This is the time of year I usually dedicate the wine column to the Super Bowl, to encourage people to enjoy the gift of the vine for the big game, in lieu of a Bud. However, I can find no remote connection between wine and either team.
So instead, since today is his day, we will honor the earth-dwelling groundhog, who many are hoping will catch a glimpse of his shadow.
He is a lucky critter to live in such a sheltered environment, surrounded by the wonderful aromas of the earth.
And, yes, there is a connection to wine here. The word earthy is vastly misunderstood in the English language. Worse yet, it has become a terribly overused but classic descriptor of wines.
What do you think of when you hear the word "earthy"? My first thought takes me back to college when I lived in an apartment just one floor above some cool hippies. They wore tie-dye shirts, long flowing skirts, bandanas on their heads, and they loved the Grateful Dead. Their little kids ran around naked all the time.
The hippies were always cooking foods like lentils, grains, veggie burgers and bean soups. The aromas would waft up through the vents in our floor. My roommates and I fondly called our neighbors below us the "earthy people."
If you look up the word earthy in the dictionary, it says "consisting of, or resembling, earth or soil; coarse, unrefined or uninhibited."
Earthy colors of brown and green in a home lend a feeling of comfort. Earthy music can transport you to a meditative and spiritual place. Earthy Sumatra Coffee totally balances my karma. And down-to-earth people are some of my favorites.
Earthy foods are divine. Potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, turnips, parsnips, mushrooms and truffles all have a close association with the earth. They grow right in it.
But earthy wine? Who wants to drink a glass of dirt?
To best understand earthy in wine, it helps to think about how wine is made. It comes from the juice of a grape, which grows in bunches on a vine, which in turn grows from the soil. That vine works very hard to dig deep into the soil to find and transport water, minerals and nourishment up the trunk to feed all of the grapes and help them to mature. In the process, that flavor of the soil in which the vine grows tends to tag along.
You'll hear people say that earthy flavors are more prevalent in Old World Wines — the wines that come from Europe. The winemakers have such respect for the earth, or "terroir," that the ultimate goal is to have you taste the region in which the wine is made. The grape is just a vehicle through which the earth expresses itself.
However, earthy flavors can appear in wines everywhere. Some are more pleasant than others, and you'll find that most of us have preferences to the extent of earthy we can handle.
A German Riesling screams of wet stone because the vines are growing out of sheer slate rock on steep slopes along the rivers such as the Mosel and Rhine. This flavor can also be found in the Rieslings of Keuka Lake, which are growing out of their own unique rock formations. It is absolutely delicious.
French Champagne speaks of chalk and limestone. Spanish Albarino tastes of the sea. And New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc smells of freshly mowed grass.
A Burgundian Pinot Noir is often reminiscent of wet leaves and forest floor. Maybe not an appealing description, but that is what makes these wines such a perfect match to mushroom dishes. It is like the earth reconnecting.
Some Italian Barolos actually smell like the treasured truffle with which the vines share the earth in Peidmont.
It is when you get into the aged flavors of a good Chateauneuf-du-Pape that some folks draw the line. They can reek of barnyard, and if you didn't grow up on a farm, this taste takes some time to acquire.
When you see the word earthy on a wine label, don't let it put you off. Be like the groundhog. Step out of your comfort zone and embrace the adventure.
