In spite of what you may have heard, wine lovers are not perfect. We need New Years resolutions too. Here are mine:
· I will lose 30 pounds (OK, that’s out of the way).
· I will taste every wine I come across that I’ve never heard of before. This is a very rewarding resolution. In 2008 I learned about grillo, a delightful, light, crisp wine from Sicily that tastes a little like green tea. Couple of years ago I tasted a cabernet sauvignon allegedly made in Cuba. One out of two isn’t bad.
· I will try wines from every new wine area I learn about. Ever have a syrah from British Columbia? It’s by Mission Hill, and it tastes of black plums, tobacco, black pepper and red meat. Yes, all at once.
· Speaking of that, I will adopt the philosophy of illegitimati non carborundum (look it up; they won’t let me say it here in English) when people get on my case about my enthusiastic wine descriptions. It’s my hobby. As Billy Joel would say, I have been a fool for lesser things.
· In hard economic times, I will become relentless in pursuit of really nice wines under $10. Last year’s winner was the 2007 Bodega Norton Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina: chocolate-cherry aromas and flavors; soft, ripe and mellow; $9.
· I will take with a grain of salt those medical studies that say wine prevents heart attack, stroke, glaucoma, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. I will take comfort that those researchers are raising some of the healthiest mice on the planet.
· I will taste an English wine, if I can find one (and work up my courage). The British press says that, due to global warming, there are more than 200 wineries today in the sceptered isle. And if English wines are as good as English food, well….
· Oh, don’t write in. There’s nothing I love more than strawberries with clotted cream. (I just wonder how they clot it.)
· Even though Chateau Mouton Rothschild’s price has plummeted by half to less than $600 a bottle, I will not urge a federal bailout of the wine industry.
· I will try not to lose my taste for expensive wines. I will try to cultivate richer friends. (If they have a boat, so much the better.)
Sparkling wine is for celebration
Hooray for sparkling wine. It’s not champagne, and it doesn’t pretend to be. But it’s the same idea -- usually chardonnay and/or pinot noir still wines allowed to re-ferment in the bottle to create those bubbles that make it the beverage of celebration. Usually at a lesser price than champagne.
Sparkling wine is great as an aperitif, or for toasting, especially during the
holidays. Top chefs have also created all-champagne dinners in which different sparkling wines are served with each course.
It’s easy. See what it says on the bottle. If your sparkling wine is a “blanc de
blanc,” it made entirely from white grapes, probably chardonnay. This bubbly is light and frothy, great for toasting, hors d’oeuvres and fish or light chicken dishes.
If the sparkling wine is a prosecco, it's an Italian bubbly made from the grape of the same name. It usually has softer bubbles than other sparkling wines, and it can be dry or slightly sweet.
If the label says “brut,” the bubbly is probably a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. Yes, pinot noir is a red grape, but the juice is white even in red grapes. It’s just a matter of separating the juice from the skins as soon as the grapes are crushed. Brut bubblies are good for mid-range dishes -- creamy fish and chicken dishes, casseroles and so on.
And if the label says “blanc de noir,” it means the sparkling wine is entirely from red
grapes like pinot noir. There are bubbly lovers who would drink this with prime rib or a
charcoal-grilled steak. Or other red-meat dishes. This can be a bit of a stretch: Try it
and see if you like it.
Rosé sparkling wines have just enough red wine in them to turn that lovely
salmon-to-cherry color, and have tiny hints of tannin from those red grapes. When made
dry, these are great with steaks, or even fruit desserts. If made sweet, they’ll match the
deepest chocolate dessert.
So if you’re a real purist, you could drink nothing but sparkling wine for the rest of
your life. As I was saying, Hooray for sparkling wine.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
• Nonvintage Piper Sonoma Select Cuvée Brut, Sonoma County: crisp and rich and firm,
with lemon/lime flavors; $14.
• Nonvintage J Brut Rosé, Russian River Valley: crisp and full-bodied, with rich red
berry flavors; $40.
RECOMMENDED
• Nonvintage Santa Margherita Prosecco Brut, Valdobbiadene, Italy: frothy, mineral
flavors; $22.
• Nonvintage Piper Sonoma Blanc de Noir Sonoma County: rich, red berry flavors; $17.
• Nonvintage Codorníu Cava, Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Spain: firm body, green-apple
flavors; $11.
