Tokaji Aszú - an "aha" moment

One of the joys of being a wine educator is when you get to introduce students to regions and wines that they might otherwise never try. This week we were studying Austria and Hungary, focusing on the main regions, and their historical wines. When we got to Hungary, the focus was on Egri Bikaver (Bull's Blood) and Tokaji Aszú.

As you might imagine, the Egri Bikaver garnered interest due to it's name and history. There is no bull's blood in the wine, but the Kekfrankos grapes does make an interesting wine that would be great with pizza. Where the "aha" moment occurred was with our last wine of the day, Oremus Tokaji Aszú 3 Putt. At the moment of tasting, I could literally see the students faces light up, and the conversation increased. This was a wine, unlike any others they had tried.

So, what is "Tokaji Aszú"? What is a "putt"? And, why is this an important historic wine?

Tokaji Aszú is a sweet wine from the Tokaji Hegyalja wine region of Hungary. This region is located in the north east corner of the country, next to the border of Slovakia. The main growing region is located on a plateau of south-facing slopes close to the Tisza and Bodrog river. The weather conditions are perfect of the development of Botrytis Cinerea, or "noble rot". There are a number of grapes grown in the region, but the two most important are Furmint and Hárslevelü, which will account for about 90% of the blend in the wine. The remaining grapes are: Sárga Muskotály (also known as Yellow Muscat), Zéta, Kövérszőlő, and Kabar

Noble Rot affected Furmint Grapes

No one is sure how long sweet wine has been made in the region, but written records show that it predates French Sauternes, and could possibly be the first "noble rot" wine produced. It gained worldwide recognition in the 18^th century when King Louis XIV, of France, crowned it as "Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum" or "the king of wines and the wine of kings".

Gönc at Royal Tokaji

The production of Tokaji Aszú is also interesting. The botrytis affected grapes are individually picked in 20 to 25kg containers, known as Puttonyos,  The grapes are pressed gently under their own weight and the first run juice is referred to as eszencia.  This juice can be set aside to make the Eszencia wine.  The aszú berries are then very gently pressed and blended with a base wine made from ripe, but non-botrytised grapes, then fermented in large, 136 liter casks, known as "Gönc". The sweetness of the final product is defined by the number of puttonyos of paste added to a Gönc. This can range from 3 "putts" to 6 "putts". Above 6 "putts" the wine is called,  Aszú-Eszencia. The Gönc are traditionally not topped off, and the wine is left to slowly oxidize with the yeasts and bacteria. Alcohol content of aszú typically runs higher than 14%. The challenges of fermenting due to the heavy amount of sugar (500 g/l to700 g/l) in the Aszú-Eszencia, the alcohol content remains much lower. The Aszú-Eszencia wines are some of the most expensive wines in the world, often exceeding $1,500/bottle, but they are also able to age hundreds of years.Aszú-Eszencia is not really a wine in the conventional sense, but rather an elixir

Aszú is filled into Tokaj’s unmistakable trademark half-liter (500ml) colorless bottles that have remained unchanged for centuries. The wines are medium deep amber colored wines, with bouquet and the taste of coffee, honey, apricot, sun-dried fruits and a long finish.

Tokaji Aszú wines are traditionally served at the end of the evening or as an aperitif. They also pair well with white meat in sauce, game, blue cheeses, and desserts. Once opened, these wines can be kept for several weeks in the refrigerator. The wine should ideally be served between 50 and 54°F.

Vinegar

During one of my wine classes this week, we were discussing the wines of Italy. A question came up about Balsamic Vinegar. Now, I know my wine stuff, and I am pretty good with food, but I never really explored the world of vinegar. I do know (and have tasted many wines) that have turned to vinegar. So, I thought this might be a good subject to explore.

Vinegar [ˈvɪnɪgə]n  -  (Cookery) a sour-tasting liquid consisting of impure dilute acetic acid, made by oxidation of the ethyl alcohol in beer, wine, or cider. It is used as a condiment or preservative

There is a big difference between wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar (not to mention cider vinegar, and rice vinegar, etc). And, they are actually two different products.

Vinegar can be made from any fermentable liquid. The presence of the acetic acid bacteria (acetobacter) during the fermentation process of sugars to ethanol creates vinegar. In general, traditional vinegars, are fermented slowly over a period of weeks or months. The longer fermentation period allows for the accumulation of a nontoxic slime composed of acetic acid bacteria. Quicker, more commercial methods are made with a "mother of vinegar" that is added to the fermenting must. This process can quicken the production time to under 3 days, and usually used in more commercial type vinegars.

Wine vinegar is made from red or white wine, and is the most commonly used vinegar in Europe and the United States. There is a considerable range in quality, just as with wine. The highest quality wine vinegars are matured in wood for up to two years, and exhibit a complex, mellow flavor. The most expensive wine vinegars are made from individual varieties of wine, such as Champagne or Sherry.

