Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I have an excessive access to California North Coast wine. And, while I’m not exactly complaining, I am admitting that this has, in some ways, stunted my international wine perspective. So studying for the WSET, in which you’re expected to know a lot of detail about different winemaking regions throughout the world can be a bit daunting. And there are two country’s that intimidate me the most. France: its history, its reputation, it’s frickin’ variety of different wine laws. Australia: It’s huge. So when I received the following practice question I had a bit of a heart attack. But then I realized that there’s an opportunity here, an opportunity to tackle two fears at once.
During service a customer asks you to recommend an Australian alternative for his two favorite French wines. Recommend alternative wines that have a similar style, quality, and price. You must account for the factors in the vineyard and winery which make your choices appropriate. Also explain any important differences in the wine.
Alright, so as you all know I am studying for the WSET Level 3. Exciting? Yes. Am I confident? Well, not yet. You ever notice when you studying for something—anything, really—you’re all about whatever chapter, section, topic you’re currently reading. But it seems like by the time you get to the end of the book, all the stuff from the beginning of the book somehow moved to the back of your brain so, if you were to be tested on Chapter 1 (which, is usually foundational stuff you went into the course already knowing), you’d probably fail that test. I use the word ‘you’ but really I mean ‘me’ here.
Por ejemplo, the last chapters of the WSET 3 book covers sparkling wine (production and regions), Sherry, Port, and fortified Muscat. So, now that’s in the front of my brain.
Fun Fact: Sherry must be aged in 600 liter oak barrels, called (get this) butts. (*Snort*)
I like big butts and I cannot lie…
The fact of the matter is, with this test, you’re really meant to be able to combine that FOB material with the EOB information. Take a look at this sample WSET 3 question:
Identify the climate of Champagne. Explain how the climate in Champagne impacts on the fruit grown and why this makes the wine produced suitable for the production of traditional method sparkling wines.
Pop Quiz! Let’s take a second to answer this question while we’re here…
Champagne has a cool, continental climate. Cool meaning the average annual temperature—during the growing season—is about 16.5°C or below; continental meaning there are large annual temperature variations (extremely warm or hot summers, extremely cool, often frosty, winters), or, in other words, high continentality. Also, as the name pretty much implies, these areas are found away from large, moderating bodies of water. (Fun Fact: This climate condition is far more common in the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern, when talking about vineyard locations.) Continental regions are also usually characterized by short summers with a very quick drop in temperature in the autumn. Put that together with an overall cool climate, and regions like Champagne are most at risk for spring frost, cold growing season temperatures (which can affect flowering, fruitset, and ripening).
Courtesty Fernando Beteta
Cool, continental sounds dreadful, no? In fact there are grapes that can thrive in these conditions, namely those that bud late and ripen early, as they will more than likely “miss” the spring frost (and because grapes for sparkling wine production are harvested earlier than winegrapes for still wine—to maintain a higher level of acidity—the grapes will also “miss” the winter frost). Grapes that fit that profile include Pinot Noir—one of the three main grape varieties used in Champagne production. The other “cool” thing about the cooler conditions for these late budders is that it will, in fact, slow the ripening process a bit so sugars in the grapes (you know, the stuff that turns into alcohol) will stay pretty low, while (again) the acid will stay high. This is important for the production of Champagne, as the second fermentation process will add about 1.2% more alcohol to the base wine, so harvesting grapes low in sugar will help produce a lower alcohol base wine (somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% ABV).
Did I answer that question clearly enough? So, you see how you have to know things about climate conditions of Champagne in order to start talking about the production of it? They could go on to ask what grapegrowers do or what vineyard considerations they take to better assist the full ripening of their grapes in this environment. But…I think I’ll save that for another post. My point here is…the basics, the FOB material. So, here goes:
CLIMATE: The annual pattern of temperature, sun, and rain during the growing season (April through October int he Norther Hemisphere; October through April in the Southern Hemisphere) averaged over several years.
