Wine Time: News, Updates, and Events
Date: Fri, Aug 1, 2008 Wine Tasting
There's a lot going on in the world of wine--both on and off the internet. So I thought I'd take some time today to update everybody on what's going on. (photo by Flickr's Marc_Smith)
First of all, there has been a slight change of venue for the 4th edition of the Wine Book Club on August 26. Farley, our favorite Wine Poet, has moved the event from her once-upon-a-time blog Behind the Vines to her once-and-future blog Wine Outlook. Same book (Jancis Robinson's Tasting Pleasure), same due date for book reports (August 26), but send your link love and your thoughts about the book to her at Wine Outlook. Farley's had a difficult few weeks in Wine Blog Land, and I for one am glad that she refused to let the management of her former blog network turn off her voice. We need all the Wine Poets we can get! I've been reading and enjoying Tasting Pleasure myself over the last few days, and if you've never read Jancis Robinson's memoir you are in a treat. Why not join us on the 26th?
If you're in the Napa area next weekend and you like Spanish grape varieties, think of stopping into the TAPAS tasting at Copia. TAPAS stands for "Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos"and they are sponsoring this event on August 9, 2008. From 1pm - 2 pm there will be a guided wine and cheese tasting ($20), and from 2 pm - 3:30 pm there will be a walk-around tasting ($25). Dozens of wineries will be at the walk-around tasting, including our beloved Twisted Oak. Tickets and more information can be found on the Copia website.
I've joined up with a new blog project led by DHonig of the 2 Days Per Bottle Blog. Called The 89 Project, it's his ingenious attempt to put the spotlight on those wines that get 89 ratings and are thus 1 point away from wine super-stardom and shelftalkers. A growing list of wine bloggers (18 and counting) has agreed to cross-post reviews of 89 pointers over on the 89 Project as well as our own sites, and it promises to be an entertaining and educational experience to see what we all have to say about wines that almost--but not quite--made it into the Promised Land. These wines are often great bargains, and I'm excited to be part of the team.
Have a great weekend.! I will have a post at Serious Grape at some point this weekend where I taste test one of Dan Berger's "wines that will never reach 90 points." Guess what? It was fantastic.
Wine Time: News, Updates, and Events
Date: Fri, Aug 1, 2008 Wine Tasting
There's a lot going on in the world of wine--both on and off the internet. So I thought I'd take some time today to update everybody on what's going on. (photo by Flickr's Marc_Smith)
First of all, there has been a slight change of venue for the 4th edition of the Wine Book Club on August 26. Farley, our favorite Wine Poet, has moved the event from her once-upon-a-time blog Behind the Vines to her once-and-future blog Wine Outlook. Same book (Jancis Robinson's Tasting Pleasure), same due date for book reports (August 26), but send your link love and your thoughts about the book to her at Wine Outlook. Farley's had a difficult few weeks in Wine Blog Land, and I for one am glad that she refused to let the management of her former blog network turn off her voice. We need all the Wine Poets we can get! I've been reading and enjoying Tasting Pleasure myself over the last few days, and if you've never read Jancis Robinson's memoir you are in a treat. Why not join us on the 26th?
If you're in the Napa area next weekend and you like Spanish grape varieties, think of stopping into the TAPAS tasting at Copia. TAPAS stands for "Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos"and they are sponsoring this event on August 9, 2008. From 1pm - 2 pm there will be a guided wine and cheese tasting ($20), and from 2 pm - 3:30 pm there will be a walk-around tasting ($25). Dozens of wineries will be at the walk-around tasting, including our beloved Twisted Oak. Tickets and more information can be found on the Copia website.
I've joined up with a new blog project led by DHonig of the 2 Days Per Bottle Blog. Called The 89 Project, it's his ingenious attempt to put the spotlight on those wines that get 89 ratings and are thus 1 point away from wine super-stardom and shelftalkers. A growing list of wine bloggers (18 and counting) has agreed to cross-post reviews of 89 pointers over on the 89 Project as well as our own sites, and it promises to be an entertaining and educational experience to see what we all have to say about wines that almost--but not quite--made it into the Promised Land. These wines are often great bargains, and I'm excited to be part of the team.
Have a great weekend.! I will have a post at Serious Grape at some point this weekend where I taste test one of Dan Berger's "wines that will never reach 90 points." Guess what? It was fantastic.
