Marty Tozer on Pinot Gris - The only sensory component missing from a
good pinot grigio is aroma; it just isn’t a very aromatic wine. The smell
from a glass of pinot grigio is much more subdued than most other varieties
of wine. You’ll really have to give your nose a workout if you want to smell
the essence of pinot grigio. - The Vine Journey,
October 16, 2002
Index of First Lines
Martin Tozer's "The Vine Journey"
Column 2 -
Have you determined whether you want to begin the journey to wine Nirvana
or not?
Column 4 -
Winemaking is probably best described as an "artistic" science and
there are literally hundreds of different techniques that the "artistic"
winemaker can use to affect the final product.
Column 14 -
Some people may tell you that only the fermented juice of grapes can be
considered wine.
I think it's time to start having
some fun.
I just read this week that
at a recent wine competition in San Francisco, numerous Washington wineries
went up against some of the best wineries in California and France.
Local restaurant makes good I learned
the other day that one of our local restaurants was named to the Wine
Spectator's annual “best restaurant” list.
A Random Journey -
Are you tired of having to make decisions about what kind of wine to drink?
Wine and Fowl -
Wow, it's already been a year since the last Thanksgiving column.
Food and Wine -
One of the most common questions that I get from readers and wine buyers
is, 'what wine should I have with a particular food?'
Tasting Basics -
It is important to understand the difference between drinking wine and
tasting wine.
Tasting Basics II -
To me the true goal of "tasting" wine is to experience all the sensations
that a wine has to offer.
Wine and Cheese -
If I had to pick one type of food that represented the most classical
accompaniment to wine it would have to be cheese.
Homemade Wine -
I recall stories I heard in my youth about how Uncle so and so made homemade
wine.
Is it Worthy? -
Many people ask me if I think a particular bottle of wine has reached
its optimal drinking age.
"Other" Red Wines -
In stores that have their wine department organized by wine variety you
usually will find sections labeled cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot,
and so on.
Port Wine Primer -
Port wine is another of the traditional, old world wines
that has come to be viewed in a somewhat dubious light by Americans.
My Vine Journey -
People often ask me how I came to know so much about wine. It all began
waaaay back in 1994 when I was interviewing for a job at liquor store.
Cooking with Wine -
Imagine you're standing in the kitchen preparing a nice meal. You reach
up into the cupboard and grab a bottle of cooking wine.
Washington Appellations
-
Visit the Washington appellations! This magnificent mountain range
has scenic vistas and lots of friendly mountain folk! No, no appellations
not Appalachians.
Definitions of Wine Terms
Bordeaux - a region of France famous for its wines
Botrytised (Botrytis Affected) - Botrytis cinerea is the
fungus that causes a grayish mold to grow on wine grapes...shriveled botrytis
affected grapes yield a juice with highly concentrated flavors. - Martin
Tozer's Rotten Luck, 1/23/02
Washington Wine Quality Alliance (WWQA) - This association
was developed to establish quality and labeling standards for Washington
wineries. The standards include identifying the where the grapes were
grown, what varieties of grape are present in the wine, and discontinuation
of using generic labels such as Champagne on sparkling wines. - Martin
Tozer's The Vine Journey, 3/21/01
Zinfandel - a wonderful grape that makes an even better
wine when treated properly. Characterized by luscious purple to dark magenta
hues; robust fruit flavors; peppery or spicy undertones. Not sweet, full
bodied variety relatively low tannin level that doesn't bite too hard.
- Martin Tozer's Zinfandel Update, 1/30/02
More from Marty on Pinot Grigio/Gris. Note his endorsement of Duck
Pond. I opened our Duck Pond wine–I know, that doesn't sound like
a proper rave notice, but the Duck Pond Pinot Gris was an exuberant boon
companion to the N.Y. Chef inspired scrambled eggs (and German sausage)
prepared at Chez Mama. Love, Dad - October 17, 2002
 Search
the Fruit From Washington Cooking Database by
recipe name or ingredient to find something special that you're looking
for!
Start a shopping list courtesy of FruitFrom
Washington.com by clicking on the shopping links below!
Calorie
Look up - quick, flexible
way to look up calories contained in the foods we eat!
Use Fruit From Washington's Recipe
Adjuster Program to change any recipe to feed a crowd!
Enjoy our delicious Fruit
From Washington Recipes and use wonderful Washington grown apples
and pears that you can order
at the Fruit From Washington.com store.
