Showing posts with label Sauvignon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sauvignon. Show all posts

Monday, November 13, 2023

How Do You Pronounce Touraine Oisly

The Loire Valley is known in some circles as "the Garden of France." The beautiful area has four distinct wine regions: Pays Nantais, Anjou, Saumur, and Touraine. Each region has its own grapes, appellations and styles. Along the banks of the Loire river are more than 3,000 wineries, more than 103,000 acres of vineyards, 33 appellations of origin and 1 protected geographical indication.

French wine appellations have a reputation for being difficult to pronounce, especially for beginners who don't happen to be French. But even wine lovers with a long Gallic history can have trouble handling the names of the Loire. 

That is why Loire Valley Wines has teamed up with Katie Melchior (also known as @FrenchWineTutor) to create an audio guide to 10 appellations in the Loire Valley.

Just download this infographic map, open in Adobe Acrobat and click the audio icons to hear French pronunciations of 10 appellations on the Loire Valley map, read by Katie herself.

Here is an example of a region that many people might find difficult to pronounce: Touraine Oisly - two-rain owelly. This is a subregion of the Touraine appellation, centered around the town of Oisly. The climate is semi-continental, with drier summers and colder winters than in other areas of the Touraine. The soils are sand over clay, which is the right soil for the Sauvignon grape, which is all they grow in these 50 acres of vineyards.

Raphaël Midoir carries on in his family's tradition as he walks the paths between the vines as four generations have done before him. Alcohol sits at 14.1% abv and the price is less than $20. 

This 2018 Raphaël Midoir Touraine Oisly La Plaine des Cailloux looks beautiful in the glass, with a rich golden color suggesting either age or sweetness. It is definitely not a dessert wine, so it is possible that the five years are showing in the color. However, it is said that the golden color is an identifying feature of wines from the Touraine Oisly. The palate is full of apples and flowers, while the palate has a savory presentation of citrus, apricot and a hint of grapefruit. It is definitely an old world Sauvignon Blanc, with all the elegance that implies. 


Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Friuli's Eastern Hills Make A Beautiful White Wine

 

The La Roncaia website waxes extremely poetic about Italy's Friuli Colli Orientali DOC zone.  The hills and green terraces, the verdant woods, the glittering sea on the far horizon - I'm sold.  An Italian vacation it is.

The Fantinel family has been making wine in this beautiful region - the eastern hills - for three generations, and they are not showing any signs of slowing down.  As in the rest of the general area of northeastern Italy, the soil's minerality is the key to making a great white wine.

La Roncaia's 2018 Eclisse is a blend of Sauvignon and Picolit grapes grown in the rolling hills between Tarcento and Attimis.  Picolit is usually vinified as a sweet dessert wine, and it enjoyed much popularity in the 18th century among royalties across Europe.  This wine is a Bianco IGT Venezia Giulia bottling.  The grape varieties were vinified separately in a mixture of steel tanks and French oak barrels.  Alcohol hits a reasonable 13.5% abv and it retails for around $20.

The gold-tinted wine has some frizzante - fine, tiny bubbles clinging to the glass.  The nose offers lemon, lime, apricot and a very earthy salinity.  The palate is as mineral-driven as they come - lots of wet stone and citrus at play here, along with a nice bit of acidity.  The savory aspect of this wine simply knocks me out.  Pair with shellfish, or just with crackers and a sharp cheddar.


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