AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Familia Zuccardi - Argentine Value DATE: 5/19/2008 07:57:00 PM ----- BODY:
Wine lovers seeking value for their house tipple should look to Argentina, and to Familia Zuccardi. This family-owned winery produces a bewildering array of wines that combine consistently high quality with extremely reasonable prices.
José Alberto Zuccardi is currently at the helm—the winery near Mendoza, in the Andean foothills of western Argentina, was founded in the early 1960s by his father—and José Alberto’s eldest son, Sebastián, is in line to take over as the third generation. A gregarious man in his late fifties, José Alberto is a walking party. Fun follows him around the way paparazzi swarm TomKat.
Zuccardi is a tinkerer, too, experimenting with different grape varieties in much the same way Dennis Horton in Virginia constantly tries to discover which grapes work best in the Old Dominion. He even invented his own grape-trellising system, a variation on a rarely used technique that has vines growing overhead instead of low to the ground.
Zuccardi is a leading exponent of organic viticulture in Argentina. At about $10 a bottle, the Santa Julia Organica line of wines represents the best value—worldwide—in the increasingly popular organic category. My favorite is the 2007 Torrontés, a white varietal that combines some of the flowery characteristics of Gewurztraminer with the body and zest of Sauvignon Blanc. The 2007 Chardonnay is unoaked, a nice unpretentious expression of fruit. The 2006 Malbec is a soft, stylish red that should pair well with anything from the grill this summer or next.
The winery has just launched a new line, Zuccardi Serie A, which retails at about $13. The 2007 Chardonnay-Viognier blend is zesty and refreshing, while the 2006 Bonarda and 2006 Malbec are worthy reds. The Malbec, however, tastes a bit closed now, revealing its blueberry fruit and enticing tannins only towards the end of the bottle—a sure sign that it needs another year or so to reach its full potential.
The winery does have higher ambitions. The Zuccardi Q line, retailing at $17 to $20, features dense fruit and lots of new oak in the Tempranillo and Malbec. Zeta, the winery’s top wine, is a powerful and sophisticated blend of those two red varietals. It retails in the $40s and competes well in its price range.
But it is in the lower price ranges where Familia Zuccardi excels.
Familia Zuccardi wines are imported by Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, Ill.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Don't Give Up on EUROpean Wines! DATE: 5/09/2008 10:49:00 AM ----- BODY:
Just because the dollar is tanking against the euro doesn't mean we should forsake European wines when hunting for bargains. Yes, we may have to pay a little more than we used to, but that enticing $8 Minervois you bought at the start of this decade is still a good value at $12. In my May column for Washingtonian, I give some suggestions of where to look for Europe's best values under $20. You can find it on my newly revamped Web site, dmwineline.com.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Pollak Vineyards - A New Star in Virginia DATE: 4/12/2008 10:27:00 PM ----- BODY:
A new winery opened for business near Charlottesville this week, and it appears destined to become a must-stop on the Monticello Wine Trail. Pollak Vineyards in Greenwood, Va., is opening strong with some stellar early releases.
Owners Margo and David Pollak are not new to the wine business. David was a founding partner in Napa Valley’s Bouchaine Vineyards. When they decided to return to the wine business, they looked not to California but instead to Virginia, where they found an exciting wine industry and much more accommodating real estate prices. The couple, who currently live in Ohio, bought 100 acres just west of Charlottesville in 2003, and planted 25 acres to vines.
The site would seem to be ideal - just off I-64 (to attract tourists), the vines are thriving on gently sloping land with a south-southeast exposure. When I visited late last month, a week before they opened their doors to the public, a steady wind blew in from the west through the gaps in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Winemaker Jake Busching said the breeze is fairly constant throughout the growing season, helping keep the grapes dry against Virginia’s humidity and lessen the chances of rot. The mountain breeze also cools the grapes, especially at night, helping keep acids and sugar in balance as the grapes ripen, he explained.
This is Busching’s first turn as chief winemaker. He has worked the past 11 years with Michael Shaps, the Charlottesville area’s leading consulting winemaker who has been influential in the early successes of several wineries and last year opened the state’s first custom-crush facility, Virginia Wineworks. (See my profile of Shaps in the March 2008 issue of Washingtonian.) Shaps is also consulting at Pollak.
My first impressions of the Pollak wines were uniformly positive, and best of all, the prices of these initial releases are not in the stratosphere, as happens all too often. All Pollak wines are estate grown, with the Monticello AVA.
Pinot Gris 2007 $16. In bottle just a few weeks, this wine’s aromas were all over the place at first, but the flavors came into focus on my palate - lean and crisp with pear and some apricot and good structure.
Viognier 2007 $18. A fruit bowl in a glass, with apricot, peach and lime zest. Leaving the grapes to soak overnight on the skins - a favorite technique of Shaps’ with Viognier - gives the wine a little extra body without running the risk of letting it get flabby by leaving the grapes on the vine too long, or by using oak. Virginia is making a name for itself with Viognier, but hasn’t quite figured out its best style or price. The Pollak would be an excellent ambassador - priced so that it could be served by the glass in an ambitious wine program, and showing Virginia at its best.
Rosé 2007 $14. A deep red, attractive rosé color, and more cherry in flavor than the typical strawberry. This wine won’t make Pollak’s reputation, except in that bleeding off 5% - 10% of all the reds helps concentrate those wines.
Cabernet Franc 2006 $20. Virginia’s 2006 reds are being touted as soft, early drinking wines to enjoy while waiting for the 2005s to mature (with 2007 apparently being in the 2005 camp). This Franc is jammy, juicy, almost Californian in style (without the lavish oak, thank you, Jake!), with the peppery nose characteristic of the grape. A fun wine to bring a lip-smacking smile.
Petit Verdot 2006 $18. As he poured me a barrel sample of the 2007, Busching admitted that he has a strained relationship with Petit Verdot. “This is a varietal I don’t like until it hits bottle,” he said, tapping his nose. The grape has an unpleasant gaminess, he explained, that needs strict education in wood to overcome. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what he was talking about - the barrel sample certainly needed some time to settle down, but “gaminess” was barely apparent to me, if at all. The 2006 in bottle was round and juicy, certainly more mellow, with a dry, tannic finish. Quite nice for Virginia’s new trendy red grape, and also modestly priced.
Merlot 2006 $18. Juicy, cocoa and plum, soft yet with some depth. Quite nice.
Meritage 2005 $24. The winery’s star, Cabernet Franc 44%, Merlot 43%, and Petit Verdot 13%. Quite stylish and tannic, with blackberry and currant flavors from the fruit buttressed by cola and dill from the barrels, and an extremely long, luxurious finish. This wine will indeed reward some aging, if you can wait.
Pollak Vineyards, 330 Newtown Road, Greenwood, VA 22943. (540) 456-8844. www.pollakvineyards.com .

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Virginia's Garagistes DATE: 3/15/2008 02:18:00 PM ----- BODY:
Virginia wine gets more exciting all the time. We have celebrity sightings and Falcon Crest-style soap operas (the recent saga of Oasis winery), our wedding palaces and a lot of successful people living out their dreams of owning vineyards and producing their own wine. And the quality level is rising as well, despite the state's reputation for inconsistency. (Hey, I've tasted a lot of bad California wine lately.) As the Old Dominion continues to thrive, with more than 130 wineries, there are some smaller ones that deserve attention. They don't seek out the limelight, they don't host polo matches and they won't appear in glamor shots in hunt country lifestyle magazines. Show up at their door, and they'll gladly pour you a taste of wine, but please don't show up in a bus or limousine and by all means don't ask them to host your wedding. I call these winemakers "Virginia's garagistes." We've seen some of this type before, who have succeeded and grown fairly big - Jim Law at Linden Vineyards and Shep Rouse of Rockbridge come to mind - artisans whose focus is on the wine, not the lifestyle, and who sometimes act as though selling their wine is a necessary evil, an unpleasant flip side to the joys of mucking around in the vineyard and tinkering with ornery equipment in the winery. In the March issue of Washingtonian magazine, I profile two of these garagistes. Bernd Jung of Chester Gap Cellars near Front Royal is very much in the Jim Law mold - a winegrower above all, who does his work in the vineyards, sometimes even with a rifle! And Michael Shaps, who made a reputation as Virginia's premier consulting winemaker when he helped several Charlottesville wineries in their early days, is setting out on his own with Virginia Wineworks, the Old Dominion's first custom-crush winery. The March issue is on news stands now, and should be posted late this month on Washingtonian.com. But my detailed tasting notes of wines from Chester Gap and Virginia Wineworks are available online now.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Global Warming - Friend or Foe? DATE: 2/17/2008 04:54:00 PM ----- BODY:
Global warming may still be a controversial theory in politics and science, but winemakers are believers. Rising temperatures and changing climates are being credited – at least in part – with improvements in wine quality in unusual or new regions, while vintners in more established regions are worried that Mother Nature will pass them by. Virginia has had four strong vintages in a row, unprecedented in the Old Dominion’s 400 years of winemaking (or at least, in the 30 years they’ve been really serious about it). The 2003 vintage looms as global warming’s flip side – record rainfalls, including a hurricane at harvest time that left many wines dilute. California’s grape sugars – and alcohol content in the wine – have been rising slightly but perceptibly in recent vintages. Vineyard practices contribute to this trend, as do market forces, but temperatures remain a factor. "I like global warming,” Bruno Eynard, winemaker at Chateau Lagrange in St. Julien, told me last year, giving climate change partial credit at least for a string of good harvests this decade. “But I want it to stop now,” he said, “or I’ll be making Bordeaux in England!” Last week, Dr. Richard Smart, the famed Australian viticulturist, raised the possibility that our favorite wines may already have been irreparably altered by global warming. "I would ask anyone with a cellar full of known value wines, have you thought about the fact that in Bordeaux, we may have already seen the best vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon?" Smart said at the 2008 Climate Change and Wine Conference in Barcelona, Spain. According to Decanter.com, Smart said many famous wine regions may soon be unsuitable for their most noted grape varieties. He predicted that Argentina and Chile will be “lucky” because the preponderance of oceans in the Southern Hemisphere will moderate the changes. And China’s cold, barren north may be the Napa Valley of the future. At least then, we’d know what wine to drink with Chinese food.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: The Perfect Chocolate Wine DATE: 2/12/2008 09:02:00 PM ----- BODY:
With Valentine's Day approaching, wine columnists are busy telling us what wines to drink with chocolate. I'm no exception, this time, as my February column in Washingtonian magazine is on this very subject.
My conclusion? While I like exploring dry red wines with various flavored chocolates, the most compatible pairing was Brachetto d'Acqui, a charming red bubbly from the Piemonte region of northern Italy. Brachetto has juicy flavors of strawberry and raspberry, low alcohol (typically around 5%), and it fairly dances with chocolate.
Brachetto is a niche wine to be sure, but adventurous retailers should have at least one on hand. The most widely available is probably Rosa Regale, which is imported by Banfi Vintners and retails for about $22 for the 2006 vintage. This delightful wine will help set the Valentine's mood, and if you have any leftover, keep it chilled for breakfast.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: A Bargain Charmer DATE: 2/06/2008 02:56:00 PM ----- BODY:
These days, it’s hard to get excited about a $7 bottle of wine. Too many are pleasant enough, but simple and, ultimately boring. So it’s a pleasure to discover one that’s a real gem - with enough verve and energy to interest even the most jaded oenophiliac. The Domaine des Hospices de Canet 2005, a “simple country wine” - or vin de pays - from the Cotes Catalanes in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of southwestern France, is one such find. A blend of 60% Carignane, with the rest split evenly among Syrah and Merlot, the wine is like a softened version of a Cote du Rhone. Juicy, grapey and fun, it still has enough structure and grip to keep it interesting. The winery is owned by Domaine Cazes, one of the largest, if not the largest, producer of biodynamic wines in France. Biodynamic is beyond organic - farming is conducted according to the phases of the moon and some bizarre rituals sanctioned by a German organization called Demeter. The Domaine des Hospices de Canet is not certified biodynamic, but the farming practices are essentially the same. So what you have here is an inexpensive charmer that is ideal for simpler foods such as charcuterie, cheeses, burgers, pizza, even stir-fries - in other words, a weeknight dinner at home. And it’s organic, to boot. I’m going back for a case. Currently, the Domaine des Hospices de Canet is available in the DC region only at Cleveland Park Wines on Connecticut Ave NW, across the street from the Uptown Theater. But it can be ordered by any store in the DC, MD and VA markets through Country Vintner.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Europe Acts Against American "Champagne" DATE: 1/10/2008 09:12:00 PM ----- BODY:
Illegal immigration may be a hot issue in this year's US elections, but European Union authorities took action recently against an illegal entry into their territory - American "Champagne." Customs authorities in Anvers, Belgium, acted swiftly when they discovered a shipment of more than 3,200 bottles of André sparkling wine that was labeled "California Champagne" from "André Champagne Cellars." That's a no-no in the EU, where the name Champagne is legally protected and can be used only for sparkling wine from the Champagne region in northern France. The wine was destroyed after the European owner relinquished rights to the product rather than face any further legal action. The US agreed two years ago that its sparkling wines should be called "sparkling wines," but the law grandfathered an exception for some older brands, such as André, that are still allowed to use the word Champagne on their labels. Never mind that these are the wines that bear the least resemblance to the French ideal. The wine's destruction was ballyhooed today by the Office of Champagne USA, established to promote the real deal while protecting its trademark name. Perhaps someone at Gallo, the company that owns and produces André, forgot about the Europeans' sensitivity and shipped some wine with the wrong labels. But the incident highlights a major American hypocrisy. We insist on genuine products and protection of intellectual copyrights. Yet we also want to be able to call our sparkling wine "Champagne" when it isn't, the French be damned. I'm on record as touting the quality of America's top sparkling wines. I believe they should be celebrated not as Champagne knock-offs but as excellent bubblies that express the terroir and character of the land where they're grown and the people who make them. It's notable that the top U.S. brands do not use the word Champagne on their label. Good for them! The brands that do continue to usurp the Champagne name, such as André, continue to sell because they are inexpensive and because people like them. I'd wager they don't sell because of the word Champagne on their labels. But the cynical companies continue to abuse the Champagne name because they believe their customers are susceptible idiots and because they don't have enough confidence in their own products to sell them on the merits. Champagne (or a good US sparkling wine) for real friends, real pain for sham friends!

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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Jeff Siegel DATE:1/13/2008 08:51:00 AM It's not news that the American wine industry, and particularly too many of those in California, are hypocritical. The news is that they still don't see anything wrong with it.

You and I, Dave, taste a lot of $18 wine that barely resembles what it is supposed ot be. And no one especially cares, as long as they can get that $18. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: New Year's Resolutions? Bah, Humbug! DATE: 1/10/2008 09:03:00 PM ----- BODY:
Wine writers love to use their first column of the year telling the future what to do – what wines will be hot, which ones not, what cool people will be drinking, and what they’ll be thinking about what they’re drinking. Usually, the writers predict that the wines they’ve written about last year will suddenly be all the rage, thereby proving their self worth.
Well, here’s my prediction: I predict you’re fed up with that nonsense.
And I’ll wager that after the holidays you just may be tired of opening those special occasion bottles to impress friends and family and are eager to return to simple wines with simple foods. After looking at your credit card bills, you may even have resolved to loosen the connection between your thirst and your wallet. (True wine lovers never resolve to cut back their consumption of wine, just how much they spend on it.)
So for January, I’ll focus each week on bargain wines that pack surprising quality for the price. These wines will help you re-establish some equilibrium just in time to splurge for Valentine’s Day.
Let’s start with two nice reds from Castello Banfi. The Col di Sasso 2006 ($10), a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, offers fruit and heft at a price rarely seen in a red from Tuscany. It’s great for burgers, pizza and hearty pasta dishes.
Banfi’s sister winery, Vigne Regali in Piemonte, offers L’Ardì 2006 Dolcetto d’Acqui ($12). This light, juicy red features flavors of cherry and raspberry, with a happy balance that allows you to appreciate the wine’s quality without genuflecting.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Washingtonian Magazine's Best 100 Restuarants 2008 DATE: 1/05/2008 11:48:00 AM ----- BODY:
Washingtonian magazine's January issue contains its annual roundup of the Best 100 restuarants in the metropolitan DC area. Having joined the magazine as its freelance wine columnist last summer, I had the pleasure of participating in this in-depth survey of capital dining, along with the magazine's full-time restaurant critics, Todd Kliman, Ann Limpert and Cynthia Hacinli. I also contributed a column about positive trends in wine service at area restaurants. There may not be a whole lot of surprises to this year's list (Michel Richard Citronelle remains #1 for the second year), but there is definitely some movement. Twenty new restaurants made the list, including several that just opened their doors in 2007. This was the year of the bistro in DC, with top chefs such as Michel Richard and Robert Weidmaier opening second restaurants themed as bistros or brasseries to give diners a chance to taste their creations without going totally luxe. Central Michel Richard debuts at #10 on the list, while Weidmaier's Brasserie Beck comes it at #36. What's fun is to see who changes from one year to the next. Ristorante Tosca surged dramatically under its new chef, Massimo Fabbri, from #85 in 2007 to #20 this year, going from 2 stars to 3. (Four stars is the highest rating, given this year only to Citronelle, CityZen and Komi.) Oval Room ascended from #49 to #13, adding half a star to climb to 3 stars. Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong were named Restaurateurs of the Year for their expanding empire that has made Old Town Alexandria a dining destination. The husband-and-wife team operate Restaurant Eve (#4, 3.5 stars), and their latest venture, The Majestic, debuts at #42 with 2.5 stars. They also own Eammon's A Dublin Chipper and the speakeasy PX. One notable newcomer: Cynthia's in Severna Park, Md., which should be a mecca for foie gras lovers. And chocolate soufflé lovers ... It opened at #25, with 3 stars. To read the entire list and the reviews, you'll need to get a copy of the January issue of Washingtonian, now on newstands. The magazine's Web site, Washingtonian.com, is counting down the top 25 restaurants and will post the entire list at the end of the month.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Celebrate American Fizz! DATE: 12/30/2007 11:33:00 AM ----- BODY:
Earlier this year I visited the Champagne region at harvest time, and I've enjoyed tasting several different Champagnes in the months since. At the same time, I explored the current range of American fizz for my December article in Washingtonian magazine. Just as the finest Champagnes are a complex expression of the place, soil and time they are made, some top U.S. sparkling wine producers are focusing on specific appellations and achieving top quality. Which areas are top for U.S. bubbly? Think Carneros, Green Valley, Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley - and one you probably don't know yet: Carter's Mountain. Details in WineLine #63, now available on dmwineline.com. Cheers, and Happy New Year!

