Sangiovese and food

Cottage Vineyards has organised a masterclass on variations of Sangiovese and Tuscany’s forgotten wine recently. The variations of Sangiovese ranged from the Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino to Super Tuscan (Sangiovese blended with international varieties). These wines were presented by four passionate winemakers/owners from Tenuta Cantagallo e Le Farnete, Molino di Sant’Antimo, and Fattoria di Petroio. The other forgotten varieties were Ciliegiolo and Pugnitello, both red wines, from Simona Ceccherini Winery.

The tasting was a bit chaotic as there were too many different glasses in too confined space leaving no space for taking notes; but at the same time lively because the speakers, especially Dario Pierzaauoli from  Tenuta Cantagallo e Le Farnete who also took on the role of moderator, were entertaining.

Each speaker took turn to present his/her wine, with first hand story from his/her experience. Ada Leung, Sales & Marketing Director of Cottage Vineyards, brilliantly wrapped up each presentation with suggested food, both western and Asian, to pair with the wine. Cottage Vineyards is known for pairing Chinese cuisines with wine (the most  popular being Jura Vin Jaune with Hairy Crab) so it was natural for Ada to suggest some food pairing ideas to the guests, who were mostly from the F&B industry, to help differentiate the different Sangiovese variations. Ada also gave each guest a written summary of the wines’ characteristics, food matching guide and examples of both western a
nd Asian cuisines to pair.

Of course these wines are all different but it could be challenging for wine consumers to remember the nuances. I would like to draw a simple conclusion that Sangiovese, with its high acidity, is food-friendly. We just need to determine the palate weight of the wine and choose food that have similar weight. For example, a light version Chianti without wood could match with antipasti and fish dishes; while a more meaty Super Tuscan would pair well with roasted meat.

What I would also like to mention is the two other varieties. Both Ciliegiolo and Pugnitello are local varieties from Maremma where Simona Ceccherini Winery is located. Ciliegiolo with its lively acidity is best with simple tomato based dishes while the heavier weight Pugnitello would be perfect with slow cooked meat. Italy has 1,000 native varieties, we need every Simona to preserve them.

All these wines are available from Cottage Vineyards.

Indigenous grapes, forgotten grapes?

I had the opportunity to attend two tastings in a role organised by the Hong Kong Wine Society on two classic European wine regions, one in conjunction with The Drinks Business on the Douro Valley in Portugal and the other one jointly presented with Cottage Vineyards on Piedmont region in Italy. Both countries are known for their vast arrays of indigenous grapes and the tastings, with focus on these varieties, were like fresh air.

The Douro wine we tasted, from Wine & Soul and Quinta de Maritávora, were made by the same winemaker Jorge Serôdio Borges who is also the owner of Wine & Soul. Douro is the home of port but still red wine has been gaining fame in the last 10 years. Jorge reckons now is the turn of Douro still white wine. Wine & Soul Guru, from a 50 years old vineyard planted with Gouveio, Viosinho, Rabigato and Códega do Larinho (field blend), is a light-bodied wine with only 12% alcohol. It was barrel fermented with 50% new oak but it has such intense fruit aromas that the wood just added complexity to the wine instead of overpowering it. The wine was a good match with the Pasties de Bacalhau being served but it would be equally impressed with grilled prawns or sardines. New vineyard plantings in the Douro tend to be of single variety for better management but Jorge now goes back to field blend planting. He blended wine from different varieties planted separately but now believes vines maturing together allows different varieties to interact in the vineyards resulting in more complex blend. Well, I don’t think we can argue with him - his Guru testifies his theory!

The two reds that followed were interesting comparison. Both were blends dominated by Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, amongst others. The Maritávora Grande Reserva 2011 was concentrated but with such freshness that reminded me of a young port without the sweetness. Wine & Soul Pintas 2009, a mega-blend with 30 varieties, is elegant and multi-dimensional with earthier notes. Jorge said Portugal is the New Old World, where indigenous grapes are used to make clean, fresh and balanced wine.

