Map of Rioja region of Spain from www.cellartours.com

I have always been a fan of Rioja (pronounced Ree-OH-hah). It’s a famous wine region in north-central Spain that produces red wine in a style similar to the more famous reds of Bordeaux. The connection with Bordeaux grew out of a vine disease which devastated those world-renowned French vineyards in the 1800’s. Faced with having to completely replant their vineyards, many Bordelais ventured over the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain to grow grapes and make wine unaffected by the blight. (more…)

If you could afford to pay $100 or more for a “trophy” wine, wouldn’t you expect that bottle to be memorable? I had a friend who recently plunked down $125 for a bottle of cabernet that, indeed, was memorable, but for the wrong reasons. He described it as “rancid, overbearing and lacking character.”

Since that description could fit a plethora of animate organisms, including cheese, over-the hill rock stars and the entire French Parliament, my friend assured me that he was describing wine.

I suppose the lesson here is that expensive does not always mean quality when it comes to buying wine -which is why I always do a little research (usually online) before I spend more than $20 for a bottle.

Conversely, inexpensive wines are not always inferior. As a matter of fact, in my never-ending quest for excellent wine at bargain prices, I am often pleasantly surprised by the quality of wines I did not expect to be very good.

The point here is that often our expectations are colored by the price of wine. (more…)

The latest edition of “WineBoy,” our 5-minute Web show on the art and craft of wine appreciation, features part one of two programs on deciphering wine labels. Host John Brown first takes a look at what you can learn from a close look at California wine labels. A future program will take a gander at European wine labels, an entirely different read. Click here to view the program.

Hey foodies and… um, wine-ies (wine-o’s?): Want to spend a cold winter’s weekend eating, drinking and living large in the lap of luxury? If so, you might want to cruise up I-79 to Stonewall Resort and take in the festivities known as the Cast Iron Cook-off this weekend.

This third annual Cast Iron Cook-off is an opportunity to not only sup on gourmet delights and sip a vast array of great wines, it’s also a chance for you to pick up a few culinary pointers from some of this state and region’s most accomplished chefs who will be competing for the grand prize (What else? A commemorative cast iron skillet). Here’s a rundown of what you can expect at the event:

Friday, Jan. 25
6:30 p.m.: Dinner reception with several wines and hors d’oeuvres that feature Stonewall Resort Executive Chef Dale Hawkins’s New Appalachian Cuisine.

Saturday, Jan. 26
9:30 am until 2 pm.: Cast Iron Cook-off Teams spend 1 1/2 hours preparing and then one hour in actual competition. Start times are staggered, so cook-off competitors and their guests can observe other teams when they are not competing. Interspersed with all these activities are wine and food tastings along with an event where you can actually have your cast-iron ware appraised.
6 p.m.: Sparkling wine reception with entertainment provided by Colleen Anderson in concert.
7 p.m.: Dinner features a 5-course gourmet meal with accompanying wines. An awards ceremony will celebrate the day’s work and include the presenting of The West Virginia Pioneer Award.

Sunday, January 27
A true country breakfast with your favorite goodies completes the weekend.

If you’re interested in attending, contact Stonewall Resort (304-269-7400) for rates and packages.

WINEBOY RECOMMENDS: 2005 Newton Napa Valley Claret ($25)

Claret (pronounced Clair-it) is the term the British use to refer to the red wine of Bordeaux. The Newton Claret is a Napa Valley blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and syrah. It is a rich, chocolaty, minty, mouthful of wine that — while it should benefit from a few more years in the bottle — is ready to enjoy now. I matched it with thick, oven-broiled pork chops glazed with a delicious, roasted raspberry chipotle sauce. (I must confess – the glaze is from a bottle, Fischer & Wieser, and I ordered it from www.jelly.com.) The ’05 Newton Claret is a pleasure to enjoy over a long winter’s dinner with someone special.

The headline on a November, 2007 press release from the (California) Wine Institute states: “California vintners praise high quality 2007 wine grape harvest.” While I don’t doubt the veracity of the winemakers assessing the vintage, it is very difficult to make broad generalizations regarding the harvest of any geographically large and diverse region such as the state of California.

To their credit, the Wine Institute folks then interviewed vintners from most of the major growing regions for their individual assessment of the harvest in their particular areas or appellations. Reading these individual reviews provides a better gauge of how the wines will actually show when they are released in the next few years.

I bring this to your attention so you will be better equipped to sort through the marketing hype regarding the various vintage assessments around the world, and so you can make better decisions regarding wine selection in the future. (more…)