Dave McIntyre's WineLine

The Annual Thanksgiving Conundrum

Thanksgiving is coming, which means wine writers across the country are telling you to worry about what wines will clash with the cranberry sauce. To which I always say, "open one of everything" and turn the feast into a food-wine pairing clinic. But if you can't or won't do that, I offer some guidelines in today's Washington Post Food section. Also, I suggest some wines to pair with the Food section's Thanksgiving menus, including an all-American selection ranging from Argentina to Canada (and points in between).

 

USA Today on Regional Wine

USA Today, the nation's newspaper, dropped at hotel room doors across the land every morning, last week endorsed the regional wine movement with a travel feature on 10 "local" wine regions to visit. This is a great idea - if your business or pleasure takes you to St. Louis, consider a detour to Hermann. Heading to New York? Linger awhile in the Finger Lakes. Taking your family to Washington, DC, for some American history, or Charlottesville, to see Jefferson's Monticello? Guess what? Wine country is just around the corner.

The article is also a tribute to Regional Wine Week and DrinkLocalWine.com, as Jeff Siegel and I were interviewed about emerging wine regions across the country.

On Aging New York Rieslings

Can Riesling age? Of course! you say. Anyone who has tasted an old spatlese from the Mosel or trockenbeerenauslese from the Rheingau knows that Riesling can age spectacularly. But what if I directed your attention away from Germany to a younger wine region that is building a modest name for itself with the grape -- say, perhaps, the Finger Lakes in upstate New York? Would you be so quick to answer?

We tend to think of white wines as designed for early consumption, when they are fresh and vibrant. And New York's finest Rieslings are delightful upon release, so most probably don't linger in collectors' cellars. But winemakers tend to be nerdy about such things, so when I visited the Finger Lakes earlier this year, I had the pleasure of experiencing two vertical tastings of several vintages with the winemakers.

The first was Peter Bell, the talented winemaker at Fox Run Vineyards in Penn Yan, on the northwestern side of Seneca Lake. Bell poured nine wines. Five were dry -- starting with the 2008 Reserve and going back through dry Rieslings from 2007, 2006, 2003 and 2001. The 2008 Reserve was rich and focused, showing the lime flavor and bracing acidity that is increasingly defining the Finger Lakes signature for Riesling. The 2007, from a hot year, seemed more advanced and petrolly, a characteristic Deutchophiles would appreciate. The 2001 had turned tropical, exhibiting mango, orange and pineapple flavors.

Bell's second flight featured four sweeter wines, including the delicious Fox Run Riesling 2008, which I recommended in yesterday's column. This was followed by the 2006 Reserve and the 2004 and 2001 Rieslings. (Like most Finger Lakes wineries, Fox Run makes several Rieslings with varying levels of sweetness. Fortunately, Fox Run and many others have begun indicating the sweetness levels on the label.) The sugar helped these wines age; my favorite was the exotic 2004, while the '01 had taken on an appealing nutty character.

The second tasting occurred a few days later over dinner at Red Newt Cellars, a winery and bistro combination located in Hector, on Seneca Lake's east side. Red Newt is the creation of the talented husband-and-wife team of David and Debra Whiting -- he makes the wine, while she helms the bistro with fresh, locally sourced food. (Debra made her reputation with cheesecake, so save room for dessert.)

Over dinner for about two dozen paying guests, David Whiting served three vintages of his Reserve Riesling, 2008, 2006 and 2003. "These were the best three vintages of the last 10 years, and also the coolest," he said. Of those vintages, 2008 was slightly warmer and produced a softer, more supple wine, while 2003, the coolest, yielded a more austere wine. In true Goldilocks fashion, I preferred the '06, which was spicy, citrusy, fat and luscious.

So if you find some older New York Rieslings in your cellar, don't despair. They might be settling in for the long haul.

(Originally posted on The Washington Post's All We Can Eat blog on Sept. 30.)

New York on My Mind

I'm a big fan of New York wines. Riesling from the Finger Lakes seems to get better every year, especially as winemakers continue to carve out a distinctive style that speaks of the region's terroir. Are they particularly German? Well, maybe not, though some definitely have that mineral oil quality (many wine lovers call it petrol or diesel, but I think mineral oil seems more positive a reference). The ones that send me over the top when I taste them have bracing acidity and an almost unbearable lightness of being, an ephemeral characteristic that leaves flavors flitting across your palate with surprising complexity, even if the initial impression may not carry depth. If I had to point to a German region and insist on making the comparison, I'd say Finger Lakes Rieslings (at least the ones that excite me the most) remind me of the delicate wines from the Mittelrhein, which admittedly is not Germany's most revered wine region. (Though I love that delicacy!) So perhaps it's best just to say that New York is carving out its own identity with the grape.