Thanks to Marty, I have found an
American approximation of Alsatian wines. At present, (not at this
moment) I am enjoying a nice King Estate 2000 (Eugene) Pinot Gris "tangerine
and ripe pear character with hints of nutmeg and anise." - Love Dad,
July 26, 2002
|
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer Column #2 -
“Have you determined whether you want to begin the journey to
wine Nirvana or not? I ask that question with a smile on my face since
I know that there are tremendous differences between what wine Nirvana
really is and what you think it's supposed to be. In the minds of most
consumers, the stereotypical wine lover can taste a wine and tell you
that it is a 1997 Blah Blah Vineyards Petite Meunier, grown in the fertile
lowlands of the Burgundy region in France. I say, even if they are right,
who cares? Is their personal enjoyment of wine any greater than John and
Susie who are sitting on their front porch sipping a cold white zinfandel?”
(Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer Column #4 -
“Winemaking is probably best described as an "artistic" science and
there are literally hundreds of different techniques that the "artistic"
winemaker can use to affect the final product. The basic ingredients for
making wine are universal: in some context of other additives, yeast interacts
with sugar in the grapes to make alcohol. This transformation of grapes
into wine is based in chemistry while the final outcome of the taste is
solely up to the winemaker/artist.” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer Column #14 (for December 20th, 2000) -
“Some people may tell you that only the fermented juice of grapes
can be considered wine. They could not be more wrong. The dictionary defines
wine as: the fermented juice of any of various kinds of grapes… and …
the fermented juice of any various other fruits or plants. I personally
don't give fruit wines the same lofty status as a premium cabernet sauvignon
or merlot, but they have their place in my wine cellar. Most of us probably
have an uncle that makes a concoction that he passes off as some sort
of berry wine. Usually when it comes time to actually taste the brew,
the experience is interesting to say the least.” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer (for February 21st, 2001) -
“I think it's time to start having some fun. The midwinter blues
have set in and I have the solution. Have a wine tasting party. All you
need is some friends (which I leave up to you), some wine (which I can
help with), and someone willing to host the festivities.
It really isn't necessary to plan a big dinner party to coincide with
your wine tasting. All that food can only make things more difficult.
Keep your plans simple. Pick a Friday or Saturday night when you and four
or five friends can get together and just enjoy some wine. Have each person,
or couple, be responsible for bringing one bottle of wine. Decide if you
want to go with red wines or white wines and have the host assign a different
variety of wine to each participant. For red wines I would suggest going
with a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Merlot, a Pinot Noir, a Syrah, and a quality
table red. If your group prefers whites, bring a Chardonnay, a Sauvignon
Blanc, a Chenin Blanc, a Gewurztraminer, and a Riesling.” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer (for March 21st, 2001) -
“I just read this week that at a recent wine competition in San Francisco,
numerous Washington wineries went up against some of the best wineries
in California and France. Three Washington wines topped the list, beating
out California heavyweights Opus One and Caymus in a blind taste test.
Surprisingly the Washington wines also beat out Chateau Mouton-Rothschild,
a long standing French dynasty, that sells for over $230 a bottle. Congratulations
go out to Gordon Brothers Winery, DeLille Cellars, Col Solare, and Quilceda
Creek on their tremendous success at this event.” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
To dine with wine? (for May 9th, 2001) -
“You have about four options when it comes to having wine with food.
The first and most obvious one is to crack open a bottle with dinner at
home. If you have gone out and stocked up on a good variety of wines like
I told you to, it should be very easy to grab one and pop the cork. Keep
your choices simple. Don't try and have that expensive Cabernet with your
spaghetti dinner. For just your average occasion consumption stick with
the more inexpensive ($5 - $10 max.) wines. Yes, you can have red wine
with your chicken or fish but a white may be more enjoyable. And please,
save the sweet stuff for desserts. Most sweet wines don't pair well with
savory foods (this means you, you white zinfandel drinkers).” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer (for August 8th, 2001)-
“Local restaurant makes good I learned the other day that one of
our local restaurants was named to the Wine Spectator's annual "best restaurant"
list. The Wine Spectator's Restaurant Awards Program analyzes the submissions
of restaurant wine lists from across the globe. These lists are examined
to measure the breadth and depth of a restaurant's wine list. The restaurants
generally have a theme of some sort for the majority of the wines they
carry and they must have a good variety within that theme in order to
even garner a mention.
