Grenache -- Show Some Love!

I’ve been on a Grenache kick lately. This grape, grown…

…wait, come back! Where are you going? This is not a parody column! Get your noses out of the air and belly up to the bar.

I know, I know – your notion of Grenache may have been formed the same way mine was – commercials in the 80’s for Gallo White Grenache, a pinkish concoction (which I believe you can still get if you walk past the Boone’s) poured over ice. You know, something like this:

The commercials claimed “It will change the way you think about Gallo.” While I can’t speak to that, it certainly poisoned the way I think about the poor Grenache grape for quite some time!

Along similar lines, when the Sweet Partner in Crime and I were starting down our slippery wine-drinking slope, we used to go through Rosemount Estates Grenache-Shiraz – a dirt-cheap Australian red blend – by the virtual bucketful. At the time, it seemed perfectly drinkable, and it was a couple of dollars per bottle less expensive than the straight Rosemount Shiraz.

These days, if I recommend a Grenache to someone, about half the time they’ll look at me like I have a second head, because that’s the image Grenache has with many folks: cheap, uninteresting wine. What changed my outlook on this grape? As I’ve learned and consumed more, I’ve come to think of Grenache as the “red Chardonnay.”

Why? First off, it’s an incredibly ubiquitous grape. There are more acres of vineyard planted with Grenache in the world than any other red grape and the vines are generally quite high-yielding. These yields are a prime reason for Grenache’s bad name in the states, since a lot of those grapes landed in cheap jug wine. Forget the jugs, but remember the high yield. Because of this, winemakers can have plenty of raw material to work from, so even well-made Grenache tends to be less expensive compared to other grapes, so there are plenty of bargains to be had.

Secondly, like Chardonnay, Grenache-based wines are incredibly terroir driven. Grenache juice on its own, produces a light-styled wine, so the flavors derived from climate and soil can really shine. Good growers and winemakers, through smart cultivation, blending, and skill, can wrangle fascinating results from this grape. And they have all over the world, for years.

Finally, spring is turning to summer. Since Grenache is generally somewhat lighter in style, it makes a great red wine option when the heat starts cranking up, especially if you’re interested in something that has a little more oomph than, say, a Beaujolais. There’s a smoky undercurrent to most Grenache that just calls for food, especially grilled food.

A couple of weeks ago, K2, my Brother in Things Wine, invited me to do a tasting with him at the Party Source. I wanted to spread the word about my new grapey affection, so we ran down a series of Grenaches from around the world to educate folks on just how good this underappreciated grape can be. We put together an “around the world” Grenache tasting to show the breadth of what this grape can do.

We started our world tour in Spain, where Grenache is known as Garnacha. Many of the wines you’ll see from Spain’s Navarra region are blends that include a lion’s share of Garnacha. Garnacha is second only to Tempranillo among red grapes in the Rioja region, as well. Garnacha thrives in the Mistral winds, but rather than yielding a high-alcohol fruit bomb, it yields a lighter, smokier drink, like the Campo Vieja 2012 Rioja Garnacha. This is a quaffable wine with a very pretty floral and cherry nose. While light-bodied, it’s got good structure and finishes with lingering pepper and spice. Grilled pork, ribs, or ham would be great with this. ($18)

From there, we nipped over to Italy, specifically to the island of Sardinia. Here, Grenache goes by the alias Cannonau. The volcanic soils of Italy lend the traditional Italian minerality (which I think tastes a little “chalky”) to the finished product. Sardinian Cannonau, perhaps because of the particular terroir, has some of the highest levels of reservatrol of any red wine in the world. That’s the compound that makes red wine so good for your heart. For an example here, we had the Argiolas Costera 2009 Cannonau di Sardegna.($14) If you’re a fan of Italian wines, I’d put this somewhere between Chianti and Barbera on the “mineral vs. fruit” scale. Black cherry and licorice are the flavors I found most prevalent, but with minerality that would make it welcome next to a big plate of red sauced pasta.

For a change of pace, we headed down under to Australia. As I mentioned, Grenache was used in a lot of inexpensive plonk for quite some time, but in many regions, such as McLaren Vale, winemakers are exploring what this grape can do. In Australia, Grenache gains some heft on the palate and becomes much more fruit forward. A perfect example is the d’Arenberg 2009 “The Custodian” Grenache. ($13) Rather than the cherry and spice the previous wines showed, this one featured much richer blackberry and raspberry flavors, and the tannins turned much smokier. It’s quite a bold, pretty wine, in my estimation, which would be great with anything you might find sizzling on your grill.