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Disgorge Yourself! DATE: 12/18/2007 10:22:00 PM ----- BODY:
When buying a champagne or sparkling wine this holiday season, consider disgorgement. No, that’s not a spam e-mail offering you paradise in bed, but an important phase in making sparkling wines by the traditional champagne method. These wines undergo a second fermentation in the bottle – the process that gives them the bubbles – and are “disgorged” to remove the yeasts and add a dosage of sweetened wine to finish the overall product. Most fizz producers don’t tell you when the bottle was disgorged. Should you care? Yes, especially if you're buying a non-vintage blend, the style that accounts for most sparkling wine produced in the world, including champagne. Non-vintage bubblies contain juice from two or three vintages blended to produce a consistent house style and the label does not specify a vintage year. Veuve Cliquot yellow label Brut is an example of a popular “NV” (for non-vintage) blend. When you pay $40 for this wine, you would expect it to be as good as the wine you bought last year. But there are two reasons why it won’t be identical. First, even non-vintage blends are subject to vintage variation. A particularly hot, ripe year, such as 2003, will influence the blend differently than a more classically structured vintage such as 2004. Admittedly, this distinction might be noticeable only to people who drink too much champagne, if that is possible. (I, for one, don’t drink enough.) The major champagne houses pay their winemakers to make a product so consistent that most people can’t tell the difference. Another, more important reason to care about the disgorgement date, is that you don’t know how long this bottle has been gathering dust in a store window or an overheated warehouse waiting for someone to get a raise, get engaged, have a birthday, or most likely, waiting for New Year’s to roll around again. A recently disgorged wine will be fresher, more lively than one that’s been going stale on a shelf for several years. Terry Theise is one importer who insists that his champagne producers put a disgorgement date on their labels. “I want retailers and consumers to know that they are tasting the same wine I tasted – or the wine writers tasted – when raving about a particular wine,” Theise says. A disgorgement date is an important piece of information in judging a wine before opening it – because once you’ve popped the cork, it’s too late. “When you buy a bottle of non-vintage champagne, it could have been disgorged three months ago, or it could have been sitting in the sun in a shop for three years,” says Charles Philipponnat, president of Champagne Philipponnat, which puts disgorgement dates on all its labels. “It is important information for sommeliers and for consumers – it tells you what to expect when you open the bottle.” A disgorgement date is not as crucial with a vintage sparkling wine – usually, they are aged for three or four years on the yeast before disgorgement. So a California sparkling vintage dated 2003 or 2004 will still be quite fresh. But that non-vintage brut could be from … well, who knows when?
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Champagne! DATE: 12/18/2007 10:16:00 PM ----- BODY:
Dear Friends - The holidays, when we gather with friends and family to celebrate good times in the year just past and fresh hopes for the year to come, are made for sparkling wine. If you live in the DC region, I hope you saw my Washingtonian column on US sparkling wines in the December issue. (If not, I'll be sending an expanded version of that as the next WineLine.) Please visit dmwineline.com for my latest WineLine #62, in which I report on my harvest visit to Champagne and reveal a surprisingly earthy way the growers know when to pick the grapes. And it has nothing to do with brix. Cheers, and all the best for the holidays and a wonderful 2008! Dave McIntyre
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: This Nifty Gizmo Swirls and Spits for You - Well, Sort Of ... DATE: 12/05/2007 09:07:00 PM ----- BODY:
If you’re looking for a gift to give your wine-loving friends this holiday season, consider the Vinturi Wine Aerator. This nifty little gizmo tries to do away with cellar aging, decanting, “breathing” – all the curses of wine lovers who have trouble planning ahead.
Here’s how it works: Just hold the Vinturi over your glass and pour wine through it. The wine fizzes and gurgles with a sound not unlike when you draw air through your teeth while swishing wine around your mouth. The name of the device is a pun on the venturi effect, which explains the flow of liquid through a constricted opening.
The idea behind aerating wine is to allow oxygen to soften the wine’s harshness or tannin and allow the fruit to emerge. The most common way of accomplishing this is to decant a wine and allow it to “breathe” for a half-hour or more. The Vinturi accomplishes this in seconds.
Or does it? Well, I think so. I poured some wine into a glass, then poured a second glass through the Vinturi. The second glass tasted less tannic, more fruity than the first. It reminded me of the last glass of a nice bottle, when the wine has begun to emerge and I wish I hadn’t drunk it so fast. Of course, I knew which glass was which. When I offered the same glasses to two other people who had not seen me pour them, they could not tell the difference.
After trying the Vinturi several times, I believe it works. There is a gimmicky quality to it that makes some people skeptical, however. And the noise could be mistaken for a certain bodily function, as my 7-year-old daughter noted. If that bothers you, just pour the entire bottle through the Vinturi into a decanter.
One thing to keep in mind, though: It won’t make a bad wine good.
Vinturi Wine Aerator is available from Wine Enthusiast at www.wineenthusiast.com for $40.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Sigh ... it's Thanksgiving Again ... DATE: 11/17/2007 09:01:00 PM ----- BODY:
Are you scared of wine on Thanksgiving? If not, you probably haven’t been reading enough wine columns! One of the biggest canards about wine writing is the annual Thanksgiving article. For some reason, bland, boring turkey is touted as a difficult food for wine. Then of course there's the tart or sickly sweet cranberry sauce, the lumpy gravy, and the oysters in the stuffing. And everyone knows those tiny marshmallows on top of the sweet potato casserole are just murder on your palate. The Keepers of the Keys to the Kingdom (a.k.a., wine columnists) waste their ink and our time every November reinforcing this supposed fear of wine on Turkey Day with their vinous dicta of what not to drink with this or that item on the menu. Come off it folks. With so many different flavors on the table, any wine is going to pair well with something. We may need to be careful about what we eat just before taking a sip, but if there's a theme to wine with Thanksgiving dinner, it should be, "Open One of Everything!" I typically enjoy a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau with Thanksgiving dinner. Oh, I know, Nouveau is a tacky marketing gimmick, and I just urged you in my November column in Washingtonian to look beyond Nouveau to the delicious, intriguing wines of the Beaujolais crus. But think about it – Beaujolais Nouveau is a celebration of the recent harvest, just as is Thanksgiving. And its light grapey sweetness can be mitigated by, even as it pairs well with, the various flavors of the Thanksgiving table. If there’s an indispensable wine with Thanksgiving dinner, it surely has bubbles. A Spanish Cava or Italian Prosecco for an aperitif, or a Californian sparkler or Champagne with the meal – what a wonderful combination of celebration and food. (The acidity in sparkling wine is a great palate cleanser, making it ideal with a lot of different cuisines.) From California, look for sparklers by Iron Horse, Domaine Carneros or Roederer Estate (especially the rosé). From Champagne, look for Jacquesson (pronounced “Jackson”), Pierre Gimonnet et Fils, Gaston Chiquet or Chartogne-Taillet.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: A Wine & Food Tasting Drives Home a Point DATE: 10/14/2007 09:20:00 PM ----- BODY:
Not many winemakers would chortle and say, “Fantastic!” when their wines come in last in a blind tasting. But that was precisely the reaction of Steve Smith, winemaker of Craggy Range Vineyards in New Zealand, when his Sauvignon Blanc was rated sixth out of six at a tasting this past Tuesday at Per Se restaurant in New York. The judges were some of the Big Apple’s most persnickety wine writers, and yours truly representing DC. The last-place finish for his wine helped Smith prove a point.
What is a great wine? One that wows you with its point score, aroma, fruit, complexity, and long finish, perhaps with some “minerality” thrown in? (Wine-geek alert: Tossing about the word “minerality” will earn you entrée into all sorts of exclusive wine circles.) Or is a great wine one that complements your dinner, enhancing a flavor here and there, and rendering the whole of food-plus-wine greater than the sum of its parts?
Perhaps more important, can those two wines be one and the same? Does a wine that wows by itself inherently pair well with food? One might think so—if it’s a great wine, it’s a great wine. Right?
Well, not necessarily, Smith would say. Smith is also a Master of Wine, which is not just someone with a PhD in oenogeekdom but more like a Nobel Prize winner. He argued that wine reviewers, geeks, writers, and judges tend to look for characteristics in a wine that don’t necessarily make the wine food-friendly. Aggressive, intense fruit flavors, sappy ripeness, and soft acid can make a wine stand out in a suspect’s lineup but maybe not at the dinner table. Smith prefers to look for “texture” and “balance,” two characteristics that can be hard to describe and, unless you’re looking for them, easy to dismiss.
“Any wine that is out of balance in its components will tend to taste even more out of balance with food,” Smith said. “Wines that taste a little acidic by themselves taste more acidic with food, and wines that are flat taste even more flat and insipid when paired with a meal. Wines that impress with in-your-face fruit do not always hold up well with food.”
Smith had the “judges” do a blind tasting of six award-winning New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs—“Savvy” to the Kiwis—followed by the same six in a different order, with three dishes prepared by Thomas Keller’s kitchen crew. (Chef-groupie alert: Before the tasting, I saw Keller inspecting his Bouchon bakery one floor below. I even overheard someone whispering, “Look—there goes Daniel Boulud!”)
How did the wines fare with and without food? Well, the Craggy Range Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc 2006, which finished last in the initial tasting, was the group’s favorite with food. (I rated it fifth and second, respectively.) By itself, I found the wine reticent in that it had virtually no aroma—extraordinary for a New Zealand Savvy—but just when I was prepared to dismiss it altogether, some appealing nectarine flavor emerged on the palate and finished rather strong. Smith described it as having a “talcum powder” texture, something I chalked up to antipodean jet lag. My favorite wine from the initial tasting, the Kim Crawford 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, did not fare as well with food.
The Te Muna shined with a salad of sturgeon with horseradish cream and little pea-size balls of Granny Smith apples that played hide and seek with my fork. This was a dish that wreaked havoc on the other wines. The Te Muna also paired well—as did all of the others—with a dish of shaved fennel and butter-braised lobster knuckles.
So what were my takeaways from this tasting, other than the startling realization that lobsters have knuckles? My rankings differed widely from those of the group, suggesting that either New York wine writers are idiots or I’m an idiot or reasonable palates may differ. Fennel shares an affinity with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc of any style. And Craggy Range’s red wines are even better than their whites. But more on them some other time . . . .
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Richard Best DATE:10/15/2007 10:02:00 AM Lobsters have knuckles? Whodda thought?

Does this tasting suggest a "Parkerization" of another category of wine? I look for lots of oomph on the nose -- being a big fan of wine itself. But the antagonist here has a point: wine should be food friendly, and points systems don't usually take that into account. Thanks for the report.

Regards
Richard Best - The Frugal Oenophile
Ontario Canada ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Transitions in the Washington DC Wine Scene DATE: 9/23/2007 09:13:00 AM ----- BODY:
The wine scene in our nation's capital has changed dramatically this month. We've lost a beloved retailer, Mike Tilch, of Silesia Liquors. Bell Wine Shop has changed hands as the Luskin brothers, Bob and Fred, begin a slow exit from the M St NW store they took over from their father in the 1960s. You can read about these changes here on Washingtonian magazine's Best Bites blog. We've lost one of our favorite sommeliers, too. Michael Flynn, who has run the wine program at Kinkead's American Brasserie and the now closed Colvin Run Tavern, has departed DC for a bigger challenge as wine and beverage director at the newly renovated Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. I hope he took his Redskins jersey with him.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Still Time for Al Fresco Dining (and Drinking!) DATE: 8/30/2007 07:36:00 PM ----- BODY:
As summer winds down, there’s still time to find new, interesting white wines for patio dining. Never a white without a red to follow, never a red without a white before it. Why settle for the same old, same old? Saint André de Figuière “Cuvée Valerie” Côtes de Provence 2006 evokes the south of France with its sunny, rejuvenating acidity and slight, enticingly herbaceous flavor. The blend is unconventional: 60 percent Ugni Blanc, 25 percent Rolle (the French name for Vermentino), and 15 percent Semillon, which gives it some body. Enjoy it by itself, with patio finger food (olives, cheese, chips and dip), or grilled seafood. Imported by the Country Vintner and available in the D.C. area for $14 at The Vineyard, 1445 Laughlin Ave., McLean, Va.; 703-288-2970. www.thevineyardva.com

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Support Your Local Wine Industry!!! DATE: 8/23/2007 09:28:00 PM ----- BODY:
Like many DC wine lovers, I eagerly awaited the opening of Proof restaurant in the Penn Quarter district, with its avowed emphasis on wines. More than 30 selections by the glass, a reserve list based on the owners personal collection of the best and most exclusive wines of the world - all this seemed too good to be true for the vinoscenti of DC. However, I was dismayed to find on my first visit that the list featured a mass-produced Viognier from California, despite the number of outstanding examples of that grape from nearby Virginia. My first impression is online at Washingtonian.com's Best Bites blog. Cheers! Dave McIntyre

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Good Reds for Summer DATE: 8/23/2007 08:56:00 PM ----- BODY:
Wine writers would have you thinking that drinking red wines in summer is a major faux pas. This would be the season for crisp refreshing whites and rosés and nothing else. Well, I agree that those wines are great for summer, but as Kermit Lynch says (paraphrased), "Never a white without a red to follow, never a red without a white before it." Summer foods - such as burgers or steaks on the grill - call out for reds. My August column in the Washingtonian magazine explores some good summer reds. I hope you enjoy it! Cheers, Dave Mc
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Pretty in Pink - Summer Rosés for 2007 DATE: 8/05/2007 10:54:00 PM ----- BODY:
My first monthly column in Washingtonian magazine, on the new popularity of rosé, appeared in the July issue and is now online. Regular readers of Dave McIntyre's WineLine will not be surprised that rosé is gaining in popularity, given its refreshing qualities and its ability to pair with nearly everything we like to eat in summer. (Except perhaps burgers and steaks from the grill - that's the subject of my August column!) Read more here. And I hope you'll check out my Thursday postings on Washingtonian.com's Best Bites blog for more suggestions of good wines to try. Some of these I've reposted here, but you can get them directly from the source! Cheers! Dave McIntyre
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: The Enticing Aromatics of Omrah .... DATE: 8/05/2007 10:51:00 PM ----- BODY:
Most of our sense of taste is actually in our nose. You’ve probably heard that before, but if you want proof, check out the red wines of the Omrah line produced by Plantagenet Wines in Western Australia. These display beguiling aromas of cologne (Old Spice!), orange peel and tropical fruit aromas, with a remarkable consistency across grape varieties. Most enticing for me was the Omrah Pinot Noir 2006 ($18), from a cool vintage that made the wine lighter than it could have been, while emphasizing its aromas. This is neither an earthy Burgundy nor a California fruit bomb, yet it is unmistakably pinot – a pinot potpourri, of sorts. The Omrah Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 and Shiraz 2004 (both $18) are from a stronger vintage, and while they display the finesse and brawn of their varieties, they also offer the same aromatic profile of the Pinot Noir. These are delicious wines that will have you sticking your nose further and further into your glass as you try to identify each flavor. Great values, too. Omrah is the middle of three tiers produced by Plantagenet; I like it better than the slightly more expensive Plantagenet Estate wines, which tend toward overripe, compote flavors in the reds. (Fans of Aussie Riesling should seek out the $20 Plantagenet 2006 Great Southern.) The Hazard Hill line retails for $14, and is quite fine, especially a crisp, refreshing white made from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Plantagenet Wines are imported by Robert Whale Selections, Inc., of Washington, DC, and distributed in DC and Virginia by the Henry Wine Group.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Oh, Canada, Where Are Your Wines? DATE: 7/20/2007 11:51:00 AM ----- BODY:
Spending a few days recently in Montreal and Ottawa, I was excited at the chance to taste some Canadian wines. Ontario and British Columbia are known in this country for their sweet, dessert ice wines, but they also produce some dynamite dry wines that are not widely available south of the border. Unfortunately, Canadian restaurants – at least the ones my wife and I were able to patronize with a picky-eater 7-year-old – are not very enthusiastic about the local product. My difficulty in finding top Canadian wines in Canada reminded me of the blind eye DC-area restaurants turn toward the increasingly good wines from Virginia. More’s the pity. We did, however, enjoy two nice Canadian wines. We found the Mission Hill Five Vineyards Pinot Blanc 2006 from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley region at a state-run store outside Montreal for about $17, then took it to a BYO restaurant nearby. It was a delightful wine, fist-thumping good, lush with stone-fruit flavors of apricot and peach, maybe even a tropical note of mango, with great acidity and wonderful balance. It would do well in any market at that price. At Stella, a trendy Italian osteria near Ottawa’s Byward Market (think Dupont Circle meets Eastern Market) we enjoyed a grilled sirloin steak with a Henry of Pelham Pinot Noir 2005 from Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario. This wine was light and lean, not as lush and exciting as other Pinot Noir I’ve tasted from Niagara, but with the steak it flashed some bright cherry and spice flavor. While I may have shrugged it off in a quick blind tasting, we enjoyed it more with every sip, the hallmark of a successful wine. Alas, Canadian wines are not widely available here in the DC market, thanks to economics (they sell rather well at the wineries, even if not in the restaurants I found) and regulation (it is costly and laborious to import wines to the various U.S. states). That’s too bad, because I believe they would do well here if the economics were favorable – their quality is outstanding. One other note that struck me: At that BYO near Montreal, I asked the waiter if we would be allowed to walk out with any unfinished wine we had brought. He looked startled at the very question and said, “It’s your wine!” Then he thought an instant and added, “But I’m sure we could figure out something to do with it if you don’t want to take it.” We had a nice nightcap that night in our hotel, without cracking the minibar.

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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Marcus DATE:7/20/2007 01:36:00 PM Hey Dave,

Which BYO did you go to? I like to post about them whenever I can work it into a wine review.

Montreal really is a wine-friendly (and wallet-friendly) place when it comes to dining out. I hope you'll be back again soon, and maybe try more BYOs... There really are so many worthwhile ones.

Cheers,
Marcus ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Dave McIntyre DATE:8/05/2007 10:50:00 PM It was called L'Academie, in the Laval neighborhood up near the new end of the subway line. A nice restaurant, a happening scene - very popular with the locals, especially the young and hip crowd - good service, merely OK food. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Daniel Speck DATE:1/02/2008 02:46:00 PM Hi Dave

Thanks for the note. I agree, the 2005 Reserve Pinot is still fairly tight right now. It's actually from a rather warm year but we (Niagara generally with notable exceptions, Henry of Pelham specifically) tend to make wines in a more slow-to-unwind style. Case in point: the similar 2002 Pinot is just nicely out of its shell now but will develop further.

In any event, you'll be happy to know that the fine wines from Henry of Pelham are now accessible widely in the US via www.thecuvee.com

All the best and please look me up on your next visit to the Niagara Peninsula -- you're not going to believe the 2007 Pinots!!!!!!!

Daniel Speck
Co-owner
Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery

www.henryofpelham.com ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Dave McIntyre DATE:1/05/2008 11:44:00 AM That's good news about the increased availability of Henry of Pelham wines in the US! I hope more Niagara and Okananagan Valley wineries follow suit - I believe they will do well in the US market once people learn about them.

