8
Jan
2012
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Wines of the Week: Jan. 2-8

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Everyday: Seeing the word “Montsant” on a wine label is almost always a harbinger of good things inside, as most everything that reaches U.S. markets from that Spanish region is well made. The Capcanes Costers del Gravet Montsant ($18) is way more than all that, one of those wines that is somehow both rustic and elegant. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, grenache and carignane, it’s very dark in color and flavor: Blackberry and black cherry flavors roll over the palate and linger languidly during the smooth finish. Winter grillers can throw almost any meat onto the barbie to pair with this; stews and braises are another swell option.

Occasion: There’s been a lot of buzz about New Zealand pinot noirs, but I have found them to be an uneven lot. But the Craggy Range “Te Muma Road” Pinot Noir ($40) is a Kiwi standout, biggish and gorgeous with expressive red fruit flavors (raspberry, strawberry, Bing cherry) and a slightly smoky finish. I’ve been enormously impressed with all of Craggy Range’s wines, especially the reds from the Gimblett Gravels appellation. This one is primed to be enjoyed with roast fowl (game birds or domestic), herb-laden lamb dishes and of course that pinot noir staple, salmon.

7
Jan
2012
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A great read: Terry Theise, ‘Reading Between the Wines’

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I’ve written about Terry Theise before, and I will write about him again. What I really wish is that I could write as well as him.

I’d been enjoying his annual opuses for the trade on German wine for years, so it was a special delight when “Reading Between the Wines” (University of California Press, $17.95) hit the local shelves.

This book is soaked with the infectious personality and incisive perspective that make Theise such a great wine buyer (not to mention wine-consuming companion).

Bouncing between the metaphysical and the very physical (Germany’s über-steep vineyards), Theise’s prose gushes with enthusiasm, wit and wisdom. A representative example:

“The bouquet of this wine was a force of spirit. If truffles had orgasms, they might emit this fragrance. Soy, sandlewood, shiitake, you know: Burgundy … The wine smelled like the sweetness of the country, like the redeeming kindness of people.”

It would be easy to say that this soulful work is not for the wine novice. Balderdash. It not only demystifies wine, it consistently shows how we can and should love wine, and life its own self — almost as much as Theise does.

3
Jan
2012
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A great read: George Taber, ‘Judgment in Paris’

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The California wine industry owes a lot to George M. Taber. His semi-reluctant decision to attend an obscure U.S. vs. France wine throwdown is the only reason California’s triumph ““ winning both the cabernet and chardonnay divisions ““ got any media attention. He was the only journalist there, and his short account in Time magazine reverberated through the wine world and gave a fledgling wine industry an immeasurable boost.

It took Taber three decades to turn this now-renowned event into a book, and the wait was worth it. “Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine” ($16, Scribner, 352 pages) is a fabulous read for both wine and history buffs.

The account of the event itself ““ in which an all-French panel judged Chateau Montelena chardonnay and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellar’s cabernet better than the best of Burgundy and Bordeaux ““ is seriously tasty. But as with all things wine, the back stories prove every bit as fascinating.

Taber focuses extensively on the people behind the wines, Montelena’s Mike Grgich and Jim Barrett and Stag’s Leap’s Warren Winiarski, and his research and reporting skills bring these profiles to vivid life. He then unearths details around the tasting ““ some judges were giving the highest scores to the wines they thought tasted “most French” ““ and spends the last third of the book on the aftermath.

And boy was there as aftermath. Certainly the California wine industry would have grown mightily in the ensuing years regardless, but only an ostrich would claim that Taber’s work had nothing to do with that. Indeed, the entire globalization of wine could be said to have started on that fateful day in Paris.

Good thing Taber showed up.

1
Jan
2012
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Jordan rules: Best memory of ’11

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When circumstances force me to take a bite out of a shit sandwich (blessedly, only figuratively), my rote response is “yeah, but ain’t life grand?” As the late, seriously great Manuel Maloof (left), owner of my favorite bar in the world, was wont to say, “Anybody don’t like this life is crazy.”

Yet while I’m very positive about life, I tend to be cynical about people. There’s a buttload of selfishness and stupidity out there “” but also a whole lotta good, and wine seems to play a part in quite a few worthy deeds, including my favorite moment of 2011.

Last spring, I got an email from a Minnesota woman seeking some wine advice. She was a casual wine drinker (Marietta Old Vine) and knew little about the spendier stuff. She wanted to buy a magnum or two regular bottles of Jordan cabernet but wasn’t sure about the vintage or bottle size or whether to decant.

