The best table wine at less than 1 Euro

When I was visiting my family in France, I got impressed by the rare findings that my father-in-law had discovered at his local Carrefour Hypermarket near Paris. In fact, he pays less than 1 Euro for his everyday white table wine, a wine that I found of remarkable value for the price.

The wine is non vintage from Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, a lesser Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure appellation located at the westernmost part of the Loire valley, near the Atlantic ocean. It is made of Folle Blanche, also called Gros Plant in the region, a highly acidic grape variety traditionally used in the distillation of Cognac and Armagnac.

The wine is light, crisp, uncomplicated, but deliciously refreshing, the perfect match for a simple plate of tiny crevettes grises (grey shrimp), fresh bread, and Brittany butter (with sea salt).



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A visit at the Domaine des Huards in Cour-Cheverny

The Château La Gagnotterie, where we organized our family reunion, is located in the Loire Valley appellation of Cheverny. This appellation, south of the Loire river at Blois, produces a wide range of wines from Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Pinot Noir for the reds, and Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc for the whites. Cheverny has also a small sub-appellation called Cour-Cheverny that had been specifically created for wines made from the little-known but interesting Romorantin grape.

So Monday morning after the party, we decided to drive to the tiny village of Cour-Cheverny and pay a visit to one of the best producers for the Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny appellations, the Domaine des Huards.


Cabernet vines at the entrance of the Domaine des Huards

The domaine covers 32 hectares including 8 hectares planted exclusively with Romorantin. The soil is mostly clay and chalk with a layer of sand in some areas. The estate is certified biodynamic, banning weed killers and chemical fertilisers in order to keep the microbiological diversity of the vineyard.


Tasting at the Domaine des Huards

We tasted different Cour-Cheverny cuvées as well as their Cheverny reds. Here are my notes:

• 2002 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards: 100% Romorantin. Light color, mineral, herbal, crisp. One of the few wines that could be paired with asparagus.

• 2002 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée François 1er: 100% Romorantin old vines, the oldest planted in 1922. Bright golden color, nutty nose with hint of hay, crisp, full and complex mouthfeel, long mineral finish, ageworthy.

• 2005 Cheverny Domaine des Huards: Gamay 55% Pinot Noir 30% Cabernet Franc 10%. Deep red purple color, gamay nose, peppery , floral notes of peony, light-bodied, balanced palate.

• 2005 Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée Le Pressoir: Pinot Noir 80% Gamay 20%. Garnet color, red berry nose, raspberry notes, lively finish.

• 2004 Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée Jean-François Deniau: Pinot Noir 50% Gamay 40% Cabernet Franc 10%. Floral peony nose, fuller palate, long finish of licorice.

• 2004 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée J. M. Tendresse: 100% Romorantin demi-sec, late harvest style. Light golden color, delicate nose, flavors concentrated on the palate, nutty, herbal finish.

All these wines were delicious but I really liked the cuvée François 1er (I bought half a case to cellar) and the serious but very food friendly cuvée Jean-François Deniau.

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7/7/7 family reunion at the château de la Gagnotterie

What do you do when you have a large family in France (my husband has 8 brothers and sisters with an average of 3 children per family) and you want to see all of them together? You find a convenient time, a location that can accommodate everybody, and you organize a big family reunion party.

So on July 7 2007, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and a happy crowd of cousins between 2 months and 18 years of age, gathered at La Gagnotterie, a nineteenth-century château near Blois in the Loire Valley.


Château de la Gagnotterie

For the main dinner on Saturday, my sister-in-law Claire-Élise had planned a mouth-watering catered buffet (terrine st jacques à la laitue de mer, marbré de foie gras de canard aux artichauts, pavé de blois au chocolat et nougatine, crème fine au pain d'épices...) and I was in charge of the wines.

Naturally, the wines that I brought were all from the nearby Anjou-Saumur, Touraine and Centre regions. We started with a lively Saumur Brut, the Saumur Brut Bouvet-Ladubay cuvée Saphir, a refreshing Chenin Blanc-Chardonnay blend made, like in Champagne, using the Méthode Traditionelle.

Our two white wines were very different in style although both equally excellent. There was a Savennières from the renowned Domaine des Baumard, the 2003 Savennières Domaine des Baumard Clos de Saint Yves. It was a 100% Chenin Blanc sourced from a south-facing vineyard next to the distinguished butterfly-shaped Clos du Papillon. it had a bright light golden color and a delicate honeyed nose. The palate was complex with a mineral backbone and a lenghty finish of citrus and white flower aromas.

Our other white wine, the 2005 Sancerre Alphonse Mellot La Moussière came from the exceptional Domaine La Moussière, a southwest exposed chalky vineyard of over thirty hectares, planted with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. This was a seductive and generous wine with a light yellow-green color, a fragrant Sauvignon nose, a well-balanced palate with a hint of oak and some nice acidity on the finish.

The red wine selection included the 2003 Anjou Château de Pimpéan Cuvée Passion, a nice mellow drinking Cabernet Franc with gentle tannins and a fruity finish, a perfect accompaniment to the pâté d'oie en croûte.

