‘Tooned in
A couple of fun images I stumbled across on the Interwebs:
Avola at the tavola
For years now, I’ve been trying to figure out what might be the next malbec, the varietal that will gain great favor with the consumers who want an approachable, easy-drinking but not wimpy red wine. The same folks who turned merlot and shiraz into huge deals and then left them behind for malbec.
I had about decided that the next malbec was … malbec, unless something emerges at some point from China or another large growing region. But now I’m wondering if an 
increasingly familiargrape could emerge from the middle of the Mediterranean Sea:
Nero d’Avola.
Sicily’s premier red grape actually has a good bit in common with malbec: Both were viewed until very recently primarily as a blending grape, providing color or oomph to Italian or French wines. Both thrive in hot, arid climates. And both rock with slabs of beef, lamb or game.
Nero d’Avola tends to be muscular and rich, a la syrah, and actually blends well with that grape (look for Benuara or d’Alessandro at the inexpensive end and Valle dell’Acate Tané on the spendy side). Valle dell’Acate also makes my favorite introduction to the varietal, the dusty but bold Casa Ibidini ($14).
But to see how truly profound these wines can be, seek out the 
Occhipinti Siccagno ($35-$40; link goes to Wine Searcher), which starts out bright and balanced and then just goes boom! in the midpalate. It’s profound now “” better than any nero d’Avola (or malbec) I’ve come across “” and has more than enough stuffing to improve with age.
Other superb renditions I’ve sampled in recent years include Gulfi Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Gulfi Chiaramonte Rossojbleo (aged in stainless steel and incredibly clean) and Neromaccarj.
And if nero d’Avola ascension continues, there is plenty of room for growth in the homeland: Sicily has more acres planted to grapes than Chile or South Africa. Growers and vintners there could do worse than to look to this erstwhile “blending grape.”
Jed Steele adapts, at his own pace
Come and listen to my story ’bout a man named Jed.
Actually, aside from being tall and fit, Jed Steele bears virtually no resemblance to the 
subject of that verse, Jed Clampett of “The Beverly Hillbillies.” (And he doesn’t look nearly as much like Wilford Brimley as the photo at left might indicate.)
Well, there is the matter of 21st-century technology, which the down-home Steele wishes he could do without; he’s had a smart phone for all of six months, and “I hate it. I began to text, and it was really difficult to be personal. My son, his palms sweat if he can’t get wireless. I said “˜I think it’s healthier for our relationship if we just talked.’ “
And Steele took the opposite route from the Clampett clan’s, decamping for Lake County two decades ago after helping concoct Kendall-Jackson’s landmark Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay.
“For decades we had three wineries up here: Guenoc, Steele and Wildhurst,” he said over lunch in Minneapolis last week. “Now there are 30. But we still associate with Mendocino more than Napa.
So far, Steele said, sauvignon blanc is Lake County’s showcase varietal, but cabernet sauvignon (“definitely distinctive here”) is coming on strong. Steele’s “dream winery” would focus on cabernet’s two parents, sauv blanc and cab franc (his favorite grape, and one from which he makes a splendid rosé).
That’s not gonna happen. “Once a hierarchy has been established, it’s tough,” Steele said. “Merlot went through a crazy [popular] phase, and pinot noir went through a crazy phase. But cabernet has always been No. 1. And chardonnay is still No. 1 [among white wines], although sauvignon blanc is coming on.
Steele makes a wide range of wines under his own name and for his Shooting Star label 
(including terrific aligote and blaufrankisch from Washington). And even in his 60s, he’s willing to modernize ““ to a point. When asked about the most important part of a winemaker’s job, the man with a psychology degree from Gonzaga had a typically wise, witty answer:
“Winemakers are constant tinkerers. But there’s a lot of technology that you have to be careful about adopting. Equipment salesmen are like car salesmen, saying you’ve always gotta have the newest thing.
