Alicante Bouschet
We're off to the Alentejo region of Portugal -- the southern part that remains north of the Algarve to taste the wines from a grape with an interesting history. Alicante Bouschet was developed by Henri Bouschet in the 1860s in a successful effort to breed a wine grape that was particularly resistant to disease and rot. Bouschet's father had developed an eponymous grape Peiti Bouschet that the younger Bouschet bred with Grenache to form an ultra thick-skinned, very deep red grape that he called Alicante Bouschet.
Alicante Bouschet reached its ultimate popularity in the US during the 1920s and 1930s. Why? The Volstead Act -- you know, that lovely law that enforced Prohibition -- allowed for a limited amount of production of wine for home consumption. And, given that, even then, most grape production in the US was done in California, the west coast grape growers needed a grape that would easily and safely ship cross-country by train. What they did as often as not was to ship "bricks" of Alicante Bouschet. Upon receiving the bricks, the recipients would simply place the brick in tub of water and le voila, the wine of the Prohibition era.
What could have been better than a thick-skinned (making it very heat resistant) disease resistant grape. But, today the grape has lost most of its popularity in both the US and in France, but has had somewhat of a renaissance in some of the other significant wine-producing regions of Europe including the area we find ourselves in today.
Upon being poured a glass of Alicante Bouschet, the first thing that we notice is the incredibly deep purple color of the wine. It's a big wine, but light on aroma. In fact, for the most part, the nose is not exciting. Once the wine hits the palate, however, the experience is quite different. It's very jammy (think Aussie Shiraz), high in alcohol, very tannic, and moderately acidic. We get black fruit on black fruit -- plum, blackberry, black cherry -- along with black pepper and an almost syrupy tobacco.
Alicante Bouschet also has the ability to absorb the properties of oak particularly easily. While production is normally limited to oak that has been used several times previously, when aged in new oak, it picks up additional flavors of chocolate, vanilla, and baking spices.
Pair Alicante Bouschet with rich pasta dishes with tomato-based sauces, particularly spicy ones. Or, just drink it by itself at a Prohibition-themed party.
Alicante Bouschet reached its ultimate popularity in the US during the 1920s and 1930s. Why? The Volstead Act -- you know, that lovely law that enforced Prohibition -- allowed for a limited amount of production of wine for home consumption. And, given that, even then, most grape production in the US was done in California, the west coast grape growers needed a grape that would easily and safely ship cross-country by train. What they did as often as not was to ship "bricks" of Alicante Bouschet. Upon receiving the bricks, the recipients would simply place the brick in tub of water and le voila, the wine of the Prohibition era.
What could have been better than a thick-skinned (making it very heat resistant) disease resistant grape. But, today the grape has lost most of its popularity in both the US and in France, but has had somewhat of a renaissance in some of the other significant wine-producing regions of Europe including the area we find ourselves in today.
Upon being poured a glass of Alicante Bouschet, the first thing that we notice is the incredibly deep purple color of the wine. It's a big wine, but light on aroma. In fact, for the most part, the nose is not exciting. Once the wine hits the palate, however, the experience is quite different. It's very jammy (think Aussie Shiraz), high in alcohol, very tannic, and moderately acidic. We get black fruit on black fruit -- plum, blackberry, black cherry -- along with black pepper and an almost syrupy tobacco.
Alicante Bouschet also has the ability to absorb the properties of oak particularly easily. While production is normally limited to oak that has been used several times previously, when aged in new oak, it picks up additional flavors of chocolate, vanilla, and baking spices.
Pair Alicante Bouschet with rich pasta dishes with tomato-based sauces, particularly spicy ones. Or, just drink it by itself at a Prohibition-themed party.
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