Our very own Valley Café has been selected again for their excellent
wine selection. I say again because I believe they are now six-time winners
of this award. The Wine Spectator has given them the "Award of Excellence"
distinction for their commitment to providing their clientele with the
best wine selection possible. Greg Beach, the owner of the Valley Café,
reported to the Wine Spectator that the Valley Café has a wine list with
185 selections and a cellar of over 1,600 bottles. While this pales in
comparison to Seattle's Canlis restaurant's 1,350 selections and 15,000
bottle cellar, it is still quite an accomplishment.” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
A Random Journey? (for August 22nd, 2001) -
“Are you tired of having to make decisions about what kind of wine
to drink? Are you sick of trekking to the store only to have to make a
choice? Does the sheer number of choices at the store leave your head
spinning? Well then have I got a deal for you, join a Wine of the Month
Club.
Wine of the Month Clubs (WMC's), are wine purchasing programs that usually
provide their subscribers with two different bottles of wine every month,
delivered right to your home. A subscription to the service usually includes
the wine, a newsletter of some sort, suggested pairings with food, and
a catalog or listing of the other products they have available. Prices
for the subscription can vary from $15 to over $50 per month (plus applicable
taxes and shipping, of course).
Most WMC's offer a variety of subscriptions that you can choose from.
You can elect to have two wines of their choosing sent each month or you
can specify a white and a red wine, two reds, or two whites.” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Wine & Fowl (for November 21st, 2001) -
“Wow, it's already been a year since the last Thanksgiving column.
My how time flies when you are having fun. It can be a challenge to pair
one specific wine with a meal like a traditional turkey dinner. You have
the light, rich flavors of the turkey, the creamy mashed potatoes with
thick gravy, the tangy crispness of the cranberry sauce, and the savory
herb flavors of the stuffing mingling on one plate. Each one of these
flavors has a potentially wonderful wine taste to match. The trick is
to try and figure out how to satisfy the wine needs of all these different
foods.” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Food & Wine (for December 12th, 2001) -
“One of the most common questions that I get from readers and wine
buyers is, "what wine should I have with a particular food?" The first,
and easiest, answer is, "any wine you regularly enjoy." That answer works
well when you are dealing with a person that actually does have a favorite
wine. The assumption is that through some sort of personal journey they
have clearly identified what they like and why. In this case the wine
is a known quantity to them and therefore is easy to match its taste with
the taste of the foods they are going to prepare.
On the opposite end of the proverbial fork you have those people who
haven't progressed very far on their journey. Maybe they have tried a
few different varieties of wine from a couple different wineries but they
haven't really identified a taste that suits them. In this instance the
known taste is in the food, not the wine. Hmm, interesting dilemma.”
(Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Tasting Basics (for April 17th, 2002) -
“It is important to understand the difference between drinking
wine and tasting wine. Drinking wine means you are going to work your
way through a glass or two of the same wine in one sitting. Tasting wine
is more of an exercise in exploring the differences among several wines
in one sitting. If your intention is to drink wine I really don't think
there are many rules you need to follow. Go with whatever you have handy
to drink out of and eat what you like. I would suggest sticking with some
sort of container made out of glass; even a canning jar will do, since
I have noticed some funny flavors when drinking wine out of plastic or
paper cups.” (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Tasting Basics II (for April 24th, 2002) -
To me the true goal of "tasting" wine is to experience all the sensations
that a wine has to offer. In order to fully experience wine you need to
take in as much information as you can about it and allow your mind to
connect that information. A successful wine tasting makes you walk away
thinking about the wine. Maybe there is also a bit of synergy, the combination
of two or more sensations being greater than the value of each sensation
individually. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Wine & Cheese (for May 8th, 2001) -
If I had to pick one type of food that represented the most classical
accompaniment to wine it would have to be cheese. Go to virtually any
organized wine tasting and you will probably find a variety of cheeses
on hand to sample with the wine. Much like wine, cheese has a long and
storied history across the globe. In the old days wine was often one of
the safest beverages to drink since the alcohol prevented bacterial growth.
Cheese represented one of the best ways to utilize milk since it didn't
spoil as fast as fresh milk. I find it kind of ironic that two foods that
were rather utilitarian long ago have become "extras" today. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Homemade Wine (for May 15th, 2002) -
I recall stories I heard in my youth about how Uncle so and so made
homemade wine. Was it made from elderberries, loganberries, or dandelions?
