From the Mailbag -- peanut butter

Hello, everyone...

In the interest of keeping the vine growing, I thought I'd post and answer some of the reader questions that I get from time to time, rather than waiting to do a separate mailbag column. So, to start us off, something from Vine reader Lynn A.:

So what is the best wine to accompany peanut butter?(Creamy, not crunchy!)

An interesting question, to be sure. Peanut butter...hmm...

When I'm considering a wine pairing, the first thing I think about are what the major flavor characteristic are of a particular food. In this case, peanut butter would give you creamy and salty. What are the complementary flavor types. Creamy would point you towards white wine, since the acidity helps cleans your palate. Salty -- well, I don't know about you, but I like sweet with my salty. What's the traditional peanut butter partner? Fruit jelly!

So, a white wine with some sweetness in it to counterbalance and complement those flavors -- the first thing that jumps to my mind is Riesling -- especially a somewhat sweeter Riesling. You'd probably be OK with most domestic ones that aren't labeled "Dry Riesling." German Rieslings tend to be a little more nuanced, and you'd probably lose that with your basic peanut butter sandwich.

That's my recommendation. Other ideas from out there?

Wine and...pub grub?

Vine reader Lee D. posits this scenario:

I joined a group last week at a (sports - of course) bar where multiple screens were showing Blues Hockey, Cardinals Baseball, Mizzou Football, and even though people roll their eyes about the Rams, they're still the home team, by gum! As I perused the menu and thought about which elixir would go down best, I felt very uncomfortable even implying (with discernible hesitation and accompanying raised eyebrows) I might throw beer and wings to the wind and satiate my lust for the vine. The confused group looked at me as if I had six heads. Additionally, the added peer pressure made it difficult to order a nice pairing with confidence.

What's a wine gal to do? Could you suggest strategies for making quick and confident selections of food/wine based on the traditional watering hole menu? There are usually more wines than just the "house", but I don't want to merely partake alone in my corner; I want to inspire.

Hmm...inspiration and nachos often go hand in hand -- but nachos and wine? Hmm...this one's going to take some thought...

Disclaimer: I am not referring to "bars" like Friday's, Applebee's, Chili's, or other apostrophe'd chain restaurants that are ostensibly watering holes. These zits on the face of most American suburbs offer broader food options and "wine lists," but they're the gastronomic equivalent of a bachelor/bachelorette party -- sure, you can make a ruckus with your friends and you'll probably end up buzzed and full, but you'll wonder what happened to your evening, your wallet, and your sense of self-respect afterwards.

Most bars, pubs, taverns, etc. offer some kind of hot (as opposed to haute) cuisine. The menu usually consists of various forms of absorptive, high sodium items usually created for sharing, scarfing, and grazing unthinkingly while your focus is elsewhere. These selections, as Lee pointed out above, usually cry for beer -- often for cheap, light lager-ish beer. Why is that?

Well, let's think about that. We're not talking craft brews here -- those are usually better appreciated on their own. Your typical lagers that you'll find at a bar are usually served ice cold, so you can't taste much. They're watery, which washes the salt out of your mouth. (Which is, after all, the point of salty bar food -- keeps you drinking!) Thanks to the hops, they're also mildly acidic, which counteracts the heat caused by the bases you find in your average jalapeno popper. Beer's your most flexible choice -- but we want wine here.

OK, first off, as with most nights you're going out, start by lowering your expectations. You've got to be realistic. Most bar owners aren't interested in keeping a well-stocked wine cellar. They're often thinking, "Red, check. White, check. Pink, check. OK, on to the Jagerbomb makings..." Thankfully, as wine's popularity permeated the mainstream "going out" crowd, bars began stocking something other than Sutter Home White Zinfandel to feed a particular stereotype.

So, what should you expect? Uncomplicated wines (read: "California or Australian") are the order of the day, so you don't have to worry about screwing up a pairing. You can almost always bet on three wines for sure: a cabernet sauvignon of some kind; a chardonnay (which will probably be the "house white"); and a white zinfandel. Merlot's not uncommon, and there's usually a pinot grigio lying around somewhere. Riesling is becoming more common -- usually the sweet versions, and places trying to be classy might have a pinot noir.

The brand of wine probably won't matter much. I made reference way back when to a friend's descriptions of many cheap quaffs as "pop tart wines" because they're so interchangeable. Most of the wines you'll see are in that category. When the server comes, just ask what kinds of wine they have. If he or she doesn't know, send them back to the bar to find out -- at the very least, that will buy you some time to run down the few pub grub pairing rules:

Rule #1: Bubbly. I've said it over and over again -- the best wine pairing with the salty, fatty foods that you're likely to find in any of these establishments is going to be a sparkling wine. Many bars don't carry it, but if you're lucky enough to be in a place that does, go with it. It doesn't matter what kind -- dry works just as well as sweet for this purpose. Swallow your pride and some Asti Spumante. So what if people look at you crosswise for drinking bubbly in a bar? If there are enough sporting events on, you can always say that you're celebrating something. And before long...you probably will be!

Rule #2: When in doubt, white.
This may sound somewhat emasculating to men who have a strange aversion to wine that's not big, powerful, and dark -- but get over it. If you want a good flavor, this is generally going to be the way to go. Wines that are tannic or high in alcohol don't generally play well with foods that are high in salt. Salt and tannic wine combine to taste "hot" and a bit unpleasant. White wine has a couple of other things going for it, too. The higher acidity makes for a more flexible food pairing. Acidic wines like pinot grigio will either quiet spices or go more easily with flavors. Also, as anyone who's ever eaten French fries with ketchup or chocolate covered pretzels can attest, sweet and salty make a delightful combination. Inexpensive white wine often has a little bit of sweetness, because a little bit of sugar covers up a whole lot of poor winemaking. Use this to your advantage. Actually, while white zin gets a particularly bad rap for being sweet, bubbleheaded plonk -- the very thing that makes it palatable to people who "don't like wine" make it particularly good with your typical bar menu. It's sweet and tart -- so it'll work with just about anything. However, if you go that route, tell everyone that it's actually a dry rosé so you can maintain a modicum of dignity.

Rule #3: Remember the four food groups. When you peruse the menu, keep in mind the four pub grub food groups: spicy, meaty, fried, and cheesy. These are used in various combinations and permutations, but almost anything you're going to order will slide into one of these categories. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to determine which flavor will be dominant. If you're getting a burger or barbecue -- your reds will be better. Spicy foods call for something acidic or sweet -- which is going to bring you back to pinot grigio or Riesling if they have one around. If you really want red and you're lucky enough to have a red Zinfandel as an option, you could go that way with it. With fried foods, pretty much anything white will beat anything red, especially if it's battered up. And with cheesy? This is where you can break out some of that house chardonnay that you may have noticed we haven't discussed at all...

Washington State

After my foray with Maryhill Winery, I jealously read K2's "Washington Wine road trip." The state's been pretty good to me lately, so I thought I might as well take a little closer look at the place, especially since a broader variety keep showing up in the wine stores around and about.

On the world wine stage, Washington's a relative newcomer. Not long after settlers started moving to the Pacific Northwest in great numbers in the late 1880's...along came Prohibition to throw a big ol' monkey wrench into the works. Once the Dark Ages were over, Washington started producing some wines -- but most of them were of the sweet, jug variety. "Actual" wine production really got moving in the 60's and 70's, and some of the more recognizable labels (Columbia Winery, Chateau St. Michele) started showing up.

