— 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!

—by Averill Shepps

I have a lot of wine books, and have written about a couple of them in this column. I have another one to recommend, especially to those of you interested in French wines or who are planning a trip to France. The author is Jacqueline Friedrich; the book is titled, Wine and Food Guide to the Loire. Published in 1996, she is currently updating and expanding it. However there is comprehensive information in the original version about the history, climate, soils, grapes, area food and the winemakers. There are readable maps for each of the areas covered, the Nantais, Anjou and Saumur, Touraine, Sancerre, and the Auvergne. At last the wine labels based on geography make sense. She lists the best producers, rating them in a very understandable way: Leaders, Excellent, To Watch, Highly Recommended, Recommended, and By the Glass. She also reviews the best producers. The book has won many awards, having been named the best wine book of the year by James Beard, IACP(Julia Childe), Veuve Cliquot, Decanter magazine, and Robert Parker. Jancis Robinson has placed it on her list of favorite wine books. I’m in good company!

I carried the book on a trip to the Loire with friends about 15 years ago and used it as a guide to finding good wineries to visit. A gem of a discovery was Domaine de L’Ecu where fifth generation winemaker Guy Boussard was producing superb Muscadets. He named them after the rocks that generated the soils in which they were grown, namely Granite, Gneiss, and Orthogenesis. He proudly pointed out the horse in the vineyard, but I didn’t understand its significance until I learned a lot more about organic and biodynamic methods in the vineyard. The horse’s hoofs were easier on the soil than heavy tractors or other machinery. The first volume of Jacquelin’s update is called Earthly Delights from the Gardens of France. By the time you read this, I will have order and read it!