Better Beaujolais for your buck

Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages (2007)
Maison Louis Jadot
Gamay
Burgundy, France

From the southern most region of Burgundy, Gamay wines are perfectly paired with most holiday dinners. Softer in body and not as earthy as Burgundian Pinot Noir, fruit-driven, and softer than California Cabernet they make a perfect match to many lighter bodied food.

Appearance: Clear red wine, medium intensity, ruby to brick in color. Text is legible through this wine.

Nose: Clean nose, medium intense aromas. Initial floral and red-cherry aromas followed by soft earth tones, red fruit, and rose. Other fruit including plum and strawberry.

Palate: A dry wine of medium characteristics, soft tannins, and refreshing, cranberry acidity. Predominant flavors of strawberry and raspberry followed by black pepper and mushroom.

If the Valdiguié was a good pairing with turkey, this will be even better. A step up from your Beaujolais-Nouveau, you'll get a better wine for your money by checking out some of the Villages produced bottles. Georges du Boeuf is another favorite at a reasonable price.

Carbonic maceration gives these wines a soft but fruity characteristic, leaving behind much of the harsh tannin. Also best served with a slight chill, this bottle cost around $12.

Cheers!

Holiday friendly tongue-twisters, cont.

Valdiguie Noveau (2008)
Charles Shaw
Valdiguié
Napa, California

If you don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, I apologize. It's not going to kill you to not have this wine, or any of the other Charles Shaw brand, but it certainly doesn't hurt when you are looking for something low-priced at decent quality. At $3.49 a bottle, some of their varietals aren't that bad.

I picked up a bottle of their "Nouveau" Valdigué (say: val-de-gay) which I've read is similar to Gamay from Burgundy. This seems to be a mis-understanding though, but even still the grape is mis-labeled "Napa Gamay."

Appearance: This wine is clear and intensely violet. It's youthfulness shows in the clarity and brightness of color though.

Nose: A clean nose, medium intensity, with youthful aromas of red raspberry and cherry first developing. Further down is more of a perfumed, violet and rose aroma, and a slight medicinal smokiness.

Palate: Dry with light to medium acidity - think rhubarb with a little sugar. Soft to medium in all other respects regarding the alcohol and body. Red raspberry is almost overwhelming, strawberry, red fruit, a little mint, like on a sorbet.

Extremely fruit-forward, I would pair this up with dark meat off your turkey (or mix and match with your tofurkey if you will!) but save the cranberry sauce. This wine is going to compliment anything that has a little zip or tanginess to it, and I think would be a great accompaniment, or in place of a more traditional Beaujolais Nouveau. Serve with the slightest chill for best presentation.

Cheers!

Wines we can't say, but that won't break your budget

Chatuea Ste. Michelle (2007)
Chateau Ste. Michelle
Geurtztraminer
Columbia Valley, Washington

So I've been away for a bit - a week out sick and then another week spent in San Francisco. Thusly I've not had time to update my blog. So to make up for my drought of writing I'm going to review three great wines that you can pick up for the holidays - especially Thanksgiving.

The first is one of my favorite whites - Cheateau Ste. Michelle's Gewürtztraminer (say: guh-VURTS-trah-MEE-ner). This wine is amazing with Chinese, Thai, or Indian food. I also think it would make a killer addition to any meal that you expect to use either heat or spice in. It's medium to full bodied, so will really stand up to some great foods too.

Appearance: Clear, medium intensity, gold wine with slight pétillance.

Nose: Youthful, clean aromas. Medium intensity with high notes of yellow apple, stone fruit (peach and mango), and lychee nut. Floral, tropical (pineapple, lemon) and soft ginger and spice deeper in the glass.

Palate: Dry to off dry sweetness, medium plus, crisp acidity like from a fresh-picked apple. More pineapple and stone fruit, and citrus with a medium long finish. Medium alcohol and body.

