Whisky & Wine 101
An Overview of a Tricky Relationship
Whisky and wine is a thing.
We’re no longer only exploring sherry and fortified wine maturation, in 2024 it seems that anything goes. But does it work? How does it all fit together? And how can we navigate - not just the complexity of wine - but whisky from those wine casks?
This is your 101 cheat sheet, courtesy of our Ainsley.
“To complicate is simple, to simplify is complicated.”
Bruno Monari
I’m not sure I’m teaching you anything here.
Wine casks are already immensely popular among whisky distillers and bottlers, whether it be for maturation or finishing. These days it feels like everyday there is a new brand revamping its range with wine cask finishes.
Since I don’t know a lot of whisky pals who like their malt all wined up, it can sometimes feel a bit weird.
We shall explore reasons as to why further below, because I also feel that there is a lot of confusion around the subject among whisky enthusiasts.
This is quite understandable, wine is a whole other rabbit hole after all. I’m sure that the majority of this website’s educated readers know at least a little bit about wine, maybe even just which bottle they like to bring to dinner parties because it isn’t too expensive yet tastes good, but I’m willing to bet that a lot of people here would benefit from a little clarification, if only to guide their future purchases.
Loire valley
Wine is a wonderful thing. It reaches far and wide on the flavour spectrum, arguably as much or even more than whisky, and is the result of literal millenia of tradition paired with experimentation and adaptation. It is so diverse, that if you gave an alien a glass of Gewurztraminer vendanges tardives and another of an Oregon Pinot Noir, he might not even guess that they were both made from the same fruit.
As such, it’s easy to get lost when talking about wine, unless you did your homework and studied it for a while. This is not what this feature is. This is written as a cheat sheet for those who were at the back of the classroom not paying attention.
As such, I’ll try not to get too technical - I’m no Tyree after all - while still being rigorous in the information delivered to you. But in the end, I’m only human, and I might make some mistakes. No doubt the front-row geniuses among you will be able to correct me in the comments. I’ll focus solely on wines of which the casks are commonly used to mature whiskies, so no mention of Beaujolais, German Pinot noir or Muscadet here, friends, sorry. Let’s keep it simple not too complicated.
In the end, I hope this will encourage you to try different wines you’re not used to, or maybe even try wine at all. Let’s dig in.
Wine Casks for Whisky’s Sake
Except for Sherry, as well as some Port and Madeira casks, most of the wine casks used in the whisky industry were not seasoned but actually previously used to mature wine. The goal of most decent winemakers when putting their grape juice in a cask is not necessarily to flavour it with oak, but to use the barrique as a slightly porous vessel, allowing for controlled oxidation, which in turn brings more integrated tannins and fruitier flavours. As such, the casks they used are almost never charred. I’m sure there’s a winemaker somewhere making wine aged in heavily charred American oak, but I’m officially advising you not to waste your money on it.
Wine barriques are toasted only. This is to allow the staves to bend and form a leak-free cask. The intensity of said toast can vary, but you never end up with so-called “Alligator skin” as we see with charring. These casks consequently lack the sulphur-filtering ability of the carbonised layer of wood in a heavily charred cask. It also means that fewer hemicellulose compounds are degraded and available to dissolve in the liquid. All in all, it means that the wood in a typical wine cask does not impart as much “woody flavours” as, say, a typical first-fill bourbon or virgin oak cask coopered for use by a distiller.
Cask sizes also vary a lot between different wine regions, and sometimes inside the same wine cellar, depending on the winemaker’s goal for his different cuvées. The kind of standard size for a wine barrique in France for example is between 225 Litres (Bordeaux Barrique) and 228 Litres (Pièce Bourguignonne), whereas a sherry butt can be up to 650 Litres. There are also the often used Demi-Muid, consisting of half the capacity of a Muid, which means around 500 Litres. Then there’s the sherry industry, which now routinely seasons 250 Litres hogsheads specifically tailored for the Scotch whisky industry. As we geeks know, cask size is a parameter that has a huge say in the impact of said cask on the whisky that’s put into it. Smaller size = a “faster” and more intense maturation. I’m putting faster in quotation marks because actual maturation is much more than adsorption of wood compounds in the whisky.
There is also the question of the type of oak used. Not a lot of wine casks are made with Chinkapin, Mizunara or other exotic oak species, at least to my knowledge, so there are two main options : American or European, ergo, Quercus Alba or Quercus Robur respectively. As many of you already know I’m sure, American oak provides sweeter flavours, like coconut, vanilla and caramel, while its European counterpart can feel spicier and dryer. Most wine casks in Europe are made with European oak, with the notable exception of Sherry seasoned casks for the whisky industry, which are almost always made from American oak.
Please note that I am not going to talk about STR - Shaved, Toasted and Re-charred - casks here, as I feel that even if these start their life as wine casks, the STR treatment modifies them enough to give them a whole other flavour profile, just like a refill ex-bourbon hogshead is different from a dechar-rechar cask. These are topics for another time.
