Red Wine Basics: Syrah or Shiraz

Cluster of Syrah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Origins
Syrah is a red wine grape variety that is thought to have originated in the Rhone region of France. There are several legends as to the origins of Syrah, but insufficient documentation and proof to support these stories render most of them sufficiently false, and most agree that France is likely its native home. In France, other parts of Europe, much of South America, New Zealand and most of the U.S., this grape is known as Syrah. In Australia, parts of South Africa and Canada, it is typically known as Shiraz. Same grape, different name.

Common Varietals and Blends
Syrah is used to make both varietals and blends. Probably its best-known varietal form is the Hermitage, produced in Northern Rhone. Australia also produces Shiraz varietals. Also in Australia, it is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to create a Shiraz-Cabernet or blended with Grenache to create GSM. Syrah is also often blended with a small amount of Viognier, a white grape variety, to create the popular Cote-Rotie of Northern Rhone. In the Southern Rhone, Syrah is blended with Grenache or Mourvedre to make Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Ageability

Italian Syrah wine from Sicily (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Syrah is a powerful and flavorful, full-bodied wine that exhibits the aromas of violets, berries, espresso and black pepper. Syrah is well suited to aging, and will take on the aromas of leather, truffles, plums and spices as it ages. A stout Hermitage should age over ten years before it relaxes into its full potential. Syrah brings to its blending partners this terrific ageability.

Flavor Profile
Its small clusters and berries produce a very dark juice that packs a flavor and tannin punch. Flavors of blackberry, black raspberry, plum, bell pepper, clove, licorice, dark chocolate and smoked meat are often detected. Syrah flavors are dependent on growing and processing procedures, but it often carries minerally flavors that blend and balance the fruitier Grenache, a common Syrah blending partner. Pair Syrah with grilled meats and vegetables, flavorful red meats and stews.

This concludes my exploration of Syrah (Shiraz). Join me next time for a look at Tannat, the national grape of Uruguay.

Related articles

• Grapes of the Rhone Valley: Syrah

40th Anniversary Gift Ideas

Gladiolus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Traditional: Ruby
Contemporary: Ruby
Flower: Nasturtium and Gladiolus

The 40th anniversary is the ruby anniversary. In legend and lore, rubies are thought to possess an internal, eternal flame. Forty years in the making, the glow in your relationship is apparent. Passionate ties bind many couples together in the beginning and flames often turn to a warm steady glow as years go by. Gifts of ruby are meant to symbolize the glowing fire, in its many forms, shared between you during your many years together. Jewelry is the most common gift exchanged, though you may choose to simply exchange gifts that are ruby red in color to expand the available selection of gifts.

Nasturtiums are all about the flower power. This simple and lovely bloom represents victory in battle, and forty years of marriage can certainly be considered a victory! On the more sentimental side of symbolism, the gladiolus represents generosity, sincerity, remembrance, infatuation, beauty and admiration. Both the gladiolus and the nasturtium are available in ruby red, so mix your anniversary symbols for an extra special way to say I love you.

Congratulations on forty years together. This year, celebrate the steady flame of your love with ruby red expressions of sentiment. Join me next time for year 41.

Red Wine Basics: Sangiovese

Sangiovese grapes in a vineyard of Montalcino, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An Italian Grape Variety
Sangiovese is a red Italian grape variety most notably grown in Tuscany. It is perhaps best known as the main component of Chianti and is also a major component in many Super Tuscan blends. Super Tuscans allow vintners more flexibility in creating blends outside of the restrictive rules governing the production of Chianti. Sangiovese is often a primary component in these blends, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah.

Flavor Profile
Sangiovese varietals are also produced, exhibiting the flavors of strawberry, cherry, cinnamon and herbs with an elegant to bitter finish. Aged Sangiovese can take on oaky, tarry flavors with hints of vanilla and deeper darker fruit flavors of plum. The wine is high in acidity and tannins, with medium to full body.

Vinticulture
Sangiovese vines thrive in soils rich in limestone. They require a long growing season to develop richness and body. The grape also benefits from lower yields, with higher yields depleting some of the grape’s characteristic color and producing grapes with overly high acidity. Sangiovese is most strongly associated with Italy, but has moved to other countries including Argentina, France, Australia and the United States.

