Wines for the Barbecue

It’s Labor Day weekend in the USA, and that means two things: the unofficial end of summer and three days of going to barbecues and outdoor parties.

But what bottle to bring? You could take the easy way out and bring beer — if you do, at least make it something adventurous, such as a small-craft local brew. Personally, I like Belgian ales and Weisse beers for summer sipping — which can be either imported or made domestically (they call them “Belgian-style” or “Hefe Weizen-style”). But wait, this is a wine blog, so let’s get on to the wines.

White wines and light reds seem best suited to an outdoor party. The weather is hopefully sunny, the conversation casual, and the atmosphere easygoing — so a wine that has similar character is ideal. Herewith a quick list of easy drinking wines that would be welcomed at any BBQ:

Rose Wines

With their “tweener” status and flexibility to match with nearly any dish, pink wines were seemingly invented for the barbecue. Any dry rose is perfect for an outdoor party, and some of the sweeter ones will be enjoyed by many party-goers. I like to opt for roses from Spain and Portugal for their value and freshness, and when I have a few extra dollars will choose bottles from France — but there are excellent examples from all over the world. Some of my favorites: Toad Hollow, Pink Criquet, Chateau Laulerie, Chateau Calissanne, Mas de Gourgonnier, Artazuri, Chapoutier “Belleruche”.

White Wines

While you can never go wrong with a rose for a BBQ, you’re nearly as fail-safe with a white. Pick up just about any white off the shelf and it will probably go with something being served at the outdoor party — or it will be fine as an aperitif. Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc are no-brainers, but there are many, many others. That said, I won’t go into the details of varietals to choose from — we’d be here all day — but instead will suggest some “off the wall” whites that you might not otherwise have known or considered: Antinori Bianco, Nederburg Lyric, Nyakas Muller-Thurgau, Clean Slate Riesling, Blanck Pinot Blanc, Duca di Salaparuta Colomba Platino, Conclass Rueda.

Red Wines

Beaujolais Cru
The Gamay grape is the standard by which all other fun, light and easy reds are measured. California Gamay is OK, but the real deal comes from Beaujolais, France. Don’t buy a Nouveau, because it peaked before Easter. A “Cru” however, will have bright cherry flavor and enough structure to match with a variety of foods. Georges Duboeuf is the easiest to find and in my mind the most reliable, with Louis Jadot a close second. Favorite Cru: Morgon, Brouilly, Regnie, Fleurie, Julienas, Chenas.

Pinot Noir
The movie Sideways turned nearly every winery into a Pinot Noir factory, and as a result there are tons to choose from at various price points. Typical inexpensive Pinot Noir is light- to medium-bodied and, like Beaujolais, has a nice bright cherry character with ample acidity and enough tannin for food. My suggestions: Fleur, Estancia, Robert Mondavi, Drylands, Acacia “A”, Cono Sur.

Garnacha / Grenache
Some Grenache-based wines are borderline full-bodied, but others are lighter. The biggest clue to figuring out which is which is the price — the less the cost, likely the lighter the wine. Look in the Spain aisle, and seek out labels with the region Catalayud, Jumilla, Campo de Borja, or La Mancha — all four have been exporting enjoyable light reds in the ten-dollar range. Try: Wrongo Dongo, Garnacha de Fuego, Zeta, Borsao, Vinos Sin Ley.

Corbieres
There are some nice light-bodied reds from this French region. My favorite is Les Deux Rives, a soft red that is light enough to match with fish, yet has just enough to be passable with burgers.

Chardonnay Wine Review: Artesa

Artesa Chardonnay Reserve 2005

Once in a while when I’m in the wine shop my alligator arms reach way way down to the bottom of my pocket, where I hide my twenty dollar bills, so that I can buy an “expensive” bottle of wine. I know, I know, there are plenty of people who plunk down much more than that on a regular basis — indeed, you might be one of those who regularly have Andrew Jackson as your wine enabler.

