Welcome to the continuation
of our new wine tasting series. We’re
going to explore the wonderful world of
wine – glass by glass. This series
will assist you in setting up your own
wine tastings. Whether you are a novice
or a seasoned wine aficionado, it’s
not enough to read about this stuff. To
truly appreciate and learn, you have to
get in there in taste. Hey, it’s
hard work, but somebody has to do it!
For a few tasting pointers
and the first article in this series featuring
Chardonnay, click
here!
Not only is Syrah/Shiraz
one of the hottest trends in red wines
these days (hey, what’s old is new
again, and all that!) – it also happens
to be one of our long time favorites.
Even better news? It’s
a relatively easy grape to get a handle
on.
The simplest way to categorize
these wines is Old World vs. New World.
These are terms that we’ve mentioned
before and that are getting pretty commonplace
in wine-speak.
Old World refers to wine-producing
Europe, basically. France, Italy, Spain,
Germany, Austria, etc.
New World refers to the
rest of us – the U.S., Australia,
New Zealand, South America, South Africa.
The important difference
here is not simply geography – it’s
style. Winemaking style, to be exact.
Old World wines tend to be relatively
subtle and elegant in taste and smell.
New World wines tend to be bolder, more
in your face. It’s just that simple.
So… Old World Syrah.
This is France, all the way. The
Northern Rhone Valley, to be precise.
Wines from regions (appellations) like
Hermitage, St.-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage,
Cornas, and Cote-Rotie. (You’ll need
to look for these appellation names on
the bottle – it won’t say "Syrah!")
The most famous New World
Syrah wine is from Australia, where
it’s called "Shiraz."
Same grape. Different style. The U.S.
also produces quite a bit of this wine,
and we mostly call it Syrah, although
a Shiraz will creep in there occasionally.
Both Old World and New World
Syrah is a beautiful dark, deep red. The
Old World wines will sometimes get opaque,
they’re so dark. The New World wine
tend to be a more purple-red.
The bouquet and taste profiles
are quite different. The Rhone Valley
Syrahs typically have a deep, peppery,
earthy bouquet that features rich, concentrated
fruit. Think prunes. Raisins. Black currants.
If this bouquet doesn’t get you salivating,
I don’t know what will! On the palate,
these wines reflect all the concentrated
sophistication that you might expect from
the bouquet. They are elegant, well-balanced,
harmonious wines.
As for the New World Syrahs,
think over-the-top dazzling, ripe, rich,
flavorful, showy. The bouquet is heady
with ripe (as opposed to rich) jammy fruit.
There is usually a lot of oak aging used
for these wines, so a strong vanilla oak
scent is usually present. And although
there is still a spicy bouquet –
it’s more cinnamon, nutmeg sweet
than the Old World black pepper. On the
palate these wines are every bit as showy
and ripe as the bouquet indicates. Very
fruity, plenty of oak, and above all ripe
and bold. The good ones are well-balanced
and delicious. (The not-so-good ones can
taste overripe, too herb-heavy, and/or
flat.)
purchase two or three
bottles from each of the categories. You
may as well try to be consistent on your
price range – there’s nothing
to be gained from comparing a $10 bottle
of wine to a $70 bottle! For these wines,
our advice would be to shoot for the $25-$40
range, and where possible choose a lineup
of wines that are all priced as closely
as possible to each other. Once you zero
in on your own personal preferences, you
can always experiment with bargain priced
wines and special occasion splurges!
Pour about one ounce per
taste. Compare Old World to New World
wines, looking for the characteristics
that we’ve described here.
Here, then, are a few suggestions
for specific producer’s bottles to
include in your tasting lineup. But the
point here is to learn to appreciate the
different in Old and New World Syrahs,
not necessarily to learn about specific
wineries. So we encourage you to just
buy whatever you find in your local wine
shop and start tasting!
–
Auguste Clape, Chapoutier, Jaboulet, Delas,
Guigal, Rostaing, Jasmin.
– Rosemount,
d’Arenberg, Lindeman’s, Hardy’s,
Penfolds, Wynn’s.
– Joseph Phelps,
Qupe, Arrowood, Cline, Geyser Peak.
We've found that our guests really enjoy
the opportunity to "grade" the
wines. You can make it as casual or controlled
as you like. We tend to put out a pile
of our
tasting notes sheets and then encourage
our guests to take notes. Somewhere toward
the end of the evening -- or once everyone
has had time to taste the various wines
-- we like to have a little group discussion
of the favorites. It really is a lot of
fun to hear everyone's opinions of the
wines, and there are always some interesting
surprises.
The most important thing
is to have fun with your tasting party.
Branch out to wines that are new to you.
Don't worry about the results -- everyone
will have a great time participating in
the tasting. And be sure to let
us know which wines were the hit at
your party!
For details on our past
tasting party ideas - click
here.
