Vino View

Tips for Finding Good Wine at a Great Price

 

-- Via Wine Spectator

Dry Riesling Wines

Riesling has an unfortunate reputation in the United States for being a sweet dessert wine. Riesling is in fact an incredibly versatile grape variety that is used to produce the full spectrum of wines from dry and semi-sweet to sparkling and dessert. It is the high acidity, perfumed nature and terroir-expressive quality of the grape that results in some of the most exciting, complex and affordable wines in the market today.

Cracks have begun to emerge in this dominant perception with the growing popularity of food-friendly dry Riesling wines.  Dry Riesling most often carries the designation, "Trocken," which has between 4 and 9 grams residual sugar per liter versus the 50 to 80 grams per liter you can find in late harvest Riesling often served as dessert wines. Trocken wines are not be as bone dry as expected by American consumers in a dry white wine, but the high acidity results in well-balance characteristics that definitely fall on the dry end of the spectrum. 

While the flavor profile of the late harvest Riesling often includes peach, apricot, melon and nectarine, Trocken wines are citrus with lime, lemon, orange, apple and minerals.

I recently had an opportunity to sample two dry Riesling wines that exemplify the balance and complexity that makes Trocken wines so attractive:

• Weingut Affentaler, Baden, Germany ($14.99) - this 2006 Trocken has a distinct nose including lemon, peaches and hints of lime, apple, honey, some minerality in the mouth, with a nice medium length finish.
• Weingut Lucashof, Pfalz, Germany ($18.00) - another 2006 Trocken that had strong citrus nose and taste with grapefruit, lime and kiwi, stronger acidity and a floral finish that lingered. 

If you're new to Riesling, give it a try and explore the full range of wines Riesling provides. Serve the Trocken wines chilled, but not too cold. And match with spicy food, especially Thai and BBQ.   

The Perfect Summer Wine

Great rosé wines are crisp, refreshing, bone dry and food friendly - perfect summer wines. Unfortunately, rosé wines also suffer from the baggage of the sweet, mass-market blush that was popularized in the 1970s (e.g., White Zinfandel). In recent years, however, perception is turning thanks to the growing popularity of dry rosé wines from southern France.

The rosé revolution has new allies in other parts of the world who are producing wines that are as good, if not better, than the rosé wines you expect from places like southern Rhône. For example, Green Point Winery in Victoria, Australia, has produced a gem that embodies all the qualities that make rosé wines so great and is a must-try this summer. Their 2007 Pinot Noir rosé ($15) is a beautiful rich pink color that results from a winemaking process that involves letting the grape juice soak for one night with the skins, then pressing the juice off the skins for transfer into stainless steel tanks and French barriques for fermentation. The process brings rich color, but also adds texture. The Green Point rosé has a floral nose with ripe red berries and herbs. Crisp and dry, the wine is well balanced with lush cherry, strawberry and currants all brought together with quenching tartness. This is anytime wine - try it with spicy seafood BBQ. 

San Antonio's Maddalena Sauvignon Blanc & Cabernet Sauvignon

The only Los Angeles winery still in operation today, San Antonio, has just released a couple gems that are high-value, high-quality, and worth snatching up: Maddalena Sauvignon Blanc 2006 ($11.95) and Maddalena Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($13.95).

San Antonio's Riboli family winemakers have a long history of producing quality wines - actually, a history that reaches back to 1917 when Santo Cambianica moved from Italy to Los Angeles and founded the winery. In 1938, the winery was entrusted to Santo's nephew, Stefano Riboli, and four generations later the Riboli family is still at the helm.

From Maddalena's vineyards, San Antonio's Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon benefit from warm, dry days and cool nights typical of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties.

Their new Savignon Blanc has the expected citrus and grassy nose, but lacks grapefruit in the mouth. Instead, accents of mineral, apple and melon infuse the wine providing structure and balanced acidity perfect with seafood and summer salads.

The Cabernet Savignon packs a punch with ripe raspberry and cherry flavors - thanks to the full maturation of the grapes resulting from the long, warm days in the region - combining nicely with pepper and some earthiness, and very soft tannins. Barrel aging gives the wine nice caramel and vanilla notes, making for a perfect partner to grilled meats and tomato-based stews. At $13.95, this wine is a steal! 

