Jeff, Kirk and Brad - Producers for the film:
Wine Diamonds: Uncorking America's Heartland www.winediamondsfilm.com
This past Thursday we were putting the finishing touches on the fundraising "pitch piece" we'll be using in the near future for our movie, Wine Diamonds: Uncorking America's Heartland. We filmed a few segments in the winery at Kirkwood Community College before heading over to the Hotel at Kirkwood, a working/teaching hotel and conference center where we'd finish filming our pitch. We knew Kirkwood's own wine/viticulture program lead and head
Lucas McIntire, Winemaker
winemaker (Lucas McIntire) would be there pouring samples of his wines and giving the first taste of this brand new sparkler. Lucas is the kind of winemaker you think of when you think of those great winemakers: full of passion for the industry, knowledgeable, creative and his love of wines is contagious! The line to taste his wines seemed to recycle very frequently and he could be heard across the room enthusiastically describing each one to his adoring fans. His wines are extraordinary! After shooting our pitch we met up with Lucas and our friend Lauren (who owns the Secret Cellar) and we shot some additional footage for our "on-the-road" segments.
Frontenac Gris - note the amber color of this "white" wine.
Toward the end of our filming we were invited back to his wine cellar where we sampled his wines and was completely amazed by this Frontenac Gris wine. He grows several dozen varieties of cold-hardy grapes and Frontenac Gris, when fermented by the uninitiated can come off as tart, or bland and unappealing, but not this one. Lucas described how he had to patiently wait while this gris (grey) grape slowly ripened, waiting, testing, and waiting until an amber elixir of the most elegant nature emerged. This wine is big, juicy, mouth-filling, fruity, dry and absolutely delicious. Honestly, this is one of the very best white wines I've had in the Midwest ...hell, anywhere! Just amazing! The crazy thing is...while this spectacular wine was captivating it's
Available in Eastern Iowa Only!
sister, a sparkling wine, made in the traditional method (Methode Chamenoise),from Adelmiina (a grape you've probably never heard of before), LaCrescent and Okanagon Riesling grapes was jaw droppingly exquisite. On this night Lucas debuted his 2013 release of his sparkling wine. In the glass this lively bubbly was gorgeous, trillions of bubbles(just an estimate), a sexy straw color, and a dazzling array of aromas - citrus: lemon and lime, apple blossom, and fresh bread; and to top it off, the flavors popped with bright acidity and a scrumptious citrus, apple, and toasty yeast essence that whispered how well it'd be with food. The sad news for those not living in eastern Iowa is that you're missing out on some of of the most exciting wines coming on the scene. Lucas' sparkler is among the best I've had. This is a winemaker to follow...and if you have the opportunity to buy his wines, particularly this beautiful bubbly, get it today! If other Midwest winemakers could emulate what Lucas McIntire (Kirkood Community College) and John Burns (Barrelhead Winery) are doing with traditional method sparkling wines then we'd soon gain national prominence. I say...make more bubbly!!
My brother and I began writing about wines
back in December of 2008 and since then a lot has transpired, both personally
and professionally, but the last couple of years were a gut punch of sorts as I
left my job to care for our mother before she passed away.
Leaving my winery job, my dream job, was
difficult but in the long run has been really good for me. In the past two years I began working as a wine
industry consultant helping wineries and other businesses with public
relations, marketing and communications.
Last year my friend and business partner/guru (Kurt Karr) and I were speakers
at the Iowa Wine Growers Association where we shared our views on branding,
social media marketing, and marketing in general. It was a hoot!
This year, after working with a local
creative productions company (we created television commercials for a mutual
client) called MVP Video Productions, we decided to come together and create a
feature length documentary movie, called “Wine Diamonds: Uncorking America’s Heartland.” We’ve been filming since
July 2014 and will continue to shoot until fall of 2015.
Winemaker John gives Jennifer a barrel sample
Out and about I get to taste a lot of
wine, a lot of very good wine, and occasionally there are wineries where something
magical is taking place. Those are the
wineries I get very excited about. I’ve
known about Barrelhead Winery (near Dubuque, IA) for several years and
revisited them again this fall with our good friend Jennifer Farnum. We’d planned an all day long winery road trip but never
made it past John Burn’s winery.
