Alsace – Outwines

“And the Oscar Goes to”: Wine Masters Documentary

23 Feb 2019France, MoviesLeave a Comment

I’m a sucker for wine movies. Fact or fiction, drama or documentary – if it’s even remotely related to the world of wine, sign me up. However, even though I will watch most anything about wine – I’ll also know within ten minutes whether I’m going to keep watching it . . .

So when a few minutes into my first episode Marcel Guigal talked about how his father, winery founder Etienne, saw his family’s future on the steep hillsides of Côte-Rôtie, I knew that I was all-in on Wine Masters. Wine Masters is a cinematic documentary series that aims to tell “the stories about terroir, taste and tradition through the experience of some of the most prestigious wine producing families from each wine region.” Currently shooting their second season in Italy, with Spain already chosen for the third season, the producers plan to shoot a total of seven seasons for the series (fingers crossed for a Pacific Northwest season!)

The producer of Wine Masters, Klaas de Jong, provided me with a complimentary screening link to watch the first season of the series in exchange for an independent and honest review. My thoughts are as follows (spoiler alert: I enjoyed the series so much that I ended purchasing it so I could watch in the future when my temporary link expired!).

The first season of Wine Masters covers five different wine regions in France: the Rhône, Loire, Alsace, Burgundy and Bordeaux. In each episode, a local wine producing family is featured who share their winemaking stories – including their family’s history, plans for the future, unique styles of wine and challenges faced. The series does an excellent job of taking wine regions that are rather intimidating (Burgundy and Bordeaux – I’m looking right at you two) and making them more approachable through these winemaking families. These are very recognizable names like Guigal, Trimbach and Drouhin. Families who truly ARE Wine Masters.

Although each family is unique, a major overarching theme is the relationship between the generations and the passing of the baton from one to another. This was probably my favorite part of the series – the interaction (and sometimes subtle conflict) between the traditional/formal older generation and the more experimental/innovative younger one. While the younger generation is focused on issues like internet sales and online presence, the older concentrates on – as Bordeaux winemaker Hubert de Boüard de Laforest so eloquently puts it – “keeping the soul” of the winery.

One of the great things about Wine Masters is that in order to enjoy the series you don’t need to know anything about wine. This is thanks in large part to two very important supporting roles featuring Tim Atkin and Jeannie Cho Lee. In fact, since this IS Oscar season, let’s just go ahead and give these two – and others – their awards…

Live! From the Red Carpet – Outwines is proud to present the Wine Masters Oscars!

Best Supporting Roles.

In addition to the winemaking families, two Masters of Wine are present in each episode to help guide the viewer along the way: Tim Atkin and Jeannie Cho Lee.

These two MWs help set the scene of each region by discussing its location, varieties grown, climate, food pairing (particularly interesting in the Alsace episode!) and more. They also add various anecdotes throughout the series – my favorite being that Napoleon’s troops used to salute Le Montrachet when they went by the famed vineyard (who knew?!).

Tim and Jeannie’s commentary not only make the regions come to life a bit more, but they also explain concepts on a level that even a relative wine newbie can understand (Hubs can attest to this!). From the myriad of soil types in Sancerre to the rather confusing sweetness levels of Alsatian Riesling, the MWs do an excellent job of analyzing these issues in plain English.

Technical Awards.

The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous throughout the series. I’ve only been to two of the five regions (Rhône & Burgundy), and the scenes very much reminded me of being there – particularly Côte-Rôtie. And for the three regions I’ve yet to visit, the producers did a VERY good job of making me want to go there.

Guigal vineyards — I stood right in front of Guigal’s vineyards in 2016!

The score was beautifully done as well. For the majority of the series, it was a lovely, melodious part of the background. Except for that one cooperage scene at Guigal – have your volume button on the remote handy for that one.

And now for some other Awards . . . and yes, I realize these sound more like High School favorites than film categories:

Best dressed. Marcel Guigal is the consummate gentleman. Especially with his jaunty beret and suit jacket traipsing through his vineyards alongside his more casually dressed son, Philippe, who was sporting a Seattle Mariners baseball hat. Which of course gets major props from this Washington native! 🙂

Best line. Hubert de Boüard de Laforest on why Cabernet Franc makes up such a large percentage of their blends: “it makes your mind more happy.”

