some of the countries that are Old World include: France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Lebanon, Israel, Croatia, Georgia, Romania, Hungary and Switzerland. Characteristically, wines from the Old World tend to be lighterbodied, more restrained, and lower in alcohol, though this is very much a generalization and not always true. The main trait all Old World wine countries have in common is that their wine making is heavily restricted, with guidelines all wineries must follow. Each country and region of that country in the Old World has been making wine a certain way for centuries, and current wine makers are held to those old standards. Many times the reason a person says they prefer Old World wine is simply because there is a heritage behind the wine they are drinking. As wine drinkers, it is romantic to realize

the wine in our glass has been made the same way for centuries. New World wines come from countries that used to be colonies, including the U.S., and are in hotter climates, which, generally speaking, causes wines from the New World to be fuller bodied and have bolder fruit flavors. They also tend to be higher in alcohol. New World countries include: the U.S., New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Australia and South Africa.

Cork’d Magazine • April 2015 • Issue 1

Sometimes you will hear people use the term New World condescendingly, as a way to undermine a wine, preferring the romanticism of the Old World, which we find silly. The current trend in wine is to prefer Old World to New World, just as vintage styles are back in vogue, but trends ebb and flow and we think down the road preferences will again swap, just as they did in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. If you come in contact with a person who sweepingly says they only

drink one style or the other, share your knowledge and remind them that both styles have wonderful things to offer.

New World Vs. Old World Wines grapes were used to make the wine, the wine is called Cabernet Sauvignon. This would even be true if the wine wasn’t made with 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and instead the wine-maker chose to use only 70 percent, selecting other grapes for the remaining 30 percent. Because Cabernet Sauvignon is still in the majority, most New World wine makers would still call the wine Cabernet Sauvignon.

Old World Wine Names In wines that are made in the Old World, these wines generally receive the name of the region from which the wine was made. For example, while a wine made in the Bordeaux region of France might contain 70 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, giving it the name Cabernet Sauvignon in the New World, because the wine was made in the Old World it is called Bordeaux.

nderstanding how two wines, such as Pinot Noir and Burgundy, are exactly the same type of wine yet have two different names is confusing to many wine drinkers. This confusion stems from the fact that most wines get their names in one of two different ways: they are either named for their grape variety (the grape that was used to make the wine) or they are named for the region of the world in which the wine was made.

Depending on where in the world the wine you have purchased was made, the practices of that location will determine whether or not they name the wine after the grape variety or the region. For most wines, this determination is made depending on whether the wine was made in the New World or the Old World.

Rule Of Thumb:

Old World wines are usually named after the region where they were grown, while New

World wines are usually named for the sole or principal grape in the bottle!

New World Wine Names In the majority of wine regions of the New World, the wine makers choose to name their wines after the sole or principal grape varietal that has gone into creating the beverage. In simpler terms, this means the wine is called by the grape’s name, so for example if Cabernet Sauvignon

The reason wineries from the Old World name their wines after regions is because Old World wine makers tend to feel that the place where the wine was made has as much, if not more, to do with how the wine will taste as grapes. This sense of place is called terroir; it is the idea that the sun, moon, soil, rain, and climate all impact the finished wine. When a wine is truly made well, Old World wine makers believe you can taste that wine’s terroir just as well as the grape’s characteristics. It is a belief that a Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux will taste very different from a Cabernet Sauvignon from Italy, and therefore the regional name is used for the name of the wine instead of the grape.

Issue 1 • April 2015 • Cork’d Magazine