And I'm looking forward to tasting 2007s up and down the US East Coast, Niagara - anywhere. I've heard a lot of excitement from winemakers about this vintage. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Summer's Sweet Fruit in a Glass DATE: 7/20/2007 09:44:00 AM ----- BODY:
Summer is a time for enjoying desserts made from fresh berries, peaches, and other glorious fruits of the season. It’s also a great opportunity to linger over dessert wines that echo the same flavors. (Oh, all righty—any season is great for these wines. They work just as well in winter when fresh fruit isn’t available and we can savor its flavor in a glass.)
Whether with a fruit dessert, a savory cheese, or by itself, a well-chilled dessert wine can be a great ending to any dinner. One I especially enjoyed recently was Wölffer Estate 2005 Late Harvest Chardonnay, from the Hamptons on Long Island. It’s a faux ice wine, in that the grapes were frozen after harvest—rather than picked frozen from the vine—to concentrate the juice and the sugar. It features peach, pineapple, and apricot flavors with a long finish. Simply outstanding. (The 2006, now available on the winery's Web site, sells for $37 for a 375ml bottle.)
Wölffer Estate has limited distribution in the Washington region, unfortunately—I picked up the dessert wine while traveling. But several delicious stickies produced locally are worth seeking out. Look for Rockbridge Vineyard’s V d’Or, a consistent winner from Virginia available at Arrowine in Arlington (4508 Lee Hwy.; 703-525-0990) and Total Wine & More in Alexandria (6240 Little River Tpk.; 703-941-1133) or the Elk Run Vineyards Vin de Jus Glacé, a Riesling-based stunner from Maryland available at Beltway Fine Wines (11325 Seven Locks Rd.; 410-668-8884) in Potomac.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Spigots and Other Outlets DATE: 6/24/2007 03:44:00 PM ----- BODY:
Wine in a box is something we wine geeks love to hate. (Remember those boomerang hangovers in college that drove us back to beer?) But there's something to be said for wine by the spigot, and more wineries are vying for our attention and our palates with better juice in a box. So it pays to check them out from time to time. That's what I did for the Sunday Source section in The Washington Post. And my new outlet is with Washingtonian magazine, the leading monthly in the D.C. region. My debut column on rosé ran in the July issue, now on newstands. I'll post a link to it when it goes online at the end of the month. In the meantime, however, I'll be contributing to Washingtonian.com's "Best Bites" blog every Thursday. I kicked off this new feature with a couple of dynamite summertime "house white" picks: Santa Julia Torrontès 2006, Mendoza, Argentina, $8. Torrontès is an obscure grape from Argentina that is becoming more prominent on our shelves. Yet no winery hits the value/quality quotient quite like Santa Julia, a winery known for value in all its wines. The Torrontès features exotic fruitiness like a Gewürztraminer without the flowery sweetness. A delightful quaff or appetizer wine with patio nibbles. (Imported by Winesellers Ltd, Chicago.) Tegernseerhof T26 Grüner Veltliner 2006, Austria, $14. A deceptive wine – light and refreshing as water, but just as you want to shrug it off there comes an echo of mango, lime and spice with the backbeat of a steel drum and the flicker of a bonfire on the beach. (KWSelections, Select Wines, Chantilly, Va.)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Anton Bauer Zweigelt 2005, Austria $14 DATE: 6/10/2007 01:28:00 PM ----- BODY:
Here's a lovely summer red, an ideal foil for grilled burgers, chicken or sausages. Serve at least lightly chilled to accentuate the black cherry fruit and render this wine's acidity even more refreshing on a warm day. At 13% alcohol, it is not too weighty for summer. A KW Selection, imported by Select Wines, Chantilly, Va.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Wyncroft: Winning Wines from Michigan DATE: 6/10/2007 01:19:00 PM ----- BODY:
I’m an alcohol snob. If I see 14.8% on a label for most wines, especially a white, I’ll put it back on the shelf and buy something else. Most wines I’ve tasted in that range are out-of-balance, weighty, over-oaked monstrosities that make me want to cry over the wasted potential of those grapes. Of course, there are a rare few that are carefully made with exceptional fruit where the alcohol is integrated and the final result is a full-bodied, complex wine that stimulates the palate, the imagination, and conversation.
Like Wyncroft Chardonnay from Avonlea vineyard.
In Michigan.
Read more in WineLine #61.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Heart's Delight - La Delice de Coeur DATE: 5/21/2007 09:07:00 PM ----- BODY:
This month I had the pleasure of attending Heart’s Delight, the 9th annual wine auction extravaganza put on in Washington by the American Heart Association. I wrote about the event last year, and became involved this year for personal reasons, hoping to advance the cause of research into heart disease. I’m pleased to say the event earned nearly $1.2 million for the AHA, and that I may have contributed to some very small part of that. (My personal lot of an in-home wine tasting, with the Washington Wine Academy, had attracted exactly zero interest in the silent auction about 20 minutes before the end of bidding – but I won’t take that personally.) Heart’s Delight is sponsored primarily by Addy Bassin’s MacArthur Liquors, one of D.C.’s premier wine retailers, and enjoys tremendous support of winemakers from Bordeaux. The event covers three evenings: Thursday features dinners at restaurants, embassies and private homes with winemakers, winery principals or ambassadors. This year, I enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Chilean embassy, hosted by Ambassador Mariano Fernández and his wife, María Angélica Morales, and featuring the wines of Cousiño-Macul. Friday evening is a grand gala that features the wines of a Bordeaux first-growth château and a live auction. This year’s featured Mouton-Rothschild. Saturday’s events began with a tasting of 27 Bordeaux from 2004. This was touted as a “classic” vintage, which to me is winemaker speak for “average.” But after the super-hot 2003 with its alcoholic and flabby wines, and before the superb 2005 with its skyrocketing futures prices, the 2004 Bordeaux could indeed be a relative bargain. My favorites from the tasting: Château Palmer on the high end, at $110, and Château Corbin, a modest but delicious St. Emilion, at the low-end of the price scale at $20. There were no wines I disliked, suggesting that 2004 is indeed a strong vintage to buy, but others that especially impressed me included Château Lagrange ($40), Châteaux Pontet-Canet ($50), Château Cos d’Estournel ($69), Château d’Issan ($35), and Château La Couspaude ($45). Which, if you know your Bordeaux wineries, pretty much straddles the appellations and the Cabernet or Merlot-dominated areas. The festivities culminated with tastings of food from restaurant chefs around the country and many more wines, a silent auction, and finally another live auction to raise money for a very worthy cause. I hope that if you live in or near DC and have an interest in (and wallet for) fine wine, you will join the party next May. And if you are in the trade, please consider contributing to Heart’s Delight and helping someone dear to me and, perhaps, someone dear to you. Cheers! Dave McIntyre
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Canada, eh? DATE: 4/03/2007 07:49:00 PM ----- BODY:
I’m a big fan of Canadian wines, and I don’t mean just their ice wines. A few years ago at the Niagara Wine and Food Festival, I tasted an Inniskillin Pinot Noir that had my knees buckling with its fruit, intensity and balance. The Niagara Peninsula, a lovely wine region just a short drive north of the tourist mecca at the falls, produces top-notch Riesling and great cool-climate Merlot, Chardonnay, even some Syrah. They are rivaled in quality by their counterparts in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. The problem, of course, is that these wines are not readily available in the United States. Blame two factors: Smaller wineries can sell out to their home markets, and the U.S. makes it so darn difficult to import wines here that it really isn’t worth the effort. So we get some bigger wineries, such as the Vincor-owned Inniskillin and Jackson-Triggs, but primarily in their ice wines, where competition is light and prices are high. So imagine my surprise and joy when I was at a local Wheaton, Maryland, store that doesn’t really even specialize in wine (in Montgomery County, which would be the worst place in the entire country for a wine lover to live, except that we’re close to D.C.), when I spied a Cave Spring Riesling. It was the semi-dry from 2004, and I would have preferred a younger dry wine on principle, but I quickly snatched a bottle and complimented the store manager for taking my $14 for it. I half expected it to be cooked, oxidized, vinegared from poor storage and being passed around from place to place until it found me, but no, when I opened it I tasted peach, apple and apricot, with decent acidity and depth. It was a lovely partner to Asian food or light casual fare. I had visited the winery during my sojourn in the region in 2003, and this lived up to my memory. (Now, if I could just find their Chenin Blanc ice wine …) Henry of Pelham, another Niagara Peninsula winery, also makes excellent wines and sends some south of the border, but I really don’t know where, because their distributors, Bayfield Importing of Long Island City, N.Y., won’t answer my queries. So maybe there’s a marketing issue, too.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Anonymous DATE:8/16/2007 12:58:00 PM Henry of Pelham is distributed in the New York area through Height's Chateau in Brooklyn (718) 330-0963 ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Quinta de Cabriz Reserva 2003, Dão, Portugal, $20 DATE: 4/02/2007 07:07:00 PM ----- BODY:
Portugal's table wines are great values, and we tend to think of them in the inexpensive category. These days, some of Portugal's more serious table wines are reaching our shelves, and they still represent great value even at loftier prices. Quinta de Cabriz is made from Touriga-Nacional (one of the main Port grapes from the Douro), Alfrocheiro and Tinta-Roriz (Tempranillo). It features a core of blackberry fruit, surrounded by compoty, dried-fruit flavors with hints of earth and ... well, you get the picture. It's beautifully complex for this price and a great value. Imported by Aidil Wines & Liquors, Newark, N.J.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Marcus DATE:4/03/2007 10:47:00 AM It's rare I look up a wine that I enjoyed the previous evening and I find someone had posted to their blog about it virtually the same moment I uncorked it!

Definitely got the compote notes -- clove and maybe cinnamon. On the nose it makes you think more of cabernet franc but it's a silky and elegant Portuguese wine boasting characteristic fruit and tannins with refinement.

And read someone else saying that it was lacking complexity. I agree with you. Cheers! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Dave McIntyre DATE:5/21/2007 09:17:00 PM Glad you liked the wine - I love these Old World, old-fashioned type of wines that show different flavors and complexity than we are used to here in the States. Such variety and diversity is what makes wine so enticing, and life a little bit better.

Cheers!
Dave Mc ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Forgotten Varietals DATE: 3/25/2007 08:40:00 PM ----- BODY:
Chenin Blanc and Gewurtztraminer are what I like to call “forgotten varietals,” because most people don’t think of them until reminded. (I used to place Riesling in this category, but thankfully that grape has become more popular in recent years. So I’ll continue to plug away on behalf of the other two.) Of Chenin and Gewurz, Chenin is by far the more food friendly. It is an impressively versatile partner to food, from snacks and appetizers to seafood and slightly spicy Asian cuisine. It is also impressively varied in terms of its sweetness, power and minerality, a character that may be a marketing disadvantage for average consumers. Much US-produced Chenin used to be rather sweet and plodding, lacking acidity or interest, a filler for American “Chablis.” French Chenin Blanc doesn’t really help in the market consciousness department. It is the main grape of the central-western Loire Valley, with appellations such as Vouvray and Saumur. It can come in a full-bodied semi-dry (demi-sec) style, or a racy dry version that smacks of stones and earth. Or it can be unctuously sweet as a dessert wine. The problem is, the labels don’t usually tell you which is which. Here are two dry Chenin Blanc wines I’ve enjoyed recently: Domaine de Saint-Just, La Coulée de Saint-Cyr, Saumur, 2002. ($20). Stony minerality, with pears and apples underneath. Good complexity and depth. Still young, actually. Imported by J. Cambier Imports, McLean, Va. Dry Creek Vineyard, Dry Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg, 2006. ($12). A perennial favorite. This new release is fresh with flavors of melon, pear and apple, and good acidity. Being Californian, it favors fruit over mineral qualities. It is beautifully balanced and an excellent partner to mildly spicy Asian cuisine or salty olives. Gewurztraminer, of course, excels in Alsace. Anyone who’s tasted a Gewurz from Domaine Weinbach knows that it is possible to float to heaven on a lychee blossom. The problem, of course, is these are very expensive and hard to find. Some American producers are just iconoclastic enough to make stellar Gewurztraminers, and the joy of these wines is that they often come from unexpected places. They may not be very easy to find, but when you do find them, they tend to be affordable One of my favorites is the White Hall Vineyards Gewurztraminer from Virginia. The 2006 ($18?) is lean and dry with ample floral notes and lychee flavors, without being over the top. It pairs well with Asian cuisines, and would probably stand up to mildly stinky cheeses. Other Gewurz producers I like include Fox Run, Dr. Konstantin Frank and Lenz (New York), Carlson (Colorado), Columbia (Washington), and of course Navarro (California – Mendocino).
Cheers!
Dave Mc
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Theresa Bertrand DATE:3/26/2007 04:19:00 PM Dave, I love Chenin Blanc and all its diversity. I was first introduced to the varietal as a steen from South Africa, and wasn't impressed. After trying some from the Loire, I was hooked. Also had some interesting ones from Argentina (sometimes blended with Chardonnay). Are there any tricks for figuring out from the label whether a Loire Chenin Blanc is dry or sweet (other than trial and error, or asking for help)? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Dave McIntyre DATE:4/02/2007 07:07:00 PM Hi Theresa -
Unfortunately, from my experience the Loire Chenins do not indicate style on the label. Some will specify "sec" (dry) or "demi-sec" (half-dry, or, for American palates, dry enough), but this is not consistent. That means we have to resort to trial and error, or rely on an importer or retailer to know the product. Of course, some appellations, such as Quarts de Chaume, are by definition sweet and can be unctuous dessert wines, but they don't necessarily tell us that on the lable.

It's a Catch-22 in a way - how ignorant do they need to assume we are?

Still, some pretty nice wines out there!

Cheers,
Dave Mc ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Quod Erat Demonstrandum DATE: 3/13/2007 08:25:00 PM ----- BODY:
Most people don't notice bylines on a newspaper article, but as a (recovering) journalist, I tend to pay attention. This article and byline from today's Washington Post Health section made me spew my coffee:
Getting to The Heart Of ED Sexual Problems in Men Are Often Tied To Vascular Disease By Ben Harder Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, March 13, 2007; Page HE01
But then I got to thinking. The ... er, thrust ... of the article is that cardiovascular disease is linked to sexual dysfunction in men. And we all know that red wine contributes to cardiovascular health. So ... by the transitive property of equality (if I remember high school math correctly) ... If A = B, and B = C, then ... RED WINE = VIAGRA! Q.E.D.

----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Michel Rolland - Can He Find Virginia's Key to Success? DATE: 3/07/2007 12:12:00 AM ----- BODY:
No doubt you've heard of Michel Rolland, the famous peripatetic "flying winemaker" who consults at more than 100 wineries across the globe and is lauded by his fans as a winemaking genius, even as he's reviled by his detractors for making wines conform to a uniform recipe. One of Rolland's clients is quite close to home, for me - Kluge Estate winery in Virginia. Not content to listen to the gossip, I decided to check out Rolland's work in the Old Dominion for myself, and for Wines and Vines magazine. Read More ...
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Grant Burge Barossa Vines Shiraz 2004, $15. DATE: 3/04/2007 12:50:00 PM ----- BODY:
Grant Burge produces some outstanding Shiraz. Remember when Australia first caught your fancy with juicy fun wine at rock-bottom prices, before those wines got trendy and expensive and created a gap underneath that Yellow Tail could fill? Well, this lovely value from Grant Burge comes in with a moderate price and more than a mere taste of what all the fuss is about. It’s rich, spicy, dark and long, and at 14% alcohol, well balanced. Imported by Wilson Daniels, St. Helena, Calif.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Virginia Wine Heads to London! DATE: 2/27/2007 09:46:00 PM ----- BODY:
Can the “first colony” impress the mother country with its wine? That was the question last Monday, when nine wine experts met at White Hall Vineyards west of Charlottesville to taste 100 Virginia wines and select some to present this Spring in London as part of the Jamestown 400 anniversary celebration. Virginia styles itself “First in Wine,” since the original Jamestown settlers made wine from native grapes in 1608. Male colonists were required by law to plant grape vines as part of their crops. Today, winemakers are hoping their European-styled wines can impress a potentially skeptical British wine trade that equates “American” wine with “Californian.” The judges, including three winemakers, three retailers, a restaurant wine buyer, a distributor and one wine writer (yours truly), evaluated the wines for the quality of winemaking and whether they would show Virginia in a favorable light as a wine region. “Our goal is to select and showcase the finest Virginia wines on the world stage in London,” said Richard Leahy, an editor with Vineyard and Winery Management magazine and the organizer of Monday’s tasting. Virginia’s wine industry has experienced dramatic growth over the past decade, with more than 120 wineries now in operation. The organizers of the London tasting – to be held for media and trade at the Vinopolis wine expo center on May 2 – are not so much looking to crack the British market as to generate publicity and added buzz about Virginia wines back here at home – especially in the DC market. The Virginia Wine Experience in London was sponsored by six wineries – White Hall, Veritas, Kluge Estate, Williamsburg Winery, Pearmund Cellars and Keswick – and underwritten by Farm Credit of Virginia. More than 30 wineries submitted the nearly 100 wines for consideration. Sixty-five wines were selected to present at the London tasting. The list if available at http://vawineinlondon.com. From my personal observations, the Meritage category showed strongest. These red wines, blended from the Bordeaux grape varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, were consistently strong. (Vintages ranged from 2002 through 2005, though very few 2003’s were submitted as that was an extremely rainy and difficult vintage in Virginia. A few wines from older vintages were also entered, including a 1999 Chardonnay from Linden Vineyards, a 1993 Gabriel Archer Reserve Meritage from Williamsburg Winery and a 1988 rosé sparkling wine from Oasis Vineyards, which was remarkably fresh for its age. All three received a thumbs-up from the tasting panel.) The quality of these wines shows Virginia’s progress in making top-quality wines. A few of the wines eliminated showed the old Virginia style – aromas of rubber hose, asphalt and vinegar, with flavors of stewed tomatoes. “That’s what we were making ten years ago,” in the words of Bruce Zoecklin, Virginia Tech’s enologist, who assisted at the tasting. But these winners should help establish Virginia’s reputation as a quality wine producing region. Cheers! (This post appeared in nearly identical form on Washingtonian.com.)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Benvenuto Brunello! DATE: 2/26/2007 09:00:00 PM ----- BODY:
Buon Giorno, amici! I’ve just returned from Italy, where I was lucky enough to visit Montalcino in Tuscany for the annual Benvenuto Brunello event celebrating the new vintages – the last harvest plus the new releases of Brunello di Montalcino (2002) and Riserva Brunello (2001), and Rosso di Montalcino (2005). I plan to report in more detail later, but here’s the skinny: Winemakers in the Brunello DOCG are celebrating a string of strong vintages, with the 2006 earning five stars, or top marks for an “outstanding” vintage from the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, the trade group that represents all 200-plus producers of Brunello. This follows four-star (excellent) vintages in 2005 and 2003, with another outstanding rating for 2004. The rating for 2006, announced Saturday, was commemorated with a plaque designed by Adam Tihany installed on the town square. The bad news for these producers was that the new release of Brunello comes from the merely “fair” two-star 2002 vintage. (By law, Brunello must be aged at least four years, two years of which must be in cask or barrel, and at least four months in bottle. Riservas are aged five years from the vintage.) Heavy rains hit Tuscany at harvest time that year, resulting in an uneven vintage. Many producers decided not to make a Brunello that year, pouring all their wine into their Rosso instead. Even so, in my tastings I found several producers that managed to reduce yields and preserve enough good fruit to make very appealing wines. My favorites included Argiano, Banfi, Barbi, Castello Romitorio, Talenti, La Fiorita, Tenuta Caparzo, Tenute Silvio Nardi, Tenuta Oliveto, and San Filippo. The 2005 Rossos were exceptionally strong as a category. These wines should do well on restaurant wine lists and be a favorite of home consumers, too. Look for these mini-Brunellos on your retail shelves soon.
After I came back, I read that wine is not the only attraction these days at Castello Banfi. It seems workers there discovered the intact skeleton of a prehistoric whale. Now that’s terroir! Ciao!
(The photos show fog shrouding vineyards around Montalcino, as seen from a parapet of the hill town's fortezza, and a sommelier presenting wines for tasting at the annual Benvenuto Brunello event.)

