Have you ever wondered what does “mineral” mean in wine tasting? It seems to be such a buzzword these days for many sommeliers, as Roy Moorfield suggested.
Roy flew in from Australia and brought along wines from the Southern Hemisphere for a private dinner, and the theme – “mineral”!
A veteran in the wine trade, Roy is in his sixties and proudly told us he has been in the wine business for more than 40 years. And so we followed him on the path of understanding wines full of minerality.
The two vineyards that Roy showcased were Greystone from New Zealand and Rowsley Fault from Australia. Both vineyards are situated on soils that used to be seabed millions and millions of years ago. The soils are full of fossils and minerals.
We tasted Pinot Gris from both vineyards.
The Greystone Pinot Gris showed more floral on the nose and palate, where as Rowsley Fault was quite reserved.
And so the highlight – minerality of the wines – it is the sense of saltiness that hit you at the back of the palate and lingers on. This is from the soil of the vineyards namely limestone.
Next time you could give it a try!
Grape Wine Journey 
Leave a Reply