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2010 Napa Valley Pinot Gris
May 16, 2011 by David
Filed under Blog, Pinot Gris, Winemaker Notes
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
These grapes are grown on the sustainably farmed Nord Family property located in the cooler climate of Southern Napa. Pinot Gris is typically admired for its weight and relatively low acidity. Winemaker, Geoff Gorsuch employed a cold fermentation process, which also assisted in producing a dry wine with nice acidic balance.
Flavor profile: Stone fruit, crisp pear, red apple, grapefruit and pineapple with a clean, crisp finish.
2010 Vintage: A roller-coaster of a growing season requiring great patience, but yielding low quantities of outstanding fruit quality.
Drink now and through: 2013
Food Suggestions
This is a versatile wine, so enjoy it with everything from seafood, fish, and pasta with white wine sauce. From Colleen’s recipe collection we recommend Spaghetti and White Clam Sauce.
2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Franc
May 13, 2011 by David
Filed under Blog, Cabernet Franc, Winemaker Notes
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This double-clone blend of 100% Cabernet Franc is grown on our Yountville Estate. Winemaker Geoff Gorsuch comments that he utilizes vertical trellising, “which helps create optimum sunlight for even-ripening and the Estate fruit brings ripe, rich flavors to the blend giving it character & elegance.”
Flavor profile: Ripe cherry, raspberry, and blackcurrant with black licorice, white pepper, and mint.
2008 Vintage: A dynamic growing season with surprisingly low yields of flavorful berries showing great intensity of color and flavor
Drink now and through: 2014
Food Suggestions
This is a versatile wine, so enjoy it with everything from grilled swordfish, to poultry and veal to grilled Portobellos or a good steak. Colleen’s Kitchen has a few recipes matched with Cabernet Franc including her new Grilled Lamb Chops with Mustard-Herb Rub.
NVWR® 113 – Wine Myths and Reality
December 14, 2010 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
How does vineyard management influence the quality and character of the wine? What is meant by “minimal intervention” in the winery? Is it a marketing tactic or a valuable philosophy? Master of Wine Benjamin Lewin, author of Wine Myths and Reality, sorts through some of these questions with Nancy Hawks Miller, our Director of Education.
- Visit goosecross.com where we have over 80 carefully researched educational articles available for you
- Our video library offers a show and tell on wine production and enjoyment
- Visit Colleen’s Kitchen for delicious recipes, paired with wine
NVWR® 99 – Top Five Questions: Ask Our Educator
February 23, 2010 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
“Ask Our Educator” is one of my favorite website features because people write in with all kinds of wine-related questions and sometimes we get a real conversation going!
In episode 57 (December 2007) we covered questions about screwcaps, sulfites and more.
Since then you’ve had questions about decanting, how to buy a good wine glass, and how to store left-over wine among other things.
So, here we go with a new installment of the top five questions!
Q: Sulfites/California Wine/Headaches
Question from Susan: We have a friend who claims that she can only drink French reds because California reds have more nitrates/nitrites and give her headaches. Is this possible or is it a bit of wine snobbery?
Reply: Hi, Susan! Thanks for writing! I think your friend must have meant sulfites rather than nitrites. I’m pretty confident that nitrites aren’t a significant part of the wine picture (although they’re found in water, so…). They’re used to preserve hot dogs and salami and stuff like that. The sulfite question comes up pretty frequently.
It’s hard to blame her for thinking that French wine doesn’t have sulfites because, up to quite recently, only the US and Australia required the sulfite warning on the label. If you vacationed in Paris and drank French wine, a few years back, you wouldn’t have seen the warning. But, now you would (unless it’s an old vintage) and this applies to all the wine-producing countries in the European Union.
The law is very similar to the American one and enologists have determined that a bottle of French or California wine is likely to have around 80 parts per million. Any variation is more from brand to brand than country to country. Goosecross wine usually leaves here at around 30-35 ppm.
Sulfites, or sulfur, have been used to preserve wine for centuries. Even in Roman times it was used to help create a seal for the container. Without a little sulfur the wine loses its fruit and has a short shelf life. Fortunately, if the wine spoils it’s not harmful, but it’s not much fun to drink, either, which is why sulfur is still in use. Sulfites turn up in a lot of foods, too, especially dried fruit.
