One of my most favorite wine memories was a wine dinner I did with the Napa Valley winery, Darioush. Thankfully, my position as the Wine Director allowed me countless tastes of their amazing wines that night. Oh…what a tough job that was!

Singling out just one of the wines is utterly unjust, as they are all top notch efforts every vintage. However, the one that I was most enthralled with that night was the Viognier. A lot of people have no idea about Viognier (VEE-o-nay).

This effort from Darioush is very much on the rich side of the spectrum. The unctuous, seamless texture travels along the palate caressing and seducing each taste bud to have another sip or gulp. The aromas of peach, honeysuckle, yellow apple, cedar & vanilla are only intensified within the mouth once imbibed. This is a very vibrant & floral wine that has a touch of sweetness and may be considered sweet my many although it clocks in at very low percentage of residual sugar (sugar that remains in the wine even after fermentation).

This is a wine that pairs amazingly with Thai food, sushi, full flavored fish (tuna, sea bass, salmon, hebi, tombo) and spicy foods. It is rather difficult to locate and is only made in small production, i.e. less than 1500 cases per vintage. But it is a gem and should be enjoyed on special occasions

. . . Unless you have a sugar momma or daddy who treats you well.

It hasn’t quite struck the consumer’s palate as an everyday wine. The Darioush Viognier, perhaps, is not an everyday wine simply just from its hefty price of $30. Most domestic Viogniers will come in at about $15-20. Much of this varietal is also grown in Australia and the south of France. However, its native home is in the Rhone Valley where it produces a very highly regarded wine from the region of Condrieu. This grape also contributes a lot to white Cotes du Rhones and Chateauneuf du Papes.

A little background on Darioush: They are based in Napa Valley and produce all estate-grown, extremely high quality Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet, Shiraz. They recently added a Pinot Noir to their repertoire too. The owner, Darioush Khaledi, made his fortune initially as a supermarket tycoon. He spared no expense in acquiring a stellar property, and built a visitor center that makes most others pale in comparison. He actually constructed the building in Turkey prior to having it brought over to be rebuilt in Napa. Steve Devitt is the winemaker and brings a minimalist, hands-off approach to producing these outstanding and costly wines.

I will never forget the first time that I used the word VOLUPTUOUS, to describe a wine. It was the 2002 Domaine Serene ‘Yamhill Cuvee’ Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

The story goes something like this…Once upon a time in a land far far away, one of my more wine savvy couples came in and wanted something different, not on the wine list. I looked through to see what I had tasted lately that had given me chills. (That’s one of the ways I know I have a killer bottle on my hands!)

I saw the Domaine Serene bottle and immediately described it to them: a sexy, voluptuous Pinot with plenty of red cherry hinting at black cherry fruit, cola, spices of cinnamon & nutmeg, aromas of evergreen or “forest floor” with a wonderfully pleasant and full finish.

I probably didn’t have to go any further than saying the word “voluptuous” because as soon as I finished my verbose wine description they inquired, “Voluptuous, huh?” They nodded their head in agreement with each other.

They fell in love with the wine and winery just as I had. Unfortunately for some, this winery has spared no cost in producing what they and many people believe to be the best Pinot Noir in Oregon and perhaps the world. They advertise a lot, as you may have seen the full-page ads in Wine Spectator stating that they have ousted some of the best French Burgundies in blind tastings.

They recently built a state of the art gravity flow winery. This allows the wine to flow naturally through the wine making process without the use of pumps. They have very low yielding vines and they only use the best new oak barrels. Ultimately they use the best of everything.

This translates to a higher cost for us, about $30-35 for the Yamhill Cuvee. This is just their entry-level Pinot Noir too! They also make about five others:

• Evenstad Reserve $52
• Jerusalem Hill $75
• Mark Bradford $90
• Grace (pdf) $90
• Monogram (pdf) $200

They have also begun producing a Coeur Blanc (a white Pinot Noir!), the only domestic one to date! There is no doubt in my mind that this is a Pinot Noir worth splurging on. If I could pick one Pinot Noir to drink for the rest of my life, under $50, I would definitely imbibe Yamhill Cuvee without any qualms.

Wine Tip: Every so often us wine geeks find a word to describe a wine that really entices someone’s palate. Using masculine and feminine designate words are a great way for consumers to procure an idea about how the wine will taste.

I know, I know, a Chardonnay you say? A lot of you might think that if you’ve had one you’ve had them all. Believe it or not though, I could list more than ten different styles of the king of white grapes.

This one, crafted by Rombauer Vineyards in the Napa Valley, is definitely a 90+ by my standards and by multiple wine publications.

Prepare to be profusely rewarded with this one, trust me! This Chardonnay does not bear false pretenses AT ALL. Upon first nose, it whacks you smack dab in the senses with peaches and cream, pears, a hint of mango & toasted almond. That’s all before you take a sip!

Taste it and your palette will be perked with a subtle oak note and it clocks in at about an 8.5 out of 10 in richness. After all that you are still rewarded with the solid 15-20 second finale. Evoking a sublime wine rhyme time; At least for me!

More often than not, producers who make this rich, unctuous style of Chardonnay go too heavy on the oak or the wine is flabby and one dimensional sans acidity. Nothing could be further from the truth with this Rombauer. It delivers with a force and runs on all cylinders.

Consumer’s caveat: Occasionally a lot of really good wines that haven’t quite reached the upper pricing tier (for domestic Chardonnay, $40+) are sold at discounts to retailers and restaurants. This is usually because the distribution of the wine is still in a growth phase. I just heard of the Rombauer brand in July 2006 but they have been a family operation in Napa since 1982. My point is that you can find this wine for a deal sometimes when the new release comes out and the local distributor has the previous vintage still in stock. I found this Chardonnay at a semi-fancy wine bar in St. Petersburg, FL for $34 a bottle. Just a mere $4 above MSRP!