Barrelhead Winery is one of Iowa’s (if
not the Midwest) best wineries!
Period. Or is that Exclamation
point?! Either way. Granted, I’ve known John for a while and have
always been impressed with his wines, but on this trip (and another more recent
trip with my friend Martin Blind) it was reinforced.
John was kind enough to take us into his
barrel room and provide us samples of his wines - all estate grown and
made. Our first wine, a Marechal Foch,
straight from the 2014 harvest and still in its stainless steel tank was our
first “barrel” sample.
Extraordinary! If you know
anything about Marechal Foch it is a bugger to work with, in other words, there
is what’s become affectionately known as the “Foch Funk,” a heavy herbaceous
quality that’s just not the most appealing aroma or flavor for a wine. Somehow, someway John has tamed the Foch
beast and created an amazingly special wine.
Let me say that again to those that have ripped out their Marechal Foch
plants - replant, talk to John, and make more of this lovely elixir.
This Foch is so un-Fochlike that some wine
competition judges have docked his Foch wine for lacking Foch characteristic
--- Really!?!? Wasn’t that the
point?
Moving on in the barrel room we were
given samples, of various years, of St. Croix, Leon Millot, GR-7 (Geneva Red 7)
and Marechal Foch. One thing was for
certain - these wines are fantastic! The
St. Croix and Leon Millot, both wines typically suffer under the heavy hands of some winemakers, are elevated to the heavens in this back road winery.
Back at his winery tasting room we were
treated to more exceptional wines. Don’t
get me wrong when I say the following, because his dry red wine are really
amazing and worthy of serious recognition, but his sparkling wines…are as good
as I’ve ever had. Painfully good! He wants to go toe-to-toe with the French in
competition and given what I know about John and his wines, I’d place my bet on
his sparklers!
John uses the traditional method (also
known as Méthode Champenoise) - the slow and laborious way to make sparkling
wines (aka: Champagne style wine) and in my opinion, the only way to make a truly
great sparkler - using his own grapes. Enchanting!
Folks…this is the real deal. If every winery in the Midwest made wines
like these there is little doubt we’d become a serious wine destination!
John is a character, the best sort of
wine character with a lot of personality and passion for wines that others
could emulate. I highly recommend
visiting his winery to enjoy these fantastic wines. You can only find his wines at BarrelheadWinery.
When most people think of working in a winery they probably conjure images of the winemaker, the tasting room attendant, or someone out in the vineyard tending the vines. And for large winery operations it's probably a valid conceptualization, however, for most of us in the wine business, those of us in a small-to-mid sized winery, we wear many hats.
In 2005 I began playing around with making wine and shortly thereafter enrolled in an enology (wine science) program. By 2008 my interests took me to a local winery where, until June, I volunteered to learn winery operations and gained a great deal of knowledge. With my shiny new wine making credentials in hand and my college teaching baggage behind me, I sought full time employment.
The wine gods must have been smiling on me because, in short order, I found myself up to my neck in a job, whose making was my own. You see in these parts of the country it isn't often a guy can find full time employment in a winery, frankly because most operations are small family-run enterprises, but I was lucky.
Understanding wine from the perspective of a winemaker, and as a vocal advocate for a regional wine industry, was a bonus as I began my new endeavor. As the External Relations Manager, a fancy new title that captures everything from public and social media relations, writing and editing, to my main focus - strengthening and building a wholesale program, I wear many hats.
Some days I visit potential wholesale/retail accounts, other days I deliver wines, many days are filled with scheduling my volunteer wine ambassadors monthly wine tastings. There are days when I work behind the tasting room bar serving guests, while other times I shoot a short video and post on YouTube, but all times I am thrilled to be part of a growing local wine industry.
I'd like to think that I am somehow special in this way but I know I am not. I meet many colleagues who wear the same hats, perhaps in different ways, but we are all trying hard to do it right.
The days become weeks and weeks blend together too quickly. The Summer events are now the snapshots I visit on my Facebook photo album, and our harvest, which began in late August finally reached its zenith last week with the delivered Cabernet, Merlot and Zinfandel. I rode shotgun during the fermentation while the winemaker took a week-long vacation. Another hat. Working in the cellar doing Punch Downs and Pump-Over operations was enjoyable and brought me back to my wine making roots. I've missed that.