Color Me Syrah
Date: Wed, Jul 30, 2008 Wine Tasting
I don't know what it is about Syrah, but when I drink it I see colors.
Syrah blends from France and Shiraz from Australia make me see red. Cool-climate Syrahs make me see blue. And sometimes, I find a Syrah that makes me want to put on the Rolling Stones' Paint It Black.
The 2005 Kendric Syrah falls into the final category. I received this bottle as a sample from WineQ, but you can put it in your own Q and enjoy it for just $17.99. At this price, the wine certainly qualifies as an excellent QPR option if you like your Syrahs bold and showy, but moody and complex as well. Sound like any musicians you know?
The wine was true garnet in color, like my grandmother's garnet ring, and it turned a bit purplish towards the rims. (My grandmother was a flapper--she would have loved the Stones). When I pulled the cork and poured the first glass, I was bowled over by spicy aromas and a bit of plum and cherry fruit. As the wine opened up you could also smell black tar. The flavors reminded me of macerated plums that had been sitting on a warm countertop all day, and there were also spicy flavors of allspice, clove, and nutmeg. The spices turned more herbal and lively as the wine rolled over your tongue, and I thought I tasted sage and eucalyptus. The long, silky aftertaste picks up a stony note and wraps around and picks up the tarry smell that you get on first sniff. The overall impression of this wine is black rather than blue or red, and its richness and acidity are in perfect balance. We had it with a delicious vegetable chili and garlic rice, and the wine neither overwhelmed nor was overwhelmed by the strong flavors of the dish. Instead the sweet fruit and the spices matched the tomatoes, vegetables, and chili flavors note by note.
One thing to know about this wine: it's sold without a foil capsule, so don't be alarmed when your wine shows up with a visible cork. Once upon a time they bottled wine with a lead capsule to protect the cork from rats and insects. This is happily not necessary today, and Kendric owner and winemaker Stewart Johnson writes on his webpage: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ALL MY 2005 WINES, AND ALL FUTURE VINTAGES, ARE BOTTLED WITHOUT A FOIL CAPSULE WHICH I REGARD AS POINTLESS, WASTEFUL AND ANNOYING. Since I wrote about sustainability yesterday, I will point out that your decision to drink Kendric Syrah not only makes sound fiscal sense, it will also save one foil capsule from ending up in the trash, or using up precious energy being recycled.
Leave your foil-cutter in the drawer, put on Mick and the boys, and order yourself some Kendric Syrah. The winery is sold out, but as far as I know WineQ still has some in stock.
A Glimpse Into the Future of Wine at Taste3
Date: Tue, Jul 29, 2008 Wine Tasting
Wondering what the future of wine might look like?
I recently applied for and received a fellowship to attend Taste3, the annual meeting at Copia sponsored by Robert Mondavi Winery that celebrates food, wine, and the arts. This year's conference was bittersweet for many in attendance, since it was the first conference to take place after the passing of Robert Mondavi just a few months ago. I listened to presentations by people who are shaping the future of wine right now, and wanted to share my reaction to their presentations while they were still fresh in my mind. I'm sure I'll be returning to many of these topics in greater depth in upcoming months. (photo of Barry Schuler and audience members after his presentation in the Copia Auditorium at Taste3)
I've categorized the wine message of Taste3 into four themes: tradition, sustainability, science, and activism. Not surprisingly, these were also the take-home points for the food and art portions of the program as well.
Tradition: There is a real interest in preserving
traditional ways of growing and producing food and wine, which is not surprising. It's also something I applaud wholeheartedly -- I am a historian, after all, and I hate it when the past is forgotten. I am profoundly grateful for people like Serge Hochar of Château Musar (pictured to the right) who play a key role in preserving and maintaining wine traditions that might otherwise, through neglect and ignorance, fall by the wayside and be forgotten. Drinking old vintages of Château Musar from 1970 and 1975, and listening to Mr. Hochar talking about emptying a bottle of wine while bombs fell all around his house in Lebanon just a few years ago brings home the lengths to which people will sometimes go to preserve what they value and love. Hochar views his wine as a miracle, and the direct descendant of Biblical miracles, which is why he was not at all surprised the next morning when he went out of his house and saw that it was one of the few that wasn't damaged by the fighting--the wine had miraculously saved him.
