The News-Gazette.com Weblog

Wine Blog

Wine travels & more...

Posted by: Trudy and Rob

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 4:07 PM

Did you ever notice while driving the highways and byways of Illinois that you don't
really see a lot of signs among the oceans of corn and beans proudly announcing the

presence of a Grand Cru cabernet, merlot, or chardonnay vineyard? No quaint looking
vineyard managers proudly pruning away at their vines. Surely you have wondered
"what's up with that?" along with pondering the solutions to global warming, health care,
and other weighty issues as you motor along. Why can't we grow great wine grapes right
here at home? Now admittedly, we can grow many types of grapes here, some producing
pretty drinkable wines, but the true vinifera grapes, the ones that we think make the best
of the best wines (such as cabernet, pinot noir, & zinfandel, to name a few), just can't
quite make it in our harsh Midwestern climate. It somehow seems unfair.

We've just returned from a trip out to Napa and Sonoma counties in California. We'll
probably spend the next few blogs talking about the trip. Trudy and I go out there fairly
often to visit all the winery folks that get much of our hard earned dollars. We also
manage to consume quite a few good meals along the way. Someone has to do it. As we
drive through these amazingly beautiful valleys, the breadth of the terrain and the breadth
of the wine varieties and styles never fails to impress us. I'm gonna chat a bit how these
elements come together to make truly good wine.

There is the common saying that the truly good wines are the ones that you like, and it's
hard to argue with that logic so I'm not going to try. There are degrees of goodness,
however, and the truly best of the best wines actually make us (sometimes) wish that
there was no alcohol in them so we could continue to drink them without tripping over
the cats or the furniture and desperately searching for the ibuprofen bottle in the morning.
Granted these are the rare wines indeed but there are many steps that go into the
production of good wines. To start with, one need good grapes. For us, good grapes
means the above mentioned classical vinifera grapes. Around these parts they don't
survive very well, so the local wineries in Illinois, Missouri, and other surrounding states
use clones such as chambourcin and others that can actually survive the weather and
hopefully turn a profit for the winery. As I said, while these can produce enjoyable wines
and we are with them in their efforts all the way, we think the best wines tend to come
from vinifera. However, even where vinifera vines survive you can't just poke a vine in
the ground and expect it to make great wine grapes. The vines need more than just a
survivable climate to produce great fruit.

There are several things that go into the growing of great vines and a lot of the of those
principles are not that awfully different from what you might do in your favorite backyard
Illinois garden to produce good plants. The first item though, may seem a bit contrary to
common sense. To produce great wine grapes, the vines need to struggle. No rich dark
central Illinois dirt for these guys. They do need good drainage though. Rocky slopes
with thin topsoils that force the roots to go deep are part of the equation for good wine.
The vines also need some water but not too much...if it rains near the harvest or if water
is too easy to come by, the grapes are diluted and the wine tastes the same way. Too
much water on the leaves or the berries encourages rot and disease, kind of like what can
happen with phlox and roses around these parts. Vineyard managers compensate for
these factors by managing the irrigation, trimming back the leaf canopies to allow sun and
drying air to come through, and by using varying kinds of trellising systems. They also
prune the vines and trim back the fruit to allow the remaining fruit to produce really good
berries. Bulk wine producers that care only about the quantity of the wine as opposed to
the quality try to get as many tons of grapes an acre that they can to yield a "Chateau
Cashflow", not great wine unless the only concern is the bottom line. Conscientious
growers trim back fruit so that the remaining grapes are of higher quality. Again, it's not
too different from what gardeners do around here. They may also use sulfur or other
chemicals in very small amounts to retard fungus and disease.

Soil composition also comes into play. There is a French concept called Terrior, alluding
to the idea that each micro location, even within a specific vineyard, can affect the grapes
and thus the wine as it makes it's way from bud break to the bottle. Characteristics such
as the amount of gravel, clay and limestone along with the amount of sun and what time it
hits the vine all come into play. It's beyond the scope of the blog (and probably my
knowledge and your interest) to go much more deeply into this. There are many
resources to investigate if you're curious. I'd be happy to suggest some if anyone has the
interest.

