A Pause from the Glass -- The Naked Vine's Quinoa Chili

My happy cooking accident led to a new vegetarian favorite.

This little bit of deliciousness started out as a humble side dish. Between not having a couple of the original recipe's ingredients, a misread of a couple of amounts, and several "You know, I bet adding this would taste gooood" inspirational flashes, I ended up with a big potful of vegetarian-friendly chili that I'll happily recreate.

Since we're in the low 60's in the beginning of frickin' August, I didn't even have to wait for football to crank this up:

The Naked Vine's Quinoa Chili

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
6-8 garlic cloves, diced
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 c. quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 cubes
1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
3 chipotle chilis from a can in adobo, diced, plus 1 tsp. adobo sauce
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano or 1 tbsp. fresh, diced
1 roasted red pepper (jarred is fine), diced
4 c. vegetable stock or chicken stock
1 bottle stout beer
salt to taste (I start with 1 tbsp, but YMMV)
1 tsp. sugar

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium  heat. Add the onion and celery and saute until the onion starts to brown, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Cook 1 minute. Add chili powder, coriander, and cloves. Stir and cook 1 minute.

Add everything else. Bring to a boil. Cover and cut the heat back back to a simmer. Cook for a couple of hours, until quinoa is done and the sweet potato and beans are very soft. Add additional liquid if your quinoa is extra-thirsty.

Top with sour cream, chopped cilantro, and some diced chives or scallions around. If you've got a bottle of something Bordeaux-ish with a slight chill on it around, crack it. You'll thank me.

Naked Vine Double Barrel -- Geyser Peak

Here’s another pair of California summer whites, this time from Geyser Peak. The winery dates back to some of the original Sonoma growers in the 1880’s. The name refers to a mountain overlooking the Geyserville vineyards where the morning clouds would crash against the summit and plume towards the sky.

The winery produces a Chardonnay, a Merlot, and a Cabernet Sauvignon in addition to the pair of lighter whites I was sent to sample for consumption as the mercury rises. (And if the mercury's going to stay where it is right now, I'm not going to complain!)

Geyser Peak 2012 California Pinot Grigio – This wine is instructive on the American laws on wine naming. For a wine to be labeled as a particular varietal – meaning it says “chardonnay” or “zinfandel” – the wine must be comprised of at least 75% of a particular grape. The remaining 25% can be used at a winemaker’s discretion. Thus, a “Pinot Grigio” might have up to a quarter of its total volume made up of other grapes. Lest you think that’s some sort of cheating, adding a touch of a secondary grape variety or two can markedly improve a wine’s complexity and flavor. In some areas of France and Italy, one can be hard-pressed to find a wine that isn’t a blend.

In this case, Geyser Peak blends some gewürztraminer into their Pinot Grigio to produce a more aromatic character. I thought it brought out some interesting scents in the bouquet, which to me  smelled of sliced apples and apple blossoms. The body has initial flavors of apple and melon alongside a mineral character which I expect comes from the gewürztraminer. The finish quickly went from melon to a lingering flavor of tart grapefruit. I picked up a bitterness at the end which the Sweet Partner in Crime did not. She liked this wine quite a bit, while I was somewhat lukewarm on it. $14.

Geyser Peak 2012 Sauvignon Blanc – No need for varietal-based discussion here. This white is 100% sauvignon blanc. The nose is heavy with flowers and tropical fruit. I thought it was fairly light bodied for a California sauvignon blanc, which can sometimes trend towards the sticky. There’s also a minerality here reminiscent of some white Bordeaux that is usually lacking in many domestic sauvignon blancs. The ripe, tropical flavors on the nose are in full effect on the body along with some melon, which fades gradually into a lingering fruity finish. I appreciated that this wine had a very good balance. We ended up pleasantly polishing the bottle off on its own, but I’d think this would be good with Thai food or a salad that had a dressing with a little zing. It retails for $10-12.

Naked Vine One-Hitter -- La Grêle Rosé

I'm a sucker for a good story. Especially if the story involves good neighbors and wine.

It's July 2012 in Provence, France. A freak, vicious hailstorm blows up over the vineyards of Chateau de Roquefort, a winery dating from the 1700's which produces "Corail" -- a longtime favorite here in the world of the Naked Vine. In seven minutes, their entire 2012 crop is more or less destroyed. There would be no 2012 vintage of this wine, or many of their other selections.

Enter a collection of 37 vignerons from around the province and beyond, each of which contributed some of their own harvest to the winemakers at Roquefort so that they would not have to miss a vintage. The folks at Roquefort got to work on a  rosé thanks to the generosity of their friends.

The result was Chateau de Roquefort's "La Grêle" 2012 Rosé -- a true regional partnership borne from compassion and friendship. The story in and of itself warranted a tasting in my eyes.

One of the truly interesting notes about this wine is that it's a first of its kind in France. As we've discussed previously, French wine law is extensive and very specific -- especially when it comes to the naming of wines. Under normal circumstances, a wine can only be produced from grapes grown within a particular area. With La Grêle (French for "the hail"), however, the grapes came from multiple growing regions. Thus, rather than a "Cotes du Provence" as you'd usually see, this is an "IGP Méditerranée" -- which translates roughly as "frickin' mishmash that we don't have a real name for."

How is it? Pretty darned tasty. If you like Provence rosé (and if you don't, dear god why not, you silly person!), then you'll find this to be right in line with many of those. Substantial in flavor without being overly heavy, full of peaches and raspberries, and very clean. I thought it held its own against just about any pink wine I've tasted this year. Well worth the $16 pricetag, and easily spotted on your local wine store's shelf because of the distinctive label, adorned with the names of the "With a Little Help From My Friends" crew of winemakers.

The Italian Heavy Hitter – Sagrantino di Montefalco

“It is the vice of a vulgar mind to be thrilled by bigness…”

 – E.M. Forster, “Howard’s End”

“I’m feeling vulgar. Pour...”

 – Mike Rosenberg, “The Naked Vine”

Last year, I did a story on 20 Mondi, a project by graphic designer and journalist Michael Loos in which he visited all twenty Italian wine growing regions, focusing on autochthonal grapes. “Autochthonal” is the term for grapes indigenous to a particular region. There are over 600 indigenous grape varietals in Italy. Many are being grown in increasingly smaller quantities, replaced by more commonly demanded varieties.

Montefalco, Umbria -- surrounded by Sagrantino vineyards

Such was the case with the Sagrantino di Montefalco grape from the province of Umbria. Loos describes Umbria as the “green heart of Italy,” as it is the only land locked province. Cultivation of Sagrantino in Umbria can be traced to the town of Montefalco in 1549, although vineyards in that area date back as far as 1088. The name of the grape comes from the Latin “sacer,” meaning “sacred” – referring to the concentrated raisin wine produced by monks in this area both for religious rituals. A “regular” version of this wine was consumed in quantity during religious feasts and festivals like Easter and Christmas.