Science: What is surprising to me is that wine traditions are so often seen as antithetical to science. This viewpoint is framed by a false nostalgia for a viticultural past that never was. Winemakers, grape growers, and merchants have always been profoundly interested in "science" (or what constituted it at the time). By setting up a "winner takes all" situation where we must choose between science and tradition, I wonder if we are dooming ourselves to even more trouble.To really move forward we are going to have to sort out the vexed relationship between tradition and science--not just when it comes to wine, but food as well. I found myself with a strange case of intellectual whiplash after being both attracted and repulsed by Barry Schuler's discussion of wine and genomics. (image from PinotBlog.com) Schuler was one of the people who told us that the internet would change our lives and he was right. Now he's telling us that mapping Pinot Noir's genome is going to change our lives, too. He's got a good track record in the predictions department, but I wonder if these changes will be for the better. He likened the mapping of the genome to the monolith moment in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and suggested that mastering the blueprints of living organisms was the next step in humanoid evolution. Schuler argued that no one wanted to produce what he called "Frankenoir," but that we can and will be able to improve vinifera stock, make them more disease resistant, design varieties for higher yields, expand their climate windows, and modify them to produce better flavors and aromas. Hmm. If that's not Frankenoir, I'd like to know what would qualify. His most provocative statement came near the end, when he stated his belief that mapping grape genomes will enable us to scientifically isolate and characterize "terroir" which he feels is lying there in grape gene adaptations, just waiting to be sequenced.
Sustainability: Barry Schuler introduced the issue of climate change and grape growing in his
talk about the Pinot Noir genome, and that conversation continued in presentations by UC Davis professor Roger Boulton and Southern Oregon University professor Greg Jones. In a nutshell, climate change foregrounds the problem of sustainability in grape growing and wine making. Growing grapes and making wine, as Jones reminded the audience, are intimately connected to climate and are influenced by climate variability. As this map made with Jones's data shows, with temperatures continuing to rise throughout the world, grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Zinfandel will continue to be grown because they like warmer temperatures. (map from newscientist.com) Riesling and Cabernet Franc (both of which have thrive in a wide variety of climate ranges) may grow in popularity as once beloved grapes fall out of cultivation (this was my conclusion, not his). But wineries are going to have to think about how to sustain their production at a time when climate and water are raising difficult issues. Boulton's presentation on sustainable wineries pointed out the huge amounts of water wineries use in tasks you and I aren't even thinking about like washing equipment. He also highlighted the enormous carbon footprint left by making glass wine bottles. When we think "sustainable" we may think using organic growing methods but we had better start factoring glass and water into the equation as well. The time for packaging alternatives, systematic water reclamation, and the use of alternative energy sources in wine production is NOW.
Activism: Which brings us to you, and me, and the choices we make (or refuse to make) when choosing wine to put on our tables. After seeing artist Chris Jordan's provocative and inspiring work that puts our single, individual decision to take a paper bag at the grocery store or a plastic cup on an airplane and multiplies into a more global perspective, I came to the realization that none of us has to do a giant thing to make a difference. When it comes to preserving tradition, or figuring out where we stand on science, or promoting sustainability, all we have to do is a small thing. We just have to do it consistently. Some of us will find that our one little decision will go on to change hundreds of lives. This is what Bruce Gutlove discovered when he left Napa to consult for a few days at the Coco Farm and Winery in Japan, which was started in the late 1960s to give mentally challenged youth and adults a chance to work on a collaborative project and lead productive lives at a time when their only alternative was a state-run institution with bars on the window. Gutlove departed from Napa in 1989. He's still in Japan, he's still at Coco Farm, and he's still working with his students to make wine now served at official state functions in the building pictured above. The importance of individual decisions was driven home by Benjamin Wallace, known to most people as the author of The Billionaire's Vinegar and the GQ story where he tracked down "the very best" in everything including cars, toilets, and wine. Both of those stories, in his retelling of them at Taste3, served as cautionary tales for what happens when we mindlessly assume that the most expensive thing on the shelf is actually worth it, and that we must have it to prove our own importance. Bottom line: it's usually not worth it. If you're spending $30K per night on a hotel room, perhaps you could find something more productive to do with that money such as donating it to Coco Farm and Winery?