Can't help but wonder what's in store as the next year approaches and what style of hat I'll be wearing. Cheers, my wine friends! ~Brad
As some of you may have gathered The Two Wine Brothers (Terry & Brad Johnson) are seriously geeky about wine. I've been known to go to extremes in my (Brad) attempt to immerse myself in wine - literally during the harvest and crush.
So it isn't too much of a surprise to learn that I am a vocal advocate and promoter of local wines.
During the past year I have launched a wine industry e-zine, called Winedustry: wine news for the "other" grapes. Focused on new wine regions and grapes, the ones you may have never heard about, Winedustry is intended for the nontraditional, non-vinifera wine community. Winedustry readership continues to grow each month, because in large part of our volunteer contributors (writers) and state field editors.
During the past few years I've taken my wine education more seriously through formal education. During this time I've expanded my knowledge of my personal wine making, then as of the past few years working at a commercial winery, and throughout collaborating with innovative wine industry folks. One of those collaborations is now blossoming into a new project: Midwest Wine Review. Modeled in part by the successful regional wine competitions and from mainstream wine magazines, Midwest Wine Review will bring together skilled, knowledgeable and professional wine evaluators. The goal is to replicate, in the best way possible, the wine scoring systems of major magazines, but for new wine regions.
In the planning stage, Midwest Wine Review will conduct quarterly (or as needed) sensory descriptive analysis sessions and rate wines using an updated 100 point scoring system. This scoring system is a familiar metric for many wine consumers. The rating scores and accompanying brief description will be available to participating wineries. (See Midwest Wine Review story describing process). Not long ago, I was communicating with my Winedustry Maryland Field Editor ((find her on Twitter as @ourgirl) or at her blog (http://thevineyardwife.com/)) about badges for Winedustry. She possesses extraordinary graphic artist skills and I asked her to design an image, a badge, to support local wine consumption and purchases. She came up with this image (see above). She elaborates on the creative process of making "I Drink Local Wine" badge - please READ STORY!
Nearly immediately, after posting a copy of this image (above) on Facebook, it went viral! Support for local wines is huge and this image has been shared more than 100 times in the first day! (Feel free to copy and use on your blog, facebook status update, or website).
New wine regions, places like Iowa, Missouri (which has a very long wine making history), Virginia, Michigan, Maryland - just to name a few - are making amazingly good wines. In many instances, you won't find a traditional varietal, and that's fine. Good is good...and Great is Great! Give new wine regions a chance and allow your own palate to be the judge. Let us know what you find!
When I lived in Moscow, Idaho about a decade ago I had a neighbor, Heidi, who brewed her own beer, root beer, and made fruit wine from wild plums.Me, immersed in the quagmire of a PhD program, thought to myself “wouldn’t that be wonderful to do”?I even purchased a how-to book from the local bookstore and promptly placed it on my bookshelf, where it remained as I sank deeper into an academic black hole.
Fall 2005 arrived with me and my family settling in to our new home in Iowa.And on a late autumn day, my wife, left for a weekend science educators conference somewhere in western Iowa.Not knowing anyone in my new, little town, I picked up and dusted off that same book which five years ago intrigued me (and to be honest, kind of intimated me).It wasn’t necessarily a page-turner, but I couldn’t stop reading – I was hooked!
Since then, I’ve immersed myself in wine: wine making, wine growing, wine history, wine regions, oh, and let’s not forget wine tasting and drinking!
Shortly after my epiphany, or whatever you want to call it, I began making wine and not long after that I found others with similar interests.
2005 – Read home wine making book
2006 – Began making wine at home.First batch explodes in bottle.
2007 – With four others, established the Eastern Iowa Wine Club, an amateur winemakers group.Our group has grown to more than 100 followers and about 25 regular participants.
2007 – Started “Two Wine Brothers” as a way to stay connected with my brother, Terry.
2009 – Conducted market research for Iowa wine trail under Johnson Research Studio.
2009 – Started working part-time at Fireside helping out as winemaker assistant.