The touchstone of Grenache, however, is in France. Grenache, along with Syrah, are the dominant grapes of the entire Rhone region. The finest (and most expensive, generally) wines in the Rhone, Chateauneuf-de-Pape, are made from as much as 80% Grenache. The less-expensive Rhone wines, usually labeled “Cotes-du-Rhone” are almost always made up of a majority of Grenache. That was no different with the wine we chose to illustrate French Grenache, the Cercius 2011 Cotes-du-Rhone, a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah. This is a rich, earthy wine that filled my nose and mouth with blackberries and a healthy dose of an earthy funkiness. It’s layered and complex with a finish that lasts and lasts. With any sort of roasted meats or vegetables, this would be a winner. ($16)

Finally, we arrived back in the States. The renaissance of Grenache in the U.S. was driven by a group of California winemakers in the 1980’s (led by Randall Graham) known colloquially as the “Rhone Rangers.” They thought certain varietals usually found in the Rhone, including Grenache, would respond well to certain California terroir. In general, California versions of these wines tend to be rounder and fruitier, and the Tablas Creek 2010 Patelin de Tablas ($19) from the Paso Robles region was no exception. This asskicker of a wine, which actually is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Counoise, comes on strong with a full mouth of blueberries and blackberries, but also a bit of a bacony flavor through the midpalate and onto the long, fruity finish. This was easily the biggest of the fine wines we poured and was the overall favorite of the folks who stopped by the table.

So…enough with the poor reputation of Grenache! Go get a bottle and try it out. As you can see, you’ve got many variations on the theme with which to experiment. Try them out this summer and beyond. Who’s with me? 

Naked Vine Live! Muffin & Stump's Libations for Education -- May 17th!

Save the Date! Join The Naked Vine and Christine the Pie Queen at Newberry Brothers Cafe and Bistro on May 17th from 5:00 to midnight for our "Libations for Education" guest bartending stint!

Enjoy an evening of good beverages, better pastries, and random joviality for an excellent cause. Tips and donations will help construct the new Gateway Community & Technical College Urban Metro Campus in downtown Covington. 

Help change the face of education in Northern Kentucky while you get your drink on! See you there!

The Naked Vine Live!

Looking for something to do on Wednesday evening? Want to enjoy some tasty, affordable wine, chat with your favorite local wine writer, and hang in some good company? If so, clear your calendar (or at least carve out a few minutes) between 6-8 pm on Wednesday, April 30th when I team up with Kevin Keith (better known as "K2" from Under the Grape Tree) to host a free tasting for y'all at The Party Source!

We're going to be pouring several versions of Grenache, one of the more interesting and most unappreciated grape varietals out there. We'll have examples to compare and contrast from all over the globe, so come on down. Try some of our selections and maybe try a few more from their new tasting bar. For a local angle, Stonebrook Winery will also be offering samples of their wares. And if you've got a thirst for hops, you can pop back to Ei8ht Ball Brewery in the back of the Party Source and try some samples from here.

Come on down!

Enjoy a Raptor-ous evening with wine & dinosaurs

If you're an aficionado of the Mesozoic Era, head down to the Cincinnati Museum Center this Wednesday evening, September 25th, from 7-9 PM for a special dinosaur-themed wine tasting. 

Image courtesy Peter Schrank, The Economist

Here's the information from Brittany Brown, the Museum Center's Coordinator of Special Programs:

What do wine and dinosaurs have in common? Find out at this dinosaur-inspired wine tasting with wines from South America. Step back in time to Gondwana when these wine regions were the stomping grounds for some of the fascinating dinosaurs that can be discovered right here at Cincinnati Museum Center.

The event, which will be held in the lobby outside the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit will include five wines and food pairings. Prior to the event the OMNIMAX ® film Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia will have a late showing at 6PM and the exhibit Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana will be open throughout the event for guests to purchase at an additional price.

The following wines are included in the tasting:

WHITES:
Alamos Torrontes
Veramonte Chardonnay
Xplorador Moscato

REDS:
Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon
Xplorador Malbec

Members $20, non-Members $30. Call (513) 287-7001 to buy tickets.
https://www.facebook.com/events/152038908330776/

The Alphabet Soup Project – “N” is for “Nero”

Quick quiz…I say “Nero.” What pops into your head?

This guy?

Teenage Wasteland!

No? Maybe this guy?

"Ambassador Spock will be joining us at our next wine tasting."

Nah…how about these guys?

Now we're talking!

Nero d’Avola is an Italian, predominantly Sicilian, wine grape varietal. As you probably remember, most Italian wines draw their name from the location they’re grown rather than the actual varietal of grape. Nero d’Avola eliminates the confusion by including both.

In Italian, “Nero d’Avola” translates as “The Black [Grape] of Avola” – Avola being a town at the southernmost tip of the island of Sicily near the city of Syracuse. The varietal is less commonly referred to as “Calabrese” – meaning “from Calabria,” the Italian province straight across the Strait of Messina from Sicily.

