Wine Infographic: Wine Serving Cheat Sheet

New in the wine cheat sheet series:  the Wine Serving Cheat Sheet.  This covers all the basics from which glasses are best, to what temperature to serve the wine, and how to get it there.  More importantly, it explains why.

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…

…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”

…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”

…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”  

Easy Chocolate-Port Brownies

I was tasting wine in Sonoma last week with some friends, who loved a Port-style wine but were hesitant to buy a bottle because they didn't know if they'd finish it before it spoiled. I proposed 2 solutions to this problem:

1)  Keep the bottle in the fridge and have a few sips every night after dinner.  That bottle will be empty before you know it.

2)  Make Port brownies!

I first experienced Port brownies in a wine class, when each week a different student was responsible for bringing dinner for the class. One girl brought these brownies, and we all fell in love with them. They're simple but impressive. Here's how to make them.

Buy a good quality brownie mix, like Ghirardelli. You'll also need Port and some dried cherries. Look at the amount of water (or milk) the brownie directions call for, and measure out that much Port instead. Take some dried cherries - about 1/2 cup, or however much looks good to you - and soak them in the Port while the oven heats up. Continue to mix the brownies according to the directions on the box. (It may work best to remove the cherries from the Port, mix the Port into the the other ingredients, then gently fold in the cherries at the end.) Bake as directed.

For a really impressive dessert, serve these brownies with the Port you used to make them.  The flavors will be wonderful together.  Port, cherries, and chocolate are a perfect match.

For a fancy way to serve them, I like to use this tequila set.  I don't drink much tequila, but this nifty set is perfect for Port and brownies.  It comes with six glasses and a tray, or as single serving pieces.

     

Service Temperatures: Your Secret Weapon for Enjoying Wine

I periodically write articles for WineMakingTalk.com.  This article (with infographics!) is on their site here:

Service Temperatures: Your Secret Weapon for Enjoying Wine

See all my articles for WineMakingTalk.com at my author page.

Wine Gifts to Buy Online

I do most of my Christmas shopping online, because I don't have time to hunt through stores. If you have friends or family interested in wine, here are some suggestions to make your shopping easier. I have owned or used most of these items and have been impressed with them. Everything is listed according to category:  books, glassware/serving/entertaining, movies, etc. Enjoy!

BOOKS




For the novice wine enthusiast...  This is a cute, fun, and engaging book that also gets a lot of information across. It has good visuals, plus the scratch-n-sniff wine aromas. It would be great to keep on your coffee table as a conversation starter. I wrote a full review of it here.





For the beginning to intermediate wine enthusiast...  I just came across this book in past few weeks, and I love it. It covers lots of topics related to wine (how to taste, how to describe what you like, how wine is made, how to read labels, storing, serving, important wine regions, etc.) and answers all the "why" questions that I always want to know about. Even better, it's packed with infographics on nearly every page to illustrate the information. Look at the cute little yeasts! Later in the book, when the yeasts have died, they have Xs over their eyes.  It's awesome.

Also for the beginning to intermediate wine enthusiast...  Great Wine Made Simple is one of my favorite books for learning about wine on your own at home. It explains all the basics of wine in a clear and straightforward way, with a focus on learning to identify and describe the wine characteristics you like. To this end, it gives very specific instructions on how to set up your own wine tastings to learn about each characteristic. It lacks the fantastic infographics of Wine: A Tasting Course, but it recommends more tastings and goes into more detail about setting them up. For this reason, it's also a great resource for planning wine parties.





For the serious wine student...  This really covers all your bases.  There's not much you can't look up in this gigantic tome.





For the ultra-serious wine snob geek...  I haven't yet purchased a copy of this, but it's on my list.  If you know someone who always has to order the wine made from grapes you've never heard of, and you like her enough to spend over $100, this is what you need.





If you can't spend $100+ on your favorite wine geek, this poster is a great, less expensive choice.  A giant periodic table of wine grapes, organized according to detailed information about each of their characteristics?  Be still my infographic-loving heart!  Makes a great addition to any wine geek's office, kitchen, or preferred tasting area.



GLASSWARE / SERVING / ENTERTAINING

These are the glasses I use at home.  Because I plan wine tastings for groups, I need lots of glasses that conform to the standard tasting shape and don't cost much per stem.  These fit the bill, and I buy them by the case.  For more on choosing glassware, check out "Wine Glasses: What Kind, Why, and Where to Get Them."



  

I first saw this tequila tasting set for sale in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston gift shop.  I'm not sure what it had to do with the art on display, but I fell in love with it.  Except I don't drink much tequila... And then some great friends got it for me as a birthday present, and I've had fun experimenting with ways to use it.  My favorite way is to serve Port in the glasses and put chocolates or brownies on the tray.  Or you could serve Sauternes with foie gras or cheese as either an appetizer or dessert, and feel very European.  Not only does this serving set look great, but the glasses and tray come off the stand and can go through the dishwasher.  Hooray for easy clean-up!

**The price of the 6-shot set seems to fluctuate between $100 and $300.  If the price above looks high, check here.

I've never tried these before, but they look cool.  I've written before about why wine glasses should have a stem, but these are designed to travel, so I'm giving them a pass on that feature.  If you (or your intended gift recipient) like to take wine to any of the wonderful, outdoor Houston venues where glass is not allowed (like Miller Outdoor Theater or a Galveston beach), these would be a great way to upgrade your wine experience from that red plastic cup.





