White wine Flashcards
Grace wine story
Story: Grace Wine was established in 1923, in the Katsunuma province, the birthplace of the Japanese wine industry. The grapes for this wine are grown on the foothills of Mt. Kayagatake from estate managed vineyards at an altitude of 400-700m. The vines are planted in distinctively volcanic soils with good drainage, providing excellent growing conditions. The vineyard has a cool climate but also abundant sunshine, allowing the slow maturation of the grapes over a long growing season.
Grace Koshu characteristics
Grape: 100% Koshu
Flavours: tart green apple, lemon, lime, grapefruit, minerally finish
Food Pairing: tuna tartare, leaner sashimis
Markus Molitor White Label story
Story: Markus Moliter is now one of the largest privately-owned estates in the Mosel. Over 35 years, he has expanded the 1.5 hectare family estate to over 120 hectares. Winemaker Moliter has been working in vineyards since the age of 10 - Markus’ father Werner taught all about viticulture and vinification as a child. As well as learning all about the workings of the vineyard and winery, Markus was inspired by his father’s passion for the region.
90% of Moliter’s production is focused on Riesling; all wines are treated in the same way to best reflect their terroir. The steep, difficult sites he works are some of the best the Middle Mosel has to offer.
Markus Molitor White characterisics
Grape: Riesling
Flavour: fresh citrus zest and green apple, white peach and slate-mineral/wet rocks
Food pairing: tuna tartare, sashimi
Steinwiege Schnaitmann Grauburgunder story
Story: Rainer Schnaitmann makes low intervention wines in Fellbach near Stuttgart. He is one of those winemakers who (alongside his mentor Clemens Busch) is revered in his homeland, but less well-known outside. His style is distinctively ‘Schwäbisch’, with balanced extraction and extensive use of large old oak foudres. He tells me that he loves to focus on the earthiness and juice of his fruit, rather than producing a red Burgundy lookalike. Whilst his Spätburgunder and Grauburgunder are outstanding, coaxing the very best out of the solar 2018 vintage, it’s always his treatment of the oft-underrated Lemberger (Blaufränkisch) that ravishes.
Steinwiege Schnaitmann Grauburgunder characteristics
Grape: Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris)
Suitable for vegans & vegetarians
Flavour: lemon, grapefruit, pear, peach, passion fruit hazelnut, almond, hay flowers, anise
Food pairing: scallop sashimi, nigiri
Donnhoff Niederhause Hermansholle Spatlese story
Story: Weingut Dönnhoff is an estate in the Nahe region of the Rhineland. It is often regarded as one of Germany’s very best producers, famous for the high-quality of its wines which are made predominantly from Riesling. Some 80 percent of production is of the Riesling grape, which is planted on rocky, volcanic soils, giving the wines balanced acidity and intense minerality.
Donnhoff Niederhause Hermansholle Spatlese characteristics
Grape: Riesling (Spatlese style)
Unspecified if suitable for vegans (see label for clues)
Flavours: clear, pure mineral, lemon, crushed slate rocks, refreshing, sweet, full of intensity
Food pairing: pork, desserts TBC
Tyrell’s Semillon story
Story: Tyrrell’s Wines is a leading Australian producer based for more than 160 years in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. It also has vineyards in Heathcote in Victoria.
Unusually for a well-established Australian producer, it is best known for its Semillon and Chardonnay white wines. However it does make award-winning reds, particularly from Shiraz, and is also known as a pioneer of Pinot Noir in the country.
Tyrell’s Semillon characteristics
Grape: Semillon
Unspecified if suitable for vegans (see label for clue)
Flavours: juicy limefruit, notes of honey, nutty complexity
Food pairing: Tuna Tartare, Chutoro with truffle
Bethany Estate Riesling story
Story: The cycle of life in the Barossa vines has been turning for more than 150 years, since the Schrapel family planted their first vineyards in 1852. Today with Bethany Wines being run by fifth and sixth generations of the same Schrapel family, the vines’ life cycle continues in much the same way as it always has, with minimal intervention from us to produce the best possible vines and grapes.
“The philosophy at Bethany Wines has remained constant for more than 30 years - to produce exceptional wines that show the flavours of the family vineyards and are a natural reflection of the microclimate of the Barossa Ranges” - Geoff Schrapel.