Weaknesses
The grape is naturally very light in color and high in acidity and tannins. To combat some of the grape’s weaknesses, vintners employ different techniques including longer maceration periods, extensive oak treatment, and adjusted temperature and duration of fermentation. The variety is often blended with other wines to fill in the gaps in the grape’s character. Texture and body are added by blending with more robust grape varieties.

Viento Sangiovese (Photo credit: 427)

Pairing
Lighter Sangiovese wines can be aged between 3 and 7 years. The heavier, more robust wines can be aged upwards of a decade or more, with the very best having a life closer to 20 years. Pair a Sangiovese with tomato-based pizza sauces and pastas, steak and stews. Stronger varietals and blends do well with blander dishes such as meatloaf or roast chicken. Herbaceous hints in the wine pair well with basil, sage and thyme. Wines that have taken on plenty of oaky character pair well with grilled and smoked foods.

This completes my exploration of Sangiovese. Join me next time for a look at Syrah, or perhaps Shiraz?

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• Napa Valley Sangiovese: An Appreciation

39th Anniversary Gift Ideas

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Traditional: No traditional 39th anniversary gift
Contemporary: Lace
Flower: No 39th anniversary flower

This year is all about lace. There are plenty of lace gift ideas to choose from ranging from home décor items such as curtains or table runners to clothing and lingerie. A lace anniversary quilt would make a lovely addition to your bedroom, or consider items that are inspired by the delicacy of lace such as jewelry, lace patterned stemware, etc.

Lace makes a beautiful and delicate representation of a relationship 39 years in the making with threads of all sorts sewn together in a pattern that is unique to your marriage. Today, celebrate the intricate end product of all your hard work and enjoy some rest and relaxation in the company of your best friend! Join me next time for year 40.

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• Feelin' Lacy

Mother's Day 2013: Gift Suggestions and Ideas

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Don’t forget to thank Mom for her many contributions to your life, including giving it to you! All moms deserve a little TLC on this special day, so be sure that she receives something that she will adore. At Arttowngifts.com we have a large selection of Mother’s Day gifts for moms of all personalities.

For the mom who loves to be pampered, we have spa and aromatherapy baskets like the Mother’s Day Luxury Spa Experience Basket filled with rejuvenating bath spa products to soothe and energize. Find a wide range of spa baskets to choose from!

We also offer a huge selection of Personalized Gifts from picture frames to coffee mugs for a thoughtful way to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day. Imprint an item with a message to let her know that she is in your heart and on your mind!

If Mom has a sweet tooth, try sending her one of our gourmet bakery products to tantalize her taste buds. This adorable Mother’s Day Chocolate Dipped Oreo Cookies Box is a very sweet way to celebrate Mom with springtime sprinkles, hearts and a lovely gift box tied with a ribbon. If you’re lucky, she just might share!

And for the mother who loves beautiful things, we have a large collection of Gold Roses sure to delight her eyes. Real roses are preserved with lacquer and trimmed in your choice of gold or platinum for a truly stunning gift. We offer roses in a wide array of colors, so you are sure to find something just for her.

However you choose to celebrate Mom, here’s hoping her day is especially sweet and memorable this year. We would love to help you make her smile, so stop by and check out our fun selection of Mom gifts to delight and surprise one very important lady on Mother’s Day 2013.

38th Anniversary Gift Ideas

Traditional: No traditional 38th anniversary gift
Contemporary: Beryl or Tourmaline
Flower: No 38th anniversary flower

Beryl and tourmaline are gemstones that come in a very wide range of colors. Perhaps the best known varieties of beryl are emeralds and aquamarines. Beryl comes in other colors including pink, red and gold. Pure beryl is actually colorless, but various impurities give beryl gems their colors.

Tourmaline gem colors are so various that no gem is exactly alike. The word tourmaline comes from the Singhalese words tura mali which translate as stone with mixed colors. A single gem can present two or more colors, and these colors shift with changes in natural and artificial light. Tourmaline is said to make for firm and long-lasting romantic relationships and friendships.

This Perfect Balance Necklace from Arttowngifts.com features a gemstone in your choice of either aquamarine or tourmaline for the perfect 38th anniversary gift! Dress up date night with a gift for your wife that is both unique and stylish. If you are looking for a travel suggestion, try the Emerald Isle this year. Trade a gemstone for the lush green hues of Ireland and get away from the hustle and bustle of your daily life for the slower, old-world charm of this faraway isle.

Congratulations on 38 years of marriage. Here’s wishing you a fantastic celebration! Join me next time for year 39.

