Hello everyone!
I want you lovely Substackers to know me better. I could tell you about my favorite wine regions, my “Jesus” wine, or why I love wine. Instead, I want you to know me through the wines that best match my personality. We’ll share a glass of one or all of these if we meet in person.
Gewürztraminer
This is such an appropriate wine to start with as it was the one that got me into wine after drinking all of the Barefoot Moscato and Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon in college.
Gewürztraminer is a medium-to-full-bodied grape primarily grown in Alsace, France. When you first smell Gewürztraminer, you think you’ve just passed by the Macy’s perfume department because the wine is floral with a “sweet” aroma reminiscent of Juicy Fruit. You feel you may not want to drink it. Then you take the first sip.
The first sip is filled with lychee juice, ripe pineapple skin, and pink grapefruit to balance the strong floral aromas. The sips after that showcase the Gewürztraminer’s subtle minerality and baking and exotic spice flavors such as ginger, clove, cardamom, and saffron. Gewürztraminer’s palate gives you the “oh, this wine is so much cooler than I thought vibes” that you want to drink more.
While I don’t have the “in-your-face” vibes when you first meet me like Gewürztraminer, I have Gewürztraminer’s complex cool attributes. I have a lot to offer like Gewürztraminer–which makes me enjoyable to be around. Additionally, my family is originally from a country with tropical vibes and jasmine flowers (the Philippines to be exact); and Gewürztraminer’s key blind tasting markers are tropical fruit (such as lychee and pineapple fruit cocktail) and flowers (such as jasmine and roses). I guess I was always meant to love this wine.
Some of my favorite Gewürztraminer producers include:
Zind-Humbrecht: This is such a classic Alsatian producer of Gewürztraminer that I would probably be run out of the wine community if I didn’t mention them.
Castello di Amorosa: I have a soft spot for this Anderson Valley, California producer. This winery is where I got my first sip of Gewürztraminer and fell in love with wine. It’s fruitier than Alsatian Gewürztraminer but still has a dry finish to balance that ripeness of fruit.
Elena Walch: The Italian Alps have a cool continental climate in which Gewürztraminer thrives in the area and has a slightly brighter acidity. Elena Walch’s Gewürztraminer is a little more aromatically subdued and mineral-driven than Alsatian and American ones.
Barolo
A wine as renowned as Barolo needs very little background explanation. Barolo has a ton of acid and tannin. Many wine professionals recommend you enjoy Barolo about 10-15 years after its stated vintage because the tannins are too astringent when you drink it early. If you do want to drink Barolo young, you should decant it for more than two hours. Barolo gets better with age (you can argue all wines do but one of the best ones is Barolo). Barolo has so much complexity with red fruit (particularly red and black cherries, raspberries, and pomegranate), truffle, rose brush, tobacco, black leather, clove, and so many other aromas and flavors that would make this the longest-tasting note of Barolo ever.
I’m very rough around the edges. I’m all business. I keep people at arm's length until I feel like I know you well enough to open up to you. I’m getting better with age. I’m Barolo. We'll be great friends after a glass or two or three of young or mature Barolo.
Some of my favorite Barolo producers include:
Giacomo Conterno: Giacomo Conterno established his winery in 1900. He is best known for his Monfortino bottling–a wine made with traditional techniques (i.e. long skin macerations and aged in large botti). Roberto, Giacomo’s grandson, continues Giacomo’s and Giovanni’s (Giacomo’s son and Roberto’s father) legacy of making long-lived Barolos.
Paolo Scavino: More of a modern producer (i.e. shorter skin macerations in stainless steel tanks and aged in new French barrique barrels before being transferred to large botti), Paolo Scavino makes single-vineyard Barolos that are very indicative of their terroir. The estate was the first to make single-vineyard Barolos. Enrico’s daughters, Enrica and Elisa, now run the estate.
Rivetto: I discovered this producer when I went to Barolo last November. I had never heard of this producer before that trip. Enrico Rivetto, who is first and foremost a farmer, incorporates organic/biodynamic farming and natural winemaking into producing his Barolos. The wines are not only age-worthy but also super clean and balanced so that they can be enjoyed either young or aged.
Madeira
Madeira is a fascinating sweet wine as it undergoes multiple processes to become a wonderful wine. After fortification, Madeira is heated either through estufagem (a process where stainless steel vats warm the wine by circulating hot water through coils in the tank) or canteiro (a process where wine is aged in casks for at least two years in hot lodge attics). Madeira also has many styles and can either be a blend of multi-vintages or have a declared vintage. Regardless of what heating process and/or style it is made, Madeira has complex aromas and flavors of roasted nuts, caramelized apricot compote, and burnt orange peels.
Like Madeira, I have gone through–and still going through–so many growth processes to become the person that I am. I am complex, intellectual, full of surprises, and enjoyable to be around. Who knows what other life experiences I’ll experience, but I know they will result in more positive personality traits.
Some of my favorite Madeiras include:
Broadbent Rainwater: This is a lighter, drier style of Madeira that goes well with brownies or a coffee-rubbed ribeye and has the signature aromas of toffee and dried peaches. It is a lighter style because the barrels used for aging the barrels absorbed the rain, and the rain supposedly “diluted” the resulting wine.
Henriques & Henriques 10-Year Verdelho: This is a more classic style of Madeira that’s medium-to-full-bodied, amber-colored, and has a touch of smoky herbaceousness.
Rare Wine Co.’s New York Malmsey: This is the richest and sweetest style of Madeira. It’s fun to see a Madeira brand dedicated to acknowledging the wine’s ties to American history.
So that’s me in a nutshell. Feel free to see my previous writings and additional work history and connect with me on my portfolio here or read more on my “about” page.