I know, I know, everyone reaches for Santa Margherita at a holiday party or a restaurant. Hey, they spend a lot of money on advertising and the brand name is well known. But between us, it’s not really good wine, and it’s absurdly expensive for what you get.
That’s why the Wine of the week is Maso Canali Trentino Pinot Grigio.
Why is this really good wine? Well I could blather on about late-harvested grapes, stainless steel fermentation, lots of contact with the lees, the fact that the same family has been farming there for 500 years, or that they don’t do malolactic fermentation.
The most important reason, though, is that the good folks at Maso Canali use the Passito process; they keep about 7% of the grapes back, and dry them separately on special racks, wonderfully concentrating their flavors, aromas and sugars. These dried grapes are pressed, and this concentrated juice is then added to the base wine which has been fermented normally. Passito is the same process used to make the famous and expensive Amarone red wines, the difference being pretty much all of an Amarone comes from dried grapes versus only a few percent here.
Bottom line: this wine has delicious tropical fruit flavors, real body, aromas and complexity that put most Pinot Grigios to shame. Try it!
In 10 days it’ll be Thanksgiving eve, and you’re probably putting together your menu. And if you’re not…get on it! And no matter what you’re having, you’ll need some wines to go with the big meal.
Vouvray/Chenin Blanc: This is among the best wines in the world for Turkey. Vouvrays are Chenin Blanc-based wines from France, and come in a variety of styles, from dry to off-dry, semi-sweet and sweet. South Africa makes great Chenin Blancs, too: try Raats Family, Indaba or Cederberg. And Napa’s Pine Ridge makes a wonderful mixture of Chenin Blanc and Viognier that I recommend highly.Rose: If you’re having ham by any chance, try pairing it with Mulderbosch Rose, from South Africa, made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. And if you’re not, it’s a great aperitif wine! Montes Cherub from Chile or Corbieres Domaine Sainte-Eugenie from France. Domestically, try Sola Rosa from Napa Valley. Goes great with cranberries, stuffing, relishes, everything!
Gewurztraminer: This somewhat spicy white wine is a nice change from all those Chardonnays or Pinot Grigios you’re offered at dinner parties. Washington State’s Columbia Winery makes Gewurz, and California’s Fetzer Vineyards makes a nice off-dry version. Dependable, inexpensive “authentic” Alsatians come from France’s Trimbach or Hugel et Fils.
Pinot Noir: Lotsa folk say this is a great pairing with turkey – its bright cherry flavors and gentle tannins and acidity work well with Thanksgiving treats. Check out Chalone Vineyard Monterey, Bannock Brae from New Zealand or just about any Pinot from Willamette Valley in Oregon. From France, try Francois d’Allaines Bourgogne Rouge or Bouchard Pere et Fils.
Beaujolais: This underappreciated and unfairly-dissed wine is a great choice if you’re not a white drinker but still want wine with your bird. The Gamay grape makes easy-to-drink wines that are fruity but dry and go nicely with most things on the menu. You’ll likely find a good, reliable Beaujolais selection at your retailer including Georges Dubeouf and Louis Jadot. If you want to go up-market a bit, look for Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly or G. Duscombes/Morgon.
The United States Marines celebrate their 234th birthday today, November 10, 2009.
Resolution of the Continental Congress:
“That two Battalions of Marines be raised consisting of
one Colonel, 2 Lt. Colonels, 2 Majors, and Officers
as usual in other regiments, that they consist of an equal number
of privates with other Battalions, that particular care be taken
that no person be appointed to Officer or enlisted in said Battalions,
but such as are good seamen, or so aquainted with maritime
affairs as to be able to serve to advantage by sea.”
This week’s WINE OF THE WEEK is Kunde Family Estate, Chardonnay Nu 2007.
Now, if you like sweet, caramel-y, very soft and way-buttery Chardonnay, you won’t like this one.
BUT if you like fresh, crisp Chardonnay, a wine in which you can taste the fruit – crisp apples and pears – and not just tons of oak, this is one for you. If you’ve ever had a true French Chablis, Chardonnay Nu may remind you of that. I won’t bore you with all the details about malolactic fermentation or new vs. old oak. I will tell you that this wine is a great companion to foods because it won’t overpower their flavors with over-the-top flavors of its own. Yet it’s not too steely or austere like some Chablis are.