2010 – Launched Winedustry: wine news for the “other” grapes -- An online wine industry news, information and collaboration website for makers and growers living in nontraditional areas.
2011 – Launched Midwest Wine Review: An online wine review website for Midwestern wines.
2011 – Hired by Fireside Winery to serve as their External Relations guy.Will be working to maintain, build and expand wholesale program, and manage and grow public relations and social media.
What began as a hobby, grew into a passion, and continues to evolve deeper into the wine industry.I am thrilled and excited to be a part of this booming Midwestern wine industry and look forward to seeing how the next few years unfolds.
Ask most winery owners how much they know about their customers and you’ll likely get the same response I frequently hear: “I know my customers pretty well”. Moreover, most winery owners also claim they know the preferences and kinds of experiences visitors have at their winery.
Or at least they think they do.
Blockbuster, the now defunct video store, once thought the same thing. All it took was one disgruntled customer, who later built another more responsive enterprise (i.e., NetFlix), to run the former video rental business into the ground and out of business.
Paying attention to our customers and understanding their experiences is crucial to keeping a business running effectively. We know our customers – or at least we think we do, but more accurately, we know our “regular” customers.
What do we know about those visitors who never return?
When I was living in Seattle and working at a marketing research company, as research analyst, a challenger to the prominent Seattle coffee giant asked us for help. This new coffee business surely understood the market, just like winery owners do, but they asked us to delve a little deeper and to help identify possible unmet needs.
They understood the business of coffee. They understood they didn’t know everything about their customers. They understood there was a possibility of an untapped market segment they might fill. They asked for research help because they weren’t market research experts.
Ultimately this new business challenger successfully invaded the market space formerly held by the coffee giant and has seized market share. Using qualitative and quantitative research methodologies we were able to uncover dissatisfied customers and key into a new, formerly untapped segment.
It’s what you don’t know that’ll hurt your business.
The danger of believing we know everything about our customers may be our biggest potential pitfall. In the winery business we do everything: we grow and harvest the grapes, run the fermentation operations, do our own bottling, and transport and sell our wines.
Focus on the Fundamentals of Wine.
Wineries should focus on winery related activities not on research. In the computer programming trade there is a maxim that goes like this: garbage in, garbage out. The same adage works for the research business: poorly designed research yields and questionable findings.
Professional researchers understand the complexities of conducting social research. Consumer behavior research requires a comprehensive set of tools that include qualitative methods: interviews, observation, and focus groups; and quantitative methods: survey research (mail or Internet), and even experimental designs (e.g., which communication program is most effective or which label design will sell more wine).
Building a long term research program to assess consumer satisfaction is fundamental to a winery business. Knowing what your customers love and sometimes more importantly, what your visitors do not love, can make the difference between success and failure.
Before this weekend I must confess to being a bit skeptical about the judging process at wine competitions and the value of their results. Science is on my side too (Journal of Wine Economics, Volume 3, Issue 2, Fall 2008, Pages 105–113). This study found only about 10% of judges were able to replicate their scores, that is, if they judged a wine as a bronze award, later they might judge it as a silver or no award.
One of the hallmarks in the scientific method is reliability of findings, in other words can we be confident of our results, and in wine judging that would amount to being able to reproduce similar judging scores on different days or on different flights of wines on the same day. My reference study suggests fairly convincingly that competitions might be unreliable.
So, if the results are unreliable and the judges are unable to replicate their own findings why would a winery submit a wine to a competition?
My firsthand account of a large, multi-state wine competition suggests there is great value in submitting a wine to a well-organized and run wine competition. Of course the “value” comes with an important caveat – what do you, the vintner/winery, expect or desire from the experience?
Create a Buzz. Some wineries may submit wine(s) in an effort to increase their medal count as a means to convey to the public the value of their wines. Award winning wineries proudly and deservingly display their awards and trophies to an adoring public. The public, in turn, frequently defers to the judgment of experts when determining a wine pick.
PR Value. Great wines get attention! Wine competitions provide an opportunity to get a second or third opinion on the quality of our wines. High award winning wines (silver and gold awards, in particular) are very good wines. Having the gravitas of skilled wine panelists whose expertise aligns with a winery’s desire for recognition is a public relations opportunity waiting to happen. When properly managed wine competition awards can get a winery a tremendous amount of free-media exposure.
