WVIZ/PBS ideastream®: World Series of Wine: Questions for Michael Mondavi
Questions for Michael Mondavi
What makes one wine more valuable than another? What’s the best vintage ever made?
Michael Mondavi, one of the biggest names in the wine industry and head of Folio Fine Wine Partners answered your questions about wine just in time for this year’s Heinen’s/WVIZ World Series of Wine
And you can meet Michael Mondavi at the Grand Tastings, part of the Heinen’s/WVIZ World Series of Wine, Nov. 4-7. Cheers!
Admittedly, this doesn’t relate to enjoying wine but instead how to make enjoyable wine (in 5 gallon carboys). What is the best way to remove CO2 from wine? How do we know we’ve removed enough?
Michael Mondavi: If you are trying to make table wine and not sparkling wine, the CO2 will dissipate naturally with aging, provided you do not have a tightly sealed container. Stirring the wine, or decanting from one container to another with slight aeration, will also remove the CO2. You know that you’ve removed enough when tasting the wine there is no feel or sensation of bubbles of CO2 remaining in the wine. Very slight amounts of CO2 can also be beneficial to help prevent the wine from oxidation.
How important, really, are vintages? Does the quality of the wine really change from year to year?
Michael Mondavi: Vintages are more important for European wines than California wines. We are blessed in California (Napa and Sonoma) that we have eight to nine years out of ten that are good, very good or excellent. Only one or two out of ten are below average. That is due to the wonderful sunlight during the day, fog at night with very little, if any, rains, during the growing season from May to October. By contrast in Europe, they have more rain and humidity during the growing season and will have five to six good years out of ten and three to four that are below average.
Pinots and Cabs are the reigning reds. What’s the next red to reign supreme? Same question with Chardonnay… is there another white out there that will displace Chardonnay as #1?
Michael Mondavi: I believe that Petite Syrah and Zinfandel are going to be of great interest in the future. Also, indigenous varietals of Italy and Spain are very exciting. Italian wines made from Sangiovese, Barbera, and Nero d’Avola have phenomenal potential as do Grenache and Carinena from Spain.
Sauvignon Blanc is a more food friendly wine than Chardonnay and I believe is gaining great popularity. The Albarino grape variety from Spain and the Gruner Veltliner from Austria are very exciting wine grape varieties for the future.
How concerned are you about global warming on the grapes in Napa Valley? Have you seen any affect already?
Michael Mondavi: Global warming, or this cycle of warming, is affecting grapes grown in Napa and northern California. Forty years ago, you could not get Merlot grapes ripe in southern Napa, the Carneros region. Today it is one of the best areas for growing Merlot. The increase in quality of root stock has also had a great impact on the maturity cycle of vines. The combination of the two have caused wineries and grape growers to rethink where they plant specific varieties in Napa and Sonoma counties.
What is your personal favorite food and wine pairing?
Michael Mondavi: In the summer months, in warmer times of the year, I prefer dry roses and white wines with the lighter foods of that season. BBQ chicken and dry rose of cabernet sauvignon is a spectacular combination. In the winter, I tend towards heavier foods and cabernets and other full bodied red wines to compliment that style of cuisine.
For Single Vintage Cabs: What are the differences from vineyard to vineyard that really effect the taste… and how can there be differences when some vineyards are so close in proximity?
Michael Mondavi: The most important fact of any great wine is the “terroir”. Terrior, meaning the soil combination, the exposure, the microclimate, and how the wine grower selects the root stock, bud wood and manicures that vineyard. Contiguous vineyards with the same or very similar soils when managed by the same wine grower will be very similar; however, if you have different root stock, different pruning techniques, different viticulture techniques, the wines produced from those wines will be totally different… cabernet sauvignon, is not cabernet sauvignon, is not cabernet sauvignon. It’s a combination of what Mother Nature gives us and what the winegrower does in the growing cycle of wine making.
Some people think cabernet and chocolate make a great combination. Some don’t. What’s your view?
Michael Mondavi: I personally do not eat a lot of dessert or sweets; however dark chocolate with cabernet sauvignon, particularly in the winter when it is raining, after dinner, is a great finale.
