by Lorri | Dec 5, 2012 | UnCorked
I appreciate any advice that makes holiday shopping easier so I thought I’d offer a list of the best of the best to help kick off your shopping season.
BEST WINE FOR THE HOSTESS
When I give the host or hostess a gift my intention is they will not open it in the stress of a dinner party but savor it at a relaxing moment. The best wine to give is one they normally wouldnt buy themselves but one you encourage them to enjoy and not save. I like to give champagne, sparkling wine or cava and persuade them to open it with pizza or the next casual occasion.
- NV Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Extra Dry, France (about $45 retail)
BEST WINE ON A BUDGET
Quality inexpensive wines, such as those from Cupcake winery, are great for entertaining and giving. Cupcake offers great value (usually less than $15 a bottle) in each of its many varietals, not only those from California but other regions around the world too. With the many occasions coming your way, saving money is always a bonus.
- 2011 Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon, California (about $12 retail)
BEST WINE GADGET
When you dont know which wine to give, the wine gadget is an ideal gift for any wine lover. One accessory no one should be without is the Vacu Vin. It reduces oxidation in opened bottles of wine. The vacuum style pump pulls out air allowing wine to stay fresh for up to a week.
- The Vacu Vin Wine Saver Pump and Stopper (about $14 retail)
BEST WINE TO IMPRESS
I always enjoy giving a wine with a story and a connection to home and the Murphy family has one of the best with Presquile Winery, a prestigious California winery with Arkansas roots. The winery is in an ideal terroir for pinot noir production nestled in the Santa Maria Valley. An excellent bottle of wine vintage after vintage and an ideal gift to open during the holidays or save for a special occasion.
- 2011 Presquile Pinot Noir, California (about $49 retail)
BEST BOXED WINE
With the many choices of wine in a box the Big House Red brand always offers consistent quality. And when youre entertaining a crowd, its hard to beat the convenience of and price of boxed wine. This wine can easily compete side by side with many $12 bottles.
- 2011 Big House Red, Red Wine, California (about $20 retail)
by Lorri | Nov 28, 2012 | UnCorked
Each year as the hustle and bustle of Christmas arrives, my most important aspiration is to simply enjoy time with family and friends. A few years ago I realized having friends in our home did not require extensive planning and stress or even a complicated menu and seating charts. I found our best and most memorable times were around the living room coffee table sharing conversation while sipping from mismatched wine glasses.
While you can’t plan an impromptu get-together, you can make sure you’re prepared. An easy way to do this is to stock your pantry or refrigerator with the makings for a spread of traditional cheeses and unique wine pairings.
The secret is keeping things casual.
Mix up your cheeses from different milk sources, textures and colors. A simple cheeseboard could include a blue cheese, soft cheese, creamy cheese and hard cheese. Since the cheese and wine will be your showpiece, choose breads with few additional ingredients, like a baguette, breadsticks or crackers. If you want to add a few accompaniments, consider foods that will complement the pairings such as black and green olives, prosciutto di parma, Serrano ham, local sausage blends, tapenades, apricots, pears, apples or figs.
After cutting out this column you have only to make a quick trip to your wine shop and grocer.
Grab the glasses, call a few friends and simply clear a place on your coffee table to delight in a simpler way to entertain for your future gatherings.
Suggested pairings:
Brie and Champagne or quality sparkling wine
- NV J Vineyards and Winery Sparkling Brut, California (about $39 retail)
- NV Moet Chandon Imperial, France (about $60 retail)
Goat cheese and sauvignon blanc
- 2012 Ventisquero Casablanca Valley, Chile (about $13 retail)
- 2011 Honig Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, California (about $20 retail)
Aged cheddar and syrah
- 2009 Frei Brothers Syrah, California (about $19 retail)
- 2008 Bell Winery Sierra Foothills Syrah, California (about $27 retail)
Blue Stilton and tawny port
- Sandeman 10 Year Tawny Port, Portugal (about $44 retail)
- Taylors 20 Year Tawny Port, Portugal (about $74 retail)
by Lorri | Nov 21, 2012 | UnCorked
Even if you’re all set to bake the bird and everybody’s favorite side dishes for Thursday’s Thanksgiving feasts, be sure to remember one of the most important accompaniments to the table working in perfect gastronomy pleasure — the wine.
