Thoughts on Turning 100: There Are a Lot More Grapes Out There

I'm on the road on a business trip, and a friend offered to make me dinner last night. For those of you who travel as part of work, you know that this is like receiving manna from heaven. A night in someone's house, with fresh hot food, and lots of conversation--who could ask anything more, after an endless succession of Starbucks, uninspiring breakfast buffets, and room-service Caesar salads.

I went into a local wine store here in beautiful downtown New Haven (The Wine Thief, for those of you who know the place), talked to an extremely helpful person in the store, and ended up with an Italian wine to go with dinner that was made with a variety I've never had. (Of course, it cost $20. I may be on the road, but I haven't lost my center of gravity!)

The subtext for my purchase was this: I finally made it into the Wine Century Club, and there are still more grape varieties out there waiting to be discovered.

The wine we had was a 2003 Librando Duca Sanfelice Riserva, and it was made with Gaglioppo grapes from Calabria. You might be able to find this wine near you for between $15 and $18. It was a kind of brickish garnet in color, and paler in color than many of the Italian reds that you might be familiar with. It smelled like cherries and truffles (which was excellent, since we were eating risotto with saffron and morel mushrooms) and had a medium, dry body. There were whiffs of tobacco leaf in the aftertaste, which persisted until you took the next sip. The wine was a bit old fashioned, elegant, and streamlined, like an Italian countess of a certain age, and it was terrific with food.

This got me thinking about my experiences in the Wine Century Club, of which I am an official new member. First, I think that trying to reach 100 varieties made me fully realize what a wide range of flavors and textures there are in the wine world, and how easy it is to get into a rut where you only have your tried-and-true favorites. There's nothing wrong with favorites, of course--they're your old friends, and for good reason since they're trusty, faithful, and comfortable. But sometimes something new is just right.

Second, when you try a new variety like Gaglioppo, you can't help but make comparisons between it and other, more familiar grapes. As I sipped my Gaglioppo I wondered how I would describe it. Is it like Pinot? Like Pinot with a dash of Sangiovese? What about those truffle notes? These comparisons are helpful, but ultimately you end up realizing that Gaglioppo is just exactly like Gaglioppo. Nothing else is quite the same. If you like Pinot or Sangiovese, however, I think you should try Gaglioppo at the first opportunity because you will probably love it.

Finally, I don't think I would have chosen the Gaglioppo over the more familiar Chiantis at the wine store if not for my experiences with the Wine Century Club. I am a greater risk taker when it comes to my wine choices. And that's a good thing. A little bit of risk every now and then keeps life interesting, and keeps your wine knowledge and appreciation growing.

After 101 varieties, I am reminded once again that one of the reasons I love wine is that there is always more to know.

Another Great Oregon Riesling

A few months ago, Jeff from Good Grape pulled together a blogger's 3-pack of Oregon wines with domaine547. Jeff promised us a trip to Alsace via Oregon with every sip of these wines. I just opened up my second bottle from the pack, and I think he's delivered so far. The two wines that I've had were both excellent , with distinctive flavors and an attractive price point.

The bottle I'm going to focus on today is the one in the far right of the picture: the 2005 Amity Riesling. (purchased as part of a 3-pack from domaine547 for $52.99; the winery is now sold out) Made in the Willamette Valley by Myron Redford, just 100 cases of this beauty were produced. There were pronounced floral, honeysuckle, and orange blossom aromas in this wine that suggested it would be decidedly off-dry when I sipped it. But the wine tasted drier than it smelled, with flavors of lemons and slate. There was a honeyed note in the finish, and a bit of a petrol aftertaste, which kept the wine interesting and engaging. I think it would be hard to find such a well-balanced, complex domestic Riesling for under $20--which this was--so this one earns excellent QPR.

This is the kind of wine that begs for spicier food. When you're eating something fiery, it's best to have a wine that's just a bit off-dry but not cloying. We had the Amity Riesling with a Goan Shrimp Curry from the cookbook American Masala by Suvir Suran. The recipe combined aromatic spices, coconut milk, shrimp, and peppers and the wine stood up to if nicely. (hint: if you can't find curry leaves near you, then you can use 2 bay leaves instead. It's not exactly the same, but it will do if you don't have a good Indian grocery nearby) The citrusy notes in the wine were particularly nice with the shrimp, and the floral flavors wafting up from the wine combined with the spices wafting up from the pot.

In a few weeks we'll be tasting Old World Rieslings for Wine Blogging Wednesday #45 with Tim Elliott of Winecast, and this wine definitely got me thinking ahead to that event. Rieslings are great food wines, they're lower in alcohol than most whites, and they are perfect for spring time, so go out and find yourself a Riesling. Even if you haven't liked them in the past, wines like this Amity Riesling are going to change your mind.

Learning About Grower Champagne

One of my 2008 resolutions was to get to know a bit more about Champagne, and specifically grower Champagne--the kind of bubbly that is made by growers rather than big Champagne houses such as Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon. If you are interested in grower Champagne, the De Long Wine Moment has a terrific article that will explain the difference between the big brands and the small producers, as well as give you an overview of how Champagne is made.

The Agraparts are a family of growers who have been cultivating the grapes, making the wine, and bottling their own Champagne since 1894. When the second winemaker in the family, August, died in 1996 at the age of 96, he attributed his long life to drinking a bottle of Champagne a day. Today the fourth generation is doing just what their predecessors did, and all of the grapes produced on the domaine go into their own Champagne.

The Champagne region is an area of small villages where Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier are grown. The grapes for this wine come from vineyards in seven different villages (hence the name "Les 7 Crus"): Avize, Oger, Oiry, Cramant, Avenay Val d'Or, Bergeres-les- Vertus, and Mardeuil. Each of these areas is known for particular characteristics, and the blending of grapes from each helps to make the wine complex and distinctive. Avize, for example, is known for the delicacy of its Chardonnay, while Cramant is known for producing wines with fabulous aromas and a caramel taste.

