Category: Wine (Buying) History

Gift Idea #3: Dessert Wines (yes, I know Christmas is over)

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I still think we don’t drink enough dessert wine.

Originally published on December 26, 2008.

So my concept of posting daily gift ideas didn’t actually happen. I got hung up on the dessert wine post and couldn’t move on. Every time I would start to write I would get hung up on details like how the wines are made. I’d start to drop terms like “botrytis”, “noble rot”, “fortified”, “late harvest” and found myself getting far too technical. And then I would fall asleep. (Because I would usually start writing around 11pm, after the shop closed, the kids were asleep, and I’d sorted out orders for the next day.)

So I’m determined to finish this post before the 12 days of Christmas come to a close. And in the interest of doing just that, I’m going to just do a list. And if I drop a fancy wine term, I’m going to resist the urge to explain it, or even just mention that it’s a subject for another post. If you don’t know what I’m on about, don’t worry, just trust me – these wines are all yummy. Maybe just the thing to cap off a New Year’s dinner (before you break out the bubbles.)

Now, onto the actual post…

Dessert wines get a bum rap, which is a sad thing because they can be extraordinarily good. And in this glum economic environment, they can offer a bit of decadence without forcing you to join the ranks of the foreclosed. Because they’re generally quite rich, a little goes a long way – and you can serve a small room full of people from one bottle.

Here’s my list:

  1. Chateau d’Yquem the grandaddy of all sweet wines. It’s the tippy-top wine Sauternes, the sweet-wine-only sub-region of Bordeaux. In my former life at Moet Hennessy USA, I was able to enjoy more than my fair share of bottles – and it is fabulous! Lusciously sweet but balanced by serious acidity and an extra zip of minerality that makes it uniquely d’Yquem. In my opinion (and let’s be honest, this blog is all about my opinion) this is one of those wines that lives up to the hype.
  2. Other Sauternes (or Barsac, which is just a sub-region of Sauterns) – I’m especially fond of Doisy-Daene which has a certain lightness and elegance to it that can be rare in wines from this region. There are other chateaux that carry the name Doisy (Doisy-This, Doisy-That) and they’re all nice enough that if you pick up the wrong one, you’re still in for a treat.
  3. German Rieslings – these remain one of the best bargains of the wine world. They can be confusing, so if you’re confronted with a shelf full of them, ask for help. You’re probably in a shop where the staff will be more than happy to talk to you about them, so don’t be scared to ask.
  4. Tokaji – A region in Hungary with possibly the oldest history of sweet-wine production. The lushest, most expensive sweet wines from the region will be classified by puttonyos (6 is the sweetest.) Lately, the US market has started to see “Late Harvest” Tokaji hit the market. While these wines may get the sniff from purists, they’re good value and more versatile than the major sweeties from the region.
  5. Wacky Stuff – sweet wines tend to bring out the craziness in winemakers. So if you’re feeling experimental, consider a fortified wine from Uruguay, made from the tannat grape (Vinedo de los Vientos’ Alcyone – like adult-only liquid chocolate). Or Malamado, a port wine from Argentina, made from the Malbec grape (the perfect match to anything with chocolate and raspberries). Or the Piandibugnano Nanerone, from somewhere in Italy (intensely aromatic, almost floral, yet rich, with cherry notes.)
  6. Napoleon’s Choice – unique, but not wacky, Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance is what Napoleon drank on his death bed, or so the story goes. It lively, yet lush, elegant, with a this almost crystalline purity of fruit at the core. I like it very much.

So there – hopefully some of these dessert wines (a.k.a. sweet wines) have your mouth watering. If not…too bad…more for me!

Gift Idea #2: Old World/New World Combo Packs

Originally published on December 17, 2008.

Yes I wrote about this idea in my newsletter, but I really love the idea. It’s educational, without being pretentious or too cutesy. It illustrates a point that wine geeks (like me) often go on about.

Old World wines (ie. Europe, more specifically France and Italy) are elegant, earthy, less-fruit driven than New World wines. Old World wines evolve in a positive way over time. They’re more complex. Wine neophytes and unsophisticated palates probably won’t appreciate them. New World wines are more approachable when young. They tend to be softer, richer, “lush”, loaded with big fruit and velvety vanilla tannins.

Or so say the stereotypes.

