Mention wines from North America and you could be forgiven for going straight to California. After all, over 80% of wines from this continent come from this area. To be fair, there are some exceptional wines from California. Ever since the Paris wine tasting (also known as The Judgement of Paris) happened in 1976, where the “great” wines from some of France’s finest chateau’s were sampled against those lesser known, “lesser quality” grape juices from across the pond. The blind tasting by some of the best wine critics around found Californian wines to be better and the reputation has stood the test of time!
This evening, we did sample some fine wines from California but also tried to widen our palates by searching further afield, where we found some exceptional wines. If you are seeking North American wines, you will most likely come across American Viticultural Area (AVA’s). This is a little bit like the Appellation areas we hear about in European wines. They are areas awarded by the state that define, the area, soil type and some restrictions on where grapes are grown, so a level of quality control can be given over the wine produced. Look out for this as it will give you some level of consistency on the wine you are buying. That said there are 100’s of AVA’s across America.
We had around 40 members from the village join us this month, which was great to see. To be fair there were favourite wines from across the continent but a few worth noting included a great opening wine from North Washington State, a Chenin Blanc from Kiona winery. With long hot days ripening the grape, this wine had a lovely sweetness but due to excessive heat the grapes created an acidy that is unusual in these wines. Seriously worth trying if you like your hors d’oeuvres or sea food! Equally favourable was a Pinot Noir from the Skolo Blosser estate in Dundee Hills, Oregon. Oregon has a reputation for high quality wines, with around 60% of the region’s wines coming from the Pinot grape. If you like this grape and want to move away from France or New Zealand, then this is definitely worth a try.
Last but by no means least, we finished with an ice wine from Pelee Island, Canada. Vidal grapes are left on the vine whilst the temperature drops to just below -8 degrees C. They are then picked, and gently crushed to extract a very sweet juice, which is then made into an incredibly rich, sweet tasting wine. This is an expensive wine but worth every penny. Try it with some strong blue cheese or any sweet dessert!
