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I'm on the road for work, which means that I'm reading The Wall Street Journal. This paper is everywhere business travelers are: in lounges, planes, and hotels. I don't subscribe at home, but as it's Friday and the paper was outside my door, I turned to the "Tastings" column written by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher to read what two of my favorite wine critics had to say. (photo by filtran)
Essentially, they said that expensive wine was so five minutes ago. And then they made a surprising recommendation for this year's "holiday gift pick."
It's not expensive. It's not hard to get. But it will leave you wondering if America's expensive wine habits are on the brink of changing--for the better. What do I think? For my thoughts on their story, click over to Serious Grape, my weekly column on the excellent food site Serious Eats, and get all the details.
It's time to talk turkey again--and what wine goes with it. (image from Carolina Morning)
Every year, new visitors come to this site in search of a delicious, affordable, and available bottle of wine to pair with their holiday meal. Old friends visit, too, sometimes to suggest their own picks for the year and sometimes to take issue with something I've picked. It doesn't matter why you're here--I'm glad to see you, and hope that what follows will be helpful to you as you plan for the big dinner.
If you are looking for general advice on Thanksgiving wine and hospitality, I'd encourage you to check out this article I wrote a few years ago on issues facing the host/hostess and the guests. If you are wondering what to drink with your meal, and with leftovers, you're in the right place. Here are my picks for 2008--all of which offer great taste and great value in an easy-to-find package. Clicking on the wine's name will take you to the winery's site where you can find more information about the wine and its makers. Many of the wines I picked this year are made with organic grapes, are farmed with sustainability in mind, and/or are made by families with great stories of how they got in the business of grape-growing and wine-making. Clicking on the range of prices will take you to a list of retailers who stock the wine. Maybe one will be near you.
Sparkling Wines What's a holiday dinner without some bubbles? These two picks are great for toasts, appetizers, brunch the morning after, or drinking with the main meal. Sparkling wine has great acidity, which means it pairs with most foods and there's no doubt that sparklers are festive. NV Roederer Estate Brut ($15-$20). For my money, this is the best value around in domestic sparkling wine. Expect tiny bubbles, aromas of brioche and Meyer lemon, and flavors of apples, toast, and nuts. Just as good with food as without.
NV Domaine Allimant-Laugner Cremant d'Alsace Rose ($16-$19). If you're looking for a pink sparkler, try this one. It' made with 100% Pinot Noir and has knockout fresh strawberry aromas with light berry, mineral, and citrus flavors. Like the Roederer Brut, this wine is as good with food as it is without.
Rosé Wines Rosé wines are perfect for turkey and all the side-dishes that make us groan afterwards. If you feel that rosé wines are too "casual" for a fancy dinner, don't forget the leftovers. Wouldn't a cool rosé be perfect on Saturday with your turkey sandwich? These rosé winesare dry, not sweet, and very refreshing. 2007 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Rosé($12-$16). Fort Ross makes some of the best Pinot Noir out there, and this is the rosé version of their wine. It's a beautiful color, with raspberry and strawberry aromas and flavors and a delicious stony note that keeps it complex and interesting. 2006 Jeriko Estate Rosé ($9-$13). This is a round and full rosé, with aromas and flavors of strawberries and minerals. If you don't like watermelon notes in your wine, you'll like this. Made with organic grapes.
