In this depressing economy, where certain staples of existence such as food, fuel and shelter have all become more affordable, I have not yet seen a comparable drop in the price of wine. 

Oh, believe me, I am out searching the hinterlands each day for affordable sippers so you and I can continue to enjoy a glass of wine with our mac &cheese at the end of the work day.  But it’s not easy.

In ruminating about ways of economizing the wine budget, I’ve decided to suggest  several wine categories  for you to explore (according to price) in the hope  you’ll be able to find a wine to suit your palate and wallet too. So, here goes.

Vino Jigundo

First (and perhaps least appealing) would be to search the jugs, boxes and wine skins for the large volume products that are something more than colored water with the addition of grain alcohol.  I’m no snob, but most of this mass-produced plonk is,  at best, unappealing.

However, I am willing to work my way through the witch hazel to find that diamond in the rough.  If any of you out there in wine land have found any good, inexpensive, mass-produced wines, please let me hear from you (see comment section at the end of this post).

The Value Fifths

There are indeed some excellent wines in the $8 to $15 a bottle range and ,over the past couple of years, I have recommended dozens of them to you. The simple way of  finding these value wines is to go to your favorite wine shop and ask the folks there to direct you to those particular goodies.

Many of these bottles are unfamiliar to us and can hail from countries such as Spain, Austria and Portugal, but there are some lovely little ditties if you take the time to search for them. Albarino and rioja (Spain), gruner veltliner (Austria) and verdelho (Portugal) are just a few examples.

Saturday Night Second Fiddle Wines

I don’t know about you, but I consume  wine almost every night. However, I distinguish between weekday bottles  and “Saturday night” wines (which I sometimes have on Friday and/or even Sunday). Saturday night wines can be expensive – which means anything over $20 a bottle to this parsimonious wino.  Unfortunately, it is sometimes very difficult to find a reasonably priced Saturday night wine unless you go to the “second fiddle” stuff.

Simply put, second fiddle refers to those wines owned and produced by a more famous winery, and bottled under a second (different) label. These wines sell at a significantly more reasonable price and many times are made from the same grapes that produce the more famous label.  Other times, these second label wines can be made from grapes that are from a younger parcel of the same vineyard used to make the parent label.   

Here are some examples of some second label wines.  Alamos is the second label of  Catena (from
Argentina) and the chardonnay and cabernet produced is excellent and less than half the price of the more famous label.  Hawk’s Crest is Stag Leap’s second label, while Logan is Talbott’s and Gavilan is the second wine of Chalone – just to name a few.

If you really want to splurge on Saturday night, you might want to check out the second fiddle
Bordeaux from the following famous reds :

Ch. Gruaud-Larose – Sarget de Gruaud-Larose
Ch. Lafite Rotschild – Moulin des Carruades
Ch. Talbot-  Connetable Talbot
Ch. Pichon-Longueville-Lalande-  Reserve de la Comtesse
Ch. Haut-Brion –  Ch. Bahans-Haut-Brion
Ch. Lynch Bages- Haut-Bages-Averous
Ch. Latour –  Les Forts-de-Latour
Ch. Cos d’Estournel –  Marbuzet
Ch. Margaux – Pavillon Rouge de Chateau Margaux

The Red-Haired Step Child

Famous wines from equally famous wine regions are priced at stratospheric levels and so, in order to sample the region’s goodies, I often  invoke the red-haired step child rule. For example,  I really do love the wines of Piedmont in northern Italy, but I don’t want to pay $80 to $200 a bottle to drink the world class Barolo and Barberesco produced there. Instead, I’ll buy an $18 bottle of Barbera or a $15 Spanna (which is actually made from the same grape – nebbiolo –  that produces Barolo or Barbaresco) or even a Dolcetto in all its frothy glory.

Instead of Chateauneuf du Pape or Hermitage, I’ll opt for Gigondas or the wines of Vaucluse, both of which are made from the same blend of grapes that produce the more famous wines of the Rhone region. In California, where cabernet and chardonnay are king and queen  respectively,  I will sip zinfandel, pinot blanc or even  that scourge of the movie “Sideways” – merlot. 