So I like the idea of Old World/New World combo packs because they let the customer see for themselves how these stereotypes play out. They can see which side they fall on. Or maybe they’ll realize they like both, but can understand why one sort of wine might have more appeal in a different setting than the other. And I really think that trying two “themed” wines side by side is the best way to learn.

These combo packs are also great from a retailer perspective because they can be tailored to almost any price point or taste.

  • You like crisp whites? Let’s try NZ Sauv Blanc vs. Bordeaux Blanc.
  • Big spicy reds? Pair a Northern Rhone Syrah with one from the Barossa in Australia.
  • A Bordeaux freak? Right Bank Bordeaux vs. South Africa Stellenbosch (Chateau Beau Vallon vs. De Toren Z is sounding really good right now).
  • Feeling flush? Barolo vs. a California Nebbiolo (perhaps Clendenen Nebbiolo from the Au Bon Climat master). Feeling really flush? Add on Vina Alicia’s Nebbiolo from Argentina.

Oh wait, I already wrote about that one in the newsletter. Well, somethings are worth repeating.

Gift Idea #1: Cheap & Cheerful – 12 bottles for $120

Originally published on December 15, 2008.

Can she do it? Can she put a cheap and cheerful case together for $120 that includes a variety of reds, whites, and even a few bubbles? Why yes, she can!

The case consists of 7 different $10 bottles – essentially every $10 bottle I have in the store. I put a lot of thought into my $10 selection, and I’m pretty pleased with it. They’re all different, so if you buy one of each, you get a nice, varied sampler. I’m so proud of them that I refuse to segregate them out onto a $10 table – they can sit proudly next to the more expensive stuff.

So this case, 12 different bottles for $120 (pre-tax…there’s only so much I can do!!) All 12 bottle mixed cases get a 10% discount, which gets this particular sampler down to $123 and change. If you print this out and bring it to the store, we’ll take off the extra dollars so you’ll get your 12 for $120.

So here’s what you get*:

*these are not the “official” names of these wines. They’re my own special stream-of-typing names, but anyone who works at the store will know what they are..

Whites:

  1. Picpoul – minerally, citrusy, zingy, but with a bit of creaminess
  2. Domaine Pellehaut – blend of Chardonnay and Sauv Blanc. Kind of like Pinot Grigio but with a touch more body
  3. Punta Pays Viogner – sexy, silky on the palate. Peaches, orange blossoms and dare I say, just a teeny tiny touch of sweetness
  4. Nell Chardonnay – gotta have a Chardonnay. This one has a hint of toasty/creaminess
  5. Domaine Pichout Vouvray – off-dry, lush, dried apricots

Reds:

  1. Colonia Bonarda – full-bodied, but not oaky or hard edged
  2. Santa Carolina Cab – classic Chilean cab sauv is the definition of value.
  3. Red Dust Shiraz – another classic – big, Aussie, spicy Shiraz. My version of Yellow Tail, but if I do say so, a better version
  4. Arboreto Montepulciano – fresh, fruity, just like a Montepulciano should be
  5. Yellow + Blue Malbec – organic, natural yeasts, enviro-chic tetra pak package. And it’s a full liter! So you’re actually getting an extra 250ml in this case!

Bubbles:

  1. Fagher Le Colture Prosecco – estate-grown fruit, full-bodied with the freshness that you want in a Prosecco
  2. Robert John Cava – cavas are classic value bubbles and this is a nice example.

There you go…a case for $120. Every bottle is different and a classic example of it’s grape and region. Not too shabby for an average bottle cost of $10!!

Thanksgiving Wines: Options for Those Who Need to Drink A Lot of Wine

Originally published on November 27, 2008.

I enjoy Thanksgiving at my house. My husband cooks, the kids spend about 2 minutes at the table (expected because they’re 4 and 2) before heading off to comandeer the computer (scary because they’re 4 and 2) and the grown-ups eat lots of yummy food. But I imagine some people don’t have it so easy…they have crazy relatives and choose their wine selections based on quantity. Luckily, they can have some quality too.

Here are some options we have at the store:

Roger Perrin Cote du Rhone 3000ml BOX: 4 bottles in 1 box and a handy spout for easy pouring. The wine is good and it comes out to less than $10/bottle. In the case that you wind up not drinking an entire box in one day, the packaging is meant to preserve the wine for weeks. We opened a box here and kept taking sips every several days (this was important research, not simply in-store drinking). 4 weeks in, the wine was still as nice as the day we opened it. It probably would have lasted longer, but oddly, we didn’t have any more to try.

