Those other white wines Pt. 1

OK. We have all been in wine stores where there are seemingly endless rows of chardonnay, pinot grigio/gris, sauvignon blanc and sometimes even riesling. And then there is a section called something like "other grapes" or "other wines." Sounds like the title of a bad science fiction movie, like 'The Other Grape That Crushed LA." But what is really among these others, those that seem to be perpetual outcasts from polite society?

Well, one of them is Torrentes, grown primarily in Argentina. It is a notable grape in several regions-Catamarca, La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan and Rio Negro. There are some stylistic variations between the different regions, Catamarca tending towards a more full bodied and intensely aromatic style, while those of Mendoza are a bit more reticent on the nose and palette. With these variations the wine still shows its personality well.

The origin of the grape points towards Galicia, that most northwesterly province in Spain. The area derives its name and distinctive language or dialect, depending who you talk to, from ancestral roots in ancient Gaul; hence the name Galicia. This area is known as the green area due to its abundant rainfall and is home to the wines made from albarino grapes and other less well know local varieties.

It is an aromatic white, keeping company with the likes of riesling, albarino and gewurtztraminer. With floral and dark tree fruit aromas, good acidity and ripe peaches, apricots and some honey on the palette, this wine has much to offer.

The acid makes it food friendly and able to hold its own with a variety of dishes such as steamed snapper with mango/peach salsa or roast game hen with rosemary and lemon. It is not a wine that does well with a heavy char from the grill as it takes on a bitterness that catches in the back of the throat.

The aromas and flavors make it a great hot weather wine for sipping or taking on picnics or out on the back deck. The acidity makes all the difference, and is one of the characteristics I like about the aromatics in general. The ripe fruits and crisp acidity are a wonderful combination.

Prices for most offerings are modest to moderate, mostly in the $10-$15 range. If you are not familiar with this wine, go get some and try it well chilled.

To paraphrase a famous saying, "Yes, Virginia, there is life beyond chardonnay."

Beer here

There is good news and bad news, or almost bad news. The almost bad news concerns industrial brewers- Budweiser, Miller, Coors- and the like. Their sales are flat or even decreasing slightly. The recession may be partly to blame for this, but in most other down economies sales of alcohol tend to increase.

The good news is that the sales of craft brewed beers, year to year, 2008-2009, increased at more than 10%. Now a 10% increase in a category that is maybe 4 or 5% of the total beer industry will not refloat the Titanic. But is does point out another interesting fact.

The reason people are going for more of the craft beers is the fact that these beers have a hand made quality and aura to them, even for the largest of the lot, which I believe is Sam Adams. At more than two million barrels per year, Sam is not a home business. But as a nation wide brand, Sam has done much to introduce people to the genre of suds and that is a good thing.

For those of you too young to remember, in the dark ages of the 1960s and 1970s and much of the 1980s, people were condemned to buying only industrial beers, or select from a small group of still local or regional breweries. But in the 1980s things began to change.

No longer were we going to be talking about 50 or so companies that brewed beer. Today there are more than 1500 so-called craft brewery concerns, including brew pubs and traditional breweries. In some places the time honored tradition of taking home a growler of beer is once again on the scene. And the brew pubs generally have food that is at least interesting and more appealing than chain restaurants. (It was interesting that after a rapid increase of brew pubs in the late 80s and 90s, that the ones that survived were generally the ones that offered the best food.)

With the craft beer movement, and to a lesser extent the micro-distilling world, I believe we are seeing a unique version of larger trends that are gaining momentum in the country. The interest in locally grown food, grass fed and humanely raised and slaughtered animals, sustainable fishing programs and increased mainstreaming of organic food, all seem to be part of a collective of desires for people to know their food, where it came from and who produced it.

The beer in the US is as good as any place in the world for the person who wants to separate him or herself from the industrial brewers. Just about all large cities have brew pubs, and craft breweries are to be found in all regions of the country. Sales are steadily increasing all with the trends listed above.

It is a good time to go out and enjoy a true American tradition: locally brewed beer!

Bordeaux blend?

So, I think most everyone has heard the phrase "Bordeaux blend" on any number of occasions, whether talking about actual wines from the region or a wannabe from CA or Australia or elsewhere. Most of the time these wines are cabernet sauvignon based with maybe some merlot, cab franc or, rarely, malbec or petit verdot.

