Fred Tasker
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Hey, wine fans. Check out the new wine videos I've just done with Dinkinish O'Connor, the wine columnist for Miami.Com.
That's her sig, to the right.
We tell what we think of some of the wines that will be poured at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
What's the proper role of wine at Valentine's Day? The Gaylords described it
nicely back in the '50s:
From the vine came the grape,
From the grape came the wine,
From the wine came a dream to a lover.
What’s the proper wine for that lover’s dream? proper wine for that lover's dream?
Rosé.
It's pretty. It can smell like roses. When well-made, it tastes of red fruits from
strawberries to raspberries to cranberries. Like romantic relationships, it ranges
from soft and sweet to crisp and tart.
Rosé’s reputation was down for a while, as too many California winemakers made sickly sweet “blush” wines and “white zinfandels,” and some Spanish winemakers made their rosé sweeter for the U.S.
Those days are gone.
Today's rosés tend to be crisp, tart and intensely fruity. They're made of red
grapes … zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, gamay … with skins removed hours after crushing for that pink hue.
Rrosés fall somewhere between white and red wines in style, so they go with many foods. They're great picnic wines, with sandwiches, chicken, tuna or fruit salads. In Provence, they're drunk with bouillabaisse; in Spain, they're popular with paella. They go
with ham … pink meat, pink wine. Makes sense.
And they're made as sparkling as well as still wines. So what could be more romantic than toasting your Valentine with rosé?
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
ø‚Nonvintage Roe
derer Estate Brut Rosé
sparkling wine, Anderson
Valley, Calif.: lots of lively
bubbles; floral aromas, tart
cranberry flavors; $27.
ø‚2008 Bonterra Rosé, Mendocino County,
Calif. (organic sangiovese,
zinfandel and grenache
grapes): aromas of red
roses; intense, tart red
raspberry and cinnamon
flavors; long finish; $13.
RECOMMENDED
ø‚2008 Beringer
White Zinfandel, Calif.:
lightly sweet; ripe straw
berry aromas and flavors;
$8.50.
ø‚2007 Remy Pan
nier Rosé d'Anjou, Loire
Valley, France (caber
net franc): tart cherry
aromas and flavors; full-
bodied; $12.50.[PARA]
ø‚2008 Mas de la
Dame Rosé du Mas, Les
Baux de Provence,
France (grenache,
syrah, cinsault): red
berry aromas; dry black
cherry flavors; full-bodied;
$17.50.[PARA]
ø‚2008 Mouton
Cadet Bordeaux Rosé,
France (merlot, cabernet
franc, cabernet sauvi
gnon): aromas and flavors
of cranberries and miner
als; very dry; $12.50.[PARA]
ø‚2008 Marques de
Caceres Dry Rosé, Rioja,
Spain (tempranillo, garna
cha): dry, rich and crisp,
with intense tart cherry
aromas and flavors; $13.50.[PARA]
ø‚2008 Marques de
Riscal Rosé, Rioja, Spain
(tempranillo, garnacha):
crisp and dry with intense
red raspberry and
cinnamon aromas and
flavors; $10.[PARA]
ø‚2008 Louis Jadot
Beaujolais Rosé
(gamay): tart cranberry
and mineral aromas and
flavors; crisp and dry;
light-bodied; $11.50.[PARA]
ø‚2008 Red
Bicyclette Rosé, Vin de
Pays d'Oc, France (syrah,
grenache): light, tart,
crisp, with cherry and
spice; $9.[PARA]
The wine: Nonvintage Scharffenberger Brut sparkling wine, Anderson Valley, Calif.
It's full-bodied, made with two-thirds pinot noir grapes and one-third chardonnay.
It has a yeasty aroma and flavors of mangos and peaches.
It's nice for sipping all by itself.
But you know its perfect use: With a bucket of KFC fried chicken. Its crisp acids and active bubbles will scrub that fat off your tongue and leave you ready for the next bite.
It's $20.
A good pinot noir for $17 is nice to find. Here's one.
It's the 2007 Carmel Road Pinot Noir, Monterey, California. It's rich, with violet aromas and blackberry and cinnamon flavors.
Try it with grilled salmon. Or salmon sauteed in butter, maple syrup and soy sauce.
Last minute tip for Super Bowl sipping!
Cava, the Spanish name for sparkling wine, is the perfect sip for football parties. It's versatile and pleasurable. And cheap.
The one shown here, Cordon Negro by Freixenet, is about $10 in your local supermarket. It has big, soft bubbles and green apple flavors. It goes well with seafood, tacos, chips & dips -- its scrubbing bubbles even match well with fried chicken. And you'll find several more brands on the shelves.
Cava also makes a nice sparkling wine punch. Just add a can of frozen concentrate from your favorite fruit, a bottle of soda and a bunch of ice.
And give three cheers to the Who Dat? Nation.
Try serving wine at a tailgate party or while watching the big game on your 42-inch flat-screen and your average football fan friend is likely to call you an effete snob. And then go back to guzzling wan, tasteless light beer.
How to get around this? Serve manly, muscular wines.
If you're a Saints fan, you might be cooking spicy Cajun barbecue shrimp
laced with garlic and cayenne.
As for Colts fans, I Googled “Indiana'' and “tailgate food'' and came up with “Wazzu Indiana Tailgate Chili'' with habanero and jalapeno chiles, cayenne, black pepper and Tabasco sauce. Whoo!
Here are half a dozen wines that can stand up to a 400-pound lineman:
ø‚2007 Mettler Fam
ily Vineyards îEpicen
ter' Lodi Old-Vine Zin
fandel: A perfect match
for spicy food, this is huge,
with 15.6 percent alcohol.
It's big and warm and rich,
with black raspberry and
spicy black pepper flavors
and big but ripe tannins.
$25. (Highly recom
mended.)
ø‚2007 Fess Parker
White Riesling, Santa
Barbara County: A muscu
lar white wine? Well, it's
not really so muscular. But
it has a hint of sweetness,
which is a wonderful thing
with spicy food. It has fla
vors of golden apples and
nuts, with good crisp
acids. If you roast a pig at
your tailgate party, this is
your quaff. And, yes, the
winery is owned by the
actor who used to portray
Davy Crockett. Probably
goes with b'ar meat. $12.
(Highly recommended.)
ø‚2007 Albarino
Brandal by Adegas D'Al
tamira, Rias Baixas, Spain:
Yes, another white wine.
The Galicians of north
west Spain drink this with
octopus, so it'll certainly
handle your grilled
shrimp. It's crisp, has
intense grapefruit flavors
and a slightly bitter
almond finish. $15. (Highly
Recommended.)
ø‚2006 San Leonino
Chianti Classico, DOCG:
The Italians drink this
with those three-pound
Tuscan steaks they lace
with rosemary and grill to
perfection. It's full-bodied,
with powerful black
cherry flavors and muscu
lar tannins. $20. (Recom
mended.)
ø‚2005 Mazzocco
Petite Sirah, Aguilera, Dry
Creek Valley: Petit sirahs
are famous for their mus
cle. If you bagged a wild
boar or even just a deer for
your tailgate party, this is
your wine. It tastes like
black cherries and licorice,
with powerful acids and
tannins. $35. (Recom
mended).
ø‚2007 Kendall-
Jackson Syrah, Calif.:
Syrahs are a little like zin
fandels … big, rich and
almost sweet, great with
spicy food. This one has
black plum and cinnamon
flavors and big but ripe
tannins. $14. (Recom
mended.)