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• Tourmalines
• Rare gemstones: Red Beryl

Red Wine Basics: Pinot Noir

An Expressive and Popular Choice

Pinot Noir (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pinot Noir is a black grape variety most strongly associated with the Burgundy region of France. The grape’s popularity has exploded throughout the world in recent years despite the difficulty in cultivating and vinifying this finicky grape. Pinot Noir wines are very expressive and represent their growth regions well, being very sensitive to terrain. Pinot Noirs are also very reflective of the method by which they were created, with traditional methods creating very different wines from those produced by modern methods often employed by many New World regions such as California, Oregon and New Zealand.

Varying Styles
The wine expresses a wide range of bouquets, flavors and textures, testing the ability of wine tasters everywhere. The wine also appeals to a very wide range of wine drinkers, with some styles, especially Burgundy styles, appealing to those who prefer more tannic structure. Other styles appeal to the palette that enjoys a light fruitiness, with more modern vinification methods leaning toward this style.

Supply and Demand
The very broad appeal of Pinot Noir has created a demand somewhat in excess of its supply, making a bottle of Pinot Noir a bit more expensive, typically. The grape is very difficult to grow, and is not as widely cultivated as some other varieties, but this hasn’t stopped wine collectors and enthusiasts from enjoying as much of it as possible! The thin-skinned grape is susceptible to disease in both the bunch and vine, extremely sensitive to wind, frost, crop yield, soil types, pruning techniques and fermentation method. Despite the many adversities faced by growers, the grape continues to gain popularity among vintners and wine enthusiasts alike.

Flavor Profile

Testarossa Pinot Noir (Photo credit: ilmungo)

In a very general sense, Pinot Noirs exhibit the flavors of red and black berries, with stronger, more traditional styles offering earthy qualities such as herbs, mushrooms, leather, game and warm spices including cinnamon, clove and smoky tobacco. The lighter tannic structure of more modern Pinot Noir wines lessens their aging potential, though top-notch Burgundies can be aged up to several decades. For most, between five and ten years is what one can expect to get out of Pinot Noir.

Varietals and More
Pinot Noir is also used in the production of champagne, rosès and vin gris, which are white wines made from red grapes. The skins of the grape have very little color producing matter in them, so the juice is basically colorless, making it a good candidate for a light blush or champagne. Varietals are typically described as garnet-colored, and are generally much lighter in color as compared to other red wines.

Pairing
Pinot Noir is among the most versatile food wines out there, with silky tannins and light fruitiness that makes pairing easy. Enjoy with just about any meat from Pork to wild game, cheese, chocolate, mushrooms and fresh herbs. You can find a Pinot Noir in many different styles from stronger styles suited to those who prefer harsher red wines to fruitier styles, so choose a style to match your meal!

This completes my exploration of Pinot Noir. Join me next time for a look at Sangiovese, an Italian red grape variety.

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Collegiate Architectural Name Frames: Putting School Spirit on Display

Arttowngifts.com is proud to introduce our newest product, the Framed Collegiate Architectural Elements Print. Collegiate prints feature the names of schools throughout the country, with over 100 universities and colleges to offer! Each school name is spelled out with photo prints of actual iconic structures from around each individual campus. The prints are personalized with a name, graduation date and phrase of your choosing and framed with a wooden frame and glass inset for a classy presentation.

Our Collegiate Prints make an ideal graduation gift for college grads and make a professional and eye-catching addition to an office, study or den. Also perfect for a boss, teacher or the recipient of a promotion, these attractive prints are sure to be enjoyed by all who receive them. Hang some school spirit on the wall with an Architectural Elements Collegiate Print. Click to view our entire collection of Collegiate Framed Prints.

37th Anniversary Gift Ideas

Traditional: No traditional 37th anniversary gift
Contemporary: Alabaster
Flower: No 37th anniversary flower

Alabaster bowls from ancient Egypt (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Alabaster is a smooth, white or cream colored stone that has long been used to create beautiful ornamental items. The stone is soft and easy to carve, making it a popular medium for artists seeking to make unique and decorative pieces of art. The stone also has ancient ties. Alabaster creations have been discovered which date back as far as 3500 B.C.! For those of you with a spouse that loves to fill your home with stone artwork and other interesting creations, this year is sure to put you on their good side.