Nero d’Avola grows best in hot, Mediterranean climates. Sicily certainly falls squarely into that definition. Grapes that thrive in warm weather regions tend to yield wines with stronger fruit flavors and higher alcohol content, and Nero is no exception. Its dark, tannic juice has long been sought as a blending grape to add depth and color to lighter wines on the mainland. Advances in winemaking technology have improved the single-varietal quality of these grapes markedly. Sicily is currently third in overall production among Italian wine regions – with the skyrocketing production of Nero d’Avola bolstering the already ample yield of the ubiquitous Marsala grape.

What’s Nero d’Avola taste like? The best parallel I’ve seen out there is Australian Shiraz, although I find The Black to be more tannic in general. As with most high-tannin wines, it usually takes a couple of years for the tannins to calm down and mesh with the other flavors, so if you’re looking on the shelves of your local quality wine retailer, don’t be afraid to pick up a bottle with a couple of years under its cork. Nero d’Avola also has aging potential, so if you find one you enjoy, don’t be afraid to stash a few bottles in the ol’ cellar for a little while. Nero d’Avola is also sometimes made into rosé for summertime consumption.

Sicily, being the volcanic island that it is, has great variation in altitude and soil content with microclimatic regions all over the place. The flavor you’ll find can vary markedly from producer to producer and from town to town. You may need to do a little independent research to see where your palate’s sweet spot is with this grape. (But that’s half the fun, ain’t it?) It also can pair with a broad variety of foods – from earthy vegetables like roasted eggplant to tomato-based pasta sauces to lamb and chili. Here are a few that I enjoyed recently:

Poggio Anima 2010 “Asmodeus” Nero d’Avola – Asmodeus, as any owner of the original Dungeons and Dragons “Monster Manual” can tell you, is the Lord of Hell. I doubt the terroir for this wine is quite that intense, largely because brimstone is not part of this wine’s big, bright flavor. My first impression was of blackberry and cherry on the nose and palate. It’s medium-to-full body, but it’s not as “sticky” as a similarly bouqueted Shiraz would be. Instead, the finish leans out, turning first to a nice tannic dryness and then into that mineral character that many Italian wines possess. I thought it was a wonderful food wine. We had this next to a penne pasta with wilted arugula, diced tomatoes, and goat cheese, topped with roasted pork (recipe here). There are worse wines to accompany any number of sins, gluttony being the top of the list. $13.

Regaleali 2008 Nero d’Avola – Under other, more blindfolded circumstances, I might have mistaken this for a Bordeaux. (And certainly more like a Bordeaux than a Rhone, which I’d have expected with a “Shiraz-like” grape.)  My first thought on spinning this was, “Wow. Funky!” There’s a real whiff of earthiness on the nose, coupled with a nice bit of cherry. I’d call it medium bodied, in line with the aforementioned French doppelganger. Good dark fruit on the tongue with some gradually-building tannins. There’s plenty of  length on the tannic, chalky finish. We had this with leftovers from the same meal we made for the Asmodeus. The flavors of the pasta had blended into a nice yumminess, and the extra earthy characteristic in this wine made it an even better complement. Another great, though very different, food wine. $15.

Feudo Arancio “Stemmari” 2010 Nero a’Avola – The least expensive ($8) and most

straightforward wine of this particular sampling. It’s a simple, uncomplicated table wine – and this is not a fault in the slightest. The major flavors are cranberry and cherry, both on the nose and on the palate. The real winning piece of this wine is the balance. As I said, there’s nothing complex here – but the flavor, minerality, and tannin are in real harmony, making this a very pleasant and food-friendly quaff. We had this alongside a rustic bean, barley, and wilted green soup, and I thoroughly enjoyed the pairing. (I also discovered that our going-to-seed lettuces made great soup greens!)

If you’re a fan of sturdy, fruity wines and you’re looking for a changeup this weekend, trundle down to the end of the “Other Italian Wines” section and snag a couple of these. After all, once you go Black…

Greetings, Cincinnati!

Howdy!

Hello to all my new friends from Cincinnati.Com! I'm Mike Rosenberg, Sommelier for the Common Man, and I'll be your host, guide, and regular cause for eye-rolling here at The Naked Vine.

I've been pecking away at this little corner of the web since a fateful 2006 conversation at the Beer Sellar where my friend Scott made the offhand comment, "You know, it's easy to find a good $50 bottle of wine. I want to know where to find a good $10 bottle of wine."

The recovering English major side of me kicked in, and The Naked Vine was born. I've been fortunate enough to land myself in a variety of print and online forums -- but like the stuff often sloshing around my glass, it's only now that I've managed to swirl my way home. I'm so pleased to be able to share my adventures with my fellow Cincinnati-area wine lovers.

My goal is simple and I state it right up there in the tagline: Wine Advice for the Rest of Us. If you're looking for 100 point scales and tasting notes playing up the glories of "forest floor," "saddle leather," and "cold steel" -- you're in the wrong place. What you will find are easy to understand reviews of wines and useful bits of wine knowledge. Food and I go way back, so I always try to provide some good culinary pairings. Heck, I'll even throw in a recipe or two from time to time.

