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Wine
Writing
Articles are from the Star Ledger unless otherwise indicated.
Cremant d'Alsace brings smiles and value
Cremant d’Alsace is the smart way to enjoy quality and price when choosing a sparkling wine for upcoming graduations, weddings, and Memorial Day parties. Cremant is the French term for a sparkling wine made in the Champagne method, but not originating in the Champagne region. That region is 90 miles northeast of Paris, but cremants are made in many areas, the best being Burgundy, Loire and Alsace. The Champagne method takes place after the first fermentation creates a still wine by changing the grape’s juice to alcohol; the second fermentation, which creates the bubbles, takes place in each bottle, rather than in a tank (the process of many inexpensive sparkling wines). In its way, the Champagne method turns each bottle into its own fermentation vessel. Alsace is in northeastern France and borders Germany. It wine history begins with the Roman Empire, and by the Middle Ages Alsatian wines were renowned in Europe and correspondingly expensive. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/04/cremant_dalsace_brings_smiles.html
Renowned Selvapiana illuminates Chianti Rufina
Chianti Rufina is an appellation that can confuse American wine consumers, but the wines of Fattoria Selvapiana will make you appreciated it. Chianti is one of the most well-known wine names in the world. Yet, few wine consumers know that it consists of seven sub-zones, the most popular being Chianti Classico. One of the others is Chianti Rufina, which is an area northeast of Florence, yet Rufina is easily confused with the familiar Chianti Classico winery, Rufino. Chianti Rufina is more inland than the other sub-zones and it is cooler. Its location made it a perfect summer get-a-way for the wealthy and privileged of Florence. Before Michele Giuntini purchased Selvapiana in 1827, it was the summer residence for the Florentine bishops and then Florentine merchant families. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/04/renowned_selvapiana_leads_chia.html Roda makes the most of its Rioja black fruit flavors
Rioja has always had a special place in my wine firmament, and the newest star to emerge in it is Bodegas Roda. In 1987, Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurella founded Roda in Haro, a major wine city in Spain’s La Rioja province. This region is more mountainous than most Spanish vineyard areas and has three sections: Rioja Alta, Baja and Alavesa. Roda didn’t follow the traditional model of opening a winery adjacent to a vineyard. Instead, it has 28 vineyards (owned or are under long-term contracts with growers) spread across 370 acres in Rioja Alta and Baja, and contain mature vines ranging from 30 to 100 years old, cultivated chemical free. Roda designed its winery with 17 large French oak vats for fermenting the best grapes each year from 17 vineyards. It sells all the other grapes to other wineries. I can’t recall any other winery that decided to cultivate its vineyards with the intention of only selecting the best 60 percent of the harvest and selling the remainder, no matter the quality. From this pick-of-the-litter philosophy, Roda makes two reserva wines, Roda and Roda I, eschewing the Rioja format of making four wines(jovan, crianza, reserva and gran reserva). It also makes one bottling without any classification, Cirsion. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/04/roda.html
No balking about these fine Serbian wines
Part of the fun of the wine world is the exploring and learning, and both meet at the intersection of Vino Budimir. In February, I sat across the table from Alexander Raskovic at Hoboken’s Brass Rail restaurant. Between us were a selection of Serbian wines from a wine culture that dates back thousands of years. Raskovic married into a family that spans six generations of winemaking in the Zupa region, the central part of Serbia, and the vineyards extend from recently planted to those more than a century old. Serbia’s vineyards date from the ancient Greeks, and Raskovic’s cellar holds a diploma from the 19th-century Serbian King Milan Obrenovic attesting to the family’s wines more than 130 years ago. His wife’s grandfather Budimir Zdravkovic has made more than 70 vintages and continues to make wine, Raskovic said as he poured the 2008 Margus Margi Riesling. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/04/no_balking_about_these_fine_se.html
Rediscover Ferrer's lean pinot noir and tangy blanc de noir from California
If you like pinot noir, you’ll love Gloria Ferrer’s wines. Gloria Ferrer is the California winery created by the Spanish Ferrer family, owners of Freixenet, Spain’s largest cava wine company. In 1982, Jose and Gloria Ferrer fulfilled a family dream when they purchased a 160-acre cattle and sheep ranch in Sonoma County’s Carneros area. They planted 75 percent of the estate with pinot noir and the remainder with chardonnay, the two principal grapes of Champagne. Four years later, they produced the first sparkling wine made in Carneros. Over the years, I’ve tasted Gloria Ferrer’s sparkling wines and always enjoyed them. Yet, with so many wines in the marketplace, it’s easy to forget an old friend. A few weeks ago, I tasted the latest Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs nonvintage and was particularly pleased to realize the wine is better than ever. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/03/rediscover_ferrers_lean_pinot.html
White Burgundy is perfect fit for season
When you want well-made white Burgundy wines at reasonable prices, look to Olivier Leflaive. In 1984, Olivier Leflaive began his wine business in Puligny-Montrachet, the most prestigious white wine village in Burgundy. Not long after that, I met him outside his small winery; he was wearing cowboy boots and his American convertible was parked nearby. Nearly thirty years later, the impression is still vivid. I don’t know if his affection for iconic American symbols influenced his business model, but he did exhibit a broader view than other French winery owners when he opened a café next to his winery decades before other Frenchmen thought about Napa Valley-styled wine tourism. Today, his daughter Julie Leflaive manages La Maison d’Olivier Leflaive, an upscale hotel and restaurant, and tour program at his Puligny-Montrachet winery. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/03/white_burgundy_is_perfect_fit.html
Chateau Lagrange, getting better with age By John Foy on March 13, 2013 Chateau Lagrange’s history is one of grandeur and decline, renewal and respect. Chateau Lagrange documents its beginning to 1289 when the religious Order of the Temple had a hospital on the property. Over centuries, the land was divided into tenant farms, a chapel and hospital, and a winery and wine cellar. Wealthy members of Bordeaux society and French noble families traded ownership of Chateau Lagrange, expanding and beautifying it along the way. Beginning in 1796, Count Jean Valere Cabarrus, minister of finance in Spain to Napoleon I, took control of the estate and added land to it, and in 1842 Count Charles Marie Tanneguy Duchatel, home secretary to King Louis-Philippe, assumed ownership and elevated the chateau’s wines and vineyards. But with the onset of financial upheaval in the late 19th century, World I and II, and the Depression, Chateau Lagrange declined and had shrunk from about 700 to 400 acres by the time the Japanese Suntory group purchased it in 1983. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/03/chateau_lagrange.html
Small Vines, transcendent wines from Sonoma County
Paul Sloan had a life-changing experience with pinot noir. I confess to being possessed by pinot noir, too. This is why I sampled one more set of wines before I left the Sonoma Coast pinot noir tasting held last week in Manhattan. Luckily, Small Vines Wines had the table by the door and the Sloans were pouring their newest pinot noirs. In 1995, Sloan was working at the popular John Ash restaurant in Sonoma Valley when he tasted the world-renowned Domaine de la Romanee-Conti red burgundy wine. It was the equivalent of a religious experience for the 23-year-old, and Sloan started on a journey seeking the reasons why this wine possessed him. It led him to study viticulture and winemaking in Sonoma County; to work for two years with legendary viticulturist Warren Dutton, owner of Dutton Ranch, one of California’s premier pinot noir vineyards; and to make a pilgrimage to Burgundy, the holy land of pinot noir to understand its viticulture methods. In 1998, Sloan and his wife, Kathryn, founded Small Vine Viticulture, a company dedicated to high-density planting that he learned in Burgundy. Six years later, the Sloans founded Small Vines Wines, producing their first pinot noir in 2005. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/03/small_vines_transcendent_wines.html
Winemaking family honors tradition
In a modern world full of flash-in-the-pans, Badia a Coltibuono stands out for its history, tradition and authentic Chianti Classico wines. Almost a thousand years ago, vines were planted by Vallombrosan monks on the property they named Badia a Coltibuono, which translates to abbey of the good harvest. If ever there was a more appropriate name for a winery, I don’t know it. The monks extended their vineyards and agriculture over a vast area of Chianti until 1810, when the land was confiscated and sold under Napoleonic law. In 1846, Florentine banker Guido Giuntini purchased it. Today, the sixth generation of the family, Emanuela, Roberto, Paolo, and Guido Stucchi Prinetti continue the evolution of Badia a Coltibuono. My first visit was in the mid-1980s. I met Roberto Stucchi Prinetti, a recent graduate of the enology program at University of California at Davis; his sister, Emanuela, who handled marketing and public relations; and their mother, Lorenza de’Medici who developed a cooking program that led to cookbooks and a television program on PBS. I also slept in the abbey on a wooden bed in a dark, windowless, cell-like stone room. It convinced me not to become a monk. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/02/winemaking_family_honors_tradi.html
By John Foy on February 20, 2013 Brunello di Montalcino has gone through a sea change since the 1970s, but one of the anchors of this area and its wine is Il Poggione. In the late 1800s, Florentine landowner Lavinio Franceschi trekked from his estate to the distant hills of the Montalcino area south of Siena. He wanted to see the land where his Shepard moved the flock of sheep for their regular winter stay, singing praises of the area’s beauty. After seeing it for himself, Franceschi purchased land in 1890 in Sant’Angelo in Colle, part of the Montalcino community. Today, the property, named Il Poggione, is in the hands of Franceschi’s great-grandchildren Leopoldo and Livia Franceschi. They continue the mixed agriculture of vineyards, crops and animal-raising started more than a century ago by their adventurous and enterprising ancestor. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/02/restrained_winemaking_elevates.html
Champagne houses that make roses worth your while
Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck rose’ champagnes capture the many shades of roses and evoke equal sighs of pleasure. Piper-Heidsieck was founded in 1785, and Charles Heidsieck in 1851. They remained independent Champagne companies until Remy Cointreau purchased the former in 1988 and the latter in 1985. Yet even under a corporate umbrella, they retained distinctly different styles. Charles Heidsieck’s full body, rich flavors (from blending current wine with reserve vintages), and integrated acidity resulted in a complexity of texture and taste and age-ability that I always found compelling. Piper-Heidsieck was less aromatic and flavorful and displayed aggressive acidity on a medium body. It was simply not my Champagne style. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/02/champagne_houses_that_make_ros.html
Chocolate and port, the perfect couple
From the Aztecs to Europe’s royal courts, chocolate has been linked to fertility, privilege and luxury, making it a natural Valentine’s Day present. Add a glass of port wine and you’ll treat yourself and your partner royally, too. Port wine is made in Portugal’s Douro Valley. There are many other fortified wines from around the world labeled port, but they are no more port wine than a sparkling wine from California is Champagne. Port and Champagne can only come from its specific geographical location and made from specified grapes and methods in accordance with each wine’s regulations. Tawny and ruby ports start from the same mix of Portuguese grapes, but the winemaking is significantly different for each. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/02/chocolate_and_port_the_perfect.html
Masut is passionate about pinot noir
Pinot noir is a grape that requires passion. It’s fickle about soil and climate, doesn’t respond well to big, industrial-size wineries, and is easily subjugated by alcohol levels and excessive aging in new oak barrels. Pinot noir needs coddling from growers and winemakers, and gets it from Jake and Ben Fetzer at Masut Winery. Fetzer is a familiar name to wine consumers who came of age in the 1970s and 1980s. Barney and Kathleen Fetzer raised their 11 children on a farm and vineyard estate in rural Mendocino County. Fetzer began making wine in 1968 and became one of the most successful wineries in California. In 1992, the beverage conglomerate Brown-Forman bought the brand and a portion of the estate. Four years later, Bobby Fetzer purchased 1,500 acres next to Home Ranch, where he grew up. In 1997, Fetzer and his two teenage sons Jake and Ben began planting pinot noir. “We were teenagers planting vines with post hole diggers and building our future”, Jake recalls. (Note to parents: make this story required reading when your teenagers complain about their allowance.) The vineyard was certified organic, and Fetzer sold the grapes to various wineries. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/01/masut_is_passionate_about_pino.html
"Rescued" vintage results in rich sauvignon blanc
Sometimes when you drink a winery’s less famous wine, you have a delightful surprise, as I did with the 2011 Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc. Cakebread Cellars is famous for its big, full-bodied, Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. Its sauvignon blanc is not exactly a wallflower, but neither is it in the forefront of wine consumers’ thoughts when Cakebread comes to mind. Based on my tastings of the 2011 Cakebread Cellars sauvignon blanc, I suggest putting it higher on your list. Earlier this month, I had lunch at Nobu, the nouvelle Japanese cuisine restaurant in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. We ordered a bottle of the 2011 Cakebread Cellars sauvignon blanc to be poured with our mussels with spicy garlic sauce and a selection of tuna and eel sushi rolls. I recalled I was pleasantly surprised by the wine a few months ago. I had expected that the wine would be as big and bold as Cakebread’s red wines and chardonnay--exactly what I do not want from sauvignon blanc. Instead my senses received a sauvignon blanc that was of California, but not overwhelmingly Californian. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/01/rescued_vintage_results_in_ric.html Banfi leads the way with Brunello di Montalcino
The 2007 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino is an excellent wine from an outstanding vintage in a wine area that it was a major contributor to its modern style. In 1977, Long Island brothers Harry and John Mariani purchased 4,500 acres in Tuscany’s Montalcino and introduced American entrepreneurial energy to this ancient and obscure Tuscan wine town. During the next 30 years, Banfi planted vineyards, purchased thousands of additional acres, developed a wine research center, experimented with numerous clones of the sangiovese grape, created unique fermentation tanks and barrels, divided its vineyard into multiple sections for specific sangiovese clones, opened a hospitality center, built a first-class hotel, and earned a Michelin Guide star for its restaurant. In the 1990s John Mariani’s daughter, Christina Mariani-May, and Harry’s son, James, joined Banfi. A decade later, their fathers handed these two business-schooled cousins the reins, and they continue to drive Banfi in the same fast lane. And while the fathers now sit in the backseat, they are not silent passengers. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/01/banfi_leads_the_way_with_brune.html
Younger generation continues Friuli excellence
Like father, like daughter. Patrizia Felluga’s father Marco Felluga is the internationally recognized winemaker and owner of two of Italy’s outstanding wineries: Russiz Superiore and Marco Felluga. Following in her father’s footsteps, Felluga founded Zuani Winery in the Collio district of the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region in Italy’s northeastern corner. Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, commonly referred to as Friuli, is arguably Italy’s finest white wine region. There is red wine production, but the cool climate and soil favor white grapes such as friulano, pinot grigio, pinot bianco, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, ribolla gialla and malvasia Istriana. Whether alone or combined, these grapes turn the image of Italian white wine on its head as they yield balanced, long-aging, rich flavored, medium- to full-bodied white wine. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/01/younger_generation_continues_f.html
Piccini Chianti is a palate, and wallet-friendly, treat
Starting the New Year with the good value 2011 Piccini Chianti and 2009 Piccini Chianti Classico will salve the conscience and the checking account when December’s credit card bills arrive. In 1882, Angiolo Piccini purchased 15 acres of vineyard land in Tuscany’s Poggibonsi village. Over the course of four generations, the Piccinis built that humble beginning into a force of four wineries and nearly 1,000 acres spread across Tuscan vineyard sites in Chianti Classico, Montalcino, and Maremma. The family’s energetic efforts accounts for approximately 11 percent of Chianti wine. And while that volume allows for lower pricing, Piccini offers quality, too. The bold orange-labeled 2011 Piccini Chianti is a blend of 95 percent sangiovese and 5 percent ciliegiolo. In Italian, ciliegio is the word for cherry tree, which explains the ciliegiolo grape’s color and flavor, and the underlying taste of this wine. Sangiovese is the principal red grape of Tuscany and contributes the wine’s very attractive black cherry color, aroma and flavor. Its savoriness is balanced by soft tannins and a modest 13 percent alcohol. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2013/01/piccini_chianti_is_a_palate_an.html
Alternatives to Champagne's pricey bubbles
You can celebrate New Year’s Eve well without dipping into next year’s budget with these reasonably priced sparkling wines. Champagne comes from the Champagne region, 90 miles northeast of Paris, and with a price tag that often exceeds the budget. But you can let the Champagne region come to you. Mumm Napa was founded in 1983 by the champagne house G.H.Mumm. Since 2002, its winemaker has been Ludovic Dervin, who was born in the Champagne region and worked at highly regarded Charles Heidsieck Champagne and G.H. Mumm. At Mumm Napa, Dervin makes two nonvintage wines: Cuvee M and Brut Prestige. Cuvee M has a pinkish tint and retains a small percentage of residual sugar; which makes it attractive for those who find the brut style too dry. It’s ideal to pour as an aperitif or with desserts like crème brulee. Mumm Napa Brut Prestige is almost exclusively a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, Champagne’s two principal grapes. It’s dry and flavorful, an ideal partner to an avocado and cucumber sushi roll, steamed dumplings, or a mildly spicy curry dish. Mumm Napa sparkling wines are distributed by Allied Beverage Group in Carlstadt, Fedway Associates in Kearny, and R&R Marketing in Caldwell. The Cuvee M and Brut Prestige retail for approximately $23. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/12/alternatives_to_champagnes_pri.html
Get the New Year's party bubbling with rose' Champagne
New Year’s Eve party planning is in high gear, and I’ll make my contribution with a selection of rosé Champagnes I tasted two weeks ago at the annual Wine Media Guild Champagne luncheon. According to the Champagne Bureau, Americans are the largest consumers of rose Champagne. We love the colors, which range from onion skin to copper to raw salmon. We love the aromas of orange peel, maraschino cherries, flowers and red fruit. And we love the flavors of raspberries, strawberries, cherries and red grapefruit. But most of all, we love the party mood rosé Champagne creates. I want to start the party with the rosé Champagne that creates smiles the second you display the bottle: Perrier-Jouët’s Belle Époque. Its design of anemones laced to gold branches by Emile Galle from the Art Nouveau period presents grace and style unmatched by any other Champagne bottle. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/12/rose_champagne.html
Gifts for the oenophile on your list
If you have a friend, colleague or client that is interested in wine, here are some gift suggestions that will be remembered. You can give a royal treat with a bottle of Corton-Charlemagne. According to legend, Madame Charlemagne disliked when her husband’s white beard was stained with Corton, his favorite red wine. She ordered white grapes planted, and even though Charlemagne was the emperor of the western world, he listened to his wife and began drinking the new white wine made on the hills of Corton. Faiveley, a prestigious Burgundy family, produces an outstanding 2010 Corton-Charlemagne. It is pure chardonnay and layered with vanilla aroma and flavor from aging in French oak barrels, and has the classic mineral backbone of Corton-Charlemagne. As tempting as it is to drink this wine now, it needs five years in the cellar to mold itself into a structured, full-bodied wine that Madame Charlemagne would be proud to pour for you- white bearded or not. The 2010 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne is distributed by Frederick Wildman & Sons in Summit; it retails for approximately $200.
