As an American with Italian roots, I was proud and happy to observe last weekend’s Columbus Day celebration. According to Wikipedia, the Italian diaspora to the United States totaled 5.5 million immigrants between the late 19th century and 2005, with most of them immigrating from the 1880’s until about 1920. I also assumed that more Italians immigrated to the US than to any other country, but that is not accurate. The nation with the most citizens of Italian descent is actually Argentina. So, it’s not surprising that Argentina has a vibrant wine industry, featuring a plethora of reds and whites.

What is surprising, though, is that the most prominent and heralded red in Argentina is Malbec—a grape mostly used as a blending component with other varieties. In Bordeaux, for example, it is sometimes combined with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot to compose the world-famous claret cuvée. Other countries, including our own, plant and produce the wine, but none with the success of Argentina. Today, we’ll examine Argentinean malbec, and I’ll provide a few recommendations along with foods that pair well with the wine, particularly beef where for more than a century legendary Argentinean cowboys (called “Gauchos of the Pampas”) literally invented roasting meat over wood fires.

Argentina is a very large country with the wine regions in the north on the same latitude as Morocco while the ones in the South are on a plane with New Zealand. The major grape-growing provinces are in the foothills of the Andes Mountains and are producing exciting wines. Surprisingly, the terroir here, characterized by an arid climate, poor soils, and irrigated mainly by snow melt, is ideal to produce excellent wine. Just like other fine wine regions of the world, wine grapes flourish when they are forced to struggle for water and nutrients in the soil, and in climates that are warm and dry. Most of Argentina’s grapes are grown at altitudes between 2000 and 3000 feet to take advantage of cooler temperatures.

The most prestigious wine province is Mendoza in the west-central part of the country on the border with Chile. Salta province in the north and the Rio Negro Valley in the south also produce wines, but most of the major wine production (80 percent) is in Mendoza. The main grape varieties in addition to malbec are chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, barbera, tempranillo, and bonarda. By the way, bonarda is an obscure varietal which has its roots (no pun intended) literally in Italy’s Piedmont region and was brought to Argentina by Italian immigrant wine makers.

But there is no doubt that when people think of wine from Argentina, they think of malbec because no other appellation in the world has been able to coax as much flavor, value and quality out of the varietal. I recently tasted several malbecs from Mendoza and here are a few for your consideration.

2024 Catena Malbec High Mountain Vines ($27) – This wine grown at more than 3000 feet is a medium to full bodied red wine with bright and juicy fruit flavors and with nuances of spice and oak. The wine would be an excellent accompaniment to ribeye steak grilled over a wood fire or charcoal.

2022 El Enemigo Malbec ($23) Deeply colored malbec with full throttle, yet approachable and balanced flavors of blackberry, chocolate and hints of vanilla, It’s balancing acidity would make this wine a great pairing partner to an Italian dish such as grilled beef braciole accompanied by  pasta in a marinara sauce.

2024 Zuccardi Q Malbec ($26) – Deeply purple, this lovely, full-bodied, yet silky malbec has perfect structure with dark cherry flavors and plum notes. While it has aging potential, the wine would marry seamlessly with a marinated, herbs and vegetable-stuffed and then grilled flank steak.

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. The novels are also available as audiobooks. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com

It’s harvest season in the northern hemisphere and that means exciting times for this West Virginia Wino because soon our small group of amateur winemakers will be both bottling last year’s wine which is in the barrel, and then shortly thereafter we will receive this year’s California grapes to crush and ferment. This year our group will be concocting a blend of sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon and merlot into our version of a “Super Tuscan.”

But harvest is not limited to winemaking. It is also a special time of year for those of us who will venture to our local farmer’s markets to collect the ripe bounty from our farms and fields that we will turn into edibles for immediate consumption or to preserve through canning. Here in Charleston, we have access to world-class, homegrown vegetables at the amazing outdoor Capitol Market. With a bounty of locally grown products, my wife and I graze there daily through the aisles and stalls, selecting fresh vegetables to can for future enjoyment and for the evening dinner table.