Carneros 2006 $30 Retail

There are four basic steps to tasting wine efficiently and effectively. The first is of course sight. This allows you to form an initial judgment of how the wine is going to taste. It’s best to hold the wine up against a white or neutral colored surface to ascertain the true color. Generally lighter colored wines have less intensity, tannins and texture than darker wines, but that is not always the case.

As far as age affecting color, red wines lose their color as they mature. A fine claret or Bordeaux from an older vintage will have a much lighter brick or ruby red like color and it can still have considerable length, density and finish. White wines are the opposite. As they age they gain color. Even the lightest Sauvignon Blanc will get darker with age. It won’t gain quite the golden yellowish hue of a Chardonnay but it changes none the less. If you become good with this color association it can actually be helpful when buying white wines in the retail store. As you practice this method of color relativity, you can get an idea of how heavy or light the wine is going to be before you even open it.

The second step of tasting is to swirl the wine in the glass. This is where the novice and the connoisseur differ because often the novice will skip this step. With this step you not only are able to determine the viscosity of the wine but also how talented of a taster your companions are. I personally like to swirl in a clockwise motion, but counter clockwise works just as good! The most important thing about swirling is that it allows oxygen to permeate the wine and release more aromas. I’ve also heard it referred to as “volatizing the esters”.

This is the stage where you get a lot of people talking about the “legs” of a wine. Legs are referred to as the way that the wine slides down the inside of the glass after it has been swirled. There is some validity to using this notion as a determinant of alcohol content however it is not a tried and true method.

I feel that the third step is the most important step of all - smelling the wine. Would it not be for our nose we would only be able to decipher five different types of flavors: Sweetness, Sourness, Saltiness, Bitterness and Savoriness. Our nose is what allows us to taste the beautiful flavors of kiwis, raspberries, fresh cut grass, hay, leather and many others. When we get a cold and our sinuses get stuffed up, food just doesn’t taste as good. That’s because we can’t smell anything. Smelling the wine after you swirl is ideal although some people believe that there are subtleties in the wine that swirling evaporates.

To “nose” the wine, I like to put my nose as deep into the glass while keeping it dry. While keeping your mouth open take a deep relaxing breath of about three to five seconds. Now stop and think about what you smell. Dark fruit, red fruit, earthiness, richness, citrus fruit, tropical fruit, sweetness, dryness, alcohol? Now try to transition those aromas into flavors as we proceed to the best part.

Tasting the wine incorporates all of these components into one ultimate and final judgment. Even in its simplicity it can still be a complex thought process. Does the wine give you a full range of feeling on your tongue? How complex is the wine? How long does it finish for after you’ve swallowed it? All of these questions you may or may not think about but ultimately that is what your subconscious mind is doing as you taste and decide how much you like it. Believe it or not, these are real questions that wine professionals and some connoisseurs ask themselves as they taste a wine. However, they do it all at once consciously and subconsciously.

Tasting wine still can be simple though. Do I like it? Is it just ok? Do I dislike it? Answering these questions is a walk in the park. For some people though that’s just not good enough. They want to know why they don’t like it, why they love it or why it’s just ok. This way of analysis can set you off on a personal tasting journey that never ends. I’ll tell you one thing though, it’s a quest your palate will never spite you for embarking on! However, your wallet may!

This summer beauty tickles my palate every time. For around $12 the unique flavor profile of kiwi, guava and citrus with a slight herbaceous note on the finish is always a crowd pleaser. If you can’t find this one try any white wine from Rueda, Spain. They are usually 100% Verdejo, a grape that is indigenous to that area of Spain. Medium bodied and full of vigor, these wines are a great value and would pair well with grilled chicken or fish, pasta salad, or steamed shellfish.

100% Verdejo / DO Rueda, Spain

How many times have you had a wine one place, like a winery, a restaurant or a scenic location, then opened another of the same bottle later only to discover it being not quite as spectacular? I have seen this question pop up in Wine Spectator, online forums and amongst fellow wine lovers many times. Isn’t it puzzling how setting and company for which the wine is being enjoyed with can totally alter the experience?

The most common example of this happening is when you are on location, at a winery. This is where your mental associations push your senses into overload. There you are, in the thick of it all, talking about it, seeing how and where it is made and imbibing of course. Then you meet the winemaker or the owner and you swear that this is the best wine that you tasted all day. This is after you’ve already been to six other wineries and tasted every wine they made too! However you didn’t meet the head honchos over there and they didn’t have marble floors or Persian tapestries suspended from the walls either. Are you discerning enough to realize the façade that is blinding you?

This can only bring me to ponder barrel sample ratings from the publications monarchy we know as Wine Spectator. First off, a barrel tasting is when wine is sampled between 6-12 months after being in oak barrels and about another 6-12 months before bottling. The wine is still “defining” itself, collectively synchronizing all of its subtleties, flavors and aromas. When the reviewers go in to analyze and rate the newest vintage they give an estimated score based upon the sample. Reviewers do not perform these tastings blind and they also have preconceived notions about the overall regional quality of the vintage.

It is these barrel sample ratings that wine brokers, suppliers and distributors use to base their initial prices on. A mediocre wine from a great vintage may get a boost into a higher ratings bracket (Usually the ratings are established in a range, ex. 85-88). Likewise a great wine may get placed in a lower point range in a poor vintage. This placement obviously reflects the quality of the wine, but what I’m questioning is…..

How much do factors such as cleanliness of the cellar, personality of the winemaker and hospitability of the staff contribute to the end result?

I realize we are talking about highly trained professional analysts here but for the novice wine drinker these are factors that would and do affect judgment considerably.

