Stressing Out

For the last six months I have been busy creating a hospitality program for Domaine Jean Bousquet here in Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina. It hasn't left much time for blogging, but I have managed to mull a few things over in my mind as I play tour guide.

I have long subscribed to the axiom that you don't really understand a subject if you can't explain it to a complete novice. This has been regularly tested as I explain the details of wine making and grape growing to a range of people with wildly different levels of experience in and around wine.

Specifically what draws me to the keyboard today is the concept of stress. It is common to hear vineyard people talk about the importance of stressing the vines, but what exactly does that mean, and why would it be important?

Vines are stressed in several ways. Poor soil, lack of water, and pruning are among the most important. It seem counter intuitive to plant grapes on soil that wouldn't sustain most other crops. It further boggles the uninitiated to learn that water is doled out to the vines in miserly proportions. The pruning thing is usually a step too far and honestly few people do more than nod when I mention it.

So why treat the vines so badly? Why not give them everything they want? After all it is the vines that produce the grapes that make the wine that we sell to make a living. Common sense would suggest that happy vines make lots of happy grapes which in turn will make lots of wine to sell.

The equation actually works out. If what you are after is quantity then by all means spoil your vines with loads of everything they could ever desire. On the other hand if what you want is quality then be prepared for one of life's constants, quality is diametrically opposed to quantity. Raise one, and you lower the other.

Ok, so stress is good for quality, if not quantity, but why?

It is easy for us to forget that grapes are offspring. They are the children of the vine, and its best chance to reproduce, that strongest of all biological imperatives. In years of plenty almost everything in nature puts less energy into reproduction. Instead it takes advantage of the climate and conditions to grow and improve itself, rather than the next generation.

For vines this means that with plenty of fertile soil, lots of water, and abundant leaves the grapes it produces are relatively watery, fat and flavorless. This requires less resources for the vine and is all that is necessary to ensure the future.

Plant the same vine in poor soil, reduce the amount of water it gets, and cut back some of those leaves, and the vine will put all of its energy into making sure that its offsprings are dark and flavorful, increasing its chances for reproducing (by attracting birds).

Better grapes make better wine, even if it is a trade off with how much wine you get. It is this careful balance between quantity and quality that all wineries struggle with. Great wine is a goal, but if you don't make money you are not going to get a chance at another vintage.

A simplistic explanation of a complicated issue to be sure, but it is an important way to think of it as you look over those rocky fields with their near non existent top soil that marks all of the best vineyards in the world.

Appearing Daily at Domaine Jean Bousquet

Three months ago I let you know I was moving to Argentina. I wish I could say I had mastered Spanish in that time, but stumbling through it is more accurate. Not that this has stopped me from putting myself in a position where speaking the language is an issue.

I am now the Hospitality Manager for Domaine Jean Bousquet in Tupungato, Mendoza. I am in charge of visits, including tours in any language I can muster.

The fun doesn't stop there, I am opening a tasting room with a small restaurant in it. We will serve a very nice little cheese plate for those who just want a nibble with their wine. A selection of tapas will be available for a slightly larger appetite, while sandwiches, quiches, omelets and crepes round out the daily menu.

Not one to rest on such a simple note, I will also be sharing my famed 7 course food and wine pairing extravaganzas for those who give me enough notice. Not quite up for a full 7 courses? Then the basic 3 course pairing menu is for you.

Friends, family, students and others who have sampled my fare may be surprised at the basic bent of the menu. My philosophy is that too many chefs over reach in their offerings. I would rather elevate simple foods so that they are done so well that they reach the level of gastronomy.

That and boy oh boy am I going to have a tiny kitchen. It is a tasting room after all, not a full blown restaurant.

Even if you just want to come by for the best Taco you have ever had, or one of the only Croque Monsieurs in all of Argentina, reservations may be a good idea. If you are hoping for one of the wine tasting menus, reservations are a must.

For a tour in English (or slowly improving Spanish) and a bite of food unlike any other in the country drop me an email for a reservation to sreiss (at) jeanbousquet.com (replace the (at) with @ and close up the spaces).

Argentina, My New and Future Home

After a whirlwind year of touring wineries around the world, and frequent posts, I have been noticeably absent from this venue. Where I am I and what am I up to is easy to state but hard to predict.

We have returned to Argentina. We enjoy the wine, the country and the people here so much that we have decided to make it our home. For how long, and what it will lead to remains to be seen.

We are staying in Tupungato, my favorite part of the Mendoza wine region. Nestled against the Andes with 6,570 meter (21,555 ft) peaks looming just over our heads we feel completely at home after decades of living in the Rockies.

