Pinot Noir

A very popular varietal and rightly so. Pinot Noirs are usually light to medium bodied reds with good complexity, balance, and low to medium tannins. This makes it one of the most drinkable wines for wine noob's and enthusiasts alike.

Pinot Noir is nearly synonymous to the French growing region of Burgundy. If you are drinking a red (bonus points if you can name the White Burgundy varietal) Burgundy right now, you are drinking a Pinot Noir.

As with most wines, the Old World /New World profiles differs from each other, yet the Old World wine makers are moving to the more popular styles of the New World.

Here's what to expect in the flavor profiles:

New World Pinot Noir Flavor Profile: simple to medium complexity, fruit driven - raspberries, cherries, strawberries, light, violets, lilac, silky and supple tannins

Old World Pinot Noir Flavor Profile: complex, mushrooms, forest, earth, full bodied, incense, sandalwood, spice, moderate tannins

Pinot Noir was my favorite varietal for many years but, as you know, I have recently fallen for the Priorat. However, you can almost never go wrong with a good Pinot Noir. Food is not needed to complement it's flavor as it is an excellent stand alone wine. It is also a great wine for a group of friends who want to buy a bottle but can't decide between white or a red.

-H

Shiraz or Syrah

Shiraz is what the Australians call Syrah. Australians also used to call it Hermitage, but that is a French protected name of origin. We'll just call it the "love child".

The origins of Syrah were a mystery until recently when science discovered that Syrah is the love child of Dureza, a red grape and Mondeuse Blanche, a white grape.

Shiraz and Syrah are the same varietal and are dark skinned and used to make some powerful wines. The most notable regions for this varietal are Rhône, France, Australia, and the United States of America.

Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie are some of the famous French wines that are produced from Syrah, the primary grape in the Northern Rhone.

In Australia, it was the Penfold's Grange that became world famous. It used to be labled as Penfold's Grange Hermitage, but as mentioned before, "Hermitage" is a French protected name of origin. Only wines from Hermitage can have that label.

The flavor profile for Old World vs. New World Syrah are fairly distinct.

Old World Syrah Flavor Profile: black/white pepper, lavender, rosemary, musk, game, bitter chocolate

New World Syrah/Shiraz Flavor Profile: blackberry jam, vanilla bean, baked earth, smoke, chocolate

Honestly, I don't think I have ever come across a Syrah I didn't like. The tannins are firm but not harsh which makes for easy drinking and a good foil to this usually intense wine.

Bibliography

• Wikipedia.com
• WineState.com

-H

Cabernet Sauvignon

The Cabernet Sauvignon grape is probably the most popular grape in the world. It is a cross between the Cabernet Franc grape and the Sauvignon Blanc grape. It is prized for its consistent structure and flavors and its ease of cultivation.

The most popular and prized Cabernets come from the Bordeaux region of France and the Stag's Leap district of California. This varietal also has flavors based on the Old World Style and the New World Style.

Cabernet Sauvignon Old World style flavor prophile: Herbs, earth, cassis, red/black currant, mocha, cedar scented, tobacco, black peppercorn, strong tannins.

Cabernet Sauvignon New World style flavor profile: Fruit driven, cherries, cassis, milk chocolate, oak scented, vanilla, eucalyptus or mint, strong tannins.

New world Cabs are produced and bottle for nearly immediate consumption. Old world Cabs are produced for bottled aging, although the wine drinkers of the world are buying wines that they can consume immediately. The old world wine producers have responded to the demand and it is now more difficult to differentiate the Old and New world Cabs.

My current favorite Cabs actually come from Washington State's Columbia Valley. They are a mix of both the New world and Old world flavors: Cassis, cedar, vanilla and medium tannins. Give the Cab from the Barnard Griffin winery a try some time.

-H

Old World and New World Wines

When talking about wine, what exactly does old world or new world mean?

It's simple. Nearly everything in Europe is considered Old World. This includes France, Spain, Italy, Germany etc.

New World is anything not in the Old World: USA, Chile, Australia, etc.

Yep, its that simple.

But why the distinction you ask? Well the two styles are were very different in flavor profiles. The old world embraced terroir (the local climate, soil, and environment) and their wines were meant to age in the bottle before consumption. Their wine making techniques are also very traditional and rarely changed. Because of this, their wines took on the flavors earthy flavors of terroir: minerals, flinty, leather, tobacco, earth, mushrooms, slate etc.

Currently, the majority of consumers prefer wines made in the new world style and many old world vineyards have been producing new world style type wines.

New world wines are made to be fruit forward and to consumed immediately. New world wine making is not steeped in stodgy traditions and they are usually free to try many new techniques to produce the best wine. The new world has recently begun to pay attention to terroir in their wine making process like the old world has done for decades.

I prefer new world wines myself, but I have tasted some amazing old world wines too. I especially like the flavors of cedar, leather and cigar box (humidor). The minerals and slate from some Chablis I have had are quite good too.

Chardonnay

For my very first wine profile I chose the ubiquitous varietal, Chardonnay.
Chardonnay is rarely my first choice, but I like it. It is usually full bodied, off-dry, with notes of pineapple, apple, and vanilla. I usually drink Chardonnay from California.

Below are the typical flavor profiles for Chardonnay and I have also broken them down into Old World style and New World style.

Chardonnay New World style flavor profile: banana, pineapple, apple pie/cobbler, butterscotch, caramel, toast, burnt sugar, vanilla, ginger, nutmeg, a lot of oak, low acid

Chardonnay Old World style flavor profile: lemon, grapefruit, granny smith apple, butter, nuts, honey, minerals, flint, little wood, high acid

Here's a fun little game you can play the next time you are out for a glass of wine. Find out if you can get both an old world and new world chardonnay and don't let the server tell you which is which. See if you can identify the flavor profile and pick the old world vs the new world chardonnay based solely on smell/visual/flavor.

Feel free to check out some of the history and background of chardonnay too.

-H

Grapes, Wine and their Flavor Prophiles

As you may know, the same grape that is used to produce a wine can taste drastically different depending on how, when and even where that wine was produced. There are many factors that can determine the flavor profile of a wine:

• Old World or New World
  
• Oaked or unoaked
  
• Cool climate or warm climate
  
• Residual sugar or not
  
• Hang time short to long
  
• Fortified or not
• Soil Type
• Fermentation process
  

In the future I will be posting specific varietals (the grape) and their flavor profiles.