You’ll find it at retailers for about $14-17.
NEXT WEEK – What else? Wines for Thanksgiving. Cheers!
1. Wine should always be served in a clean, spotless glass with no lint. If you get a dirty glass, send it back. Dirty glasses aren’t fun to drink from, and soap film gives a nasty taste; it also kills Champagne bubbles.
2. Speaking of glasses, the type and size of glass matters. If you’re in a family-style Italian restaurant or “old fashioned” Spanish or Portuguese place, you might find yourself drinking out of short, cylindrical tumblers. That’s culturally appropriate, but only for inexpensive table or house wine. For anything else, even at a casual dining place, the glass should be at least 12 or 13 ounce size, with a slight tulip-shape flare. Try to avoid drinking out of the typical, tiny (6 oz.) wine glass, shown at right here, that’s far too prevalent in casual dining restaurants and pubs.
Why? Well, to get a full pour they have to literally fill it to the top. They often spill it just handing it to you. You can’t enjoy the wine’s aroma. The big bowl glasses, while a little better, aren’t much more appropriate, and they’re awkward to hold and drink from – wine isn’t soup, after all. The ideal glass is a 13 to 16 ounce tasting glass, an example shown at left here.
3. If you’re ordering wine by the glass and you order a second or third, it should always be served in a fresh glass even if you’re ordering the same wine. If you’ve ordered a bottle, it’s perfectly fine to pour into the same glass.
4. In a fine dining establishment, your server should keep an eye on your table and quietly move in to refill your glasses as needed. Don’t, however, expect this in a casual dining restaurant. And if you’d like to refill glasses yourself – which is fine – be polite and tell your server after he or she does the first pour. Which they, not you, should do under any circumstances.
5. If you order a bottle of wine, it should first be presented so that you’ll know you’re getting what you ordered, especially the correct vintage (year). Assuming it’s correct, the server should then open and pour it in front of you. If not, refuse the wine and ask that a new bottle be brought and opened properly. Proper wine service is a ritual and sometimes it’s silly and overblown, but there are reasons for it, too.
6. The person who orders the wine is the person for whom the first taste should be poured, regardless of who “outranks” whom at the table, or who’s paying. If that’s you – you’re on!
7. In most fine restaurants, the server will then hand the cork to the person who ordered the wine. Don’t sniff it. You can’t tell much from a cork unless it’s so dry that it disintegrates – and even a cork covered with mold (as long as it’s not on the “business end”) doesn’t mean much, at least if it’s from an older wine. It’s really just part of the ritual. The one exception is that some very fine and expensive wines will typically have an imprinted cork, including the vintage year. If so, make sure the vintage on the cork matches the year on the label. If you collect corks, put it in your pocket; if not, place it next to your plate and the server should remove it before or when he or she does the first refill. At that point the cork is just trash.
8. If you’ve ordered a white wine, the server should only bring an ice bucket if you ask. Many Americans drink their whites so cold that they taste only acid, so consider not icing it down. One good way to preserve the temp of a white is with a “chiller” – a ceramic or clay tube. Sometimes glass or stainless ones are used such as the one shown at left, and if they’re double-walled they do a great job.
9. An exception to this is Champagne and sparkling wine, which does want to be kept cold. Unless you’ve got enough guests to empty the bottle on the first pour, an ice bucket should always be brought. And it should include a couple inches of water at the bottom.
10. If you’ve ordered a red wine, in a fine restaurant it should be placed on the table on a wine coaster, usually one of pewter, silver plate or crystal. I’ve seen some newer ones in marble that even have a little niche for the cork. Woo-hoo. In a casual restaurant, a bottle of red will usually just be placed on the table nearest the person who ordered it.
11. Here’s a free #11 – Don’t get too caught up in wine rituals. If you’ve ordered a good wine and you’re with good friends, as long as you’re not drinking out of a boot you’re probably in good shape! Oh, ok maybe a clean boot…