• Nonvintage Jacobs Creek Chardonnay/Pinot Noir Brut Cuvée, Barossa Valley, Australia:
full-bodied and rich, pineapple flavors; $12.
• Nonvintage Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noir Columbia Valley Sparkling Wine,
Washington: tart melon flavors, crisp; $13.
• Nonvintage yellow Tail Sparkling Wine, Australia: lighty sweet, soft, white peaches;
$10.
• Nonvintage Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut, Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Spain: light and crisp,
with citrus flavors; $11.
• Nonvintage Domaine Ste. Michelle Extra Dry, Columbia Valley Sparkling Wine,
Washington: lemon-lime flavors, lightly sweet; $13.
• Nonvintage Korbel Natural Russian River Valley, Sonoma: crisp, light, red berry
flavors; $18.
• Nonvintage Mumm Napa Blanc de Noir, Napa Valley: frothy, light, apricot flavors; $21.
• Nonvintage Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc, North Coast, Calif.: lemon meringue flavors,
rich; $37.
Wines for top chefs' holiday fare
So you've been watching TV cooking shows and perusing websites all year, and you're gearing up to try one of their fancy dishes for Christmas or Hanukkah. But you realize those chefs didn't mention what wines go well with their masterpieces.
I've got you covered. Happy holidays!
APPETIZERS
Martha Stewart's mini-Asian crab cakes with wasabi www.marthastewart.com
• 2005 J. Lohr White Riesling, Monterey County: off-dry; white peaches; crisp and fruity; $12.
Daisy Martinez's Cuban black bean soup www.daisycooks.com
• 2007 Martin Codax Albariño, Rias Baixas: ripe pears and melons; rich and creamy; $15.
ITALIAN SEAFOOD
Lidia Bastianich's jumbo shrimp Buzara style www.lidiasitaly.com
• 2006 Placido Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, IGT: light, lively, crisp; $10.
VEGETARIAN
Giada de Laurentiis' Gorgonzola Porcini Risotto www.foodnetwork.com
• 2003 Rutz Cellars Pinot Noir, Sonoma Cuvée: cinnamon and tart cherries,
smooth; $17.
Beverly Lynne Bennett's Moroccan vegetable stew www.veganchef.com
• 2007 Murphy-Goode ‘‘The Fumé'' Sauvignon Blanc, Alexander Valley: rich, ripe and complex, with tropical fruit; tart finish; $12.
HOLIDAY ENTREES
Martha Stewart's roast goose with wild rice www.marthastewart.com
• 2004 Sartoni di Varona Amarone delle Valpolicella: dark cherries and dark chocolate; $34.
Three Guys From Miami's lechon asado (icuban.com).
• 2003 Marquis de Riscal Reserva Rioja, Spain: tart plums and cinnamon; $17.
Paul Prudhomme's turducken (chicken inside a duck inside a turkey; www.chefpaul.com
• 2006 Columbia Crest ‘‘Two Vines'' Gewürztraminer, Columbia Valley, Washington: crisp, lightly sweet lychee flavors; $8.
Christopher Kimball's roast beef loin with mushroom-onion stuffing www.cooksillustrated.com
• 2005 Antinori Tignanello, Tuscany IGT: mulberries and mocha; ripe, powerful, smooth; $90.
Linda Gassenheimer's kosher brisket with latkes www.dinnerinminutes.com
• 2003 Barons Edmond & Benjamin de Rothschild Haut Medoc Bordeaux (kosher): cassis and black coffee aromas and flavors; $31.
CHRISTMAS COMFORT
Rachael Ray's turkey and stuffing meatloaf www.rachaelrayshow.com
• 2006 Black Swan Shiraz, Australia: soft, ripe, black plum flavors; $11.
DESSERT
Ming Tsai's Tahitian vanilla crème brûlée www.mingspantry.com
• 2006 Mission Hills Five Vineyards Riesling Ice Wine, VQA British
Columbia: very sweet, soft; candied orange peel; $20 per one-quarter bottle.
Sandy Moyers' dark Christmas fruit cake www.bellaonline.com
• 2006 M. Chapoutier Banyuls dessert wine (red grenache): red raspberry and chocolate flavors; moderately sweet; $30.
Italian wine classes starting
Readers often ask where they can get started learning about wine. Here’s a good place. Wine educator/salesperson Julie Mushett is starting a series of classes on Italian wine at 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Fri., Dec. 5 at Gulf Liquors and Fine Wine, 1681 Alton Rd., Miami Beach
She’ll talk about wine labels, wine styles, grape varietals, food pairings and prices.
