Feb 21, 2012

Heavy wines after heavy snowfall with some heavy music

After a few days of snowing, the weather climbing above zero and dropping down again it feels like we are at the core of the Finnish winter. This is not a time for a light Pinot Grigio - this is a time for something heavy, aggressive and spicy to give you a kick that you feel. It's a time for massive reds and quality port. Some wineheads might still disagree and find it hard to down something heavy, since "balance is everything" and the subtle tones leave more room for... well, other tones. For me the balance here comes from what we experience around us and what kind of needs it creates for our wine choices. Think of it as some sort of weird seasonal terroir.

Ok, so what we are looking for:
- Thick, heavy, full bodied, aggressive
- Spicy

Lets start of with A, like for Argentina
Don David Malbec Reserve, 2010
This has it all. A really nice and think a-bomb full of tannins, bit of berries and cherry and that oak for an extra boost. It's like a bodybuilder! I've had lighter, smoother Malbec, but I have no prefrence in what it should be. Both ends work and Malbec is definately my number one grape pick from Argentina. Plough and drink with some strong cheese. (AND MEAT.)









Adabal Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, 2007
The spanish really know how to bring that spicyness to the table - pepper, oak and tannins really work together nicely here. This like drum & bass for your palate and not the hit list stuff, I mean the deep hard-for-your-grandmother-to-understand stuff. A good year in oak certainly does the trick and a Cabernet is always a strong (not boring, you...!) choice. The catalan Cabernet delivers, now go and recieve.








Mayu Reserva Carménère, 2009
Mayu has less tannins than the other two, which might be a game changer to many, when concidering these heavy giants. It is rich, full of nice berry aromas, an oaky feel and warmth in the aftertaste. The ridicilious alcohol percentage, structure of the ever-so-lovely Carménère and the epic Zen of Elqui Valley work together to make this an easy to down, yet heavy nectar. Carménère is still my top grape pick from Chile. Please try to prove me wrong if you can.







To top things off I would like to give a musical recommendation to the afterski after-snowplough to acompany these wines: Machine Head - I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)
Machine Head are trash metal giants and the two latest albums have taken them to a more progressive style, which I enjoy. The refrence to blood in the beginning of the song goes well with thick full bodied red wines. "I Am Hell" might be the feeling when you have 20cm of snowfall to go through in your front yard. Listening to this gets you through it much faster.

Now is the time to try something heavy! I would love to hear your thoughts about these wines (or the music) so please do comment. Porvoo people remember that "Viiniä, Viiniä" kicks off at Porvoon Paahtimo 2nd of March! Some tickets still left!

Feb 6, 2012

Wine events at Porvoon Paahtimo!

Welcome to join our wine events at Porvoon Paahtimo (in Finnish)!

The first evening is on the 2nd of March.
Tickets sold at Paahtimo!

We will be talking about some of my favourites and answering what gives the wine personality and discussing the large variety of styles available.

"Viiniä, Viiniä" begins!

Go to Douro Valley!

Portugal, oh Portugal!

Still not quite recognized for it's fine wines, the Portugese deserve much more and are slowly getting there. Focusing on the north, my interests are all crammed into one huge stretch of river, from the Atlantic all the way across northern Portugal into Spain. What happens here in between is quite remarkable. Winery after another, vineyards filling the hills, all planted horizontally, making the surroundings look like massive green steps by the river, only to be disturbed by the occasional olive trees - The Douro Valley. Filled with narrow roads, lots of hills to climb, a great rural atmosphere and breathtaking views.

You must be thinking Portugal - Porto - Port Wine. Yes, there are hundereds of Quintas (wineries) devoted to the art of making Port, but I will not go into that now, I'll save my love for Port to another post. This is about the area and it's lovely reds, yes, epic lovely reds.