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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Anonymous DATE:3/08/2008 02:49:00 PM Castello Romitorio is seriously one of the worlds most evolved brunello producers! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: More D.C.-Area Restaurant Reviews DATE: 2/13/2007 06:41:00 PM ----- BODY:
The Washington, D.C., suburbs continue to offer some exciting new dining opportunities. In Silver Spring, Md., across the street from the newly restored Silver Theater (home to the American Film Institute) is Ray's the Classics, which strikes a cinematic note with its black-and-white decor, champagne and cocktails, and classic steak and seafood dishes. In Old Town Alexandria, Va., D.C.'s Iron Chef Morou Outtara has opened Farrah Olivia, where he is challenging diners with sophisticated cuisine based on flavors of his native West Africa, France and the Middle East. I hope you'll enjoy my reviews from DC magazine. And if you happen to find yourself in Arlington, Va., near Fort Myer, stop by EatBar for some great bar snacks such as roast olives, mini burgers, or bacon-wrapped figs. There's a great selection of wines by the glass, beers, and cocktails. If you want a more formal dinner, dine at Tallula next door. Happy Dining! Dave

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: A Tale of Two Rieslings DATE: 2/08/2007 10:37:00 PM ----- BODY:
It’s always fun to compare wines of the same grape but from different countries or regions. Tonight for dinner (smoked pork chops from the Amish market, sautéed with onions and mushrooms) we opened two Rieslings, just for fun. We probably drank them in the wrong order, but oh well. First up was Lemelson Vineyards Adria Vineyard Dry Riesling 2003, from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, a producer better known for its rich, fleshy Pinot Noir. We’d tasted this wine two years ago when it was young and crisp; now the acid has softened and the stone-fruit flavors have broadened – fattened even, in a good way. There was delicious peach, apricot, papaya and still a hint of tropical mango, with good minerality – not the “petrol” character of Riesling so much, but wet stones after a cleansing spring rain. Lovely wine. We followed this with Craggy Range Fletcher Family Vineyard 2005 from Marlborough in New Zealand. A year-and-a-half younger than the Lemelson, this still had its bracing, refreshing acidity that dominated but could not conceal a core of apricot and citrus flavors. Tight, focused, mineral and young. That’s four words (not counting the conjunction). In a single word, delicious. (Imported by Kobrand Corp., New York, NY.) Now, if I’d been less lazy about washing wine glasses, I’d have tasted them side-by-side and had even more fun comparing. But I’m still going to sleep happily tonight. No matter how cold it is outside (and tonight is bitterly cold here in DC), I just love Riesling …

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Some New Wines from Chile DATE: 2/03/2007 04:29:00 PM ----- BODY:
Chilean Ambassador Mariano Fernández hosted a “Chilean Farm Market” at his residence recently, showcasing meats, cheeses, produce and wine from his country. Chilean fruits and vegetables are no strangers in these parts, of course, having been winter staples for years. But I hope we begin seeing some of these meats – chewy, rich beef tenderloin that bore little resemblance to the corn-fed beef we’re used to, and dense rack of lamb that tasted of the grasslands of the Andes foothills. (Here’s my new food fantasy: Icelandic lamb from September through November, then Chilean lamb from February through April. Why can’t meat be seasonal?) he wines on display featured two producers, Montes and Haras, with whom I was familiar, but also some others that were new to this market. Here are some wines to look for: Ventisquero, a winery in the Casablanca Valley northwest of Santiago, had two wines for tasting – a Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2006 with nice mango and red currant flavors and crisp acidity; and a Pinot Noir Reserve 2005, light and aromatic with lovely strawberry fruit. Both should retail for about $13 and represent good values, especially the Pinot Noir. As Pinot Noir is rare in Chile, this was a personal favorite in the tasting. Casas del Bosque, also in Casablanca Valley, poured a nice 2005 Chardonnay and a 2004 Merlot Reserve that was Bordelais in character, with a hint of green flavors and the familiar Chilean flint. There was a little too much oak for my taste, but I suspect that will integrate in another year. Falernia, from Elqui Valley, a small wine region south of Casablanca. The 2006 Sauvignon Blanc was soft and fleshy, looking more to California as a model than New Zealand. The 2004 Syrah Reserva was big, with smoky Northern Rhone flavors of bacon and blueberry matched with California body and ripe sweetness.True Rhone snobs might find it a bit cloying, but if you like the California style, look for this one. Echererria, in the Central Valley, offered a 2003 Limited Edition blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Carmenère. It was well-balanced, with good acidity and fruit. Haras, from Maipo Valley just south of Santiago, was pouring a 2005 Chardonnay that at the $10 level represents a nice value. The 2002 Elegance Cabernet Sauvignon, at $35, was big, rich and soft in the new international style. It was a bit cloying for my taste. Montes offered its Leyda Vineyard 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, which was crisp, lean, refreshing and bracing, with grapefruit and mango flavors, and, at $12, a bargain if you can find it. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Apalta, from the winery’s premier vineyard in the Colchagua Valley, is also a terrific bargain at $20, rich, with soft, spicy mocha and blackberry fruit. For more on Chilean wines, click here. The photo shows the Apalta vineyard and the Montes winery in the distance at the right, in March 2005.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Conte Brandolini Treanni, $19 DATE: 1/30/2007 09:44:00 PM ----- BODY:
Here's a fun concept: Create a non-vintage red blend, similar in concept to an NV brut Champagne, with the idea of achieving consistency year to year independent of vintage variation, while achieving complexity by combining some wine with a little age with the fruitiness of young juice. That's the idea behind Treanni, a blend of Merlot, Refosco and Cabernet Franc from the Veneto wine region north of Venice. The current release, from the 2003 through 2005 vintages (you can tell by the 2006 bottling date stamped in painfully small type on the back label), offers enticing aromas of raspberry and white pepper, with a silky, fleshy mouthfeel and appealing fruit flavors. "The idea is to combine the freshness of young wine with the complexity of the older wine," says Count Brandino Brandolini, owner of the estate, who visited Washington recently. "It's a wine meant to be drunk very informally, but with some complexity to give it interest." Conte Brandolini is best known for its powerful Merlot, called Vistorta. Count Brandolini also is president of Chateau Greysac in Bordeaux. Imported by Palm Bay Imports, Port Washington, N.Y. www.palmbayimports.com.

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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Marcus g58 DATE:1/31/2007 10:25:00 AM Interesting to hear about something from these guys other than the Vistorta, which I have tried and love -- the only wine I've considered a revelation uncorking it.

And Brandolini do make fantastic labels for their wines too, don't they? Much to admire, all around. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Dave McIntyre DATE:2/03/2007 04:38:00 PM Indeed, the labels are nearly as classy as the wines! Count Brandolini also owns a wine bar in Venice called Naranzaria, not far from the Rialto bridge. It's on my list if I ever get to Venice! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Post Scriptum de Chryseia 2004, Douro, $23 DATE: 1/21/2007 11:55:00 AM ----- BODY:
Continuing on my Portugal kick, this red table wine from the Douro is a collaboration between the Symington Port family and Bordeaux legend Bruno Prats. Thus the name, P and S, with the post scriptum as a second wine to their ultra premium wine called Chryseia. Using traditional Port varietals and new French barrels, the P.S. offers creamy aromas of vanillin and cherry, which open up with about a half-hour's worth of air to reveal some leathery characteristics and a long finish. While meant to be an early drinker compared to Chryseia, I think this won't really reach its peak for another year or two. But don't be scared in the meantime - just decant it for an hour before drinking. Imported by Premium Port Brands, San Francisco. www.premiumport.com .

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Martha Clara Riesling 2004, North Fork of Long Island DATE: 1/15/2007 02:26:00 PM ----- BODY:
Every now and then it really pays to rummage around in the cellar.
When I first tasted this wine two years ago for my article on New York wines in The San Francisco Chronicle, my reaction was "yeah, nice." But it was outshone by the same winery's Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Syrah and especially the Bordeaux blend called 6025. When I found another bottle in my cellar recently I was quickly seduced by charming aromas and flavors of rose petal and guava. Sure, the acidity has faded somewhat, leaving an almost off-dry feel on the palate, but this little beauty is a winner.
Martha Clara is owned by the Entenmann family of bakery fame, and is definitely a Long Island winery to watch.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Craving Port Tonic! DATE: 1/09/2007 11:14:00 PM ----- BODY:
During my visit to Portugal last Fall, I fell in love with Port Tonic, a refreshing cocktail made of one part white Port and two parts tonic water, over ice, with a sprig of mint. It's more bracing than a gin and tonic (less alcohol, so less heavy), and deceptively easy to knock down in mass quantities. It's the favored aperitif before lunch or dinner at Vargellas, the flagship estate of The Fladgate Partnership, the second-largest exporter of Port to the United States.
White Port of course is a bit of a stranger to U.S. wine lovers, as very little of it is marketed here. Most white Port is off-dry, but Taylor Fladgate makes a dry version called Chip Dry that shines in a Port Tonic. Alas, Chip Dry is not sold in the U.S. But we can get Fonseca's Sirocco white Port, another Fladgate Partnership product; it is a bit sweet but still makes a smashing P.T.!
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Julie St John DATE:1/16/2007 04:20:00 PM Hello, Thanks for the suggestion--during the holidays we cracked open a "bottle of Port" to discover it was white Port--one that my husband had brought back on one of his many business trips to the Douro valley. It was good on its own--as an apertif but now I am going to try the Port Tonic--especially since I love Gin and Tonics--this will be a welcome change! Thanks again for your WineLine The Soul of Port.

Julie ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Dave McIntyre DATE:1/21/2007 12:08:00 PM Thanks, Julie - I hope you like the P.T.! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Castello delle Regine: Stylish Wines from Umbria DATE: 1/06/2007 11:28:00 AM ----- BODY:
This winery in Umbria produces stylish wines that are modern, yet still identifiably Italian. If that sounds anachronistic, try to remember the last time you enjoyed a wine but couldn’t really tell where it was from. It probably wasn’t that long ago. Sangiovese stars here, of course, on its own in a wine called Podernovo, blended deliciously with Merlot in a Rosso, or with the additional component of Cabernet Sauvignon in a blend called Princeps. The top of the line bottling is a powerful yet elegant Merlot that should be proof that Italy is producing some of the most interesting wines from this varietal. There's also a crisp, refreshing white to remind us that white wine isn't always an afterthought in Italy. Classy, delicious wines. Prices range from about $13 for the Rosso to $45 for the Merlot. Opici Imports, Glen Rock, N.J. http://www.opiciimports.com/ . www.castellodelleregine.com .

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Best Dishes and Memories, 2006 DATE: 12/29/2006 09:05:00 PM ----- BODY:

The food blogs and newspapers are full of their "Best of 2006" lists, which to some extent is a writer's cheap way of saying "don't you wish you were me" instead of putting actual work into a fresh column. But after I thought about it for awhile, I realized I had eaten some pretty special dishes this year, too. Some were spectacularly delicious; others make the list because of the memories they invoke:

  1. Michel Richard's Begula pasta at Citronelle - Already a classic, I know, but it was the first time I'd had it
  2. Roasted marrow - and duck-fat fries (Blue Duck Tavern)
  3. Hangar Steak (Ray's the Classics)
  4. Peruvian seafood stew (BlackSalt)
  5. Scottish langoustines (Maestro)
  6. Pan-roasted Sweetbreads (Restaurant Eve)
  7. Icelandic lamb (from Whole Foods, cooked at home, except for the one time I overcooked it)
  8. My mother-in-law's jiaozi and congyoubing (scallion pancakes), rivaled only by those at A&J
  9. Pommes souflées at a smoky bistro near Les Halles in Paris
  10. Macarons au chocolat from Paul in Paris
  11. Pain de compagne from the little boulangerie next to the famous patisserie (Stohrer) in Paris, a couple blocks north of Forum des Halles
  12. The Crèpes à Nutella my 6-year-old daughter ate in Paris, for the sheer joy on her face and the way she wore it
  13. (In short, anything in France ..... )
  14. "Pud" with Taylor's 20-year-old tawny port
  15. Almond tart, with Taylor's 40-year-old tawny port, at Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro, by the pool, at midnight after treading grapes on the last day of harvest (but that's another story ...)

(Restaurants noted, unless otherwise obvious, are in the Washington, DC, area. See the links at the left for my reviews in DC magazine.)

Comments welcome on your favorite dishes of the year.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger ::Alejandro:: DATE:1/01/2007 02:07:00 AM First time reading your blog, and glad to see a Peruvian seafood stew on your Best Dishes 2006 list. It sounds like a dish called parihuela. I just came back from Peru and had some great seafood as well. I'll be posting pictures on my Peru Food blog, stop by if you get a chance.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Alejandro
Peru Food
.
.
. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Dave McIntyre DATE:1/21/2007 12:12:00 PM Indeed, I believe it was called parihuela. Unfortunately I cannot verify that, as BlackSalt's online menu does not list the Peruvian version of the stew at this time. The restaurant typically has three or four versions, such as a Provencal bouillabaise or a San Francisco cioppino. It's a nice place for shellfish should you find yourself in D.C.! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Wine Camp 2006 DATE: 12/28/2006 10:22:00 PM ----- BODY:
Last year I wrote about my family's Christmas ritual, which we call "Wine Camp" - a Stump the Chumps bacchanalia of blind tasting wines from all over the world, especially inexpensive stunners and outré offerings from unusual areas. I always look forward to spending time with Dave Johnson, my sister's husband's sister's husband, who always has some good wines to share. This year's bargain from Dave was Fauna 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand $8, a crisp beauty that avoided going over the top with the ol' grassy-herbals. Not complex by any means, but a great value at the price and good for parties or even as a house white. My ringer this year was Tiger Mountain Vineyards Tannat 2002, from Georgia. No, not "former Soviet" Georgia, our Georgia. Nobody pinpointed the grape or the region, but everyone was impressed by its light, fruity taste and food-friendly body - after enjoying it, we put the rest aside to finish with the Christmas ham! The Tiger Mountain actually was part of an accidental theme this year, as we had more East Coast wines than usual. We enjoyed a Wölffer Pinot Gris 2005 from Long Island ($24), though it was crisp and fruity enough to suggest Italian Pinot Grigio than an Alsatian version. We also had a Pindar 2001 Merlot from Long Island's North Fork, which was a bit heavy with black pepper aromas and flavor, but featured good color, body and just enough fruit to carry it off. Everyone was wowed with the Barboursville Octagon 2004 from Virginia ($40), a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend. After an unsettling whiff of barnyard blew off (we were not decanting or airing these wines as we should have to do them justice), this developed beautifully and showed what I thought were Bordeaux characteristics. Everyone else stayed in the New World, guessing California or Washington. Both of those states were represented though - with Chateau Ste. Michelle Estate Reserve 1989, from the Columbia Valley, another Cab-Merlot blend that was probably better five years ago but was still showing well; and the Pax Syrah Cuvée Catherine from Sonoma County. This huge, inky blockbuster cemented my conclusion from 2006 (which actually began with last year's Wine Camp and my first taste of Pax, courtesy of Dave Johnson) that Sonoma County is heaven for Syrah. More on that theme in 2007! Cheers, and Happy New Year! Dave McIntyre

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, 2003, $17 DATE: 12/28/2006 10:17:00 PM ----- BODY:
The 2004 vintage of this wine will probably be released soon, so the '03 may even be on sale. In any event, it's drinking quite nicely now, with good cassis and cocoa and just enough depth to give it interest and value.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Blue Duck Tavern DATE: 12/17/2006 11:36:00 PM ----- BODY:
The talk among Washington's foodies the last few months has been about the fries ... the duck fat fries, that is, at Blue Duck Tavern in the Park Hyatt Hotel. BDT is DC's hottest new restaurant of 2006, even though Chef Brian McBride has been a city favorite for nearly two decades. With a new restaurant and lots of cool, high-tech cooking toys to play with, McBride is turning out some of the capital's tastiest food.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Wine Democracy Run Amok? A Heartfelt Debate DATE: 12/03/2006 12:04:00 PM ----- BODY:

I'm all against wine snobbery and for poking fun at the common wisdom and stereotypes of wine that supposedly make it intimidating. But this egalitarianism can go too far, and when it does, I end up having one of these dialogues between my head and my heart, especially if I’ve had too much wine.

Head: Have you noticed lately that in almost every photo accompanying a wine article, people are shown holding their glasses by the bowl?

Heart: So what? They're smiling, they're having fun, and they're not worried about the ‘proper’ way to hold a wine glass. Wine shouldn’t be intimidating, with all sort of social pitfalls in the way of enjoyment. Remember what the wise old wag says: ‘Life is too short to be scared of wine!’

Head: Okay, okay. But the problem is, that's the WRONG way to hold a wine glass. Fingerprints smudge the glass, detracting from the clarity and the color; and the warmth from our hands can raise the temperature of the wine. I don’t think that’s snobbery.

Heart: Sure sounds like it to me.

Head: Snobbery is the imposition of rules that make no sense other than to demonstrate one's false sense of superiority. Holding a wine glass by the stem instead of the bowl is not snobbery. It is clean. It is polite. And it enhances the pleasure of the wine. Similarly, grabbing the glass by the bowl does not demonstrate a devil-may-care, democratic attitude toward wine. It is dirty. It is rude.

Heart: And it shows that one is not hide-bound by silly rules. If you’re so knowledgeable in the ways of wine, why don’t you chastise people at dinner parties who grasp their glasses by the bowl?

Head: Because that WOULD be snobbery. And rude. And you won’t let me.

Heart: Look – the main purpose of a glass is to transport liquid to one’s lips. Who cares if someone grabs the bowl or the stem, or even if there isn’t a stem at all?

Head: Please, don’t get me started on those sniveling idiots who invented the stemless wine glass! These are the companies that elevated wine jerkdom to a fine art by convincing us we need a separate set of expensive stemware for each varietal or style of wine to direct the individual flavors to the appropriately corresponding taste buds on our tongues. The elites who demanded we mortgage our houses to buy the best stemware were now telling us wine could be fun, no strings or stems attached!

Heart: There’s another reason people like stemless glasses: They fit in the dishwasher.

Head: Hmmmmm. Back to my point. That pamphlet from a major boutique hotel chain extolling their wine program? Virtually every photo shows people grabbing their glasses the wrong way, except for the series labeled ‘Taste Like an Expert.’ Suddenly hands are holding the stem for swirling, sniffing and sipping. Then the final shot, labeled ‘Enjoy!’, shows them grabbing the bowl again. Look at all the holiday party articles in the newspapers and magazines lately. People are always shown holding the glass incorrectly. It’s as if the photographers or food stylists are telling them to do it that way.

Heart: And this angers you because … ?

Head: My point is this: The media should show its readers and viewers the proper way to enjoy wine. We don't have to make a big deal out of it. But showing smiling people enjoying their wine while holding the glass by the stem will reinforce that lesson and make it second nature. We teach by example. Let's teach the right lesson.

Heart: How about the lesson of enjoying wine without intimidation?

Head: You wouldn’t recommend Cabernet Sauvignon with shrimp scampi, would you?

Heart: Oh, goodness no! But if someone wanted to wash it down with Grechetto served in a tumbler, I wouldn’t object.

Head: Harumph.

Heart: Cheers!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Richard Best DATE:12/28/2006 11:13:00 AM Hmmm...

Could there be a parallel with other comestibles and their associated tools? People don’t hold ice cream by the bowl, nor do they eat soup with a fork (usually). The wineglass was designed with a purpose and using it appropriately merely makes sense. For me, head and heart both say “Do you like warm wine? Do you like fingerprint covered glasses?”

Regards,
Richard Best – The Frugal Oenophile ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Michel Richard Citronelle - Decadence at the Table DATE: 11/19/2006 04:47:00 PM ----- BODY:
Decadence is the theme in the November issue of DC magazine, so we sought out the most decadent meal in the city. Join me at the chef's table at Michel Richard Citronelle, where one of the world's most acclaimed chefs flirts, cajoles and beguiles diners with whimsical, delicious food. Bon appetit! And in October, DC celebrated the city's nightlife. My review profiled Lima, a night club-cum-lounge-cum restaurant, where the food is better than expected and sommelier Daniel Mahdavian presides over a top-notch wine list.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: White Wine Season Over? Bah, Humbug! DATE: 11/19/2006 01:16:00 PM ----- BODY:
If you’ve read much of my wine rantings over the years, you know that I don’t buy into the crapola about white wines going out of style once the leaves turn color. White wine will always have a place on my table (even if it is followed by a red) in any season, and here are two that I’ve enjoyed recently while wearing a sweater: Esporão Reserva 2004, Alentejo, Reguengos D.O.C., Portugal. I was first served this wine at lunch at the Fonseca port headquarters in Vila Nova de Gaia in September, a setting where anything was bound to taste good. But I was just as thrilled with it when I found it at Potomac Wines and Spirits in Georgetown for $11. Made with Portuguese grape varieties Roupeiro, Arinto and Antão Vaz (didn’t he have a bit part in The Legend of Zorro?), the wine is rich and creamy in texture (from American oak) with loads of stone fruit flavor. A great bargain, imported by Aidil Wines & Liquors in New Jersey. Konrad Sauvignon Blanc 2004, Marlborough, New Zealand. I bought this beauty a year or more ago at Schneiders of Capitol Hill on the recommendation of co-owner Jon Genderson. Then I forgot about it. Noticing the vintage recently, I figured I should drink it up before it lost too much of that acidity that makes New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc so delicious and develops the stewed asparagus flavor they can get after a few years. I needn’t have worried. This wine still packs plenty of zest and that grapefruit flavor we’ve come to love, along with more of what wine geeks call “minerality” than I’ve ever tasted in a Sauvignon Blanc produced outside the Loire. This wine was still a puppy, and a downright bargain at $16. No doubt the 2004 has given way to the ’05 or even the ’06 on retail shelves, but I will look for this one, buy several bottles, and do my best to forget about it again! Imported by Southern Starz Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Rosé of Distinction from Virginia DATE: 11/01/2006 09:51:00 PM ----- BODY:

I’ve judged many Virginia wine competitions over the past decade, and one category I always dread is rosé. As much as I champion Virginia wines, when these wineries make a pink or “blush” wine it typically seems like they’re trying to make the best of a mistake. “Oops, we took the juice off the skins too soon and there’s no color. I know, let’s call it rosé!” Or, “Well we couldn’t ripen the Franc again, so let’s blend in a little of this vegetal Seyval Blanc and call it a blush.” They’ll tell you it sells like wildfire at the winery tasting room, but man, it tastes like sweet, unbalanced dreck.