However, I tend to be — oh, let’s call it “cash challenged” — so when I go far above $15-20 for a bottle of wine, it HAS to be worth it.

In this case, it is.

The “regular” or “Classic Tier” Chardonnay made by Artesa is more in my price range — about $12-14 depending on the retailer. And it’s a very nice bottle of wine. But the “Reserve” edition, which we review here, is much better — at least ten to fifteen dollars better.

For both wines, the grapes are from Carneros, California — and if you’re not aware, that’s a good place to grow Chardonnay. The vines bearing the grapes for this “Reserve” Chard are from the highest hills in Carneros, which means they soak up more sun than any others in the region, and therefore ripen more fully and completely. Lots of sun equals lots of flavor, and in this case, the winemaker further enhances the fruit by putting most of it through what’s called a secondary malolactic fermentation. If you’re not a geek, you don’t need to know exactly what that means — all you need to know is that it makes the wine feel fuller in the mouth, and more buttery and creamy.

In addition, they put half of the juice into new oak barrels for almost ten months, which adds a nice vanilla spice complexity. You can’t do that with just any wine or it will be dominated by a woodsy flavor. With this wine, the oak both “complements” and “compliments” the ripe fruit.

On to the tasting notes.

Tasting Notes: Artesa Chardonnay Reserve 2005

Wide open aromas of ripe pear, candied peach, apple, melon, spice, and vanilla. On the palate it is equally wide open and forward, expressing ripe pear, red delicious apple, and a creamy vanilla flavor that melts into butterscotch. Acidity is mild to medium – just enough for food matching. Texture is thick and creamy, almost heavy, just short of cloying, with a luscious mouthfeel. Overall, a yummy drinker on its own, with enough structure to enjoy with food. Drink it alone or with garlic-roasted chicken, lobster in butter, popcorn.

a-9 t-9 b-8 fc-7 v-7 ~ 90 Points

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Winery: Artesa

Wine Gadget: Waring Chiller

Since most of my friends and family are aware of my wine geekiness, I tend to receive wine accessories as birthday and holiday gifts. So it was no surprise that I eventually unwrapped a Waring Wine Chiller.

It was in fact one of those items I’d never have bought for myself — mainly because I live in a very small (900 sq. ft.) abode and therefore don’t have the room to store non-essential appliances (would anyone be interested in a salad dryer, by the way?). And isn’t that the ideal gift? One that the recipient would never buy for oneself?

In any case, I must admit the Waring Wine Chiller was a pretty cool — albeit geeky — machine. It does exactly what it says: chills or warms a bottle of wine to the ideal temperature, as dialed in manually or by wine type. That said, I’d recommend it as a gift for cork dork who “has everything”. The only caveat — other than the need to store it somewhere — is the noise factor. It is NOT a quiet machine, and the time it takes to chill a bottle of white from room temperature to an ideal 58 degrees feels a little longer if you’re standing there watching and listening. Kind of like a “watched pot never boils”, a bottle of wine will take a seemingly very long time to chill if you have nothing better to do than wait for it.

But hey, if you’re opening a bottle of wine, chances are good you’re enjoying company, right? And therefore you should be socializing / entertaining — not watching a wine bottle chill. I mean really, do you watch grass grow during an outdoor BBQ? Of course not, and if grass growing made an incessant vibrating, humming noise, you’d hardly notice it while playing jarts and arguing politics with your neighbor. Same goes for the buzzing wine chiller — put the bottle in, set the temp, then go into the great room and chat for 10-15 minutes while the wine reaches optimum temperature.

Great deal: Waring PC100W Wine Chiller w/ Metrokane Rabbit Corkscrew Set

Sauvignon Blanc Review: Maddalena

San Antonio Winery Maddalena Sauvignon Blanc 2006

When I first saw this wine I thought, “wow, a wine from Texas!”. After all, San Antonio IS in Texas, isn’t it?

