Chef Dan Barber & Winemaker Randall Grahm on the "Roots" of Terroir in Wine

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“It turns out that the mechanism [mycorrhizal fungi] is a pre-requisite for great wine.  I learned this from Randall Grahm, the iconoclastic winemaker of Bonny Doon Vineyard, in Santa Cruz California.  “Mycorrhizae are microbial demiurges—they bring minerals into the plants,” he told me.  “What does that taste like? Persistence.  The best wines are powerfully persistent.  You breathe out your nose and taste the wine over again, or you leave the bottle open for a week and the wine still tastes alive.  Persistence doesn’t fade, and it doesn’t oxidize.  That’s from the minerals.” - -  Dan Barber, The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food; Chef-partner, Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Blue Hill NYC

Chef Dan Barber and Gerry Dawes in the kitchens of Blue Hill at Stone Barns,

Pocantico Hills, New York, June 2015.

What my staff and I been finding out to our amazement with our terroir-driven artisanal wines from The Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group – Gerry Dawes Selections, especially the ones with minimal intervention in the winery, that wines leftover after tastings that I merely put in a small refrigerator with just a cork in them and no Vacuvin stoppers, are still drinking beautifully a week later, often even better than when we opened them. Last night, August 30, 2015, I was reading Dan Barber’s book and came across this amazing quote from Randall Grahm, a winemaker from California, ironically where commercial producers have been trying to deny the existence of mineral terroir for decades.

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Gerry Dawes

Presidente-Jefe & Chairman of the Boar

The Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group - Gerry Dawes Selections
Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel

370 Cushman Road

Patterson, NY 12563

gerrydawes@spanishartisanwine.com

gerrydawes@aol.com

Cell phone: 914-414-6982

Teléfono movíl (en España): (011 34) 670 67 39 34

Follow The Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group on Facebook and Pinterest

and Gerry Dawes on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Spanish National Gastronomy Award 2003

Food Arts Silver Spoon Award (Written by JBF Outstanding Chef José Andrés)

Lagar de Broullón Albariño, Meaño (Pontevedra), Rías Baixas. Bodeguero Artesano José Pintos Pintos

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"Lagar de Broullon Albariño.  An albariño to banish all memory of those banal examples of the wine that now flood U.S. wine shop shelves — bright and well-rounded, with juicy fruit and a long, complex finish." - - Colman Andrews, The Daily Meal.

Read more: Spanish Wines — A Seductive New Crop: Godello, mencia, and other less-than-famous Iberian grapes shine in a new selection from Spanish wine expert Gerry Dawes

Video:  Lagar de Broullón is an artisanal winery located in Galicia, Spain. 
Jose Pintos and his 91-year old father grow Albariño grapes and make their signature wine Lagar de Broullón.

 

Lagar de Broullon Albariño 2013 12.5% 12/750ML $27.99

Lagar de Broullón is made by José Pintos. Beautifully balanced, Pintos's wine is full-flavored and quite complex with lychee and green apple flavors braced by a long, clean, mineral-laced finish, but has just 12.5% alcohol, which helps make it very easy to drink.   It is ideal with many different dishes, but especially with grilled fish, shellfish (for which Galicia is famous), octopus, rice dishes and cheeses. 

José Pintos, artisan grower-winemaker of Lagar de Broullón, sings during a lunch break at the Festa del Encontro do Viño de Autor at Meaño (Pontevedra).

Located in the heart of the Val de Salnés, in an area known as the home of Albariño grape, Lagar de Broullón bodega is surrounded by its 4.5 acres of south-southwest facing vineyards that produce its signature wine.  Akin to wineries in Burgundy, the bodega is a 19th Century house, where several generations of the Pintos family, including his 91-year old father José Pintos, have made wine with intelligence and care and have developed a family tradition for authentic artisan wines on a small scale. 
 
Only about 600 cases of fine Albariño are made each year and only 100 of those will reach the U.S. market.  Lagar de Broullón’s dedication to quality focuses on the vineyard and the grapes, which José Pintos believes is the most important element in wine.  Although the winery has modern vinification system, Pintos tries to make his wines with as little intervention as possible.  He believes that his signature wine is steeped in tradition and through meticulous vineyard work, he tries to achieve the highest quality in his wine. 
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We believe that Pintos has achieved his goal.  His Lagar de Broullón is one of the finest wines in our portfolio.

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Contact info:

Gerry Dawes, Presidente-Jefe & Chairman of the Board   
The Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group - Gerry Dawes Selections
370 Cushman Road  

Patterson, NY 12563

gerrydawes@spanishartisanwine.com

gerrydawes@aol.com
 
Cell phone: 914-414-6982
Teléfono movíl (en España): (011 34) 670 67 39 34
 
Follow The Spanish Artisan Wine & Spirits Group on Facebook and Pinterest
and Gerry Dawes on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. 

Spanish National Gastronomy Award 2003

Food Arts Silver Spoon Award (Written by JBF Outstanding Chef José Andrés)

Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel