Wine For Novices

Wine and Chocolate

by Dan Perkins

When you think of having a nice glass of wine outside of the context of a meal, what’s the first thing that comes to mind in the food category as something to munch on? Cheese, right?  Wine and cheese, wine and cheese... everybody loves wine and cheese. Well, not everyone. I like cheese but given the opportunity to have a chunk of cheddar with my Zinfandel or a piece of bittersweet chocolate; I’ll go with the chocolate every time! In fact I love chocolate chip cookies with my wine and at this time of year I utilize several good bottles to help polish off all those boxes of See’s Chocolates I got at Christmas.

Now for years we’ve been hearing about the wonderful antioxidant properties of both red wine and dark chocolate, that in itself should be good enough reason to experiment with the combination but truly it is the flavor profiles of both that actually work. Mind you, I do prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate but the combination of sweet and bitter, fat and acidic makes for a hand in glove fit. The other thing is for those who are already on the chocolate bandwagon, with glass in hand, is to not over look the benefits of chocolate with white wines. Most people tend to think chocolate is a partner to red wines only because chocolate can be part of a red wine flavor profile (just read any notes on a well made cabernet sauvignon and you’ll often see chocolate as a descriptor). But look at what often is found as part of the flavor profiles of white wines, vanilla caramel, honey and butter just to name a few(because vanilla ice cream is white and chocolate ice cream is brown we subliminally think they’re opposites... let me be clear; vanilla is not the opposite of chocolate!). All of these descriptions used for white wines are flavors that either directly compliment or are ingredients for chocolate.

So let’s talk chocolate!

Interesting Wine Facts

-Americans prefer wine to other alcoholic beverages. 39% prefer wine, 36% prefer beer, and 21% prefer spirits.

-All fifty states now have wineries.

-The link between red wine drinking and health has been covered widely in the media.

-The hot grapes for red wine in the world are Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. For whites, it's Pino Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.

-Costco in now the largest retailer of wine in the United States, with over $750 million in wine sales.

-A line of inexpensive wines produced by Charles Shaw (aka Two Buck Chuck) sold more than 10 million cases in 2006.

Napa Valley Wine Tasting ...

Wines, Cuisine, Photography & Watercolors of Napa Valley

Friday Jan. 25 - Franklin, Tennessee, USA

$50. per person donation (tax-deductible)

(Benefiting the non-profit organizations Red Road and Creative Community) Only 25 11 places remaining.

Taste wines from stellar vineyards such as: Honig, Miner Family, Failla, ZD, Chateau Montelena, and Ehlers Estates.

Reserve Now.

Know Your ABC’s

by Dan Perkins

Here in California where wine is a snobby business there are some folks who will turn up their noses to one of my favorite wine varietals... When you ask them why; their response is somewhat typical... “I’m a member of the ABC club.” ABC? -- Anything but chardonnay!

Yes, it’s true. There are some folks out there who will take issue with a well oaked, full ML (malolactic fermentation), California chardonnay. I don’t get it either. But here are some of the reasons they may feel this way.

First, for quite some time the only white wine that seemed to get any serious consideration was chardonnay. This is due, in part, by comparing older white varietals having been hand crafted in their countries of origin like Germany, France and Italy with those here being mass produced for “box” wine along with significant residual sugars made most, such as Chenin Blanc, French Columbard and various Rieslings, unappealing.

But, ahhh! The children have grown up and now US producers are making some incredible white varietals.  Secondly, the financial success of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay gave opportunity for wineries to explore other varietals and expand their profiles employing the same quality and production standards resulting in superior wines.

So, you may be one who has recently graduated from pink to white and chardonnay is now your “go to” wine or you have since moved on to reds and you really don’t care much for whites anymore... Well, my friend, once you go red you can still go back; but now you have options... Here are some great white wine alternatives...

To Uganda With Compassion ...

On Feb. 10, fifteen bloggers from around the nation will join me in Chicago for a historic trip to Uganda. We will converge the power of our blogs to educate and inform our circles of influence about the needs of the children in this beleaguered country.

We will each tell the story in our own unique way and provide a collage free from the bias and hype of mainstream media. A story that unfolds REALTIME as we we experience the emotion, sights and smells with YOU as our travel partners.

Please tell your friends and ask them to gather 'round to read Ethos daily for eight days as I attempt to chronicle our trip in a compelling way.

Thanks to the Compassion International organization for having the foresight to organize this "first of its kind" trip.

Read more here during the next few days. Follow my preparation, thoughts, fears and excitement as the time quickly approaches. 27 days to go.

A Great Nebbiolo ...

My favorite wine from Italy was the Nebbiolo. A sexy, soft, delicate wine that has a color that is deceptively thin. However, the 1998 vintage I enjoyed two evenings ago had a golden halo that was beautiful. And, Wow! the wine was exquisite.

The fragrance of this wine is very complex, with plums, prunes, earthy notes and a touch of oak.  The tannins match up nicely with the fruit, balancing very well.  Better than some Barolo and Barbaresco wines. 

Great Red Under $25.

My neighbors Steve and Karen Anderson brought a hospitality gift of 2003 Foppiano Petite Sirah to our New Years Eve Martini Party last night.

I opened it a moment ago and Wow! What a great bottle of juice. The color is deep purple and the bouquet - hints of berries and  chocolate. I hoped the taste could meet my expectations, and yes! the taste delivered.

A wonderful bottle of red wine for a great price. A WFN best buy! To read more about this wine go HERE.
$23.00