Basically, my hope is that after reading the Vine, you'll be able to stroll confidently down the aisle of the wine store of your choice, peruse a good restaurant's wine list, or belly up at your favorite watering hole and say with a grin, "I want THAT."

If you're new to wine, I recommend that you start with my Wine School series. (You obviously want to find more recent vintages of those wines if you taste them.) It'll give you a basic background on the major wine grapes and how to approach them. If there are certain wines that you're looking for, check out my tasting index. If you have wine-related questions, comments, or suggestions for what you'd like to see -- please feel free to shoot me an email. I'd also invite you to "like" the Naked Vine on Facebook or follow me at @thenakedvine on Twitter.

I look forward to having you along with me for the good times on this continuing journey. Grab a glass and come along...

Cheers!

Flights of Fancy

I love doing flights of almost anything. A “flight” usually refers to a set of small samples of wine, but can be beer, whiskey, cola, orange juice, coffee…you get the idea. In general, I differentiate “doing a flight” from a “tasting” since there’s almost always a fun, social aspect involved.  Comparing notes with your slightly-buzzed nearest and dearest across a table strewn with glassware is good times, yo. 

I returned recently from a vacation in Oregon (And there will be future column inches devoted to the delicious wines of the Willamette Valley. Oh yes…). As a day in Portland drew to a close, I realized I’d downed four wildly different sets of liquid tapas:

Flight #1 – The Morning Meditation

After shaking off the previous evening’s revelry, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I left our hotel (the Monaco…a cool place!) for a day-long meander around the city. While Portland has a world-class public transportation system (in the eyes of practically everyone except dillweeds like Ohio’s Governor John Kasich and U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot), the city is eminently walkable. Our plan was to have a look around Old Town and buzz through Chinatown for some lunch before heading over to the Pearl District.

Lan Su Chinese Garden, Portland

After an intentionally aimless stroll, we turned a corner on the edge of Chinatown and came upon the Lan Su Chinese Garden. Portland is best known for the Rose Garden and the adjacent Japanese Garden – but we’d read (correctly) that the Chinese Garden was also not to be missed. From the outside, one wouldn’t know just how peaceful and beautiful this place plopped in the middle of a major city was. On one corner of the garden stands the tea house. Since lunchtime was still a bit away, we stopped in to discover that they offer flights of loose leaf teas. Since I had little notion of good tea beyond Celestial Seasonings, I was intrigued.

Ready for takeoff.

Careful now...careful...

Our server, Martin, was very patient and helpful as he explained to us the differences between the various offerings. We opted for a flight of three “old growth” teas – two green teas from different mountain regions in China and a black tea from Vietnam. I drink a fair amount of “normal” tea. I’d never thought much beyond a basic “tea” flavor – and I’d never really associated terroir with tea. But there it was. The flavors of the Chinese teas were quite different – one was earthier, the other a bit more tannic. And the black tea was another beast altogether.

More important was the preparation ritual, which I clumsily attempted to emulate. Quiet, contemplative, peaceful – looking out across lovely intricate patterns of water and stone – we lost ourselves in tea and serenity for over an hour. Marvelous.

(We ended up checking three small ziplocs of the leftover loose tea. We were half-expecting those aromatic little packets to be confiscated by the TSA, but they made it home.)

Flight #2 – Magnificent Midday Mold

Our walk resumed, our delicious Chinatown lunch was at a pan-Asian bistro called Ping. I had a fabulous kuaytiaw pet pha lo (a Thai-Chinese combo of a duck leg stewed in mushroom broth over fat fresh noodles). The SPinC enjoyed her yam yai (“big salad” in Thai). The food was delicious, but I was mesmerized by the discovery that Ping offered flights of shochu, which I’d always wanted to try.

Shochu is a Japanese alcoholic beverage. Like sake, it’s clear and can be served hot or cold. That’s where the similarities end. Sake is generally made from rice, is brewed in a similar process to beer, and is usually around 13-15% alcohol.

"I've smelled moldier in my sock drawer!"

Shochu can be made from basically any substance that contains convertible starch – rice (including leftover grain from sake production), buckwheat, sweet potatoes, molasses, potatoes, and so on. The raw material is steeped in water, steamed, and cooled. The resulting glop is treated with a mold called koji. The koji breaks the starches down into fermentable sugars. After several days of fermentation, the product is distilled, producing clear, 50-ish proof liquor with a distinct flavor.

I did a flight of three shochu: one made from rice, another from buckwheat, and a third from molasses. (I think the idea of a moldy drink scared the SPinC.) How were they? None of them will replace wine in my beverage rotation anytime soon. I did like the one from molasses, which maintained a bit of that blackstrap sweetness. Next time I’ll try the sweet potato shochu. It was still a little early in the day with the Pearl’s breweries still in front of us.

Flight #3 – Beer! At last, Beer!