Standard questions, except: The wine was to be consumed on the anniversary of her son’s death. He had died unexpectedly four years earlier at age 26. His name was Jordan.

Now it so happens that I had gotten to know a wonderful woman at Jordan, communications director Lisa Mattson. So I passed along the email and asked which vintage and bottle size this woman should seek out.

A couple of days later, I heard back from Lisa (left), actually getting a copy of a missive she had sent to Jordan’s mom:

I work at Jordan Vineyard & Winery in Healdsburg, and Bill Ward of the Star Tribune contacted me with your question about which Jordan vintage and format to buy.

Your story moved all of us. We are honored you would celebrate Jordan’s life with a bottle of our wine. John Jordan would like to give you a magnum of the 2002 vintage from our cellar.

Pass the Kleenex, please. Which also came in handy a couple of weeks later when this popped into my in-box:

Hi Bill,
I just wanted to let you know what a nice day my family and I had together. The 2002 magnum of Jordan cabernet arrived. John Jordan also sent a very thoughtful personal handwritten note.
We were all moved by the generosity of all the people involved. Your compassion was very touching and I appreciate it more than I can put into words.
This bittersweet day was more meaningful to us, not only by the wonderful bottle of wine – it was perfect, but by the kindnesses of strangers.
With deep gratitude …

Yes, it’s just a bottle of wine, and yes, a cynic might call this a great PR move. If so, mission accomplished, as I have ordered Jordan’s wines in a restaurant since then, and will continue to do so on occasion, and not just because they’re really tasty.

There’s something uncommonly personal about wine, a connective tissue that bonds us in life and beyond.

A few years ago, our daughter-in-law Karen’s father died suddenly. He was a fabulous guy who loved red wine, especially from his adopted home of Mendocino County. Since then, Karen and Fred have kept “his” wine glass on a shelf in their dining area, and often will pour some wine into it for her dear departed dad.

It’s a fitting and beautiful tribute, and in the process our grand-daughter Zuzu has learned a wonderful way to connect with, and honor, loved ones who have moved on.

31
Dec
2011
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Wines of the Week: Dec. 26-Jan. 1

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Everyday: We tasted some fabulous pinot noirs on a trip to Oregon last year “” the 2008s were almost all stellar “” but the real revelation was the whites, especially pinot gris and pinot blanc. The Ponzi Willamette Valley Pinot Blanc 2010 ($17) is a prime example, with yummy honeydew and pear flavors and just enough kick from the minerally undertones. Few white wines have the length of this beauty, and the way it lingers languidly on the palate quells any impulse to take another quick quaff (or three). Almost any preparation of shellfish will sing with this bracing white delight.

Occasion: A lot of Napa wineries make Bordeaux blends, but few can evoke the earthy refinement of that French region. The Hess Collection Mount Veeder 19 Block Cuvee 2008 ($36) is just such a wine, although admittedly it cheats a bit by throwing in some syrah. It smells grand, with both dried and ripe fruit that also caress the palate, punched up by a jolt of coffee-like flavors. There’s great harmony, plus a dry elegance that indicates it will age beautifully. Steak au poivre, anyone? Some toasty bruschetta with sundry spreads is another swell matchup.

27
Dec
2011
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LaZarre’s wines have (almost) as much personality as he does

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It’s really great to listen to winemakers speak lyrically, metaphorically or even metaphysically, about how grapes are grown and then transformed into a delicious liquid. It’s also pretty swell, and refreshing, to hear someone like Adam LaZarre, who has made hugely successful wines at rock-bottom prices, cut to the chase.

Like this: “People ask me if winemaking is art or science,” he said over dinner at McPhee’s Grill in Templeton, Calif. “It’s business, damnit.” Or this: “I’d rather have 3,000 people having my wine tonight than three people having it every three months.” Or this: “I put a lot of distributors’ kids through college with Rex Goliath. I have a lot of equity. 

LaZarre, who made wines that performed way above their price points with the Rex Goliath, Cycles Gladiator, Hahn and Bin 36 brands, would seem to have achieved pretty good job security. He’s making wine for a couple of entities with what he calls “really good day jobs”: Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, who started the British show that spawned “American Idol” and produce a raft of other reality shows, own Villa San-Julliette, and Hearst Ranch is a subsidiary of the Hearst media and castle conglomerate.