Umbria is known traditionally for white wines. A combination of demand for those whites and the relative low yields of Sagrantino vines pushed much of the native red varietal out of the local vineyards during the 1960’s and 70’s, almost wiping it out completely. In 1979, a few wine producers sought a “classified status” for Sagrantino, which allowed broader cultivation. The status was granted in 1992. From that time, the acreage of Sagrantino vineyards has quadrupled.

If you’re in the “I drink red wine because it’s good for my health” camp, you’ve found your wine. Sagrantino’s claim to fame is that it has the highest concentration of polyphenols of any grape varietal in the world. Polyphenols are the chemical compounds found in red wine (sometimes called resveratrol) that help the body protect itself from cellular damage.

I also discovered that Sagrantino may be the most tooth-staining grape varietal. When I brushed my teeth the night after drinking the first bottle, I spit almost-black. My teeth looked like I’d been at a long red wine tasting. (And yes, I brushed again.)

Speaking of tasting, these are frickin’ enormous wines. I considered Barolo and Barbaresco to be the “big Italians” until I tried Amarone – the super-concentrated wine made from partially dried grapes in Valpolicella. Move over, bambini. Sagrantino are inky black in color, highly tannic, and very high in alcohol. One of the samples clocked in at 15.5%. So if you’re trying them – decant, decant, decant! (And assign a designated driver if you’re not at home.) Get the wine into a decanter a minimum of 90 minutes before you start your meal. Honestly, I’d open it at lunch to serve it with dinner.

Sagrantino is not an inexpensive wine. Most of them run between $25-50 for a standard sized bottle. (Like Amarone, it’s often available in half-bottles.)

When I drink wines like this, I generally try to cook up some Italian recipes that I think should pair nicely. I worry less about the tasting notes than I do the overall experience with this sort of wine. For the sake of comparison, here’s what the winemakers say about this set of samples:

Arnaldo Caprai 2007 "Collepiano" Sagrantino di Montefalco ($50)

Aromatically sensational. Intense, with notes of mature fruit and hints of spice and aromas of vanilla transcended from the barriques. On the palate the wine is potent, soft and velvety, with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Perticaia 2007 Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG ($47)

Spicy nose with a scent of cinnamon that doesn’t overpower the aroma of red fruit and black cherry. A very full and persistent wine with an agreeable touch of rustic bitterness.

Scacciadiavoli Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG ($37)

Complex, elegant and intense nose with notes of red fruits, red citrus, ripe plums, herbs and leather. An immense wine balanced by fresh acidity and a spicy finish.

The first meal I made for these wines was lamb shoulder braised in a fresh-sage and rosemary tomato sauce over penne, with the Perticaia alongside. The “middle” wine’s considerable strength allowed it to harmonize beautifully with the rich flavors in that lamb dish. The description above for the wine’s flavor above is apt, but alongside the strong herbs and savory richness of the sauce & ultra-tender meat – the fruit flavors hidden beneath that tannic blanket start to emerge and balance. A hedonistically good pairing.

With a day off for the 4^th of July, I put together one of my famous eggplant parmesans – one of the SPinC’s faves. Eggplant parm needs a tannic accompaniment. The Collepiano (selected by the Wizard of Covington) went into the decanter as I was making my sauce. A couple of hours later, the parmesan was ready, the wine was poured, and…we puckered. I can’t remember ever tasting a wine this tannic. Any fruit there was lost beneath a layer of asphalt. The finish was almost an unearthly level of dry.

“I just can’t do it,” said the Sweet Partner in Crime, switching to a glass of Montepulciano d’Abbruzo. I got through a glass of it and switched over to the Montepulciano myself. I put the wine back in the bottle, stoppered it, and gave it a try a few other times over the following weekend, hoping that it would develop some flavor structure. It never did. I figure either this wine was more man than I am, or we might have accidentally received a flawed bottle -- as it did develop a slightly vinegary aftertaste.

However, I wasn’t going to let a $50 dollar bottle of wine go down the drain. I’d always wanted to make a traditional Risotto al Barolo, but I don’t have the budget to blow Barolo money on a cooking wine. Sagrantino has a similar flavor profile, so Risotto al Sagrantino it is!  Umbria produces almost half of the black truffles in Italy, so I splashed a little truffle oil on the risotto before serving it with our third wine, the Scacciadiavoli. The risotto turned out fifty kinds of awesome, if I do say so myself. The Scacciadiavoli (Italian for "Devil hunters") was considerably better than the Collepiano, in that it actually had some plum and cherry fruit amidst the tannic tar.

The heavy tannins cut through the creaminess, helped by the wine already cooked in to the risotto. I thought it was a really good match. The SPinC, possibly still scarred from the Collepiano, had a small glass and returned to her Montepulciano. “It’s too much,” she said of the wine’s tannin.

For my fans of big, powerful Italian wines (Uncle Alan, I’m looking at you!), a Sagrantino di Montefalco is going to be a nice change of pace. With rich, meaty dishes – especially when there’s a chill in the air – it’s a good choice for a special occasion. I’d definitely do it again with that lamb dish I made. However, if you like your wines on the less intense side, you’ll find lighter reds that will fit the bill better.

(Many thanks to Paul Yanon of Colangelo PR for the Sagrantino samples.)

Still Naked, Still Peppy -- The Return of Pepi Wines

Summertime sippers. Got to have them.

A pair of samples from Pepi Wines showed up not long ago. Astute readers of the Vine may remember that I wrote a review on Pepi’s 2011 vintage last year. I’m certainly not one to shy away from repeat performances. You know…for...um…quality control purposes.

Pepi, taglined as “A True California Original,” makes whites only. They do a chardonnay, a pinot grigio, a sauvignon blanc, and a blend of chenin blanc & viognier. The grapes for these wines are sourced from all over California – largely from cool-climate areas in the state. According to their trade info, Pepi was one of the first wines in California to be bottled with a Stelvin closure, better known as a quality screwcap. (I am a long-time unabashed fan of Stelvined-up wines, as many of you know.) 

Pepi wines generally retail for right around $10. I had a bottle each of the pinot grigio and the sauvignon blanc. How'd they fare?

