Gotta love the grape!
Good morning folks,
I am now archiving newsletters on the site so that you
can always see what was sent out in the past. Sorry for the
test one that you received, but as I was coding in the new
functionality, I forgot to turn off something in the script;
actually, I just need to make a separate script for testing
changes (shouldn't happen again). The new link will be on
the site this afternoon and all newsletters from this one
forward will be able to be accessed online.
Outside of that, I am looking for people who are local
and really interested in some very good wines. I might have
an opportunity for a private sampling of about 50 people for
a number of wines from an importer/distributor associate of
mine. Note that this is for folks that actually purchase
wines on the regular, not people that just like to just get
all of the free drinks that they can. I haven't decided how
I want to run this, but am thinking that if they are
providing the wine, then we can either chip in for the food,
or actually do something like a potluck piece. It would be
interesting, especially having some importers get exposed to
cuisines which they might not have yet gotten introduced to.
This event would take place in Northeast Philly.
We review more wines than the Inquirer!
I just realized today while reading today's Philadelphia
Inquirer that we review more wines than them easily. I
figure that in a given year I taste at least 500 different
wines, and last year, I entered in 113 reviews. This year,
I've written 75 reviews so far, but I am hoping to do more
saturated tastings in which I lug a laptop or a notebook PC
to tastings and just write my reviews on the spot. In a
given year, I think that an average of 50 wine reviews gets
published in the Inquirer.
Additionally, if we look at the magazines devoted to this
region (outside of those specifically on food), they
probably do no more than 48-60 reviews in a year.
Upcoming Wine Tastings
There should be some upcoming wine tasting starting again
next month. Mantra->Bar Amalfi->Kasbar should be fully
converted by July, but I will be talking to some other
places as well. While I have been approached by a couple of
others, I don't want to dilute the approach that I am taking
with things. I will keep you posted further.
Well, that's it for this time around. Keep in touch folks.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
It seems that in the past five years, there has been sort
of a consumer rage, or should I say, new American attitude
towards both Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio, and I find it
amusing every time I hear "I like a good Pinot"
coming from someone's mouth.
The first thing I am wondering is what type of Pinot they
are talking about. If the answer is red, then the next
thing I am wondering is whether or not they are going to now
talk about the releases coming out of Oregon and Washington
state.
For the record, there are four types of Pinot grape:
Pinot Noir (Nero), Pinot Gris (Grigio), Pinot Blanc
(Bianco), and Pinot Meunier. While Pinot Noir is mainly
associated with the Burgundy region of France, it's possible
that it actually traces it's roots back to ancient Greece.
This is considered the ancestor of them all, and the
derivation Pinot comes from the combination of 'pine' and
'black' due to the darkness of the grapes and the fact that
their bunches resemble a pine cone in the way that they grow.
Pinot Meunier is considered a chimera hybrid, with
two sets of actual DNA in it, one of which is Pinot Noir.
Considered it an X-grape (get it, a mutant link in the X-men).
Another child and mutation of Pinot Noir is the Pinot
Gris (gray) and from that the Pinot Bianco (white).
These both have DNA identical to Pinot Noir.
There are two other major Pinots, Pinot moure and
Pinot teinturier, which I have yet to taste. Another newer
variant is Pinot Gouges (Musigny). Wrotham Pinot is an
English variant, and besides ripening earlier by a factor of
two weeks, it has a nigher natural sugar content.
Because of Pinot Noir's ability to mutate quite
easily, it has a large number of varieties , such as Gamay
Beaujolais. South African Pinotage is a cross between
Pinot Noir and the Cinsaut grape, which is also known as
Hermitage. It's crossings with many other species of
grape have yielded products such as Chardonnay (remember
this one, because it is important), Melon, and Gamay Noir.
It's impact on sparkling wines
All Champagne (sparkling wines produced in the traditional
method of secondary fermentation in the bottle and within
the French region of Champagne) can only be made of three
grapes, and must have Chardonnay in it, with possibly
one exception. Those three grapes are Pinot Noir, Pinot
Meunier and Chardonnay, which is essentially Pinot Noir and
it's children. Blanc di Blancs are made primarily from the
Chardonnay grape [and any combination of the other two],
while Blanc di Noirs are made from Pinot Noir [with maybe a
little Chardonnay or Pinot Meunier added]. Most of the
sparkling wines that you will ever have a Chardonnay base
and even Franciacorta (what would be considered the Italian
version of Champagne, not to be confused with Asti or
Prosecco) just uses Pinot Bianco instead of Pinot Meunier.