The interesting thing to uncover here, is the actual reason(s) why wine casks are used on such a scale when they were practically absent from whisky production just ten years ago. I could of course speculate and make all sorts of assumptions, but that wouldn’t be very productive, so instead I sent a few questions regarding the subject to a few people who actually know something about casks.
Enter Angus MacRaild (Decadent Drinks, Whiskyfun), Benjamin Kuentz (Maison Benjamin Kuentz), Phil & Simon Thompson (Thompson Brothers, Dornoch Distillery) and Mark & Kate Watt (Watt Whisky).
I want to publicly thank all of them for their interesting insight as well as their reactivity and quick answers. Turns out great people make great whisky.
Q&A
How do you personally feel about wine casks in whisky (red wine, sweet wine and sherry, or other more "exotic" casks)? Do you tend to like them or not?
Feel free to distinguish your answer between specific types of wine casks.
Angus MacRaild : “I love sherry casks, when done properly with lighter oak influence and a clear character of the original sherry style in the whisky's final profile. And most importantly when given proper time to allow balance and integration to occur; so either full term maturation, or at least two years for a finish. I'm far less interested in other wine casks generally speaking, in my experience they are very hard to get right and they don't really deliver the type of whisky I enjoy. I actively dislike the vast majority of red wine finishes I've ever tasted.
The one exception I might make is Sauternes, I think the sweetness seems to work better, although the results are inconsistent in my experience. I feel the same way about most [sweet] wines and fortified drinks. Port can work occasionally but I really think it needs a long time (five years plus) for proper integration to occur. Nothing surpasses good quality, well-integrated sherrywood maturation in my view.”
Benjamin Kuentz : “Wine casks bring a different and complementary aromatic palette from standards well established in the whisky industry (ex-Bourbon or ex-Sherry casks). This aspect makes them interesting to use for ageing whisky. The remnant left in the casks by the wine brings alternatively subtle, elegant, vinous or rich flavours, depending on the type of wine used. A red wine cask will favour red and dried fruit flavours while white wine can bring an orchard or exotic fruit vibe. I however think these types of casks are to be used with caution. The choice of the casks and their preparation are important to make sure ageing will go smoothly. For ageing purely, white and sweet wines are easier to work with. As a French whisky producer, the proximity I have with different vineyards and winemakers allows me to use very fresh casks to mature our whiskies. Pretty much as soon as the wine is emptied, they are filled with whisky, which helps us to bottle quality whisky in the end.”
Simon Thompson, Dornoch Distillery, Thompson Bros
Thompson Brothers : “We do love our sherry, sweet wine casks and wine casks can work very well. The most important element for us is time. Wine casks need time to fully integrate and evolve so you need full maturation or very long finishes. I feel that short finishing has been occasionally abused to add some last minute colour and a price bump.”
Kate & Mark Watt : “Generally not a fan of wine casks. That said though we have bottled some wine cask finished stuff at Watt Whisky which obviously I did like. (Running our own indie bottler has made me into a big old hypocrite!) I think the key is balance. So many wine casked whiskies are so overdone you could be drinking anything - It becomes more about the cask than the distillate. For the same reason I find I usually prefer refill sherry casks to fresh sherry - particularly if we’re talking about PX which can be really intense! I prefer to get the distillery character coming through rather than feel it has been overpowered by the cask. It all comes down to the individual cask though and individual taste.”
Mark & Kate Watt, Watt Whisky, Campbeltown Whisky Co.
How interested do you feel the whisky consumer base is about wine casks (other than sherry)?
AMcR : “Hard to say. So many bottlers and distillery owners are using funny wine casks, so presumably there is a market for it. Although, my own suspicion is that their prevalence is driven by companies rather desperately looking for short term points of differentiation in a very competitive and crowded marketplace. The upshot of which is: everyone has funny wine cask finishes that often taste pretty similar. So, how genuinely excited and interested the broader whisky consumer community is in wine cask maturations and finishes seems to me something hard to properly measure or know. People certainly are drawn to darker colour whiskies, so I'd say that's a major factor in the motivation to use wine casks.”
BK : “For me, every whisky tells a story. Consumers are curious for stories and different flavours. If they find flavours they find pleasant in wine cask matured/finished whiskies, it seems evident they are going to be willing to explore these types of casks more and enrich their collection, even more so maybe when the wine or appellation in question is one they already like. I have a few whiskies in my range which are aged in great French wine casks, like Aveux Gourmands (ex-Sauternes) or Aux Particules Vines (various wine casks), and they sell well. The chic à la Française would be to taste a whisky aged in a wine cask which held the wine that was drunk at the table : one could not dream of better taste continuity.”