Balthasar Ress Riesling Halbroken 1 Liter Bottle: A big bottle of German happiness! Slightly sweet, totally uncomplicated, it pairs well with most foods and it’s nice on it’s own. So you can drink it before during and after the meal.

Yellow + Blue 1 liter Tetrapacks, Malbec and Torrontes: The malbec is a huge favorite and now there’s a white option with the Torrontes. Good value – and added bonus: tetrapacks won’t break if you need to throw them at your crazy relatives.

If any of these sound good (or necessary) hurry up and get to the store. We close at 2pm on the button!

Why Wednesdays Aren’t As Fun Anymore

Originally published on November 25, 2008.

I used to really look forward to Wednesday mornings. While the rugrats watched whatever video they were currently obsessing over, I would drink my first cup of coffee while logging on to the New York Times web site and checking out the Dining section, especially the wine column. It was always fun to see what region or grape was being highlighted. The real fun was checking to see if I carried any of the wines actually mentioned by name. Let’s face it, ratings or no ratings, most people still look for wine guidance somewhere, and Eric Asimov’s column in the New York Times is one of the places they look. So if a wine is mentioned, it’s sure to get a nice little bump.

But Wednesday mornings just haven’t been the same. Now, those weekly wine columns seem to get published earlier and earlier. I just read this week’s column…at 9.45pm on a Tuesday night. Guess I’ll just have something else to read while I sip my coffee.

Thanksgiving Wines: Terres Dorees Beaujolais Nouveau (for those who always want the new new thing)

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I still love Beaujolais Nouveau! It never gets old. Well, it does, but if never sticks around long enough for that to happen.

Originally published on November 25, 2008.

Wine people love to hate on Beaujolais Nouveau. “It’s all marketing, it’s all plonk.” Well, everything is marketing, even anti-marketing is still a form of marketing (as reverse snobbery is still a form of snobbery), and yes, much of it is plonk. But it’s hard to resist the original intent of Beaujolais Nouveau – which is to enjoy the first wine of the harvest. Wine so fresh and new that just over a month earlier, it was still grapes on the vine. Even the plonky stuff makes me smile because it reminds me of when I first started drinking wine.

But this year, there is some really good Bojo on the market (technically, it’s Bojo Nuvo). Frankly Wines carries Terres Dorees by Jean-Paul Brun. Jean-Paul is one of winemakers in the Dressner portfolio, so you can read all about him here. His Bojo Nuvo is delicious and it’s just the thing for the Turkey Day table. Think about it – Thanksgiving is a celebration of the harvest. Beaujolias Nouveau is a celebration of the harvest. One’s a holiday, one’s a liquid, but basically, they’re the same thing. And it really doesn’t get newer than a wine that was just released last Thursday.

But don’t take my word for it….Mr. Asimov likes it too!

Thanksgiving Wines: Dr. Frank Rkatsiteli (for those who read the New York Times)

Originally published on November 24, 2008.

I’ve had this wine on the shelf since the day I opened (well, maybe since the third day I opened: Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Rkatsiteli (Finger Lakes, New York.) It fits many potential Thanksgiving criteria: local (for the locavores), food friendly, and for those who like to know the wines they’re drinking have been recommended by someone with a byline, it was just recommended by Eric Asimov in this blog. So you don’t have to take my word for it, you can take Mr. Asimov’s word. I get a kick out of the mention because it seems to touch on the same points I always touch on:

  1. It’s hard to spell
  2. The grape is from “the former Soviet Republic of Georgia”, because if you say it’s from Georgia, people immediately assume you’re talking about the state (which isn’t a good thing for wine sales). And if you say Georgia-the-country without mentioning the Soviets, they just think you’re geographically challenged.
  3. It’s good!

But you don’t have to trust either Mr. Asimov or my admittedly biased view…you can trust the nice man older gentleman from “the former Soviet Republic of Georgia” who saw the bottle sitting on the shelf and bought if for nostalgic reasons. He came back a few days later and announced, “it’s not like I remember it…it’s very good!”