It's impact on the wine world in general
While Pinot Noir is grown over the world, its variants and
children/crosses have been very prevalent worldwide,
especially with the two grapes of Chardonnay and Airen,
which are probably grown more than any other grape in the
world. It is widely used in Sancerre and Alsace, as well as
traditionally in Burgundy.
If we were to trace all of the wines made from Pinot
Noir and its descendants and what not, we'd be simply amazed
at how far it's reach encompasses.
The typical taste(s) of Pinot Noir can be that of
strawberry, cherry and raspberry, but can also be
reminiscent of green leafy vegetables. It usually is
lighter as a red wine, but with a different taste altogether
than the other â?otraditionalâ? reds.
Those other two [widely-known Pinots], Pinot Gris and
Pinot Bianco:
Pinot Gris (Grigio): I tend to not place a
lot of interest in Pinot Gris wines because most of them are
akin to drinking a Coors Light; sure, it's a wine, but it's
mostly like water. However, I have had a couple of very good
ones from Oregon, Washington and New Zealand; the latter
being a Kim Crawford release with over 13% alcohol and nice
melon taste. The lighter, more delicate, ones are great for
non-drinkers or just opening up the palate for the next
wine, but the more robust ones can stand on their own.
Pinot Blanc (Bianco):
This is usually dry, but in places such as Austria and
Germany, they can also make it sweet. It can be used also
in Vin Santo, a wonderful Italian wine which means the wine
of angels. As mentioned earlier, it is also used in the
production of Franciacorta.
That said, I think that we can all safely assume that
we know very little about Pinot before reading this, and we
also have a lot to learn about Pinot Noir and its many
descendants after this. Of course, much of this will be
filled with great tasting experiences. You can also
grill someone the next time they say that they like Pinot.
Salud
Monday, June 15, 2009
The main reason that I started theblackwiner.com was to
get African Americans more exposed to wine, as it is no
something that most of us are introduced to, if not
acquainted with before adulthood. And even in the many of
the cases that we are, it is usually in one of the most
neglectful manners. Restating this, we are exposed to it on
a level that is more proletarian which in turn deprives many
of us of any significant groundwork of understanding the
basics of the world of wine in general.
Now, several weeks ago, a past associate blurted out
to me [while we were in a restaurant] that it seems that I
only go to "white" restaurants, which was quite interesting
based on the actual ignorance of the statement. There are
really no "white" restaurants, as restaurants are defined by
cuisine and not the customer base, but she was merely trying
to say that she had only been out with me at restaurants
that weren't Black-owned. I agree that there should be a
progressive move by African Americans to support
Black-owned businesses, but never at the expense of not
getting what you want.
Looking at it on a more analytical level, I live in
Philadelphia, PA. In this city, we currently have no
Black-owned restaurants within the accepted boundaries of
center city. We do have a couple of restaurants that fall
outside of those boundaries by a
neighborhood or so, but I seriously find their wine and beer
lists lacking
immensely. All of the other
establishments are located within various neighborhoods in
the city, and those
neighborhoods might range from upscale to somewhat less than
desirable. Of the restaurants, service can be dodgy at
times, and you may or may not be comfortable with some of
the clientele, but
this can be said of many restaurants, regardless of who owns
them. The cuisine might be Southern, Contemporary
American, African, Caribbean, Creole, or a mélange of
several. Some might have stellar food,
while some might have average.
But I'm rarely in a restaurant for just the food
alone, as I
am not going to consume it just with soda, water or fruit
juices. I like my wine, and I like me beer, and I
have simply gone beyond the meager offerings that they give
to anyone that
hasn't actually expanded their palate.
Oh no, you don't have to start pulling in bottles that cost
significantly more than what you normally serve at a family
cookout or
barbecue, but you find some good items for around the same
price, if not just a
little more than what you're already purchasing. And if you
are trying to expand the palates
of what your customers are getting, then wouldn't it be wise
to also
extend/expand the range of what you are serving them? But
the funny thing is that most restaurants
aren't serving more than what the average home with a
well-skilled cook can't
do. My mother makes a mean southern
style shrimp fried rice, and my aunt and uncle make a
slamming Tarragon
Chicken. Add this to anything that
members of my family have prepared and they could take on
most of these
restaurants with ease (my mother can make a steak flavored
better than anything
that I have had at Capital Grille or Ruth Chris). Even my
buddy Chris who owns Misconduct made
sure to stock Aventinus Wheat Dopplebock beer when he
opened; not everyone
drinks it, but his years of bartending at CopaToo identified
that there were
people that came in religiously and only drank that and a
couple other choices.