Quarry Ridge Chardonnay
Chardonnay from 30-year-old vines in the far north of cool climate Victoria, vineyard called Quarry Ridge. The wine is made from the brothers Mat & Steve Harrop, who like music as much as wine, hence why naming this wine Amen Break, name taken from the most sampled drum beat of all time. They ferment the Chardonnay in French oak hogsheads, using naturally occurring vineyard yeast, maturing up to 12 months before bottling
Quarry Ridge Chardonnay characteristics
Grapes: Chardonnay
30yr old vines
Unspecified if suitable for vegans/vegetarians (see label for clue)
Flavour: pear, wet stones, citrus, bright acidity, buttery, oaky
Food pairing: Chicken Yakitori, Chawanmushi
The Den Chenin Blanc story & characteristics
Region: Coastal Region, South Africa
Story: Painted Wolf wines was founded in 2006 by Emma and Jeremy Borg with the aim of raising money and awareness for the highly endangered painted wolf species, while making interesting and exciting wines. They are now a leading producer of award-winning wines, with three distinctive ranges.
‘The Den’ range is Painted Wolf’s entry level offering, with fruity and approachable wines that are very fairly priced.
Grape: Chenin Blanc
Flavours: ripe yellow apple, yellow pear, lemon and melon, with hint of chamomile and straw
Food Pairing: nigiris
Bizoe Henrieta Semillon/Sauvignon
The name ‘Bizoe’ from French word ‘bisous’, or ‘kiss’. When winemaker Rikus Neethling travelled to Languedoc in France, he picked up some of the language, as well as winemaking knowledge. On return to South Africa, he purchased an engagement ring from his savings and proposed to his fiance. Her answer was sealed with a bisous and they were married the following year.
Bizoe was then born - a blend of love and the art of winemaking.
Neethling gets most of his inspiration from France, particularly the Languedoc and Rhône where Syrah is largely planted. In wanting to know more about Syrah, he travelled to the Hunter Valley in Australia, where he developed his love for Semillon.
In this wine, Semillon is blended with Sauvignon Blanc, in the traditional Bordeaux style.
Bizoe characteristics
Grapes: Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc
Flavours: grapefruit and orange zest, quince, gooseberry, green apple, marzipan, smoke, stuck match
Food pairings: Chicken yakitori, Chawanmushi
Domaine Chatzivaritis Kilkis ‘Mi’ Assyrtiko (Natural Wine) STORY
Story: It all started with love… when Vagelis Chatzivaritis met his soon to be wife Olga Iakovidou in 1981. She was from Goumenissa, a place with a long tradition in winemaking. Little did he know that this was the place where he would, later on in life, dedicate himself into the creation of a very unique and widely undiscovered Greek wine.
Being a wine lover himself, and a man who also appreciated fine food and the simple pleasures of life, he started making his own wine to enjoy with the company of his good friends and close relatives. For Vagelis, wine making was simply a hobby and time-out from his demanding career as a mechanical engineer.
Domaine Chatzivaritis Kilkis ‘Mi’ Assyrtiko (Natural Wine) characteristics
Grape: Assyrtiko
Natural Wine: careful selection of grapes, foot-stomped, fermented with natural yeasts in old French barrels with no additions, wine rests on lees for 3 months. Unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2.
Flavours: stone fruits, quince, bruised apple, white flowers, honey, slightly funky
Food Pairing: Sashimi
Domaine Chatzivaritis Malagousia 15%abv (ORANGE WINE)
Grape: Malagouzia
Flavour: Aromas of orange zest, dried apricot and flowers, cedar, honey, bergamot. Structured palate with good tannin level, balanced acidity and long finish.
Fermentation in amphora
Matured 4 months in 6 yr old French barrels
Food pairing: Akami Nigiri, Scallop with carrot/ginger/miso
Mantinia Moschofilero story
Story: A popular wine at our recent Greek tasting - made by the ‘Master of Moschofilero’ winemaker Leonidas Nassiakos. eonidas Nassiakos runs Semeli winery majoring on this white grape (he also makes good red Agiogitiko). This example comes from the Zevgolatio slopes in Mantinia, part of the mountainous ancient area of Arcadia.