After the appetizers, the pavé de selle d'agneau grillé and the magret de canard en tapenade were calling for a more serious red and the 2001 Bourgueil Pierre-Jacques Druet Grand Mont happened to be exactly what we needed. Showing a dark red-purple color, this 100% Cabernet Franc had a spicy nose of blackcurrrant and plum and a firm palate followed by a finish of great earthy-mineral quality.

After such a feast, nobody had much room left for the cakes and pastries, but that ended up not being a problem: we served the cakes again on Sunday and they all disappeared, mostly eaten by a hungry crowd of kids.

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Family vacation in France but coming back soon!

These are our last vacation days in France. I have to say that we have been pretty busy during this last month. We started our vacation with a family reunion near Cheverny in the Loire Valley, then stayed near in Paris, then drove to the south of France where we had rented a place facing the island of Porquerolles. We are currently in Saint Paul de Vence on the French Riviera.


Fondation Maeght in Saint Paul de Vence

We tasted several pretty good wines from the Loire Valley and the Côtes de Provence and I have some tasting notes on most of them, so stay tuned for a few tasting reports coming soon!

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Winemaking step #7: barrel tasting

It's been more than six months since our 2006 Crushpad Cabernet Sauvignon Ink Grade Vineyard had been aging in a new Sylvain barrel and it was time to check how the wine had evolved. So last Monday, I had an appointment with our winemaker Kian Tavakoli to taste the wine.

Wow! Six months in new oak and the wine had turned into a truly magnificent teen with a deep, inky purple color and an intense nose of blackberry liqueur. The palate was concentrated, woody, and tight with tannins. After five minutes in the glass, the rich dark fruit aromas became more peppery, spicy. Kian was also very pleased with how the wine had aged so far. And then we tried another Ink Grade Cabernet from an adjacent barrel, a wine with a different set of winemaking parameters and that had been punched down. Surprisingly, the wine was very different. The nose was minty, more herbal than fruity. On the palate, the oak seemed less integrated, with a noticeable acidic finish. I am glad to say that so far, ours was the best!


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No Man's Land: a wine from Bulgaria with a story

Last weekend, my friends David and Sylvie brought us a red wine from Bulgaria with an interesting name and label. They found it at a small Palo Alto food store specialized in world products, including some delicious French frozen desserts and various wines from Eastern Europe.

The wine was called No Man's Land. According to the label, No Man's Land is a 5 mile strip of land in Southwest Bulgaria that used to separate the worlds of Socialism and Capitalism. During the cold war, it was a horrific place for those who dared to escape the Socialist Countries, hoping for a better life in the West. Nowadays, it is an environmental paradise — pollution free and a preserved wildlife — where the vines have grown free.

The wine is produced by Damianitza, a winery established in 1940 and located in the Struma river valley in Southwest Bulgaria. The Struma river valley is a warm and dry region with hilly terrains of volcanic origin, maybe one of the best wine regions in the country. The 2003 No Man's Land Silver Label is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a dark color and a mix of herbal and dark fruit scents on the nose. On the palate, it was medium-bodied and bone dry (we were afraid it would be sweet). The wine worked nicely with our grilled lamb chops and tasted better served slightly chilled.

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WBW #34: 2002 Stella Maris Red Columbia Valley

Oh my! The June edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday is today! This month, the world famous tasting event is hosted by the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman and the theme is of course a Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon.

Therefore, for tonight's dinner, I chose a Cabernet blend from Northstar, a winery located in Walla Walla. “Walla Walla is culturally the anti-Napa — it's cozy and familiar — with an amazing camaraderie among the growers and winemakers.” says the winery website.

The 2002 Stella Maris Red Columbia Valley is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 5% Malbec, from selected vineyards in the Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Valley. “Stella Maris” means “Star of the Sea” in Latin and refers to the Virgin Mary. The wine is affectionately called “Stella” by the winemaking team and is considered the little sister to Northstar's flagship wine, the Columbia Valley Merlot. It has a dark red color and intense aromas of sweet fruit and leather on the nose. The palate is tannic but juicy with a long earthy and minty finish. Stella Maris, you're a real star!

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A classic Napa Cabernet: the 1999 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Clos du Val

I remember the first time I tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon from Clos du Val. It was in the early 90s, our first trip to the Napa Valley, although I don't remember why we stopped at the winery. Maybe we had heard that it was a good place to visit, maybe we just liked the French sounding name. Anyway, we really liked the wines, which pleased the tasting room staff. They proudly told us that the Cabernet Sauvignon was made in a true Bordeaux style as the winemaker and winery co-founder was French. Obviously, Bernard Portet's winemaking style must have pleased more than a couple of European palate: his 1972 vintage (and first vintage) was selected for the 1976 Paris Tasting, won first place during the 1986 rematch, and fifth place in 2006, beating the four Bordeaux wines.