We hoped to hit the Pearl’s “Brewery Blocks” for afternoon flights of local beers. As my beer drinkers know, there’s some good beer from Oregon. Alas, we discovered that, like the Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, “Brewery Blocks” now apparently refers to the former tenants of those buildings. The former brewery spaces are now largely retail spaces and upscale condos. We went looking for ales. We found Anthropologie.This gentrification was nicely done, mind you – but fantasies of little beer tasting rooms were dampened.

Slightly disheartened, we headed back towards the Monaco. Rounding a corner on our circuitous route, we saw a bar-front for “Tugboat Brewing Company,” but our bubbles burst as we discovered the door locked. Frustrated, we turned around and – to our joy and relief – saw a sign for “Bailey’s Taproom” directly across the street. With a giant flatscreen menu of 20 Oregonian beers on tap, we’d struck gold. We shared a flight – a couple of IPAs, a cask bitter, a hefeweizen, and a framboise. Since we’d been doing a limited-carb diet leading up to the vacation, these were the first beers we’d had in a month. I might have given thumbs up to an Old Style at this point. They just tasted GOOD.

Beer. Glorious Beer.

Flight #4 – The Plan of Attack Comes Into Focus

Before we headed off to dinner at a highly-recommended-but-ultimately-disappointing meal at a Peruvian place, we stopped at Oregon Wines on Broadway, a wine store and tasting. Wine tasting was heavily on the agenda for the remainder of the trip. We had names of a few places from friends and travel guides, but we weren’t as familiar with the geography, which winery specialized in what style of pinot noir, etc. Eager to learn, we bellied up to the tasting bar and our tastress Emily (who sported some of the most stylish body art you’ll ever see) lined up six Oregon pinots for us from producers large and small.

This sloth loves Oregon pinot. Really.

Emily explained (while cracking us up repeatedly) how Oregon wines were more terroir-driven than other domestics. Unlike California’s more consistent weather, Oregon’s changes markedly from year to year. A very warm year like 2009 leads to noticeably fuller and rounder wines than more subtle flavors of a cooler year like 2010 from the same vineyard. (How Euro!) Also, Oregon’s soil varies greatly – from clay to sediment to volcanic ash, all of which can sometimes be found in the same field of grapes. We picked out a couple of samples we particularly liked for flavor and structure -- “Patricia Green” and “Libra.” Emily gave us a map of the Willamette Valley and said, “If you like those – try these!” Within a few minutes, our itinerary was fleshed out. The adventure began…

Naked Vine Live -- French Reds

Hello all! Looking for something to do this week? Truck on down to the Party Source on Wednesday evening. My pal Danny Gold and I will be pouring French reds from the major vinicultural regions. The show gets going at 6:30 on Wednesday the 25th. Tickets ($20 -- and you get a $5 gift card) are available by clicking here.

Come on down. Learn some basics. Drink up.

Hope to see you there!

The Alphabet Soup Project – “H” is for “Horizontal”

Wine tastings. Sources of inspiration, knowledge, and occasionally a pretty decent buzz by the time all’s said and done. When I’m asked how I started getting into wine, I can point to a monthly wine tasting series the Sweet Partner in Crime and I used to attend regularly. These events introduced us to varietals, wine regions, the idea of terroir – but the most important part of it all is that we got to compare wines.

Comparison is key. Tasting a chardonnay from California next to one from Chile next to one from France gives you a clear vision of how wildly different a grape can taste when grown in different places. Similarly, you can taste three California chardonnays next to each other – one might be oaky, one buttery, and one crisp – all because of how the wine was treated after harvest. on These kinds of comparisons helps you learn what you like and what you’re looking for in a glass of wine.

Most tastings you find are freeform. They’re often simply collections of wines that someone either thinks would taste good together (like “Wines for Summer” or my May 18th “Wines across the Continents” tasting with Danny Gold at Party Source…hint, hint…) There’s nothing wrong with these and they’re a lot of fun, but it’s not necessarily the most educational experience.

If you hang out in the wine tasting world long enough, you’ll hear the WineSpeak terms “Vertical Tasting” and “Horizontal Tasting.” Either one of these should make your ears prick up like a beagle. These types of tastings are where you can learn the most.

I’ve only been to a couple of vertical tastings. A vertical tasting is a series of wines, usually from the same winery, from different vintages. As you can guess, these don’t come along too often. They’re often pretty high-end affairs, since if someone has that many bottles from a single winery lying around, they’re usually a collector – which will usually put the pricetag largely out of Vine range. So, if you ever get invited to one of these – jump at the chance and befriend this person! It’s a unique experience.

Much more common (and much more naughty sounding) is the Horizontal Tasting. Horizontal tastings you can do at home. (Hmm…more naughty sounding by the minute!.) A horizontal tasting is usually wines of the same varietal, vintage, and region. They often have similar price points. They’re usually from different wineries. If you find a region’s wines that you really like, you can gather a few bottles (and perhaps a few friends) to compare and contrast. This sharpens your palate and gives you a much better understanding of what you like and don’t like about that particular wine.

