The Westin Kierland
Villas is once again proud to present to you our Wine Newsletter. It is
our hope that this publication finds you in good spirits, happy, and
healthy. Your wine experience at your home away from home is important to
us and we are pleased that we can continue to provide insight following your
departure. Sit back, relax, and enjoy our Holiday installment, authored
once again by our resident Wine Expert, Mr. Tony Miller.
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It's the holiday season so
this edition of the Westin Wine Newsletter will briefly explore two topics
and two wines that are perfect for the holidays; Dry Rieslings and Ports. These two wines are made for holiday
entertaining and they both have interesting histories which we'll explore, briefly,
below.
Riesling
Riesling is perhaps the most
misunderstood and under-appreciated wine in the United States. Most
Americans seem to think that Rieslings are, by definition, sweet and must come
from Germany. Both assumptions are wrong
as Rieslings can be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet and they come from many
countries. DNA testing shows that Riesling is a natural hybrid of three
vines; Gouais Blanc (a parent of Chardonnay), Traminer, and an unknown wild
vine. The first records of Riesling date
from 1435 in southeast Germany and it quickly spread throughout Germany and the
Alsace over the next hundred years. It’s
ability to withstand cold winters allows Riesling to have a wide area of
cultivation in Europe from Germany to eastern France to Austria, and northern
Italy. Germany and the Alsace produces wonderful Rieslings that range from dry
to sweet to dessert-sweet and the best of them, although typically a bit expensive,
can be world-class.
Riesling vines came to the
U.S. in the 1850's and found its way to its most famous U.S. home, Washington state,
in 1871. Riesling is now grown literally
coast-to-coast, from New York's Finger Lakes to Washington, Oregon and
California and many places in between.
It was first introduced to New
Zealand in the 1970's and is flourishing there, but perhaps this grapes best
home outside of Europe is in Australia. Riesling came to Australia in 1838
and until Chardonnay overtook it in the 1990's, it was the most-planted white
grape in the country. Australian Rieslings are a true marvel combining classic
lime-based citrus flavors with intense minerality from limestone soils, all of
which serve to produce truly profound and interesting Rieslings that can aged
upwards of 15 years in proper storage.
The proto-typical Australian
Riesling offers consumers great value along with a true sense of place and
dispels the myth that all Riesling are sweet and German. One of the premier Riesling producers in
Australia is Kilikanoon and, although their wines are not widely distributed in
the United States, their wines are well-worth seeking out. One such wine worthy of note, which has
virtually no U.S. presence, is the 2015 Mort's Block. A truly excellent DRY Riesling for any
occasion.
2015
Kilikanoon Mort's Block Riesling
Kilikanoon has become
world-famous for producing refreshingly dry, mineral-driven, age-worthy and
compelling Rieslings. Mort's Block,
their premium Clare Valley vineyard, is at an elevation of 2,000' off the
valley floor so the wind-cooled vines produce small quantities of slow-ripening
berries that explode with bright flavors.
The grapes are hand-picked in late February, gently crushed, fermented
with native yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel before
settled and aging in stainless. This
aged white shows aromas and flavors of red grapefruit, tangerines, fresh limes,
Granny Smith apples, honeysuckle, Bosc pears, nectarines and kumquats along
with notes of white pepper, almonds, jasmine and lemongrass. It shows bright acidity along with complex
minerality, endless layers of fruit and a mouth-watering food-friendly finish.
Pair it with pretty much any
fish or seafood dish, holiday turkey, holiday ham, seared tuna Caesar salad, jambalaya,
Cobb salad, butternut squash bisque, fried chicken, roast pork with grilled
apples, assorted appetizers or a fruit and cheese plate. Drink it now and over the next 7-9 years. However, as the 2017 is already released and
the 2015, even with its great critical acclaim, has virtually no U.S.
distribution, quantities are limited. (Wine and Spirits 94 points) (Halliday 94 points) ( Vinous 91 points) ( Parker 90 points) • $35.00
Port
Picture yourself in front of
the roaring winter fireplace with a glass of Port in hand. Or, pair it with
holiday dark chocolate-based desserts. Perfect.
