Terrace View - The Most Overlooked Great Red Wine

It's interesting, Côtes-Du-Rhône reds are some of the most popular wines in the store. There's a perfectly good reason for this, the wines are full and juicy, spicy, and offer nice complexity and structure for under $20. It's really all you could want in that price range. On the other hand, when customers decide to spend big bucks for a more serious red wine they look away from the Rhône, feeling more comfortable with Burgundy, Bordeaux, and California.

That's a shame, because that same flavor profile in a bigger form with more complexity is available from Châteauneuf-Du-Pape and the prices are excellent. We have bottles of Châteauneuf-Du-Pape on the shelf at anywhere from $25-$85. The wines are ripe and full-bodied, with a core of luxurious fruit, wrapped in overtones of opulent spices, baked herbs, and earth. I think that for as famous as it is, it's perhaps the most overlooked great red wine in the world.

Old vines

Of course, with all wines there is a variability and with Châteauneuf-Du-Pape there are many. First off, it's hard to generalize about style because there are many soil types in Châteauneuf and winemakers are producing wines in a variety of styles. Add to that the fact that there are thirteen permitted grape varieties for Châteauneuf-Du-Pape rouge. The most important by far is grenache although syrah, mourvedre, and cinsault can me major supporting players. A well made Châteauneuf-Du-Pape is arguably the greatest expression on grenache in the world.

It's important to be selective and to let us know what you are expecting from the bottle. Some wines are ready to drink upon release and others require years to show their stuff. As for food partners grilled and roasted red meats are excellent, as are strongly flavored Mediterranean foods like olives, aged cheeses, and spreads like hummus and baba ganoush.

If you have any questions, as always, just ask! I really hope that you get to try one of these great wines.

Cheers,
Michael

Terrace View - What Type of Palate Do You Have?

If tasting wine can be compared to other areas of culture and sensory pleasure then perhaps an appreciation of art and music is most apt. Over time one's taste changes, especially as one becomes more interested and more knowledgeable about the subject.

We see this all the time with customers, wine is a journey and different people are at different places along the way. The length and the speed of the journey may differ but frequently the destinations are the same. The simple question for most customers is, "What type of palate do you have?", or more to the point, "Where is your palate?"

At first, many people are into wines that are big and full, delivering an impressive and showy burst of fruit and lingering vanilla oak. Even though people say that they like "nice, dry wines", the truth is that most of the wines in this style aren't that dry. That's okay, it's just a lack of experience in how to describe a wine and furthermore, the dryness of a wine is does not indicate it's quality. Frequently the next step is a total rejection of this style, irregardless of good or poor versions, condemning an entire varietal to the trash heap as in, "I don't like chardonnay."

As we go further along we start to see an exciting and real appreciation for honest wines in a variety of styles, especially wines with some non-fruit complexity and brighter acidity. These wines are made without excessive manipulation in the winery, they strive to express the grape variety and place of origin. They are all different, that's the joy. Chardonnay from Santa Barbara and Chablis don't have the same taste, not even close, and heck, even wines from different vineyards in Chablis don't taste the same. Now that's exciting! When customers reach this point it's a lot of fun because we can recommend so many great things and there is so much variety in the wine world.

So what's the takeaway? Well, the best thing for the staff here at Windsor is to be able to recognize where your palate is, what types of wines you like and what new things would be good for you to try. You might be into full and spicy, crisp and mineral, juicy and aromatic, or medium bodied and herbaceous! If we can determine this it really helps up make solid recommendations and we love to put fun, new wines in our customers' hands. So let us know.

Cheers,
Michael

Terrace View - Rosé Report 2013

Every year one of the most welcome and earliest signs of spring is the arrival of rosés from last year's harvest. We are happily at that point now and although high tide for rosé will be in a few months, our first new wines are just starting to come in. If you are curious about rosé and about the 2012 vintage I figured that I would answer some of the most common questions, let's go!

What is Rosé? Rosé is a wine made from red grapes in which the freshly pressed juice is allowed brief contact with the skins, usually just a few hours, then it is separated from the must and allowed to ferment. This is the most common method, although there are others such as vin gris, which is freshly pressed juice with no maceration, or saignée, when some very young wine that has a little color is removed from a tank of red wine and finished on it's own. You may also have some white wine blended in the rosé, not a common practice but we do see it.

What does rosé taste like? Generally, rosés are light to medium in body with fresh berry flavors and crisp, refreshing acidity. They are fun to drink solo and go with a wide range of foods, especially salads, fish, and white meat dishes. I love to drink them at lunch, (especially with leftovers!) or as I'm starting to cook the evening meal. They are also especially great hot weather wines.

What does color tell me about rosé? Honestly not a lot. Many people think that darker color on a rosé means that the wine is sweet, or that it is fuller bodied. That's just not true, there are many factors that contribute to body and perception of sweetness, like alcohol and acidity, and you can't see those so color is not a reliable method to determine the style of the wine. You will see rosés that are pale pink, to a full pink or pale red, and even a coppery, pale salmon color.

Are all the rosés sweet? No! no, no, no.... actually almost all of the rosé we stock is dry. If it's not we'll indicate that on the price label and we'll do our best to tell you at the register if you are buying the wine.

What to expect from 2012 rosés. We see more difference in wines from various regions than specific vintages so let's look. For the most part, rosés from hot climates will give fuller bodied wines with deeper, more forward fruit and those from cooler regions will be light and crisp. Here's a breakdown:

France - From Loire rosé we expect lots of bright acidty, fresh berries and a touch of chalky earth, mineral, and slight herb notes in the back. Very palate cleansing and refreshing. Provence yields some of the most complex rosé,  full bodied,  dry and creamy on the palate. Other rosés from southern France like the Rhône or Languedoc and generally medium to fuller with medium acidity and a rounder fruit character.

