Sips: Marqués de Cáceres’s superb 2011 “Deusa Nai” Albariño

Marqués de Cáceres is a big producer based in Spain’s Rioja region, but the winery, it turns out, also bottles a terrific wine from Rías Baixas in Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain. This is white wine country where the most important grape is the indigenous albariño, which is either bottled as a single variety or blended with others. Marqués de Cáceres’s 2011 “Deusa Nai” Albariño is made exclusively from the variety and is among the best of a dozen or more albariños I’ve tasted this year. It’s a wonderful wine for fish and shellfish or on its own as an aperitif. Pear and grapefruit tastes are accented by floral and mineral notes and a touch of vanilla. The price is about $14 and although production is limited (about 6,600 cases), the wine appears to be widely available based on a check of Wine Searcher.

Sips: From California, Gainey Vineyard’s 2010 Chardonnay

As I’ve said before, I prefer leaner-style chardonnays with moderate levels of alcohol and subtle oak treatment. There’s nothing wrong with those brawny, buttery wines, but in general they’re not my cup of tea. Gainey Vineyard in California’s Santa Barbara County makes chardonnay in this leaner style. It is consistently good, and the 2010 Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay is no exception.

 

As always, the wine is beautifully balanced, and in this vintage it presents a delicious combination of Bartlett pear, butterscotch, citrus and a touch of cinnamon. Try it with all kinds of fish, chicken and pork dishes or enjoy it on its own. Alcohol is 13.9 percent and the suggested price of $22 makes it a very good value worth seeking out. Gainey’s website says it’s sold out at the winery, but I imagine it’s around in any number of stores. Received as a press sample.

Sips: A visit to the Loire Valley and some first notable wines

For the next week, I’ll be traveling through France’s Loire Valley, trying to deepen my understanding of this large and highly diverse region along with four other American wine writers. As I customarily do on such trips, I’ll begin with a word about how I got here. I was invited to the region by two of its trade organizations, Interprofession Vins de Loire and Interprofession des Vins du Centre Loire, which are paying for my travel to and accommodations in the region. The arrangements were made by a U.S. public relations and marketing company, Benson Marketing Group. There was no agreement with these organizations about my coverage of the wines or the region for either this blog or for my weekly column for MSNBC.com, although I have no doubt that I will have plenty to say about my tastings and travels.

Now, on to some of the first wines I tasted after arriving here. At our first dinner at the Brasserie du Theatre in Angers, we decided to order two very different white wines, as most of us were ordering fish or shellfish. And both were outstanding in their own ways. Domaine Pellé’s 2010 Menetou-Salon “Morogues” is quintessential sauvignon blanc and was wonderful at both the beginning and end of my dinner – with a variety of oysters on the half shell and then with a little goat cheese. There’s lots of gooseberry here, some lime, a bit of cream and a nice smooth texture. I found a briny note as the wine opened up. A balanced, refreshing and fairly complex sauvignon with alcohol at 13 percent. It retails in the U.S. for about $25 or so.

The second white was almost a world away in taste, Eric Morgat’s 2008 Savennières “L’Enclos,” a chenin blanc from this small appellation famous for the variety. I was happy to see at least a few years of age on this one. On first tasting, there was a good deal of wood in the mix, but as it breathed over the next couple of hours and its temperature warmed up, the oak influence receded nicely and its considerable complexity and opulence emerged (alcohol is 14 percent). It had a core of rich pear and apple, some orange and a beautiful (but not cloying) creamy quality. Later in the evening I detected a little licorice on the nose. It had enough backbone to hold up to my main course, an assemblage of salmon and two other local fish, one of them smoked, served with boiled potatoes on the side and over a bed of sauerkraut. Somehow it all worked quite well together. From what I gather, the wine sells for about $40 in the United States.

del.icio.us Tags: Domaine Pelle Menetou-Salon,Eric Morgat,Eric Morgat Savennieres,Edwad Deitch,Sauvignon blanc,Chenin blanc,Loire Valley,Loire Valley wines,Loire Valley whites

Sips: Celebrity wines, for better or worse

Do celebrities make better wines? Would you be more likely to buy a wine if a celebrity were associated with it? I explore these questions in my column this week on MSNBC.com. The occasion is Drew Barrymore's debut in the wine business and the release of her first wine, a pinot grigio. How does it stack up? I put it to the (taste) test and take a look at some of the actors, athletes and other celebrities who have been bitten by the wine bug. Click here to read.