Try this tongue-twisting German varietal with a nicely seasoned pork or turkey dish. Or better yet pair it up with some spiced pumpkin pie. Get a wickedly festive recipe using Satan's blood here from Heather's Heat & Flavor.

Fruit-driven and fresh, this should be an absolute must at under $10 a bottle. Just as versatile as Riesling and a wine that I'm sure many of your holiday guests will challenge one another to pronounce. And I can't think of anything better than trying to speak German after a few glasses of wine.

Cheers!

nicely oaked chardonnay and crème brûlée (rhymes a little...)

Chardonnay, Gravel Ridge Vineyard (2005)
Cooper-Garrod
Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation, California

My roommate Dan made some wonderful crème brûlée the other night. There was plenty left over to enjoy tonight after dinner, and it prompted the uncorking of a bottle I had forgotten in my wine cooler - there was never a better idea for 100% malolactic fermentation.

I picked up this bottle of Chard on a trip to California earlier this year. Cooper Garrod Vineyards was one of our first stops upon venturing south of the Bay Area to explore the landscapes and wines of the Saratoga and Los Gatos regions. Historically known for its plum and apricot orchards, this is a perfect area for grapes with sunny hills and valleys, and cool evenings moderated between the bay and the Pacific ocean.

Cooper-Garrod's rustic tasting room is located just beyond an overlook of a beautiful valley, and is on the same property as their riding stables. The building itself is distinct in that it was formerly a fruit storage house for dried prunes and apricots. With a small gift shop and long tasting bar, we had an almost private tasting during our April visit.


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Appearance: Deep straw colored white, clear with long, skinny legs, perhaps from the barely 15% abv.

Nose: Clean nose presenting moderate aromas indicating the 10 months in French oak and malolactic fermentation - butterscotch, vanilla, cedar, and soft ripe yellow apples. Deeper into the glass I was presented with light floral and citrus aromas and an overall toasty characteristic.

Palate: A dry wine with medium acid, appearing immediately after swallowing but softening quickly. Heady, almost milky consistency touting flavors that mirror most of the aromas. Caramel and vanilla lead with softer cooked fruit (pear, melon) flavors on the back. Biscuit with a little toasted walnut and minerality.

This wine really lent itself quite well to the smooth texture of the crème brûlée. The sweetness of the dessert was contrasted well by the soft oakiness of the Chard, and the slight acidity cleansed the palate, prepping for the next bite. There was also an interesting symmetry between the butterscotch and vanilla characteristics in the wine and similar flavors of crisp caramelized sugar.

I would not recommend this wine for those seeking a crisp, citrus-fruit driven, "naked" chardonnay. This is definitely a Chardonnay meant for those who prefer the heavy, oaky libations which California is famous for.

Cheers!

avoiding winter with south american reds

High Note Elevated Malbec (2007)
Vista del Sur Winery
Malbec
Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Ohio's weather is never predictable this time of year. Recently we've had temperatures dipping into the 40s and 30s. In my living room I can clearly see my breath mere inches from my face. Maybe it's because we're resilient to the cold - or maybe just cheap and stubborn - but we've not yet turned on the heat and until the snow sticks I refuse to accept fall's inevitable end.

In an effort to fend off the cold I turned to High Note, an Argentinian Malbec produced by Vista del Sur winery near Mendoza. Supporting the tag line that "Altitude is everything," I'm assured that the vines used for this wine are grown somewhere between 3,700 and 5,000 feet above sea level in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. With many primo growing regions butting right up to this massive range, producers are famous for boasting about how high up their grapes are grown. Marketing at its best.

While High Note is not 100% Malbec, Argentina's poster-grape does make up 83% of the blend. The other 17 is divided between Cabernet Sauvignon (8), Cabernet Franc (6), and Petit Verdot (3). Malbec, having found its way from Europe and the minor leagues of Bordeaux blends, has become an undeniable star in South American wine making. All those sun-filled days beef up the fruity characteristics and give Malbec a more supple body much earlier than it's counterpart in Cahors.

