WHINE # 69

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy wine and that’s kind of the same thing.”

END OF SEASON:   As I indicated in earlier blogs my Whines are posted to coincide with offerings of the Opimian Society.  As Opimian 243 is the last offering of the season I shall not be writing further blogs until mid-fall.  I sincerely hope you have enjoyed the past season of Whines and thank you very much for reading them.

WINES OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST:  It’s now been 40 years since Steven Spurrier shattered the wine world with his famous blind comparison of the wines of Napa Valley with the best wines of France (see Whine 59).  Since 1976 the United States has become the fourth largest producer of wines in the world, and Californian wines are now considered by many to be the very best in the world. 

It is easy to assume that in the U.S. only California makes good wine.  In fact there are many other states that now take wine making very seriously.  Two of those states are Oregon and Washington.  Oregon, of course, lies north of California and the climate is considerably cooler.  For that reason Oregon, the fourth largest producer in the U.S., has specialized in cool weather varietals.  Some of the world’s best Pinot Noirs come from Oregon.

North of Oregon lies the state of Washington which has 43,000 acres of vines under cultivation.  It is second only to California in terms of production.  Washington wines are exported to 40 different countries. The major wine-growing area lies east of the Cascade Mountains in an area of shrub-steppes.  The climate is much warmer than that of Oregon, where the grapes are grown on the Pacific side of the Cascades.  Washington’s wine growing area is essentially a desert and during the growing season it has two hours more sunshine per day than does the Napa Valley.  Combined with hot daytime sunshine and cold nights the climate is ideal for growing grapes.  In addition, the soils are perfect with centuries of volcanic deposits.

It comes, then, as no surprise that Washington produces warm weather wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

My personal experience with Washington wines has been very, very positive.  Nonetheless, these wines are not always easy to find.  In Nova Scotia the Port in Halifax is currently featuring 2014 Charles and Charles Cabernet/Shiraz for $ 17.99.  Some stores in Ontario offer a 2012 Steven Falls Cabernet for under $ 20 (this wine is highly recommended by my Toronto son).  For those who like to cruise, Oceania always seems to feature Washington wine on its ships.

COOKING WITH WINE:   How often have you heard the statement “if you won’t drink it, don’t cook with it?”  This is plain silly.  While wine definitely improves most foods during cooking, particularly meats and fish, most of the subtlety of fine wine is lost during the cooking.  During cooking several things happen to the wine, the main ones being the concentration of acids and the boiling off of the alcohol.

The primary thing that happens to food when cooked with wine is the enhanced flavours that the wine acids bring out in the food.  So cooking with an acidic wine such as Chianti (which I almost always refuse to drink) is a good thing.  Secondly, a highly tannic, oaky wine (such as one of my favorite Cabernet Sauvignons) may actually add a “chalky” taste to the meat.  Thus here is another reason to ignore the above statement about only cooking with what you would like to drink. 

Wines also vary in alcohol content, but as the alcohol disappears during the cooking it doesn’t really matter what wine you choose in terms of alcohol content.  I should point out that this only happens if the wine is added early in the process.  Adding wine near the end of the cooking period, where the alcohol doesn’t have time to boil off, may be a bad thing.  Finally, like the acid in a wine, sugars in a wine also concentrate during cooking.  Thus, if you want to add a slightly sweet taste to what you are cooking use a sherry rather than a table wine.  One of my favorite dishes is beef short ribs braised in a sherry sauce.  Here a medium dry sherry is best as a sweet sherry will add too much sugar.

In sum up; add a $ 12 wine to your favorite sauce and save your $ 30 wine for the glass that sits next to the dinner plate.

AFTER DINNER DRINKS:  If you snoop in your friends cupboards you will no doubt find several bottles of sweet liquors.  No doubt these were gifts from friends who thought they were being kind. 

Most of us probably enjoy a sweet dessert after a nice meal.  That doesn’t mean, however, that the crème caramel or apple pie needs to be accompanied by a sweet drink.  In fact chocolate probably goes best with a nice tannic wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon.  And, in my opinion the very best finish to a fine meal is a quality brandy such as Cognac, or my favorite, Armagnac.  As far as brandies go, you can’t beat the French.

OPIMIAN OFFERING 243:  Since this offering has wines from both Washington State and from Oregon I’d like to be able to make recommendations.  However, I have not tried most of the wines listed and at very high prices I can’t really suggest that you buy any.  Similarly the California offerings are also extremely pricey and the few that are offered in affordable range I have not found to my taste.

In Whine # 67 I predicted higher prices for American wines because of the relative position of the Canadian dollar.  Perhaps that explains the terribly high prices in Offering 243.  If, on the other hand, you really want to order something, the one recommendation that I am willing to make is 8729 Castoro Cellars Zinfandel.  I have found this Zin to be very drinkable.