Today, I am going to share with you my recipe for sweet and hot peppers that, combined with fresh tomatoes, make a wonderful harvest dish. This nostalgic dish brings back fond memories of my Calabrian grandmother frying peppers just picked from the garden and placed on slices of hard-crust Italian bread. The bread, freshly baked and still warm, came from our family bakery just across the street. And with this recipe, you can adjust it to accommodate your tolerance for spiciness by limiting or eliminating the hot peppers to control the heat. I use Hungarian wax peppers which range in color from light green to red and which approximate the heat of a jalapeno. For the sweet (non-hot) peppers, I use mostly red and yellow bell peppers with one or two green bells for color. You can also use sweet Hungarian Wax peppers which have the same flavor as their spicy cousins, but without the heat. And of course, I’m going to provide you with a couple of wines to make this meal even more special

Harvest Peppers and Pasta

Ingredients
Six multi-colored bell peppers, sliced into five-inch long by one-inch-wide pieces
Three hot banana peppers (optional) sliced the same as above
One large onion sliced into approximately three-inch lengths, a quarter-inch wide
Two large ripe, red tomato, peeled and coarsely chopped
Three garlic cloves coarsely chopped
Three ounces of olive oil
Two tablespoons each of freshly chopped basil and one of oregano
One teaspoon of salt and coarsely ground black pepper
One pound of linguine

How To
Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet to medium high heat
Add onions and sauté until translucent, then add all peppers, salt and pepper
Use a spatula to stir the peppers regularly
Add garlic and tomatoes to the mixture and continue stirring
Lower heat and cook until most of the liquid evaporates
Continue to sauté until the peppers and onions begin to caramelize
Remove from the stove (cooking usually takes 25-to 30 minutes)
Place in a large bowl and mix in the basil and oregano
Boil water for linguine, drain when al dente and add to saute pan.
Preserve a cup of pasta water and add the pepper mixture slowly until integrated in a sauce

This dish needs a wine that can stand up to the spiciness of the dish but not overwhelm it. Here a couple of my recommendations that should be served slightly chilled.

2024 Ken Wright Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($28)- This Oregon wine has excellent flavors of bright red cherries, with silky smooth hints of oak nicely balanced with refreshing acidity. The wine stands up to and complements this pasta and pepper dish really well.

2023 Vietti Barbera d’Asti Trevie ($21)- This is a medium-bodied wine complemented by crisp acidity, making it an excellent choice for pairing with our pasta and pepper dish. In addition, soft tannins add a layer of complexity to the wine, creating a well-balanced and refreshing note with just enough body to pair well and cool the spiciness just a bit

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. The novels are also available as audiobooks. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com

 

 

I’ve never been one to abide by conventional wine dictums – those inelastic rules created more than a century ago by a bevy of rich old men smoking pipes in their exclusive ‘members only’ clubs as if these principles were etched in stone by Bacchus and presented to them. The first commandment was probably: “Thou shalt only consume meat with red wine and fish with white.” I’ve happily broken that particular wine “commandment” on many occasions. But until this time, I don’t think I’ve ever recommended a wine pairing with a food so regularly consumed in our state.

Here in West Virginia, a good argument could be made that the state food is that multi-faceted tube steak more commonly known as the hotdog. I’ve heard it said that a West Virginia seven course gourmet meal is a six pack of beer and a hotdog. But I’m sure there are any number of wine lovers out there who would be chagrined at the thought of paring that humble sausage with wine. Not me. We’ve already got just about every category of animal, vegetable, mineral, floral and avian species awarded a designation as the “state” (you fill in the blank). And I would guess there is no more food annually ingested per capita in the mountain state than the humble, but ubiquitous, hot dog.

And the hotdog enjoys national and even international popularity in its various iterations. For example, in the U.S., the folks in Chicago top the dog with mounds of things such as giardiniera featuring whole florets of cauliflower, red bell peppers, carrot slices and celery all finely chopped into a coarse relish for easy spreading. In New York City, the Coney Island hot dog is simply topped with sauerkraut and spicy mustard.