Experiment this anomaly for yourself. Enjoy one of your favorite bottles of red wine on a plane while you fly. I’ve read that some airlines actually allow you to bring your own wine on the flight now. Check with your carrier prior to doing this as you might ruffle some feathers. Wines DO taste differently at 35,000 ft. You could also try to drink one of your better bottles outside on a hotter or more humid day/night. The wine will NOT drink like it has in the past. What I’ve deduced from experiences like these and others where the wine was not as good the second time around is simple.

We are creatures whose complex perceptive skills can be influenced, masked & fooled by external stimuli. The best way to duplicate the way you experienced a wine is to replicate the experience in which it was enjoyed the first time around. Besides, it’s highly natural for our first experience of anything to be the most rewarding. If you want to avoid this normal digression you could try to always enjoy good wine in a very non-exciting environment. That way every time you have good company or good food to pair with it it will enhance the experience. Sharing a personal revelation about a wine tasting experience is only enhanced by the company of a fellow wine enthusiast.

Cheers!

Do me a favor! If you’re gonna open a decent bottle of wine, please drink the whole thing. Sometimes wines just don’t make the overnight journey. I feel the sudden urge to simultaneously praise and vilify all the supposed methods of wine preservation.

First and foremost, I’ll go over the evils that destroy wine. Exposure to oxygen, high temperatures or extreme fluctuations in temperature, sunlight and of course snobs! Opening a bottle by yourself creates two problems. The first: questioning the amount of alcohol you can realistically drink; and secondly: what to do with the leftover if you can’t finish it. I know how hard it can be sometimes to finish a bottle of wine by yourself. Well, not really, but here are the best and most common methods to enjoy your wine after it has been opened. Assuming of course, you’re going solo and don’t have any friends to help you out with that special bottle.

REFRIGERATION

We all know the main benefits of refrigeration and it’s fairly obvious to keep opened white wine in the fridge so that it stays fresh. Most people have never heard of keeping their opened reds in the fridge though. It honestly makes a huge difference, albeit you have to be willing to sacrifice a little time for it to warm up. Keeping an opened wine in the fridge slows down the main chemical process that destroys wine, oxidation. It also will make the wine less prone to being converted to vinegar via acetic bacteria.

I once opened a 2000 Dominus, drank a glass of it. After realizing how closed and tight it was, (not showing all its character and fruit), I corked it and put it in the fridge. I left it in there for three days and on the fourth I took it out and brought it to work. It showed amazingly. All the layers of fruit and the seamless texture seemed to appear out of thin air. I had almost chalked up that bottle as a dud too. Patience with wine can be both rewarding and disappointing (if you wait too long!).

I would however recommend keeping a clean 375ml half bottle around. Pouring the wine that you can’t finish into a smaller bottle, presuming it will all fit, and refrigerating it, is the second best way to preserve your leftover wine. With less space in the half bottle for oxygen to seep into you are ensuring the least bit of spoilage. Just pray that you don’t have a power outage!

VACUUM PUMP

You might have seen them in your wine store, a supermarket or on the top of wines at a favorite restaurant of yours. These rubber stoppers fit snugly into the top of the bottle and work okay for short term storage. A hand pump then fits over the stopper allowing you to extract all the detrimental oxygen from the bottle. Keep in mind that even though you may have pumped out all the oxygen, a bottle with more wine in it will hold longer than a lesser filled bottle. I’ve found that some people find these pumps to actually destroy some of the more subtle wine qualities, particularly aromas. I can see why too. Wine is a living organism that changes easier than you would think. Pumping all the oxygen out of the bottle may also include drawing out carbon dioxide from its natural involvement as a by-product of the fermentation process. Altering a wine’s chemical balance will most definitely change the way it tastes and smells. This is a great experiment for you to try at home!

NITROGEN

This is the best system to preserve wine, however the most expensive as well. Nitrogen is an inert gas that creates a blanket over the wine thus protecting it from the harmful oxygen and oxidation process. When wines are corked or enclosed with a screw cap a shot of nitrogen is sprayed on top of the wine to protect it from that little empty space of air. There are small purple cans of nitrogen that you can buy from your wine shop to use or you could opt for the big tank if you want to get crazy. A lot of wine bars will have Cruvinet systems in place that dispense wine through taps similar to the way beer is dispensed from kegs. This system has a tube that draws the wine out while another tube displaces the newly created space with nitrogen. You’ll notice a big tank on the side of the system if you look. That’s the nitro! Wines using this method of preservation last the longest however I wouldn’t guarantee them for much longer than 3-5 days depending on the age and style of wine.

As I pleaded before don’t open a whole bottle unless you’re gonna finish it that night. If you did you wouldn’t have had to read this whole article. For all of you guys or girls who can’t finish a whole bottle ? I hope I’ve extending the length at which you can enjoy your favorite opened wine.

Having worked in restaurants in many different capacities over the years has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I’ve got plenty of juicy stories, lies and exaggerations. However, I wouldn’t be doing my duty as “The Wine Guy” if I were to deviate and spill the beans. Sorry Oysterites. You can read all about them though if you pick up my newest romance novel. The title is still in the works and it’ll certainly be juicier than Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential.

Navigating through a new wine list can be intimidating and unknowledgable or pompous servers, sommeliers and bartenders certainly don’t help either. I bet it would feel good to put them in their place, on occasion. That’s not the point of this article, although you might get a few tips on how to if you read on!

You probably have noticed recently how most restaurants, whether they are fine-dining or casual, have really revamped their wine lists and selling techniques. At The Olive Garden, for instance, you can taste any of their wines before you purchase; even their wines by the bottle. A lot of other corporate restaurants have also adapted the ‘taste before you buy’ policy although they don’t extend it to wines by the bottle.

I’ve even found a new retail store/restaurant called “The Grape” where you can taste ANY of their non-reserve wines even if you are purchasing them for off-site consumption. These are just a few examples, as I’m sure you’ve noticed a lot of changes in your neighborhood restaurants and retailers as well.

