RIPE FOR THE TASTING
Local wines take on the world during upcoming series
Gene Clifton swirls an imaginary wineglass in his left hand as he describes the unique scent, color and mouth feel that identifies the grapes’ origin. It’s 10 a.m. and the winemaker hasn’t yet traded his coffee for a glass of homegrown, Oklahoma wine, but decades of experience linger in his voice as he holds the faux glass to his nose as if to smell the Cabernet.
In a series of classes beginning this month,
Clifton, who owns the 17-yearold Canadian River Winery, 7050 Slaughterville Road, will teach students how to gauge the characteristics of wine through blind tastings that compare Oklahoma wine to grapes around the world.
“It will come naturally, automatically once they start looking for it,” Clifton said.
The series includes four classes to be given once a month beginning Sunday. Each class features five to six tastings of a single varietal exploring Oklahoma-grown grapes in the context of wine regions worldwide.
Riesling kicks off the classes this month followed by Cabernet in February, chardonnay in March and White Zinfandel in April.
Students will discuss and score the color, flavor, tannins and other characteristics of each wine without seeing the bottle. Students will learn how to identify tannins — or the acidity and bitterness created by the grape skins — and consider where flavors are hitting their palates.
Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand usually is very full of grapefruit character while the same grape in France has a flinty character, said Jill Stichler, one of the winery’s co-owners. Similar to Napa Valley, Oklahoma’s sauvignon blanc grapes are citrusy and flinty, she said.
“Appreciation of wine is not about high alcohol, it is much more subtle,” Stichler said.
Clifton said the lessons are objective, but personal preferences also plays a role in the judging process.
“It’s about the type of wine, the time of year and where the wine comes from, but the best wine is the wine you like best,” Clifton said.
Changing tastes
Oklahoma wines are generally sweet as a result of Oklahomans’ young, developing palates and harsh weather, Clifton said. Ripe grapes often deplete their sugar storage to survive Oklahoma’s heat, he said, unlike grapes from Napa Valley that can hang on the vines longer because of cool nights. This leads Oklahoma grapes to be more acidic, forcing winemakers to add sugar to the wine, which is why local wine is often sweet, he said.
But Cynthia Duncan, cochair of the Oklahoma Grape Industry Council, said the tide is beginning to shift.
As the state’s wine industry
ages, Duncan said dryer wines are gaining popularity. Chambourcin, a French-American hybrid grape, is growing well in Oklahoma and allowing winemakers to add fewer sugars to their bottles, she said. Tres Suenos winery in Luther, Waddell Vineyards in Ada and Pecan Creek Winery in Muskogee are among the wineries producing bottles using chambourcin grapes.
“Like the norton grape is Missouri’s grape, I think the chambourcin might become the Oklahoma grape,” Duncan said.
Education initiatives like Clifton’s blind tastings coupled with changes to the state’s alcohol laws coming later this year have Duncan optimistic about Oklahoma’s maturing wine industry.
“We want to introduce people to something new,” Clifton said. “That’s really the goal.”
Tickets for the Wines of the World tasting are $25 each. Those who purchase tickets to all four tastings will pay $80.