Pepi 2012 Pinot Grigio – As with many California pinot grigios, this bottle makes a very pleasant summertime picnic selection. I found the Pepi to have a more pronounced bouquet than many inexpensive pinot grigios. The nose is full of apple blossoms and lemons. On the palate, it was more full-bodied than I expected. It’s almost a little “glyceriney” on the tongue, but I didn’t find that necessarily to be a bad thing. The flavor is crisp and lemony, although the tartness does turn slightly sour towards the lingering finish. It’s easy to sip on its own, but I would prefer it with food. It would be good with almost any light meal, especially if were seeking a wine pairing for a vinaigrette-dressed salad that has a little bit of fruit in it. Pepi recommends a Cajun-flavored shrimp, fish, corn and sausage skillet, which I could certainly see working.

Pepi 2012 Sauvignon Blanc – The Sweet Partner in Crime and I were putting together a dinner of steamed mussels with chorizo and white beans. The recipe we were pulling from suggested a “fruity, California sauvignon blanc.” How convenient that we had the second bottle of Pepi for pairing purposes. This is a much more balanced wine than the price point implies. The nose is full of pineapple and green apple. The body is fruity and citrusy, and the acidity never really becomes sharp – even through the lingering, citrusy finish. Alongside the mussels, the wine was a champ. I thought it handled the savory, spicy, and herbal flavors without getting rolled. We agreed this is a nice, flexible “keep around for your summertime needs” bottle.

Bottom line – after peeking back at my review from last year, Pepi has done a good job keeping these wines consistent from vintage to vintage. If you’ve tried them in the past and liked them, you won’t find any surprises. If you haven’t tried them, I’d recommend the sauvignon blanc for a tenner. 

(Thanks to Stacey at Balzac for the samples.)

A Med Spread for Summertime

“Every culture makes wine to go with what they’re eating.”
– Naked Vine Wine Pairing Rule #1.

I have a slightly more difficult time pairing wines in summer. I’m not a huge fan of massive, tannic wines when it’s hot, and I don’t have a lot of patience for watery pinot grigio. I drink a lot of rosé, as we’ve long established, and I do like to have options. At times like this, I turn my sights to places where folks have dealt with blistering summers for centuries – the Mediterranean.

Thanks to the good folks at Bourgeois Family Selections, the wine fairy delivered an array of interesting, affordable Mediterranean yumminess for our consumption here at Vine HQ. 

Bodegas Latúe 2012 Airén White Wine – The first of the two biodynamic wines from the Bodegas Latúe

wine collective in the province of Toledo in Spain. Their wines are all certified organic – by both Spanish and American standards. Their white is made from the Airén grape, which is one of the more common Spanish white grapes. Airen once represented almost 30% of all grapes grown in Spain, but because of its lower yields, some wineries are replacing it with higher-yield grapes. The wine has a pale straw color that yields a peach blossomy nose. I braced myself ready for an acid ball on pouring. It certainly is acidic, but there’s a generous amount of peach flavor to go alongside. After the wine gets some air, the finish goes from a somewhat bitter lemon-rind flavor to a softer citrus like an almost-ripe nectarine. I thought it would go well with fish tacos and southwestern rice, and I was certainly not disappointed. $10.

Bodegas Latúe 2012 Tempranillo – Latúe also makes a Tempranillo in a similarly organic fashion. This one has a fairly fragrant nose of cherries and cranberries. The body is on the lighter side, but there’s enough tannin to make it feel substantial, which is a real plus as a summer wine. I thought there was a nice balance of fruit and tannin, even if it is, as a whole, a bit lean. The finish is where the tannins really make an appearance, drying out the palate or standing ready to cut through the fat of a steak. Despite the relatively light body, it worked nicely with a thick grilled, marinated flank steak. I’d snag it again, especially at $10.

Domaine de Ballade 2012 Cotes de Gascogne – This wine is very refreshing blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Columbard from the region of Gascony in southwest France. All in all, I’ve discovered that Gascony really produces some of the most consistently refreshing summer wines. This bottle is no exception. The nose is full of lemon and wet stones. The medium-light body holds a grapefruity blend of mineral and acidity that finishes with a nice snap. A super wine for a warm day on the porch, at a picnic, or at the beach. It also turned out to be a really nice pairing choice for seafood. We had this with seared scallops with a grapefruit, fennel, and cucumber salad. Harmonious. Around $11-12.

Clos Teddi 2011 Patrimonio Vermentinu – I admit to my surprise when I saw this wine was French. I’d always associated the Vermentino grape with Italy, specifically with Sardinia, where it makes a crisp, flavorful white wine. In France, the grape is known as “Vermentinu” and – like in Italy – is primarily grown on an island. This time, the island is Corsica. Patrimonio, which I initially thought was a nod to the grape’s Italian ancestry, turns out to eb the Corsican wine region. The site of the winery was a Greek settlement in 800 BC. The winery itself is named for Thethis, one of the Greek goddesses of the sea and mother of Achilles. How about the wine? Really nice. Smooth and minerally. The nose is another good demonstration of “wet stone,” mirrored in the mineral on the palate. There are rich apple and orange flavors on the body, with a nice pepperiness throughout. Simply put, this is a just a very tasty wine. It’s a bit more expensive at around $27, but if you’re looking for a nice bottle to share among friends, it’s a solid call.

Elicio 2011 Cotes du Ventoux Blanc – Some nights, I land on an unexpectedly strong wine match. On a hot, June evening, we needed something refreshing on its own that could still go with some herb-broiled trout and fresh green beans in a honey mustard vinaigrette dressing with almonds. That’s a challenging pairing with loads of flavors shooting off in different directions. I needed something somewhat substantial so it wouldn’t get trampled and still added something to the meal. This $12 bottle rose to the occasion. It’s a pleasant sipper, also 100% Vermentino, full of flavors of papaya and citrus with a load of minerals. The finish is fruity and crisp and overall – it’s quite tasty. Alongside the dinner, it was balanced and inoffensive. Honestly, that’s exactly what I wanted. I’d pick this up again.

Just In Time for the 4th -- Return of the Ravens(wood)

Almost exactly a year ago, I received a couple of Zinfandels -- framed by some reminiscences of the trip to Sonoma County which led the Sweet Partner in Crime and I us down our path of oenological debauchery. The grape that started it all was Zinfandel. (Click up there to get the rest of the story.)

The wines  in that particular review were from Ravenswood. Well, lo and behold, another pair of Ravenswood Zins landed on my doorstep for review as their new vintage rolls out. (Thanks, Lisa!) This package of goodness contained the following wines:

Ravenswood 2011 "Vintners Blend" Old Vine Zinfandel ($9)
Ravenswood 2011 "Napa Valley" Old Vine Zinfandel ($14)

To refresh your memory, the term "Old Vine" in relation to a Zinfandel is similar to calling a piece of beef "Angus." Just as "Angus Beef" roughly denotes "slightly higher quality," there's not a precise definition. Along those lines, there's no real guideline for what constitutes an actual "old" grapevine. The general rule of thumb is "older than 45 years."  Since there's nothing cast in stone, the term can be applied somewhat loosely. Like I said last time, winemakers usually turn to Potter Stewart for direction. So, how do these wines compare to last year's entries?

