Grape of the Day

Flowing down from the mountains of Spain and passing through Portugal to the Atlantic Ocean, it starts as the Ribera Del Duero and becomes  Rio Douro  when it crossses the border in the northeast corner of Portugal exiting at Porto, this mighty river is perhaps the key to Portugal's most famous wine region, Douro  Denominação_de_Origem (DOC). Sometimes known as Alta Douro as the river cuts theough the mountains to form the Douro Valley, it is shielded from the coastal weather by the mountains that it cuts through. The weather here is best described as continental. The winters are cool with typical daytime highs around 5C and wet with rain on about one day in three. The summers are warm with near constant sunshine (typical highs run between 25 and 30C/ 77-86F) and very dry. During the summer months, there is just a sprinkling of rain a day or two every month. The wine style here is quite diverse. Once, the only wines exported off the Iberian peninsula from Douro were the f...

Why do I always try to take you to a place to drink wine from the various grapes that we discuss here? It's because place matters. And, because place has an identity. And, during these times of COVID with many still feeling trapped in their homes, if you can close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself in the place that I try to take you to, perhaps it will be a means of escape. You don't need me to tell you that you need that escape today, do you? It's important because the place that a wine comes from really does affect the wine itself. Not only is it a labeling and likely pricing issue, it's a taste and like or dislike issue as well, And, whether you know it or not, you make a lot of your buying decisions that way.  I hear it when I am shopping for wine and I hear it sitting in restaurants. People make comments such as, "I always like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc" or "I don't like French wine (almost always because they have grown up on the big...

Italian wines can be confusing. So, let's stay in Italy to learn about and taste one of the more confusing red grapes. What makes it so confusing? There is also a wine region -- a  Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita  (DOCG), in fact -- in Italy called Montepulciano. But, that's not where they grow the grape known as Montepulciano. Thankfully, to find the area best known for Montepulciano, we need only look to the longer version of the grape name -- Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Abruzzo is a region of south-central Italy that is actually comprised of several provinces. Bordered by the Adriatic Sea to its east, the city of Abruzzo in the heart of the region is about 2 hours to the east of Rome. It's a region best described as green. It has national parks and nearly 40 nature reserves. Visitors there can encounter the likes of brown bear, wolves, chamois, and an occasional eagle. Historically, Abruzzo has been a quite poor region. However, in the 21st century, muc...

We're in the Italian province of Asti today, about 90 minutes northwest of Genoa, the port on the Ligurian Sea. If we continued to the northwest, we'd leave the foothills and be in the Italian Alps in Torino (Turin to Americans). But, today, we are in the much smaller commune of Nizza Monferrato. Why? In Nizza Monferrato with a history dating back to the 13th century, they make what may be the finest Barbera in the world. The history of the area, like much of the Piemonte, is somewhat checkered. It spent much of the 13th through mid-17th centuries being passed around through battle from essentially one French faction to another while occasionally falling under Spanish rule as well. By the early 18th century, it fell into the hands of the Kingdom of Savoy which itself had fallen under the rule of at least a dozen nations many of which are now parts of Italy or France. In World War II Nizza Monferrato served as an outpost for the Italian rebels who opposed the fascist regime of M...

Yesterday was National Dog Day. Every day is a day for something. So, why can't I designate? I am designating today, at least on this blog as Wine Dog Story Day.  Lots of wineries have their wine dogs. But, let's take a drive to visit a most unique wine dog, and while we're at it, let's drink some wine. We fly into Phoenix (Arizona) Sky Harbor International Airport. Heading out on the twisty turny roads, particularly from the round car rental center, spending a brief period on Interstate 10 before heading north on Interstate 17. Heading north, we climb, and climb some more. We actually weren't going to drink wine. We were headed to Sedona (if you've never been to Sedona, you are missing out on one of the most beautiful towns you will ever see). After exiting I-17 and heading toward Sedona, continuing north and still climbing on the local roads, we see a small sign that says "Wine." Why not? Let's take a little detour. So, we drive in on the dirt ro...

We tried something new today -- one of us flying in to Bucharest, Romania and heading north by northeast and the other in to Chisinau, Moldova and meeting in the middle in the region that was once known as Moldavia. If we straddle the River Prut, we find our feet in Romania on one side and Moldova on the other. On either side, we need not walk far to find Băbească Neagră growing. Long an important line for boats to take commerce from the Black Sea inland where the Prut flows into the Danube, the area was frequently under siege and a battleground as various tribes fought for domination of the area. Today, the Galati side sits in Romania while the Cahul side sits in Moldova. Together, these areas around the Prut are known as Moldavia. Băbească Neagră is a red grape that translates to English as grandmother's black. Yhe grape buds late making it resistant to the often harsh winters of the area. It also ripens quite late. The thin skin, however, produces a particularly light-bodied win...

