WHINE # 35 – June, 2012

SUMMER BARBECUE:   Official summer is now here.  However, most of North America has had a warm spring, so I may be a tad late in writing about the barbecue season. 

Firing up the grill and enjoying a simple meal with family and friends is one of the great pleasures of summer.  With the possible exception of well boiled (meaning not boiled for very long) Nova Scotia lobster, nothing beats grilled meat and fresh garden vegetables.

Ice-cold beer is perhaps the choice to accompany your steak or ribs.  However, you may also wish to follow that beer with a glass or two of red wine.  So, what red wines should you select?

First, there is nothing subtle about grilling meat.  The wine needs to be robust and flavorful.  Forget about “Old World” wines.  Europeans do not understand the barbecue and their wines are totally unsuited, being both too thin and lacking in forward fruit.  Save your Burgundy, your Bordeaux, and even your Rioja for the winter season and serve them with the wonderful sauces that your European friends have taught you to make.

Now, here is the real good news.  You don’t need expensive wines for your barbecue.   You simply want a robust wine that can hold up to the spices that are on your meats.  The wine can be young (I can’t believe I said that) and it need not cost more than about $ 15.

RIBS:  Here there is only one choice:  Australian Shiraz.  This is the only wine spicy enough.

STEAKS with commercial barbecue sauce:  Most sauces in a bottle are a little sweet.  I suggest that a California Zinfandel will match quite well.

STEAKS with butt rub:  Argentinian Malbec or Chilean Carmenere are perhaps the best choices.  A Cabernet is also nice but a decent Cab is going to cost you more than $ 15. And even then it shouldn’t be drunk too young.

BURGERS AND DOGS:  Although I might suggest you stick to beer, you may also enjoy a relatively young Malbec.

ROTISSERED CHICKEN:  If you haven’t used too much spice, then a Chilean Pinot would be a good match.  Otherwise, any Merlot.

GRILLED SALMON OR TROUT:  An unoaked Chardonnay is a good match, but a Malbec Rose is also a nice.

SO YOU’D LIKE TO LOSE A FEW POUNDS:   I have heard several friends say that they are giving up wine for a time in order to try and lose some weight.  None of them have lost any weight but they have lost, at least for a time, one of life’s great pleasures.

Before you refuse the next glass of wine that is offered may I suggest you consider some of the following:  Firstly, a glass of red wine contains only about 85 calories.  Yeah, but who uses thimbles in which to serve wine?  So, instead of arguing about the size of the glass let’s talk about ½ bottles.  A half bottle of dry red wine contains about 310 calories and a half bottle is a good accompaniment to your evening meal. 

One-half bottle contains the same number of calories as 2 beers or two cokes.  It is about the same as 1.5 rum and cokes.

But, you note, you are not substituting any of the above beverages.  Instead you are only going to drink water.

My question, is why give up any wine?  Instead give up some food.  Do you know that a Big Mac Meal contains 1350 calories (that’s more than two bottles of wine)  A large chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard at your local Dairy Queen has 1320 calories.  One order of large fries at McDonald’s has over 500 calories (and that’s assuming you skip the ketchup). 

So, you are going to give up not only wine but fast food.  Well, a small serving of veal parmigano has 411 calories.  Even a chicken breast without any skin has 258 calories.  Steak/Frites contain 801 calories. 

I suppose you could lose weight by only eating brussel sprouts, 65 calories (but then why try for a long life if that life contains brussel sprouts?)  An apple has about 95 calories.

Now here’s a thought.  A bowl of cornflakes with milk and sugar contains 338 calories.  Perhaps you could skip the cereal and start your day with a half bottle of Merlot.

Seriously, although I should like to suggest that you should eat less and drink more, what makes more sense is to eat less and drink the same.

Finally, if all of the above has got you down.  You can easily cheer yourself up with a pound of fudge (only 1800 calories).

CAYMUS WINES:  A couple of weeks ago I faced a birthday that ended in zero.  Not really a cause to celebrate.  On the other hand, my friend Joe suggested to Betty that a nice gift would be to take me to a Caymus dinner event that was happening at Onyx Restaurant in Halifax.  That’s what Betty did.

We enjoyed  seven wonderful courses:   lobster, prawns, salad, pork belly, duck, bison, and cheese.