Where things get interesting, and where the original classroom question came up, was with Balsamic Vinegars. Traditional Balsamic vinegar is a product from Italy, produced in the Modena and Reggio Emilia regions of Italy. The names "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena" (Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena) and "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia" (Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia) are protected names, under the DOC laws of Italy, and the new PDO laws of the European union.

Balsamic Vinegar in cask

True balsamic vinegar is made from a reduction of pressed Trebbiano and Lambrusco grape must. The must is boiled, and reduced to about 30% of its' original volume. The resulting thick syrup, called mosto cotto, in Italian, is aged for a minimum of 12 years in a series of successively smaller sized wooden casks. The casks can be made of different woods like oak, chestnut, mulberry, ash, and cherry. The juice slowly ferments, and concentrates over the years, producing a final product that is rich, deep brown in color with complex flavors which balance the natural sweet and sour elements of the cooked grape juice.

Reggio Emilia designates the different ages of their balsamic vinegar by label color. A red label means the vinegar has been aged for at least 12 years, a silver label has aged for at least 18 years and the gold label has aged for 25 years or more.

Modena uses a slightly different system to indicate the age. A cream-coloured cap means the vinegar has aged for at least 12 years; the magenta cap bearing the designation "extravecchio" (extra old) is for vinegar that has aged for at least 25 years.

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar is very expensive (somewhere between $50 to $130 per ounce). Obviously, there are other Balsamic Vinegars out there, that are less expensive, but they are not the traditional product. These commercial grade products imitate the traditional product. They are made of wine vinegar with the addition of coloring, caramel and sometimes thickeners to artificially simulate the sweetness and thickness of the aged traditional product. Or, some of the better "copies" of traditional Balsamic are made using traditional methods, but are not aged as long, or start out using the traditional methods, and simply add "mosto cotto" to the vinegar, to thicken, and produce an imitation product in a shorter time period. Since there is no official standard or labeling system to designate the different styles of balsamic vinegar, it can be hard to tell their quality based on the packaging alone..unless of course is says, Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena or Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia.

Is it Vodka?

Thursday was Thanksgiving here in the United States. A time for families to gather together, and give thanks for all our blessings, as well as a time to celebrate the coming holiday season. This year, we had the normal family gathering. I brought a couple bottles of wine for the dinner (a California Rose, and a French Regnie) My brother-in-law brought a bottle of Cîroc Vodka, that was a hit with all the "twenty-somethings" in the family.

Ugni Blanc

I wasn't familiar with Ciroc (not a big spirits drinker to begin with), so I started reading the label. This was a berry flavored vodka, but it was made from grapes. In particular, the grapes were Ugni Blanc and Mauzac Blanc. I am very familiar with Ugni Blanc, as the main grape in Cognac production, and it just so happens that last week, I was discussing wine production in Gaillac, France, and one of their grapes is the Mauzac Blanc.

The question arose..."How can this be a vodka, if it is made from grapes? Aren't vodkas made from potatoes?". The other thought was, why isn't this a brandy, since it is made from distilled grapes. So let's take a look at what the definition of vodka is.

Alembic Still

Vodka is a beverage made from water and ethanol alcohol. The alcohol is the result of distillation of fermented grain, fruit, potatoes, or basically, anything that has sugar, or starch that can be converted to sugar. The standard process is distillation, and possibly filtration to produce as clean and flavorless a product as possible. The repeated distillation will continue to increase the amount of alcohol, to as high a level as 96% abv (alcohol by volume). The final distillation is then cut with water, to produce a lower alcohol level (usually around 40%), and any potential flavors are added to the final product. In Europe, the minimum alcohol level is 37.5% for vodka (65 proof). In the United States, the minimum is 30% abv (or 60 proof). Since the goal of vodka is to produce a clean, clear product, it is not aged.

Compare that to Cognac (see my blog on Cognac). Cognac can only be produced in the Cognac region of France. It is strictly regulated. it is distilled twice, then aged for a minimum of 30 months in oak barrels.

The Cîroc brand of Vodka is actually distilled 5 times, so you end up with a purer product, and again, no oak aging. So, Cîroc does pass the test, for the current definition of a vodka, but not the definition of a Cognac, or even a brandy. However, the European Union has begun talks concerning the definition of vodka The traditional vodka producing countries are insisting that only spirits produced from grains, potato and sugar beets be allowed to be labeled as "vodka", and must follow the traditional methods of production.

So, as of today, Cîroc is a vodka, but we'll have to see if that stands.

Cîroc is available in four flavors: Snap Frost, Berry, Coconut and Peach. It is marketed as an "ultra-premium" vodka, and distributed by Diageo, the worlds largest spirits producer.