Sips: Chardonnays that come alive when blended, plus a southern French “classic”

In case you missed my current “Weekend Wines” column on MSNBC.com, I’m linking here to my piece on Domaine du Tariquet and how this winery in southwest France is making some exciting chardonnay-based blends. They’re good examples of what a large, commercial winery can do in the $10-$15 range. After I  wrote about these wines, I also tasted Tariquet’s 2010 Classic, a zippy blend of colombard and ugni blanc, which remains a top under-$10 quaffing white that is a must-have for warm-weather drinking and for fish and shellfish. Rating: VERY GOOD. Imported by Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC. Wines received as press samples.

del.icio.us Tags: Domaine du Tariquet Classic White,Domaine du Tariquet,French white wines,Southwest France wines,Robert Kacher Selections,Edward Deitch,French wine values,Wines for fish

Sips: More on the Super Bowl food and wine showdown

At least one of my NBC colleagues shook his head when I told him I was preparing a story on wines that would work well at a Super Bowl party with all its varied food possibilities. Like many, he's a beer man when it comes to the big game. But for those of you wondering about wines to serve with a Super Bowl spread, I have some suggestions, plus those of some of my wine friends, in my latest Weekend Wines post on the Bites blog of MSNBC.com. Beyond that, Karen Page and Andrew Dorenburg, authors of the new "Food Lover's Guide to Wine" and other books, offered me some of their suggestions.

They write: "For Super Bowl parties, we're all about the flexibility of bubbles for their food-pairing prowess, and all about whites so you don't have to worry if your friends spill on your couch (or you spill on theirs!) during a dramatic moment in the game -- so a good Prosecco would probably be our first choice (even though we also love good cava, we just got back from Italy!)."

Their choice for a red? "In honor of Andrew's hometown team (the 49ers, which was one good kick away from this year's Super Bowl), he'd pour a lighter-bodied, fruity California Zinfandel with the vegetarian chili he's hoping to get around to making."

And their recommendations for some of the most popular Super Bowl fare:

"Chicken wings: sparkling wine; or riesling, syrah/shiraz or zinfandel.

Chili: Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, syrah/shiraz or zinfandel.

Guacamole: Champagne, unoaked chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, torrontes.

Nachos: sparkling wine, torrontes (with white meat), zinfandel (with red meat).

Pizza (pepperoni or sausage): barbera, Chianti, lighter-bodied zinfandel.

Popcorn: Champagne or other sparkling wine.

Fudge brownies and chocolate chip cookies: Banyuls, port or Pedro Ximenez sherry."

Thank you, Karen and Andrew.

Swirls: The coming out of organic wine -- some things to keep in mind

Suddenly, it seems, the organic wine crowd is coming out of the woodwork. From growers to importers to supermarkets and other retailers, the wine world is seizing on “organic” as never before. Some growers, of course, have been making natural wines for years, including quite a few in France’s Loire Valley where most choose not to call attention to the fact, preferring to let the wines speak for themselves. And many of them do as wines of distinction. So the bar is high for wineries that trumpet the fact that they are producing organic wines or wines made from organic grapes (I’ll explain the difference in just a minute). My guess is that the market is ready to embrace the organic wine movement more broadly, but the wines will have to demonstrate that they have character, passing the same critical (and consumer) taste tests that non-organic wines must endure.