The wines were all from the Wagner Wineries in California.  The Wagner’s most prized vineyard is Caymus and we sampled both the Zinfandel and the Cabernet Sauvignon.  Their whites also included both oaked and unoaked Chardonnay.

Although the Caymus wines that accompanied the final two course bordered on spectacular, it was a Pinot Noir that gave me the greatest pleasure.  I had only had the Clark and Telephone Pinot once before (and wrote in my wine journal that it was the best Pinot I had ever tasted) and the second time was as good as the first.  At the moment Port of Wines in Halifax is out of stock, but if you can find this wine it is not much more than $ 40.

The next time you have a birthday ending in zero I suggest any of the Wagner wines will take away most of the pain.

CELLAR OFFERING 211:   When I make recommendations for the Opimian Offerings I like to only recommend wines that I have tried on several occasions.  This offering makes this  a little difficult as there are several wines with which I am totally unfamiliar.  Thus, there may be some great wines that are not in these recommendations.

Wines in this offering vary greatly in price.  I can recommend in the bargain category either of the Stone Valley Reds (Merlot 6735) or Cabernet Sauvignon (6735.)  I would AVOID the Butterfly Ridge wines.  They are cheap, but unfortunately they taste cheap.

I have had a very good Tempranillo from Castoro Cellars so my guess is that the Castoro Cellars wines offered here may be worth a try.

Finally 6767 Ramon Biobao Single Vineyard Riojo is an excellent wine that I can strongly recommend.  You’ll like the price.

WHINE # 34 - MAY, 2010

WHINE # 34

ANTIGONISH WINE SHOW:   In April we attended the fourth annual  Antigonish Wine Show.  This is a special event in which the NSLC provides wines; Mark Gabrieau provides food, and the show raises money for St. Martha’s Hospital Foundation.

The food was superb, as were the wines.  This year there were wines to sample from 8 countries (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, and the USA).  As there were 3 reds from each country, I didn’t have capacity to sample any whites.

What was interesting about the reds is that the 3 wines from each country were in the low ($ 20), medium ($ 40), or high ($ 60) price range. 

At the end of the night we were able to purchase any of the wines.  Given that option I wondered what wines would be the big sellers.  Unlike a wine tasting where the wines were rated on a piece of paper, this time the choice was made with one’s credit card.  I think this was a great test of the wines in terms of what countries produce wines that are favored by the people of Antigonish.  One of my friends who is on the Board of the NSLC was able to get me a sales report from the evening.  Of the $ 25,000 worth of wine that was sold, these were the favorite reds.

                1.  Audrey Wilkinson Shiraz from Australia ($ 27.29)

                2.  Predator Old Vine Zinfandel from California (($ 27.29)

                3.  Dona Paula Estate Malbec from Argentina ($ 17.99)

                4.  Montecillo Reserva from Spain (($ 24.99)

                5.  Trapiche Jorge Miralle Single Vineyard Malbec from Argentina ($ 42.99)

The top selling white wine was a Nimbus Sauvignon Blanc from Chile.  Incidentally my personal favorite was Gallo Frei Ranch Cabernet from California ($ 52.49).

MORE ON AGING WINE:  It’s always a mistake to drink wines that are too young.  On the other hand, it’s an even bigger mistake to drink wines that have been kept too long.  Once a wine reaches its peak it begins to deteriorate.  At first you will notice a slight brown coloring at the rim where your wine meets your glass.  Then the wine will take on a musty flavor.   Finally, the wine turns to vinegar.

Most of you fall into one of three categories.  You may have a full cellar with a software program that keeps track of your wines.  Or, you may be one of those people whose stock of wines amounts to three bottles at the back of your kitchen counter.  In either of these cases I have no advice for you.  On the other hand, you may have 50 or 75 bottles stored in cardboard boxes in the back of a closet or on your basement floor.  If you fall into this last group my advice is to spend a few minutes looking through your wines and setting aside any that have been kept beyond the recommended date for drinking.   Drink these right away so that you can avoid having good wine go bad.

For those of you who are members of the Opimian Society, go on the website and click “Your wine file”.  There you will be given a drinkability and a maturity rating for every wine you have ever ordered.  I find this service very, very useful.  Since these reviews were just completed for 2012 I have set aside all my 10/10 wines and those will be gone in the next couple of weeks.

