Words of Wine

The more I kick around wineries, vineyards and wine shops, the more I realize that I really don't know very much. And what I thought I knew, or at least what I believed, is up for challenge.

For years, I thought that rose wines were kids' stuff - sweet, with no body or character. Crap, really. Part of this particular snobbery probably came from Lehman High School memories of drinking Mateus Rose, that famous but very commercial wine in a familiar flask-shaped green bottle, invented to appeal to everyone. Too sweet to pair with food and lacking sufficient acidity to refresh, Mateus also has too much fizziness to be a still wine but it's not really a sparkling wine. On the heels of Mateus I also remember drinking Lancers, Rose d'Anjou, and under full disclosure I'll even admit to having sampled white Zin from time to time. Hey, my Aunt Mary liked it and brought it to the house.

Ok, you're asking - memory lane, yadda yadda, so what? Well, the result of those youthful indiscretions with sweet pink wines was that until fairly recently, I associated all pink wine with sugary, nasty stuff and almost never tried any of the many wonderful and bone-dry rose wines on the market. And there are many, as I often hear from Jeff Morgan, a partner in SolaRosa wines and one of the Rose Avengers, a group of California vintners that is actively evangelizing the joys of this misunderstood and under-appreciated beverage.

Rose's work well with food for a number of reasons, and are made from many grape varieties including Syrah (one of my favorites), Sangiovese, Grenache, Merlot, Malbec and yes, Zinfandel, which when fermented dry makes a lovely drink that you will never confuse with Sutter Home's sweet stuff.

Among wine snobs, rose has been viewed as "uncool" and that is unfortunate, because that attitude has kept a lot of folks from enjoying this wonderful wine that looks more beautiful in the glass than any other. And there are plenty of wine-savvy places on earth, such as the south of France, where drinking rose has always been in style. Try it with a lobster roll or a fresh bouillabaisse and you'll see what I mean!

Tonight I was meant to be sampling some of Jeff Morgan's SoloRosa in Manhattan, along with his outstanding Covenant Kosher Cabernet, and because of crappy weather I am being denied both. But don't let that stop you...you're making a mistake if you do.

Some of my favorites:

SoloRosa Russian River Valley Syrah Rose 2005

Pinot Grigio Ramato (Italy), 2005

Chandon Rose NV (Domaine Chandon USA)

Oriel Femme Fatale Rose Bordeaux 2003

January 22, 2007: I've had two experiences in the last week that demonstrate both how good and how bad restaurant wine service can be, and how you gotta pay attention if you want to avoid paying for Margaux but drinking Boone's Farm. It's unfortunate that this nonsense still goes on...and on.

The good was La Griglia restaurant in Kenilworth, New Jersey. While perhaps not the nexis of haute cuisine, this pleasant Italian establishment has an extensive wine list that was recognized in 1994 by Wine Spectator magazine. Running to 33 pages and naturally focused on Italy, it features dozens of wines under $100, many of those in the $30-$70 range and a nice selection of new world offerings. I found quite a few things to like, one of which I ordered, Bastianich "Vespa Bianco" 2003, a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Picolit: complex, savory, forty-seven bucks and done. Good food, crisp and professional wine service, nice glassware, fair prices and lots of choices. Outstanding. And every wine I asked about was in stock in the correct vintage.

The BAD was the total disappointment of The Would, an otherwise nice restaurant in the lower Hudson Valley, NY, with excellent food that "Would" be good if only they'd stop trying to deceive their customers.

It had been recommended by the lodging establishment at which we stayed while touring some small NY wineries in the area. After we arrived, and once I got past the fact that the place was still gaudishly festooned with Christmas decorations on January 20, including ornaments hanging from the ceiling, I plunged into the wine list with gusto and immediately saw several things that caught my eye.

One, a 2001 Rudd Cabernet for $130 seemed like a good deal, especially after having visited Rudd and tasted its stuff the summer before as part of a class at...the Rudd Wine School of the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone. I made a point to tell our server (I guess we don't say waitress or waiter anymore, which is hooey) to kindly check the vintage; she came back a few minutes later and said we were in luck, one bottle left. But after departing to fetch two glasses of a nice sparkling Rose as our starter, she returned to tell me the Vintage was not '01 but rather 2002. I responded by saying, well, what's the price for the oh-two? "Oh, the same" she said. "How is that?" I asked. No answer.

And given the responses and attitude that I encountered, I am convinced that had I not asked, our server would have made no mention of the off-vintages.
This, as they say, was only the beginning. Three more times I made a selection from the list, only to learn that "we're out of that" but "we have a different year."

When I politely noticed that this was a trend and an unwelcome one at that, our server seemed perplexed and responded "it's just too hard to keep up the list."

No, it isn't.

Simply put, if you run a restaurant and actually charge money for wine on your list rather than give it away, you need to sell what's actually on the list at that price, not merely what's in your cellar. Otherwise change the list to match, along with an appropriate change to the price. Anything else is simply dishonest.

For the record, I made a phone call about this to one of the partners of The Would, and also sent her an email. Remarkably, she has not deigned to respond to either.

So I have.