Region: Peloponnese
Mantinia Moschofilero
Region: Peloponnese
Grape: Moschofilero
Not suitable for vegans
Flavours: lemon and rose petals, fresh bone dry, mouthwatering flavors of peach and guava
Food pairing: Nigiris, red prawn tartare
Egy Kis Furmint Story
Story: In the centre of the Barta Estate, the Rákóczi-Aspremont mansion was built in the 16-17th century as a one-storey, agricultural centre. Renovations in the 17th century brought it to be the great Baroque-style estate that it is today.
Barta focuses on low-intervention, organic farming, having received organic certification in 2018. The ‘Egy Kis’ range, which translates as ‘Little Dry’, is Barta’s second range. It offers approachable wines that are still of excellent quality.
Egy Kis Furmint characteristics
Grape: 100% Furmint
Aging: aging on fine lees for 9 months in 500L Hungarian oak
Flavour: The wine is decidedly mineral and structured, with flavors like apple, peach, apricot and salt. Oaky, buttery
Food pairing: scallop with carrot/ginger/miso
Mantinia Moschofilero characteristics
Region: Peloponnese
Grape: Moschofilero
Not suitable for vegans
Flavours: lemon and rose petals, fresh bone dry, mouthwatering flavors of peach and guava
Food pairing: Nigiris, red prawn tartare
Tegernseerhof Durnstein Gruner Veltliner Story
Story: Gruner Veltliner by the 1000-year-old estate Tagernseerhof, located in the Wachau, Austria. Today, owned by Mittelbach family. The winery has been in their possession for five generations with vineyards located on the best slopes in the region, characterized by steep terraces of primary rock with optimal exposure to sun and wind, resulting in wealth of different aromas in their wines.
Danbury Ridge Chardonnay story
Story: Danbury Ridge was founded by two generations of the Bunker family:. The first vines were planted in 2014 with a focus on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varieties which would take advantage of the micro climate in Essex.
Danbury Ridge Chardonnay characteristics
Region: Essex
Grape : Chardonnay
Flavours: Elegantly perfumed and fresh with citrus flavours of lime zest and mandarin with white peach. This palate displays mouth-watering acidity with a delightful texture and great length.
Oak: 10 months in French
Food pairing: Chicken yakitori, chawanmushi
Oscar Tobia story
Story: This estate was established in 1994 by Oscar Tobia who came from a family of wine growers based in San Asensio. He began to reconstruct the facilities but funding was minimal and throughout the years has continued to invest into the estate, leading it to be a well known winery.
Oscar Tobia Blanco Reserva characteristics
Grapes: 55% Tempranillo Blanco, 35% Viura, 8% Maturana Blanca & 2% Malvasia
Fermented in oak barrels, 70% French 30% American, aged 18 months on lees in same oak
Flavours: citrus, pineapple, quince, smoky hints, cinnamon, vanilla, creamy, bulky with good acidity
Food pairing: Beef tataki
Godello ‘Fraga do Corvo’, Fragas do Lecer story & characteristics
Region: Monterrei, Galicia, Spain
Story: Produced by talented local winemaker José Manuel Martinez Juste, Fraga do Corvo (Wood of the Crows) exudes the character of carefully tended, manually harvested Godello grapes grown on slopes of decomposed granite in Monterrei, North West Spain. The vines here are at least 20 years old, giving concentrated fruit flavour and a true sense of terroir.
Grapes: 100% Godello
Flavours: ripe green apple, green pear, kiwi fruit, slightly floral, creamy
Food pairing: Sashimi, tempura
Calazul Albariño, Rías Baixas ABV story & characteristics
Region: Rías Baixas, Galicia, Spain
Story: Bodegas Rectoral do Umia is a state-of-the-art winery located on the banks of the Umia River in the Valdo Salnés (the coolest sub-region of Rías Baixas). Founded in 2009, some 200 wine growers supply them from around 130 hectares of vineyard planted on the rocky, alluvial soils of the nearby rolling hills.
Grape: Albariño
Flavour: zesty lime, lemon, apricot , peach, green apple with a saline, chalky finish
Food pairing: Sashimi, tempura
Verdejo, Saturnino Cantalapiedra story & characteristics
Story: Vino Saturnino is based in La Seca the best vineyard town of the Rueda region. Situated two hours north west of Madrid, the vines are planted on stoney soil at 700 metres above sea level on Rueda’s “Golden Mile”. Marta’s grandfather, Saturnino, was the pharmacist in the village and was integral in setting up the local cooperative in the 1930’s and was oenologist for many of the early growers
Quinta da Raza Vinho Verde story & characteristics
Story: Quinta da Raza has around 50 hectares of vineyards, located in the heart of the Vinho Verde Region. With a history that goes back more than four centuries. With magnificent sun exposure, an altitude of 250 metres and soils of granite origin with clay-schist areas, uncommon in the Vinho Verde Region, the Quinta da Raza vineyard has a unique terroir.