Appearance: The High Note was a deep ruby-violet, leaving a good amount of color on the sides of my glass - warm climate indicator for sure! Text was not legible through the wine.

Nose: Clean nose with a slightly more than medium intensity, with floral and red fruit being the first aromas to register. Very youthful and fruity, the raspberry and red cherry stood out from everything else as I got deeper into my glass. Lighter aromas included a violet or perfumed fragrance (from the PV perhaps), spice (black pepper), and chocolate.

Palate: Dry with a medium to full body. Fruity tannins that seemed tight, but will probably loosen up with time. Raspberry, blackberry, and pepper dominate, backed by chocolate from the nose. Lighter flavors of coffee and oak lingered on the finish.

The marker on the map below is an approximation of where the Uco Valley is located. Surrounding (terrain view) and to the west you can see the Andes, and beyond them the narrow country of Chile, popular for its own French varietal, Carménère, which until recently was widely mistaken for Merlot - another feat in marketing genius for a later post.


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With a knack for full-bodied reds, Argentina currently holds the number 5 spot for wine-production (just after the US and Europe's "Big Three": Italy, France, and Spain). It's no secret that they are going to be getting a lot of attention in the coming years. All the money being dumped on them from the top European producers surely is helping, but I'm thinking it might not hurt that their forecast is sunny with highs in the mid-80s for the rest of the week. For what it's worth (around $15 retail), High Note wasn't a bad way to bring a little of that warmth to Ohio. A new world wine no doubt, I'd recommend High Note to anyone who enjoys full-bodied reds that exhibit more fruit than some of the earthy, terroir-driven old world options.

Cheers!

Enter the Keystone State

Flickerwood Wine Cellars
Location: Kane, Pennsylvania
Owners: Ron & Sue Zampogna

This weekend my friend Libby and I found ourselves outside Flickerwood Cellars on a crisp fall morning in western Pennsylvania. On a road trip through the rolling hills of western NY and PA, we made a small detour to check out some of the local wine offerings. Shortly after arriving, we were met and warmly welcomed into the wood-sided winery by owners Ron and Sue Zampogna, along with a few grandkids and pups.


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The winery itself is a beautiful building with many windows and high open ceilings and was completely constructed by the Zampognas and their family. Wine tastings, $3 for six samples and a souvenier glass, are handled at a small bar within the large gift shop. Shelves behind the bar display the numerous awards and accolades that Flickerwood has earned for their wide range of wines. Not only is there a sense of pride in the wines produced here, but also an immense sense of pride and love for their family.

Of twenty-four wines ranging from dry to sweet, as well as three fruit wines, it was a chore to decide on just six. Luckily, a promise to "swish and spit" - and certainly a dash of charm - was all I needed in order to taste through a larger selection. Sue was delighted to have us at the bar, telling us all about the family, the businesses history, and plans for the future. Following is a brief synopsis of the wines I sampled.

• Oaked Chardonnay - buttery with yellow apple and mellow acidity
  
• Un-oaked Chardonnay - fruit forward, crisp and lively acidity, fresh apple
  
• Pinot Grigio - light oak, pear, lemon and grapefruit
  
• Riesling - apricot, peach, and apple
  
• Gewürtztraminer - honeyed nose, peach and apple with spice and citrus on finish
  
• Syrah - soft oak, smoke and sweet tobacco, dark fruit with a smooth finish
  
• De Chaunac - smoky aromas, with raspberry and bacon flavors
  
• Rose Bud Red - blend of Merlot & Cab Sauvignon, medium dry with red fruit including cherry and red raspberry
  
• Semi-dry Marechal Foch - fresh grapes and blackberry, with light tannin
  
• Semi-sweet Marechal Foch - fresh grapes but with more lively sweet berry
• Whitetail Country White - Vignoles, tropical fruit including banana and pineapple
  