At this very moment, enologists are working to try to eliminate the need for sulfur. The success, so far, is by way of reducing it. Today’s wine has much lower sulfur levels than wine did as recently as 50 or 60 years ago.
This isn’t to say that you can’t buy wine that doesn’t have added sulfites. The “Organic Wine” designation prohibits sulfur additions to wine, as opposed to “organically grown”, which only refers to the farming (and even there, elemental sulfur application to the vines is permitted to keep mildew under control). The reason you don’t see very many “organic wines” is that they usually don’t taste very good. I should add that organic wine may still contain sulfites because they’re a by-product of the fermentation. The level, in that case, is extremely low.
As to the headaches, chemists keep telling us that sulfites don’t cause headaches, but statements like that can set off a maelstrom of heated opposition from those who believe otherwise. Your friend might try eating some brightly colored dried fruit to see if that causes a headache. If not, something other than sulfur is the cause. California wine is quite often higher in alcohol than French wine, due to climatic differences, so that’s the more likely culprit.
I hope that puts your debate to rest! May you and your friends enjoy wine, whatever its nationality, in good health! Cheers! Nancy
Goosecross: Not All Pumpkins are Created Equal
Getting ready for Thanksgiving? Give a listen to this two-minute Fun Fact on the best pumpkins for baking!
Speaking of Thanksgiving, Colleen has a great Thanksgiving menu for you on our homepage! Of course it includes pumpkin pie, which is absolutely delicious with a glass of our Chenin Blanc. So much to be grateful for! Happy Thanksgiving!
What wine do I serve on T-day?
Just Released! 2008 Goosecross Viognier
Viognier may be shy bearing and difficult to press but the payoff is gorgeous stone fruit and flowers! We’re talking fresh peach, nectarine, honeysuckle, grapefruit and something slightly tropical like pineapple – absolutely delicious!
Viognier and food: Bone dry, with all the body and weight of a Chardonnay, it makes an exotic alternative to it. It’s our first choice as a match for sushi night here at the winery! It’s something different to serve at your next wine and cheese party. Or, think about pairing it with sweet proteins like scallops or ham, especially if you use fruit in the preparation. Colleen loves to serve the Viognier with her recipe for Butternut Squash Ravioli with Browned Sage Butter. Yum!
NVWR® 85 – Oxbow Cheese Merchant Talks Cheese and Wine
May 5, 2009 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
If you want to know more about cheese in general, or about pairing cheese with wine, this episode is for you! Nancy had the chance to sit down with Lassa Skinner, the General Manager of Oxbow Cheese in Napa and she offers some great information about trying new cheeses, how to select them and pairing cheese with wine.
For additional information, visit goosecross.com (see: Education)
Q: Conversion rate for fermentation?
Question from Karen: I have a question for you… If you crush wine grapes and the juice has 20% sugar, is the alcohol 5%??? Looking forward to your answer. Thank you.
Reply: Hi, Karen! Thanks for writing!
Here’s a brief reply from our winemaker, Geoff Gorsuch: Depending on all the parameters, yeast, temperature, nutrients, and how the crush and pre-fermentation treatment is handled you should end up around 9-12% alcohol if fermentation is finished.” By finished, he means if you let the wine ferment dry rather than stopping it in order to retain some sweetness.
The most common conversion rate of sugar to alcohol is 50-60% and Geoff allowed for a little more than that. The choice of yeast is one of the biggest factors and late-model, “cleaned up” yeasts are playing a role in the whole “hang-time” discussion regarding the alcohol in the finished wine.
Here’s how Wikipedia explains fermentation. Hope that helps! Cheers!
NVWR® 83 – Madeira
April 14, 2009 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
In episode 80, Nancy Hawks Miller, our Director of Education, took a broad look at the world of sweet and fortified wines. The episodes that follow, like this one, break it out by category. Today’s topic is the deliciously odd world of Madeira.
Each of these podcasts regarding sweet wines will be released, on a weekly basis, until the series is complete. Complete text is available at goosecross.com (see: Education)