Perhaps it’s a sign of the maturity of the Virginia wine industry that I tasted two dry rosés this past weekend that would do the Old Dominion proud. Albemarle Rosé 2005 from Kluge Estate just south of Charlottesville is made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Essentially, the winery bleeds off about 20% of the juice from its premium New World Red and its second label, Albemarle Simply Red, to concentrate their flavors. That means it makes about 1,000 cases each year (aiming for production of 5,000 cases when the winery reaches its planned capacity) of this juicy rosé, deep pink in color in the new style that’s reaching a most welcome vogue – finally! – in the U.S. market.

Paler in color and more delicate in flavor, the Barboursville Rosé 2005 is winemaker Luca Paschina’s first effort at a pink wine. Paschina hails from Piemonte, and his rosé reminds this Francophile of the Provencal style just across the border, packing much more flavor than the color might suggest. Crisp and refreshing, this wine is made from Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc, and I do not mind saying that it is among the best rosés I’ve ever tasted.

With the Fall weather turning cool, you’re probably in a red-wine frame of mind. But I urge you to keep rosé in mind – and these two in particular if you happen to be near Charlottesville or elsewhere in Virginia – for your Thanksgiving table. Both of these fine wines will accompany any variety of foods. And, as any true self-respecting Virginian will tell you, the first Thanksgiving was actually in Virginia, at Berkley Plantation. But I don’t want to get into that silliness.

Cheers!

Dave Mc

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: What to Drink with What You Eat DATE: 10/07/2006 04:44:00 PM ----- BODY:
Wine and food pairing continues to be a fascinating, and sometimes intimidating, exercise. We often make it harder than it should be; however, those who try to take away the uncertainty by saying “anything goes – drink what you like with whatever you like to eat,” are clearly setting us up for a fall, because some combinations simply jar the palate. And the subject is complex, as we now drink wines from around the world while eating food that is influenced by many different cuisines, some with wine in their culture, some without. Enter Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, the award-winning author duo who have brought us behind the scenes of the restaurant world with their books Culinary Artistry and Becoming a Chef, and described the lives of restaurant critics in Dining Out. Dornenburg and Page collect the food-pairing wisdom of top sommeliers for their latest tome, with their most unwieldy title yet: What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea – Even Water – Based on Expert Advice from America’s Best Sommeliers” (Bulfinch, $35). There’s a lot to like in this book, for wine experts and novices alike. We get a glimpse of the sommelier’s life, or at least an introduction to his or her way of thought. This can give us not only insight into food-drink pairing but also on how to enjoy our restaurant meals to the max. The experts consulted by the authors include DC’s own Michael Flynn, sommelier at Kinkead’s American Brasserie and wine director at Colvin Run Tavern in Tyson’s Corner, Va. I wish there was more of Flynn in the book, because I have benefited from his insights for many years. He does a good job with his pick of “desert island wines,” an exercise many of the book’s experts use to show off unhelpfully by naming rare, expensive vintages they have had. Flynn actually recommends beef stew with a Bollinger Recently Disgorged Tête de Cuvée Champagne: “It’s that marrow-y side to a well-made Champagne that seems to work well with a red meat combination,” Flynn says. “Bollinger is one of the richest styles of Champagne, as is Krug. Once you taste it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.” The best part of What to Drink with What You Eat is contained in two long chapters arranged as mini-encylopedias. Having cheese? There’s a section on various cheeses and suggested wine pairings. Chinese food? Indian? They’re listed, too, along with hints on what to avoid (tannic wines). This section gets a little silly, with entries for Hostess Twinkies (asti) and Kit Kat bars (African tea). But if there’s an ingredient in your menu that you think might dominate a dish, you’re likely to find a drink suggestion here. Similarly, if you’ve got a special bottle in your cellar but want to take care not to overshadow it with an inappropriate dish, Dornenburg and Page have a chapter called “What to Eat with What You Drink.” This chapter includes nearly three pages on pairings for various types of Champagnes. We learn that Beaujolais pairs well with charcuterie, hamburgers, sausages and fish – the list of pairings even includes “lunch.” In fact, Beaujolais appears so often in the “what to drink” chapter that one wonders why the wine continues to have a lightweight reputation among wine drinkers. What to Drink with What You Eat should end up under a lot of Christmas trees this holiday season. It’s a good book to pick up, open at random and peruse for ideas, or to look up a specific wine or ingredient before firing up the stove or pulling a cork. A votre santé!

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Arby DATE:10/09/2006 06:09:00 PM Wonderful to see Michael Flynn getting much deserved recognition for his efforts and knowledge. While known, Michael never sought the limelight, and is on my short list of the best sommliers in my experience. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Food and Art DATE: 9/18/2006 07:59:00 PM ----- BODY:
Washington, DC's Logan Circle neighborhood has become a trendy residential area the last few years as the city's renaissance continues to spread. Culture has come to the 'hood, too, along with gentrification, in the form of art dealer Giorgio Furioso, who convinced some the city's best art dealers to relocate to the area. Furioso purchased a former car dealership at 1515 14th Street NW and turned it into an art showcase. On the ground floor, he created Viridian, a restaurant that features art on the walls and an artistic sensibility on the plates. Chef Antonio Burrell offers mostly organic, vegetarian-friendly cuisine, which succeeds when he resists the temptation to fuss with the food. Here's my review of Viridian in DC magazine. [Note: Chef Burrell left the restaurant in November 2006. There is no indication my review had anything whatsoever with his departure. The new chef is Jeff Orel. I have not revisited the restaurant since the change.]

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Is Nothing Sacred? DATE: 9/17/2006 11:29:00 AM ----- BODY:
The other night I was in Zola, the espionage-themed restaurant in DC's Penn Quarter, leafing through the wine list while sipping a nice Riesling, waiting for my party to arrive. Ralph Rosenberg, the beverage meister of Star Restaurant Group who created the list, spotted me taking notes and promptly interrupted. (The restaurant is adjacent to the International Spy Museum, after all!) When he saw that the left-hand pages of my binder were blank, Ralph let out a growl of frustration. It seems diners at Zola steal the tasting notes Ralph inserts to help sell his disparate wines from around the world. I've heard of silver spoons disappearing from restaurants, or fancy pepper grinders. At Lima, a night club/restaurant hybrid in DC, I alerted the manager one night to the absence of soap in the men's room, and he told me that their chrome soap dispensers disappear on a regular basis. (That's why most places have the soap dispensers tacked to the wall, I guess.) If all Zola is losing to theft is wine notes that can be easily printed out from a computer, they're lucky. But it baffles me that people steal anything. Mrs. McIntyre didn't raise her little boy that way. If I were a sociologist I might draw some conclusion about the crisis of parenting in our country. Or maybe as an old political science student I could tie this to Washington ethics in an Age of Entitlement. But I'm neither of those. I'm just a common sense guy, and this strikes me as stupid.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Cousino-Macul Celebrates a Landmark Anniversary DATE: 9/16/2006 03:37:00 PM ----- BODY:
Cousino-Macul, the oldest family-owned winery in Chile, is celebrating its sesquecentennial this year. Since its founding in 1856, the winery has emphasized Bordeaux varietals and European style. And, impressively, value pricing. The Finis Terrae, a Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend, is an annual bargain at $20, easily the match of many a more expensive wine. And those of jaded by nondescript $15 California appellation Cabs treasure our bottles of Cousino-Macul Antiguas Reservas. Arturo Cousino, the sixth generation to head the winery, came to the United States recently to mark the anniversary. He brought with him a new wine, Lota, which will now become the winery's flagship, the family's first entry into Chile's high-priced wine sweepstakes. (It should sell for about $60.) Named for the seaside mining town where the Cousino family made its fortune in the 1850s, Lota is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. About 40% of the grapes come from the winery's historic vineyard in Santiago, with the rest coming from the new estate in Buin, further south in the Maipo Valley. The disappointing thing about Lota is that only a little more than 700 six packs were produced. The wine offers stunning Bordeaux aromas of cigar, currant and blackberry, with some woodspice mixed in. The palate is full and long, and the flavors linger like a favored friend at a dinner party. Crafted by winemaker Matias Rivera with French consultant Pascal Marty, Lota is the grandest expression yet of the Cousino-Macul style: European elegance matched with New World ripeness. For the past two decades, Cousino-Macul wines have been imported into the United States by Billington Imports, the company created by Alfredo Bartholomaus, who has been credited by no less than Robert Parker with popularizing the wines of Chile and Argentina here in the States. My profile of Alfredo in DC magazine can be found here. (The photo shows, from left to right, winemaker Matias Rivera, Arturo Cousino and Alfredo Bartholomaus. Photographed at Cousino-Macul estate in Santiago, March 2005.)

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Wine's Bad Boy Grows Up DATE: 9/16/2006 02:46:00 PM ----- BODY:
For years I've been a fan of Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon fame, ever since he entranced me with a Roussanne that turned out to be a Viognier when someone took a closer look at the vines. My favorite of his wines has been the Big House line, especially the Rhone-like Big House Red that proved California can indeed make delicious wine for $10 a bottle. Like many of Grahm's fans, I was disappointed when he announced this summer that he had sold the Big House label. A few weeks after his announcement, I met with him at the offices of Bonny Doon Vineyards in Santa Cruz, California. Grahm spoke at length about his determination to focus on premium, estate-grown wines farmed biodynamically, as well as the transformative power of fatherhood. The maverick who held a public wake for the cork and derided Robert Parker with the mock headline, "The Emperor Has No Nose!," now says, "I need to shut up and make wine." Read my account of the interview in WineLine 57.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Gems from Dry Creek Valley DATE: 9/04/2006 09:51:00 PM ----- BODY:
Dry Creek Valley has always been one of my favorite appellations in Sonoma County. I love the intensity and variety of the Sauvignon Blancs and the juicy, chewy depths of its Zinfandels. Last month I had the opportunity to explore Dry Creek Valley and meet with several grape growers and winemakers. Tasting their wines, I made a few discoveries and got reacquainted with some old friends. Here are some labels to look for: RUED: Fifth-generation growers, the Rued family took the plunge into winemaking a few years ago when the “grape glut” pushed prices low. They now boast a spanking new winery on Dry Creek Road just in time for the harvest and of course to welcome visitors. Their 2005 Sauvignon Blanc is fantastic - just grassy enough to show the varietal’s character, with apricot and passion fruit flavors, great body and a long finish. Classic Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Their 2003 Zinfandel is almost as good - creamy in texture and flavor, low on the spice - think raspberry gratin in a glass. Fill in your own pun here, but you will not rue the day you purchase these wines. DUTCHER CROSSING: The 2005 Sauvignon Blanc from this new winery a little further up the road could not be more different than the Rued. Blended with 10% Semillon, 8% Viognier and 2% Roussanne, this version bursts with tropical fruit flavors and aromas. Think of it as a “new California” style. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietor’s Reserve, which is 25% Syrah, features soft berry flavors, vanillin, and cassis on a medium finish. UNTI VINEYARDS: This young winery is making a serious stab at the leadership mantle of California’s Rhone Rangers. The 2004 Grenache had me thinking of the best of the Southern Rhone, empowered by California exuberance. Then I tasted the 2003 Syrah and my imagination soared to the Northern Rhone. These are not knockoffs of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Hermitage, for they have the California emphasis on fruit flavors, with terroir secondary. (Oooh, I’m gonna get it for that ...) These are California expressions of two wonderful grapes, and they make delicious wines. [Note to readers in the D.C. area - these Unti wines are available at The Vineyard in McLean, Va., for about $29 each.] ALDERBROOK/TERLATO FAMILY VINEYARDS: This winery began in the early 1980s as a specialist in white wines. Within the last few years, however, a majority share was purchased by the Terlato family of Paterno Imports fame. They have steered the winery toward red wines from its property near Healdsburg, at the confluence of the Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, and Russian River Valley appellations. The 2003 Dry Creek Valley Syrah is surprisingly elegant for the grape, and for the grape in California. It features bright, high-toned blueberry and coffee notes, with soft tannins and a surprisingly long, fruity finish that does not want to quit. I would normally say this is the type of wine that will stand out at dinner but not in a group tasting against bigger, brawnier wines, except that it won a Gold Medal at the Orange County fair. So there are some good judges out there ... Future vintages may be under the Terlato name but will still be made in the same way by winemaker Brian Parker; either way, keep it in mind, this is a delicious wine.

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: The Many Moods of Mother Nature DATE: 9/01/2006 09:42:00 PM ----- BODY:
As I write this, Ernesto is pounding the Mid-Atlantic region. I haven’t talked to any winemakers in Virginia, where the best wine regions were supposed to get up to 6 inches of rain today, but I suspect they may be relieved as the storm tracked a little further east than expected. So now I wonder if it will spin out to sea and head up to Long Island, which received several days of steady rain last year just as many wineries were preparing to harvest their Merlot. Let’s hope not. For the past few weeks, we had little or no rain, warm but not real hot days, and unusually cool nights. Not great pool weather for August, but excellent conditions for growing wine grapes. The temperature variations from the hot afternoon to the cool early morning are ideal for ripening grapes and retaining acidity to give the wines structure and vibrancy. But what Mother Nature gives, she can take away. Strong winds and rains right at harvest time are never good; they are not necessarily destructive, however, if the next few days return to the favorable weather pattern. Then, as long as the grapes don’t swell up and burst, they may recover quite nicely. Since Ernesto seems to be less fearsome than forecast, he could even turn out to be a blessing, if any grapes were stunted by the drought of the past several weeks, these rains might stimulate the final ripening process. But this is my idle speculation. I tend to think of weather patterns in terms of how they affect the wine harvest. Pretty pathetic, eh? And of course we oenogeeks tend to think of California as immune from the vagaries of weather. Not so, the weather is just different there. The heavy rains come not right before harvest but when the vines are dormant, much more favorable. But this year, California felt Nature’s intense stare with a heat wave in July that pushed temperatures well over 100 degrees F for 11 days in a row, with two of those days reaching 115 degrees - at least in the Dry Creek Valley, where I visited in August. The heat was most intense in the late afternoon. The effects of such intense heat? Sunburn, literally. The grapes, which had not quite reached veraison, the point where they turn from green to golden or black, are stunted from the heat and wither. But of course this is an uneven process. As Andrew Forchini, grower at his family’s winery on the east side of Dry Creek, explained, the sides of the vines facing the afternoon sun were most affected by the heat. He showed us vines that were shriveled and worthless on the west side, but still holding gorgeous, full fruit on the other side. So the extent of the sunburn depends on the orientation of the vine rows and the leaf canopy. Growers can moderate the effects with irrigation, but only so much when the heat is that intense. In short, yields may be down a bit because of the heat, but quality should not be affected. Forchini shrugged off the losses as he tasted some of the healthy grapes that would go into his family’s Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Other growers on the west side of Dry Creek told me they were not greatly affected by the heat wave, because their vineyards are on east-facing slopes and therefore shielded from the afternoon sun by mountains to the west. So there you have it - another reason not to buy into any broad generalization about weather and its effect on a particular vintage.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Hairy Carrot DATE:9/01/2006 09:49:00 PM Ernesto did give us much needed rain, but almost ruined my holiday weekend.
Enjoy the wine. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: My Family Label DATE: 8/20/2006 09:50:00 PM ----- BODY:
At the Monterey Winemakers' Celebration in Monterey, CA, on Aug 12, I made a beeline for one booth in particular. I had heard of Steve McIntyre but knew little about him, except that we probably weren't related except in some distant, existentialist sense. (This was confirmed when I saw him - he's too tall and handsome to be from my side of the family. See for yourself, that's him with his wife, Kim.) Steve is a leading winegrower and vineyard manager in Monterey County, tending vines for 22 wineries including San Saba, Estancia and Bonny Doon. He also runs a custom crush facility where, it turns out, one of my favorite wines is produced - Bonny Doon's Big House Red. (Steve will have it for one more vintage until the recent sale of the brand takes full effect.) Steve also makes his own wine, in small quantities that unfortunately don't really make it out of Monterey County. At the fair, he was pouring a delightful 2000 Pinot Noir that at $18 retail still tastes fresh and shows what Monterey County can do with that grape in its cool coastal climate. His Chardonnay was also excellent, as was the 2001 Kimberly Vineyard Merlot - soft, supple, plummy fruit with a dusting of cocoa. I wish I could make these my house wines!

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----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Green Beans and Monkey Farts DATE: 6/30/2006 02:17:00 PM ----- BODY:
DonRockwell.com is a fun Web site for wine and food lovers in the Washington, D.C., area. Recently, someone initiated a thread asking for wine advice with some interesting conditions: He only likes red wines, his budget is limited to about $10 a bottle, and he's trying to impress his future wife even as they learn about wine together. The beauty of such a chat forum is that he was getting advice from some of Washington's top wine professionals, including Mark Slater, sommelier at Michel Richard Citronelle, and Dean Gold, owner of Dino restaurant in Cleveland Park, which is an Italian-wine lover's dream. Click here to read the entire thread. But here is my two cents' worth, as posted:

Wow - getting free wine advice from Mark Slater - most people pay $150 a head for the same! Of course, some extraneous food comes with it ... There's plenty of good advice here, actually, but I'd like to expand on one: store tastings. In DC, most stores open a few wines each Saturday for customers to sample. Some are purely marketing (look out for the glam wine girls at Magruders, usually pushing Red Bicyclette ...) Some, however, are actually instructional. Bells on M St b/w 18 and 19 opens 10 bottles each Saturday at 12:15, the tasting goes to 2 pm. Their selection is somewhat idiosyncratic, but the emphasis is on CHEAP and good. The tastings often include wines they don't have yet, but they want to get some customer reaction. Anyone is welcome, and the group stands around and trashes the wines as they themselves get trashed. Well, not really, no one's drinking that much, but you get the idea.

Their only rule is that you have to taste in order - as Bob Luskin, one of the owners, says, "If I suffer, you suffer." So you will have to taste a white or two to get to the reds, but as you do so, and listen and discuss the wines with everyone else there, you will learn more about what you like and dislike in each sample. You will hear a lot of, "That's a good $10 wine - too bad it costs $20!" Arrowine [mentioned by previous posters] is indeed another good store. Look for their tastings that feature a particular importer. Get to know the importer's name and style of wine. ("Read the back label" is one of my mottoes for learning about imported wines - if you like one Robert Kacher Rhone, you may like another.)

As you focus on inexpensive wines, don't ignore stores that feature costly ones. The Vineyard in McLean, or Wide World of Wines on Wisconsin in Glover Heights, are both known for higher-end, quality wines, but they also have some bargains. Remember, if the $10 bottle impressed the guy who mostly sells $50 wines, it is probably pretty good.

Find some wine writings you like. This site is a good source for information, especially on what's good and available in this market and where to find it. At the risk of, ahem, shameless self-promotion, I try to highlight high-value, affordable wines in my writing on my Web site, dmwineline.com. Not systematic writing, just fun and idiosyncratic, and hopefully helpful. And as you learn about wines, and which ones you like or don't, you may find yourself paying more attention to the world around you - at least in an olfactory sense. My other motto for learning about wine is "Smell everything, taste with discretion." You'll hear people talking about "barnyard" or "rosehips" or "cat's pee" in their wines. You won't be able to pick up the hint of violets in a good Rhone grenache if you don't enjoy your surroundings. And when you and your future wife have children, and your kid sticks her nose in your glass and says, "This smells like green beans and monkey farts," well, you'd better know at least half of what she's talking about. Some practical advice for $10 reds: Bonny Doon's Big House Red Argentina (Alamos, Trumpeter - Malbec, Cab, Merlot and Pinot) Chile (Cousino-Macul, Santa Rita 120, 2 Brothers - Cab, Merlot, Syrah) Cheers!