Washington wines were largely a curiosity nationwide until the merlot boom of the 1990's. Washington's soil and cooler climate were perfect, it turned out, for cranking out large quantities of relatively inexpensive, approachable merlot. This gave the state a real foothold in the American market and it's been solid ever since.

My image of the Pacific Northwest didn’t exactly match up with "perfect grape growing environment." When I think of Washington, I think of snow-capped mountains, gorgeous rivers, Pearl Jam, and lots of rain. Grapes like to grow in dry soil -- and dry is not the first thing most people think of regarding Washington climate. What kind of amphibious grapes are they growing out there?

The answer lies, as it usually does, in geography.All but one of the viticultural (WineSpeak for "wine grape growing") regions lie to the east of the Cascade Mountains. While western Washington is very wet, the Cascades form enough of a tall, solid wall that the clouds end up dropping all their moisture on the west side of the mountains, leaving the eastern side extremely arid, but with irrigation water available. Couple this with sandy, volcanic soil, and you've got a dreamy place for a vinifera grape vine to drop roots.

You'll see a lot of similar varietals from both California and Washington. If you try them side-by-side, though, you'll probably notice a pretty sharp difference. Especially among the reds, Washington wines tend to be "softer" wines. Cooler climates allow grapes to ripen more slowly. The fruit and tannin tend to be more subtle. I've rarely run into a fruit bomby merlot from Washington, especially among inexpensive ones -- whereas if you try a merlot from California at the same price point, you'll get a big, fat dark berry in the face.

A nice example I found lately was the Dusted Valley 2006 "Boomtown" Merlot. At first sip, I noted how much lighter this wine tasted. It also started off almost tart, so I decanted it, and the flavors balanced pretty well. The tartness eases a bit as some air gets to it. The nose is raspberryish and tasty. The flavor isn't overly fruity, sliding more towards an easy smokiness. By itself, I thought it was OK -- but we put next to a somewhat complicated-spice meal and it performed beautifully. On the menu: roasted pork chops in a Moroccan (read: nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon-heavy) spice blend, sautéed pears in a sauce of apricots, onions, honey, and more of that spice blend. The spices, being largely bases, cut the tartness in the wine -- allowing more of the cherry and berry fruit character to show through -- and it smoothed out the spices as well. This one was around $15 for a spice-friendly, light meat answering wine.

Washington also produces a fair number of other Bordeaux-type grapes. Cabernet Sauvignon is fairly common, and Bordeaux blends of Cabernet and Merlot are easy to find. I popped open a Washington blend and found some interesting iterations. The Kiona 2003 Cabernet/Merlot was a fascinating blend, especially for $9. The wine had an interesting "French funk" on the nose that I would not have expected. The body had some muted fruit and earthiness that could easily have passed for a young Bordeaux. The finish was slightly fruity, and definitely a major value if you're into some more Francophilic selections. This one also demonstrates the aging potential of some of those wines -- since it's held up flawlessly for six years in a low price point.

There are a number of good pinot noirs as well, although they can sometimes be a little hard to track down. (Oregon is usually the better bet for pinot.)

Among whites, Washington is known widely for some very good Rieslings and Gewurztraminers. They're made in a wide variety of styles, and I've tried a couple of examples lately. The other day, I had the Chateau St. Michele Cold Creek Vineyard 2006 Riesling -- CSM is one of the best-known Washington wineries and, along with Hogue, always produces a bottle that I know I can count on. I've thought their regular Riesling is always a little too sweet and slightly sharp, but this "single vineyard" version still comes in at around $13 and is a significant improvement. It's got a slightly "oily" nose with plenty of apple and melon scents. The body is very smooth. It's nicely balanced -- it reminds me a lot of a German Kabinett. The fruit holds firm and doesn't get lost in some of the sharpness that some Rieslings have on the end. The finish is soft and pleasant. It was an absolutely exceptional pairing with a potato, leek, and fennel soup topped with smoked salmon.

I also cracked the Barnard Griffin 2008 Columbia Valley Riesling. Quite a contrast. It's very light for a Riesling -- almost Chardonnayish in feel-- with a flint and lemon nose. The flavor was very crisp and minerally. Some tasty green apples at first, but it mellows a little to a creamy lemon. The citrusy finish is a little tingly, almost like there's a little spice or carbonation. Good acidity. There are few Rieslings I'd consider "refreshing," but this one fills that bill. It also matched up well with a chicken & chickpea curry.

Washington wines, for me, have always been good, reliable choices. Many of my "go to" inexpensive bottles have been from there -- and as I'm trying more wines from there, I'm realizing just how much depth this region has. The winemakers up there do experiment quite a bit, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the next "big thing" from there will be.

Maryhill Winery

When I attended the Cincinnati International Wine Festival, I noted that Maryhill Wineries in Goldendale, Washington, was one of the labels with which I was the most intrigued. While my palate was somewhat blunted by the cacophony of flavors that I'd been working with that day, I found myself really drawn to Maryhill. They were priced right, seemed tasty and straightforward, and were easy to quaff.

They grow a broad variety of grapes, which can sometimes give pause, but they manage to keep the quality fairly consistent. Most of their wines are in the $10-20 range, which makes them quite attractive. Since the festival, Maryhill's done pretty well for itself. They were recently named the 2009 Washington Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest. Their production has expanded greatly over the last few years, and their wines are becoming much more available.

I was understandably pleased when a case and a half of the wine showed up on our doorstep to review. The Sweet Partner in Crime and I were up to the challenge, so over the period of a few weeks, we cobbled together some notes:

Maryhill Winery 2006 Cabernet Franc -- Because of a story too long to relate here that involved a Sangiovese that was...um..."missing" from our cellar, a rosé that ended up being too sweet, and a football game we needed to watch -- I ended up popping this wine on a night when we were having a more "Italian Friendly" meal. (I also ended up pulling a little trickeration on the SPinC...) This is definitely a more fruit-forward, "New World" Cab Franc. A plummy, slightly minty nose with a full mouthfeel. The flavor is quite fruity, with a nice blueberry and smoke undertone. I might have mistaken it for a Cabernet Sauvignon, except the tannins were much softer and the acidity level considerably higher. The finish is acidic and a bit smoky. We had a grilled salmon with roasted tomatoes and tomato risotto for dinner that evening. The pairing worked really well. The grilled flavor of the fish accentuated the smoke behind the fruit in the wine. The acidity tamed the oil in the fish, and the tomatoes didn't overwhelm it, as they could have. I opened another bottle of this with friends Danny and Ryan. We got to this one after a couple of other bottles and some tastes of old scotch. Surprisingly, the fruit still made it to our scorched tongues. ($18)

Maryhill Winery 2008 Rose of Sangiovese -- For folks who like slightly sweet rosés, this will be a favorite. I'd be interested to know how this wine came about. It's somewhat heavy in the mouth for a rosé, since it's got a fair amount of residual sugar. There's enough acidity to keep it from becoming cloyingly sweet, but I can't say that it was my favorite. It's actually the rosé I mentioned in the Cab Franc writeup. I think it would have been better if it were either made in a fruitier style or allowed to dry out a bit more. The sweetness made it neither fish nor fowl. (Although it might be reasonably tasty with either -- $14.)