One might arrive to the valley by train, from Campanhã Station in Porto it takes approximately two and a half hours to a quite central town in the valley; Peso De Regua. From here a car is extremely important and one can be rented in town. Few minutes from town, northside of the river you will find Quinta Do Vallado - a stunning winery, expanded hotel and renovated facilities certainly give a convincing look for a quality winery. What they produce varies from Port to White and Reds, my favourites by far being the reds.

I love the fact that the vineyards are full of grape varieties from that area. You can instantly see that there is a lot of knowledge about the varieties, since they have dealt with them for hundreds of years. To just take, say Shiraz and plant it in Douro would be somewhat blasphemy, instead you get rich flavours from "locals", such as Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Sousão. Not like Shiraz doesn't have any history - My point is that they have sticked to their own, not borrowed from abroad and it gives you a certain level of genetics and knowledge that can't be found everywhere.

The two reds I would like to mention from Vallado are the Touriga Nacional and Sousão. There is a nice depth in the small yielding Touriga Nacional, tough spirit, great body and superb amount of tannins for a youngster like this, making it a perfect companion for meaty dishes kept slightly on the medium side. And hell, this is QUALITY. No fooling around here, seriously a end product full of potential. The other favourite of mine is the Sousão. It certainly shows even more character, leaving you guessing for a while what the hell it is trying to be, in a good way! Like a disorted punk rock song to an elderly lady in the eighties, who later becomes an anarchist. It's that "Boom!" feeling first, followed by analysis. Quite rarely used as a single variety, yet rarely blended for Port, hints of raisin, darker berries and a well balanced spicyness. Vallado sure nailed it.

The variosity of wineries in the Douro Valley is amazing. You get big powerhouses with well known international brands to the smaller contract farmers producing grapes to whoever wants to buy them. Obviously everything in between too - Like the cozy Quinta Do Tedo. Situated by the road from Peso De Regua to Pinhão, this rather small Quinta has much character to offer - Nice light summery Rosé Port and a good basic red that really convinced me. I would definately recommend to stop by.

Wineries might seem close to each other, but the ever twisting mountain roads keep things rather sparce and the many times you simply want to stop to enjoy the views - all eat into your schedule. Remember to plan timetables with a local, or at least ask how long does it take to get somewhere, not just relying on a map. The climb from Pinhão to the Portal Winery is recommended, as is the road from Pinhão to Crasto Winery. The sense of adventure, thats what is missing from many wine producing areas these days - In the Douro Valley it is present, unique and honest.

An introduction

Hello there,

I'm Lasse Yrjölä, a Finnish guy who loves wines. Rather quite simple, eh?

My passion derives from many years spent working for the Finnish Alcohol Monopoly - Alko Oy. Even though I have my critizims for them I have to admit the amount of different wines I got to taste was astonishing. It gave me that final kick to really analyze, keep track and get more deeply into the culture. The main problem with me is I get into things with a passion thats hard to shake off. In my Alko days I just couldn't keep myself all that neutral like we were supposed to be - I had my opinions about the wines and I wanted to express them. Now I feel unchained and free to explore the culture as an entrepeneur and I'm not shy to share my views and knowledge.

I look for persona in the wine - some would you the word "Character". Thats probably the easiest way to describe what I'm after. It's like meeting people - sometimes the chemistry is there and sometimes nowhere to be found. Every new person you meet is sub-conciously compared and analyzed by the formula inside you, social skills, mutual interests, beauty and such. It's quite the same in wines. You build your knowledge, but keep your preferences. Sometimes even the preferences might change when you grow as a person or when you hit that perfect dish with a wine you didn't like before and your eyes open to see (and taste!) the magic.

It's not all Alko influenced though. There are people around me who have really inspired to make a shift towards wines and showed the necessary attitude. Young cats out there like Ilkka Sirén and Arto Koskelo (ViiniTV fame) showed Finland (and apparently the world) that there is much more fun in wines if you just simply change the attitude and perspective into something more funny, honest and vibrant. Hell, one even might say bring it to this century!