Domaine Chandon's sparklers are Napa Valley stars
I got reacquainted over the Thanksgiving weekend with Domaine Chandon’s Etoile sparkling wines. Domaine Chandon was the first winery in Napa Valley founded by a Champagne house. In the late 1960s, Moet & Chandon Champagne decided to expand to the New World. It partnered with Hennessy, the cognac producer, and in 1973 purchased land in the cool climate areas of Mount Veeder and Yountville. The new enterprise planted vineyards in both areas, and the winery, with an upscale restaurant, was built in Yountville. The first sparkling wine was release in 1976, and the dining room and outdoor patio opened the following year. It was the talk of America’s wine and food cognoscenti. I made my first visit to Domaine Chandon a few years later. Over the next decade, I developed a routine during my visits: I would begin around noon with a tasting of all the new sparkling wines, followed by lunch on the patio with the outstanding cooking of French chef Philippe Jeanty and his never-to-be-missed roasted loin of rabbit with rosemary and olives and a potato galette. A bottle of Etoile’ sparkling wine accompanied the fare. Add the California sunshine, warm breeze and vineyard ambience, and you’ll understand why lunch at Domaine Chandon was my Shangri-La. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/12/domaine_chandons_sparklers_are.html
These perfectly priced wines are cause for celebration
Budgeting for your holiday party is easier when you select these well-made wines that also are a good value. Starting the party with a sparkling wine is always a sure way to bring smiles and set a bubbly mood. Champagne can be a budget buster, but you can enjoy a Champagne-method wine such as the Spanish cava non-vintage Anna de Codorniu Brut Rose’. Its classic Champagne blend of 70 percent pinot noir and 30 percent chardonnay has a pretty rose pedal shade, and an appealing cherry and strawberry aroma and flavor, which makes it an ideal welcoming glass of wine. It is softer on the palate than Champagne and, at about $16, much gentler on the pocketbook. The Anna de Codorniu Brut Rose’ is distributed by Allied Beverage Group in Carlstadt. Cremant de Limoux’s history reaches to 1531, when Benedictine monks at the abbey of Saint-Hilaire in southern France recorded making sparkling wine. Gerard Bertrand’s 2010 Cremant de Limoux Blanc is a blend of 70 percent chardonnay, 20 percent chenin blanc and 10 percent mauzac, the indigenous grape which used to dominate all Limoux sparkling wine. Fermented in stainless steel and aged for one year in bottle, the 2010 Gerard Bertrand Cremant de Limoux Blanc has a pleasantly mild pear and jasmine scent. The refined bubbles bring apple and delicate lemon flavors across the palate with a dry, tingling finish. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/11/holiday_wine_bargains.html
Mulvihill's cellar door was always open
One of the greatest wine cellars in the world—full disclosure: I helped build it—is in Hamburg, New Jersey, the result of the late-in-life passion of Gene Mulvihill, who died last month at 78. In July 2002 I drove to Crystal Springs Resort to meet with Mulvihill. We went to the basement where a caravan of golf carts were parked, and he said that he wanted to build the best wine cellar in New Jersey, and asked me to assist him. It was like asking a child if he wanted candy on Halloween. We took pieces of wood and marked the dimensions of the future wine cellar. During the following weeks, we designed the room for 15,000 bottles with arched windows supporting a shelf to showcase unique wines, and a dining area where guests would view the soon-to-be best wine cellar in New Jersey. I liked his passion and let’s-do-this attitude. Mulvihill came of age when Bordeaux ruled the wine world and that was his universe. His favorite was Chateau Latour. During the months his team built the cellar, we talked endlessly about wine and tasted some he never knew: Super-Tuscans, Barbaresco, New Zealand, Chile, Spain, Germany, and more. As his palate and passion developed, he wanted to learn even more. He was catching the wine bug. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/11/mulvihills_cellar_door_was_alw.html
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012 Lifestyle: The Wines Of Chateau Palmer
Bordeaux has not escaped the au courant fashion of excessive grape ripeness, new oak barrel aging and higher alcohol levels. Fortunately, classic Bordeaux wine reigns at the venerable Chateau Palmer located in the Margaux appellation. Bordeaux is divided by the Gironde River into two sections known as the Left Bank and Right Bank. I have always viewed Margaux as the transition appellation. By that I mean it uses more merlot than its northern neighbors St. Estephe, Pauillac and St. Julien, and more cabernet sauvignon than the Right Bank wineries of St. Emilion and Pomerol. At its best, Margaux is a velvety, plush wine, with less force in the mouth than wines from the northern appellations because of a lower percentage of cabernet sauvignon in the blend. Margaux’s use of all five Bordeaux grapes- cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot, and malbec- combined with its diversity of soils, gives its wines the broadest palate and makes it the viticulture crossroads of Bordeaux. If there is any grape that is superlative or problematic in a vintage, you’re most likely find it in Margaux.
Ancient Greek grapes make fine Campanian wines
Campania’s best three wines are Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo and Taurasi--and Donnachiara winery has a winning trifecta with its renditions. The province of Avellino is part of the Campania region in southern Italy. One of Italy’s poorer regions, it’s rich in wine history and grape diversity. In addition to its indigenous grapes, the Greeks brought aglianico, fiano and Greco, which became the most important red and white grape varieties in Avellino. The region’s pervasive poverty prevented the acquisition of modern winemaking equipment and emphasized quantity over quality, leaving it a reputation for inferior wines. Yet its soil and climate offered the possibility of first-rate wines for the adventurous winemaker willing to make the investment of time and money. Donnachiara winery was founded in 2005 by Chiara and Umberto Petitto, who named it for their grandmother Chiara Petitto, a woman of noble ancestry born in 1883. Five generation of Petittos have owned the vineyards and its female members have always tended them. Currently, Ilaria Petitto, a law school graduate and second child of Chiara and Umberto, directs the winery while her mother oversees the vineyards.