So, how does all of this relate to our trip? Mainly, it's really cool to travel among the
various valleys gaping at the beautiful scenery and trying to figure out how the terrain
matches with the great (or not so great) wines that you've just tried. You discover that
some grapes, such as pinot noir and chardonnay, really do perform better in cooler
climates and that others, like cabernet can taste pretty mediocre if they are grown in an
area too cool to fully ripen or if they are over cropped. You discover that there are many,
many different ways to grow vines and make wine. You also discover that maybe you
should limit the amount of tasting that occurs in a day so you can remember everything
else you've seen for the day. We'll have much more to say about tasting in the next blog.

Comments

We were wondering where you had gone! Now, we're jealous :( While we were battling ice and snow, you were downing vino and looking at what was probably green countryside. Now, let's here about what was tasty that we can get around here.

Posted by mcdonld on February 28, 2008 at 1:11 PM

Hi 2long. There were many, many tasy wines to be found. Trudy and I prefer reds to whites so we tasted more of those. I'm not sure where your preferences may lie, so add a brief comment to tell us. We're going to talk about procuring the good stuff in a future blog. Frequently, the local good wineshops (Picadilly, Sunsinger, and Corkscrew) can get wines from their distributors even if you don't see it on their shelves.

For good juice that I know you can get around here, try Mauritson for their zinfandels and cabernets. A very good pinot noir that you can order locally comes from Tandem. I've had their earlier vintages and just ordered their 2004 Sangiacomo vineyard pinot. Frank Family is a napa valley winery that we like very much and which was available locally recently. They make very good reds. For good sauvignon blanc and pinot, you might also look for Etude. Good juice indeed. Siduri and Novy also produce great syrahs and pinots. If you find something you like and can't find it locally, call the wineries. They are in business to sell their products and will be more than happy to guide you to a source for their wine if they don't have it themselves. R

Posted by wineblog on February 28, 2008 at 2:39 PM

I prefer reds, although I have nothing against dry whites. Just keep me far away from the sweet stuff -- no gewurtzs, most rieslings, muscats, white zins and the like.

Posted by mcdonld on February 28, 2008 at 4:25 PM

Hi 2long...sounds as if Trudy and I generally agree with your tastes. One thing you might consider white wine wise is trying some good Alsatian dry reislings. Emphasis here is on good. I don't like the sweet stuff either, but a friend of mine introduced me to good Alsatian reislings and we both like them a lot. Because they are relatively low in alcohol, they pair well with many foods and you can drink your fair share of them without falling asleep at the table. They also tend to be reasonably priced, always a plus in my book. I've bought seveal of these at the better Picadilly stores here and at Sam's in Chicago. Domaine Weinbach and Marcel Deiss are two good producers to look out for.

For the reds, where does one begin? We really like RED zinfandel, and there are many many producers available locally at all price ponts. Ridge is one of my absolute favorites although they are not necessarily cheap anymore, generally priced in the high $20 range. Seghesio produces many good zins in various price ranges. Rosenblum also has a stable of many good reds at different price points. The winery was just bought out, however, so I'm kind of wondering if they will be as good in the future as they have been in the past.

If you want to try something from outside of U.S., try a good vapolicello or valpolicello ripasso (these are a bit richer) from Italy. Don't go with a too cheap one like Bolla. Ask your local wine folks what they have that might be good. These wines pair with many foods and drink pretty well on their own.

I hope this helps a bit. Ask more if you've got some more ideas, and tell me if you run across anything tasty yourself. R

Posted by wineblog on February 29, 2008 at 5:52 PM

Ok, I'm new at this and have forgotten how to edit. It's valpolicella, not valpolicello! Sorry about that (but it's still good!)

Posted by wineblog on February 29, 2008 at 6:20 PM