Maryhill Winery 2007 Pinot Gris -- "Simple and uncomplicated" is about as apt a description as you'll find for this wine. It's a straightforward, summery wine. The nose is extremely light and lemony. The flavor is much like the bouquet, light and citrusy with some pear and lemon flavors. The finish is quick and acidic, with a bit of a lingering astringency -- almost like a little bit of oak crept through -- but not enough to really be a strong part of the flavor. There's also a little peppery hint as well. It's a decent enough wine. Not my favorite pinot gris, but certainly one that works well enough on a hot day to relax with. ($15)

Maryhill Winery 2006 Zinfandel -- We first tried this as a "second bottle" of the evening. We'd had dinner and had a bottle of pinot noir with it. We were having post-meal chocolate, and the SPinC asked, "Do we have anything that's good with chocolate?" After surveying the scene, I cracked this open. After it opened up a bit -- the nose is big and bold with blueberries and bubblegum. The palate is uncomplicated, but nicely jammy with more blueberry and raspberry flavors. This slides smoothly into a finish with balanced tannins and great flavors of dark chocolate and coffee. And yes, it went remarkably well with dark chocolate and brownies. We had to try both with it...you know, for science's sake. ($22)

Maryhill Winery 2008 Viognier -- We were putting together a salad of our garden veggies, some grilled chicken, and a balsamic vinaigrette and hadn't opened a wine for it yet. I took a shot in the dark here, and it paid off. The nose of this wine is less floral than many viogniers, nosing more of light wood and minerals than of flowers. The flavor is a medium bodied mix of pear and pineapple with a touch of the traditional viognier oiliness. Vanilla dominated the finish. Quite tasty. The salad had a number of strong flavors -- citrus, smoke from the grilled chicken, fresh lemon basil, earth from mushrooms, and this wine stood right up next to it all. It didn't overwhelm the salad's flavors, but it didn't turn either insipid or astringent. A great wine to pair with the salad. The longer the wine sat, the more pronounced the smokiness and vanilla became. I'd really consider letting this sit open for a half hour before diving in. We confirmed the pair's quality at the end when the SPinC reached for the bottle and said, "Hey...well...this sure didn't last long...." One of the highlights and a steal at $15.

Maryhill Winery 2006 Proprietor's Reserve Malbec -- We cracked this on a night where we'd both had a long week and wanted to put together a nice meal. We'd watched a few episodes of some old Julia Child shows from Netflix and we decided to try our hand at some green beans and stuffed mushrooms. For a main course, we marinated up a London broil in some vinaigrette and lime juice and tossed it on the grill. Grilled food & Malbec. We figured we couldn't lose. Nice nose of vanilla and dark fruit. I might have mistaken it for a good Merlot. Nice smooth, balanced fruit on the palate that slides easily towards a finish full of vanilla, pepper, and coffee. It's a very balanced Malbec without some of the really harsh tannins that some of them can have. It's also not quite as spicy, so if that's what you're focusing on, that's probably not going to ring a bell for you. But if you're looking for more of a balanced flavor, it's nice. I get the sense, also, that this is somewhat of an "experimental," limited production wine. It's about $30, so I might wait a couple of years on this one, unless you want to lay it up for a few years, which could prove interesting.

Maryhill Winery 2006 Syrah -- I'm very glad we had a spare bottle of this one from the shipment. We opened the first one and it drank easily enough that we went through the whole thing without writing a note! Second time through, we had it with what started as fajitas and turned into a "lots of beef, peppers, garlic and onions over black beans" meal. Yeah, so it might not have been the "perfect pairing," but it worked nonetheless. Really nice nose on this wine -- plenty of vanilla and soft wood scents. It's medium-bodied for a syrah, slightly jammy -- good blackberry flavor and some pepperiness. Good, easy finish with some lasting clove and coffee flavors. We made the meal with more of a smoky heat than a spicy one (Tabasco Chipotle sauce is great stuff...), and the peppery notes complemented those spices nicely. Again, dangerously easy to drink, but we held off a little for chocolate, and we were glad we did. ($20)

Maryhill Winery 2006 "Winemaker's Red" -- The Maryhill "Bordeaux Blend with a twist" is their most popular wine. It's a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, with the "twist" being some Syrah thrown in for good measure. It's got an interestingly plummy, funky nose -- very earthy for a wine from the Northwest. Like a Bordeaux, it's lighter on the palate than many of the California meritages, so they've got the body right. The finish is where the wine was a tad disappointing. Initially, the finish seemed a little watery, smoky and clipped. After some serious swirling (and drinking about half a glass), some coffee notes come forth and the balance improves. Not the most complicated wine, but very drinkable. I wonder what it would be like with another year in bottle. A decent value at $14.

Maryhill Winery 2006 Proprietor's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon -- The few cabs that I've had from the Pacific Northwest have tended to be mellow, "drink me now" concoctions. The cooler climate tends to make more subtle wines. Maryhill's Cab is certainly subtle, but it carries a little muscle with it. It's not as powerful as many of the California versions, but it is a full wine just the same. The nose simply wasn't there at first, but after an hour of breathing and quite a bit of swirling, I got rewarded with a very smooth, licorice and berry nose. The palate is fruity once the wine opens. At first, it's a wall of tannin, but the fruit does emerge. Once it does, lots of dark fruit and coffee. The finish is long and a bit heavy on the tannin. With the steak we had for dinner, though, that tannin was a bonus -- allowing the wine's fruit to show up and balance the meat, the mushrooms, and even the wilted spinach. With the mandatory chocolate and cabernet pairing, we were a bit underwhelmed. It was good -- but the flavors didn't quite marry. The reserve is $36. (Their "normal" cab is $20.) Would be a good one to grab a few bottles of and stick in the cellar for 3-4 years. Once the tannins have calmed, this'll be a rock star.

To sum up, with the exception of the pinot gris, I'd recommend most of these. (Warm weather whites like pinot gris generally don't do as well in the Northwest, in my experience.) The price is right for most of them and they've all got some depth for wines at these price points. If you can find these in your local store, give them a go.

Burgundy, Domaine Chanson & The Phoenix

I’m going to relive the Phoenix’s recent wine dinner -- not just so you all get to hear about how perfectly cooked the lamb was, how fresh the vegetables tasted, or what absolutely splendid pairings got rolled out for us during the course of the evening.

I hadn’t had the opportunity to try that many Burgundies at once (there were six -- three red and three white) to get a sense of the variations in flavor and style. The experience was reminiscent of this May at the Vintner Select anniversary celebration when I had the chance to plow through flights of Barolo and Barbaresco. I’ll share my observations, but I’ll back up a bit and give a little background on the region first.

As I’ve mentioned before, understanding French wine can be notoriously tricky. (I’ve barely made a dent in what I feel like I need to know, honestly.) French wines are labeled by region of origin rather than by grape; each region may have a number of subregions, each of which can have its own blend of grapes; names can be very similar; quality can vary wildly by vintage for various reasons; and so on. Burgundy is one of the easiest wine regions in France to understand. Just remember this:

Reds are made from Pinot Noir. Whites are made from Chardonnay.

That’s all you need to know to start.

(Yes, like all rules – there are exceptions. The lovely light reds from the Beaujolais subregion are made from Gamay, and there are a few places that grow a couple of places that grow a couple of other varietals, but 90+% of the time anything with "Bourgogne" on the label is from one of those two grapes.)

The Burgundy region can be roughly divided into three parts. The northern part is known as the Côte d’Or, home of many of the highest quality Burgundies. The Côte d’Or is also subdivided into two regions – Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. The former is known best for reds and the latter for whites, although each region produces both.

The middle third of the region is made up of the Côte Chalonnaise and Maconnais regions. This part produces many of the more inexpensive wines in Burgundy, including many that I’ve written about in other columns. Maconnais, especially, cranks out a huge percentage of the white table wine from Burgundy. The bottom third is the Beaujolais region, which is a whole other animal, making the light reds I referred to above. If you want to know more about those wines, go here.