So do not despair and don’t even contemplate abstinence. Times may be tough, but there are many reasonably priced and tasty wines to see us through.

It’s not often many of us can have our dreams come true, but that’s pretty much the case for two Charleston lawyers whose love of wine has morphed from a passionate hobby to another full-time occupation.

While Mike Bee and Jim Petersen (at right) won’t be giving up their day jobs any time soon, the two local residents are spending a considerable amount of time in their second jobs as owners of a boutique Napa Valley Winery – Falcor. 

As enthusiastic wine lovers and regular visitors to California’s North Coast wine country, Bee and Petersen decided to take the plunge and start their own winery. After visiting Napa and talking to many people in the trade, the men were encouraged to modify their idea of building a full-fledged winery and begin their foray on a more modest scale.  

First they set about finding the right wine maker. A mutual friend introduced them to   Ray Coursen, then the winemaker at Napa Valley’s Whitehall Lane and now owner of Elyse Winery who agreed to take on the task.  Coursen is not only a fine wine maker, but is also familiar with many of Napa’s finest vineyards and is able to procure fruit from them for his (and Falcor’s) wines.

Their first wine was a 1996 full-bodied style Napa Valley Chardonnay. Mike and Jim were very pleased with the result and that led to a stable of limited production  wines (about 500 cases for each varietal) including two chardonnays, sangiovese, syrah, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, Le Bijou ( a Bordeaux-style blend), cabernet franc and a rose.

Mike’s son, Ryan, is now Falcor’s general manager and, in addition to his day-to-day duties, he oversaw the building of Falcor’s new winery and up-scale tasting room which opened last summer in the town of Napa. If you’re in the area, you can visit the winery at 2511 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Suite 115 for a tasting of the wines. 

While Falcor wines are available at wine shops and fine restaurants throughout the state and the southeastern US, you may also order wines directly from the winery by calling 888-402-9463 or visiting the website at www.falcorwines.com.

I have reviewed a few of their wines in the past and today I’ll give you my impressions of the latest releases from Falcor.

2005 Durrell Vineyard Chardonnay ($42) – Grapes for this rich, full-bodied wine come from the Durrell vineyard in Sonoma County where renowned wineries Kistler and Patz & Hall also source their fruit. This wine shows flavors of ripe pear and creamy vanilla and will benefit from two to three years of bottle age. Try it with chicken cordon bleu or Chilean sea bass.

2005 Sangiovese ($35) – This Napa Valley wine is comprised of 88% sangiovese and 12% cabernet sauvignon. Medium-bodied, it is brick red in color and full of bright cherry and cinnamon flavors with a lingering finish. Excellent balance insures it will continue to improve over the next five years, but would be a great pairing now with a roasted veal chop.

2004 Syrah ($32) – Also from Napa, this wine has dark, juicy plum flavors with a hint of toasty oak. Stylistically, it reminds me of a big Barossa Shiraz and would marry nicely with marinated and grilled leg of lamb.

2003 Le Bijou ($40) – This Bordeaux blend of cabernet, cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot is a symphony of flavors and always a favorite of mine. Complex with tack-room and spicy aromas, the wine has forward fruit and cola nuances and is well balanced. While drinkable now, it too will benefit from further aging. No question of the food match here:  grilled or roasted filet.

2003 Cabernet Franc ($38) – Ripe, rich , blackberry fruit with a touch of anise and toasty oak, this Napa wine is stylistically  more like a Chinon (from the Loire region of France) than a California wine – and that’s a good thing. Drink it with pork tenderloin that has been marinated in lemon juice, olive oil and rosemary and then roasted.

2005 Dry Creek ( Sonoma) Zinfandel ($36) – Like its Dry Creek Valley neighbors A. Rafinelli and Lytton Springs, the Falcor Zin is bursting with blackberry fruit typical of the area. Rounded out with a touch of oak, this wine will benefit from about three more years in the bottle. This wine needs baby back ribs slathered with a Kansas City style sauce.

2003 H. Block Cabernet Sauvignon ($65) – This is a special wine made from grapes grown around the town of St. Helena in the Napa Valley. It is a rich, full-throttle cabernet, but is well balanced with black currant and cola flavors with just a touch of oak. Decant it for an hour if you want to drink it now and serve it with roasted red meat or…with a “death by chocolate” dessert.  

