Fondue! (and the wine that goes with it)

In an a rare moment of retro chic, I bought a fondue pot. We had one growing up. It was that burnt orange color so common in the early 70s (or at least that's how I remember it). As the years went by, the regular presence of a flame underneath discolored the burnt orange to something more like burnt umber. There were forks with wooden handles and colored discs at the end. Why the forks deserved color-coding I never understood. It's not like you left them around--you were too busy spearing bread chunks with them!

My excuse for this purchase was the two bottles of wine already in my cellar that came from France's Savoie region. One, a red--the 2007 Charles Trosset Vin de Savoie Arbin L’Expression de Terroir-- came from Garagiste and cost around $24. Sadly, it's not available anywhere now but it was delicious. The other, a white, is available for under $15. Once you add the fondue pot, these turned out to be pretty expensive bottles of wine. However, if you already have the fondue pot then the white was an especially good bargain!

The 2009 André et Michel Quenard Vin de Savoie Les Abymes is purity in a bottle. (purchased for $14.99 from domaineLA; available in the market for $11-$15). Made from the region's own Jacquère grape, it is THE wine that goes with the region's trademark cheese fondue. Clean mineral, mint, and stone aromas remind me of snow--or at least that highly-oxygenated sense of cleanness you feel when you are tromping around in freshly fallen flakes. There's more of the same crisp cleanness in the flavors, accented with a creamy lemon note. It is a great white for cheese, and appealing because of its clarity and lightness. Excellent QPR for a wine that delivers a lot of adventure and refreshment for relatively little money.

The obvious thing to have with a white wine from Savoie is fondue. I used this recipe from Saveur, which produced a nutty, fragrant, and gooey dinner that took me back to my childhood (don't omit the Kirsch, and don't use pre-ground nutmeg!). In addition to cubes of bread I sliced some apples for dipping into the cheese, and we gobbled them up, too. With all that cheese, you really need a clean wine and the little licks of citrus and stone were a bright, welcome note.

No fondue pot and no plans to repossess the one in your parents' basement or garage? This wine would also be excellent with delicate fish, shellfish, or just sipping on while you serve some cheese and crackers before dinner.

Yes, I Bought It Because of the Name...

There are many reasons to buy wine. You like the producer. You like the grape. You like the label. You like the designation--like the time last year I splurged wildly and bought a wine simply because it was the "Plague Doctor's Cuvee."

And yes, sometimes you buy it because of the name of the vineyard. Because with a name like "Jurassic Park" it has to be good, right?

Thankfully, the answer is yes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2008 Field Recordings Wine Chenin Blanc Jurassic Park Vineyard (domaineLA, $15; available elsewhere for the same price) This lovely, unfiltered Chenin Blanc was a touch cloudy in the glass. It had pronounced aromas and flavors of lemon curd, touched with mineral notes and a bit of freshly mown hay. The overall impression was a well-balanced mix of citrus, stone, and grass that was refreshing and impressive for the price. Excellent QPR.

(And the label isn't half bad, either...)

A wine with this much balance can handle almost any food. We are drowning in Thai basil at the moment, and so made some Thai-influenced grilled chicken breasts. The strong herbal flavors were a nice counterpoint to the lemony aspects of this wine, and picked up the grassy notes, too.

Bored With White Wine? Give a New Grape a Try

It's easy to fall into a wine rut. I love Sauvignon Blanc, but there are times when I just want something different, something I don't drink every day. Same thing with Riesling. Love it to bits, but there are times when I'm not sure I can bring myself to open another bottle.

If you're looking for something new--something that is dry, but not the same old/same old, look for a bottle of the 2008 Schloß Mühlenhof Müller-Thurgau Trocken. ($13.50, domaineLA; available for $11-$14 elsewhere) This dry wine from Germany's Rheinhessen region is like a cross between a Sauvignon Blanc and a Riesling. The grape was created in the late 19th century from a cross of Riesling and a grape called Madeleine Royale (a seedling of the Swiss Chasselas variety). Though the wines made with this grape can be sweet, this is a dry example, and will please people who like their whites to have fruit flavors, but exercise a bit of restraint. It has white nectarine and green apple aromas and flavors, as well as a hint of dry pineapple (I know, but that's what it tastes like) in the aftertaste.

This simple, pleasant wine is very good QPR and a nice change of pace. So if you're bored with white wine, don't get stuck. Just get out there and find something new to tempt your tastebuds.

Putting Some Sparkle in the End of the Week

Sparkling wine is one of life's greatest pleasures. Regular readers know how fond I am of wine with bubbles in it, and I'm always on the lookout for new ways to bring some into the house without breaking the bank.

So when Jill at domaineLA mentioned she had a new sparkling Riesling on the shelves, I decided to give it a try.

The 2008 Reichsrat Von Buhl Riesling Brut [Sekt] is a dry wine with piercing apple aromas and hints of petroleum around the edges which is characteristic of Rieslings from this part of the world. Abundant yet fine bead gives the wine a nice texture that is lively without being harsh or raspy. You will find flavors of yeast, bread dough, and apple as you sip and the aftertaste left in your mouth will draw you back for more. A fun sparkler for $25, with lots of class and very good QPR.

I think you could easily open this bottle when you are tempted to splurge on a French champagne, given its classic flavor profile.

