Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Alto means high, referring to altitude when talking about wine, in both Spanish and Italian. Recently higher altitude locations have been planted more and more. A few decades ago, these areas were not seen as suitable for growing quality grapes as the climate back then was too cool. Today, with many producers witnessing a rising temperature, and a lot of new techniques in the vineyard, these areas are finally becoming viable. The higher you plant the cooler the temperature will be, but you will also receive more sun which in turn helps ripen the grapes. The temperature will be quite warm during the day, but very cool at night. This leads to ripe fruit aromas developing during the day, followed by a cool nighttime keeping the fresh acidity in the grapes, the best of both worlds for the grapes.

In Italy this development has been very prominent in northern Piemonte in the last decade. There is now talk about an area called Alto Piemonte, comprised of a few different wine regions. They are all located higher up in the mountains, and like the most famous wines from Piemonte many are based on the Nebbiolo grape. The most well-known wine regions would be Ghemme, Gattinara, and Boca.

But Alto Piemonte is not the only area where the term is used. In quite a few cases, in both Italy, Spain, Argentina and Chile the term can be seen used as part of a producer name or even as the name of a specific wine, sometimes to convey the wine is from a high planted vineyard. It is not uncommon however for winemakers to use the term to show it&rsquo;s their highest quality wine, not a wine from high altitude.

More wine growers have shown interest in high altitude vineyards lately, and the record of the highest planted one is something a few are trying to beat. It&rsquo;s safe to say the positive effects the altitude has on the growing grapes mean these vineyards are here to stay, and terms as alto may be used in more languages soon.

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Crown Shy

Alexis Rogers

Crown Shy

RT: Hello and Welcome to CorkRules!

A podcast where (in each episode) we will review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Alexis Rogers, Wine Educator and Sommelier

&nbsp;RT: Hi Alexis and thanks for joining us on another episode!

AR: Hi Robert! Thanks for having me! I really liked browsing the list over at CrownShy and I can&#39;t wait to share some of the cool bottles I found! This is a real wine geek&rsquo;s dream list!

RT:

Well, then let&rsquo;s jump right in!&nbsp; Here at Cork Rules, we help decode and demystify wine lists at some of your favorite restaurants because we know firsthand how intimidating being handed a well-appointed wine list can be.

Today we are talking about Crown Shy - the first solo project of Chef James Kent (formerly of Eleven Madison Park) and restaurateur Jeff Katz. Marked by its beautifully dramatic 16 ft floor to ceilings windows, this Michelin starred neighborhood restaurant boasts a concise and very to the point menu and a wine list to match.

So Alexis, what&rsquo;s your overall impression of the list @ Crown Shy?

AR: It&rsquo;s everything you need and nothing you don&#39;t. It&rsquo;s well organized and easy to browse - their website even has a &ldquo;search&rdquo; option! All of our major and important regions are represented by a few well-selected bottles but there&rsquo;s also some very unique stuff here!

RT : Let&rsquo;s start with the unique then!

AR: Don&#39;t miss the section on &ldquo;Skin Fermented White Wine&rdquo; aka Orange Wine. This is a white wine made like red wine - that is, left in contact with the grape skins and/or seeds which are the sources of a lot of flavors and tannins. With white grapes, this process delivers tangy, firmly-structured wines with a sort of bruised apple/nutty/sour tangerine &ldquo;funkiness&rdquo; to them. I would be interested to try the 2016 Cantalapiera Verdejo Chivitero from Rueda, Spain. The grape here is Verdejo, a white grape that grows nearly exclusively in Rueda, and has a similar taste and aromatic profile to Sauvignon Blanc. Here we&rsquo;ll get notes of lime, honeydew, grapefruit, white peach and herbaceous fennel. Pair this with the famed Gruyere Fritters with chilli and lime to match the wine&rsquo;s citrusy tanginess.&nbsp;&nbsp;

RT: That DOES sound interesting (Insert opinion/experiences with orange wines). I definitely think &ldquo;funky&rdquo; is our operative theme here with Crown Shy.

