Have You Tried Chenin Blanc Lately?

Chenin Blanc is one of those grapes.

You know the grapes I mean. They're the ones that you think you know because once upon a time someone poured you someting out of a giant jug that said it was Chenin Blanc. It was awful, and you've never touched the stuff since.

It's time to try it again.

There are some great value Chenin Blancs in the market right now.

Why should you try Chenin Blanc? Here are three reasons. First, they are versatile food wines because they have good acidity and a slightly off-dry personality that makes them go as well with roast chicken as they do with Kung Pao chicken. Second, they are great values because everybody's bad experiences with Chenin Blanc has made them head straight for the Chardonnay. The result? Chenin Blancs deliver excellent QPR. And third, Chenin Blanc is grown throughout the world. What this means is that you can find Chenin Blanc from almost any region, and at almost any pricepoint.

Today, I'm focusing on two new releases of Chenin Blanc--one from the US and one from South Africa. Both are excellent QPR choices, that deliver abundant varietal characteristics at a very attractive price. And both are widely available.

The first is the 2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc from Clarksburg. I received this as a sample, but you should be able to find it near you for between $9 and $14. The wine had honeyed melon aromas that were rich and enticing without being heavy or cloying. These aromas gave the wine a sweet impression, but flavor-wise it as dry and crisp with Meyer lemons, melon, and herb notes. What most impressed me about this wine was that it continued to open up and develop in the glass over the course of our evening. Sometimes it seemed more melony, then the herbs would kick in and surprise you. We enjoyed this with spicy food, and I would particularly recommend it to those of you who are looking for something to go with Indian or Southeast Asian food.

The second wine I enjoyed was the 2008 Sebeka Chenin Blanc from South Africa. This was also a sample, but near you expect to pay between $5 and $9. This snappy Chenin Blanc had lots of pineapple and tropical fruit flavors and aromas. The intensity of the fruit was kept in balance by lots of acidity, and the wine left a slightly sweet impression in your mouth. This bottle we popped open to enjoy with fish tacos and mango salsa and it was excellent. But it would also be a terrific choice if you were just looking for a refreshing white wine to serve to friends before dinner.

These days most of us are looking for ways to stretch our money a little bit further without sacrificing great taste. Here are two wines that will enable you to do just that. Give Chenin Blanc a try, even if you swore off the stuff in 1982. It really is time to give it a second chance.

Wine Book Club and Wine Blogging Wednesday News

Just a few news updates today, so get out your calendars and mark down these online wine blogging events.

First, on Tuesday, October 28, we'll have the Back to School/Politics 5th edition of the Wine Book Club. Join in as bloggers and readers throughout the blogosphere review and discuss Tyler Colman's new book, Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wine We Drink (University of California Press; $18.15 through Amazon) You may know Tyler Colman as Dr. Vino, who is hands down the best wine blogger out there. But the reason to read this book is not just that he's a wine blogger--he's an expert on this subject, and I can say (halfway through the book) that his writing is every bit as engaging and provocative here as it is on his blog.

It's easy to take part--get yourself a book, read it, and join in the conversation by posting a review on your own wine, food or book blog. You can also chime in the comments here at GWU$20 or any other site taking part. Or, you can post reviews on our sites at the Wine Book Club and Shelfari. For more details, check out my announcement post.

If you are a food, wine, or book blogger, I could use your help to post a reminder about this event. Participation has really dropped off since our bang-up start in January.

In other news, the theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday #51 has been announced by our host, Joe the #1 Wine Dude. The theme involves dessert wines, and Joe would like us to find something "baked"--as in Madeirized. In Madeirized wines have been intentionally oxidized to make them brown and nutty. Because they can be hard to find (except in Hungarian and Iberian bottlings) Joe has expanded "baked" wines to include wines that have been fortified (like sherries, ports, etc.) Reviews are due on November 12, and should give us all great ideas on what to serve for holiday dinners throughout the depths of winter. Here at GWU$20 you can look forward to some reviews of rare sherries that I tasted as a guest of Bodegas Osborne this summer, as well as a dessert idea using a "baked" wine.

Have a good week everybody, and see you back here tomorrow with a new white wine review--actually, two!

Umbrian Merlot--Even Miles Would Approve of This

Merlot has really been kicked around the block since Sideways. In spite of the fact that Miles downs a considerable amount of Merlot in a fast food restaurant at the end of the film, large numbers of people now refuse to drink Merlot on general principle.

