Sips: Some of this summer’s best new rosés

Dozens of rosés have come my way in recent weeks, and in my latest MSNBC column I highlight ten outstanding wines from Spain, France, Portugal, Austria, Washington and Oregon, where they are making some superb rosés of pinot noir in the Willamette Valley. I was struck by the inherent value of these ten wines. They pack a lot of complexity for $20 or under (just one of them had a suggested price of $20) and they demonstrated again that rosés are not only great aperitif wines, but are highly versatile food wines that can be enjoyed with everything from fish to grilled meats. I have always thought that rosés can and should be enjoyed throughout the year, although most people view them as a rite of spring and summer. Most rosés currently available are from the 2011 vintage, but those from 2010 I tasted were just fine. Because there are so many good rosés available, I’ll have another list of standouts later in the summer.

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The Daily Sip: for Thanksgiving pies, a superb dessert wine from Washington’s Pacific Rim

One of the best sweet dessert wine values out there has to be Pacific Rim’s 2007 Vin de Glaciere Riesling from Washington state, which showed beautifully at the end of a dinner with good friends the other night and is a shoe-in for pairing with  Thanksgiving pies. Actually, this is a tale of two dessert wines – Pacific Rim’s, with a suggested price of $14  for a half-bottle, and a well-known California wine, also in half-bottle, that sells for $80 or more (yes, you heard right). After a crowd-pleasing main course of beef Burgundy, one of my wife’s signature dishes, served with plenty of red wine, it was time for her apple tart, made from apples grown down the road at a local farm.

The Pacific Rim wine, from the Selenium Vineyard in Washington’s Yakima Valley, was a superb accompaniment, providing a refreshing lift that counterbalanced the sweetness. Orange is the dominant note, joined by orange peel, honey and lime with a high level of underlying acidity that made it effortless to drink and a perfect companion to the apple pie. Alcohol is a modest 10.5 percent. With demand among our friends now high for more dessert wine, I opened a second bottle, the aforementioned California wine. Though perhaps more complex, it was also more syrupy than the Pacific Rim and lacked the riesling’s refreshing zip. It was also considerably higher in alcohol and would have been better with fois gras or other rich foods. Pacific Rim’s Web site has some interesting notes on how the wine is made. The winery, by the way, makes a range of rieslings from dry to sweet and has developed a useful “riesling scale” that makes it easier to classify ripeness level in the wines. Received as a press sample.

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Swirls: Wine forgeries in China; aging wine; New Zealand’s wine industry hurting

SWIRL: This was probably inevitable, given the growing thirst in China for western wines. Some Australian winemakers are complaining about Chinese counterfeits of their brands, including but certainly not limited to the famed Penfolds’ Grange. One  Australian wine industry executive in China says he’s even seen the “P” in Penfolds changed to a “B,” as in Benfolds. Read more about it in the Sydney Morning Herald.

SIWRL: When is a wine ready to drink, or, for that matter, past its prime? It’s one of the great questions in the wine world, and Paul Gregutt has some interesting thoughts on the matter in the Seattle Times. His emphasis is on wines of the Pacific Northwest, particularly Washington, and he finds the cabernets, merlots and even the sangioveses quite worthy of aging. Alas, reading the piece and a long list of Washington wineries, I am reminded of how few Washington labels one sees on the East Coast. Hopefully that will change.

SWIRL: New Zealand’s wine industry is being hurt by oversupply and other factors. While exports are up, prices are down, which, while bad news for New Zealand’s wineries, might be good for American wine drinkers who enjoy the country’s sauvignon blancs and pinot noirs, among other wines. Dozens of small to medium-sized wineries could soon fall into receivership. Read more details here.

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Sips: a top small-production chenin blanc from Kyra Wines in Washington

This one falls under the category of excellent small-production wine at a very reasonable price. The setting was Bellevue, Washington on a recent Saturday night. I had arrived a day ahead of the third annual Riesling Rendezvous, a major conference on the grape, and found myself looking for a place to have a glass of wine or two and a bite to eat. Not far from my hotel I came across the Purple Café and Wine Bar, a large and attractive space that had plenty of room at the bar. After scanning the wines offered by the glass, I went with the 2008 Columbia Valley Chenin Blanc from Kyra  Wines. The winery, based in Moses Lake, Washington, was unfamiliar to me, which was understandable when I read on its Facebook page that it produces just 2,000 cases a year, divided among three whites and five red offerings. Indeed, the chenin blanc, with 430 cases of the ‘08 produced, is one of the bigger bottlings, though, of course, tiny compared with production of some of the bigger and more familiar Washington wineries. The grapes were sourced from the Harold Pleasant Vineyard in the Yakima Valley.