Italy - Tends to follow climate wise with crisper, brighter wines from the north and rounder wines from the south. Wines from Abruzzo and Puglia have nice fresh round fruit, especially if there is balanced acidity. There are expections (of course) like full bodied lagrein rosato from Alto Adige. Sicily is an exception as well, the elevation there can produce wines of ligher body and firm acids.

Spain - The majority of Spanish rosatos are darker in color, fuller in fruit with a softer acidity. Although they aren't as pale a some people prefer, they can be great bargains. On the other hand, we also see super steely and crisp rosado from the Basque country.

America - There is such a wide variety of styles in wines from California, Oregon, Washington, and New York (upstate and Long Island) it's hard to make broad statement. Ask us about specific wines, we are happy to answer.

Look for bargains from lesser known countries. That's right, wines from the famous regions are excellent, and there are some deals, but they are not where the cheap wines are. We will have great deals from Austria, Hungary, Portugal, and the Finger Lakes so don't miss them.

What's the best rosé? When we talk about great wines, we talk about complexity, balance, and individuality. Bandol rosé certainly qualifies as do some others from Provence. Sancerre makes some excellent rosé, and I would be remiss not to mention the Spanish rosé, R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia, a magical and legendary wine.

Enjoy the rosés!

Michael

Terrace View - Where the Deals Are

We always have customers looking for good, inexpensive wines, and why not? We also love to drink fun, quality wines without spending a fortune. If you look around the store you'll see lots of wines that sell for say less than $12.99 both in he stacks and on the shelves. Some of these wines are deals. What makes them so? Generally we're looking for wines that taste "winelike". Sounds weird but even at $8 a bottle we'd like the wine to have the structural qualities that make wine wine and not jammy grape juice. I'm speaking about things like ripeness, acidity, and tannins and those things should be somewhat in balance. If there's some complexity in the wine, especially in the form of non-fruit aromas and flavors such as herbs, spice, or mineral notes, so much the better.

What if I told you that a majority of these wines come from three places? Would you be happy? If yes, then think Spain, Italy, and southern France. Without question we see the best value in inexpensive wines from these three countries. Other regions produce inexpensive wines too but they can't compete in terms of quality, complexity, and price. From Italy look to Abruzzo, Puglia, the Salento, and Sicily. For Spain it seems that deals are everywhere in places like Alicante, Valencia, Campo De Borja, Bullas, and Bierzo, just look to other areas rather than the famous regions like Rioja, Ribera Del Duero, and Priorat. French wines can be real deals if you look to the Languedoc/Rouissillon, the wine may say Vin De Pays or Pays d'Oc.

Why have I not mentioned malbec? Malbec is fine, and you can certainly fine decent bottles at $10 but generally they are very basic, one note plummy and don't have as much interest going for them. I know there is a level of subjectivity here and it depends where your palate is (I'll leave that subject for another blog), but if you tasted a half dozen Argentine malbecs against a half dozen of the wines I'm talking about you'd see a lot more diversity and interest in the later group.

Let's talk for a second about American wines. Almost everything at $10 per bottle is over-marketed industrial plonk. I'd love to see some honest, genuine wines at that price from California or New York that I could get behind but given the many economic factors involved that's probably not going to happen.

In the meantime I'll just "keep on keepin' on" with the real deals.

Cheers,
Michael

Terrace View - Bottle Age

Remember the old Paul Masson commericial where Orson Welles says, "We will sell no wine before it's time."? Have you ever had that amazing, ethereal experience that only comes with a mature bottle of wine? Sometimes in the store you'll hear us describing a wine using the term "bottle age". It can be a truly great thing as time in the bottle is a necessary ingredient needed for some wines to fully express themselves.

What happens with bottle age is that various chemical reactions take place, some of the components in the wine such as acidity, tannins, and color pigments, like anthocyanins, interact with each other. The result of these interactions is a mellowing of the wine and the formation of more complex flavors, aromas, and texture. Some wines, including a lot of famous ones, are downright stingy in their youth only to blossom with years of bottle age. It is important to know which types of wines are candidates for aging, these are mostly wines made in a structured, serious style although there are always exceptions.

Happily, you don't have to worry about putting the wine away for years by yourself to enjoy this experience. One nice thing is that some truly beautiful wines make it to a place where they are drinking very well and we are happy to have some to offer.

Here is a short list of excellent wines currently available that exhibit the excellent qualities of appropriate bottle age:

Lopez de HerediaViña Tondonia, Viña Gravonia 2001
François Cazin Cour-Cheverny 2005
Lopez de HerediaViña Tondonia, Viña Tondonia Rosado 2000
Baccano Rosso Toscano 2004
Fattoria Carpineta Fontalpino "Do Ut Des" Toscana IGT 2004
Vestini Campagnano Pallagrello Nero 2003
Sant' Elena Merlot Venezia Giulia IGT 2000
La Grange Neuve De Figeac, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2004
Brocard Chablis Premier Cru Mont De Milieu 2007
Jean-Marc Vincent Santenay Premier Cru Les Gravières 2006 
Chateau Des Tours Vacqueyras Réserve 2005
Capitelle De Centeilles Minervois 2003

You are not going to pay $10 for any of these wines. If you shop wisely, most of these bottles are between $20-$50, a fraction of what you'd pay in a restaurant. Considering the quality on this list there are some real deals here. I hope that you will take advantage and experience one of these wines. As always, if you have any questions, just ask.

btw - Monsieur Welles never said making TV commercials was easy.

Cheers,
Michael