WHINE # 54
ODD SCHEDULE:
Some years ago a good friend
who was new to the Opimian Society asked me for recommendations on what to
order. I e-mailed her some suggestions
each time a new offering came from Opimian.
Eventually I started to make comments beyond simply listing order
choices, and I also included others in a distribution list. The suggestion was made that it would be
easier if I did this by way of a blog so in 2007 I started the Winewhine.
Jumping to the present day I
recently received an e-mail from a reader who noted that she hadn’t received
any Whines for some time. True, I hadn’t
written a blog in almost six months.
For those of you who have
been enjoying the reprieve from my ramblings, let me warn you that you should
expect about a blog a month for the next half year. I like to end each blog in the way I
started 7 years ago by making order
recommendations for the current Opimian Society Offering. Since the first Offering of the season is in
November and the last in early summer my blog has an equally odd schedule.
Now, if you suspected from
the above that the majority of my readers are female, or at least the majority
of questions come from females why should you be surprised? Asking advice about wine is no different than
asking directions when you are in a strange place. Women seem to find that easier to do than do
men.
Nonetheless, I shall ask you
a question. It seems that I have covered
a great many wine-related topics in my 54 blogs. Are there any topics that you should like me to
re-visit? Or are there any questions
that you would like to pose? In other
words, are there any aspects of wine and wine culture about which you might
like my opinion. Any e-mailed
suggestions, from either gender, would be sincerely appreciated, and I shall
make every attempt to answer in a subsequent blog.
THE WINES OF THE BLACK SEA:
Last month four of us
Antigonishers had a delightful holiday around the Black Sea, visiting two
cities in Bulgaria, three cities in Turkey, and we also had a stop in Sochi
Russia. Prior to the trip I had no
thoughts of wine tasting. However, I quickly
discovered that the climate around the Black Sea is very suitable for growing
grapes and this area has a history of wine production that goes back 1000’s of
years. We tasted wines in all three
countries and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality.
The sample of one wine tasted
in Russia is too small for comment. On
the other hand, we did a formal wine tasting in Bulgaria and also had the
chance to taste several wines in Turkey.
BULGARIA was
perhaps the biggest surprise. The claim
is that in 1980 Burgaria, as the major supplier of wine for the Soviet Union,
was the second largest producer of wine in the world. The wine was bulk wine of low quality and the
industry collapsed with the fall of the USSR.
Nonetheless, wine production and more importantly wine quality is
rebounding. Currently Bulgaria is
modelling its wine production on Argentina, with vintners producing big, bold
wines that taste much more like New World wines than wines from Europe. Although I found the Chardonnay to be similar
to French Chablis, the Pinots that I tasted
were anything but thin and certainly the Cabernet was rich and chewy and
deserved to be paired with a big, juicy steak.
While in Bulgaria we visited
the UNESCO world heritage village of Nessebar.
On a back street I came to a tiny wine shop and decided to select one
bottle for a suitcase trip back to Canada.
Prices were all on display and the wines seemed to range from the Canadian
equivalent of $ 10.-$ 50. I asked the
shopkeeper what he would recommend, expecting him to suggest one of the more
expensive wines. Instead he pointed to a
$ 15. Wine, noting that it was from an indigenous grape with which he guessed
that I would be unfamiliar. As it is a
2013 I think I’ll try to save it for a bit.
Bulgarian wine does not
appear to be available in Nova Scotia but LCBO does apparently carry three
Bulgarian reds. If any of you in Ontario
decide to try one, please let me know your reaction.
TURKEY is
much newer to the list of major wine producing countries. Despite the population being overwhelming
Moslem, wine production has grown steadily since introduced by President
Araturk in the 1920’s. This was part of
the establishment of the modern Turkey, with a constitution that separates
Mosque and State.
Turkey has many wine
producing areas and somewhere between 600 and 1200 genetically unique grapes. The wines from indigenous grapes that I
tasted were all very pleasant, but the wine that I chose to bring home in my
suitcase was a Cabernet/Merlot blend.
Back in Antigonish we invited some friends over for my attempt at
Ottoman cuisine. We had Pide and Kebops,
etc. and I shared my one bottle of Turkish wine.
With the main course I opened
the Sevilen Isabey (2011) pictured here and poured each guest a glass. As a base of comparison I also poured
everyone a glass of Cornellana (2011) Caberent/Merlot Barrel Reserva. This Chilean wine is a standard in my house
and I serve it frequently. To my
surprise I found the two wines to taste very similar and my guests unanimously
chose the Turkish wine over the Chilean.
Perhaps it was the food pairing or perhaps it was because the Turkish
wine was a little more expensive.
Whatever, if you find yourself in a wine shop that has a Turkish wine,
please don’t be afraid to try it.
OPIMIAN OFFERING 228:
The wines offered are from
South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
As I have never been overly impressed with either South African or New
Zealand wines I shall make recommendations only on the Australian
offerings. Here Opimian seems to present
primarily high-end wines and there is one that I think you should try. The 2012 Shottesbrooke Estate (7844) Shiraz
should be worth the investment. I had a
2011 last night and was very impressed.
In terms of a negative recommendation I suggest you avoid the Hastwell
& Lightfoot “Fat’N’Skinny” series.
My one venture into those wines was very disappointing.