New Tuscan wine area impresses The Star Ledger - By John Foy - Wednesday, November 07, 2012, 9:05 AM Morellino di Scansano might not be on the tip of your tongue, but it should be on your palate. Located in the southwestern coastal section of Maremma, Tuscany, Morellino di Scansano is a new wine area with an ancient history. Its agricultural tradition and viticulture artifacts date to the Etruscan and Roman times. Earthenware jars and vintners’ tools from the 5th century B.C. have been discovered around Scansano, along with kilns for amphorae dating back to 200 B.C. Yet Italian wine authorities granted its appellation status (DOC) only in 1978 and upgraded its status (DOCG) in 2007. Recently, the Consorzio Tutela del Vino Morellino di Scansano, a trade group of producers, sponsored a tasting and dinner at New York’s outstanding Del Posto restaurant. I enjoyed what might have been the best beef carpaccio ever, and I got to enjoy two exquisite Morellino di Scansano with it. In 1980, Karl Egger founded La Selva, an organic farm and vineyard less than two miles from the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its 800 acres support cattle, sheep, vegetables, fruit trees and 50 acres of red and white grapes certified organic. Play ball with Plumpjack's chardonnay
Baseball’s playoffs require players to up their game if they want to reach the World Series--and autumn menus demand the same, so draft the Napa Valley 2011 Plumpjack Reserve Chardonnay. Plumpjack Winery is owned by an investment group led by Gordon Getty, the son of oil baron J.Paul Getty Sr., and Gavin Newsome, San Francisco’s former mayor and currently California’s lieutenant governor. Formerly known as Villa Mt. Eden, they purchased the Napa Valley property in 1995 and upgraded the winery and replanted the vineyards. Plumpjack is rightly respected for its cabernet sauvignon, which originates at its 42-acre Oakville estate. And it gained notoriety for putting its wines in screw caps when other producers held back for fear it would send the wrong message for their upscale wines.
Two decades of standout Amarones The Star Ledger - By John Foy - Wednesday, October 10, 2012 Speri’s 1988 Amarone Monte Sant’Urbano stood out from the crowd and its 2007 Amarone is following in its footsteps. Amarone is made in the Valpolicella area of Italy’s Veneto region, which is reflected in its official name, Amarone Della Valpolicella, but commonly called Amarone. Ironically, wine consumers know the name but little about the wine. Amarone's image is akin to a professional football player: big, full-bodied, and powerful. It is made from a blend of grapes: corvina, rondinella and molinara, with corvina being primary and molinara being eliminated by some as it adds little more than acidity. There are a few other indigenousness red grapes that are occasionally used in the blend. Amarone begins by picking ripe grapes with a good level of acidity. Unlike most other red wines, the grapes are allowed to dry before fermentation. The drying process increases the sugar levels, which increases the alcoholic content of the wine.
Fog is ideal for the grapes in Monterey vineyard
A recent trip to Monterey, California, found me warming up in the morning with elegant wines from Ventana winery. Part of sunny California is neither sunny nor warm. Mark Twain is credited with the quip “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco”. His geography was too limited. Two hours south of San Francisco, Monterey’s vineyards are shrouded in fog from late afternoon to mid-morning the next day. During the growing season, it has the distinction of being the coldest viticulture area in America. The climatic conditions are created from the Blue Grand Canyon, an ocean canyon that is 60 miles long and two miles deep, and located less than 100 yards from the Monterey Bay. Twain would have disliked it, but chardonnay, pinot noir, riesling and sauvignon blanc love it. Ventana was founded in 1974 by Doug Meador in Monterey County’s Salinas Valley. Ventana is part of the Arroyo Seco sub-region, one of nine distinct vineyard areas in the valley. From its 300-acre vineyard, Ventana selects the best 20 percent of the grapes for its wines and sells the other grapes to wineries throughout the state. While I have known Ventana wines, the visit introduced me to Bruce Sterten, the managing partner and self-taught winemaker. Sterten’s affiliation with Ventana began in 1989, after retiring from a career in writing and producing television shows in Los Angeles. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/10/fog_is_ideal_for_the_grapes_in.html
St Supery's sauvignon blancs steal the show from Napa's Cabs
In a world of cookie-cutter wine styles, it is stunning to discover St.Supery’s trifecta of sauvignon blancs. St. Supery is owned by Frenchman Robert Skalli, whose family entered the wine business in Algeria nearly a century ago. Skalli expanded the family business to the south of France, and purchased Napa’s Dollarhide Ranch in 1982 and planted close to 500 acres of the 1,531-acre property with cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc. Two years later, Skalli bought property in Napa’s Rutherford appellation from Boisset, another French wine family, and established St. Supery. Last week, St. Supery’s CEO Emma Swain was in New Jersey presenting the latest vintages of the winery at Hoboken’s Brass Rail restaurant. It was breathtaking to taste three white wines that captured the limelight from Napa’s heart-and-soul cabernet sauvignon. The tour de force began with the stainless-steel fermented 2011 St.Supery Estate Sauvignon Blanc grown on its Dollarhide property. The glass was not even halfway between the table and my nose when I caught the scent of grapefruit, lime and gooseberries billowing from it. Intense citrus fruit flavors exploded on my palate with vibrant acidity, and the length seemed to stretch to New Zealand, where sauvignon blanc’s citrus character reaches its pinnacle. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/09/st_supery_dollarhide_vineyard.html
Stellar Oregon pinots have a New Jersey pedigree The Star Ledger - By John Foy - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 Joseph Pedicini is a New Jersey native making two delicious Oregon pinot noirs that you’ll want to get before others discover them. Pedicini was born in Summit and raised in Berkeley Heights. He learned winemaking the way nearly all American-born Italians do: helping his immigrant grandfather make the yearly Vino di Casa. (My own introduction to wine was from the jugs of the family red made in the basement of the home of my high school buddy Matty Ballentino). As a twentysomething, Pedicini moved to Oregon with the intent of brewing hand-crafted beers, but he soon realized that Oregon’s Willamette Valley was justifiably famous for its pinot noirs. He switched hops for grapes and applied his fermentation skills to pinot noir. In 2003, Pedicini created his first wine and labeled it Montebruno, the maiden name of his southern Italian-born grandmother. A few weeks ago, I tasted Pedicini’s two wines in our market: the 2008 Montebruno Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and the 2009 Montebruno Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir. They are both well-made and stylistically different. Read the rest…. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/09/montebruno_is_a_new_outstandin.html
The 2010 Nandu Malbec is Bernard Portet's latest achievement
If anyone was ever going to make a malbec wine from Argentina that I would want to drink, it would be visionary Bernard Portet- and he did, with the 2010 Nandu Malbec. Portet was the visionary winemaker that created Clos du Val winery in an obscure wine area called Napa Valley in 1972. The son of the technical director of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, and the ninth generation of his family to grow grapes or make wine, Portet traveled the world searching for the right spot to develop a vineyard for businessman John Goelet. He told Goelet to invest in the agricultural Napa Valley, where orchards and grain fields dominated. Not only was Portet prescient, but he was talented, too. Clos du Val cabernet sauvignons were remarkably refined and age-worthy. Portet brought Bordeaux winemaking skills to Napa Valley, and his wines were always on my restaurant wines lists and in my cellar. About five years ago, Portet hosted a dinner in New Jersey at which we shared my last bottle of 1981 Clos du Val cabernet sauvignon. It was delightful. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/09/the_2010_nandu_malbec_is_berna.html
Lancaster Estate sauvignon blanc stands up to fall foods The Star Ledger - By John Foy - Published: Wednesday, September 05, 2012 The passing of Labor Day is the signal for richer and fuller wines, such as the 2010 Lancaster Estate Samantha’s Sauvignon Blanc. In 1995, Ted and Nicole Simpkins purchased the former Maacama Creek Winery in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley. They converted the 53-acre property to hillside vineyards planted with the five Bordeaux red wine varietals: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot. Lancaster Estate’s winemaker Jesse Katz is a boyish 28-years-old with an impressive resume that includes enology and chemistry degrees from California State College at Fresno, working with acclaimed winemakers Hans Vinding-Diers, Paul Hobbs and Robert Foley and spending a year on the winemaking team at the cult winery Screaming Eagle. In 2010, Simpkins purchased the Clark vineyard, which had been its source for sauvignon blanc grapes under a purchasing agreement with grower Truman Clark. I always approach Californian sauvignon blanc with fear and hope- fear from having tasted too many sauvignon blancs flabby and dull from fermenting the wine in new French oak barrels and employing malolactic fermentation, and eternal hope that the winemaker, being attentive to the grape’s character, will preserve its rich fruit flavors and citrus acidity. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/09/lancaster_estate_sauvignon_bla.html