Of all the Italian restaurants that I frequent, they
either
have some very nice and affordable selections of wine, or
let me bring my own
selections. I even had the bartender at
one turn me onto another drink based on the fact that I
liked something
similar, but that wasn't at smooth.
Of the last four experiences that I have had in
Black-owned
restaurants in Philadelphia, I have
suffered disappointment. One place
didn't have any of the good beers that were printed on the
menu, the wine
selection was very poor (not just the available varietals,
but the quality of
the wine as well), and the food wasn't good; how can you
mess up a chicken
sandwich! At one spot, while the food
was slightly above average, the bartender didn't know to
remove the foil from
the top of the bottle of wine after taking out the cork. At
another spot, all the wine choices were
more suited to some corner bar found in any hood. At the
last spot, not only were me and my
dining companion unhappy with the choices, but I was served a
Semillon/Chardonnay blend that they told me was Chardonnay.
That was a crucial mistake on so many levels.
I stay out of most restaurants that have a crappy list of
wine and beer choices, and there are a ton of them. Should
my dining choices simply be limited to
establishments that don't have what I am interested in, just
so that I can be
around other people that look like me, or patronize them
simply because they
are Black like me? When is the last time
you went somewhere and was happy with bad selections and
possibly crappy
service? Should I feel happy in a club
that plays music that I can't stand, or plays the music that
I like but is
filled with people that I am just not going to have a good
time around?
Going out should be based on what you get out of
something,
and what is interesting to me is that you have a number of
people that believe
if you do something, you're not being "Black" enough (that's
a very interesting
statement saying it to me of all people).
To you readers, drinkers and diners, it's time that
you make a stand for what you want, that is if you haven't
already. If the place you like to eat doesn't serve
anything quality, or on par with your palate, recommend some
selections for
them, or ask them if you can bring your own wine. I am sure
that they're more interested with
making what they could from serving you better wine, than
losing out on the sale,
both present and future. And if going to
a restaurant that is not Black-owned is somewhat offensive
to you, then that's
your loss. You're going to miss out on a
lot of experiences, culinary and otherwise; how's life
inside that self-imposed
box player?
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Most people that come over my house [and get to see my wine
rack] know that I try to keep at least twenty bottles of
wine in the house;
this supply will dwindle depending upon my financial
reserves, but I always try
to keep some everyday drinkable white wines in the house.
And the question most asked to me is "what
should I initially start my wine rack off with?" And to
this, here is my first attempt at
answering it.
You have six basic categories to group your
wine in: white; red; blush/rosé; fruit;
dessert/fortified; and sparkling. Now
let's take them on for size.
White wines:
For white wines, I recommend having a base of Chardonnay and
Sauvignon Blanc. The next thing to do
would be to throw in a Chenin Blanc and maybe even a
Viognier; the latter
giving you a more exotic taste that might remind you of
peaches and pears. For sweetness, you can look at
Muscat/Moscato, Reisling and Gerwurtztraminer (Note that
Ironstone Obsession is
a semi-sparkling wine made from the Symphony grape; it has
great taste, is
inexpensive and can double as a dessert wine).
After that, I would next go with a good Pinot Gris/Grigio
and possibly a Pinot Blanco/Bianco. The
problem with these is that many of the latter have almost no
real detectable
flavor, however, Rex Hills Pinot Gris from Oregon
State is great. Chaddsford Winery has a great Pinot Grigio as
well.
Like anything else, there are a ton of white wine
grapes out
there, but before I would go to some of the more interesting
grapes, I would
try to get some white blends, like Evolution by Sokol
Blosser (nine grapes),
Seven Daughter white (seven grapes), or Buzz Cut by Shoofly
(five grapes) or
Adobe White by Clayhouse (four grapes). If
you want something a little stronger, there is always
Condundrum by Camus.
Red Wines:
The standard for red wines will always be Cabernet
Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, Merlot and Pinot Noir.
However, there is also Malbec, and even better, Carmenere.
