Nalley Richard - FOOD & WINE 2017 Wine Guide Americas 500 Best Wineries

FOOD & WINE

Wine Guide

2017

by the Editors of Food & Wine and Richard Nalley

Contents

Wine Terms

You wont find much fussy wine jargon in this guide, but some of the terms commonly used to describe the taste of wine might be unfamiliar or used in an unfamiliar way. References in tasting notes to flavors and textures other than grape are meant to serve as analogies: All the wines in this guide are made from grapes, but grapes have the ability to suggest the flavors of other fruits, herbs or minerals. Heres a mini glossary to help you become comfortable with the language of wine.

ACIDITY The tart, tangy or zesty sensations in wine. Ideally, acidity brightens a wines flavors as a squeeze of lemon brightens fish. Wines lacking acidity taste flabby.

AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREA (AVA) Most US labels carry an AVA, showing the legally defined region from which the wine comes. Unlike many European designations, AVAs dont stipulate how a wine must be produced, which grapes may be used or the maximum yields allowed per vineyard. Rather, US law dictates that at least 85 percent of the grapes in a wine labeled with an AVA must come from that region. If an AVA wine lists a vintage date, 95 percent of the fruit is required to be from that years harvest. Wines with the name of one grape, often called varietal wines, must contain 75 percent of that grape variety. Some states go beyond these requirements. Oregon, for example, mandates a higher minimum percentage for most varietal wines and for geographic designations.

APPELLATION An officially designated winegrowing region. The term is used mostly in France and the US. In Europe, a wines appellation usually reflects not only where its from but also aspects of how its made, such as vineyard yields and aging.

BALANCE The harmony between acidity, tannin, alcohol and sweetness in a wine.

BIODYNAMICS An organic, sustainable approach to farming that takes into account a farms total environment, including surrounding ecosystems and astronomical considerations, such as the phases of the moon.

BODY How heavy or thick a wine feels in the mouth. Full-bodied or heavy wines are often described as big.

CORKED Wines that taste like wet cork or newspaper are said to be corked. The cause is trichloroanisole (TCA), a contaminant sometimes transmitted by cork.

CRISP A term used to describe wines that are high in acidity.

CRU In France, a grade of vineyard (such as grand cru or premier cru ), winery (such as Bordeauxs cru bourgeois ) or village (in the Beaujolais region).

CUVE A batch of wine. A cuve can be from a single barrel or tank ( cuve in French), or a blend of different lots of wine. A Champagne houses top bottling is called a tte de cuve.

DRY A wine without perceptible sweetness. A dry wine, however, can have powerful fruit flavors. Off-dry describes a wine that has a touch of sweetness.

EARTHY An earthy wine evokes flavors such as mushrooms, leather, damp straw or even manure.

EXTRACT Essentially the minerals and other trace elements in a wine; sugar-free dry extract is everything in a wine except water, sugar, acids and alcohol. High extract often gives wine a dusty, tactile impression of density. It frequently serves to buffer, or mitigate, high alcohol or strong acidity.

FILTER/FINE Processes used to remove sediment or particulates from a wine to enhance its clarity.

FINISH The length of time a wines flavors linger on the palate. A long finish is the hallmark of a more complex wine.

FRUITY A wine with an abundance of fruit flavors is described as fruity. Such wines may give the impression of sweetness, even though theyre not actually sweet.

HERBACEOUS Depending on context, calling a wine herbaceous or herbal can be positive or negative. Wines that evoke herb flavors can be delicious. Wines with green pepper flavors are less than ideal; such wines are also referred to as vegetal.

LEES The sediment (including dead yeast cells) left over after a wines fermentation. Aging a wine on its lees ( sur lie in French) gives wine nutty flavors and a creamy texture.

MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION A secondary fermentation that some white wines and most reds go through. Its the conversion of sharp, citrusy malic acid into rich, buttery lactic acid (the same acid in milk), a process that helps to soften the wine.

MERITAGE Pronounced like heritage, this category recognizes multivariety blends, often with proprietary names, made from traditional Bordeaux grapeschiefly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in reds and Sauvignon Blanc and Smillon in whites.

MTHODE CHAMPENOISE/MTHODE TRADITIONNELLE The most traditional and costly way to make sparkling wine is by causing a second fermentation in the bottle. Thats achieved by adding sugar syrup and yeast. Only wines from the Champagne region of France that are made using this process may be labeled mthode champenoise.

MINERAL Flavors that (theoretically) reflect the minerals found in the soil in which the grapes were grown. The terms steely, flinty and chalky are also used to describe these flavors.

NOSE How a wine smells; its bouquet or aroma.

OAKY Wines that transmit the flavors of the oak barrels in which they were aged. Some oak can impart toast flavors.

OLD VINES The US government does not regulate the term old vines on labels, meaning that winemakers can define it however they like. Many of them agree that vines older than 35 years qualify as old; some believe that only vines 50 years or older make the cut.

OXIDIZED Wines that have a tarnished quality due to exposure to air are said to be oxidized. When intended, as in the case of sherry, oxidation can add fascinating dimensions to a wine. Otherwise, it can make a wine taste unappealing.

PALATE The flavors, textures and other sensations a wine gives in the mouth. The term mid-palate refers to the way these characteristics evolve with time in the mouth.

POWERFUL Wine that is full of flavor, tannin and/or alcohol.

RESERVE Another term that has no legal definition, reserve can be applied to any wine regardless of its age or how it was made; how much the designation is actually worth depends entirely on the brand.

RUSTIC Wine that is a bit rough, though often charming.

TANNIN A component of grape skins, seeds and stems, tannin is most commonly found in red wines. It imparts a puckery sensation similar to oversteeped tea. Tannin also gives a wine its structure and enables some wines to age well.

TERROIR A French term that refers to the particular attributes a wine acquires from the specific environment of a vineyardi.e., the climate, soil type, elevation and aspect.

VITIS LABRUSCA Native to North America, this hardy grape species includes such varieties as Concord and Catawba. The Vitis labrusca species has largely been supplanted in the US by European noble Vitis vinifera grapes (such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir).

Foreword

This is an exciting time for American wine. Our country has more wineries than ever before making better wines than ever before. Were not just talking about California, either, even if that state does produce a lions share of the wines we drink. In these pages youll find brilliant Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from Oregon, emphatic Cabernets and Merlots from Washington State and a plethora of wines from other regions around the US, too: the Texas High Plains, Michigans Leelanau Peninsula, the rolling horse (and grape) country of Virginia and Arizonas high desert, where Rhne varieties have found an adopted home. And, of course, California, where we do deep dives into benchmark regions like Napa Valley and Sonoma County, as well as profile up-and-coming stars from farther-flung locations like Santa Barbara County and the Anderson Valley. The end result is an impossible-to-beat collection of the 500 best wineries in the United States, with reviews and recommendations of their top bottlings. Were confident youll find that the 2017 F&W Wine Guide is an indispensable resource.