A pinot noir from a winery that predates Sideways The Star Ledger - By John Foy - Published: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 California pinot noirs range from excessively oaky and alcoholic to vapid, but recently I tasted the well-made 2010 Byron Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir. It might come as a surprise to some, but there was California pinot noir before the 2004 movie “Sideways”. It was made mostly by winemakers who loved working with this fickle grape, and the wine styles were medium-bodied, translucent cherry-colored, with appealing red fruit and herbal or floral aromas, and plum and cherry flavors. On the East Coast, a good percentage of the consumers were Burgundy drinkers who enjoyed the riper fruit flavor and the reasonable prices of California pinot noirs. Then came the surprise hit “Sideways,” and a cascade of novice wine consumers traded their “I’ll have a glass of merlot” refrain for “I’ll have a glass of pinot noir.” And quicker than you can say, “kaching!,” a slew of winemakers and wineries began pumping out mediocre to awful pinot noirs to cash-in on the new wine craze. To be labeled California pinot noir, wine laws only require 75 percent of the grapes be pinot noir and from California. Since there wasn’t enough pinot noir planted to meet the demand that the movie created, some wineries blended syrah with pinot noir while others used pinot noir grown in the wrong areas. Some even imported pinot noir juice from other regions of the world. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/08/a_pinot_noir_from_a_winery_tha.html
From rugby to rose', Gerard Bertrand excels
Sometimes you have to interrupt your career to be successful. Gerard Bertrand, the winemaker and owner of six wineries in the Languedoc region of France sets an illuminating example. Georges Bertrand owned Domaine de Villemajou in southern France’s Corbieres region. In 1975, his 10-year-old son Gerard assisted him harvesting the grapes and making the wine. “Nobody explained life to me”, said the father to the son, “but when you are 60-years old you will have 50 years of experience of winemaking”. Good fatherly advice, but the young Bertrand was more interested in rugby. In southern France, rugby is more popular than soccer. Bertrand started playing it in his boyhood and rose to the professional level, becoming the captain of this team, Stade Francais. But his father’s untimely death in 1987 placed the responsibility for Domaine de Villemajou on Bertrand’s 22-year-old shoulders. Rugby requires broad shoulders, and Bertrand carried both responsibilities on them until he retired from the sport in 1998. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/08/bertrand.html
Little-known appellations producing worthy wines
Small and relatively unknown appellations like Quincy and Pouilly-Loche' can often be the source of well-made wines at reasonable prices. Quincy is a very small appellation in France’s Loire Valley where wines are made from sauvignon blanc. It rarely earns more than a paragraph from American wine writers, who focus on the neighboring and larger appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, yet, it was the second vineyard area in France to earn appellation status. Quincy is softer on the palate and with less aggressive citrus aromas than most Sancerres and Pouilly-Fumes. You can call it a gentler and kinder wine. I call it delicious. A few weeks ago, I opened the 2010 Domaine Adele Rouze’ Quincy at Mezza, a BYOB restaurant in Westwood. Rouze’ is a 32-year-old winemaker who was given some old-vine parcels by her father, Jacques Rouze’. Some of the vines were planted in the 1920s, others in the 1950s. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/08/small_producers_make_big_wines.html
In the drink with pink
Inexpensive rose’ sparkling wines are a twofer in summer: the bubbles set an instant party mood, and you get a refreshing chilled and eye-catching wine without seeming budget-conscious. In 1659, Anna de Codorniu married Miguel Raventos. Two centuries later, Josep Raventos founded the family wine business and also brought to Spain the Champagne Method- meaning the second fermentation that produces the bubbles takes place in the bottle. Codorniu’s newest cava, Anna de Codorniu Brut Rose’ honors the long-ago matriarch, as she was the last member of the family to bear the Codorniu name. The non-vintage Anna de Codorniu Brut Rose’ is a classic Champagne blend of 70 percent pinot noir and 30 percent chardonnay. Its pretty rose pedal shade and an appealing cherry and strawberry aroma and flavor makes it an ideal welcoming glass of wine. It is softer on the palate than Champagne and, at about $16, much gentler on the pocketbook. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/08/in_the_drink_with_pink.html
New hope for Gary Farrell wines
After nearly attaining cult status, Gary Farrell pinot noirs have had highs and lows during the last decade. My most recent tasting was the pleasing 2009 Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Farrell learned winemaking in the late 1970s with Sonoma’s pinot noir specialists Robert Stemmler and Davis Bynum. Farrell made his first pinot noir in 1982, and over the next twenty years, Farrell’s name and top-flight Russian River Valley pinot noirs were synonymous. His pinot noirs were often on my restaurant wine lists at Le Delice and Sonoma Grill, and when they weren’t, it was because he didn’t produce enough to meet demand- or I drank more than my share. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/08/new_hope_for_gary_farrell_wine.html
Muscadet is the perfect summer wine
Recently, I had a BYOB dinner with a friend who has more than a passing knowledge of wine, but when I opened a bottle of Muscadet he confused it with Moscato. I’m sure he’s not the only one. At the western corner of France’s Loire Valley, almost on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, sits the vineyards of Muscadet. If your back was to the ocean and you could hold the region in your hand, Muscadet would open like a Japanese fan spanning west, south and east. This vast area produces its own ocean of wine, but the very best comes from a section called Muscadet de Sevre-et-Maine, named for its two rivers. The wine is made from a single grape: melon de Bourgogne. As its name states, it originated in Burgundy. White Burgundy is made from chardonnay, not from melon, so that tells you melon is not a distinguished grape. But by aging the wine sur lie- when the wine remains in tanks or barrels on the spent yeast cells following fermentation- Muscadet producers add body, flavor and a touch of carbon dioxide to the wine. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/07/muscadet_is_the_perfect_summer.html
Beat the heat with a trio of light-bodied roses
The dog days of August have been biting early, but drinking these three chilled rose’ wines is one way to muzzle the heat. And the prices are cool, too. The 2011 Saladini Pilastri Rosato is refreshing and redeeming. Its pure sangiovese grapes are organically farmed on hillside vineyards in Italy’s Marche region. About a decade ago, I traveled through Marche tasting its white wine made from the vermentino grape. Day after day of this acidic, light-bodied wine left a sour memory of Marche until two weeks ago, when the delightful cherry scented-and -flavored 2011 Saladini Pilastri Rosato crossed my palate. There are accents of strawberry and orange in the 2011 Saladini Pilastri Rosato. Its light body offsets the heavy summer air, and sangiovese’s acidity is subservient to the ripe fruit flavors. Fresh, clean and crisp, this wine comes with the no-sweat price of $8. The 2011 Saladini Pilastri Rosato is distributed by R&R Marketing in Caldwell. Read the rest…
Brane-Cantenac delivers delicious Bordeaux
I recently reunited with Chateau Brane-Cantenac an old wine friend so to speak, with a tasting of its 2008, 2009 and a barrel sample of the 2011 vintage. The Groce family founded the wine estate in the 18th-century. In 1833, its reputation for outstanding wine led the Baron de Brane to sell Brane-Mouton (which would become Mouton-Rothschild) in order to buy the more prestigious Groce estate. He changed the name to Brane-Cantenac, as the chateau is located in Cantenac, a section of the Margaux appellation. In Bordeaux’s famous 1855 Classification, Chateau Brane-Cantenac was ranked a Second Growth, yet it fetched the same price for its wine as the four First Growths: Chateaux Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, and Haut-Brion. In 1925, Francois Lurton took ownership of Chateau Brane-Cantenac through marriage, and in 1992, his grandson Henri Lurton took the reins. Lurton brought degrees in biology and enology and New World winemaking experience to his task. I became acquainted with Chateau Brane-Cantenac in the late 1970s. Like many chateaux at that time, including Lafite Rothschild and Margaux, the quality of the wines did not reflect their high ranking. But, in the 1980s, first-rate wines from New World regions forced chateaux owners to invest in their vineyards and winery and adopt modern viticulture and winemaking techniques. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/07/a_new_generations_revives_chat.html
Wine for your Fourth of July party
Grills smoking, friends gathering and fireworks exploding are pieces of the Fourth of July mosaic. These American wines will complete your national holiday party. Your guests will be bubbling from their arrival when you pour 2007 Domaine Carneros Brut sparkling wine. Owned by Taittinger, this Champagne-styled wine is one of California’s best. It’s a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, and has Taittinger’s elegance and the Carneros region’s rich, flavorful fruit. The 2007 Domaine Carneros Brut retails for about $25, and is distributed by Allied Beverage Group in Carlstadt and R&R Marketing in Caldwell. I can’t think of a better American white wine for hot summer days than the 2011 Ponzi Willamette Valley Pinot Gris. Dick and Nancy Ponzi were Oregon wine pioneers when they moved there in the late 1960s. Today their daughter Luisa is the winemaker, and her wines have the precision that made Ponzi a top-notch American winery from its inception. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/07/wine_for_your_fourth_of_july_p.html
At the Judgment of Princeton, New Jersey wines prove competitive
