A few decades ago, in another life, I spent a week “Down Under” courtesy of the US Army. What I remember of that R&R week in Sydney is a bit fuzzy, but one aspect of Australian life was crystal clear: those folks liked their adult beverages! While my beverage of choice that week was beer – (which came in 10W-40-like cans or large mugs called “Schooners”), years later I came to appreciate another consumable liquid ably produced by the Aussies – wine.

Over the last 20 years, I have seen the Australian wine market grow from a few recognizable quality brands like Penfolds, to hundreds of excellent wineries from several growing regions in that vast country. Of all the wine regions in the country, the Barossa Valley in southeastern Australia is the most prestigious and — meteorologically speaking — is very much like northern California with vintages that are consistently very good. (more…)

As you know, I really enjoy the sensory aspects of wine appreciation. Observing the beautiful hues and shades of wine and the myriad aromas and tastes of the fruit of the vine is truly a blessing. I also love trying to match a specific wine with a complimentary dish because, in my estimation, a good combination provides greater enjoyment than either the food or wine by itself. I count my self fortunate to have the time and resources to engage my passion for good wine and food.

Others in our town, state and nation are not so fortunate. Each day is a challenge for them. Many of our fellow citizens are dealing with debilitating physical, emotional and mental issues that make each day a struggle to survive. Their goal is simply to find food to eat and a place to sleep. Fortunately, there are agencies in our communities that exist solely to assist these people, many of whom are homeless.

One such agency is the Roark-Sullivan Lifeways Center (RSLC) with facilities in Charleston and St. Albans. RSLC and other such organizations exist because of state and federal programs funded by your taxes and through your generous personal contributions. (more…)

It may seem odd , but this fine summer day we’re going to examine the qualities of Port – that sweet Portuguese nectar which is usually consumed after a hearty meal or by a roaring fire to ward off the chill of winter. Why? Well, the other night after a special meal on the patio, I decided to open a tawny port to complete this lovely evening. As I sipped and enjoyed  a relatively inexpensive version of this sometimes very expensive wine, I was inspired to tell you about the pleasures of Port. So
today, we’ll look at the wonderful world of port.

First a little history lesson. Back in the 1700s, the English dearly loved the wines of Bordeaux, but because of their constant wars with the French, our British cousins were forced to look to Portugal for vinous sustenance. As they began to import red wine from Portugal, some enterprising folks added brandy to the barrels so the wines would be fortified to survive the arduous sea journey.

The practice of “fortifying” the wine was refined by the Portuguese wine makers who began to add distilled spirits to their wine during fermentation. This had the effect of stopping the fermentation and leaving the wines sweet. It also made the wines higher in alcohol. The British loved the sweet, high alcohol wines and the Portuguese were more than happy for the significant trade that ensued. Since that time, port has been exported all over the world and has become the staple after dinner drink for many wine lovers.

Some would suggest that port, like scotch, is an acquired taste. I can assure you that, from my perspective, port is a lot easier to enjoy than Scotch. True, there is a “baked” quality to the taste of this sweet wine that some folks take a while getting accustomed to, but once you try the stuff with a good blue cheese or a handful of walnuts, you’ll be hooked.

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

Port is fortified which means that distilled spirits are 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. At first, port was produced in a dry style, but the British changed all that and, in fact, many port producers today are English companies.

There are also some very good port-style wines produced in other countries, most notably Australia and the U.S. As a matter of fact, two of my favorite tawny ports are produced in these two countries and I’ll list them for you later.

SORTS OF PORT 

Here are different styles of Port available in the marketplace:
Vintage Port: This is the best and most expensive style and is produced on average in only three years a decade. A “vintage year” is usually declared by an agreement among the shippers and the wines are then given special care and aging. Once you buy it, vintage Port can age easily for 15 to 40 years before reaching maturity. Recent vintage Port years are 1977, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1991 and 1994, 1995, 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 it is not vintage port. However, these wines are vinified in the same manner as vintage ports, except they are 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:  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. Without a doubt, this is my favorite everyday drinking port. Most of the better tawnies are aged for either 10, 20, 30 or 40 years and this fact is listed on the label. Tawnies, without these label designations are usually less appealing.

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.

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Okay, here is a list of some of my favorite port producers: Ficklin and Quaddy (U.S.) and Clocktower (Australia) are my favorite port-like wines produced outside Portugal. The rest of these producers are Portuguese: Warre’s, Graham’s, Taylor-Fladgate, Croft, Dow’s, Fonseca and Ramos-Pinto. Prices for 10-year old tawnies can range from about $10 to $25 dollars a bottle. If you can find it, try Ficklin’s 10-year old tawny – it’s absolutely delicious.

What do WVU, pinot noir and Oregon have in common? Read on and you’ll find out.

So there I was on the campus of Linfield College in Oregon last summer, rushing to get to class on time. I had to chuckle at the irony of it all. Me, worried about being tardy for class? Any of my former WVU professors –if they’re still breathing – would certainly need to “suspend disbelief” in order to accept the absurdity of that image.

Well, I have to admit this was not your ordinary boring lecture by some pedantic, patch-on-the-sleeve liberal arts lecturer. Rather, it was a seminar which required the class to assess the various taste characteristics of pinot noir produced in Oregon and Burgundy. This “class” was one of many such explorations of pinot noir as part of the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) held in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. (more…)

To breathe or not to breathe? That is a question I am often asked by perplexed wine lovers. No, I’m not referring to the actual act of breathing, but rather to a term used in the wine lexicon to describe the somewhat controversial practice of aerating or decanting wine to improve both the aroma and taste of the stuff.

While it is undoubtedly true that 99 percent of all wine produced is ready to be drunk when it becomes available in the market place, what you won’t know until you try it is whether or not the wine will actually drink better if you allow it to “breathe.” Yet some people think that merely removing the cork will suffice in allowing enough oxygen to aerate the wine. Unfortunately, removing the cork allows only a miniscule amount of air into the bottle. Properly aerating a wine in this manner would take about two weeks.

Knowing when and how long to aerate a wine is a matter of judgment and experience. The idea is to decant the wine into a larger, more open container to allow a generous amount of oxygen to aerate the liquid and release the aromas and flavors that have been locked up in the bottle. (more…)

When I was growing up in an ethnic family back in the 1950s, wine was considered an appropriate beverage to be consumed with meals on a daily basis. However, conventional thinking back then held that only reprobates or winos regularly drank wine. These were the moral police of the time whose idea of moderate drinking consisted of consuming three martinis at lunch. Thankfully, things have changed.

Even so, I’m always looking for ways to justify (my wife would say rationalize) my indulgences and wine is always at the top of the list. Years ago, a study known as “The French Paradox” suggested that regular and moderate consumption of wine (especially red) with meals was the reason the French experienced significantly fewer heart attacks than Americans. This despite the fact that the French diet is extremely high in fat.

We Americans eat a lot fat, too, but we don’t consume enough wine to mitigate the negative effects. Therefore, our rates of cardiac calamities are significantly worse than the French. So while you may disagree, I think there is a pretty strong correlation between regular consumption of wine and cardiac health – and I believe in taking care of my heart! (more…)