In West Virginia, the main types of dogs generally fall into two categories: the northern ones which are topped with spicy chili, yellow mustard, onions and sometimes doused with chili flakes; and the southern hotdog where it is mounded with chili, coleslaw (sometimes yellow), onions and mustard. Coming from Clarksburg, I’m pretty much dedicated to the northern-style dog. While arguments about the best hot dog between both groups can get heated sometimes, the disputes are usually moderated by ample cooling beverages – mostly beer. Well today, I’m going to give you some vinous options to pair with the above-mentioned West Virginia hotdogs.

For the dogs prepared from my neck of the woods in the north, I recommend medium bodied red wines like zinfandel and sangiovese and fuller flavored whites like pinot gris. Try Easton Zinfandel from Amador County in California, Renieri Rosso Di Montalcino from Tuscany and the Elk Cove Willamette Valley Oregon Pinot Gris. With southern West Virginia hotdogs, go with a full- bodied and dry rose’ such as the Bernard Griffith Rose of Sangiovese from Washington State, the medium bodied and fruit forward cabernet franc, Messanges Rouge Chinon, from the Loire Valley of France or the Murphy-Goode Red Blend from California.

So, in these (hot)dog days of summer, forget about those conventional wine tropes and wash down the West Virginia state food with a truly counterintuitive beverage – wine!

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. The novels are also available as audiobooks. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com

When summertime temperatures exceed 80 degrees in the always naturally air-conditioned mountains of Tucker County, residents begin to get concerned because most folks don’t have air conditioning. I am one of those (part time ) residents and when the temperature reached 85 on the 4th of July our picnic seemed to be in jeopardy since moving the party indoors would have been an even more oppressive decision. So, I did the next best thing, I moved the picnic starting time from 5 to 7 O’clock allowing the cooling evening breezes to make outdoor dining possible. I also made the time change to accommodate my selfish desire to sip red wine in addition to the cool and crisp whites I had planned to uncork. Today, I’ll recommend a few picnic wines along with tasty accompanying foods that should lift your spirits and refresh your body even in the blistering heat of summer.

When the weather turns warm, some people’s thoughts turn to cycling, swimming or even golf. Not me. Summertime gets me (and my trusty old Weber) fired up to start grilling various hunks of meat and/or vegetables and accompanying these tasty delights with picnic-style wines. I’m suggesting lighter-bodied whites and reds that fit the casual feel of outdoor cooking as well as pairing terrifically with grilled foods. These lighter-style wines will also benefit from a little chilling, particularly the reds, which will provide a refreshing counterpoint to the sometimes spicy entrees being prepared.

 

There is just about nothing better than a crisp, herbaceous sauvignon blanc paired with herbal-infused foods such as salmon with dill, cold pasta salad or even a chilled pesto of basil, pine nuts and garlic over fusilli. Try these refreshing sauvignon blancs from California, Washington State, Italy, New Zealand and Bordeaux: Chateau Ducasse Graves Blanc, Zorzettig (Italy), Nobilo, Caymus, Groth, St. Supery, Kenwood, Ste. Michelle and Cloudy Bay. Another great white varietal for summer light meals is Trimbach Gewurztraminer. All these whites are exceptional accompaniments to the above-mentioned edibles.

If you’re a red wine lover, light to medium bodied wines such as sangiovese, cabernet franc and pinot noir are excellent choices in the warm months. Whether you choose grilled hamburgers with all the fixings, Italian or smoked sausages or lamb chops, these wines complement and enhance the flavors these foods. From Tuscany, try wines such as Villa Banfi Centine and Monte Antico, as well as Chianti producers such as Monsanto, Fossi, Cecchi and Nozzole. Cabernet franc from France around the village of Chinon I suggest are Domaine Gouron, Chateau DeCoulaine and Jean Montbray. And from California, look for Lang&Reed, Alexander Valley Vineyards and Robert Mondavi Oakville. I also recommend Barboursville Reserve Cabernet Franc from Virginia.