We're off to the far western part of the Italian Piemonte today to the province of Cuneo. Geographically centered between the triangle of Nice, France to the south and slightly west, Genoa mostly to the east, and Torino to the north, we're in Nebbiolo and Barbera country. Those are big, dry red wines that ripen late and in their finest forms go through significant aging before release. Dolcetto makes a great sibling for the region. We're at nearly 600 meters/1850 feet here. The winters are quite cool here, but the summers are warm and dry, particularly late June through early September coming out of the rainy season of April and May. .  The area is also known for a few of its foods. There is chocolate-based rum cake, cuneesi al rhum , and raviolini al plin , a tiny little ravioli often formed into abnormal (in the US anyway) shapes and filled with both meat and vegetables. But, we are here today to drink Dolcetto. Translated, the word means little sweet one. Yet, the wines...

The grape was born in Sud-Ouest -- southwest France -- but today we're taking a pleasant trip to Virginia to enjoy wines made from Petit Manseng. We had planned to fly, but with the nearest airport to our destination being Charlottesville-Albemarle (CHO if you ever need the code), we decided to take the lovely drive.  Heading north through Chattanooga and then somewhat east as well as north through Pigeon Forge (making a stop at Dollywood) on I-75 through Knoxville, and then continuing northeast on I-81 through a variety of national forests, it was a long drive (about 8 hours in total), but oh so relaxing. Ending our drive by meandering through the hills of West Virginia before finally leaving the road and parking in Albemarle County, the home of the University of Virginia, built, of course, by Thomas Jefferson. Here, we are in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The weather in the growing season is extremely humid. They cannot grow the grapes traditionally grown in the west...

Let's take a trip to Beaujolais today. Part of the French region of Burgundy, Beaujolais is known for its light red wines traditionally made from Gamay, or more formally Gamay Noir. Many wine drinkers as well became fans of Beaujolais Nouveau, a very light, fruity, and somewhat sweet wine released every year in mid-November and intended to be consumed essentially immediately. What is Beaujolais Nouveau? Honestly, it's nothing more than a marketing scheme dreamed up by a French negociant , Georges DeBoeuf . Early in the 21st century, there was a scandal surrounding Georges DeBoeuf in which was accused of intentionally producing vin de merde . Since then, and until quite recently, Beaujolais, not just in the "nouveau" style has suffered seriously in its consumption and prices have fallen as a result. Only in the last few years has Beajolais had somewhat of a resurgence. Some of the finest vineyards of the area are found on hillsides just to the north of Lyon. The climat...

If I hadn't given this blog a name that included the words "of the day," I would skip today because I really don't have the time to do it. So, I'm blessing you with a listicle that doesn't trequire a whole lot of thought on my part. It's my first listicle on this blog; that is a list of some number of terms. Everyone wants to sound like they know what they are talking about. So here are 10 wine terms that can make you sound like a wine geek. Fiasco -- There is a little bit of debate over this first one. Depending on whom you believe and they are not even consistent about it in Italy, a fiasco is either the roundish bottle often used in Chianti or it is the straw basket that holds the roundish bottle. Since I have heard it referring to the straw basket more often, that's my final answer. Thief  -- The thief, or wine thief, contrary to its name is not a bad thing. But, it is used for stealing just a bit of wine. Imagine that your good friend, the winemak...

Yesterday, we discussed wine bottle labels in the US. But, in what is often referred to as the "Old World" of wine, that is. most Europe and predominantly southwest Asia, labels are quite different. To most Americans, those labels simply don't tell us what's in the bottle. They simply tell us where the wine is from and expect us to understand what a wine labeled Grand Vin de Bourgogne or another bearing the moniker Pradikatwein will be. Not all French wine drinkers know about each of the Appellations d'origine Contrôlée (AOC) in the country. They may not even know there own. In fact, in much of the country, people simply drink their local wines. But, for most of us reading this, or so the blog statistics tell me, our local wines are not French or German, or Spanish, or Georgian, or anything else that would be considered Old World. So, when we go to a wine shop or supermarket or big box store to buy a bottle or a few or a case, how do we know what we are buying? Ev...

We'd all like to believe that we can look at the label on a wine bottle and know what we are getting. Yes, we'd like to belive that, but, for most of us, if we did, we'd be wrong. Here, we're going to stick to labeling practices on wines sold in the US since laws and regulations vary from country to country. Why the US? It's the only country where I know enough about the very specific rules. The first thing to understand is what the label must include. As is the case with almost everything in the US, the labeling requirements are governed by a federal agency that most of us have likely never heard of. In this case, it is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau more commonly known as TTB. TTB tells us that eight things must  appear on the label of a wine bottle. Everything else is optional. And, that I know, anything that does not specifically violate or contradict those eight is fair game. We'll see shortly how much of the other stuff on labels is nothing m...