The Vintner's Blend still is designed to be a crowd pleaser -- fairly big and juicy, approachable, and flexible. Thanks to the consistency of the California climate and  the skill of the winemakers, this wine stays fairly consistent from year to year. There are still big cherry and blueberry scents and flavors, the tannins are relatively mild, and the finish lingers fruity and pleasant.

The Napa Valley, another one of the "County Series" wines from Ravenswood, has a little more character. (Ravenswood's other "County Series" Zinfandels are Lodi, Sonoma County, and Mendocino -- wonder what a side-by-side-by-side-by-side would be like?) Also like its cousin, it definitely needs some time in air before you can really get a handle on how the flavors actually are. After a good period of swirling and swishing, some vanilla and spice flavors start to emerge, followed by some cocoa and blackberry flavors. The finish is more tannic and grippier than the Vintner's blend.

The suggested pairing with Zinfandel is any kind of grilled meat or, for a twist, hearty red sauce pastas, and I'll put my big ol' red sauce up against just about anyone's. A big plate of penne tossed with Mike's Magic Quasi-Marinara seemed like a logical accompaniment for a side-by-side exploration. Both wines worked quite nicely alongside the sausage and mushrooms in the sauce. Again, just like last year, we split opinions. The Sweet Partner in Crime liked the Vintner's better -- and I was a bigger fan of the Napa. We had a similar split with our evening chocolate.

Bottom line -- Ravenswood makes a very solid, approachable Zinfandel. If you like the grape, you're probably going to like these wines. They're affordable and decent, and if you're doing some grilling out, your guests will be plenty happy with this.

Red Roost Tavern -- The Cincinnati Hyatt's new concept

The Cincinnati Hyatt Regency hotel is in the process of a $20 million makeover. Like many of Hyatt’s other properties, the upscale hotel at 5th and Elm is going for sleeker, more modern décor. That momentum includes the former Champs sports bar space, now converted into the Red Roost Tavern, a modern-themed “farm to table” style restaurant. Earlier this week, the Hyatt hosted a “blogger dinner” for several members of the Queen City’s online writing community.

First impressions walking into Red Roost? Gone are the neon signs, bright colors and pub grub from the old Champs. In its place are cleaner lines in greys and earth tones. Some of the accents and tabletops are repurposed from the local area. For instance, the paneling wrapping the entranceway columns are from a nearby old barn. The space is split roughly in half between the bar and restaurant sections. The bar section is still, in their words, “media friendly” with plenty of TVs, but the vibe is considerably more low-key. The dining area features an open kitchen line at all three meals and comfortable seating. The private dining area is still currently without its walls (perhaps an unintentional tribute to Les Nessmann?).

Reclaimed wood tabletop. (Photo courtesy Hyatt Regency Cincinnati)

According to Meghann Naveau, account exec at Fahlgren-Mortine -- the public relations firm handling the opening of the restaurant, “More than two dozen farms, distilleries and purveyors throughout Ohio and Northern Kentucky supply the restaurant with hormone-free meats, organic produce and high-quality beer and spirits.”

The restaurant incorporates some local flair into its offerings. Produce comes from Carriage House Farm in North Bend, OH; cheeses from Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese in Austin, KY, Boone Creek Creamery in Lexington, KY, Trader’s Point Creamery in Zionsville, Indiana, Swiss Connection Cheese in Clay City, IN, Capriole Cheese in Greenville, IN, Lake Erie Creamery in Cleveland; charcuterie meats from Smoking Goose in Indianapolis; and gelato & ice cream from Madisono’s in Cincinnati. The beverage list gives a nod to local breweries. Beers from Cincinnati’s Mad Tree, Mt. Carmel, Rivertown, and Christian Moerlein breweries, Lexington Brewery (makers of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale), and Cleveland’s Great Lakes and Fat Head breweries all make the beer list. Not all of the ingredients and produce are sourced locally. (I don’t think we have a local source for halibut and quinoa!)

On the dinner menu, soups and salads are $6-7. Flatbreads, appetizers, and vegetarian entrees range from $5-15. Meat-centric entrees go from a free-range chicken at $22 to the grass-fed ribeye at $38.

(Photo courtesy Hyatt Regency Cincinnati)

The restaurant’s tagline is “Thoughtfully sourced, carefully served,” so I was interested to discover the concoctions they chose for this preview. In what I assume was an attempt to stick with the “local flavor” theme, our six small-plate courses were paired with the local draft beers instead of wines. I’ve got nothing against a beer-pairing dinner. Done properly, well-paired beer can be just as good with food. It does, however, take a certain amount of care – and a fairly extensive beer selection – to get everything right. There are 10 beers on tap (six were the local drafts we had with dinner) and 25 bottled beers. The wine list includes 28 selections available by the glass or bottle, none of which are from local wineries.

Our first course was a crab cake served with a slaw and honey-chili mayo, paired with Rivertown Jenneke Belgian Blonde Ale. The crab cake was quite flavorful and was mostly crab meat, in stark opposition to the bready mess many “crab cakes” become. The blonde ale was a good pairing – since the honey flavors in the blonde ale played off the honey in the mayo. This pairing was, for me, the highlight.

Dining room at Red Roost (Photo courtesy Hyatt Regency Cincinnati)

Next up was a sweet corn soup finished with a smoked tomato jam paired with a Mt. Carmel nut brown ale. The soup was sweet and straightforward. The tomato jam gave the soup some depth. The beer pairing didn’t work as well as I expected. The sweetness of the soup turned what would have been a slightly sweet beer quite bitter.

[Side note: At this point, I asked the sous chef -- who had been coming out to describe each course – how he arrived at the various food and beer pairings. He stated that he hadn’t been involved in the selections and that the managers had made the decisions. I asked one of the managers who was there, and he gave an answer about “the flavor profile meshing with the food” without giving many specifics.]

The third course was a quinoa salad with summer squash, walnuts, and an herb vinaigrette with a Rivertown Helles Lager. The salad was subtly flavored – and the vinaigrette didn’t really do anything to help with the beer’s flavor, which turned very sharp together. Salad courses are always the toughest to pair.

At this point, we got a “palate cleanser” of limóncello made in Columbus. While I like Limóncello as an after dinner drink sometimes, it seemed a bit odd here. Rather than cleansing my palate, it coated it in cream and alcohol. Again, I understand the “local” angle – but forcing an after-dinner drink in the middle of a meal felt a bit odd.