One that does is Cirelli’s 2010 Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, a delightful and refreshing non-oaked white made from organic trebbiano grapes in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. A group of friends really liked this $14 wine when we served it at a holiday dinner party a couple of weeks ago, and my only regret is that I didn’t buy three or four bottles of it from Chambers Street Wines here in New York, which, speaking of natural and organic and biodynamic wines, has pioneered the trend among retailers for some years now. With stone fruit, pear, herb and citrus notes, Cirelli’s trebbiano is enhanced by an underlying minerality and was excellent with cheeses and other appetizers. Alcohol is a modest and welcome 12.5 percent. (A Zev Rovine Selection, imported by Fruit of the Vine, Long Island City, New York.)

Few wines in this country are labeled “USDA Organic.” That’s because under Department of Agriculture rules, organic wines cannot contain added sulfites, which are used in varying degrees by the vast majority of wineries as a preservative (and which some people say gives them headaches). If a wine is made from organically grown grapes but has sulfites added, the label can only say that it is made from organic grapes, as with the Cirelli wine.

Before the other day, I couldn’t recall the last time I received a wine with the USDA Organic designation. The bottle was from Italy, La Cantina Pizzolato’s 2010 Organic Cabernet Sauvignon NSA, from the Piave appellation in the Veneto region. NSA refers to “no sulfites added,” and the labeling on this wine makes the point that it contains “naturally occurring sulfites.”

I didn’t quite know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. It's a light cabernet with an almost unheard of alcohol level of 12 percent (most New World cabs are in the 13.5-15 percent range). It has good varietal character with red fruit and blueberry notes and a subtle herbal touch. Made without oak, it reminded me more of Beaujolais than Bordeaux and was stylistically as far away from California cab as you can get. Delicate and refreshing and a bargain at a suggested price of $11. Try it slightly chilled with chicken, pork and veal.

The wine was sent to me by Natural Merchants, an importer of organic and biodynamic wines in Grants Pass, Oregon. Interestingly, I received a press release the other day from Whole Foods Market announcing the fact that it was the only national retailer to carry NSA wines from Italy and Spain, including the cabernet and others from Pizzolato, which it described as “Italy’s top-selling organic winery.” Organic and NSA, it seems, are about to go mainstream.

Swirls: In a restaurant, feeling like a prisoner of excessive wine markups

How often, when enjoying an evening out, are you distracted by annoying wine issues? For us, a case in point came the other night when friends invited us to dinner at a restaurant in New York’s Greenwich Village. In these budget-conscious times, don’t we all want to believe we’re getting good value when eating out in both food and wine?

But that was hard at this restaurant, where the least expensive white wine on the list was a vidal blanc from the Finger Lakes at $42 and where I ended up choosing a sauvignon blanc from France’s Loire Valley, Domaine de la Chaises’s 2010 Touraine, a wine I had enjoyed not long ago and reviewed here. On one hand, I was glad to see a wine on the list I was familiar with and had recommended, but I winced, then laughed in astonishment, when I saw the price. This very good (but hardly sensational) wine, available at retail for $13, was $48.

When the sommelier, an imposing young man who might have been an actor or model in another life, returned with our bottle, he announced rather ceremoniously in his baritone voice, “The 2009 Domaine de la Chaise.” I wanted to chuckle again. The formality -- and the price – were at odds with the way I thought of this wine, as a fresh and delightful sauvignon that would pair well with a variety of appetizers and lighter main courses, which it did on this evening. When I told the sommelier that I knew the retail price of this wine, he smiled knowingly but withheld comment.

He did, of course, make sure that our glasses were always topped off, even though (in our minds at least) we were certainly going to order a second bottle because we were enjoying it, despite the high price for a relatively cheap wine. And when we did, that brought the tab for two bottles of Domaine de la Chaise to $96. Which takes me once again to the issue of restaurant and wine economics and The Markup. I am keenly aware that restaurants make much of their profit from wine, and I have come to expect the price of wine in restaurants to be about three times retail, which would have put the Domaine de la Chaise at around $39 instead of $48 and would have made the selection more palatable (yes, $9 makes a difference to me).

