Vine to Wine: The Fundamentals | Week 7

“I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing; how the sun was shining; if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes. And if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve, like if I opened a bottle of wine today it would taste different than if I'd opened it on any other day, because a bottle of wine is actually alive. And it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity.”   -- Sideways

This week we discussed Italian wines and for the entire class the above quote came to mind. As we make our way through more and more curriculum each week and move through the various heavy-hitting wine regions across the world, I am constantly reminded of how wine and history are intertwined.

In the case of Italy, Piedmont (a Northeastern Italian region) was crippled by Austria’s decision to double the tariffs of Piemontese wines, the region’s major export, during the war. This was one of several events that convinced the city-states to join forces and led to the unification of the Italian states. The takeaway from this factoid? Don’t mess with an Italian’s wine!

If you weren’t ravaged by war, you were at the mercy of unpredictable weather. In Italy’s case, vineyards of the Tuscan region were essentially decimated by the Oidium mildew in the 1850s, causing many winemakers to pack up their families and emigrate to other parts of Italy or America. Obviously the New World benefited from these experienced winemakers heading across the ocean, but the landscape in Italy was dramatically changed by nature’s volatility.

Before taking this class, it was difficult for me to look at a bottle of wine as anything other than something you drink. But the deeper I dig into the material, the more I realize that every wine has a story. And with more than 4,000 years of winemaking history under its belt, Italy has some great stories!

Vine to Wine: The Fundamentals | Week 6

It’s one thing to sit in a classroom and take notes, but it’s a whole other experience when you get to put that knowledge into practice. Of course, we’ve been sampling about 12 wines per week as part or study of various grape varietals, but today in class we were sent on a scavenger hunt of sorts.

Divided up into three groups, our instructor Heath Hiudt gave us a list of four bottles to find in Total Wine – the location of our classroom. On my group’s list were a Riesling and Pinot Gris from Alsace and a Sancerre and Vouvray from Loire Valley. Once we had our list, we had to determine how to best comb through the wine racks to find our bottles.

One great thing about the Vine to Wine class is the practical nature of the course material. For example, we learned there are 148 million bottles produced out of the Alsace region each year, and while that is certainly a fun factoid, we also realized in our scavenger hunt that there were only two shelves of this region’s wine at the store. In addition to wine history tastings notes, we’re also learning about which wines are in demand – whether that’s a result of simple supply and demand or a more unquantifiable “prestige factor.”

We’ve also shifted our focus from grape varietals to prominent regions. I have to say that as a casual wine drinker, I find French labeling laws to be some of the most convoluted and Byzantine rules I’ve ever seen! You can look at a label on a bottle, and it will tell you virtually nothing about the wine inside – that is a knowledge honed through study and familiarity with the wines the regions are known for.

The good news is that we’ve checked France off the list, which is the hardest and most intimidating. Now that it’s behind us, I’m excited to move on to Italy, Spain, Argentina, Australia and my personal favorite – U.S. wines!

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Editor's note:
You can join Heath for the The Napa Experience!, a two-day California wine excursion August 22-23.

American Wine in the 21st Century

American Wine in the 21st Century infographic by amccartney.

If you're interested to learn more about wine, check out our Sommelier Academy here.

Vine to Wine: The Fundamentals Week 4

Wine isn’t just something you pour in your glass on special occasions – for some, it’s cutthroat, “life-and-breathe-it” lifestyle.

Before I go any further, take a look at this video trailer for “Somm,” a film about the trials and tribulations of master sommelier candidates.

Needless to say, those are some dedicated students with very high stress levels who have more wine knowledge than most people will come across in a lifetime. We viewed this trailer in class during one of the breaks and the general consensus was that these somms-in-training were on the extreme end of the spectrum.

One thing I’ve really enjoyed about the class is that the subject matter has endless possibility. If you’re really interested in a specific varietal, you can learn about the ideal growing conditions, winemaking techniques, blending, look, smell and taste. But beyond that, you can study food pairings, service notes, notable regions, sub-regions, districts and even specific vineyards. So for those of us in the class who really want to dive deep, the opportunity is there. And for those of us who simply want to deepen our enjoyment of wine (like me), we’ll get plenty of information to be able to hold our own in a conversation.

This week we reviewed fortified wines like sherry and port. This was especially interesting for me since sherry is my grandmother’s nightcap of choice and port was my grandfather’s. The type of sherry we tasted was not my style (thank goodness for spittoons) but when I got home I was inspired to dig out one of our bottles of port from our last trip to Sonoma.

