See below for what happened.........

Great Regional Wines – A Warm and Cold Climate Comparison

We have selected wines made from the most popular varietals for comparison between warm and cold climate regions. All are very good to excellent including a Gold Medal winner and one made somewhat like an Amarone.  This is a great opportunity to taste and compare wines from different regions and look for any effects of terroir. It will be a blind tasting to add to the interest and mystery.  Please bring two glasses for comparison.

Aperitif - Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio

06 Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio (Sicily, Italy) vs 06 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris (Oregon)

Naked Chardonnay (Unoaked)

06 Brys Estate (Michigan) vs 06 Four Vines (Santa Barbara County, Southern California)

Pinot Noir

05 Louis Latour Marsannay (France) vs 03 Byron (Santa Maria Valley, Southern California)

 Cabernet Sauvignon

05 Barnard Griffin (Washington) vs 06 Mitolo Jester (McLaren Vale, Australia)

Cheese and breads will accompany the wines.  Please bring your own glasses.  Coffee and cookies will follow the tasting.   Attendees recognize they will consume alcohol and assume responsibility for having done so.

Attendance will be limited to the first thirty two responding.     Reservation deadline isMarch 17, 2008.

Members  $22.00            Guests   $25.00

What Happened.........

The subject was Wine Regions and their effect on wine. Does climate matter?  This very interesting tasting was organized and presented by Frank and Jackie Carson, and Tom and Nancy Bundorf.

Frank discussed the temperature spectrum of wine regions as defined by degree days, and showed the differences.  He noted that there must be a good amount of warmth as a minimum, but that grapes may be grown in many climates.  He showed the various Degree Day Zones from which our wines came.

The wines were served with breads and cheeses selected by Jackie Carson. The cheeses were Cento Provolone, Fontinella, and Pecorino Crotonese.
 
The aperitif wines were from Oregon, USA and from Sicily, Italy and both were made from Pinot Gris.  While the colder region Oregon wine was preferred, the margin was slight.

The next comparison was the Naked Chardonnays, unoaked and without malolactic fermentation.  There was a preference for the warmer climate southern California wine, but the qualities were remarkably similar. Both were very well made and well liked.

The Pinot Noirs were different, with the Marsannay of lighter and of bright color, and the Byron more dense. But the tastes were very similar and the scores were scattered.  The colder region Marsannay was slightly ahead.

The final comparison was the Cabernet Sauvignons.  Both were very good wines, but there was a clear winner with the warmer region Australian wine, the highest scoring wine of the evening.  This was the wine made with some dried grapes as is done with Amerone.

So what was learned?   It was apparent that very good wines may be made in many climates, and that the care of the vineyards and the winemaker skills are just as important, perhaps more so. In all our comparisons, there was no universal winner.  Some preferred the warmer climate wine and some the colder. It came down to a matter of taste.

All of the wines were very good, and our members were pleased with the experience. There was coffee along with very chocolate brownies and crisp peanut cookies by Nancy Bundorf at the end.