Wine Club Newsletter - February 2013
Taste: It’s In Your Nose and Memories
Here is a great article by Elizabeth Landau for CNN. She reports on how tastes (and aromas) become part of your memory, and actually influences your food preferences. I have always noted that some wines for me, bring back certain memories or feelings from my past, which I find exhilarating. (Gary Parker)
It’s true that taste isn't just about the way food hits your tongue; there's a whole science behind how we perceive flavor and develop preferences for certain foods.
Scientists and chefs have a lot to learn from each other, said Gary Beauchamp, a biologist who leads the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.
Here are some of the lessons from science that may help you think about eating in a new way:
1. You like what your mother ate
If you're pregnant, you may be transferring preferences for certain flavors to your baby right now. The food you eat gets into the amniotic fluid and flavors it. The fetus can detect those flavors and remember them after birth, Beauchamp said. This also happens with breast milk when a mother nurses an infant. As children get old enough to eat solid food, they show a preference for flavors they first experienced in the womb.
It works for flavors like carrot juice, but not for something like salt, since the amount of salt a mother eats doesn't affect the saltiness of amniotic fluid or breast milk. It's actually the smell component of flavors that gets transferred. Mothers can enhance a child's liking for healthy foods such as vegetables by eating them while pregnant and nursing.
In general, experience informs taste preferences, so if you know you've liked salty foods in the past, you're going to want them again. If everyone collectively moves toward a low-salt diet, people will begin to crave it less, Beauchamp said.
And these preferences can begin from infancy. Babies fed starchy table foods high in salt showed elevated preferences for it, he said.
2. The "tongue map" isn't exactly right
You may have seen a textbook diagram of a tongue with a "sweet" spot on the front, "salty" areas on the sides and a "bitter" zone in the back. It's true that these areas are a bit more sensitive to those flavors, but in reality, there's no clear-cut map of which parts of your tongue taste what, Beauchamp said.
In fact, there are taste receptors in the back of the throat.
3. The nose knows taste
A lot of what you perceive of flavor is actually aroma, scientists say. At the recent American Association for the Advancement of Science conference, Jane Leland of Kraft Foods' research and development group demonstrated this by having the audience pinch their noses while eating a yellow jelly bean. The candy was nearly tasteless.
What's going on? Basically, when your nose isn't closed up, the aroma of the food from your mouth is going through the back of the throat to the nose to give you the full flavor experience. When you block off the front part of your nose, it's like closing off the end of a hose and the water is no longer flowing, Beauchamp said.
4. Nostalgia while eating relates to smell
Many people have powerful memories of particular flavors from childhood, and re-experiencing them in adulthood can instantly bring back moments from years past. Marcel Proust famously begins "Remembrance of Things Past" with a description of biting into a small cake called a madeleine and being overwhelmed with sensations of prior times.
That's because the olfactory sense is perhaps the most primitive one, and the anatomical connections between smell and emotions are more direct than for other senses, Beauchamp said. However, there hasn't been concrete research on precisely how this phenomenon works, and it's hard to study because each person's experience is unique.
5. We evolved to "like things that are bad for us"
Humans are driven partly innately and partly culturally to consume salt, Beauchamp said.
People desire fats to store energy, but over the long run, too much can cause cell damage and shorten life, White House pastry chef William Yosses told the science conference last month.
"We are hard-wired to like things that are bad for us," he said.
Our ancestors probably didn't live to age 50, so they sought out salts and fats without regard for the consequences of a bad diet -- hypertension, heart disease and stroke -- in middle to old age, Beauchamp said.
And there's been plenty of warning about salt recently. In January, the federal government unveiled new guidelines recommending that African-Americans, everyone over age 51, and people with a history of hypertension, diabetes or kidney problems restrict their daily salt intake to half a teaspoon. For everyone else, it's about one teaspoon.
Salt enhances sweetness by inhibiting bitterness, Beauchamp said. One of the reasons you find salt everywhere is that it reduces the bitterness of vegetables, making them tastier.
6. Yes, you can reduce fat and salt without losing flavor
There are two strategies for addressing the salt problem: creating salt substitutes and coaxing people to shift their preferences, he said.
