From a wine enthusiast, not a sommelier or expert by any means: This was really illuminating and makes me want to read more into the etymology of the old classifications and history of varietals around the world🍷🥂
This warms my heart. 💖 There is sooooo much to learn and love about wine’s history! One human will never be able to learn it all, but history, etymology, and the lore behind certain grapes and regions are three small ways that allow wine to tell its story over time. Sadly, wine can’t talk, but until it does, we have winemaker stories.
Whenever someone says "citrus and gooseberry" in my head I'm always like "so calamansi, then." And the funniest part is: Americans *probably* know what calamansi is better than gooseberry! Trader Joe's sells calamansi sorbet. I've never seen a single gooseberry anything, in my 40+ years of life, that wasn't a direct import from Europe. And somehow gooseberry is still one of the go-to flavor descriptors of wine. I can't imagine why.... ;)
Right?! I remember spotting a pack of fresh gooseberries from New Zealand at Whole Foods exactly once, and it was right after I passed CMS Intro. Brought home that pack of gooseberries, ate ‘em, and now all Sauvignon Blancs have gooseberry according to my blind tasting notes because I haven’t had a chance to retaste them since. 🫠
From a wine enthusiast, not a sommelier or expert by any means: This was really illuminating and makes me want to read more into the etymology of the old classifications and history of varietals around the world🍷🥂
This warms my heart. 💖 There is sooooo much to learn and love about wine’s history! One human will never be able to learn it all, but history, etymology, and the lore behind certain grapes and regions are three small ways that allow wine to tell its story over time. Sadly, wine can’t talk, but until it does, we have winemaker stories.
So much to learn and more reasons to drink 🍷!
Whenever someone says "citrus and gooseberry" in my head I'm always like "so calamansi, then." And the funniest part is: Americans *probably* know what calamansi is better than gooseberry! Trader Joe's sells calamansi sorbet. I've never seen a single gooseberry anything, in my 40+ years of life, that wasn't a direct import from Europe. And somehow gooseberry is still one of the go-to flavor descriptors of wine. I can't imagine why.... ;)
Right?! I remember spotting a pack of fresh gooseberries from New Zealand at Whole Foods exactly once, and it was right after I passed CMS Intro. Brought home that pack of gooseberries, ate ‘em, and now all Sauvignon Blancs have gooseberry according to my blind tasting notes because I haven’t had a chance to retaste them since. 🫠