$15 to $30

May. 22, 2012 CHRISTIAN MOREAU PÈRE & FILS Chablis 2010 (89 points, $25)

Shows equilibrium between the rich texture and vibrant structure. Green plum, apple and chalk flavors hold the center ground, with a fine, resonant finish. Best from 2013 through 2018. 2,000 cases imported. —Bruce Sanderson

Weekend wines: Try these two $10 hits from Austria

By Edward Deitch, Vint-ed.com

Two excellent $10 wines are notable not only for what’s inside the bottles, but for what’s on the outside – some of the more creative labeling I have seen. The wines are from Austria, a grüner veltliner and a zweigelt. While grüner has become a popular white alternative in the United States, the zweigelt is less known.

Enter Monika Caha, who is something of an Austrian wine impresario in this country and who realized that she had an opportunity to help Americans navigate those pesky Austrian grape names while introducing them to some very good and inexpensive wines. Her solution was to brand the wines with the phonetic versions of the names and some colorful artwork that makes them stand out.

Thus, the grüner veltliner was named “Grooner” and the red zweigelt was called “Zvy-gelt,” which tells consumers how to pronounce the varieties and, for browsers in wine stores, turns the often-intimidating German-language label issue into something playful.  The names are shouted out by a “Grooner Girl,” as the company calls her.

Unlike most gimmicky labels, these two are backed up by the quality of the wines. Both are produced by the Meinhard Forstreiter winery in the Kremstal region of Lower Austria. The 2010 Grooner is fresh, light and zesty with green apple, lime and herb notes and a touch of smokiness. It’s a good introduction to the variety and will pair well with a variety of lighter foods, including fish and chicken dishes and asparagus. Alcohol is 12 percent.

The 2009 Zvy-gelt is all about spicy cherry and has a subtle and intriguing menthol note. It is somewhat like pinot noir but more peppery. Softly tannic, it’s easy to drink but packs a lot of interest for its $10 price. Try it with burgers, pizza and other casual foods. Alcohol is 13 percent. Imported by Frederick Wildman and Sons, New York.

At a lunch on Wednesday the charming owners, Ernesto and Anna Abbona, along with their two college-aged children, Valentina and Davide, showed off six vintages of their Barolo Riserva going back to 1970, and Wow! this is what great red wine is all about. It reminded me of old Bordeaux’s, before they got modern and international. An educational and sensory treat.

The stand-out: the 1970. Forty one years old, and still fresh and vibrant, not loosing a step, redolent of sous bois aromas and flavors, along with a granite-like minerality. A stunning wine.

Watch out for a Nick’s WineCast and Nick’s Wine Of The Week from the same tasting, a wine that you can actually buy.

Once you've booked your trip, celebrate with a petite bottle (375 ml) of Pol Roger White Foil ($30). Founded in 1849, Pol Roger is one of only a few Grande Marque Champagne houses that remains family owned and operated. Pol Roger White Foil is a beguiling blend of equal parts Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay, with a minimum of 3 years of aging. The citrus flavors and notes of toasty brioche make Pol Roger White Foil the perfect bubbly to sip while planning your Parisian extravaganza!

Good things: small packages

April 24, 2012 at 6:00 am by Anna Bowers

As a girl who stopped growing sometime in the 6th grade, I believe that bigger doesn’t always equal better. Case in point? Splits of wine. Especially bubbly wine. Now, this never rarely happens in my world, but I’ve been told that (gasp!) unfinished bottles of red and white wine are still drinkable a few days after opening. But bubbly? Whether cava, prosecco, cremant or the real deal, the bottle doesn’t keep it’s fizz for too long. Not that I’ve ever experienced the issue of an unfinished bottle of bubbly.

If you want more than one glass, but aren’t inclined to consume the whole 750 ml., may I suggest a split? Pint sized fun, fizz and fabulousness packaged in 375 milliliters.¡Perfecto! With the Pol Roger ‘White Label’ (NV) you are going to get the traditional blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay in equal parts to create a Champagne that has body, freshness and elegance of character.

Pol Roger is a small family business that owns half of the vineyards used in the production of their Champagne. They spend more money on creating a gorgeous, consistently excellent product than on a massive advertising campaign – which might be why they are not as well known as other Champagne houses in this country.  However, since the Brut Réserve Non Vintage was served at the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton last year, it’s visibility on the U.S. market should increase.

And, of course, it’s just as delicious in it’s full-sized version . . .

Post Script: I shared a split with my roommate and brother last night. We each had three good sized pours. The boys opted for theirs straight up, while I added a sugar cube with a few dashes of bitters for the sake of feeling a bit glamorous.

Move Over Beer, Wine Pairs Well With Pizza

Apr18

 

Picture this: You’re throwing a party and decide to order pizza. You call the restaurant hoping to get through on the first ring while contemplating exactly which toppings will be fan favorites. You wait up to thirty minutes for it to arrive and when the delivery guy shows up at your door, you scramble to find cash, calculate tip and try to muscle your way through the crowd carrying multiple boxes of heavy pies. Then, all your guests bum rush you as they pick through for the perfect slice, putting their fingers all over their piece and everyone else’s. If you’re lucky to snag a bite for yourself, there’s a good chance it won’t even still be hot.

Now, picture this: The delivery guy is actually a renowned chef. He shows up right at your door, on time, and parks himself (literally) in front of your house ready to greet your guests. You don’t have to make any topping decisions because he brings them all for you, and no one will be touching your slice because dammit there’s enough to go around. You can easily access more than just one piece for yourself from the active station, and it’s always piping hot and cooked to perfection right on the spot. There’s no heavy lifting and no stacks of grease stained pizza boxes to dispose of when it’s all done. Oh and the pizza? It’s gourmet.