About 60 miles northwest of the Côte d’Or, is the Chablis region, known (of course) for whites. Chablis, much like Burgundy, has a negative connotation in the minds of many, as these names were bastardized and stolen by California winemakers in the 70's, who cranked out jug after jug of plonk. The chardonnays produced in Chablis, France are...shall we say...a bit tastier.

There’s a classification system for wines in Burgundy, based on the quality of the terroir from which the grapes originate. This differs from the individual chateau classification in Bordeaux, which doesn’t follow regional terroir differences, in general. The classifications run, in descending order: Grand Cru (named by vineyard -- can cost in the thousands per bottle); Premier Cru (sometimes written “1er cru” – and named by vineyard and village); Village (named by…well…village); Subregional (from a slightly larger area – like Macon-Villages) and Regional (simply called “Bourgogne”). Chablis has its own measures of quality, but are still termed Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and Village. There’s also a “Petit Chablis” designation, which roughly relates to subregional.

The wines we had, as you'll see later, were mostly village level, with one regional and one 1er cru thrown in.

To dinner...The Phoenix is a beautifully designed former gentleman's club built in downtown Cincinnati in 1893. (Think scotch & cigars, not pasties & poles.) The Phoenix is now largely a banquet and reception center, but manager of 19 years Kent Vandersall has a fairly steady stream of special events, wine dinners, and the like in the restaurant. If you haven't seen the interior of this place, it's worth the price of admission to one of these events just to have a look. It's quite remarkable, both from an architectural perspective and from the "Wow!" factor. Kent runs a tight operation. The service was exceptional and he made us, as first-time guests, feel quite welcome.

This event featured the wines of Domaine Chanson Pere et Fils, one of the older continually operating producers in Burgundy. They've been making wine in this region for about 250 years. (According to Sophie Baldo, Chanson's export manager, who "emceed" the tasting -- they are one of the five original houses in the region.) They own vineyards across Burgundy, but they've got a fascinating storage system for their wines. The town of Beaune, the heart of the Côte du Beaune, where the winery lives, is a walled city. The walls range from 8-12 feet thick. This allows the storage of the wine within the old walls, and Chanson does exactly that. As a result -- they own one of the world's only wine cellars in which you walk upwards from the entrance. (Seriously, I must see this someday...)

Until recently, their wines have not been widely marketed in the States, but according to Ed Hernandez, their domestic marketing manager (who we had the pleasure of swapping stories with during dinner), this is about to change markedly.

So, aside from the incredible cuisine -- what made this meal stand out so much for me? Contrast. Even though only two grapes were used in all of the wines, the flavors were all over the map. I'll take this course by course to give you an idea (and maybe make you a little jealous):

Reception: Chanson Vire-Clesse 2006 ($18-27/bottle retail) -- Kicked off the evening with...not a bang, exactly, but certainly an appetite-whetting aperitif. Vire-Clesse is a town in the Maconnais, near Pouilly-Fuisse. I loved the nose on this wine. In my experience, chardonnays aren't usually quite this floral, and I thought it smelled of strawberries. The flavor was very crisp and lightly acidic, but with a nice spice and structure. An excellent palate preparation.

First Course: Honey Lime Shrimp, Capellini w/Chanson Chablis 2007 ($20-30)-- A classic example of good Chablis. Plenty of minerality and acidity, floral and citrus scents, and a long, crisp finish that absolutely screams for pairing with something light like shellfish. The shrimp and capellini that we had with it was actually one of our favorite courses. The flavors were very delicate, and they married wonderfully with the wine's citrus.

Second Course: Arctic Char with White Beans, Mushrooms, and Dried Tomatoes w/Chanson Meursault 2006 ($45-60) -- My inexperience with white Burgundy had me unprepared for this wine. This wine had an incredible amount of strength and depth for a white. I was interested to hear from Sophie that Chanson ages their wines in older casks, so as not to overoak and obscure the flavors of the grapes. In this case, what they created was an incredibly complex, melony, slightly smoky wine that was full-bodied without feeling overly heavy. Paired up with a fish that's a cross between trout and salmon and those earthier vegetables, the wine stood up nicely and was able to handle the oil in the fish, which was prepared to perfection. Delightful.

Third Course: Rosemary Dijon Lamb Chops with Swiss Chard w/Chanson Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2006 -- This wine was the first of the reds. This is a regional-level wine, made from select grapes grown all across the Côte d'Or. It was a very "refreshing" red wine. Quite fruit forward, but with some very nice spice on the back end that made it very interesting. On its own, an excellent wine, but with the tiny lamb chops seasoned and roasted to a pinnacle of flavor, it made a wonderful compliment for the fairly delicate but numerous flavors of the lamb. In my opinion, as this is such an incredibly flexible wine, this was probably the best value of the night at $18-22 a bottle.

Fourth Course: Veal Marengo, Creamed Whipped Parsnips w/Chanson Beaune Clos des Mouches 1er Cru 2006 -- The showstopper. I tasted this wine and my eyes literally rolled back in my head. I'd never tasted a pinot noir this good, and I've tasted very few wines of this quality, period. (I can only imagine the state in which a grand cru might have left me. Descriptions might violate some blue laws.) Powerful, yet delicate, this wine wrapped my palate in layer after layer of smoke, spices, cherries, and other flavors that I couldn't even identify. Incredible balance. But tasting notes don't do this wine justice. The world got quiet when I tasted this wine. Alas, this was the one food pairing of the evening that didn't quite work for me. The richness of the veal stew that it was paired with overwhelmed all of the delicate flavor in the wine. I ended up drinking less than half the glass and putting the rest aside for later. The SPinC did not, but managed to sweet talk her way into another glass so she could do a side-by-side with the next course. This wine is only starting to become available in the states, and will set you back around $90. And yes, I bought a bottle to lay up for awhile. Even at this price, it was irresistible. It's apparently fine to age for 20-25 years, so this joins the "target date" wines in our cellar.

Fifth Course: Filet of Beef, Carrots Parisienne, Pinot Noir Demi w/Chanson Gevrey-Chambertin 2005 ($40-60) -- Of the grand cru pinot noir vineyards in the Côte d'Or, 24 of the 25 are in the Côte de Nuits. Tasting this back to back with the Clos des Mouches gave me a wonderful sense of the difference between the wines from the two parts of the Côte d'Or. The Côte de Beaune reds, as I learned, are traditionally much more delicate than the Côte de Nuits. The Gevrey-Chambertin was a lovely illustration of the power of the Côte de Nuits. This was a much more powerful wine. Lots of licorice and vanilla on the flavors, and a much deeper level of fruit, along with a great deal of tannin for a pinot noir. It's understandable why this wine would be set up next to a filet. I think this was the first time I'd had a pinot paired with a steak, and this one certainly had the heft to make a side dish, especially with the fabulous demiglace drizzled across the filet and carrots. While I preferred that pairing, the SPinC actually preferred the Clos des Mouches. Since the filet was roasted instead of grilled, she thought that the meat was delicate and light (or as delicate and light as beef can be) enough to stand up to the filet.

Sixth course: Fruit and Truffles. Exactly what it sounds like. Handmade chocolate yummies and some berries to nosh on while we finished the last of our wonderful wine, chatted a bit more, and eventually made our way out with smiles on our faces. For the record, the Gevrey-Chambertin went much better with the chocolate and dark fruits.

I'd definitely recommend checking out some of the special events at the Phoenix if you're looking for a good way to spend an evening. Many thanks to Ed, Sophie, and Stacey Meyer from Heidelberg Distributing for organizing the meal, to Kent for a wonderfully designed meal to complement these wonderful wines, and to the winemakers at Chanson for a slice of bliss.