I was immediately struck by the wine’s pronounced acidity, which provided nice balance to a bit of residual sugar . The overall impression was dry and fruity with lots of tropical fruit notes, apricot and a burst of citrus. It turned out to be an excellent match for a number of small plates I ordered, including salmon tartare and a spicy soybean-based edamame hummus.  The glass was $8.50, which is pretty standard when it comes to wine-bar pricing on the lower end these days. I figured that a bottle of the wine, at retail, might go for around $20 or so. The answer came the next day when I was wandering around the Pike Place market in Seattle and walked into the Pike & Western Wine Shop. Much to my surprise, the Kyra Chenin Blanc was just $12.50. I almost bought a bottle to take home to New York but then remembered the hassles of bringing wine on planes these days. Oh, well. For now I’ll just have to savor the memory of that glass and the prospect of trying more of Kyra’s wines.

The winery is owned by Kyra and Bruce Baerlocher and Kyra doubles as the winemaker. More information and shipping information can be found at their Web site.

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Sips: an excellent Washington sauvignon blanc

I've been a fan of Mercer Estates, a family-owned winery in eastern Washington, for some time now. The whites, in particular, have jumped out at me. As I looked back through my reviews this  weekend I was reminded that I wrote about Mercer's riesling and pinot gris in the last couple of years in my column on MSNBC.com (I now write for Reuters and this blog). Now I can add to Mercer’s list of winning whites its 2008 Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc,  a beautiful example of the variety in a decidedly American style. I picked up some wet stone aromas; in the mouth the wine bursts with fruit – green apple, tropical fruit, melon, even a touch of strawberry. Some vanilla, cream and herb touches are achieved through partial fermentation; the wood influence is there but muted.  Enjoy it with any number of fish dishes, white clam sauce, grilled chicken, salads and vegetable pastas. The suggested retail price is $14 and 2,395 cases were made. Coming up: a winning Washington chenin blanc. (Mercer’s sauvignon blanc was received as a press sample.)

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Swirls: tasting my way through the ‘Riesling Rendezvous’

I tasted dozens of rieslings last night on the grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington outside Seattle.  The occasion was the opening of the third annual  Riesling Rendezvous. The event has drawn almost 70 riesling producers from the United States and around the world, along with others in the wine business and media and the public, for two and a half days of tasting and discussion of their wines and exploration of riesling in general. (The wines of a Canadian producer, Cave Spring Cellars in Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula, are being poured in the photo above).

After last night’s tasting, on the bus back to our hotel, I struck up a conversation with Martin Sinkoff, director of marketing for fine wine at Frederick Wildman and Sons, the New York importer. He quickly identified a central paradox of riesling.

“Riesling is widely considered the greatest white grape,” he said. “It’s like pinot noir in its ability to express terroir. But it has trouble finding an audience.” That’s because riesling suffers from an identity crisis, a victim of its great diversity, a wine that, unlike chardonnay, for example, isn’t easy for the casual wine drinker to get his hands around. “Only riesling of the great varieties has this problem,” Sinkoff continued. “That’s because it’s made in many different places in many different styles.”

Those styles range from bone dry to very sweet with everything in between. Further complicating matters is the fact that there is a great deal of variation in what is considered dry or semi-dry or sweet riesling. This is a problem in marketing and selling the wines and forces one to learn the language of the label, at the very least, and often take a gamble on what’s in the bottle. And that’s a tall order for many Americans, who don’t like to take chances on wine, even if the potential rewards are great.

But I will submit that this is also the inherent richness of riesling. For me, the diversity and the intellectual challenges associated with it are the very things that make the grape so interesting and appealing and are what drew me to this conference. With that in mind, look for a series of reflections and observations this week and beyond based on my travels through the world of riesling.

(A note about my trip: I was one of a number of journalists invited and sponsored by Chateau Ste. Michelle, which is hosting Riesling Rendezvous along with Germany’s Dr. Loosen Estate. There was no discussion or agreement about coverage of specific wines or topics.)

