Friday, June 29, 2007

Who's a Gooseberry Now?




I'm not a gooseberry. Sure, I'm ocassionally known to be spunky, but I'm way too sweet to be anything like the little green sour gooseberry ball that exlodes like an unripe plum in your mouth. Did I say they taste like unripe plums? I meant unripe plum SKINS.


What is a gooseberry and why am I talking about it?
Other than being a bush-grown berry commonly found in Europe (especially Britian), Asia and ocassionally in the Eastern United States, it is a fruit that the elusive wine writers often refer to when describing the flavors of Sauvignon Blanc.
Example:
"the sauvignon blanc is crisp, grapefruit scented and bursting with gooseberry nuances."

What does a gooseberry taste and smell like?
It's good to know this so that you'll have an idea of what a wine writer means when they're describing a Sauvingon Blanc with "gooseberry characteristics" Because, lets's be honest, the wine writer probably won't tell you what they mean.
Beyond what I described above, the little green gems taste spicey. Maybe even cinnamoney and peppery, but just a touch. They smell like grapferuit and lemons and everything spunky and fresh.

Do Sauvignon Blancs really smell like gooseberries?
Some do. Most people also exude a light gooseberry smell when provoked.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gooseberry

Next post: Rockin the light Spanish wines in summer

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had the pleasure of trying one of those gooseberries pictured, before accidentally dumping them on your kitchen floor... and they definitely are sour and plum like. I did like them. They reminded me of eating unripe plums off trees when I was a kid. :)

Kirstin said...

I could handle them with tons of sugar, like in a pie or compote, but not by the little kid handful. Where you one of those kids, like my husband's twin nephews pictured eating a strawberry in the picnic post, who ate lemons whole?
I'm all for sugaring it up.

Anonymous said...

um, maybeh.. hehe. i do like sour stuff, but I'm all for sugary sweets as well!

Sarah said...

This was really helpful with my thinking about the taste within the most famous 'Nu Zild' wine varietal when I don't think I've ever seen/eaten a gooseberry. Drinking the Alan McCorkindale Sav (which you may not see in the States) and it's apparently there.

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