Jon
Welcome and a fine first post.
Wine vocabulary can be genuinely scary, and the same for many when a wine list is thrust upon them to make a choice. It’s really sad how wine ended up this way, but it’s how it is, so it’s up to each of us to help others realise it’s far simpler when you recognise you’ll never know everything, so instead we should recognise what we do know and have an open mind to new experiences.
For the restaurant thing, if someone has a mobile phone on them, get them to take a photo. As well as having something to look up afterwards, there is software out there that will identify most wines from a photo of the label. Hopefully someone will chime in with the app(s) that do this.
Nebbiolo wines, especially the bigger wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco can be a tough challenge to start with. The Nebbiolo d’Alba sounds like it was all about the fruit, made in a style that avoided drying (and perhaps bitter) tannins from grape skin & pips. The tannins in Barolo/Barbaresco are part of extracting ‘more’ from the grapes, and (blimey I’m oversimplifying here!) that style of winemaking makes wines that often last longer. Eventually those tannins melt away - a decade or three later, hopefully leaving something that should still resemble the original wines, but now is more delicate and allows different flavours and aromas to emerge. The nebbiolo probably has a reasonably quick fermentation in a stainless steel tank and thus is closer to the flavour of the fruit itself. It won’t last decades but would be the choice of Italians to drink young, pretty much always with food.
As such I reckon you’re very fairly describing your feelings - the Nebbiolo was more fun to drink young than a Barbaresco, not least because the Barbaresco may have dried your mouth out - hardly good for refreshment! If you ever see an old Barolo or Barbaresco, then give it a try. Not all emerge healthy from their slumber, but when they emerge well, they can be quietly breathtaking, not bold or brash, but interesting and enticing.
Garnacha/Grenache (plus other names in other countries) is widely grown, so you’ll see US versions, Aussie versions etc. etc. but in addition many wines have it in their blend. The ironic thing is that Grenache often forms a large proportion of Cotes du Rhone wines and is also commonly found in Chateauneuf du Pape… but before you start doubting your palate, relax. The different blends, growing conditions and winemaking can make two wines taste radically different when grown with the same grape!
Wines to go for / Ask a wine store / sommelier for?
At this stage it sounds like you prefer nice bright fruit and want to drink it now, so nothing overly structured. From the wines you’ve liked I don’t think you’re at all stressed about ‘refreshing’ acidity, so it allows you to trade up from wines where acidity is kept low to make them softer (but to many palates - duller as a result). If you agree with that description, then by all means share it with someone in a wine shop / restaurant and if they are enthusiastic / knowledgeable, it should help them come up with a few options. If you think of anything else, or change your mind, just share those views with that person.
Wines to recommend?
- US & Aussie Rhone grape blends (sometimes labelled GSM for Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre) which have a long history and may make a lovely full circle to those Rhone wines, because the same grape mix may shine for you in their hands, because they have often been better at showcasing the fruit
- Primitivo/Zinfandel. Whilst the alcohol can get silly at times, the brightness/intensity of the fruit is a calling card for wines made from this grape. A huge US tradition and many variations on the theme. The aficionados here will be able to suggest loads
- Mount Etna reds (from Sicily) especially Frappato which can be a bundle of joyous refreshing fruit. This area has gone from obscurity 10 years ago to really quite trendy now, so you might just see a few around.
- Dolcetto, also from Italy. The name is effectively ‘little sweet one’ and the grapes are certainly juicy sweet. Almost all should be drunk young and adorn many everyday dining tables in Italy.
- Beaujolais. Not the gimmicky nouveau, but a Beaujolais villages or better still one from one of ten (I think) villages allowed their own name - confusingly meaning it’s not obvious what it is. Fleurie, Julienas, Moulin a vent, St Amour, Morgon, Brouilly, Chiroubles and Chenas are ones I can remember off the top of my head. These wines will be lighter than most, but a good village wine has surprisingly good staying power.
- Mencia from Spain, not a grape I know an awful lot about, but a recent bottle seems like it might have been right in the style you’ve enjoyed
- Rioja Crianza which is typically younger & brighter than the oakier reserva and Gran riserva Rioja wines. The Spanish drink loads (and of ‘Joven’ Rioja which we rarely see) whilst us foreigners tend to buy the riservas and gran riservas. However one Gran Riserva I will suggest keeping an eye out for is the 2001 Faustino I Gran Riserva. It has genuinely massive production scale and there is probably stacks still around in many mainstream stores. It won some wine award (avoid believing the hype of wine awards/points and your palate will thank you and reward you for believing in it). Despite that, it’s a wonderfully affordable insight into what more austere wines can end up like. It’s relatively light in body, still with decent fruit, not much oak flavour, and the fruit has started to show how it changes flavour with ageing. I reckon it would be ~ $20 in the US market (it’s £12-16 in the UK). The 2004 is the most recent vintage, and I see broadly reasonable notes, but the 2001 has pretty consistently been a good example of ‘why’ some of us like ageing wines.
I hope this gives a few useful leads, and some confidence to ask what you’re asking which is very much the right questions.
Finally, don’t let anyone tell you wine A is better than wine B, or that you shouldn’t like what you like. Your own palate is the best palate in the world for judging the wines you like to drink.
regards
Ian
p.s. if you ever want to explore ways to describe wine, I’d suggest two good tools. The first is free, a tasting sheet devised by an Aussie called Ric Einstein who used to run a website under the pseudonym TORB (the other red bigot - his mate Brian was called Red Bigot). His tour diaries of visiting Aussie wine regions are an absolute hoot (as well as being informative). Sadly TORB’s site has gone but the tasting sheet was basically a multiple choice affair, just circle what you think matches the wine and it helps build up a ‘wine vocabulary’ in the process. I’ve uploaded a copy I took a few years ago - a shame to see it lost
Tasting sheet - generic reds.pdf (7.43 KB)
The other resource is a book called ‘Winetasting’ by Simon Schuster. It’s nicely written but well structured, explaining why stuff tastes like it does and how to recognise certain familiar aromas / tastes.