Behind the Cork™ - Beronia Rioja Crianza

2018 Beronia Rioja Crianza ($15)

This wine is imported by González Byass which is headquartered in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. It is a family-­owned collection of wineries that was founded in 1835 and spans across Spain’s most important wine producing regions.

This Beronia Crianza, from the Rioja region of Spain, is made from 96% Tempranillo, 3% Garnacha and 1% Mazuelo (a.k.a. Carignan). By Rioja regulations, a Crianza (“kree-ahn-tha”) wine must be aged for a total of two years with at least one year in oak barrels. In the case of this wine, its one year of barrel aging was done in barrels made of American oak staves and French oak ends. It was then bottled and left to rest for three months prior to its release.

This wine is medium ruby in color and has nice aromatics including red fruits (cherry and raspberry) and herbal notes. On the palate this Beronia Crianza has big red fruit flavors, medium tannin and a really nice lingering finish with a bit of crisp acidity.

This Beronia Crianza Rioja is imported by González Byass USA and nicely fits as an affordable and attainable Behind the Cork™ wine of the week! Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by González Byass via Donna White Communications

Get to Know the Pinots -- Pinot Meunier

In previous blogs we got an overview of the Pinot grape and the tremendous number of Pinot synonyms (258!).

But, there are just four Pinot wine grapes that we’ll now focus on - Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier. But, let’s save those three for later and start with probably the least known of the Pinots but one that plays a very important role- Pinot Meunier.

The word Meunier (mun·yay) is French for "Miller", and gets its name from the grapevines because the hairy underside of its leaves makes it look as though it had been dredged in flour.

Pinot Meunier is a dark-berried grape variety that is mostly grown in France (more than 3/4s of the worlds Pinot Meunier production). While you are less likely to find a Pinot Meunier varietal wine (it does make a very Pinot Noir-like red wine), you’ve more likely experienced it in a blend; namely Champagne. It is one of the three primary grapes used in the production of Champagne along with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Pinot Meunier Grapes

And, yes, the Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir grapes are dark-skinned but used in Champagne. The grapes are simply pressed to release their juice which is immediately separated from the skins. Remember, it the skins of the grapes that give the wine its color.

In Champagne, Pinot Meunier provides aromatics and fruit flavors to the wine such as cherry, raspberry and pomegranate. Pinot Meunier doesn’t tend to age well so Champagnes with a substantial proportion of Pinot Meunier are intended to be consumed young when its fruit flavors are at their peak.

So, that a quick look at the first of the Pinots. Next time we’ll move on to Pinot Gris. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Caldora Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

2020 Caldora Montepulciano d'Abruzzo ($15)

Caldora is located in Abruzzo on the Adriatic coast in East-central Italy.

Caldora has a special arrangement with the many growers who own over 1,500 hectares of land in the two coastal provinces of Teramo to the north and Chieti to the south. The award-winning winemaking team carefully selects the best portions of each vineyard depending on clones, position in the vineyard and age of vines. They then direct the farming of these vineyard rows including reducing the yield per vine, to ensure the highest quality grapes. This arrangement means they are not actually buying grapes, but rather renting vineyards or portions of vineyards.

This wine from Caldora is produced from 100% Montepulciano grapes that are hand harvested and undergo de-stemming, delicate crushing and pre-fermentation maceration to extract color and some tannin.

This Caldora Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is medium ruby in color with aromas of red fruits and spices. On the palate it has rich blackberry and plum flavors, soft tannin, low acidity and a long easy finish.

If you are not already familiar with Montepulciano wines, please checkout this Caldora Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. It’s a good one! Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by González Byass via Donna White Communications

Get to Know the Pinots -- And the Most Common Synonyms!

Last time, in an overview of wine’s called Pinot , it was noted that if you were to do a search on “Pinot” wine grapes you could come up with a list that includes at least 26 different ones. In fact, according to the New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, there are 258 official synonyms!

But, for brevity, here’s the list of the 26 Pinots that you might have actually heard of:

  • Pinot Aigret (Synonym for Rufete)

  • Pinot d’Anjou or Pinot d’Aunis (Synonym for Pineau d’Aunis)

  • Pinot Beurot or Pinot Burot (Synonym for Pinot Gris)

  • Pinot Bianco (Synonym for Pinot Blanc)

  • Pinot Blanc

  • Pinot Blanc Cramant or Pinot Blanc Chardonnay (Synonym for Chardonnay)

  • Pinot Blanco (Synonym for Chenin Blanc)

  • Pinot Blanc Vrai (Synonym for Pinot Blanc)

  • Pinot Branco (Synonym for Pinot Blanc)

  • Pinot Chardonnay (Synonym for Chardonnay)

  • Pinot Droit or Pinot Fin (Synonym for Pinot Noir)

  • Pinot d’Evora (Synonym for Carignan)

  • Pinot Fin Teinturier or Pinot Teinturier (A parent of the Chardonnay grape)

  • Pinot Fleri (Synonym for Mourvédre)

  • Pinot Giallo (Synonym for Chardonnay)

  • Pinot Grigio (Synonym for Pinot Gris)

  • Pinot Gris (Also known as Pinot Grigio)

  • Pinot Liébault (A clone of Pinot Noir)

  • Pinot de la Loire (Synonym for Chenin Blanc)

  • Pinot Meunier (One of three primary grapes used to produce Champagne)

  • Pinot Nero (Synonym for Pinot Noir)

  • Pinot Noir (The star of the show!)

  • Pinot Noir Précoce (Synonym for Frûhburgunder)

  • Pinot St George (Synonym for Négrette)

  • Pinot Vache (Synonym for Mondeuse)

  • Pinot Verdet (Synonym for Arbois)

Next time, we’ll start looking into the most widely known Pinots - Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier.

Behind the Cork™ - Ritual Pinot Noir

2019 Ritual Pinot Noir ($21)

The Ritual estate is situated in the extreme eastern end of Chile’s Casablanca Valley that is heavily influenced by the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean — ideal growing conditions for Pinot Noir. Following organic practices, the winemaking team uses compost to feed the soils to promote a balanced and self-regulated ecosystem, cover cropping and seeding for revitalizing the soils and sheep to help mow the grass and act as a natural fertilizers.

The vineyards are surrounded by 6000 acres of native forest, creating a balanced, bio-diverse landscape for healthy vines to thrive alongside natural wildlife corridors and native vegetation.

The Ritual Pinot Noir is produced from 100% Pinot Noir grapes that are hand-picked in small batches and carefully double-sorted. A portion of the fruit is whole-cluster fermented to promote structure and complexity. It is fermented with wild yeasts and aged 11 months in 20% new French oak barrels.

This Ritual Pinot Noir is pale ruby in color with the distinctive red fruit aromas and some earthiness. On the palate, it is delicate with the classic cherry and cranberry flavors, balanced acidity and a light finish.

This Ritual Pinot Noir, from the Casablanca Valley in Chile, stands up to those being produced in California and Oregon and, at the price, makes this wine a nice fit as the Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by González Byass via Donna White Communications