It’s worth noting as well that the standard markup from wholesale to retail is 50 percent, which means that the cost of this wine to a store or a restaurant is under $10 – and probably even less depending on how many cases are ordered. So the markup (not necessarily the profit) on each bottle of the sauvignon blanc we ordered is around 400 percent, which seems excessive even by New York standards. (The least expensive red, by the way, was a Montepulicano d’Abruzzo from Italy at $44.)

I can’t help but think that if the markups came down a bit and a few more relatively inexpensive wines were offered at this and other restaurants, profit from wine would be the same or even greater. And most of us would feel at least a little more as though we were getting our money’s worth. What do you think? Please share your recent experiences and observations on wine in restaurants.

del.icio.us Tags: Wine in restaurants,Wine markups,Edward Deitch,Restaurant wine,Wine news,Wine sales,Wine lists,Wine prices in restaurants

Sips: From the Loire Valley, rolling the dice and winning with Domaine de la Chaise’s Touraine

Among the joys in this line of work are the elements of surprise and discovery – taking chances on new wines and seeing what they bring. Sometimes, of course, there is disappointment, as with a simple ‘09 Beaujolais I bought last night. It was imported by a company I respect, which is often a first line of defense when it comes to quality. Alas, the wine was dull and uninspired. Didn’t the folks in the wine shop taste it before buying it? Unfortunately, there are stores whose owners don’t even bother.

But I’m happy to report that I had a far different experience recently with another wine from another store on which I rolled the dice. I often like to begin the evening with a crisp white as I cook dinner and unwind. There were several Loire Valley sauvignon blancs in the cooler – a Sancerre priced in the high $20s, a Quincy in the high teens, and then a Touraine offered at $14. Touraine, you’ll recall, is a very large area and broad appellation in the Loire where both sauvignon and chenin blanc are grown, along with a variety of red grapes.

It turned out that Domaine de la Chaise’s 2010 Touraine is as good a sauvignon as you’ll find at this price from the Loire Valley or elsewhere. Its elegance and superb fruit come across in the first sip with tastes of pear, lime and orange, a little vanilla and subtle herb, spice and mineral notes. Its overall complexity and signature Loire style make the wine a superb value and a top contender for fish and shellfish, simple chicken dishes and as a pleasing aperitif. It would do well in a blind tasting with more famous and expensive Loire sauvignons. A typical case discount will make it even more of a bargain. Imported by Gabriella Importers, Bohemia, New York.

del.icio.us Tags: Loire Valley whites,Touraine wines,Touraine white wines,Domaine de la Chaise Touraine,Loire Valley sauvignon blancs,Edward Deitch,French white wines,Sauvignon blanc,Under $20 wines,Gabriella Importers

Sips: From Spain, a memorable white wine from the year the Berlin Wall came down -- R. López de Heredia’s Viña Tondonia Reserva

Perhaps no producer makes the case for aging white wine better than R. López de Heredia, the famed Rioja traditionalist whose wines are typically aged for a decade or more, including years in oak barrels, before release. I got to experience one of these unique wines again last week at dinner with friends at a New York restaurant. All of us ordered fish – sea bass, skate and sea scallops -- and I wanted a  fairly robust white wine that would hold up to the panoply of sauces and reductions. The sommelier suggested a Spanish chardonnay-viura blend, but right above it on the wine list I noticed López de Heredia’s 1989 Viña Tondonia Reserva. Yes, 1989. This 22-year-old white wine – Tondonia is the name of the vineyard -- was a deep golden color but still had a wonderfully fresh aroma that also suggested the slight oxidation that occurs with such age and that is an intriguing hallmark of López de Heredia’s white wines.