Portugal's Douro Valley Wines

When people think of Portugal and wine, they think port. But, the primary port-producing region, Douro, is now bursting onto the winemaking scene with a wide range of exciting new reds. It's also on the leading edge of wine tourism with boutique hotels and tasting rooms popping up along the Douro River.

According to Food & Wine's Ray Isle, Douro's wine renaissance is due to a variety of factors - an influx of investment and talent pouring into the region, a 250 year winemaking history (Douro is the oldest officially demarcated wine region in the world), and the recent switch in Portuguese wine laws which until the mid-1980s forbade bottling in the Douro region (read more from Ray Isle on Douro wines). These factors are contributing to the production of a slue of new medium and full-bodied, well-structured red wines, especially in the under $20 range, which are calling attention to the region.

Two standout wines representative of the trend include Lavradores de Feitoria's Vinho Tinto (2005) and DOMINI's Douro DOC (2003). Both are blends made from the dominant varietals used for port production - Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Roriz.

Lavradores de Feitoria was founded in 1999 by 15 Douro-based winemakers who moved recently from selling their grapes to other producers outside the region, but are now focused on wines that capture the characteristics that make Douro wines so compelling. Their 2005 Vinho Tinto ($15) is a great example, medium-bodied with deep ruby red color, moderate tannins and big cherry fruit, making a fantastic partner for roast pork and chicken.

Also founded in 1999, DOMINI is a joint venture between Domingos Soares Franco of Jose Maria da Fonseca and Cristiano van Zeller, a leading port producer. DOMINI's 2003 Douro DOC ($18) is intense, full-bodied with strong blackberry, plum and vanilla set off by soft and velvety tannins, pairing up great with grilled meats.

In this price range, Douro wines deliver big value with quality characteristics that make the recent attention to the region well-deserved.

Demystifying Bordeaux

-- via The Wine Experience

Chilean Wine Exports on the Rise, and for Good Reason

Wines of Chile, the major trade association for Chilean wine producers, has recently reported that global wine exports from Chile have increased 52% in volume and 37% in value in 2007.

What's triggering the increased demand?

It looks like a perfect storm of quality, price and perception. Chile has long had a reputation for red wines that offer a good bang for the buck. But the past two decades of investment, technology and expertise focused on winemaking in the region have introduced a new dimension to Chile's reputation, one focused on high-quaility wines which are as interesting and complex as they are affordable. The trend is demanding attention and generating buzz.

Some of the wines leading the charge include Carmenere and Cabernet Savignon from regions such as Aconcagua, Maipo and Colchagua, which all span the coast along The Andes Mountain Range. These wines embody the fruit-forward and spicy characteristics you'd expect from Chilean reds, but with interesting structure and well-defined tannins. Below, I have listed a few representative examples, any of which would make a great addition to this year's Thanksgiving dinner.

• Carmenere (a grape imported from Bordeaux in the 19th century) is Chile's signature grape, in the same way Malbec is for Argentina. Carmenere has a number of distinct characteristics such as tobacco and pepper notes, especially in wines produced in Aconcagua, which is a region that benefits from long, dry summers. A great example is the 2004 In Situ Carmenere ($15). This purple red wine provides rich cherry aromas, an extremely powerful first sip, long finish with notes of dark berries, earthiness and is great to pair with red meats and cheeses.
• Down the coast from Aconcagua and just past Chile's capital Santiago is the Maipo Valley which is home to the Carmen winery, which Ray Isle from Food & Wine recently noted was the first Chilean producer to identify Carmenere in its vineyards. Carmen's 2004 Carmenere Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ($17) provides an exciting aromatic profile with blueberries, chocolate and mint. This well balanced full-bodied wine has additional density and structure from dry tannins, which rounds out this blend making for a very solid young wine.
• Continuing still further south past Santiago and the Maipo Valley is the Colchagua wine subregion and Casa Lapostolle, a winery established by the Marnier-Lapostolle family of France in the mid-1990s. Casa Lapostolle's winery is located in Colchagua's Apalta microclimate where they have found ideal conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon - thick sandy soil and controlled irrigation, with an orientation that limits the number of hours of direct sunlight. Their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($14) is a case in point. This wine is a concentrated red with aromas of cherries and spices, hints of toast and sweet ripe tannins which produce a very nice finish.
• Another Colchagua wine to look for is Estampa's 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere and Cab Franc Reserve ($12). Estampa has actually based their winemaking philosophy on blends and don't make any single varietal wines. This particular blend results in a complex wine with herbaceous notes, luscious red fruits and dark chocolate and spicy accents, and well developed tannins that provide an intense long finish.