Italy’s indigenous grapes were mostly uprooted or lost. Fortunately a few committed winemakers have not forgotten them. Cottage Vineyards invited two winemakers from Piedmont to showcase three such varieties: Erbaluce, Vespolina and Pelaverga Piccolo.

I first tasted Erbaluce in 2014 at Vinitaly and it was such a discovery. A light -bodied wine with floral, smoky tones and a mineral finish, it is refreshing and in my view, a much more suitable wine for the Asian warm and humid climate. Jancis Robinson once said the better Erbaluce could challenge Arneis and Gavi, the leading white wines from Piedmont. The one we tried, Pietro Cassina ‘Nivis’ Coste della Sesia Bianco DOC 2014 (yes, 100% Erbaluce) was exactly what I remembered and it went extremely well with the seared scallop on mashed potato and hazelnut - hazelnut being a famous produce in Piedmont. Pietro Cassina ‘Tera Russa’ is 100% Vespolina grown on red soil, an earthy wine with notes of spices and herbs. Vespolina was nearly lost to phylloxera and there is only just over 100ha plantings left in Italy.

Another gem was Castello di Verduno ‘Basadone’ Verduno DOC 2013 made of 100% Pelaverga Piccolo. The grape is only grown in the tiny village of Verduno and is often blended with other grapes - another forgotten grape luckily revived in the 70s when Castello
di Verduno then winemaker dedicated a vineyard, Basadone, to the variety. The wine was eventually promoted to DOC status in 1983 and although there are 11 producers in Verduno, total planting of the variety is just over 20ha. The wine is light and elegant with sour cherry and spicy tones. Basadone means ‘kissing women’ in local dialect and winemaker Mario Andrion hopes the wine could reawaken wine lovers’ desire to these forgotten grapes.

Both Portugal and Italy are my favourite European wine countries and I love indigenous grapes. I hope the new generation of Portuguese and Italian winemakers will not forget their history, and keep crafting wines from these treasures.

Wine & Soul and Quinta de Maritávora are available from Maritávora Asia Ltd.
Pietro Cassina and Castello di Verduno are available from Cottage Vineyards.

Another grape variety for the list

Jancis Robinson’s latest book, 'Wine Grapes', lists 1,368 varieties. You may also have heard of ‘The Wine Century Club’: to qualify, you must have tasted at least 100 different grape varieties. Most of us would struggle to reach 50, so if you are going to set your mind on joining The Wine Century Club, or even on tasting all the varieties in Jancis’s book, here’s one you should try.

Christophe Reynouard, owner of Domaine du Grangeon in Cote du Rhone, proudly presented his hidden secret, the ancient grape Chatus. According to Jancis, Chatus used to be widespread from the Alps to the the Massif Central before the arrival of phylloxera, but it has largely disappeared except in the Ardèche, the western bank of the Rhone. Christophe said that after phylloxera most growers planted the higher yielding Carignan. Chatus, on its own rootstock, has only survived in areas where there is no clay, since phylloxera doesn’t like clay. Today, Chatus is being revived, with about 54 ha in the Ardèche shared by some 35 growers.

Chatus has small berries and produces wine with a deep colour. The wine's high tannin and acid structure and its aroma profile give it a resemblance to Barolo, which is not a big surprise as DNA profiling has linked Chatus to Nebbiolo. Christophe first started making it in 1998 using carbonic maceration because of the high tannin structure. Now, with better vineyard management and knowledge of the grapes, he makes it with 100% destemmed grapes, three to four weeks skin contact and 23 months ageing in new barrels. The high tannin is supported by the good fruit concentration and firm acidity, and it certainly has ageing potential.

Christophe is a prolific winemaker. He makes 15 wines from 17 ha of vineyard planted with some ten varieties. His philosophy? He has only 40 years as a winemaker before he has to hand the cellar key to the next generation. He could just make three wines a year, but he believes that the more he makes the more opportunities he will have to learn from his mistakes. Over a 40 year career he might make 600 wines, a much bigger satisfaction than making only 120.