Grapes: Arinto, Azal, Trajadura
Unspecified if suitable for vegan
Flavours: spritzy, zingy, classic vinho, high acid, citrus, melon, mineral, light body
Food pairing: tuna tartare, tempura
Memoria, Quinta dos Capuchos story & characteristics
Region: Lisboa, Portugal
Story: This very historic property, originally a Cistercian monastery founded in 1227, has had vines growing on its land since at least 1397. In the 16th century the order of the Capuchin friars took over the monastery, hence the name ‘Quinta dos Capuchos’.
Located in the Alcoa Valley, this estate has eleven hectares of vines planted on stony, limestone and clay soils.
Grapes: Arinto, Verdelho
Fermented and aged in oak barrels.
Flavours: Complex and delicate aromas of citrus and stone fruits with mineral notes and a touch of vanilla
Food pairing: scallop and salmon sashimi, nigiris
Soave Classico DOC Brognoligo Cecilia Beretta 2020 (ORGANIC)
Region: Veneto
Story: The Cecilia Beretta estate was founded in the 1980s, just to the east of the famous wine village of Valpolicella. It was named after the 17th century agronomist and poet Count Giuseppe Beretta, who built the beautiful Villa in Mizzole in the heart of the estate, now surrounded by vineyards.
Grapes: Garganega
Suitable for vegans
Flavours: ripe peach, pear, citrus with almondy finish and creamy texture and the trademark minerality from the volcanic soils
Food pairing: Sashimi, tempura
La Rifra Friulano
Story: La Rifra is family-run winery, established over forty years ago near Lake Garda in Northern Italy. The philosophy of the winery has always been to work with the local terroir and grow and cultivate the native grape varieties.
Grape: Friulano
Not specified if suitable for vegans (see label)
Flavor: fruity, floral, fresh herbs
Food pairing: Akami Nigiri
Cincinnato Malvasia (organic)
Region: Lazio
Story: You are having a Malvasia grape by Cincinnato with 73 years of history. The winery is renowned for it’s environmental efforts including organic methods.
The winery is renowned for its environmental efforts including organic methods in the rows, a photovoltaic system ensuring independent power generation, and local distribution using natural gas-fuelled vehicles.
Grape: Malvasia
Not specified if suitable for vegans (see label)
Flavour: delicately fruity bouquet, with hints of apple, citrus and yellow-fleshed fruit, hints of sage and bitter almond. Crisp, structured, lively
Food pairing: Sashimi
Pinot Grigio Montevento story
The Cecilia Beretta estate was founded in the 1980s, just to the east of the famous wine village of Valpolicella. The local Pasqua family had owned the surrounding vineyards since the 1940s, but a renewed drive for quality and a concentration on modern oenological technologies became a priority in the 1980s with competition from the ‘New World’; traditional winemaking countries like Italy were forced to up their game. Thus the quality-focused Cecilia Beretta winery was born.
By 1998, this experimental terrain became the research centre within the Agricultural faculty of the local university. The main objective of the winery today is to make wines of the highest quality from the indigenous grapes of the Valpolicella and Soave appellations.
Today it is Carlo’s daughter Cecilia (most appropriately named!) who is global ambassador for the Cecilia Beretta estate and wines
Pinot Grigio characteristics
Grape: Pinot Grigio
Flavour: fresh citrus, green apple and green pear with a touch of white almond
Food pairing: Veg tempura
La Zerba Gavi
The La Zerba winery is located in the Ligurian-Piedmontese Apennines, in the heart of the hilly area surrounding the picturesque Gavi hills. Since 1973, the family has dedicated itself to the cultivation of vineyards, from the pruning phase to the harvest, handing down from generation to generation passion, respect for nature and all the secrets to obtain a wine of excellence.
La Zerba is a totally organic farm. For years it has only carried out mechanical weeding and fertilization with organic manure and green manure.