Cool: Average temperature of 16.5°C or below
Moderate: Average temperature between 16.5°C and 18.5°C
Warm: Average temperature between 18.5°C and 21°C
Hot: Average temperature 21°C and above
CLIMATE CLASSIFICATIONS:
Continental: The greatest difference between the hottest and coldest months (high continentality); characterized by short summers with large and fast temperature drop in autumn; dry summers; away from moderating influence of large bodies of water; relatively short growing season; frost hazards at the beginning and end. (Examples: Alsace, Burgundy, Chablis, Champagne, Northern Rhone, Upper Loire, Rioja, Piedmont, Columbia Valley, Finger Lakes, Mendoza)
Maritime: Cool to moderate temperatures and low annual difference between the hottest and coldest months (low continentality); rainfall is evenly spread throughout the year; temperatures typically warm enough to extend ripening into autumn; there are distinct seasons, but less drastic variations between them than Continental; close to large bodies of water; major risks are spring and summer rainfalls. (Examples: Bordeaux [and much of Western France], Northwest Spain, Willamette Valley, New Zealand, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania)
Mediterranean: Low continentality, BUT summers are warm and dry (compared to Maritime); less seasonal temperature variation and distinction between seasons; long, hot growing season with little precipitation; can get good diurnal swings [ie: daytime-nightime temperature shifts]; because of the warmer conditions, wines are fuller bodied, riper in tannin, higher in alcohol, and lower in acid; major risks include low rainfall (which can be good for grapevine health, but can also lead to drought conditions) and, therefore, irrigation is much more utilized in these regions. (Examples: Mediterranean Region [duh], California, Chile, South Africa, South Eastern Australia
So how’d you like that bit of wine knowledge? It’s interesting that just knowing the climatic conditions of a region gives you a basic clue as to what the wine styles will be. Try that out at the grocery store.
Stay tuned for more. Let’s see what WSET question I pull out of the hat tomorrow for you cool kids. If you happen to have a Pop Quiz you want to give me, leave it in the comments…. Thanks for helping me study!
Oh…did you scroll down here for a wine review? Sure, why not…
About the Wine: 2017 Moon Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon by Ana-Diogo Draper (winemaker at Artesa Estate Vineyards & Winery)
Aroma: Youthful with a pronounced intensity of aromas: black current, blackberry, blueberry, nutmeg, vanilla, eucalyptus
Palate: Dry, high acid, high tannin, high alcohol, full body with a medium (+) intensity of flavors: fennel, eucalyptus, black current, blackberry, blueberry, nutmeg, vanilla, and a background hint of smokey meat.
Medium (+) finish.
Conclusion: Based on the WSET criteria (and, as a side note, my personal opinion totally agrees with this conclusion), Ana’s Moon Mountain Cab is Very Good. You can drink this now but this wine 100% has the potential to age beautifully. (My personal note: I would recommend laying this down for minimum three years. Ana…save me a bottle to relive, ok? 😉 )
BriscoeBites officially accepts samples as well as conducts on-site and online interviews. Want to have your wine, winery or tasting room featured? Please visit the Sample Policy page where you can contact me directly. Cheers!
As I mentioned in my review of the Emeritus Vineyards 2015 Hallberg Ranch Pinot Noir, this is my first time tasting from this winery. One of the things that intrigued me about Emeritus Vineyards is their story surrounding dry farming. According to the winery, dry farming Pinot Noir is common in Burgundy, but rare in California. But because of the Goldridge soils found in Emeritus’s Hallberg Ranch vineyard, located in the Green Valley AVA of Sonoma County, owner and vintner Brice Cutrer Jones decided to dry farm his vineyards since he purchased the land in 2007, planting the original apple orchard to grape vines.
The Goldridge soil with the underlying clay loam forces the vines to dig deep (nearly 20 feet) into the soil for water. This is something you may have read about in conjunction with the heartier Bordeaux varieites (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, even Petit Verdot and Malbec), but is — at least to me — a funky concept for the delicate Pinot Noir grape. According to Jones, this actually gives his Pinot Noir more complexity, a noteworthy minerality, and also allows the grapes to develop fully matured flavors at a lower Brix. Jones’s partner, Kirk Lokka notes, “Most growers pick at higher sugar levels because modern irrigation practices dilute the grapes with an excess of water. This is not the case with dry farming.”
