Thanksgiving is on its way – it will be here next week, as a matter of fact, and it’s time to stock up on potables to accompany the feast.
Over the years, as so-called experts have relaxed and allowed the ordinary drinker and wine-lover to relax, too, when it came time to stock the pantry or to decide what wine to open with which course at dinner. In truth, almost any wine will work. If the drinker likes it, you have a match.
"De gustibus non disputandum," as the Romans said, or as my high school Latin teacher said, "There’s no accounting for taste."
However, if the goal is to make shopping an easy adventure, sparkling wine is a splendid aperitif, and the sky’s the limit when it comes to making selections. Real Champagne, from the district of France that bears its name, is the most expensive. Sometimes, it’s the best. At other times, people are buying labels, and spending far too much for them. For example, at a recent fabulous tasting in Chicago, there was some almost-perfect bubbly from Roederer, a French winemaker who makes exciting sparkling wines in France, and also in California. Cristal, for example, is hellaciously expensive at some $200 a bottle.
It’s very good, but if people are going to drink it throughout the feast – and there’s no reason not to – then something a little less austere, a lot less expensive, will do just fine.
Many smaller Champagne houses, from the district, made in classic style, have delightful wines. Nicolas Feuillatte makes a pleasant and inexpensive Blue Label, with a nice bubble and a good tickle on the tongue. He also has a gimmick, in a 375-ml bottle that comes with a screw top and a wrist strap so you don’t lose the bottle while reaching for the canapes.
Feuillatte also has a splendid rose, though it’s a lot more expensive.
Tasty and quite dry French Champagne in the $50 range also come from Jean Milan, Varnier-Fanniere, Bruno Paillard, Pierre Peters, L. Aubry Fils, Pierre Gimonnet and Rene Geoffroy, among others, and a pleasant sweeter, demi-sec style, comes from A. Margaine.
Other French Champagnes, like Domaine Mumm, Taittinger, Domaine Chandon and others, have California operations, too, and the domestic sparklers are a little less prestigious and a lot less expensive while serving as excellent accompaniments from appetizers to the final pieces of the bird. A slightly sweeter sparkling wine is best to accompany dessert.
Areas outside the Champagne region also make sparkling wine, though the winemakers have to call the result "sparkling wine." Cordorniu, the Spanish producer, makes a bargain sparkler and a reserve, probably under $20, and Le Bellerive and Bisol contribute Italian proseccos, slightly sweet and in a similar price range.
Stone Hill, Mount Pleasant, Crown Valley and several other Missouri wineries make good bubblies, too. By now, if you’ve been reading my wine comments for any length of time, you know that the thing to do is to establish a relationship with a wine merchant. Tell him how many people are coming for dinner, how dry you want the wine and how much you want to spend. I’ll wager he or she will take very good care of you.
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In recent years, I’ve developed a liking for slightly sweeter wines as aperitifs, and also at dessert with fruit and cheese. And I recently found an inexpensive Viognier from the Clay Station Winery, a second label from Delicato Family Vineyards. The winery is in the Lodi area, a site that once held a stagecoach stop. The ‘06 Viognier, off dry, has an aroma of orange blossom and a lovely softness and good finish. At about $12, it’s a fine value.
And speaking of Viognier, those who like an alternative to Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc will be fond of the drier versions, excellent with grilled fish or raw shellfish. Joseph Phelps Vineyard makes a solid, dry, mineral-style Viognier, on the expensive side at about $50, but a wine that made us think of a combination of the best qualities of both Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. As stylishly made as all Phelps wines, this was crisp on the palate, smooth and long lasting.
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Our attraction to Zinfandel being well-known, we had a chance to sample a handful recently, with offerings from Rosenblum, one of our favorite winemakers, leading the way. Three Rosenblum Zins from 2005 were elegant. A Paso Robles wine ($18) was a perfect companion to a blackened salmon, or to any other rich, spicy dish. The color was almost black, as Rosenblum Zins tend to be, with berries in the mouth, followed by along finish. A Sonoma Reserve from the Monte Rosso Vineyard ($45) was extremely rich and full-bdied, with depth, complexity, grace and elegance every step of the way. A Sonoma offering from the House Family Vineyards ($25) showed a little less body and a few harsh edges. Another year in the bottle should rectify that problem.
Dry Creek Vineyard’s ‘04 Zin ($25) from the Somers Ranch of the Dry Creek Valley appellation was slightly lighter, with fruit that was extremely forward and a clean, easy finish. Best value of the group was the ‘05 California Zinfandel from Bogle ($11), a pleasant, uncomplicated wine of good flavor and lots of fruit.
–Joe