Port, named for the city of
Oporto, Portugal, has been famous since the late 17th century. Deep, rich, tannic red wines from the Douro
River Valley of Portugal were prized in 17th century England but the
rough ocean voyage to the British Isles caused the wine quality to become
erratic at best. A monastery high
above the Douro River discovered that by adding brandy to the fermentation of
the red wine, the wine became more stable for shipment, and thus high alcohol
sweet wines called “Port” were born.
Today, many of the premium Port houses are owned by British companies
and the United Kingdom consumes, by far, the most Port per-capita in the world.
Portuguese Ports use a wide
variety of native grapes, particularly Touriga Nacional and Tinta Barroca, but
these grapes are VERY tannic and have VERY high acidity. That’s why vintage Portuguese vintage Ports
require extended cellaring for the wine to smooth out and become drinkable; sometimes,
a few decades or more. Ports are called “Fortified
Wines” because the addition of brandy to arrest fermentation fortifies the
alcohol up to 18% or higher. The brandy
stops yeast from fermenting natural grape sugars into alcohol so whatever grape
sugar remains in the juice after fortification is called residual sugar and
it's that natural sugar that makes Port taste sweet.
There are so many different
designations of Port; including Vintage, Tawny, Ruby, LBV, Crusted, and White, that
a full exploration of all Ports would take far too long. Suffice it to say that Port, in its many
incarnations, can be a beautifully rich and pleasing wine.
Fortified wines are made
throughout the world and these wines can legally be called Port. Only the terms Oporto or Porto are exclusive
to Portugal. The U.S. makes some fine
Ports but since they typically don't use many of the tannic Portuguese varietals
but rather use grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and
others, American-made Ports are usually ready to drink as soon as they're
bottled. One such Port, called “A True
Gentleman's Port", is made by Rodney Strong Winery in Sonoma. It has no distribution outside the winery and
isn't even shown on the Rodney Strong website. It is a beautiful Port to share with friends
for the holiday, or anytime.
2012 Rodney Strong A True
Gentleman's Port
He started making wine in his basement and in 1962, he
purchased an old winery in Sonoma County along with its 159 acres of grapes. He built a modern winery building in 1970 and
his reputation and his sales soared. He
planted and owned several vineyard sites across the Sonoma Valley and virtually
created the now-famous Chalk Hill AVA.
He sold the winery to the Klein family in 1989 when he was
62 and retired from active participation in his namesake winery. Rodney Strong died in 2006 with the
reputation as one of the pioneers of the modern Sonoma wine industry. With the implementation of sustainable agriculture,
solar power and becoming carbon neutral, the Klein family took the winery to
new heights and with their influx of new capital, cemented Rodney Strong
Winery's reputation for producing quality wines at every price point.
Although Rodney Strong's standard wines are seen throughout
the entire U.S., perhaps their most special wine and one wine that sees
virtually no distribution is the Gentleman's Port. If one looks at the Rodney Strong website,
this wine doesn't exist, yet here it is. In 2012, it is composed of 31%
Zinfandel, 29% Touriga Nacional, 28% Malbec and 12% Syrah; all vinified
separately. Each lot was fortified
with grape spirits and aged in neutral oak for 42 months before final blending.
Although it is made exactly as a classic Portuguese Port, its use of
non-traditional grapes makes this lush, intense dessert wine pure California.
It shows rich flavors and billowing aromas of wild blackberry, fresh
blueberries, black cherry and dried strawberry along with cocoa, roasted nuts
and vanilla. It is a truly unique Port, with smooth, deep flavors, beautiful
fruit/tannin balance and a long, savory, sweet finish. And unlike vintage
Portuguese Ports, it requires no further aging. Serve it with dark chocolate,
a variety of hearty cheeses, dark chocolate, nuts, dark chocolate cheesecake,
dark chocolate brownies, dark chocolate truffles or by itself in front of the
fireplace.... with dark chocolate. Drink
it now and over the next 5-7 years, but, as this special dessert wine has VERY
little distribution, quantities are limited. • $49.00
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If you desire any
further information or would like to purchase the wine, please contact The
Westin Kierland Villas Director of Food, Beverage, and FUN John Voita directly at
john.voita@westinhotels.com. Please note that deliveries are not available to all
areas.
Wine Event Information
It is always a pleasure
hosting the wine events for you. Please be sure to register prior to your
arrival to ensure you are a part of the experience. Thank you.
Tony Miller
Resident Wine Expert
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