Unlike the years I spent in Aspen, here I am surrounded by vines and well immersed in the wine culture. It is the depth of Winter here now and the vines are dormant. In a few months I will be able to witness their cycle on a daily basis. For all of the years I have been teaching and writing about wines, I have never had this opportunity.

I have seen each stage, and dutifully recorded it in photographs (more often than not with my wife Janet Engelhard who is a photographer). There are few mysteries for me when it comes to vines or making wine, but being there full time is far different than visiting now and again.

What I will be reporting on from now on is hard to say, although considering that there are almost no wines in the area that are not local, chances are this blog will start having a noticeable Argentinean bent.

My wine school too is on hiatus. I doubt I could teach the same sort of courses here, since I don't have the wines from around the world as an example. That doesn't mean I won't be able to create a new curriculum, and chances are that I will at some point.

If you are planning on a trip to Mendoza, and I recommend you do, feel free to contact me to ask for suggestions, tips or just to say hi. Consider me your contact in this up and coming wine destination. Bring your love of wine, and if you are a meat eater, be prepared for plenty of it, but most of all bring your sense of adventure. Argentina will supply the rest.

Argentina: Wrapping it Up

Argentina is coming to a close, as is for that matter our entire year long adventure. It has been an epic journey of wines around the world, and it is fitting that we finish with what to my great surprise is the best. I knew the wines of Argentina were decent, after all I had tasted a few before coming here, but I was not expecting what we found.

It turns out that Mendoza is a veritable oasis for wine making. At least for the varieties that do well here. There is well drained soil at high altitudes with enough difference from one region to another to add complexity to the wines. Malbec is the undisputed champ here, and while I have enjoyed other varietals, it is the Malbec that Argentina is rightfully known for.

I am a lover of Zinfandel. Those big jammy wines at reasonable prices that represent for me the best that a drink now style of wine can offer. Malbec is Argentina's Zin. It can be big and jammy, or like Zin in can be made in many other styles. Unlike Zin the other styles are also quite successful.

Style is exactly what makes Malbec so enticing. We have tasted at least 50 different styles from 25 different producers and every one is distinct. Like Pinot Noir in Burgundy, Malbec in Mendoza is very sensitive to the terroir it is grown in, and the hands it is made by.

When Malbec is produced with an eye on structure it is a surprisingly decent candidate for aging. I have tried many that go back seven or eight years, a point to which my revered Zinfandel rarely survives to. More astonishing is the 35 year old example that tasted like a well aged Bordeaux, and still has plenty of life in it.

Big and jammy is what I crave in a Zinfandel, and as it turns out, in a Malbec. Often accompanied by a black pepper aroma and finish, these intense wines are a fruit lover's delight. With just enough structure to keep them from being flabby, they fill the mouth with delicious flavors and keep you coming back for more.

If fruit is your thing, you also want to try a Bonarda from Argentina. Once the most planted grape here and intended only for use in the sea of indifferent red wines that Argentina used to produce, Bonarda is finding its way into some well made and serious wines. And yet, for all the world it tastes exactly like grape juice.

A little too much like grape juice for my taste. Those who are fans of these wines applaud the fresh grape flavors and extoll the virtues of the grape. I don't exactly count myself a fan, although I understand the appeal. I tried a sample that was 10 years old and it had layers of complexity from softening tannins I never even knew were in there. It gave me more respect for the grape, even if I don't exactly love it.

Torrontes is the white grape of Argentina, and here we turn from fruit to perfume. A highly floral wine with a tart finish in most examples, although more than a few I have tasted have had acid added to accomplish the necessary structure. Almost everyone agrees that this grape is best when grown well north of Mendoza in the Salta region, but I suspect as more cool growing areas open up, Torrontes will find a new home.

Espumante, the local phrase for sparkling wine is another winner in Argentina. The quality is decent, and the prices are very good. This is not Champagne, but it does easily rival anything made anywhere outside the august region of France. The low prices may not survive the many hands involved in exporting and selling abroad, but if these wines ever do make it to your shore, make a point of trying a few.

Then there are the up and coming grapes. Merlot here is hit or miss, but I have tried a few versions with potential. I know of at least one producer that is convinced that Merlot is the future, and he may be right. Certainly Cabernet, which is as ubiquitous here as anywhere, is not the answer. They are decent enough, but nothing to write home about.

Pinot Noir is mostly relegated to the sparkling wines, and rightly so for the most part. I have tasted a few that are not bad, but Pinot is a tough grape and a tough wine. Energy may be best spent elsewhere. The Pinot I have tried tends to be light, but with a dark component that doesn't so much add complexity as it changes gears abruptly.