White Wines I'm a fan of white wines for Thanksgiving. I like their freshness, and the way that they pair so beautifully with stuffing, gravy, turkey, cranberries, Waldorf salad--you name it, these whites will go with it. They're versatile and flavorful, but won't overwhelm the food. 2006 Brooks Riesling ($14-$19). This is not a sweet wine. It's dry in style, with aromas of lime, apple, Meyer lemon, petrol, and stone. You will taste lime, slate, currants, and a touch of honey which makes it ideal if you are serving smoked turkey or a turkey made with lots of spices. Exceptionally complex for the price. 2006 Adelsheim Pinot Gris ($14-$20). Delicious aromas of peach, honey, and a kiss of caramelized sugar, but there's lots of bright acidity to keep the peach and apple flavors in balance. This aromatic wine would be perfect if you are serving sausage stuffing, and while it may give a sweet impression it finishes dry. 2006 Mauritson Sauvignon Blanc ($13-$17). One of the best domestic Sauvignon Blancs I've had in a long time, made with no oak and no assertive aromas or flavors. Warm melon, Meyer lemon, and clementine aromas and flavors accompany fresh, grassy notes. 2007 Clif Bar Family Winery The Climber White ($13-$15). This white blend has a core of Sauvignon Blanc with the addition of Pinot Blanc (12%), Chenin Blanc (4%) and Muscat (3%). The result is a wine with good acidity but an impression of softness. Aromas of pink grapefruit and nectarine, and flavors of Meyer lemon, nectarine, and peach. 2007 Cupcake Vineyards Chardonnay ($11-$13; also available in CostPlus World Markets). A new label to me, this wine had clean and fresh apple and citrus aromas and flavors. There is a lovely creaminess to this wine, and a touch of mild oakiness. Very much like a white wine from Burgundy at a fraction of the price.
Red Wines There are a lot of people out there recommending Zinfandel for Thanksgiving. Unless you are very, very careful you may overwhelm your food with a jammy, high-alcohol wine. That's true for many other red wines, too. If you are serving turkey and lots of different sweet and savory dishes, red wines may not be your best bet. However, the ones below will not overwhelm your food--and the flavors may be just right for you if you like dark meat, or are serving something smoked or (gasp!) not serving turkey at all.
2006 Domaine du Vissoux/Pierre-Marie Chermette Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Traditionelle ($12-$16). Gamay is a low-alcohol, high-acid grape that produces fresh, zesty reds. You will smell cherries, berries and some chalk in this wine, and the flavors are pure, juicy Bing cherry with an earthy undertow and some mineral notes. 2006 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast ($12-$27) A great bargain in Pinot Noirs, this wine has high-toned cherry and raspberry fruit aromas, with a touch of allspice. There are flavors of cherry, raspberry, allspice, and fresh-baked cobbler with a terrific, silky texture.
2004 Quivira Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley ($18-$20). If you must, this is the Zinfandel to get. With aromas of black cherry, allspice, and cedar, and flavors of cherry, baker's chocolate, and pepper it has beautiful acidity and is very food friendly. This Zin feels and tastes more old fashioned and restrained--just the way I like them. The 2005 is also in the market, and while I haven't tasted it, ordinary drinkers on CellarTracker! seem to give it thumbs up, too. 2004 Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Crianza ($7-$12). If you think I'm nuts to suggest Tempranillo with turkey--trust me. I'm not. This is one of the great bargain reds, from Osborne's Bodegas Montecillo. There are aromas of roasted herbs and spicy berries, and nice, high-toned red fruit. Beautiful acidity and some dusty tannins make for a long, juicy aftertaste.
Whatever you serve on Thanksgiving, remember to relax and enjoy your friends and family. That's what the holiday is really all about!
Disclosure: The Adelsheim, MacMurray Ranch, and Clif Bar Family Winery bottlings were samples; I tasted both the Cupcake and Osborne wines at tastings. All other bottles were purchased by me over the last eleven months in a variety of brick-and-mortar and online stores.
A Napa Valley-based filmmaker has turned his camera on several French and Hungarian vineyards and wineries to create a series of short films.
Individual films will premiere online in October and November 2008. The first, featuring Royal Tokaji, is already available. All films will be available for download to iPods, as well as web-based viewing at Wilson Daniels Films, and on Facebook and YouTube.
"Each mini-documentary explores the history, setting, and distinct personality of the properties through thought-provoking images and interviews with winery principals. Lyman's signature style--saturated colors, lush cinematography and striking music--make a breathtaking background for the three- to five-minute films, filmed exclusively in high-definition. Lyman also captures the small details of each estate, from candle-lit cellars in real light to the ancient lock on a cellar door, providing viewers with a sense of intimacy with each locale."