The blend in this vintage was 90 percent viura, the main white variety of Rioja, and 10 percent malvasia, and I was struck by the wine’s still-vibrant acidity, which confirmed my instinct that it would be a superb match for our food. Then, as it warmed up and opened up a bit, the complexity emerged – pear, some butterscotch, subtle raspberry and cherry notes followed by orange and cedar on the back end. A bit sherry-like? Yes, but with fruit that was still fresh and vibrant even though it was harvested the year the Berlin Wall came down. While it appears that the 1989 vintage is no longer available at retail, wine-searcher.com lists a number of mid-1990s vintages in the $40 range. Viña Tondonia is a unique and memorable wine to sip slowly and contemplate from a producer that teaches us the value of tradition.

del.icio.us Tags: R. López de Heredia,Viña Tondonia,Rioja,White Rioja,Aged white wines,Edward Deitch,Spanish wines,Spanish white wines,Viura

Slide show: Catch of the day as the fall scallop season opens on Long Island’s North Fork

As the Peconic Bay scallop season opened Monday on Long Island’s North Fork, dozens of boats converged on a cove to dredge for the coveted shellfish. They included commercial and recreational fishermen who customize their boats in all manner of styles, such as the one above. Most boats pull four or more dredges over the bottom, scooping up the scallops.  I joined them, as I do most years, and we were rewarded with a bountiful catch (at least on this first day) and gorgeous Indian-summer weather. Although the water had dipped to 48 degrees, the air temperature was in the mid-60s.

Scalloping is all about finding the sweet spots that hold the greatest clusters. On one haul, my dredge was loaded with more than 40 of them.

After a couple of hours or so, I approached a half-bushel, the daily recreational limit.

Shelling and cleaning them is a time-consuming and messy business …

… but well worth it. I wound up with about two-and-a-half pounds of scallops, enough for several great meals based around the sweet delicacy, which, when I checked, was selling for $17 a pound at one of the local fish markets. I like to sauté them in a little olive oil and butter until golden brown; perhaps another night I’ll combine them with tomatoes and some fresh tarragon over pasta. As for wine, white Burgundy or subtly oaked chardonnay from California or Long Island’s North Fork come to mind to complement the richness of the scallops. What would you serve?

del.icio.us Tags: Peconic Bay scallops,North Fork of Long Island,Edward Deitch,Long Island scallops,Wine and Peconic Bay scallops

Sips: With a simple fish dinner, Wild Horse’s superb California verdelho

Sometimes, the simplest meals are truly the best, those that take advantage of the freshest ingredients, the bounty of the season and, of course, just the right wine. The other night proved the point in our house. Is there anything more basic than the freshest flounder fillets broiled with white wine, a sprinkling of fennel seeds and some dabs of butter to give the fish that wonderful, slightly crispy finish? Or, with broiled fish, plain white rice that acts like a sponge to soak up the juices? As for a vegetable, there’s nothing simpler than some just-picked lima beans from a local farm stand, steamed and served with a pinch of salt and a little  butter. The meal was superb in its simplicity and full of outstanding flavors, including the deliciously subtle, slightly nutty taste of the limas.

Clearly, the wine was going to be white. Chardonnay in any number of styles, depending on your preference, would have worked. Sauvignon blanc? Perhaps a bit too aggressive. What about something different? I found the answer in Wild Horse Vineyards’  2010 Verdelho from Paso Robles in California, which turned out to be an excellent match. I think of verdelho mainly as a signature white variety of Spain’s Rioja, although Wild Horse says its wine is inspired more by Australian verdelhos, which I imagine are somewhat richer. In any event, this estate wine is a pleasing, sophisticated verdelho that is at once rich and refreshing and belies its 14.5 percent alcohol. With tastes of pear, herbs and lime, it has a long finish and is a first-rate food wine.  It’s nice and fresh, with 90 percent of the blend aged in stainless steel and the rest in neutral oak. It’s also priced well at $22. Production is limited, with a couple of hundred or so cases made, and it is available only through Wild Horse’s website. It’s well worth ordering.

