How to Buy Wine: Part Two

     So continuing on from yesterday, let’s keep it in South America. This region has a booming wine trade, not only because they have been making wine for so many years, but also because of investments from experienced, established producers.  This is the case in Argentina and our next South American wine region, Chile.  Chile has had a wine business for a very long time, but it has taken them a while to figure out how to get it right.  Early overproduction and political troubles slowed Chile’s wine trade.  It was not until the 1980’ that Chilean producers began to use stainless steel or oak fermentation vessels, but once they started using these, their wine exports increased dramatically.  The number of wineries grew six times the original amount in a span of ten years, and more attention was paid to the grapes and growing methods.  Big name French producers took notice and began to throw money at Chile’s wine business.  Some even set up shop, joining in with talented Chilean winemakers.  Coupled with the influence of a man named Miguel Torres, Chile began to make some delicious wine that is only improving.

 Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the long-standing popular red grapes grown in Chile right now, and they have until recently followed the typical style and profile for this grape. Now, Chilean winemakers are beginning to experiment and are seeking a profile of their own for these two revered varietals.  Merlot from Chile is delicious; don’t be a snob and overlook it because of that wine movie. Merlot is a perfectly respectable grape.  After all, the French grow it too, so it must be good.

Another red grape grown in Chile is Carmenere, which produces a medium bodied, deep red wine with spicy berry aromas and dark chocolate covered cherry flavors.  This is worth trying, especially if you are tired of all the usual red grape suspects.  The first time I tried it, I was amazed at how different it seemed from any other red I had experienced.  Carmenere is also blended with other grapes, because it adds a softness and richness of flavor.  It makes a delicious wine either way. 

Chardonnay is the most widely grown white grape in Chile, and right now they follow in the typical new world style of moderate to heavy oak treatment, making Chardonnays that are similar to many found in California.  In my opinion we already have too many of these over-oaked wines, and perhaps Chilean producers would benefit if they tried to develop a style of their own, much like they are doing with Cabernet Sauvignon.  Chile also produces Sauvignon Blanc, a wine known for its crisp, grassy, minerally and/or tropical flavors.  I prefer these Chilean whites to Chilean Chardonnay, as I find they are a better match for many light foods, especially seafood and slightly spicy ethnic dishes.   Sometimes, Chardonnay is ruined not because it is a flawed grape, but because of what is done to it by an overzealous producer. 

 Now you have two regions under your belt, so this holiday weekend get thee to the liquor store (did you find a good one yet?) and sample some South American wine.  They range in price from unbelievably cheap to insanely expensive, with many happy mediums in between.

There will not be any further installments until Tuesday May 27, so have a great holiday weekend!  Come back and tell me what you drank!

How to Buy Wine

     Ah, the most unfortunate of circumstances. You have run out of wine.  This necessitates an intimidating trip to the liquor store, where you will be forced to helplessly roam the aisles; either choosing only wines that bear shelf talkers with clever little tasting notes from snobs, or wines that have the prettiest/coolest bottle. The wine merchant might even make a suggestion, only to push on you the oldest stock available, just so he can get rid of it.  Don’t be a sucker.  Besides finding a trustworthy and intelligent merchant, there is a key to unlocking all of this madness, and it is this: know the wine regions, know their grapes.

     Even barring technological advances in winemaking, a region cannot grow just any grape it desires, and a winemaker cannot cultivate just any grape on his or her land (there are a few exceptions: these people are wizards).   You are going to have to do a little work here- memorizing.  Admittedly, not the best or easiest task for a wine lover, but it certainly is worth the mind bending.  Here’s the first installment of a brief crash course, starting with what is currently my most beloved wine region.      

    Argentina: This region is exploding.  A good number of the wines are delicious and affordable, plus in the past 15 years, they put 650 million bucks into the industry.  They take their wine seriously.  From this region comes the red grape that got me into wine- Malbec.  Malbec is a delicious discard of France , where it was called Cot in some places and Auxerrois in others.  It makes wines that are as dark as ink, rich, and juicy.  It is great with all types of red meat, another Argentine favorite.   I have also had it with grilled pork loin and various stews.  Remember, it's powerful, so you do not want to drink this with any light food- the flavor of the food will drown because the wine will take over.           

     Argentina’s main white grape  is called Torrontes, which turns out a fresh, crisp but intense wine with an alluring aroma- great for summertime drinking.  It’s great with light bites, like slices of toasted baguette with white beans and herbs, or a sampling of nuts, mild cheeses, and raw veggies. Put it this way- a pre-dinner wine to sip outside on a hot day. It is also good with mild fish and shellfish, like shrimp and tilapia.   You do not want to pair this with any heavy food, because the wine will get lost.  

     Argentina is also experimenting with Chardonnay, which is proving to be delicious and not heavily oaked- very different from what you typically get in a Chardonnay. Some of the cooler regions are also cultivating Pinot Noir. I have not had these yet.  For your best bet, stick to Malbec (and Malbec-based blends), Torrontes, and Chardonnay when shopping for Argentine wine- it is difficult to go wrong. 

