Wine For Novices

Great Italian White Under $20.

2006 Ceretto Blange Arneis ($18) Floral and light, with a flavor recalling oranges and a just-this-side-of spritzy texture, Ceretto's bottling is a textbook rendition of Arneis, Peidmont's most appealing white grape variety.

HT: Food and Wine Magazine

Widely Available

Tasting Wine At A Restaurant- Part 2

I have asked my California friend Dan Perkins to write a regular guest blog here. He is a champion wine taster and wine connoisseur. He is also a triathelete, mountain climber--you get the picture--a true renaissance man.

Here are his astute comments to my blog of November 24.

"Cork taint or what the big boys call TCA or what the even bigger boys call trichloroanisole is a bacteria that inhabits the wine through varied means; most of which occur through affected corks but can also come from the wineries themselves or the equipment used to bottle the wine. TCA is not harmful and at low levels can be mostly unnoticed. The key is what you pointed out; the "smell."

Cork taint can be detected by a musty, "wet coat" kind of odor. Although the wine is drinkable the taste experience first goes through the nose before the tongue and a tainted wine will taste different.

Because cork taint seems to affect about 5% of all wine distributed this has proven to be a significant loss to wine makers over the years. Lately, new methods such as synthetic corks, Stevin screw caps and (my favorite) the new glass closures have been greatly embraced by the industry but with some reticence from the public.

Another thing for your readers to consider is bottle temperature. I have been to some restaurants where keeping their wines exposed in the dining room, to be used as a decoration, often spoils the taste of the wine. Especially, when they are kept near the kitchen. For optimal flavors, wine should be served between 55 and 65 degrees (lower preferably) for reds and 42-55 for whites, depending on varietal. Bottles kept out and near a kitchen can reach temps over 80 degrees. If this happens the taste will be greatly affected and ruin the purpose of pairing that nice $85 bottle of Petite Sirah with a $42 cut of lamb...

So, even if the wine isn't returnable due to winning the bad-wine lottery it is because the people storing the wine for your enjoyment simply weren't prepared for your impeccable standards! Cheers."

My Favorite Martini...

at present is a Manhattan. Yes, I know it is not wine...but, a nice prelude for the wine to come. My "semi-purist" recipe...

2.5 oz Kentucky RYE whiskey
1    oz Sweet Vermouth
3    dashes Angostura Bitters
2    long stem Maraschino Cherries
1    spoonful cherry juice

Add whiskey, vermouth, bitters to ice in a shaker and shake VERY gently until frost forms on the outside of shaker. Strain into a martini glass and serve straight up. Add two cherries, cherry juice and stir gently.

Enjoy!

Tasting Wine At A Restaurant

Misunderstanding and uneasiness surrounds the simple task of tasting wine at a restaurant.

The waiter or sommelier will pour a taste of wine (usually to the man-but it seems increasingly common for the taste to go to the lady, when the waiter/sommelier senses a comfort factor with the process) and then a tense silence tends to occur as all eyes are on you as you prepare to taste.

Here's the deal...You are NOT tasting to determine if you like or approve the wine.  You ARE tasting to determine if the wine is a CORKED wine. 

A corked wine is one in which air has entered the bottle of wine and spoiled it.  A  "corky", stale, flat taste will result. This is a very rare occasion caused by a defective cork or most often in a very old bottle.

99.9% of the time, a simple smell of the nose of the wine, or a quick taste will be enough to assure the waiter/sommelier that the bottle is not defective.

On the rare occasion of a defect, you may have the waiter/sommelier smell or taste the wine and a quick replacement will take place.

I have personally experienced only one bottle defect in years of wine enjoyment. The refinement of bottling practices and the American habit of drinking recent vintages have rendered this tasting tradition to a near symbolic status.

So, relax and act like a true wine connoisseur and taste like a man--or, a woman.

Wine Quote

"Wine is agriculture's highest art form."

My Thanksgiving Wine Choice

The concentrated dark fruit flavors include deep berry, cocoa, and black currant.  Other aromas and flavors include black licorice, smoky spice, bay, dusty earth and mineral.  Full bodied, with very fine tannin structure, good grip and a long finish. French oak is spicy and well integrated. The wine is full bodied, with very fine tannin structure and a long finish.

$34.99

For more about this wine, go HERE.

Wine Pairing Notes

Dinner at our home last night featured our friends, Charles, Siouxsan, Ken and Diane, wonderful food and extraordinary new discoveries in wine and food pairings.

First, A Miner Vineyards 2005 Viogner (Charles and I will be staying with David Miner at his vineyard in Napa Valley for a few days the first of December-I have been invited to photograph winemakers and vineyards in Napa for Charles' new book about wine and spirituality) paired with Bleu Cheese. Perfect start.

Then, a 1995 Willamette Valley Founders Reserve Oregon Pinot Noir paired with Conversation.

Next, a 1995 Nuits St Georges Les Fleurieres Confuron, Jean-Jacques Burgundy paired with Filet Mignon, New Potatoes and Salad.

Followed by a 1997 Miner Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Dessert featured Cheescake with Raspberries topped with frozen 2003 Domaine de Coyeux Muscat de Beaumes De Venise. Oh My!!!!

A wonderful pre-thanksgiving feast!!

Pronunciation Guide

Sommelier - sum-mahl-YAY

A restaurant employee who orders and maintains the wines sold in the restaurant and usually has extensive knowledge about wine and food pairings.

To hear the pronunciation go HERE.

If I Could Have Only One Wine Book...

...it would be this one. I read it last night in one sitting. I could not put it down.

"Brilliant, witty, comical, and often shamelessly provocative."

No matter what level your romance with wine-this is a must read!

Buy it this very second. You'll thank me - a lot!

A Hedonist In The Wine Cellar (Adventures In Wine)

An Italian Wine Tasting

Chris and I hosted an "Intimate Evening" of Wines and Watercolors of Italy to benefit O'More School of fashion and design last evening at our home La Maison du Reves.

We tasted our favorite wines gathered during a recent trip to Italy. The evening featured wines from the  Tuscany, Veneto and Peidmont regions.

We did a blind tasting with 28 in attendance. Most were admitted wine novices. I gave a brief history of Italian wines, discussed the classification system and the specific grape varietals of the night. Here are the results:

#7 La Toppa Vino da Tavola 2007 $9.
#6 Capanna Brunello Montalcino Riserva 1998  $35.
#5 Martinega Nebbiolo Langhe 2005 $12.
#4 La Poderina Brunello Montalcino  2001 $28.
#3 Cantalici Chianti Classico 2003 $18.
#2 Ca' La Bionda Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2003 $60.
WINNER:  Rietene Tiziano Super Tuscan 2000 $25. 

The highlight of the evening, however, was decidedly French. Our neighbors, Ken & Linda Moore, provided a rare opportunity to taste one of the finest wines in the world. Two splits of 1975 Chateau d' Yquem Sauternes.  It was absolutley the finest wine tasting experience of my life. A multi-sensory explosion. Both bottles were perfectly preserved with a nose that created heavenly thoughts, the taste was velvety and multi-textured with aromatic citrus, hint of nuts and honey. The most pleasing, sensory wine experience I can conjure in my wildest fantasies. "Liquid Gold".

Pictured with Chris and myself is Dr. Mark Hilliard, President of O'More and the visionary that dreamed up this delightful evening. The proceeds will provide a scholarship for a student to study abroad.

More photographs of the evening HERE.