Greetings and salutations! Believe it or not, kids, what still vaguely seems like a new year is more than halfway to 2014. Is it me, or is the old calendar starting to flip pages faster than fan blades on an August afternoon? I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but in the Great Southwest 100 degree days have already made their annual appearance. Time has come to cellar those big, bold Cabs and Malbecs in favor of lighter, refreshing wines. Crisp Sauvignon Blancs, Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are in season. Or, if you prefer, reach for those palate cleansing Pinot Grigios, Gruner Veltliners, or perhaps even Barolos. And if your tastes run to outdoor grilling and BBQ, don’t forget about the All-American varietal Zinfandel (see last month’s Chapter).
And what better way to celebrate the great weather of summer than to host your own summer wine dinner for your wine buddies? How do you coordinate that scene? As they say in the Caribbean Isles, no problem, Mon! Your friendly Wine Bargain Sleuth is at your service.
As we have discussed in several previous Chapters, wine and food were meant to be paired. Therefore, for a memorable wine dinner, one must determine what’s for dinner. The main course for a memorable summer dinner might be a delicious salad enhanced by chicken, fish or shrimp. Or, you might prefer to serve baked fish or chicken as the entrée. Perhaps instead your tastes run to the classic American burger or a filet mignon. The first recommendation I will impart is to determine your main course, and choose your primary wine to complement that entrée. With baked fish, consider a crisp, refreshing white such as a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or a Sancerre from France. With grilled chicken or shrimp, try an oaked Chardonnay from Sonoma Valley or an earthy, lighter-bodied Pinot Noir from the Burgundy region of France. For grilled burgers or leaner cuts of beef, reach for an old vines Zinfandel from Napa or a bold Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley of California.
Next, pick your appetizer and pair with a lighter wine to set the mood for the evening. Don’t forget about the power of Champagne, Cava or a domestic sparkler get the party off to an effervescent start! For an alternative creative idea, surprise your guests with a crisp Riesling with a dry finish from Germany or even New York. This is a great time to serve a wine that is a bit unique to pleasantly depart from the typical garden variety buttery Chardonnay. Think outside the box!
Finally, consider a lighter dessert such as fresh berries, cobbler or even cheese. When paired with a berries or a savory cheese, a classic French Sauterne or even a domestic facsimile thereof such as Napa Valley’s excellent Dolce (see the November 2012 Chapter) adds something quite special to your dinner party and likely adds a new wrinkle for your guests, even those who announce up front that they “don’t like sweet wines.” These wines admittedly have a sweet element to them, but they also have a complexity of flavors that must be experienced to be believed. To label classic Sauternes or Dolce as mere sweet wines is to describe Marilyn Monroe as a cute female—while technically accurate, the issuer of the statement is largely missing the point.
With a little planning for side dishes, you are all set for an outstanding wine dinner. Anytime after 7 PM works for my schedule! And yes, I will bring a bottle.
NAPA VALLEY TRIP—PART II
Last month’s Chapter was devoted to the details of a Napa Valley getaway. Your humble Wine Bargain Sleuth would be remiss if I failed to add one more recommendation to that list—plan to attend a wine festival when you migrate to Napa Valley! There are ample ways to gather timely event information on Napa wine festivals. Websites such as www.napavalley.com, as well as the individual AVA websites such as www.oakvillewinegrowers.org, www.howellmountain.org and www.rutherforddust.org, provide outstanding information and sufficient background factoids to satisfy the most detail-oriented trip planner.
Using one of the AVA sites, I recently learned of the upcoming 18th annual Taste of Howell Mountain, and the planets aligned to allow a weekend getaway to that remarkable festival. All I can say after experiencing a perfect 80 degree day with blue skies for the Howell Mountain grower’s festival at the venerable Charles Krug Winery is “Wow!” Approximately 40 talented vintners poured their best juice from Howell Mountain grapes, with classic Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon leading the way and several delicious Zinfandel blends and the occasional Cabernet Franc cuvee also on display. An admission ticket (the proceeds of which funded local Howell Mountain-area schools and worthy area charities) entitled the lucky holders to the earthy tunes of a local blues band, delicious noshes from local chefs (crispy pork ribs, braised beef sliders and mac-and-cheese, the latter of which was so rich that it must be illegal in 14 states–or at the very least immoral!) and the opportunity to meet the proud vintners and winemakers (your Sleuth met legendary Randy Dunn and several Mondavi’s, among other notable wine royalty) and compare their powerful, world-class red wines in a low key, festive setting. It is hard to imagine a better way to calibrate one’s palate for what qualities make a great Howell Mountain wine than to attend such a festival.
As remarkable as the many wines sampled were on that memorable June afternoon, your Sleuth must confess there were a few favorites: the Dunn 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, the CADE 2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, the Duckhorn 2007 Howell Mountain Cabernet, the JRE Wines 2009 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and the cleverly named Howell at the Moon 2008 Knoll Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. If my recommendation alone is not sufficient, then I will add that each of the wines listed above are impressively decorated, from gold and double gold awards at numerous prestigious wine competitions to 90 + ratings from the likes of Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast! Due to the pricey real estate on Howell Mountain in Napa Valley, these Cab Savs each qualify for Worth a Splurge Wines rather than Value Wines, but they will definitely reward you for your clever selections in Big Reds!
