The Tuscan 'Blue Moon'

I will admit – I am a nerd. In elementary school I would literally lie to my mother (sorry Mom) and say I had homework when I really didn’t. Now – I attend wine classes in my free time.

Needless to say, I think I’m hitting my stride.

I attended just such a class this past Wednesday on the wines of Tuscany. Practically the “Napa of Italy,” Tuscany is home to Chianti, a well-known red wine made from Sangiovese grapes in the (shocker) Chianti region. It is also home to the famous “Super Tuscans” and of course the little black rooster labels that perch on the neck of the bottle.

What Tuscany is not known for is its white wines, but perhaps it should be.

Although few, the white wines of Tuscany are both bright in acidity (much like their red counterparts), but more mellow as far as balancing notes featuring more candied lemon peel over fresh lemon and notes of baking spices even though few see any time in oak. Growers here could make a lot more money growing more commonly known varietals like Chardonnay, but they stick to Italian native grapes. Why? Because when done right these wines are full in flavor & freshness. A combo just not found anywhere else.

Such is the case with Le Rote Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

(Insert Pause)

Yes, it is a mouthful, but it’s actually pretty easy to break this wine label down. In most cases, the grape name in the Italian wine comes before the word “di” which means “from”. So this wine is a Vernaccia from San Gimignano (the town) produced by the Le Rote wine estate. See, that was easy!

In the glass, this wine is pale brass in color and can have a slight green tinge, although that typically fades with air time. This wine has almost a “heady” quality (yes, I am referring to beer here!) with a hoppy nose supporting more delicate notes of rich floral & pollen. A powerful palate, it showcases those spice notes like nutmeg & white pepper, but also a clean crisp finish of lemon peel.  After you swallow this wine, the hops return and your palate may just be fooled into thinking you just had a sip of Lager. If I had to find a flavor cousin inside of the wine family, I would lean towards the (slightly) better known Albarino, full of body but bright & clean. Outside the wine family, this grape is defiantly taking notes from Blue Moon – sans orange.

This wine isn’t so much heavy as, per say, an oaked California Chardonnay, but just an intense concentration of flavors.

So what would I drink this with? Poultry items with their own backbone of spice, like Turkey Sausage or even a veggie burger, are a perfect fit. Creamy meat/carb dishes such as Stromboli and tuna casserole would also hold its own against this wine as would swordfish & herb roasted pork loin.

Salute!

My Sommelier Exam & The EXEM Answer

There is a portion of the sommelier exam where you are asked to pair specific wines with a random (and typically esoteric) dish. I had prepped with my 2 mentors for several culinary classics - escargot, clam soufflee, beef burguneon, etc. What did I get? Roasted lamb with rubarb reduction. Huh?

 Not only had I never considered putting what I assume is a sweet fruity style sauce on top of roasted anything, but I knew what it needed was an old world classic. Unfortunately, sitting in front of me is the Master Sommelier whose business card should read "Old World Super Expert". For a split second I paniced - but then I remembered a little wine I had while volunteering at the wine shop - Exem 2010 Bordeaux.

This wine is a breath of fresh air to a dirty, dusty, old and famous wine region - Bordeaux. At only $13 dollars, it is an excellent wine to jump in and explore a region whose pricetag typically deters everyday wine lovers from exploring.

Red Bordeaux wines are almost all blends featuring:
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Merlot
- Cabernet Franc
- Petit Verdot
- & Malbec (Yes! Malbec is from France!)

The Bordeaux region is divided into 3 main growing areas by the Gironde Estuary. Knowing what part of Bordeaux your wine comes from is key to knowing what mix of these grapes are in your wine:

Left Bank: Cabernet Sauvignon based & typically the most expensive & famous wines.
Entre-Deux-Mers: Translated to "Between Two Seas", this landlocked penninsula mostly makes dry white wines made with Sauvignon Blanc & Semillion.
Right Bank: Merlot based wines featuring earthy characteristics. For the most part, wines labed "Bordeaux" with no specific villiage name come from this part of the region.
 
 Our Exem, although labeled simply "Bordeaux" wine, actually comes from a single vinyard site within a the Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux AOC which is located in the southwestern corner of Entre-Deux-Mers. It is made in the style of the Right Bank featuring 70% Merlot & 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. As if you could pack more value into a $13 dollar wine, this vinyard is also sustainably farmed.

Like I mentioned at the beginning, this wine is a fresh new version of a classic region and is very much made in the "New World" style of featuring dense ripe fruit such as black cherry & plum. While it features some of the classic herb notes like thyme, they are more reminisant of fresh herbs and lacks the green "new wood" like flavors that can be offputting to American wine lovers.

