Tag Archives: white wine

Wine review: McPherson Cellars Roussanne 2010

The on-going debate in the Texas wine business is about whether to make wine from grapes that consumers recognize, or to make wine from grapes that are suited to the Texas terroir. It's a debate that has pitted winemakers against winemakers, growers against winemakers, and critics against winemakers.

The first group argues that consumers won't buy wine from a Texas winery unless it says chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, or merlot on the label — and that if they have to buy grapes from California to make those wines, so be it. Otherwise, there would be no Texas wine industry.

The second group, to which the Wine Curmudgeon belongs, disagrees. Our approach: What's the point of making Texas wine that tastes like California wine? Texas wine (or New York or Virginia or other regional wine, for that matter) should reflect the state's unique characteristics — the soil, the climate, and the like.

I'm going to write more about this next week, and specifically the labeling controversy in the regional wine business — how too many regional wineries try to convince consumers that wine made with California grapes came from their state. Today, though, it's enough to note that this roussanne ($14, sample) is a white wine that firmly, boldly and unequivocally makes the argument for terroir-driven wines. More, after the jump:

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Fourth of July wine 2011

A few thoughts about wine and the Fourth of July, which too often isn't seen as much of a wine holiday. But, as the Wine Curmudgeon always points out, every holiday is an occasion for wine. One just needs to find the right label. Look for wines that pair with barbecue and picnic foods like roses, and especially traditional-style zinfandels like the Grgich:

? La Vieille Ferme Rouge 2009 ($8, purchased): This red blend from France has solid, Old World structure, some spice and pepper, tannins and not much fruit. It's still a little rough, but that's not a bad thing.

? Villa San-Juliette Sauvignon Blanc ($15, sample): More California in style than other sauvignon blancs, with grassy aromas and more lemon than grapefruit. Nicely done, especially since it's from Paso Robles, which is hardly thought of as a sauvignon blanc region.

? Grgich Hills Zinfandel 2007 ($35, sample): So beautifully made and complex that it almost doesn't taste like zinfandel. But there's zinfandel's trademark pepper and red fruit (though not quite as brambly as I like). This wine is ready now, but can sit for another year or so, which will help integrate the oak.

For more on Fourth of July wine:
? Fourth of July wine 2010
? Wine of the week: Fattoria dei Barbi Brusco 2008
? Four French wines you can afford
? Wine of the week: Heyman & Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
? Wine of the week: Marietta Old Vine Red Lot Number 53

A tale of three rieslings

Rieslings are among the world ?s great wines, sharing many of the qualities that great wines from other regions of the world have: high prices, long aging, and sublime taste. So why do rieslings have such a poor reputation with U.S. wine drinkers? Which is pretty poor, considering that Nielsen reports that we drink three times more white zinfandel than we do riesling.

There are two main reasons for riesling ?s neglect. Until the past couple of years, most of the riesling for sale in the U.S. was German, and much of that was of indifferent quality. But the quality of riesling that ?s available these days has improved dramatically. We ?re not only getting better German wines, but U.S. riesling can be stunningly good. In fact, riesling from places like New York, Michigan and Washington is one of the best-kept secrets of the wine world.

The other reason? Many rieslings are sweet, and Americans have long been taught that sweet wine means bad wine. Which is our loss, since sweet is not a bad thing with riesling. The sweetness occurs naturally, and not like an added bag of sugar. In this, the sweetness is part of the wine, something that is balanced by the fruitiness and acidity. And not all rieslings are sweet — they come in varying degrees of dryness, and some are as dry as chardonnay. The leading producers, knowing the challenge they face, have started to label riesling by sweetness, so that it ?s easy to tell a dry wine from a sweet one. More, after the jump:

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Wine of the week: House White 2008

The Wine Curmudgeon read one of those expert prognostications last week, reassuring the wine business that all would be soon be well with the world again. Which, for the wine business, means that consumers will stop buying cheap wine, the world oversupply of grapes will go away, and prices will go up.