First let’s expose a few secrets that will help you in your future dining experiences. We all know that wine is marked up in restaurants anywhere from 150% to 300% of the wholesale cost. Ironically, what most of you don’t know is that the higher priced wines are actually the best deals since they have the least mark up. The worst deals in the restaurant are usually the wines by the glass.

Most people think that wines by the glass are a great way to enjoy your dinner without spending much money. What you don’t know is that most restaurants charge you per glass what they pay per bottle. Generally, if you’re going to have a glass or two it’s actually worth it to buy the bottle; especially since a lot of states allow you to take an remaining wine home. A restaurant will open a bottle one day and might not finish it for three, four or five days. I can guarantee you that most wine served even hours after it was opened, even if there is a cork in it, or it was vacuum pumped, has not gotten better but worse. You might not notice it because you’ve never had the wine before, or you’re still forming a sensitive wine pallette.

Don’t you want the experience to taste as good as it can? Correct me if I’m wrong but restaurants don’t charge less per glass if the bottle has been opened for a day or longer. I only drink wines by the glass that I know the restaurant is selling a lot of, or has just opened. If I’m dining with a few people, I’ll generally push for the bottle.

Don’t be afraid to ask your server or bartender if they have just opened a particular bottle or would open a fresh bottle for you. Certainly don’t be afraid to ask for a sample of a wine which catches your fancy. Especially if it’s one you’ve never tried before. Wine loses its youthful vibrancy quicker than you think.

Oh, and as far as putting people in their place … well, ok. Here are a few questions that you can ask your pretentious server/sommelier that they probably won’t know.

1) What grapes are used in Amarone? A: Rondinella, Molinara & Corvina Veronese.

2) Have you ever had a wine from the Basque country? (For this one it doesn’t matter if they answer yes or no. Although a no response will put you up a little higher on your pedestal.) A: Wow, that one varietal, Hondarrabi Zuri, is somewhat reminiscent of a Vidal Blanc meets Torrontes or a Viognier meets Vermentino. Good luck finding it!

3) Name one grape that is made into a white, rosé and red wine? A: Pinot Noir.

Until next time friends.

Pink is in, I swear!

It’s officially summertime. Well, for me it is, down in Florida. Sorry to rub it in. For all you Northerners you still have a little time to go, although there have been some beautiful days scattered here and there. Which brings me to ponder….What is it about the seasons that change our wine preferences? What type of wine does summertime call for?

Don’t you find light, dry, crisp and flavorful whites to be much more invigorating on a hot summer day? The same applies during the arctic New England winter, when those dark, rich, deep, brooding Syrahs or Cabernets can really put some meat on your bones. I don’t think that the seasons or weather necessarily dictate that you should drink white in the summer and red in the winter though. It all depends on what you like. For me, summertime and sitting outside on the deck, or being at the beach watching the sunset prompts me to enjoy the most overlooked wine of all. ROSÉ!

Rosé is still having difficulty getting past the reputation that was created for it in the mid 70’s and 80’s. That was when Sutter Home and E&J Gallo paved the way for sweet pink wine with their jug “Pink Chablis” and White Zinfandel. Even though that was years ago, the American consumer still automatically associates rosé with sweet, cheap, pink jug wine. The Spaniards didn’t help either, giving rosé a bad name amongst their fellow countrymen, by putting rosé on the back burner to their great Tempranillos and Grenaches. Luckily in France, particularly southern France & Provence, rosé has always been the pride and joy of winemakers and wine drinkers alike. Their contagious enthusiasm is now spreading rapidly like wildfires throughout the world.

Fashionably speaking, pink has been in for a few years and unfortunately in the U.S. it is only recently that rosé has even been an inkling in the consumer’s repertoire. Why is rosé such a hard sell? It is a great medium between red and white wine, with refreshingly juicy flavors of strawberry, raspberry, watermelon and hints of spices. Its extreme versatility with cuisine and ability to literally quench your thirst on a hot day is reason enough.

Let’s be clear on one thing though, when I refer to rosé I am not speaking of anything with the word “white” in the title. White Zinfandel, white Merlot, white OUT! What I am referring to is what the Italians call “Rosato”, the Spanish call “Rosado” and what is also occasionally referred to as “vin gris”, or grey wine.

Rosé can range in color from apricot to salmon, pale pink to a non-opaque magenta. It all depends on the grape(s) used and how long the juice stayed in contact with the skins before being drained off to ferment. This is called the saignée method, one of two methods to make rosé. This ‘skin contact’, or maceration, is necessary to give rosé both its color and flavor. Tannins, that dry tactile sensation associated with big reds, and color both come from the amount of time that the juice spends macerating and fermenting with the grape skins, stems, seeds and pips.

Traditionally, rosés are usually made from a single, light press of red grapes and then left in contact with the skins anywhere from hours to a few days at the most. The wine is then drained off after the short maceration to ferment. This results in a wine that marries the vibrant freshness of a white wine with the color, flavors and tannins of a red wine. The most common grapes used for rosé are Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Cinsault, Counoise, Sangiovese and Pinot Noir.

Interestingly enough, the saignée method was originally used as a means to create more flavorful and intense red wines. Once the wine intended to be rosé was drained off, there would be a higher skins to juice ratio. This “leftover” juice was actually the initial focus of the winemaker. With less juice in the tank the resulting unfermented wine had more opportunity to gain color, flavor and the potential to be a great red wine. It’s crazy to think that making rosé was only the means to an end.

There has been a paradigm in the way rosé is made now though. Winemakers are still using the saignée method, however they are “bleeding” off all of the wine focusing their efforts entirely on rosé. Grapes are being picked specifically for it. There are even producers who specialize in making only rosé. No longer does rosé have the back seat. Now if only consumers would realize what they have been missing out on we could have a full blown rosé revolution on our hands. Maybe we’re not quite ready for that though!

