The Napa Experience - Day 2

To read about day one of our excursion, click here.

We hit the ground running on Day 2 of the UNLV Continuing Education excursion to Napa Valley. On our way to the first winery, we stopped for breakfast at Thomas Keller’s Yountville bakery, Bouchon, where we filled up on croissants, quiches and, of course, caffeine.

Our first stop of the day was the beautiful Chappellet Vineyard, a pristine property and one of the area’s oldest family-owned wineries. Located above the fog line on Pritchard Hill, it took a bit of careful planning for our bus to navigate the twists and turns all the way to the top. Once we stepped off the bus and into the tasting room, a hush seemed to fall over the group – the space was incredible, with vaulted chapel-esque ceilings, rows of beautiful barrels and the most elegant tasting table we’d seen yet.

Candice Pannetier, our host and the director of guest relations at Chappellet, was knowledgeable, easy to talk to and very generous with her time. After a taste of Chappellet’s Chenin Blanc, we sampled the Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Las Piedras Bordeaux blend, the latter of which we took on a walk out to the vineyards. Candace explained to us how each morning their viticulture crew picked three leaves from every row of vines to check water levels, making sure the plant was appropriately thirsty (to build that Pritchard Hill character, of course) but not at risk of dehydration. Seeing such pride and attention to detail really makes it easier to understand the price differential between a $10 Cab and one that’s priced higher to account for the extra craftsmanship and manpower that goes into it. 

While walking through the vineyard, you could definitely feel that we were above the fog line, as the skies were sunny and the temperature was warm with a cool breeze. Our group got to take a walk through Chappellet’s man-made cave that’s carved into the hillside, which is quite green and could be platinum-LEED-certified if they wanted to go through the costly registration process. (We also learned Chappellet doesn’t have a water bill or electricity bill since they are so eco-friendly.) I could go on and on about the organic practices, neat bottling machinery and friendly winemakers who spent time with us, but suffice it to say that I loved this place so much I joined their wine club  -- and you’ll just have to visit yourself!

Our last stop before our voyage home was Baldacci Vineyards in the prestigious Stags Leap district, known for its world-famous Cabernet Sauvignons. We were greeted by Michael Baldacci, one of the proprietor’s sons who lives on the property full time and seemed to wear many different hats.

As he led us through the tasting, he sensed our enthusiasm as wine students and really started delving deeper into the story behind the family’s vineyard, as well as its winemaking techniques. One of the things I loved most about this trip was the access we were given: Not only did we get to explore the underground cave, walk through the rows of oak barrels and taste different grapes straight from the vine, but we also got to pick Mike’s brain about the state of the industry, his day-to-day priorities, and what he hopes for in the future. After hearing some of us were big fans of their 2009 Cab, Mike pulled a bottle for us, which boasted all the classic characteristics of a Stags Leap Cab: Drinks like an iron-fist with a velvet glove. (For us laypeople, that means it has lots of beautiful structure and body with a velvety-smooth finish.)

All in all, it was a fantastic trip that delivered incredible, off-the-beaten-path experiences that allowed for just the right balance of learning and fun. Unfortunately, I don’t think that any trip I could plan the future will match up to the experience I had this time, so I guess I’m just going to have to return on the trip next year!

The Napa Experience - Day 1

In lieu of our regularly scheduled programming, I thought this week I would write about our two-day excursion to the Napa Valley, offered in conjunction with UNLV’s Vine to Wine class.

We left Las Vegas bright and early on Thursday morning, so that by the time we arrived in Sacramento it was just after 9 a.m. and we had the full day ahead of us. We boarded our spacious bus and headed southwest to Napa Valley, arriving early enough to get lunch at Oakville Grocer, a gourmet sandwich and cheese shop where we could picnic out on the back patio. At the risk of getting carried away and making this entire blog post about the weather, I’ll simply say that August in Napa is delightful – easily the best I’ve felt all year.