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Sips: some exciting new dry rieslings

I’m catching up on a couple of excellent dry rieslings, a category that deserves much more attention as an alternative to the ubiquitous chardonnays and sauvignon blancs. These two are from Australia and Washington state, which are both making world-class rieslings. From Australia, Wakefield’s 2008 Clare Valley Riesling, $17, is bone dry and refreshing and would be great with broiled fish, which may not be the typical pairing that comes to mind with riesling. I found this wine exquisite, with  notes of Meyer lemon, apricot, a bit of the interesting petrol-like quality that is often found in riesling (don’t worry, it’s not at all offensive), a hint of honey and then lime and minerals on the finish. As you can see, there’s a lot going on here. Imported by American Wine Distributors, San Francisco.

Another winning example, from Washington, is Mercer Estates’ 2009 Yakima Valley Riesling, $14. Mercer, which opened just two years ago, is making some impressive whites, including a pinot gris that I reviewed last fall. The riesling is quite dry and  full-bodied with melon and petrol notes, a creamy mid-palate and citrus, mainly lime, on the finish. Enjoy it with a range of foods, including Asian and other full-flavored dishes, or as an elegant aperitif. (Wines received as press samples.)

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Sips: some top spring whites

Lots of new releases are coming in for spring, and we’ll feature some of the best of them in coming weeks, starting with these three top white-wine values.

An Argentine blend: The native Torrontés is Argentina’s most important white, and Trivento’s 2009 Amado Sur is the name of a winning blend of 75 percent torrontés, 15 percent viognier and 10 percent chardonnay from the Mendoza region. It’s highly aromatic with flowers and herbs, the signature of Torrontés, and the tastes are dominated by citrus notes, mainly orange and lime, with touches of vanilla and white pepper. It’s fresh and interesting, well priced at $15 and will match well with simple fish and shellfish dishes. Try it with ceviche. Imported by Excelsior Wine & Spirits, Old Brookville, New York.

An Italian chardonnay: Tormaresca’s 2008 Chardonnay from Puglia in southern Italy is superb at $12. With tastes of green apple, lemon-lime, a little sage, vanilla and wood, this is a great chardonnay for informal drinking that will also pair with a wide range of foods. In fact, with its subtle complexity, I think it will fool a good number of people into thinking it’s a more expensive chardonnay when served at an elegant dinner with, say, a  first-course soup pureed from freshly picked asparagus. It’s notable as well for its refreshing underlying acidity and modest alcohol of 12.5 percent. Imported by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Woodinville, Washington.

A Washington riesling: Some of the most exciting rieslings being made in this country come from Washington state. As I noted here recently, Pacific Rim is in the forefront with its range of rieslings. Another welcome addition is the Cupcake Vineyards’ 2009 Dry Riesling from the Columbia Valley. This classy $15 wine is very dry indeed and shows notes of tropical fruit, pear, lime and lime peel and has an unusually long finish. It will pair well with grilled chicken, vegetables and seafood and is delightful on its own.  (Wines received as press samples.)

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Riesling: getting past the ‘sweet’ thing

No doubt, riesling is still the most misunderstood white wine. It’s also probably the most versatile, as I was reminded the other night at a dinner featuring the wines of Pacific Rim in Washington state.  The event, at the restaurant 11 Madison Park in New York,  started off with something different. “We going to play a little game,” said Nicolals Quillé, winemaker and general manager of Pacific Rim, which produces only riesling and is owned by Randall Grahm, the iconic founder of California’s Bonny Doon Vineyard. “Riesling is a confusing category for a lot of folks,” Quillé went on. “They don’t know if it’s sweet or dry.”

Which brings us back to our game. We were asked to place the five still rieslings Pacific Rim makes on a scale that went from dry to medium dry to medium sweet to sweet. Each glass had a  little color-coded sticker on its base.  After 5 or 10 minutes of sipping we were ready to discuss the results. No one had any problem identifying the wines on either end of the scale – the 2007 Dry Riesling on one side and, on the other, the 2009 Sweet Riesling and, most notably, the even sweeter 2007 Vin de Glacière, a concentrated and gorgeous “ice wine.”  A few people had more trouble deciding which was the sweeter of the two wines in the “medium” range, the 2009 Riesling or the 2008 Organic Riesling. Technically, the organic wine, with a bit more residual sugar, was sweeter by a hair.

The point of the exercise was to demonstrate that there is no single riesling style, despite its reputation among many wine drinkers as a “sweet” wine. The beauty of riesling is that it is made and can be enjoyed in a broad range of styles, depending on preference and food pairing, whether from Washington, Germany, Austria, Alsace, Australia or New York state, to cite some of the better-known regions where the grape is grown.