THE EXTREMES OF WINE LISTS:  Betty and I recently ate on successive evenings in restaurants that represented the extremes of wine choices.  Staying at The Inn at Thornhill, in Jackson, New Hampshire we had a very good meal (albeit we were the only people eating there that night) and we were very surprised at the wine list.  Over 500 choices offered wines ranging in price from $ 16. To $ 1060.  One could even choose the vintage for Chateau Petrus.  Although we chose a wine near to the bottom of the price range, it was just fine.

The next evening we dined at Bistro 33 in Moncton, New Brunswick.  This small café had excellent seafood, a good atmosphere, and quick service.  However, the ½ dozen wines on offer seemed to have been selected to represent the worst that could be offered from France, Italy and Australia.  I suggested to the Owner/Chef that he might want to expand his offerings.  I bet, however, that if and when we return we’ll find the same disappointing offerings.

NEXT MONTH’S WHINE:  I am hoping to convince my friend Gerard (from Aix-en-Provence) to write a piece on long cellaring French wines.

OPIMIAN OFFERING # 210:  I don’t have many wines to recommend from this offering, but the following two are affordable and are both good food wines.

# 6686  Chateau Blomas, AOP Minervois, 2010.  You will need to cellar this wine for at least a couple of years.

# 6706  Chateau Salitis, Cuvee Premium, AOC Cabardes 2010.  This is an old favorite of mine.  It will go very nicely with spicy meats and bar-b-ques.

WHINE # 33 - April, 2012

AGING WINE:  In earlier blogs I wrote about aging wines, arguing that every wine has a perfect age.  Some wines are best drunk shortly after they are bottled, others only reach their peak after several years of cellaring.

The question is whether or not I can make a complex topic simple.   Basically there are three variables that determine how long you should store a wine before pulling the cork: 

(1) VARIETAL.   Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Shiraz grapes contain lots of tannins.  It takes time for these tannins to “soften” , allowing the fruit flavor to come forward.  On the other hand, there is no point in cellaring a low tannin varietal such as Gamay (the grape of Beaujolais) or Sangiovese (the grape of Chianti).

 (2)  COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.  Wines from hot, dry countries such as Argentina or Australia are made from grapes that are picked when they are fully ripe or sometimes overripe.  These wines take less long to soften than wines from countries with fewer growing days.  Typically wines from the “Old World” countries(France, Italy, Spain) take much longer to reach perfection; particularly the Cabernets.

 (3)  QUALITY.  More expensive wines are made from selected grapes from old vines.  These high quality wines are more suited to cellaring.  Cheaper wines rarely improve with age.

So, I shall go out on a limb and give you a couple of tables which are very rough approximations of how long you should keep your wines.  In each case add the number in the table to the year on the label and you will have the year at which the wine should be near its peak.

KEY TO TABLES

HIGH TANNIN WINES – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, Shiraz

MEDIUM TANNIN WINES – Bonarda, Carmenere, Malbec, Merlot

LOW TANNIN WINES – Gamay, Pinot, Sangiovese

PRICE RANGE

HIGH -$ 40.

MEDIUM - $ 15-$40

LOW - $ 10 - $ 15

NEW WORLD WINES (Reds)

TANNIN

                                                                High                       Medium               Low

Over $ 40                                               6+                              4                           2

Between $ 15 and $ 40                       4                                 3                           1

$ 15 or less                                        3                              2                        0

OLD WORLD WINES (Reds)

TANNIN

                                                                High                       Medium               Low

Over $ 40                                             7+                           5                              2

Between $ 15 and $ 40                     5                              4                              2        

$ 15 or less                                      4                           2                           1

ALBERTA and AMERICAN READERS ONLY:  When visiting Mendoza a few years ago I was given a bottle of 2006 La Flor Cabernet Sauvignon.  It sat in my cellar until a few weeks ago when I decided to share it with Betty.  This inexpensive wine was absolutely fabulous.  Unfortunately, a Google search discovered only one store in Canada that imported this great wine.   That store is located in Calgary (Vino Fino Inc.  Mike Radakovic Edward’s Wine and Spirits).  Of course, if you live in the U.S.A. you can order the wine on line (www.paulhobbsimports.com).