A few tips on rosé.

1. Only drink the freshest available, unless it’s vintage rosé champagne. That’s an entirely different subject and article!
2. The darker the color, the more it is going to taste like the full blown red version of the grape(s) that it is made from.
3. It’s great with Asian flavors & dishes, especially sushi.

For all you rosé lovers I thought this would be a fun way to test your knowledge. Match the region with the primary grape or grapes used for making rosé.

Region:

a. Anjou

b. Marsannay

c. Tavel

d. Provence

e. Colchagua Valley

f. Navarra

g. Rioja

Grape:

h. Grenache

i. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault

j. Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon

k. Pinot Noir

l. Cabernet Franc

m. Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise

n. Malbec

Answers after the jump!

MORE »

Unpretentious, rustic and comfortably affluent, Burgundy consists of 50-plus villages and 100-plus appellations. From the minerally laced Chablis at the far north to the freshly crushed strawberry flavors of Beaujolais at the southern end, Burgundy is one of the most fascinatingly different wine growing regions.

You could say its diversity comes from its vast expanse of land, stretching over 200 miles from north to south, while only a few hundred yards wide at some parts. It’s also where the first vineyard designated wines were made. Think about how many times you have bought a bottle that listed the individual vineyard the grapes came from. Kudos to the Benedictine and Cistercian monks who began analyzing and dividing individual Burgundian vineyards back in the 11th century.

Unlike Bordeaux, there is NO varietal blending in Burgundy. It’s a crime that not only can land you in jail with hefty fines but tarnish a family’s hard earned reputation. It is here that a family’s vineyard inheritance is more desirable than a fiscally liquid option. Vineyards are passed down from father to son or father to daughter in some cases. As much as Burgundy is a family operation there are some big players called negociants who buy wine from various families to blend together to produce under their own label. Just to clarify, this blending is only Pinot with Pinot and Chardonnay with Chardonnay from within the same appellation, so it’s entirely legal. You will probably recognize most of them: Jadot, Latour, Joseph Drouhin and Bouchard Pere et Fils.

Classic Pinot Noir/Burgundy stemware

There are three main grapes grown in Burgundy: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay. Yet there are five main growing regions: Chablis, Cote d’Or, Cote Chalonnaise, Maconnais and Beaujolais. Chardonnay is the sole grape grown in Chablis. The wines produced there are pure & focused, sporting flavors of tart apple and citrus. Here they almost always use stainless steel or cement vat fermentation and aging instead of oak. Hence if you love the buttery, rich, oaky taste of Chardonnay these wines are not for you.The Cote d’Or can be divided into two regions, the Cote de Nuits in the north (Pinot Noir country), and the Cote de Beaune in the south, where both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown. These two regions are the heart and soul of Burgundy. Home to almost all of the best wines in the area, they can leave you speechless and awestruck. Be prepared to shell out at least $25 for a decent wine and don’t be surprised to find $50 - $75 bottles from the same vintage and village but from a different producer.

Both the Cote Chalonnaise and the Maconnais are regions where value is to be found. It’s just slightly south of the Cote d’Or, and both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are subject to the same growing conditions and held to the same standards there. All the way to the south is Beaujolais, the fruity, forward quaffer that can be so delicious, just slightly chilled on a hot summer day. Made from the Gamay grape, it is a wine best enjoyed in its youth; unless made from one of the top ten crus.

Labeling in Burgundy is a little different from Bordeaux. The producer’s name is usually at the bottom of the label in smaller font while the appellation or commune and/or vineyard takes the focus in the center of the label. This is because each village and vineyard within the Cote de Nuits, Cote de Beaune, Cote Chalonnaise & Maconnais are known for different styles of wine and I will be doing an article on each of those areas in the future.

For starters, the best way to understand the wine hierarchy in Burgundy is to picture a triangle. Vineyards are ranked according to the quality of wine that they have produced over time. The best are known as grand cru of which there are around 40; they are at the top of the triangle. Just below them are premier cru vineyards (around 500), followed by village level wines ( i.e. Pommard, Volnay, Chassagne-Montrachet, Nuits St. George, Vosne-Romanee, Meursault, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny), and at the bottom are the basic Borgogne Rouge (red) and Borgogne Blanc (white).

Generally speaking, wines of the highest price, smallest production and best quality are at the top of the triangle, while value priced wines with a larger production are at the bottom.

Unfortunately there can be a lot of variation in Burgundian wines from within the same appellation, even vineyard. Some individual vineyards are divided amongst many growers. Some of those growers may produce their own wine, some may sell to another grower, while others may opt to sell to a negociant. I don’t know every producer’s business but there is one dead giveaway to determine the basics. Any producer whose name is prefaced by ‘Domaine’ is the proud owner of an estate produced wine. Meaning all the grapes are grown by the person producing the wine. None of the grapes were purchased from someone else. Having autonomous control of the vineyard allows the grower/producer to better control, yields, sun exposure & overall grape quality.

Three stellar vintages to look for in Burgundy are the 2002, a very classic vintage for both red and white. The super ripe 2003 vintage produced some profound reds due to the extreme heat. Be leery of the 2003 whites though, some are lacking the vivacity and freshness that white burgundy is known for. Yet to be seen is the 2005 vintage which is being touted as the best of 2002 and 2003. If you have money to buy futures of these wines, DO IT! Your palate won’t regret it, although your wallet or significant other might.

I know how intimidating it is when you go into a wine store and not only do you not recognize any of the wines but they’re all in a different language. You ask yourself, “What the hell does Bordeaux and appellation d’origine controlee mean?” Now, maybe you know the basics and hopefully you’ve all moved on past the pseudo French product boycott of 2001/2002 due to their decision to not assist us in the Middle East.

