Author: Brian Freedman - WineChateau.com
| at : 1:48 PM |
Category : Cognac,
wine video
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Spring may be on its way, but the nights are still chilly here on the east coast. And few things are better to warm up chattering bones than a nice glass of Cognac. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a victim of its own popularity: Everyone knows what it is, but few consumers really know much about it--where it comes from, how it's made, etc.
I came across this excellent video on the Grape Radio web site. Unfortunately, I can't seem to embed it into the blog right now, but it's definitely worth clicking over to and checking out before uncorking something nice to celebrate the arrival of the weekend.
As I noted here last week, I’m heading to New York this afternoon for Vino 2010, the largest Italian wine event ever held in the United States--or, for that matter, anywhere in the world aside from Italy. I received my final schedule yesterday, and it’s going to be a seriously interesting couple of days, filled with seminars and tastings that cover everything from the specific terroirs of Tuscany to the relatively little known Gaglioppo grape variety of Calabria. There’s even a dinner tomorrow night at Le Cirque that will feature the wines of Friuli. And, as is the case whenever I’m out of town for a wine-related trip, I will be blogging about it, and shooting video of it, throughout. I’ll also be posting updates on Twitter to @WineUpdate, most of which will turn into longer blog posts right here at UncorkLife.com later this week and next.
Also as I mentioned last week, don’t forget to tune in online for the live video stream of the special Virtual Vino panel discussion this Thursday morning, February 4th, at 10:00am, during which the impact of social media will be discussed and dissected by some of the field’s top experts. And if you have any questions for the panel, you can post them on Twitter to @Vino2010 and @JRvino2010.
In the meantime, I thought that this would be a good day to link up part 1 of a solid introductory video on Valpolicella that the Wine Spectator recently ran. (Click here for the video.) I’ll follow up with part 2 once it’s available, as well as with my own videos from New York. So stay tuned--there’s a lot happening this week. I’m getting thirsty just thinking about it.
Mosel Rieslings from the excellent 2008 vintage offer classic character and generally abundant pleasure, even this early in their evolutions. And lucky for fans of these wines, 2008 represents yet another vintage in an extraordinarily good string of them going back to 2001.
Word is spreading that what 2008 offers in such abundance is the deeply rooted sense of place that the best Mosel Rieslings typically show so beautifully. Wine Spectator reported, “The 2008 harvest in Germany looks like a trimmer, leaner version of 2007, or perhaps more along the lines of 2004, a vintage with plenty of sleek, vibrant wines, but not as many lush, opulent ones. The grapes ripened nicely this year, but only reached spätlese level or slightly above. Winemakers made very few dessert wines, a consequence of the low incidence of botrytis or dehydration late in the season needed to concentrate the sugar levels in the grapes. Thus, there should be good quantities of estate Rieslings, kabinette and spätlesen.”
The report continued, “‘2008 is the year for great kabinett and spätlese wines made from fully ripe [not overripe] grapes with expressive aromatics and ripe yet crisp acidity,’ said Johannes Selbach, whose family owns the Selbach-Oster estate in the Mosel. ‘The '08s are wholesome, with beautifully delineated flavors, and they are compact, not over the top. For me personally it is a classic Mosel vintage.’”
As a follow-up to the interview I recently posted with Alsace's Emmanuelle Kreydenweiss, here is a video tasting of a fantastic Gewurztraminer from the same region: The Helfrich "Steinklotz" Alsace Grand Cru 2005. Also, please note that, though I said in the video that the vineyard faces South-Southwest, what I meant to say was South-Southeast. Either way, it's seriously delicious wine.
In Alsace, names like Zind-Humbrecht, Hugel, and Kreydenweiss carry enough prestige among their fans to send them into heart-fluttering fits of vinous happiness at the mere mention of them. Earlier this month, I had a chance to sit down with Emmanuelle Kreydenweiss of Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss at the Wilson Daniels tasting in New York to discuss her family's wines, the region itself, biodynamic winemaking, and more. Click on the videos below to watch Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview.
Last night, after an hourlong hop from Edinburgh to London, followed by an almost eight-hour flight from Heathrow to Philadelphia, I arrived home after a two-and-a-half-week trip to France and Scotland. And this morning, sitting at the kitchen table with my newspaper, cereal, and coffee, I couldn't help but think to myself, This time two weeks ago, I was wandering through the vineyard at Chateau Petrus. A recycling truck was idling outside my window. I was thirsty for a nice glass of red.
Such is the nature of travel, I suppose. Re-entering reality isn't supposed to be easy.
The good news is that now I have my own, thankfully reliable Internet to work with. Which means that I'll be able to post all of those other videos I couldn't while I was away. (Still, I was able to post a number of them from overseas these past two weeks. If you haven't seen them yet, check them out below and let me know if you've tasted any of those wines, too.)
So keep an eye out for my videos of vineyard visits and winery tours from Bordeaux. Also stay tuned for more video interviews with legendary producers.
In the meantime, click on the short video below. I shot it a week-and-a-half ago in Pauillac as I stumbled upon one of the great chateaux of the appellation completely by surprise.
I happily accept wines for review, but with the understanding that I will only cover what I can write about positively, both on UncorkLife.com and in the other publications for which I write. In other words: If I like it, I’ll write about it. Once wines are received, I will allow them to rest in a proper cellar environment before assessing them. Every bottle is tasted and given the same amount of consideration for coverage, though there is no set schedule for doing so. For more information, questions, or my shipping address, please email me at bfreedman@winechateau.com.
Spring may be on its way, but the nights are still chilly here on the east coast. And few things are better to warm up chattering bones than a nice glass of Cognac. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a victim of its own popularity: Everyone knows what it is, but few consumers really know much about it--where it comes from, how it's made, etc.
