The National Wine
UnClub
Newsletter
Nov./Dec. 2006
Blessings in a Bottle
As the holidays approach once again we are reminded of their importance in our lives, particularly in these troubled times of conflict at home and abroad. We remember that many of our countrymen (and women!) are serving their nation upon foreign soil in less than comfortable circumstances. Our joy in being with family and friends has to be measured by such considerations for it to be a genuine experience relevant to today's world situation.
For those of us who love planning the bountiful holiday gatherings that occur over Thanksgiving and Christmas - stocked with ample foodstuffs of every variety accompanied by the many special wines of the world now available - we can be especially aware of how blessed we are in this country.
As I contemplate what new Oregonian Pinot Noirs, French Bordeaux, California Zinfandels, and Australian Shiraz wines I might add to my shop's selection - wines I need for holiday dinners of turkey, ham, and game fowl - I take pause to be amazed at the dizzying array of choices laid out before me by the several wine importers I deal with daily. To taste and compare every wine currently offered in any category would be sheer impossibility.
Of course, however, we do make a point of buying only what we taste, leaving the scoring pundits to their ponderously imperfect measuring sticks that really don't take personal, subjective taste preferences into account all that well. We, on the other hand, take great pains to be sure each wine purchased fits a well-known niche of taste within each category.
So, if we're buying Sauvignon Blanc for instance - a popular turkey dinner holiday white - we want to have several selections in the bright, tropical New Zealand style (Mud House or Nautilus as affordable examples) as well as a few French offerings from Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume (try the Morin or Reverdy Sancerres, or the Minet Pouilly-Fume.) - a more austere, mineral-rich, Sauvignon. Add a handful of riper California versions (Whitehall Lane, Duckhorn, or Grgich Hills would do nicely!) and the category is more complete for the holiday chef.
With Chardonnay, the same is true: we of course want many oak-tinged, buttery New World bottlings (try Sarah's Vineyard from the Central Coast for a new offering or the wonderfully inexpensive Barossa Valley Estate from Australia) but also we will strive to pick a few crisp, steely white Burgundies which are ethereal and elegant but still show beautiful purity of apple/pear fruit plus those exquisite hazelnut overtones from French oak (Manciat St. Veran or Ambroise Ladoix are good choices here).
For Pinot Grigio we could go light, clean and simple (Alois Lageder), to more intense, with savory minerality (Colterenzio Puiten) to a fat, ripe wood-aged style (Luna). This approach is generally true for all varietal categories: we step up from a straightforward, no-frills style to something more mid-range weight-wise, to the full-throttle, over-the-top styles, all of which have enthusiastic adherents.
Pinot Noir is bought similarly. If we want a lighter style it's a sure bet with simple Bourgogne Rouge and village appellation labels like the Paquet Auxey Duresses or the Drouhin Bourgogne Pinot Noir. For mid-weight, Oregonian labels like Argyle work well, or French Cote de Beaune wines like Mommessin Beaune Premier Cru. For heavier Pinot Noir, try California's Etude or Dutton-Goldfield, Oregon's Cristom Reserve, or a good French Cote de Nuits, like Chateau Gris Nuit St. Georges Premier Cru or Mommessin Echezeaux.
Cabernet is almost always either upper mid-weight to heavy in style, so don't look here for cocktail style red. Simple Cabs are available and affordable like the Calina Cabernet Reserve from Chile or the Trefethen Eshcol Cabernet from California. For middle-range we like wines like California's B.R. Cohn Silver label or the Alexander Valley Cab. Also quite special are the Cabs from Powers, a Columbia Valley producer in Washington state. For 'big' Cabernet, it's hard to go wrong with labels like Napa's Whitehall Lane or Shafer, or you could try the excellent Catena and Andeluna Cabs of Argentina. Neil Ellis Cabernet from South Africa deserves an honorable mention here as well.
If you want to be pristinely patriotic you could focus on serving California's fruit-dense Zinfandel - a great choice for turkey with jalapeno-spiked dressing! The lightest Zin produced by Rosenblum (Cuvee XXIX currently) is our favorite affordable offering. Edmeades hits the middle note well, as does Spann Vineyards 'Mo-Zin'. For power, try 'The Monster' Zin from Norman Estates, or the 'Warrior Fire' Zin from Karly. Norman also produces a neat Zinfandel Port in a half-liter bottle which makes a great dessert wine.
We trust that you and yours will have a fine holiday season enriched often by gatherings of people who you love and who love you. Wine can help bring us together, or at least can augment the plethora of holiday dishes that will be created across the land in the cooler days to come this November and December.
Happy Holidays!
Donald W. White