Because within the last six years, Bordeaux has cranked out three blockbuster vintages. The demand for these “classic wines” is strong and the dollar is still getting pummeled by the euro so you might as well consider the top wines out of reach fiscally; unless you want to take out a loan. First growth red Bordeaux retails for at least $500 a bottle now! The good news is that all of the basic entry level Bordeaux AC, Bordeaux Superior & cru bourgeois wines will be amazing across the board in these spectacular vintages. Should you be able to splurge once or twice on a killer bottle you will be rewarded whether you opt to drink it now or “lay it down” (await its peak patiently).

Bordeaux is the pompous, aristocratic, grand region & city on the western edge of France that is divided by the Gironde river (see map here). As the Gironde travels further southwest it splits into two rivers: the Dordogne & the Garonne. Here it is not a matter of hillside & mountain fruit versus valley fruit like in Napa & Sonoma. It is a fairly flat land with centuries of sedimentary deposits and a gravelly soil with good drainage that allows the king, Cabernet Sauvignon, to thrive. Here, there are wines of all styles: dry & robust reds, succulent & delicious sweet whites as well as the dry, food-friendly whites.

But to make matters the most simple, I am only going to focus on the reds today.

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Who said stress was a bad thing?

You might wonder what people and grapes have in common; well maybe not. I on the other hand have. We both need water, time and room to grow, as well as training. It is only when we are firmly rooted that we can begin to yield our plentiful bounties. Who and what we become depends on where we are planted and how well we are nurtured. If things come too easy for us the ultimate satisfaction will only be par. However, once we are challenged, the “gratification cork” begins to eek its way out of the bottle and anticipation builds. The ever-so-noticeable pop of the cork is so much more enjoyable when it’s the culmination of hard work and success that has been fermenting for months.

Most people who have seen vineyards are familiar with the wiring that hold the vines up. They are known as trellising systems and also what I call the vines’ training. Without it the grapes would be lying on the ground, getting scorched by the sun, probably producing nothing. How much easier is it to teach children to walk when you support them? The ‘training’ doesn’t end once the vines or children are able to stand on their own either. Leaves need to be removed to make sure that the grapes get the full amount of sunlight that they require (a.k.a. canopy management). There are also some varietals that don’t need to be trellised and simply grow closer to the ground in a bushy format: Grenache, Mourvedre & the gnarly, stumpy Zinfandel vines are a few. Just like children who are independent at a young age, these vines are still treated with the same “TLC” as the others who may need more attention.

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Steamed Mussels & Clams

20 PEI Mussels

10 cherrystone sized clams

8 oz Sauvignon Blanc (if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it!)

1 oz chopped garlic

2 oz compound almond butter (just throw in some sliced or shaved toasted almonds)

1 carrot julienned

Garnish with fresh cilantro

Directions:

Heat up large sauté pan to med-high heat. Pour 1-2 ounces olive oil in pan. Add garlic and any other vegetables you want to add to recipe. After you can smell the garlic cooking, toss in clams and mussels. Cover (ideally with another sauté pan of the same size). After a minute or so add the white wine. Once the wine reduces to about half the volume add butter, almonds and the julienned carrot. Cook until all shellfish have opened up (shouldn’t take longer than 6-8 minutes, total cook time). Garnish with fresh cilantro, basil or sage; whatever you like. Make sure you have your new best friend, SB, chilled and uncorked too, of course! Bon Apetit.

We’ll be back on Monday to resume our weekly duties with another trivia question. Let’s go folks you’ve been slacking on your answers! Cheers!

We’ve got a new column for ya called “The Perfect Pair.” This article is the primer for a full-on food and wine pairing series. My goal is to whet your palate with such wine pairing fervor; you’ll be a gourmet matchmaker in no time. I’ll focus on one varietal in each article, giving you wine pairing ideas and then in a following article an easy recipe to pair with the featured wine. This week’s varietal is Sauvignon Blanc.

We all know the rhetoric phrase: red wine with meat and white with fish and poultry. It’s poppycock! I swear if I hear it one more time! It has done irreparable damage to the novice wine drinker’s food pairing preconceptions. One of your new year’s resolutions should be to forget that hogwash. Or maybe a spring resolution. There are only two things you need remember to enjoy harmonious pairings.

The most important thing is to match the body of the wine with the body of dish: rich with rich, light with light and so on. Grilled swordfish with a lemon butter sauce and sautéed veggies would go great with a Pinot Grigio, dry Chenin blanc, dry Riesling or a lighter, “naked” or un-oaked Chardonnay. The key is to not overpower the dish with the wine or vice versa. Now, what if you added bacon, a teriyaki glaze and mushrooms to the swordfish? It takes on a totally different flavor profile. It is now richer and sweeter, thank you teriyaki, with smoky and earthy notes from the accompaniments. A sweeter more viscuous Riesling could work, a full bodied Chardonnay with a heavier dose of oak or an Oregon Pinot Noir would do the trick nicely. But, what if you don’t know the different body styles of wine?

Easy! This is where wine pairing rule #2 comes into play. Personal preferences supersede any recommendation or rule of thumb. If YOU like to drink Merlot with everything from Cheez-its to lobster, DO IT!

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The island of Martha’s Vineyard plays host to many exciting edible pleasantries. It boasts fresh off the boat seafood, ranging from oysters and scallops to striped bass and black cod. Many restaurants, including The Black Dog, are the self proclaimed best dining experience and I know that it’s a difficult and daunting task to select one frivolous night of gluttony. So I’ll make your decision simple.