Miguel Torres and Montgras both make very
nice and very affordable Carmenere releases, and you'll
probably like it more
than Malbec. You can actually stock up
using Rex Goliath for the four mentioned initially, as each
bottle is less than
$10 and most of them have ratings higher than 92 points.
If you want dry, you can get into Rioja, which is
made from
the Tempranillo grape, or try a Salice Salentino or a
Primitivo. Codorníu S.A's Spanish Quarter red is a mix
of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon and is wonderful at
around $10 a bottle
(they also make a white that's a mix of Albarino and and
Chardonnay that is
also divine).
If you're feeling adventurous, you can start to get into
headier reds, or meritages (blends) like Alpha M by Montes
(this one will run
you, but it's totally decadent). Both
Sokol Blosser and Seven Daughters make red mixes as well.
You might also want to get deeper into some
of the classical blends from Italy
like Ripasso or Amarone. Cesari's Mara
is a great Ripasso that runs about $17, but for Amarones,
note that older is
better and a good one will come in around $50.
If you're feeling like throwing people a curve, try
picking
up a Cabernet Franc or a Pinotage. Or,
if you want to surprise them with a taste that doesn't match
their typical
expectations of the color, then go with some wines from
Telavi, notably their Kindzmarauli and their Akhasheni.
These are both reds that are sweet and made from the
Saperavi grape.
Blush/Rosé wines:
Let's start off with this one: no white
zinfandel! No white anything; Merlot,
Grenache, etc. If it's a blush wine, and
it starts with the word 'white,' leave it alone. Okay,
okay, I'll make some exceptions, and
that's for the wines produced by both ChaddsFord Winery and
Penns Wood Winery,
for the guys there are actually quality winemakers.
Right now, I have had some lovely blush
wines made from Malbec, Syrah/Shiraz, Chambourcin, and even
Tempranillo that
have been divine.
Sparkling Wines:
Every woman loves champagne, or so they
say, but sparkling wines are a great way to start a meal as
well as to end one. These days, the availability of great and
interesting sparkling wines ranges from the traditional
champagne, to sparkling
Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc, and Shiraz (Hardy's makes a great
one that is less
than $10). There are two basic methods
of making a wine bubbly; the traditional method of secondary
fermentation in
the bottle and also the method of secondary fermentation in
a stainless steel
tank (Charmat).
You have your choice of wines such as Champagne,
Franciacorta, Cava, Asti, and Prosecco as well as just your
nondescript sparkling
wines. Please avoid your Great Western,
campy Freixenet (they actually make some great wines, but
most of what you see
on the shelves is all crap), and Cooks.
A wine doesn't have to cost much to be good, but I would
definitely not
put these in your collection.
Fruit Wines:
Most people don't realize that there are
actually some great fruit wines out there, and it is always
interesting to
present one to your guest(s). There are
some that are straight forward and some that are made in a
dessert wine style
with higher alcoholic contents. Don't
pass some of these by. I can't wait to
go visit Cardinal Hollow Winery and try out all of their
releases.
Dessert/Fortified Wines:
Everyone should have a nice bottle of Port
around. But then again, they can up
their rep with both a nice Sherry and/or a nice Madeira.
You could also go with any nice late
harvest or ice wines, including Muscat, Gerwurtztraminer or
Torrontes (there are a combination of good
ones coming out of California, Canada, upstate New York and
Pennsylvania, and Argentina).
That said, starting with the basics, get
two bottles of each type of wine and stick with the most
known varietals. Add on to that with some lesser knowns but
still quite popular grapes, and then craft a couple obscure
and unknowns to the
common non-wine enthusiast. Some of your
wines will need to be either chilled or decanted (allowed to
breathe) before
serving, but that's truly not the rule; do what feels good
to you. Sometimes a red wine might be nice chilled,
and a white or sparkling wine interesting warm.
Summarily, this should give you a nice
overview of what to stock in your first wine rack, or how to
go about making
some of your choices.
Salud
A really berry sub $10 Cabernet
| Brand Name | Mountain View Vintners |
| Wine Name | 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon |
| AVA | Central Coast |
| Country | United States |
| Wine Class | Red |
| Wine Type | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Alcohol Percentage | 13.9% |
| Price | $10 and Unders |
| Site Rating | 9 (on a scale of 1-10) |
I love cabernet sauvignon and I equally hate it, the
latter simply because it is not a wine that I can easily
drink a bottle of, like I can a bottle of most white wines.
