SUNDAY SEDIMENT | 67 by Glengarry Wines

Glengarry's Sunday ramblings of all things vinous, grain and glorious.The Sunday Sediment. Issue Sixty-Seven

BrittanyWork, Welcome to the Sixty-Seventh edition of The Sunday Sediment, a collection of what’s new, what’s on and what’s happening instore at Glengarry and within the world of wine. Sip away.

CHURCH ROAD THE HEART OF OUR HISTORY

Taradaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church Road winery began its journey back in 1897. In the 1920s it fell into the waiting hands of New Zealand winemaking legend, Tom McDonald, producer of this countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first commercial Cabernet Sauvignon. The rest is, as they say, is history. Well ahead of his time, Tom set the national benchmark for quality, and his passion for producing outstanding Hawke's Bay wines continues to flourish at this historic winery. Read more ...

VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE

Vintage champagne is created from the fruit of a single year, as opposed to their invariably cheaper non-vintage siblings, which, to maintain a consistent house style, are drawn from a pool of reserve wines from a number of vintages. These singular champagnes champion the individual qualities of a particular vintage, which means that some years are going to be special, and some less so. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about the grapes being in optimum condition. After the second fermentation and disgorgement, the wine must, by law, be matured for at least three years, With the serious producers, it will be for longer. Read More..

GRAND CRU

Champagneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classification system scores the village each vineyard is located in. Working from a 100-point scale, 319 villages are graded for their historical grape growing potential. The 17 villages ranked at 100% are referred to as Grand crus. The most prestigious, they command the highest prices. Ranked just below, at 90-99% are 45 villages classified as Premier crus. Read More..

THE NAKED HOP PALE ALE vs IPA

For those new to, or with only a passing interest in, craft beer there is very little separating a Pale Ale from an India Pale Ale, except perhaps the expectation of a spicy component to the brews flavour. Even those with early onset of the craft beer itch, or a fully developed hop obsession can be forgiven for having only the slight inkling as to what makes one beer a Pale Ale and the other an IPA. In the briefest of terms, one could consider the IPA to be Pale Ale’s bigger, more hop laden brother. But is there more to it?

A search through dusty history books (or on the internet) would reveal the term “Pale Ale” appearing in the early 18th Century to describe beers made from lighter malts resulting in lighter beers and there for comparatively a pale ale. These beers were deafeningly lighter in malt structure, highlighting the hops and gave rise to the British beers under the moniker “Bitters”. 5

For almost 100 years the ‘Pale Ale’ existed as a category of one until the English occupying the new colony of India felt the need for comforts from home including their favourite beers. To ensure these ales arrived unspoiled and ready for consumption the hops and alcohol (both natural preservatives) were ramped up.

Now that we’ve explained the difference between a Pale Ale and IPA I can almost hear someone asking, “So what’s an APA then smart guy!?’ The American Pale Ale, much like anything they get their hands on in the USA, is the same but different in an American way!

So… put simply, an IPA is at heart an

Replacing the European hops for American

intensified Pale Ale, and it's fair to say not

varieties these beers have a piney, citrus

much has changed with IPAs remaining the

character with a hint of fruitiness.

bigger, hairier brother of the classic Pale Ale. But the simple answer of “IPAs are a stronger,

Now, before I continue leading myself further

bolder Pale Ale” is true, it's not so 100% of the

down the rabbit hole I’m going to sign this off

time. Whilst one brewery’s Pale Ale will be a

without expanding and explaining the newest pale kid on the block, the ‘New England IPA’.

mellower offering compared with their India Pale Ale expression, it may in fact out muscle