Of course, light to medium bodied pinot noirs from California and Oregon work well too. David Bruce, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Eveham Wood, La Crema and Scot Paul La Paulee are great pinot noir choices for summer meals. All these wines pair nicely with foods such as grilled salmon,  flank steak, along with barbecued ribs or chicken kabobs.

And I would be remis if I didn’t mention rose’ which is one of the best options for picnic meals. Chilled rose’ can be sipped as both an aperitif or as an accompaniment to foods such as hot dogs, hamburgers or grilled veggies of all types. Some of my favorite rose’ labels are Masciarelli, Domain Lafond Tavel Rose, Elizabeth Spencer Grenache Rose, Tempier Bandol Rose and Mulderbosch Rose of Cabernet.

So, stay cool and sated this summer with these refreshing wines and picnic foods -weather (pun intended) you have air conditioning or not.

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. The novels are also available as audiobooks. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com

 

 

In West By Golly Virginia, I have been given the moniker by friends and foes alike as THE State Wino. Of course, I wear that designation as a badge of honor. So, it always comes as a shock and embarrassment when folks consider me a wine expert. I suppose my aversion to the acceptance of positive recognition is the result of a primary and secondary Catholic school education where guilt is the only attribute held in higher esteem than humility.

Anyway, one of the benefits of surviving being whacked on the knuckles (and other places) by nuns, surviving a war in southeast Asia and enduring multiple physical infirmities is that I have lived long enough to have accumulated several cases of older wine. In fact, I continue to collect wines which I believe are age-worthy, despite the undeniable fact that these bottles will outlive me. Some folks get wiser with age. I just get more wine!

Right now there is a glut of wine on the market due to international tariffs and the movement, primarily by younger folks, to move their consumption of beverages to “mocktails” or slightly alcoholic cans of vodka-like spritzers. This is good and bad news for we wine-loving dinosaurs. Good news because the laws of supply and demand are presenting us with some terrific bargains. Bad news because many vineyards around the world are being dug up and not replanted. Even some of the most prestigious appellations such as Bordeaux and the Napa Valley have been affected by these economic and cultural changes. So, what’s a die-hard wine lover to do?

Well, I suggest you visit your local wine shop and check out the prices. There are some great values there now. There are also excellent bargains right now on older vintages of Bordeaux and the ones just appearing now online as 2025 futures. If you’re an old codger like me who is hoping for some life extending miracle drug or, better yet- someone who is a younger wine aficionado, now is a good time to invest in what is known in Bordeaux futures as En Premeur. In addition to your local wine shop, some places where you may order these futures are online retailers.

The catch here is with futures you pay for the discounted wine now and won’t receive them for a couple of years- around the fall of 2028. But if you plan to age the wines and resist the urge to drink them when you receive them, you will (hopefully) be rewarded with a special bottle of wine. And the experts are giving the 2025 Bordeaux high marks for quality and value. Over the years, I have experienced the good, bad and ugly agony of aging wine. It can be a wonderfully pleasurable experience when you open a special bottle of wine you’ve allowed to lay undisturbed for a decade or two in your cellar.

But this is not always the case ( pun intended) and be prepared to be disappointed. However, I have been fortunate to have had more good experiences than bad and, believe me when I say that the good experiences are always worth waiting for. You need to remember that aging wine for the long haul also requires a cool, humid, dark, vibration and odor-free environment. It doesn’t need to be a fancy wine cellar, but it should meet the above-mentioned requirements so that your wine will have the best opportunity to reach maturity in good condition.Here are some wine online retailers you might check for their En Premeur offerings: Calvert Woodley: K&L Wine Merchants; Addy Bassin’s MacArthur Beverages; and Wine.com.

So, if you’re young or just young at heart, now might be a good time to invest in some wine for future enjoyment.

