Label gazing

Labels are a wonderful source of information with regards to the wine’s contents, the house, its owner, and the winemaker. In many cases the constituent varietals are all displayed, allowing you to get a feel for the differences, and, best of all, to experiment with similar, but new, wines.

Up to the late 1950s it was common to order a wine by the House, Château or Co-Op that produced it. By the early 1970s, an emerging American wine industry (especially California) began to market their wines by grape varietal. It then became commonplace to order a glass of Chardonnay, Pinot or Cabernet Sauvignon in restaurants. In the early 1980s, labels that displayed the varietal within the bottle began to attract consumers in Europe. A new degree of wine savvy opened the door to greater wine consumption throughout the western world. Observing this seismic shift in wine purchasing habits, the Latour House began to export a line of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Offering old world wines at a decent price, these lines gained immediate brand recognition in North America. They are still available and continue to be popular.

Many wineries now offer careful blends of varietals under a suggestive name. In the County, Richard Karlo offers “Quintus”, whose name implies the presence of five different grapes. Another new world delight is the Wagner’s family offering of “Conundrum”, whose blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Riesling and Viognier would be determined, up to 2001, by the quality of each varietal’s vintage. A more interesting example is “Cain 5”, again a blend of traditional Bordeaux grapes. Although the name would suggest a five grape blend, only four varietals have been used in some years because of grape quality. Cain 5 therefore makes a point of displaying, on the label, the percentage of each varietal for any particular vintage.

And then — as a true display of the power of marketing — there are Blue Penguin, Yellowtail, and their ilk that are sold by brand association and not necessarily by information on the label.

THIS WEEK’S PICK
Paul Battilana, winemaker for Casa-Dea Estates Winery, was recently was awarded a gold medal for his 2011, Estate grown Riesling. It is not difficult to understand why. The nose intrigues with the traditional petroleum, tempered with hints of rose petals and mace. The palate is a dry mouthful of lemon and white grapefruit, with a bite of cleansing acidity on the finish, suggesting this wine was crafted to pair up with food to bring out its full potential.

Well-priced at $16.95 per bottle, Casa-Dea Estates 2011 Riesling, is available at the winery located at 1186 Greer Road.