Technorati Tags: Wild Horse Vineyards,Wild Horse verdelho,California verdelho,Paso Robles,Paso Robles verdelho,Edward Deitch,Spanish wine varieties

Swirls: Wine store tsunami video, wine fashion statement, Chinese wine tasting 101

SWIRL: It’s not often that a wine video gets more than a quarter million views on YouTube, or that that many viewers focus on a liquor store in  Sheboygan, Wisconsin, for that matter. But at Superior  Discount Liquors, the wine was flowing freely the other day after a wall of bottles came tumbling down – 6,810 of them to be precise. You can watch the video below and read about it in sheboyganpress.com, which began its story, “Talk about not being able to hold your liquor.”

 

SWIRL: I’ve never thought about making a fashion statement with the wines I serve, but Banana Republic and California’s Clos du Bois have teamed up to do just that with special limited edition  labels for the winery’s popular North Coast Chardonnay and  Cabernet Sauvignon. Would you be surprised if I told you that the effort was launched just in time for the holidays? According to a press release, the chardonnay features Banana Republic’s “go-to” little black dress and the cab shows “a red full-skirted frock made for romance and dancing the night away.” In case you had any concerns, Clos du Bois Bois’ winemaker, Gary Sitton, says, “"We are still offering the same quality and consistency of the wine itself, but with a festive twist that makes it even more enjoyable to drink." The wines sell for under $20. By the way, a quick check of Banana Republic’s website reveals – surprise! – no fewer than 13 little black dresses for sale.

SWIRL: With China developing an almost unquenchable thirst for wine and the wine world counting its blessing for that fact, there remains the challenge of teaching the Chinese about wine basics – everything from how to use a corkscrew to deciphering western-Oriented tasting notes. The Chinese, notes CNN, have little familiarity with blackberry or licorice.

Technorati Tags: Banana Republic,Clos du Bois,Edward Deitch,Clos du Bois and Banana Republic,Wine marketing,Gary Sitton,Superior Discount Liquors,YouTube wine,Wine videos,Sheboygan Press,China wine,CNN wine,Chinese wine market

Sips: How Sweet It Isn’t – A Superb Dry California Riesling

Like the issue of climate change, the notion that dry riesling exists in this world still has its detractors -- those who believe that riesling is always sweet. Just the other day I found myself explaining the facts about riesling once again to someone who winced when I brought up the wine. For further irrefutable evidence, one need only turn to Trefethen’s delightful 2010 Dry Riesling from the Oak Knoll District of the Napa Valley. For me, this is Trefethen’s signature wine and the 2010, just released at $22, is a refreshing and complex in its aromas and tastes, which include white peach, green apple, orange and touches of ginger and white pepper. A wet stone aroma announces unmistakably that this is riesling. Minerals provide some texture to the long finish. The wine is a natural match for sushi as well as broiled flounder fillets and chicken  and makes for a crisp and refreshing aperitif. Alcohol is 12.5 percent. On the back label, Trefethen utilizes a very useful riesling sweetness scale that should be embraced by more in the industry. Based on levels of residual sugar, it tells consumers exactly where a wine stands on a scale from completely dry to very sweet. Received as a press sample.

   

Sips: Enjoying two superb white wine values from the Finger Lakes

As I continue to focus on New York wines this summer, two whites from the Finger Lakes region stand out for warm-weather drinking, both of them from one of the region’s leading wineries. And as I post this after a dramatic day on Wall Street, with the  Dow dropping more than 600 points, it’s also worth pointing out that they are both under $15.  

It’s well known in the wine world that the cool-climate Finger Lakes produce some superb rieslings, and Heron Hill’s 2009 New York Dry Riesling not only supports that fact but demonstrates superb value at the modest price of $14. This light, lovely wine shows a good deal of complexity, with guava and other tropical fruit notes, tangerine, lime and a wet-stone minerality that distinguishes it from rieslings with lesser pedigrees. Its ample acidity not only makes it a thirst-quenching aperitif in these dog days of summer but an excellent match for a variety of lighter foods, including sushi, sautéed or broiled fluke fillets or other freshly caught fish, salads and grilled chicken. Alcohol is 12 percent.