I own one of these and have been very pleased with it. The price has even come down quite a bit from when it was first released. Some people never decant or aerate their wines, others always do.  I fall into the "occasional" category. (For more on that topic, check out "Should you let the wine breathe?") But if you want to aerate, I think this is the best choice of the many options on the market. Some people like the Vinturi, but it takes 2 hands to use and spills if your aim is slightly off. This Nuance model fits into the neck of the wine bottle and provides a perfect non-drop spout.





If you have an open bottle you aren't going to finish, Private Preserve (or a similar system) is the best way to keep the wine fresh until you're ready to drink it. The can sprays inert, harmless gasses into the partially empty wine bottle, and the gasses, which are heavier than air, create a protective blanket on top of the wine, so it won't oxidize as quickly. Then you just stick the cork back in the top. For me, just one of these cans will last more than a year. For more on how to preserve wine, check out "Saving Your Leftovers (or, how Bear Dalton convinced me I'd been preserving my wine wrong for years!)."





Chalkboard table runners are fun to use at dinner parties or wine tastings. Write information about the wine, or which foods to pair with which wines, or let your guests write (or draw?) their impressions. As a bonus, the runner also protects the table from wine or food drips and spills. You need chalkboard markers to write on them. The markers go on wet (kind of like a paint pen, if you remember those), and need a few seconds to dry. Then the writing won't smudge. At the end of the night, wipe the chalkboard runner down with a damp paper towel (you may need to wipe a few times), and use it again and again. (You  can also see the aforementioned glasses in the pictures below.)

  

A fun and useful addition to any wine tasting party is the Wine Aroma Wheel.  It helps people identify what they're smelling in the wine.  It's fun at parties, but also for the serious wine student who wants to improve his ability to identify aromas.  An all-around great tool.







MOVIES



I enjoyed watching this film when it first came out, back when I was interested in wine but knew almost nothing about it.  I enjoyed it even more a few years later, after I had taken lots of wine classes.  It's entertaining, educational, and engages with one of the central issues of winemaking as the wine business becomes ever more globalized.





This film is also entertaining and interesting whether or not you know much about wine.  I wrote a full review of it here.



Happy shopping!

Wines for Thanksgiving

I've been drinking more Texas wine lately, so this year I'm serving Texas wine at Thanksgiving.  I like to offer guests a red and a white, so I've chosen McPherson Viognier and Becker Claret.

Here are some previous posts that can help you decide what to drink with your Thanksgiving meal this year:

-- Riesling, whether sweet or dry, is a classic choice.  If you go this route, you might want to consult the Riesling Cheat Sheet or "My continuing quest for cheap, dry Riesling."

-- Reds or rosés from the Southern Rhone Valley in France would also be a good choice.

-- If you're interested in serving sparkling wine, check out "The 2-Minute Guide to Bubbles."

-- See last year's recommendations for reds, whites, and sparkling wines at "Ideas for Thanksgiving."

-- I recently posted the Botrytis Cheat Sheet, a primer on the fungus that contributes to many amazing dessert wines. Any of these botrytis-affected wines would pair well with your pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How to Host a Chianti Tasting Party

Recently I received 3 Chiantis to try (full disclosure: these were sent to me as samples), so I set up a tasting party with some friends who are Chianti fans. We paired all 3 wines with a variety of appetizers and snacks – the kind you might serve at an informal party. If you're hosting a holiday party this year, make it a wine tasting! Chianti pairs well with Fall weather!

THE SETUP

It's always a good idea to start with a little background information about the wines. We used the Chianti Cheat Sheet to familiarize ourselves with what we were drinking.  I find this extremely helpful for answering the basic questions that everyone has at the start of a tasting, like where the wines are from, what the names mean, which grapes are involved, etc.  All my Wine Cheat Sheets are designed for easy printing on standard 8.5 x 11 paper, so you can easily print a few to have on hand.

  

We also used wine aroma wheels to help us figure out what we were smelling and tasting in the wine. It’s a good idea to provide pen and paper too, in case people want to record their impressions.

Offering a separate glass for each wine is a great idea, if you have enough glassware, and if it’s a sit-down event. (More on choosing glassware here. I use these.) It really helps to be able to compare the wines next to each other. For a walk-around party, one glass per person would work. To help everyone keep track of which wine is in which glass, I find a numbered tasting placemat helpful (though not essential). I made these myself using PowerPoint, then printed and laminated them at a local office supply store. 

 

To make your own tasting placemats, view the picture below in full size, then print.

 

A new addition to my table was the chalkboard table runner. It did quadruple duty by numbering the wine bottles to match the placemats, showing basic information about the wine, letting people share their impressions creatively by writing (or drawing?) them on the runner, and protecting the table from spills. I am officially in love with it. (Items made from chalkboard fabric have been appearing online and in craft stores a lot lately. Buy chalkboard markers to write on them, and then you can erase using a damp paper towel.)

  

THE WINES

We tasted 3 Chiantis:  1 basic Chianti DOCG, 1 Chianti Classico, and 1 Chianti Classico Riserva. A combination like this is a good choice for a tasting, because you’ll get three fairly similar wines, but they’ll also have noticeable differences, due to slightly different requirements (see below). The ability to compare and contrast creates the most interesting tasting (for more about that, see "Building a Better Wine Tasting").

