Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week

2014 Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel ($10)

Just having featured "Old Vine Zinfandel - Is it Better?" I thought it would be good to bring back a wine that was featured in this blog last year. This old vine Zinfandel comes from vines that are 60 to 80 years old. These old vines produce small, concentrated clusters of grapes that result in an incredibly rich and intense wine.  It has great dark fruit flavors and a bit of spicy notes from the use of two-year old American oak.

Old Vine Zinfandel - Is it Better?

Often, you'll see the words "Old Vine" on the label of a Zinfandel. But what does it really mean and does it equate with a better wine?

First, you need to realize that "Old Vine" is not a regulated term.  It can appear on any bottle of wine. Most in the wine industry consider 50 years and over to be worthy of the title.  And, in many cases, these old vines are more toward 100 years of age.  So, let's assume that wineries are using the 50+ definition for their old vine Zinfandel. The question remains - Is it a marketing gimmick or does the fruit from these old vines really result in a better wine?

Let's take a quick look at the life of a grape vine. When first planted, it may produce fruit in the first year or two, but these fruit-baring vines are often pruned before the grapes ripen. Typically, after about five years a vine is capable of producing a harvest-able annual crop. The vines really hit their stride in their teens and twenties, but their decline begins after that. At age 50, the vines are really in their fading years but are now worthy of being called "Old Vine."

Their deep roots that grow to a depth of approximately 25 feet are able to pull moisture and nutrition from the ground in the driest years and not create bloated fruit in wet years.

But, in their golden years, the vines are producing fewer and smaller grapes. This is where the difference can be.  The juice of these smaller grapes tends to be more concentrated in flavor. And, after pressing, the concentrated juice is less affected by the smaller amount of skin in the mixture, leading to lower tannin and a smoother wine.

So, yes, an old vine Zinfandel can be better. Or the vines can be badly in decline and in need of being dug up. But with good land, weather and proper farming an old Zinfandel vine can produce some great wines.

Given the choice on the store shelf, or on the wine list, I'd say go with the old vine. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week

2012 Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Sonoma Chardonnay ($15)

This is an "Estate" wine meaning that Rodney Strong grew the grapes, crushed them, fermented, aged and bottle the wine. This Chardonnay has the nice fruit flavors of golden delicious apple and Meyer lemon along with spicy notes of vanilla from its oak aging. You'd expect to pay a lot more for an Estate Chardonnay of this quality. Yet another great value.

Alsace - Another Great Region for Riesling

Germany is the home of Riesling, and still produces nearly half the world's Riesling. But there's another region that is well-known for its Riesling and that's Alsace [Ahl-zahs] in France.

Alsace is located east of Paris, along the border with Germany. It should be no surprise that Alsace produces great Riesling since it was part of Germany from 1871 to 1919.

But while most German Rieslings tend to be sweet, the Rieslings from Alsace are not. The Alsace winemakers ferment all the natural grape sugar to produce a totally dry wine. Because all the grape's natural sugar is converted to alcohol during fermentation, Alsace wines are higher in alcohol. Typically, they are in the 11 to 12% ABV range versus Germany's wines that are less than 10%

The Alsace AOC also requires that a varietal wine contain 100% of the grape variety identified on the label whereas the U.S. only requires 75%. So, when the label says Riesling, you are getting 100% Riesling.

In another difference that unlike the rest of France, Alsace wines are labeled according to their grape varieties, rather than by the region where the grapes were grown. This give you a strong hint that the winemakers of Alsace are keenly focused on the grape and letting the grape tell the story. The winemakers are not looking to produce a wine with a certain taste. Instead, they are looking to the grape, and the land (terrior) to define the wine.  For this reason, you'll seldom see a blended wine from Alsace. Again, quite different from most wine regions in France.

The wines of Alsace are typically not produced in wood barrels, instead opting for stainless steel tanks, concrete vessels or foudres casks that impart little to no oak flavor.

A Riesling from Alsace is typically dry, with aromas that range from flowers and bright citrus (grapefruit and lemon) to peach, pear and spices.  The high acidity makes them very fresh and refreshing but remaining well balanced.

Riesling goes well with goat cheeses, seafood, poultry and pork dishes, and most spicy Asian dishes. Cheers!