According to the winery's cellar notes, the 1999 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc. The alcohol level is a reasonable 13.5% (compared with 14.1% for the 2002 vintage) maybe thanks to a long and cool growing season. The wine drinks very well now but it could be kept in the cellar for several more years. Showing a dense purple color, it displays layered aromas of cassis, blackberry, and mocha. The palate has fine-grained tannins nicely balanced by a lively acidity. The finish is long and slightly bitter. I told you: a truly classic Napa Cabernet.

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2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo: it's almost summer!

You may have heard of the Feudi di San Gregorio estate. It is widely regarded as one of Italy's most progressive wineries. Established in 1986 in Irpinia, a wine region in Campania, not far from Mount Vesuvio, it is now renowned for its modern style wines from indigenous ancient varietals such as Fiano di Avellino, Falanghina, Greco di Tufo, and Aglianico.

Legend has it that Greco di Tufo was brought to Italy by the first Greek settlers. It is one of Campania's oldest varieties as attested by the discovery of a fresco at Pompeii with the following inscription: “You are truly cold, Bytis, made of ice, if last night not even Greco wine could warm you up.”

The 2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo has a bright golden color and a discreet honeyed nose with herbaceous aromas. On the palate, it is dry, fresh, and well balanced with a light finish. It's a fine summer white but if I remember well, the Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano di Avellino seemed to me more aromatic and complex. I also had the opportunity to taste the Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina and in my opinion, it's as good as the Greco di Tufo, although slightly cheaper, therefore a better value.

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Tonight, let's have a glass of 2003 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval Red Mountain

I generally enjoy the red wines from Washington State. I like their distinctive style, rich although well balanced, and often less jammy and less alcoholic than their Californian counterparts.

So tonight, I am tasting the 2003 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval Red Mountain. The Ciel du Cheval Vineyard is one of the most renowned vineyards of the Northwest. It is located east of the Cascade mountain range, in the Red Mountain AVA, Washington's smallest appellation. The place has an arid and hot desert climate with significant diurnal temperature variation. The soil is high in calcium, thus very alkaline, which makes it hard for the plants to extract nutrients and therefore keeps vigor down. Red Bordeaux and Rhone varieties are particularly well adapted to these growing conditions. The name Ciel du Cheval means Horse Heaven, a tribute to the nearby Horse Heaven Hills.

The wine is a blend of Merlot for softness, Cabernet Sauvignon for power and structure, and Cabernet Franc with a dash of Petit Verdot for aromatics. The color is dark red-purple. The nose is spicy and a touch heady. The palate is dense, mouthfilling with some good acidity. It is a promising young wine but this horse in heaven may need a few more years to be tamed! If you cannot wait, try it with a juicy ribeye steak.

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WBW #33: the 2004 Clot de L'Oum Compagnie des Papillons, a superb value wine from the Midi

Mid-priced wines from the Midi is the theme of the 33nd edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted this month by Marcus aka Doktor Weingolb.

So tonight, I can tell you that I am pretty happy with my selection for this month's WBW: the 2004 Clot de L'Oum Compagnie des Papillons, a delicious Côtes du Roussillon-Villages, not a cheap wine but still a wine at reasonable price: $18.99. Thanks Marcus for this great theme!

Clot de L'Oum, which means hollow of the elm in Catalan, is a project that started in 1995 with the purchase by Eric Monné and his wife Leia of a few hectares of vines in the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages appellation, north of Perpignan. Today, the domain has 15 hectares in production on high altitude terroirs of schist, granite and gneiss. Eric Monné has adopted modern and non-interventionist viticultural practices: the vineyard is certified organic, native yeast is used during fermentation, and the wine is aged in neutral oak and bottled unfiltered.

The Compagnie des Papillons (The Company of Butterflies) is Clot de L'Oum's regular cuvée. On the bright green label, you can read the winery's motto, one line of fine poetry: Un soir petit grain d'or, un soir de pleine lune et de grand vent... (One evening small grain of gold, one evening of full moon and high wind...). A blend of old vine Grenache and Carignan, the wines shows a dark purple color and a peppery nose of sweet fruit. The palate has juicy flavors of ripe black cherries on the palate and a good balance between tannins and acidity, followed by a lingering spicy finish.

The wine is really delicious, try it with a rustic Catalan Chickpea Stew.



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Santa Barbara tasting at Crushpad

Crushpad, which has just moved to a new, bigger place on 3rd Street in San Francisco, is now hosting a series of wine tasting events every other Thursday. The tasting kick-off event happened last Thursday with 6 wines from Santa Barbara County.

Who has not heard of Santa Barbara wine country? Remember, it's that Pinot Noir place where it is forbidden to talk about Merlot! Actually, Santa Barbara is much more than just Pinot Noir country. With three main appellations, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and Santa Rita Hills, and many microclimates, Santa Barbara produces a wide range of wines from cool climate varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as from Rhone varieties including Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier.