Most Athletic. The entire Bourgeois Family. There’s a scene where they’re tasting and evaluating their wines – and their beautifully accurate projectile spitting was flat-out impressive. I still have to have a cup literally RIGHT in front of me, and even then there’s the occasional dribble.

Best Foreign Language. Many of the older generation. So unless you’re fluent in French, make sure to have your subtitles turned on so you understand what they’re saying (something I unfortunately figured out once I was well into my first episode).

Most Likely to Succeed. Anne Trimbach. Well aware of the challenges that Riesling has on markets due to lack of clarity as to how sweet the wine will be, Anne discusses implementing a “sweetness scale” on Trimbach bottles in the future. Something like this will definitely help consumers embrace this often misunderstood variety.

Best Scene. Family dinner with the Drouhins where they open their bottling of a 1978 Grands Échezeaux. Seeing some of the family member’s expressions of pure delight after sipping this wine is . . . well, delightful. They’re sharing a simple meal of cheese and bread with a bottle of wine that would cost well over $1,000 in today’s market. Just enjoying an afternoon and each other’s company – and isn’t that what wine should be all about?

I’m already looking forward to seeing what Wine Masters has in store for their second season in Italy. If you’re a fan of wine (if you’re reading this blog, I’m assuming the answer is yes!) – check out the Wine Masters documentary series. To conclude, in the spirt of Sally Field on her Best Actress acceptance speech: you’ll like it, you’ll really like it!

Gewürztraminer- and My Search for the Elusive Lychee

8 Jul 2018Grapes11 Comments

There are some wines that are said to be identifiable in a blind tasting based definitively on a single aromatic “tell”. The theory is, if you smell X – the wine cannot be anything other than Y. So, for example, if you get a distinct petrol aroma from a wine – you’re very likely drinking German Riesling. (BTW – “petrol” is the Brits fancy name for gasoline). Similarly, if you smell wet wool you’re almost certainly sipping Vouvray (Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley). And if you’re getting lychee fruit on the nose – it’s said to be Gewürztraminer.

Now, I know what petrol and wet wool smell like – but lychee? I’d never even heard of this fruit previously, let alone seen, smelled or tasted it. And since you rarely run across a tasting note for Gewürztraminer without seeing “lychee” as a primary descriptor, I set out to find it and give it a taste test of my own. (Note: I do not plan on doing the same when I post on Sauvignon Blanc, where one of the most common descriptors is cat pee.)

Apparently finding lychees is easier said than done. After searching for a few weeks at several grocery stores and smaller boutique markets in my area, I remained lycheeless. One produce guy told me that they sometimes got lychee in stock, but not frequently. Another said they didn’t have lychee but they did have white peaches. I asked him if those smelled or tasted like lychee and his response was “no, not really.” Mmmmkaaaaaaaaaaay – I’ll pass.

I’d finally given up all lychee hope and figured I’d just have to drink Gewürztraminer and remain in the dark about the mysterious fruit. But then, what should appear before my very eyes . . .

During one of my thrice weekly trips to the grocery store I spied it! Hidden among the other “freak fruits” like Kiwano and Pepino Melons was a small selection of lychees. I excitedly (seriously) scooped up some and raced home to taste them.

After first having to google how the hell to open the fruit, Hubs and I cracked the shell and dug into the lychee. And, perhaps not surprisingly, it tasted like Gewürztraminer. It was incredibly tart and sweet at the same time with a bold tropical and floral flavor. It was intensely flavorful – almost obnoxiously so. Which is basically how I feel about Gewürztraminer.

Enough about Lychees – Let’s Talk about Grapes. Gewürztraminer is grown all over the world – from Northeastern Italy, to my beloved Washington state, to New Zealand. The name, not surprisingly, has German roots (“Gewürz” means spice in German), but in fact represents only a very small percentage of plantings in Germany (my research shows in the neighborhood of 1-5%). The most significant plantings of Gewürztraminer are in the Alsace region of France with approximately 8,000 acres planted to the grape. And in Alsace, they drop the umlaut (and you, dear reader, can drop that little wine factoid at your next tasting to impress your friends and neighbors!).

Along with lychee, other aromas and flavors found in Gewürz are typically roses, honey, grapefruit, gingerbread and an assortment of exotic spices. Gewürztraminer can be made in a variety of styles – from dry to sweet. The latter are often labelled either “Vendanges Tardives” or “Selections de Grains Nobles” – both of which are late harvested grapes after the sugars have had additional time to concentrate on the vine.

