Wine Book Club Reminders

It's time for a few Wine Book Club reminders. For those of you who don't know, the Wine Book Club was started in January 2008 to give wine bloggers and readers a chance to meet all those New Year Resolutions to read more/learn more about wine. It's also fun to review something that we can all share without shipping restrictions! Our first meeting hosted by David McDuff of McDuff's Food and Wine Trail was held in February, and two dozen bloggers and readers participated.

I'm hoping that we'll have as many if not more for our second edition, which will occur on April 29, just three weeks from today. Our host, Tim Elliott of Winecast, picked a fantastic book for the second edition. I've been reading it, and it's a winner. The book under discussion in a few weeks time will be Noble Rot: a Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson. The blend of history and present-day expose of politics and fashion is truly fascinating. I'm reading Samuel Pepys' diary at the moment, and chuckled when I saw Echikson quote his entry describing Haut Brion from April 10, 1663: "[I] drank a sort of French wine called Ho Bryan that has a good and most particular taste." Don't you wish we still used phonetic spelling for wine labels? Samuel Pepys would clearly have been a wine blogger if he were alive in 2008!

My second reminder has to do with keeping your eyes peeled for our latest "Spin the Bottle" review. Sometime in the next week or so, just as your resolution begins to fade, Russ Beebe the Winehiker will post his review of Wine Across America, a wonderful visual tour of wine throughout the United States. I'm looking forward to what this intrepid wine traveler has to say about the book and its contents.

Why not join us for the 2nd edition of the WBC? Visit your local bookstore, favorite online retailer, or library and join in the discussion. If you have a "Ho Bryan" to sip while reading Echikson, please let me know and I'll be right over to help you drain the bottle.

Not So Big Zinfandel

Quivira Vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley is a representative of what I recently called the Not So Big Wine Life. First they are champions of sustainability, receiving their Demeter Certification in 2005 which recognized their use of biodynamic viticultural protocols. They also received the 2008 Sonoma County Business Environmental Alliance's Best Practices Award for their organic agriculture, use of solar energy (you can see all the panels on the roof), and their efforts to make Wine Creek a safe habitat for fish once again.

Second, they also make a not so big Zinfandel: one that is slightly above 14% alcohol, has a good core of acidity, and reminds me of the reds that I drank when I was in my first job and didn't have much money to spend. Then you could get a very drinkable, food friendly Zin for under $10. To be completely fair, it was more than a decade ago. While those prices are getting harder to find, I'm happy to report that it is still possible to find a Zinfandel that doesn't taste like licking a spoon coated with jam, or hit you over the head with its power. The Quivira Dry Creek Zinfandel is not a small wine, but it is a wine that manages to retain a "human scale."

Quivira calls their Dry Creek Zinfandel a "melting pot" since it is made from fruit produced throughout the appellation. I think it's more like drinking history. The grapes that go into this wine represent a complete lesson in the Dry Creek Valley AVA. Some of the grapes come from the Standley Ranch's pre-Prohibition zinfandel vines. More come from Quivira's Wine Creek Ranch which has been producing fruit since the 1960s and is now certified organic and biodynamic. Remaining grapes come from Walt Dieden's Ranch and from Quivira's own Anderson Ranch vines, which are Heritage clones.

I really liked the 2004 Quivira Zinfandel. I bought this for $20 direct from the winery, which is now sold out of the wine. But it is still available for $18-23. The wine had enticing aromas of black cherry, allspice, and a cedary smell that reminded me of my mother's cedar chest. I liked the way the cherry aromas hung around and turned into the dominant flavor, accented by a rich and bitter taste of baker's chocolate and a shake of pepper. If you get a bottle, expect it to become smoother as it ages and to show more spicy notes of clove and cinnamon and a little less pepper. I think that the wine will continue to drink well over the next 12-18 months if not a bit longer. And, because this wine is very food-friendly and will go with everything from pizza to BBQ to a spicy chili without making a fuss, you won't have any trouble finding something to serve with it, whenever you choose to pop the cork.