Here are the wines that we tasted that evening:



• 2006 Ojai Sauvignon Blanc Westerly Vineyard Santa Barbara County: from The Ojai Vineyard, a winery renowned for its Syrah, Rhone Varietals, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from premium vineyards on California's Central Coast. Ojai buys its grapes by the acre rather than by the ton and therefore, pushes for low yield crops in order to produce wines of high intensity. My notes: pale yellow color, vivid aromas of grapefruit and pineapple on the nose. On the palate, full-bodied, fat, and crisp with some bitterness on the finish. The wine was far too intense for me, my preference being a lighter, fresher style of Sauvignon Blanc.



• 2005 Babcock Chardonnay Rita's Earth Cuvee Santa Rita Hills: from Babcock Winery, a small winery in the Santa Rita Hills featuring estate-grown fruit as well as grapes from local vineyards. The Rita's Earth cuvee is a blend of Estate Chardonnay with fruit from the Sanford & Benedict vineyard and Gainey's Evans Ranch vineyard. My notes: medium golden color, attractive nose of ripe stone fruit. On the palate, seemed high in alcohol (14.5%), long finish.



• 2005 Barrel 27 Viognier Santa Barbara County: from Barrel 27 Wine Company, the creation of two winemakers committed to producing premium Rhone varietal wines at fair prices, and according to their website, for hardworking people. Their Viognier is made with fruit from the Bien Nacido and Camp 4 Vineyards. My notes: pale yellow color, aromatic floral nose of orange blossom, full-bodied palate with tropical fruit flavors, high alcohol content (15%). Overall, the wine had too much extraction for me, I prefer more freshness and finesse.



• 2005 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Clark & Telephone Vineyard Santa Maria Valley: from Belle Glos Wines, a Pinot Noir producer founded by Napa winemaker Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards, favoring low yields and intense flavors. My notes: deep garnet color, candied fruit nose, full-bodied palate, herbaceous flavors on the finish. Quite a rich style of Pinot.



• 2005 San Sakana Syrah White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara County: from San Sakana Cellars, a boutique winery founded by Bettina Briz, her husband Peter, and her best friend Leslie. San Sakana means three fish in Japanese and is a reference to the three founders. San Sakana is currently hosted by Crushpad where the wine is made. The White Hawk Vineyard Syrah was vinified using 25% whole cluster to include some stems in the extraction, and was aged in 100% neutral French oak. My notes: dark purple color, nose of sweet berries with peppery notes. On the palate, full-bodied, rich and seductive, definitively my favorite wine of the evening.



• 2005 Ojai Syrah Santa Barbara County: another wine from the Ojai Vineyard. The Santa Barbara County Syrah is a blend of various fruit from the county with some Grenache (3%) and Mourvèdre (0.5%) to give an aromatic lift. My notes: deep purple color, quite shy on the nose but big on the palate, tannic, peppery with an herbal finish.

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The cuvée Manon of Clos Marie

Last February, I wrote about the excellent 2005 Pic Saint Loup Clos Marie l'Olivette. And then last week, I had the chance to taste the domain's white cuvée, the 2004 Clos Marie Cuvée Manon, a blend of several Southern France white varieties such as Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc, and Bourboulenc. Manon is a nickname for Marie and the name of the vigneron's daughter, but it is also the name of my niece and my daughter's middle name. Therefore, I was really happy to find this wine absolutely delicious. We drank it at lunch time on a warm, sunny day with a sweet and sour Persian chicken dish that one of my friends had prepared. The wine had a nice floral, honeyed nose with a creamy mouthfeel on the palate, some lively acidity and stone fruit aromas on the finish. Manon had a tough job dealing with the nuts and the acidity and sweetness of the pomegranate sauce, but I can tell you that she did extremely well.

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Tasting the wines of Australia and New Zealand

Last March, our tasting club met again, this time to taste the wines of New Zealand and Australia.

Even if Australia is considered to be one of the main new world wine regions, vineyards were already well established in the 1820s in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. In fact, some of the oldest vines in the world are now found in Australia, as they were able to escape the phylloxera epidemic that destroyed most of Europe's vineyards.

In New Zealand on the other hand, wine remained a marginal activity until the late 1970s, although the country's first vines were planted in Northland in 1819. New Zealand has now ten main wine growing regions stretching from latitudes 36°S (Northland) to 45°S (Central Otago), thus producing a wide array of wine styles.

Our group tasted seven wines, two whites, five reds, three from New Zealand, and four from Australia.

Our first white was the 2005 Grant Burge Pinot Gris Reserve from Eden Valley. Located in South Australia, Eden Valley is one of the country's coolest wine regions with a production dominated by Riesling, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. The wine is produced by Grant Burge Wines, a major wine company located in the Barossa Valley. Established in 1988, Grant Burge is now one of the top 10 privately owned wine companies in Australia. The wine had a subtle nose of citrus, a clean and generous palate with mineral notes and a fresh acidity on the finish. A light wine for a warm, summery evening.

