If you haven’t tried our 2014 Pinot Gris from Monterey then you haven’t had to opportunity to taste the fresh fruits and minerality of the wine. We all know what fruit tastes like, but what the heck is minerality?
Well to find out, you just have to go lick a rock. Yes you heard me right; your homework is to go taste a rock or two. Once you do this, you will soon find out that different rocks, as you guessed it, taste differently. Granite is very different than slate which is different than limestone and quartz.
Wine grapes love to grow in rocks and over time water dissolves the surrounding rocks and many believe that this is absorbed into the fruit giving it a distinctive characteristic. There is a lot of controversy out there about minerality and I am no expert but I have tasted a rock and the Pinot Gris has a rocky undertone.
The French would call this as Terroir; the characteristics of the place the fruit were grown that is independent of seasonal effects and vintage. It is the slope, the sun, the soil, the surrounding fields and all of those other things that make that place special. But we will be talking more about Terroir in the next few posts.
Until then, go out and start “tasting” things. Try to concentrate on what things specifically taste like. What are the characteristics of a blueberry, blackberry, strawberry or cherry? By developing your palate memory you will discover a whole new side of wine sipping and tasting.
Once you have done your homework and licked a rock or two, pop over and take our ROCK TASTING SURVEY below.
Cheers
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