In Edgartown, it’s nestled on South Summer St. in the back of the luxurious Relais & Chateaux certified Charlotte Inn. L’etoile, French for star, has impressed the ever discerning palate for almost 20 years running. In the kitchen you’ll find self taught Chef/Owner Michael Brisson using island grown ingredients to enhance the most orgasmic variations of foie gras and lobster; while in the dining room you’ll find the likes of CEOs, news anchors and other various dignitaries spoiling their palates.

There are only two menus offered on any given night: a four course prix fixe starting at $76 and a seven course tasting menu for $110. For the appetizers the prix fixe offers the diner a choice of the famed summer dish, Maryland soft shell crab, done in the chef’s daily whimsical preparation (for an additional $5). Other guests may opt for a very snazzy tuna tartare tower, a light summer island salad, grilled quail or a refreshing cold summer soup, usually incorporating the heirloom tomato. However it is the seared foie gras that some guests seriously ask for as their dessert that elevated my gastronomic senses to an ethereal plateau. The bing cherry, brandy-riesling reduction alone would get my vote as nectar of the gods if it wasn’t for Chateau d’Yquem. Speaking of Sauternes, there is always a top notch sticky wine available by the glass. Try it with the foie and you’ll skip phases two, three and four of your dinner’s climax and go directly to five.

For the intermezzo, or mid-course, a single scoop of the daily flavor of sorbet serves not only as a palate cleanser but also as a tease. One gallon of this smooth yet icy fruit purity wouldn’t satiate my appetite on a typical August island day. Although the flavors are simple they change regularly and could be anything from watermelon and strawberry to lemon and key lime.

The choices aren’t as easy for the entree: New England lobster, Dover sole, rack of lamb, Canadian pheasant, Yellow fin tuna, and chanterelle stuffed filet mignon. Keep an eye out for island caught Striped bass September through October, Delmonico steak au poivre or another exotic option when Michael’s creative juices begin to simmer. The one and a half pound lobster is so freshly decadent it melts diners to their plush seats. Ask for extra sauce just to dip your sesame sourdough roll in. Dover sole comes directly from the source (Dover, England) in its trademark gold tin. It costs $5 extra but it’s wonderfully complemented by a fabulous beurre blanc with sliced caper berries the size of a queen olive. The Yellow fin tuna is seared rare to medium rare showcasing the bright red-magenta flesh. The soft and seamless texture is so perfect you would think you were eating toro.

Toro is Japanese for fatty tuna and is the most expensive and prized meat from the fish, nearest the stomach, fetching upwards of $30 per pound. There are no weak links within the meat dishes; however the pheasant is a close second to the prized lobster dish. Pan roasted and finished in the oven, including both the breast and leg, the succulent darkish white meat screams for one of the Red Burgundies on the predominantly French wine list. On it are such gems as a 1947 Cheval Blanc, a 2000 Chateau Margaux, multiple Montrachets, Echezeaux & Chateau d’Yquems. The prices may be excessive, $1000 for the Margaux, but it’s French dining in a Relais & Chateau estate on Martha’s Vineyard. Just wait, in a few years they’ll start to charge an admission just to walk into the inn. People will pay it too! The meticulous grounds are glorious.

Dessert is included on both menus and has a great selection including the classic crème brulee accentuated with rum scented vanilla beans. My dessert of choice is always the berry mascarpone tart, however make sure you visit before August or you might have found that the island’s berry season has expired.

All in all, expect to spend around $200-$300 per couple depending upon how exquisite your wine preferences are. The dinner’s not over when the check comes either. Prepared by the pastry chef are chocolate truffles, dark and white, coated in cocoa powder and coconut shavings respectively, and chiffon cake stars. From beginning to end the flawless service doesn’t miss a beat. There are even shawls on hand for the ladies who get cold on the patio as the sun sets. Dress is formal and reservations are required.

If you are a super foodie and want to try the tasting menu, let them know when you are making a reservation. Sometimes they don’t offer it at peak business times because it is more difficult to execute efficiently. Should you ever make it out to the Vineyard, this is one place that truly cannot be missed! I promise that you and all of your senses will leave in awe.

So in case anyone was wondering Paul Giamatti’s character ended up drinking a bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc out of a paper cup. That makes us sad. We know we should have given out the answer on Friday. We hope noone was holding their breath. That would be a bad thing.

We’ll be back later today with trivia question number three. Cheers!

We all have our favorite wines, but what is it that makes one so much better than another. Is it price? Not always. From white to red, sparkling to rose, there ARE factors that cause one wine to be of greater quality than another of a similar type. Some key words that we use in the wine industry to describe a wine’s quality are: clarity, concentration, balance, length & finish.

I’m going to teach you what each term means and how you can use them to describe and determine a wine’s quality. You’ll be the life of the party and impress all who converse with you. Keep in mind that there is no way to emperically prove to someone else that one wine is better than another. That’s not the point here. If that were the case, would chardonnay & cabernet still be grown on almost every continent?

Is it pure? Is it focused?

When it comes to measuring a wine’s clarity these are the two questions you must ask. You might have heard a wine being described as laser-like or vivid. These are perfect adjectives for a wine that expresses clarity. Clarity is most apparent in white wines because they are less likely to be altered by oak aging. Wines such as Austrian Gruner Veltliner, German Riesling & Champagne possess tremendous clarity. They are incredibly pure examples of the dynamic relationship that grapevines can have with their respective soils. Try a Syrah based red from the Northern Rhone Valley appellations of Cote-Rotie, Hermitage, St. Joseph or Cornas if you want to try a red wine of clarity. The excellent vintages of 2003 and 2005 produced profound wines in this southern French region, albeit in some cases the ripeness may overpower the wine’s clarity.