And what about reducing bad fats? Chefs can develop delicious recipes that aren't laden with fat and may even have a cleaner flavor, Yosses said.
Chocolate mousse, for instance, usually contains a combination of egg yolks and cream that creates a smooth, rich feeling on the tongue -- and could also cause molecular damage to arteries, he said.
Yosses' solution: Replace the cream and yolks with with a different protein. Water and gelatin, together with chocolate, make a mousse that's still creamy, but it's healthier and you can taste more of the chocolate.
And David Lebovitz, former San Francisco Bay Area pastry chef who now writes cookbooks in Paris, advocates minimalism. Even a few grains of salt can make a difference -- put them on top of, not in, your culinary creations, he said. It provides a contrast in your mouth to the sweetness of chocolate or caramel, for instance.
"I don't use substitutes," he said. "You can substitute carob for chocolate, but it's not chocolate. I don't think you should really trick people."
2011 Fleur du Cap, Sauvignon Blanc (February, 2013 - The WineSellar Club)
Growing Region: Stellenbosch, South Africa
Varietal Blend: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Fermentation: Steel Tank Fermentation
Suggested Retail: $15.00
WineSellar Club Case Price: $9.89
Broad Strokes:
I do love wines from South Africa. They present excellent value and a distinctive character that only comes from this land.
From the Winery:
Made from superior grapes meticulously chosen from prized vineyard blocks in the Cape Coastal region. Handpicked in the vineyard and handcrafted in the cellar, this new generation wine captures the highly sought-after qualities of varietal character and terroir. Only free run juice was used to ensure quality. Careful yeast selection and daily monitoring of fermentation was followed by meticulous blending of the different vineyard block selections. Sedimentation, racking and fining as opposed to filtration maximizes the preservation of color and flavor elements resulting in a wine that abounds with fruit and layered with complexity.
Appearance:
A good looking package overall, but to micro-comment, I’m not a fan of this color of bottle. But I do like the label, the screw cap, and the emblem on the front that matches their web site graphic. The wine is very bright, nearly clear, with tinges of white corn and green.
Nose:
Starts off with a gush of fresh herbs and new mowed lawn notes, which is backed by some nice floral arrangements (sic) such as violets and lavender. Good, solid Sauvignon Blanc fruit comes through, with nuances of honeydew melon, vanilla, hazelnut and smoke. Lovely!
Texture:
Lively acid is firm, but still offering generous fruit in this medium weighted wine. Great mid palate feel, almost creamy, with a clean and crispy finish.
Flavor:
Excellent Sauvignon Blanc fruit flavors, with the melon, kiwi and flower flavor profile. Look for some citric style notes (grapefruit, lime), white pepper, the hazelnut and smoke.
Serving Options:
This wine sings with food. I had a spicy pasta dish with clams with tomato, garlic, Thai hot sauce, etc. and this wine held its own very well. Would be great with cheeses, many fish preparations, including butter sauces and fresh oysters with some type of hot sauce dropped on them.
2009 Scherrer Zinfandel, Old & Mature Vines (February, 2013 - The WineSellar Club)
Growing Region: Alexander Valley, California
Varietal Blend: 100% Zinfandel
Fermentation: Barrel Fermentation
Suggested Retail: $30.00
WineSellar Club Case Price: $27.89
Broad Strokes:
“Since our small winery’s first vintage in 1991, our goal has been to create handcrafted, full-flavored wines that express the personality of the unique Sonoma County vineyards where they are grown. Fred first became known for Zinfandel from his father’s Alexander Valley vineyard, and now his careful hand with Pinot Noir from the Russian River and Sonoma County has quietly gained attention and a steady following. That same attention has made Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah that exemplify the bounty of Sonoma County vineyards.
Thank you for taking the time to find us,”
Fred and Judi Scherrer.
Appearance:
The embossed “S” gets lost and takes up a lot of space on the bottle, leaving less room for the equally important facts of its pedigree. I like the little story on the back label. The wine is hued medium ruby, and dark at the core. Because it is unfiltered and un-fined, it shows a bit of cloudiness, which is just fine.