The fourth course was a take on “fish and chips” – with a piece of halibut filet and fried elephant garlic chips, served with a malt vinegar reduction. This was paired with the Mad Tree Psychopathy IPA. Disappointing. My fish was over-seared and extremely dry. The chips were basically burnt. The IPA, solid enough on its own, was done no favors by those flavors.

Fifth was a slow-roasted pork tenderloin with a port cherry reduction paired with a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. The cherry reduction connected nicely with what is usually not one of my favorite beers. The pork, on the other hand, was fairly tough and dry. Not so dry as the halibut, but still overdone. The beer at least made the pork palatable. (Also, one of the managers made sure we knew that they’d swapped the beers for courses 4 and 5 right before the meal after “going back and forth on that all day.” The pairing they went does make more sense, but I wish they'd been a little more thoughtful with the pairings instead of just shoehorning the local selections.)

Finally, we had an organic corn ice cream with salted caramel sauce from Madisono’s with a Rivertown blueberry lager. The ice cream was delicious. The blueberry lager was good. Together? It just didn’t click.

I will give high marks to the service. The wait staff was extremely pleasant and efficient, and they provided a good team approach to the meal. The presentation was attractive and the atmosphere was good. I can’t, however, recommend this place for spending your “going out” money – at least not as the menu currently stands. (Since the menu is seasonal, perhaps they’ll change it up soon.) The current concept – from meal selections to décor – felt like an easily duplicated frame with a few accents thrown in to get a “locally sourced” tag -- something that I could see conceivably ending up at other Hyatt locations. I imagine, at this stage, they’re still getting the kinks worked out in the kitchen and making more connections with local vendors. There’s room for really positive evolution in those areas.

New Flights from CVG – Vino Volo

Ever tried to get wine through a TSA checkpoint at the airport?

The “three ounces of liquid or less” rule effectively prevents travelers from bringing a bottle from home in their carry-on luggage. If you’re an oenophile at the airport and you want a glass of wine while waiting for your flight, you belly up to a random airport bar and hope for the best – and hope there’ll be a wine store somewhere near your hotel when you land.

Until now.

Vino Volo, the new dining option at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport provides a welcome, wine-centric addition for thirsty travelers. Located at the top of the escalators rising to the concourse in Terminal B in the former location of the Starbucks Coffee, Vino Volo is a tasting bar, tapas-style restaurant, and wine store all in one. The lounge is nestled against the floor-to-ceiling windows in that section of the terminal, and the “pergola style” roof gives the place a very open, clean feel. I found it an attractive, relaxing spot to kick back.

(Don’t worry, caffeine junkies – Starbucks is still there. They’ve just moved it next door.)

 “Vino Volo” literally translates from Italian as “wine flight” and that’s their specialty – mixing and matching sequences of wine samples. While wines are certainly available by the glass, the beverage norm among the patrons I saw at the grand opening appeared to be the three-wine sampler.

As the wine educator in these parts, I really appreciate Vino Volo’s fairly unique approach to passing along information to its customers about the wines. Rather than providing a simple wine list with no information, a noncontextual 100-point scale or normal “shelf talkers” with tasting notes, Vino Volo adds a four-quadrant graphic to illustrate the character of the wine. Here’s an illustration of their "Shades of White" flight:

As you can see, the wine’s flavor gets bulls-eyed on the graph depending intensity and complexity, making it simple to compare and contrast. Major flavors and wine region are pulled from the tasting notes for easy viewing, as well as the price if you decide you like the wine and want to snag a whole bottle. Flights range in price from a $9 “Kentucky Thoroughbreds” flight to the $19 “Sommelier Selection” pair of tastes. By the glass, selections range from an $8 Benvolio Pinot Grigio to a $28 glass of Silver Oak 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon.

How were the bottle prices overall compared to a “regular” retail location? Well, you are in an airport. The “$2.50 bottle of airport soda” rule applies, especially among less expensive bottles in the store. Looking at the flight of white wines displayed above, the “standard” retail price for those would be $13, $11, and $23 from left to right. That’s slightly more than standard restaurant markup, but hey – you’re past security!

(One very pleasant surprise at the CVG location – the best wine value I saw, in my opinion, was from our friends at La Vigna Estate Winery. Vino Volo had their “Carnevale” Cabernet Franc – normally a $12 wine, for $19. Snag.)

The bill of fare

At the grand opening last week, I also had the chance to try several items from their menu. Their “small plates” include meat and cheese boards, cured olives, and roasted flavored almonds, all of which were quite tasty. For me, the highlight was their “signature dish” – smoked salmon rolls with crabmeat on crostini. The sample sizes of both the Tuscan chicken and brie & prosciutto sandwiches were both worthy. Also on the menu – pork tacos, a white cheddar-sauced pasta, chickpea and chorizo chili, and a couple of tasty sounding desserts.

The staff at Vino Volo were friendly and seemed quite knowledgeable about their selections. I overheard them helping a couple of travelers with potential selections, and the “quadrant system” gave folks an easy frame of reference.

I’d be shocked if Vino Volo doesn’t do very well. I thought it looked like a great place to relax while waiting for a flight, and while the bottle prices are a little on the high side, that extra money pays for the convenience of not having to find a decent wine store (or, honestly, even a Rite Aid) while navigating your path from your destination’s airport to your hotel.  

Since I know my readership, I also knew to ask the $64,000 question: “Since you can take food and drinks that you purchase beyond security onto the plane, can you do the same with wine from Vino Volo?” Bringing wine onto the plane is not a problem. However, alcohol can only be dispensed by the flight crew and you’re not allowed to carry a wine opener anyway. That said, I refuse to be held responsible if enterprising individuals decide to see what they can do with some ingenuity, considerable discretion, and one of the many screw-capped bottles available.

If you’re flying out of CVG, Vino Volo’s definitely worth checking out. Just don’t get too comfy with a good glass in your hand. You don’t want to miss last call for boarding…

Naked Vine One-Hitter: Conundrum

In my review of Franciscan Estates' Equilibrium, I referenced an old fave of mine called Conundrum -- one of my first gold standards for white wines when I was starting down the slippery slope of wine fandom. I received several emails from readers asking, in effect, "Well, what the heck is this Conundrum stuff?"

Good question. I hadn't had a bottle of Conundrum in years. When the Sweet Partner in Crime and I were courting, this was one of our "special occasion" wines. We would save the corks and write the occasion on each. When Conundrum made the environmentally positive decision to switch from corks to Stelvin screwtops, a bit of that romance was lost -- and we were broadening the scope of our wine knowledge anyway, so we often looked at other options.