For example, the SPinC and I decided to do a horizontal tasting of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. When we’re out on the town looking at pre-dinner drinks, she tends to go for these wines. We like them – they’re usually crisp, relatively light, grapefruity, and have an “herbaceous” quality on the nose. They’re good food wines because of their high acidity, but they’re plenty quaffable on their own. We decided to try three of them, all in the $12-15 range:

• The Crossings 2010 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
• Brancott 2010 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
• Kim Crawford 2010 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Our selections established quite a contrast. We started with the Crossings, which is so light in color that it practically looks like water. It was extremely acidic, full of grapefruit and lime, and very light. Lighter than most pinot grigio, I’d say – although with more character. I thought it tasted delicate and finished somewhat “prickly.”

The Brancott was heavier on the palate and richer. It wasn’t quite as tart – there were some honey flavors next to the citrus. The wine had a little more “oomph” to it. “If the the first is a lime, then this one is key lime pie,” remarked the SPinC.

The Kim Crawford tasted like it was designed for an American palate. Everything was toned down and smoothed out so as to be firmly middle of the road. Very easy to drink. There wasn’t as much herb and the citrus was less pronounced. “This is key lime pie with plenty of whipped cream,” came the comparison. It wasn’t bad – it just wasn’t nearly as interesting.

For dinner that evening, I grilled up some turkey burgers and some asparagus and tried the wines. We topped the burgers with avocado and tomato, and had some extra tomato slices alongside. When we did a little research, New Zealand sauvignon blanc was a recommended pairing for both asparagus and avocado – two foods that can be wine killers.

We discovered that the Crossings was one of the few white wines that tasted really good with tomatoes on their own. It makes sense with its high level of acidity, but we almost always think red wine with tomato-based stuff. It was also our choice with the asparagus (which we drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil). Some people think the “herbaceousness” of New Zealand sauvignon blanc smells like cat pee. While it might, it was a benefit with the asparagus. The flavors actually melded nicely.

The avocado and burgers worked best with the Brancott. The creaminess of the wine worked well with the texture of the avocado. Since this wine had a little more body, it was able to better handle the turkey. The grilled flavor didn’t overwhelm the wine at all.

The Crawford was just “wine” alongside this particular meal. It didn’t really do anything all that interesting for us. However, when we did a steamed sea bass and sautéed squash, tomatoes, and zucchini the next night, this wine was a very solid pairing. While it didn’t do as well for us next to these other New Zealand sauvignons at our initial tasting, on its own with different food, it was plenty tasty enough. The greater “creaminess” of this wine probably complemented the bass better than the other, more acidic Sauvignon Blancs would have.

All of these wines, in general, fall into the general flavor profile for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that I mentioned above, but it was fascinating to see how much the wines varied within that general definition. This is what I mean by “sharpening your palate.” The more you try, the more you learn. The more you learn, the easier it is to find exactly what it is you’re looking for.

 

Technorati Tags: wine,wine tasting,New Zealand

The Naked Vine Live

A quick reminder to everyone – Danny Gold and I will be leading another tasting at The Party Source on May 18th. We’re going to be looking at “Wines Across the Continents,” so it should be a pretty good spread of tastiness!
To sign up, click here.
Hope to see you there!

A Tale of Two Tastings

The Naked Vine’s social calendar has been loaded the last couple of weekends. As I posted before, I had the opportunity to lead one tasting and emcee another (and thanks to all of you who showed up and hopefully enjoyed the events!). When the dust cleared, one ended up being extremely educational. The other…well…

The first tasting was at Water Tower Fine Wines. David & Jan Lazarus and I opened a spread of what was originally going to be six wines, but expanded to 11 when all was said and done. My intent was to do a comparison tasting of Pinot gris/grigio and Grenache.

We started with the whites. In case you’re curious about the naming conventions, it’s “pinot grigio” in Italy and “pinot gris” in France. In the U.S., it’s named (as far as I can tell) after whichever style the wine most resembles. With the PG’s, I had these three to offer:

• Ca’ Brigiano Pinot Grigio Bennati Italy 2009 ($9-11)
• Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris Cuvee Romanus Alsace 2008 ($17-20)
• Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris 2009 ($14-17)

I thought the first two were good representations of Italian and French (Alsatian) versions of this grape. The Ca’Brigiano was light and acidic. Pool wine. Lots of crisp lime flavor. The Albrecht was a fuller wine, much richer and almost creamy. Much more tropical fruit. The color was markedly different. The Alsatian version had almost a coppery, honeyed color that matched the flavor. I thought, personally, it was the more interesting of the two.

In this case, if you had a continuum with Italy on one side and France on the other, this one would be about ¾ of the way to Alsace. The wine’s flavors tended towards apple and pear with some of that rich honey flavor coming through as well. I thought it lovely.