Just Naked

I'll admit, I can be influenced by wine marketing. Larry Lockshin, an Australian researcher on wine consumerism, determined that the average person takes 38 seconds to purchase a bottle of wine once they've decided on the type of wine that they're looking for -- and the wine label has the largest degree of influence on the average purchaser's choices.

When I get a case of writer's block, I'll usually wander down to the wine store and make an aimless wander through the aisles to try to get inspiration. While facing down a blinking cursor is frustrating, it does give me a ready excuse to buy a few more bottles. (Isn't this why shoe shopping is supposed to be therapeutic for many women?)

In any case, I was amongst the whites when the Four Vines "Naked" 2007 Chardonnay caught my eye. There it was -- a perfect theme for an article: The Naked Vine does "naked wine." A minute and a half and a couple of impulse buys later, and away we go. This is where wine shopping clearly differs from shoe shopping -- I've never seen a decision made on a pair of shoes in under a minute. What can I say? I'm decisive. And influenceable.

(Pardon me while I prepare to duck the black slingback pump the SPinC is ready to throw at my head...)

Now, aside from being an easy trigger word for someone with my particular mental slant, "naked" for Four Vines actually refers to their winemaking process, specifically that their Chardonnay was produced unoaked. The wine started off with light notes of citrus and lavender on the nose. There's a strong lemony flavor and a lot of acidity for a California chard, which I think is a good thing.. As promised, there was no oak and only a little buttery flavor, which I found mostly at the "beginning of the finish." The finish is crisp, lemony, and lasting. It's a very pretty wine; more delicate than I expected in a Santa Barbara County chard and exceptionally balanced for a wine of this price. ($11-14)

Along came dinner -- a grilled citrus-and-herb marinated grouper over couscous and a diced red pepper from our garden. Unfortunately, the Four Vines ended up turning the flavor "fishy" (grouper is not a "fishy" fish in my experience ordinarily), so we called an audible and opened one of my other impulse purchases, the Washington State-grown Snoqualmie "Naked" 2007 Gewurztraminer.

For Snoqualmie, their "Naked" series of wines (they also make a naked Riesling, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Rosé) is produced "as close to au natural" as possible. These wines are grown from 100% organic grapes -- or, more accurately, grapes that are in the process of being certified organic. We decided to go with the second naked wine of the evening because...well...gewurztraminer goes with almost everything and we needed something that could handle an interesting pairing. It worked. Even with the mild gewurz sweetness, it had enough acidity to handle fish. Since the fish wasn't heavily peppered, the pepper on the wine's finish really came out and added a really nice balance to the food's flavor. When we tried it on its own, it started us with a lingering scent of herbs and apples. Its flavor is quite peppery with some honey and melons on the back end. The finish is tingly-peppery and fruity. ($11-13)
I hit a snag after that wine, though. I looked high and low and couldn't find another naked or nude-themed wine. (Well, except for Cycles Gladiator, but we've already discussed that, and see below...) So, I took some poetic license and went with the Charles Smith "Eve" 2007 Chardonnay ($12-15). Smith describes his wine as "sinfully tempting," so it doesn't seem like much of a stretch to think he was trying to design a wine that encourages people to drink in the buff.

Eve welcomes you into her garden with a light nose of melons and lemons. She tempts you with a very pleasant and extremely interesting flavor. She's got a crispness and creaminess that reminded me of a lemon crème turned into wine (without the overpowering sweetness, of course). Her finish is nicely balanced with some more lemon and just a touch of oak. She's great for sitting back and sharing, and she didn't back down from our citrus and chili powder marinated shark with an avocado-orange salsa. (OK, OK, I'll quit while I'm behind...)

On a separate, non-wine related note, I always enjoy sifting through some of the SiteMeter data that comes in about how people find the Vine. After I posted my article about the banning of Cycles Gladiator in Alabama, I had a ton of Google search hits from people looking for "naked gladiator." I'm interested to see if some of you get called into your boss' office at work, since we'll probably overload any content filters for "naked" out there...

Wine Dinner -- The Phoenix

Hungry, thirsty area foodies looking for something tasty to do this week should take note. The Phoenix in downtown Cincinnati will be hosting a wine dinner this Wednesday, September 23rd. The dinner will feature six Burgundies from Chanson Pere & Fils with commentary from Chanson's export manager, Sophie Baldo.

According to general manager Kent Vandersall, the menu and pairings go something like this:

• Chanson Vire-Clesse 2006 (passed upon arrival)
• Honey Lime Shrimp, Capellini w/Chanson Chablis 2007
• Arctic Char with White Beans, Mushrooms, and Dried Tomatoes w/Chanson Meursault 2006
• Rosemary Dijon Lamb Chops with Swiss Chard w/Chanson Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2006
• Veal Marengo, Creamed Whipped Parsnips w/Chanson Beaune Clos des Mouches 1er Cru 2006
• Filet of Beef, Carrots Parisienne, Pinot Noir Demi w/Chanson Gevrey-Chambertin 2005
• Fruit and Truffles

Yours truly and the Sweet Partner in Crime will be attending this little shindig, and I'll be posting my thoughts sometime thereafter. Reservations are $70, including tax & gratuity. For more information, contact the Phoenix via their online form or by phone at 513-721-8901.

If you decide to attend, please say hello. I'll be the bald guy.

Dust on the Bottle

There might be a little dust on the bottle,
Don't let it fool ya about what's inside.
-David Lee Murphy

Last night, my brother-in-hairstyle Danny Gold put together one of the more interesting wine tastings I've ever attended. He and a couple of his fellow Party Source pals decided they'd do a tasting of aged wine. Now, we're not talking 1967 Chateau d'Yquem here -- but it was a pretty impressive spread of wines. When I say "impressive," I mean...well...judge for yourself:

1. Jean Laurent Millesime 1997 Champagne Brut
2. Weingut Baumann Oppenheimer Sacktrager 1975 Riesling Auslese
3. Domaine Marcel Deiss Engelgarten 1999 Alsace (white blend)
4. Domaine Zind Humbrecht 1994 Grand Cru Pinot Gris
5. Carmenet Winery 1995 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon (Sonoma)
6. Azilia 1998 Barolo Bricco Fiasco
7. Castillo Ygay 1989 Rioja Gran Reserva Especial
8. Domaine Tempier 1996 Bandol
9. Barossa Valley Estates 1997 Ebenezer Shiraz
10. Corison Vineyard 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa)
11. Hacienda Monasterio 1996 Ribera del Duero Crianza
12. Ravenswood 1998 Old Hill Zinfandel (Sonoma)
13. Beringer 1996 Private Reserve Cabernet (Napa)
14. Montepeloso Val di Cornia 1999 Rosso
15. L'Ecole 1999 Seven Hills Vineyard Merlot
16. Benjamin de Vieux Chateau Gaubert 2000 Graves (Bordeaux)
    
17. Paradise Ranch 1998 Pinot Blanc Icewine (British Columbia)

I haven't had the opportunity to try much 10+ year old wine, much less 30+ year old wine, so I was fascinated to see how these wines held up, how they'd age, and so on.

For me, the highlights were the Riesling (which tasted like nectar with a wonderful spiciness); the Pinot Gris (a late harvest pinot gris -- not at all what I expected from Alsace); the Bandol (an earthy, smelly, yummy wine with a smoky finish that went on for ages); the Ribera del Duero (mammoth, sumptuous, and lush); the Montepeloso (an Italian wine with French funk); and the Bordeaux (2000 is a fantastic vintage).