I left Taste3 fired up and inspired to learn more about how people in the past had grappled with sustainability issues, make a difference in the growing crisis of climate change through small changes in my daily wine life, and address (rather than avoid) my fears about genetically modified grapes. And I left with a renewed commitment not to waste money needlessly on things that don't really matter when there is so much wrong with the world that really does matter. The future belongs to us and to our children. And everything we do and don't do now shapes that future--and that includes the wine we buy and drink. That was the take-home message of Taste3.
New Math Cava: 1 + 1 = 3
Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2008 Wine Tasting
I normally like wines where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Here, the name says it all. The NV U Mes U Fan Tres (1 + 1 =3) Cava Brut combines good taste and good value in a sparkling wine that is perfect for sticking in a tub of ice and pouring during brunch or at your next picnic or barbecue.
The NV 1 + 1 = 3 Cava Brut was good QPR. ($13.99, on special at Weimax; you should be able to find it near you for between $11 and $20) The wine had a very tiny bubble or bead, which made it very lively in the glass and in your mouth. There were so many small bubbles the overall impression was intensely fizzy, but the bubbles were not at all harsh or raspy. There were slight aromas of lemon pith and almond, and these aromas grew and developed in the flavors which were also dominated by citrus. I noticed the taste of lemon, but also grapefruit peel. There was a nutty aftertaste, as well. This wine hints at great complexity, but the flavors and aromas never develop to their full potential. However, this example of a Cava was very, very dry so if you sometimes find Spanish sparklers too fruity, you will probably really enjoy this wine.
Cava is one of the world's most versatile wines, and it's great with more than just brunch and picnics. We had it with a fast Indian curry that used shrimp and coconut milk. The recipe uses lime, which picked up the citrus notes in the wine and the bubbles and acidity was refreshing with the herbs used in the recipe. The Cava also handled the coconut milk well, and kept the food's flavors lively. At this point in the summer you may be looking for a break from the grill and I'd highly recommend this meal for a quick after-work supper that won't have you standing over a hot stove and is perfect for carrying out to the deck--with a bottle of chilled Cava--and eating al fresco.
New Math Cava: 1 + 1 = 3
Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2008 Wine Tasting
I normally like wines where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Here, the name says it all. The NV U Mes U Fan Tres (1 + 1 =3) Cava Brut combines good taste and good value in a sparkling wine that is perfect for sticking in a tub of ice and pouring during brunch or at your next picnic or barbecue.
The NV 1 + 1 = 3 Cava Brut was good QPR. ($13.99, on special at Weimax; you should be able to find it near you for between $11 and $20) The wine had a very tiny bubble or bead, which made it very lively in the glass and in your mouth. There were so many small bubbles the overall impression was intensely fizzy, but the bubbles were not at all harsh or raspy. There were slight aromas of lemon pith and almond, and these aromas grew and developed in the flavors which were also dominated by citrus. I noticed the taste of lemon, but also grapefruit peel. There was a nutty aftertaste, as well. This wine hints at great complexity, but the flavors and aromas never develop to their full potential. However, this example of a Cava was very, very dry so if you sometimes find Spanish sparklers too fruity, you will probably really enjoy this wine.
Cava is one of the world's most versatile wines, and it's great with more than just brunch and picnics. We had it with a fast Indian curry that used shrimp and coconut milk. The recipe uses lime, which picked up the citrus notes in the wine and the bubbles and acidity was refreshing with the herbs used in the recipe. The Cava also handled the coconut milk well, and kept the food's flavors lively. At this point in the summer you may be looking for a break from the grill and I'd highly recommend this meal for a quick after-work supper that won't have you standing over a hot stove and is perfect for carrying out to the deck--with a bottle of chilled Cava--and eating al fresco.
Wine Finders and Keepers: Adegga
Date: Fri, Jul 25, 2008 Wine Tasting
A number of new wine finder and cellar management programs have been unveiled that help consumers find wines that they might like, assist them in locating retailers who stock the wine, and then keep track of the wine you have and what you thought of it when you tasted it. I'll be reviewing some of these sites in the upcoming weeks. If you have suggestions for sites I should take a look at, please let me know in the comments below. (image by Mike "Dakinewavamo" Kline)
Maybe you have a relatively small stash of wine and are thinking of keeping track of it. Maybe you have been keeping tasting notes on slips of paper and you would like to have a more permanent record. Maybe you like reading wine blogs like Catavino and you'd like a way to link up your favorite blogs with the wines that you buy. If any of these possible scenarios describe you, then you might want to check out Adegga.