GOOD VALUE FRENCH WINE:   Good value and French do not typically go together.  However, some of the wines from the south of France have reasonable prices, certainly priced well below the classic wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

One wine that I recommend is Minervois.  This wine is produced in the very south of France near the enchanting city of Carcassone.  For history buffs, the village of Minerve was the centre of the famous Cathar tragedy.  Minervois is a blend of Carignan, Grenache Noir, Syrah, Cinsault and several other varietals.  The wine is full-bodied, at least as full-bodied as a French wine gets.  Although the wine will age for a few years, it can generally be drunk quite young.

Minervois can be found at your local government store.  Similarly priced to Argentinian Malbec, you might try serving this to your friends and have them guess the country of origin.  My bet is that they will say “New World.”

WINES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA:   I’ve just returned from 4 weeks  of a great holiday in Southeast Asia.  Betty and I loved everything about the countries we visited;  particularly Thailand and Vietnam.  People were friendly, food was excellent, and we can’t wait to return. 

Wine is not a big part of the culture although interest is growing.  The Chinese, in particular, are purchasing more and more wine, especially expensive French wine. 

What can I say about the local wine?  To quote, “a picture is worth a 1000 words.”  Here I am sampling a Vietnamese red.

OFFERING # 209:  This offering contains a number of good Bordeaux, but they are priced more for special occasions, than for everyday drinking.  So if you want to lay down a few bottles of pricey wines, here are two recommendations:  6654 Clos Sainte-Anne Merlot, and for my rich readers 6633 Hortevie AOC Saint-Julien.  This latter wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, is everything a good Bordeaux should be.  This should impress your Chinese business associates.

January 2012 Whine

  

 

Whine # 32

How important is Vintage?  Most bottles of wine clearly indicate the year when the grapes were picked.   There are, however, a few exceptions.  For example, many Champagnes do not give a year because wines from different years are blended together in an attempt to provide a consistent product.

Paying attention to the year is important for two reasons.  First, this critical information tells one whether or not the wine is ready, or needs to be aged, or if in fact, it has passed its best shelf date.  Knowing how long to age a particular wine, although extremely important, is a complex issue and has been dealt with in an earlier Whine (#3) so I’ll move along, except to say that if you are drinking young Cabernets you are making a big mistake.  Remember, however, that the year refers to when the grapes were picked.  This is usually in October in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere.  So a 2008 Chilean wine is already six months older than a 2008 from California.

Winemaking is highly weather dependent.  Lots of sun means lots of sugar and better wine.  While I don’t grow grapes I do have a small vegetable garden.  Last summer we experienced a wetter than normal growing season and our tomatoes were so flavorless that they could have been mistaken for those one buys in the supermarket in February.

Since weather varies from place to place, the statement that it was “a very good year” or “a very poor year” depends not only on the country, but perhaps on a very small region within a country.  Vintage charts will give ratings not just for the Bordeaux region in France, for example, but will note the Left Bank versus the Right Bank.  Thus, in 1998 the wines of St. Emilion (right bank) were only average while the Haut Medoc (just across the river) were considered to be classic.

Back to the basic question, does the year really matter?   The answer is, as you might expect, “Yes and No.”  In part it depends on the country.  Weather is more variable in some places than in others.  Perhaps the extremes are France and California.  In Bordeaux, rainfall and timing of the rainfall varies greatly.  Thus, there are good years and not so good years and the difference is much more than trivial.  So if you are putting out big bucks for a special occasion bottle of Margaux pay the extra for a 2009 or 2010 which were exceptionally good years.

In Spain the weather varies a lot from year to year.  However, the Spanish make it easy for you.  When there is a very good year, the Spanish will label their best wines “Gran Reservas” and as a consumer you know the wine will be special.  In ordinary years the vintners are not allowed to use that label, so “Reserva” will be as good as it gets.

In Argentina, there is little rain and the vines are irrigated from the melting snows of the Andes.  Nonetheless, some years can be a disaster for the grower as the Mendosa area (source of 90% of Argentinian wines) is susceptible to hail storms.  However, hailstorms may destroy the entire crop.   Generally speaking the quality varies much less from year to year than in Southern Europe.

In Chile the weather is even more consistent so if you are buying wines from South America don’t worry so much about the vintage.

Finally, in California the weather is almost guaranteed.  The last time that California had a poor vintage was almost 25 years ago.

In conclusion I would suggest that for most of us vintage only matters when laying down expensive French wines from Bordeaux or Burgundy. 