The series will cover Royal Tokaji of Tokaj; Champagne Delamotte and Champagne Salon; three domaines in Bugundy (Faiveley, Leflaive and Pierre Morey); Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet of northern Rhône; and Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss of Alsace and southern Rhône.
The 2008 Miami International Wine Fair featured the usual aisles of wines and wine sellers, and the usual throngs of wine enthusiasts, and the usual clique of ink-stained wretches like myself who were there to ...
At the recent Albany event at the Desmond, I had a chance to meet Chris Reno of Chateau Lafayette Reneau. I chatted with him for a while, and tasted some of the exciting new varietals. Always a personal favorite, I wanted to try their riesling.
The riesling did not disappoint. It had a wonderful nose and an excellent balance between fruit and acid. Still one of my favorite rieslings.
They also had an exquisite dry rieslign as well. Absolutely fabulous!
Brief notes scribbled at the London International Wine and Spirits Fair in Excel of the Top 100 Vins de Pays 2008.
Of the 1,214 samples submitted to the competition tasting there were 520 red wines, 518 white and 176 rosé. Of these wines 14 trophies were awarded to six white wines, one rosé and seven reds.
"So how did the Top 100 pan out this year? As you'd expect, Vin de Pays d'Oc had the largest number in the winners' enclosure, with exactly half the wines selected - although statistically speaking, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne had a better hit rate (15 wines out of 95 entries). "
"The judges were impressed by the diversity and overall quality of the top 100, and most were surprised by what the much criticised 2007 vintage had produced. Most of them singled out rosés as the area of greatest improvement. The Merlots were also a lot better than last year, although several judges felt it was the red blends that really stood out."
From my tasting of the top 100 (not all of the 100 were tried, I should mention) it was the red blends that stood out for me. Stockist information and links are included but most wines are now out of stock; you might be able to secure stocks of follow on vintages.
White Wines Review0.3Wine Tasting Note: Domaine de la Coche, 2007, VdP du Val de Loire [More: Adegga / Snooth] Winner Sauvignon Blanc Trophy. 100% Sauvignon Blanc grown in Retz south of Nantes. 12% Alcohol. Grassy, green aromas. Very pure, gravelly, palate complex hints of orange. Alcohol 12%.
Review0.3Wine Tasting Note: Rive Haute Sauvignon, 2007, VdP des Côtes de Gascogne Stockist: Adnams Price: £8.49 [More: Adegga / Snooth] £8.49 Adnams. Rounder than the previous (south, warmer climes) good, long length. Alcohol 11.5%.
Review0.3Wine Tasting Note: M&S Grenache Blanc, 2007, VdP d'Oc Stockist: Marks and Spencer Price: £5.49 [More: Adegga / Snooth] Grenache Blanc Trophy and Best Wine of Show Grenache Blanc grown around Carcassonne. Delicious stone-led palate, zesty, lemony, floral hints. A little oak aging adding complexity. 12.5% Alcohol.
Review0.3Wine Tasting Note: Domaine le Roc Anges Les Vieilles Vignes, 2006, VdP des Pyrénées-Orientales Stockist: Les Caves de Pyréne Price: £11.85 [More: Adegga / Snooth] A blend of Grenache Gris (80%) and Macabeu (20%). Crisp, toasty flavours, orange and lime rind. Excellent length. Alcohol 14%.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Domaine L'Hortus Grande Cuvée Blanc, 2006, VdP du Val de Montferrand Stockist: Les Caves de Pyréne Price: £12.40 [More: Adegga / Snooth] £12.40 A mix of Chardonnay (80%), Viognier (15%) and Roussanne (5%). Crisp but rounded, full of flavour and great length. Alcohol 13.5%.
Review0.3Wine Tasting Note: Producteurs Vignoble de Gascogne Fleur de Givre Florenbelle, 2007, VdP des Côtes de Gascogne Stockist: Waitrose Price: £7.99 [More: Adegga / Snooth]. - Gros Manseng Trophy Winner £6.99 Late harvested. Lingering, cleanly fresh, exotic was one word overheard as a description. Alcohol 11.5%.
