WinesoftheNewWorldF22

The process of blending wine is very simple. First, I taste and analyze the six base wines (three white wines and three red wines) provided by the winemaker. The way to analyze the base wine is to use the Deductive Tasting Grid like when I am in class, and then I record it in the notebook, this is helpful for blending, so I can change the ratio of each blend based on these notes. After analyzing and taking notes, I have to start to decide what kind of blend I wanted to make based on my food items. The food items are white meat or salad will blend with white wine, and the food item with red meat or other spicy food will blend with red wine. My food item is red meat, so I will blend red wine. After that, I use the empty syringe to inhale each desired base wine in proportion to the glass. Then taste it to decide if this is what I want. 

The final blend turned out to be what I expected, with each wine fully developed, with the Cabernet Franc offering leaner, saltier red fruit flavors. Petit Verdot will add more floral notes and tannins, as well as opaque color. Merlot adds complex peppery notes and a more vibrant finish. When I tasted it, I could smell the strong aroma, and when I drank it, I could feel the eyes bright, the fresh tangerine taste, and the mouth was full of saliva.

As for how to develop my final blend, I was thinking of having one wine as the main ingredient and the others as an auxiliary. Then I thought about using with 80% Cabernet Franc as the main body, 10% Petit Verdot, and 10% Merlot as the auxiliary. Because Cabernet Franc is the main body in many blends, Petit Verdot and Merlot are the auxiliaries. In conclusion, the blending process went very smoothly.

Team 7 Renata Saunders

On our first visit to the Red Hook Winery, we met winemaker Christopher Nicholson. He taught us about the winemaking process that they do at Red Hook, different types of pressing and fermentation methods and the aging process of the wines they make. We were able to taste 6 wines which would be used as bases for the blended wines we are making to pair with the dishes assigned to us. For my dish of roasted loin of pork charcutière with lentils, gaufrette potatoes and braised collard greens I chose to pair it with white wine. Although pork can be paired with white, red or even sparkling wines I thought the dish would pair best with white wine as the pork is a lean cut and the dish is not heavy with spices such as black peppercorn or paprika and the charcutière sauce has white wine in it. For my blended wine, I’m going with the blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay which was fermented with the skins on and is cloudy in appearance as no additives were used to make the wine clear. That blend was very aromatic and I believe it would be an interesting pairing to the dish. I will be blending that with the second base wine which was a Chardonnay aged in new oak barrels. The combination of the aromatics such as citrus and green apples combined with the notes of oak, peaches, green bell peppers, lime and hints of vanilla on the palate will pair nicely with the dish as lean cuts of pork can be paired with sweet elements such as apples and peaches while the citrus on the nose and palate will complement the sides of the dish without overpowering them. My proposed ratio for the blend is 80% of the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay blend and 20% of the Chardonnay in new oak. My hopes are for a light to medium-bodied wine that is high in acidity and dry to medium dry. 

Last Thursday we visited the Red Hook winery, which is situated in Brooklyn. From the Red Hook Winery tasting room, we watched the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan across the East River. We tasted six types of wine, which included three white wines and three red wines. Christopher Nicholson, manager of Red Hook Winery, is a very friendly and hospitable person to us. He showed us step-by-step how he makes white and red wines. He also showed us all the machines that he used to make wines in his winery. He showed us Chardonnay grapes with seeds filled in a wooden barrel for fermentation, with a nice aroma coming from its wooden barrel and smelling like vanilla flavor. He is using a foot treading method to crush wine grapes. This winery produces Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. He collects grapes from the Long Island, North Fork region. Skirt steak with chimichurri sauce goes well with Cabernet Sauvignon. Chimichurri sauce has a strong aroma of garlic flavor. A glass of red wine pairs well with the steak because of the bold flavors in the chimichurri sauce. The fruity and spicy aromas of the wine match perfectly with the skirt steak. It has a strong flavor of spices, and steak has a rich, highly intense beef flavor when it’s grilled. I would like to pair this dish with a Cabernet Franc I tasted at Red Hook Winery. This wine has a herbaceous aroma, which goes well with chimichurri sauce. It’s a medium-red wine with moderate tannin, which would help to cut the richness of skirt steak. With its high acidity, medium body, and herbaceous aromas of green pepper and red fruits, Cabernet Franc is a perfect choice to pair with many foods, like skirt steak. Cabernet Franc wine is defined by a balance between red fruit, herbs, and papery earthiness and has medium to high acidity that makes it refreshing and easy to drink. Higher acidity makes it possible to pair Cabernet Franc with chimichurri skirt steak.