Wines that disappointed.   Last month I listed the 10 best wines that I enjoyed in 2011.  The thought occurred to me that if I am making lists, why not a list of the worst wines?

As you know, one occasionally opens a bottle that is “corked” and is thus undrinkable.  For those who cellar wine there can be a bottle that has simply been kept too long.  My list includes neither of those disappointments.  It is simply a list of wines that I really didn’t like. 

6              08 Cote de Brouilly (Beaujolais)

5              05 Terrendstre Barbera D’Alba (Italy)

4              06 Aveleda Follies Tourisa National (Portugal)

3              04 Fleur du Cap Shiraz (South Africa)

2              06 Black Opal Shiraz (Australia)

1              08 Passetoutgains (Burgundy)   What is really bad about this wine is that I bought a whole case.

Next Whine.  Writing a Whine is usually triggered by an Opimian Offering.  I usually end each Whine with recommendations to buy (see below).  I expect the next Opimian Offering (# 208) will be out the last week in February.  By that time, however, Betty and I should be on a month’s holiday in Southeast Asia.   So don’t expect another Whine for a couple of months.

Although I am going to take a break from WhineWhining I shall not be weaned off blogging entirely.  As some of you know I like to blog about my travels.  If any of you who read the Whine would like to hear about the countries that we are about to visit send me a brief e-mail (rjohnson@stfx.ca) and I’ll add you to my distribution list for notification of my travel blogs.

Offering # 207.  As most of you know I am very partial to South American wines.  This month’s offering features wines from both Argentina and Chile, as well as wines from the Rhone Valley in France.  There are so many good wines in this offering that I hardly know where to begin.  So what I decided to do is to suggest to you only wines that I have experienced many times.  Then for my own orderings I am going to try some wines with which I am not as familiar.  I didn’t pick particularly inexpensive wines this time.  Three of my recommendations are in the $ 20 range and one is very expensive but unbelievably good.  Any of these wines could be served to your most important guest or saved for a romantic evening with your significant other.

6494 08 Alpha Crux Malbec:   Cellar this for a couple of years and be glad you broke the bank

6504 10 Casa Nueva Merlot Reserva:  Merlots can be very special

6524 10 Cornellana Barrel Reserve Carmenere:    The Barrel Reserve series is very reliable

6528 10 Expresion Reserve Pinot Noir:  Pinot with body

6549 10 Chateau de Montmirail Gigondas:  One of the best from Southern Rhone

Boxing Day 2011

WHINE # 31

December 2011

Welcome to the Whine:  Brian Mazerall, Aaron Savage and Matthew Savage, all of Fredericton, New Brunswick.  Also welcome to Elizabeth Ridley of Toronto.  Hope you enjoy my personal biases.

Bargains in French wine:  Don’t hold your breath:  Variability in wine prices is based on three factors:  supply, demand and exchange rates.  In terms of supply France remains the world’s largest producer of wine at somewhere between 7 and 8 billion bottles, so there is definitely no shortage.

Those of us in Canada have benefitted from the rise of the Canadian dollar.  At present it costs a little more than $ 1.30 to buy a Euro, down from $ 1.65 only a couple of years ago.

Demand for French wine is falling worldwide, including at home.  Young French people drink much less wine than their grandparents, preferring an occasional wine as opposed to a bottle with each meal.  Also, the younger French are experimenting with other alcoholic beverages.  Nonetheless, when they do drink wine, they drink only French wine.  There is little or no international market for non-domestic wine in France, which I think ultimately, hurts the domestic industry.  The French know little of international wines and it is almost impossible to buy a non-French wine in France.  If there were more wines available there would be more experimentation and ultimately more consumption.

Traditional export markets are also in decline.  The Brits, who for centuries have loved their Clarets (a silly English name for Bordeaux) have discovered bargain wines from Australia and South America.  In North America French wine consumption has dropped for the same reason.  Good French wine is too expensive and Bad French wine is just that.

All of the above should lead us to expect falling prices for French wine.  But I have left out one factor, the Chinese.  The burgeoning middle class in China have discovered wine and more importantly they have discovered wine snobbery.  The newly rich look for ways to demonstrate status, and status comes from having expensive Bordeaux on the table. The more expensive the more popular.  Recently one Chinese buyer paid $ 140,000 for two cases of the 2009 Chateau Lafite Rothschild.