We often hear that fine wine improves with age. I am sure that somebody said it first and if I look hard enough on social media, I will likely find someone who will say they were there. All kidding aside, however, the statement should probably be closer to many well-made wines change in ways that many wine connoisseurs find appealing up to a point. That would make for a really bad internet meme, though. What in the world does it mean? How do we know? When a wine is young, it tends to fully express the natural flavors of the grape and less so of the terroir. As the wine ages, a lot of the fruit expression regresses while the expressions of the terroir come through. Okay, what does that mean? If you like your wines really fruity, drink them young. And, for that matter, if you like the effects of the alcohol in the wine to come through, drink them young.  A more evolved wine will often have more complexity to it meaning that it may start with the fruit flavors, but they will not overw...

Wine critics often describe wines in ways that you find quite humorous, but clearly untrue. Or, are they? If you saw the movie, "Somm," and if you haven't, I highly recommend it (it's on Netflix or at least used to be), you might remember that one wine was described by the curious "freshly cut garden hose." Well, frankly, that's the only time I've ever heard that one, but there are other unusual ones that are quite common. And, believe it or not, there is a scientific basis to each one. If you search hard enough, I'm sure you can find better scientific bases than I am going to provide, but I'll get you started. Kerosene -- Kerosene, or sometimes petrol if the review comes from the UK, is a common descriptor for Riesling, especially Riesling with some age on it. In fact, if you're doing a blind tasting and you get a white wine that has yellowed or even browned around the rim and you note that faint, or perhaps not so faint smell of kerose...

Where the landscape was once covered with landmines, the remnants of twenty or so years of the conflict usually referred to in the US as the Vietnam War, they've rekindled an industry that was at its peak when the area was known as French Indochina. We're about 210 miles to the northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, the former capital of the former South Vietnam when the city was known as Saigon. The history here is checkered to say the least. Situated on the main railway of the country roughly halfway between Hanoi and then Saigon. That made it a prime area for armed conflict and an equally prime area to place landmines. It was certainly not thought of as a place that would one day be the home of vineyards. In most of the rest of the world, the Cardinal grape is known as a table grape. Among other uses, it's commonly dried nnd made into raisins. But, here, they also use it to make wine, albeit sometimes blended with mulberries. In Vietnam, they make both a white wine and a red win...

Verdicchio is a grape that honestly, I have not thought about for a while. But, while thinking about some other wines and googling to understand better some of what we customarily drink, I happened upon thoughts from several sommeliers that have Verdicchio on their list of most underrated grapes. And, what better day to drink an excellent white wine than one that is forecast to be one of the hottest on record in large swaths of the country. To find this grape in its purest form, we go to its home in Marche, one of the twenty administrative regions of Italy on its eastern (Adriatic) coast just to the south of the tiny principality of San Marino. While we are here to enjoy the wine, its worth noting that Marche is home to some of the finest leather production in the world. When we think of fine footwear, we often think of Italian shoes and when the Italians think of the finest, they head to Marche. In addition, it was one of the homes of Renaissance art, birthplace of Raphael (the artist...

Last night was a celebration dinner. We decided to try a restaurant in Atlanta that we had never been to previously. It was recommended by a friend and it was an outstanding recommendation.  In the Candler Park part of the city, in the farthest east part of the city, sitting almost anonymously in a little parking lot, you'll find (I was given permission by the restaurant to identify them by name) a little place called Lazy Betty:  https://www.lazybettyatl.com/  . They are on of those tasting menu type restaurants; that is, in their case, you may choose either a 4-course or 8-course menu with or without wine pairings. Beware that it is not for those with, shall we say, an unadventurous palate. We were started with the traditional amuse bouche in this case a duck confit cigar and a little potato pastry. Because it was available, we paired it with the champagne we were married to, so to speak, Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle. The combination was a great awakening for the rest o...

Some restaurants care about their wine as much as more than they care about their food. They are lauded by critics and customers alike and they win awards if they seek them. Frankly, the wine experience there is different. Let's consider visits to a few of them, again without naming names although you may be able to identify them if you've been there. Our first restaurant is known for its beef ... and for its desserts ... and for its wine. Upon entering, you notice the ornate if not gaudy wall covering and the highly vaulted ceilings. You won't be seated without a reservation and you had better make your reservation weeks if not months in advance. Upon being seated, each guest will receive a thick menu and one of you will receive, in addition, a book. Yes, the wine list is a book, leather bound, and not thin at that. It's a marvel to explore, but if you're looking for the best wine on the list, you have some work to do. Your server greets you. (S)he explains the men...