A Dry Spanish Sparkler for Champagne Lovers

If you think all Cava is fruity, perfectly enjoyable, but not too interesting--think again. (image from the great LA Food blog, Food She Thought, where you can also read another review of this wine)

I had a great bottle of Cava lately, and it made me realize I just don't know that much about the stuff other than it's from Spain, has bubbles, and is usually affordable.

The wine was the German Gilabert Brut Nature Reserva (domaineLA, $14.99; available elsewhere for $14-$15). This interesting Cava had a price point under $15 and an aromatic profile like Champagne: yeast, lemon pith, and mineral notes. It is dry--and I do mean dry--with no sugar added (the technical term is dosage). Bright, intense lemon and bread dough flavors are accented by a bit of stoniness in the aftertaste. Fine, abundant, active bubbles make for a very fresh, brisk feeling in the mouth, although the overall impression is rather creamy despite the dryness.

If tasted blind, I think that most would think it was a French sparkler, perhaps an inexpensive Champagne. And if you like very dry sparkling wine but have steered clear of Cava in the past fearing it might be too fruit-forward for your tastes, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by this.

Vinho Verde--Just Because

Just because it's Monday...
Just because you got paid this weekend...
Just because you feel like fish tacos for dinner...
Just because you have some roasted cashews or almonds...
Just because you're trying to stay out of your kid's candy stash...

Vinho Verde.

It's not profound. It's not prestigious. It's not something you see on every restaurant wine list.

But it is perfect for those "just because" days when you have no plans, nothing much to celebrate, and want to drink an interesting wine anyway.

Try this one on for size: the 2008 Trajarinho Vinho Verde ($9.99, domaineLA; $8-$10 elsewhere) It's light, fun, zippy--everything Portuguese Vinho Verde is supposed to be! You'll discover citrus, mineral, and herb notes in the aromas and flavors, along with a bit of yeastiness. You may also sense a spritz on your tongue, which is normal for Vinho Verde, as is its 11% alc/vol. And for under $10 it represents excellent QPR.

There's a New Wine Store In Town: domaineLA

When one of your favorite online retailers opens up a bricks-and-mortar outfit in the town where you live, it's cause for celebration.

domaine547, which has been my regular source for unusual--and affordable--bottles of wine has opened the doors of domaineLA. On chic Melrose Avenue, in one of LA's ubiquitous strip malls, is a new wine store that offers way more than the bottles of wine you see in every other urban wine emporium.

The palate behind the store's selection is Jill Bernheimer, who has been blogging, twittering, and selling wine online for a while now. I like Jill's palate, and trust her recommendations--so much so that she's really the only person I buy sparkling wine from any more, whether its affordable Cava or splurge-worthy Champagne. And I appreciate her efforts to go beyond the normal Cabernet/Chardonnay shuffle and stock wines made from grapes like Poulsard and Assyrtico.

domaineLA is a cool space, with fantastic post-modern grape lighting, a central seating area that feels like a lounge with wine books to leaf through, and a running strip of chalkboard where Jill posts messages and recommendations. There's even a computer in the corner where you can check out wine ratings ("if you must," Jill says).

I bought a case of wine while I was there. As always, I appreciated the time and the good advice that Jill gave me based on what I was looking for and what she knew I'd liked previously. This is the kind of relationship that everyone hopes they can have with a retailer--and all I can say is it really makes a difference.

So what did I buy? I indulged in a 2005 Stéphane Tissot Poulsard Arbois Sans Soufre ($26), a and a N.V. Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Cuvée St. Anne ($45). I got great deals on a 2008 Trajarinho Vinho Verde from the "Wall of Affordable Delicousness" ($9.99), the 2008 Masia del Bielsa Garnacha Campo de Borja Viñas Viejas ($10), and the Charles Syrah Volume II Talcott Vineyard ($10). And I walked on the wild side with a 2008 Mercouri Estate Kallisto ($19.99), a dry 2007 Viñedos de Ithaca Priorat Odysseus Pedro Ximénez ($20), and the 2008 Ludwig Winery Gewürztraminer Dry Single Vineyard Selection ($13.50). Anybody out there had a dry PX before? Me neither!

If you are in LA, check out this great new store. It's worth the trip to replenish your stash of exciting, drinkable wines.

domaineLA is located at 6801 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038 (323) 932-0280

A Zaftig Sparkling Wine

There are many, many styles of sparkling wine out there to bewitch and delight us.

Some are light and graceful sparklers that remind me of ballerinas dancing Swan Lake in foamy tutus. Some are fizzy, dry sparklers that remind me of a worldly jazz musician playing the piano. And some are rich, zaftig sparklers that remind me of an opera diva in a velvet gown hitting a high note.

This wine falls into the final category. It is rich, robust, zaftig, complex--just like a diva should be. And it costs just under $20, which makes it excellent QPR.

Don't let the pale salmon color of the NV Domaine des Roches Crémant de Bourgogne fool you. ($19.99, domaineLA; available elsewhere for $15-$23). Or the faint aromas of mineral, dough, and strawberries. Focus instead on the very active bead and the full-bodied, dry flavors of strawberry and toast. This is well worth the $20, and unusually sophisticated for a Crémant de Bourgogne.

I feel a song coming on...