Classes are given in wine drinking, where the Chinese learn such basics as “don’t drink the entire glass in one gulp.”  China now imports as much wine as Britain, and in fact, imports more French wine.  

  

So where does that leave us?  First, the best French wines may get even more expensive.  Although the prices for Vin Ordinaire may not increase, but compared to a $ 10 - $ 15 Argentinian Malbec or an entry level Carmenere from Chile, the kind of French wine dumped on those of us in places like Nova Scotia will still not be any bargain.

Ron's Believe It or Not.  This Nova Scotia wine is currently selling for $ 89.95 and is sold out of many stores.  Perhaps in a future Whine I'll tell you how it was.

Wines I drank in 2011.  This past year my consumption of wine has not declined.  However, my choices have more often gone to South American wines and less often to Old World wines.   Chile led my consumption list at 23%, followed closely with Argentina at 19%.  As the Canadian Buck rose against the American Dollar I increased my consumption of Californian wines to 17%.  French wine dropped to 4^th place at 15%.  Ten per cent of my wines came from Spain and only 7% were from Italy.  The remaining 5 % was evenly divided among wines from Australia, Austria, Canada, Portugal, South Africa and Washington State.  How many bottles does that add up to?  My secret!

My price range in wine usually falls between $ 15 and $ 45.  So what was good this past year in that range?  Here are the 10 best wines I drank this past year:

10      Spain:            07  Cava Parxet Brut Reserva – see Offerings section below

9     Chile:            05 Montes Alpha (Cabernet Sauvignon)  -- a bargain at $ 25.

8     Argentina:     03 Alpha Crux (Tempranillo, Malbec, Merlot)

7     France:          09 Chablis Premier Cru “Beauroy” (Chardonnay)

 6    California:     05 Belle Gros Clark & Telephone (Pinot Noir)

 5    Italy:              99 Sartori Amarone

 4    Chile:             05 Traverso Memorable (Cab Sauv, Carmernere, Merlot)

 3    Argentina:     06 Gran Dante (Malbec)

 2    California:     06 Camus (Zinfandel)

 1    California:     06 Amicus Reserve (Cabernet).  This wine was # 4 on my 2010 list but another year in the cellar definitely made it even better.

Opimian Offering # 206.

6418    2008 Parxet Brut Reserva.  BUY!  BUY!  BUY!  This is a great sparkling wine at a bargain price.  If you don’t like this Cava, send me the cork and I’ll eat it.

6421    2009 Mo salina Monastrell.  This is an inexpensive everyday wine with substance.  The French call this Mourvedre.

6427  2009 Faustina Seleccion de Familia.  Not quite ready yet this wine is a good earthy

    Tempranillo.

6464      2011 Pouilly Fuisse.   French Chardonnays are in a class by themselves, but

           keep this for a year or two.

Whine # 30 November, 2011

Whine # 30


Welcome Pat Kaufhold of New Jersey and Judi Travis of New Jersey to the Whine.

COOKING WITH WINE: Although any good chef uses a lot of wine in cooking, not all that comes out of the bottle goes into the recipe.

While the alcohol in the wine helps to bring out the flavours of the ingredients, the more important reason to cook with wine is because of the complex flavours added by the wine itself.

The question here is what wine should one use when cooking? The standard answer is “never cook with a wine that you wouldn’t drink by itself”. That is sometimes interpreted to mean that you should use the exact wine in the food as you will be serving with the food. That I think is silly. I am not going to do anything but pour my last bottle of Don Melchor into a glass and enjoy. And if I owned a bottle of Chateau Petrus I definitely wouldn’t use it in cooking.

Certainly a wine that is unpleasant to drink should not go into your favorite recipe for lamb shank, braised beef, or coq-au-vin. And definitely don’t use a leftover wine that has sat for several days and is well on its way to vinegar.

On the other hand, an everyday drinking wine should be adequate. My suggestion is that you decide what wine you will be serving with the end product, then add a cheaper version in the recipe. For example, if I am going to serve a Gran Reserva Rioja with the meat course, then a cheaper Rioja will do just fine in the cooking. A cheap Argentinian Cabernet in the lamb shank sauce will complement the best Napa Cabernet that you have saved to serve your favorite guests.

My rule of thumb is to never spend more than $ 15 on a cooking wine, and never drink any wine that costs less than that.

