Simple as ABC! With all due respect to the Jackson 5, it is that simple. A few years ago ABC was an acronym for Anything But Chardonnay or Anything But Cabernet. Chardonnay and Cabernet are the two most popular white and red respectively wine grapes in the US today.. but people were getting tired of them. Most great red Bordeaux are a blend of up to 5 varieties of grapes and today more winemakers are having fun creating some interesting blends that you would never see in Bordeaux.
A staple in the store for years and exceeds expectations in the 2007 vintage is the CMS from Hedges of Washington state. A tasty blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah/Shiraz, the 2007 is an easy guzzler as well as a nice tasting red dinner wine. The Cabernet gives the wine complex flavors, the Merlot is for smoothness and a pleasing vanilla-cherry flavor and the Syrah/Shiraz gives the wine some weight, smoke and spice flavors. Great with all catsup,covered cuisine. I will use this as a backyard bar-b-que summer wine and serve it with a slight chill. It retails for under $15 a bottle.
SMG is not a new global positioning system, but rather a fantastic red blend from golfer Ernie Els' Guardian Peak label of South Africa. This $25 a bottle red bombshell wine gets the gamey-peppery flavors from the Syrah, mucho smoke from the Mourvedre and extra weight and power from the Grenache. If you get the chance, have lunch at the Guardian Peak winery for a great meal with a better view. Great winter/spring red wine for lamb in all its forms. Too good for the ketchup, but great with a steak, open the bottle a half hour before serving to allows its massive flavors to expand out of the glass.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
President Gourmet
Washington may have chopped the cherry tree, but it was Thomas Jefferson who was the first wine geek president. While living in Paris as a diplomat he not only developed his taste for fine wines and foods, Ben Franklin acquired the same habit the same way and both lived into their 80's, but also used his farming skills and brought back vine cuttings from Bordeaux to his home at Monticello in Virginia. Alas, the yet undetected native American vine mite, Phylloxera, destroyed the vines and no wine was ever produced by Jefferson. Eventually this microscopic bug was transported to Europe and ruined most of the vineyards there in the mid 1800's. Surprisingly, today almost all vines are grown on American root stock. Think of Concord underground and Cabernet on top.
With that knowledge today there is a healthy and high quality wine growing region in the Virginian Piedmont. Jefferson would be proud. Unfortunately, these yummy wines rarely are available outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the D.C. area. If you live there, you know, but for the rest of us... road trip!
When Jefferson was alive, he enjoyed fine Bordeaux, but the Bordeaux of the 1700's was different than today's Bordeaux. Today, only 5 varieties of grapes are allowed in the blend; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Back then there was a 6th grape, think of the 5th Beatle, Carmenere. When the Phylloxera bug hit, the winemakers of Bordeaux allowed the Carmenere to go extinct because the grapes need to hang on the vine for an extra week than all the others. This extra week of ripening was not always reached as the Earth was in a cooling time back then, think of global warming in reverse. Until recent scientific advances, ie. DNA mapping, the way you determined what grapes were growing in your vineyard was the science of Ampelography. No, Ampelography has nothing to do with silicon implants, but rather it is the science of tracing leaf patterns to determine grape varieties, sort of fingerprints for leaves. Unfortunately, the Merlot and the Carmenere have the same pattern, so DNA to the rescue. Today's almost all of the known Carmenere is grown in Chile.
Carmenere is one of the most lovable dry red wines in the world today. When the grape is allowed to hang to ripen perfectly it yields a smooth dry red wine with some fruit and spice and chocolate flavor/aroma sensations. My two favorites are the Vina Chocolain 2007 retailing about 12 a bottle and the luscious Arboleda 2006 around 20 a bottle. They are equally good with steaks as well as roasts and braises of beef or lamb. And I would not be against serving them with a game bird such as goose or duck.
To pronounce Carmenere, try Car man air.
With that knowledge today there is a healthy and high quality wine growing region in the Virginian Piedmont. Jefferson would be proud. Unfortunately, these yummy wines rarely are available outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the D.C. area. If you live there, you know, but for the rest of us... road trip!
