Book Review: Oz Clarke's Let Me Tell You About Wine

Let me tell you about wine. That's the simple premise of this book by Oz Clarke. And with a gorgeously designed and laid out pages, this book does just that. Published in 2009, the layout of the pages is a reminder that in our day and age, physical books can still a superior experience when text, pictures, and charts are laid out with a good eye for design.

It starts with a breakdown of 18 different wines, from juicy, fruity reds to toasty whites, to fortified wines. The first section continues with a breakdown of the most common varieties of grapes and then an overview of how wine is made and the numerous choices a winemaker has available to him to affect the outcome of his efforts.

The next section covers all that goes into enjoying wine: buying, storing, tasting, and pairing wine with food. Here the author covers a good deal of information. Having read Wine Made Easy, much of this information overlaps with that book.

The final section of the book, which covers nearly 1/2 the book, is a detailed overview of the major wine regions of the world. The author does not merely hint at the different named regions in France, Spain, Italy and the rest of the world, like in Wine Made Easy, but he provides detailed maps and an overview of the grapes grown here, the terroir, and how it affects the wines made here.

Surprisingly, there is a page in this section devoted to Midwestern wines. He notes the upstart nature of Midwestern wine, despite a long history cut short due to Prohibition. Mention is also made of the native North American grapes and the distinct tastes that they provide to the wines of the region.

Overall, this is a wonderful book that looks outstanding and has a great deal of useful information. The best part is that the author has broken down a great deal of data into easily read diagrams or charts that make for easy reference. For instance, he includes a wheel of wine that can be used to find a wine based on a desired taste and the intensity of the flavor. I borrowed this book from our library, but on my book rating, I set this at a 'Buy' for its gorgeous design alone. (My book ratings go from 'Ignore', 'Borrow', 'eBook', or 'Buy'.)

In searching for this book, my wife came across a number of other wine books from Oz Clarke, included one published in 2000 titled 'Oz Clarke's Introducing Wine'. While the design of the book is inferior to 'Let Me Tell You About Wine', much of the actual text is the same. The book is laid out in the same 3 basic sections. So far, I've found only 3 main differences. First, the author divides wines into 15 different varieties in the earlier book, where he later divides the wine world to 18 different styles. Second, the newer book offered a list of websites for more information on wine touring and wine in general which does not exist in the earlier book. Finally, while both books cover wines made throughout the world, the older book contains no reference to wines in the Midwest other than a shaded area on a map. But, this is a very revealing difference, as it shows that in the 9 years between the release of the 2 books, wines from the Midwest had risen in production and esteem enough to warrant adding a page dedicated to these upstart wines.

In all, I've found both books by Oz Clarke to be outstanding and I'll be keeping my eyes out for more from him, as his style and knowledge make for a great read.

Indy International Wine Competition 2012

In addition to fermenting wine, the Midwest is also home to a Wine competition that claims to be among the largest in the United States, the Indy International Wine Competition. Established 20 years ago and held annually at the Indiana State Fair ground since 1999 Purdue University, the competition is decided by over 50 judges from the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom (though roughly half come from the Midwest). Both commercial wineries and amateurs are welcome to compete in many different categories: American grape wines, French American grape wines traditional Europa grape wines, Honey Wines, Fruit wines, Dessert wines, Sparkling wines, and Distilled Alcohol (such as Brandy and Liqueurs).

In 2012, 2,499 wines were entered, 593 of these coming from amateurs. Overall, 1,847 wines won some type of award, or roughly 74%. Indiana wineries did not fare as well as the average, as they submitted a total of 395 wines, of which 261 won awards, or 66%. Amateurs overall did better by winning 466 awards, or 79%. On average, Indiana Wines tend to do worse then the average, but still produces a large number of Gold and Double Gold Award wines year after year. (2012 Double Golds, 2011 Double Golds)

Despite the lackluster across-the-board performance of Indiana wines, the Wine of the Year for 2012 is River City Winery's 2011 Vignoles. From New Albany, Indiana, it is the first time in the competition that an Indiana wine took the top award. Other wines from the Midwest also made top awards including Tabor Hill Winery's 2011 Gewurztraminer, which won White Wine of the Year, Galena Cellars Cracklin Apple, which won Fruit Wine of the Year, White Winter Winery which won Honey Wine of the Year.