Need a good American wine for your Fourth of July party? Choose one from a New Jersey winery. Respect is coming to New Jersey wines, thanks to competitive blind tastings such as the one I participated in two weeks ago at Princeton University, and to wine store owners like Armando Luis and Mark Censits. Four weeks ago, I tasted 18 New Jersey wines in Luis’ Sparrow Wine & Liquor store office in Hoboken. I have tasted wines with Luis for years, yet with all his knowledge, he had limited exposure to New Jersey wines. “Some of these New Jersey wines are really good!” Luis exclaimed at the end of the tasting. We were very impressed with the white and two red wines of Heritage Vineyards in Mullica Hill, the red Legends Edition Europa VI from Atco’s Amalthea Cellars and the chardonnay and the red wine labeled Retriever from Silver Decoy Winery in Hightstown. Little did I know that these wines would be selected by Censits for a blind tasting billed as the Judgment of Princeton, which pitted a dozen Garden State wines against a slate of French vintages. Organized by the American Association of Wine Economist, the Judgment of Princeton was modeled after the famed Judgment of Paris, the 1976 blind tasting by French wine experts in which Napa Valley trumped those of the French. Mon Dieu! The only journalist at the tasting was Time magazine’s George Taber, and his report sent shock waves through the French wine establishment and put Napa Valley on the world wine stage. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/06/judgment_of_princeton.html
Kiwi winery offers fresh, fruity sauvignon blanc, pinot noirs
Large wineries are usually a source of bland wines, but that’s not the case with New Zealand’s Villa Maria winery. In 1961, George Fistonich leased five acres from his father and began growing grapevines and making wine. Fifty years later, he is the largest private owner of wineries in New Zealand and Villa Maria is his flagship. Along the way, Fistonich established new vineyard areas in New Zealand and changed the system of paying contracted growers from grape quantity to grape quality, and Villa Maria became the first major wine company in the world to switch all of its wines from cork to screwcap closures. The New Zealand government recognized his achievements with a Knighthood in 2009. A few weeks ago, I tasted a sampling of Villa Maria’s extensive wine portfolio with Sir Fistonich and Alastair Maling, his general manager and chief winemaker. We began with sauvignon blanc, the grape that brought New Zealand to the attention of the wine world. For those who find New Zealand’s intensely citric sauvignon blancs too palate-shocking, the 2009 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Cellar Selection will be a soothing change. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/06/kiwi_winery_offers_fresh_fruit.html
Good enough for Sinatra, and even better now
A recent tasting of Soave wines reminded me how delightful they are for summer and showed that this ancient wine area has recommitted itself to quality. Soave is located in Italy’s Veneto region. Many wine consumers could probably not pinpoint the region on a map, but know its four top wines: the reds amarone and valpolicella, the sparkling prosecco, and the eponymous white. After World War II, Soave became famous in America as the suave white wine of Mr. Hoboken himself: Frank Sinatra. I live in the Mile Square City with a Sinatra post office, Sinatra park, Sinatra Drive, Sinatra Museum, and a restaurant that has every square inch of its walls covered with Sinatra photographs and plays non-stop you-know-what music---so you’ll forgive me if I don’t care for Soave. And the wine didn’t help its cause. As the decades progressed, vineyards were planted on flatlands and yields were far too high. Most Soave had little more flavor than water, and bottles ran to the tens of millions. Soave’s principal grape is garganega (gar-GAH-nih-guh) and Soave-labeled wines must be made with at least 70 percent of it, with trebbiano di Soave composing the balance. Giovanni Ponchia, the winemaker of the Soave Consorzio, says trebbiano di Soave contributes acidity to the wine, and by the end of our tasting, I agreed. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/06/soave.html
A pair of refreshing Tuscan reds for sipping under the sun
Summer is a season for flavorful, medium-body red wines such as Frescobaldi’s Remole and Nipozzano Riserva. When the sun is searing and the humidity enveloping, big New World cabernet sauvignon, syrah and zinfandel wines are oppressive. Just as heavy clothing is stored away, high alcohol, oak-infused and raisiny wines need to be kept in the cellar for a cooler day. Frescobaldi is a noble family whose Tuscan ancestry is nearly a thousand years old. Bankers, merchants, vineyard owners and winemakers are the family’s framers. Today, the business is in the hands of four members of the 30th generation. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/06/a_pair_of_refreshing_tuscan_re.html
Red or White, Roussillon's Domaine Bila-Haut doesn't disappoint
Good value wines, such as Domaine Bila-Haut Les Vignes Bila-Haut, often result from quality producers moving into inferior wine regions. Roussillon sits on France’s Mediterranean coast, near the Spanish border. For more than a 1,000 years, it was a battlefield between those two countries, and before that, it was part of the Roman Empire. Yet through it all, there was wine. Occupying Greeks planted Roussillon’s first vineyards in the seventh century B.C. The region’s wines were respected until the 19th century, when the rise of industrial cities, with large populations required cheap, bulk wines, led to the planting of grapevines that yielded quantity, not quality. After the devastation of two world wars and the economic toll of the Depression, a once proud wine area was brought to its knees. But this is when smart, entrepreneurial producers walked in. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/05/red_or_white_roussillons_domai.html
Rhone Valley's whites have their charms
Red is the color most wine consumers see when they think of Rhone Valley wines, but white is what you want when the weather warms up. France’s Rhone Valley is famous for its Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Hermitage and Cote-Rotie red wines. Each appellation also produces a small amount of expensive white wine, but consumption of it is usually restricted to Rhone wine aficionados. A step down in price- but still pleasing- is the white wine of Croze-Hermitage and Cotes du Rhone. In April, I tasted one from each appellation at the monthly luncheon of the Wine Media Guild, of which I am a member. Croze-Hermitage is the largest appellation in the northern Rhone, and a neighbor to the more prestigious Hermitage and Cote-Rotie appellations. Its white wine can be made exclusively from marsanne or rousanne grapes, or by blending both. Chapoutier is one of the most distinguished names in the Rhone Valley, and its 2010 Crozes-Hermitage La Petite Ruche white wine is worth seeking out. It’s pure marsanne with an enchanting floral and tropical fruit aroma, and very tasty melon and gooseberry flavors. The crisp acidity keeps the palate clean and the fruit flavors refreshing. It’s an ideal white wine to serve with summer vegetable or curry chicken salads. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/05/rhone_valleys_whites_have_thei.html
Three fine Justin wines, two for summer and one for winter
Justin Vineyards has the perfect red and white wines for your Memorial Day party and summer barbecues. Justin Baldwin, one of the pioneers opening a winery in California’s Paso Robles, entered the wine world in 1981 after exiting the banking universe. From Justin Vineyards inception, he made Bordeaux varietals the winery’s essential grapes, and his financial training and entrepreneurial drive had him creating new wines at a racer’s pace. In 1987, he released Isosceles, a Bordeaux Left Bank blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. In 1991, Justification, a Bordeaux Right Bank blend of merlot and cabernet franc made its debut. And the following year, Obtuse presented itself as a Port-style wine made from cabernet sauvignon. In the 1990s, I had multiple vintages of Isosceles on my wine list at Sonoma Grill, along with Justin Vineyards cabernet sauvignon, and occasionally its sauvignon blanc. A recent tasting at Manhattan’s jewel-box Tocqueville restaurant reacquainted me with the trio. Read the rest….
Cobb's pinot noir gamble is now a sure thing
Cobb is the California pinot noir I’ve been waiting for. David Cobb is neither a winemaker nor one of the egocentric businessmen that plunked down millions of dollars to own a California winery. He’s just passionate about pinot noir and has a well-developed intellect. Cobb has a bachelor’s degree in marine ecology and two masters’ degrees, the first in biology from the University of California at Berkeley, and the other in education and the philosophy of science from Stanford. He applies that academic discipline to pinot noir. A lover of Burgundy wines, Cobb began studying the American wine market in the 1970s, along with soil types and climatological data in California and Europe. He became convinced that Americans would eventually like pinot noir and that the Sonoma Coast would be the perfect place to plant it. There were only two impediments: No one was drinking American pinot noir at the time, and everyone in the wine trade said the Sonoma Coast was too cold for growing any grapes, let alone the fickle and difficult pinot noir. But Cobb had done his homework, and his analysis told him to purchase land. In 1989, he began planting pinot noir in his new Coastlands Vineyard. Read the rest….
Handley's impeccable pinot noir will only improve with age
In this age of black, candied-tasting and high-alcohol pinot noir wine created from excessively ripe fruit and long aging in new oak barrels, it is possible to find authentic pinot noir. Look for the bottle labeled Handley Cellars. After graduating in 1975 from the prestigious enology program at University of California at Davis, Milla Handley worked for three years with one of America’s great winemakers, Dick Arrowwood at Sonoma County’s acclaimed Chateau St. Jean winery. Her next step on the winemaking ladder took her from stylish Sonoma to the remote Anderson Valley, about two hours northwest, where she assisted another great winemaker, Jed Steele. “Both were passionate winemakers,” she told me last week. “Among many things, Arrowwood taught me to focus on the fruit’s quality, and Steel showed me how to adjust to what nature gives you each year.” In 1982, Handley made her first wine, a chardonnay, in the basement of her home and it won a gold medal at the Orange County Fair. Pinot noir was next, and last week she showed her mastery of this grape with a tasting of 11 vintages from 1993 to 2009. Read the rest….