Still, by far the best quality of this wine was the feeling of victory when my Bordeaux expert proctor had to ask how to spell it.

Boo ya! Value Wine WIN!

Tastings & A Date

First question, what is more romantic then a wine tasting?

Second question, what is one of the best wallet friendly ways to drink wines way above your budget?

Wine tastings are simply one of the best ways to really expand your pallet, meet new people, or hang out with current friends all for very little down payment. Many tastings are free and most under $20. Most recently, I went to Champagne tasting for Krug winery, a historic, and might I add expensive, winery (their cheapest bottle was $150 - sad face). But what did I pay to taste 3 of their vintage champagnes? Only $15.

Tapping into the local tasting market is not only a great way to taste amazing wines on a budget, but also meet new people who have great taste, literally. Who knows, perhaps you will be wining & dining with one of them come next Valentine's day!

My go to place to find local wine events, is localwineevents.com (super creative, I know) but it is the most comprehensive list of wine tastings & will also send you a weekly newsletter of events. About 50% are free & the rest are typically either a nominal fee or it is a wine tasting dinner - and I will say that those can be a budget buster.

Really looking for a date? They have beer tastings posted as well...

Ok - so its not a wine review, but perhaps, its even better. Let me know if you go to any great (inexpensive!) tastings :)

Valentine's Day Rose #2 - Tempranillo & Grenacha

Since Valentine's Day is all about couples, what is more fitting then exploring the better half of our rose exploration of amazing pink wines of Europe.

Continuing our romantic metaphor, our second Rose is from the Spanish wine region of Rioja (Ree-OH-ha) and as it turns out, Spain was Great Britain's rebound wine region whenever England and France were at war during various times of the Middle Ages. However, England wasn't the only one with a backup date. When phylloxera destroyed many of the vines in France during the early 1900's, many French winemakers from the Bordeaux region moved across the boarder to work the louse free vines of Spain.

OK, Valentine's Day metaphors are done now.

The Monte Clavijo 2011 Rosado is a blend of 40% Tempranillo & 60% Grenacha. Being both thin skinned grapes, this wine is a delicate color of salmon, hiding the core of fresh fruit, like bright cherry, strawberry, & raspberry you will get on the palate. On the nose, it is distinctly floral including baby's breath, jasmine, & fresh parsley.

Again, this wine is  100% dry clocking in at an even-keeled 12.5% alcohol.

This rose is slightly more fruit forward and would be great when paired with salmon or arugula salads (the pepper in the leaf will bring out even more fruit). As you can see, this is the more feminine of our Valentine's Day pair and the cheaper at only $7 / bottle.

So enjoy the holiday, or if you are on those those like that inherantly dislike Valentine's day, just enjoy the wines. Either way, Cheers!

Valentine's Day Rose #1 - Tavel, France

If Valentine's Day isn't the perfect day to really enjoy the amazing pink wines of the world - then I dare say the Rose industry is doomed.

Oh, what a shame it would be!!! The Old World Roses knock the ubiquitous White Zinfandel out of the park producing mostly 100% dry (a.k.a. no remaining sugar) wines intertwined with minerality that are primed for new exciting food pairings - such as our first from the Old World  region of Tavel, France in the Southern Rhone.

Tavel (Tah-VEL-la) is situated right across the Rhone river from the famed Chateauneauf du Pape region and consequently uses all of the grapes found in the "New House of the Pope" such as Grenache (Gren-AH-shh)*, Cinsault (SIN-So), Mourvedre (Moo-VED-Dra), Syrah (Sah-RAW), Clairette (CLAIR-Et), and Carignan (CARE-N-Yawn) among others in increasingly smaller quantities.

Just like its neighbor across the river, Tavel has famed historical roots. King Philip IV decreed upon being handed a glass of Tavel Rose, (which he reportedly "downed" quite quickly) that it was "the only good wine in the world" during one of his official tours of the kingdom in the 17th century.

Tavel only produces Rose when it comes to the export market (that's us America) and interestingly requires that all Roses have a minimum of 11% alcohol by volume, with most wines finishing at about 12-13.5%. Why do we care you ask? Because alcohol and sugar are on a vinified see-saw: Alcohol goes up? Sugar must go down. Sugar is high? Then alcohol is sitting in the sand box. Why? Its's SCIENCE! The alcohol in a wine is a by-product produced in the fermentation process where yeasts turn the naturally occurring sugar from the ripe grapes into alcohol. So what about our sweet "frienemy" White Zinfandel? It typically only has an APV (alcohol per volume) of 9.5-10.5%.