Prior to my lychee hunt, I’d purchased a few bottles of Gewürztraminer and had Hubs blind pour me a tasting of the three. Here are my condensed tasting notes – sans lychee descriptors because I hadn’t been able to find it yet!

Villa Wolf 2016 Gewürztraminer, Pfalz, Germany. (11.5% abv)

This wine was by far the lightest colored, lightest bodied and zippiest of the three. It was the least like a “classic” Gewürztraminer should taste like – and it was my favorite. 🙂 Refreshing with lots of pink grapefruit, crisp minerality and citrus. In general, the Pfalz region of Germany is known for producing lighter styled Gewürztraminer than Alsace. Which is something I’ll keep in mind for the future . . .

Louis SIPP 2013 Nature’S Gewurztraminer, Alsace, France. (13% abv)

This Gewürz had a lot going on with rich aromas of honeysuckle, melon, salinity and spices. I also thought I was getting smoke on the nose here – but this probably because Hubs was messing around outside with his new smoker and the windows were open (hmmm…I’m getting a very strong sense of hickory!!). Each time I smelled or sipped I’d find something else in the glass. The wine was fuller bodied than the first with much lower acidity. Based on the producer’s website the “Nature’S” wording on the label means that the wine was made from organically farmed grapes and certified by ECOCERT (one of the largest organic certification organizations in the world). Overall, a very interesting wine.

Seppi Landmann 2013 Gewurztraminer Zinnkoepflé Grand Cru, Alsace, France. (13% abv)

This last wine was the ripest and richest of the three with big ol’ aromas of perfume, sandalwood, tropical fruits and crushed pine needles (which I thought was odd, but I was definitely smelling this!). As a Grand Cru, this wine is theoretically at the top of the quality pyramid as these vineyard sites are recognized for their extraordinary terroirs. There are 51 Grand Cru sites in Alsace, yet only around 4% of all Alsace wine produced is Grand Cru. This Gewurz would undoubtedly be considered the “best” of the three – case in point: Wine Enthusiast gave it a 93.

However, it was personally my least favorite. I could appreciate its complexity and ageability – at 5 years and going strong with intense aromas and flavors (note: most Gewürz are meant to drink within a few years). But it just was not my style. I prefer something a bit more crisp and restrained – which Gewürztraminer just isn’t ever going to be.

For more information about this grape – visit my outline on Gewurztraminer.

Sanders and Lychee — Hmmm . . . smells like Gewurztraminer!

Pinot Blanc

8 Nov 2017GrapesLeave a Comment

After several wine-related excursions to the Walla Walla area, I finally had the chance to eat at Brasserie Four last month. I’ve been wanting to try this place for years because of their focus on French wine and food – two things I love. 🙂 And honestly, even when I’m tasting in one of my favorite wine regions (which Walla Walla is), it’s always nice to give my palate a break from drinking those wines. Although, I don’t recall feeling that way when I visited Champagne . . . but I digress.

Brasserie Four doesn’t have a traditional wine list, what they DO have is a large retail selection in the back of the restaurant where you can pick out your bottle(s). After spending several minutes perusing the shelves and cooler, we grabbed an Alsatian Pinot Blanc to start, and a Morgon to have with dinner.

The Morgon was earthy and funky, with dirty cherries and a black minerality to it. Super interesting, and paired amazingly well with my Beef Bourguignon. The Alsatian Pinot Blanc was . . . well, all I really recall was that it was apple-y. It was perfectly pleasant to sip on before dinner with our cheese board, but frankly it was underwhelming.

Pinot Blanc is probably my least favorite member of the Pinot family. Unlike its relatives with their complexity and wide range – cranberries to fall leaves for Pinot Noir, minerality to citrus for Pinot Gris – Pinot Blanc often to me just tastes like adult apple juice. Not that that’s a BAD thing, it’s just very one-note and boring. It’s a very meh wine.

I’d love to try one that knocked my socks off, or just made one come loose a little bit. But thus far, I haven’t. Granted, I’ve been limited to Pinot Blancs from Oregon and Alsace, and maybe an unmemorable Pinot Bianco from Italy.

I’m not adverse to continuing my quest, but after researching this varietal – there does seem to be a rather general consensus that the grape is not all that thrilling. In fact, Jancis Robinson calls it “useful, rather than exciting.” Here’s a bit more on Pinot Blanc.