Christophe's Viognier is a very pleasant wine with a chewy palate and an intense aroma of spices, ginger, and honey. No wonder, since he once worked as a cellar master at Georges Vernay, a famous producer in Condrieu. As well as the Chatus, another unusual wine is his Gamay Vin de Paille, made from dried Gamay grapes. A powerful sweet wine of red fruits and chocolate notes, it would make a good dessert on its own.

Christophe, rightly, is concerned about climate change. His Gamay is being harvested about seven days earlier now than in 1998 when he took over the domaine from his father. Growers in warm regions everywhere are searching for later-ripening grapes. Chatus, a mid to late ripener with high acidity, could well be the answer for growers in the Rhone.

Domaine du Grangeon is available from Cottage Vineyards.

Biodynamics wine explained

‘What is biodynamic wine?’ Ask this question of Christine Saahs, owner of Nikolaihof from Wachau, Austria, and you will receive a two hour lecture, exactly what we had recently!

Biodynamics advocates believe soil is a living thing. Conventional farming, with heavy use of fertilisers, chemicals, pesticides, etc, is like junk food to the soil that ‘kills’ it. Biodynamic farming builds healthy living soil through interaction with and in harmony with the environment so it can nurture plants and produce wholesome food that vitalises humanity. Advocates also believe there is a link between the soil and the moon. The earthly and cosmic powers integrate and create a new quality in the final produce.

Yet while these all sound credible, some biodynamic practices like burying cow horns filled with cow manure and dynamising the compost (stirring a mixture of herbs and water vigorously for a period of time), are regarded as superstitious by many and draw criticism. However, even in those cases I do think there are possible scientific explanations: cow horns consist of calcium, an essential element for improving soil structure and regulating soil acidity, and it may possibly leach into the decomposing manure and then into the soil. Stirring vigorously, like whisking ingredients vigorously when baking, introduces more oxygen into the mixture which could promote micro-organism growth in the soil. I also think that using different herbs and wild flowers to prevent or cure vineyard diseases and pests is akin to the Chinese drinking herbal medicine. Chinese doctors will tell you that their medicine helps restore your internal balance but won’t explain to you how. As for following the lunar calendar, the gravitational forces that cause tides exist on land as well. Biodynamic vinegrowers irrigate when the tide is high on the premise that water will be ‘pulled’ into the vines more easily. Similarly, they prune when the tide is low to minimise sap loss at the pruning wounds.

Aren’t all of these quite logical? Christine summed it up well, ‘Biodynamics is one step ahead of organic farming. Organic farming sustains the health of the soil; biodynamic practices improve the health of the soil’.

Whether conventional, organic or biodynamic, I believe it is the passion and belief of the practitioners that makes the difference. Christine is so convinced of biodynamics and speaks with such passion that she, dressed in her traditional Austrian outfit, looks like a biodynamic human being. But both good and bad wines can be made whatever viticultural practices are used, and only when growers put their heart and attention into the vineyard can they grow grapes that are healthy and of high quality. I suppose this is what home cooking is all about: mums cook with love and care!

Having said that, I do think sometimes biodynamics enthusiasts go a little too far. Christine said biodynamic wine, even after bottling, still responds to the moon. The wine tastes fruitier on a 'fruit day', more vibrant on a 'flower day' and neutral on a 'root day'. I questioned this but didn’t get a satisfactory answer. Yes, wine is a living thing because it evolves in the bottle due to reaction with (or lack of) oxygen, but does it really respond to the moon?

We tasted five wines, all intense and fresh with a common earthy aroma. While I couldn’t tell whether they were biodynamic in a blind tasting, I am certain that they were all very well-made wines from a caring winemaker. By the way, we tasted the wine on a 'root day', so according to Christine, not the best day for tasting.

Nikolaihof's wines are available from Cottage Vineyards.