Wine Around The World
By: Stephanie Pedersen
Chilean Red
I have a fondness for South American wines. They are typically well-priced
and well-made, combining European wine's food-enhancing finesse and North
American bigness, without the snooty seriousness of either land-mass. Among
my latest Latin favorites are Chilean and Argentinian wines made with
Malbec--a deep, inky grape originally grown in France's Loire valley and
blended with other grapes to make Bordeaux. The grape is intense, heavy and
full-bodied, which is why it is commonly combined with other varietals such
as Cabernet and Merlot. Once in awhile, however, it's left on its own, as in
the Luis Felipe Edwards 2001 Malbec Gran Reserva from Colchagua Valley,
Chile. Take a whiff and you get rubbing alcohol and black pepper (phew!),
but the drink itself is round and gorgeous with soft tannins--pruney without
being cloying, thanks to the termpering qualities of mineral and (laugh if
you want), that same "whiff of green bean" which also hides in most
Australian shirazes. Yum. I got my Luis Felipe Edwards for $14.99 at Windsor
Wine in NYC.
Where's the Oak? A Different Kind of Chardonnay
To many people--well, to those used to drinking North American
wine--chardonnay is the smooth, mouth-filling, buttery, oaky, go-down-easy
wine people drink when they're getting used to wine. A starter wine, if you
will. And being a starter wine has made it the butt of oenephile snobbery.
(That, however, is another post) But what if you take away the buttery
smoothness? The oak? The slide-down-the-throat ease? Is it still chardonnay?
Yes, providing those are the grapes it's made with. I turn your attention to
Brancott's 2002 Gisborne Chardonnay, from New Zealand. This amber-color
liquid, unctuous and seemingly thick with sunshine, is pure chardonnay
grape. Hardly any oak to speak of and--could I be right? --it seems to be
unfiltered and tastes as if it's made without the double fermentation which
gives California chardonnays their familiar buttery bigness. Not big, not
tooty-fruity, but straight down the throat, fruit-mineral-earth. Quite
French. It's a non-starter-chardonay perfect for "I don't drink chardonay"
wine snobs. (Be aware, however, that if someone feels Chardonnay isn't
Chardonnay without the oak, well, this one may throw them--in a good, or a
not so good, way.) I got mine (for $11.99) at 67 Wine & Spirits in
NYC--though you could check out the winery's website at Brancott Wines
An Ode to Reidel O
One by one our stemmed, everyday wine glasses broke. Several cracked in the
dishwasher, just as many shattered in the sink as they awaited
hand-scrubbing and still more broke while being scrubbed. Four or five were
shattered while they stood on the floor near the sofa, the place R or I
would sit them in-between sips, where they'd often get forgotten and kicked
over by a lazy foot, or walked into on returning from the kitchen, the
toilet, answering the phone... And then there were the three that my
sister's boyfriend broke during the two days in which the couple stayed with
us.
We were down to two. Then we received Reidel's new stemless wineglasses--the
O Series--for Christmas. Reidel is fussy: The company has shapes for
Cabernet/Merlot, Pinot/Nebbiolo, Syrah/Shiraz, Chardonnay,
Viognier/Chardonnay, Riesling/Sauvignon. ( For a look at the different
styles, visit Beverage Factory.) Although I love Nebbiolo, and Shiraz, and
Viongier and Riesling--as well as grapes that Reidel doesn't make glasses
for, such as Pinotage and Semillon--we use the Cabernet/Merlot tumbler for
everything, from it's namesake varietals to whites to port. And this is why
the "O" glasses are fabulous: There is no chance of them careening into a
coffee cup or cereal bowl in the dishwasher, where the O's fit snugly and
easily. Yes, however, the glasses are breakable. Not in the dishwasher--the
preferred place to wash them--but while hand-washing. There's something
about a latex-dish-glove-sheathed hand that makes it hard to handle the O
tumblers' thin glass; losing control of the tumbler and dropping it is
surprisingly easy. All the more reason to use your dishwasher.
New York's Inexpensive Treasures
There are times you don't want to--or simply can't--spend over $10 on wine.
Maybe you just paid your son's NYC nursery school tuition and the monthly
mortgage payment, or you're waiting for that check from the client who told
you a week ago it was in the mail yesterday. Or maybe you're just cheap. All
good reasons to look at 2002 Chateau LaFayette Reneau Seyval Chardonnay from
New York's Finger Lakes region. The wine is $8.99. It's fresh, supple,
pretty, with enough roundness, enough body, enough mouthfeel to make you
feel good about drinking it (read: it doesn't need to be ice-cold to be
tasty).
New York wine? Well, yes. The Finger Lakes region of Northern New York is
known for its German- and Austrian- and Alsace-style wine: Crisp, lively
whites--think Reislings, Gewurstraminers and Euro-style Cardonnays (in other
words, easy on the oak), like the earlier-mentioned Chateau LaFayette Reneau
Seyval Chardonnay.
I got my Chateau LaFayette at Fresh Direct. Order a case and you get a 10
percent discount, bringing a 12-pack of wine to a bit over $80--you can make
it your "house white," perfect for those times you order up Thai food,
Vietnamese, Jamaican, spicy Chinese, Indian, Sushi. It even goes
terrifically with barbecue. Hmm--another excuse to order take out from Blue
Smoke. But Vintage Wines, in NYC, has it too (along with a few other La
Fayette wines I haven't yet tried). Incidentally, Vintage is an awesome wine
store for anyone interested in learning more about wines from Finger Lakes
or North Fork, Long Island. Also, Lake Erie and Hudson County. Great
tastings, great opportunities to meet the growers and vinters, even dinners.
And friendly, too. Visit Vintage Wines New York--you may learn something new
about NY State wines.
|
About The Author
Stephanie Pedersen is a writer specializing in "lifestyle"
(two of her latest books are KISS Guide to Planning a Wedding, and The Bra: A
Thousand Years of Style, Suport and Seduction).
|
This article was posted on May 12, 2005
|
For more information and articles on wine and wine tasting see Wine Articles From Resources For Attorneys or for other lifestyle resources and articles see Lifestyle Resources From Resources For Attorneys
The opinions, statements and information contained and expressed in the foregoing article are solely those of the author. No position for or against, agreeing with or disagreeing with anything contained in said article is taken by Resources For Attorneys.com
or The Lifestyle Directory From Resources For Attorneys.com. We do not assume or accept any liability for the use of the information contained herein. This article is published solely as a service to attorneys, lawyers and the internet community. Anyone who does not accept this disclaimer is not authorised to read or use this article in any way.
about resources for attorneys resources for attorneys home submit an article
report bad links contact us
Page Set Up ©Copyright 2004 Resources For Attorneys.com. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
|