Yeah … um … sometimes I’m not so smart.

With help from my reading glasses, a closer look at the label revealed that indeed the wine was from San Antonio Winery — a winery that happens to be located in Los Angeles, California.

But there are no vineyards in LA!

Perhaps — but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a winery.

In fact, San Antonio has been a winery since 1917, and is currently owned by the Riboli family. The Ribolis own vineyards in Napa Valley and Monterey, and also source grapes from Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara; Alexander Valley, Sonoma; and San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles — which is where this wine gets its grapes.

Specifically, the Sauvignon Blanc grapes are grown in “Steinbeck Vineyard“. Before you go Grapes of Wrath on me, go check the website yourself and let me know if you find any indication that the Ernst and Steinbeck families — who own / owned the vines — are in any way related to John Ernst Steinbeck. Hmm … a mystery for another day.

We’ll get Lt. Columbo on the case … meantime, the tasting notes.

Tasting Notes: Maddalena Sauvignon Blanc

Ripe aromas of apple, pear, herb, and a hint of ginger. Similar fruit on the palate – ripe pear, peach, apple. Nice citrus flavor as well. Texture is very smooth, almost creamy. Attractive, zesty acidity makes this a good food wine. Drink it with pork, chicken, gamey fish, dishes accented by a mild cheese sauce. At about twelve bucks, this is a good value.

a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-8 v-7 ~ 89 Points

Winery: San Antonio / Riboli Family Wine Estates

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Rose Wine Review: Toad Hollow

Toad Hollow Dry Rose 2007

Summertime is the best time for rose wine, in my humble opinion. However, it can be difficult to find a good dry rose unless you do some research. Although many US wine drinkers have become more sophisticated, and now eschew the sugary white zins that proliferated the market for so many years, the shelves are still strewn with sweet pinks — and sit alongside their bone-dry cousins.

So it’s with some hesitation that I pick up a pink — particularly one I’ve never had before. I’ll try to look for clues as to a wine’s dryness / sweetness, but since so few labels list their residual sugar content, I’m stuck with relying on instinct (guessing actually) and the fluffy, flowery sentences that may be printed on the back of the bottle.

All that said, I can say I was pleasantly surprised by Toad Hollow Rose — a nice, clean, dry rose, and one that I’ll buy again. This pink is made from 100% Carneros-grown Pinot Noir, is refreshing on a warm summer day, and finishes bone dry.

Tasting Notes: Toad Hollow “Eye of the Toad” Rose 2007

Nose is expressive, with bright strawberry and red raspberry aromas. On the palate it is clean with a citrusy zing, with flavors of strawberry, lime, red raspberry. Acidity is about medium and OK for food matching, but mild enough for drinking as an aperitif. Have it with mildly flavored foods, nothing too fatty. Simple appetizers, lean fish, lean pork, simply prepared chicken, maybe spicy hot dishes such as Indian cuisine or Thai. A pleasant, clean, enjoyable summer sipper.

a-8 t-8 b-7 fc-7 v-8 ~ 88 Points

Winery website: Toad Hollow

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Nick Faldo Launches Wines

As if the world didn’t have enough celebrity “winemakers” …

The latest well-known name to dabble into wine production is golfing great Nick Faldo. Faldo has launched a new line of “easy drinking” wines, just in time for the Rhyder’s Cup golf tournament between the US and Europe (September 19-21). We can be certain that the wines’ release corresponding with the tournament is NOT a coincidence.

Interestingly, “Faldo Wines” have been around since 2000 — it is a special line produced by Katnook Estate in in Coonawarra, Australia. Are the wines any good? I have no idea, as I’ve not seen nor tasted these wines yet. I imagine they might have a “green” character …

If I can find the Faldo Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Shiraz, I will be sure to taste it head-to-head against the same wines from Greg Norman Estates and report the results here. It will be much cheaper than watching these two golfers compete in person, and certainly more enjoyable.