ANNUAL WARNING: Each year I warn my readers not to even think about buying any Beaujolais Nouveau, which is released with great hype at the end of November. For new readers of the Whine I suggest you scroll back to Whine # 13 (November 2009) to get the full trashing of Beaujolais Nouveau. For the rest of you here is the only Beaujolais Nouveau joke that I know.

John: “Did you know that 60% of Beaujolais Nouveau is sold to the Japanese?”

Bill: “What happens to the other 40%?”

John: “It isn’t sold.”

WINES OF CROATIA: I recently had a chance to sample wines along the Dalmatian Coast. However, since these wines are not available in Canada I shall not attempt an inventory. On the other hand, there is one wine that needs special mention. Plavic Mali from Croatia is a wonderful wine that can rival the best of either Old or New World wines.

I had my first glass of Plavic Mali when visiting Zagreb in May. Last week Betty and I stopped at a Wine Bar in Dubrovnik and tried two Plavic Malis; one from Postup, the other from Dingac. Both were excellent.

Plavic Mali is a blend of two indigenous grapes (Crljenak and Dobricia). Crljenak is the same grape as Zinfandel and no doubt the source of the wines that are so loved in California. For years it was thought that Primitivo from Italy was the source of Zinfandel, but genetic testing has come down on the side of Croatia.

Now if only NSLC or LCBO would bring in some of this great wine.

THE GLASS IS NEVER HALF EMPTY: When Betty and I decided to take an off-season cruise in the Adriatic we specifically chose a ship that offered free wine with lunch and dinner. We were not disappointed as many of the wines were from Australia and very good, although we were occasionally served an acidic Chianti.

When free wine was advertised we didn’t realize just how free. The game seemed to be that the hovering waiter topped up one’s glass as soon as the second sip was taken. There must have been a rule that no glass was ever allowed to be empty. Most nights I enjoyed the challenge of trying to empty my glass while the waiter was busy with someone else. I rarely succeeded.

The real contest took place on our last night. As we had unused credits in our shipboard account I decided to have a $27. glass of Caymus Cabernet at a pay-bar as a pre-dinner drink. Shortly after this magnificent nectar arrived we were called to dinner. I carried my glass (or had it carried) to the table.

No sooner were we seated than the waiter tried to top up my Caymus with a very ordinary Sangiovese. If I were looking to the right he would sneak up on my left. My whole attention was directed towards protecting my remaining sips of the rich Cab. At one point I ordered a glass of Chardonnay as a distraction but the waiter was undeterred. Finally I realized defeat and simply quaffed the Caymus.

OPIMIAN SPECIAL OFFERING # 50: I don’t have any real bargains to suggest this time, but here are some suggestions for you to consider.

6411 Armagnac: I have several bottles of this distilled brandy on hand and I tend to serve a small glass to delighted guests at the end of an evening of wine and food. Armagnac is very similar to Cognac (I think even better) but is less expensive.

6345 Chablis Vielles Vignes: Not cheap but as good as white wine gets (better than almost any Californian Chardonnay).

6337 Hopler St. Laurent: I am gambling a bit on this recommendation as I have never had this St. Laurent (similar to Pinot Noir). However, I have never been disappointed in a Hopler offering and am guessing this will be a pleasant surprise.

WHINE # 29

Welcome Nancy Sullivan from Ontario to the Whine.

Sipping Wine:   Wine makes food taste better.  Food makes wine taste better.   Finding the right match between the food and the wine is one of those very pleasant challenges that we face almost daily.  In fact, food and wine are so united that in some cultures wine is not drunk without food.

The question is what does one drink prior to the arrival of the food.  In much of southern Europe the pre-dinner drink of choice is a bitter liqueur.  In Provence the preferred aperitif is Pastis, while in much of Italy the favourite apertivo is Campari.

Here in North America many have moved away from the pre-dinner cocktail or the single malt as the pre-dinner drink.  When the host asks “What can I get you to drink?” the response is frequently “red wine” or “white wine”.

What wine do you then serve pre-dinner, or any other time when the wine is to be sipped sans food?  Sparkling wine is always an excellent choice.  Starting the evening with a well-chilled Cava or a frigid Champagne is never a mistake.  Still whites are also a good choice.  Chablis would be my first choice in still whites.