But what's missing here? What's missing is the 6th grape of good ol' Bordeaux, Carmenere. Many people do not know that Carmenere is the 6th blending grape of Bordeaux. The fact that it is legal, does not mean it is still commercially utilized. After the phylloxera catastrophe this varietal was not replanted. And this is not so surprising considering that the grape needs: warm temperatures, abundant sunshine and does well in a dry climate; none of which seem to appear on a regular basis in Bordeaux, at least until global warming struck.

Given that none of these criteria are found in Bordeaux on a regular basis, one can only assume that the winegrowers were popping too many corks when they made this one of the "approved" grapes for the region. This is borne out by the fact that the grape was not replanted after said catastrophe, and no one seems to have missed it in 100+ years. Apparently, it was never a large part of the blending process, and of even less importance.

Except that some prescient folks in Chile brought back numerous cuttings in the 19th century and planted them in what may be the world's best location for growing wine. The climate, similar to California in many ways offers many areas with lots of sunshine, dry weather, but with the addition of generally available irrigation, courtesy of the gods of the Andes. The snow melt rivers flow with abandon and offer plentiful water for the taking.

Seems like a match of the ages, right? Yeh, except that most Chilean growers thought that Carmenere was actually Merlot. It was not until the mid 1990s that a positive genetic ID was made that separated C. from M. which brings me to the title of the post.

Vina y Bodega Estampa S.A. produces a Chilean version of a "Bordeaux blend" with a Chilean twist: Carmenere is 60% of the blend; cabernet sauvignon is 22%, and cabernet franc is 18%. What we have is wine that full bodied, smoky, spicy, intensely fruity with dark fruits, showing a presence of oak and minerality (terroir) with ripe tannins from the C.S. and red fruit overtones from the C. F. This is a magnificent wine.

Vintage 2007 is ready to drink, but if you find some, buy a case and let it sit for a while. The structure is there for 5-10 years of aging.

Bordeaux blend with a Chilean twist. Estate bottled and waiting for you.

Wines of the Times

Having ignored the blog for quite some time, it is time to get going again. The past almost two years I was occupied with writing a book on American cuisine. It looks like it will be published later this year, so before I get going on another one I need to catch up here.

Sometime during the last quarter of 2009 I made my own little wine database. I know a lot about wine but realized that with all the tasting I did, I soon forgot most of what I discovered while attending a tasting. I was surprised after a few weeks to discover where "my" wines were coming from. The last several years the wines I bought for home consumption were mostly from the USA. And I did record a fair number in the data base. What I found interesting was the large number from Spain, and not just Rioja.

Spain led the way with 17 wines: regions were Pendes, Ribera del Duero, Carinena, Rias Baixas, Yecla. Ribera del Duero, Jumilla, Montsant, Valencia, Rueda and Rioja. What most impressed my about these wines is the overall high quality of the wines, region to region and varietal to varietal. When coupled with really reasonable prices it becomes apparent that the price/value relationship is high. The perceived value is outstanding. This is one of the concepts that gets a great deal of attention on teaching about cost control in the food service industry. Without fail, the consistency of perceived value led me purchase one Spanish wine after another and was never disappointed with any of the wines.

Surprises were the freshness and refinement of white wines made in Rias Baixas and Rioja Alta. The Rioja was new to me and the viura grape produced a crisp, refreshing, orange and almond scented wine of great charm. All of the reds ranging from tempranillo to garnacha displayed juicy red and dark fruits with a touch of oak and a distinct impression of a sense of place. Monastrell was large and full bodied but not overpowering. The tinta roriz, which is the local name in Rubera del Duero for tempranillo, was more full bodied and silky than the wines made in Rioja; not necessarily better, but quite distinct.

And the sparkling wine Cava was uniformly excellent. Here my personal preference is for wines made from the classic native Spanish grape (parelladda, macabeo, xarel-lo) rather than ones made with the addition of chardonnay. Who needs another chardonnay for a sparkling wine when the native varieties propduce such crisp and nuanced wines?

These are definitely wines to try for summer tie, whether the crisp whites to alleviate the hot and humid Atlanta weather, or the wide variety of reds for enjoying with slabs of grilled beast on the backyard grill.

Have fun and don't forget to write!