Wines from the Chianti region of Italy have to meet different requirements based on how they are labeled:

• Chianti requires 75% Sangiovese grapes and 3 months of aging.
• Chianti Classico requires 80% Sangiovese grapes and 10 months of aging.
• Chianti Classico Riserva requires 80% of Sangiovese grapes and 24 months of aging.

Here's what we tasted:

1) Bolla Chianti

Bolla Chianti has bright, tart cherry flavors with a bit of blackberry mixed in. Medium acid and tannin levels make it easy to drink and easy to like. It's 90% Sangiovese and 10% Canaiolo (remember that Chiantis must be at least 75% Sangiovese, but many exceed that minimum). 12.5% abv

It paired especially well with spicy salami (more about the food in a minute).

2) Banfi Chianti Classico

Banfi Chianti Classico is a bit deeper in color and flavor than Bolla, with black cherry and tobacco aromas. The acids and tannins are both a bit more intense, but the alcohol is the same at 12.5% abv. Chianti Classico is typically a bit more rich and intense than Chianti. As required, Banfi Chianti Classico is predominately Sangiovese, but is mixed with small amounts of Canaiolo Nero and Cabernet Sauvignon.

This Classico paired especially well with sheep's milk cheese, raspberries, and apricot jam.

3) Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva

The main difference between Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva is additional aging, which imparts more vanilla and smoke aromas. This wine is heavier, richer, higher in acid, higher in tannin, and higher in alcohol (at 13% abv) than the previous two. Riservas are built for aging, and I think this one, which was already the favorite of the night, would be even better after a few more years in the bottle.

The Riserva paired especially well with strong cheeses and the saltier foods.

True to style and as expected, tasting the 3 Chiantis in this order revealed a progression from lighter and fruitier to heavier and richer. Our group, comprised mostly of lovers of big red wines, preferred the wines in that order with the Riserva being the overall favorite. The general sentiment went from “this is good” (Bolla Chianti) to “this is even better” (Banfi Chianti Classico) to “this is REALLY good!” (Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva).

Because these wines are all reasonably priced, you could drink them as an everyday red to go with dinner, or serve them for a group at a tasting party without breaking the bank.

On this particular week night, when most of us had to get up early for work the next day, 3 bottles were more than enough for 4 people. Of course, on a weekend that could vary. Keep in mind that each bottle holds 4 full glasses, so for larger groups you may need more than 1 bottle of each wine you want to taste.

THE FOOD

Here are some recommendations for foods to serve at wine tasting parties, and with Chianti in particular.

Herb bread:  Herb bread is always yummy, but it goes particularly well with Chianti, which tends to have a more herbal, savory quality than many other reds.

Sliced Meats:  For Chianti, I recommend things like salami, pastrami, or prosciutto.  You’ll find that some wines will hold up better against a spicy sausage, and some not as well, but the experimentation is half the fun.  Foie gras (or any another type of paté) is another good option, which provides a rich, mellow contrast to Chianti’s strong favors.  (These days you can even find tasty vegetarian styles!)

Selection of cheeses:  Go for a mix of styles – sharp, creamy, soft, hard/aged.  Not only will you have something for every person’s taste, but you’ll discover that they pair differently with the different wines.

Fresh fruit:  We had raspberries, which went very well with the Chianti.  Cherries and blackberries would have been great too.  Try to pick fruits that will match some of the fruit flavors you expect to find in the wine.

Raw veggies:  Baby tomatoes and sliced red and yellow bell peppers went well with the Chiantis.  I tried raw jicama for the first time and learned it’s a fantastic palate cleanser between wines, as well as being delicious on its own – sort of the texture of an apple, but with much less sweetness and tartness. Of course, carrots are always crowd-pleasers.

Olives:  These are just a great addition to any appetizer plate, but sometimes they play nicely with wine and sometimes not.  Chiantis have a good chance of standing up to the strong flavors of olives.

Jams/preserves/honey:  A bite of something sweet is always welcome when you’re serving so many strong, savory flavors.  Again, try to pick a flavor that will fit with the flavors of the wine.  In our case, we had apricot-rosemary preserves.  The rosemary echoed the herbal flavors in the bread and the wines and kept the preserves from seeming too sweet.

Dessert:  Speaking of dessert, chocolate and red wine are a match made in heaven.  We happened to have dark chocolate ice cream, but anything dark chocolate would do nicely – brownies, a good quality chocolate bar, etc.  (If you’re making brownies and happen to have some Port handy, use it as part of the liquid ingredient in the recipe!)

If you throw a Chianti tasting party, or any kind of wine tasting party, I’d love to know how it went. Did these ideas work for you? Did you think of better ones? Send pictures!

  

Film Review: SOMM

Four sommeliers attempt to pass the prestigious Master Sommelier exam, a test with one of the lowest pass rates in the world.

I had been hearing good reviews of SOMM for a couple of years and finally got around to watching it this past weekend.  The film tells the story of 4 men who are studying to pass the extremely difficult exam to earn the title of Master Sommelier.  (Click here for an overview of wine certifications.)  The exam has 3 sections:  theory, service, and blind tasting.

