10 Pleasant Wine Surprises Year to Date

I haven't been blogging much about wine lately and when I do, it's usually critical of people not branching out. We try our fair share of different wines here and I thought I would share a few that I've been happier with this year than I would have expected. So, in no particular order, here it goes.

1. 2008 Juan Gil Jumilla. This is a $10-$15 bottle of wine depending on where and how much you buy. It's made primarily of Monastrell, the same grape that most of the world calls Mourvedre and some of the Aussies call Mataro. It drinks now and is a very flexible food wine. I give it about 90 points.
2. 2008 Achaval Ferrer Finca Bella Vista Perdriel Malbec. If I hadn't had it at a tasting, I wouldn't be able to comment on it. This wine from grapes grown at about 3,000 feet in Argentina, may be the new standard for Malbec. It has all the characteristic malbec flavors -- violet, tobacco, garlic, raisin. The finish goes on forever, with layer upon layer and each flavor and aroma blending effortlessly into the next. Drink now through 2030, at least. Pricey in the vicinity of $100, but the 99 points that I give it may justify it.
3. 2010 Barnett Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. At $25, this is not an inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc, but the reasons it is here are these: first, I think of Barnett as a Cabernet vineyard, not a place for white wines. Second, it's flavors were fairly unique and well-defined. The wine is clean and crisp, and only slightly citrusy on the nose. When it hits the palate, you immediately detect some ripe, juicy honeydew melon, followed by kiwi and some hints of thyme. Drink with brie or other similar cheeses, or get my wife's recipe for cold cilantro cucumber soup. 91 points.
4. 2008 Tait The Ball Buster. I saw the name and had to own a bottle or two, especially at $15. Then, we opened a bottle on a night when we weren't expecting anything much. Wow, were we surprised. Characteristic flavors of Aussie Shiraz, but a bit less jammy. Quite chewy (stay away from it if you don't like mouth feel, but if you do, look out) and another long, layered finish. Would be great with lamb chops. 92 points. Drink now through 2019.
5. 2009 Page Springs Cellars Vino de Familia Arizona Table Wine. Yes, Arizona. Grown on the estate in Page Springs, Arizona (near Sedona), this is a blend of grapes of many styles. There are Bordeaux grapes, Rhone grapes and Arizona grapes. It drinks young, but at $10 or so, what would you expect. It's light, fruity and very pleasant. 87 points and good memories.
6. 2008 Andrew Will Meadow. This is a Washington winery, but I'm not sure if the grapes in this case are Washington or Oregon. In any event, it's a Pinot Blanc, fresh, fruity, crisp, and not oaky. It's in the $14 range, and is great for a summer wine, with some soft cheese. Do you have some friends who are not wine drinkers, but you want to introduce them? Well, this is a great starter wine, but it's a very good serious wine drinker wine as well. 88 points.
7. 2006 Sawyer Petit Verdot. OK, I cheated. I had this wine at the winery well before 2011. But, this year we opened a bottle. Most people don't think of Petit Verdot as a single varietal, but more of a grape to add structure to a Meritage or other Bordeaux-style blend. I believe this wine is in the $40-$50 range. It's not cheap, but it's character is very unique. Are you a hunter? Then, kill your dinner and when you have something gamey, drink this one now, or for the next 15 years or so. 92 points.
8. 2007 Van Duzer Pinot Noir. I had never heard of this wine. My wife liked the label. We tasted it. We liked it. We liked the price, too, at $19.99. Nicely crafted with wonderful floral and spice notes. Refined enough to drink with baked chicken or trout with lemon and butter, but powerful enough to handle beef. It's ready to drink now, and we have chosen to drink a lot of it. 89 points and a great label.
9. 2009 Avanti Mencia. What is Mencia? I thought Avanti Mencia was a long lost car, cousin to the Studebaker Avanti. How wrong I was! So, what is it? It's dark, it's peppery. It's loaded with anise, mint, rosemary, thyme, black cherry. That's a lot for a $9 wine. To the mouth, it actually tastes like it will age, but at that price, we are not going to find out. Buy a case (<$100 with case discount) and get about 1056 points. That's 88 points per bottle.
10. 2004 Armida Poizin Reserve Zinfandel. The bottle will frighten you. The bottom of the bottle is quite narrow and as it flares upward, you see the red skull and crossbones glazed deeply in the black bottle. Working your way up, you see that the bottle is tightly sealed in what appears to dripping blood (actually, it's bright red wax, I think). Open the bottle if you can. The aromas explode. It's plum, cherry, peppercorn, cranberry, and high-end brandy. Pour some. Chocaholic? Right up front you'll be satisfied. Like freshly picked strawberries. It won't take long till you get them. How about rhubarb pie? It will finish and finish and finish and finish. At $80, this wine is not cheap. Why is it here? It's simply the best zinfandel I have ever had. 98 points, but perhaps more as the years go by.