Our second white was the 2006 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. Marlborough is New Zealand's largest and best known winegrowing area. Sauvignon Blanc is Marlborough's most planted grape variety and the star of the region with Chardonnay in second place, followed by Pinot Noir and Riesling. The wine had an extremely attractive nose of grapefruit and cassis. The palate was crisp with vibrant fruit flavors, followed by a long aftertaste. The wine was definitively one of the group favorite wines.

Then we tasted the following reds:

• 2005 Felton Road Pinot Noir from Central Otago: Central Otago is the world's most southerly wine region. It has a continental climate with great extremes of daily and seasonal temperatures. Pinot Noir is the region's dominant grape variety followed by Chardonnay. The wine had a deep color and a fragrant nose of red berry. On the palate, it was rich in flavors with a spicy finish. This was a very nice wine that reminded me of a California Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley.

• 2002 Alpha Domus Hawke's Bay The Navigator: Hawke's Bay is the country's second largest wine region. Chardonnay is the most planted grape variety but late ripening red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc are very also successful thanks to the area's long sunshine hours. The wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of Merlot (43%), Cabernet Sauvignon (36%), Cabernet Franc (11%) and Malbec (10%). It had a deep red color, a very Bordeaux-like nose with gamey and rose petal notes. The palate was less Bordeaux-like but still earthy with firm tannins and a rather long aftertaste.

• 2001 Leeuwin Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River: Margaret River is a leading wine region located in Western Australia. Although it produces only three percent of total Australian grape production, it produces more than 20 percent of the country's premium wines. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the production followed by Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. Leeuwin Estate is located in the South West of Western Australia, just north of Cape Leeuwin, Australia's most southwesterly point, and less than 6 km from the Indian Ocean. The Art Series are the estate's premium wines. Their labels have paintings commissioned from leading contemporary Australian Artists. The wine had a dark purple color and a nose of pepper and yeast. The palate was chewy and exhibited a nice array of fruity aromas. A classic, fruit-driven new world Cabernet.

• 2004 Henschke Henry's Seven Shiraz-Grenache-Viognier: the Henschke family has been in the Barossa Valley since 1861 when Johann Christian Henschke, who was fleeing religious persecution in Germany, purchased a farm in Keyneton. This wine is a tribute to Henry Evans who planted the first vineyard (of seven acres) at Keyneton in 1853. It is a blend of 60% Shiraz, 30% Grenache, 5% Viognier, 5% Mourvèdre. It had a deep color and a sweet nose of red and black fruits. The palate was full-bodied and smooth with an aftertaste of bittersweet chocolate. A tasty wine, very food friendly.

• 2005 Torbreck Woodcutter's Shiraz Barossa Valley: Torbreck Vintners was founded by David Powell in 1994. The estate produces wines with intense, rich, Rhone-like flavors using Rhone varietals such as Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne. The name Woodcutter is a reference to David Powell earlier job when he was working as a lumberjack in the Torbreck forest. The wine is a 100% Shiraz from 10 to 20 year old vines. It had a dark color, a sweet berry nose and a full-bodied, smooth palate, leaving a jammy aftertaste of candied fruit. We found the wine much too sweet and much prefered the Henschke.

Our next tasting event should be fun, the theme is Guess the Wine so don't miss it!

Other wine club tastings:
•  From Old World To New World
•  Champagne Tasting
•  Tasting the wines of Piedmont

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Back to classics: 1998 Clos de l'Oratoire

Sometimes, you don't need a fancy meal to enjoy a good bottle of wine. Take our last Friday dinner for instance. We had a simple home cooked dinner of grilled steak, oven roasted potatoes, and green salad. But the steak was screaming for a nice bottle of Bordeaux so I opened a 1998 Clos de l'Oratoire.

Clos de L'Oratoire is a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru currently owned by the aristocratic Count Stephan von Neipperg of Château Canon La Gaffelière. It is a 10.32 hectare estate located on Saint-Emilion's northeast slope. The soil consists of limestone, sand, and a clay subsoil, conditions that are particularly favorable to the Merlot grape (90% of the blend, the rest being equally divided between Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon). The wine is aged in oak barrels, mostly new, for up to 18 months and is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

In the glass, this 9 year old wine had a dark garnet color showing no sign of age. The nose had wonderful gamey aromas with sweet berry notes in the background. The palate offered a rich layered array of flavors, a nice balance between tannins and acidity and a persistent earthy/mocha finish.

It's funny how quickly we forget how rewarding simple pleasures are, like a juicy grilled steak and a glass of good Bordeaux.

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Try Sicily for a change

Have you tried any wine from Sicily recently? And do you know that Sicily is one of Europe's fastest growing wine regions?

Although a great majority of Sicilian wines is still produced by cooperatives, there is an increasing number of private estates that put a new emphasis on quality over quantity. Moreover, some of Sicily's most interesting wines come from native varieties unique to the area, including the red grapes Nero d'Avola and Nerello Mascalese, and the white Inzolia.

So this weekend we tasted an excellent Sicilian wine, the 2002 Vini Biondi Etna Rosso Outis. Etna is one of Sicily's finest DOC although vines planted on Mount Etna desert-like slopes are not easy to cultivate: the volcano has frequent eruptions and the soil has extremely fine volcanic ash and sand that can damage the vines and the farm equipment.