The film follows the Master Sommelier candidates as they study together, taste (and spit) late into the evenings, and make thousands of flash cards.  What could have become monotonous scenes of guys talking and tasting are made compelling because, whether or not you’re interested in wine, it’s fun to watch passionate people who are experts in a field doing what they do best. The talking/tasting scenes are also intercut with footage of the wine-making process and animated maps of wine regions.  The transitional shots of wine glasses exploding in slow-motion were pretty cool too.  I will never take this wine exam, but as a wine student who’s taken 6 other exams so far, I sympathize with these guys and their obsessive studying.  (In fact, this is exactly why I started making wine cheat sheets.) 

The guys are also sympathetic because the odds are against them:  this exam has a pass rate of 10%.  We see the sacrifices they’ve made to study and prepare, we see what this dream has required of them, and the impact it’s had on their relationships and families, and we want them to get through it and succeed.  Some might say they’re crazy and should quit, but I think most of us have a soft spot for someone fully committed to a big dream who’s willing to work extremely hard (possibly to a crazy degree) to make it happen.

I like that the film shows the analytical and deductive tasting process, and emphasizes that it’s about training, not talent.  I also like that they made fun of some of the sillier tasting terms that don’t mean anything – like “my grandmother’s closet.”  (In my International Sommelier Guild class we were taught to use aroma/flavor descriptors that will mean something to another person.  If the point is to communicate how the wine smells/tastes, then you have to be comprehensible to someone other than yourself.)

Mixed in with all the stress and studying, SOMM conveys one of my favorite things about wine:  the way it can only be fully understood when you learn the history, geology, geography, and culture of where the grapes are grown and the wine is made.  At the same time, you have to consider the modern technology involved and the global business aspects of the industry.  It’s incredibly complex, and there’s a lot to know, and that’s why the test is so hard.

I think it’s worth mentioning my husband’s viewpoint.  He’s not a wine aficionado, other than what he’s picked up from living with me, but he IS a certified film snob who has made his own independent films and written a lot of film criticism.  Film Snob Husband gave SOMM ***1/2 stars out of ****, and appreciates that it doesn’t skimp on the “shop talk.”  So many reality shows and documentaries gloss over the actual work being done, in favor of trying to create drama by focusing on the personalities, relationships, or competition involved.  Film Snob Husband and I both prefer the style of SOMM, where we’re a fly on the wall in a world we’d otherwise never get to see.

Here's the trailer:

(SOMM:  Not Rated, 2012, 93 minutes, Directed by Jason Wise, Starring Brian McLintic, Dustin Wilson, Ian Cauble)

Returning to Messina Hof for my 1st harvest and grape stomp!

Most people who are interested in Texas wine have heard of Messina Hof winery.  It was established in 1977 by Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo, whose son Paul and his wife Karen are now carrying on the family tradition.  The wines have won many awards over the years, and the Bonarrigos and Messina Hof have been instrumental in the growth and promotion of the Texas wine industry.  In 1977 there were 3 wineries in Texas - now there are 300!

Messina Hof is the first winery I ever visited.  This was about six years ago, before I knew anything about wine, except that I liked to drink it.  My husband and I had just become interested in wine and were still trying to figure out what we liked.  When we toured Messina Hof and tasted the wines, the Cabernet Franc made a huge impression.  Not only was it a grape we had never heard of, but we absolutely loved the wine - we were fascinated by the earthy/herbal qualities we had never experienced.  That visit sparked my interest in the many flavors of wine and fueled my desire to learn more about it.

Last night I visited Messina Hof again for their Moonlit Harvest and Dinner.  It was a beautiful evening - surprisingly cool and breezy for August in Texas.  We arrived about 6pm for tasting, picking, grape stomping, dinner, and then a special announcement!

Wine on Tap

It was fun to see the innovations since my last visit.  Messina Hof has been experimenting with "wine on tap."  This works a bit like beer from a keg.  The wine is taken straight from the barrel and placed into something similar to a beer keg, and attached to a tap.  This is the system they use in their tasting room, and it lets you taste the wine as it would taste straight from the barrel.  It's a neat experience for the consumer, since the flavor is different from what you taste out of the bottle.  

It's also efficient for restaurants and wine bars.  Restaurants often have to throw away leftover wine, when a bottle has been open for several days and begins to oxidize.  The tap system prevents this waste, since it keeps the wine away from air as it's being used (the same idea as bag-in-box wines).  Once the keg is tapped, the wine stays fresh for 2 months or so.  This prevents waste and saves money for the restaurant.  We tasted the Cabernet Franc on tap, and it was just as good as I remembered!

Harvest Time and Grape Stomp

After a few instructions about how to use the knives (the mixing of wine and sharp objects requires careful attention!), we were set loose in the vineyard to fill our bins with bunches of Lenoir (aka Black Spanish) grapes.  These grapes are destined to become Sofia Marie Rosé.  

Messina Hof makes 4 different wines from the Lenoir grape.  The grapes increase in sugar content as they hang on the vine (more on that here).  More sugar in the grapes translates to either more sugar or more alcohol (or both) in the finished wine, so different wines require grapes with different sugar levels.  So the Lenoir grapes are harvested at 4 different times to make these 4 wines.

After the picking, Monsignor Malinowski offered a few words of blessing and led a prayer for a continued fruitful harvest.  In today's world, especially if you live in a big city, it's easy to forget that wine is an agricultural product, and growers are still dependent on nature.   

