Still Waters - League Table

The tastings and scores to date have revealed that there are some waters, so far, that are far better suited to a larger number of white wines than others.

The key scores here are 16-20. These are waters that enhance the taste of the wine and as such are recommended for consumption alongside the particular wines.

If you click on the image to enlarge it, you can see that, of 16 wines, the English Well water is currently leading the way with 11 recommendations, with Danish Artesian and Irish Spring waters with 8 recommendations each.

We shall hopefully begin to analyse trends with this information in the coming months, particularly with regards to the question of what determines matching suitability - the grape variety or the terroir.

A look at our scoring sheets

The scoring sheets are a fairly straightforward affair. I have enclosed an image here so that you can see what we complete during 'Minerals & Terroir' sessions.

We used to include a column on the sheet marking 'yes/no' scores, but as detailed in the previous posts, that has now been rendered unnecessary by our evolved scoring system, which is largely self explanatory.

This also means that the tastings should be more straightforward, with less time spent paused for jotting notes - unless additional or expectional observations are recorded.

suSpence and revelation! (session 6)

Our guest to the latest tasting session was freelance wine tutor and author, Godfrey Spence. 

With vast experience in the wine trade, Godfrey was curious to understand what I had been trying to tell him for weeks about 'Minerals & Terroir' in frustratingly limited 'wine speak'. Nevertheless, with the true spirit of a wine enthusiast, he agreed to come along and lend his observations.

The wines for today, white again, were to be tasted alonside still waters. Roberto's selection was:

• 2007 “Flor de Gewürztraminer”, Bodegas Laus, Somontano, Spain
• 2007 Scheurebe Trocken, Weingut Wittmann, Rheinhessen, Germany
• 2007 Torrontes, Finca el Retiro, Mendoza, Argentina
• 2007 “Tiara”, Niepoort, Douro, Portugal (Grapes: Rabigado, Codega, Donzelinho, Viosinho, Cercial)
  

Once again the English Well water showed well alongside the Danish Artesian. Curiously, the Scheurebe was a very difficult wine to enhance, with the inimitable English Well water best complementing the wine.

Interestingly, the Australian Rain water also transformed the taste of the Torrontes into cassis - like Ouzo or Pastis. We don't yet know why this is, but it is something to look into at a later date.

Of 16 wines, we can now see the most recommended waters are the English Well, Danish Artesian and Irish Spring. We can also see the the English Spring matches wines with the fruitier wines - the Muscat, Gruner & Gewurztraminer. Once we analyse these results for trends, we should hopefully understand the nature of these successful (or unsuccessful) pairings. 

It will be fascinating to discover whether the waters match universally well to grape varieties and their characteristics e.g. high acidity, or whether it is the unique terroir of the wines per se which is the determining factor.

Importantly for credibility, Godfrey found the exercise fascinating and having conceded that he was previously unaware of how water may have affected the taste of the wine, is now fully supportive of what we are setting out to acheive - a greater understanding of water/wine combinations to benefit and enhance a gastronomic environment. I'll invite him to post his comments on here, which should be very interesting to read, from a third party perspective.

Bluebird... in Piccadilly (session 5)

The christmas schedule can be punishing on the most well seasoned of sommeliers and Roberto had to sit this week out to maintain his good looks to ally his cool Italian charm.

As an alternative destination, we headed to Noura Piccadilly, base of Nicolas Angelina. The manager, Joseph, not only accomodated us, but joined us for the first session in order to understand what Nicolas had been banging on about for weeks. We also had the benefit of selecting wines from Noura's own wine list - one that had been compiled by Nicolas.

We were pairing white wines with still waters:

• Gruner Veltliner, Hopler, 2006
• Stella Bella, Margaret River, 2006, Western Australia - Semillon & Sauvignon Blanc
• Chateau Ka, "Source Blanche", 2007, Lebanon - Muscat, Sauvignon, Semillon
• Chateau Ksara, Cuvee du Pape, Chardonnay, 2006 - 12 month French new oak

In addition to a new venue, there was also a new taster to join us. The first wine-trained guest to join us was Olivier Gasselin, Head Sommelier at the D&D restaurant, The Bluebird. Boasting a 700-strong wine list, this would certainly be an excellent barometer of how valid our observations to date had been. 

As I have stated repeatedly, I am of the belief that we must add value to restaurant go-ers, particularly where water is concerned. The aim of 'Minerals & Terroir' is to make accessible the knowledge that the appropriate choice of waters can actually enhance the experience of the wine - which will have an impact on the food.

No one will know this better than a sommelier, and I awaited Olivier's opinion with eagerness. 

The tasting brought an unlikely 20 points for the Tasmanian Rain allied with the Gruner Veltliner. Olivier felt that it ehanced the minerality and complexity of the wine, in a way that the wine alone could not acheive. 

We also began to see a trend, in that the English Well water that had previously been shown to enhance the Petit Bourgeois (Sauvignon Blanc) also enhanced the Stella Bella and Chateau Ka - both containing Sauvignon! Additionally, the Danish Artesian which had previously enhanced the Knappstein Lenswood Vineyards (Semillon), also enhanced the Chateau Ka, containing Semillon.

Joseph remarked on how he was very surprised at the extent to which the waters affected the wine - and admitted that he had previously thought that Nicolas was going a little mad!

Olivier's opinion was that prior to attending, he had no pre-conceptions of what to expect, as he didn't really feel that water would have a significant impact on wine. Having sat through a tasting of four wines and eleven waters, he was quite curious as to the new understanding that he had reached about the previously ignored combination of wines and waters. He also requested that he attend future tastings also

In my opinion, since Olivier is a respected sommelier in a top London destination, this is a definite tick in the box from an individual who, after the tasting session, could appreciate the commercial relevance of what we were proposing, in addition to the experience-enhancing quality to offer his customers.