Bodega Diamandes' new wines: nice but repetitive
Bodega Diamandes is the newest winery of the Bonnie family, and a few months ago, I tasted its new wines: the 2010 Viognier, Chardonnay, Malbec and Perlita. Like a number of successful American businessmen who opened wineries in Napa Valley, Frenchman Alfred-Alexandre Bonnie moved from a career in advertising and consumer goods to the wine business. In 1996, he and his wife, Michele purchased Bordeaux’s Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere and, in 2005, added the adjacent Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt to their portfolio. The same year, they bought nearly 300 acres in Argentina’s Clos de los Siete project, owned by Bordeaux’s controversial winemaker Michel Rolland. Their son, Jean-Jacques Bonnie left the corporate world in 2003 and joined the family wine business. In February, he brought Bodega Diamandes’ new line of varietal wines to Manhattan’s excellent Rayuela restaurant, which specializes in Nuevo Latino cuisine. I liked three of the four wines; the 2010 viognier was overly alcoholic and candied-tasting. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/04/bodega_diamandes_new_wines_nic.html
Dow's red wine, Vale do Bomfim is perfect for summer barbecued meats
Port is thought to be winter’s drink, but Dow, one of the great port houses, offers the delicious 2009 Vale do Bomfim Reserva red wine for summer. Port is made from grapes that most wine consumers never heard of, and in a region that few have visited. Portugal’s Douro Valley is an hour or two by train (and many more by car) from the city of Oporto. Its rugged hills and steep cliffs support sculptured vineyards that can appear to be hanging on rather precariously. Touriga national is Portugal’s most important grape for port wine. Quinta do Bomfim is one of Dow’s primary vineyards and the source of the touriga national that composes about 70 percent of the 2009 Vale do Bomfim Reserva red wine. The balance is a mix of traditional port grapes such as tinta roriz, touriga franca and tinta barroca. The Symington family has been rooted in the port trade since the 17th century, and has owned Dow exclusively since 1961. They made the first Vale do Bomfim red wine in 2004. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/04/dows_red_wine_vale_do_bomfim_p.html
Cecchi honors tradition while making modern wines
Now in its second century of Tuscan winemaking, the Cecchi family is modernizing its wines without losing its roots. In 1893, Luigi Cecchi made the first Cecchi wines in Poggibonsi, a small town in the Chianti Classico zone. Today, his great-grandsons Andrea and Cesare Cecchi have expanded the business to four estates and a portfolio of wines spanning from traditional to modern styles. Last month, Andrea Cecchi brought his newest wines to New York. At Manhattan’s highly-rated Del Posto restaurant, Cecchi introduced the Val delle Rose estate’s 2010 Litorale white wine, with its label showing three brightly colored canvas beach chairs. Cecchi is telling you that this wine is for having fun. The estate is along southern Tuscany’s coastal region, and its crisp lemony aroma and flavor is just what you want on a warm spring and summer day. It’s made from the vermentino grape, and following tradition, the wine never sees the inside of an oak barrel. Get your own vintage beach chair and sip this refreshing white wine under a sun-shielding umbrella. Or serve it as Del Posto did, with the classic Italian dish vitello tonnato. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/04/cecchi_honors_tradition_while.html
Kosher label no longer a warning for connoisseurs
Binyamina and Pacifica wineries illustrate the evolution of wines designated kosher for Passover- from cloyingly sweet to dry, sophisticated wines that are enjoyable throughout the year by every wine consumer. In 1952, Hungarian immigrant Joseph Zeltzer founded Israel’s Eliaz winery, which produced sweet wines and liqueurs. Forty year later, new owners changed the name to Binyamina, and the winery changed hands again in 2008. Both recent owners invested significant sums to improve the winery, expanded the vineyards and modernize the wines. Binyamina also added professionally-trained winemakers. Sasson Ben Aharon has an Israeli university education and research in winemaking, and Asaf Paz joined him in 2006 with a graduate degree from Bordeaux’s acclaimed enology school and a resume stamped at wineries in France, California, Australia and Israel. Using only internationally-recognized grapes and up-to-date winemaking, this team is producing modern-styled wines that are kosher for Passover and Mevushal. Last week, I was delighted with the 2010 Binyamina Bin Cabernet Sauvignon. Bin is the Australian term for wines stored in a separate area, and Binyamina has borrowed it to designate this new line of wines. Read the rest… http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/03/modern_kosher_wines_for_passov.html
Fontanafredda Barolo seduces with classic body, cherry flavor
Fontanafredda was born out of love, winemaker Danilo Drocco said at a restrospective tasting of Barolos from the Piedmontese winery two weeks ago. In 1858, Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy, purchased the Fontanafredda hunting estate for the home of his mistress (and later wife), Rosa Vercellana. They produced a son, Count Emanuele Alberto di Mirafiori, who created the winery at Fontanafredda and made its first Barolo in 1878. In 1932, economic and political turmoil in Italy sent ownership of the estate to be transferred into the hands of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank, which retained the winery until 2008, when entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti became the principal partner of Fontanafredda. (Farinetti founded the Eataly food and wine emporium in Turin and now has an offshoot in Manhattan). At the tasting last month, Drocco presented seven Fontanafredda Barolos, including the 2007 Serralunga d’Alba. Read the rest below... http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/03/fontanafredda_barolo_seduces_w.html
Anticipate springtime with Potel-Aviron Beaujolais
My favorite warm weather red wine is Beaujolais, and although it’s winter, the recent blue skies and sunny days found me tasting the delicious 2009 Potel-Aviron Cru Beaujolais wines. Beaujolais is the southernmost part of the Burgundy region and its red wines are made from the gamay grape. Many Burgundy drinkers consider it a wallflower next to the chic and expensive wines made from pinot noir in the Cote d’Or area. But not me; I like Beaujolais’ style. Potel-Aviron is the joint venture of Nicolas Potel and Stephane Aviron. In the early 1990s, they were classmates at the prestigious enology school in Beaune, France. Potel was raised at the acclaimed Domaine de la Pousse d’Or in the Cote d’Or village of Volnay. His father was the legendary winemaker Gerard Potel. Aviron also was raised in a in winemaking family, but in the less assuming Beaujolais district. A few weeks ago, Aviron was in New York City presenting his 2009 and 2010 Beaujolais wines. The two vintages are very different: The 2009 has rich fruit flavors, depth and length with excellent aging potential. The 2010 is more traditional with its light body and vibrant tart fruit meant for today’s consumption. Read the rest below... http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/03/anticipate_springtime_with_pot.html
Young Sonoma winery one to follow
The young team at Sonoma County’s new Thomas George Estate has produced two delightful pinot wines. Compared to Napa Valley’s Architectural Digest-styled wineries, its foodie-driven restaurants and plush resort hotels, Sonoma County is an American Gothic- vineyards and unadorned wineries interspaced with orchards and sheep and goat farms, and roads winding through wooded areas and along seaside vistas. The Thomas George Estate is just as rustic. In 2008, Thomas Baker and his son Jeremy purchased Davis Bynum winery and vineyards. Bynum established the first winery in Russian River Valley in 1973, and over the decades, the quality of his pinot noir wines forged the area’s reputation as an ideal cool microclimate for the grape. Baker is a lawyer with a lifetime interest in wine and a son who moved from the restaurant trade to the wine business. Jeremy Baker runs the winery with the assistance of winemaker Chris Russi. Pinot Blanc is a mutation of pinot noir and also does best in cool climates. It reaches its apex in Alsace, France, and is also a source for very good wine in northern Italy, Germany, and areas of Eastern Europe. Pinot Blanc is meant to be consumed young, when its floral and fruit scent and fresh fruit flavors are lively. Read the rest below... http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/02/young_sonoma_winery_one_to_fol.html A spicy Spanish red ready for drinking Some of the best contemporary wines come from historical wine families like the 2008 Celeste from Spain’s Torres clan. In 1870, after nine years in Cuba, Jamie Torres returned to Spain. During his sojourn abroad, he gained the financial resources to open a winery with his brother Miguel in their native Penedes region. The entrepreneurial spirit of the founders has flowed through the succeeding four generations as they expanded into new vineyard areas of Spain and established wineries in Chile and Sonoma, California. But expansion for its own sake has not been the Torres model. Time and again, the family has brought new winemaking and vineyard procedures to each endeavor. In 2005, Torres produced its first Ribera del Duero Celeste red wine. As required by Spanish wine regulations, it is made only from tempranillo, or tinto fino as the grape is called locally. Fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in new oak barrels, Celeste is modern but not excessive. Last spring, I spent a week in Ribera del Duero visiting traditional and cutting-edge new wineries. Most of the latter produce wines with a cookie-cutter style of opaque color, raisin-y and black olive aromas and flavors from overripe fruit and long aging in new French oak barrels. Alcohol levels of 15 percent are common, and boring they are. Read the rest below... http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/02/a_spicy_spanish_red_ready_for.html