I admit…I have a crush on Grenache (Get it? Crush! Grenache! I made a wine funny!) The grape’s exceedingly broad potential for flavor and ability to change markedly based on terroir fascinates me. After tasting the wines, I poured them in a couple of “sets:”

• Espelt Old Vines Garnacha Emporda Spain 2009
• Evodia Old Vines Garnacha Altovinum Calatayud Spain 2009

The first two provided a fascinating contrast at about the same price – $10-12. Both wines are 100% Grenache. Same winery, same winemaker (although not marketed as such). However, the grapes from the first came from vineyards close to sea level, while the other was from vineyards planted around 3,000 feet. The climate at the Evodia’s high altitude tends to vary much more widely (hotter days, cooler nights) while the Espelt enjoys a more stable temperature. The result? The Evodia emerged a bigger, jammier, more in-your-face wine with blackberry and cherry flavors. The Espelt was softer, richer, and more complex. If you want an American parallel, think about the difference between red wines from Napa or Sonoma vs. Oregon. Both were extremely tasty.

Next up: soil vs. soil!

• Las Rocas Garnacha San Alejandro Calatayud Spain 2007
• Dom Mirelle & Vincent Cotes du Rhone 2007

As a point of clarification, Cotes du Rhone are blends -- not straight Grenache. CdR’s from the Southern Rhone are usually Grenache-based (rather than syrah-based). These two wines, also both around $12-15, were a fascinating contrast of “Spanish earthy” vs. “France earthy.” The CdR had the classic “Old World Funk” –a little like a barnyard. The Los Rocas had much more of a “digging in the garden” earth. The CdR had a mushroom flavor undertone, while the Los Rocas had more of a charcoal taste. Neither would have been “crack and drink” wines, but either would be spectacular earthy food pairing wines.

Finally, we poured the Quivira Grenache Wine Creek Ranch Dry Creek Valley California 2008. This was normally around a $30 bottle, but it was on sale that day for $21. This was a California Grenache. The Quivera bore no resemblance to either the French or Spanish Grenaches or to the jug Grenache you may have seen. This is a beautifully constructed wine – balanced and powerful. Plums and strawberries on the nose with a rich fruity flavor that eases into a harmony of tannin, pepper, and interesting acidity. This wine is a foodie’s swiss army knife. I can imagine it going with steak as easily as fish. Try. You’ll like.

So, this other tasting… For the third year in a row, the Madisonville Education and Assistance Center has asked me to lead the wine tasting at their annual fundraiser. When I started giving my spiel, I noted that the tasting had the potential to be one of the most interesting social experiments ever recorded in the wine world.

The tasting, as in previous years, was a blind tasting. Unlike past years, there wasn’t a varietal theme. Last year, for instance, was “Sauvignons of Spring.” We had a collection of sauvignon blancs and a collection of cabernet sauvignon. That straightforward this year? Heck, no.

The theme was: “ABC – Anywhere But California.” A no-holds-barred varietal free-for-all. “Red” or “White” was the only certainty. An unsuspecting taster could get a Riesling next to a Chardonnay, an Aussie Shiraz next to a South African Pinotage. Wine judges would run screaming.

The tasting lasted a couple of hours. Folks sampled, scribbled notes, sampled, swished, pretended to spit, and went back for more. At the end of the evening, people voted on their favorite wines – the top two won a prize. What rose from the carnage of our collective palate?

The most “favorited” white was a Trebbiano/Pinot Grigio blend that tasted (to me) like water. The most “favorited” red? A blueberry wine. I have no idea where it was from, who made it, etc. I was literally too dumbfounded to make a mental note. #3 was an Arbor Mist “Tropical Fruits” Chardonnay, followed by a “soft rosé wine,” again from somewhere I can’t remember.

How did a bunch of low-end, cheap wines end up being favorites? I felt like the slogan on the “Meetings” Demotivational Poster: “None of us is as dumb as all of us.”

The commonality is that they’re all very “easy to drink,” much in the same way that fruit juice is very easy to drink. In this social situation like, people aren’t doing much quiet, careful evaluation. They simply need social lubricant – and cheap wine’s been playing that role for millenia. So, while we didn’t create any new science, we all certainly had ourselves a good ol’ time and raised some cash for a good cause – which was, after all, the point.

Technorati Tags: wine review,wine tasting

Wine and Wheels! (or, keeping your tasting calendar full with Vine-y goodness…)

For the third consecutive year, Jeni Henz of the Madisonville Education and Assistance Center has asked me to emcee MEAC’s Spring fundraising event. “Wine and Wheels” is Friday, April 8th from 7-10 pm at Volvo of Cincinnati on Plainville Road. From the MEAC events page (where you can order yourself a ticket):

Support MEAC by attending the Wine and Wheels blind wine tasting. A tasting will be led by Mike Rosenberg, Sommelier for the Common Man and author of “The Naked Vine,” and will be followed by a blind wine tasting contest where the teams who brought the top two wines will win a prize. In addition to the wine, enjoy light hors d’oeuvres from local restaurants.