Adegga is self-described as a "Social Wine Discovery" site. The goal is to help you find wine you might like based on what others are drinking, rating, and writing about. The discovery process revolves around "watchlists" of people, wine producers, wines, wine shops, and blogs that you enjoy. Once you've put a person, place, or thing on your watchlist, your homepage automatically notifies you about new purchases, posts, and offers related to your wine interests. The site is colorful and intuitive, with a smart use of graphics to help you navigate. Nearly everything you click on brings up a new screen with new features, and its very easy to figure out the basics of how to work the site. If you click on the screenshot here, for example, you will get a sense of the many different kinds of information--blog posts, ratings, and more--that come up for each wine.
Adegga is a free site, and signing up for it only takes a few minutes. At the present time, the majority of data entered into Adegga is related to Spanish and Portuguese wine, so if you typically drink American wines you may find yourself entering a lot of information. Fewer than 100 wines on the site are from the US but every time someone else joins the site and starts entering their information the database will grow and develop. And it only takes about 2 minutes to enter wine information with a combination of typing and pull-down menus. (this is a good activity to do in front of summer reruns)
As with any of the online cellar/wine finder tools, there are small glitches and things that you wish worked a different way. Because I'm a variety hound, for instance, I wish I didn't have to go to a second screen and enter grapes for a wine after entering all the other information. Right now it's not possible for me to link a wine that I want to buy with a store in my area that might carry it, which would be nice. And sometimes the autofill function can trip you up and enter a wine name that you never intended. But these are pretty minor tics in an otherwise smooth program, and I've found Adegga quite responsive when I've made a mistake entering a wine and need something fixed.
There are sites out there with more data and with more users, but this site is the one that has the most integrated approach to the question of "how do I find the name of a good wine that I might like?" The Adegga team (André Ribeirinho, André Cid, Emidio Santos, and Bruno Pedro) should be congratulated for thinking how all the pieces of the social media puzzle might fit together in the service of locating a good bottle. Perhaps their success is related to the fact that they are active participants in this brave new world, and keep a blog as well as a presence on Twitter. If you are twittering like mad, have a Facebook account, and enjoy text messaging I think you'll like Adegga, so head over there and check out the site's features. There's no "one site fits all" cellar management program on the internet. You need to figure out what's important to you. Once you do, you will be able to find a program that fits you to a tee--and it just might be Adegga.
A Round of Applause for Dan Berger
Date: Thu, Jul 24, 2008 Wine Tasting
Do you know the name Dan Berger? If you are an ordinary wine drinker, you should memorize it. In a world full of inflated scores and hype, he is always impressively level-headed about wine. Whether its writing for Appellation America, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, his own Vintage Experiences, or covering California wine for Tom Stevenson's annual Wine Report, Dan can be relied upon to notice wines less traveled, less expensive, and less manipulated. I knew I approved of his taste in wine when he said Navarro Vineyards Edelzwicker--one of the great wine bargains at around $12--was one of the most exciting wines made in California. (photo of Dan Berger from Vintage Experiences)
His most recent article in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat had me applauding, because in it he voiced something in print that I have long suspected in private: that where a wine comes from, the grape it's made with, and the price they're charging for it influences those blasted "objective" scores. Making wine in Temecula? Good luck getting a score above 85 from the mags. Making wine from Chasselas or Colombard? It's south of 86 for you, too. He mentioned two specific domestic wines that I've had made with each grape (the Berthoud Chasselas Dore and the McNab Ridge Colombard) that are excellent and I would concur with that assessment. Even better? Even in my expensive coastal grocery store where everything comes by covered wagon up and down CA-1 they're less than $15. But if your wine is inexpensive like these bottles it's even worse--that can't be any good, people conclude, or they'd sell it for more.
Go read Dan's article and keep your eye out for his writing. He's out there pitching for good, everyday wine that doesn't cost a fortune and is high quality and interesting. And in this time of economic downturns, market panics, and penny-pinching it's nice to have someone quietly pointing out that you don't have to mortgage your house to drink great wine.