Paging Dr. Vankman for concentration experiments

Concentration may be the most self explanatory of all five terms. The best “DIY” test to analyze concentration is simple: when you take your first sniff or sip, pick out the most prominent scent or flavor. Focus on that one attribute for a minute or so and enjoy it; if it’s not too difficult. On your second taste try to center on all the other attributes that the wine possesses other than the original one. How difficult is it to do so? If you are enjoying a more complex or cerebral wine you might find many more interesting facets. Most often you will find that the difficultly or ease of this test determines how much or how little the amount of concentration is. Concentration can also be described by what it is not: diluted, bland or flabby. Wines with higher alcohol, i.e. fortified wines (Port, Marsala, Madeira) and late harvest dessert wines, tend to have lots of concentration. Sometimes people can be turned off by a wine with too much concentration. Balance is the reason why.

Steady as She Goes

When we think of balance what comes to mind? An equation, a teeter totter or those damn ninth grade geometry proofs may come to mind. NOT! [note from editor: We were going to remove this for Jake's sake. But we felt it was so awesome that he was rocking slang from '92. Next week The Wine Guy's going to drop some fashion tips on Cross Colours and HyperColor T-Shirts] For some of you new age folk, maybe even feng shui. The truth is, we all know what balance is. What is it though that makes a wine balanced? Two things in particular are of the utmost importance: acidity and fruit. They cannot be out of sync with each other. If they are, the wine will suffer and you will notice it immediately. A wine with too much fruit can sometimes taste syrupy or have a thicker than normal viscosity. This can be due to over-extraction/manipulation of the grapes or a delayed/late harvest. Usually fruit of this nature necessitates, in the winemaker’s opinion, being complemented with a heavy dose of oak. This produces a “fruit-bomb” that overloads your palate with vanilla, cedar & spice notes and masks all the wine’s delicate subtleties. On the other hand, a wine with too much acidity can be assimilated with the same sensation you get from eating a lemon or lime: offensively sour & mouth-puckering. However when a winemaker finds the balance between the two, a wine is neither cloying, like some girlfriends, nor tart. Ultimately, for a superior wine to age gracefully it needs the structure that a fine line of acidity gives to the ripe, ethereal, mouth filling fruit.

Length

Another way we determine the quality of a wine is by its length. The best way to ascertain this is by asking yourself: Do I feel the wine’s flavors on all parts of my tongue? More specifically, do the flavors work together in unison? Or do you sense some sweetness on the tip of your tongue and then a little in the mid-palate? Some grapes, by nature, are hollow and lack concentration in the mid-palate or center of your tongue. All great wines, however, have amazing length. Try to envision a circus in your mouth, with the center circle being your tongue. There’s something interesting going on in every portion of the circle, sometimes so much it’s difficult to concentrate on one part. A good wine is like a good circus where everything can be tasted or watched at the same time although they are happening in different areas. With practice and focus you’ll be surprised how you can pin down different flavors on different areas of your tongue. The tongue senses four different traditional flavor profiles: Sweetness on the tip of the tongue, sourness in the middle, saltiness on the sides & bitterness on the back. Recently a fifth one has been incorporated which encompasses the other four. It is known in the east as umami, but to us westerners it’s savoriness.

A wine’s length progressively works towards its finish. This is the last chance a wine has to impress you. This is why a wine’s finish may be the single greatest determinant in quality. A novice wine drinker will almost always notice it as much as a connoisseur. Granted the connoisseur may appreciate or savor it more than the novice. Wines of good or great quality will have finishes that linger on your palate anywhere from 10 seconds to minutes. You’ll find yourself naturally salivating to taste it again and again without having to take another sip. Wines with immense finishes include: top Sauternes & TBAs, dense and opulent Cabernet/Merlot based wines, and top notch Burgundies. Simple wines have little or no finish, which is fine. That wine can still be used to cook with.

We kicked things off last Monday with a fairly difficult trivia question. This one might be slightly easier: What is the name of the bottle of wine that Paul Giamatti treasures above all others? In other words, the one he ends up drinking in a styrofoam cup at a fast food joint towards the climax of the film?

Remember: all answers should be submitted by 5 p.m. on Thursday 3/1. We’ll print the answer the next morning. Drop us a line at either food@slyoyster.com or thewineguy@slyoyster.com

Hey everyone! Just want to thank everyone who took the time to send their answers this week! In case anyone was wondering the first trivia questions was: Name the two wines that share the same name as their appellation or DOC.

Drumroll please! And the answer is…… Chateau Grillet AC in the Northern Rhone (France), which produces wine only from the Viognier grape. The vineyard is only 8 acres big. The other is Sassicaia DOC (Italy) which produces the famous Super Tuscan of the same name.

Thanks for playing this week winos. And remeber this is a three month contest with weekly trivia each Monday.

Trying to get your “wine-feet” wet in a wine-centric country you might find yourself underwater quicker than expected. You’ll soon recognize that trying to remember all those wines has put some extra pressure on your hippocampus. Maybe you have actually known someone who just returned from a foreign country and amidst the discussion of their trip they begin to mention the great wines they drank.

You ask them, ‘What was it? Who made it?’ But, they look at you with a puzzled expression across their brow; they are clueless. Their recollections of those experiences consist of where they were, who they were with and perhaps what happened later that night. Kudos to them for even remembering that much! Or maybe you’ve been in a similar conversation but rather on the brunt end of an oenophile’s verbose wine rant. A lot of people believe that being oblivious to the facts about wine is what makes drinking it so enjoyable. I’d argue that wine is more than that. It’s analogous to beer drinkers not knowing the subtle differences between an American Ale and an English Ale and furthermore it doesn’t take a snob to know there is a difference between an Irish stout such as Guinness and an American lager such as Coors Light.

But back to the wine, specifically Italian wines. I’m not the beer guy after all.

The 20 regions of Italy, from Liguria to Trentino and Puglia to the Veneto, are home to the most indigenous grape varietals any single country can lay claim to. Yes, that means you France! Most of these varietals have garnered DOC status, and for those that haven’t they contribute directly to the blend fo