“I do all the marketing, and Jaime [Glenn] is the sales manager” at Villa San-Juliette, LaZarre had said earlier in the day as we sampled recently bottled stuff at the winery. Only someone with his otherworldly energy level could do both these jobs.

LaZarre (left, with Glenn) seems to know every grower from Sonoma to San Diego and is sourcing grapes from all over for San-Juliette (priced like Hahn at $16-$24) and its second label, Fat Monk (priced like Cycles Gladiator at $13 and under).

Fat Monk’s chardonnay and pinot noir are smooth and fruit-driven, with nifty mouthfeel and some nice oomph at the end. The Villa San Juliette Paso Robles Cabernet offer great complexity for the price ($16), while the similarly priced merlot elicited some Tootsie Pop analogies before smoky tannins kicked in to provide nice harmony. His LaZarre Pinot Noir ($28) is firm, clean and spicy. Oh, and delicious.

“Being a great pinot noir maker” was LaZarre’s dream when he got out of the U.S. Navy more than two decades ago, “but that’s not gonna happen.  Not surprisingly, he has some views on pinot and some other red grapes:

• “I’m convinced that someday pinot noir will be cheap again. 

• “Cabernet and merlot are bulletproof. “˜Sideways’ didn’t stop merlot; it just slowed the growth. 

• “There actually are far fewer places to grow merlot than pinot noir in California. If it’s one ‘degree day’ too low, you get bell pepper; if it’s one day too high, you get Jolly Roger candy. 

LaZarre, meanwhile, is one of the few California vintners who can make tasty wine out of all three grapes ““ and continue to put a lot of distributors’ kids through college.

25
Dec
2011
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Wines of the Week: Dec 19-25

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Everyday: I discovered a few years back that my favorite Chiantis were from the Ruffina sub-region (not to be confused with the Ruffino brand). They tend to have Old World earthiness but don’t taste “dirty” like so many other Chiantis. The readily accessible (both commercially and imbibingly) Frescobaldi Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Reserva ($20) is uncommonly smooth and clean but still very bright, with seamless harmony among the tannins, minerality, fruit and acidity. It’s tasteful and tasty, and should taste lovely with the usual tomato-based dishes (pasta sauces, pizza) but also with roasted chicken and root vegetables.

Occasion: Besides my way better half, the companion I most hope to enjoy on New Year’s Eve is Pierre Gimonnet; every bottle I’ve ever sampled with his name on the label has been fantabulous. The 2005s, both the crisp, full-flavored Pierre Gimonnet Blanc de Blancs “˜$54) and the large and in charge Blanc de Blancs Brut 1er Cru Fleuron ($72). are delicious yeast bombs, rich but seriously zingy, firm and focused, dancing sensuously across the palate and lingering into the new year. You are hereby challenged to find anything that doesn’t pair well with these sparklers, but sushi, oysters and lobster would top my list.

21
Dec
2011
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Some syrah with your sliders, sir?

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I knew when I posted some (ostensibly) funny, or at least wacky, links that something would come along and surpass ’em.

And this report “” that White Castle is experimenting with wine and beer at an Indiana emporium “” certainly fills the bill.

As noted here before, bubbles go with most anything, and I say the spendier the better. After all, Marilyn Monroe’s favorite pairing was Champagne and potato chips.

And while I might predict that moscato will be the most popular option “” not that there’s anything wrong with that “” I’m gonna recommend barbera with those bad-boy burgers.

Not for the alliteration (well maybe a little for the alliteration) but because the cherry flavors and acidity seem well-suited for those teeny-tiny onion-like thingies that make White Castles so distinctive.

20
Dec
2011
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Surfin’ USA

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Time for some holiday cheer, 2011-style. That means a package of linkin’ logs:

I bow to no one in my love for a pun, sometimes the groanier the better. In this account of a surprisingly successful endeavor — wine in cans — there’s a particularly painful one on the bottom of the logo.

Speaking of unusual conveyances for fermented grape juice, here’s another idea that has worked much better than anyone would expect. ‘Fraid I might get some of these from my Dixie-fied friends for Christmas.

Single dudes seeking a real-life pairing might be surprised to learn what the ladies are looking for when they’re out cruising the grocery-store aisles, at least Down Under. Time to go tubering, guys.

Speaking of nifty food-wine matchups, here’s a sweet/sharp one one that I’m aiming to try this holiday season, and not just because bubbles go with just about everything.

Finally, from high up on Howell Mountain comes this droll video from Ladera that shows how much wine really is made in the vineyard.

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