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com

 

 

As a veteran on Memorial Day, I’ll say a prayer for my fallen brothers and sisters in arms and then succumb to the more pedestrian way of recognizing the upcoming holiday as the unofficial start of summertime. And since I am avowed and unrepentant hedonist, just about any reason to celebrate sets off a series of dizzying ideas about food and wine combinations. So, with Memorial Day weekend coming up, I have been conjuring how I’ll create menus with appropriate pairing wines to enjoy with family and friends. Since I’m going to concentrate on menus that feature picnic foods, I plan to grill pork and accompany it with that very versatile red – pinot noir.

There is no better red to match with picnic fare, especially, barbecue than pinot noir. Barbecue can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s a verb as in: “I’m going to barbecue some hamburgers.” For others, barbecue is a noun and refers to a type of cooked pork or beef rib meat that is immersed in various sauces, chopped and served on a bun. Since I love to grill out, barbecue means a style of cooking to me. You’ll find just about every kind of food on my grill, including (but not limited to) pork, chicken, beef, lamb, fish, vegetables and sometimes even fruit.  
In my estimation, barbecuing also requires a grill that uses “real” charcoal. But newer gas grills usually have a smoke box that allows folks using them to approximate the flavor of charcoal. Regardless of what type of grill you use, there is no question that adding wood flavors to your picnic food is delicious and adds a wonderful nuance to them.

I’ve often thought that there is something almost ritualistic about grilling animal flesh or things that grow. A return to simpler times? I’m not sure I want to know why this practice is so appealing to me – but it is. So, in the interest of making barbecue believers of you, I’m going to share a simple recipe for my barbecue sauce that works well with most pork, chicken or meat dishes, particularly bone in center cut pork roasts and barbecued pork ribs.
Whether you use pork roasts, baby backs or large slab ribs, this recipe begins with a dry rub. One of my favorite dry rubs consists of one tablespoon each of cumin, chili powder, kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper, brown sugar and cayenne pepper (optional for those faint of heart). Stir this mixture and then rub it onto both sides of the meat. If time permits, let the pork sit in the refrigerator overnight or for a few hours allowing the meat to absorb the flavors.

At this point, I often grab a handful of hickory or apple wood chips (available at some grocery stores and most home improvement centers like Lowe’s and Home Depot) and immerse them in warm water and allowing them to soak for at least half an hour. This is optional, but I think really gives the meat a great smoky flavor.

If you’re using charcoal, fire up the grill and when the coals turn white/gray, move them to each corner of the grill, leaving space in the middle for the meat to cook indirectly. Then add the wood chips to the charcoal. If you’re using a gas grill, heat it up and then add the wood chips to the smoke box and place the meat indirectly on the grill away from the direct heat source. On either grill, adjust the air vents to cook the pork at temperatures ranging from 275F to 300F for about three hours. Check the air vents regularly to adjust the heat if necessary and turn the meat once during grilling.

Once off the grill, I cut the pork into bite-size pieces. You may wish to serve as is, but I prefer to slather the meat in my tangy sauce (recipe below) and put the pieces back on the grill directly over the heat source for about five minutes and turning them once, before serving.

JB’s Tangy Barbecue Sauce
– one cup of ketchup
– one half-cup of white vinegar
– one 12-ounce beer
– two ounces of orange juice
– one tablespoon each of molasses and brown sugar
– one-half teaspoon of cayenne (optional)
– Bring the mixture to a boil and then allow it to slowly thicken for about half an hour.

Here are some of my favorite pinot noirs to pair with this barbecue pork roast or rib recipe:
Chehalem Willamette Valley(Oregon)Pinot Noir; La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir; Gary Farrell Russian River Valley; Pinot Noir; Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir; Brewer-Clifton Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir; Frank Family Vineyards Carneros Pinot Noir; Goldeneye Anderson Valley (Mendocino County) Pinot Noir; Bouchaine Napa Valley Pinot Noir; Domaine Serene Evanstad Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Enjoy!