The NV Agrapart & Fils Les 7 Crus Brut Blanc de Blancs was a very good QPR example to start my adventures into grower Champagne. ($34.99, domaine547--but the new bottle has gone up a bit in price to $37.99). Made from 100% Chardonnay, the wine was pale straw in color, with lots of mousse or froth and abundant bead or bubbles when it is first opened. The aromas of warm brioche just out of the oven, fresh lemon zest, and apple welcome you into the glass, where your first sips reveal an open, almost lacy, texture. It was at this moment that I felt I could taste the grapes from Avize and Cramant. The yeasty, bready aromas become more concentrated in the flavors, where the apple turns towards tarter Granny Smith. I did get a slightly caramel, nutty edge to the aftertaste, as well. This wine had great complexity for a Champagne at this price point, and I found it far less assertive and lemony than most of the house style Champagnes I've been able to afford. That complexity may come from the fact that the Agraparts age their Champagne on the lees in the bottle for three years prior to disgorging, which takes place 2 months before the bottles are shipped.

I would definitely buy more of this Champagne, and keep it on hand for special occasions. Those special occasions would include days like today, i.e. Fridays. Yes, you're worth the splurge (especially if you filed taxes this week!)

If you have any other suggestions of grower Champagnes for me to try, please let me know in the comments section. I've got a lot to learn.

Taking the "Where?" Out of Buying Washington Wine

Does anyone else remember WBW #34? It was hosted by Catie, the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman and we were asked to find a Washington Cabernet to drink for the event. As a special request, Catie suggested we try to find something NOT made by Chateau Ste. Michelle--a great producer, to be sure, but she wanted us to experience a wider range of Washington State choices.

I went to four stores, came up empty, and ended up drinking Chateau Ste. Michelle. I'm all for Washington wines, but where are you supposed to find them in Southern California?

The Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman wants you to drink Washington wine. And to help you, she's opened up her own online wine store with a terrific choice of bottles to tempt your tastebuds. I had my first shopping experience with her just a few weeks ago, and though I haven't tried any of the wines yet, I wanted to urge you to go and see what Catie has on her virtual shelves.

I checked out with some Lemberger from College Cellars, an Austrian grape variety that is widely planted in Washington state. Also in my basket were a Sauvignon Blanc with a great story behind it from Couvillion, and a dessert wine from Forgeron made with Gewurztraminer. I bought six bottles in all (full haul pictured at left), and the best part was not a single bottle cost more than $20. For those of you who are interested in a splurge wine, I'd suggest you consider one of the great Washington Cabernets that Catie has in stock, from wineries such as Couvillion, DaMa, and Garrison Creek. Click here for details on all the wines that are available. If you spend more than $100, you will get a free Wild Walla Walla Woman corkscrew made by Rialto. I love mine--it's sturdy enough that I seriously considered using it for a small home improvement project, and it is compact enough to pack in your picnic basket this summer.

Thanks to Catie for providing those of us who don't live in Washington state with such a great resource for its wines. I'll be updating you on these bottles after they've settled down a bit from their shipping over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

An Aglianico from Molise

Behind this black and iridescent pink exterior is a wine that is quite extraordinary. It has quite a following, too, among merchants, bloggers, and readers. This may have to do with the wine's consistency--vintage to vintage people seem to find it rich and delicious. It certainly doesn't have to do with the Aglianico grapes that go into it, since Aglianico is pretty obscure here in the US. And the Molise region where the wines are grown is relatively untraveled, too, by American wine drinkers.

Maybe this wine is so popular because the unfamiliarity of the grapes and the region make it an unqualified steal when it comes to the price. I bought mine from Garagiste as a future some months back for $11.95. Now it's on the market for between $11 and $17. The 2004 Di Majo Norante Aglianico was a beautiful medium-dark garnet in color, although if you pour yourself a full glass expect it to look plummy purple. There were aromas of cherry and earth when the bottle was first opened, and the taste was a bit astringent and drying when I took the first sip and left an aftertaste like strong black tea. One of the readers here, Pat, suggested that I decant the wine first, and folks on CellarTracker seemed to agree, so I decanted it for a little over an hour and the wine had strikingly different aromas and flavors. Where before there had been cherry and earth, I now smelled blackberries, tea, and a whiff of roses. The flavors, too, had changed and now reminded me of blackberry tending towards blueberry--which is to say it tasted like huckleberries to me. There were also tea and sassafras notes, and a little minty lift in the aftertaste. This was a wine that was complex, easy to drink, and a great value--so I think it represented excellent QPR.

Aglianico is made for drinking with spicy Italian food, so think pepperoni pizza, sausage tossed with your favorite pasta, or something that uses a bit of chili pepper for heat. We had it with a slightly adapted version of Rachael Ray's gnocchi and chicken meatballs that uses lots of basil and fennel seeds, as well as some red pepper flakes, and the moderate spiciness of the food stood in interesting opposition to the clean huckleberry fruit and the herbal and tea notes in the wine. If you love spaghetti and meatballs but are trying to cut back on red meat, you will love these chicken meatballs every bit as much as the beefy originals.

Because this wine changed so much from opening to first sips, and because it was so affordable, I would be tempted to buy a case or half-case of this wine and drink it regularly over the next few years to watch it develop and change. It's lovely now, but I suspect it will continue to improve. I would buy this by the case and drink over the next 4 years. Thanks to Pat, the reader who recommended this wine to me, for suggesting I decant it. This wine is a great value--I highly recommend you try it, too.