TB : “Sherry casks are always popular but the quality of the cask can vary greatly depending on source and specifications.”
K&MW : “Depends on the consumer I suppose. For some people wine casks could add a really interesting flavour dimension and or/bold/different character to a whisky whereas for others they could just ruin a perfectly good whisky.”
Angus MacRaild, Decadent Drinks, Kythe Distillery & Whiskyfun
Why do you think distillers and bottlers alike tend to use more and more of them? Is it to do with market demand, or price and availability of said casks, or something else?
AMcR : “See answer to question 2 above. I really think it's driven by an effort to differentiate. Whisky is inherently slow, it's especially very slow to achieve real quality, so distillers and bottlers are attracted to rapidly acting elements of the process that they can more pro-actively control, like active wood. In particular wine casks as they tend to add colour very quickly (often in the space of mere months), so this is motivating from a short-term financial perspective. However, my personal view is that this is detrimental from a quality perspective. Even a two year finish isn't really sufficient time for something as jolting as a red wine cask to properly integrate with a cereal-based distillate, the results are just so often weird and funky and imbalanced. I would even argue that many full-term maturations I've tasted in red or ex-white wine casks just don't work, there is something fundamentally jarring about grape wine and cereal spirits that rarely knit together properly.”
BK : “One of the reasons might be a strain on the availability of traditional whisky casks, but I’m not sure it can entirely be explained by that. I personally think that producers seek to explore new aromatic directions for whisky. New brands launching now need to be able to differentiate themselves from “classical” whiskies. For more established brands, it can help them to modernise their range and instil a sense of youth. I’d bet wine casks have a bright future in the whisky industry. It’s up to us producers to use them to a great effect.”
Benjamin Kuentz, Maison Benjamin Kuentz
TB : “Often we see waves of availability as big parcels of mature casks go out to the brokerage markets so you see many Indy bottlers buying similar casks at the same time. Recasking for a finish is a way to differentiate. Often these parcels are in refill wood and many indy bottlers will find darker liquid and the tagline "sherry cask" can demand a higher price and sell quicker. Some people forget that you can't say "single cask" if the cask is finished.”
M&KW : “Because sherry and bourbon casks are getting more and more expensive and harder to find. Distillers and bottlers are looking for cheaper and more readily available alternatives. Or, for whisky destined to be bottled young, something that gives a lot of flavour in a short time. Or because it’s a good marketing story/tie-in. Lots of different reasons! For us it’s very much down to what’s available and whether we like it or not. We haven’t filled any of our own stock into wine casks (and probably won’t) but if we come across a wine cask whisky for sale through a broker that we like then we may well buy it and bottle it.
“The only thing that I would add is that although wine casks seem to be more of a current fad, this is no new thing, I am sure (although can't find it now), I saw an advert for a whisky from 1880's that was boasting that the whisky was matured in white wine casks. In general with whisky nothing is new! I would say in agreement with Kate that for us a lot of the time wine casks in particular can add too much flavour and generally mask distilleries' DNA. Big bold flavours have always been admired across whisky, look at the success of big smoky whiskies over the years although at least the race to the top of peat seems to have calmed down and I imagine the race to see who can use the most or strangest casks will also slow down in the near future.
Possibly my biggest bug-bear at the moment is the increase in particularly wet casks being used. The whisky is dark in colour (so people are happy as we taste with our eyes; don't - it hurts) but the wine / sherry is not given enough time to integrate with the whisky, you can spot these bottlings quite often as they often have fairly low natural cask strengths due to the amount of liquid being left in the casks. For me although they are dark they are often a disappointment. That said when a wine or sherry casks works well it can be a thing of beauty.
And then, being the legend that he is, wrote back at a quarter to one in the morning, with screenshots of said ads.
A Call for Transparency
It’s interesting to echo those ads to Benjamin’s comments about white wine casks being perhaps better suited to whisky maturation, possibly due to the more subtle impact they have.
The main interest and differentiator of a wine cask is obviously the type of wine it has matured prior to be filled with uisge beatha. As said before, there is so much variation in wine flavour profiles, so where the casks are sourced from is immensely important. That’s why I always get so frustrated when I examine some whisky bottle’s label and just see “Red wine cask”, or sometimes even just “wine cask”.
Please, dear distillers and bottlers, make the effort to tell us precisely which type of wine cask it is. It can’t be that hard?
Ainsley’s Wine Country Cheat Sheet
In an effort to provide you with a non-exhaustive guide on wine casks, I hereby compile a resumé of the characteristics of the wines whose casks are most commonly used by the whisky industry.
I must be clear that I’m talking about the wines here, and that the whisky put in their relative casks will not taste exactly like the wine. Some correlation is to be expected though, in varying amounts.
Let’s divide all of this by country of origin, and appellation, starting with the obvious.
Spain
There is no escaping the sherry recap when talking about wine casks, even though our Broddy did a recent deep dive. Let’s also not forget Rioja, used quite often now by master blenders.