“But a lot of new technology comes out, and you find out five years later it’s not so great.
Wines of the Week: June 11-17
Everyday: If anything cooler is happening in the wine world than the proliferation of tasty 
rosés from all over, I’d love to hear about it. But there’s still nothing quite like the sunny-day bliss of one from southern France. The Chateau de Campuget Costieres de Nimes ($11) is lovely, lively, bright and bouncy, a red-berry delight from nose to throat. As it hails from the southernmost portion of the Rhone region, one of the world’s prime if-it-grows-together-it-goes-together outposts, it will absolutely sing with tapenade, ratatouille and herb-infused roast chicken or fish.
Occasion: In 2009, the Numanthia Termes finished second on the Wine Spectator’s 
Top 100 list, where it was appropriately called “powerful yet balanced.” Looking to take full advantage of the accolades, the winery has jacked up the price “” by $3. Year in and year out, this hearty red is as good as $30 wine gets, drinking beautifully when young and yet rewarding aging. (We recently were lovin’ on a right-in-the-zone, endless 2004). I can’t conjure up anything cooked over a wood fire that wouldn’t rock with this. OK, maybe marshmallows (but bring on the s’mores). Or try it with roasted slabs o’ meat. Or, hell, al fresco on a cool-ish evening.
Hello, old friend
Delving into wine is a journey, a wonderful livelong excursion for many of us. And while there are inevitably detours along the way, we tend to think we’re always moving forward.
That means leaving behind some very enjoyable stops. But since this expedition takes place over years or even decades, rather than revel in them, we tend to treat those stops the way we do life itself: Oh, I’ve moved past that, I’m much wiser now, I can’t go back there.
That might be justifiable if we’re eschewing our “early-childhood” vinous experiences, such as Boone’s Farm or blush wines. But it’s a shaky, and probably more than a little snobbish, to renounce our “adolescence” predilections.
For the better part of the 1990s, when I was thoroughly enjoying wine but not examining it closely, the Estancia Pinnacles was my go-to chardonnay. Lush and smooth and just plain delicious, the Pinnacles was eminently satisfying on its own or with most any chicken or shellfish prep. It also was my dad’s favorite, and thus a nice piece of connective tissue.
But then I started getting more serious and exploratory about wine, and sought out not only chards from elsewhere but less “weighty” white wines in general. That coincided with the burgeoning availability of such wines, and soon I had effectively “moved on” from the Estancia Pinnacles.
So in a week filled with sampling — the recycling guys are going to be especially 
impressed/bamboozled next week — I assumed, while pouring the 2010 Estancia Pinnacles Ranches Chardonnay last night, that it was no longer remotely in my “wheelhouse.”
And then I smelled it, and was instantly intoxicated (figuratively) with the lush pear and floral aromas. And it tasted just like, and just as good as, it smelled. Succulent, persistent fruit, a lively mouthfeel, only a hint of oak and a rich but clean finish. Yum.
The upshot, at least for me: Our palates might evolve with experience, or change with age “” bracing Mediterranean whites with ripe fruit have wowed me for many months now “” but delicious is delicious. Oh, and a certain $12 chardonnay is back in my rotation.
Hoop dreams
It’s the most enjoyable wine-themed video I’ve seen in a while, and not just because it involves hula hoops.
This young lady needs to be on one of those “America’s Got Talent” shows, I say.
A great read: Steve Heimoff, ‘A Journey Along the Russian River’
When I first read Steve Heimoff’s “A Wine Journey Along the Russian River” a half-dozen years ago, I almost quit because he spent so much time at the outset talking about geology. The, er, fault, it turned out, was mine: I really didn’t know much about wine.
Heimoff’s splendid book is probably not for novices; it helps immensely to have a real 
interest in that particular region and in how great wine is made.
But even for someone who’s just starting to learn about wine as I was (and still am), this is a fascinating account of the places and people in an area that has since become much more widely known for its wide-ranging offerings.