None of them had gone to vinegar, although a few were clearly past their peak. The 1995 Sauv Blanc was certainly past its prime, as were the Corison (a bit flat) and the L'Ecole -- which tasted like a basic Merlot. Even so, how often do you get the opportunity to even taste a wine that's legitimately aged to that point?

Add in Riverside Restaurant's hosting and buffet for us, and we had quite an evening.

I'd certainly recommend getting on Danny's mailing list. He sends out fairly regular wine notes, announcements of these tastings, and information about wine dinners he does in conjunction with various local restaurants. For more information, you can email Danny here.

Wine Over Water -- Sept. 19th

It's that time again. The 3rd Annual Wine Over Water wine tasting event on the Purple People Bridge between Newport and Cincinnati. Yours truly will be pouring at this event, so please come by to say hello.

If you'd like to order tickets in advance, you can click on the link above.

More information:

A one-of-a-kind event, Wine Over Water is a wine tasting held over the Ohio River on the Southbank Purple People Bridge with stunning views of the Cincinnati skyline.

This annual charitable event is hosted by the Newport Citizens Advisory Council (NCAC), a citizen’s group dedicated to improving the community of Newport for residents and visitors alike. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the repainting of the Southbank Purple People Bridge and ECHO Soup Kitchen.

Participants will enjoy sampling a selection of international wines as well as offerings from some of Greater Cincinnati’s preeminent boutique wineries. This delightful evening of wine, hors d'oeuvres and live music is designed to engage a diverse audience of residents from all around the area and build a sense of community while supporting a good cause.

Southbank Purple People Bridge
Newport, Kentucky (located on the East side of Newport on the Levee)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
7:00-10:00pm
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door

Ticket price includes commemorative tasting glass.
Please bring your ID with you, as you must be 21 to be admitted to the event.
Local wineries will have bottles of wine for sale at the event, should you discover one you would like to take home.

Hope to see you there!

Cabernet Franc

The flipside to that whole "getting away from a wine varietal that I've really enjoyed in the past but haven't tried in awhile" issue I discussed in the Riesling column is "this has been right in front of my face for years -- why haven't I been drinking more of this?" Not long ago, I grabbed a bottle of Cab Franc on the recommendation of a friend of mine, and I found I really, really liked it. Predictably, research followed.

Anyone who's been drinking wine for awhile has probably heard of Cabernet Franc, but it's usually just a blending grape -- often mentioned as the "third varietal" in most Bordeaux blends and meritages, backing up Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. (Petit Verdot and Malbec being numbers 4 and 5 of the five in Bordeaux, as you might remember.) It also gained a small degree of infamy by being the other grape dissed by Miles in Sideways, but without nearly the vitriol he reserved for Merlot.

So, what is it? Cabernet Franc is a red grape. It's chemically very similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, and little over a decade ago, some grape taxonomists discovered that Cabernet Franc is one of the two parent grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon. (Sauvignon Blanc is the other.) I found this fascinating, since Cabernet Sauvignon usually produces heavy, tannic wines, while both its parents vinify in a much lighter, more acidic style.

While the grape hails from Bordeaux, the only French wine made exclusively from Cabernet Franc is Chinon from the Loire Valley. Cabernet Franc grows relatively well in cooler climates, so it can be found domestically in places like the Pacific Northwest, cooler areas of California, and more and more in New York. Canada has begun growing a fair bit of it as well.

Cabernet Franc yields a lighter, somewhat perfumier, more subtly flavored wine that often has an "herbal" character. Aside from its chemical similarities, it's easy to see after tasting it why it's blended so often with Cabernet Sauvignon. Its fruitiness and relative lack of tannin can be used to "round off" some of the harshness that exists in many Cabernet Sauvignons, especially young ones.

Foodwise, most cabernet francs aren't going to be the best pairing for big beefy meals with rich sauces. However, the herbal character and acidity make it one of the few red wines that can go with salads. It also generally pairs well with pork, chicken, and fish. You can also have it with Mediterranean foods, roasted vegetables, and it makes a nice alternative to Chianti for red sauces.

Since it's not still produced in huge quantities as a single varietal, these wines tend to be a little tougher to find and are a little more expensive. There aren't many Cab Franc dominant wines that have the high end price point of Cabernet Sauvignon (other than Chateau Cheval Blanc, Miles' "special bottle" in Sideways, which, ironically is about a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Franc and his other favorite, Merlot) but there aren't very many on the low end of the scale either. I've rarely seen one for much under $15. There are some reasonably priced ones out there, like the following:

Domaine de Pallus "Les Pensées de Pallus" 2005 Chinon -- If you want to understand why Cabernet Franc done as a single varietal can be a stand-in for an Italian red, try this one. Again, Chinon is the only French 100% Cabernet Franc variety. Like most French reds, it's best with food, and definitely needs to be allowed to breathe for a minimum of half an hour after you uncork this pink-topped bottle. Once the fume and the funk clear, the fruit begins to open, and you start getting aromas of raspberries and smoke. As for the weight and flavor -- imagine a Beaujolais and a Chianti snuggling up and getting to know each other really well. It's got the chalky minerality of a Chianti, but the fruitiness of a Beaujolais -- and it's best served with a slight chill. It's heavier than either of those wines, and it's OK on its own. I tried it with a Spanish recipe for monkfish that called for a rosé. The Chinon worked just as well, and it played nicely off of the red pepper, onion, and almond puree that made up the sauce. (The whole thing was over couscous.) Also balanced well against the sautéed spinach we had as a side. $17-20.

Wit's End. "The Procrastinator" 2006 Cabernet Franc -- This Australian Cab Franc from McLaren Vale has a name after my own heart. What struck me first about this wine was the mouthfeel. It's got a slightly thick, velvety texture even though the body itself isn't all that heavy. A very "friendly" wine for starting an evening . It's smoky and seductive like a pinot noir, but has a bit more weight and tannin. The nose is a clean smell of cherries, which are the flavor we picked up the most. We had this with a mustard-covered, grilled pork loin chop with some roasted vegetables. This pairing was "absolutely heavenly," according to the SPinC. The roasted, grilled flavors brought out more of the tannin and smoke in the wine, which still keeps much of its fruity brightness with the food. Around $20.

Hahn 2006 Central Coast Cabernet Franc -- For a great contrast in styles of this grape, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one than this wine from California and the aforementioned Australian. This wine is initially quite "hot" tasting and really needs a little time to decant, like most any California cabernet. It's much more alcoholic and has considerably more weight and tannin than the Aussie entry. The nose again is cherries with a little bit of leather and smokiness. The wine is medium bodied, with some fruit, but a full, tannic finish with some chocolate flavors lingering. Mushroom burgers (beef burgers topped with sautéed mushrooms, not grilled portabellas) and bulgur with walnuts and chopped spinach were our pairing with this one, and the higher levels of tannin and alcohol allowed it to set up nicely next to earthy, meaty flavors. The acidity also held its own against the spinach. A "food" franc rather than one to drink on its own. About $15.

Anderson Winery

Not long ago, I was asked to lead a wine-tasting fundraiser for the Madisonville Education and Assistance Center (MEAC). The event, a blind tasting called "The Sauvignons of Spring," gave the folks in attendance the opportunity to sample around 70 different cabernet sauvignons and sauvignon blancs. Each bottle had to be under $15. At the end of the evening, the slightly-tipsy assembled group voted on their favorites.

Honestly, I can't remember the cabernet sauvignon which took top honors, but the announcement of the group's favorite sauvignon blanc raised eyebrows and brought a loud cheer from the crowd. The winner?

Anderson Winery.