Still, after I wrote that review, I was largely going from my memory of Conundrum's flavor. For the sake of full disclosure, I thought it would be a good idea to return to the scene of the....crime.

Conundrum started in 1989 at Caymus Winery. It bills itself as "The Original California White Blend," which wouldn't surprise me -- since at the time, most California wine was more or less single varietal. In the 2000's, the Wagner family, who owns Caymus, decided to split Conundrum off as its own brand. "Caymus Conundrum" simply became "Conundrum," but the wine remained the same, retailing for around $20. (Meanwhile, the Caymus brand became exclusively a high-end label. Those wines go for $60-70 and up.)

The wine is a proprietary blend of up to eleven different grapes -- but it always includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscat Canelli, and Viognier. The blend changes each year, depending on climate and harvest conditions. Conundrum also produces a red wine which is another "nontraditional" blend of red grapes. (My guess, however, knowing Caymus and reading the tasting notes -- would be that it's largely Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon, perhaps with some Pinot Noir thrown in.)

I was relieved that my memory was still pretty good regarding the flavor. The Conundrum 2011 White Wine is still a hefty white. The nose is very floral and the body substantial from the Viognier. The Chardonnay gives it a green apple-dominant flavor, along with some citrus and a honey-like sweetness. It's a fairly complex wine. There's enough acidity to keep it from being too sweet, although the honey and apple hang around on the finish. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd slipped some Riesling into the mix -- because it really reminded me of some of those flavors. For a food pairing, rich fish or chicken dishes or Asian spicy flavors work well.

If you're looking for a crowd-pleasing wine that's a little higher end, it's a solid choice. The Conundrum did illustrate how much my palate has changed over the years. Before I'd explored much wine, I really liked how full flavored this wine was. Trying it now, it's actually a little heavy for my palate. I usually prefer my whites a little bit crisper.  My vote for these similar white California blends would still be for the Equilibrium.

A Couple of Local Favorites

As more wineries pop up around here, I’m increasingly asked, “What are your favorite local places?” I have to take an invariable deep breath when I get that question to keep from being, shall we say, overly honest.

The view from La Vigna  Estate Winery -- Higginsport, OH

There’s a reason that the best known wines in North America aren’t grown in the Midwest. Is there some good juice out there in America’s heartland? Sure there is! Alas, the process of creating those wines is going to be much more difficult than making good wine in, say, Sonoma County.

Most grapes that thrive around here are either going to be our area’s indigenous grapes or hybrid grapes crossbred to withstand our humid summers and cold winters. Let’s face facts – most of the wines made from either of these grapes are inferior. I have yet to find a winemaker that could wring consistently good wine out of Norton or Chambourcin. (Especially the latter…by the Seven, that’s awful crap. Prove me wrong, someone.) Even the native stuff, like Catawba and Concord, can rise a level above Manischewitz, but not much more than that.

There are a few wineries and winemakers in the area that fly in the face of our oenological reality. A small number have the proper terroir to grow vinifera grapes – grapes like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Chardonnay, etc. The winemakers at these wineries also need the technical knowhow to make these grapes into decent wine. Most importantly, those folks must possess the level of bullheaded stubbornness that prevents one from settling for an inferior product. A couple of these combinations are in the vicinity of Ripley, Ohio – Kinkead Ridge Estate Winery and La Vigna Estate Winery.

Every year on Memorial Day & Labor Day weekends, many local wineries take the opportunity to release some of their new offerings. The Sweet Partner in Crime and I took a little roll down the road to Ripley to enjoy a beautiful day’s drive and sample some of their new goodies.

We started at Kinkead Ridge, where we got reacquainted with Nancy Bentley, co-owner of the place with Ron Barrett, the winemaker. Nancy handles all the “front of house” duties. Kinkead Ridge, available in many local establishments, releases their new whites on Memorial Day. (Labor Day is for the reds.) They were pouring their three new whites for the assembled folks.

They opened with their River Village Cellars 2012 White Wine, a “field blend” of seyval blanc, Riesling, chardonnay, and a few other grapes from their “experimental” block, including albarino. The result was a light, zippy, grapefruity white that calls for a porch and some warm weather. $10.

The Lineup at Kinkead Ridge

From there, they shared the Kinkead Ridge 2012 Viognier/Roussanne. This is my personal favorite of the wineries’ selections, and they’ve rarely missed on a vintage of this. This is a more tropical, creamy wine than the River Village with a very pleasant, perfumey nose. The crisp finish would make it a nice accompaniment to plenty of fish, shellfish, or chicken dishes. $17.

Finally, they poured their River Village Cellars 2012 Traminette. Traminette (technically a two-vinifera hybrid, but we’ll give it a pass) yields a wine that’s a little on the sweeter side. It’s got a similar profile to gewürztraminer, but without the fullness of flavor or pepperiness. It still creates a fruity product that’s friendly enough – especially with spicy foods. I liked it, but it came in third at this tasting. $10.

We also learned that Nancy and Ron are trying to sell Kinkead Ridge and move eventually to North Carolina for their “second retirement.” We will hate to see them go, for sure.

We then rolled back up US 52 a piece to Higginsport, where we checked in on the latest offerings from La Vigna. Brad Hively, La Vigna’s passionate winemaker, was quick to greet us when we bellied up to the tasting table. Brad had two new releases to share with the world this time around, as well as several of his past releases.

The first of his two new wines was the La Vigna 2010 Proprietary Red. This cabernet franc-based blend is the winery’s signature wide-release red. I thought it was even, balanced, and fairly straightforward at this point in its life. Aged for 26 months in barrel, it’s got plenty of potential. $24. I thought it was fascinating to taste this alongside the 2008 Proprietary Red, of which some still existed. The 2008 was somewhat fuller and more complex than the 2010 – giving a hint into how the ’10 might develop. We split on this. I like the ’08 a little better. The SPinC liked the ’10. Either would be lovely next to a nice hunk of grilled meat.

The second new release was something I’d not expected. Because of last summer’s climate, the grapes ripened too quickly, which ordinarily yields a wine that Brad said would not “have reflected what we’re trying to do up here.” Rather than make an overextracted, one-note red, Brad used the whole crop to make a dry rosé in the manner it’s made in places like Provence. The result was, in my opinion, fairly remarkable. I’m a dry rosé addict this time of year, and the La Vigna 2012 Carnevale Rosato di Cabernet Franc was excellent. Wonderful bold fruit, very dry but substantial body, and crisp to finish – you could easily have this alongside…well…just about anything, but risotto or Nicoise salad would be good options. At $15, it’s a good value as well. It is a “crack and drink” wine. We had a little bit left over, and it wasn’t as good the second day.

Hardtop!