One thing we had learned from class is that the most elegant, expressive wines come from vines grown on hills. To put it in terms we Las Vegans can relate to, planting grapes on a flat, valley surface is akin to letting them go hog-wild at the buffet. Nutrients are easy to come by, making for grapes that are fat and happy but that also may be one dimensional and less complex. Grape vines planted up in the foothills are required to dig deeper into the ground for nutrients and struggle to find food and water. While not as much fun as gorging on the fertile soil like their valley counterparts, this hardiness shapes their character and makes them all the more balanced and unique tasting when they end up in your glass.

Our first stop was at David Arthur Vineyards, located high on the famed Pritchard Hill on the eastern side of Napa Valley.  The vineyard was situated at an altitude of 1,200 feet, which is an ideal growing climate for their signature varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon. After being welcomed with a taste of refreshing Chardonnay, we followed the winemaker, Nile Zacherle, out to the vineyards to inspect some of the beautiful mountain fruit ourselves. The technical expertise displayed by Nile was second to none, and you could tell that extreme care was taken to yield the highest-quality fruit. We tasted the 2008, 2009 and 2010 vintages of their Cab to demonstrate the how weather and climate can influence flavor, even when the varietal is the same. We were lucky enough to sample their signature “Elevation 1147” wine, a truly premium product made completely on the estate. And perhaps best of all, the very friendly proprietor, David (Arthur) Long, stopped into our tasting to say hi, and we all felt like we were basically related to him by the end of our chat. 

With that, we were off to Caymus Vineyards, a family-owned winery located in Rutherford. However, don’t let the phrase “family-owned” fool you; This place had impressive scale, producing around 65,000 cases per year. In addition to the Caymus signature line, which is known for its incredible “big Napa cab” style, they produce several other brands such as Meiomi, Belle Glos, Mer Soleil and, perhaps the best recognized, Conundrum. Our group got a behind-the-scenes tour of the winery, where we saw how the grapes were harvested and aged. Jenny Wagner, the daughter of Caymus’ proprietor Chuck Wagner, was kind enough to join us for a bit, even letting us sneak a sample from the tank of her new line of Sauvignon Blanc that will be bottled this month. Unlike a New Zealand-style sauvignon with its high acidity and vegetative notes, it tasted wonderfully balanced and even had a bit of an oak presence, which we all enjoyed.  It was fun to watch Jenny work to carve out a name for herself in the Wagner family tradition, and I can’t wait to pick up a bottle in early 2014 when it’s released under the Emmolo brand.

With two great winery experiences under our belt, we relaxed and recharged at The Kitchen Door in downtown Napa for dinner. We enjoyed a family-style meal and, of course, the bottles we purchased from the wineries that day added to the experience.

Click here to read more about day two of our Napa trip.

Vine to Wine: The Fundamentals | Week 9

10 Things Overhead in Class

Most of the time, when learning a new language, you start to understand it before you are able to speak it. When I first stepped foot inside the classroom for UNLV’s Vine to Wine Class, there were a lot of expressions that went over my head. It was kind of like being someone who speaks English as a second language and doesn’t understand confusing idioms the rest of the group takes for granted, such as “kick the bucket” or “fit as a fiddle.”

Image created by Mick Stephenson mixpix

While many of my fellow classmates work in the service industry and were more advanced students, I was one of the only ones starting from the ground floor with very little knowledge about wine. Now, coasting into week nine, I find myself understanding and participating in more and more of the discussions.

On the very first day of class, I started writing down expressions that sounded funny or pretentious to me, and now I find myself not only understanding why they are used, but also agreeing with them.

Without further adieu, I call this list “Sh#t UNLV Wine Students Say.”

·      “How heavy is the oak influence?”

I have no idea why I thought this was funny; This is actually a really common question and a very important one that can tell you a lot about the wine. It was the first day, so I guess I was still kind of shell-shocked.

·      “Where is the fruit hiding? There’s not a lot of nose on this wine”

Sometimes when you stick your nose in a glass, you’ll pick up everything except fruit. It may take two, three, four smells to really “find” smells of fruit, earth, oak, etc.