Outis (nessuno in Italian, nobody in English) is the name that Ulysses gave to Polyfemous the Cyclops on the foothills of Mount Etna. The wine is a blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, Etna's main grape varieties, that are planted on an east facing vineyard at 620 meters above sea level.

The wine had a medium red, slightly brown color, and a fragrant nose of sweet cherry liqueur and coffee. On the palate, it had a dry, tannic attack and a nice mix of aromatic herbs and vanilla on the finish. It is a distinctive wine that you should try with a Fennel and Sausage Pasta dish.

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WBW #32: Reserve or not Reserve?

Reserve or not Reserve? That is the question asked by The Wine Cask Blog for the 32nd edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday. This month, we need to determine whether Reserve wines are really better than their regular counterparts. What a great question! And are they worth the price, can they age better?

For this experiment, I chose to compare (blind) two wines from Merryvale Vineyards: the 1999 Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon bought $20.80 at the time, and the 1999 Merryvale Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon that costed me $30.20. Both are from the Napa Valley, from the same vintage, and both have some amount of Merlot in the blend.



In the glass, the two wines had a similar deep garnet color, the Reserve being slightly darker. The regular Cabernet had a bright, spicy, and smoky nose whereas the Reserve had a denser nose with black fruit and cherry liqueur aromas, and some smoky notes. On the palate, the regular Cabernet was medium-bodied, slightly lean on the mid palate with some acidity on the finish. In comparison, the Reserve had a fuller and more complex body, with a more tannic finish.

At the end, it was easy to identify the two wines. The regular Cabernet was a fine wine that had aged pretty well but it didn't have the complexity of the Reserve. Does that mean that the Reserve was worth the price? I think so.

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Nuits d'Ivresse

I have to admit that I bought this wine because of its name. Nuits d'Ivresse is a great wine name. It means Drunken Nights, although I think that ivresse is more than just being drunk. Ivresse can also be caused by happiness, the happiness of drinking a good wine.

The wine is produced by the Domaine Catherine & Pierre Breton. Catherine & Pierre Breton practice organic viticulture and vinify most of the wines in stainless-steel vats so that the wines can express their terroir and vintage. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered and only a minimal dosage of sulfur is used.

The cuvée Nuits d'Ivresse is a Bourgueil, an appellation located in the Loire Valley. It is made from old Cabernet Franc vines growing on clay and limestone soils. The wine has a deep garnet color and a nose of forest berry fruit and violent scents. The palate is firm and spicy with a fresh finish. It is wonderfully food-friendly. Try it with a roast chicken and a Spring Risotto.

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A quick trip to Philadelphia: will I be able to taste some Pennsylvania wines?

Do you know that Pennsylvania ranks fifth in grape growing production and is one of the fastest growing wine region in the nation?

Pennsylvania's winemaking history goes back to the 1600s with William Penn the first to plant Vinifera vines in 1684. Unfortunately, none of them survived.

Nowadays, Pennsylvania is still primarily a dairy producing state but winemaking has been growing rapidly since the adoption of the Farm Winery Act in 1968, which allowed wineries to sell wine directly to the public. Only about a quarter of the grapes grown in the state are Vitis vinifera. The majority are Native American (Vitis labrusca) and French-American hybrids (including Chambourcin, Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, Vignoles) that are planted for their hardiness and resistance to disease.

Pennsylvania wine is not easy to find. 95 percent of the production is sold directly at the winery, 4 percent through the state-owned liquor stores, and only 1 percent is sold out of state.

Therefore , the best way to discover Pennsylvania wine is to visit the wineries along some of the state's well documented wine trails such as the Berks County Wine Trail, the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail, or the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail.

Unfortunately, I will not have the time for such visits during this trip, so I just hope that I will find some local wines by the glass wherever I go for dinner.

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

A delicious wine for a great bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is Marseille's traditional fish stew. The word comes from the Provençal bolha-baissa which means boil and reduce. It is served with toasted bread slices spread with a spicy garlic mayonnaise called rouille or rust. I never tried to make one, thinking that the recipe was too complicated and that I could never find the right fish in California.

But last week, a friend of mine showed me her simplified recipe. Her bouillabaisse ended up being rich in flavor and surprisingly easy to prepare. First, make a fish broth with fish trimmings (such as fish frames and fish heads). This can be done ahead of time. Then, cook onions, garlic, tomatoes, leeks, fennel in olive oil. Add orange peel, fennel seeds, bay leaf, saffron, and the fish broth. Let it boil and reduce. Finally, strain the soup, add fish fillets (halibut, red snapper), scallops, then mussels. Serve with parsley, croutons, and rouille.