Like the film says, Wine is “living art, and you can’t appreciate it unless you consume it.” Bottoms up!

Vine to Wine: The Fundamentals | Week 2

In week one, we got a basic introduction into the wine production process, and in week two we learned all about what can destroy the grapevines during that process– namely, pests and disease.

Did you know that in the 1850s botanists brought American grapevines (and their native diseases) back to Europe and ended up wiping out a significant portion of the vineyards all across the continent? Our instructor, Heath Hiudt, told us that anywhere between two-thirds and nine-tenths of French vineyards were completely wiped out in the 1860s. However, this was something of a blessing in disguise because out-of-work French wine experts dispersed to Italy, Spain and other European countries, bringing their wealth of wine production knowledge across the border and ultimately spreading the art of winemaking.

As a nature geek, I realize that not everyone may be as into talking about crop-destroying bugs as I am. (Seriously!) However, we also touched on several practical, service-oriented tips for those members of our class who would be working in the industry. How to store wine, how and when to decant, to whom you should pour first – next time I dine at a high-end restaurant I will definitely be keeping a close eye on the sommelier.

The lectures are really interesting, but my favorite part of the classes is the tasting sessions. As a “hands on” learner, I’ve found the class discussions to be the most helpful when it comes to developing a more refined palate and acute sense of smell. One thing that’s great is that Heath encourages lots of dialogue among the rest of the students – it’s very much a group conversation during the tastings versus a one-way lecture. Some of the best insight I’ve gotten when it comes to tasting notes has been from other students in the room – it’s so interesting to see how everyone smells and tastes the different qualities in each of the samples we experience.

Vine to Wine: The Fundamentals | Week 1

About me:

Hi, I’m Erin S., and I’m currently completing the best homework assignment I’ve ever been given: drinking a glass of wine.
 

It’s the evening after my first day in “Vine to Wine: Wine Fundamentals” offered by UNLV Continuing Education. I’ve always enjoyed wine, but found it difficult to articulate what exactly I liked about it, aside from generic terms like “dry” or “sweet.” However, as an enthusiastic home chef I was looking to get a better understanding of how to pair wine with food and other practical knowledge to help me better understand and enjoy what the Romans called the juice of the gods!

 

Review:

The class is held every Sunday at one of two Total Wine locations (Henderson or Summerlin) from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The classroom was a very clean, comfortable space with everything you might need to learn and taste. During the first part of the class, we went through PowerPoint slides covering the class material, and then afterward we’d do a tasting of 6 wines. We had an hour break for lunch, then came back and did it all over again – more class instruction and another tasting.

Our instructor, Heath Hiudt, was outstanding from the very first few moments, telling the class that he would assume that everyone has a beginner’s knowledge of wine and that we’d build our expertise together. There was a wide variety of knowledge in the classroom – a few casual wine drinkers myself, but also those working in the service or beverage industry. Heath is very organized and it’s obvious he has an incredible wealth of wine information, but he also makes everyone feel extremely comfortable in his presence. The world of wine is rife with jargon, and Heath made sure that everything was clearly and thoroughly explained, while also adding in a lot of humor and practical, real-world experiences. You can tell he was teaching us so that we would really get a deeper understanding of wine and apply it to our everyday lives versus worrying about “trivial pursuit” items that might be on an exam. (But there will be an exam!)

The class was very interactive and with only 15 students, everyone felt comfortable asking questions or asking for additional info. In week one, we covered the history and origins of wine, the wine production process,  the life cycle of the vine, and how to complete a comprehensive wine tasting – a format we’ll be using a lot throughout the 13 weeks!

I’ll admit, I was a little worried about having so many tastings in one day (I’m a cheap date!) but unless we were really ‘wowed’ by a wine, everyone in the class used the spittoons during the tastings. We focused on how you can use the senses to determine the grape, climate characteristics, vintage and more. If you ever told me I’d be describing wine with words like “sawdust,” “dill,” “barnyard” or “chalky,” I wouldn’t have believed you, but after one class I started to understand how to seek out those subtleties. My olfactory senses aren’t quite as good as others, but it’s a learning experience, right?

And as they say, practice makes perfect. I am happy to keep practicing and be a good student by doing my “homework!” Next week when we reconvene, we’ll bring the empty bottle of wine we chose, along with any tasting notes using terms we covered this week. Next Sunday can’t come fast enough!