I have to admit, I have been very critical in recent years about how certain winemakers, usually from
California, vinify perhaps the greatest of all white wines – chardonnay. In a word, too many chardonnays are “overdone.”

How? Well, some chardonnay growers allow the grapes to get overripe on the vine which produces not only hot, high alcohol wines, but also ones that lack balancing acidity.  Then, many of these same wines are put in new wood barrels and allowed to absorb huge amounts of oak flavors, completely overwhelming the fruit and producing a wine that doesn’t even resemble something that once actually grew on a vine.

What you’re left with is a beverage that’s about as subtle as “White Lightnin’ ” without the benefit of corn liquor’s kick! And forget about matching the stuff with food unless your tastes run to dishes like anaconda and habanero casserole.

Now, I am not the first wine writer to criticize chardonnay made in this bombastic manner, but I may be one of the first to complain about the knee-jerk response to this style by other wine makers.  I refer to them as the ascetic school of chardonnay producers.

These guys have ridden the pendulum to the other extreme, making some of the most austere, acidic and painfully bland chardonnay in a pitiful attempt to capitalize on the criticism with the overblown stuff.

Help!  Is there anyone out there who can restore sanity and a sense of balance to producing this absolutely wonderful wine???

Just when you’re ready to give up on ever enjoying  a chardonnay that actually reaches it’s enormous potential….bam, pow wee.. you taste something that renews your faith in the unpredictability of wine.

So there I was in a restaurant called Frank’s at Pawley’s Island, escaping from the brutal frigidity of
Charleston to bask in the near temperate climes of North Cack-a-lacky when, to my lips, I placed a glass of chardonnay.

Hoakey Smokes! The stuff was subtle, creamy, rich yet balanced, and tasted like the fruit of a grape called… chardonnay!  And no, this was not a $200 bottle of white Burgundy or even some trophy wine from Napa. It is the 2007 ZD (California) Chardonnay.

At about $25 a bottle, the wine has a “California” appellation, meaning that the grapes for it could have come from anywhere in the state – not necessarily a prime location like Carneros or Santa Rita Hills, Napa or Sonoma. 

I drank the wine with grilled grouper and the combination was a testament to the old axiom about the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. What a superb match.    

Lest I be misunderstood, I would not describe the wine as great. It is just very good and very true to the varietal grape – chardonnay – from which it was made.  However, in producing a wine that is the purest essence of chardonnay, ZD deserves kudos. 

Here are some other wineries that seem to produce balanced chardonnay year in and year out:  Chateau Monelena; Talley Vineyards; Acacia; Pine Ridge; Montes Alpha; Merryvale Starmont; and Alamos.

Go get you some!

When the ambient air temperature descends below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, I seem to require foods and beverages of substance.  Stews, soups, roasted meats and full flavored cheeses, such as Roquefort and Stilton, grace the table in my humble abode this time of year. 

To accompany these hearty foods, I usually uncork full-bodied wines such as zinfandel, syrah or cabernet sauvignon and, to cap the meal off in style, a glass or two of Port with coffee, nuts or cheeses. While I have written about the glories of Port for you in this space before, it is winter and it just seems an appropriate time for me to visit this tasteful subject again.  

While our per capita consumption of table wine in this country has increased to a respectable level, the volume of Port (or any dessert wine for that matter) consumed in this nation is so small it could fit on a gnat’s eyelash!   

 In fact, most of us have an aversion to any sweet wine because of either  (a) bad personal experiences, or (b) prejudicial views passed on down to us by uninformed know-it-alls  who assert that “only dipsomaniacs or effete snobs drink Port.” 

I’m still trying to forget the night (a few decades ago)  I spent hovering over the “porcelain alter” after consuming an inordinate quantity of a sweet, high alcohol rocket fuel some low-rent winery had the nerve to call Port.  I’m sure some of you have had similar experiences and have vowed never to let the vile stuff pass your lips again.  And you shouldn’t!

But let me suggest that classifying Port and high alcohol, sweet wine as one and the same is like believing turpentine and chardonnay (both of which are white liquids having alcohol as a component) are also the same.

