Our November 29 class took us from the Burgundy region of France to Sonoma Valley and on Southern Australia as we continued trying to distinguish between wines grown in cool or moderate vs. warm regions of the world. This time we definitely found a contrast between the 2005 Josephine DuBois Grande Reserve Chardonnay from Burgundy (cool climate) and the 2004 Kunde Estate Chardonnay from Sonoma Valley in California (warm climate). The burgundy was softer and apple-like in taste and lighter in color, while the California chardonnay exhibited hints of apricot and pineapple, fruits more typical in warmer climates, and had a more golden color. We stayed in Sonoma for our red tasting with a 2004 Cline Sonoma Coast Cool Climate Shiraz. (The coastal region of Sonoma has a cool micro-climate.) Then off to Southern Australia for a 2004 Penfolds Thomas Hland Shiraz. Again, we saw some difference with the Australian wine giving us a bigger, more concentrated fruit flavor punch. What a great trip!

This class concluded our basic exploration of the world’s flavor map, but rest assured, our travels are by no means over! We’re now embarking on a journey through the old world and the new world. We’ll find a number of similarities to what we found in our flavor map travels, but we’ll also get more practice at comparing wine styles and resurrecting a number of our past lessons. (Remember oaky and grassy?) As Andrea says in her book on page 117, we may have already experienced sommelier’s elbow from all our tastings. It may be long gone by now, but if not, we must keep training. Again, we’ll compare two whites and two reds. We’ll have an Alsatian Riesling and a Riesling from New Zealand, Australia or the U.S. For reds we’ll try a French red burgundy (pinot noir) and pinot noir from California or Oregon

To prepare for the class, please read pages 117 through 128 of Andrea Immer Robinson’s book. Then focus on the tasting notes for the Rieslings and Pinot Noirs on pages 129 and 131.

For December, we’re back to the third Thursday of the month – December 20. Please join us then at around 7:00 for another whirlwind tour of the world of wine.

See you on December 20!

Suzy Marquard