You’ll sip wines from various parts of Italy to compare and contrast, including the 2007 Sant’Elena “Klodic” Pinot Grigio from Friuili; the 2004 Pelissero “Piani” Barbera d’Alba; 2002 Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino from Tuscany; 2001 Fontodi “Cru Sorbo” Chianti Classico Riserva from Tuscany; 1997 Sant’ Elena “Tato” Cabernet/Merlot from Friuli and 2000 Firriato Camelot Cabernet/Merlot from Sicily.
At the class, she will discuss timing and topics for further classes about Italian wine. Price is $30 per person including wines and written materials.
Call 786-942-3600 or email julieswine@gmail.com.
Easy wines for hard-times entertaining
I swear I’m no wine snob, but one of my pet peeves is to go to a party or an art show opening where they’re serving wine and cheese and see them pouring wine out of gallon jugs with ears on them.
I mean, have you ever had wine from a gallon jug that was even adequate?
Life is too short.
You’re telling your guest you care little enough to give the very least.
Even box wines are getting a better reputation than gallon jugs.
On the other hand, there are some very nice, quite inexpensive wines being sold these days in magnums – bottles that are twice the size of regular wine bottles, holding 1.5 liters of wine instead of 750 mililiters.
These cost about $7 to $15, and they’re how you can save entertainment money without shortchanging your guests. They come from all over -- chardonnays from California, pinot grigio from Italy shiraz from Australia.
I did a wine column on these in September, and I found some good ones. I’ll repeat some of the tasting notes here.
· 2006 Beringer Founders Estate Chardonnay, California: rich, crisp and fruity, with ripe pineapple flavors; $12.99.
· 2007 Yellow Tail Shiraz, Australia: soft and ripe with red raspberry flavors; $12.99.
· 2007 Frontera Merlot by Concha y Toro, Chile: soft and sweet with 2006 Placido Pinot Grigio, Italy: crisp apricot flavors; lively; $15.29.
· 2007 Woodbridge Chardonnay by Robert Mondavi, California: lean, lemony and crisp; $13.99.
· 2007 Woodbridge Sauvignon Blanc by Robert Mondavi, California: crisp and light; lemon and limes; $13.39.
· Nonvintage Corbet Canyon Sauvignon Blanc, California: soft and lightly sweet, with apricot and peach flavors; $9.99.
· 2007 Vendange Sauvignon Blanc, California: sweet lemons and pineapples; full-bodied; $9.25.
· 2007 Woodbridge Zinfandel, California: rich and ripe, with red raspberry and chocolate flavors; $13.39.
· 2005 Vendange Cabernet Sauvignon, California: soft and ripe, black cherry and coffee flavors; $8.49.
· 2005 Lindemans Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia: soft, lightly sweet; red raspberry and cherry flavors; $12.99.
· 2005 Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon, California: black cherry and black coffee flavors, ripe tannins; $12.99.
· 2005 Fetzer Vineyards Valley Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, California: firm tannins, black plum flavors; $12.49.
· 2007 Bolla Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, Italy: peach and apricot flavors; $14.99
· Nonvintage Rene Junot Dry White Table Wine (50 percent chenin blanc, 30 percent sauvignon blanc, 20 percent chardonnay), France: light, slightly sweet; lemons and minerals; $7.99.
· 2007 Woodbridge Chardonnay by Robert Mondavi, California: lean, lemony and crisp; $13.99.
Italian wine royalty visits Miami
The royalty of Italian wine visited Miami this week, bringing some of that country's rarest and best wines. The group is called Il Grandi Marchi; it's made up of 18 of Italy's top producers, led by Tuscan wine pioneer Piero Antinori.
"We are all highly individualistic, competitors but with a real friendship," said Antinori.
Their wines are individualistic too.
"Our wine is an expression of our soil," says Alberto Chiarlo, who poured a powerful, mineral-scented barbera. "We used to feel inferior to barolo, so we want to make a very special wine."
Barolos, for their part, are trying to soften their image. Based on the inky nebbiolo grape, they have had a reputation as powerfully tannic when young, needing years of aging. That's changing now.
"It's partly because of global warming," said Pio Boffa, of Pio Cesare. "But we also learned to decrease our yield, which makes the grapes ripen earlier."
