How Do You Say… Wine? At a time in my life when I was much shorter, a wine brand called Hochtaler launched an international advertising campaign to teach consumers how to pronounce the wine’s name: “…and when you say ‘Hochtaler’, it’s always a good year!” Well, form-fitting eighties tux and red lipstick aside, this company had the right idea. After running these catchy commercials on television channels around the globe, this rather un-fabulous white wine rocketed its way to the top of worldwide wine sales. Language of the Label 101 Auslese (“Ow'-sh-laser”) – German for ‘late’, meaning that the grapes used to make the wine were picked later than prime ripeness, causing the grapes to raisin slightly and taste a bit sweeter as a result. Beerenauslese (“Beer'-en-ow'-sh-laser”) – Same as above, with ‘beeren’ meaning ‘very’, so the grapes were ‘very late harvested’ and therefore very sweet. Costières de Nîmes (“Coast-yair' deh Neem'”) – The name of a region in the South of France. This area produces some of France’s best value red table wines, blending selections of full-flavoured, robust grapes for which the area is known. Lesser known but also good are the rosés and white wines from this area. Tokaji Aszú (“Toe-kai' ah-zoo'”) – This sticky white wine from Hungary is often referred to as the “Wine of Kings”. Made from very unique grapes, only the sweet essence of the fruit is used in the winemaking process, making this wine unquestionably worthy of a pronunciation class. Ehrenfelser (“Air'-en-felt-zer”) – This aromatic white grape variety is native of Germany and has been transplanted to British Columbia to produce light-bodied, crisp, floral white wines. Gewurztraminer (“Guh-ver'-tstra-mee'-ner”) – This stunningly complex white grape variety is native of Germany and is now grown around the world, producing at its best aromatic white wines with lychee-like fruit and white pepper spice. Delicious with spicy foods. Gruner Veltliner (“Groo'-ner Velt'-lee-ner”) – This Austrian grape variety is often overlooked but offers great value as a crisp, dry white wine. Trokenbeerenauslese (“Troe'-kin-beer'-n-ow'-sh-laser”) – Same as ‘Beerenauslese’ but even sweeter still. ‘Trocken’ means ‘dried’ or ‘raisined’ so the grapes stayed on the vines long enough to shrivel, leaving nothing but the carmelized essence of the grape behind to use in the winemaking process. These wines are like nectars – syrupy and delicious. Valpolicella (“Val'-pole-itch-ella”)
– This lovely red wine hails from Italy’s Veneto region.
The wine is lighter in style and usually drinks best when young.
The word ‘Classico’ on a Valpolicella label indicates
a higher quality as does ‘Superiore’ so when spotted
together youve got a winner. Palate Pleasing Tongue Twisters Aveleda Charamba Douro $9 – $12 Gray Monk Siegerrebe $13 – $15 Frank Johannisbergen Gruner Veltliner $22 – $25 Pfaffenheim Grand Cru Gewurztraminer $25 – $31 Tomassi Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico $47 –
$56
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