Pinotage...ick!

Last Thursday we did a Unique Varietal tasting at Cru Wine Online. We sampled wine made from fun grapes like Albarino, Verdejo, Chenin Blanc, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah and Pinotage. I will admit to you I'm not the biggest fan of Pinotage, I think it tastes icky. And I am sure by this point in the blog you are either thinking "What is Pinotage?", "I'm not either" or "You haven't tried a good one." For those of you that aren't fans, I get it. For those of you that don't know the grape, it's South Africa's bread and butter red varietal (grape).

Pinotage is a beefy red grape that was created in a laboratory in South Africa. A Stellenbosch University professor named A. I. Perold crossed Pinot Noir and Cinsault. He then went about his business and forgot about it. After he retired it was discovered and it wasn't until 35 years after he 'created' the grape it became popular and people began planting it all over the country. It was hardy, it could stand up to the heat and weather of South Africa and it was distinguishable. The name comes from the Pinot Noir and Cinsault cross. Cinsault was commonly called Hermitage because it was grown in the Hermitage region of France in the Rhone. (Pinot-tage, get it).

The grape is often described as being medium to full bodied, spicy and displaying aromas of tar, band-aid and/or burnt rubber. It tastes very similar to how it smells. Many commercial examples exist and the grape for some reason continues to be produced. It's a flagship varietal in South Africa and South African's are incredibly protective of it.

I spoke with a South African woman at a wine shop two weeks ago that was trying to turn me on to Pinotage. She said "Pinotage get's a bad rap in this country." I didn't have the heart to tell her it's because it makes terrible wine. She went on to tell me about how wonderfully it paired with ribs or meat off the grill. I thought to myself, yeah, when the food overpowers the flavor of the wine and all you are left with is the dish lingering in your mouth.

For those of you at the beginning of this post that thought I haven't tried many you are right. I have maybe had 20, certainly not enough to express the many producers who grow and vinify it. Many of the brands I have tasted stateside are major players in the South African wine market with a couple of small, artisan producers thrown in there. Most of the other varietals that the producers made that I tasted I like, but when Pinotage comes out, I cringe. I didn't always have a blind hatred for the grape, I wanted to try one that I liked, I wanted to prove my colleagues wrong, but I always come up with the same result.

The closest example I have found to palatable Pinotage is the Robertson Winery. It's super juicy and fruit forward and many of the earth tones (rubber band, tar, etc) are overpowered. So you could say that the only Pinotage I like tastes very little like Pinotage. It would be like drinking Mark West Pinot Noir because you like Pinot Noir, oh no he didn't! (Mark West Pinot Noir is likely 25% Syrah or something masking the low quality Pinot Noir grapes harvested to make this big seller. I'm not saying Mark West Pinot Noir isn't fine, it just isn't Pinot Noir, the grape is too light and the 25% "something else" masks the Pinot characteristics).

So to sum it all up, I am not a fan of Pinotage, but I would like to be. I like South African wines, I think there are some really cool wines being produced there, especially in Stellenbosch. I don't want to hear your Pinotage suggestions that I should try. I don't want to hear them not because I'm stubborn, but because I don't want to spend another penny tasting it. And I don't want to ruin another night brushing my teeth over and over again to get the taste out of my mouth. If you're confident of your suggestion send it out to me and I will taste it. If I like it, I will buy it from you.

For the Pinotage lovers of the world I say, I am sorry. But I have some great news! There will be plenty left over for you because I won't drink my share. Until next time thanks for reading and if you haven't heard Cru Wine Online has launched their full service website. Visit our website for a 7 day FREE trial to check out all the resources and fun we have.

Salut,
Nicholas Barth

Certified Sommelier

Wine Director

Cru Wine Online

Cru of 1000

With a week of being live under our belt we feel pretty good. It has been fun, chaotic and challenging, in no particular order. I got in to wine because I wasn't good with technology, now I find myself surrounded by it. I love writing scripts and being on camera, I would argue I am actually not too bad at it, but I can barely get the printer to do a double sided copy let alone shoot, edit and upload videos. Enter J.C.

J.C. is our Chief Technology Officer, he makes sure that everything works, even when it shouldn't. He is like a babysitter for binary numbers, when they get out of line he is so patient with them. He listens, understands and coaxes them in to doing what he wants. Not like me, I throw stuff and yell. And when I break it because I threw it, I yell more.

We have all logged a lot of hours trying to make this dream a reality. From JC's technology battles to Andy's Ecommerce project and my content, on-air, and production management, we are firing on all cylinders. The fun comes at the end of the day when we crack a bottle and laugh. The Chaos comes during the day when we are trying to complete tasks, and the challenge comes when we fall just short of a goal for the day.

We have a great team, and we have a lot of support. The people who stand behind us mean the world to us. We have all taken a risk and are believe in what we are doing. I jokingly tell my wife "this will make a good book some day." But to be quite honest, it really will. We are three guys working 70 hour weeks to launch a product that is in completely uncharted waters. We have faith that our passion and vision are in need.