No, not wine from Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, California, but Anderson Winery in Hamilton County, Ohio. This very small operation cranked out a white that trumped a collection from all over the world. So, what's the story of this little winery that could?

Anderson Winery is the brainchild of Larry Brokamp, a Cincinnati lawyer, and his wife Kelly. I asked Larry how they got started:

"I started making wine about 8 years ago after my wife and I drove up the Northern California coast and came back down through Napa. We also spent some time in Calistoga.

"When our first daughter, Ella, was born, we passed out our bottles of wine with labels reading 'Celebrating the Birth of Ella Marie Brokamp' with her picture and birth date along with weight, length, etc. Everyone was impressed with the wine and labels.

'My wife had the idea of selling custom labeled wine for special occasions and I looked into licensing requirements because you can't sell wine without a manufacturers license. After about a year and a half of research we figured out how to do it and have always enjoyed it."

They only produce two wines -- the aforementioned sauvignon blanc and a sangiovese-based red. The custom labels are produced to the order of the customer, and are quite nicely done, as you can see here:



Since they make such small quantities of the wines, they don't market to stores and restaurants. Their sales are largely either Internet-based or done through word of mouth. Larry said that the most they've made in a year is about 40 cases. Larry said that he'd like to spend more time on his winemaking, but raising their three kids and running his law practice keeps him too busy to focus on expanding the business too much.


How do the wines taste? Both wines are, by design, simple, straightforward quaffers. Larry said that his goal is to produce "something that most everyone can drink so it can be served at functions such as weddings where there are usually both [regular] wine drinkers and non-wine drinkers."

The award-winning sauvignon blanc is definitely done in an American style -- acidic, but not overly so, with some very pleasant melon and green apple flavors and a mildly tart finish. It's quite popular, and as of the writing of this article, the white was currently sold out. However, there is more in the pipeline.

The red is very "soft." It's quite light (only 12% alcohol) and fruity. The tannins are extremely light -- almost nonexistent, actually. It reminds me a bit of a Beaujolais, right down to the fact that it's best with a slight chill on it. The Sweet Partner in Crime and I had the bottle on a warm summer evening and it was a good, basic wine to just sip on, relax, and watch the neighborhood go by.

Both wines sell for $12/bottle, which includes the labeling.

I've tried a number of wines from "make your own label" places and have found most of them to be barely palatable. Larry and Kelly's wines are a fairly large level above most of those. If you're in the market for some interesting wine-based gifts or if you've got a party to plan, you won't need to look much further than Wooster Pike in Cincinnati.

For more information, check out their website (http://www.andersonwinery.com) or email them at info@andersonwinery.com

Julie & Julia

No, I'm not branching the Vine off into movie reviews -- although anyone that knows me or has followed the site knows that I'm a movie buff. The Sweet Partner in Crime and I decided to walk down to the Levee and catch "Julie and Julia." (And no, I'm not ashamed to say that I was looking forward to seeing a Nora Ephron movie...)

The movie itself was a nice afternoon's diversion -- Meryl Streep absolutely channels Julia Child and Amy Adams does "pixie searching for her purpose" as well as anyone. (Stanley Tucci's Paul Child is a dead ringer for my uncle Harry, also, in so many ways.)

I was really struck by how well Nora Ephron's screenplay (interpreted wonderfully by Adams) actually hit the emotions of a foodie blogger. Little things that showed up -- Adams' reaction when she started getting comments from folks other than family; the giddiness the first time samples showed up on the door; the whole load of "is there anybody out there actually reading this stuff?" stuff. (I like to think the SPinC is a little less frustrated by this endeavor, as well.) Plus, there's just so much good food on screen (well, aside from the aspic). As Vine Reader Mike B. said when we were at Nectar's scrumptious Dinner Club (the theme was "peaches" -- yum!): "When the movie was over, I just wanted to cook something!" I know I did.

The movie's a fairy tale -- since she gets "discovered" and all that. I don't expect a phone call from Anthony Bourdain any time soon. But the thrill I get when the realization comes that a fair number of people actually read the stuff on here -- I think that gets conveyed well in the film. So, thanks to all of you who read the Vine and who keep me plugging away here. It's a great motivator knowing you're out there.

I'd certainly recommend the movie itself, as well. As I said, it was a nice, easy way to spend an afternoon: lighthearted, well-scripted, and (except for a few rough parts in the "modern" segments) nicely acted. A solid, comfortable movie -- think of it as Hogue Cellars Cinema.

Riesling Redux

One of the dangers in writing a wine column is that certain wines can get buried -- wines that I really like, but for whatever reason -- just don't end up making it into the columns all that often. The other day, I was looking at the article from CinWeekly that the Sweet Partner in Crime had framed for me. I noticed in the article that I mentioned Riesling as my favorite wine at the time of the interview, and it hit me...I haven't talked about Riesling in awhile, other than in the context of our recent trip to New York. So, what the heck? Riesling it is! A quick review:

Riesling is known to many folks who are just starting their wine education as "that sweet German wine that comes in the bottle that looks like a tower." That's true. Many cheap Rieslings are simply thick, tooth-searingly sweet concoctions. They don't have to be.

It's true -- Germany is best known for Riesling, but it's a grape that's fairly common in cool climates all over the world. In the U.S., for instance, the best Rieslings tend to come from the Pacific Northwest and from New York -- our colder domestic wine growing climes. As with most cool weather wines, Riesling tends to be fruity and fragrant. They're also wonderful food wines. They're among the most pairing-friendly wines out there, standing proudly next to anything from sausage to Szechuan to sushi. They're some of the few wines out there that don't get absolutely clobbered by capsaicin, the chemical that makes hot peppers hot. Some Riesling, unlike many white wines, can even be aged, so don't get scared if you see older Rieslings in your local wine store.

However, they don't necessarily have to be sweet. You've probably seen more and more "dry Rieslings" in stores as many winemakers realize that not everyone wants a bunch of residual sugar with their meal. Many of the "dry" Rieslings still have a hint of sweetness to them (try some Oregon dry Riesling if you want to see what I mean). While there's not as much variation in flavor as, say, Chardonnay -- each region that grows the stuff tends to put its own spin on it. The Alsace region of France, for instance, makes Rieslings that are fruity, but absolutely bone-dry. They've also got a more mineral character. German Rieslings range from very sweet to dry and generally have strong apple and pear tastes. American Rieslings, even of the dry variety, tend to be on the sweeter side and are usually very fruit-forward.

Jump on back in the Riesling pool if it's a wine you haven't had for awhile. You'll be glad to rediscover it. Here are a few you could consider:

Pierre Sparr 2007 Riesling -- This is one of those Alsace wines that I mentioned. It's a really nice example of a lighter styled, bone dry wine. The nose is of tart apples, with a flavor to match. The finish is crisp with lots of lime flavors. An absolutely delicious pairing with Asian cuisine. I had this with baked trout smothered in tomatoes, green onions, and shiitake mushrooms, flavored with ginger, garlic, and soy. Right around $15.

Leasingham 2007 "Magnus" Riesling -- Australian Riesling has a completely different flavor profile. Much of the Riesling in Australia comes from Clare Valley, a relatively warm region for growing Riesling. Partly because of this climate, the fruit flavors tend to be fuller and the wines are often a little less complex. This particular wine has a spicy, apricot nose. It's full bodied, with intense flavors of peaches and apricots. Finish is fruity and dry with a smoky undertone. The recommended pairings from the winemaker are "seafood and spicy Thai dishes." I'd certainly agree. $10.