Fino : Made from Palomino fino grapes in the south west of Spain, aged under a veil of yeast (flor), and fortified to a strength of roughly 15% alc. after fermentation, fino is a dry, yeasty and sometimes herbal wine. Pairs well with all sorts of tapas. Dougie reviewed a Fino finished Glen Garioch a while back.
Manzanilla : Same as fino, except it is made closer to the sea, in Sanlúcar De Barrameda. It has a similar profile, with a maritime, coastal lick to it. Pairs well with fish and seafood. Here’s a tasty looking Manzanilla-ed Tomatin.
Amontillado : Starts as a Fino, but is then fortified again to around 17,5% alc., which effectively kills the veil of yeast, allowing a second, more oxidative ageing. Retains the freshness of a fino while also presenting nutty and tobacco like notes. Calder reviewed a Ledaig finished in Amontillado back in early 2023.
Oloroso : Made from Palomino fino, and fortified to 17.5% straight after fermentation, to prevent flor from forming. Still dry, but nuttier and bolder than an Amontillado. By far the most common type of sherry used by the whisky industry, there are tons of reviews on this site, as this Edradour, a distillery known for favouring these types of casks.
Palo Cortado : Essentially an accidental Oloroso, having lost its flor independently of the will of the winemaker. Similar profile. Quite a bit rarer than Oloroso, there still are some whiskies matured in Palo cortado, as this Glenmorangie 12.
Pedro Ximenez : Named after the grape variety used, it is a sweet sherry made from sun dried grapes, offering high sugar concentration, and aromas of rich raisins, dates and chocolate. As oloroso, PX is quite commonly used by whisky makers, even as far as Australia.
Moscatel : Made in the same way as Pedro Ximenez, but from Muscat, also called Moscatel. A profile that’s fruitier, on ripe exotic fruits, and fragrant flowers. PX and Moscatel are similar to fortified wines made in the Malaga DO (Denominación de Origen). Broddy reviewed an American Malt finished in Moscatel on these pages. For anything sherry, La Iña usually offers good value.
Rioja : Rioja can be either a red or white wine, but the reds are much more common, and Rioja casks for whisky are almost always red wine casks. Red wines are made predominantly from Tempranillo and Garnacha tinta (Grenache noir). They are classified from Crianza (Minimum 1 year barrel ageing) up to Gran Reserva (Minimum 2 years barrel ageing). Red Riojas tend to be full bodied, rich wines, with relatively high alcohol (14%+), high tannins and aromas of oak ageing, ripe dark fruits and spices. More modern winemakers use less new oak and focus more on primary fruit flavours. Crianzas are relatively lighter than Reservas and Gran Reservas. They pair well with all sorts of beef based dishes. The ubiquitous Ledaig Sinclair Rioja finish is of course a good example. If you need a producer recommended, I like Alonso Etayo’s wines.
Portugal
Portugal produces many types of wines, but whisky tends to be aged in pretty much only two Portuguese wines : Port and Madeira. Both are fortified, like sherry, but the addition of brandy is performed early, before yeast has the time to consume all the sugars in the wine.
White Port : An increasingly common sight on whisky labels. White Port is slightly drier than its red counterpart, but still retains some sugar. Made from grapes like Malvasia fina, Donzelinho branco, Gouveio or Rabigato, it boasts white fleshed fruit aromas and a floral side. Great paired with cheese or as a sweet apéritif. A recent and brilliant white port matured whisky is certainly this 11yo Glen Scotia.
Ruby Port : Arguably the most basic kind of Port, but also the cheapest, which might explain its success as a category. Aged in a reductive way (without oxygen contact), it is sweet and very fruity, with aromas of sweet blackberries, cherries and so on. I would advise going for a Tawny instead, they usually are much more interesting. Ruby Port maturation can greatly augment whisky when done right though, as Dougie uncovered.
Tawny Port : Made from the same varieties as Ruby Port, mainly Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Francesa, it is aged in an oxidative manner, in barrels, for at least 3 years, which adds a nutty dimension to their flavour spectrum. Tawny Port pairs amazingly with blue cheese, and older versions tend to be better, though of course pricier. It seems our own Doog likes his scotch matured in wine casks, as this Glencadam review suggests. Great Port producers include but are not limited to Niepoort, Kopke, Quinta do Noval and Taylor’s.
Madeira : As with Port, Madeira offers a few different substyles, from dry to sweet. It is of course made in the Portuguese Island of Madeira, in the Atlantic ocean. It can be made using white or red grapes, the most common being Negra Mole and Malvasia. Fortification happens at different stages depending on the sweetness level desired in the final wine, and ageing of quality wines happens in big casks called drums, of a capacity ranging from 500 to 700 Litres. These drums are exposed to high heat (up to 55-60°C) for at least a year or two, whereas the older vintages can spend more than 100 years in cask. The heat and contact with the oxygen gives a very peculiar flavour profile, of cooked fruits, nuts, spices and dried flowers. Go check out Earie’s review of this Gouden Carolus if you want to know what this does to a whisky. No particular producer to recommend, I’d just advise you to look past the cheap stuff.