Disconnect? It’s rumored that wine judges prefer big, bold, dry traditionally made red wines so their opinions and expertise are disconnected to the reality of our tasting rooms and regular folks. While personal tasting preferences may lean in this direction it is also true that good wine is good wine and well-trained judges easily distinguish the difference between good and not so good wine.
Opportunity Knocks! The best wines were well-balanced wines. Midwestern grapes are typically high in acidity, much like German Rieslings, and as a consequence many these competition wines were better suited with some residual sugar. And the best ones, over and again, possessed varying degrees of sweetness. Best varietals were consistently identified, stylistic patterns developed, and if I were making wine I would take a hard look at what the judges loved and what our consumers love and notice this one thing – they are very similar.
Final Thoughts
After tasting hundreds of wines, as an observer during this competition, my perspective about wine competitions were significantly altered. Having a highly skilled panel of experts tasting my wine, even if the result wasn’t what I had hoped for can be informative. Winery’s whose entries did not earn a medal could simply dismiss the findings as evidence of poor judging. To me that would be missing a BIG opportunity. If my wines didn’t earn a medal in a competition where I thought it was medal-worthy, then I’d reevaluate my wines and ask for advice and critique from other winemakers.
A region/state can learn a lot from a competition, such as what grape varietals/cultivars are winning. Like I mentioned, good wine is good wine, and many of the new hybrids are making excellent wine; although, many of us may need to adjust to the reality and limitations of these grapes. Just like winemakers in Germany aren’t making Cabernet Sauvignon but instead concentrate on grapes that grow well and make the best possible wines, in a style that enhances their varietal character, so too should we (the Midwest) focus on making wines from our best vines in a suitable style.
My experience at the competition completely shifted my perspective and now my appreciation for the judging process is radically improved. We frequently turn to science to lend strength to our point of view and in our empirical world-view wine judging does not live up to this high standard; however, despite this fact, I am encouraged by the professionalism of the expert panel and how closely their results likely mirror consumer preferences.
This time of the year there is a momentary lull in cellar activity providing enough time to return to the vineyard work. Yesterday, a gorgeous, blue-sky, day with a light breeze and perfect springtime temperatures, was my day to work in the vineyard.
The Brickyard Hill Vineyard, whose name was as you might imagine, was derived from an nearby old brickyard that sat adjacent to the vineyard. On this beautiful day, three of us were roving through the vines, row after row, removing suckers (i.e., the unwanted shoots sprouting up from the trunk and other undesirable locations) and securing the cordons (i.e., the horizontal "branches" of the vine from where shoots grow the fruit) to the wire.
Gloved and dressed in early summer gear, in one hand I hold a pair of pruning shears, while in the other hand a tool designed to dispense plastic tape to coax the cordon to grow along the wire. This awkwardly engineered tool resembles a freakishly large stapler on steroids.
Walking up and down the rows, removing suckers by flicking them off or when too large, cutting them with my pruning shears is meditative. The late winter pruning, cutting back last years growth to prepare for this years is looked at again to make sure the plants are poised for optimal fruiting. Adjust, tape, snip, and move on. Next plant. Adjust, tape, staple, snip, and move on.
Each of us work at our own pace, beginning at the end of a row and working our way down. Some are more experienced and breeze through the vineyard while others are thorough and move more slowly (at least that's what I'm telling myself). We speak infrequently. Mostly quiet in the vineyard.
I can hear the red wing blackbirds in the distance and the sound of excavators moving the dark Iowa earth where the winemaker is building his home. Another five or so acres will be added when his house is built adding to the nearly 13 acres in production.
Springtime in Iowa is rejuvenating and hard work in the vineyard is soothing.
The Two Wine Brothers recently began writing about summer wines with my older brother leading the way. His reviews have included pieces on Vermouth, White Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. My contributions to the Summer Wine Series will focus on Midwestern wines.
