What I Learned this Year

My first four learnings of 2013 were due to the exciting DNA work by scientists studying the origin of grapes.  However, there are several other cogent details I’ve picked up in the last 12 months.  Here’s my top 10 list, checked it twice…and yes, I’ve been both naughty and nice.

1. Cabernet Sauvignon is a cross between two grapes; Cabernet Franc is the father, Sauvignon Blanc is the mother.

2. Chardonnay is a cross between two grapes:  Pinot Noir is the father; Gouais Blanc is the mother.

3. The first Chardonnay grapes came from the Burgundy district in France.

4. The origin of wine grapes is actually Turkey---9000 BC!

5. New Zealand, while known for Sauvignon Blanc, is now focusing on Pinot Noir…and they are excellent.

6. Argentina, which holds the record for the highest vineyards in the world (5,000 ft), is now planting grapes in the Andes at >10,000 ft. 

7. While blending is the hallmark of Champagne, there are >400 cuvees blended to create Veuve Cliquot.

8. China will be the world’s largest wine consumer by 2016.

9. Wine consumption by the French has dropped >50% since 1975.

10. Saltiness in wine is due to the minerality of the soil 

     in which the grapes are grown.

Sicily's Volcano Wines

Mount Etna’s slopes are the birthplace for some of Sicily’s finest wines.

For serious winemakers, Europe’s tallest (and the world’s most active) volcano has recently become the place to be.  Nearly thirty years ago when I first visited Sicily, there were only 5 producers making wine from grapes grown on Mount Etna.  Today, there are close to 90.  Why the renaissance?  Call it the Italian X-factor. 

The rebirth of growing grapes on this 11,000 foot volcano (grapes are grown up to 3,500 elevation which makes Etna the highest vineyards in Europe) has occurred because of changing philosophies in the wine industry.  As quality has trumped quantity, the low-producing indigenous ancient vines on the inhospitable 45 degree volcanic slopes are now revered for the unique wines they produce.  Moreover, the terroir created by the volcano dramatically adds to the X-factor.  Its volcanic soil and distinctive microclimate create wines with intense minerality and lavish complexity.  Last, the area has attracted winemakers not only from other parts of Sicily but from regions such as Tuscany because of its fair-priced land.  Many of Etna’s vines were abandoned 30 to 35 years ago, when the cost of producing wine became too great. The new arrivals were able to purchase deserted vineyards, acquiring the low-yielding old vines that are near and dear to many winemakers.

Mt. Etna has become one of Italy’s most exciting wine regions.  While some vintners believe the soils are best suited for reds, others love what the white varietals produce.  Here’s a sampling of my go-to Etna producers that are making magic on the volcano:

• Benanti:  This is one of the original five producers present when I first visited Mt Etna in the 1980.  I particularly like their whites, Etna Bianco de Casselle, as well as their Pietramarina.  Both of these wines have amazing complexity.

• Firriato:  Although they’ve come from the other coast of Sicily to make wine on this glorious volcano, don’t miss their killer red, Etna Rosso Cavanera Rovo dell Coturnie.

• Graci:  This winery’s vines were planted on the slope at 2,000 feet more than a century ago.  Faves?   Etna Bianco (white) and their red Rosso Quota 600.

• Planeta:   Another Sicilian transplant from the other side of the island, this is one of my favorite producers in Sicily.  Try their white “Eruzione 1614” named about the “eruzsione” (eruption) in 1614 that stopped just short of the vineyards in which these grapes are grown.

Coming with us to Sicily in 2014 for the harvest tour in September?  You’ll be visiting both Biondi and Planeta, and you’ll be drinking the Firriato & Graci.

Argentina’s High Altitude Wines---the World’s Healthiest?

While red wine is known to exert a protective cardiac function, the exact mechanism has been unclear until recently.  Research shows that red wine is a potent inhibitor of a detrimental substance that wreaks havoc on blood vessels.  The villain, called Endolthelin-1, causes blood vessels to constrict and fatty plaques to form.  The hero, antioxidant polyphenols (found in skins of red grapes), block the formation of the harmful Endolethelin-1.  

Argentina boasts the world’s highest vineyards.  Grapes grown in Argentina’s Andes have demonstrated significantly higher levels of these beneficial polyphenols.  Vines grown as high as 5,000 feet has been shown to produce wine that is twice as potent in blocking the damaging Endolethelin-1 in contrast to grapes grown in the country’s lower vineyards.  In comparison to Chile, Argentinean grapes grown at lofty elevations provide more than triple the power in cardiac defense.  Moreover, Bordeaux wine only afforded a mere 10% of Argentina’s high altitude strength in preventing heart disease.

So, what is it about elevation that makes the difference?  Higher altitude vineyard sites are closer to the sun.  Grapes implement a defense mechanism against the sunlight intensity by thickening their skins, resulting in higher polyphenol levels.   Resveratrol, one of these polyphenols, has been shown to have great anti-oxidant properties.  Antioxidants have been shown in numerous medical studies to protect the heart.

High altitude wines, however, may promote more than just cardiac health.  Resveratrol has been found to have implications for destroying human cancer cells.  This important polyphenol may also have “fountain of youth” inference as it has been shown to encourage cell survival during times of stress.

Altitude has become somewhat of a status symbol among Argentinian wine producers, each daring to plant slightly higher than his neighbor…in spite of the enormous finances required to build at this elevation, as well as the risk of frost damage.  Argentine vintner Nicolas Catena Zapata has been widely credited for elevating the status of these high altitude wines through serious experimentation into the effects of high altitude.  (Zapata’s daughter, who is a physician at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco, has been key in orchestrating the research).  Those of you coming with us in March 2013 for the harvest tour, will have the good fortune to have a private dinner at the Catena Zapata winery.

Here’s to your health!