Ferment me wildly, baby

Last night we had a 2006 Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay. I admit I bought it because the label, which looks handwritten, and I was intrigued by the “wild ferment” part. I sort of invisioned people with buckets of yeast dancing around (like in sort of a ritual circle style) and singing and tossing yeast into vats of grapes. Sounded fun and since I do adore chardonnay, I couldn't pass up this bottle for $13.

Its from Chile and it was really quite yummy, although I’m positive my non-chard loving friends would probably not like it, as it has butter and oak. Although its tastefully done and it’s pretty complex, there’s still butter and oak. Tasting notes:

Our 2006 Chardonnay Wild Ferment is a complex wine with a rich mineral and citric character. The mouth-feel is soft and persistent, displaying elegance and finesse. Malolactic fermentation contributes buttery notes and richness, with well integrated toast and vanilla from barrel ageing providing the backdrop.

Yum. Its not that I ONLY like buttery oakey chards, because I’ve had a few that aren’t oaked that I like as well as quite a few overly buttery ones, but I do tend to prefer wines like this. It was around $13 and its from Chile, where you can typically get more wine for your money, so it was for sure worth the price.

Anyway, about this whole wild fermenting thing:

Wild fermentation is a process carried out using native yeast. Since the yeast are not selected using technological criteria (SO2 resistance, alcohol resistance, etc), they experience higher stress during fermentation. This effect, coupled with the presence of more strains during wild fermentation, produces different concentrations and byproduct proportions, adding distinctive flavours –and therefore more complexity– to the wine.

Hmm. During my search, I found there are a decent amount of wild fermented chards out there and even a few reds. Who knew?

Bladder Busters at a Bar??

So the other day in school, where I am the “old” one, I was asking the other students if they’ve ever been to a bar that does Bladder Busters. Well, in truth, when I began the question, I couldn’t remember for the life of me what it was called so instead I described it as “you know, you go into a bar, maybe you pay a small cover, maybe you don’t, depends if the bar is a hole in the wall or not and then everybody gets to drink beer for a penny until someone pees.”

They looked at me as if I just asked them if they’ve ever been unicorn riding. Evidently its just an Arizona State thing. Of course now that I remember the name I’ve been asking other people I know and nope, no one has heard of it, except Terry who still has never participated but heard of it on a TV show. (he thinks King the Hill, but I can’t seem to find anything in an episode guide) But on my searching, I ran across a messageboard that talked about seeing one in a Tacoma Washington bar.

So maybe it’s a west coast thing?

An OAKED Sauvignon Blanc??

Last night I tried something I’ve never had before- an OAKED sauvignon blanc. (2004 Lobster Bay Sauv Blanc) Now, typically I don’t like sauvignon blancs. Not a big fan of grassy, tropical, or grapefruit in my wine, which are some of major characteristics of sauv blanc, particularly of the Marlborough region. There are some White Bordeaux’s I like, where the blended Semillon helps balance out the acid. Well, I got this through my wine club and they include some info about it…and a portion of it is aged in French oak for 3 months. Sure, that’s not a lot of oak and not for a long time AND its French oak, which doesn’t impart as much flavor as American, but hell, it’s an oaked sauv blanc and I didn’t even know such a thing existed.

Well, it was good. Still a little tropical for me, but the oak balances out the grassy and acid nicely. Its certainly not "oakey" and I doubt many could tell there was any oak, except for the nice balance. Its $20, so I probably won’t get it again, as I have other wines I like more for $20, but if I see it for $15 I’ll buy it again. I would recommend it for sauv blanc fans who don't like the heavy grass (such as the 06 Kim Crawford).