All of this leads up to question “what is an appropriate red for the first wine, particularly prior to the arrival of any food?”  The answer should be easy to remember:  “Light and low in acidity”

A high acid wine such as a Tuscan Sangiovese may be wonderful when paired with a tomato-sauced pasta or with a perfect pizza.  By itself it will burn all the way down.   Similarly you should not start with a heavy tannic wine, such as an Australian or Californian Cabernet Sauvignon.  These wines will gradually taste better as you drink more.  Nonetheless, they are best kept for the meat course, when they will match perfectly with your medium-rare prime rib.

My choices for sipping wines are Merlot or Tempranillo.  Pinot Noir can also be a good choice, but before you offer a Pinot make certain it is a good one.  Cheap Pinot is rarely a hit, while an expensive Pinot is light and wonderfully complex.

They don’t drink wine in Yarmouth:   This item comes with a warning.  Although it is about ordering a bottle of wine, it is as much a political comment as it is a wine story.  Many of you readers don’t vote for the parties that I support, so you may not care about the way I tell this story.

Betty and I found ourselves in the Nova Scotian town of Yarmouth on a Monday evening.  We were staying in Meteghan River and we drove to Yarmouth looking for dinner.  In the past we had some great meals at an Austrian restaurant and more recently discovered a wonderful little bistro on the main drag.

As many of you know Yarmouth has recently fallen on hard times.  The final blow came when our newly elected provincial government cancelled the subsidy to the Yarmouth-Bar Harbour (Maine) ferry.  This ferry was the life blood of both the tourism and trucking industry.  This decision was made by the same politicians who dump millions into a foreign-owned railway that runs empty cars to Sydney on a daily basis.   Go figure!

Back to my story.  On arrival in Yarmouth we discovered that our Austrian restaurant is now closed on Mondays and Tuesday and that our Bistro has moved across the street and has become a pizza joint.

After travelling virtually every street looking for a restaurant that hadn’t gone out of business we ended down by the empty waterfront in a restaurant that is attached to a beautiful but closed hotel that went out of business when the ferry stopped.

Although the restaurant was soon to close we were greeted by a friendly waitress.  There was one other table occupied and a large group of men were in another room working on their hockey pool.

I asked if they had any house wine by the glass and our waitress said there was but she had no idea what it was.  Betty then asked if they had wine by the bottle and after responding positively the waitress went off to the bar to look.  After rooting around under the bar she said that she couldn’t find any red wine.  I noticed that there were three bottles above the bar mixed in with the hard liquors. 

I chose the dusty bottle of Merlot and returned to our table.  After struggling with the corkscrew the waitress apologized that she couldn’t get the cork out.   I offered to help and removed the foil and then extracted the cork.  The waitress was a tad embarrassed and commented that it must have been six months since anyone had ordered wine.  I guess the unemployed of Yarmouth simply can’t afford wine.

The Merlot was fine and it went well both with Betty’s hot lobster sandwich and with my Rappie Pie (Rapture in Acadian French).  By the way, Rappie Pie is a unique and wonderful dish that takes a few servings for one to learn to appreciate.  Try it the next time you are in an Acadian part of southern Nova Scotia.

We left Yarmouth feeling somewhat sad.  No wonder the government candidate ran a distant third in the last by-election.

Corkage Fee:  Now that Nova Scotian restaurants are obliged to allow customers to bring their own wine, the result has not been consumer friendly.  Many restaurants discourage the practice by establishing excessive fees ($25. or more).  Thus it was a pleasant surprise to find that the lovely Tulloch Inn on the banks of Lake Ainslee on Cape Breton Island charged no corkage fee at all.

Opimian Offering # 205:  This offering is exclusively from New Zealand and Australia.  As I find New Zealand reds to be astringent and as the whites here offered are a tad pricey, I have no recommendations.  As far as Australia goes my recommendations are all reds.  First the 6386 GMH Meritage is a wine that I have found to be well worth the price.  If you are unfamiliar with the term “Meritage” I suggest you scroll down to Whine # 17 and read the item there.

6306 96 Points should be an interesting wine for two reasons.  One it is claimed to be ready to drink and two, the often overly spicy Australian Shiraz has been softened with a small amount of Viognier.

Finally, I shall go out on a limb and recommend a wine I have not tried.  6319 Reserve Cabernet Sauvigon from Coonawarra should be a classic Cabernet.  Australian winemakers after all do know how to make Cabs.