Sauvignon Blanc is another hit or miss example. Without acidification it is hard to get a decent balance, and with it it is hard to get a decent wine. I have had a few very good examples, so it is possible, but I think t requires more attention and patience than some are willing to give. Above all it needs the cooler growing regions.

I have tasted a few bottles of Tempranillo here, and they were good. Not once did a any of the score or more of wineries I visited present their Tempranillo for tasting. I think it is a red headed step child of the country. Full of potential but a completely different style of wine than they are used to handling or enjoying. That is a shame, because from what I tasted it has possibilities.

Hot and dry makes me think of Grenache, and judging from the few test plots here and there, I am not the first. Alas, the extremely cool nights interrupt the ripening and it never quite gets the color or intensity here that make it so interesting in the south of France or the north of Spain.

There you have it, my look at the wines of Argentina through the lens of three months of living among the natives and visiting their bodegas. The tiny glimpse I had from tasting the few examples that had made their way to the US was far from complete enough for me to see the full picture. The Argentinean spectrum of wines is diverse and complex even while relying on just a few choice grape varieties.

Run down to your local wine shop and put together your own tasting, or even better yet, call up your travel agent and start working on your own visit down here, below the equator and nestled up against the Andes. Plan on escaping the dreary winter of 2010 with a trip to sunnier climes with even warmer people and fabulous wines to explore. They will be waiting for you.

On the Question of Ethics

There is a bit of a buzz going around the wine blogosphere about ethics. It started in part because of a post from Dr. Vino and led to among other things this post from the inestimable Jancis Robinson.

I am no Robert Parker, nor Jancis Robinson, but this does not mean that I do not have my own code of ethics I strive to live by. In general I am very careful to not accept anything from a winery or any wine company. I pay for the wines I taste unless they are being offered to everyone at a tasting, and I generaly do not accept any form of hospitality.

I say generally, because on this trip around the world, it has been somewhat a different story. I am driven to the wineries who almost always also offer us lunch. There are a few ways I rationalize this in my own narrow scope of ethical standards. First and foremost every winery that we visit is offering us the same treatment, ensuring that there is not one over another that I would feel beholding to.

The second and most important factor is that I am a ruthless critic. I can easily taste a wine, smile at the winemaker, and perhaps even say something diplomatic about the wines, and then come back to my keyboard prepared to write the truth as I see it.

This trip has cost us a small fortune, and the wineries are far afield. I could have just written about the wines we buy, and indeed I keep them separate in my reviews, but that would only have given a small glimpse into the wine regions, especially Chile and Argentina.

Some wine reviews are only conducted blind, and there is a lot to be said for and against this. First there is the definition of a truly blind tasting, it has to be double blind that is sorted by random to really qualify, in my opinion. It is easy to orchestrate a blind tasting to favor a result. Assuming that the tasting is as blind and fair as it can be, some wine styles tend to do better than others.

A big heavy wine will tend to stand out and if there are many heavy ones, the fruitier, easier to enjoy wine may stand out. Every blind taster has a story about how one of their favorite wines has failed to do well in a blind. Some of this is because removing prejudice is the point of a blind tasting, and some of it has to do with the fact that the criteria of what we drink is not always the same as what we look for in a blind tasting.

I am all for removing the variables that effect a tasting. I go out of my way to train myself to taste in as objective a way as possible, but I am only human. I taste blind when it is possible, and open when the circumstances dictate it.

How do you as a reader judge my efficacy? Simply by deciding for yourself that my taste is similar to yours. If our palates are compatible then you can trust my taste and tasting notes, if not, look for a different critic. I have been giving this same advice for the 19 years I have been writing about wines. And considering how many of my newsletter readers are still with me, for them at least I am providing a valuable service.

The flack on wine writing ethics started not because anyone did anything wrong in accepting a trip to a wine region, but because it was against their written and stated code of ethics. If you are going to have a code, you have to stick to it.

My code? I only accept hospitality when I am going to accept it from everyone equally. I will whenever possible spend my own money to acquire and rate wines. I will always be transparent about any connections to a winery and where I got the wines I am rating. I will remain brutally objective and loyal to my readers first, and that the proof of this will always be my ratings themselves.

I have a great many friends in the wine business, because that is the circle I travel in. Most of these people are friends in spite of what I have said about their wines, not because of it. There are also those that I have become better friends with because I am enamored of their wines. This too is only natural, since I tend to want to hang out with those that have the best wine. When I write about a friend's wine, I always say so.

So yes, I have accepted lunch and a ride to visit the 40 or so wineries I have been to here in South America. It really helped the budget, but it didn't cover the many of thousands of dollars in airfare and hotel bills. It is enough outside my ethical comfort zone that I feel compelled to mention it, but not so far outside I want to apologize for it.