To which I offer the House White ($10, purchased) as the wine of the week, from the always reliable Magnificent Wine Company. Note that it was $10, a couple of bucks less than its suggested retail price. Note, too, that it was a 2008 vintage, even though there is a 2009 vintage available. Why does that happen? Because there is so much 2008 left that my local retailer (another many others) isn't stocking the 2009. Yes, the wine business may be improving, but there is still such a glut of wine in warehouses and on shelves that we won't see pre-recession pricing for a very, very long time.

Despite its age — and $10 white wines don't often last this long — the House White is sturdy and worthwhile. It's a blend of mostly chardonnay from Washington state, so look for a lot of stoniness. Though there isn't a lot of fruit left (maybe a little peach), that's not a problem. There are no off flavors, either, something to watch out for in older cheap wines. Drink this chilled for almost any summer white wine opportunity.

Expensive wine 28: Robert Mondavi Reserve Chardonnay 2007

Robert Mondavi sold his self-named company to Constellation Brands in 2004, which means that at least a generation of wine drinkers knows Mondavi only as a name on a bottle of wine they see at the grocery store. Such are the vagaries of family businesses.

If they had known the pre-Constellation Mondavi, or even the pre-publicly traded Mondavi, though, the chardonnay ($40, sample) is the kind of wine they would have associated with the winery. Mondavi made his name not only by marketing Napa Valley (and, by extension, the rest of California), but by making some terrific wine. Talk to the old-timers, and they still wax poetic about the 1979 reserve cabernet, and many remember when Mondavi was about wine and not corporate wheeling and dealing.

Enjoy this wine and imagine what could have been. The chardonnay, frankly, stunned the Wine Curmudgeon with its style and complexity. I was expecting a heavy-handed, post-modern approach — too rich, too overdone and too much of everything else. Instead, I found — dare I say — classicism. This is a wine in balance, with acid to offset the wonderful green apple fruit and enough oak to show it's there but not to overwhelm the wine. Drink this on its own with someone you care about or for a special occasion dinner. Highly recommended.

Father’s Day wine 2011

A few thoughts for the wine-loving Dad in your life, and remember the wine gift-giving guidelines. The most important? Buy wine that Dad likes, not wine that you think he should like:

? d'Arenberg The Hermit Crab 2009 ($14, sample): Today's metaphysical wine question: Why does Australia bother with so much of the "wine" that it makes when it can do white Rhone blends like this? Crisp, clean and refreshing, with a bit of lime and peach. May be able to find this for as little as $12.

? Project Paso Red 2009 ($14, sample): Decent value for what it is, with lots of red fruit (though not much to differentiate it from other wines in its class). A good choice if it shows up on a restaurant wine list. And let's not forget the zork closure.

? J Pinot Noir Nicole's Vineyard 2007 ($50, sample): Pricey yes, but top-notch California pinot noir with some earthiness in front, quality black fruit throughout (and not too much of it), and a long, terroir-driven finish. Just a lovely wine.

For more on Father ?s Day wine:
? Wine of the week: Evodia 2009
? Father's Day wine 2010
? Father's Day wine 2009
? Wine review: Sangre de Toro 2008

Wine of the week: Pasa A Paso 2009

The Wine Curmudgeon needed two wines to go with the paella he was making (and which didn't turn out well at all, a story for another time). I knew which red I wanted, and which will show up here as a wine of the week one of these days. I wasn't sure about the white; all I knew was that I wanted something that I had not tried before and that it should cost $10.

Which is how the Paso ($10, purchased) ended up in my shopping cart. I didn't know the producer, Bodegas Volver, but I knew the importer, Jorge Ordonez, who was one of the first to being quality Spanish wine to the U.S. The price was right, and the Paso was made with verdejo, which makes seafood-friendly wines that are usually more expensive.

Call it wine-buying roulette, and yet another example of why wine is so much fun. I took a chance and won. The Paso was everything I hoped it would be and a little more — fresh and lively with lots of citrus-style acid and stone fruit flavors. It wasn't as complex as a pricier verdejo, but it wasn't supposed to be.

This is exactly the kind of wine that I wish more California producers appreciated: Well-priced and well-made, and just the thing to drink with dinner when you want wine but don't want to spend a lot of money or endure wine-pairing hell.