This very good QPR Zinfandel feels and tastes old fashioned--maybe even historic--and restrained, just the way I like them now and and remember them way back when. Back when Zinfandels were not so big, but every bit as delicious.

Drink Wine, Save Water

Wine & Spirits magazine is coming to LA this May to unveil some of their critics' "Hot Picks" for 2008--the wines that stand out from a year's worth of wine tasting because of their accessibility, affordability, and delicious taste--and to celebrate some of the city's youngest sommeliers and wine experts.

For $75 you will be able to meet and mingle with some savvy people under 35 who are already making a name for themselves in LA's wine scene, and taste some of the wines that will be featured in the June 2008 issue of the magazine just as it's hitting the news-stands. The event will be held in the inspiring MODAA Gallery in Culver City, and since space is limited I'd advise you to book ahead.

Save the date (May 22, 2008, 7-10 pm), reserve tickets for you and your friends, and join me at this great event. A portion of the ticket sales will benefit the Surfrider Foundation, so you can drink delicious wine while supporting water conservation issues (something that should be on everyone's mind in Southern California).

Not in LA? The Wine & Spirits Drink Wine, Save Water event moves to Seattle's Paramount Theatre on June 24, 2008, so maybe you can catch them there.

I will be at the MODAA Gallery on May 22, and I hope to see many LA readers of GWU$20 at this event featuring great wine values, and benefiting a worthy cause.

Time and History: Molise

Molise is one of Italy's smallest wine-producing regions. Tucked into the shadow of the Appenines, and with a small Adriatic coastline, Molise seems to have been exempt from the passage of time. Steep mountains are painted in mezzotint colors that pop against deep blue skies. Ancient abbeys and monasteries cling to peaks and overlook sweeping valleys where people have lived and grown grapes since before the Romans came. (photo I colori del Molise by catwoman_mol)

This month, I'm going to be focusing on Molise and its wines. Sometimes, people lump the wines of Molise in with the wines that come from their better known neighbor to the north, Abruzzo. Since 1963, however, Molise has been its own province, and it seems only right to consider their wines on their own merits. Located just below the calf of Italy's boot, Molise and its wines have been relatively overlooked by tourists and consumers outside Italy, which is a shame because it is drop dead gorgeous if the pictures are to be believed. If the wines are half as delicious as the scenery, I am in for a treat.

Molise is steeped in history, too, and is a dream come true for people who love the past. Larino, for instance, has a colosseum that predates the one in Rome. Home to the Samnites, the region was invaded by the Romans, the Goths, the Lombards, the Saracens, and the Normans in turn. During the medieval period, grand cathedrals and impressive religious houses were built in Molise, and a love of learning became a hallmark of the region's culture that persists to this day. (photo Molise sacro by Megasoma)

Though Molise's wine history stretches back so far that Pliny the Elder wrote about it in the 1st century, it can be hard to find modern examples of the wines in the US and most of Molise's wines are consumed in Italy. Recently, the wine firm Di Majo Norante has imported more Molise wine into the country, and if you've had wine from Molise you have probably had one of their bottlings. This month I'll be trying a Di Majo Norante red wine, but I'll also be opening up a white wine from the Terre degli Osci IGT. And I still haven't given up hope that I'll get my hands on a dessert wine from the area. While the wines may be hard to find, they can represent excellent value when you do, since the region doesn't conjure up the wine cache of Tuscany or some of Italy's other well-known growing areas.

If you have any particular suggestions or tips about Molise wines that you've enjoyed in the past please let me know. And if you've been to Molise, tell us what you think of the region in the comments below. After seeing this pictures, I'm itching to get on a plane and go exploring. (l'ingresso medievale by pinoperrotta)

Wine Blogging Wednesday #44: French Cabernet Franc

It's time for the April edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours' online tasting event. This month, our host is none other than Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. Gary is a well-known Cabernet Franc fan, so he asked us to drink a French Cabernet Franc. This led to the usual frazzled searching as folks scrambled to get their hands on the perfect wine. I let domaine547 do the searching and I just did the buying. I ended up with a great example of the grape.