Nose:
The wine has a lot of complexities coming right off the nose. Dark, rich fruit, chocolate cherry, black walnut, leather, figs, sweet tar and rich, dark, earth. Very spicy too, Moroccan spices to define them better.
Texture:
This is the most Pinot Noir like texture I have ever experienced in a Zinfandel. There is more weight in the mouth than the color would indicate, typical of Pinot Noir. Viscous and even through the palate, finishing full and complete.
Flavor:
A lot going on in the flavor profile, with the rich bramble-berry fruit, dark cherry, and serious Moroccan spices delighting the senses. Nice touch of vanilla and oak, black pepper, strapped leather and fresh, sweet cranberry fruit/acid to finish. Note that after the wine was open for four hours, it was phenomenal . . .
Serving Options:
This is quite versatile, and will pair very well with a grilled steak, lamb, venison, buffalo, burgers, and just about anything you would want to throw on the grill.
2010 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon (February, 2013 - The Two Rouge Club)
Growing Region: Mount Veeder, Napa Valley
Varietal Blend: 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc
Fermentation: 50% New Hungarian Oak
Suggested Retail: $28.00
WineSellar Club Case Price: $22.89
Broad Strokes:
Great value Cabernet Sauvignon here! I am leaving the tasting notes in the very capable pen of the winery on this one.
Two Rouge Members, do you realize you are receiving $88 of wine at retail for $50 by being in The Two Rouge Wine Club? We’re proud to serve you, and thank you for your membership!
Tasting Notes:
The aroma of this wine reminds one of a blackberry patch at the end of summer. The warmth of the ripe fruit aromas is complimented with generous notes of nutmeg, vanilla and clove. The wine is soft at entry then expands on the palate with weight and generous structure. Brown sugar compliments the black fruit flavors, making the wine rich and inviting.
Vintage:
The 2010 vintage was a roller coaster. The spring started off with welcome rainfall after three previous years of drought. Subsequent summer months were mild, with the vines holding a healthy green vigor. Then came a heat wave (more of a heat blast!) in late September. We picked in a frenzy from the ripest blocks. But then the heat broke, and the autumn played out in a long, cool harvest season.
We were lighting obsidian-ringed campfires for warmth on the last mornings of picking, and our trucks left the hill just as the fall rains came down in force. The results were two camps of wines: the early lots with ultra-ripe, super concentrated red fruit flavors, and the later lots with fresher fruit flavors and lower acid. Either would make a compelling stand-alone wine, but having both styles provided exceptional blending options.
Winemaking:
A blend of six blocks from the Obsidian Ridge Vineyard, the spicy aroma and sweetness comes from fruit picked early off the steep slopes that rise from 2300’ to 2640’. The generous fruit and structure comes from fruit picked later in the season, from the lower blocks of the vineyard (2200’). A small percent of Cabernet Franc and Syrah were added for aromatic intensity and volume. The young wines were placed in our signature Kadar Hungary oak barrels where they aged for 18 months.
2008 Lagier Meredith Syrah (February, 2013)
Growing Region: Mount Veeder, Napa Valley
Varietal Blend: 100% Syrah
Fermentation: Barrel Fermentation
Suggested Retail: $60.00
Broad Strokes:
WineSellar Club Members, here is one of our best buys ever. $60 at the winery, $45.00 on the case buy. A 95 point rated wine by one of the worlds most respected wine critics. It also received 92 Point ratings from Stephen Tanzer and Wine & Spirits Magazine.
I am going to include those reviews in our tasting sheet today, deviating from my typical format. But you should note this is a small operation. Stephen Lagier and Carole Meredith have no employee’s, no consultants, no partners, they are a couple who bought the property in 1986, and have lived there ever since. They prepared the land, planted the vines in 1994, and harvested their commercial first crop with the 2000 vintage.
95 - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - December 2010
Consistently one of the great Syrahs made in California is Carol Meredith's offering from Mt. Veeder. Lagier Meredith's stunning 2008 syrah reveals an opaque ruby/purple hue along with a gloriously intense perfume of roasted meats, herbs, barbecue smoke, burning embers, plums and acacia flowers. The wine possesses exceptional intensity, a full-bodied opulence and not a hard edge to be found. it is a beautifully complex, ethereal syrah to drink over the next 7 - 10 years.