Additionally, it's hard too find a good Cabernet with great
berry flavors and low tannins for under $10. However, I
have finally discovered one.
This wine attacks, or should I say makes loves to, your
palate in an interesting build up with a nice smooth drop
off. It has a nice level of black currant and blackberries
in each mouthful with just the slightest hint of tannins
that convey themselves as the lightest whiff of smoke buried
in a velvety texture.
This is a great Cab for entertaining a large party or an
intimate gathering of two.
|
Traminer, traminer, traminer... and a little riesling
| Brand Name | Rosemount |
| Wine Name | Traminer/Riesling 2008 |
| AVA | South Eastern Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Quality/Grade | Diamond Label |
| Wine Class | White |
| Wine Type | Riesling, Gewurztraminer |
| Alcohol Percentage | 10.5% |
| Price | $10 and Unders |
| Site Rating | 9 (on a scale of 1-10) |
Traminer is one of the most misunderstood grapes and
that's because there are three types of it(white, yellow and
red), but from DNA tests, they're indistinguishable. We are
most familiar with gerwurtztraminer which is the most sweet
and aromatic of them.
I was surprised that Rosemount would come up with this
interestingly sweet, but not overpowering blend with a light
alcoholic percentage. It's very delicate on the tongue,
with a nice medium texture which is very silky. The aroma
is very floral and the fruit would consist of pineapple,
peach, pear and possibly apricot, but in a style that would
be reminiscent of a dessert with burned fruit.
While this is not a dessert wine, I would say that this
should be served mainly with desserts and maybe lighter
seafood fare.
|
A slightly smoke infused Cab
| Brand Name | Mar y Tierra |
| Wine Name | 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon |
| AVA | Curico Valley |
| Country | Chile |
| Wine Class | Red |
| Wine Type | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Alcohol Percentage | 13% |
| Price | $10 and Unders |
| Site Rating | 7 (on a scale of 1-10) |
Another Mar y Tierra release, this was a different breed
of cab, meaning it is a little more interesting than the
traditional Cabs that I have had in the past. Understanding
that this might not be 100% Cab, I am made to believe that
there is a little Shiraz in this, as this wine has the
lightest whiff of smoky charm in it. Rounding out the taste
is a medium amount of black currant and very smooth tannins.
|
Great and very healthy
| Brand Name | Fuedo di Santa Croce |
| Wine Name | Megale 2008 |
| AVA | Puglia - Salento |
| Country | Italy |
| Wine Class | Red |
| Wine Type | Negro Amaro |
| Alcohol Percentage | 14% |
| Price | $10 - $20s |
| Site Rating | 9 (on a scale of 1-10) |
Eugene Engel said that there was the a study done in 98
that revealed that the best (healthiest) grape of all
European grape varieties was the Negro Amaro grape. I
have had a couple of wines from this grape, and I love all
of them.
The color is exquisite, but again it's not about the
color. This wine has a fabulous taste that is so decadent
as well as sophisticated, it does remind me of a nice 50yo
Sophia Loren (oh, she was definitely fine then).
The flavor is concentrated, but not overbearing, filled
with dark fruits (blackberry, plum, cherry) and a nice
component of spice (cinnamon and nutmeg), becoming the
perfect accompaniment for roast pork, boar, or pheasant.
This is not a beef wine, because it demands a meal that
has a depth of flavor in it (it might be very interesting
with venison).
This wine would go great with a nice spicy meal, or
great after dinner with a lovely dessert!.
|
Can you believe curry?
| Brand Name | Poggio Ai Santi |
| Wine Name | Le Guardie |
| AVA | Abruzzo |
| Country | Italy |
| Wine Class | White |
| Wine Type | Gewurztraminer |
| Alcohol Percentage | 13.5% |
| Price | $10 - $20s |
| Site Rating | 9 (on a scale of 1-10) |
So, I am up here in Terranova Wine's office, and Eugene
Engel mentioned that he found the perfect wine to go with
curry, and you know, I never even realized that sometimes
when I am tasting nutmeg that that could also be
attributed to light curry.
In a nutshell, deep dark purple, nutmeg/curry/coriander
spices, and a deep dark plum imprint. Great taste,
inexpensive and a definite good investment for all serious
occasions.
This is a wine that you romance someone with, whether
or not you actually feed them. I would pair this with
nothing less than a good spiced sausage or a great
chocolate cake (men, take notice of this for your
sweetie!).
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