Historically, Indiana wines score around 66%. Initially, it might seem this is a bit lower then the overall average, but given the proximity of Indiana Wineries to the competition, there's likely more entries from Indiana than if the competition were held elsewhere. But for the nearly 60 wineries to be earn a total of 261 awards, its a good sign that the Midwestern wine industry, along with Indiana wines, is going strong.

Turkey Leftover ideas

This year, I had to drive for Thanksgiving, so I didn't pick a bottle to pair of wine to pair with our Turkey. For those of you that did, what did you select? I had my eye on Easley' Wineries Traminette, which is the state grape of Indiana. Any dry white wine should be a good choice (though if you're white meat is over cooked, I'd go for a Semi-Sweet wine or else you'll feel like you've been walking in a desert all day. Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc should be safe choices. Pinot Noir is a traditional favorite Red wine to pair with Thanksgiving. I think the spiciness of Syrah/Shiraz or Gewurztraminer are more adventurous choices, but could stand up to a heavily seasoned bird.

For those of you who have plenty of leftovers like I do, we need some recipes to make use of all of our turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. Here's a few ways recipes to make use of those leftovers while also adding a bit of wine to the pot.

Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey Chili

Turkey & Red Wine stew

Pioneer Turkey Tetrazzini

White wine gravy

Red Wine gravy

Thanksgiving

For most major holidays, one wishes every day of the year could be like the holiday. Kids wish each day could be like Christmas so they can get more presents. Parents wish each day could be like Valentine's day (so long as a babysitter was involved). Partygoers might wish everyday was like New Years Eve, when the parties seem to go on. Pyromaniacs might wish everyday was the 4th of July so they had an excuse to blow something up. My wife wishes each day was like Halloween so she could watch horror movies on the TV all the time.

As for me, I wish there were more days on the calendar like Thanksgiving. I don't pick this holiday because I'm a gluten (though I do enjoy cooking and eating food on Thanksgiving day). I don't pick Thanksgiving for the hours of football games (heck, we get that each Sunday, and then, I can choose to watch a team OTHER than the Lions). I don't pick this holiday for the parades on TV, though I do enjoy watching it while preparing for the big meal. No, what I enjoy about Thanksgiving is its a day for "giving thanks" for what we have and for others, and for the most part, myself, my family, and my friends do take the time to reflect on what we are truly thankful for.

Since my wife and I were married 10 years ago, we have Thanksgiving with her parents. In the past few years we've had dinner at either our house or theirs, but either way, we also start dinner with each of us stating what we are thankful for this year. At first, this was odd for me to publicly admit what I'm thankful for (to my in-laws no less), but I've grown to enjoy the tradition as it forces me to think, if only for a few moments, what I'm truly thankful for this year.

This year, I'm thankful for my family, whom I love and who loves me. I'm also thankful to have a great job and a rewarding career, a career where knowledge and effort are rewarded. I'm thankful that I live in a country that allows me to post my opinions online. And finally, I'm thankful that I live at a time where we all have endless possibilities ahead of us and at a time where the art of making wine is revered and rewarded.

So while you're enjoying your meal, watching the game, or simply sipping a glass of wine on this national holiday, take a moment and think about what you are truly thankful for.

Indiana Wine News: Fall 2012

Now is an exciting time in the Indiana wine industry. The current market is maturing and new wine makers are opening their doors each year. The Fall of this year has marked a few special notes of interest.

Oliver Winery turns 40

Oliver Winery, one of the largest and oldest commercial wineries in Indiana turned 40 this year, with a special celebration in October. Situated north of Bloomington, Oliver Winery makes a number of different wines, from simple Table wines, to fruit wines, to Hard Apple Cider, and a fine selection of traditional wines. Their traditional wines, such as Pinot Grigio, Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay, are sold both under the Oliver Winery brand and also under the Creekbend Vineyard label.

Country Heritage Winery and Vineyard seeks to expand

In October, DeKalb County Economic Development Partnership announced that Country Heritage Winery and Vineyard, located near LaOtto, Indiana, was seeking tax incentives to expand their facility. Having just opened their doors in April of 2011, this is a good indicator of the strength of the Wine industry in Indiana.