When Antinori's turn came, he closed his eyes, sipped his 2005 Tignanello, and said: ‘‘This wine has real meaning for me personally, for my company and I think also for Tuscany and Italian wines in general."
He created Tignanello in 1971 as one of the first of what became called Super Tuscan wines -- based on Italy's native sangiovese, but with the then-controversity addition of such non-Italian grapes as cabernet sauvignon.
They quickly became international hits, earning Antinori his place at the head of the Grandi Marchi.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
• 2005 Tignanello, by Antinori, Tuscany IGT: aromas and flavors of mulberries and mocha, big, ripe tannins, powerful and smooth, long finish; $90.
• 2003 Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino, Tenuta Greppo DOC: pure black plum and espresso aromas and flavors, powerful, concentrated and smooth; $125.
• 2005 Gaja Barbaresco, Piemonte DOCG: Aromas of violets, flavors of black plums and black coffee, light body, big tannins, youthful, closed;; $225.
• 2003 Lungarotti Torgiano Rosso Riserva Rubesco Vigna Monticchio DOCG: pure red raspberry flavors, soft, smooth and concentrated; $70.
• 2004 Mastroberardino Radici Taurasi DOCG: violet aromas, ripe red plum flavors, sweet, very crisp, very young and crisp; $35.
• 2004 Michele Chiarlo La Court Barbera d'Asti Superiore "Nizza'' DOC: aromas and flavors of black cherries and black plums, powerful, concentrated, smooth; $42.
• 2004 Pio Cesare Barolo, Piemonte DOCG: aromas and flavors of red raspberries, cinnamon and mocha, smooth, ripe tannins; $65.
• 2005 Umani Ronchi Cumaro Rosso, Marches DOC: dark purple, light body but concentrated flavors of black cherries and mocha, firm tannin; $35.
RECOMMENDED
• 2006 Alois Lageder Benefizium Porer Pinot Grigio, Alto Adige: full-bodied and full-flavored, with vanilla, caramel, minerals; $25.
• 2003 Brunello "La Fuga," Folonari Tenute DOCG: aromas and flavors of black cherries and milk chocolate; $65.
• 1999 Ca' del Bosco Franciacorta Cuvée Annamaria Clementi: aromas of toasted almonds and herbs, white grapefruit flavors, full-bodied; $80.
• Nonvintage Prosecco Cuvée Extra Dry, Carpenè Malvolti DOC: soft and fruity, with tart lemon/lime flavors, softly sparkling; $16
• 2005 Donnafugata "Mille e una Notte'' Contessa Entellina DOC: light, crisp black plum flavors, big tannins; $80.
• 2006 Jermann Vintage Tunini, Friuli Venezia Giulia (sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, ribolla gialla, malvasia, picolit grapes): floral aroma, spicy, smooth, tart kiwi flavors; $80.
• 2005 Masi Costasera, Veneto: sweet anise aromas and flavors, very concentrated, ripe tannins; $40.
• 2003 Rivera Il Falcone, Castel del Monte Riserva DOC: aromas and flavors of black cherries and black pepper, firm and concentrated; $30.
` • 2004 Tasca d'Almerita Rosso del Conte, Sicily: spicy tart cherry and anise flavors, rich and ripe; $70.
• 2006 Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto, Toscana IGT: very smooth, very powerful mulberry flavors, big, ripe tannins; $50.
Italy's top winemakers coming to town
A major wine event is coming Tuesday: Piero Antinori, right, dean of Italian vintners and a founder of its fabled Super Tuscan wines, is bringing the Grandi Marchi to town. It’s a group of 18 elite Italian producers who promote their wines around the world.
These are the people who make Italy’s top wines: Tignanello, Brunello di Montalcino, Radici Taurasi, Barbaresco.
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., there’s a walk-around tasting of their wines at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables. Price is $40 per person. Tix can be bought at the door or at 877-217-9867.
Europe may rename its wines; it could be war
This may sound like inside baseball, but it may spur foodies and wine fans to start World War III. The European Common Market Organization is drawing up plans to replace current wine appellation systems with two standard Europe-wide denominations.
It means, for example, that in Italy’s Piedmont region, what today are the Barolo, dolcetto and Barbera DOCs would be reduced to a single Barolo DOP.
Wait’ll the French hear that they want to re-label Bordeaux. This is a war that even they could relish.