I was also impressed by Heron Hill’s 2009 Ingle Vineyard  Unoaked Chardonnay, a single-vineyard wine that also sells for $14. The problem with many chardonnays made without exposure to oak is that they lack interest and depth beyond the fruit. In this one, however, the fruit notes, mainly green apple and lime, are balanced – enhanced might be a better word – by a delightful mineral component that gives the wine a lively complexity and reminded me of Chablis, the chardonnay from Burgundy also made, in its basic examples, without oak. This one, with alcohol also at 12 percent, will go especially well with grilled tuna and striped bass, as well as chicken and pork. What makes these wines so appealing to me is their finesse, achieved in part by their modest alcohol levels and cool-weather acidity.  Click here to go to Heron Hill’s Web site. Wines received as press samples.

Technorati Tags: Heron Hill Winery,Finger Lakes,Finger Lakes riesling,Finger Lakes wines,Finger Lakes chardonnay,Edward Deitch,Dry riesling,Unoaked chardonnay,New York wines,Wall Street,Value wines,Under-$15 wines

Sips: A sampling of top Long Island wines for summer drinking

When the editors of a new website, Metrofocus.org based here in New York, asked me to contribute a piece on New York wines,  I decided to focus this first article on the wines of Long Island’s East End, particularly the North Fork, where most of the region’s 60-plus wineries and vineyards are located.  The wines, which I have been following closely for many years, are worth seeking out for their elegance and relatively low levels of alcohol. Among others, you’ll find lots of crisp, fresh whites that are perfect for summer drinking. Click here to read my article, which includes a list of five top Long Island wines I found in my tastings. Wines received as press samples.

Technorati Tags: McCall Wines,Long Island wines,North Fork wines,Long Island East End,Edward Deitch,Croteaux Vineyards,Lieb Cellars,Channing Daughters,Jamesport Vineyards,New York wines

Sips: A $15 white Burgundy stands out, defying the region’s high-price image

Finding chardonnay with character at prices that won’t break the bank is often a challenging proposition. With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I opened a bottle of Bourgogne, the broadest appellation in France’s Burgundy, where the region’s famed chardonnays (and pinot noirs) are made in very small quantities and command stratospheric prices.

J.J. Vincent’s 2008 Bourgogne Blanc, by contrast, provides real Burgundy character at the unbeatable price of $15 or under,  according to retailers listed on wine-searcher.com. Few chardonnays I’ve tasted recently offer the level of complexity this one does at such a modest price.

I enjoyed sipping it on its own before dinner and then with grilled wild salmon marinated in soy sauce, maple syrup and lime. Notes of apple, orange and a touch of brown sugar are supported by refreshing acidity and a good deal of minerality on the finish. Oak treatment is subtle. I think this wine, with its roundness, has also benefited from a year or so in the bottle. It will match well with all kinds of seafood, shellfish, chicken and pork dishes. Alcohol is listed at 13 percent.

J.J. Vincent, by the way, is a leading winery in the Mâcon region of southern Burgundy and is best known for Pouilly-Fuissé, including wines produced by its famed Château-Fuissé.  Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons, New York. Received as a press sample.

Technorati Tags: J.J. Vincent,J.J. Vincent Bourgogne Blanc,Burgundy,White Burgundy,Château-Fuissé,Macon,Affordable chardonnays,Value chardonnays,French chardonnays,Edward Deitch,Frederick Wildman and Sons,Mâcon wines

Sips: Long Island’s ‘Early Wine’ and ‘Right Coast Red’ stand out

I’ve been tasting a range of wines from the East End of Long Island in recent weeks, mainly from the North Fork, where the vast majority of the region’s 60 or so vineyards and wineries are located.  Among others, two under-$20 wines stand out for  casual, warm-weather summer drinking.

Macari Vineyards’ 2010 “Early Wine” Chardonnay brings to mind green apples and lime and may be this region’s best answer to Portugal’s Vinho Verde with its fresh and fruity style and, as far as American wines are concerned, its relatively low alcohol, which is listed as 11.5 percent. It was harvested by the winery in Mattituck late last August, fermented without oak and bottled less than six weeks later. Served quite cold on a warm and humid evening, it was a delightful apéritif and will serve well accompanying local fluke, either sautéed or marinated into ceviche, or with fried calamari or clams. Production was 1,045 cases. $17.