Few things remind me more of the beginning of summer than a trip to a strawberry farm and my first review captures the pure essence of that. When I was much younger and living in Belding, Michigan I used to find occasional work as a field-hand in nearby strawberry farms, bending over I'd pick one for the owner and then I'd pick one for the worker – yum! This wine takes me back to those wonderfully rose-colored memories, strikingly similar to the rose-colored hues of the wine I am about to describe.
Few wines elicit such romantically inspired verse as does strawberry wine – “lips as sweet as strawberry wine”.
This Strawberry wine is the winner of a Silver Medal in the 2009 Mid-American Wine Competition and was crafted by Breitenbach Winery. Located near Dover, Ohio, Breitenbach makes a wide assortment of wines and is well known for creating lovely fruit wines in addition to their traditional line of grape wine.
You want a fruit wine to deliver fruit aromas and flavors and this NV Breitenbach Strawberry American Wine provides heaps of it! Moreover, you want your strawberry wine to look, well, to look like strawberries and it does! Potent fresh strawberries on the nose and in the glass, rich and thick legs suggest a sweet wine. My palate was pleasantly surprised with a blast of STRAWBERRIES in a gorgeously balanced, just the right amount of sweetness (6% residual sugar) and acidity. RECOMMENDED!
This summertime strawberry sweetie is the kind of wine that arouses the poetic side of me and so I’ll end this posting with a short poem by “The Flowing Pen”:
Strawberry Wine
A seductive potion to bring me bliss
As I drink it off of your sultry lips
And your fingers intertwine with mine
Lust brought forth from strawberry wine
A taste that pales the sweetest nectar
As I lie in your arms lost forever
Two bodies joining like moon and sun
Passion drives us until we are one
An aphrodisiac some could very well say...
Who ever knew that love would feel this way
I'd like to sit and drink with you one more time
Toasting love and laughter with Strawberry Wine
~THE FLOWING PEN~
1-26-04
Cheers my friends, enjoy all that summertime has to offer and I hope you’ll take time to seek out the Midwestern wines I suggest.
Two Wine Brothers: Wine making is a capital-intensive business with the time between when you plant the grapes and you are able to put bottles on the shelves of retailers is measured in years. How has the global recession impacted your ability to raise capital?
Tim Pearson/7Springs Vineyard: Building a wine making facility from scratch is a very capital intensive business, you are correct. I am in a fortunate position to have an established business which has helped fund the development of the vineyard, winery and tasting room. Vaughan and I are going to use money we have in our pension funds to finance the building of the winery and tasting room, so you can see the absolute commitment we have for Seven Springs (the name, co-incidentally comes from the seven natural springs in the nearby spa town of Caledon).
Architect Rendering of Seven Springs Winery
The global recession has had an impact on my UK business but this has not been significant. We have merely stood still, in terms of growth, for a couple of years. What impacts us most is currency fluctuation. To give you an example, since we purchased the land in 2006 the £ Sterling / South African Rand has varied between 11 Rand to the £ up to 18 Rand to the £. This effect will obviously have the reverse consequence when it comes to exporting our wines.
So to answer your question; we have not needed to borrow a penny (or should I say a cent) from the banks. At the moment we have put the winery build on hold as the current exchange rate is around 11 Rand to the £. Once the £ strengthens against the Rand we will transfer the money over and commence the building.
Two Wine Brothers: The post-Mandela political landscape has been soft on "property rights". How are you managing the risk of losing your vineyards by government expropriation?
Tim Pearson/7Springs Vineyard: First, can I say the current political situation in South Africa is far fairer than it was during the apartheid era. I have no idea what will happen in South Africa in the future, just as I do not know who will be in power in the USA or in the UK in a few years time. If there are government ‘land grabs’, or expropriation as you put it, so be it, we will have little influence over that.
We are in the fortunate position of having an income, and a capital asset with no debts, from my business in England, we own our house here in England and one in Le Marche in Italy. So, as the saying goes, we do not have all of our eggs in the one basket. Life itself is not without risk and I fully understand that things can go wrong. I have never been interested in wealth creation; the idea of creating something special from scratch is much more appealing, so we do have provision for different scenarios.