Oliver Winery opens their 'Downtown' tasting room in Bloomington

Also in October, Oliver Winery opened a new store in downtown Bloomington, obviously enough named 'Downtown'. This facility is in addition to their tasting room off of State Road 37 north of Bloomington. While nondescript, the location offers a warm atmosphere to enjoy a glass of wine in Bloomington's revived downtown.

Briali Vineyards opens to the public

Finally, a new Vineyard opened its doors to the public on November 1st, Briali Vineyards. Located in Freemont, Indiana, Briali Vineyards takes an eco-friendly approach to growing their grapes and making their wine. And what better way to help them out than to buy local?

Know your Wine Terminology: Semi-Dry and Semi-Sweet

Wine has its own vocabulary describing tastes, styles, methods, processes, and a myriad of other topics. We've already covered Dry and Sweet wines, but this time, we cover the middle ground (and in wine, there's ALWAYS a middle ground): Semi-Dry and Semi-Sweet wines.

Sweetness in wines usually comes in the form of residual sugar. This is sugar that has not been converted to alcohol in the fermentation process, either because the the alcohol level became so high that the yeast was killed off, or because the wine maker introduced chemicals to kill stop the fermentation early. As covered before, when there is no residual sugar, or very little, the wine is considered Dry. If there is a large amount of residual sugar, then the wine is considered Sweet.

But, there a range between Dry and Sweet. Wines in this range may be called Semi-Dry or Semi-Sweet. In the US at least, there is no standardized rule when a wine is called Semi-Dry vs. Semi-Sweet, but in general a Semi-Sweet wine should taste sweeter than a Semi-dry wine.

Other countries have other terms for Dry, Semi-Dry, Semi-Sweet, and Sweet.

	Dry	Semi-Dry/Semi-Sweet	Sweet
France	Sec	Demi-Sec	Doux/Moelleux
Spain	Seco	Semi-Seco	Dulce
Italy	Secco	Semi-secco	Dolce

   
Most of these countries use the English equilvalent of Semi-Dry to describe wines in the middle of the road. In the States, Semi-Dry and Semi-Sweet are both used with varying degrees of frequency.

There are other ways that sweetness can be added, which is somewhat common in Midwestern wines. For instance, Honey Wines and Fruit wines are popular. These wines are not traditional wines, as they contain fruits other than Grapes, so legally they cannot be called just 'wine'. These drinks, sweetened by honey or the additional fruit added to the grapes, often fall into the Semi-Sweet spectrum of wines. So when shopping for wines in the Midwest, you'll often find the wines to be be in this land between Dry and Sweet.

Book Review: Indiana Wine: A History

I originally planned to get a degree in History in College because the subject has always fascinated me. I was lucky to be in an advanced Social Studies class during most of my Elementary and High School classes and to have great teachers in those classes who made History come alive. In 5th or 6th grade, our teacher split the class in half and had each group create an ancient civilization, setting out their religion, their social structure, and their values. We then created artifacts to represent this civilization and then buried them for the other team to dig up, reassemble, and try to decipher the 'civilization' from the artifacts.

While I later choose to study Computer Science, I still have an affinity for History in various forms. That's why I picked up Indiana Wine: A History, by James and John Butler. The father and son combo run Butler Winery in Bloomington, Indiana, and are thus well qualified to tell the story of wine cultivation in Indiana.

And its a far more fascinating story than I expected. The authors narrate the founding of Firstvineyard across the Ohio river in Kentucky and its influence in bringing Swiss vintners to what is now the town of Vevay in Switzerland County. Then, as the an economic depression decreases the demand for wine and the children of the original settlers take over, the vines are slowly abandoned. Others along the Ohio river take up Wine making, including German immigrants at Harmony, Indiana and up around Cincinnati. Indiana's early dominance in wines is passed by first Ohio, then New York, and finally California. While Indiana wineries make small recoveries throughout the 19th century, it received a mortal wound on January 19th, 1919, when the 18th Amendment was passed banning the sale of alcohol. Some wineries continued producing grapes, for sale as Table grapes or to sell to home wine makers (which was still legal), but all eventually disappeared.