Once the grapes are picked and blessed, it's time to stomp!  While most wine today is not made by people stomping grapes (we have machines for that now), Messina Hof still celebrates the tradition on harvest day.  I'm glad they do, because it's a great reminder of wine's connection with the past (after all, it's been around for thousands of years), and it's fun!  They'll even let you put your grapey footprints on a T-shirt.  (That's my husband peeking out from behind my T-shirt.)

If you've never harvested grapes, I highly recommend it.  There's no better way to expand your knowledge of wine than to go to a winery, see how the wine is made, look at the vines, and if you're lucky - pick some grapes yourself.  Messina Hof does a great job of making this a fun and educational event.  

Messina Hof is Expanding

At dinner, we heard some exciting news first hand:  Messina Hof is expanding into Grapevine, Texas.  In late 2014 they will open a new urban winery in historic downtown Grapevine, joining the Grapevine Wine Trail.  Messina Hof's newest location will be in the Wallis Hotel, and will include a 2-story space with a wine production facility, a retail shop, and a tasting room with 18 wine taps.

Grapevine Mayor William Tate spoke at dinner to welcome Messina Hof to Grapevine, and praised the Bonarrigos for their pioneering work and their involvement in promoting Texas wine, through Grapevine's annual Grapefest and in their participation in the Grapevine-based Texas Wine and Grape Grower's Association.  Mayor Tate has led the city of Grapevine for an amazing stretch of 39 years and has successfully positioned his city as a wine hub in the state, which is fitting for a city named after its wild grapevines.

What We Tasted

I can't finish this post without adding a few notes on the wines we tasted.  Messina Hof grows Lenoir in its main vineyard in Bryan and sources the rest of its grapes from other vineyards around Texas.

Blanc du Bois Private Reserve:

Blanc du Bois is a familiar grape in Texas.  This one is light, refreshing, and easy to drink.  Though it is dry, it's very fruity, so I think it would please a wide variety of palates.

Sofia Marie Rosé:

The Lenoir grapes we picked last night will become this year's Sofia Marie.  This wine is named after Paul and Karen's daughter.  It's deep in color for a rosé, but still light and crisp.  It's ever-so-slightly sweet with 1% residual sugar (the threshold where most people can just begin to detect sweetness).  The tart and jammy, yet earthy flavors are nicely balanced.

GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre):

I'm a big fan of GSM wines in general, especially ones from the traditional home of that blend in the Southern Rhone Valley of France, and this example could hold its own against any of those.  I love the aromas of earth and baking spice in this dry red.  Messina Hof's GSM will only be available in restaurants, and is just now making its way into the Houston area, so I'll post an update when I know where you can try some.  (Better yet, just visit the winery!)

Paolo Cabernet-Merlot Blend:

This Bordeaux-style blend is an all-around good red wine.  Smooth and approachable, yet full-bodied and steak-worthy.

"Glory" Moscato Mistella (Late Harvest):

Since the grapes develop more sugar as they hang on the vine, a "late harvest" wine has lots of sugar in the grapes and tastes sweet.  This wine is very sweet, but has a good amount of acidity to balance the sugar.  It has the typical Moscato flavors and tastes sweet without being cloying or candy-like.

Papa Paolo Port:

Messina Hof makes a great port-style wine, which was one of my clearest memories from my first visit.  Most ports are fortified with grape brandy up to the standard level of 18 - 20% alcohol, so they sometimes taste strong and harsh.  Messina Hof uses a process that allows the yeast to do the work of fermentation to get the alcohol to the correct level, without needing additional brandy, so their port is super smooth.  The aromas and flavors of dark fruits (black cherry, blackberry) and chocolate, combined with lots of sweetness, and acid to balance, just can't be beat.

If you're interested in Texas wine, a visit to Messina Hof is essential.  The main location in Bryan is an easy day trip from DFW, Houston, or Austin.  With their second location in Fredericksburg and the expansion into Grapevine coming soon, it's becoming easier than ever to get to know Messina Hof.  I appreciate their interest in community and wine education, and of course, they make a good glass of wine!  

The harvest celebration continues throughout August, so check out the special events happening all month.

No corkscrew, no problem.

Need to open a bottle of wine and missing a corkscrew?  Mirabeau Wine has a solution for that...


I must add that shaking up your bottle of wine is not generally recommended, for reasons explained here.  However, not being able to open your bottle of wine qualifies as an emergency, and drastic times call for drastic measures.  So I love having a backup plan, and I'd totally do this in a pinch.

Wine Bar Review: 13 Celsius

I know, I know, I am very late to this party.  I’ve been hearing amazing things about 13 Celsius for years, and since I don’t live near it, I didn’t get around to visiting until a few weeks ago.  Big mistake.  This place is great, and I plan to go there as often as possible.  Here are my impressions after my first visit.

Atmosphere:  Comfortable, with an elegant-yet-rustic sort of vibe.  Suitable for showing up in whatever you wore to run errands earlier in the day, or dressing up and taking a date.  I like the variety of seating options - sofas, tables, or bar.

Wine List:  Extensive.  2 full pages of wines by the glass, with I don’t know how many more pages of bottle options.  And a wide variety of wine styles.  For instance, I’ve been meaning to try orange wines (wine made from white grapes, but using the method for making a red) for a long time (I’m late to that party too), but hadn’t seen them available anywhere.  13 Celsius had 5.  BY THE GLASS.  Pretty amazing.

Oh, and you know that full 2-page list of wines by the glass?  You can have any of them as a 3-oz pour also.  Double amazing.