92 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Good bright ruby. Perfumed aromas of plum, raspberry, spices, flowers and lead pencil, plus a suggestion of exotic fruits. Supple, shapely and quite dry, with very good intensity but also a pliant texture to its dark berry and pepper flavors. Shows a lovely light touch thanks to a firm acid spine. Finishes with building tannins that reach the front teeth. This should gain in weight with time in bottle. (6/ 2011)
92 points Wine & Spirits
This savory syrah runs on foresty spice, a scent of tobacco leaf, green peppercorn and green olive. There's a tart raspberry and candied cherry flavor to add dimension, but it's the spice that drives the flavors and lasts. Carol Meredith and Steve Lagier grow 4.5 acres of syrah on a ridge of fractured sandstone and shale 1,300 feet up Mount Veeder, where spring frosts and challenges with flowering limited the crop in 2008. (2/2011)
2010 Nuits St. George, Les Chailots, Domaine Michel Gros (February, 2013 - The Gary Parker Collection)
Growing Region: Burgundy, France
Varietal Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
Fermentation: Barrel Fermentation
Suggested Retail: $70.00
WineSellar Club Case Price: $58.49
Broad Strokes:
Whenever possible, I try to sneak in a fine Burgundy for my club members. They are so rewarding with time in the cellar, and this Nuits St. George from Michel Gros will be no exception.
It was in 1830 that the Gros family set up in Vosne-Romanée. Today, Michel Gros, sixth generation of this dynasty of winemakers, continues and develops the work undertaken by his ancestors. Passionate but also very rigorous, Michel Gros brings constant care to the development of his wines, by mastering all the stages of production, from vine through to bottling. Modest and unassuming, he expresses himself through his wines: generous, fine, elegant, of reliable and even quality.
Appearance:
Classic looking label and bottle from Burgundy France. A sketch of the property (from an ancient etching no doubt), and all the important facts get the most definitive fonts. The wine is very pretty, showing a light skin cherry coloring, with some grey notes. It is very viscous and clings to the glass for a long time.
Nose:
Sweet cedar and cherry fragrances perform a seductive dance through your nostrils and into the pleasure centers of the brain, relaxing you, and drifting you off to another world. Like a perfumed hypnosis, it’s hard to keep my nose out of the glass.
Texture:
Sophisticated, elegant, delicate, classy, lovely texture that is only Burgundy. Even and balanced through the palate, gaining weight and volume as you caress the wine in your mouth.
Flavor:
Black cherry, cedar, hazelnut, with forest floor, truffle and mushroom. In the spice category, notice cardamom, nutmeg, saffron, white and black pepper. There is a real nice mineral component, with touches of hot stones/rocks/gravel that are lovely. Somewhere I got milk chocolate before experiencing the drying finish.
Serving Options:
This needs to go into the cellar for at least 5 years, and bring it out for another try at that time. I am positive it will be wonderful, and should improve further with time. Let it breathe!
Garlic Partners
Here we have two recipes from the restaurants that you can make ahead of time, and bring out for a great flair to add to a meal or dinner with friends to enhance the complexity and presentation of your plate. Enjoy your GARLIC CONFIT (as a flavor enhancer) and GARLIC FLAN (as a side dish).
Garlic Confit
Garlic CONFIT
Ingredients:
- 4 heads of Garlic
- 1 Cup of extra virgin olive oil
Method:
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Place garlic cloves in a 1-quart saucepan and cover with cold water.
- Bring to a boil and strain water off. Repeat this process 2 more times.
- Cover the garlic with the olive oil and place on lowest flame possible.
- Cook slowly for about 1 hour, taking care not to let it boil.
- Let cool completely before storing.
- The confit will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Garlic Flan
Garlic FLAN
Ingredients:
- 1 quart of 40% heavy cream
- 9 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 1/2 GARLIC CONFIT
- 2 tablespoons of Crème Fraiche
Method:
- Pour into buttered, chilled molds.
- Place in bain-marie in low oven (left-side oven on line) and cover.
- Cook until set, about 45 minutes.
Serve warm, or chill and reheat within two weeks.