----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Follow Your Nose ... DATE: 6/24/2006 11:34:00 AM ----- BODY:
The Washington, D.C., area offers many ways and opportunities for new wine lovers to learn about the fruits of the vine. The Washington Post has noticed, and the June 23 "Weekend" section features a cover story on wine clubs, vineyard visits, and "offline" tastings of Internet chat-room oenophiles. There's also a tasty little sidebar offering advice for novices from some of D.C.'s finest sommeliers as well as, well, me.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Seeing Summer Through Rose' Colored Glasses DATE: 6/20/2006 09:14:00 PM ----- BODY:
Big House Pink may not be the favored house wine for Jack Abramoff or Randy “Duke” Cunningham this summer, but for those of us not being threatened by grand juries, this rosé from California’s Bonny Doon winery makes a strong candidate. A cold rosé is the hot wine nowadays, and some California winemakers have even started an organization called RAP – Rosé Advocates and Producers – to promote it. This is one trend I can embrace, as I’ve been promoting it for years. Finally, wine lovers can be comfortable drinking a pink wine in public. A well-chilled rosé makes a refreshing patio aperitif and just may be the perfect pairing with garlicky foods or grilled salmon. Yep – pink wine with pink food. Here are some of my faves: Bonny Doon Ca’ del Solo Big House Pink 2005, California, $10. Crisp, with tons of juicy strawberry flavor. Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare 2005, California, $12. This one has enough weight to stand up to grilled meats. Dumont et Fils Rosé Champagne, NV, France, $35. Elegant, rich and classy, a perfect wine for brunch in the garden. Louis Bouillot “Perle d’Aurore,” Cremant de Bourgogne, France, NV, $15. This charming sparkler is 100% Pinot Noir. Hide the bottle, don’t tell your friends it isn’t Champagne, and let them think you paid a bundle for it. La Rosée de Monbousquet, 2005, Bordeaux, France, $10. Bordeaux’ wine crisis means more chateaux are producing rosé. Lucky for us! This is one of the best. Jean-Luc Colombo, Côte Bleue, France, 2005, $10. A pale, dry Provencal-style rosé. Think bouillabaisse or salade Niçoise. 1+1=3, Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2004, Penedes, Spain, $15. Richer and deeper than most, match this with anything off the grill. Falesco Vitiano 2004, Umbria, Italy, $10. Strawberries again, with a drizzle of balsamico. Wölffer, Rosé Table Wine 2005, The Hamptons, Long Island, $14. From America’s Côte d’Azur comes this tribute to the original. Crisp, refreshing and juicy. Clos la Chance, Hummingbird Series “Pink Throated Brilliant” 2005, Central Coast, California, $14. Okay, you may not be singing, but this little beauty will have you humming. It has bracing acidity and just enough fruit to give it lift, as it were. Chateau des Gavelles 2005, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, $11. Leaner than some, this true-to-type southern French rosé cuts through the summer heat to offer refreshment and refinement with Mediterranean foods. Here's to summer! Cheers!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Two Unoaked Chards DATE: 6/11/2006 03:13:00 PM ----- BODY:
The “Anything But Chardonnay” – or ABC – movement has had an impact, not necessarily in reducing the amount of Chardonnay on the market, but in how it’s made. If you delve into the winemaking specifics (as I feel bound to do out of duty as much as curiosity), you probably hear words and phrases like “partial malolactic” or “seasoned oak,” clues that the winemaker is trying to avoid the full-barreled approach of new oak and buttered popcorn that gave California Chardonnay a bad name. The movement’s success has even created a backlash, led by the Wall Street Journal’s popular wine columnists, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, who recently went on a search expedition for “old-style” California Chards. Good for them, I say: While I don’t particularly fancy that style myself, on occasion I find one that really knocks my socks off. And I believe in diversity anyway. Of course, I wish there was a way to tell what style of Chardonnay I might be opening on any given attempt. ABC really could be called ABO – anything but oak. The extreme example of the movement’s success is unoaked Chardonnay. These came originally from New Zealand and Australia, but some wineries in the US are now making them and bragging about it. Oregon’s Chehalem bottles an unoaked “INOX” (French for stainless steel) Chard that is a winner year in and year out. Recently I’ve enjoyed two unoaked Chardonnays from California that are worth seeking out. Although they are in a sense related by more than the shared grape variety and their common Monterey appellation (more on that below), they are notably different in style. And both are delicious. San Saba Vineyards “Bocage” Unoaked Chardonnay 2005 ($13), shows the lemon-curd and citrus notes that come to the fore when Chardonnay’s character is not masked by oak. Yet what fascinated me was the body. Winemakers Jeff Ritchey and Sabrine Rodems aged the wine on the lees for four months (in tank, not in barrel as is common), which extracted a richness and mouthfeel that makes the wine entrancing and seductive on the palate. The wine is unfortunately not widely available, as it is now in California, Texas, Connecticut and Maine, with plans to distribute to New York and New Jersey in the near future. But keep it in mind. My other example was Clos LaChance 2005 ($15) from the winery’s hummingbird series. This wine struck me as Australian in style, overflowing with blowsy tropical fruits (hmm, I think I’m gonna hear about that one, but I mean it in a good sense!), especially pineapple. Upfront, flirtatious and downright enjoyable. And the other connection between these wines – Ritchey, whom I’ve written about before on this blog, used to be winemaker at Clos LaChance. Cheers! Dave
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: De Loach is Back, Baby! DATE: 5/02/2006 10:05:00 PM ----- BODY:
One of the saddest developments in the Great California Wine Industry Shakeout of the past several years (at least up until the implosion of the House of Mondavi) was the bankruptcy of DeLoach Vineyards. This family-run winery in Sonoma County was producing excellent wines at fair prices – especially Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – long before we paid attention to the Russian River Valley appellation as a top source for those grapes. In the great wine boom of the ‘90s the winery expanded too fast, and when boom turned to glut they were left with excess inventory and no way to sell it. This story could have followed a typical pattern in which great California wine names like Paul Masson, Almaden, Inglenook and Mondavi get bought up by corporate giants solely for their brand recognition and get turned into plonk. (Is it happening now with other “brand” names, beginning perhaps with B and R?) Fortunately for us, however, DeLoach Vineyards was purchased by Boisset America, the oeno-imperialist branch of the Boisset family of Burgundy negociant fame. Boisset has some nice wines in its portfolio (Louis Bernard from the Rhone, among others) as well as some that scream “CASH FLOW!” and clumsy marketing (the unfortunate Lulu B), so it could have gone either way with DeLoach. But Jean-Charles Boisset, the 36-year-old family scion in charge of Boisset America, wisely decided to keep DeLoach’s focus on Burgundian varietals and techniques and refocus the winery on quality. To accomplish that end, Boisset decided to shrink the winery’s production from 320,000 cases annually to 110,000 and reduce the product line from 48 wines to 17 (though that has increased slightly to 25 with the recent addition of some single-vineyard bottlings). He also converted 22 acres of estate vineyards to biodynamic farming, which has not yet shown up in the wines as it involves replanting the vineyards after letting the soil lay fallow. Boisset’s wisest choice may have been to hire Greg La Follette as winemaker. La Follette is an expert in Burgundian winemaking techniques whose resume includes stints working with California icons Zelma Long and André Tschelistcheff. Washington political junkies will appreciate La Follette’s family relation to “Fightin’ Bob” La Follette of Wisconsin progressive politics fame. “Pinot-philes” (his word) will recognize La Follette as the original winemaker at Flowers Vineyard, a relatively new Sonoma County winery that quickly gained cult status for its Pinot Noir. I met Boisset and La Follette recently over dinner at Washington’s IndeBleu restaurant, where they re-introduced the winery’s line to some DC-area writers. Their enthusiasm for rebuilding De Loach is contagious. But of course, the proof is in the glass. Here are my impressions of the wines we tasted that night, with suggested retail prices: 2004 O.F.S. Sauvignon Blanc ($20): Rich and full with tropical stonefruit flavors, not big in the grass like a blowsy Kiwi, more of the “new California” style. Only later did I realize it was packing a whopping 14.6% alcohol; this is a rare Sauv Blanc that can handle so much alcohol. Only 432 cases produced. 2004 Russian River Valley Chardonnay ($16): Tropical mixed with apple flavors and a good balance of oak and malolactic fermentation. Medium-long finish. Value priced. 10,845 cases produced. 2004 O.F.S. Chardonnay, ($?). Richer than the Russian River bottling, showing more complexity and elegance. 818 cases produced. 2004 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($18). Silky texture with berry and cherry flavors bolstered by enough woodsy spice to give it interest, complexity and structure. Very competitive in this price range. 5,150 cases produced. 2003 O.F.S. Pinot Noir ($?). If you’re not a convert to Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, this one ought to convince you. Still fairly young, this Pinot is already showing complex flavors of fruits, spices, wood and smoke. Each sip is sort of like reading Joseph Campbell’s take on Star Wars – you realize there’s a lot more to it than you thought. 1,067 cases produced. We also tasted two other Pinots Noir, a 2004 30th Anniversary Cuvée and a 2004 Maboroshi Vineyard, that were outstanding but produced in extremely limited quanitites (only about 300 cases each).
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Anonymous DATE:5/12/2006 03:21:00 PM DeLoach has long been a favorite in my house. Glad to hear it's back! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Two Great Patio Whites from Argentina DATE: 4/02/2006 09:00:00 PM ----- BODY:
The weather is finally turning warm, and it’s time to select a “house white” for the summer. You know, that inexpensive wine that you can buy by the case and always keep a bottle in the fridge for gulping on the patio while the coals heat up in the grill. Yeah, that kind of white. I have two candidates this year, both Torrontés from Argentina. This is an obscure grape that hasn’t yet totally succumbed to replanting as Argentine wineries switch over to the more acceptable “international” varietals such as Chardonnay. Torrontés does not yield a particularly complex wine, but it can be quite refreshing. It has some floral aspects, peachy/lychee notes like a Viognier or Gewurztraminer, but more restrained. It makes a fun aperitif, and its bigger versions – which are not very big by any standard – match nicely with pungent cheeses such as muenster. I’ll be stocking up on two Torrontés wines this summer: Santa Julia 2005 Torrontés ($8) from Mendoza is exuberant with the floral notes that make Gewurz lovers swoon, but is also dry enough to satisfy that grape’s detractors. (Well, maybe; it’s worth a try!) This a delightful quaffing wine from a line of bargain values produced by Famiglia Zuccardi winery. Anything by this winery is worth the price. Also worth seeking out is Tittarelli Reserva 2005 Torrontés ($10). Here the floral notes are a little more restrained than in the Santa Julia, with some mineral character to give the wine a little backbone – a great pairing for your patio nosh. Santa Julia is imported by Winesellers, Ltd., of Chicago. Tittarelli is imported by William-Harrison Imports of Manassas, Va.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Surrender, Dorothy! DATE: 3/20/2006 09:21:00 PM ----- BODY:
Some restaurants let the customer be in control of the meal. (Remember "Have it your way"?) In today's high-end dining establishments, however, we've come to revere the chef as artist, and they can become temperamental. They may not actually be flinging their ingredients at the wall to make a Jackson Pollack cuisine, but ask them to substitute a side dish or an ingredient on your entreé, and they might just fling it at you. Our parents went to restaurants to be pampered and treated like royalty; we go to be teased, intrigued, and sometimes so it seems, even insulted or abused. Apparently the new restaurant Gilt in Manhattan is a place where you have to surrender control of your life for a few hours. At least that’s the impression one gets from reading the April 30 issue of Wine Spectator, where Thomas Matthews relates his experience with the cuisine of chef Paul Liebrandt with this hilarious exchange between diner and waiter regarding the chef’s tasting menu. “The first time I dined at Gilt, neither its price nor its dishes were listed, so I asked my server how much it cost,” Matthews writes. “‘Around $135,’ he replied. ‘It depends.’ “‘Depends on what?’ “‘On what the chef sends out.’ “‘And what might he send out?’ “‘It depends.' “‘Depends on what?’ “‘On what he has in the kitchen, and what he’s inspired to create.’ “‘And what about the wine?’ I asked. ‘Will the sommelier pair wines to go with the tasting menu?’ “‘Of course.’ “‘How much does that cost?’ “‘It depends.’” This article is not yet on the magazine’s Web site, but for what it’s worth (and apparently that can be a lot when the check comes), Matthews concludes: “If you can accept some risk for the sake of exploration, then Gilt should be on your short list of new restaurants to try.”
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: The Dark Side of Direct Shipping? DATE: 3/14/2006 04:06:00 AM ----- BODY:
Is there a dark side to direct shipping? Is it possible that the ability of consumers to purchase wines directly from the winery is not always to the consumers’ advantage? Consider this: There are several wineries that use direct shipping not only to supplement their sales when they cannot achieve distribution through the traditional “three-tier” system of producer-distributor-retailer, but are marketing their wines exclusively through their private mailing lists. These wines tend to be in short supply, very expensive, and perhaps with high point scores from influential wine writers (ie., not me) – therefore they are in high demand from affluent collectors who like to boast that they have wines that you don’t. There is often an active resale market for them on eBay or wine blogs. Free market, you say? Supply and demand? Maybe. But have these wines really been subjected to the free market? When I purchase a wine from my favorite retailer, it has been vetted for me – by an anonymous distributor who decided it was worthy of adding to his or her portfolio (or in the case of foreign wine, by an importer whose name is most likely on the label as a guide to the wine’s quality) and most importantly, by the retailer I’ve learned to trust. The wine may not be to my liking, unless I’ve tasted it in the store before buying it, but I can be confident that it is a quality wine, because I trust my retailer. Now, I’m all for direct shipping, but even if I can have my favorite Finger Lakes Rieslings (or other wines not available in my market) delivered to my door, I’m still going to buy most of my wine through the three-tier system. The idea that mailing-list exclusivity is bad for consumers has become a rallying cry of Jim Arsenault, managing partner of The Vineyard, a small but classy wine shop in McLean, Virginia, that specializes in small production, artisan wines. Arsenault is well known in the Washington area for his career in retail and wholesale, for his tremendous palate and knowledge of wine, and for his outspokenness. “One of the best things about the three-tier system in the wine industry is the costs of wine are negotiated in every tier of the system,” Arsenault wrote recently in his store newsletter. “This process actually creates lower pricing so that consumers get the full benefit of a competitive market place. The mailing list phenomenon takes this part of the industry away from the consumer and gives the entire selling price directly to the producer who has set an arbitrary price without competing in the open market. “The price holds no real value in a competitive market place other than the price goal or the random value placed on the wine by the producer without competition. This aspect flies in the face of a spirited market place where quality-and-price ratio builds reputation and long-term success. What are these people afraid of? Are they really producing a product worthy of your consideration or just over priced wine sold to a chosen few?” Arsenault is expressing the frustration of a retailer whose customers brag about their mailing list wines – or who offer to flip him a few bottles for a “small” profit – but he makes an interesting point that merits discussion. We advocates of direct shipping are all about the free market and competition, quick to slam the wholesalers for limiting our selection of available wines. Yet here is an example where the free market arguably may not work to the consumer’s benefit. Ultimately, of course, the “market” here is much narrower than Arsenault’s perspective. If a winery can sell its entire product to an exclusive list at the price it sets, well then, more power to it. And if the people on that list like the wine and are eager and willing to part with their money to get it, well I say go for it. I’ll read about these wines on the blogs. I don’t care if I never taste them. There’s plenty of wine for me. The Vineyard is located at 1420 Chain Bridge Rd., McLean, VA. 22101. Phone (703) 288-2970. Web site : www.thevineyardva.com .
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Domaine de la Colline Chinon 2003, $11 DATE: 3/10/2006 10:34:00 PM ----- BODY:
The 2003 vintage in Europe was torridly hot, which has led wine enthusiasts to proclaim it a wonderful year – ripe wines for a change! But it really is a mixed blessing. In areas where ripeness is not always a problem, the 2003s required careful tending in the vineyard and in the winery. They did not always get it, and as a result, the vintage is really quite uneven in quality. One place that has bowled me over with its 2003s is the Loire – and I mean for red wines. Remember how often you pooh-poohed a Chinon or Bourgeuil because they tend to be thin and acidic, proof that Cabernet Franc is merely a blending wine that should not stand on its own? Well, here is evidence of what this region can do when the stars align. The Domaine de la Colline is not one of the “top Chinon” producers, perhaps, but it has been consistent, and this offering is extremely good for the price. It retains the austerity and structure of Loire reds but fleshes these out with juicy cherry fruit, spiced with the typical white pepper of Cab Franc. In other words, it retains its terroir despite the unusual vintage. A bistro wine – not for the ages, but for the next few years. Imported by Monsieur Touton Selection, New York, NY. Purchased at Schneiders of Capitol Hill, Washington DC.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Concha y Toro “Terrunyo” Sauvignon Blanc 2005, El Triangulo Vineyard, Casablanca Valley, Chile, $25. DATE: 3/09/2006 10:07:00 PM ----- BODY:
This is one of those wines I have trouble making my mind up about – at first sip, it seems nice but underwhelming. Sauvignon Blanc, to be sure, with grapefruit and some tropical notes, but fleshy and well, lacking in the middle? I wonder what the fuss is about. Then several seconds later I notice that I’m still tasting the lingering fruit, and that my mouth still feels coated with the wine’s body. I take another sip … then another with dinner, and the fruit picks up a bit. It reminds me somewhat of the Kim Crawford 2004 from New Zealand that I had last week, which has calmed down a little and lost some of its racy acidity but is still showing beautifully. As I drain the last of the bottle, I’m still trying to make up my mind about this wine – but I’m certain I like it better than I did on the first sip, and I wish I had some more. Let’s face it – this is a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile that costs $25. That’s more expensive than most Sancerre. So it’s a bit of a stretch for me to recommend that you buy this, especially when you consider that it comes from a company that’s known for producing quaffable wines that go for $7 a magnum. Yet this is delicious wine. And there are clues on the label that promise quality. First is Concha y Toro – for even many of their cheap wines are impressive in quality. Next is Casablanca Valley. This area northwest of Santiago opens to the sea much like many of California’s prime wine-making valleys. That means it gets maritime fog and cool nights to balance warm, sunny days during the growing season. Chilean wineries are prime on this region for cool-weather varietals such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir. There are also good Carmenere and Chardonnay coming from Casablanca Valley. The lack of acidity in this wine makes me suspect that it may not age well, but I’m not sure the winemakers really had that in mind. They’ve come up with a fleshy, seductive Sauvignon Blanc that will match well, at least for now, with some of the best in the world. Pair this with simply flavored foods to let the wine speak for itself. Imported by Excelsior Wine and Spirits, Old Brookeville, NY. And I had to take my #$%*(& progressive lenses off and use them as magnifying glasses just to read the fine print on that – why can’t they use that font for the Government Warning for crying out loud? Oh, never mind …
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Restaurant Review: David Craig Bethesda DATE: 3/04/2006 01:29:00 PM ----- BODY:
Well, okay, now I've gone and done it! I don't know if this counts as a "crossover artist" like some hip-hop star recording a country song (more like William Shatner recording anything, perhaps!) but I'm now a magazine restaurant critic. At least for a short while. Please read my review of David Craig Bethesda, a new bistro that is bringing a little city cuisine to the suburban neighborhood of Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington. It is in the March 2006 issue of DC magazine. It's a two-star (out of five) rating for a restaurant that has already raised the standards in its area and shows potential for even greater heights. I've always had great respect for the work restaurant critics put into their reviews, but actually putting one together gave me an even greater appreciation. Suddenly I have to pay attention to all sorts of things I really don't give a damn about. This was driven home to me when my editor pointed out that my first draft omitted any description of the decor. This promises to be a fun ride, and I hope it lasts. My second review will be in the April issue, and I'm stoking my appetite - and my powers of observation - for my third victim. I mean, target. Or whatever ... Happy dining!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: California Port: Go, and Zin No More! DATE: 3/04/2006 01:27:00 PM ----- BODY:
Over the years of my research, I’ve enjoyed many late-harvest Zinfandels or Zinfandel “ports,” syrupy, thick, sweet wines from California that make a nice end to a meal or suitable mate to a chocolate dessert, even if they didn’t exactly remind me of their more famous counterparts from the Douro. Faux Ports seem to be the domain of the Aussies. Recently, however, I tasted a California “port” that blew me away. It was Blue Cellars 2003 Petite Sirah Port, made by Jeff Ritchey, a low-key, high-talent winemaker you’ll probably read more of in years to come. Until last year, Ritchey was winemaker at Clos la Chance, a Central Coast operation that began by making wines from small private vineyard plots – essentially backyard vineyards. Now Ritchey is making wines under two labels with different financial partners, Blue Cellars and Sensorium. The Petite Sirah port offers bright fruit flavors of plums and blueberries, vibrant color and a long finish. There’s plenty of acidity to balance the sweetness. But what makes Petite Sirah a better choice than Zin for such a wine? “Petite Sirah has several advantages over Zinfandel in making a port-styled wine,” Ritchey explains. “First, it has bigger and smoother tannins and that a shows through all the sugar and alcohol in a port. The second is that the color is amazing. Zin doesn’t seem to hold it’s color in port conditions. Third, Zin tends to raisin and that shows in the finished product and fourth, PS has an amazing blueberry syrup character to it that lends itself really well to port. “ Ritchey’s other wines are also worth searching out: There’s a Blue Cellars Syrah 2003 from Truchard Vineyard, and two elegant offerings under the Sensorium label, a 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2003 Central Coast Syrah.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Feudi di San Gregorio Serrocielo 2004, $30 DATE: 1/27/2006 10:14:00 PM ----- BODY:
One of the oddest stupidities of wine writing in particular and wine geekdom in general is the common disdain for white wines. Oh, we’ll write about them occasionally, and we’ll even drink them as aperitifs before dinner or as cocktail wines, but we rarely think of them as food wines – and especially not in January. (“Quelle scandale! I saw him drinking a white wine after Labor Day!”) I admit to some hypocrisy on this, because I frequently go to wine stores to stock up on crisp, refreshing, food-friendly whites only to be seduced by a flirtatious Aussie Shiraz, a Rhone red or some new Spanish floozie. Then I go down to my cellar before dinner and fret, “Gee, I don’t have any whites!” This is a theme I’ve hit on before, with “In Defense of White Wines.” But it bears repeating: White wines are often more food-friendly and more enjoyable than reds. Case in point: the Feudi di San Gregorio Serrocielo 2004, from the Sannio DOC in southern Italy’s Campania region. The grape is Falanghina. “Falanghina for $30???” you might ask. Well, yes, it is pricey, but there is a load of fruit and complexity here that gets better with every sip. Lemon curd. I love lemon curd. Spice it with a little nutmeg and some tropical fruit flavors, It features a crisp, racy attack and enough structure to let it age well for at least another year or two, maybe longer. But why wait? Pair this beauty with light chicken or seafood dishes, anything with acidity or bitterness. It is also a rare wine that pairs well with mesclun salad in a light vinaigrette, picking up on the bitterness of the greens with tropical fruit flavors. Imported by Palm Bay Imports, Boca Raton, Florida.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Corkscrews at Twenty Paces DATE: 1/04/2006 10:25:00 PM ----- BODY:
Let me tell you about my friend Dave Johnson. We’re related, sort of – he’s my sister’s husband’s sister’s husband – and we share a passion for the grape, which we indulge every Christmas Day when our families join to celebrate the holiday. While everyone else is noshing on the spiral-cut honey-baked ham, the roast turkey, smoked salmon and various cheeses, chips and patés, occasionally stopping by to refill a glass, Dave and I are squirreled off to the side playing what he calls “Wine Camp,” an oenological version of stump the chumps. We don’t eat until every wine has been tasted, discussed, guessed and revealed, because we don’t want to cloud our palates. I don’t remember what year this started. It may have been the time I poured an Israeli Merlot and dared him to identify it. (He pegged the grape and narrowed the location to Eastern Europe or Greece, which earned props from me.) Or It may have begun the time I identified a Spanish Garnacha on one sniff. (I never told him I’d had the same wine the previous week.) Perhaps it just grew out of our mutual interest in wine and the opportunity to have a little extra fun. Somehow it seems less geeky to combine a blind tasting with a family party. Every wine lover should have a friend like Dave, who relishes the finest, hard-to-find cult wines but gains even more pleasure in discovering exceptional bargains that taste more expensive than they are. He primed us well this year with a lovely Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay 2004 from South Africa ($24) – easily identifiable as a top-notch Chard but hard to pin down by location – and an Attilio Ghisolel “Carlin” 1997, a close-out special from the Langhe, showing well the cocoa-dusted cherry flavors of Sangiovese. There was also a Jade Mountain “Les Jumeaux” 1991 from Dave’s cellar, a Cabernet-Mourvedre blend that was still showing beautifully. Then he poured an inky, spicy-smelling red. “Ahh,” I thought, “Australia.” It coated the glass, smelled of Shiraz, though not purely so, and offered a mouthful of sweet, ripe fruit. It was actually a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32 Shiraz and 11% Merlot called Pillar Box Red 2004 from Padthaway. “What do you think this wine would cost?” Dave asked us after we raved about it. “Watch out,” said his son, Drew, a student at the University of Virginia who is already showing a talent for nosing varietals out of a glass. “He only says that when it’s under $10.” Dave confessed he’d bought the wine for $8 a bottle from “some guy in Chicago.” (I’ve since seen it at $11 on the Internet.) His final wine was Pax Sonoma Hillsides 2004, a Rhone blend of Syrah, Grenache and a splash of Roussane from the winery that is the latest and greatest thing, blessed with a rave and sky-high ratings by HE WHO MUST BE OBEYED and therefore available only to those who know the winemaker, the winemaker’s daughter, or certain secret Masonic passwords. It was gorgeous, sweet, thick and syrupy, and packing a wallop at 15.4% alcohol. It also closed down within a few minutes, losing its fruit and showing only fumes and giving more evidence to my theory that such wines are best for blind tastings where they are rated on a single sip or larger groups where everyone gets only a small taste. Anyway, I went back to the Pillar Box Red. [OK, so I’m leaving out the wines I brought to the party. First was a Breaux Vineyards Lafayette Cabernet Franc 2001 from Virginia, a medium-bodied wine with nice balance and acidity, which Dave and Drew felt was European, then a Bedell Cellars Merlot 2001 from Long Island, which was a bit light and disappointing. My ringer this year was Grover Vineyards “La Réserve,” a Michel Rolland wine from India, of all places. The label did not identify the grapes, and they were not obvious. But the wine was surprisingly good – not bad at all for $18. Was that a hint of fenugreek I tasted? Well, probably not … ]
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Catie DATE:1/25/2006 04:03:00 PM Hi Dave,

