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Ralph Steadman is best known as the illustrator for Hunter S. Thompson. He does these wildly chicken scratch ink and watercoolers that are just mild melting. It’s truly like nothing else out there.But something you might have known is that Steadman is also a wine lover. Untrodden Grapes is part exploration of wine, part travelogue, part illustrated coffee table book. Steadman definitely cuts through the pretentions of wine, but at the same time he wants to rescue wine from the homogenization of it.

Divorced from their natural outlet as a local product, they have entered the domain, the appellation of the designer, whose fanciful attractions urge us to try something rather natty from the Rhone because he thought it appropraite to design the label as a weeping rock face, sprouting algae like the bottom of a village pond.

Wine tasters talk of blackberry and apple, butter and caramel, damp caves, toast, and cranberries. Even pomegranate - who the hell eats pomegranates? Or Ugli fruits? And eucalyptus bark!

Winemakers throughout the world have had to adopt the supermarket mentality if they intend to stay in business, otherwise they would never survive.

Only someone who loves something can adequately praise and villify simulataneously. Steadman does that, and he takes you to some of the finest winemaking regions of the world and supplies countless anecdotes. It’s not a comprehensive bible of wine, but it’s a personal acount of one man’s love expressed through picture and word.

Ambience can affect the most indifferent wine and is the one ingredient that only the imbiber can add, along with his or her chosen friends. Therein lies the hidden dimension of wine, its inspiration and its “raisin d’etre.”

And if you don’t feel like reading it just look at the illustrations. You won’t find a cooler coffee table book on wine.

We’re spending the rest of the afternoon doing our best The Wine Guy impersonation. We’ll be touring and tasting and reporting on the Ken Wright Cellars in Carlton, OR.

Of course pictures and reports will be relayed tomorrow. And we’ve got the Lotus concert tonight so we’ll have a review up this weekend of the show. We’re also prepping a review of their new live album as well.

Cheers.

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.

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

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!

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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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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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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 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

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 for a wine that has garnered DOC status. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata. It’s Italy’s standard of laws governing wine quality. When there is a ‘G’ at the end, DOCG, (short for ‘Garantita’) it signifies that the wine has met the highest level of quality, aka the wine is “guaranteed”. There are 22 DOCGs and more than 320 DOCs. In the mid-90’s Italy added a new category to its wine laws. It is abbreviated as IGT, Indicazione Geografica Tipica. This new classification gives the wines of good quality that don’t conform to the stricter DOC laws an opportunity to be labeled at a higher level than ‘vino da tavola’ (table wine). This classification may be due to anything from discrepancies in aging requirements (length of time in barrel or type of oak) to non-traditional grapes being used in the blend.

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Hey ya’ll! I know I’m infilitrating the terrain of The Wine Guy, but it was a crazy weekend, so I’m just getting to what I should have gotten to on Monday morning. Hopefully this won’t be a common occurrence. So without further ado Jacob and I present the first question, in what will be a weekly series…

It’s going to last for three months, the person with the highest score (the most right) at the end will win a wine board created from the The Wine Guy himself. It’s a very cool prize and we’ll get a picture of it up ASAP. Send your trivia answers to food@slyoyster.com with “Wine Trivia” in the subject by Thursday at 5 p.m. We’ll post the winning answer Friday morning. If you don’t get it right, just remember that this is more of a marathon than a sprint!

Q: Name the two wines that share the same name as their appellation or DOC. Technically speaking, all the premier crus & grand crus of Burgundy qualify for this answer, but I’m not referring to those. Hint: They are both from really small regions, one in Italy & one in France, and the wines I’m speaking of are the only wines produced in their respective regions.

We’re going to start something in the next coming weeks in order to get people interested in not only the site, but also the wonderful weekly column by Jacob, AKA The Wine Guy. Each week he’ll propose a not all too difficult trivia question having something to do with wine. The first person to respond with the correct answer will get showered with affection and love from The Oysterites. Actually, Jacob and I will discuss what we can give away, if anything. If there are any wine related companies wanting to donate some wine related gifts for us to give away as schwag we’d be greatly appreciative! We scratch your back, you scratch ours?

We’ll have the first question this Monday morning. Hope you like wine trivia! Send your responses to food@slyoyster.com with “Wine trivia” in the subject line. We’ll even print some of the answer, intelligent or not!