Registration: $15 per person + bring two bottles of ABC (Anything but California) wine – your choice – for each group of one to three guests.

Guests will vote on their favorite wines and the winners will win prizes!

Aside from the philanthropic nature of the event, there’s PLENTY of wine, a silent auction, and (at least in years past) a good deal of levity. Last year, I did my tasting spiel from the cockpit of a jet. Who knows where I’ll end up this year. So, come on out, test your palate, and say hello!

Festival of the Vine

(To be published in the Dayton City Paper.)
The demand for red wine in Lincoln Park was low this weekend.
Fraze Pavilion’s annual Festival of the Vine always brings out a crowd for sampling wine, kicking back to some cool jazz, and enjoying a shady afternoon. This year, however, with humidity approaching Evergladesian levels and heat indices to make Carl Nichols rethink his retirement, most of the crowd at the festival looked to be avoiding big mouthfuls of tannin.
However, the heat couldn’t stop the groove. A passing thunderstorm caused a brief scramble for shelter at one point, but for most of the afternoon, a steady diet of cool jazz and cooler wine kept the laid back attendees as comfortable as possible in the shade.
This year’s Festival of the Vine mirrored the previous ones. “Like in previous years, we want folks to get a chance to try a bunch of different wines, and hopefully they’ll find something that they like,” proudly stated Kevin Bratton of Heidelberg Distributing, provider of the 35 or so wines available during the evening. “We want to make sure that people get a chance to try things from everywhere. We’ve got New World – largely North American wine,” said Kevin, “We’ve got Old World wines and a sparkling wine tent. And we’ve got an Italian tent because of Claudio.”
This is a good strategy. With that many options, people will probably find new favorites. Festival of the Vine isn’t the kind of event where someone will be able to really *taste* different wines. What they will do is find out what wines are good to slug on a hot day, and that’s a good idea. On a 90 degree day, discussing nuances of torrontes vs. sauvignon blanc isn’t going to be a conversation I’ll want to have, but a “Yep. This helps me forget the heat for a second.” is.
The aforementioned “Claudio” is Claudio Salvador, importer of all the wines in the Italian tent and chief winemaker of Firelands Winery in Sandusky, Ohio. The same weekend as Festival of the Vine was “Toast of Ohio,” another wine festival in Northern Ohio. “I’ve got my crew up there taking care of that. I wanted to come down here!”
Claudio told me that he wanted to showcase some of his wines that were probably unfamiliar to many of the folks at the festival. “We like bringing wines in that people don’t necessarily know. They’re going to know them very soon. Everyone has Pinot Grigio, but with the whites, people haven’t usually tried Gavi or Grecho. Grecho, for instance, is originally from Greece. The Grecho is a very aromatic varietal. People think that it’s the ancestor of Sauvignon Blanc and such.”
Claudio said that he is planning to return to Dayton in November with some of the winemakers from the wines he was showing. “We’re going to do some dinners, which will all be just fantastic. We’re still figuring out exactly where we’re doing them.”
At Claudio’s recommendation, I gave the La Balle Grecho Basilicata a try. One a day like this, the crispness was a welcome respite from the heat. Fruity, acidic, and with a little bit of honey – I could certainly have imagined myself under one of the trees, wrapped around a bottle of the stuff.
I sampled a few of the other wines around the concourse as well. The Monticello Albarino was a refreshing quaff, as was the Grenache-based Belleruche Blanc, a white from the Rhone region in France. I also snagged a glass at one point of the Barefoot Brut sparkling wine. Despite the good banter at the tasting table – the conversation far outstripped the bubbly. The music outstripped both. 
Besides, doing heavy wine tasting isn’t the point of an afternoon like this. I’ll definitely lean towards relaxing and good jazz. As my newest friend “Ron from Atlanta” put it, “The wine doesn’t matter to me. I’m here for the music, man. I came up here for a family reunion. I heard [Nate White] was playing, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss him. He’s smooth!”
“Oh, and this weather y’all are having? It’s like springtime! I feel right at home.”

Attention: University of Cincinnati Alums

I'm going to be leading a wine-tasting fundraiser for the UC Foundation and Department of Nutrition Sciences on Saturday, June 6th, at 6:30 PM at the home of David & Jan Lazarus. This tasting is $25 per person and proceeds benefit our scholarship fund.

To RSVP or purchase tickets contact Jillian Altus at 513-558-3879 or altusje@ucmail.uc.edu

Send checks to UC Academic Health Center P.O.Box 670544 Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0544. Checks should be made out to UCF/Nutrition Dept. Scholarship Fund and sent to the attention of Jillian Altus.