Red Wines Review0.3Wine Tasting Note: Domaine Py Merlot, 2007, VdP d'Oc Price: £5.49 [More on Adegga / Snooth] - Merlot Trophy Winner From a 32ha at the foot of Mont Alaric in the Corbières region. Deeply coloured with a open, straw and blackcurrant and leaves led nose, creamy, rounded, good structure, good price.
Review0.3Wine Tasting Note: Domaine Paul Mas La Forge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, VdP d'Oc Price: £7.49 [More on Adegga / Snooth] - Cabernet Sauvignon Trophy Winner Heavy weight bottle, full, rich, lashings of raspberry and blueberry. Great length. Alcohol 13.5%.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Camplazens Syrah, 2007, VdP d'Oc Stockist: Majestic Price: £6.49 [More on Adegga / Snooth] - Syrah Trophy Winner Deep, deep, colour, wonderful bacon edge aroma, violets and similar on a gorgeous palate. Plenty of cassis laced with inky fruit. Super. Alcohol 13%.
Review0.3Wine Tasting Note: Domaine Familongue, Le Carignan de Familongue, 2007, VdP du Mont Price: £5.99 [More on Adegga / Snooth] - Carignan Trophy Winner Excellent packaging. 100% Carignan from 50-60 year old vines. Juicy. Not as heavy as the colour would suggest, deeply flavoured.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Camplazens Marselan, 2007, VdP d'Oc Stockist: Majestic Price: £6.49 [More on Adegga / Snooth] £6.49 Majestic. Very deeply coloured, nice lifted aromas and a rather tasty, curranty, palate.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Domaine de La Jasse Vieilles Vignes, 2006, VdP d'Oc Stockist: ay and Wheeler Price: £9.95 [More on Adegga / Snooth] Red brick in colour but a lovely balanced palate and lingering flavours.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Domaine Phillippe Nusswitz Miratus, 2005, VdP d'Oc [More on Adegga / Snooth] - Best Red Wine of Show Striking packaging. Blend of Syrah (60%), Grenache (20%) and Mourvèdre (20%) vines are grown in the foothills of the Cevennes between the Languedoc and the Rhône. Wonderful nose, gorgeous palate, complex but not heavy. Sadly no details of stockists or price.
If you're not a subscriber to The Wine Front you don't get to see the reviews that are added to the site on most days. In the past seven days the following wines have been reviewed in the Subscriber Only section of this website.
All Saints Estate Chardonnay Viognier 2006 All Saints Estate Family Cellar Marsanne 2006 All Saints Estate Sangiovese Cabernet 2006 All Saints Estate Shiraz 2006 All Saints Estate Durif 2006 All Saints Estate Family Cellar Durif 2006 Aradon Rioja 2006 Casa Santos Lima Quinta Das Setencostas 2005 d'Arenberg Galvo Garage Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot 2006 Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2006 Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough pinot Noir 2006 Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough Section 94 2006 Grapes of RossBarossaValley Black Rose Shiraz 2006 Grapes of Ross Barossa Valley Old Bush Vine Grenache 2006 Henry Pelle Menetou Salon 2006 Les Nuages Organic Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 LethbridgeGeelong Shiraz 2005 Longview Adelaide Hills Devils Elbow Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Maison Champy Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2005 MountHorrocksClareValley Shiraz 2005 Piana del Sole Salento Negroamaro 2004 Postcode 2320 Reserve Shiraz 2004 Postcode 2587 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Punt Road Yarra Valley Shiraz 2005 Punt Road Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Rymill Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Scorpiiion Barossa Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2006 Scorpiiion Barossa Valley Shiraz 2006 Scorpiiion Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 The Berrio Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Torbreck Barossa The Struie Shiraz 2006 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1995 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1996 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1997 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1999 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1998 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2001 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2002 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2003 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2004 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2005 Tramin Alto Adige Pinot Grigio 2006 Villa terlina Gradale Barbera d’Asti 2004 ($35) VoyagerEstateMargaretRiver Cabernet Merlot 2004
Beechworth, Victoria, Australia. Shiraz with a touch of Viognier. Cork. Source: cellar.