When friends invited us over last weekend for grilled pizza, the best of several wines we tried with these delicious homemade pies was Lieb Family Cellars’ 2008 Right Coast Red, an easy drinking yet interesting blend of 45 percent merlot, 20 percent cabernet sauvignon, 20 percent cab franc, 12 percent malbec and three percent petit verdot. Lots of red and dark fruit here, with blackberry, blueberry and raspberry notes, a subtle overlay of cedar and a peppery note. Yummy wine. The $30 price tag surprised me, but I guess that’s part of the price of drinking “local.” I also like that the bottle has a screw cap. Alcohol is 13.5 percent. Wines received as press samples.

Technorati Tags: Early Wine,Right Coast Red,Macari Vineyards,Lieb Family Cellars,North Fork wines,Long Island wine,Long Island blends,Long Island chardonnay,Edward Deitch,East End wines

Video: Five great summer white wines

Last night I joined Chuck Scarborough on his NY Nightly News program on WNBC’s New York Nonstop Channel to talk about five exciting white wines for summer. For detailed information about the wines, see the post just below this one.

View more videos at: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/

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Sips: Five Top White Wines for Summer

When I was asked to put together a summer wine segment and appear on WNBC’s New York Nonstop channel, I immediately thought of lighter whites that are easy to drink, match well with a variety of simply prepared foods and are good values. Beyond that, I wanted to introduce viewers to some wines they might not have heard about that are very much worth exploring. With that in mind, I chose five wines from five countries, each made from a different grape. What unifies them is that they are refreshing as both aperitif and food wines, especially with fish and simple chicken dishes, and are made without fermentation or aging in oak. Although I have nothing against chardonnay, I decided to keep chardonnay out of the mix this time around because it is so well known and popular. So, enjoy these five whites with your summer dining. I’ll have many more to share in coming weeks.

Channing Daughters 2010 Sauvignon Blanc “Mudd West Vineyard,” Long Island. $20. Light, delicate and elegant sauvignon from this Bridgehampton winery. The wine is made from grapes grown in a North Fork vineyard and shows subtle green apple, herb and citrus notes.

La Cala 2009 Vermentino di Sardegna, Sardinia, Italy. $12. A delicious example of this Mediterranean variety, this is an easy-to-drink yet interesting wine that will pair well with a variety of foods. Pear and apple notes and a good deal of minerality. A natural for linguine with white clam sauce. Imported by Palm Bay International, Boca Raton, Florida.

Domaine Félines Jourdan 2010 Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc, France. $13. One of my favorite wines of the summer so far. Picpoul de Pinet is the name of the grape and it’s grown only in Languedoc very close to the Mediterranean Sea. The domaine, which I visited last month on a tour of Languedoc, overlooks oyster farms, and the wine, in fact, is just perfect with oysters. Very fresh with a little brininess, good acidity and lots of complexity. Notes of lemon, herbs, a little honey and vanilla and a good deal of minerality on the finish. Imported by Gabriella Importers, Bohemia, New York.

Viore 2010 Verdejo, Rueda, Spain. $9. I’ve been tasting a lot of verdejos in the last month or so and was newly impressed with this variety, which is the most important white grape in the Rueda region. This one is quite racy and almost jumps out of the glass. Complex with notes of apricot, tangerine, some herbs and smoke on the long finish. Imported by Vintage Wines, Staten Island, New York.

Trapiche 2010 Torrontés, Mendoza, Argentina. $8. Torrontes has become a new darling among fresh and lively white wines, and I saved this one for last on tonight’s TV segment because it’s the most aggressive of the five whites. The variety is highly aromatic and this one, beyond the flower notes, is like biting into an orange. It’s a warm-weather thirst quencher and a real bargain at just $8. Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons, New York.