Even though the 21st Amendment, passed in December 1933, made the sale of Alcohol legal again, there were no wineries in Indiana for nearly another 40 years. The State Law required all alcohol to be sold via distributors, who would sell to retailers, who could then sell to end consumers. Such a system erected a large barrier of entry that made it difficult for a winery to get off the ground. A winery would have to purchase grapes from other wineries at a high price or make the costly investment to grow grapes locally, and then be forced to sell their product to distributors and retailers, each making their own markup. Such a system is beneficial only to those wineries producing in large volumes or with a high quality that is in demand, each of which is difficult to obtain for a starting business.

In the 1970s, the laws were changed to allow wineries to sell directly to the public from their winery, and later from a second tasting room. With this restriction removed, the wine industry in Indiana has gained steam. When the book was published in 2001, there were 25 wineries in Indiana. In 2012, there are 60 wineries in Indiana.

All told, this book, at around 200 pages reads rather quickly for a History book. Much of the story was unknown to me and I found myself turning the page often to find out how the story unfolded next. If you're a history buff and enjoy wine (and why wouldn't you be if you're reading this blog), this would be a good book to add to your reading list.

Geeky Wine Glass Charms

As a geek, I have a modest collection of geek culture I enjoy: Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Ring collectables. My wife has a fair assortment of Superman collectables as well. But looking for wine accessories that match our interests has proven to be much more difficult. Wine glasses are typically just plain in appearance. Some geeky wine stoppers exist, but not as many as one would expect. But another wine accessory that's easy to come by are Wine Glass Charms.

Wine glass charms can be easily added to a glass of wine. Most of the ones I've seen contain jeweled beads of some sort. But my favorite Glass charms I've come across are these from Etsy. This listing offers glass charms directly aimed at Geeks.

Amazon has a wide selection of charms made out of pewter. For the music geek there's this set and this set both contain my favorite instrument, the Saxophone. The first set contains highly stylized instruments while the latter set are even color appropriate for each instrument.

But by far the coolest wine glass charms are these on Amazon, dice charms. Each charm has a miniature die on it in an assortment of colors. If just the dice included some die other than a standard d6. Besides, no geek can have too many dice.

There's also charms for wine bottles, used to decorate a bottle or a large glass. These re-usable stickers are handy to decorate bottles sitting out on a counter or in storage to identify special bottles. If your'e going to splurge for these reusable-stickers, why not go for something geeky, and what is geekier and more retro than 8 bit Space Invader re-usable stickers?

Of course, some of this looks pretty easy could be made at home... but that's a post for another day.

What I'm Drinking: Apothic Red Blend

While I tend to drink wines from the Midwest out of economy and preference, Midwestern wines contain only so many tastes. And besides, every once and a while, its nice to step outside.

But on this particular day, I'm drking a bottle my wife picked up for me without reading the label. The 2010 Apothic Red has a startling bold bottle (which is how my wife shops) which fittingly goes along with the bold flavors inside. This California blend of Zinfandel (California's signature grape), Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

Since purchasing this bottle, I've started to notice this bottle all around town: the local super market, Target, CVS, and Sam's Club. Vivino ranks the Apothic Red globally in the top 20,000 out of 350,000 wines. in the United States. At around $10, this is becoming a popular wine.

And for all that, I'm not a huge fan. The tastes are aggressive and complex. I drank this wine on its own, but the acidity and tanins screamed for food to be paired with like none of the other wines I've had. But what to pair it with? Take the fruit flavors from the Merlot, the intensity of the Cabernet Sauvignon, the pepper flavors of the ripe Zinfandel, and the spiciness from Syrah, and you have an intriguing wine, but one with conflicting favors to pair with food. Perhaps a spicy seasoned cut of steak with grilled asparagus. Or a spice rubbed a pork steak and roasted corn. Or something Asian to play with Syrah's Strengths.

The nose of the Apothic Red is as complex as the taste. Any fruit seems muted, though others claim to pick up a black curranty smell. Personally, I've never meet a currant, so I cannot be say myself. But I do catch a hint of butterscotch and summer flowers.

The taste, as I said before, is complex and aggressive. The wine is rather dry, but with a medium to high level of acidity and tannins and a higher level of alcohol than most wines. Perhaps this wine would age well?

Overall, I would rate this wine a 60 out of 100. It runs around $10 a bottle and can be found in a large number of places such as grocery stores, convenience stores, and warehouse stores.