Today seemed to be the right time to flick through my dust laden copy of The General Theory. Keynes is once again fashionable as Governments slowly rush to stimulate consumption and the media is awash with talk of GD2 (the Great Depression II). Reading the chapters on The marginal efficiency of capital and Long term expectations (chapters 11 and 12) I found these prescient comments.
On the issue of risk: 'During a boom the popular estimation of the magnitude of these risks, both borrower's risk and lender's risk, is apt to become unusually and imprudently low'.
On confidence and credit: 'But whereas the weakening of either (the state of confidence of the speculator and the state of credit) is enough to cause a collapse, recovery requires the revival of both. For whilst the weakening of credit is sufficient to bring about a collapse, its strengthening, though a necessary condition of recovery, is not a sufficient condition'.
Tasting note: This is unmoved since my last encounter. Scented with peppercorn and mashed blueberry it is slippery (presumably the Viognier) and yet muscled in the mouth. Once again the pepper is notable, though in support are chiseled tannins and juicy acids. Sadly this is my last bottle, I suspect its peak will only arrive in another decade.
labor day is next weekend and many of us will be grilling up hot dogs, bratwurst, and other traditional picnic fare that is difficult to pair with wine. In a recent article, Washington Post columnists, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg offer suggestions on what to serve with "dinner in a long bun." Among their suggestions are an Alsatian Riesling with bratwurst, a Rioja with a chili dog, and Chianti with Italian Sausage.
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Well it has been a few weeks since my last entry and although I could tell you all about the Rhône and Burgundy en primeur campaigns, the New Wave Spanish wines I've been trying, or the South African Reds to match the last entry of South African Whites that my father has been religiously clicking on to, only to discover nothing of what his daughter has been up to in the Big Smoke, I won't.
I am very tempted to tell you about having to pay an Australian, let's say friend, in wine for a lost - no, thoroughly thrashed - bet over the Ashes (this was his first return to England since that sorry episode). A fairly painful experience for both wallet and liver BUT let's move on to the future.
Wine Relief is upon us www.rednoseday.com/partners/wine-relief/ and there are several different bottles widely available to buy from which retailers are donating some of the profit to Comic Relief. How easy is it to open a bottle of wine and make a difference?
For my part I have been enthusiastically working my way through the offerings and on March 3rd, this Saturday in fact, I will be a guest panellist on the Virtual Wine online tasting of the 6 best on offer. The team at Virtual Wine have also studiously tasted and deliberated to come up with the finalists which will be tasted by a select (!) panel live from 7.30 pm.
The idea is that you at home can order the taster packs of 6 wines from Virtual Wine (10% still going to Comic Relief) or buy them from the various retailers, and taste the wines at the same time. You can then send belligerent, loving or simply drunken messages to us via email and your concerns will be addressed immediately. What a laugh...
So get some friends round, you must have some, put on some nibbles and sharpen your tongues. Take a look here www.virtualwine.co.uk to download instructions and tasting notes.
These people like wine and have a laugh with it, their contribution to the cork vs screwcap debate was to race bottles down river to see which was fastest, the loser then wrestled the winner to the ground in an unscripted, but thrilling, finale.
Harvest Wine Weekend: The celebration of the season starts tomorrow... Begining Friday, October 17 Paso Robles Wine Country will kick off three days of celebration in recognition of the most important time of year - Harvest!
Have you made your plans to attend a wine maker dinner, open house, grape stomp, seminar, or any other unique opportunity during Harvest Wine Weekend? Click here to learn more about what activities are available to you this Harvest Wine Weekend. Or use the clickable buttons to the left for more information. It's not too late to get involved.