With the bouillabaisse, we had a white from the Languedoc, the 2005 Bergerie de l'Hortus Classique Blanc. Domaine de L'Hortus is a 60 hectare estate located in the valley between the Pic Saint Loup and the Montagne de l'Hortus. Bergerie de l'Hortus is the domaine's second label. Made with young vines, the wine was an unusual blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc. It had a bright golden color with aromas of stone fruits and white flowers. On the palate, it was deliciously lush, ripe, and mouthfilling with a touch of sweetness on the finish. Everybody agreed: it worked wonderfully well with the bouillabaisse.


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Pinot Locale

I really like the Pinot Noir wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains. I find them racy, aromatic, and well-balanced. Unfortunately, they are usually produced in small quantities by family-owned boutique wineries and therefore, are not easy to find in mainstream wine stores. Now, if you live in the Bay Area, there is a great place to taste and buy these wines: Vino Locale, a small wine bar in Palo Alto that specializes in local products. Many of their wines come from little known Santa Clara and Santa Cruz County producers. And if you're not familiar with their names, just ask Randy Robinson the owner, for a recommendation. He knows all of them very well.

I was there recently with a good friend of mine as we were both low on Santa Cruz Pinots. We bought a couple of bottles of our favorite, the Muccigrosso Pinot Noir and while we were there, we also tasted the 2004 Silver Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir Tondre's Grapefield that was available at the tasting bar. The wine was not from the Santa Cruz Mountains but from the nearby Santa Lucia Highlands. It was nevertheless delicious: fragrant, well structured, with a long finish. We walked out of the store with arms full, but we were happy.

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WBW #31: wines in boxes, are they any good?

Last week for the first time in my life, I stopped in front of the wine box area of my local supermarket. I was on an important mission: I had to find a wine in a box for our coming Wine Blogging Wednesday. This month, the most famous wine blogging event is hosted by Box Wines and of course, the theme is Box Wines & Non-Traditional Packaging.

The first wine I tried was the 2004 Three Thieves Bandit Pinot Grigio sold in a one-liter Tetra-pack for $7. “We stole money from the bottle and gave it to the wine” claims the producer Three Thieves on the box. According to the winemaking notes, the wine is a California blend of 80% Pinot Grigio, 12% Sauvignon Blanc, 4% Chenin Blanc, 4% Muscat. It was cold-fermented at 50F in stainless steel to retain the fresh, fruity aromas of fermentation and was not permitted to undergo a secondary malolactic fermentation to ensure crisp acidity.

The big surprise was that the wine was actually very pleasant. It had a very pale yellow color and a subtle nose of honeyed pear. On the palate, it was dry and crisp with a creamy mouthfeel and an aftertaste of apple. Transfer the wine into a regular glass bottle and serve it to your friends on a warm summer day: they will love it!

I also tried a red wine from South Eastern Australia, the 2005 Hardy's Stamp of Australia Cabernet Sauvignon, sold in 3-liter box for $16. In Australia, this kind of wine is pretty common as more than 50 percent of all wine consumed in the country is from boxes.

The bag-in-the-box system was actually created 40 years ago by the Scholle Corp. There is a vacuum-sealed plastic bag inside the cardboard box that keeps the wine in a sterile environment. As wine is poured from the tap, the bag collapses, blocking air from reaching the wine and preventing oxidation. However, the wine should be consumed within a month after opening.

So I poured the wine from the tab. It had a dark red/purple color, a heady nose of sweet black berries, a soft and full texture and a finish of ripe fruit and licorice. Although not the most exciting wine, it is a solid everyday drinking wine. But 3 liters is a lot; I may use some of it in the coming days in a beef stew.

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A new trend in France: low alcohol and reduced alcohol wines

In reaction to stricter driving regulations and the decline of alcohol consumption in France, some producers have recently released new brands of low alcohol/reduced alcohol wines. These wines are also aimed at female drinkers who don't like to feel heady after just one glass of wine and also appreciate the reduced amount of calories.

Winemakers have different ways to produce low alcohol wines. This can be done naturally by using varietals such as Grenache and Cinsault that can reach maturity without accumulating too much sugar. They can also use yeasts that do not completely transform sugar into alcohol, leaving a certain amount of residual sugar in the wine. Other methods are more technology-based. Some remove the sugar from the must (Redux procedure). Others remove the alcohol from the fermented wine (reverse osmosis).

Now, do these high tech reduced alcohol wines still taste like wine? According to the French wine magazine La Revue du Vin de France, only few are successful, most are disappointing.

The magazine tasted 13 wines with an alcohol content ranging from 9% to 11.5%. The best rated brand was the Plume (means feather) range from Domaine La Colombette in the Languedoc. The domaine offers a white, rosé and red with an alcohol level reduced to 9% using reverse osmosis. The magazine gave the Chardonnay a 15.5/20 rating and noted that the wine was fresh and tonic with a vivid nose of citrus and stone fruits and a well balanced palate. They also found the Plume Grenache Rosé and Grenache-Syrah Rouge pleasing and well-crafted. But many were lower than average, including the Dix Vin Blanc and Dix Vin Rouge (alcohol limited to 10%), also from the Languedoc and produced by the Vignerons de Calvisson. They didn't have much structure and flavors and were both rated 9.5/20.

