Learn About Wine Blog

Visited with Veuve Clicquot on Wednesday, April 15th in Reims.

Facts about Veuve Clicquot:

Veuve means Widow, and Madame Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin was widowed at age 27. Although she was married into the family, her strong business acumen convinced the family to allow her to run the property.

She ran the house of Clicquot until the age of 89  becoming renown as the Grand Dame.

The house is now amongst the strongest brands in the world of wine.

80% of the wine is the Yellow Label NV blend (most famous  although the label is arguably Orange) and it is exported to every country in the world. The wine is 60-65% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and the balance Pinot Meunier. 30% of the wine is made from Reserves (older vintages) which give the wine great richness and roundness.

Clicquot is the second largest vineyard owner and makes all their production in their Reims facility.

Madame Clicquot was a major force in the way we think about Champagne and the house of Clicquot maintains a very innovative edge.

• First to produce Rose
• First to produce Vintage
• First to label their Champagne
• First to package in baskets for export
• Hired German President who had the international touch to help establish the trade market.
• Stayed family owned until the late 1900′s and is now owned by LVMH
• LVMH owns Veuve, Moet, Krug, Ruinart, and just purchased Montaudon

My tasting was held with Pierre Casenave, a young winemaker from Bordeaux in his first year with Clicquot working under the experienced cellar master. We tasted the young wines as individual components which show you the singular benefits of each varietal  and when blended together how they compliment the wine. We tasted Yellow, Grand Dame and an older vintage.

In my opinion, the Champagne industry is in a great position. There is no issue with quality, supply is short, demand is long and price can increase without issue slowly over time. The great wine of Champagne, the Tete du Cuvee can increase in production to improve revenues, as long as the market is strong, and in weaker time periods or vintages, the supply of Non-Vintage can improve which is a great balance that I’m sure other wine appellations envy. The downside is that the cost of production is massive and the carry over cost of inventory is a killer. The wines require 3 years in bottle and the wine is made one bottle at a time. Consumers do not mind paying twice as much for a young red but have a hard time following Champagne all the way to the top of the price market. I think too many producers have fallen into the trap of marketing the Tete du Cuvee through high pricing, and that a natural selection of the best wines will establish the natural pricing structure.

Veuve Clicquot continues to innovate new ways to improve market share and sell at a premium. The American market for Veuve remains healthy; while the current 2009 marketplace may stress smaller brands back out and allow Veuve a healthy increase in market share.

Flavor profile: generous red fruit style, which drinks well as a cocktail as well as pairs well with food.

Competitors: Taittinger, Moet, Charles Heidseck, Piper Heidseck, Pommary, and a host of smaller grower wines.

Retail $39.99-49.99

Click HERE to check out more pictures from my trip!

For my MW (Master of Wine) exam, I need to be well versed in the following fields of wine production:

Characteristics of the vine.

Vine species. Wine varieties. Clones. Development of new vine varieties. Vine propagation. Rootstocks and grafting. Growth Cycle of the vine. Life cycle of the vine.

Establishment, re-planting and Acquisition of vineyards.

Practical and economic issues of planting or re-planting, vineyards. Issues concerning the acquisition of vineyards through purchase or inheritance.

Factors Affecting grape growing.

Climate. Weather. Soil. Aspect. Effect of those factors on wine style, quality, yield, and cost. The concept of terrior.

Cultivation of the vine.

Types and methods of pruning and training. Underlying principles and practical applications of canopy management. Irrigation. Application of fertilizers. Use of herbicides. Green harvesting. Implications for yield of all of the above. Biodynamic, organic, and other alternative cultivation methods.

Maladies of the vine and their control.

Vine pests. Vine diseases. Physiological disorders. Prevention and control of the above.

Structure and composition of grapes.

Grape structure. Chemical composition of grapes. E.g sugars, acids, anthocyanins, tannins etc.. Analytical techniques. Fruit ripeness. Noble rot.

Harvesting of grapes.

Time of the harvest. Picking options. Grape transportation. Quality and cost implications.

Processing of grapes.

Grape reception. Grape handling strategies eg de-stalking, crushing, pressing and skin contact. Must treatments. Temperature control.

Fermentation

Alchoholic fermentation. Role of yeast, enzymes, temperature and fermentation vessels. Strategies for the extraction of colour, aroma, flavor, and tannin. Carbonic maceration, whole bunch fermentation and thermovinification. Theory and practice of malolactic fermentation.

Maturations and blending.

Maturations options for the wine makes. Types of maturation vessel. Inert storage. Blending options. Timing of bottling.

Stabilization, clarification, packing and labeling.

Movement of wine in bulk. Methods of stabilization and clarifications eg. Fining firation, centrifugation, cold stabilization etc. Use of chemicals in wine making and wine handling their function, action and application. International regulations governing the use of chemicals. Packing into bottles and other containers. Ingredient labeling. Closures.

Production of sparkling wine.

Productions techniques for sparkling wines. Grape selections and pressing. Temperature control. Selection and blending of base wines. The second fermentation. Maturation. Finishing.

Production of fortified wines.

Production techniques for fortified wines. Selection of base wines. Timing of fortifications. Practice and significance of blending and maturation.

Quality assurance and quality control

Composition of wine and its faults. Analysis of wine, its purpose, use and limitations. QA and QC ystems and structures for wine and dry goods. Practical issues of QA and QC. Compliance with statutory regulations. Effects of storage and transport on wine after packing.

The 6th Annual Stars of Santa Barbara! Way before”Sideways” rocked wine scene, LearnAboutWine was responsible for aligning the wine stars of Santa Barbara for the annual event that brings together the top echelon of Santa Barbara winemakers at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Thanks so much to the wineries, as well as, everyone who came out and helped make this evening amazing.

Now its time to get ready for our next Stars of SB event! On June 24th, we’ll be heading down to South Coast Plaza for the first ever, STARS of Santa Barbara Orange County!

Click here to check out the photos from The 6th Annual Stars of Santa Barbara!

On Tuesday, March 24th, we packed the Peninsula Hotel Beverly Hills with 200 trade attendees and a sold out consumer audience.

Over the course of the evening we raised $5000 for the TJ Martell Foundation!

Click here to see the rest of the photos from the evening!

Yes, 103.1 is off the air but now available as a web cast. Today I will taste 3 of my top wines of 2008.  Search out the web site and listen at 8am or listen to the taping.