Group Members: Moemu Seo, Nykkeicha Mcewan, Rizk Zouad, Jennifer Lin

Piedmont Region: Located South-west of Alba in hills of an area known as Langhe. Piedmont is the second largest region in Italy. It produces powerful, structure red wine that is aged for decades.

(The minimum aging requirement of Barolo is 3 years, and 2 of the 3 years must be aged in a barrel. There is a minimum alcohol level of 13%.)

Grape: The Grape variety of Barolo wine is Nebbiolo, which is the dominant red grape in Piedmont. (Nebbiolo is thought to derive its name from the Italian word nebbia which means “fog.”)

Climate Conditions: Summers are warm, leading to a foggy fall during harvest time, and cool-snowy winters, and mild springs.

Historical Perspective:  Barolo wine has been made over 100 years ago. Prior to the mid-19th century, Barolo was a sweet wine, but after the 19th century, a French winemaker Louis Oudart made a technique that enable the Nebbiolo grape to be fermented till its grape is completely dry.

DOC of Interest: Dolecetto D’ Alba (Dry red wine noted for its juicy fruit character, low levels of acidity and mild tannins.) Barbera D’ Alba (Red wine with low tannin, but high in acidity, noted for its dark fruits and berry taste.)

DOCG of Interest: Barolo and Barbaresco (Similar to characteristic of Barolo, it is made with 100% Nebbiolo grapes, but the wines of Barbaresco is more fruity, less structure, and contains softer tannin than a Barolo. The minimum alcohol level of Barbaresco is 12.5%. The aging requirements is 2 years, and if it is aged for 3 years or longer, its label can be call Reserve.

IGT: None

Question for the exam: Why is the Barolo and Barbaresco appellation so significant in the region of Piedmont, and note the different and similar characteristic of their wine and wine making process.

Answer: Barolo and Barbaresco is the two most important DOCG of Interest in the region of Piedmont. Barolo and Barbaresco shares similar characteristic in their wine since they are produced with the same grapes. But the characteristic of the wine differs because their aging process and requirements are not the same.

 2006 Barolo DOG, Viberti Giovanni, Piedmont, Italy

The wine has a earthy, oak,  mushroom, and truffles characteristic, with high tannin and a hint of spice. The appearance of the orange-red in the rim variation shows the aging of the wine, but the wine can most likely be aged for another 5 years, so the fruitier characteristic may form.

Paring: Meat dishes (Steak, stew), heavy pastas and rich risottos

Something unique to remember about the region: The name Piedmont means” foot of the mountain” and is home to more DOC and DOCG appellations than any other region in Italy. Piedmont produce red and white wine. The red wine is put to aged and the white wine is consume right away. top grapes varieties white Moscato, red Nebbiolo.

General Climate Conditions: Continental and foggy  because of the three mountains that surround the region.

Historical Perspective: Piedmont started winemaking in  200 B.C by the Roman Empire.

DOC of Interest: Barbera d’Alba  and  Dolcetto d’Alba.

DOCG of Interest: Barolo and  Barbaresco.

IGT of Interest: None

Propose a question for the exam: Name the two most important appellations in the entire region.

Answer: Barolo and Barbaresco

My Visit to the Wine Store

On Flatbush Avenue extension in Downtown Brooklyn, there is a sleek, modern well lit store. Wright and Goebel Wines and Spirits at 147 Flatbush Avenue Extension is a smart, inviting store. The store is unfortunately located on a strip that most (me included) are not inclined to venture down. Business wise there is almost no stores in that direction. The employees of Wright and Goebel are open, warm and extremely helpful. They give off a casual and approachable demeanor while answering your questions with ease. They will speak to you with respect no matter what questions you ask. They are also quite knowledgeable about the wines they carry and will offer suggestion based on questions they ask to ensure you get what you are looking for. As the name suggests, they offer wine and spirits. They have top shelf to lower end wines, sparkling and champagne, gins, rums and whiskeys. They offer “party wines” which are sold by the case. A considerate note; they offer suggestions on a tag on the bottle of what is a good wine for a gift, and the price.

From a layout standpoint the store is not as large as the outside looks, but it is more than adequate. Upon entering the store, to your left, there is a vestibule type seating area with wooden chairs and tables. At the end of this is a shelf that sits atop several wine coolers. This is where Wright and Goebel keep and display their Fine, Rare and Collectible selection some of the selection includes; Celani Family Vineyard  Tenacious 2010, Serrapetrona Moro 2007 Fontezoppa Vernaccia Nera 100% and Puligny Montrachet  1^st Cru Les Folatieres. In this section they bottles start at $60.00. There was also a bright red Moped sitting in this area. Wright and Goebel offer free delivery and keep some wines chilled if you request it. The wines though divided were not distinguishable by just glancing at them. The Old World Wines: France, Italy, Germany and California are located on the left side of the store in wooden cubbies. The wines are stored on their side as well as standing up. Whites are reds are stored and displayed next to one another. In front of each bottle there is a small note that tells you the name of the wine, country/region, varietal, the flavor notes and price. The Spirits section is located in the actual wall of the store. There are cubbies carved into the wall that display their rums, gins and whiskeys. Throughout the store there are books relating to wine on the tables, shelves and cubby spaces that you can read and refer to.

