Swirls: more on Clinton wedding wine

As The Wedding approaches today, lots of outlets are carrying the story of how residents inconvenienced by all the activity involving the Chelsea Clinton-Marc Mezvinsky nuptials  in Rhinebeck, New York, were given bottles of Clinton Vineyards’ Tribute. The wine is a seyval blanc, a white variety, and the New York Post appears to have gotten it wrong by calling it a sauvignon blanc, which the winery does not produce. But then again, the Post isn’t especially known for its wine coverage. In any event, we’ll be watching for more details of what wines were served at the wedding today as they trickle out from folks who attended.

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Swirls: A Clinton wedding and a Clinton winery; an iPad wine list, and a ‘Nat Decants’ app

SWIRL:  The wines of Clinton Vineyards in Clinton Corners, N.Y. are getting the kind of attention this weekend that money alone can’t buy but that money and a Clinton wedding certainly can.  Though the wall of silence remains on details of Chelsea Clinton’s wedding to Marc Mezvinsky in Rhinebeck, N.Y., Wine Spectator has a juicy little tidbit on guests receiving a bottle of the winery’s Tribute, a seyval blanc.

SWIRL: While most people might consider it downright rude to break out an iPad in a restaurant (the iPod and iPhone are much easier to conceal in one’s lap), at least one high-end restaurant in  New York, South Gate, is using the iPad to feature its wine list, along with label images and other photographs. Seems like a cool idea indeed, although the iPad’s cost, starting at $499, might give “expensive wine list” new meaning. Read more at geek.com.

 

SWIRL: And speaking of apps, the Canadian wine journalist Natalie MacLean, who is something of a one-woman wine  information industry, has a new mobile app that culls a great deal from her Nat Decants Web site, including 380,000 wine and food pairings (can there possibly be that many?) and thousands of wine reviews and recipes, among other things.

 

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Swirls: rolling the dice on a restaurant wine list

Some restaurants continue to take their customers for granted when it comes to the wine end of the equation. Take the experience I had the other night at a beachfront restaurant at a  resort town that will go unnamed because the point here is to illustrate an issue rather than to point a finger at any specific establishment. This was a “family style” restaurant in a great location with  standard fare, ranging from pizzas and pastas to burgers and lobster rolls, steamed mussels and various salads -- you get the idea. The wine list was standard as well, with maybe 15 bottles, most of them familiar names at somewhat inflated resort prices.

I settled on the 2008 Sycamore Lane Chardonnay. The wine caught my interest because, at $30 and with a “Santa Barbara, California” appellation listed, it seemed like a potentially good value. Or so I thought. Our friendly server appeared with the bottle and announced, “Here’s your wine.” But, in reality it wasn’t “our wine.” I noticed as she held the bottle that the vintage was 2009 not 2008. Strike one, as as a sinking feeling started to come over me. For one thing, I realized that any chance of at least a little bottle age in our chardonnay was gone. Then, as I tasted it, I noted that this was a pretty generic wine – drinkable but undistinguished. Strike two. Still, I nodded to our young server that it was okay, deciding that it wasn’t worth rocking the boat in front of our friends and children. On closer inspection, the label revealed a “California” appellation, the broadest and most generic, so the grapes really could have been from anywhere in the state. Strike three. In any event, as our food came and we settled in, the wine seemed, well, fine. And that may be the point. Most people may not realize the difference or care, but for those of us who do, is it too much to ask that the information on the wine list reflect what’s on the label and in the bottle? For $30 or potentially much more, I think not.

del.icio.us Tags: Wine lists,Wine in restaurants,Restaurant wines,Edward Deitch,California wine,Restaurant wine prices

Sips: Enjoying Schramsberg’s superb sparkling rosé

Just before going out to dinner last night, we broke out a bottle of Schramsberg’s 2006 Brut Rosé with friends, and we were not disappointed. I’ve become a real Schramsberg fan over the  years  -- the winery’s all-chardonnay Blanc de Blanc is a  favorite --and I would put the Brut Rosé right up there in terms of complex and rewarding sparklers. Pale salmon in color, the wine reveals enticing aromas of bread and citrus. In the mouth, the bubbles are very fine and the tastes include red berry, lemon-lime and an herb touch that gives it an interesting end note. The citrus also lingers as it goes down. The wine is nicely balanced with zippy acidity, which makes it truly refreshing and an excellent companion for food. It matched particularly well with a smoked trout cream spread. The blend is 68 percent pinot noir and 32 percent chardonnay. The grapes come from Carneros, the Anderson Valley and the Sonoma and Marin County coastal areas. Alcohol is 12.6 percent. The suggested price is $41, which isn’t exactly a bargain, but when you think of all those lesser $10-a-glass wines at restaurants and wine bars, it kind of puts things in perspective. Besides, on a clear summer evening with a cool breeze, the wine seemed just perfect for the season.  (Received as a press sample.)

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Swirls: the fastest-growing wine variety; California wine exports to China; wines by the glass

SWIRL: The fastest growing white wine variety in the United States in terms of sales is – drum roll, please -- riesling. Jim Trezise, president of the International Riesling Foundation, which promotes the grape, made the observation at this month’s Riesling Rendezvous in Bellevue, Washington.  However, he said, the “food friendliness” of riesling isn’t recognized by many wine drinkers, and consumers who don’t drink riesling aren’t particularly interested in trying it. At least at this point. One tool the riesling industry is promoting, with some success, is a very useful dry-to-sweet scale for the back labels on riesling bottles that tells consumers (and retailers) exactly where a bottle of riesling stands.

SWIRL: China’s growth as a wine-consuming country has been very good news for some wine regions. Bordeaux, for example, now counts China as a vital market for its wines. There’s evidence as well that American wineries are benefiting. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that  California exports to China grew a whopping 64 percent between 2008 and 2009.

SWIRL: Wine by the glass is still a very mixed bag in restaurants when it comes to depth and quality. In general, if you and a friend are each going to have a couple of glasses of wine, it pays to consider ordering a bottle, which will provide more choices and potential cost savings. That said, the AP reports that more restaurants are expanding wine-by-the-glass programs, including, yes, wines on tap.

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Sips: St. Supéry’s notable un-oaked chardonnay

When it comes to un-oaked versions of chardonnay, the standard for me is Chablis, the northern Burgundy appellation where most  of the wines are made without exposure to wood but have a good deal of complexity thanks to their distinct minerality.  Unfortunately, it’s more difficult to find that character in un-oaked chardonnays from California, and the wines often suffer from a one-dimensionality without the added element of barrel  aging. One wine that succeeds, however, is St. Supéry’s 2009 Oak Free Chardonnay from the Napa Valley.

I brought a bottle of it to a dinner the other night -- friends roasted a whole 16-pound striped bass on the grill with lots of fresh thyme, parsley and lemon -- and the wine was a great way to start things off as eight of us got ready to feast on this magnificent fish outdoors on a cool evening under a  moon-filled sky. The wine is notable for its refreshing style, and one  of our friends said it reminded her of sauvignon blanc with its slightly grassy and citrus notes. I myself found a good deal of grapefruit and green apple in the mix and, interestingly, the wine turns out to be 99 percent chardonnay and one percent sauvignon blanc, demonstrating how a little bit of sauvignon can go a long way.  Alcohol is 13.5 percent and acidity is ample, making this not only an excellent food wine but one that nicely whets the appetite for things to come. The suggested price is $22. (Received as a press sample.)

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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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