This, by the way, is not just focused on the American Viticultural Area (AVA) known as the Russian River Valley, but also covers other areas that surround the river as it courses its way from the Alexander Valley to the Pacific Ocean.
That covers a lot of geography (and yes, geology), not to mention all manner of microclimates, conditions making the subregions and the grapes that thrive there more varied than longer and (for now) more famous rivers such as the Loire or Mosel.
At the center of it all, of course, are some amazing people, and veteran journalist Heimoff (left) deftly brings to life folks such as the since departed Jess Jackson, the umpteenth generation of Seghesios, little-known growers and justly renowned winemakers Bob Cabral and Merry Edwards.
In the end, this book provides a sense of place infused with the sensibilites of the people crafting wines there.
Now that I know a little more about wine, I think it’s about time to take this “Journey” again.
Pinot envy
Summer sausage was on the menu in more ways than one last weekend when the boys gathered on the deck for Pinot Night. Amidst sharp ripostes about driver’s licenses’ listed weights and whether the wine or someone’s nose was corked, we dived into a whole lotta pinot noir.
The “apertifs” almost stole the show. We’re talkin’ delicious chardonnays from Kistler (Hyde Vineyard ’08) and Wind Gap (James Berry ’10), a juicy, sexy albariño (Lagar de Fornalas “Lagar de Cervera”) and, appropiately for the occasion, the mouth-watering Novy Willamette Valley Blanc de Pinot Noir.
The coolest thing about the “main course” was the expansive array of styles. Sean Thackery’s massive Devil’s Gulch Marin County “Andromeda” ’03 was almost too hot to handle, and was joined at the “big boys’ table” by Martinelli Blue Slide Ridge ’01 and the humongo Aubert UV Vineyard ’07. Providing a welcome counterbalance was the almost lean Eyrie Reserve ’03.
We had some nice face-offs from the 2008 vintage: Ken Wright Guadalupe vs. Ken Wright Savoya (a draw), and Sea Smoke Southing vs. Ten (the less expensive Southing had more body and depth to this palate).
And while the Williams Selyem Precious Mountain ’06 was simply stellar, I still am finding that winery’s single-vineyard offerings less interesting that the appellation wines (in this case, a simply gorgeous, multilayered Sonoma Coast ’05)
But my favorite comparison/contrast included one of Oregon’s perennially best bottlings and the lone red Burg of the night. I am loath to call any American wine “Burgundian”; the 
soil and climate and practices are just different. And while the Bergström Cumberland Reserve from the spectacular 2008 vintage had all the stuffing and most of the elegance of a classic Burgundy, the fruit was darker and, for lack of a better word, bossier than in the Nicolas Rossignol Volnay ’05.
The Volnay was the wine of the night for me and many others. But I’d love to have, at the next Pinot Night, all Burgundies except for the Bergström. The guess here is that it would be a contendah.
Wines of the Week: June 4-10
Everyday: There’s a buttload of mediocre to crummy cheap chardonnay out there, if my 
recent sample-bottle tastings are any indication. So it was refreshing to sniff and sip the Parducci Small Lot Blend Mendocino Chardonnay 2010 ($11). With an almost riesling-like nose, it delivers zesty apple and lush tropical flavors and simply glides across the palate with just the right heft. The finish is long and surprisingly crisp. Try it with crab and other shellfish or pasta with a creamy sauce or anything featuring corn.
Occasion: It’s too hot, at least in these parts, to drink anything but whites right 
about now. The Santiago Ruiz O Rosal ($22) is just flat yummerific, with strong peach and mint notes. This rich blend of albarino, loureiro and treixadura boasts strong aromatics and an intense mouthfeel, with stout fruit and crisp acidity fighting to a draw. I’ve been a sucker for minerally Mediterranean whites of late, and this is one of the best I’ve come across. Virtually any kind of seafood will play well with this multilayered delight. Seriously cool label, too.