I am also a McIntyre (maiden name) that blogs about wine. In fact, some of my father's family is from the Maryland/West Virginia area.

Cheers!
Catie McIntyre Walker ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Two Bargain Reds from the South of France DATE: 12/08/2005 09:16:00 PM ----- BODY:
For some unfathomable reason, French wine is not fashionable these days. There’s talk of a crise in the French wine industry, of wines from Spain, South America, Australia and even California outpacing the French for quality and value. Yet when it comes to affordable wines at good quality levels, I’ll put my money on the south of France anytime. I’ll admit I’m biased – my favorite grapes are Grenache and Syrah, the region’s mainstays. But these grapes make delicious wines at modest prices. Besides, when you consider they make more than 1 billion bottles a year in the Vin de Pays d'Oc, you gotta figure some of them will be good! And just to show that the French aren’t as hidebound to tradition as we accuse them of being, there are other wines coming from there that show good promise, too. Case in point: Labouré-Roi 2003 Pinot Noir – Reserve, “Les Sangliers,” Vin de Pays de l’Aude ($10). This wine offers true Pinot Noir character at a bargain price. And French Pinot Noir character – not the jammy fruit of inexpensive New World models. This wine is stronger on the aromatics – black cherry, some meaty sauvage notes, and a tad lean on the palate. But there is good fruit and balance here, with food-friendly acidity. This is a darn sight better than most Bourgogne Rouge I’ve tasted at $15 and above. More traditional: Jean-Luc Colombo 2003 Syrah “La Violette,” Vin de Pays d’Oc, ($11). The nose of this well-balanced and tightly structured Syrah lives up to its name, with hints of violets and lavender overlaying bright berry fruit. The tannins are not overpowering but will help this wine mellow over 2-3 years. Excellent value. (Both wines are imported by Palm Bay Imports, Boca Raton, Florida.)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Cloudy Bay 2005 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ $25 DATE: 11/11/2005 11:29:00 PM ----- BODY:
Next Thursday is the third in November, which means the celebration of the new vintage and the sprouting of signs proclaiming “Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé” at a retail outlet near you. But we don’t have to wait until then to taste the new vintage, thanks to our friends down under. Sure, it’s cheating a bit since they have a six-month head start, but this year’s Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand are already reaching our shelves. And since there are so many Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand now, it’s easy to forget the one that came first and introduced us to the brash, grassy-herbal style and that bold flavor that seems uniquely New Zealand. (Some call it gooseberry, others say it’s “cat’s pee,” neither of which I’ve ever tasted, so I can’t vouch for it.) Cloudy Bay ignited the trend for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in this country, and then became scarce and expensive. Quite frankly, at $25 it is more expensive than competitors that are its equal. But Cloudy Bay is still delicious and focused on coaxing the true expression from the grape and its terroir. Many of its imitators seized on the American enthusiasm for New Zealand wines and pushed the grassiness and the mystery flavor over the top. Such wines fight with each other, like T.O. and the Philadelphia Eagles. The 2005 Cloudy Bay is an excellent reminder of why we fell in love with New Zealand in the first place. All those qualities are there but held in perfect balance, an ensemble working together.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: French wine's PR push DATE: 11/03/2005 11:19:00 PM ----- BODY:
If you live in the Washington, New York or Chicago areas, or in south Florida or California, you’ve probably heard radio ads extolling French wines. These are part of the first major U.S. promotional campaign by the French wine industry and Sopexa, the French trade association for promoting food and wine products. So what’s the big deal? Well, isn’t it sort of a given that French wines are good? Why the need to promote them? “A lot of people recognize that French wines are great, but on the other hand there’s an idea out there that French wines are all expensive and there are no value wines to compete with Australia and California,” says Sheri Sauter, the Durham, North Carolina-based Master of Wine and perky spokesperson for the campaign. The promotional blitz is meant “to connect with consumers and remind them that French wines are good and let them know that the French are also aware of the American consumer’s need for great everyday wines for the dinner table.” In recent years, the French have lost market share in the United States and Britain to Australian and American wines. The French are also still stinging from the anti-French sentiment of two years ago in the buildup to the Iraq war, when French wines were ceremoniously poured into sewers and toilets by American “patriots.” Sauter chose 45 wines for the campaign, emphasizing value pricing, a geographical mix, and modern labeling and packaging (including varietally labeled wines and bottles with screw caps) to show that France doesn’t just make expensive wines for old fogies. You can find out more about the campaign and the wines, as well as how to enter Sopexa’s contest for a free trip to France, at http://www.wines-france.us .
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: 1954 - A Very Good Year for Coonawarra Cabernet DATE: 11/03/2005 10:56:00 PM ----- BODY:
Vintage wine at its best is an expression not only of place, but also of time. So 1954 must have been a very good year, at least in Coonawarra. That was the first vintage for Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that helped establish Coonawarra as one of Australia’s premier wine regions. The area’s red soil gives wines great structure and minerality, as well as the ability to age. The winery is now celebrating 50 vintages of its Cab, and the current winemaker, Sue Hodder, recently toured the U.S. with a selection of vintages. The ’54 featured good acidity and surprising fruit for a wine so old, while the ’58 showed tawny, earthier flavors and was well past its prime. After being opened awhile, the ’54 also tired and showed its age, but what most impressed me was the similarity of its initial burst of enthusiasm to younger wines from the ‘70s, ‘90s and the ‘aughts. The ’94 and ’96 were especially superb, displaying floral notes and a sensuous, lush texture. The 2001, the vintage in current release, tasted more familiar, probably because I’m used to drinking wines before they have a chance to really strut their stuff. (After all, I’m a lot more interesting than I was in my youth, and people who underestimated me back then will probably never know.) Even the 2002 and the 2004, a barrel sample, showed similar character to their predecessors despite being bigger and brawnier. These are wines of restraint – ripe fruit flavors without the excessive wallop of alcohol so much in vogue these days. If you can find the 2001, I urge you to buy several bottles, because you will want to restrain yourself and let some lie still for a decade or so. It’s well worth the investment, because the winery’s restraint extends beyond the style of the wine to the price – a modest $20.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: My Chance Encounter with Joel Robuchon DATE: 10/30/2005 11:43:00 PM ----- BODY:
Some people gush over movie stars, rock musicians or, here in DC, powerful politicians. Me, I’m a sucker for anyone in a chef’s jacket. I’m proud to count a few of DC’s finest as friends and more as acquaintances, and if you get me in my cups I’ll be happy to tell you about the time I interviewed Alain Ducasse for The Washington Post. Well add a few more Michelin stars to my firmament – I met Joël Robuchon. I arrived in Las Vegas for my day job and headed for the MGM Grand, hoping to spend my free evening at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, the first US outpost of the man heralded by his publicists as “the best chef in the world.” The place was closed for a media event. Food writers from around the world were to be feted for two nights to celebrate the restaurant’s grand opening. I whipped out my business card, self-printed with Microsoft Publisher on medium-grade card stock from Office Depot, and explained to the pretty young thang at the hostess stand that she was in luck, for I had arrived by happenstance and would be quite content to squeeze into a corner and enjoy the meal and I really wouldn’t get in anyone's way, thank you very much. She wasn’t buying. The irony, the irony. So I returned 48 hours later, dusty from tromping around the desert all day and hoping to score a decent meal before hitting the redeye home, when I see the man himself standing in front of his restaurant with a suit and a younger chef. I drooled for a few minutes, then threw modesty to the wind and introduced myself. Monsieur Robuchon complimented me on my pathetic French and then introduced me to his copains (who turned out to be the VP of food and beverage for the hotel and Philippe Braun, the chef in charge of L’Atelier) as if I was a long-lost buddy from his days in the resistance. I said I was there to dine at L’Atelier as soon as the doors opened and let him go on his merry way. Shortly after 5:30 another cute young thang tried to shunt me into a corner, but my new friend Philippe guided me to the center seat around the U-shaped bar that is L’Atelier’s signature. This format was considered quite revolutionary in Paris and Tokyo when Robuchon came out of retirement a few years ago to offer “casual” cuisine, but the idea of diners watching their food being cooked and even interacting with the wait staff is not new to Americans. I felt like I was sitting at an expensive diner counter. Small plates are not new here either, though the wait staff kept explaining them as if they were. That said, I’ve never eaten so well at a diner or tapas bar. It was perhaps the best, and most expensive, meal of my life. I splurged on the menu degustation, a multicourse offering of small plates for $85, and gave Pascal Bolduc, the Quebec-born sommelier, carte blanche to match me some wines. (For some reason, the restaurant does not offer flights of wines matched to the tasting menu.) For the sautéed foie gras with a citrus and apple sauce, he offered an “ice cider” from Quebec called “Neige,” made from apples frozen on the tree like grapes on the vine for ice wine. I may go to my grave believing this was the ultimate food-wine pairing. I’ll spare you a blow-by-blow, bite-by-bite account of my meal, except to say foie gras made three appearances overall and I may be spoiled forever for salmon. One can eat less expensively at L’Atelier by picking and choosing among the small plates (full entrées are quite expensive) and showing restraint with the wines. And while the “casual” concept may seem old-hat to American diners, the cuisine Robuchon is not to be missed. (L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev. There is also Joël Robuchon at The Mansion, which is really expensive and aims to recreate or reinvent Robuchon’s three-star cuisine. For more information, see www.mgmgrand.com .)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Gil Kulers DATE:11/01/2005 11:08:00 AM Cool beans for you, Dave. What was up with the salmon? Certainly it was not that lame farm-raised stuff. Was it? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Wilma DATE:12/01/2005 02:14:00 PM Dave - has anyone ever told you that you look like Dan Aykroyd?

Cheers!

Scott [i am not afraid] ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Wine Find: Two Brothers Syrah 2003, $9 DATE: 10/28/2005 10:10:00 AM ----- BODY:
The Two Brothers label burst upon the value wine scene three years ago, offering a bargain red from Chile with high quality and a philanthropic reason to buy it - the proceeds go to breast cancer research. The wine was a tribute by Alex and Eric Bartholomaus to their mother, Liliana, who succumbed to breast cancer, and was such an instant success that the brothers have contributed more than $500,000 to the cause through 2004, with another $250,000 projected for this year. Now they expand their line with the delightful 2003 Syrah from Colchagua Valley in Chile. It is soft and supple, instantly appealing with blueberry and cherry fruit and the telltale smoky flint of Chile. It lacks depth, but makes up for it with plenty of charm. Okay, so I'm a flirt.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: A Sauvignon World DATE: 10/13/2005 07:23:00 PM ----- BODY:
I love Sauvignon Blanc, a grape that never seems to get the respect it deserves. It lives in the shadow of Chardonnay, king of the market, and grapes such as Riesling that have regal status among wine writers, or grapes such as Gruner Veltliner that catch a trend and become a passing fad. This may be because Sauvignon Blanc lacks an iconic identity that defines the grape. Chardonnay = white Burgundy, Riesling = Germany. Even France is schizo when it comes to SB, with different styles in Loire and Bordeaux. Winemakers working with SB have no model to copy. Of course, this can be great for us, as we can experience the various ways SB can express itself around the world. I hope you'll follow my exploration of "A Sauvignon World" on WineReviewOnline, a new Web site devoted to finding the world's best wines. Two wines that I experienced for the first time in researching this column are from Sauvignon Republic, a new California-based negociant firm that aims to market Sauvignon Blanc from various regions around the world to showcase how it performs in various terroirs. Sauvignon Republic's first two releases are from California and New Zealand, arguably at opposite ends of the SB flavor spectrum. The 2004 Russian River Valley is just a tad high in alcohol, at more than 14%, but unlike many in that range it has fruit to match the heat - mango and creamy papaya flavors and a medium-long finish. The 2004 Marlborough has the grassy-vegetal flavors typical of New Zealand, but it shows admirable restraint in that it doesn't push these characteristics over the top. It also has great texture and body, which add complexity.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Blissful Matches DATE: 10/09/2005 02:26:00 PM ----- BODY:
I've enjoyed two especially good wine-food pairings recently in restaurants. At Zola on F St NW in DC, I winced at the thought of matching a red wine with prawns and gingered grits, as shellfish always seems to kill red wine for me. But on the advice of Ralph Rosenberg, Zola's beverage manager, I tried it with Schloss Gobelsburg 2001 St. Laurent from Austria (Terry Thiesse Selections). Quite similar to a Pinot Noir with its delicate floral nose, but with a smoky bacon note that also suggested Syrah, I was glad I wasn't asked to identify the wine blind. The palate was dominated by cherries, with a medium mouthfeel and long, delicate finish. It was a beautiful match, especially with the ginger in the grits, and it had the acidity to match the prawns. It was a more traditional pairing I enjoyed at Johnny's Half Shell on P St NW near Dupont Circle, as I enjoyed chef Ann Cashion's grilled scallops, squash and endive with a glass of Lucashof 2004 Riesling from the Pfalz (HB Wine Merchants, Manhasset NY). The wine was long, with apricot and passion fruit flavors and a stony, mineral finish. It contrasted beautifully with the sweetness and smokiness of the scallops and squash, and the bitterness of the endive.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: OOPS! When worlds collide ... DATE: 10/09/2005 01:00:00 PM ----- BODY:
Newsweek has been running wine notes from Wine Spectator, but the rarified air of wine snobdom may be too much for the news mag's plebeian journos. The October 10 issue ran this amusing correction: "Our Tip Sheet item on wine 'Uncorked: World Pinot Noir' (Sept. 26) listed the wrong price for the G. Roumier Bonnes Mares 2002. It is $120, not $12."
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: I'VE BEEN LAMPOONED IN THE WASHINGTON POST!!! DATE: 9/28/2005 09:40:00 PM ----- BODY:
There’s no such thing as bad publicity, right? It’s better to be talked about than not talked about, right? So they say. Anyway, imagine my surprise to find that I was singled out for ridicule in The Washington Post’s “Magazine Reader” column on Tuesday, September 27. The column was a hilarious send-up of the three new magazines that have suddenly debuted here in the Nation’s Capital to convince us that we are indeed a fashionable, luxurious city, rather than the “sleepy Southern backwater” that New York and The Washington Post want us to remain. The three magazines bear distinct similarities in format and style, which were skewered mercilessly by Peter Carlson, the Post’s magazine reviewer. Personally, I will vouch for the writing and editing of DC, the entrant from Modern Luxury Publications. It is edited by Ann McCarthy, formerly of Saveur, the best food magazine in the country, and features wine and food writing by … well … yours truly. The premiere issue of DC featured my column on corkage policies of DC restaurants. Not Pulitzer material, by any means. But here’s what Carlson singled out for ridicule: “DC's prose is equally memorable. Here, for instance, is a brief excerpt from Dave McIntyre's wine column: ‘You buy those exclusive and expensive wines for a reason, after all -- several reasons, really, including prestige, investment and tax write-offs for charity donations. And because you can. But be honest, you also buy them to drink.’ “Good point, Dave.” Now, that sounds pretty good. After all, I’ve taken his quote out of context, and he took mine out of context. So you don’t get the sense that “Good point, Dave,” really means, “Well, DUH!” Carlson obviously missed the point, which is pretty typical for the Post. Some people do buy expensive wines for reasons other than drinking. That may be hard to grasp for journos, a class (of which I consider myself one) for whom drinking is a raison d'etre. I can take this. After all, I've poked fun at other wine writers, even if I didn't spread their names over a major metropolitan daily. And as my wife said, there are two ways to get mentioned in the Style section: die and have an appreciation written about you, or live and be ridiculed. I can wait for appreciation. I’ll let you readers make up your own minds, if you care. Here’s my corkage piece the quote came from. And here’s the Post piece. I’ll just say that I’m proud to be writing for the magazine that is “100-percent Blitzer-free!”
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Domaine La Hitaire, Hors Saison, 2003, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne, $10 DATE: 8/06/2005 11:02:00 AM ----- BODY:
The label says this is 85% Sauvignon Blanc with the remainder Semillon, but its golden color and honeyed aromas and fruit suggest there’s some botrytis involved, or perhaps some Petit Manseng or Gros Manseng. Either way, this is an unconventional but delicious wine that should appeal to those who like Jurançon and other soft, flavorful whites from southwestern France. Alc. 12%. Imported by Robert Kacher Selections, Washington DC.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger johnalexander3827 DATE:9/25/2005 06:12:00 PM This post has been removed by a blog administrator. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Silverwing Riesling 2004, Adelaide Hills, Australia, $15 DATE: 8/06/2005 11:00:00 AM ----- BODY:
The coppery color suggests Pinot Gris, but this crisp, refreshing wine is pure Riesling, packed with citrus (especially lime zest) and perfumed with lemongrass and ginger. Medium bodied, with good complexity and “thrill factor.” Alc. 13%. Imported by The Country Vintner Inc., Oilville, VA.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Curses, Screwed Again! DATE: 8/02/2005 08:49:00 PM ----- BODY:
I’m a big fan of screwcaps, as you may know from reading Dave McIntyre’s WineLine. But am I the only one who finds Stelvins frustratingly hard to open? This most common type of screwcap is attached to the foil by a perforation that should separate with a good hard twist, but the foil always turns, too. I’m desperate to get the first sip of wine, but the darn thing spins under my fist and mocks me with a derision I’ve seldom suffered since high school. I try gripper pads and pliers to hold the foil or cap in place; sometimes these tactics work, but usually not. So I hand the bottle to my wife, who grips the cap with her super-secret-woman’s grasp and bingo! the damn thing’s open. More derision ensues, but at least now I have some wine to soothe my sense of inadequacy.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger RichardB DATE:8/03/2005 04:25:00 PM Dave,