We also had the opportunity to try one of the first “reserve” wines from La Vigna. Resulting from the “winning” barrel of 2008 juice at a recent barrel tasting, Brad made a wine he called “Hardtop,” sealed with a black wax capsule over the cork. This Bordeaux-style blend isn’t inexpensive – it’s around $40 at the winery; but it drinks like…well… a very good Bordeaux. I snagged a couple of bottles to stash for a couple of years, because I believe it’s potentially something special.

There are a few other wineries near Ripley with tasting events on those days. If you’re looking for a nice Memorial Day getaway, it’s worth the little trip up the road. Kinkead Ridge’s tasting room is open Saturdays for the rest of the summer from 11-5. La Vigna is open on Fridays from 2-7 pm and Saturdays from 12-5. For more information, see Kinkead Ridge at http://www.kinkeadridge.com/ and La Vigna at http://www.winegrown.com/

Naked Vine One Hitter – Franciscan Estates “Equilibrium”

“This is a really good wine if you want to impress people. It would be great if you’re serving a nice brunch -- or if you’re opening it up for the first bottle of girls’ night.” 
    – The Sweet Partner in Crime

I remember a conversation I had at a conference in the days well before I knew much of anything about wine. The woman I was speaking with (whose name and face are long-lost in my dusty, ethanol-laden synapses) was waxing rhapsodic about her favorite white wine – a white wine from California called “Conundrum.” The wine’s name was a reflection of its several-grape blend. I filed that nugget away.

A couple of years later, I met a very attractive professor at the University of Kentucky who agreed, in a stunning lapse of judgment, to let me cook dinner for her. I made a shrimp and scallop curry that night, and I’d splurged on a bottle of this Conundrum stuff. This wine tasted like nothing my unpracticed palate had run into before – very fruity, a little sweet without being heavy, and super-easy to drink. I also remember it as a great pairing with the curry. The attractive professor is better known to all of you as the Sweet Partner in Crime, and during the early days of our relationship, Conundrum was our “special occasion” wine. Conundrum became wildly possible (and more expensive) as the years went on.

What does all that have to do with the sample of Franciscan Estates 2012 “Equilibrium” Napa Valley White Wine from Folsom & Associates that showed up on my doorstep?

While white wines sourced from a number of different grapes certainly aren't a new thing, they were reasonably rare in American winemaking. These "field blends" tended to be inexpensive wines made from whatever was left over after making the "premiums." Conundrum was one of the first mainstream California wines to marry the tart acidity of sauvignon blanc, the body of chardonnay, and the sweet fruit of sauvignon blanc (and a few other grapes) in one bottle in a manner that suggested high quality.

Equilibrium, to me, represents a step forward with these sorts of wines. As my palate became more experienced, I found myself liking wines like Conundrum less. It seemed a bit overly heavy. Similar wines started appearing -- many of which simply weren't very good. (They were usually much too sweet or tasted like they were artificially "thickened.") Equilibrium, on the contrary, is quite nice.

It's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Muscat. The nose is grapefruity, like a sauvignon, but with an light undertone of flowers. The first taste gave me more grapefruit, melon, and nectarine. It's medium-bodied and fresh. The finish is very fruity. I expected a sweetness like honey or sugar at the end, but there's none of that. Instead, there's a lingering peachy flavor that's extremely pleasant. Very nice to sip on its own.

For dinner that night, in a lucky coincidence, I was making shrimp curry. (Seriously, I didn't plan it that way.) I was very impressed. The label recommends “BBQ and Asian cuisines” – so I thought, "Hey, close enough!" It went delightfully. The very prominent fruit flavors of the wine were strong enough to shine through the curry spices, both cooling the heat a bit and complementing the meal well.

A really nice effort. Equilibrium retails for around $23. Good first-bottle-of-the-night wine, especially if you're following the SPinC's advice above.

A Wink to the Pink

Few things bellow “Summertime!” more than my favorite warm weather drink, dry rosé. Settle in for a spell, then proudly order something fabulous and fuschia.

Now, I know there may be a few insecure souls out there in Vine land who may fear the judgment of a haughty looking wine drinker at the next table over on a restaurant patio, snootily and disdainfully glancing at you and your delicious pink beverage. You’re concerned they think you’ve ordered a glass of sticky white zinfandel. Worry not. Look these judgmental layabouts square in the eye, lift your glass and smile knowingly, because you know what is good. (And you know they secretly wish they’d ordered one.)

So, what is this stuff? What makes it so tasty, so food friendly, and so refreshing? Think back to Winemaking 101. Grapes are crushed and the juice is fermented. The color in red wine comes from the juice’s contact with the skins as the sugars ferment. All juice from red wine grapes starts clear and darkens as more tannin is leached from the skins in a process called maceration. For some big red wines, this skin contact in the fermenter can last over a month. Rosé, by contrast, is generally only left in contact with the skins from 12-48 hours, depending on a number of factors. The resulting wine is, not surprisingly, some version of pink.

There are a few different ways to produce rosé. There is the “skin contact” technique -- the purest form of rosé making. The juice is left in contact with the skins for an appropriate length of time. The skins are removed from the fermenter and the now-pink “must” completes the rest of its fermentational journey into rosé. A winemaker using is basically committing to a (generally) less expensive wine than making the whole tank into a full red, so it’s a less common technique.

With that in mind, the most common method of rosé production is called “bleeding” or saignée. A winemaker generally uses this method if they’re trying to concentrate (or “extract”) more flavor from a wine – or just if they want to make two different types of wine from the same tank. For instance, a Spanish winemaker may have a fermenter full of tempranillo, just pitched with yeast. She might then “bleed off” a certain percentage of wine in the tank after a day or so of skin contact. The remaining wine will be left with the skins to make a red tempranillo. The drained off, less colored wine will become her rosé.

Just in case you’re curious, this is the method by which white zinfandel is made – except the winemaker stops the fermentation while there’s still a fair amount of residual sugar, resulting in white zin’s distinctive strawberry Kool-Aid flavor.

Other, less common, methods include blending grape juices from white and red wines. While atypical, this is the method used in Tavel, one of the best known French rosé regions. In a real cheat, red wine can be decolored by filtering it with activated charcoal. Ew.