Of course, I have a soft spot for Seneca Lake, which is the middle finger. (Ba-da-boom!)

Some of my favorites? Hermann J. Wiemer and Dr. Konstantin Frank are the most classic. The ones that I find especially enticing come from Fox Run, Anthony Road and Red Newt. Chateau Lafayette Reneau had a wonderful Riesling that won Best in Show at the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition once, and at this year's judging I flipped for what turned out to be the 2009 Dry Riesling from Glenora.

New York is not limited to the Finger Lakes, of course. Long Island is making some delicious reds, and this region is also establishing its own style and character - the better wineries are no longer trying to make Pomerol, they're just happy making the best damn Long Island merlot they can.

And more and more New York wines are now reaching the D.C. area market, which means they are making enough to distribute wines outside the state. This was the topic of my Washington Post column last week. This column was particularly gratifying because it engendered considerably more response than I usually get, through e-mails and phone calls. Most of them said something like, "Nice column, but you didn't mention my favorite ... " That means readers are aware of New York wines and looking out for them, whether on their travels up north or now on their local retail shelves.

For more information about New York's wineries, go to uncorknewyork.com, the website of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, or to Lenn Thompson's New York Cork Report. Don't forget Regional Wine Week coming up Oct. 10-16 on DrinkLocalWine.com!

Wine vs. Beer Smackdown!

Wine lovers can spend hours debating wine-food pairings (just one reason we are so boring to our children), and there are certain meals we dismiss as "beer food." These are usually spicy or cheap, and casual - in other words, unsophisticated foods.

But beer is becoming increasingly refined, and matching beer with food can be as subtle and complex as wine. This point was driven home last weekend at a Wine vs. Beer Smackdown staged by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group at the Columbia Firehouse in Old Town Alexandria.

Wine director Juliana Santos and beer sommelier Greg Santos each selected pairings for six dishes, and about 80 guests sweltering in an upstairs loft at the restaurant were asked to compare how each beverage fared. As a wine lover, I was naturally biased towards Santos's interesting selections, which included some small-production wines offered by top-notch importers such as Terry Theise and Jonas Gustafsson. But beer had the advantage of the unexpected.

"Beer makers are really starting to act like winemakers, and that is resulting in beers that are fascinating to pair with food," Engert said. "They are regressing to pre-industrial techniques, before stainless steel cleaned everything up for nice simple beers ideal for drinking with wings." those borrowed techniques include barrel aging reserve beers, he said.

Here are my quick notes from the smack down as I pushed my way through the eager crowds at each table.

1. Tomato, watermelon, and sheep's milk feta, paired with Bodegas O'Ventosela "Vina Leirina" 2008 from Rueda, Spain, and 1809 Professor Fritz Briem & Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, Bavaria, Germany. The beer here had an unfair advantage, in that Engert mixed it with a splash or raspberry syrup that matched beautifully with the watermelon. The wine tasted thin and acidic in comparison. Advantage, BEER.

2. Tuna Tartare tacos, paired with Gobelsburg Riesling, 2009, Kamptal, Austria, and Hennepin Brewery Ommegang, New York. The beer picked up nicely on the fennel and apple in the tartare, while the Riesling jazzed with the citrusy dressing.  DRAW.

3. Maryland Shoat Porchetta, with Belle Pente 2008 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, and Schlafly Bière de Garde, Saint Louis Brewery and Schlafly Tap Room, Missouri. Pork and Pinot - a divine combo, and this biodynamic wine shined with the shoat and its stuffing. The beer actually reminded me of my home brew experiments from 15 years ago. Advantage, WINE.

4. Dry aged roast beef and buttermilk blue cheese, with Conceito Tinto, 2007,  Douro, Portugal, and Oerbier, Brouwerij de Dolle, Belgium. The beer's richness, at 9% alcohol, matched well with the cheese, and won my wife's vote. I preferred the wine for how it reflected the flavors of the beef. DRAW.