New this year: Harvest your own wine country experience by bringing along a camera. Paso Robles Wine Country invites you to photo document your Harvest Wine Weekend experience and share them with your fellow wine enthusiasts. Simply attend one or more of the over 150 events during Harvest Wine Weekend and send us your photos. The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance will post them after the event weekend. Three lucky entrants will win tickets to the annual Paso Robles Wine Festival in May 2009. Look for the entry tool on pasowine.com beginning Sunday, October 19.
With all the signs that have been hovering about us lately you would have thought our collective unconscious would take the hint. But as it seems to be less collective and more unconscious, maybe this should be no surprise. The past few days in tastings and with encounters there are still people looking for that peak experience when it comes to drinking a wine. One such gent was regaling over his latest trip to Casanova di Neri, where he secured a stash of verticals of their single vineyard reds. Forget that there is a cloud over the whole of Montalcino. What was that old Jim Morrison line, ?We want the world and we want it now??
So as with everything else, it appears to be that way as well with wine. Big, bold, powerful, rich. Pre-recession fantasies craving for that in a wine which is just out of our grasp for other longings.
When was the last time you heard someone asking for a little housemaid of a wine, something inconspicuous and barely noticeable, a little fruit, no tannins, easy to forget? It just doesn't appear we are wired to recognize the unremarkable. Why is that? Take cars for example. It seems that what so many people are looking for in a wine is akin to a Hummer H2. But those vehicles are sitting on car lots piling up. Meanwhile try and find a deal on a VW Jetta TDI. Not a spectacular car in terms of styling or sex appeal. But they are hard to find.
Yesterday at a wine store I was in during a 20% off sale, most of the people were asking for wines under $15. 90% of them wanted value and then a deal on top of that. They weren?t asking for the big old Amarone that will last for 20 years. It was selling for $70 ($56 after discount). Nope, they just wanted to talk about the big old bathing beauty red, but they were slipping the housemaid wines in the carts.
That same day I was invited to dinner at a ?French? restaurant of some repute. Not many of those around these parts any more. I was asked to pick the wine. Now usually there is a token wine on the list for the wine lover who just doesn't want to spring for Silver Oak or Corton. As I looked around the dining room, in an alto-borghese neighborhood, I noticed people were ordering wine as they were perusing the food menu. Odd, but not altogether unusual in a mid-western town on the Big Night Out. Cabernet was king in this room, even though the food was tempered to the tastes of a Burgundian or Loire or Rhone setting. After seven very difficult minutes the folks at my table were getting impatient with me. My inner Alice was fuming; there was nothing of interest on this wine list. Finally after some peer pressure, I ordered a (negociant) Beaune. A 2004. For $95. With some trepidation. Where was a Gigondas or a Crozes-Hermitage? Some wonderful Julienas or Chiroubles? Surely they are available; I see them on the printouts from the various distributors. Wine that would go so well with the fois gras or the duck or the veal or the scallops.
Tecnorati
So as with everything else, it appears to be that way as well with wine. Big, bold, powerful, rich. Pre-recession fantasies craving for that in a wine which is just out of our grasp for other longings.
That same day I was invited to dinner at a ?French? restaurant of some repute. Not many of those around these parts any more. I was asked to pick the wine. Now usually there is a token wine on the list for the wine lover who just doesn't want to spring for Silver Oak or Corton. As I looked around the dining room, in an alto-borghese neighborhood, I noticed people were ordering wine as they were perusing the food menu. Odd, but not altogether unusual in a mid-western town on the Big Night Out. Cabernet was king in this room, even though the food was tempered to the tastes of a Burgundian or Loire or Rhone setting. After seven very difficult minutes the folks at my table were getting impatient with me. My inner Alice was fuming; there was nothing of interest on this wine list. Finally after some peer pressure, I ordered a (negociant) Beaune. A 2004. For $95. With some trepidation. Where was a Gigondas or a Crozes-Hermitage? Some wonderful Julienas or Chiroubles? Surely they are available; I see them on the printouts from the various distributors. Wine that would go so well with the fois gras or the duck or the veal or the scallops.