Thanksgiving Wines: Scholium Project (for the Adventurous without the Spanish accent)

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: The first skin contact sauvignon blanc that ever graced my shelves. And now, I have three on the shelves. One’s even sparkling. Oh, what a wild, wild wine world it’s become. (And yes, I did indeed drink this wine on that Thanksgiving Day. And it was delicious.)

Originally published on November 23, 2008

Scholium Project is one of those wineries that exists within the wine ether. I’m not sure where I first heard of Abe Schoener’s project, but I know it was well before the Eric Asimov’s NY Times piece this fall. Lucky for me, I can just point you to the NY Times piece as background…here, which I would rather do than reinvent the wheel.

While Mr Asimov’s piece gives good background on the overall project, I would rather just talk about one of the Scholium Project’s wine’s in the contact of turkey…

2006 Farina Vineyards the Prince in His Caves

This wine is everything you’re not supposed to do with Sauvignon Blanc: long fermentation, wild yeast, oak (some of it new, I think), skin contact. It should be absolutely horribly, but it’s not. It’s actually the perfect match for Thanksgiving. I think it even ranks above the LdH, which is pretty close to perfect. You get peaches…but not just peaches. Grilled peaches, with a bit of ginger spice. Enough weight to stand up to the side dishes, but not so heavy that it can’t play well with the turkey.

At just over $40, it’s not inexpensive, but it is the single best wine I can imagine for Thanksgiving. It’s what I’ll be pouring.

Thanksgiving Wines: Lopez de Heredia Rosado 1997 (for the adverturous)

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: Many vintages later, this wine is extraordinarily allocated. Like “here’s your six bottles” allocated. Which is less allocated than some wines, but for those of us that remember when we could buy as much of this wine as we wanted, whenever we wanted it, this hurts. Sure, it’s cool to see a new generation of going gaga for this wine, but still, it hurts, just a little.

Originally published on November 21, 2008.

Imagine Thanksgiving dinner (the food, not your crazy uncle or your tispy cousin-three-times-removed)

The cranberry sauce, the turkey, the yams, the turkey, the stuffing, the turkey. It’s a wine-pairing nightmare. But this is the wine that can handle it all. Delicate enough to handle the turkey (which let’s face it, is pretty bland), a little fruit to deal with the cranberries and exotic enough to stand up to the stuffing, yams, and even pumpkin pie. It’s perfect.

But it’s not exactly your typical rosé – it has some of the tangy-ness you’ll find in a good fino sherry, only a hint of fruit, and lovely exotic spices like cardamom and ginger.

So if you’re intrigued and looking for a little adventure, track down a bottle and include it in your turkey day wine spread. You should be able to find it for less than $30 which may be a lot for a typical rosé, but not this rosé (which is from 1997!)

Thanksgiving Wines: Teira Zinfandel (for the traditionalist)

Originally published on November 19, 2008.

Cranking on getting the Frankly Wines e-commerce site up and running (I’m falling behind on the homework my developer keeps giving me). So instead of writing a long, typical post on Thanksgiving Day wines, I’m going to do daily suggestions.

But first things first…if you’ve read even 1 of the annual columns that talk about Turkey Day wines, you know the meal is a wine pairing nightmare. Turkey is bland, there are gobs of highly varied, very different side dishes, too many different palates to please, to go American or not to go American blah blah blah….So the most important rule is…just drink whatever you want. If you’re looking for a reason to pull out the fancy stuff, pull it out. If you’re looking for a reason to stick with the cheap and cheerful stuff, know that most people at the table will be too stuffed to pay attention to the wine anyway. There’s a reason to justify almost any choice you make. My suggestions are just suggestions and wildly influenced by what I like to drink (and full disclosure, what I like to sell.)

Thanksgiving Wine for the Traditionalist: Teira Zinfandel

A lot of people like to drink American wine on this American holiday and Zinfandel is generally considered one of the most American of grapes. (Actually, the wine geneticists think Zinfandel may actually be from Croatia, but we won’t tell.) Zinfandel can be a very big, very full-bodied, very powerful wine – the type of wine that can beat a turkey over the head and turn it to mush.

But the Teira is a Zinfandel with a bit of elegance. No one would consider this a light wine, but it’s balanced enough that it won’t put the poor turkey to shame. All the flavor you want in a Zin, without all the weight. (Tastes great, less filling!)