Port or Porto (as it is called in Portugal where it is produced) can be made from a variety of (unpronounceable) red grapes grown along the steep slopes of the Douro River. The river flows toward the town of Oporto where the wine is sold to shipping companies who age it, label it under their house name and then export it all over the world.

Port is fortified which means that brandy is added to the fermenting wine. This causes the fermentation to stop, leaving about 10 percent residual sugar in the wine and also boosting the alcohol to about 20 percent.  While Port was produced in a mainly dry style for centuries, today’s sweet version was popularized by the British in the middle of the 18th century. Many Shippers are also British companies.

Since there are several styles of Port, here is a description of the most common types:

Vintage Port -This is the best and most expensive style and is produced in only about three years a decade.  A “vintage year” is usually declared by an agreement among the shippers and the wines are given special care and aging.  Once you buy it, vintage Port can age easily for 15 to 25 years before reaching full maturity. Recent vintage Port years are   1983, 1986, 1991 and 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000 and 2003.

Late Bottled Vintage Port – Not to be confused with vintage Port, this wine is a blend of Ports from different vineyards in the same vintage year.  Late Bottled Vintage Port (or LBV) will have a vintage date on the label, but is not vintage Port.  However, this wine is vinified in the same manner as vintage Port, except it is aged in barrel longer to accelerate their drinkablity.

Ruby Port – Young Port wine blends from several different vintages comprise Ruby Port. They are lighter and fruitier than other styles and usually the least expensive Ports.

Tawny Port – This is my favorite type of Port.  I call this the poor man’s vintage Port because it is aged for many years in oak and, when released, it is very smooth and rich like an old vintage Port, though not as fine. I love the caramel flavors ofTawny Port.    

White Port – Made from white grapes, this is the only Port-style wine that is dry.  It is usually crisp, yet full-bodied, and makes a nice aperitif wine.

Some of the great Port producers to look for are:  Warre’s, Graham’s, Taylor-Fladgate, Croft, Dow’s, Fonseca and Quinta do Noval.  Prices for non-vintage Port typically range    from $10 to $40 a bottle while newly released vintage Ports will cost anywhere from   $40 to 150 each. 

While true port comes from Portugal, America and Australia do a very nice job with Port-like wines.  Look for Ficklin and Quaddy in the U.S. and Chateau Reynella and DeBortoli in Australia to provide good wines and excellent values. I particularly recommend Ficklin’s (10 year-old) Tawny.

           

           

             

There is no doubt that we are in a serious economic downturn, and I often ruminate on how these tough times are affecting the wine industry as well as those of us for whom the fruit of the vine is more than just an occasional dalliance.

I suppose there is both good news as well as bad in how the economic crisis is affecting wineries around the globe. The law of supply and demand has always been a major fact of life in the wine world.  When a bad vintage limits supply, prices go up and, conversely, an overabundance of wine drives prices down.

This usual supply and demand principle is now compounded by the world wide recession so, if you have a little disposable income, there are some bargains out there to be had.

You’ve heard me proclaim this before, but there are an incredible number of excellent wines in the $8 to $20 a bottle range if you are willing to do a little reading (like you’re doing right now), extensive shopping and internet research.  

Finding knowledgeable local wine purveyors is also very important. Locally, the folks at the Wine Shop at Capitol Market are excellent at determining what you like and then matching a price and wine for you. You’ll also find help at the Ashton Place Kroger and the Drug Emporium on Patrick Street. The Liquor Company in Patrick Street Plaza also has regular wine tastings and a great selection of wines and spirits.

I have always been a bargain hunter whether I’m shopping for food, wine or underwear. And while the price of underwear and food has remained steady, I have noticed that some wine retailers, especially those online, are offering their wares at sometimes steep discounts.

Here are some places where I occasionally shop online that seem to have very good prices now.  (A personal note about online shopping:  my rule of thumb is that I only do it for special wines I cannot find locally. It doesn’t make much economic sense for me to endure the inconvenience and cost of shipping to save a dollar or two.)

Online places to shop:  The Wine Club (www.thewineclub.com) – even with shipping costs of about $4 a bottle, I have found some wonderful bargains here over the years, particularly on
Bordeaux futures.