That part of the memory escapes me. I have talked to many people over
the years that have similar stories of one relative or another and their
little experiments in wine. One of the recurring themes is the use of
just about anything but grapes to make wine. I guess most just used what
was handy. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Is it Worthy? (for May 29th, 2002) -
Many people ask me if I think a particular bottle of wine has reached
its optimal drinking age. To drink or not to drink, it is a question that
has both a simple and a complicated answer. My simple answer is: if you
want to drink it, go ahead and do it. The vast majority of wines out in
the marketplace will not gain anything by sitting in the bottle for a
couple years. Most wine producers are in business to sell wine that people
want to drink. They are looking to make wines that have a taste that appeals
to the broadest possible range of consumers. They want you to buy it,
drink it, enjoy it, and buy some more. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
"Other" Red Wines (for July 3rd, 2002) -
In stores that have their wine department organized by wine variety
you usually will find sections labeled cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay,
merlot, and so on. I want to talk about a couple of wines you will find
in the "other" or "miscellaneous" section.
Cabernet franc is a red wine that we see quite a bit from Washington
producers. While it is thought to be a relative of the cabernet sauvignon
grape, cab franc is its own, distinct variety. In Europe it is used primarily
for blending in the massive wines of Bordeaux but some other regions are
making it into lighter, single variety wines. Washington grape growers
planted this unique variety almost as early in their history as cabernet
sauvignon and merlot. It seems that most wineries in Washington that produce
cab franc use it for both blending and as a stand-alone wine. Depending
on the growing conditions and the composition of the soil, cab franc grapes
usually produce a light to medium bodied wine with more upfront fruit
flavors than most cabernet sauvignons. Cabernet franc is usually a less
expensive than its red cousins and you should be able to find several
good examples at most stores in town for under $10. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Port Wine Primer (for September 4th, 2002) -
Port wine is another of the traditional, old world wines that has
come to be viewed in a somewhat dubious light by Americans. Domestic mass
production and marketing of California "port" wine has made many a consumer
believe that port comes in screw cap bottles and cost under $6. For years
companies like E&J Gallo and Franzia have used the names of classic European
wines like port, chablis, and burgundy on their version of those wines.
Even I sometimes call any sparkling wine champagne. We couldn't be more
wrong. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
My Vine Journey (for September 11th, 2002) -
People often ask me how I came to know so much about wine. It all began
waaaay back in 1994 when I was interviewing for a job at liquor store.
The owner asked me if I knew anything about wine; of course I told him
yes. Since I really didn't I knew I had to quickly learn all I could.
My education consisted of trying as many wines as my budget could handle
and talking to more knowledgeable people. I realized that there was only
so much I could learn about wine from just tasting it and talking about
it. It was time to start studying and you may be in the same place. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Cooking with Wine (for October 2nd, 2002) -
Imagine you're standing in the kitchen preparing a nice meal. You
reach up into the cupboard and grab a bottle of cooking wine. As you open
the bottle you hear a loud voice, as if over a bullhorn, shout, 'Put down
the bottle and step away from the counter with both hands where we can
see them.' Just then, Swat team members from the Culinary Cops storm into
your kitchen and grab the bottle of cooking wine with 4ft. long tongs,
placing it carefully into a bomb disposal container. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Pinot grigio or gris? (for October 16th, 2002) -
American consumers seem unsure whether they should call this wonderful
white wine pinot grigio or pinot gris. For the record pinot grigio and
pinot gris are the same wine. The only significant difference is that
European producers call it pinot grigio while U.S. wineries call it either
pinot grigio or pinot gris. Despite the confusion surrounding what exactly
they should call it, American consumers buy a lot of it. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
The Vine Journey
By Martin Tozer
Washington Appellations (for November 13th, 2002) -
Visit the Washington appellations! This magnificent mountain range has
scenic vistas and lots of friendly mountain folk! No, no appellations
not Appalachians. Appellations are grape growing regions that have been
legally defined by governmental agencies not a mountain range. Nearly
every wine-producing nation in the world uses an appellation system to
enable consumers to identify where the contents of a particular bottle
of wine come from. Governments realize that it is good business to require
clear identification of the origin of grapes used for wine production.
Consumers like to know who made the wine, what grapes it was made from,
and where those grapes were grown. (Click
for more) (pdf version - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)
|
Ready
for the Winery
Don't
be put off by his youthful demeanor. Martin is passionate about wines
and you will find him to have a much deeper rooted knowledge and depth
of experience than one might expect from such a youthful wine critic.
Most readers find his viewpoint complex, yet balanced, rounded and
quite agreeable.