Understanding German Wine Labels

There's no questions that German wine labels can be confusing. In Wine Spectator's ongoing series, "Label Lingo," Alison Napjus walks through common terms and formats that make selecting German wines less intimidating and hopefully encourage more people to sample some of these amazing cooler climate wines. 

-- via Wine Spectator

London Calling

I was in London recently for business. I had never spent much time there, so I decided to add a few days to the trip to wander around, eat and drink, and decompress after a busy, stressful week. I found a few gems worth noting in case you have a London trip in your future.

One of my favorite finds was a "gastropub" hot spot in Victoria called The Phoenix located on a backstreet a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace. This charming, airy pub features over 42 wines, and 16 of them available by the glass! But, I wasn't drinking wine at The Phoenix. Instead, I enjoyed sampling delicious beers and ales on tap, including Sharps' Doom Bar Bitter and Deuchars IPA. Go for the beer, stay for the food, like grilled baby squid with tomato, pancetta and basil, and warm tossed salad of smoked trout and potatoes. I was all about the fish and chips, though, which was light, crispy and served in a newspaper, as it should be.

Another gem was a great Spanish tapas bar called El Pirata, right off of Park Lane in Mayfair. All the classics were spot on - octopus with paprika, anchovies in vinegar, salmon croquettes, garlic prawns and mushrooms, and a wonderful cheeseboard of manchego, majorero, mahon and cabrales. And, a nice wine selection by the glass. I had a crisp Martin Codax Albarino, which had hints of orange, almond, and apricot that highlighted and complimented the sweetness and lemony zest of the fish tapas.

Wandering along the South Bank, I ended up taking in the Dali exhibit at the Tate Modern. At the top of the museum is the Tate Modern Restaurant, a great place for lunch or a glass of wine, with a breathtaking view of the River Thames and St. Paul's. The food was good, the wine was great. I had the grilled swordfish on toast with cherry tomatoes and basil mayonnaise, paired up with an interesting St. Chinian from Chateau la Dournie. Brick red in color, this '04 blend of Syrah, Carignan and Grenache has distinct nutmeg, raspberry, and orange peel bitterness, which actually worked well with the rather heavy grilled fish and basil mayonnaise.

What would a stroll along the South Bank be without a visit to Vinopolis? I had heard mixed things about the "wine museum," but I don't think I was prepared for what I found. Vinopolis is billed as "London's unique wine tasting attraction and conference and events venue." The concept is fun: a series of rooms with a self-guided audio tour and multimedia, educational presentations about wine producing regions, including France, Italy, Australia, California, South Africa, even Thailand and China, all culminating in a tasting where you can sample wines from the various regions. Unfortunately, I think wine geeks (like me) might be a little disappointed by the experience. It's highly commercialized (even for me) and folds a liquor store, two Bombay Safire bars, a whiskey spirits room, and beer tasting room into the wine tour. I'm fine with it, but should just be billed as a "liquor emporium," or something. The historical picture was lightweight and without any real opportunity to drill deeper into regional information or background on producers. The tasting was okay - tried a good '04 Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz blend from Carmel wineries (Israel). Lots of spice, chewy bittersweet chocolate, with blueberry and strawberries. I can imagine this one this one with a rich meal, steak or sharp cheeses. STAY AWAY FROM THE ABSINTHE! 

If you have time, swing by the Charlotte Street Hotel for breakfast or the Soho Hotel for a late night mojito, or perhaps a champagne cocktail and a game of pool at The Sandrson. There's always the Kingly Club, if you're feeling really crazy. There really is just too much to do, see, eat and drink in London. I have found a very useful resource in Square Meal, London's leading restaurant guide, which also has a fun "Drinks News" section. I haven't even scratched the surface, but definitely hit a few gems during my days off in London.

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Student by day, filmmaker by night, Sorin Mihailovici is an up-and-coming Canadian filmmaker who is carving out an exciting niche in wine video. Not just any wine video, but videos that take on the good old, day-to-day trials and tribulations that come with wine drinking... or, at least in my household. Bravo Sorin! Hope to see more videos soon.   

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