I too am frustrated. I picked up one of my favourite wines, now under Stelvin, and it leaked. I took it back to the winery for replacement, and the new bottle also had a leaky cap. So I'm not doing cartwheels over screwcaps.


Regards,
Richard Best - The Frugal Oenophile ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger obillo DATE:8/08/2005 06:05:00 PM Jeez-louise, Dave. All this time I've been saying opening a Stelvin is like wringing the neck of a liberal democrat: easy, and fun, too! So here suddenly you and your blogger pal can't do it, putting a new spin on 'limp wristed.' Possibly you will have an easier time when you get to wines capped with Zorks (which have a pull-strip opening) or Alcoa's Vino-Lok (that's the Euro name; it's different here but I've forgotten it). Maybe the short, lightly crimped Global Cap (on R.H. Philips?) is for you. Good luck.
Obillo
PS: I will admit ti having a couple of recent Stelvins leave their sealer pads on the rim of the bottle, but it was no trouble to remove.

Guiullaume ----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Bridlewood Syrah 2001 Central Coast, $19 DATE: 7/22/2005 09:49:00 PM ----- BODY:
I don’t normally write unfavorable reviews, as there are so many good wines out there to bring to your attention. But this one intrigues me, and right now at least, I’d hate for you to spend nearly $20 on it. The aromatics are OK: some earthy berry fruit and American oak. But the wine is unique to my palate in that it is 14.8% alcohol and yet tastes underripe. The palate gives taut, green bean flavors, reedy and quite frankly unpleasant. However, I keep wanting to taste it again, as there seems to be potential here, should they be able to tame the alcohol while bringing out the fruit. Easy for me to say.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Direct Shipping: The Battle Joined DATE: 7/15/2005 04:07:00 PM ----- BODY:
Some new developments on the direct shipping front: Connecticut and New York have now enacted legislation allowing out-of-state wineries to ship directly to their residents. Louisiana went the other way, enacting a law prohibiting “native” wineries from acting as wholesalers, effectively robbing them of any ability to sell their wines without going through a distributor. Louisiana’s governor said she signed the bill to protect the state’s three-tier distribution system. All of these new laws were in reaction to the US Supreme Court’s recent decision. California’s Assembly is considering legislation allowing its wineries to ship out of state, according to a July 14 article in the Napa Valley Register. This perplexes me, as I thought they always could ship, at least to “reciprocal” states. The buzz here is that retailers are complaining because they are not included in the bill. They sense that the pro-direct shipping legislation sponsored by the lawmaker who represents Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties is actually a plot by wholesalers to limit direct shipping by excluding retailers. Got that? The battle is joined, my friends. Wineries and wholesalers are fighting over the “level playing field” mandated by the Supremes. This is now a zero-sum game, with one side winning and the other losing. Or 50 zero-sum games. Or 50 separate mixed metaphors, whatever. With the retailers getting involved, all three tiers may come tumbling down in a big alcohol-fueled rugby scrum. Sorry, that's redundant. This would seem like a battle for survival, the way they’re fighting it. Maybe it is. But I wonder how the consumer will fare? (Louisiana consumers do not have an advocate in the governor’s mansion, that’s obvious.) I’ve always wanted the ability to purchase wine directly from whatever source gives me the best deal, whether that’s a winery or a retailer. Even if I, humble Maryland resident that I am, someday get the right to purchase wine over the Web or phone and have it delivered to my door, I will still buy most of my wine from retailers. (Of course, given Maryland’s laws and distribution, I buy mostly in DC and Virginia, and so am technically violating limits on bringing alcohol across the state line every time I return home with a case or more.) Retailers – at least the ones I patronize – do a lot of the hard work for me: They research the wines, taste the wines, and evaluate their quality before they decide whether to take the business risk of stocking them. Most of the time, of course, they buy them from wholesalers, who do similar research, tasting and evaluation. These people are on our side – they want to sell us good wine. The three-tier system works, in that I can try a wine at the store or at home and evaluate it myself before deciding whether to buy. With direct shipping, I have to buy a case. That rules out experimentation, and wine lovers live to experiment. There will be times, however, when I can’t find a particular wine that I want to stock in my cellar. Or Joe’s Liquor Barn in Podunk has it cheaper than anywhere near me (and of course it would have to be considerably cheaper to justify the $36 per case shipping charge). Or maybe I want to call my friends at Bottles & Corks in Corning and have them put together a sampler case of Finger Lakes Rieslings for me. (Now there's experimentation!) At these times, I want the right to get on the phone and place my order. Who knows? I might even pour a sample for my favorite local retailers. That’s my two cents.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Mediterranean Bookends: Ribero del Duero and Beit Shemesh DATE: 7/13/2005 09:00:00 PM ----- BODY:
I recently had the opportunity to participate in two tastings of wines from either end of the Mediterranean. The first featured Spain’s Ribera del Duero, an area familiar to any U.S. wine enthusiast for its deep, massive Tempranillo wines. Ribera’s wines are extensively imported into the United States and highly sought after. The second tasting offered wines from Israel’s Beit Shemesh, a little-known wine area whose winemakers were in the States trolling for importers. What struck me most about the second tasting was how much the Israeli wines (which were predominantly Bordeaux varietals) resembled the Duero. There was the same inky color, ripe to overripe fruit (think prunes), high alcohol and high price tags. There was also considerable style and finesse. But I digress. The Ribera del Duero tasting featured Gerry Dawes, a wine writer who lives most of the time in Spain and is a noted expert on its wines. He spent much of his breath railing against “Parkerized” wines, which Dawes called “D.O. Monkton, Maryland,” for the home town of über-critc Robert Parker. Dawes complained of wine writers who follow Parker’s example and give “automatic” high scores to wines that are so dark you cannot see the bottom of the glass, high in alcohol, low in acidity and sappy-jammy-fruity-tootie. I found myself nodding in agreement until I looked in my glass and could not see the bottom, then nearly singed my nostrils on the alcohol fumes wafting from the wine. In fact, many of the 11 wines tasted that day displayed the exact characteristics that Dawes complained of, and most of them succeeded quite nicely, mind you. That’s because they had the fruit to back it up. Most wines made by that model don’t. Some of the Israeli winemakers at the second tasting were virtually shouting, “Try my wine! It’s not kosher!” This was puzzling to me, but I’m in the wrong demographic anyway. The wines ranged from interesting to delicious (all were expensive) and made me wonder what they could do with those vines if they can ever live in peace over there. Some of my favorites from these two tastings: From the Ribera del Duero: Valsardo 2001, $14. 100% Tempranillo. That wine party bore, Brett Barnyard, makes an appearance here, so this might not be for everyone. I liked its earthy nose with hints of leather and licorice, plus its bright cherry and plum fruit. Long finish. Brett was noisier as the party wore on. Hacienda el Monasterio 2001, $30, 75% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot. Deep color, meaty nose, deep dard fruit and some spice. Big oaky and intense (14.5% alcohol), but quite huge and lovely. Young – it needs 3-5 years. Viña Valdeuro 1998, $24, 100% Tempranillo. Meaty, berry some earthy flavors on an intriguing brandy nose. Sweet and lovely, long finish. Pago de los Capellanes ‘El Picón’ 1999, $Youdontwanttoknow, 100% Tempranillo. I’ll never be able to afford this wine, so I was glad to experience its aromas of pencil and dried orange peel, and the caress of its soft, voluptuous fruit on its loooooong finish …. Sigh. From Beit Shemesh: Flam Syrah 2003, $30. Spiked with 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, this offers classic Syrah olive-smoke flavors with Cabernet backbone. Winemaker Golan Flam also makes a nice Merlot Reserve 2003 ($45) that could pass for Bordeaux. Flam wines available at Wine for All in New York City. Ben Hanna, Shelem Cabernet-Merlot 2003, $n/a. A 50-50 blend with nice aromatics and currant flavors, though a tad pruny and overripe. Domaine du Castel “C” Blanc du Castel 2003, $32. A Chablis-style Chardonnay, quite good and rich. The Petit Castel 2003, $30, is 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a jammy nose and delicious spicy, brambly fruit. I did not care for the top-of-the-line Grand Vin 2002, which was port-like and hot.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: I Love NY! DATE: 6/27/2005 09:19:00 PM ----- BODY:
The New York legislature has seen the light! After 15 years of effort by the state’s wine industry, and just a little prodding by the US Supreme Court, the Empire State has enacted a law to allow interstate direct shipping of wine to consumers. Informed by the Supremes that its law allowing New York wineries to ship to consumers in state while banning shipments from California or elsewhere was unconstitutional, New York’s lawmakers did the honorable thing and opted for free trade. Regulated free trade, mind you, but free trade. New York, you will recall, was one of two states directly affected by the Supreme Court ruling. The other state, Michigan (State motto: “We’re not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.”) appears to be moving the other way, with state liquor authorities seeking legislation to ban all shipment. Such a move could gravely injure Michigan’s own wine industry just as it is beginning to gain national attention. New York’s law would allow wineries to ship up to 36 cases a year to a customer across state lines and allows shipments into New York from wineries in states that allow reciprocal shipment. Out-of-state wineries will require New York licenses, so there will be some deviltry in the details of regulation. But for now, New York's winemakers are ecstatic, and I have another reason to consider moving to a reciprocal state. (Get the point, Maryland?)
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: TN: Cousino-Macul 2004 Sauvignon Gris DATE: 6/19/2005 04:22:00 PM ----- BODY:
And here a more modest, though no less enjoyable, wine from Chile: Cousiño-Macul 2004 Sauvignon Gris, Maipo, Chile, $13: A relative of Sauvignon Blanc, this wine shows similar character in crisp, grapefruit flavors, but it also has fuller body and some herbal notes of thyme and especially fennel. Great with light foods or serious sipping (ie., you’ll want to talk about this wine) on the patio. Good value!
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Some Top Wines from South America DATE: 6/19/2005 04:03:00 PM ----- BODY:
My recent immersion in the wines of Chile and Argentina (see WineLine #52 and #53) has given me a greater appreciation for and understanding of the wines of South America, so I was eager to join in a tasting of top wines from both countries held recently at Café Atlanticó, Washington D.C.’s premier Latin American restaurant. The tasting was organized by the restaurant’s sommelier, Francisco Astudillo, who chose 14 of his favorites from both countries. Fran kept trying to draw me out during the evening as to which country I preferred, but that is such a difficult question to answer. Argentina offers Malbec of medium body, bright fruit, soft tannins and impressive complexity, perfect for medium-weight foods up to grilled steak, plus Cabernet Sauvignon of deeper character for richer meats and more robust flavors. They tend to be in a New World style, though *usually* without the high alcohol that defines today’s dull palates. Chile’s wines are perhaps a little more Old World in style, though the difference between the two countries is not dramatic. While Argentine wines emphasize fruit, Chile offers mineral and earth, including leafy, tobacco notes in Carmenère. Here are brief tasting notes of the 14 wines offered at “Fran’s Faves.” Concha y Toro Don Melchor 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile: Deep, blackberry, leather on the nose, meaty flavors with tar/flint mineral character and a soft, velvety, medium-long finish. Seña 2000, Cabernet Sauvignon, Aconcagua Valley, Chile: This wine is nearly dead, marred by horsy aromas and brett. Montes Alpha 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon: Textbook blackcurrant nose, cocoa, mint, very clean winemaking. Not so much tar/flint as Chile often gets. Bright fruit, good acidity. I liked it more than some of my tablemates did. Almaviva 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo, Chile: Tight and closed, not yet showing its potential. Tannic, one-dimensional and short. (See below for a much different and more favorable impression of other vintages.) Luca Malbec 2001, Mendoza, Argentina: Closed, not wanting to reveal itself. Light-bodied. Catena Alta 2001 Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina: Blueberry pie in a glass, elegant, rich bright fruit with medium body and a medium-long finish. Yacochuya 2000 Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina: Premier vintage from Michel Rolland, this clocked in at a whopping 16 percent alcohol (GREAT GOOGILY MOOGILY!) It was undrinkable. My tasting note: “Yuck.” Achaval Ferrer Finca Altamira 2001 Malbec, Argentina: First bottle was off; second taste showed bright delicious fruit with medium body and finish. Quite nice. Tikal 2002 Malbec, Argentina: Animal, wool, leather, beefy flavors. Sharp attack, wood treatment is too harsh for my taste. Morandé Golden Reserve 2001, Chile: A blend of Carignena, Cabernet Franc and Merlot from an area in southern Chile off the beaten track and near the Pacific Ocean, with an intriguing nose, lavender, thyme, and sea air. Flavors are rich and bright, with dried orange peel, cherry, plum. Gorgeous! Casa Lapostolle, Clos Apalta 2002, Chile: Graphite, flint, wet stone, rainwater, flavors of toffee, blackberry. A bit sharp on the tannin but the finish is long and soft. A beautiful effort in a vintage that was not the greatest. Caro 2001, Mendoza, Argentina: Two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, the rest Malbec, with beef, blueberry, stone and orange peel. Rich, long and delicious. Montes Folly Syrah 2002, Chile: Rich, a bit hot, spicy oaky/tannic. Somewhat harsh on the attack, it mellows nicely on the finish. Nicolas Catena Zapata 2001, Mendoza, Argentina: Animal, leather, wool, meat and berry notes, elegant texture and long, complex finish. A week later I was back at Café Atlanticó for a wine dinner featuring Almaviva, the joint venture between Concha y Toro and Mouton-Rothschild. Winemaker Tod Victor Mostero presented three vintages, 1997, 1999 and 2001. While I was not enamored of the 2002 in the earlier tasting, sampling these three vintages together gave an opportunity to gauge how the wine develops over time to reveal its inner character. We went from oldest to youngest, which made sense given the 2001 was pretty massive and its tannins could have clouded our palates for the more developed 1997. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (about 70%), Carmenère and Cabernet Franc, with the exact proportions of each changing with the vintage. The 1997 had expressive aromas of green olive, tea, blackberry and flint. At first, I thought the fruit had faded too much in favor of wood spice, clove, cardamom, etc. However, as the evening wore on, this wine developed further in the glass, displaying pomander qualities (dried orange, clove), with more texture and elegance. Delicious. The 1999 had similar character but was less expressive, more fruit, and a bit harsh on the attack. I was a minority opinion on this at my table, however. The 2001 nudged out the 1997 for my favorite of the evening, with its beefy nose, cola, vanilla syrup and strawberry notes and palate of blackcurrant, toffee and soft tannins on its long, complex finish. I’ll be honest though – I may have preferred this over the ’97 simply because I’m used to drinking young wines.
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: A Not-So-Supreme Victory DATE: 6/04/2005 11:05:00 AM ----- BODY:
The phrase “Supreme Court ruling” carries a sense of finality about it, the idea that the wisest jurors in the land have decided important issues and instructed us lesser mortals how to behave. Last month’s high court ruling on interstate wine shipping, however, carried no such authority. The court’s gavel clobbered both sides with equal force, sort of a high-stakes game of “Whac-A-Mole.” Wine lovers who muttered “Commerce Clause” like a mantra and hoped the Court would grant us immediate rights to pick up the phone and have our favorite Cabernet delivered to our doors from the winery were naïve, despite the initial rush of media reports that hailed a victory for wine drinkers and small wineries. So were the wholesalers and political Philistines who put their faith in the 21st Amendment as trumping the Commerce Clause. The Commerce Clause means equality. The 21st Amendment means states’ rights. On the direct shipping issue, these two constitutional clauses contradict each other. But the Supreme Court could hardly declare the Constitution unconstitutional. Instead, the Court threw the debate back to the States, upholding the 21st Amendment. But they also decreed that state laws must be equal, thereby upholding the Commerce Clause. This threatens the viability of small wineries in states with farm winery laws, such as New York, Virginia or Michigan, where the wineries have benefited from favorable treatment on in-state markets. New York’s Governor George Pataki has introduced legislation to liberalize out-of-state shipments, while authorities in Michigan and Indiana are threatening to end all shipping altogether. Small wineries in California have little to lose and everything to gain as the direct shipping fight heats up again in state capitals. Small wineries elsewhere have much to lose, for even if they are allowed to maintain in-state privileges, they will now have to compete on a level playing field with their more famous rivals to the West. Be careful what you wish for ...
----- -------- AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Welcome DATE: 6/03/2005 10:23:00 PM ----- BODY:
Thanks for visiting "Dave McIntyre's WineBLAHG," a totally experimental adjunct to my e-newsletter, "Dave McIntyre's WineLine." Here I'll supplement WineLine with additional tasting notes, short restaurant reviews, reports on wine tastings or other events. As always, I invite your comments and urge you to check out my Web page at dmwineline.com .
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