Diversify Your Wine Tastes -- You'll be Glad You Did

If you are reading this, there is a good chance that you live in the United States. If you do, and if you are a wine drinker, there is a pretty reasonable chance that when you look at a wine list in a restaurant, you go immediately to either the Chardonnay section if you like white wines, or to the Merlot section if you like red wines.

Shame on you.

They are both nice grapes, but don't you get bored sometimes. Isn't it about time you branched out a little bit. Try something different. Experience something new.

For starters, there are about a gazillion wine varietals in the world. A gazillion is a big number, or at least for the purposes of this post, I am claiming it is. In some cases, the grapes that you see listed on a bottle, while different, are really the same grape (for example, Zinfandel and Primitivo, or Mourvedre and Monastrell). But, most of them are different and have their own unique characteristics.

Here are some examples (by no means an exhaustive list), off the top of my head, with some of their common characteristic flavors or aromas. Do you know which ones you like? Which ones have you tried?

White Wine Varietals

• Chardonnay (green apple, citrus, melon, quince, honey) ... if it has too much butter or too much oak, you lose the real flavor
• Sauvignon Blanc (tropical fruit, mango, peach, honeysuckle, light citrus) ... well made, it should have a very clean, refreshing taste
• Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio (Grapefruit, bigger citrus, lichee, apricot, nectarine) ... the mass produced usually have somewhat overbearing citrus, look for the ones with subtler fruit
• Semillon (Lemongrass, lemon, key lime pie, pear, honey, smoke, cut grass, gooseberry) ... not grown much in the US, but one of the two staples of Sauternes
• Riesling (White flowers and light fruits, white peaches, jasmine, honeysuckle, passion fruit) ... the reputation is that Riesling is a sweet wine and some rieslings are, but the combination of its natural sweetness and its minerality make it perfect with spicy foods (Thai, etc.)
• Gewurtzraminer (Think of the baskets of potpourri that women like to adorn powder rooms with, lavender, rose petals, mango, guava, another grape that cuts through asian spices well)
• Viognier (often a bit effervescent and refreshing, think violets, irises, and apricot marmalade)

Red Wine Varietals

• Cabernet Sauvignon (the king of all red grapes, often big and bold, craving flavorful meats and stinky cheeses, chewy, think dark berries, tobacco, eucalyptus)
• Shiraz/Syrah/Sirah (very different depending on where it comes from, in Australia tendency toward jammy wines with the very best having cocoa and chocolatey notes, American wines tend more toward licorice and fennel or even leather and tar, in France they are more refined with red berries and currants)
• Pinot Noir (Spice, red berries, red and purple flowers, difficult to produce well, a classic food wine)
• Merlot (the grape that tried to give a bad reputation to American red wine when at its worst, at its best it is a melange of red blue and black fruits and goes with most any meats)
• Zinfandel (the American grape, pepper, spice, dark fruit, earth tones and raisins)
• Tempranillo (the noble grape of Spain, many characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon, but typically less tannic, dark berries earth tones and leather galore)
• Cabernet Franc (along with Sauvignon Blanc, one of the two genetic parents of Cabernet Sauvignon, more often a blending grape, think black fruit, mint, graphite and dust)
• Gamay (the grape of Beaujolais, refreshing, youthful, strawberry, raspberry and cherry)
• Malbec (to the nose and palate a blend of Cabernet and Merlot, think blackberry, plum and chocolate)
• Sangiovese (the king of Tuscany, nothing describes it better to me than rhubarb pie with a hint of tobacco)
• Nebbiolo (the northern Italian grape, with chestnut, mocha, tobacco, tar, earth notes)
• Grenache/Garnacha (earthy, meaty, peppery and spicy, take a sensory trip through a briar patch)
• Petit Verdot (the Bordeaux grape rarely used as a single varietal that hits the mid-palate hard, perfect with wild game, earthy, yet bold, do not drink it young)
• Mourvedre/Monastrell (the nose is gamey, but the fruit is much softer red, it's a versatile food wine young and a great blending grape for a winter wine in front of the fireplace)
• Touriga Nacional (the key grape of vintage Port, very intense raisiny flavors, very tannic, give it time, give it time, give it time)