• Sweet Angel Red - blend of Concord and Baco Noir, sweet grapes with tart raspberry
  
• Sleepy Hollow Red - blend of Concord and Niagara, a light bodied marriage of sweet and tart fruit
  
• Ruby Z - the "original" blush, Concord, Niagara, and Catawba, fruity and approachable
  
• Geisenberry - raspberry on the nose, lemon and rhubarb
  
• Flickerberry Dew - raspberry dessert wine, jammy and stewed fruit
  Flickerwood's complete wine list
  

Okay, so I actually tasted through more than two-thirds of the wine list, but it offered a good sense of what Ron, who has been making wines for 30+ years, has worked so hard to achieve with the wide range of styles and choices available to Flickerwood patrons. Both Libby and I singled out the recently bottled 2006 Syrah as our favorite, which as it turns out is also Ron's wine of choice.

After our tasting we took a short tour of the wine cellar to see a number of large stainless steel vats, eight oak barrels, and the bottling line. Ron and six other workers who help in the cellar bottle everything by hand, filling six bottles at a time and then corking, capping, and labeling each one. He said they could get through about 100 gallons in an hour. Their production is average for a winery in Pennsylvania - apologies for failing to remember the exact amount - and the business is soon to expand to a wine tasting room and retail shop just outside of Philadelphia, which will be run by two of their daughters.

I can't speak highly enough of the Zampogna's hospitality and eagerness to share their passion for wine. I would highly recommend making a stop to visit them if you find yourself in the area, as their extensive selection is certain to have wines for every taste - red, white, dry, sweet, light, and full.

Cheers!

wine that makes you lisp

Baltos (2005)
Dominio de Tares
Mencía
Bierzo Alto

The first time I tried Baltos was at La Cave du Vin in Cleveland Heights. I was out with some friends, and asked the bartender there for something "different." He had just gotten a shipment in by accident, but decided to use it until it was gone. The glass he returned with struck me with a plethora of fruity aromas, but intrigued me with an undertone of what I can only best describe as being barn-yardy or mousy. Always interested in exploring wines that might not be seen as widely popular, I relieved our host of two bottles before leaving.

I thought it appropriate that my debut post should concern this seldom heard of grape. Mencía, whose name lends itself wonderfully to the charming Castilian lispy resonances - men-thee-ah - is a red grape variety found predominantly in Bierzo, a subregion of the province of León in north west Spain. It was once believed to be Cabernet Franc, and has also been compared to Pinot Noir with its juxtaposition of fruit and animal characteristics.

Appearance: My glass of Baltos exhibited a very purplish ruby color, and was clear with medium intensity - I could still read text on a page through it, but just barely. There was also a great deal of staining on the legs.

Nose: Clean nose with moderate intensity, and different levels of aromas. Red fruit, including red cherry, raspberry; Vegetal including mushroom, mint, and spice; Also leather, earth, and the aforementioned barn-yard/mousiness.

Palate: Dry medium bodied wine. Bright sour cherry acidity, and softly lingering tannins. Other flavors included bitter almond, licorice, and dried fruits. The fruit falls a little short on the finish, but does not seem faulty.

Dominio de Tares indicates on their website that the primary vineyard for the grapes used is located in Valtuille de Abajo. Consulting a map, I realize I probably walked right past this town between Cacabelos and Villafranca de Bierzo during my Camino de Santiago in 2007.


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I do find this wine to be extremely interesting, and would recommend it to anyone looking to try an obscure old-world red. I've not had much luck finding other Mencía-based wines, though I know there is at least one available in my area at our local Whole Foods. I don't recall that its quality was as good as the Baltos, but I will definitely have to give it a second go. I think Spanish wines are really worth exploring, especially after spending some time there myself. Sure, you'll try 18 dozen Tempranillos, but now and then you'll find a grape to write home about.

Cheers!