I've heard that the name 13 Celsius comes from the temperature of a wine cellar (about 55 degrees Fahrenheit), and wines here are indeed served at the proper temperature.  I'm always amazed how many "nice" restaurants will serve a room-temperature red wine.  A good wine bar should pay attention to service temperature, and I appreciate that 13 Celsius does.

Food:  The menu ranges from the standard wine bar fare of bread and meat and cheese (albeit with a wider variety of options than most places), to Panini, to larger hot meals.  I had bread and cheese and a deliciously hot-out-of-the-oven pretzel.

Service:  One of the most important features of any good wine bar is a knowledgeable staff, which 13 Celsius definitely has.  Even if you know a good bit about wine, you'll still appreciate some guidance in selecting from their extensive list.

Bottom Line:  This place has earned a spot on my shortlist of favorite places to drink wine in Houston.  I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to get there!

The Science of Carbonation

America's Test Kitchen just posted a great video about the science of carbonation.  It explains why your New Year's Champagne turned out better if you drank it from a flute-shaped glass.

How Much Alcohol Cooks Off?

In my last post, a recipe for mulled wine, I mentioned that simmering the wine on the stove for 5 minutes would leave most of the alcohol in tact.  I've been reading up on this issue lately, and thought I'd share what I found.

The USDA did a study on this and released the following findings.  (I'm using the chart as reproduced in this informative article.)

Preparation Method	Percent of Alcohol Retained
alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat	85%
alcohol flamed	75%
no heat, stored overnight	70%
baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture	45%
baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:
15 minutes	40%
30 minutes	35%
1 hour	25%
1.5 hours	20%
2 hours	10%
2.5 hours	5%

The alcohol cooks off much more slowly that I had previously thought.  This is very good to know if you're cooking something that will be eaten by kids or by someone who is avoiding alcohol for any reason.

Alton Brown mentions this at the end of an episode of Good Eats on the subject of cooking with wine and beer - "Fermentation Nation" from season 13.  The episode has a great introduction to wine and beer and guidelines for how to cook with each.  And if you've never seen the yeast sock-puppets belching out carbon dioxide, you are missing out!  I believe it is available to watch on HuluPlus, AmazonPrime, or YouTube for a small fee.

P.S.  The Good East episode "The Proof is in the Pudding," also from season 13, is about cooking with spirits and is not to be missed!

Mulled Wine Recipe

I love mulled wine on a cold day.  I drank some a few weeks ago at Dickens on the Strand in Galveston, decided to serve it at a holiday party I was hosting, and went in search of a good recipe.  Some of the recipes I found had a multitude of steps and seemed awfully tedious.  Others were more cider than wine, or loaded with a ton of sugar.  Here is my version – not too sweet, highly spiced, and easy.

For the red wine, you want something inexpensive, fruity, and not too heavy on the tannin.  I used a Cotes du Rhone, but nearly anything would work – Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, lighter Syrahs.  I’d avoid using the heaviest, most tannic reds – like Cabernet Sauvignon or the heaviest Syrahs – but most of those are more expensive that what you’d pay anyway for a mulling wine.

Mulled Wine (makes ~6 cups)
1 bottle red wine
3 cups of apple juice (100% juice - no added sugar)
8 teaspoons of honey
2 large (or 4 small) cinnamon sticks
1 whole nutmeg
12 whole cloves
12 whole allspice
1/4 cup brandy
juice from 1 small or 1/2 of a large orange
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Add the wine, apple juice, honey, and spices to a sauce pan and gently simmer it on the stove for 5 minutes.  (Don't worry, not that much alcohol will actually cook off in that short a time! Of course, with all the apple juice, this is not a high-alcohol drink anyway.)
2.  At this point, either turn the heat down as low as it will go, or transfer the mixture to a crock pot set to warm.  The crock pot works very well for keeping everything warm over of the course of a party.
3.  Then stir in the brandy, vanilla, and orange juice.

Taste and feel free to make adjustments.  I like it just like this, but if it’s too strong, or too highly spiced for you, just add more juice or cider until it tastes the way you want.  If you want it stronger, add more wine, brandy, or spices.

You can serve this right away, but it tastes even better after being kept warm for a few hours.  Serve it with the spices, or strain them out as you fill individual cups.  Leftovers will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, but remove the spices first so they don't continue to flavor the wine and become overpowering.

I've been wondering whether this recipe would also work with white wine.  Have you (or would you) make mulled white wine?

Interesting Links

For your internet browsing pleasure...

theboysclub.net has an attractive poster to help us navigate the wide world of glassware:

Have you ever wondered about the effect of Prohibition on Americans' drinking habits?  Priceonomics has the answer for you.

And if you're REALLY interested in Prohibition, Ken Burns made a 5-hour documentary about it, which is available to stream on Netflix.  This is in my queue!

And finally, Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan talks to Fox News about the top wine trends of 2013 and upcoming developments in wine and social media.

Top Holiday Wines at Whole Foods

Last night I got to taste some of Whole Foods’ Top 10 Holiday Wines along with a delicious cheese plate.  Thanks to Jeanette and Arwen at the Montrose store, for a very educational evening!  (Note:  If you’re really into cheese, go to Whole Foods and talk to Arwen.  She knows her stuff!)  You can read Whole Foods’ description of the 10 wines, along with recommended cheeses and recipes, here.  Whole Foods has a good summary of the wines, so I’ll just add my impressions of the 4 I tasted.