France
To wine what Scotland is to whisky for sure. There are currently more than 360 AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) and 75 IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) dotted all around France, and some winemakers also produce Vin de France, which is free from any regulations regarding winemaking. Nothing’s simple here ! Let’s only focus on wines which we can find mention of on whisky labels, to keep things as simple as can be. As a Frenchman whose job it is to sell wine, I strongly encourage you, finances permitting, to explore French wine, including ones from lesser known regions. If you need guidance, I'll happily answer questions.
Bordeaux : Bordeaux is a city, situated in the second biggest wine producing region in France (more than 100 000 ha), giving it its name. Bordeaux is also the AOP encompassing red and white wine made in the whole region. It is divided into sub regions : the left bank of the Garonne river, consisting of Graves, Médoc and Haut-Médoc ; Entre-Deux-Mers, situated between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers ; and the right bank of the Dordogne, reaching from Blaye Côtes De Bordeaux in the west to Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux in the east. These sub regions are home to further smaller AOPs, often related to villages, and making specific types of wines, often (but not always) of a higher quality standard, like Saint-Émilion, Margaux, Sauternes or Pessac-Léognan. Bit of a mess, huh ? Standard red Bordeaux AOP wines are made from a blend of cabernet-sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and in smaller measure malbec, petit verdot and carmenère. Single variety wines are allowed but rare, especially on the left bank, which is home to a lot of cabernet-sauvignon that needs to be balanced with fruitier varieties like merlot and cabernet franc. Single variety Bordeaux tends to be made with merlot, although exceptions do exist. A good Bordeaux is not too elevated in alcohol - though climate change still has an effect here - and presents flavours of dark fruits such as black currant, as well as a slightly dry herbal side and not too much wood. It has tannins but not too much, making it easy to pair with almost any kind of grilled or roasted meat. Wines from more prestigious AOPs like Saint Julien, Saint Estèphe, or Pomerol are usually fuller bodied, and more suited to long ageing in bottle. They also pair well with bolder meats, such as duck confit, or slow cooked lamb. Benromach did a Bordeaux finish in their contrasts series a while back.
White Bordeaux, called Entre-Deux-Mers when made between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, is usually made with a majority of sauvignon blanc, sometimes complemented by sauvignon gris, sémillon and muscadelle. It is a dry and fresh but fragrant wine, with aromas of lemon and grapefruit, and pairs well with white fish and oysters. Quite rare to spot it on a whisky label, but there is a good chance this Auchentoshan is from white Bordeaux barriques.
Let’s not forget that some of the best sweet wines in the world are made there, in the Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers subregions, in AOPs such as Loupiac, Cadillac, Barsac, and of course, Sauternes. Bergerac and Monbazillac are very similar, but made just outside the Bordeaux region. Made mainly with sémillon and muscadelle which have been botrytised - infected by a fungi that dries out the grapes - the best ones can age for literal centuries once bottled and are extremely aromatic and complex, boasting flavours of honey covered white and tropical fruits, soft spices, saffron… It pairs magnificently with Blue cheese, fruity desserts, roasted chicken, and even spicy food. Sauternes is a very common sight on whisky labels these days, for example this delicious Port Charlotte.
If you need a few recommendations regarding Bordeaux wines, I like these for the value and quality they offer : Château Cazebonne (Graves), Chateau Falfas (Côte de Bourg), Château Coutet (Saint Emilion), Domaine Rousset Peyraguey (Sauternes), Domaine Uchida (Haut-Médoc), Château Lauduc (Entre-Deux-Mers), Château Peybonhomme-les-Tours (Blaye), Château Gombaude-Guillot (Pomerol), Château Ferrière (Margaux), Château Haut-Bergey (Pessac-Léognan)...
Jurançon : A small AOP, producing only white wines, with some great dry ones - Jurançon sec - but more famous for its sweet wines, simply called Jurançon. It is made in a similar manner as Sauternes, but in a different place - south of Pau, on the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains - and from different grapes, mainly Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng. It can be similar in profile to Sauternes, but these varieties usually produce wines with slightly higher acidity, hence more freshness. A good Jurançon pairs magnificently with a simple peach tart, or a Roquefort. It is also usually great value for money. Rarely used for Scotch maturation because less easily accessible, but French whisky makers sometimes try it, such as Bruno Mangin. I personally love wines from Domaine Castéra.