When Jefferson was alive, he enjoyed fine Bordeaux, but the Bordeaux of the 1700's was different than today's Bordeaux. Today, only 5 varieties of grapes are allowed in the blend; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Back then there was a 6th grape, think of the 5th Beatle, Carmenere. When the Phylloxera bug hit, the winemakers of Bordeaux allowed the Carmenere to go extinct because the grapes need to hang on the vine for an extra week than all the others. This extra week of ripening was not always reached as the Earth was in a cooling time back then, think of global warming in reverse. Until recent scientific advances, ie. DNA mapping, the way you determined what grapes were growing in your vineyard was the science of Ampelography. No, Ampelography has nothing to do with silicon implants, but rather it is the science of tracing leaf patterns to determine grape varieties, sort of fingerprints for leaves. Unfortunately, the Merlot and the Carmenere have the same pattern, so DNA to the rescue. Today's almost all of the known Carmenere is grown in Chile.
Carmenere is one of the most lovable dry red wines in the world today. When the grape is allowed to hang to ripen perfectly it yields a smooth dry red wine with some fruit and spice and chocolate flavor/aroma sensations. My two favorites are the Vina Chocolain 2007 retailing about 12 a bottle and the luscious Arboleda 2006 around 20 a bottle. They are equally good with steaks as well as roasts and braises of beef or lamb. And I would not be against serving them with a game bird such as goose or duck.
To pronounce Carmenere, try Car man air.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
NASCAR, Born in the PIEDMONT
No, not that Piedmont. The real Piedmont is the Foot (pied) Hills (mont) of the Alps in northwest Italy on the French border. The Piedmont is home to Italy's best red wines, sorry Tuscany, but this is my blog.
The 2007 vintage in the Piedmont is legendary great!
Well, the best wines of the region, the Barolo and the Barbaresco have yet to be released, but the everyday Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto have been released and they are Wowyummy. Copyright Wowyummy.
Normally these wines rarely have enough fruit flavor to balance typical intense acidity. In other words, not enough sweet to pull off a balanced sweet and sour sensation. The 2007s are so wonderful and easy to drink and wicked tasty, sorry about using wicked as an adjective but I am Boston bred, they can please a New World wine drinker as well as the classic Europhile imbiber.
Tasty with northern Italian cuisine, (bag the red sauce), they show especially well with mushroom influenced dishes. This vintage with its lush fruit flavors, smooth balance and just enough acid to cut into a properly butter/cream dish, offers enormous value. Expect to spend in the 10-20 a bottle range for top quality wine. The few more expensive ones I have tried are properly more impressive. The Enzo Boglietti Barbera blew me away. You can drink it now but at least 5 years of cellaring will be rewarded.
As for waiting for the bigguns to be released, I have a hold on my piggy bank, but the hammer is ready and poised above the porcine Pinkerton.
Oh, these wines are just ok with barbeque, but would be fabulous with a salami and cheese sandwich or sausages cooked on the grill.
The 2007 vintage in the Piedmont is legendary great!
Well, the best wines of the region, the Barolo and the Barbaresco have yet to be released, but the everyday Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto have been released and they are Wowyummy. Copyright Wowyummy.
Normally these wines rarely have enough fruit flavor to balance typical intense acidity. In other words, not enough sweet to pull off a balanced sweet and sour sensation. The 2007s are so wonderful and easy to drink and wicked tasty, sorry about using wicked as an adjective but I am Boston bred, they can please a New World wine drinker as well as the classic Europhile imbiber.
Tasty with northern Italian cuisine, (bag the red sauce), they show especially well with mushroom influenced dishes. This vintage with its lush fruit flavors, smooth balance and just enough acid to cut into a properly butter/cream dish, offers enormous value. Expect to spend in the 10-20 a bottle range for top quality wine. The few more expensive ones I have tried are properly more impressive. The Enzo Boglietti Barbera blew me away. You can drink it now but at least 5 years of cellaring will be rewarded.
