—by Averill Shepps

Just when you think you’ve seen everything, something new comes along. In this case it’s blue wine, not the Blue Nun wine that was popular in the 70’s, but blue-colored wine! Why? I suppose because it can be made. The vinification process uses both red and white grapes blended with anthrocyanin from the red grape skins and indigotine, an organic compound commonly used as a food dye.  It was first made by a Spanish company called Gik and the Italian Blumond, but they both ran afoul of the wine labelling laws.

A new company has made a blue wine and calls it Vindigo, avoiding the laws, possibly because nowhere on the label is it called wine and because it has enough alcohol to be called wine . Blumond at 7% alcohol was rejected for that reason. According to Vindigo’s Facebook page, it is made from Chardonnay grapes filtered through red grape skins for the anthrocyanin. Flavors mentioned are cherry, raspberry, blackberry and passionfruit. No mention of the food coloring. Apparently the drink is very popular in some parts of southern France, so okay, it’s a non-serious holiday wine that looks pretty in the pictures as it is a lovely color, but not one that we usually drink.

Blue wine has received press attention in such magazines as the British Decanter, as well as the American Food and Wine and Wine and Spirits. Reuters has also covered it. Let’s see where this trend leads. I’m sure the story isn’t over, and if the wine proves to be serious, PWS will have to introduce it to you.

— by Averill Shepps

I have written before but not recently, about one of my favorite wine books, Reading Between the Wines by Terry Theise. Terry is a poet and the use of language is important to him, so that the book is beautifully written.  He helps the reader to look at wine differently.

I opened the book in anticipation of this column, and the first thing I saw was, “Have you ever tried to field the question, what kind of wine do you like?”  I thought of many times when I have been asked exactly that. Pourers at wineries or wine shows ask it.  At least they have a reason; they are trying to find out what to pour for you.  I am asked it often because    people know of my serious interest in wine.  I assume they are after gems of wisdom or guidance on what to buy.  I am asked it in social situations where the asker is just making conversation. I can go on.  But my answer in each situation is different. I often answer it with “It depends” or “It varies”.

Thus, “It depends on what I am eating”.  Sometimes I just say, “French” or “European”, just to get past the awkwardness of the question.  Terry says he responded that he liked moderate wine, but while he had an idea of what he meant, the asker was flummoxed.  At a winery they expect you to answer sweet or dry.  I like my wine wet is an accurate answer to that query.  And then they ask red or white?  Again, it depends.  Sometimes I say I like good wine. T he better it is the better I like it.  We can all agree with that answer.  I would enjoy hearing any of your responses to the question.  Do let me know of any gems.

—by Averill Shepps

Your Board of Directors held its planning meeting recently, a get-together where we present and discuss ideas for tastings to be held in the coming year. It is a time where we look at general goals for PWS away from the monthly Board meetings when we have to be concerned with the business and function of the organization so that we have little time for broader discussions. Many ideas were proposed, and we did leave the meeting with a broad plan for 2019. While we have lots of ideas about possible tastings, we have to do more research to be sure they are viable and appropriate for our members and friends. We have to assure that the wines are available in the state or if they have to be special ordered, to decide whether we should have a speaker and, if so, who, and a Board member has to be willing to manage the event, etc.

Some of the events that were suggested include The Pennsylvania Wine Excellence tasting in January where we present the top scoring wines from our judging; a Bordeaux tasting in February; Portuguese wines for March, an International wine tasting for April, Loire Valley wines for May. For later in the year we would like to have a dinner and wine event, a Malbec tasting, a walk-around tasting presented by one or two importers/distributors, a Champagne tasting towards the holiday season, an educational event with HAAC’s Bob Green.

We have a couple of open spots, especially in the summer months. We often visit a local winery during that season, and we may have a summer social event or an ever popular Blue Light. Since we do have some open spots, any of you are welcome to make a suggestion of an event you would like us to hold. Contact me or any other Board member about your idea. Meanwhile you can look forward to an exciting and varied schedule of events for 2019.

—by Averill Shepps–

Just as I was thinking about writing this month’s column, a friend sent me a link to the New York Times article titled, “Why You Should Be Drinking Weird Wines’ by Jason Wilson. Did you know there are 1,368 known grape varieties? Going on with statistics, nearly 80% of the world’s wine is made from Just 20 different kinds of grapes. That means there are 1,348 lesser known grapes out there.

The author makes some powerful arguments in favor of those that are lesser known. He points out that since the middle ages Gouais Blanc was banned across Europe by various royal decrees. It was derided as a peasant grape. We have since learned through DNA testing, that Gouais Blanc was found to be the mother of around 80 modern varieties including Chardonnay. Those of you who were at the Chardonnay tasting know that Chardonnay is one of the most widely grown grapes in the world and can be found on 6 continents.

The Slow Food movement and others that support buying local foods have been giving us arguments for years that biodiversity is healthy for the world as a whole. Wilson makes those same arguments for grapes. I am encouraged to get his book and will report to you as I find it interesting.

Meanwhile, it reminds me that I have done a couple of Uncommon Grape tastings in the past, and it is time to revisit that subject. We will be having a planning meeting on June 23^rd when we will talk about our schedule for next year, and I will suggest it. If any of you has a subject that you would like us to address or a grape you would like to “visit”, let a board member know before that date.

—by Averill Shepps

Many of you may know that the PLCB Wine Specialty Stores are now allowed to do wine tastings, but for those that don’t, you need to try them… The Lemoyne store that I go to frequently has them on Fridays from 4-6 and Saturdays from 12-2. The store tasting times are listed on the PLCB site, but it is a lot easier to go to your particular store and find out when they have their samplings. The website lists all the stores in the state forcing you to wade through the entire list to find the times. If you want to know what wines are going to be served, you can ask the wine consultant to put your name on an email list to get their weekly announcements. They serve 4 wines, most often with a theme, such as a grape, a country, a holiday, etc. Each consultant chooses the wines so that they are different from store to store.

Knowing that, some enthusiasts have found they can attend more than one tasting in a 2-hour period! One creative sipper I know made it to 5 different stores in a day, all within that 2-hour period. The pours are small, one ounce of each wine, so that you should be aware that drinking all of them at 5 venues means that you drink 20 ounces which is clearly too much. You always have the option of pouring asking for a smaller pour or of pouring out a wine that you don’t’ like.

I have left to last the social aspect of the tastings. They provide an informal place to easily meet and chat with others who share your interest and passion for wines. I have likened the atmosphere to a relaxed British Pub where people go to meet their neighbors and friends. Enjoy!