Have you ever wondered how wine grapes are grown in what seems like difficult climates like South America, Germany, South Africa, and Canada? The answer lies in mitigating factors such as choice of grape, proximity to bodies of water, currents, winds, altitude, aspect, mountain ranges, and even types of soils.
As the temperatures drop and our bodies attempt to adjust to the cooler temperatures of the fall into winter, we don heavier fabrics or add layers of clothing, sit in front of a roaring fire in the firepit or fireplace, and look to hot drinks to warm us from within. This week’s blog features warm wine concoctions, to ease in with the seasonal temperature transition.
Our blog title this week is a play on the famous quote cackled by a witch in Shakespeare’s Macbeth “something wicked this way comes.” This week at City Vino, for our Saturday October 31, 2020, tasting, rather than feature wines with diabolical names, we opted to feature four wines with labels that conjure up something a little wicked for Halloween.
Argentina may be the country that put Malbec on the worldwide stage, but the wine’s origins tie to France—particularly to a region called Cahors. Cahors makes up part of the South West France wine region, which is to the south and southeast of Bordeaux. Malbec is also grown in Bordeaux, where it is a lesser component in Bordeaux blends.
Cabernet Sauvignon’s parents are Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. In the mid-1990s, Carole Meredith and John Bowers, at UC Davis, identified these grapes as the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon through DNA testing. The naturally occurring cross-pollination is estimated to have occurred as early as the 1600s.