I'm sorry if I've left out your favorite grape, but like I said, this was all off the top of my head. 

In any event, whatever you do, try some diversity in your wine drinking, you'll thank me later.

Stems are Not on Wine Glasses to Make Them Easier to Break -- Use Them People

My wife, a wonderful person who I love to death, likes this TV show called "Brothers and Sisters." It's about a pretty dysfunctional family who used to own a California winery. Let me repeat -- they used to own a California winery!

Most of the actors and actresses on the show are pretty famous at their trade. They've done a lot of gigs. I suspect they have a lot of money. And, on the show, they are always drinking wine, sometimes talking about it to the point of mentioning vintages. These are not cheap wines that this wine family is purportedly drinking ... and they are generally drinking the wine out of relatively proper glasses.

They all hold the glass by the bowl, making sure usually to wrap their fingers around the part of the bowl that actually has wine in it. Sometimes, they even cradle the bowl. And, the wines are purported to have come from their cellar.

Let's get this straight. They spend money to keep the wines temperature controlled and then they warm the wine to inappropriate temperatures by making love to the glasses with their hands.

Stupid! Asinine! Uncouth! Despicable!

Gee, how do you think I feel about this?

And, you know, it's not just on that show. It's pervasive among the Hollywood snobs. You see them at an awards show -- most of them are nicely warming the champagne with their hands. I even saw on one show (I don't remember the show) where they were supposedly drinking 1989 Chateau D'Yquem (that is one of the great vintages of perhaps the world's finest dessert style wine). They were drinking it in Riedel Sommelier Sauternes glasses. And they were cradling the bowl!

They should be flogged. They should be incarcerated. They should be sentenced to spend hours listening to Charlie Sheen.

Important notes:

• Stems are on wine glasses for a reason
• Wines are served at proper temperatures for a reason
• Not all of us can serve our wines at exactly the right temperatures, in fact most of us can't, but we try to get close
• Don't get your wine to the right temperature and then warm it up because you think it's a glass of brandy and you need to caress the bottom of the bowl

HOLD THE GLASS BY THE STEM ... or the base

Americans and Their Wine Habits

When I was a kid, adults who wanted to look distinguished drank scotch. Scotch made you look really cool, and if you were a man, you had a cigar with your scotch. Now, I don't want to put a damper on scotch because a good scotch can be very enjoyable, but this post is about wine.

Tastes of Americans gravitated with the generations. Gradually, scotch gave way to vodka, and then to wine. And, that's ok. There are lots of incredible wines out there in all price ranges. So far, I'm pretty agreeable, huh? If you think I'm always this agreeable, then you don't know John.

So, what's the catch? It's what Americans drink. As a group, we drink overly oaked Chardonnay and not great Merlot (read that to mean alcoholic blueberry juice). Chardonnay is a very nice grape. Oh, and we also drink white zinfandel which I refuse to concede is actually a wine (I think it's a poison). The Burgundians have done wonders with it creating such wonders ranging from Pouilly Fuisse to Montrachet. There are some great American chardonnays as well, but most are not cheap. The cheaper ones, as a group, are very mediocre. They are either overly buttery or overly oaked, and it's intentional.