Another option, as always, is to travel; and alabaster gives you plenty of options. Alabaster is deposited and quarried throughout the world. England, Belgium, India, Turkey, Egypt the U.S., Italy and Spain each have alabaster deposits, among many others. Egypt has very strong ancient connections to alabaster. The stone was used by the pharaohs for household items, ritual objects, sarcophagi and the canopic jars and chests that were designed to hold their removed internal organs upon mummification! Needless to say, you will have plenty of interesting places to choose from if you decide to plan a trip to a place with connections to alabaster.

Whether staying at home or traveling the world, I hope that you enjoy your 37th anniversary. Congratulations on 37 years of memories! Join me next time for year 38.

Red Wine Basics: Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Nebbiolo Namesake
Nebbiolo is a red grape variety most often associated with the Piedmont region of Italy. There are several theories on the grape’s name. Many think that it is derived from the Italian Nebbia, meaning fog, because of the heavy mist that settles over the region in early October during the Nebbiolo harvest. It may also refer to the fog-like film that coats Nebbiolo skins as the grapes mature. Nebbiolo may also be derived from the word nobile, meaning noble in Italian. By whatever means its namesake was bestowed, Nebbiolo is certainly a noble grape, requiring a skilled vintner, very particular growing conditions and a lot of patience.

History
Nebbiolo began to gain notoriety during the 18th century as the British looked for alternatives to Bordeaux due to ongoing political disagreements with France. However, no simple transport route could be established between Piedmont and London, making it less popular than the already well-established favorites such as Bordeaux. The 19th century phylloxera outbreak nearly wiped out Nebbiolo plantings in Italy, and Barbera was more widely replanted afterwards, being more hardy and resistant than the fickle Nebbiolo. Today, it is very sparingly planted, even in Piedmont.

A Finicky Grape

Italian wine region of Piedmont (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nebbiolo is extremely picky about its growing conditions, preferring good drainage and a long growing season. Plenty of sunshine and warmth is necessary for the grape to develop enough sugar and fruit flavors to balance its high acidity and tannin levels. The grape is first to flower and last to ripen, requiring a very dry autumn. Nebbiolo particularly suited to the Piedmont region, especially the Barolo and Barbaresco zones, where the growing conditions are prime. Many New World vintners struggle with growing Nebbiolo because of its very particular requirements, though it is experimented with in California, Oregon, Washington, Argentina, Mexico and Australia, among others.

Varietals and Blends
Each region produces very distinctive wines, and even the slight difference in elevation between the Barolo and Barbaresco zones produces different flavors and aromas. In these zones, wine regulations require only 100% Nebbiolo varietals, though the variety can benefit from blending because of its very tough tannins. Some regions permit blending with certain varieties such as Barbera and even some white varieties.

Traditional vs Modern Vinification Processes
Due to the distinctive growing conditions and high astringency of the grapes, Nebbiolo winemaking is a careful process. More traditional vinification processes lead to heavier, stronger wines requiring much more aging time. The more traditional method requires fermentation during cooler temperatures, leading to a longer maceration period and higher temperatures early on in the fermentation process, which can reduce aroma and flavor potential. Tough tannins must be softened with at least five years of oak aging. The more modern approach is to shorten maceration and cool down fermentation to preserve flavors and aromas. During the end of fermentation, temperatures are raised to soften the tannins creating wines that need only a couple of years of aging. More modern vintners often choose to age the wine in new oak barrels which impart the wine with the flavor of vanilla, though this method may mask the hints of rose that are typical of Nebbiolo wines.

Barolo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Nebbiolo Profile
Aromas and flavors associated with Nebbiolo wines include dried fruit, damson, leather, licorice, spice, herbs and tar. Younger wines exhibit the aromas of tar and roses, while more mature wines demonstrate a more complex profile of roses, violets, tar, herbs, cherries, raspberries, truffles, tobacco and prunes. A stout bottle of Nebbiolo may be aged upwards of 30 years. Young wines are ruby red, while aged Nebbiolo turns to a brick orange.

Pairing
Pair a Nebbiolo with strong, flavor-rich meats and cheeses. Spicy foods and well-aged cheeses such as parmesan and asiago are perfect. The strong flavors associated with this wine require foods that pack a flavor punch, so pairing with heavier, well-seasoned meals is ideal.

This concludes my exploration of Nebbiolo. Join me next time for a look at Pinot Noir.

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• Red Wine Basics: Mourvedre