Patient discipline

The rich rewards of the Nebbiolo grape requires great patience. While it customarily offers notes of violets, tar and anise, it may take at least a decade of aging to manifest its deep flavours of orange, black fruits, leather and spice.

Grown almost exclusively in Italy’s Piedmont, the Nebbiolo vine readily demonstrates the influence of terroir on wine. In the Barolo region, vines grown in sandy soils produce a wine with perfumed overtones, while those grown on sandstone are more complex—both in structure and tightness— requiring a longer aging prior to release. And just four kilometers northeast of the Barolo is another great Nebbiolo region. The low, undulating hills of Barbaresco provide a terroir of chalky clay soils that produces a little softer and more approachable wine. This “feminine” expression of Nebbiolo is accentuated by the current use of smaller French barriques, as well as carefully timing the harvest. In the end, both regions offer complex wines that demand aging. Nebbiolo wines should not be consumed before their time is right. Patience is critical to their appreciation.

Nebbiolo is also a very difficult vine to introduce to a new area. But the Palmina winery of Lompoc, California has promoted its growth in Santa BarbaraCounty and the Santa Ynez Valley by purchasing from local vineyards willing to deal with the demanding grape. As in Italy, their wine offers intense flavors of cherry, tar and Mexican mole sauce. And although you can readily approach Palmina wines in the short term, its full range of enjoyment requires a discipline of patience.

THIS WEEK’S PICK
Spring has finally arrived with Victoria Day weekend. It’s time to fire up the barbecue (and the lawnmower) in anticipation of summer. Such arduous endeavours surely encourage a substantial thirst — and what better way to slake said thirst, than with your favorite small-batch, handcrafted beer from Barley Days Brewery?

Brewmaster Adam Nichols has created a selection of lagers and ales to suit all tastes. Some are even available to share (I think not) in larger bottles. Although most varieties are available in the L.C.B.O., it is great fun to pop in and taste the latest on tap. Even more so now, since Barley Day’s Brewery is in the process of building a tasting room where guests may be guided through flight tastings paired with locally sourced foods.

Barley Days Brewery is at 13730 Loyalist Parkway in Picton.