5. Charcuterie, with Cavoletto Dolcetto d'Alba "Vigna Scot" 2007, Piemonte, Italy, and Aecht Schlenkerla Märzen, Brauesrei Heller-Trum, Upper Franconia, Germany. The beer was smoked, which made it taste to me like a burnt-down house. The Dolcetto, on the other hand, may be God's own pairing with salami. Advantage, WINE.

6. Pecan Joy Candy Bars, with Domaine du Mas Blanc, 2007 Banyuls, France, and Coton, The Bruery, California. This dessert was so good that the matching became incredibly fun. The beer matched the richness of the gussied up candy bar, making me want more, while the wine melded seemlessly with the fruitier aspects of the coconut and the chocolate, signalling that the meal was over. Since I finished mine with the beer, I had to have another dessert. That one, I finished with the wine. DRAW.

So I guess I give a slight advantage to the wine in this contest, which given my bias may be expected. But I would gladly place my beverage selection in the hands of either Santos or Engert after enjoying the thoughtful and challenging selections for this wine-beer smack down.

Now, where was Bobby Flay?

Wine Camp, and Other Ideas

Over Christmas weekend, my family held our annual "Wine Camp." This is an extremely vinonerdy exercise in which we pour several wines blind and say, "Tell me what this is." Over the years, it has taken on an air of one-upsmanship and competition, and it is always a helluva lot of fun.

My main protagonists are Dave Johnson and Ed Oldfield. Dave is my brother-in-law's brother-in-law, a relation twice-removed by marriage; Ed is Dave's close friend. Both are prominent doctors in the Hampton Roads-Norfolk region as well as avid wine collectors. They both are extremely skilled at finding exclusive wines of small production and (usually) high point scores that are not widely available - their network of retailers and winemakers across the country is impressive. One year, Dave wowed us with a $20 Aussie Shiraz that had everyone opening their wallets, while Ed, a devoted Dooniac, stunned with a bottle of 1984 Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare - the inaugural vintage of the original Rhone Ranger wine.

Naturally, I can't compete in this crowd, so I bring outlandish wines that no one will expect. Last Spring, I surprised Dave and Ed with a delicious Dragon's Hollow Chardonnay from China, of all places. (Being a wine writer gives me the advantage of some unusual samples.)

This year's lineup included Isabel Sauvignon Blanc 2002 from New Zealand, still showing well without the stewed asparagus flavors old NZ SB can get. A 2000 Hunter Valley Semillon from Rothbury Wine Scoiety (my offering) was not as fully developed as I would have liked; it had appealing lime flavors and still tasted young, but was not harmonious. (I went back to it 3 hours later and thought it delicious, but by then I had been enjoying about ..... THIS many wines, so who knows?)

Dave then opened a 2006 Poets Leap Carmina Burana Cask Aged Riesling from the Long Shadows project in Washington state's Columbia Valley. I guessed the wine and the winery, but only because its Riesling character was obvious and I knew Dave's fondness for Long Shadows. (It pays to know your adversary!) Ed then opened a Retour Pinot Noir 2007 from Oregon, which matched nicely the Carabella 2005 I had brought.

You get the picture - the evening continued through the 2005 and 1996 Quilceda Creek Cabernets, and a Cab Franc comparison of Horton Vineyards "Tower Series"2007 and a 1985 Channing Road from Napa. Ed showed his Doon colors with a 1986 Old Telegram.

I had a surprise wine in reserve and was despairing that the evening was getting late and I wouldn't be able to present it against so many stellar, older wines. Then Dave brought out a young California Syrah, a Tensley 2008 Colson Canyon - lush and opulent with abundant fruit and high alcohol (over 15%) noticeable but not enough to dominate the wine. I saw my chance and brought out my ringer. It was similar, and yet clearly different in style - more earthy and dense, less obviously fruity than the Tensley. Dave and Ed immediately pegged it as Syrah, young, aged in French oak, and from California. My brother-in-law thought Washington state, figuring the concentration in the wine indicated Columbia Valley.

"You are all right except for one detail," I said, pulling the bag off the bottle. "It's from Maryland." I showed them the Black Ankle Vineyards 2007 Leaf Stone Syrah.

Such games are not what wine is all about, but they are devilishly fun and a great way to experience wine. I suggest some other ways of exploring the grape in my column today in The Washington Post, along with my monthly Recession Buster recommendations.

Local Wine Bandwagon Gains Steam With Obama's Help

Virginia wine was featured last night at President Obama's first State Dinner. The president, his guest of honor, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and invited members of D.C.'s elite washed down pumpkin pie tart and pear tatin with Thibaut-Janisson blanc de chardonnay, from the Monticello district near Charlottesville.