Bordeaux wine tasting contest makes new fans among young By John Foy - Published: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Centuries of selling wine made the Bordelaise masters of marketing. A storied French wine brotherhood initiated an amateur wine tasting competition, the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup, in 2002 to connect the young educated French elite to their own wines. It expanded to include Cambridge and Oxford in 2004, and again in 2011, when the first American and Asian teams were invited. Recently, eight teams of oenophiles from top American graduate schools met at the French Consulate in New York to compete in the challenge. The Columbia and Yale law schools and the business schools of Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania each fielded teams of four students, and they faced a panel of medieval-robed judges led by Le Grand Maitre Emmanuel Cruse of the Commanderie du Bontemps de Medoc, Graves Sauternes et Barsac (Cruse is also the owner of Bordeaux’s Chateau d’Issan). They employed their high-octane brain power to answer such questions as, “How many fourth growths are there in total in the 1855 classification?” and applied their novice palates and noses to a series of tasting tasks, such as indentifying the order- from youngest to oldest- of the Bordeaux wines in their three glasses. The University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania teams scored the highest, and they will travel to Chateau Lafite-Rothschild to compete against six teams from Europe, Asia and France. Read the rest below... http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/02/bordeaux_wine_tasting_contest.html
Rose' Champagne and tawny port for those who would court By John Foy - Published: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 Poetry and wine are often intertwined, which brings me to Chocolates and flowers with kisses are showered flutes are clinked with Champagne and a wink End your evening’s court with a glass of tawny port. I hear you: stick to wine writing. Champagne is the perfect start to a romantic evening. Its bubbles are festive and smiles are immediate. And rose’ Champagne’s color flatters Valentine’s Day roses. The non-vintage Ayala Rose Majeur is a Champagne that more consumers should get to know. Ayala disappeared from the American market sometime in the 1990s and only recently returned. Now owned by the well-known Bollinger Champagne house, Ayala Rose’Majeur has an eye-catching salmon tint and its medium body carries pleasing cranberry flavor. And Ayala is one of the best values in the Champagne market, retailing for about $55. It is distributed by Allied Beverage Group in Carlstadt. Read the rest below... http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/02/rose_champagne_and_tawny_port.html
Chateau d'Issan vintages are worthwhile
In our period of excessive grape ripeness, oak aging and high alcohol, it is pleasing to taste the classic wine of Chateau d’Issan. Created when England ruled Bordeaux, Chateau d’Issan is one of its oldest vineyards and chateaux. Poets have written about it, and it produced the favorite wine of the Austrian Emperor Franz-Joseph. “On the table of kings and the altar of gods” proclaims its not-so-modest motto. The long series of owners including one named Foy-Candale (could I have a d’Issan ancestor?), and it’s now run by the Cruse family, which purchased the property in 1945. Last month, I tasted the wines of Chateau d’Issan from 2000 through 2009 with third-generation owner, Emmanuel Cruse. Along with his wines, Cruse brought a refreshingly candid view of Bordeaux and a keen wit and self-deprecating humor that belied his sharp intellect. Chateau d’Issan is located in the Margaux appellation and ranked a third-growth in Bordeaux’s famed 1855 Classification. There is a valid argument for ignoring or updating a wine hierarchy that is 157 years old, but any revised classification would certainly include the well-made wines of Chateau d’Issan. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/02/chateau_dissan_vintages_are_wo.html
Piccini preserves Chianti Classico style By John Foy - Thursday, January 26, 2012 Tradition in the wine world is claimed more than it is observed, but you can find it in a glass of the 2008 Piccini Chianti Classico. Tuscany is no more exempt from the clash of New World and Old World wine styles than anywhere else. Fighting for a place in consumers’ wine shopping baskets, retailers’ shelves, and restaurant wine lists is as much a full-time job for wineries as tending the vines and making the wine. Noble families with centuries of winemaking, nouveaux riche with inflated egos and freshly purchased wineries, and down-to-earth grape growers are all making wines that they think are either what the critics and public want, or what they have always done. But when the wine comes from Tuscany, there are thousands of years of winemaking history shadowing it. Eight centuries before Christ, Etruscans were making wine and shipping it in amphoras to southern Italy. In the Middle Ages, monks made and sold wine, and Florence had a flourishing wine market with a wine guild and regulations. In modern times, Tuscany has modified its rules about which grapes, and in what percentages, can be used to make Chianti Classico, and an entirely new wine was created called Super-Tuscan, partly in respone to wine styles coming from California. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/01/piccini_preserves_chianti_clas.html
Shafer chardonnay brings classic quality to Napa Valley
Regular readers know that California chardonnay is a rare species in this space, but one beautiful rendition is the 2009 Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Napa Valley Chardonnay. Twenty years ago, California chardonnay balanced its rich fruit with acidity, supported it with mild oak aroma and flavor, and kept its alcohol level below 14 percent. It was a wine I collected and enjoyed. But that style disappeared. Since the 1990s, too many California chardonnays are made with overripe fruit and are unbalanced from a lack of acidity and an exaggerated use of new French oak barrels for aging. To make matters worse, winemakers employ 100 percent malolatic fermentation- a process that changes the grape’s natural tart acidity (think green apple) to a creamy texture (think milk), which imparts a butter popcorn-like aroma and flavor. And if all that wasn’t enough of a turnoff, the elevated levels of 14.5 to 16 percent alcohol knock out your palate and endanger the drive home. I met John Shafer about 30 years ago during trips to Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District for tastings at the new wineries. His son Doug became the winemaker at Shafer Vineyards in 1983, joined a year later by Elias Fernandez. In 1994, Fernandez became the sole winemaker when Dour Shafer joined his father in the administration of the winery. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/01/shafer_chardonnay_brings_class.html
From java masters, robust Italian reds
Last week brought the first frigid winter air, and I recommended a wonderful antidote: Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino. In 1975, Roman lawyer Gabriele Mastrojanni established an estate in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, an undeveloped area of Montalcino, the ancient hillside Tuscan town. He produced his first Brunello di Montalcino five years later. Over the ensuing decades, 30 of the 62 acres planted were devoted to brunello, the local name for the sangiovese grape. Since the early 1990s, Mastrojanni has been under the care of general manager Andrea Machetti and the talented winemaker Maurizio Castelli. The team consistently produced elegant wines, earning awards and respect for Mastrojanni and its area. Mastrojanni died in 2005, and three years later, the Mastrojanni family decided to sell the winery. Machetti approached Francesco Illy, who had renovated and developed an adjoining property and who is member of the family that owns the world-famous Illy coffee company. The family took over the winery, retained Machetti and Castelli, and made additional investments in the vineyards, winemaking equipment and cellar. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/01/from_java_masters_robust_itali.html
Delicious Chilean pinot noir five generations in the making
Maxed out your credit cards during the holidays? Never fear- you’ll be happy with the nicely priced and delightfully flavored 2010 Casa Silva Pinot Noir Reserva. Casa Silva Pinot Noir.pngCasa Silva Pinot Noir Reserva 2010 In 1892, Emile Bouchon left Bordeaux for Chile, where he established the first winery in Colchagua Valley. His son, Abel Bouchon, and a third generation, Jorge Silva, continued the legacy. But with each succeeding generation, ownership was divided, and some family members sold off their portion. In 1977, fourth-generation owner, Mario Silva Cifuentes, married to Maria Teresa Silva Bouchon, wanted to reestablish the original vineyards and winery and repurchased the lands and old cellar. He sold his wine in bulk to other wine merchants until 1997, when his oldest son, Mario Pablo Silva, proposed they bottle and sell the wines under the family name, Casa Silva. Today, the Silva family runs the oldest winery in Colchagua Valley. http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2012/01/delicious_chilean_pinot_noir_f.html
John Foy's Pre-2012 Articles...
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By John Foy/For The Star-Ledger on April 24, 2013
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Restrained winemaking elevates Il Poggione's brunellos
By John Foy on February 13, 2013
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