Now lets hear the real kicker - the price tag for a solid bottle of the "only good wine in the world" is a simple $10 including tax.
Domaine du Vieil's Aven is a classic "daily" example of the great rose wines that can come from producers who know what great pink wines can achieve. Overall, this wine drinks more like a white showcasing a mineral backbone of white stone, flagstone, & flint. Complementing notes of delicate rose petal & fresh uncut strawberries are also on the nose. The palate leans more into light raspberry notes with even a hint of fresh topsoil on a base of leveled acidity and a touch of tannin.

All in all, this wine is delicate & pretty, but do not get that confused with sweet & girlie. This wine comes in 100% dry with an APV of 13.5%.

Avoid food pairings with high acidity as it can erase the delicate fruit notes of this wine. Instead, pair with more earthy flavors featuring squashes, mushrooms, and other simply prepared roasted veggies and poultry and pork.

Do drink this wine (and most roses) the night you open them. While they don't completely turn over night, those delicate fruit notes and structure of light tannins fade quickly - BUT its as its Valentine's day...hopefully there are 2 of you to finish a bottle. If not, well, you need those extra 2 glasses.

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* BTW if I haven't mentioned so far, I create my own pronunciation guides (clearly) - these just seem so much more intuitive then learning another whole alphabet.

The Superbowl & Gameday White Wine Pairings

When I was in college, I took a HADM 4433: Food & Wine Pairing (needless to say it was one of my favorite classes) In it we learned the rationalization behind why one pairs sweet wine with spicy food, and how tannins interact with your palate when you eat a steak, etc., but I have to say even I was a little flabbergasted when the Chardonnay class came up and looking down on my pairing plate

I saw... hotdogs & popcorn?

 

I was skeptical, but it tasted fantastic! - but when in the world was a restaurant professional going to  use a wine & hotdog pairing???

 

Needless to say, I get it now - THE SUPERBOWL. 

 

 

I would venture that the Superbowl is the most equally watched event between men & women and don't get me wrong, I love a good porter, but there are several people in the football watching world that just don't enjoy beer - and they are in luck, because when it comes to tailgating mainstays, wine can definitely handle the heat. So drink those beers at kickoff, but when the food starts coming around, you are missing out if you don't throw wine the ball and run with some of these football friendly wine pairings:

 

The Burger: When pairing food & wine, think about ALL of the ingredients, not just the main protein - and the burger is the perfect example. While a Cabernet may spring to mind (I mean it is really just ground up steak right?) don't forget that the buttery bun makes up half the pair. Because of this, a simple burger actually pairs excellently with an oaky buttery Chardonnay. The extra tannins from the oak help you out when it comes to the fat in the meat, and the sweetness of the bun really comes out along side the buttery chardonnay texture. Also, that good old American processed cheese goes hand in hand with the Chardonnays melon flavors.

 

Try the Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Chardonnay ($15). The mixture of 50% barrel fermentation / 50% stainless fermentation ensures a wine that is creamy while still maintaining much of its fresh fruit flavors such as melon, apple, and guava. Also, pair with wine with the above mentioned hotdog.

 

*I will insert a small caveat here: wine & ketchup isn't a match made in heaven. The tangy sweet takes most of the fruit away from the wines and they can seem unbalanced - so if drinking & eating the above, reach for the mustard instead.

 

Chili / Jambalaya:  In honor of the city hosting this year's game, there is going to be a lot of jambalaya being eaten on Sunday. Plus its always a tailgating favorite given its ability to make large portions easily & keep you nice and warm on the cold day AND it goes SO much better with wine then beer if only for one simple reason, spice & carbonation don't mix.

 

Instead grab a nice fruity Albarino (Al-bah- NYEE-yo) from Rias Baixas (RE-ahs  BYE-shas) Spain. This grape has a nose similar to Viogner & Gerwurtztraminer showcasing ripe apricot & peach on the nose with high acidity and low alcohol levels, the key to the success of this pairing as spicy food brings out the heat of the base alcohol within the wine. What sets Albarino apart from other dry fruit forward whites is a distinctive slight salinity which is gained due to its being grown on the coast in Galacia, Spain. Also, when considering wine pairing, always consider the food typically eaten in that region - and while I highly doubt jambalaya specially is a common food in Galacia, what they do eat is a lot of seafood & spicier sausages.

 

Marques De Caceres, Albarino Rias Baixas 2011 ($16) is a great choice & bonus points, just got featured in Wine Spectator as one of the top 100 values for 2012.

 

Well that is all for today - enjoy the game & enjoy these pairings!