THE CONGENIAL WINE
To join the turkey at the table you can never go wrong with pinot noir for its ability to pair well with many flavors. The lighter-bodied red wine has a similar taste and character to many white wines — a bonus for pleasing your red and white wine drinkers. Be sure to serve slightly chilled, not room temperature.
THE VALUE
- 2009 Mark West Pinot Noir, California (about $14 retail)
THE SPLURGE
- 2010 Anne Amie Cuvee A Pinot Noir, Oregon (about $28 retail)
THE UNIQUE WINE
Gewurztraminer’s lightbodied texture and spicy taste is a delightful partner for the range of flavors on any buffet table. A tried and true expression of this grape is produced in France’s Alsace region, with an aromatic, clean, light-bodied style.
THE VALUE
- 2010 Chateau Ste. Michelle Gewurztraminer, Washington (about $15 retail)
THE SPLURGE
- 2009 Hugel Gewurztraminer, France (about $26 retail)
THE SAFE WINE
There are many wines that complement the clashing of food flavors, weights and textures but Rieslings are possibly the wine world’s best option for versatility. Most Thanksgiving menus are a pairing of mishmash flavors, and a dry or off-dry style will work best.
THE VALUE
- 2011 Clean Slate Riesling, Germany (about $13 retail)
THE SPLURGE
- 2011 Anne Amie Riesling, Oregon (about $22 retail)
THE ULTIMATE WINE
If it ever was the time to dust off the cobwebs and head to your cellar door it’s now. If you have an aging bottle of pinot noir tucked away and have been saving it for a well-deserved moment, this is as ideal a time as any. The aging pinot noir complements the day’s menus as it takes on many earthy flavors and complexities. Burgundy brings incredible depth of character like no other wine in the world.
If your cellar is not home to aged Burgundy there are many options at your local wine shop for impressive bottles well worth the price.
THE VALUE
- 2010 Louis Latour Bourgogne Pinot Noir, France (about $19 retail)
THE SPLURGE
- 2009 LeRoy Bourgogne Rouge, France (about $68 retail)
by Lorri | Nov 14, 2012 | UnCorked
A much anticipated event will occur across the wine world at one minute past midnight Thursday.
From small villages in France’s Beaujolais region, millions of bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau will begin their journey through the sleepy hillsides of France where the race for distribution commences.
The once-a-year event by French law occurs the third Thursday in November.
This race began as a local phenomenon in the cafes, bistros and bars of Beaujolais. Each fall when the harvest ended, winemakers made a wine that took just a few days to ferment and bottle, a wine much different from the long slumber of most wines.
It was obvious the locals enjoyed the quick release, and eventually Paris got a taste for the wonderful, unique style. What was only a local custom became a worldwide cult.
In the feverish race to the table, Beaujolais Nouveau has been transported by motorcycle, plane, truck, helicopter, private jets, runners, rickshaws and even elephants. An amazing feat if you consider as recently as late September it was only a cluster of grapes in a French vineyard. From field to table, Beaujolais Nouveau takes just weeks to produce and usually costs less than $15 a bottle.
Most are surprised to learn Beaujolais is a region, not a grape. The grape used for this fruity style of wine is the gamay grape. Its production is as unique as its traditions.
Carbonic maceration is used in the fermentation process. Instead of traditional winemaking that begins with crushing the grapes, this method layers the grapes in a sealed container and adds carbon dioxide.
Eventually the grapes are gently crushed under their own weight. The resulting wine is fresh, fruity and very low in tannin.
Be sure to enjoy your Beaujolais Nouveau soon after purchase, because it is a wine to be enjoyed now and not stored in a cellar.
Very few brands make it to Arkansas, but the dependable brand we can expect is the 2012 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, France (about $12 retail).
by Lorri | Nov 7, 2012 | UnCorked
Fall is upon us and along with it come the annual pressures of the holiday planning. Travel reservations are being confirmed, recipes are being clipped and budgets are getting checked. If you’re like us, wine will be on the menu, so it’s an easy place to start, allowing one less stress ahead. If you’ve avoided serving wine in the past because you thought it was too expensive, reconsider. It’s no longer a pricey treat; it can fit into almost any budget.