What is the #1 selling wine in the United States? I can't vouch for my research on this one, but it tells me that the best-selling producer in US restaurants is Beringer and the best-selling varietal by a producer is Kendall-Jackson chardonnay.

Most wines are aged in oak -- French oak, American oak, Hungarian oak to name a few. And, among them, there is new oak, used oak (usually being used for a second time), and neutral oak (being used for a third time or more). Jess Jackson of Kendall-Jackson found a better way to impart that oak flavor -- ok, it's not better, but it sure makes more money -- instead of using oak barrels, he uses oak chips. And, people love it ... and I don't know why.

And, I go back to where I was -- chardonnay and merlot. As I said, great chardonnay is largely the province of the Burgundians, while merlot is one of the five legendary red grapes of Bourdeaux (cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, malbec, and petit verdot being the other four). So, some really fantastic things can be done with both of them.

But, too many Americans don't get it yet, and we drink the bottle with the fun name or the cute label. It's time to branch out. Drink the well-made wines, and drink some different varietals or some blends. Drink wines that show off the terroirs from which they come (terroir is a fancy word for the land and terrain).

So, here is my challenge to Americans who are exploring wine. Smell your wines, taste your wines, chew your wines. Try at least two wines made from each of these grapes (by no means an exhaustive list), and make sure they are from different regions so that you get different styles. Then, figure out what you like.

White grapes

• Riesling
• Gewurtzraminer
• Sauvignon blanc
• Semillon
• Pinot gris (also known as pinot grigio in Italy)
• Pinot blanc
• Albarino (albarinho in Portugal)
• Roussanne
• Marsanne
• Chardonnay (intentionally put in very small font

Red grapes

• Cabernet sauvignon
• Cabernet franc
• Merlot
• Malbec
• Petit verdot
• Pinot noir
• Syrah (called shiraz in Australia)
• Petit Syrah
• Tempranillo (sometimes known as tinto fino)
• Mourvedre (known as monastrell in Spain)
• Zinfandel
• Grenache (known as garnacha in Spain)
• Sangiovese
• Barbera
• Gamay

Ok, get the picture. You're going to be branching out. Don't forget, smell your wines, sip your wines, chew your wines, and above all, enjoy your wines ... and let me know what you think.

Wine Prices

Lisa (my wife if you didn't know) went to a few Arizona wineries this week. One of them, Javelina Leap, was a return visit, as we had been there in the fall of 2008. The others were Oak Creek Vineyards and Page Springs Vineyards and Cellars.

One of the appeals of Javelina Leap the last time we were there was that the wine was very drinkable and the prices were moderate. Now, they are selling Cabernet and Zinfandel for $75 per bottle (that's a normal sized bottle). For $75, I can get a very good Napa or Sonoma or Washington Cabernet. They will improve with age over 5 to as much as 25 years. I can also get one of the great Zinfandels for this price.

This Cabernet and this Zinfandel are not that good. They are meant to drink now or soon, and they remain drinkable. We have probably made our last visit to Javelina Leap.

Oak Creek Vineyards was amusing. As I was going to be making a long drive, I planned to spit my wine (a common practice when wine tasting, believe it or not). For context, the outdoor temperature was about 20 degrees ... Fahrenheit. They gave me a little plastic spit cup and said I could spit in it ... as long as I went outside to do my spitting. Their wines were bad. These were not 90 point wines, or 80 point wines, and in fact, some of them were not 70 point wines. They were BAD. And, still most were priced over $30. PYECHHH! (You can look it up, I swear that's a word.)

Page Springs Vineyards and Cellars was different. The average price of a bottle of wine there is $22. Some are less expensive. If you buy 6 bottles of any of their wine, they will give you a bottle of their Syrah ($24 retail) for $1. And, their wines are structured and balanced. They blend grapes to create their own version of a Rhone style. Tasting (and spitting without going out into the cold) was a pleasure there. They grow about a dozen varietals on their 130 acres and take care to produce well-made, appropriately priced wines.

I salute Page Springs, and think the other two need to take a lesson.