That’s quite enough about my rap, and without further ado here are this month’s recommendations befitting summer wine dinners, with a bonus Value Wine for your consideration:
Value Wine No. 1: No Brainer Cali Sav Blanc
Do I have a bargain for you, boys and girls. Want a high-quality summer wine but only have a 10 spot in your wallet? Look no further than the bargain aisle of your favorite wine purveyor for the 2012 CK Mondavi Willow Springs Sauvignon Blanc. This Sav Blanc is aggressively priced at a mere $7 US and widely distributed, it drinks like the big boys and it carries the dependable Mondavi label. This month’s Wine Enthusiast named the 2012 CK Mondavi Sav Blanc as a Best Buy, calling the wine “an affordable Sauvignon Blanc that satisfies on many levels.” This month’s Value Wine No. 1 has a crisp, dry finish, with hints of lime citrus and tart berries that still manages a complex honeydew melon quality. Serve this wine with pride and splurge on your fish entrée instead! At this price, buy a case and still come in well shy of $100!
Value Wine No. 2: Pink Bubbles from Spain
This month’s Value Wine No. 2 is a lively addition to your summer wine dinner party—for that matter, it’s simply a fun bottle anytime you pop the cork! I recommend the Jaume Serra Brut Rose Cava Cristalino NV, available for a terrific bargain at $10. Although Roses and other blush wines have not yet caught on in the US to the same degree they have in Europe, they make outstanding spring and summer wines. It is perfectly acceptable for real men to drink pink wines–really! As noted above, sparkling wines are great choices to pair with appetizers, and the Jaume Serra Brut Rose Cava is no exception. Named a “Smart Buy” by Wine Spectator, this Jaume Serra offering was described as “lively, with a cream bead” and “showing an array of ground spices, with well-meshed flavors of sun-dried cherry, macerated plum, toasted almond and subtle balsamico. The experts at Wine Spectator awarded a solid 87 rating on this delicious Cava. I found the Jaume Serra to be well-balanced, lively and fresh with a toasty finish that offsets the initial hints of cherry flavor. If you have not yet explored the delicious world of Cava as a remarkable value alternative to Champagne, look no further!
Value Wine No. 3: A Unique Summer Cuvee
I can’t resist offering up a third Value Wine this month with our theme of hosting a summer wine dinner: the Peju Provence NV from Napa Valley. Available on Peju’s website (www.peju.com) for $22, the Peju Provence NV may be the ideal answer to the question of what refreshing wine to serve a Cabernet Sauvignon fan when the temperature gets into the 90’s and above. Provence is a deceptively simple proprietary blend of finished Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel red wine with Chardonnay and French Colombard from Napa and Mendocino sourced grapes. Peju recommends that you chill the Provence as you would a white wine, and it pairs beautifully with BBQ, burgers and spicy foods such as fajitas! Provence shows a delicious red fruit nose with a refreshing, dry finish that demands a second glass. Your humble Sleuth confesses that this one is a seasonal house favorite. To quote Peju’s singular yodelmeister Alan Arnopole, “Chill it, swill it and kill it!”—you’ll be glad you did!
Worth a Splurge Wine of the Month: A Beauty of a Pinot Noir
Quite possibly the best Pinot Noir I have recently sampled, particularly when price is taken into account, is the 2010 Belle Glos Santa Maria Valley Clark & Telephone Vineyard. Retailing for $44, this Belle Glos is everything the delicious 2011 Belle Glos Meomi (see January 2013 Chapter) is, but simply more so. The 2010 Clark & Telephone Pinot is a very satisfying single vineyard red wine which was aptly described by Wine Spectator “very dense and concentrated” and “an impressive mix of dense blackberry, raspberry and huckleberry, holding its focus and maintaining its supple texture. I shared a bottle with some dear friends recently, and all four of us were simply blown away at the red and dark fruit concentrated flavors and the overall near-perfect balance of the Belle Glos. Wine Spectator apparently agreed with our group, naming this Pinot number 77 on its Top 100 list for 2012 and bestowing an impressive 93 rating on this wine. In short it is a lovely effort by the Wagner family (of Caymus fame) and a wine that is most definitely worthy of a splurge!
Thought for the Day: Yet More Wine Wisdom:
Here’s to the corkscrew – a useful key to unlock the storehouse of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the gate of pleasant folly.
W.E.P. French
(From the wine list of Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, LA)
I can certainly see that you know your wine. Most of the guests who stay here wouldn’t know the difference between Bordeaux and Claret.
John Cleese (Basil Fawlty)
Fawlty Towers
Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter,
Sermons and soda-water the day after.
Lord Byron
Don Juan
Until next month– Cheers!
© The Wine Bargain Sleuth 2013—All Rights Reserved
Len Musgrove
Many thanks for your comments! Please keep reading and we will keep writing! Cheers! LM
Len Musgrove
Many thanks for reading. Let your friends know about our site! Cheers! LM