Roger d’Anoia Cava

Cava is a sparkling white wine from Spain, which is made using the same method as Champagne, but with different grapes.  This Cava is dry, but fruity.  I would put it somewhere between a California sparkling wine and Champagne – it’s fruitier and less toasty/bready than Champagne, but not as fruity as a California sparkler.  This may have been my favorite of the evening, and it paired beautifully with the Parrano cheese (as recommended at the link above).  Parrano tastes similar to parmigiano reggiano because it’s made with the same cultures.  This Cava also paired nicely with strawberries, and I think would be good with anything that pairs well with Champagne.  (I have it on good authority that popcorn and Champagne are a good match, so Cava probably is too.)  At $10 per bottle, this is a crazy good deal.

Skouras Anassa

This Greek white wine is made primarily from the Greek grape Moschofilero, though I believe it has some Viognier blended in.  It had a fuller body than I was expecting, with lots of fruit up front and a clean dry finish.  I liked this one better paired with the cheese than I did on its own (not necessarily a criticism – different wines are better at different things).  We paired the Anassa with a Seaside Cheddar (which is not the same as the pairing listed on the site), which was a good match.  The Seaside Cheddar is amazing – so rich and buttery, yet quite sharp – and only sold at Whole Foods.  This wine is also reasonably priced at $12.

Santa Julia Innovacion

This dry red is a Bonarda-Cabernet blend from Argentina, and comes in a 1 liter bottle (instead of the usual 750 ml) for only $10.  It has dark fruit flavors and medium-to-high acid and tannin.  It has many of the flavors of a Cabernet, but is leaner and lighter due to the Bonarda.  It had a touch of bitterness at the finish, but I’d still recommend it at $10, especially with food.  It held its own against the green olives, so you know it can stand up to any strong flavors you might be serving.

We tasted this along with a wonderful cheese called Jasper Hill Cloth-Bound Cheddar.  This cheese won 1^st place at the American Cheese Society, and I can see why!  It’s less sharp and less rich than the Seaside Cheddar, but more earthy, and with a bit of smoke.  (It turns out that the slight smokiness is not from actually being smoked – it’s from the type of mold!)  It reminded me of a cross between white cheddar and smoked Gouda.  Fantastic.

Mat Kearney Verse and Chorus Napa Valley Red

This rich, fruit-forward red had lots of black currant and plum flavors, with some earthiness – think nuts or coffee.  It was moderate in both acid and tannin, and would be a crowd-pleaser I think.  At $25 it was the most expensive of the wines we tasted, but it was also pretty darn yummy.  We tasted it with Emmi Le Gruyere (as recommended on the website), a nutty Swiss cheese which paired nicely.

(I've been thinking lately that saltier cheeses (like cheddar and parmesan) work better with white wines, while creamier, less sharp and salty cheeses (like brie, blue cheese, or swiss) work better with red wines.  I'll try to notice this more in the future and report back...)

All these wines would be fine choices at a holiday party or dinner, but the cheeses were the star of the night for me, and a good reminder that the right wine and the right cheese can really bring out the best in each other!

Party Wines on a Budget

On his popular blog, Spec's fine wine buyer Bear Dalton has recently posted a collection of budget wine recommendations.  He covers reds, whites, and bubbles.  All of his picks would be great for serving at holiday parties and are $12 or less.  And of course, they're all available at the downtown Spec's.  I haven't checked whether they're available at the Bay Area location (which is my preferred store in Clear Lake), but you can use the Spec's website to find out.

Check out his advice here:
"Uh Oh, It's Party Time (Budget Edition)"

Ideas for Thanksgiving

Here are some thoughts to help you select a wine (or wines) for Thanksgiving.

Whites:

I've never seen a recommendation to serve Vouvray, but I think it would be excellent with Thanksgiving dinner.  Vouvrays come from the Loire Valley in France and are made from the Chenin Blanc grape.  They vary in sweetness, but all combine strong fruit character with earthy/mineral qualities and plenty of acid, which makes them a good match for a variety of foods.  I can recommend 2 that are available at our local Bay Area Spec's:  Sauvion, which is on the drier side ($11), and Chateau Moncontour, which is a "demi-sec" or medium-sweet ($14).

Reds and Rosés:

Pinot Noirs are the classic recommendation for reds, but last year I wrote about some good options from the southern Rhone Valley in France, here.  I mention rosés in that post as well, but I'll add that any rosé from Provence is a good choice.

Bubbles:

The Two-Minute Guide to Bubbles should help you get a fast idea of what you're looking for.  If you decide on Champagne, you may want to read Champagne 101, which includes a guide to the French terms that indicate levels of sweetness.

What am I serving this year?  Much as I hate to admit it, for the first year ever, I may compromise among the various family preferences and end up serving . . . Belgian ale.  I take comfort in the fact that it is the wine of beers.

Wine and Cheese Pairing

I've had a crazy-busy couple of months, so I'm taking the week off!  Instead of reading a post here this week, click over to theKitchn, where Mary Gorman-McAdams, MW, has some thoughts on which wines you ought to be drinking with that cheese...

Why You Should (Almost) Always Pair Cheese with White Wine, Not Red

Would you drink wine with a moldy cork?