Appellation America (appellationamerica.com) is an especially good place to locate (and buy) hard-to-find wines from just about any wine region in the US.

Others worth checking out:  K & L Wine Merchants (www.klwines.com); MacArthur Beverages (www.bassins.com/wine); and Hi-Time Wine (http://www.hitimewine.net).

Here are a couple of value wines for you to try that should be available locally and are definitely available online.

2006 Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha ($18) – It’s a brooding purple mouthful of black cherry flavors mixed in with earthy, mushroom aromas that make this grenache from Spain not only good for current drinking, but a keeper too. Decant it first for an hour then accompany it with pork tenderloin that has been rolled in garlic, coarse black pepper and rosemary and then roasted.

2007 Calina Chardonnay ($9) – This clean, ripe apple nuanced wine from Chile is a great expression of chardonnay fruit at its purest. Try it with pan sautéed tilapia with butter and lemon.   

 

Looking for way to pull yourself out of the post-holiday blues? How about some reds…or whites… or some top-notch victuals. Well, listen-up buckaroos because there are some nice wine-related events on the radar screen for the greater Charleston area that should help you beat those winter blues.

Good food and wine always seem to lift my spirits and shine some much needed light on my seasonal affective disorder. The following event lineup is sure to brighten your smile this winter too.  

Bluegrass Kitchen

I’ve really been impressed with Chef Gary Needham who has expanded the offerings at this neat East  End establishment. Bluegrass owner Keeley Steele, along with local wine enthusiast Gary Thompson, are taking things a step further by offering wine flights each Tuesday (beginning Jan. 13^th). Flights, for those unfamiliar with the term, refer to a series of wines from a particular region or from a specific varietal grape. This coming week will feature the wines of Spain.

Five wines will be offered, including an Albarino, an old vines grenache and a tempranillo. For an additional price, guests can sample Chef Needham’s tapas specially prepared to accompany the wine. These include chorizo stuffed mussels, paella cake with mole and Spanish cheese toast with olives. Price of the tasting flight is $12 and they begin at 4:30 p.m.

Cast Iron Cookoff

I have participated in this event in past years and will do so again when it convenes in Charleston (Jan. 23-25) at the Charleston Marriott Hotel. This is a great opportunity for wine and food lovers to mingle, sample, taste and otherwise enjoy an eclectic array of wines from around the world (including WV) along with some excellent cuisine.

The festivities begin on Friday Jan. 23rd with “Tastes from the Mountains,” a wine and food sampling that takes guests on a culinary tour of our state.  Foods from around West Virginia will be featured in a tapas or “small bites” format providing guests the opportunity to visit both dine and wine stations for the goodies.

I love these type events (kind of like biped grazing) because it affords me the opportunity to sample a wide variety of foods that I can then attempt to match with various wines. Cost of this event, which is open to the public, is $50 per person and tickets may be purchased at the door.

Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., guest chefs from the state’s most prestigious restaurants will lead teams composed of non-professional foodies in a competition which requires participants to use cast iron cookware. That evening, a five-course gourmet food and wine dinner will conclude the event with presentation of awards to winners of the Cast Iron Cookoff.  Cost of this gala dinner is $75 a person and requires a reservation. Check out the website at www.castironcookoff.org to make reservations.

Bridge Road Bistro

Mark your calendars for a couple of upcoming wine and food special events at Bridge Road Bistro. Chef Paco Aceves and crew will be putting together a dinner featuring the food and wine of Burgundy on February 26^th. On March 21^st, the Bistro will feature a gourmet meal built around the wines of Vineyard Brands – an excellent world wide importer.  

Details of both events are still being worked out, but you may contact the restaurant for more information and to make reservations by calling 304-720-3500.

Other Venues for Vino

For those of you who may not know, there are at least three other venues where you can sample wine or attend full wine tastings. The granddaddy of them all is the Wine Shop at Capitol Market where tastings are held at least monthly. Call them at (343-9463) for tasting event information.

In addition, Drug Emporium on Patrick St. in Charleston (345-5921) as well as the South Hills Kroger at Ashton Place (342-8807) also have tastings on a regular basis. Give them a call to check times and dates.