Tonight, you're going out for a nice dinner. You've chosen a nice restaurant and you'd like to have a good selection of wine to choose from as well as an excellent wine experience. What we're not talking about here is award-winning wine service and wine list, but this is going to be a pricey evening and you have the reasonable expectation that the wine will improve your experience. Let's start with the by-the-glass list. After all, not every couple has the same tastes in wine and not every couple will order dishes that are complemented by the same types of wine. So, what should that by-the-glass list look like? To me, and this depends a bit on the size of the restaurant and the volume of business they do (a restaurant that seats 30 just cannot have as big a by-the-glass list as a restaurant that seats 300), you should be able to break the list into about a half dozen categories and the list should have two to three in each category. What I'm talking about here a...

Does your favorite restaurant care about its wine? That seems like a silly question, but I'm going to offer my opinions. There are lots of tells and gradations, and, of course, we wouldn't expect a family-style chain restaurant to care in the same way that a high-end steakhouse would, but most restaurants have the opportunity to show that they care that their customers truly have an excellent wine experience or that they are just turning a nice profit on every bottle. Serious wine drinkers are more likely to patronize the first group. Let's start with the smallish neighborhood favorite. What I'm talking about here is the little gem that it took you two years to find because it's hidden on a corner that you try to stay away from. But, a friend told you about the restaurant and you tried it and you fell in love.  But, did you fall in love with the wine there? This restaurant can't have an expansive wine list. It's only open for dinner and in non-Covid times, i...

Wine can be expensive -- very expensive. There is no doubt about that. High-end, low-production wines become very collectible and fetch enormous prices. Wines that are trendy often raise their price structure rapidly. Others remain quite inexpensive despite their high quality. And, then there are some that have seemingly little quality at all, but command relatively high prices. Why? What's going on here? What makes a wine sell? I'm going to give yiu a hint here. And, understand that the hint here is entirely a matter of opinion; my opinion, that is. Of course, this is my blog which means that except for the smattering of facts that I toss in (I'd like to believe that most of what I write here is factual or at least makes every effort to be factual), everything in here is my opinion. In wine, more than the taste, it's all about the branding. And, a very key component of branding is reputation, but there is far more to it than that. There is the label, the bottle style, ...

What do you do if you just love the feel of sparkling wine, but you're also a chocoholic? You travel to the Monferrato hills just to the southeast of Asti in the Italian Piemonte ... of course. The hills of Monferrato are a strange looking region appearing much as a 21st century gerrymandered Congressional district in the US. On the other hand, from above, it looks a bit like Pittsburgh as we have the confluence of three rivers where the Belbo and Bormida join to flow into the Tanaro. To see pictures, the Monferrato look like they came from a fairytale. We're in rolling hills that separate the river valleys adorned with tall towers, churches in every village and dotted with medieval castles. We somewhat expect Prince Charming emerging gently whisking away his damsel in distress. During medieval times, the area was also an important commercial stop for traders from the Mediterranean. The rivers allowed Genovese merchants heading north an excellent stopover point to tout their wa...

There! I said it. As a group, Americans drink our red wine much too warm and our white wine much too cold. And, by doing so, we diminish our enjoyment. Who cares? I do, and you should as well.  Why? Over the years, sommeliers, oenologists, and oenophiles generally have tried serving wines at a number of different temperatures. From that, they have learned at which temperatures different wine styles and different grapes best exhibit their characteristics. And, after all, while most of us who drink wine do like the pleasand feeling we get from the alcohol, we are presumably also drinking it for the flavor and other characteristics inherent in the wine. Let's begin with some basic guidelines. Particularly tannic red wines should generally be served at the warmest temperatures. Cooling them too much diminishes the flavor profile and therefore overemphasizes the tannins. So, of all your wines, serve those big, bold reds at the warmest temperatures (that does not mean room temperature wh...

Wine bottles have traditionally been sealed with cork, specifically from  Quercus Suber L. , the cork oak tree. And, the lovely nation of Portugal is home to more cork oak than anyplace else in the world. If you walk down the streets of any city, town, or village in Portugal, you're likely to find the streets lined with this amazing tree. But, this is not a blog about trees, it's about wine and related topics and today, we're going to discuss the pros and cons of sealing those bottles with cork. In order to discuss the pros and cons, though, we're going to need to compare with other methods of sealing, so we'll touch on synthetic cork, screw caps, and boxes.  One of the biggest cons of using real cork to seal a wine is that the bottle may become "corked." Contrary to what I have heard from many people, a bottle being corked does not mean that pieces of cork can be found floating in the wine. In fact, typically when that happens, that is a wine service issu...