From a marketing outlook they are very business savvy and have promotions to introduce the customer not only to them as a store but as a guide to wine buying and tasting. Wright and Goebel are rated by Zagat, has a website, Facebook and a Twitter page. The company also offers FREE wine tastings Thursdays through Saturdays and pairing events. Their business cards are coasters with their information printed on it. There is printed material throughout the store for customer use. They have gotten excellent reviews on Yelp about their customer service and selection. They also offer customers a rewards program and you get a free bottle of champagne with every $500 spent.

I would recommend this store to someone who is a novice, like me, at buying wine. The store’s layout is open there is ample room to maneuver and peruse or read about the different wines. There is no sales person breathing down your neck, but the store is small enough that by just a look around an employee will come right over to assist you. My salesperson Owen that recommended a Riesling to me said they would like to hear my thoughts on the wine extending an invitation to return. The location is accessible by public transportation even though it is located on a strip that is not thriving commercially. The employees are respectful of your space. The store is well lit, the layout is contemporary, the labels are easy to read and prices are clearly printed. The tasting notes and county of origin make it simple to choose a wine that best suit your needs and taste profile. The selection though I expected more, was definitely adequate. Wright and Goebel exceeded my expectations and put this novice at ease.

MAB Fine Wines and Spirits, By Laura Storch

                I recently visited a liquor store called MAB in my hometown. It is a place I have driven by countless times but have never been in prior to today. I am somewhat familiar with the average liquor store one could find in any shopping center but I never really had experience in an establishment that was of higher sophistication. That is, until I visited MAB.

As soon as I walked in I was impressed by the sheer size of the facility. It was enormous, but had more than enough products to keep it filled. I was immediately greeted on arrival and I explained my reason for being there. I was offered help but decided to just walk around and see what seemed familiar to me now after having taken a wine class for several weeks. The warm atmosphere and décor as well as organized layout made this process very easy. They stocked everything based on the style of wine (red, white, sparkling, etc) and where in the world it was from. I walked around the entire facility to see it all. They kept a select few wines refrigerated and had a little area designated for tasting, I saw the remains of one.  I focused my attention to the regions we focused on in class, primarily California and France. I was impressed with myself as I read the labels and made sense of the information presented on them. The prior trepidations I had of feeling a bit awkward in this unfamiliar setting had definitely ceased. I also saw a very wide variety of pricing. MAB focuses on fine wines and spirits, but with that in mind I saw items that were absolutely affordable. I saw bottles that went for about twenty or twenty five dollars and bottles that went up to about one hundred and fifty dollars. There were definitely more bottles from the twenty to fifty dollar range than there were of more expensive selections but it was hard to imagine someone not being able to find something that suits their needs at MAB. In addition, the store was filled with information on wine as if they were designing a customer guide that assisted a less experienced customer make the proper selection. It was absolutely something I benefitted from, and once again was glad to find myself familiar with a lot of the information they gave out about grape varieties and viticulture and things of that sort.

Overall my experience at MAB was overwhelmingly positive. It is an establishment that is welcoming to any customer. Whether it is someone familiar with wines and spirits, or someone who like me was a bit more new to it and feeling a bit awkward, MAB creates an environment where all are welcome and all can find something no matter what their budget is. If I were to make one suggestion it would be to maybe have another person or two working there, when I went in I only saw one worker who had to assist customers on the floor as well as work the register. Granted it was a Wednesday afternoon and someone else could have just been on break, it seems like it would maybe make everything run a little smoother. I would absolutely return to MAB and recommend it to anyone.

These are a few pictures I took of MAB. Above you see what was a wine tasting and the other two pictures show two of the main sections devoted to wine

http://prezi.com/tej_gwiatd0b/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Valuable videos supporting your learning of Champagne wines:

http://www.champagne.us/en/champagne/the-keys-facts-about-champagne-wine/the-terroir

This is an article of what we discussed in class today. I for one will be watching to see what happens…

http://www.drvino.com/2014/03/20/batali-bastianich-group-wine-suspension/

The link below leads you to a site where a group of people created a new type of sriracha by putting the sriracha in a whiskey barrel. the Sriracha can be aged for one to three months. This new type of sriracha is said to have a smoky flavor to it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/657999288/sosu-barrel-aged-sriracha?ref=category