Thibaut-Janisson is an up-and-coming specialist in fine sparkling wine. Winemaker Claude Thibaut is convinced that Virginia has the climate and terroir to produce excellent bubbly – and evidently the president agrees.

“Here's more evidence Virginia can produce top-notch fizz,” I wrote about this wine last year in my Thanksgiving recommendations in the Post. “Elegant and stylish, with palate-refreshing acidity and subtle fruit that emerges about an hour after opening.”

Other wines served at the dinner included the 2008 Modus Operandi Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley; the 2006 Brooks Winery Riesling “Ara” Vineyard from Oregon's Willamette Valley; and the 2007 Beckman Vineyards Grenache from California's Santa Ynez Valley. The dinner's menu is available on the White House Web site here.

I've always been a big fan of Brooks. The winery farms biodynamically and produces excellent Riesling - the Ara is its best - and Pinot Noir. I had the opportunity to visit the winery last summer during the International Pinot Noir Celebration, and enjoyed the 2006 Ara then. But if you want to taste what the White House guests enjoyed tonight, you'd better hurry - the winery has only a few cases left.

This caps a banner week for Regional Wine. Last week, I wrote in the Post that “the growth of local wineries throughout the country is transforming the American wine industry.” Yesterday, my buddy Jeff Siegel, aka “The Wine Curmudgeon,” offered more proof of the changing face of American wine. Jeff noted that Eric Asimov in The New York Times included a New York wine – Shinn Estate Merlot – in his Thanksgiving recommendations, while Boston Globe wine columnist Stephen Meuse praised Massachusetts Cabernet Franc, even if he didn’t include a specific recommendation for one.

“What's with these big deal wine writers suddenly hopping on the DrinkLocalWine.com bandwagon?” Jeff asked. Not that we're complaining!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Please comment here on what wines you'll be enjoying for the feast.

The Vintner and the Herbalist

"White wine with fish, red wine with meat" - remember how that used to define wine and food pairing? It's still fairly safe, if unadventurous. Wine lovers will often tell you to match wine not with the meat, but with the sauce, or the seasoning. These flavors, after all, are often the accent that determines how food speaks to our palates. 

In this video, I speak to Mary Watson DeLauder, a noted sommelier who is revered (for the lack of a better word) in the Virginia wine industry for her support of the Old Dominion's wines, about how different herbs affect the flavor of wine. We're at Corcoran Vineyards in Loudoun County, with winemaker Lori Corcoran. Listen as Mary identifies the "magic" herb that complements nearly every wine, and as she and I deal with flying hair. And just for titillation, Mary even cusses! Hey, it's the Internet! We can say anything!

Rhode Island Tranquility

It’s gratifying, being a wine critic and competition judge, to have my initial impressions of a winery validated on a subsequent encounter. I first discovered Newport Vineyards of Rhode Island last year, when their 2007 Riesling won Best of Show in the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition. Recently, a friend brought a bottle of Newport’s 2008 “Tranquility” to an all-girls party my wife was hosting. Thankfully, my wife put the bottle aside with a last taste until I got home that evening.

When she handed me the glass, I took one sniff and said, “Alsatian. Good quality.” Was it Riesling? There seemed to be some Gewurztraminer, but also a floral/peachy note that disguised the grape content. I was delighted when she showed me the label, because since last year’s contest I hadn’t had the opportunity to taste any other Newport wines.

Tranquility is 47% Gewurztraminer, 35% Muscat Ottonel (that elusive note that eluded me), 11% Pinot Gris and a mere 7% Riesling. It is great stuff, and should delight any fans of Alsace. It sells for $20 at the winery.

Virginia Wines - World Class

Can Virginia wines stand tall among some of the best wines in the world? Undeniably yes, if the results of an in-depth tasting I attended on February 27 are any indication.

The occasion was the second annual Virginia Wine Expo, held this weekend in Richmond. The tasting was conducted by Bartholomew Broadbent, wine importer and head of Broadbent Selections, scion of Michael Broadbent, and resident since early last year of Richmond. Broadbent presented six pairs of wines, each matching a Virginia example against an imported wine that had been highly rated by leading wine magazines. The tasting, attended by about 100 people, mostly in the trade, was conducted “semi-blind” – meaning, the list had been posted on the Expo’s Web site (where I had seen it), and the bottles were on display on the dais. But we did not know which wine was which, and we were guess the grape varieties and which one of each pair was from Virginia.