Bourgogne : The holy land for winos, producing both the most revered white and red wines, with legendary Grand Cru vineyards like Corton Charlemagne, Montrachet, Romanée-Conti or Le Musigny. Bar some minor exceptions, white wines are 100% Chardonnay, and reds 100% Pinot Noir. Depending on the exact place where it is made, a white Bourgogne can be either fresh, mineral, chalky and saline (think Chablis), or rich, buttery and decadent (think Meursault). Reds are typically fresh, delicate, a bit floral and vegetal, with aromas of ripe cherries, and a tannic structure varying from almost non existent (think Hautes Côtes De Beaune) to elegant but present (think Gevrey-Chambertin). Because of these more elegant tannins, I personally believe that red Bourgogne casks tend to work much better when ageing whisky than Bordeaux or Californian cabernet casks. Red Bourgogne will pair with refined meats such as pigeon, quail, or guinea fowl, whereas white wines will be great on blanquette de veau (veal), roasted chicken, or fish and seafood for the drier, fresher ones (like Chablis). When a whisky is labelled as pinot noir or chardonnay matured/finished, there’s a good chance the casks came from Bourgogne, though they could also be from the US for example, as these are very popular grapes all around the world.
Lots of wonderful producers in Bourgogne, here are some of my favourites : Domaine Bernard Defaix (Chablis/Rully), Domaine Gruhier (Epineuil/Tonnerre), Jean-Louis & Jean-Christophe Bersan (Saint Bris/Irancy), Jean-Claude Rateau (Beaune), Domaine Jean Fournier (Marsannay), Michel Magnien (Morey-Saint Denis), Domaine Bonnardot (Côte de Beaune), Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson (Saint Romain)...
Rhône Valley : A region well known for its red wines, though it also produces some delicious full bodied whites. It is divided into 2 different subregions : northern Rhône, from Vienne to Valence, producing either red wines from syrah (yes Aussies, it’s called syrah), or whites from viognier, or a blend of roussanne and marsanne. Some of the best wines in the country are produced here, like Hermitage (red & white), Condrieu (white from viognier), Saint Peray (white from roussanne and marsanne) or the famous Côte Rôtie (red wines only). Reds from northern Rhône tend to have medium to high tannic structure, but retain freshness and offer classic syrah aromas : violets, blackberries and black pepper. Condrieu wines made from Viognier are all about violets, lavender, peaches and apricots, with an often oily mouthfeel, while whites from marsanne and roussanne (Crozes-Hermitage or Saint Joseph for example) are still oily and fruity, but less floral and more herbaceous. Reds from northern Rhône pair brilliantly with long cooked lamb, and whites with creamy cheeses or fishes in sauce.
The southern Rhône valley has a drier and hotter climate, as well as different soils, making it a place where grape blends are common. One red variety is king though, the ubiquitous grenache noir, often making up for upwards of 70% of the wines produced there. Grenache has finer tannins compared to syrah, but also produces more alcohol, leading to full bodied wines, smelling of cooked red fruits and dried herbs like thyme and rosemary. It is one of my favourites grapes, along with pinot noir, and the most qualitative appellation in this region is without the shadow of a doubt Châteauneuf-du-Pape, even if less famous ones like Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, or Lirac can offer great value. It is also where the vast majority of the regular Côtes-du-Rhône AOP wines are produced, with again some of them offering cracking value, while others are forgettable. Some whites and rosés are produced as well, but they’re more anecdotal, even if they can be very good. Also noteworthy is the Tavel AOP, which produces a famous full bodied rosé, more suited to a gastronomic table than a poolside. I really like pairing a bold grenache based red from southern Rhône with a daube, a kind of local boeuf bourguignon.
Ardbeg once produced a Côte Rôtie single cask, now available for ludicrous amounts of cash, as you can see here.
Again, there is a multitude of great winemakers in this region, so I’ll just list a few favourites : François Villard (Saint Joseph), Julien Barge (Côte Rôtie/Condrieu), Philippe Viret (natural wines from southern Rhône), Domaine Aléofane (Crozes-Hermitage), Domaine des Aphillanthes (Rasteau/Plan De Dieu), Domaine de Villeneuve (Châteauneuf-du-Pape), Domaine Saint Pierre d’Escarvaillac (Côtes du Rhône), Les Vignerons d’Estézargues (Côtes-du-Rhône)...
Pineau Des Charentes : Pineau is not technically a wine, but a mistelle. It is produced by blending grape must and young Cognac, and then ageing said mélange in casks. Young ones are very juicy and fruity, and retain all the sweetness from the grape must. Older ones are also produced, and can become very complex. Other similarly made apéritif are produced in various French regions, like Floc de Gascogne in Armagnac, or Ratafia in Champagne and Bourgogne.
There has recently been an increase in the use of Pineau des Charentes casks in Scotch whisky, like this Macduff released by Dràm Mor, here reviewed by Earie.
I’d recommend producers like Fanny Fougerat, Guilhem Grosperrin, Jean-Luc Pasquet, or Vallein-Tercinier.