With all of that being said we can't do it with out all of you. We need your help in spreading the news. We have put together a campaign called 'Cru of 1000'. We are trying to get 1000 friends to join the Cru Facebook page by May 1st. We realize it is an aggressive goal but we have such a great support network we know we can do it with everyone's help. If you haven't joined our Cru Wine Specialists Facebook page please do so. If you have we simply ask you to spread the word and let everyone know we would love their support too.

Thank you to everyone for following us, and for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about visit www.cruwineonline.com to see how we are revolutionizing the wine industry.
Until next Monday...Salut!

Nicholas Barth
Certified Sommelier
Wine Director
Cru Wine Online

All Cognac is Brandy, but not all Cognac is created equal

Cru Wine Specialists hosted one of the most amazing tastings in our history last Tuesday, January 19th. Cru & the Veranda Lounge Wine Bar in downtown St. Cloud teamed up to bring Central Minnesota a unique and entertaining tasting event.
Aaron Davis a regional sales rep from J & M Heritage who imports the fabulous Bache-Gabrielsen (pronounced Bach-a like from the ending of Chewbacca) Cognac joined us at the Veranda for Spirits with a lot of spirit. Arron and I did a tandem tasting as we educated and entertained the audience with fabulous Cognac.
Okay, before we get too far in lets just clear up a couple of things. Cognac is simply Brandy from the Cognac region of France. Just like Champagne is sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Brandy is made from wine. The grapes are picked, fermented and turned in to wine. The wine is then distilled, in Cognac's case in a more difficult and less predictable Pot Still, and aged in oak barrels to become the spirit we know as Cognac. It takes 9 liters of raw wine to make one bottle of Cognac.
Okay, now that you know what Cognac is lets talk about why I like Bache some much. When the representative from Bache first approached me I was utterly intrigued. As buyer for the Veranda Lounge I pride myself in finding quality, unique products at a fair price. Bache-Gabrielsen was all that and more. One of the first points that drew me to it was its position in the market. Bache is not owned by some large parent company. It is a fourth generation, family owned producer. It is next to impossible to find a product here in the US that is not under some large conglomerate umbrella. Courvoisier, Hennessy and Martell make up the majority of the Cognac market share in the US and are all owned by large spirit, beer & wine companies. Just go to your local liquor store and check out the shelves, those three will be the main Cognacs distributed. Bache on the other hand is less common in the market, but significantly more quality in some cases.
One of the main reasons that I really like Bache is that they adulterate their Cognacs less, and sometimes not at all. It is legal for Cognac producers to add Carmel Color to their product before they bottle it. Cognac (or all Brandy for that matter) comes out of the still as a clear liquid. It is after aging in oak barrel and or adding Carmel Coloring that the spirit turns brown. If you were to look at a Bache 3 Kors (also known as VS - Very Special) versus a Courvoisier VS you would see a remarkable difference. The Bache would be lighter in color, still brown but more tan or natural almond color. The Courvoisier on the other hand would be almost a roasted almond or dark tawny color.
When a spirit is a darker brown you can tell that it has either been aged for a long time, or there has been a lot of color added. There are different degrees of age requirements in the Cognac region of France (which do not apply to the Brandy produced in the US - be advised). You may have seen captial letters on the bottle and wondered what they meant. VS (Very Special) means the Cognac has been aged for a minimum of 2 years (the youngest spirit in the blend is 2 years old). VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) means that the spirit has been aged for a minimum of 4 years. Finally XO (Extra Old) means the spirit has been aged for a minimum of 6 years.
Going back to the VS or 3 Kors by Bache and the VS by Courvoisier, you can tell just by looking at them the Bache has had less coloring added. Bache also has a line of completely unadulterated Cognacs known at their Natur & Eleganse line. This is perfect for the Bourbon or Scotch drinkers who have never cared for Brandy or more importantly Cognac. Their VSOP really seemed to appeal to the Bourbon drinkers in the audience while the XO was what we described as a "Scotch Man's Cognac".
Beyond the fact that Bache is family owned and they use less adulteration I simply love the flavors. You can choose from their more traditional label (3 Kors, VSOP, XO Fine Champagne & XO Grand Champagne) or from their Natur & Eleganse line (VSOP & XO). Both have remarkable flavor and are aged longer than the required minimum. For example with there traditional XO Grand Champagne, the law states that it only needs to be aged for 6 years, yet they have aged theirs for 50. This is not just limited to their XO, their entire line is aged beyond the minimum. That is a commitment to quality if you ask me.
Bache is not available in many markets and for that I am sad. Go to your retailer and ask for it. When they say they have no idea what it is tell them it is imported by J & M Heritage (Click Here) out of the Midwest. Maybe that will provoke them enough to give the boys a call.
As you may know I take no money or am in no way affiliated with any of the wines or spirits I write or talk about. I firmly believe that this Cognac is outstanding and I would love to see it give the larger companies a run for their money. I am a gambler and I love the underdog, especially when it's better!