In each pair except one, it was pretty easy to tell which wine came from Virginia. (Or, perhaps I should say I was lucky six times out of six – the show of hands was not always consistent.) The difficult pair, the Bordeaux blend from 2001, was tricky because the first wine was tired and past its prime, while the second was still youthful and lively. The easy tendency – even the winemakers in the room – was to assume the Virginia wine had not held up over time. And of course that was wrong.

Here are my notes from the tasting, in the order tasted. The imported wines are all from Broadbent Selections, which obviously simplified the organizational aspects. Pretty gutsy, though, to subject one’s own portfolio to such competition in front of so many people rooting for the home team. Broadbent selected the Virginia wines with the help of Richard Leahy, east coast editor of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine.

Linden Vineyards “Avenius” Sauvignon Blanc 2007, paired with Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2008. It was easy to tell which was the local here, if only because the Spy Valley’s aggressive grassy and passion fruit aromas shouted its New Zealand origins. The Linden had some grassy notes and a hint of spice; it was rounder and fuller than the Spy Valley, with some creamy mango tango juicy loosey going on.

“The Spy Valley has classic New Zealand acidity, while the Virginia wine has more complexity,” Broadbent said. “Both are high-quality wines.”

Rockbridge Vineyards DeChiel Reserve Riesling 2006 and Louis Guntrum Riesling (Yellow Label) Spätlese 2006. Virginia is not noted for its Riesling, but the DeChiel Reserve was charming for its bright fruit and appealing acidity. It was the clear crowd favorite, but primarily because many in the audience disliked the classic “petrol” minerality of the Guntrum, which hails from Germany’s Rheinhessen region. Broadbent said he picked this particular German contender because it was the same price as the DeChiel (about $18).

Warwick Estate Cabernet Franc 2006 from South Africa, paired with Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc 2007. I was sitting next to Michael Shaps at the tasting, and when we reached this pair he started bouncing on his chair like a giddy schoolboy who knows the answer to a pop quiz. So there was no way I’d vote for the first one. But I wouldn’t have anyway – the Warwick Estate had too much bandaid flavor to it, and I found it rather unappealing. (From crowd comments, others seemed to like it better than I.) The Shaps wine was simply gorgeous – concentrated, ripe and lively, superb fruit from a superb vintage that received superb handling in the winery. After tasting several dozen Virginia wines at the Expo later that evening, a friend and I both said as we left, “Shaps – the wine of the tasting.”

Barren Ridge Touriga Nacional 2007 from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, paired with Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional 2006 from the Douro Valley in Portugal. There was no doubt which was which here, as the Crasto was simply sublime – it featured all the leafy tobacco and fennel aromas of the Douro, with amazing complexity. The Barren Ridge was simpler, with bright fruit and a surprising exuberance for Virginia. It was a delicious eye-opener, especially when Broadbent mentioned the prices - $18 for the Barren Ridge, compared to $75 for the Quinta do Crasto. (Another, less expensive Touriga from Crasto was ranked #3 in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 ranking for 2008.

Warwick Estate “Reserve”2001 from South Africa, with Barboursville Vineyard “Octagon” 2001. This was the tricky one. I had tasted the 2001 Octagon about a year and a half ago, and I was confident that it would not have turned brick red and tired so quickly. Winemaker Luca Paschina was in the audience, and he seemed nervously confident as some crowd chatter clearly considered the first wine the Virginian. But the Octagon was quite lively, even picking up an attractive note of orange peel and clove.

“The Barboursville Octagon is classic Bordeaux in Virginia,” Broadbent said. “I rank this wine as good as you get in Virginia.”

Paschina was quick to spread the praise. “There are other Bordeaux blends to come from Virginia,” he said. “What it takes is having vineyards with enough age and knowing what works well in each one.”

Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 2005 paired with Veritas Vineyard “Kenmar” 2007. Again, it was obvious which wine was Virginian, as the Veritas featured perfumey floral aromas typical of Traminette. The Guiraud, #4 in Wine Spectator’s  ranking last year, was rich with botrytis and crème brulée notes.

Broadbent stressed that the tasting was not meant to be a competition, but rather an exhibition of how some of Virginia’s best wines stand tall among the best wines from around the world.

Quod erat demonstrandum.