During my visit to Red Hook Winery in Brooklyn with professor Struck and my classmates, I had the opportunity to admire the view of the river outside the winery, see a room full of wooden barrels where the wine is preserved, and the other side saw machines such as, grape processors and conical fermenters. I appreciated the combination of aromas that were coming from the wine and wood. Most importantly, I learned from Manager Christopher Nicolson the process and machine they use to make their prestigious wine. In fact, I found it interesting that even though they don’t use any agent to clarify their wine, like egg whites, some are very clear, for example, the first Chardonnay we tried. Considering the three red blend wines we tried in the winery. I would choose Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot to blend for my Braised Beef Jardinière and Duchess Potato. By combining those two wines, I would create a full body that would pair perfectly with this hearty dish. The Cabernet Franc will bring out its acidity, red fruit aromas, and flavors of herbs and with a 10% Petit Verdot, this wine will bring out its floral notes, black fruits, and high tannin. The final product will result in a dry, deep color and fresh aromas of blended red wine.

We tasted six base wines, three white wines, and three red wines at Red Hook Winery. White base wine varieties are Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnay brewed in two different ways. Red base wine varieties Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot. 

Since my food item is beef, the best choice for my wine blend is red wine, because the tannins in red wine can remove the greasy substances in the beef very well, making the beef taste better, and the meat texture of beef good to reduce the dryness of the wine and make the flavor of red wine more prominent. When red wine is paired with fish, the umami in the fish will be covered entirely due to the relatively heavy tannins in the red wine. At the same time, because red wine is rich in iron, plus the iron in the fish itself, if they are paired together, they will It will make the fish have an unpleasant metallic taste, which will greatly affect the aroma and taste. 

I choose all three red base wines, with 80% Cabernet Franc as the main body, 10% Petit Verdot, and 10% Merlot as the auxiliary. Cabernet Franc offers leaner, saltier red fruit flavors. Petit Verdot will add more floral notes and tannins, as well as opaque color. Merlot to add complex peppery notes and a more vibrant finish. 

Based on my blend ratios, my ultimate expectation is that each base wine will bring out its own best layering, with a better blend of tannins and acid. Creates a balanced and complex wine blend.

Grilled Lamb “Steak” Hache with Ratatouille

On October 6th, it was great to visit the Red hook winery. The view was so beautiful, it is an ideal place to have wine tastings. The decor of the winery is very creative with wine barrels being the tables or holding up the glass tables. It was more impressive to see the washroom sink and counter made with a wine barrel. The Manager Christopher Nicolson was very welcoming and knowledgeable about the wines he made there, and I and my classmates had the pleasure to taste six of them, three whites and three reds. The two wines I would like the blend for my dish are Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The cabernet franc has wonderful acidity and balances in sweetness with a beautiful color. The Merlot has a great complexity that is not too bold and would go perfectly with the cabernet Franc. The two grapes blended together would create a slightly bold wine that would perfectly wash down a lamb dish such as mine.

Alicia Goncalves

Braised Beef Jardinière and Duchess Potatoes is tender beef, slowly cooked in tomato sauce with carrots and peas, accompanied by mashed potatoes that have been piped. 

Best wines to pair this hearty dish are:

2011 CMS Columbia Valley Red Blend 

2018 Beeslaar Pinotage, Stellenbosch, South Africa 

2021 Tilia Malbec Syrah, Mendoza, Argentina 

My red wine of choice to pair with Braised Beef Jardinière and Duchess Potatoes is an old and original red wine blend called CMS Columbia Valley Red Blend, vintage in 2011. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah are the best red wines to pair with braised beef and mashed potatoes. I believe blending those three grapes would go perfectly with this homiest but delicious dish. The characteristics of this wine is its ruby color, medium-high body. The high tannins that contain this wine will not only match the dense stew dish, but also enhance the blackberry and cherry fruits flavor of this wine. In addition, this wine has hits of aromas such as tobacco, herbs, and vanilla. 

Washington State, Columbia Valley 

Even though Washington state is one of the young industries, Washington has expanded their red wine grapes significantly fast. The Columbia Valley climate has limited rainfall because the Cascade Mountain range blocks the rain. However, Columbia River is responsible for providing irrigation for grape growing. In addition, its soil is loess, as the Missoula floods produced the windblown silt and sand that formed the soil, successfully producing aromatic wines in Washington State.