4 Things I Tasted This Month That Revived My Relationship With Wine
Hola amigos! I write to you from a bus whizzing down the Yucatán. Truthfully, I’m exhausted and running on 1 cappuccino from the Delta Sky Lounge and 16 oz of Tecate and about 7 pringles from the Cancún airport. Yes my children are here, who do you think gave me the Pringles? So, give me some grace on potential typos and formatting faux pas. We left Michigan this morning around 8 am, where it was a balmy -3 degrees Farenheit, for a little spirit revival at the beach this week. Is there anywhere I can find good wine in Tulum? Mexican wine? Please leave me what you know in the comments.
We’ve all heard of the 7 year itch, right? Well, I was having those feelings of withdrawal and unhappiness with wine the past year or so. It just wasn’t getting me going anymore. The childlike wonder that used to keep me explorative was gone, so with it went my enthusiasm. Perhaps a combination of back to back pregnancies, subsequent sobriety, and a new job working with (for lack of a better word) boring wines, all took its toll on the love we once shared. Strained, performative, sometimes completely void of connection. Yes, I’m still talking about my relationship with wine. I actually laughed out loud when I calculated that it has been 7 years since I fell in love with the stuff. Aha! How apropos. Something that parenthood has recently taught me is to fully embrace all of the clichés. It does go fast, they just keep getting bigger, and I love them more than words can describe. That’s all I want to say when someone asks about my kids, and it’s all true albeit all cliché.
For me the energy of 2024 has been one of great excitement and change. Unsurprisingly, I’ve tasted a few things recently that have helped revive the love that wine and I share. Once again I feel we are in it for the long haul. In no particular order, four exciting things I tasted this month:
Mari Vineyards Drollery Rosso, Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan
Obscure Italian Grapes? Check. Heirloom Apples? Check. Low-alcohol sparkling? Check. Michigan grown? Check.
This wine embodies so many different and exciting new categories that I had to pause to consider for a moment, “is it too much of a good thing?” I’m happy to say it is everything good about each of those categories and nothing more.
The wine is composed of 85% Yarlington Mills, Dabinett, and Kingston Black apples and 15% Teroldego, Nebbiolo, and Refosco (equal parts) grapes. The grapes are estate grown on Old Mission Peninsula and the apples are from a neighboring orchard. A portion of the fresh, bittersweet apple juice was fermented together with the freshly pressed grape skins after their primary wine had been pressed off. The wine aged for just less than a year in neutral oak before bottle conditioning. After resting another year, the heavy lees were disgorged and what we are left with is a perfect, slightly cloudy wine with 9% alcohol and aromas of cherry, balsamic, and robust herbs. This is what we mean when we say we want low alcohol, not some strange seltzer or mimic wine. Hoping that will reach the right people if I put it in bold.
Though I normally don’t get into the minutiae of production on this platform, it feels right with this wine because 1) looking at the bottle you would have no idea what is going on inside and 2) I want to highlight the intentionality behind making an “experimental wine”. There are styles and practices from around the world being referenced here and it’s obvious each step matters in achieving the end result. Mari recognizes this as a fringe wine for them, referencing the fantastical marginalia of traditional manuscript transcribing monks with its name Drollery.
1992 Peter Lauer Sekt Disgorged May 2021 Brut
This was easily the most surprising wines I’ve tasted recently… maybe ever.
A traditional method wine composed of 100% Riesling from the 1992 vintage grown along the hillside of Ayler Kupp in the Saar. The wine spent almost 30 years in tirage before hand riddling and disgorgement before its release to the market.
Seeing as mature Sekt isn’t something I come across with any regularity, I had little context for what to expect with this wine. Though I know Peter Lauer to produce exceptional, authentic Riesling wines; furthermore Kogod Wine Merchant is well known for selling an expertly curated collection of wines of place.
After a celebratory sabrage, we all shared a toast. As we lifted our glasses to taste, the room drew quiet and our faces panned to one another, quietly asking, “what the hell is this?!” The bouquet started intensely herbal, with fresh dill being prominent. From there it opened to vibrant citrus then deep Indian spice, most notably turmeric. I actually ran to the spice cabinet to cross reference because the aroma was so clear but hard for me to place. Toward the warm ends of each glass, dried stone fruit emerged in a lovely way.
I longed for a Cubano sandwich whose flaky bread, vibrant pickles, salty pork, and cheese we all agreed would compliment this wine perfectly. I ended up frying bacon because the wine really demanded something between sips. My husband exclaimed, “this is the best wine I’ve ever had”, which he has hilariously only stated one other time about COS Zibibbo after far too much sparkling rosé poolside in Sicily. He’s not a Riesling dork like many of us, so this wine blew his mind. Rightfully. If this wine is any indication, we are in for a surprising and incredible year. Maybe even the best one ever if you ask my husband.
Non Alcoholic Amaro Lucano
All I have time to say about this is yes. You caught me, this isn’t wine, but is the first non alcoholic product I’ve seen from a well known Italian Amaro brand. Long story short, it tastes great! It made me reconsider all my amaro drinking and wonder, did I ever need the booze or did I just want a digestif after my meal?
Yes, it has the same aromas, herbs, spices that I’ve come to love in alcoholic Lucano. Yes, the body lacks a little weight and texture that only alcohol can give. Yes, I think products like this have a real place at the table.
Vino Castell D’Encus-Ekam Blanco
Spanish Riesling from the Catalan pre-Pyrenees. Alive with typical Riesling aromas, a particular waxiness, and a long contemplative finish. This wine is special in a way that is undefinable. I don’t know much about this wine other than I really enjoyed it. Southern European Riesling and it’s outstanding? There’s hope for the future!
With that, our bus has arrived in Tulum and I am ready to lay on the beach. Ill send this when I get some wifi later. If you know about Mexican wine and where to find it, don’t forget to tell me below!
xo Caroline