Abruzzo Mistaken Wine Identity, Case #2: Montepulciano
Date: Wed, Jul 23, 2008 Wine Tasting
As I said before, Abruzzo wines can be victims of mistaken identity. Last time it was a grape and a cheese--this time it's a grape and a wine-growing region. In the Montepulciano region of Tuscany people make wine from the Sangiovese grape that earns the designation "Vino Nobile de Montepulciano." In Abruzzo, they use the Montepulciano grape to make a red wine that is deep, dark, and delicious. It's often a bargain, too, and it's very easy to find in most areas of the country.
Despite the large number of highly affordable Montepulcianos out in the market, my local grocery store here on the coast had only one example of the grape, and it was pretty expensive. The wine was made by Nicodemi, and comes from the relatively new DOCG (Vino a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita): Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane. Carved out of the larger Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC, this new designation is set aside for wines from selected fruit grown in a particular region that is thought to produce superior grapes.
While most Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is rustic pizza and trattoria wine, the wine that I had was an elegant bottling that could go on the table for a special dinner. The 2004 Nicodemi Montepulciano Notari had a dark, intense plummy color that is very characteristic of the grape. ($25.64 in the local grocery; you can get it online from Empire Wines for just under $30) There were pure aromas of blackberry and I also smelled nectarines, which is not something that I expect from the average red wine. There were some herbal nuances as well, which became more focused when I sipped it and turned into eucalyptus. That eucalyptus taste was paired with rich blackberry and fig fruit flavors. The wine felt very smooth and silky in your mouth, and the herbal finish was juicy and pleasant and reminded me a little bit of black tea. I liked this wine a lot, and it showed me that there is a lot more to Montepulciano than you see in the lower price bottlings. Though it was a good QPR wine because of its abundant varietal character, I think I'll be sticking to the more affordable, rustic versions of the wine that I can have with my Friday night pizza.
Oh, I forgot to tell you what we we ate with the wine. I made a pollo all'Abruzzese, which is the Abruzzo version of Chicken Cacciatore. I loved the recipe, which involved browning some chicken, throwing in some aromatic onion, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, and red pepper flakes, and then topping it all off with tomatoes, basil, and freshly roasted yellow peppers. I was scrumptious with the wine, and the texture of the dish--with its silky tomatoes, peppers, and olive oil--really emphasized the elegance and silkiness of the wine. Because of all the herbal notes in the wine, there was no clash with the tomatoes, either.
I've had three wines from Abruzzo this month, and the word that I will associate with all of them is "richness." Whether a white, a red, or a rose, the wines had an intensity of flavor and an opulence that will keep me asking "what's new from Abruzzo?" when I go to the wine store.
Wine Blogging Wednesday News
Date: Tue, Jul 22, 2008 Wine Tasting
There's news on the Wine Blogging Wednesday front. The summary for WBW #47 has been posted, and the theme for WBW #48 has been announced.
First, Erin and Michelle from the blog Grape Juice did a simply stupendous roundup of all the wines tasted in Wine Blogging Wednesday #47. The Sesame Street-inspired theme was "brought to you by the letter S" and it brought out all the silliness and creativity of the wine blogging community. Head over there for a sense of what transpired. Sammy the Snake is smiling somewhere at the event's success.
Second, Lenn Thompson from Lenndevours is hosting his own 4th anniversary edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday in August. The theme is "back to your roots" and Lenn is asking us to pick a wine from our early days and drink it again. On August 13, review the wine on your blog, send Lenn an email, and consider yourself a participant in Wine Blogging Wednesday before it enters its fifth year. If you want full details, check out Lenn's post here.
Do they still make Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers?
Checking up on Bonny Doon's Journey into Biodynamics
Date: Mon, Jul 21, 2008 Wine Tasting
I've written before on the site about Randall Grahm's efforts to take the sprawling and eclectic wine enterprise that is Bonny Doon and turn it into a much smaller and focused operation devoted to biodynamic farming and exploring the potential of far fewer grape varieties. In my tastes of the results so far, this transformation has led to some very interesting and pleasant white wines. The reds are still a work in progress in my opinion, but the white wines are distinctive, fun, and out of the ordinary.