And our dinner proved the point. There is, for example, no better pairing for a little terrine of foie gras, our starter, than a sweet “dessert” wine such as Pacific Rim’s Vin de Glacièr. With notes of stone fruit, citrus, honey and brown sugar, the wine was actually refreshing with its high level of balancing acidity. While the sweetness enabled it to withstand the richness of the foie gras, the acids made the dish seem less rich than it was. I don’t think there was a morsel left on anyone’s plate.

The Dry Riesling, with its notes of apple, apricot and nut, matched well with poached lobster, but so did the somewhat sweeter wines, demonstrating again that riesling is largely about preference. For me, the most interesting wine was the riesling made from organic grapes, which I enjoyed with both the lobster and a slab of roasted pork tenderloin. Bright and complex with green apple and mint notes, it was the most “textured” of the wines, showing a the most minerality. I found found myself going back to it time and again during the course of the evening.

Toward the end of the dinner, I asked Nicolas Quillé how his business was doing, anticipating a recessionary note in his answer. He revealed that Pacific Rim’s sales were up 40 percent last year. I asked to what he attributed the gain. “A fast-growing varietal, the right price point ($10 to $15 or so) and a focused story.” Which is what? I asked. His answer: “Riesling.”

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Bubbly

I’ve been tasting all kinds of sparkling wines in recent weeks with an eye toward suggesting some satisfying and economical choices for New Year’s and beyond.  There is, of course, nothing quite like Champagne (we’re talking about the genuine thing). Eric Asimov of The New York Times makes the case in his column last week  that it’s a good time to buy Champagne because prices are down; he includes one of my perennial favorites, Pol Roger Brut. I’m going to look beyond Champagne with some excellent sparkling wines that you can enjoy for a fraction of the cost.

From California, Mumm Napa’s Brut Rose is superb, with nice touches of raspberry, cream and herbs on the finish. It’s well worth the $24 suggested price.

From Washington State, Domaine Ste. Michelle’s Columbia Valley Brut is very dry with fine bubbles and notes of pear, lemon, bread and herbs. At $12, it has unusual richness.

Also from Washington, Pacific Rim’s “White Flowers” Brut Sparkling Riesling, $14, is tangy and tart with white peach, lemon and lime notes. A natural pairing with shellfish and even caviar.

From Argentina, Trapiche’s Extra Brut, $12, is crisp and light with apple and citrus notes. Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons, New York.

And from Italy, Oriel’s Prosecco 360 is a rich interpretation of the classic Italian sparkler. At about $15 or so, it has nice touches of pear and strawberry and a yeasty finish.

In tasting these and other non-Champagne sparklers, I was reminded once again that, at relatively reasonable prices, they offer a festive and satisfying experience. And in this economy, who isn’t looking for that? On that note, I’ll raise my glass and offer my best wishes for a happy and successful 2010.

Washington wines

I was impressed by a number of new releases from Seven Hills Winery in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley.  Seven Hills  grows grapes in its own vineyards and sources fruit from other growers in five Washington state appellations and, in the case of an excellent pinot gris, from a vineyard in the Umpqua  Valley in southern Oregon.

The 2008 Oregon Pinot Gris is made in a crisp, mineral-driven style (just 10 percent of it has oak contact) and is well priced at $16. Another real value is the 2008 Columbia Valley Riesling, $12, a lovely, off-dry wine with “wet pebble” aromas and pear, apricot and lime tastes. Among the reds, the 2006 Columbia Valley Tempranillo, $22, is an exciting interpretation of the Spanish variety that is gaining a foothold in Washington. It’s fruit forward with concentrated blackberry, blueberry and herb tastes. The 2006 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon “Seven Hills Vineyard” is accessible and bright with sweet tannins and blackberry and vanilla notes. It’s $32 and drinks well now. Do I smell a steak?

Washington riesling

Riesling, as you may know, elicits all kinds of reactions, from worship to disgust and everything in between. I'd have to say that I'm firmly in the middle. Riesling comes in all manner of styles, from dry to sweet, and is made in many countries, from Germany, which produces the world's most famous rieslings, to France's Alsace, to Australia, California and Washington state.

A good example at the bargain price of $12 is Chateau Ste. Michelle's just-released 2008 Dry Riesling from Washington's Columbia Valley. I tasted this wine over several nights, and it got better over time. It shows notes of pear, pear skin, a bit of lime and orange and is nice and chewy in the mouth. Roast pork, grilled salmon, sushi and roasted turkey come to mind. In a word, versatile.