This is good news for you and me. Because Merlot can be fabulous. Not everybody makes their Merlot grapes into blackberry jam. Some actually make it into wine. And because of the dip in demand, there is some great Merlot out there in the market that is priced to sell.

I just had an Umbrian example of Merlot, and it was fantastic--and it in no way resembled a simple, over-oaked fruit bomb or a breakfast spread. Instead, the 2004 Falesco Pesano Merlot was an excellent QPR steal for just under $12. I purchased the bottle back before this blog was born in early July 2006 for $11.99 at Costco. A quick search on Vinquire revealed that if you want a bottle of the stuff now, you can expect to pay $25.99 at the one retailer who sells it online. More recent vintages can be had for between $11.99 and $16.99 in case you want to try your luck.

What did I experience when I pulled the cork? The first thing I smelled was fresh-ground coffee. Yes, not a breakfast spread, but a breakfast drink. This was followed by another breakfast smell: bacon fat. The combination was enticing and mouth-watering. In the flavors, I tasted cherry, blackberry, and more coffee bean. There was a smoky aftertaste that was quite distinctive. This was a lot of wine for $12 and I think that it probably benefited from the 2+ years that it received in my various storage spaces. We had it with meatloaf and potatoes, which was a perfect pairing for the meaty and smoky flavors in the wine, but you could just as easily pair this with a roast or stew. Yes, you could have it with an In 'n Out Burger if you must be like Miles.

One of the wine mags gave this an 89, which in my opinion is just plain silliness. This wine was distinctive, widely available when it was released, and worth every penny that it cost and then some. If the more recent versions of this wine are anywhere near this good (and CellarTracker reviews of the 2005 vintage suggest it is) then you should grab this if you see it. You're in for a real treat.

Today on Serious Grape: Wine and Business Travel

Do you travel for business? I do, and I've been doing it a lot lately. (photo of the bar at McCormick & Schmick's at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel by Paul Keleher)

Eating on the road is a challenge, but managing to get a good glass of wine with your meal sometimes seems impossible.

This week on Serious Grape, my regular column on the food site Serious Eats, I talk about my strategies for achieving something resembling normalcy when I'm dining alone on the road. We're not talking client dinners here--we're talking the nights when you don't have a client to meet and you are in desperate need of something restorative. For me that means interesting, fresh food and a glass of wine with dinner.

Head over there and let me know what you think of how I deal with this challenge. Even better, let me and other readers know what your pet peeves are about wining and dining while traveling and how you cope with them.

October in Umbria

In the eastern shadows of the better-known region of Tuscany there is a land of slanting sunlight, protected by hills and mountains, called Umbria. (photo of the Chiesa di Sant'Angelo by seier+seier+seier)

There you will find Assisi, where the troubadour-warrior-theologian St. Francis had his miraculous vision which led him to found the Franciscan order. Here too is Perugia, home to the Renaissance artist Perugino who somehow managed to capture the soft light of the region in every canvas he ever painted. And of course there's the fortress-city of Orvieto, where Pope Clement VII tried to escape the clutches of Charles V after Rome was sacked in 1527.

You will also find wonderful wine. (photo of a vineyard in Montone by rdesai) This month, I'll be exploring the wine of the region, and finding out more about how the magic of Umbria works its way into the soil and the grapes to produce great bottlings made with both native and international grapes. Umbria has some big producers (most notably Falesco, who has a base of operations here as well as in Lazio), but the tradition of small, family-owned wineries and vineyards has also been preserved. Today, many of these smaller wineries specialize in cultivating the region's traditional grapes like Grechetto, Sagrantino, and Canaiolo Bianco.

Just as the region is known for its love of traditional wines, Umbria is also known for its traditional approch to food. It's one of the few regions of Italy that is completely landlocked, which means that the food of the region runs heavily towards meat, cheeses, and fresh-water fish such as trout. A special breed of cattle, Chianina, is raised outside Perugia which makes beef from this area out of this world in terms of flavor and texture. Wild boar sausage is a specialtyof Umbria, too, and the area abounds in fresh game, truffles, and a distinctively-flavored prosciutto. All of this hearty, flavorful food goes beautifully with the region's simple, pure wines. (photo of an Umbrian salumeria by rdesai)

Can you tell I love Umbria? I do. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth in my opinion.

I'm looking forward to highlighting some of their excellent, affordable wines this month. I've got a bottle from Falesco, something from Assisi, and a traditional white, too. Do you have any recommendations for can't-miss wines from Umbria? If so, leave them in the comments below. And if you can find a wine from Umbria, why not join in and let us know how you liked it? (photo Perugia: arca tra le ombre by gaspa)