Chardonnay & Oak Aging
This dry white wine, made from the Chardonnay grape, is the most popular of its variety. Chardonnay ranges in style, with some oakier versions contributing to taste. The purpose of Chardonnay aged in oak is to add some of the oaks characters, along with helping the wine develop its texture. Winemakers may lightly toast the inner surface of barrels, allowing the smoky oak or toasty characters to be detected in the final product. Oak gives the taste a dimension of spiciness and adds a hint of vanilla or coconut to the grapes aroma. The oak and Chardonnay combination is a favorite that is sure to last!
Wine Tasting - The Sense of Smell
There are a few very important things to note when we "nose" a wine. It is suggested to first smell the wine before swirling, noticing the delicate aromas. Next, swirl the wine and smell again after it is at rest. Depending on the bouquet, you may then notice a profound difference in the odors emerging. Aroma is a smell that originates from the actual grape, with very clear cut characteristics. Aroma is most prevalent in young wines. The bouquet of a wine refers to smells generated as a result of aging; smells found particularly in mature wines that were aged in a bottle. The bouquet generally has much softer and complex characteristics than aromas. Identifying what you smell is usually the most challenging part in wine tasting. Although there are many smell categories used to describe characteristics of wine, none have been exclusively agreed upon.
Gewürztraminer (pronounced Guh-VERTZ-tra-meener)
“Gewürz” means “spicy” in German. Traminer is the original name of the grape that produces this flamboyantly aromatic, full-bodied, spicy white wine, which is vinified to perfection in the Alsace region of eastern France and is also produced elsewhere in central Europe, as well as in California, Washington, Oregon and New York.
Gewürztraminer is a pink-skinned, small-clustered grape variety that sets a modest crop and ripens fully in propitious, cool-climate conditions, producing heady, alcoholic, dry table wines, at least in Alsace. (It also makes marvelous, late-harvest dessert wines there.) In California, winemakers tend to vinify Gewürztraminer as a lighter-bodied, slightly sweet wine, apparently for fear their customers will object to the slight bitterness that characterizes the wine when it is fermented to dryness.
Gewürztraminer is justly famed for its wonderfully exotic, complex aroma, which is reminiscent of roses, lychee fruit, allspice, peaches, and grapefruit. Its rich, spicy flavors makes it a wonderful accompaniment to spicy Asian cuisines, as well as rich, Germanic-inspired entrees such as schnitzel, sausage, and pork and ham dishes.