Vin Jaune : A delicacy produced in the Jura mountains from savagnin blanc grapes, vin jaune is aged in an oxidative manner, like sherry, but it isn’t fortified. It is mandatory to age it in barrels for at least 6 years and 3 months, which explains the hefty price tag often associated with it (north of 50€ in France, probably more where you are). It is a polarising wine, offering intense aromas of walnuts, rancio, spices and dried fruits. It pairs magnificently with an old Comté or any other hard cheese. Vin jaune casks are relatively rare in Scotch, but are getting popular among French whisky makers, and are kind of a hit or miss in my humble opinion.
I like Vins Jaunes from Stéphane Tissot, Domaine Dugois, Domaine Villet, or Domaine Fumey-Chatelain.
Vin de Paille : Also made in the Jura mountains, vin de paille is a sweet wine, traditionally made by drying the grapes on straw mats, hence the name (paille = straw). Very sweet and complex, it ranges from cooked fruit aromas to cocoa, spices and rancio. It truly can be a wonderful experience, but you’ll usually have to pay north of 40€ to get a good one, and they tend to come in 37,5cl. I like the ones made by Domaine Dugois and Jérôme Arnoux for example, and I previously reviewed a whisky aged in a Vin de Paille cask a few months ago.
Champagne : Champagne casks are rarely used in whisky production, and are usually called “cuvée” casks, because people in Champagne are very attached to their trademark. Champagne is of course a sparkling wine made mainly from chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, though it’s worth noting that four other grape varieties are allowed. It can be dry or sweet depending on the level of added sugar, but while it is in casks, it is always dry, being sweetened only at the end of bottle ageing. Champagne, depending on its sweetness level and blend of grapes (or lack thereof), can be enjoyed from apéritif up to dessert. I’d say a classic regional pairing would be a dry blanc-de-blancs with gougères and Chaource cheese. Ardnamurchan are famous for their yearly Paul Launois release, aged in casks from the Paul Launois Champagne house, and Dougie apparently loved the latest iteration in the series.
I like Champagne a lot, and I’d advise you to stay away from big brands and focus on indie producers like Guillaume Marteaux, Françoise Bedel, Domaine Jacques Lassaigne, Champagne Piollot, Pascal Henin, Champagne Marie-Courtin…
Vins Doux Naturels : Vin Doux Naturel, or VDN for short, is a term designating a type of sweet wine made by adding grape alcohol to grape must during fermentation, elevating the ABV to around 15-20%, therefore killing the yeasts and resulting in a wine with residual sugars. Port is technically a VDN, though the term only applies to French wines. A VDN can be either white or red, and the older ones - aged in casks or demi johns - are labelled as ambré or tuilé. There are a lot made from muscat, like Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat de Lunel, Muscat de Rivesaltes, Muscat de Beaumes De Venise, and the underrated Muscat du Cap Corse. Some are brilliant, most are garbage, so avoid the cheap ones at all costs. Muscat is very fruity and floral, almost tropical. Other VDNs are made from the likes of grenache (noir, blanc or gris), macabeu or malvoisie du Roussillon. The most famous ones are Rasteau VDN, Maury, Banyuls and Rivesaltes. They are fruity when young, and display more oxidative and rancio notes as they age (nuts, spices, leather, damp forest floor, cocoa…). As all sweet wines, they are a match made in heaven with strong blue cheese. Their impact as a whisky cask can be likened to a Moscatel sherry for the ones made from muscat, or to a tawny / white port for the other ones. Dougie talks about a Rivesaltes cask Lindores in his Fife whisky festival feature, and VDN casks are getting a tiny bit of traction, as exemplified by this release from Brave New Spirits. If you want to try VDNs, nothing beats a good Maury from Mas Amiel or Marc Barriot, and the Muscat du Cap Corse from Domaine Leccia is to die for, especially the older ones, aged in the sunlight in demijohns.
That should round out France, so onto our friendly neighbours the Italians. They speak very loudly and we love them.
Italy
Italy is, in my opinion, the other great country of wine. Capable of delivering wonderful bottles and showcasing a lot of indigenous varieties as well, which is always interesting. I’m again only going to mention the specific appellations commonly found on whisky labels, otherwise this already lengthy feature could become too long.
Valpolicella : Situated near Verona, in the north east of Italy, Valpolicella has become quite famous in recent years. The wines are only red, and made with mostly corvina grapes. There are a few very different wines produced there though, based on the winemaking techniques applied.
The regular Valpolicella wines are light in colour and body, with a relatively high acidity, low tannins, and bright red fruit aromas. They are made like any typical red wine. You can pair a Valpolicella with all sorts of cold cuts, gruyères, carpaccio, or pasta bolognese.