Now I am curious to try some of these Plume wines. Unfortunately, I don't think they are imported in the US yet. So maybe next time I go to France, I'll let you know...

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Tasting the wines of Piedmont

At the end of January, I organized a tasting of wines from Piedmont for our wine club. Piedmontese wines are made from indigenous grapes that are unique to the area and so for me, they taste like nowhere else in the world.

Piedmont, which means foot of the mountain, is almost completely encircled by the Alps. Winters are cold and snowy, summers are warm and dry, and in the fall during the harvest season, the weather is often cool and foggy. Besides its wines, the region is famous for its cuisine rich in flavors, featuring game, porcini and white truffles.

When we think about Piedmontese wines, we think of the intensely flavorful Barolos and Barbarescos, and maybe the fruity Barberas, but few of us have tried the region's excellent whites that made from ancient, indigenous, sometimes almost extinct grapes.

We tasted two whites from Piedmont. The first one was the 2005 Palladino Gavi di Gavi. Run by the Palladino family, the Azienda Vinicola Palladino is the oldest of the area. The Gavi di Gavi is one of the producer's most popular wines. Gavi is a wine made exclusively from the Cortese grape, an indigenous variety from the hills of southeastern Piedmont. The wine had a golden color with grapefruit and citrus aromas on the nose. On the palate, it had a crisp acidity and a fat mouthfeel. It was excellent served as an aperitif and should also work well with a fish dish in a light cream sauce.

Our second white was the 2004 Monchiero Carbone Roero Arneis Recit. Because of its thin skin, Arneis, which means little rascal in the local dialect, is hard to cultivate and hard to vinify. By the 1960s, Arneis was nearly extinct and was often vinified and blended with Nebbiolo. But thanks to a few Barolo producers, the varietal was saved from extinction. The Roero Arneis Recit is unwooded and packaged in a dark bottle to prevent premature aging. It had a pleasant fragrant nose. The palate was full-bodied with a rich mouthfeel and a distinctive stony finish. It was absolutely delicious with the Vitello Tonnato dish that one of our friends had brought, a Piedmontese specialty with veal, tuna, capers, and anchovies.

Then we tasted the following reds:




• 2005 Braida di Giacomo Bologna Brachetto d'Acqui: Braida means stretch ball and is a local Piedmontese sport. It was also the favorite pastime and the nickname of Giacomo Bologna's father. While Barbera d'Asti is the winery's main production, it also produces some amount of Brachetto d'Aqui, a low alcohol, sweet, red sparkling wine, named for the Brachetto grape as well as the Acqui district near the town of Asti. Showing a light red/pink color, the Braida Brachetto d'Acqui had a fruity nose of raspberry and blackberry. Slightly fizzy and semi-sweet on the palate, it was fresh and light with an alcohol content of only 5.5%. This Brachetto left nobody indifferent: some guests really loved it, others had hard time finishing their glasses: too sweet, too fizzy, too light.

• 2004 Ruggeri Corsini Dolcetto d'Alba: founded in 1843 by the Besserat family, Podere Ruggeri Corsini is a husband and wife operation located in Monforte d'Alba, one of the main communes in the Barolo Appellation. The wine is made from Dolcetto, which means the little sweet one, an easy to drink, medium-bodied, and fruity varietal. It had a bright reddish-purple color and a floral nose of violets. On the palate, it was round with mineral flavors and a fresh peppery finish.

• 2004 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti Superiore Le Orme: Michele Chiarlo is a leading figure in the Italian wine industry. He is one of the first Italian producers to have introduced malolactic fermentation in Italy, in order to make more stable wines with not as much acidity and easier to drink young. The Barbera d'Asti, made from the Barbera grape, is one of his most popular wines. It had a deep red color, fruity aromas, a structured backbone and a well balanced palate with some good acidity. It was excellent to accompany a plate of prosciutto, salami, and cheese.

• 2002 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco: Founded in the 1950s, the Produttori del Barbaresco is a cooperative that is known to produce high quality wines, and that has become a model for the other wine cooperatives in Italy. Barbaresco is a powerful wine made purely from Nebbiolo, a noble grape considered to be one of the world's greatest wine varieties. The wine had a red brick color and a powerful nose with complex aromas. The palate was rich, full-bodied, with firm tannins.

• 2001 Mauro Molino Barolo: Molino is very highly regarded producer from the village of La Morra in the Barolo Appellation. Its 8 hectare vineyard is mainly planted with Nebbiolo (60%) and also includes Barbera (20%), Dolcetto (10%), and Chardonnay (10%). Barolo, also made from Nebbiolo, is considered the most famous Piedmontese wines. This one had a ruby color and a light floral nose. The palate had intense and complex flavors and a long finish. This great wine should be paired with rich food such as beef braised in wine, wild mushroom risotto, and truffles.

Our next tasting event will feature the wines of two other amazing wine regions: New Zealand and Australia, so don't miss it!

Previous wine club tastings:
•  From Old World To New World
•  Champagne Tasting

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