The Pinot Hill Vineyard, located in Sebastopol, is also dry-farmed. And, again according to the winery, once Jones and Lokka purchased this property and instigated their dry farming methods on this Pinot-centric plot of land, Emeritus not has the largest dry-farmed estate in Sonoma County “and possibly California.” There are 107.76 acres planted on Hallberg Ranch, 30.68 acres planted on Pinot Hill.
Ok, that was a lot of talk about soil and stuff. But what does that all taste like in the glass?
Welcome to my professional page. Here you’ll find a portfolio of my editorial work. Most recent and relevant are featured at the top; scroll down to travel in the way-back machine. For more information about my professional career, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or Download my Resumé.
I am the former assistant editor of Wine Business Monthly. During that time, my responsibilities included copyediting and fact-checking all articles for the monthly magazine, ensuring detailed accuracy before going to print. I also poured the articles into InDesign and helped compile photography, assisting the layout and design team. Additionally, I wrote feature-length articles each month. Regular columns included: Technical Spotlight, Winemaker Trials, and Winemaker of the Month. Outside of those regular columns, I also wrote additional articles as needed and defined by our editorial calendar.
My work on the magazine included both behind-the-scenes work and written work with a byline. Below each month’s magazine are specific links to my individual work featured in that issue.
Wines & Vines Magazine was owned and operated by the same company, as Wine Business Monthly, Wine Communication Group. Prior to my promotion to assistant editor of WBM, I began my career at the company as the staff writer for W&V. In that role I researched and wrote informative articles revolving around the U.S. wine industry for both the monthly print publication and the online news forum winesandvines.com (now winesvinesanalytics.com). I regularly reported on wine industry news and breaking news, as well as attended and covered industry events, including trade shows, seminars, and tastings.
Behind the scenes action: I also curated the questions and gathered the quotes for our “Question of the Month” series; compiled news items for our “Top Stories,” “People,” “News,” and “Faces & Forums” columns; and, of course, helped the rest of the editorial team with final proofreads before going to print.
During my time at Wines & Vines, the publication shifted production to a wholly online/digital format, focusing on wine industry data. Wines Vines Analytics is the leading source for wine industry data and the Wines Vines Analytics team maintains the industry’s most accurate databases, providing data-driven analysis, data, insights and reports to help its clients grow and manage their businesses. WVA also publishes a monthly analytics report covering the most recent and applicable data trends. As the staff writer, I researched and wrote about those data trends for the monthly report, detailing the effects of the data trends on the nation’s wine grapegrowers, winemakers and the wine consuming marketplace.
San Francisco Chronicle—content producer/editor & staff writer
I was hired to the SF Chronicle as the content producer and editor of the newly created wine-centric website, The Press. In that role, I was responsible for editing and inputing Napa and Sonoma winery reviews, tasting notes, and available Wine Country experiences onto the new platform. I assisted with website layout, design, and development, ensuring content-ready material and a user-friendly interface. This role evolved into including writing assignments alongside these duties. I became a regular contributor to both The Press and the SF Chronicle’s Travel section, focusing on wine-related travel, winery reviews, and wine tasting notes.
BriscoeBites officially accepts samples as well as conducts on-site and online interviews. Want to have your wine, winery or tasting room featured? Please visit the Sample Policy page where you can contact me directly. Cheers!
**Please note: all reviews and opinions are my own and are not associated with any of my places of business. I will always state when a wine has been sent as a sample for review. Sending samples for review on my personal website in no way guarantees coverage in any other media outlet I may be currently associated with.**
Goldeneye’s Split Rail Vineyard is located in the Anderson Valley AVA of California’s Mendocino County. Located in this ocean-side AVA the vineyard is, of course, influenced by maritime climate. But, according to the winery, this vineyard also enjoys a varied topography of slopes and benchlands. Split Rail is planted to 16 different blocks of Pinot Noir and nine different clones.
Let’s tackle this a step at a time shall we?