AR : I agree! I really found some very cool off-the-beaten-path bottlings at great price points that I didn&#39;t expect from a spot in the Financial District! Like the 2019 Domaine Curtet Frisson de Cimes. Not your typical red blend, this beauty is made up of almost equal parts Gamay and Mondeuse with a smattering of Pinot Noir and comes to us from the French region of Savoie right on the border of Switzerland. Gamay - the grape made famous in Beaujolais - contributes juicy pomegranate, wild raspberry and gravelly soil notes while the Mondeuse brings black cherry, white pepper and milk chocolate to the blend. This is a lighter style of red brimming with all that juicy red fruit but balanced by a firm minerality and subtle earthiness. This bottle wouldn&#39;t suffer from a slight chill and is meant to be consumed young and fresh. This 2019 vintage is at the height of its drinking window right now,

RT: I love a big rich, aged red wine but I find lighter styles like this can be a little more food-friendly sometimes. Especially if I&rsquo;m eating something with finely-tuned expressive flavors like we see with the dishes at Crown Shy.

AR : Absolutely! And speaking of expressive flavors&hellip; did you see that Satsuma Orange Ice Cream with Honeycomb and Toasted Marshmallow? I looked specifically for a wine to complement this!

RT: I sure did! I know pairing wine with dessert can be tricky, what did you come up with?&rdquo;

AR: It can as the wine should be at least as sweet as the dessert in order for one not to drag the other down. My answer is Sauternes! Sauternes is a village in Bordeaux that produces the world&rsquo;s most famous dessert wines from a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle. They belong to a family of lusciously sweet wines known as &ldquo;Botrytis&rdquo; or &ldquo;Noble Rot&rdquo; wines. They are extremely concentrated and very sweet but that sweetness is supported by beautiful acidity to prevent them from being cloying. The tasting notes alone are enough to make your mouth water - think apricots dripping in honey, orange marmalade, ginger, saffron, hazelnut, caramel and a touch of smokiness. Try a glass of the Premier Cru Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud.

RT: Wow! What a way to wrap up a meal! I can&rsquo;t wait to check out Crown Shy! Alexis, thank you so much for being our guide&nbsp;and helping us find all these cool bottles as well as introducing us to some new grapes. To our audience, Thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to:

Info@corkrules.Com or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of

your favorite restaurant wine lists, and finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

&nbsp;

END

BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Ruffino is one of the oldest and most respected wine producers in Tuscany, known for its exceptional Chianti Classico wines. With over 140 years of winemaking experience, Ruffino has become a symbol of Italian wine excellence, recognized around the world for its quality and consistency.

Eddy V's Prime Seafood Restaurant

The View

Il Capriccio

Clarity

Bellissimo Restaurant

Bellissimo

Sandbar

Mirabelle Restaurant & Tavern

Mirabelle at Three Village Inn

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

Primrose - Steamboat

Famille Pegaz Chardonnay Les Demoiselles, France, Burgundy 2018

Chardonnay

Burgundy, France

Far Niente

Chardonnay, Napa Valley NV

California, USA

Ellena Giuseppe

Barolo Ascheri 2018

Nebbiolo

Barolo, Piedmont, Italy

Aubert

Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018

Pinot Noir

Sonoma Coast, USA

Aldenalli, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2018

Pinot Noir

California, USA

Chev

Pinot Noir 2018

Pinot Noir

California, USA

Shafer

TD9 2018

Merlot

Napa Valley, USA

Lucien Albrecht

Cremant d'Alsace Brut Rose Reserve NV

Pinot Noir

France

Jean-Marc Brocard

Sauvignon Saint-Bris NV

Sauvignon Blanc

France

Willamette Valley Vineyards

White Pinot Noir NV

Pinot Noir

Willamette Valley, USA

Pico Maccario

Barbera d'Asti Lavignone NV

Barbera

Barbera d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy

Beringer

Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon NV

Cabernet Sauvignon

California, USA

Pico Maccario

Barbera d'Asti Lavignone 2020

Barbera

Barbera d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy

Picollo Ernesto

Le Rive NV

Cortese

Gavi, Italy

Beringer

Knights Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Cabernet Sauvignon

California, USA