The latest Bonny Doon wine that I tried was the 2007 Bonny Doon Vineyard Albariño, a very tasty wine that was made using biodynamic protocols. ($17.00 in a wine club shipment; expect to pay $18-$22 through merchants near you. It's also available for $20 through the Bonny Doon website). The pale straw-colored wine had strong and unmistakable aromas of honeysuckle when you first unscrewed the cap. We have a Meyer lemon tree in the back yard, and the flavors reminded me of the slightly richer and sweeter flavors of those lemons with a bit of sea salt adding a note of interest. As you sipped the wine, it left a slightly bitter and intense flavor of grapefruit oil which made your mouth water for more. I liked this wines intensity and its trueness to the variety--in a supercharged, Californian way. Even though it was very good, I can only give it a good QPR designation because of the price. There are a lot of very good Spanish wines made with this grape that are less expensive. Still, if you like zesty, intense Albariños this is well worth checking out.
This Albariño would be excellent with fish or chicken tacos/fajitas, or with a Spanish dish like paella. We tried it with both of those options, and I was hard pressed to pick a winner. In the case of the chicken fajitas we had, the lime that was squeezed on the meat and vegetables paired very nicely with the Meyer lemon and grapefruit notes in the wine. With the paella, which we made with chicken, rosemary, shrimp, artichokes, sausage, and peas, the wine was flexible enough to pair with the many textures and flavors of the dish. And its freshness handled the rich saffron flavors of paella just beautifully. If you'd like to try to make a somewhat less time-intensive version of the famous Spanish rice dish, you can check out this recipe, but DO NOT follow the final cooking instructions--they don't work and you will have uncooked rice 45 minute after the dish is supposed to be done. Instead, follow the recipe up until you bring the pan of goodies to a boil after adding the stock. Then let it simmer, uncovered and without stirring, for 7 minutes. It will still be soupy at this point. Transfer the pan into an oven preheated to 400 or 425 degrees, being sure to cover the handle with foil if it's plastic. Cook it there for a further 15 minutes. You can sprinkle some more stock over the pan if the mixture seems too dry (check 5-7 minutes after you first put the pan in the oven.) Remove the pan, cover it with foil, and let it stand on the counter for 10 minutes. Uncover the pan and let stand for another 5 minutes. Even if you don't have a traditional paella pan, this method yields good results and you should get some of the coveted crustiness and caramelization on the bottom of the rice.
I'd be interested to hear what those of you who are drinking more recent vintages of Bonny Doon think about Grahm's efforts so far. And if you're drinking new vintages of the Pacific Rim or "Big House" wines, I'd love to know how those are faring too, since they are no longer made by Grahm.
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Today on Serious Grape: A Loaf of Bread, a Jug of Wine
Date: Sat, Jul 19, 2008 Wine Tasting
I'm in the Napa Valley for a few days, visiting wineries and sampling wines and participating in the 2008 Robert Mondavi Taste3 conference at Copia. There I should hear prognostications from some of the leading lights in food and wine regarding where they think we're heading in the future in terms of sustainability, food culture, and of course good taste. (picture of the Taste3 conference between sessions, taken this morning)
Please accept my apologies for slow responses to comments this week and for the lack of a proper post here today. I'll have a lot to say in the upcoming weeks about what I'm learning here, both about food and wine and about the flavors and textures of the Napa Valley.
But there is a post waiting for you today over on Serious Grape, my column on Serious Eats. In a follow up to last week's post on Fino Sherry, I'm taking a closer look at how Sherry is made. Turns out, it has a lot in common with sourdough bread. If you're curious about the connections between a loaf of bread and a jug of Sherry, head over there and check it out.
An Italian Rosé--Perfect for Summer
Date: Thu, Jul 17, 2008 Wine Tasting
I probably shouldn't admit this in polite, wine-loving society but my records indicate that this is the first Italian rosé I've ever had that didn't have bubbles in it. I'm not sure how it happened, but you need to take this whole post with a grain of salt because I'm going to give you pronouncements in it that are based on my first experience with this kind of wine.
If this is Italian rosé, it's certainly not like rosé that I've had from France, and it even makes Spanish rosé seem pale in comparison. This was more like drinking a very light Gamay from the Beaujolais--which was unexpected, but turned out to be kind of fun in the food and wine department.