I bet your answer is no, and mine was too until recently.  A few weeks ago I pulled this great bottle of Rioja out of my wine fridge and was disappointed to see mold growing out of the holes in the foil.  I had bought the bottle a couple of years ago and had stored it properly that whole time.  My first thought was to throw it out or return it to the store and ask to exchange it, but I decided to do a little research first.  

It turns out that mold on the outside of the cork is not a problem, and may even be a good thing.  The presence of mold between the cork and the foil suggests there was a good deal of humidity present when the foil was put on the bottle at the winery.  Humidity is good because dry air can contribute to a cork drying out.  Dry corks shrink, then leak, letting wine out and/or too much oxygen in.  My bottle was a Rioja Reserva, and in Spain the term “reserva” has a specific meaning:  this wine was aged at the winery for at least 3 years.  Mold on the cork just means that it was aged in humid conditions, then over time a little mold grew where some moisture was trapped between the cork and the foil.  

If you come across a moldy cork, just wipe off the mold with a damp towel and open the bottle as you normally would.  Examine the end of the cork next to the wine – mold on THAT end is cause for concern.  If the mold was all on the top, drink away!  I wiped the top of the opened bottle again before pouring, just to be sure the mold was gone.  My Rioja Riserva tasted just as good as I remembered.  I’m so glad I didn’t throw it out!

P.S.  The moldy cork issue is different from the wine being “corked.”  Stay tuned for more on corked wine at a future date…

Make Your Own Aroma Standards – The Reds

I recently organized a wine tasting at my house using the homemade red wine aroma standards suggested in this Wine Spectator article.  Aroma standards are things that smell like the smells we smell in wine.  For example, you improve your ability to recognize cherry aromas in wine by smelling the wine, then smelling cherries mixed with wine, then referring back to the original wine.  By practicing this way, you heighten an aroma and make it easier to recognize and remember.

The link above has instructions for creating lots of different aroma standards, so I won’t repeat that information here.  Instead, I want to pass on what I learned when I incorporated this exercise into a fun home tasting with friends, and give you all the information you need to do the same.

Setting up the Aroma Standards

Select the wine.  I used Bogle Merlot ($8 per bottle at Spec’s) to create my red aroma standards.  I wanted something inexpensive, but from a reputable producer, and not so cheap that I ran the risk of finding funky aromas in the wine. 

Add your own aromas.  Don’t think you have to stick to Wine Spectator’s recipes.  I added 2 aromas to my lineup:  mushrooms (using 1 fresh mushroom) and cloves (using ~1/4 teaspoon).  Next time I’d like to try cranberry and blackberry.  If you think of an aroma you’d like to have, try it and see if it works.  The bottle’s already open, it wasn’t expensive, and you have nothing to lose.

Make them ahead of time so you can adjust them.  Some of the aromas will get stronger, the longer they sit in the wine.  Put the ingredients into the wine at least an hour in advance.  That way, if some of the aromas have become so strong that they overpower the wine, you can remove some (or all) of that ingredient from the wine, or add more wine.  For instance, the tobacco aroma was extremely strong after sitting in the wine for 30 minutes, so I strained it all out before the tasting began.  You can also add more of an ingredient if the smell is not strong enough.  I did this with the mushrooms.  We all have different thresholds for detecting aromas, and you’ll get the best result if you adjust the strength of the smell for your level of scent perception.

Label them.  I used wine bottle tags to label the stems of the glasses with what aroma they contained, then folded the paper over so we couldn’t see the label.  That way we could quiz ourselves by guessing the standard first without looking.  A post-it note would probably work too.

Incorporating Aroma Standards into a Home Tasting

There are 2 ways to go about this:  the simple way and the ambitious way.  First the simple way:  Use 1 wine to create the aroma standards AND to taste.  This keeps the focus on detecting and identifying the aromas.  It is easier to compare the aroma of the plain wine with the aroma of the standards you’ve created when the wine is the same.

The more ambitious approach is to select several red wines you want to taste, then create aroma standards (using one of those wines or another fairly neutral wine) for the aromas you expect to find in the wines you’ve selected.  This highlights how aromas differ from one wine to another, and gives you more wines to taste!

Here are some guidelines for aromas commonly found in red wines.  This can help you decide which aroma standards you will definitely want to make, based on what wine(s) you’ll be drinking.

If you’re tasting/drinking…      Make sure you create an aroma for…
    Pinot Noir / Burgundy                      Strawberry, mushroom
    Merlot / right bank Bordeaux            Cherry, coffee, vanilla
    Cabernet / left bank Bordeaux          Blackberry, green pepper, tobacco
    Tempranillo / Rioja                           Cloves
    Sangiovese / Chianti                        Cranberry

Setting the Table

Last but not least, here are some ideas for setting up your tasting table.  If you’re using the simple method of just one wine for the aroma standards and for tasting, it would be easy to do this with a large group, and you would not need to set a place for each person.  You just need a central area to place your aroma standards so people can walk up and sniff.  If you’re using the multiple wine approach (like I did), I suggest placing your aroma standards in the middle of the table and giving everyone a place to sit with their own tasting glasses.

  

  

After the tasting, I don’t think these aroma standards can be kept for later use.  Just like the wine they’re made from, they will only last a couple of days. 

I’ll soon be hosting a tasting just like this but for white wines, so I’ll tell you all about my experiences with making my own white wine aroma standards then.

I hope you give these a try.  They make a tasting so much more fun, and they’re wonderful for training your wine senses.