As for waiting for the bigguns to be released, I have a hold on my piggy bank, but the hammer is ready and poised above the porcine Pinkerton.
Oh, these wines are just ok with barbeque, but would be fabulous with a salami and cheese sandwich or sausages cooked on the grill.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Valentine Wines
Say it with pink bubbles. Tastes better than flowers, looks better than chocolates, smells better than a card!
The best bang-for-the-buck pink bubbly in the world today is Graham Beck Brut Rose. This delicious South African blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes has the classic aroma of raspberry and strawberry in concert with fruit flavors in a dry gorgeous pink wine. The richness of the wine as it coats the inside of your mouth is rare and only found in the most expensive French Rose Champagnes, but if you can find, and this is the tough part, the Graham Beck, expect to spend around $20.
Great bubblies at any price have one thing in common. They taste like great wines that just happen to have bubbles. Most sparkling wines taste and feel like club soda with some wine flavor added. If you have never had a great Champagne, the Graham Beck will give you the quality and save you about $100 a bottle. Yeah, it's that good. And although Graham Beck makes two other bubblies in the more classic white style and they are delicious, it's the Rose you want for Valentine's Day. Serve chilled, but not with chocolates. And I am not a big strawberries with bubbly fan either. But that's another day's rant.
Not with chocolates?! Yup. Ignore those movies and TV shows showing how romantic Champagne and Chocolate are, they go together like a Hollywood romance. Both great separately, but marry them up, and no chemistry. A quick look at chemistry gives us the reason. The yeast and acid of wine do not help nor balance the sweetness and power of flavor of chocolate. The best wines with chocolate are those luscious sweet Ports, Sherries and Aussie dessert wines. My best value pick is the Delaforce Curious and Ancient 20 year old Tawny Port around $40 a bottle. The nicest thing about Port is it keeps for a few weeks after opening. It also is around 20% alcohol so be careful. It is sweet and nutty and yummy. Serve it at room temperature in small stemware glasses. 20 years on the label indicates that the wine did spend 20 years in a wood barrel to smooth it out and add some nice nutty flavor from the wood as well as the tawny-brown color. It also is wonderful with a cigar that my wife has me smoke outside no matter what the weather is.
The best bang-for-the-buck pink bubbly in the world today is Graham Beck Brut Rose. This delicious South African blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes has the classic aroma of raspberry and strawberry in concert with fruit flavors in a dry gorgeous pink wine. The richness of the wine as it coats the inside of your mouth is rare and only found in the most expensive French Rose Champagnes, but if you can find, and this is the tough part, the Graham Beck, expect to spend around $20.
Great bubblies at any price have one thing in common. They taste like great wines that just happen to have bubbles. Most sparkling wines taste and feel like club soda with some wine flavor added. If you have never had a great Champagne, the Graham Beck will give you the quality and save you about $100 a bottle. Yeah, it's that good. And although Graham Beck makes two other bubblies in the more classic white style and they are delicious, it's the Rose you want for Valentine's Day. Serve chilled, but not with chocolates. And I am not a big strawberries with bubbly fan either. But that's another day's rant.
Not with chocolates?! Yup. Ignore those movies and TV shows showing how romantic Champagne and Chocolate are, they go together like a Hollywood romance. Both great separately, but marry them up, and no chemistry. A quick look at chemistry gives us the reason. The yeast and acid of wine do not help nor balance the sweetness and power of flavor of chocolate. The best wines with chocolate are those luscious sweet Ports, Sherries and Aussie dessert wines. My best value pick is the Delaforce Curious and Ancient 20 year old Tawny Port around $40 a bottle. The nicest thing about Port is it keeps for a few weeks after opening. It also is around 20% alcohol so be careful. It is sweet and nutty and yummy. Serve it at room temperature in small stemware glasses. 20 years on the label indicates that the wine did spend 20 years in a wood barrel to smooth it out and add some nice nutty flavor from the wood as well as the tawny-brown color. It also is wonderful with a cigar that my wife has me smoke outside no matter what the weather is.
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