The 2007 Torre dei Beati Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Cerasuolo was a rich, throaty, and full-bodied rosé wine. ($16, Biondivino; available elsewhere for between $12 and $19) Made with the Montepulciano grape, it was a very dark rose in color, and had a slight bit spritz when it was first opened up. The spritziness disappeared, and there were pronounced strawberry-rhubarb aromas and some wet stone. The strawberry-rhubarb aromas turned to pure raspberry flavors as you sipped it, and there was a surprisingly long, juicy aftertaste that I don't often get with rosé wines. The overall impression was dry, despite all that fruitiness. The wine costs more than many rosés in the market, but it was delicious and did have the deep color and richness (albeit in rosé form) of the Montepulciano grape. I consider it a good QPR wine because is retained so much varietal character, and I think you would too so long as you weren't expecting a salmon-colored Tavel to go with your salad.
Instead, think of robust fare, like grilled sausages or try it with our dish that night: pasta amatriciana. I did some reading about pasta amatriciana, and it turns out that even though the dish is associated with Rome, it originated in Abruzzo where the grapes for this wine were grown. For those of you who haven't had it before, you make a spicy sauce with garlic and/0r onions, white wine, tomatoes, hot red peppers, and guanciale or pancetta and it's traditionally served on the hollow spaghetti strands known as bucatini. I couldn't get pancetta for love nor money on the Mendonoma coast (and guanciale? no to that, as well), so I used center cut bacon which I know isn't authentic but it was delicious. If you'd like to try the recipe, you can use Vic's recipe that he modified from Marcella Hazan. The rosé's chilly fruitiness was terrific with the red pepper, and the raspberry flavors didn't overwhelm or clash with the tomatoes but were a nice counterpoint to the smoked meat.
I discovered this rosé searching for wines from Abruzzo to sample this month. I'm hoping the regions I have yet to drink my way through have some more rosés in store for me. If you've got a favorite Italian rosé let me know, because I really would like to have some more before summer is over.
A Contradictory Mourvèdre Coco Chanel Would Have Loved
Date: Wed, Jul 16, 2008 Wine Tasting
Coco Chanel, the legendary French couturier, is reputed to have said "my inner contradictions fascinate me." I think contradictions are a beautiful thing, both in people and in wine. Contradictions in a wine keep your brain cells firing while you're tasting as you try to figure out if you really taste leather and roses at the same time and, if you do, do you like that?
Mourvèdre is a grape that would make Coco Chanel proud. It has dusty and sweet flavors, flower notes, earthy notes--you name it, you can find it in Mourvèdre. It can be hard to find a 100% Mourvèdre, because it's most commonly used in blends with Grenache and Syrah. I happen to love Mourvèdre when it's bottled on its own, however, because all of its seemingly contradictory flavors and aromas can produce wines that please your intellect as well as your palate.
Lately I had the chance to try a 2006 Telmo Rodríguez A1 Muvedre from Spain's Alicante region. ($9.95, Chronicle Wine Cellar; available elsewhere for $10 to $17) This was an excellent QPR example of all of the glorious contradictions of which Mourvèdre is capable. It had Mourvèdre's characteristic deep yet bright garnet color and aromas of blackberry and marshmallow when the bottle first opened. These aromas gave the wine an initial, sweet impression, but the flavors were much leaner than the aromas suggested. While my mouth was set for a fruitbomb, instead I got black fruits, a touch of tar, and a slightly green and stemmy note in the aftertaste followed quickly by catch of rose petals in the back of the throat. The wine felt very satiny as you sipped it, but afterwards the dusty tannins made your mouth feel a bit dry.
Because of the drying tannins, this wine was much better with food than it was without it, and I wanted to find a recipe to try with it that would be just as full of contradictions as the wine. I located a new take on a classic Spanish soup from the Rioja region that used sweet potatoes and linguica instead of the traditional potatoes and chorizo. It was a little sweet, a little salty, a little spicy, and just delicious. The recipe calls for linguica, but I had chorizo on hand and substituted that for the linguica with good results. It was particularly good at pulling out the wine's fruity and satiny features, while the smoky notes of the sausage and the tarry note in the wine were good partners.
I loved this wine, but it will not be to everyone's taste. I am a fan of Telmo Rodriguez's wines in part because he makes such a wide variety of bottlings, from luscious fruity treats to wines like this one that are full of surprises. Even better, as this 2005 article by Food & Wine's Lettie Teague explains, Rodriguez is not ashamed to make value wines. So even if you don't give his Mourvèdre a try, keep on the lookout for the name.