We all have to look to our own conscience when it comes to ethics. The fact that I think about it at all may be to my credit, but on the Internet even more than in a printed journal I believe that you are only as credible as your actions. I applaud those that have brought this thorny issue to a fore, and hope that I pass their standards, but more importantly, that I pass yours.

Argentina: Restaurant / Store Review - The Winery

Buenos Aires sports some 10 of the modern wine shops called simply the Winery, but there is only one in Mendoza, It is located in a historic house in downtown, just a few blocks from the Hyatt. The building is beautiful and is a fitting location for this homey style wine destination.

Each varietal has its own room, with the wines prominently displayed, albeit with most a tad more vertical than I like to see. Be sure to push on the cork to ensure it doesn't budge from having dried out before selecting a bottle.

The collection of bags and containers for moving around bottles was almost as impressive as the huge number of wines available. I found myself thinking about what I could use them for before realizing that there was no way one more item was going to fit into our scant luggage.

While you can choose any wine from the store and bring it in to the cafe, we went ahead and ordered a moderate wine from their list. The list itself is small and easy to read, but has some helpful clues as to the better bargains for the uninitiated.

To accompany our bottle of Malbec, we picked a few different types of tapas from the menu. The dishes were well prepared and reasonably creative but after all were just tapas. The service was courteous and professional, which shouldn't be notable in of itself, but after some earlier experiences in the city, we were delighted to see it.

The patio looked as if it may offer more in the way of an elegant dining experience, but it was a chilly autumn evening and we were not about to sit outside. During the day, or in the usually warmer evenings dining al fresco would have been a pleasure.

If you are visiting the city of Mendoza you would do well to visit the Winery if for no other reason to familiarize yourself with the huge variety of producers and varieties of wines available. Pick a bottle that intrigues you and settle in for a comfortable meal in surroundings that are soothing and welcoming to the wine lover in all of us.

Argentina: Earth and Altitude

Terroir is a word that is often used and almost as often, overused in the world of wine. It refers to the combination of soil and climate that makes one wine region different from any other. I cut my teeth in wine on a little part of France called Burgundy. There the tiny vineyards each have characteristics that vary from minute to extraordinary. The primary catalyst for this change is the soil, although other factors such as a well placed wall or even a tree can make a difference.

It is because of my study and love of Burgundy that I became a true believer in the effect of soil on the vine. Living in the New World I also noticed a huge difference in climate. The wines of Sonoma are decidedly different than those of Napa, and Santa Barbara's cooler weather often makes its wines fruitier than either of its northern neighbors.

So it was that I came to Argentina with plenty of experience in the effects of terroir, and I was delighted to find that here it is not just a buzzword, but a integral part of the wine making philosophy. Several of the better wineries have captured the unique conditions in their Malbecs, bottling wines that emphasize the terroir of Mendoza.

In California, and even Chile the temperature of a growing region is often dictated by proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Argentina has one of the highest mountain ranges in the world between it and the ocean, but it is these very Andes that make all the difference.

Altitude is the key to climate here and the soil variations are also a direct effect of the looming mountain peeks. Deep sandy loam, calcareous and even alluvial soils all rest on beds of stones that allow the drainage that the vines so desperately need. The depth and composition of the soils have a huge impact on the flavor characteristics of the grapes.

Just to the east, of Mendoza away from the altitude of the Andes the Maipu region and their alluvial soils produce wines with rich tannins and soft fruit. Just south of Mendoza in the higher Lujan de Cuyo region its loamy vineyards influence the vines to have subtle but noticeable tannins with moderate fruit. Further south still and closer to the mountains in the high altitude Uco Valley is the town of Tupungato, the newest, and to my taste, most impressive region.

The grapes grown in the loamy soils with their calcareous layer in Tupungato have a huge mouthful of fruit that makes them taste completely different than the same grapes grown to the north and east. For some the lack of structure and tannins in general in these wines can be seen as a fault, but I fall into the more fruit the better school. The wines are not without structure, it is there, but their fruit driven style is amazingly prevalent.

Even the wineries that bottle wines from separate regions or individual vineyards often will make a blend of the best of these areas. Like creating a perfect stew they add the more tannic wines for structure, the acidic wines for freshness and the fruitiest examples for flavor to create a complex whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts.

Only 10 to 15 years ago the wines of Argentina were often indifferent. Made to satisfy an internal market that could never get enough wine, but were not particularly picky about the quality of what they drank. The renaissance in winemaking that brought an influx of capital and technology to this country also brought with it winemakers and visionaries that were searching for individual expressions of fruit that only specific terroir could afford. They found it in spades.