A day can make a difference. Look for the best opportunity for savings at fine wine retailers, whether it’s buying by the case or on “wine day.” If you were told you could save 10 percent to 20 percent for simply buying your wine on a certain day of the week, most likely that would be an easy choice.
Make friends with your wine shop staff. With any shopping relationship you should get to know your retailer. With simple conversations they will begin to understand your likes and dislikes and can guide you to the best wines available. And always remember, the best way to find great savings is to simply ask.
Respect the box. With more and more quality wines available, boxed wine is ideal for large or small gatherings. A 3-liter box is the same volume as four standard wine bottles, yet many boxed wines sell for less than $20. With the airtight preservation you can keep it up to a month, making it a solution for parties when you aren’t sure the amount that will be consumed. If you want to remove the stigma ofthe image, simply pour into decorative wine carafes before serving.
Explore the wine world. Many European regions offer tasty wine values, but searching for a specific bottle can beexhausting with the myriad labels, producers and vintage variations. Consider emerging wine regions with little or no recognition. Chile and Argentina continue to offer remarkable value, but also consider Spanish tempranillo and Italian chianti.
Keep your options open. Many quality wines are available at value prices. For quick savings, substitute blanc de blanc in place of vintage Champagne, malbec for cabernet sauvignon, merlot for pinot noir and late-bottled vintage port for vintage port.
THE VALUES UNDER $15
- 2011 Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, Washington (about $11 retail)
- NV La Marca Prosecco, Italy (about $14 retail)
- 2011 PromisQous White Blend, California (about $9 retail)
- 2011 Apothic White Winemakers Blend, California (about $13 retail)
- 2011 Bogle Vineyards Merlot, California (about $10 retail)
- 2011 Root One Carmenere, Chile (about $11 retail)
- 2011 Grayson Cellars Lot 10 Cabernet Sauvignon, California (about $12 retail)
by Lorri | Oct 31, 2012 | UnCorked
Last week a group of students and I addressed the topic of “The Impact of Wood Usage in Wine Storage and Maturation.”
You, as they, would probably also have been yawning as the first PowerPoint slide was projected onto the screen. (Did I mention it was late afternoon on a Friday?) But the class delved into the discussion.
We like to think of wood aged wine as spending its days and nights nestled in dark cellars slowly evolving inside expensive oak barrels, eventually revealing its complex and nuanced character. That scenario is most likely not the case if the wine you are buying costs $12 or less. This is not to say that you will not find wood aromas and tastes in lower-priced wines; it only means you are experiencing a “wood usage option.”
The use of alternative techniques originated in Australia, a leader in revolutionary winemaking techniques. Australians tend to take a pragmatic approach to their craft – for instance, the use of mechanical harvesters in the place of hand harvesting to efficiently grow and harvest more grapes. The simple solution: Put a tractor in the field rather than a picking crew.
Want to soften, add texture and stabilize the tannin in wines? Take a shortcut; throw a few oak chips into the vat. As with Australia’s many other down-to-earth solutions, this method not only costs less on the winery’s end; the savings trickle down to the consumer by offering the flavor and characteristics of wood at a fraction of the price.
These techniques for imparting wood influence without the expensive barrels include the use of oak staves lowered into the vat or large bags filled with oak chips dipped into the vat, much like a tea bag. A final alternative, which few winemakers use (and is illegal in most countries), is pouring a liquid essence with oak flavor into the vat.
Is this modernized technique a benefit to the wine consumer or another process making the romance of winemaking a thing of the past? There is no easy answer. I love rich, buttery $50 chardonnays that have fermented in expensive oak barrels, but certainly enjoy the simple, clean $10 bottles using alternative methods for my wines.
Perhaps this is a question where the exploration is more fun than finding the answer.
THE VALUES
- 2011 Penfolds Rawson Retreat Chardonnay, Australia (about $12 retail)
- 2011 Yalumba Y SeriesChardonnay, Australia (about $12 retail)
THE SPLURGES
- 2009 Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay, California (about $49 retail)
- 2009 Cambria Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay, California (about $32 retail)