So, how does a discriminating rosé consumer select a particular bottle? Well, here’s the good news – it’s really difficult to pick a bad one. The basic Naked Vine Rule of Food Pairing holds true, since (as a very wise woman once said) pink is not a flavor. Down through the ages, civilizations made wine to go with their favorite foods. A rosé’s basic flavor starts from the profile of its red wine grapes -- just lighter, fruitier, and more acidic.  So, a good rule is to cling to flavor themes. If you have a meal that has a bit of a French flair, get a French rosé. Got a spread of small plates? Grab a tapas-loving Spanish rosé. Having a backyard grillout? American rosé will serve you well. But experiment – finding the ones you like is much of the fun. To get my warm weather repasts going on the right foot, we recently ran through a spread of tasty bottles from a variety of locales. Here’s what we found:

Veleta 2011 Tempranillo Rosé – An evening with a “fajita bowl” type dinner prompted us to open this Spanish rosé. In color, it’s considerably darker than many other roses. The wine’s major flavors are melon and strawberry. My favorite aspect of this wine is that can hold a bit of delicacy against a fairly spicy dish, which in this case was topped with a vinegary, spicy sauce. I could almost taste a trace of tannin to cool the heat. A great choice with summer tapas or Tex-Mex. For $10, a nice choice.

San Giovanni Pasini 2011 “Il Chiaretto” Valtenesi Chiaretto – From the Lombardy region in Northern Italy, this blend of four red grapes was tart, tight, and acidic – and, honestly, not altogether pleasant. (It may be that this bottle was slightly over.) It had a bit of an odd scent that dissipated after a little time open – and was much less noticeable as the cooling sleeve did its work. Some strawberry and mineral on the palate with a little bitterness to the finish. However, next to a somewhat spicy red snapper braised in a “Veracruz” style, it was pleasant enough. I would say, though, that Italians are best known for reds and whites – not rosé. In the future, I’ll probably follow that instinct. $13.

Von Schleinitz 2011 Pinot Noir Rosé – The Sweet Partner in Crime said, on tasting this wine – “Not to be too stereotypical, but if you asked me what I thought a German rosé would taste like – this would be it.” This is a wine that tells you aggressively, “HELLO. I am full of strawberry FRUIT and lots of ACID. I really work WELL with FOOD.” Honestly, I neglected to write down what we had for dinner with this – as we were chuckling away at our German grape anthropomorphism. That said, it’s worth a try if you enjoy German wines. $17.

the first German rosé either of us can remember having:

Chateau de Roquefort 2011 “Corail,” Cotes de Provence – Ah, Provence rosé. Arguably my favorite form of this pink stuff. If I think about rosé, close my eyes, and imagine a flavor – I’d land somewhere close to this. Faint flowers on the nose, followed with a light-ish body full of strawberry and peach. Slightly tart and slightly creamy, rather than being a big blast of fruity acid. Soft finish. A wine for exhaling with after flopping on the couch. Dinner with this blend of six different grapes was an appropriately French roast chicken tenderloins with tarragon with a “ratatouille sauté.” Scrumptious and sluggable. $14.

Charles & Charles 2012 Columbia Valley Rosé – A Washington wine made from 100% Syrah, which gives it its substantial flavor. “Chunky” was at the top of my tasting note. I found lots of firm cranberry and peach flavors with a pleasantly weighty body and a slightly dry, fruity end.  This is a rosé for when you want a wine that has big flavors, but you’re not in the mood for a deep, dark high-tide tannin red. You could conceivably have this with steak, if the little yummy noises I made when I had this with an awesome steak salad were any indication. $13.

So go forth and Love Pink, as the derrieres of many kids say these days…

Not a Pedicure, But Not Bad: Barefoot Refresh

A little dizzy, a little fizzy.

Sometimes you have to appreciate a wine for what it is instead of what it isn’t.

Lauren at Hunter PR asked if I’d like the chance to preview a new line of wines – Barefoot Refresh. I said that I’d be happy to try them, albeit with a little bit of trepidation. Most of you out there are probably familiar with Barefoot – the value-priced, easily available line of California wines, both still and sparkling.

Barefoot is clearly taking the “moscato boom” to heart. In addition to white, red, and “pink” versions of moscato as both sparkling and still wines; the Refresh “Sweet White” is moscato blended with pinot grigio and the “Summer Red” is a pinot noir rosé and moscato mix. The “Crisp White” is a Chenin Blanc/Riesling concoction.

Over the years, I’ve tried a number of their wines and realized that I probably wasn’t their target demographic. “Pink moscato” is not usually my first choice. Still, a new series of wines deserves an open-minded view, so I popped them all in the fridge. All of their labels state “Best Served Chilled,” which usually makes me dubious. Chilling wine to fridge temperature usually kills the flavor. So, I braced myself, cracked the screwtops, and poured.

I was pleasantly surprised. For what these wines are – they’re not bad. All are light bodied and have a slight effervescence. The effervescence makes these wines go. All of them are blends. They’re all low in alcohol – right around 9% -- marketed as “a lively and light style of wine made with a unique process that enhances the wine’s flavor, lifts the fruit intensity, and gives it a signature fizz.” All of these non-vintage wines will retail for about $7. My thoughts about each:

Barefoot Refresh (NV) Crisp White –A simple, easy to drink, made-for-summer wine. I found a nose of grapefruit and melon, flavors echoed on the palate, along with some zippy citrus towards the finish. The slight effervescence makes the finish live up to its name. I imagine this would be a reasonable choice for a meat-and-cheese-plate picnic. Bubbles and acidity will cut through fatty and creamy flavors, especially on a warm day.

Barefoot Refresh (NV) Sweet White – I hadn’t looked up the aforementioned blends before I tried the wines, and my note says, “Reminds me a lot of Moscato, but in a good way.” It’s not as tooth-numbingly sweet as many of the American, particularly Californian, versions, and the little bubbliness makes it more reminiscent of Moscato d’Asti. I found lots of peach on the nose, which also shows up on the palate along with some tangerine flavors. The finish is leaner than many other Moscato, which I think is a good thing. The bubbles prevent it from getting overly cloying. If you’re a Moscato d’Asti fan, this is a nice alternative. I’d imagine the varied flavors of brunch would be a good match.

Barefoot Refresh (NV) Summer Red – I had an odd progression of opinion with this wine. At first taste, I simply didn’t like it. It reminded me a lot of those non-alcoholic sparkling grape juices you’ll see in the supermarket that sometimes get opened as “alternative beverages.” The flavor was similar to a cranberry-and-strawberry spritzer. That said, something about this wine rang my memory bell. It hit me later that evening – it tasted a lot like Lambrusco – the inexpensive, sweet Italian jug wine which I never cared for much – unless it’s with shellfish. I was planning to make some herb-roasted peel-and-eat shrimp for dinner, so I tried it alongside. You know what? Sometimes “Not bad” is good enough. Afternoon shrimp cocktail or some such with this wine would be workable.

Are these the best wines in the world? Nah. But for a brunch with or a summertime pull-and-pour, you might them worth a try when they become available in your area.

(Originally published on 11/20/12)

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…