The increasingly famous Amarone della Valpolicella are dry red wines made from the same varieties, but in this case the grapes have been dried prior to winemaking. This gives a dry, but concentrated and rich wine, with aromas of figs, dates and cooked fruits. This is the one you will see the most on whisky labels, simply because it is the kind of Valpolicella that is most commonly aged in barrels. Amarone pairs well with rich hearty stews, like a beef bourguignon.
We can also mention Valpolicella Ripasso, which consists of fermenting regular Valpolicella on Amarone lees - grape must and yeast residue - giving it more body. Pair it simply with a nice steak.
Finally, let’s not forget Recioto della Valpolicella, which is made in a similar way as Amarone, but retains natural sweetness after fermentation.
We all remember Dougie’s personal misfortune with an Amarone finished Tomatin.
Barolo : Still in Northern Italy, but this time in the west, in the Piedmont region. They are also red and made with 100% nebbiolo. Nebbiolo is an interesting grape variety, as it produces wines that are light in colour, but rich nonetheless, and very apt to be cellared for a number of years. It probably is the most revered DOC (Denominazione Di Origine Controllata) in Italy, with wines from producers such as Giuseppe Rinaldi being sold for hundreds of Euros. The classic Barolo pairing is with an ossobuco. You don’t have to spend this much to taste good Barolo, but they are still expensive. I’d say start around the 50€ mark. I personally love wines from G.D Vajra. Tomatin doubled down on Italian wines and also released a Barolo finished whisky.
Marsala : Hailing from Sicily is the Italian take on sweet, fortified wines, Marsala. Sweet wines are produced here, mainly made using the white grapes grillo and catarratto, and the red grapes nero d’avola, nerello mascalese, pignatello and calabrese. The sweetness level can vary between dry (less than 40g/L) and Amabile (more than 100g/L). They taste of cooked and dry fruits, spices, and are more suited to be paired with strong cheeses and desserts. Nick very recently reviewed a Marsala cask Firkin bottling of Ardmore.
Rest of The World
Sorry for the less than precise category. Nothing to do with the actual quality of the wines here though, I assure you!
Tokaj : Pronounced Toe-Ka-yee, Tokaj is another sweet wine, the symbol of Hungarian and Slovakian winemaking, the region being situated on the border between these two countries. Tokaj is only white, and made mainly from furmint, but harslevelü and white muscat are also allowed. The grapes are left on the vine to be dried by the action of Botrytis Cinerea, or noble rot, the same fungi that is used by Sauternes producers for example. The dried grapes are then added to a base wine, and the sweetness of the final wine is decided by how much dried grapes are added, the sweetest and most expensive ones being called Eszencia, showcasing a sugar content higher than 250g/L. Tokaj barrels can be used to great effect when ageing whisky, as shown here by Glasgow distillery.
Australian wines : Quite a vast category, again, sorry Aussies. I’ve tried a few Australian wines but I couldn’t say I’m familiar with them. When you hear the variety syrah referred to as Shiraz, you’re most certainly in front of an Australian wine. Australian shiraz tend to be fuller bodied and more wood driven than French ones, with common use of American oak. They also sometimes have a little amount of residual sugar. They vary in quality, but can be very good indeed. I’d advise though to stay away from big brands and seek small scale producers, even for pricier ones. It’s quite common for Australian whiskies to be aged in Shiraz casks of course, like this release from Hermetica distillery. Australians also produce a Sherry-like wine, called Apera, of which the casks are commonly used in whisky production, like this release by Fleurieu & Black Gate in Australia, reviewed by Tyree.
American wines : Same thing as Australian wines, I’ve had a few but at the prices they go for here, I can buy myself nice Bourgogne bottles and I don’t see any reason not to!
American wines are mainly made from cabernet sauvignon, merlot, zinfandel (called primitivo in Italy) and pinot noir, as well as chardonnay for the whites. They also tend to be richer and denser than their French counterparts, and aged in American oak. Some pinot noirs from Oregon can be delightfully refined though, all is a question of finding the wine that suits your tastes. Green Spot Château Montelena is aged in casks coming from the famous winery in Napa valley.
Over to you…
And so, if you’re still here, thank you for reading, as this is definitely my most intense contribution to Dramface to date.
I do hope you can use this feature as a cheat sheet when browsing for whisky - or wine - and that it’ll be useful to at least some of you. I have omitted a lot of different wines, simply because I either never have seen them on a whisky label, or I don’t have sufficient experience with them in the first place. So I guess, sorry South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Canada…
But wherever you are I do hope this will inspire some of you to explore the wonderful world of wine.
Phew! I really fancy a beer right now.
Once again many thanks to Angus & the Decadent Drinks team, Benjamin Kuentz Whisky, Phil, Simon (Thompson Bros) & Anna in Dornoch, and Mark & Kate at Watt Whisky in the Wee Toon. I hope to catch up / meet you during the whisky festival season.
AF
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