Red Wine Review: Ch. Vignot Bordeaux

Chateau Vignot Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Bordeaux 2004

One of my great weaknesses when it comes to wine is Bordeaux (when was the last time you heard a wine geek like me admit he didn’t know something about wine?). There seem to be so many producers of Bordeaux, with prices starting around $6.99 and going well past $699. And forget the whole Bordeaux “futures” market — I just sit back and listen to people talk about the cases they’ve “reserved”. Me, when I spend money on wine, I want it NOW.

Anyway, I know a “little bit” about Bordeaux, which I’ll share with you. I know the wine comes from France, from the region of Bordeaux, and that the wines are often, but don’t have to be, blends (the primary grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc). Generally speaking, you get what you pay for, which is where things get cloudy. If you have big bucks, then Bordeaux is easy — you go after a “First Growth”, “Second Growth”, and so on, through “Fifth Growth”. These are the Chateaus, or wine estates, that were named in something called the “1855 Classification” — so named because all these estates were “classified” as producing superior red wine way back in the year 1855.

However, if you’re like me and not the beneficiary of a wealthy trust fund, then finding an affordable Bordeaux can be sketchy. Luckily there are “lesser” classifications within the region to help steer you to a nice bottle: Cru Bourgeois, Premier Grand Cru, and Grand Cru. If you see these words on a label, chances are good that the wine inside will be of good quality. Whether you like it or not, however, is another story.

But wait, it’s actually not that simple. There’s an area in Bordeaux called Saint-Emilion which subscribes to a completely different set of rules. And unfortunately, it gets more complicated — partially because the process by which wines are classified in Saint-Emilion is under controversy. You can, however, count on a label that says “Grand Cru Classe” (and you’ll pay for it). If you find you like Bordeaux wines, though, it’s worth doing research on — and tasting through — the wines of Saint-Emilion.

There are very fat books dedicated to Bordeaux, and we can’t even scratch the surface of the region and its wines here. That said, very generally speaking, the wines from the Medoc, Haut-Medoc, and Graves (pronounced “graav”) will be dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. If you see Saint-Emilion or Pomerol on the label, the wine most likely will be based on Merlot and or Cabernet Franc. Armed with this information, it may be a bit easier for you to start exploring wines from the Bordeaux region.

Today we review a Bordeaux from Saint-Emilion, and it’s “only” a Grand Cru, as opposed to a Grand Cru Classe. But you wouldn’t need me to tell you how great a Grand Cru Classe is, so I’ve picked one of the diamonds out of the haystack of Grand Crus in Saint-Emilion — one with the potential to add “Classe” to its label in the near future, in fact.

This wine is made at Chateau Lassegue by superstar winemaker / vigneron Pierre Seillan (who is also the genius behind Verite, Tenuta di Arceno, and other boutique wineries under the Jackson Estates umbrella).

Tasting Notes: Chateau Vignot Saint-Émilion

Deep, dense, purplish and magenta color suggests that it is still young. Forward nose of rich, ripe, complex, yummy smelling red and black berry fruits: mulberry, boysenberry, raspberry, and currant, along with mild tobacco, earth, and a hint of tar. Palate is equally complex, with flavors of dry blackberry, black raspberry, tobacco, an earthy herbal component, and a touch of chocolate licorice. Silky smooth texture – almost creamy. Tannins are firm but not overwhelming. Acidity is medium and in good supply for food matching. A bit too dry to drink alone, enjoy this with a piece of cheese to take the edge off, or grill a good steak. It’s in its youth, and will improve with some time in the cellar. Polished.

At about $35, it’s pricier than most wines reviewed here. However, I can tell you that you don’t have to be worried about spending that much for Chateau Vignot — in this case, you get what you pay for, and what you get is a high quality wine.

a-10 t-8 b-9 fc-8 v-7 ~ 92 Points

Winery: Chateau Lassegue

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