Cabernet Franc is a grape that many people drink in Bordeaux or Meritage blends without even knowing it. It's often mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon, as it has less acid and contributes peppery and flowery notes to blended wines. Cabernet Franc is one of Cabernet Sauvignon's parents--its other parent is Sauvignon Blanc--and its resistance to cold temperature and rain makes it a popular grape in regions that experience harsh weather. Today, it is grown not only in France, but also in Italy, Australia, Canada, Hungary, Spain and the US.

The grape is especially popular in the Loire valley, where it has been cultivated since at least the 1700s (and probably even longer). Domaine Noblaie, the maker of my wine, combines the best traditions of the Loire with the best new wine-making and cultivation practices. The hillside where the grapes are grown in the Chinon AOC have been producing grapes for four centuries. The grapes that go into this wine come from 40-80 year old vines. Francois Billard, a former viticulture professor, owns the operation. And his 24-year-old son, Jerome, makes the wine. How's that for mixing up tradition and change, history and the promise of the future?

And that promise is delivered in the 2004 Domaine de Noblaie Les Chiens-Chiens. It was, quite simply, the most enjoyable Cab Franc I've ever had. ($15.99, domaine547--and sold out, but the 2005 is in stock; 2004 available elsewhere for between $16 and $19) Not everyone is a fan of Cabernet Franc, but this wine really convinced me that there are good, affordable options out there for you to try. When you open this bottle, its smoky, vegetal, and red fruit aromas combine nicely. No one aspect of the aromas dominated, but you could definitely detect each individual feature. I found the same elements--smoke, bell peppers and herbs, and red fruits--in the flavors as well, and the wine turned more and more smoky in your mouth as you swallowed it. The wine had a medium body, and a nice texture in the mouth, managing to seem both airy and substantial at the same time. I drank the wine over three nights, and the wine's vegetal aromas and flavors grew less pronounced each night indicating to me that some of these more assertive characteristics may soften in time. That said, this was a delightful wine to drink now, and represented excellent QPR.

Cabernet Franc, in my experience, is a wine that is at its best with food, and this wine was no exception. The Les Chiens-Chiens' smokiness made it especially well-suited to BBQ (we had it with BBQ chicken and it was excellent). If you like the wine's vegetal apsects, however, make yourself a peppery pasta to go with it. Boil some farfalle until al dente (about 10 minutes), and drain it, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Then toss some chunks of green and yellow pepper in a saute pan with chunks of red onion and some olive oil and saute them for about 5 minutes until tender. Remove the peppers from the pan, and add a touch more oil and 2 sliced garlic cloves. When you smell the garlic, toss in a pint of halved grape tomatoes, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and some pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes more, squashing the tomatoes slightly to release their flavor. Taste it for seasoning, and add salt as required. Then add the vegetables back into the pan along with the tomatoes, add the pasta and the reserved cooking water, and cook for a few more minutes until the pasta is tender and the juices have thickened and coated the pasta. If you have some leftover cooked sausage, cut it on the diagonal and throw it in with the vegetables to heat it through, too. Top with your favorite cheese and enjoy with your Cabernet Franc. This recipe will really bring out the peppery, smoky, and fruity qualities of the wine.

Cabernet Franc may be an acquired taste, but once you're hooked, you're hooked. This wine did more than any other I've had made by with the variety to help me get what all its fans cherish about it, since it managed to be fresh and smoky as well as fruity and vegetal. Thanks to Gary Vaynerchuk for a great theme, and as always you can check back here in a few days for links to what promises to be an epic roundup of tasting notes from bloggers, readers, and other Vayniacs--as well as the announcement from Tim Elliott of Winecast regarding WBW #45.