·      “Does anyone else get that petrol on the palate?”

Petrol, oh petrol. It took me a full 7 weeks to be able to pick up on that smell during tastings, and I still find it a hilarious descriptor, along with “cat pee.” (Seriously.)

·      “You’ve got lots of weight in your mouth.”

This is used to describe a more full-bodied wine, perhaps with an oily film that coats the mouth.

·      “Now that’s some RIPPING-high acid.”

Acidity is that puckering sensation you feel when your mouth immediately starts to salivate upon the first sip. This expression is usually referencing a Sauvignon Blanc, known for its very high acidity.

·      “It’s got a little backbone, lots of juiciness.”

This expression must have been used to describe an elegantly balanced wine, meaning that you can easily observe the structure (the acid and tannins) while also picking up on some pleasant fruit notes as well.

·      “Now this one may not hold up to a steak.”

If you’re eating a rich, robust cut of meat, you need a wine to match. A wine you usually enjoy alone can seem flabby when it’s not paired thoughtfully.

·      “Find me a masculine-style Pinot.”

Wine that has notes of leather, cigar box and smoked meat. Stereotypes are fun!

·      “The wine is so clean, it’s almost clinical.”

When a wine is aged in stainless steel (as opposed to oak) it can be quiet crisp, but when overdone it loses its appeal.  

·      “Now this, my friends, is some Cougar crack.”

An overly-oaked, buttery, creamy Chardonnay that’s so one-dimensional it’s almost a caricature of itself, very popular with middle-aged socialites and those who wish they were.

I look forward to adding to my list during the next four weeks of class!

Vine to Wine: The Fundamentals | Week 8

Sommelier Heath Huidt

On the first day of class, our teacher, Heath Hiudt, asked students to share a little bit about their backgrounds and reasons for taking the course. Many of the students had careers in the service industry, and some (like me) were there for personal enrichment. However, one thing I noticed was that, regardless of background, a significant number of classmates were repeat students.

Have you ever heard that quote about how there are things you know, things you don’t know, and things you don’t know that you don’t know? Looking back, the latter category is how I feel about my first impression of UNLV Vine to Wine. I simply didn’t know that I didn’t know how interesting and varied the curriculum was. So I wondered to myself how and why these students had taken the 13-week, 7-hour-per-day class two or three times – wasn’t once enough?

After being in the course for 8 weeks now, I can honestly say I completely understand why people take it multiple times. Granted, when my first class series ends on September 22^nd, I will walk away with an incredible amount of knowledge and will forever be a more informed wine drinker because of it. However, once you start to learn about winemaking history, tasting, service notes, etc, I think it’s a natural reaction to want to dig deeper. Your knowledge can be as broad as you want it to be, but part of the real fun is picking a specialty you love and drilling down until you know it inside and out.

This week in class we covered Germany, Austria, Hungary, Portugal and Spain. We sampled some incredible German Rieslings and were able to draw on our past knowledge to contrast them with wines from Alsace, a nearby region in France that’s also known for that varietal. We learned how to decode the mystery of German wine labels, which offer a wealth of knowledge if you know where to look for it, including typical information like the producer, vintage and varietal as well as not-so-normal information like the ripeness category, dryness level, and quality level.

We learned about the Austrian Antifreeze Scandal of 1985 and got into some spirited debate amongst ourselves about just how dangerous ethylene glycol is when added to wine. And we sampled a unique Hungarian wine called tokaj, which uses individually-picked botrytised grapes that are ground into a paste and added to traditional wine.

In the afternoon during our Spanish tastings, one classmate brought in a delicious Manchego cheese wedge for all of us to share, which definitely enhanced all the riojas and garnachas we were sampling. While most wine drinkers equate Portugal with port from the Duoro Valley, we had the opportunity to sample a non-dessert red wine from the region. As one classmate put it, “I love this way more than Port! Why would you take a nice glass of wine and turn it into Robitussin?” While I’m not sure I agree (I’m a big port fan) the passion my classmates have for all things wine always makes for lively discussion.

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!

***

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!