After eight seasons as Robert Irvine’s Sous Chef on Food Network’s Dinner: Impossible, Chef David Britton has taken his own show on the road…literally. Pies on Wheels traveling pizza truck boasts a 6,500 lb Earthstone wood fire oven preparing specialty creations to cater any private function or large event. Equipped with running water, a compact kitchen and a refrigerated toppings drawer, this chef is always ready to roll.

I had the opportunity to experience the mobile pizzeria first hand when Stew Leonard’s Wines of Norwalk and Castello Monaci hosted a classic food and wine pairing event. Customers were invited to dig into samples of mouthwatering pies while Castello Monaci poured a selection of their hand-crafted vinos inside the store. While beer is often associated with a hot, cheesy slice, Luigi Seracca, Brand Ambassador for Castello Monaci said, ”Our wines are a great match with pizza.” Chef Britton agreed. “The flavor profiles and quality of Castello Monaci wines elevate our product and vice versa,” he said.  It’s evident the supreme quality is a reflection of the heart and soul put into each bottle. “We don’t buy grapes, we grow all our own,” Seracca said of his family owned vineyard located in the “heel of the boot” of Italy.

Some of the carefully crafted pairings were the Liante Salice Salentino with the spicy fennel sausage, fior de latte and roasted fennel pizza finished with toasted fennel sea salt.

It was also a great match for the smoked eggplant, wood roasted eggplant and arugula tossed in Peranzana extra virgin oilve oil.

 The Artas Salento was used to braise the oxtail which was served on a pie with caramelized cipolini onions and gorgonzola. It was also an outstanding compliment to the truffled mushroom pizza with potato confit and aged goat parmesan. For Piluna Primitivo, the classic margarita with fresh basil and crushed tomatoes was a perfect combination.

published April 19, 2012

Wined Down: Rosé Will Get You Laid

by JOE ROBERTS

If you’re looking to maximize the chances of a “check, please!” moment during your next dinner with that special someone, then you may need to ditch the Big Red wine. That’s right, friend—buck up and order some rosé with that high-priced date night meal.

Now, I’ve been up and down the entire world of wine, and the best way I know to summarize this bit of vinous truth is with a quote from a bona fide rock-star-turned-winemaker I once interviewed: he referred to rosé as “The Leg Spreader.”

Rosé gets a bad rap, despite its gorgeously suggestive color, due in most part to the near oceanic levels of overly-sweet, barely-drinkable pink-plonk currently on the market. As one award-winning wine educator friend of mine likes to say, “rosé is guilty by pigmentation!” The result is that the less adroit wine guzzler is afraid that sipping a rosé suggests more “cheap-ass wine newbie” than “sophisticated, sexy lover of all things epicurean.”

Now, if for some strange reason that undeserved pink-plonk perception has persuaded you to question the sexual conquest advice from a bona fide rock star (hey, what do they know about getting girls, right?), the host of recent scientific studies cited below ought to help convince the logical hemisphere of your brain to resist ordering her a glass of that ginormous Cabernet and go with the pink drink:

• Last year, The Times Live in New Zealand reported on a global poll of over ten thousand women across five countries (including the U.S. of A.) in which almost 70 per cent of the ladies called wine “essential” to creating a romantic setting during a date. Over fifteen percent of the women said that rosé is the only wine that they drink. The article also reported that since 2009, rosé consumption has risen 160 percent—so those girls are definitely putting their money where their cute, pouty mouths are. Red wine? Down 15 per cent (doh!). 

• While you shouldn’t have much trouble finding a dry rosé to compliment a meal, don’t write-off the sweeter pink stuff entirely. According to a 2011 study carried out jointly by a Cornell professor and Master of Wine Tim Hanni and reported by SFGate.com, people with tastes that swing towards sweet and/or delicate wines may have more sensitive palates, and can also be more sensitive to touch - so much so that they don’t bother wearing panties at all. Okay, it’s not a direct link to rosé, but hypersensitive types will likely eschew the Cabernet (and the “no panties” part certainly gives you a head start on the evening).

• More recently, ZeeNews.com in India noted a study from Florence, Italy (where they certainly have their priorities straight), which found that moderate wine consumption enhances just about every aspect of both a man’s and woman’s sexual experience, including duration (if there were a Nobel award for underscoring the obvious from centuries of “field research,” this study has got to be the clear front runner). And we’ve known for several years (thanks to research co-sponsored by the Australian Wine Council and Match.com) that having knowledge of wine actually makes you appear measurably more attractive to members of the opposite sex. My guess is that being able to bust out a killer rosé is going to make you look like you’ve got wine smarties to spare.

Besides the good old fashioned bonus points you can accumulate by deferring to what she wants to drink for at least one night, the above data puts a lot more potential pay-off value behind knowing a go-to pink wine than it does for going with the tired old “if I ain’t having big Cabernet then ain’t nobody drinking any vino tonight” approach.

 My advice: get over your fear of pink and get familiar with a rosé like Paul Jaboulet’s “Parallele 45″ Rose (Cotes du Rhone, France, about $14); it’s widely available, has a name that’s easy to remember, and sports a killer combo of sexy, crushed red berry fruit and enticing floral notes. It’s got enough tanginess to match with just about any food either of you will order up, and has probably helped savvier wine drinkers access more trim than the entire lawn and garden section of The Home Depot.

So there you have it—rock stars, scientists, a Master of Wine, and hundreds of years of amorous Italians agree on the sexual kung-fu mastery of a decent rosé with dinner. Just makes sure to use that newfound vinous power for the forces of good…