I Cheated. So What?

    Last night, I cheated on wine. Sort of.  The warm weather is on the way, and every year around this time, I start to crave one thing- a red wine that's best served chilled. There are many wines that benefit from some slight chilling, but my favorite is Beaujolais.  I love Beaujolais, but many wine snobs frown upon it; especially hated is Beaujolais Nouveau, a product that is released only on the third Thursday of every November. If you are not familiar with this, the novelty of this wine (besides the anticipation of its release) is that it is very fresh, very fruity, and excellent with Thanksgiving dinner.  If you have not consumed your stash by December 31, it is no longer considered fresh or fruity, just kind of old. Some say it can be consumed up until a year after, but by then I feel it has lost its trademark qualities- smells like banana, tastes like a Jolly Rancher candy.  Beaujolais Villages is considered to be more sophisticated, and this is delicious as well. Which gets me to where I cheated last night.  Wine snobs, have a seat.   

     Last night, I made sangria. Oh, be quiet. Nothing gets me more excited than a glass of fruity sangria, and nothing gets me more in the mood for recipe experimentation. Sangria recipes vary tremendously, ranging from the simple and sublime to the boozy and addictive.  I like a happy medium.  This starts with a nice, inexpensive, Beaujolais Villages (or if you have some Nouveau hanging around, you can get rid of it with this recipe).  Pour 1/2 cup of a fruity or spicy spirit in a large pitcher- you can use Cointreau, Grand Marnier, brandy or rum (decent quality, please- save yourself a wicked hangover.)  Add in fruits of your choice- I find sliced apples, oranges, 1/2 lime, and 1/2  lemon work the best.  Some people use halved grapes, which work nicely, or berries, which I think are too mushy for this project. Rather than be a sugar hound and add 1/2 cup of sugar like many recipes suggest, I prefer 1/2 of a freshly squeezed orange- just squeeze it with your hand, right over the pitcher.  Now stir vigorously, allowing the fruit to sit in the booze and juice for at least fifteen minutes.  Then pour in the wine.  Do not add ice to the entire pitcher; rather fill a glass (a clear one, yes? The fruit looks so damn pretty) with some ice, fill mostly with sangria, and add a splash of club soda.  This makes it fresh and fizzy. Sangria is great for a party, because you can make it in bulk, plus the longer it sits, the better it gets.       I had my sangria with bourbon-marinated, barbecued chicken breasts and herbed basmati rice.  Yes, you can have red wine with chicken. In fact, you can have red wine with many things.  The philosophy "red wine with red meat, white wine with white meat" is an archaic idea at best- it never made sense to begin with. It was probably made up by a confused housewife.  We'll talk about matching wine and food in the future, but the best rule of thumb is this: if you like what you're drinking, like what you're eating, and love who you're with, how could you go wrong? 

Intro and Stuff

     Wine is not some mystical thing. Sure, it's amazing how it comes to be, what it takes to make a great wine, and all the work that goes into it, from vine to bottle. But it's a shame that wine baffles/embarrasses/intimidates people so much. It only takes three things to become comfortable with wine: 1. Geography: knowing where a country is and what surrounds it is very helpful in understanding why some wines work and some wines don't.  2. Grape types (varietals): combine that geography with a knowledge of what grapes are grown where, and you are well on your way to having the ability to choose a wine, either at a retailer, on the web, or at a restaurant, without any "hints" (i.e. tasting notes from a snob)  3. Storage: many good wines can go bad with improper handling, by the retailer or by you. We'll talk about this in a future post. 

     Since this is my first post, I feel like I should talk a bit about why I have chosen to do this. I love wine. I am not rich.  I do not believe that good wines can only be found at high prices. I have had some very good, very cheap wines.  Do not be suckered into the philosophy "if it costs me my paycheck, it must be good."  Not true. Some wines are exorbitant, some are not.  Some of those pricey ones are phenomenal, some are not.  The price of a wine comes from several factors, including, coincidentally, the three points listed above- they apply here too. Where your wine comes from, what grape it is, and how it was handled all factor in the price.  That's not to say those are the only things. But again, this is all for future blogging.  Feel free to challenge me with any questions- if I don't know the answer, I'll not only admit it freely, but I will locate the best answer I can find.  I also plan on including some tasting notes- for the wine newbies, this is just a summary of the look (appearance), smell (nose or bouquet), and flavor (palate) of a wine. (Terms in parenthesis indicate snob terms.)  I'll walk you through the methods of tasting (evaluating) a wine.  I'll try to post a new note each day, as I tend to open a fresh, new bottle each night, regardless of what I did not finish the previous night (this rarely happens). 

     One more thing I want to make clear.  I know many wine snobs.  I do not necessarily hate wine snobs- but most of them dislike us.  So let's demystify it and show them what we can do.