Two Wine Brothers: Now that your first vintage (2010) is behind you and resting in barrels/tanks, when do you anticipate releasing your first wines? Can you elaborate a little on where and when consumers will ultimately be able to find your products in general, and in the United States, in particular?
Riana van der Merwe, Winemaker
Tim Pearson/7Springs Vineyard: We will release our first wines, Sauvignon Blanc and our un-oaked Chardonnay, around July/August of this year. We will await Riana’s, our winemaker, decision as to when the wine is ready to bottle. We have no commercial pressure to ‘get the wine on the shelves’ and would rather release the wine when it is perfect to drink.
Our lightly oaked Chardonnay (in second fill barrels) and our Syrah will be ready mid 2011. For our first year we were going to release only in South Africa and the UK, concentrating on building our brand and our market in our ‘home’ markets. However, we have been overwhelmed by the interest that we have had from the USA and are reconsidering our options regarding the US. We have been in talks with Fiona Phillips, who runs an online, South African only, wine retailing business. Fiona, is English but based in Franschhoek, South Africa, and is establishing her business to export these wines into 26 US states from May 2010. Check out the Cybercellar website www.cybercellar.com as she has an exceptional portfolio of wines at very reasonable prices.
Two Wine Brothers: We look forward to the opportunity to experience the 7 Springs Vineyard wines as they become available and wish Tim Pearson and his family much success. Please take this opportunity to visit his website – 7Springs Vineyard!
Hailed as South Africa’s own wine grape, Pinotage, a genetic cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut/Hermitage (frequently used as a blending grape to build powerful southern Rhone reds), was last night’s wine selection. Efforts to locate this elusive, at least in eastern Iowa, proved to be a challenge but finally my A-team of wine sleuths discovered three for our tasting.
1. Westerland (2006) Pinotage, South Africa. (Source: Hy Vee, Cost: $10.99, Alc., 14%).
Very low intensity ruby tinted with a noticeable rim variation and thick, long lasting viscosity. Very little fruit was evident but there were earthy notes of gravel, dusty roads, oak and butter. On the palate this wine displayed a short taste of blackberry up front followed by a nice amount of oakiness. Little tannin and lightly astringent. A mild medicinal quality reminiscent of antiseptic lingered post-swallow. After a few minutes we were able to detect a pronounced coffee scent. An okay wine. Recommended with reservations.
2. Warwick (2006) Pinotage, Stellenbosh, South Africa. (Source: Hy Vee, Cost: $19.99, Alc., 14.5%).
All three wines were of low to moderately low intensity. Ruby clear with thick, long lasting legs and moderate rim variation. On the nose this Pinotage opened up with rich fruit aromas of prune and processed fruit; followed by oak, vanilla, and buttery scents. Nice. My palate was pleasantly surprised when an array of yumminess arrived across my tongue, first with fruit, then smoky wafts of oak, vanilla, spice, and maybe a dash of soy. A slightly aggressive dose of tannin and a gorgeously mouth filling medium bodied wine that sent waves of flavor and minerality on for a long time. Nice balance. A winner! Highly Recommended.
3. Westerland (2005) Pinotage, South Africa. (Source: Hy Vee, Cost: $10.99, Alc., 14%).
Garnet hued wine with an orange-brown rim variation. First sniffs reveal little else other than a barnyard or wool aroma. Not a terrible odor but definitely an opinionated wine. No fruit. My palate was clobbered with smoke, spice, leather and potent tannins. Drying. The astringency was quite aggressive and coated my mouth. Lacks complexity. Recommended with reservations.
Post-Tasting Notes: This was a good tasting. Despite my criticisms all three wines were pretty good! The two Westerland wines (note the different vintages) were recommended with reservations, not because I hated any of them, but because our group of four were split between them to take the second place finish. The Warwick was by far the best of the three! You can always tell the favorites by how quickly the bottles empty after our formal tasting. Warwick was first to go!
One final comment. About midway through the tasting one of our evaluators stated what I had been thinking: “doesn’t this (Pinotage) remind you of Marechal Foch?” Yes, it did! Marechal Foch is one of the wine grapes growers in cold-climates cultivate and frequently is at the bad end of many jokes because of its aggressive personality (e.g., earthy qualities, leather, tobacco). Interesting.
