Today on Serious Grape: Chardonnay 101

If you are tired of drinking Chardonnays that don't taste the way you want them to, it's time to ask yourself if you have passed Chardonnay 101.

Today on Serious Grape, my weekly column on Serious Eats, I cover the basics of how to read a Chardonnay label. Included are discussions of how to figure out from the alcohol level, malolactic fermentation, and oak used in making the wine whether you are likely to enjoy it or not. Plus, there are mini reviews of five Chardonnays under $20.

Click on over and check it out, especially if you are looking for some nice white wine options for the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays.

Of course, there's a lot more to Chardonnay than just alcohol, malolactic fermentation, and oak--but that's for a more advanced class!

WILL DRIVE FOR WINE!

Today, Good Wine Under $20 is joining up with friend and partner in wine, Jill from domaine547, and we're hitting the road. (photo by Kevin Hutchinson)

It's been a while since either of us have been on a road trip, but today we're off to Paso Robles to visit Tablas Creek and other great wineries, and then to Sonoma to participate in the first ever US Wine Bloggers Conference. We'll be covering the state from LA to Santa Rosa, so wish us luck as we take the old Camry Hybrid out for a spin.

We expect to taste a lot of good wine, take some pictures, and be back on Sunday with lots of news to report.

Tomorrow's Serious Grape post will be up as usual, but please be patient if I don't respond to comments for a few days.

Spanish Wine: It's Synonymous with "Value"

If you're looking for value wines these days, I have one question for you: are you looking in the Spanish section?

When I was in Spain, I was struck over and over by the way the wines of the region were simple and straightforward in the best sense. First, Spanish wines represent great, great value. Second, they're food friendly. They go with the kinds of meals that we eat these days because even the reds are fresh and flavorful. And finally, they celebrate local flavors by growing indigenous grapes.

My latest Spanish wine, the 2006 Vionta Albariño Rías Baixas, exemplifies what I love about wines from the Iberian peninsula. (sample; you should be able to find it near you for $10-$25). It's got great taste, great value, and it's made from the native Albariño grape. This excellent QPR wine had a beautiful gold color. I smelled autumnal aromas of super-ripe apples and juicy pears. The apples continued on through the flavors, and there was a slighlty honeyed note as if wedges of Golden Delicious apples had been dipped in warm Clover honey. The wine left a juicy aftertaste in your mouth, and because of the excellent acidity it never got cloying or heavy.

We had our Albariño with some delicious homemade fish tacos with a lime-cilantro sauce that really paired nicely with the fresh apple and honeyed flavors of the wine. And the wine's juicy acidity handled all the different spices just perfectly.

This wine has a huge price swing depending on where you pick it up, but it is widely available. My parents found it in their local PLCB store, and all I can say is if you can find it in Pennsylvania, you can probably find it anywhere. If you can get this for less than $15 (which seems to be the average price point), I think you'll be very pleased with your purchase.

So if you're looking for wine bargains, don't forget to look in the Spanish section. And feel free to leave your latest Spanish wine tips in the comments below.

An Affordable, Stylish Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

It will come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog regularly that I love Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. I love its style, its class, and the way that the cool growing temperatures seem to give the wines a depth and complexity that make them wonderful dinner companions.

I don't drink as much Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir as I would like to, however, because wines from this region--especially wines made with the world's most finicky grape--can cost a pretty penny. So it's always a great discovery when I find a Pinot Noir that has all the good taste I crave and excellent QPR as well.

Just in time for the holidays, I've found such a wine: the 2006 MacMurray Ranch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. I received this as a sample, but you should be able to find it in most places for between $12 and $20. MacMurray Ranch was purchased in 1941 by Hollywood actor Fred MacMurray, and today Australian-born Susan Doyle sees her role as winemaker as one that depends on a combination of science and art.

The results of this combination, if this bottle is any indication, are excellent. This was a superb Pinot Noir for the price. It had lovely aromas of spice, cherry and raspberry fruit, and flowers. These were enticing, and made you want to swirl and sniff for a good, long time before you even took your first sip. When you did, you were struck by flavors of high toned black cherry, allspice, and fresh-baked raspberry cobbler. The wine had a surprising depth as it went over your tongue, so if you like your Pinots to have nice body and good balance, you will like this wine. Even though the wine was full of fruit flavors, there was a nice silkiness of texture--which for me is one of the real delights in drinking a well-made Pinot Noir. The whole experience was rounded up with a spicy aftertaste that was mouthwatering and only made you want more.

If you see this wine for under $20 it's a steal, and I highly recommend that you buy it and keep it on hand for when you're serving soups, stews, anything with mushrooms, or pork dishes this autumn. Pinot Noir is one of the world's most versatile food grapes, so there is almost nothing this wine wouldn't go with--including turkey if you are looking for a red wine for Thanksgiving.

In a world full of overpriced Pinot Noir that often doesn't deliver in the taste department (even if it does cost a lot), it's a joy to drink such an affordable, well-made, and classy Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

Today on Serious Grape: Wines for Halloween

It's that time of year--when the ghosts, goblins, witches, and vampires come out to play. But why should the kids have all the fun?

This week on Serious Grape, my weekly column on the food site Serious Eats, I suggest six wines that will set the right mood for whatever grown-up fun you've got planned.

All six wines taste great, and represent great value. The most important thing, though, is that all six of the wines come complete with Halloween costumes, as the labels above indicate.

From the Beaujolais to Calaveras County, from the Rhone to Lodi, and from the hills of California to the mountains of Oregon, I've got a Halloween wine that you'll want to drink and serve. Click on over and check my recommendations, and if I've missed a Halloween-appropriate label be sure to leave your suggestions in the comments.