Hogue 2006 Riesling -- Hogue, one of my go-to value wines, usually blends their Riesling with another German grape, Gewurztraminer. Gewurztraminer carries a spicy flavor, and that spice comes through strongly on the nose of this wine, as well as some apricot. It's full bodied and is somewhat sweet to go along with the fresh, gentle apricot and pear flavors. On the finish, however, the pepper returns, balanced with a slight sweetness and lasting fruit. The recommended pairings for this are salads or sushi. Anything with a fresh flavor will go nicely here. Again, around $10

Schloss Gobelsburg 2006 Riesling -- If you feel like treating yourself and going a little bit over the $15 (this is more like $20), you can get one of the more delicious Rieslings I've tried in my recent memory. This wine is from Austria -- known more for gruner veltliner, but slowly earning respect (and rightfully so) for other varietals. Simply put, this is a genuinely pretty wine. The nose is full of melon and apple blossoms, but that doesn't tell the real story. The SPinC described it as a "fruity, flowery cacophony." I concur. There's certainly a lot going on here, but the taste is probably best described as apple dominant. The flavor has just a touch of sugar and a little smoky note in the background. The finish is a little bit peppery -- like a junior gewürztraminer -- and slightly tart. Wonderfully balanced and just scrumptious to sip on. For dinner we had a calamari and rice noodle salad with a Thai-flavored dressing and loads of herbs from the garden. Worked nicely.

Lake County, California

Monica from Balzac, who previously let me try samples of both Espiritu de Chile and Golden Kaan wines, sent me something a little different this time around. I opened the box to discover a couple of cabernets from Lake County, California -- two 2005's from Snows Lake Vineyards named "One" and "Two." "One" was 100% cabernet sauvignon. "Two" was a 3-to-1 blend of cab sauv and cab franc. Both wines retail for around $45.

I had to do a little background on Lake County to know what I was getting into. Lake County is immediately to the north of Napa. The soil is similar to Napa's, albeit on more mountainous terrain and with higher elevations. Lake County had a thriving wine business from the 1860's up until Prohibition. Wine production started up again in earnest in the 1960's. There are now about 9,000 acres of vineyards in Lake County (compared to Napa's 40,000+). Lake County, like Napa, is largely known for cabernets -- specifically powerful, tannic cabs.

Tasting big cabernets, of course, is a perfect excuse (like I need one) to fire up the grill and toss a couple of ribeyes on there. No fancy rubs -- just salt, pepper, and olive oil. Sides were some grilled, herbed Yukon gold potatoes and some halved Cremini mushrooms, cooked down in a sauce of ginger, garlic, tomato paste, curry and cumin.

I opened both of these wines a couple of hours before I thought we'd be having dinner. I wanted to give them enough time to breathe. My experiences with tannic wines have taught me that a couple of hours is a minimum for bottles like these. After the steaks came off the grill and were resting, we did a side by side of the two wines.

Even after the time to breathe, the One was a tannic monster. The nose was huge with wood and violets, but the flavors of the wine were obscured initially by the overwhelming tannin. We broke out an aerator and eventually my super-duper Taste of Monterey tasting glass to speed up the process. That helped a little. The other flavors began to emerge. Layers of smoke, wood, and tobacco. (I guess this is what people refer to as "cigar box.") There are some currant and blackberry flavors in there, too. The finish hits you with a surprisingly tart burst that fades pretty quickly into a lingering coffee taste. "This doesn't finish as long as I thought it would...and I think that's a good thing."

The Two was more pleasant. The cabernet franc blended in mellowed the experience considerably. The wine wasn't as tannic, but still certainly wasn't to be taken lightly. ("Doesn't beat you over the head" was my note.) The nose was much more berry and vanilla. The flavors were better balanced -- cherry, blackberry, and cocoa dominated. The bitterness of the tannins start out very strong on the finish, but they mellow quickly into smoke and chocolate with a mineral undertone that certainly wasn't unpleasant.

With the meal, both wines changed. The One lost a little of its tannic edge and revealed more blueberry flavors. That tart burst on the finish remained, which I didn't find all that pleasant. The Two was much better. The tannins balanced the fruit nicely when paired with the steak. The mushrooms were really interesting, since they had a spice to them. The spice flavors gave way gently to fruit, then as the wine finished the spice picked back up pleasantly. That was probably my favorite gustation sensation of the meal.

I had high hopes for these wines with chocolate, but I was disappointed in both. With both Dove dark chocolate and a brownie, each wine ended up a tart, tannic overload. Honestly, the leftover two day-old zinfandel that we had laying around before was a much better pairing.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that these are bad wines by any stretch. They simply aren't wines built for my palate. A couple of weeks ago, I linked an article from the Daily Beast by Keith Wallace entitled "The Great Cabernet Ripoff," which bemoaned the huge price increase in recent years for Cabernet Sauvignon. In my semi-uninformed opinion, my guess is that this huge increase is driven by folks who are more interested in collecting wine than actually drinking the stuff. Wine collectors' eyes big up when they see the words "aging potential." You've seen shelf talkers for wines that might state something like, "Drinks well now, but best between 2012-2017."

The growers of premium Napa-style cabernets market to this. Both these Snows Lake wines are so powerfully tannic that, at least for me, they just aren't very pleasant to drink right now (although we both much preferred the "Two" to the "One") -- and I can imagine that they're built to be bought and stashed in a cellar for four or five years until the tannins settle down. I know that there are many folks out there who can taste these wines now and project how they will drink in 2015. Maybe these are good investments for some folks at $45 a bottle. As much as I really appreciated the opportunity to try these wines, they're difficult for me to pass appropriate judgment upon. Now, if some of you want to pick some of this up and invite me over in a few years to give them another go, be my guest!

Before I leave Lake County, I wanted to find a Lake County wine that was more in my price range. I ended up with the Guenoc 2006 Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon for about $11. It certainly wasn't bad, and you could open this up right now without batting an eye. It started with cedar and blackberry on the nose. It's medium bodied, slightly alcoholic tasting, with straightforward blackberry flavors and some earthiness. The finish is a bit clipped -- starts strong with fruit, but quickly tapers off into a mild tannin. It's not nearly as complex as its more expensive cousins, but it's not built to be. It's a pleasant enough cabernet, especially with food (and it's much better with chocolate...).

Alabama Wine Porn: Cycles Gladiator

Oh, fer gossake. You can't make this up. Thanks to Vine Reader Bev E. for cluing me in to this little gem.

I did a review a while ago of Cycles Gladiator wine. It's pretty widely available, and you may have seen the bottle in your local wine store. They make a few different varietals, and those I've tried are at least inoffensive, if not appropriately decent. However, "decent" is apparently not the appropriate descriptor in the Great State of Alabama. The wine's label is apparently a bit much for the gentle souls in The Land of the Crimson Tide.


Alabama's state Alcoholic Beverage Control has put a statewide ban into place on the sale of wines in these bottles, and given a huge free marketing boost to the folks at Hahn Winery -- producers of Cycles:

The Alabama ABC code states that "No advertisement may include any illustration(s) of any person(s) consuming alcoholic beverages or any person(s) posed in an immodest or sensuous manner." In a letter to Alabama restaurants and retailers, the ABC stated that the sale of Cycles Gladiator wines are prohibited. An attorney for the ABC was quoted as saying the label was submitted twice last year for approval and it was rejected both times. However, an Alabama citizen sent the ABC a bottle, indicating it was still being sold in stores. Consequently, the ABC issued a cease and desist order.

I do declare...this wine label has given me the vapors! Help me to my fainting couch...

UPDATE: Vine reader Jason M. suggested I make this update to the Cycles label, making it more palatable to the folks in Alabama: