Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 020 Best Wines for July 4th/Summer

Of course I love M.C. Ice and for those of you who are with me, don't worry -- he'll make appearances again, but Rick is back from hiatus (which he took because his business is en fuego, not for any other weird reason as some people speculated...).

We returned with bang for the 4th. We give some great red, white, and rosé wine recommendations for your 4th of July and Summer outings AND include some stuff on sparklers too (not the kind you light on fire). We focus on food pairings and gift ideas.

Here are the Show Notes:

• A new, shorter intro to get right into the good stuff

Main Topic - Wines for 4th of July festivities and other Summer sippers

• Red Wines - Pairing suggestions for grilled foods, light reds for sipping, and which red wines to bring as gifts
• White Wines - Refreshing choices for the Summer heat, some food pairing ideas, and which white wines would go over well at a party
• Rosé Wines - Not all are created equal... We provide some tips on picking the best rosé wines

...and the Grape of the Week - Grenache (or Garnacha): The flavor profiles and a little history on the grape

Have you tried a Grenache/Garnacha? If so, join the conversation on the Wine For Normal Peopel Facebook page

Click here or download the 'cast below...

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 019 Best Wines for July 4th/Summer

Send us questions, comments, and some love on Twitter @NormalWine

Drop a comment below

Dig the podcast? Please review us on iTunes and we'll give you a shout out!

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Wines from the Outstanding Oakville Area in Napa: Swanson Vineyards' Best and Brightest

Wine regions are a little like Russian nesting dolls. I think that's why the topic is so freaking complicated.

The big doll is like the country (U.S., France). The next one is the state/region (California, Loire Valley). Then you get to a specific county or area (Napa, Sancerre), then a town within it (Oakville, Bué) and then a vineyard. Like the dolls, as the areas get smaller the details become more and more intricate and impressive.

If you read the blog regularly, you know that I'm much more of an advocate of knowing a place rather than knowing a producer. It's far more valuable to be able to identify the characteristics of a place than it is of a specific brand, since you may not always be able to find a wine from a specific winery, but you should be able to find something you like you if you know the place it's from.

More practically, frequently I talk in broad terms about place for a simple reason: wines from specific towns or vineyards tend to cost a lot of money and I don't like to pony up for it (I'm just a normal person after all). So likely, I'll have a wine from Napa rather than one from one of the prestigious sub-appellations (smaller areas, also called American Viticultural Areas or AVAs) unless I'm in wine country tasting, it's a special occasion, I'm at an industry tasting, or I'm lucky enough to have a winery send me a bottle for review.

I'm fortunate in that I lived in California and took advantage of my time there, really getting to know the sub-AVAs of Napa and Sonoma in particular. And one of the AVAs I've had the fortunate experience of visiting lots of times is Oakville in Napa -- arguably the best and most prestigious winegrowing area in all of California.

Oakville is home of the "cult Cabs" -- super expensive, small production, exclusive Cabernet Sauvignon that wine snobs love to tell you they've tried. Getting on the mailing list (they aren't sold any other way) for Screaming Eagle, Harlan, and Dalla Valle is the wine world's version of winning the PowerBall Jackpot. All these wineries are in Oakville.

If that's not enough evidence this place is pretty special, know that here lies historic vineyards like To Kalon, which means "most beautiful" in Greek, established in 1868 (it's owned by Beckstoffer and Mondavi, but they sell fruit to lots of producers) and Martha's Vineyard (heh heh. Nice allusion to the MA island. Heitz's wine from here is outstanding). They make amazing wine.

For all this prestige, it's a super small area -- to continue the analogy, it's about the size of the smallest nesting doll, relative to Napa at large. It's just 2 miles wide between the Vaca Mountains in the east and the Mayacamas mountains on the western border with Sonoma.

The geology of Napa is very cool -- lots of plate movement (hence earthquakes) so the valley floor and the foothills, where the vineyards are, have a range of soils, altitudes, and sun exposures that make each wine really unique depending on the part of the area in which it's grown. Oakville is a warmer area of Napa but isn't blistering -- it has cool, foggy mornings that preserve acidity and warm afternoons that ripen the grapes. It's grape growing nirvana.

What does this mean? If you get a wine from Oakville -- especially a Cabernet or Merlot -- it's probably going to be great.

As a total non sequitur, I love Oakville for it's wines, but also for it's fabulous gourmet grocery store -- the Oakville Grocery. You have to go there if you go to Napa. The sandwiches and coffee (after a long day of tasting) are amazing and it's a throw back to a 1920s grocery store.

But back to the wine...

Recently Swanson Vineyards sent me 3 bottles to sample and I was excited. Yes, it's the same family as the TV dinner fame, but since 1985 this Winery has been making some pretty exceptional wines. The offshoot of the packaged food family has made major investment in wine and it's paid off. They hired a string of highly capable winemakers -- most recently Chris Phelps, who has studied under the best winemakers in Bordeaux, including Christian Moueix at Petrus, and at the hoity Dominus and Caymus Wineries in Napa -- and the result is great Merlot and Cabernet. Here's the rundown:

The Wine: Swanson Merlot
Where It's From: Oakville, Napa, California
The Grape: 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol: 14.8% (on the high side)
Vintage: 2007
Price: $38

Color: Very dark for a Merlot, this baby did not look like the "medium" wine I always associate with the grape -- probably owing to the 20% of the pretty dark Cabernet Sauvignon. It was the color of blackberry or prune juice. I assumed big flavor from the looks of this.

Smell: I love when California Merlot is more than just a pleasant sipping wine and this fit the bill! It wasn't overpowering, but it had a real woodsy component that I liked. It reminded me of Christmas -- baked red apples, cinnamon stick, allspice, and a little tree bark were strong supporting roles behind the lead scent of blackberries and boysenberries. The smell was a little tangy -- there was an orange peel note that I think made it so. Pretty interesting.

Taste: Much more standard than it smelled. It was a very good wine, but extremely medium all around -- in tannin, in acid, in flavor. There was a pleasant black cherry taste and the cinnamon stick I smelled was certainly in the flavor, but it was simpler than I expected. It didn't hang around to savor -- the flavor disappeared quickly on the finish.

Pairing: Roast veggies or meats with shallots, thyme, or tarragon flavors. This is a nice but medium textured and flavored wine that could be given more umph with the help of sauteed herbs with roasted potatoes, vegetables, or meats like lamb, duck, or chicken.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. This wine is good, but it's milder than I would expect from the look and smell of it. It's a very well-made wine but less powerful than I had hoped. I think this is probably because 2007 was a vintage marked by cool weather and a less ripe crop. I'd like to try this in another year, but I still think this is a solid wine and I'd drink it any day of the week.


The Wine: Swanson "Alexis" Cabernet Sauvignon
Where It's From: Oakville, Napa, California
The Grape: 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot
Alcohol: 14.8%
Vintage: 2007
Price: $75

Color: A crimson, similar to the Merlot in color, the wine was not as dark as I'd expect from an Oakville Cabernet -- which can often be almost purple in color from being so ripe. I looked at this as a good sign that the wine may have some balance and may not be over-the-top, as many Napa Cabs are. What does "over-the-top" mean? The wine is so full of fruit flavor, alcohol, and tannin that your mouth becomes overwhelmed and can't even distinguish flavors or think about the wine -- it's too much for me to process.

Smell: This is everything I'd expect a Napa Cab to smell like. Black cherry was overlain with tobacco, leather, and coffee smells from oak aging. There was a delicious floral/perfume note that went well with the mocha thing going on. The only drawback -- it was a cilia singer: I coughed from the "hot" alcohol smell that wafted up my snout on the sniff (which is strange because the Merlot had the same alcohol level and it didn't do that to me).

Taste: Wow. This was amazing. Licorice and nutmeg with a big hit of espresso flavor reminded me of drinking a great cup of coffee. The wine tasted like black raspberries, black cherry, with some fresh orange peel. It was cola like too -- almost similar to a Dr. Pepper. The texture was perfect. The tannin wasn't too harsh and the alcohol was completely in check and not burning my esophagus as it went down. The wine had great balance between the alcohol, tannin, acid, and fruit flavors -- it was powerful, but not overwhelming.

Pairing: No question about it -- steak, portabella mushrooms, beef stews, and any other heavy, hearty dishes with mushroom, au jus, or brown butter sauces with flavorful savory herbs. This is a great wine for food because of its balance -- it won't overwhelm what you're eating.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. It's expensive but worth it. This is a great wine. I give Swanson tons of credit for restraining their style and making it food friendly, while still being fruity and very typical of Oakville. A very impressive, delicious, balanced wine -- I love it!


The Wine: Swanson Pinot Grigio
Where It's From: Napa Valley, California
The Grape:100% Pinot Grigio
Alcohol: 13.6%
Vintage: 2009
Price: $21

Color: A super pale straw, this wine looks like it's never seen the inside of an oak barrel...because it hasn't. On the downside, I love a Pinot Gris that has lots of fruit flavor -- Pinot Gris (same grape) from Alsace, France, for instance is rich in color from ripeness -- so I was wary of something so light.

Smell: Super pretty. There were some unique things going on here. First there was a spicy pear smell -- like a pear soaked in Chai tea. Then there was something akin to suntan lotion -- a creamy coconut milk smell. There were lovely floral scents too -- like jasmine and tropical flowers. The wine reminded me of a tropical tree flower called a frangipani. I lived in St. John for a while (story for another time) and had a tree outside my house that smelled delicious when it was in bloom. The wine reminded me of that tree.

Taste: A lot lighter than what I'd hoped, the wine had some nice honey, pear, and red apple flavors. On the downside, it was slightly bitter, like the skin of an almond. There wasn't a whole lot going on in the glass. The acid was nice but very average. It was a simple, easy to drink wine but not much there to analyze.

Pairing: Best as a pre-food sipper or with a baguette and a hard cheese like Parmesan. You could do a light fish with it, but you'd have to be careful that the seasoning wasn't too bold or it would wipe out the wine.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Meh. I reviewed this last because it was my least favorite of the three wines I had. It's just an ok wine. For $21 I'd rather buy a Pinot Gris from Alsace, France, which is layered with flavor and absolutely fabulous. This wine is good, but it's too light for my liking and not something I'd go out of my way for...unlike the Cab or the Merlot, which I thought were great.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think by dropping a comment below!

Yarden from Israel: Leaves Me Wanting More From This Emerging Region...

When I say Israel, the first thing that comes to mind is probably NOT wine. Conflict with the Palestinians? Yes. The Jewish homeland? Sure. Don't Mess With the Zohan? Where's my fizzy-bubbly? But wine? A little more out of the realm...and yet there's plenty being made and exported.

That's right, this nation, which is the size of New Jersey (but probably has fewer Jews...I can say this because I am a Jew, FYI), has a ton of promise for making exceptional wine and has started to live up to it. With a hot, humid, but dry summer to ripen grapes yet still ward off pests, and a diversity of terrain and soil, this small nation has really stepped up its wine A-game in the last few decades. The number of solid boutique wineries has grown, putting Israel on the map in the wine world.

Of course, it's not like wine is new to this area. It was made here in biblical times and the Romans even exported the stuff to their hometown because it was high quality. But as the region changed hands and a new religious regime came in that didn't allow the fermented beverage, production moved to table grapes and raisins.

A few attempts at reviving wine in what is now Israel were short-lived, and it took the most prominent Jew in winemaking -- Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of the famed Bordeaux Château Lafite-Rothschild -- in the late 19th century to bring winemaking to the fore. He imported the mainstay grapes of Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc) and brought in expertise needed to get the Israeli wine industry going, starting the Carmel Winery, which is still thriving today.

That move certainly signaled the launch of the modern industry and minor efforts continued through the years, but beyond Kosher wine, the good stuff really wasn't a factor in the area until the 1960s (A quick note on Kosher v. Israeli wines. Not all Israeli wines are Kosher. Kosher just means the wine is made according to certain principles in the Jewish religion and production is overseen and blessed by a Rabbi. Israeli wine is wine from Israel. Just thought I'd clear that one up.). That was when Australian, American, and French winemakers moved in and brought with them modern technology.

Today there are five winemaking districts: Galilee, Samson, and Shomron, which make up 80% of all the wine made, and Judean Hills and Negev. There are more than 14,000 acres planted to grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah.

A few big wineries dominate the scene -- namely Carmel, Barkan, and Golan Heights Winery -- but word on the street is that the real action in Israeli wines is the 140+ boutique wineries that have popped up in the last decade or so. Sadly, these are hard to find and so I haven't had an opportunity to try them.

What did I try that made me write this post? The Golan Heights Winery's premium Yarden label. And although, as you'll soon find, I really disliked this wine, I do have a lot of respect for the Winery.

It's owned by 8 Co-ops (called Kibbutzum) and was established in 1984. 30% of its 6 million bottles (it's big biz) is exported, mostly to the US, and the winemaker is a Napa native. The Winery is ultramodern and regardless of your (or my) opinion of the wine, it is universally accepted that the Golan Heights Winery was the first to spark a quality revolution in Israel, demanding that better grapes and winemaking processes be used.

Without Golan Heights, Israeli wine wouldn't even be on the radar, so I give them credit...I need to preface this review with a shout to them of respect, since I really disliked the juice itself...

The Wine:Yarden Mount Hermon Red Wine
Where It's From: Galilee, Israel
The Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14%
Vintage: 2009
Price: $11.99

Color: What a rich color. The wine was maroon. It was a deep red color with thick legs dripping down the glass from that 14% alcohol. It seemed like it was going to be a pretty flavorful wine from the color. Full of promise.

Smell: The first signs of trouble were 'a brewin' from the smell. Yes, there were the typical black cherry, light green pepper, and wet potting soil smells that you often get in a Bordeaux blend, but then there was other stuff. Bad stuff. Like that Pine Sol scent. And something akin to heated plastic. And a cheap drugstore perfume note to top it off. I was really not looking forward to drinking this.

Taste: Let's start with the positives. The texture of the wine was very nice. It had some mouth-drying tannin, but it wasn't out of control. The tannins blended well with the fruit. Also, I would have expected the wine to feel a little hot and burning with 14% alcohol, but it was so well balanced with the fruit that it was completely in check. In a place where they have to worry about grapes becoming too high in sugar (and therefore too high in alcohol during fermentation) this wasn't an issue at all.

What was an issue? The fact that the wine tasted like a Luden's cherry cough drop and a dose of pine resin. It was medicinal -- like cough syrup. It tasted sweet and, for some reason, the vanilla from the oak didn't mesh well with the cherry and raspberry fruit flavors. This may sound contradictory, but even though the wine tasted sweet, it had a hard, bitter edge after it went down. Although this would normally be a negative, the wine had a really short finish, which was great because it didn't linger and I could forget about it quickly...something I wanted to do.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Down the sink. I am not writing off Israeli wines, but I'm certainly not off to a good start. The flavors were odd, the wine was funky (although I want to be clear that there was nothing wrong with it from a chemical perspective -- it just didn't taste good), and I won't be buying it again...unless my only other option is Manischewitz (nasty, sweet wine that is usually served at Passover tables around the US).

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 019 How a Grape Becomes A Wine

By popular request...on this podcast we tackle the very nerdy topic of how wine is made. We tried to follow the flavor and not get too dorky about the technical details.

MC Ice guest hosts again but Rick is making a comeback very soon...he's been taking a hiatus to focus on some important business but I'm excited for his comeback!

Here are the show notes for this week:

Shoutouts to friends on Twitter, Facebook, iTunes, and commenters on email and on the blog




Main Topic: How a Grape Becomes a Wine

The Goal: talk about the important factors in winemaking without getting too technical! We tried to talk more about where flavor comes from in the process.

• It all starts in the vineyard: the importance of terroir
• Grape flavors
• Destemming and crushing and what they do to flavor
• Fermentation and how yeast can change the taste of wine
• Malolactic fermentation: What it is and why it matters
• Aging, another word on oak, and the tale of dead yeas
• Blending and why the winemaker is an artist

Click here or download the 'cast below...

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 019 How a Grape Becomes A Wine

Please leave us your feedback here (including show suggestions!), on the Wine For Normal People Facebook Page, and on Twitter @normalwine

Thanks for listening!

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Stunning Dry German Riesling By Peter Jakob Kuhn: A Perfect Summer White

It's no secret that I'm a champion of the quintessential German grape: Riesling. It has nothing to do with the fact that my last name is Schneider, which I've been told is one of the most popular last names in Germany (and it means "tailor" so if I translated it I'd be a violet-eyed, recently deceased celeb). It has to do with the fact that this wine is extremely delicious, versatile, and fascinating. It's a perfect expression of how terroir shows itself (listen to the podcast for more details on this!).

Given that I'm a big fan of this misunderstood, ragged on grape (people ALWAYS think it's sweet and cheap, mostly because of the brand to the left), it should be of no surprise that I'm on the mailing list for Destination Riesling, a marketing program to help elevate the grape in the US. Most of the wines that they send me are good, but some are really outstanding and I'm happy to tell you, we've got a live one here.

For Father's Day my dad was in town. He's a Sauvignon Blanc guy who, for some unknown reason, refuses to buy a dry Riesling, despite my repeated suggestions that he would love it. Given this, I had no choice but to bust out the Peter Jakob Kühn Quartzit Trocken (means dry in German) sent to me courtesy of Destination Riesling with our Brie and baguette. It was unreal.

The wine is from the great winegrowing region of Rheingau, which is situated between the Taunus Mountains in the north and the Rhine River to the south. Why do these topographic features matter? Because in this steeply sloped land, vineyards that face south capture a ton of warmth and sun from the reflection off the Rhine and with a northerly mountain border, the area is über protected from nasty storms from the north. Vineyards this far north could never grow such awesome grapes without this precise positioning. Rheingau is a gem for sure.

But it's not like this new news. Charlemagne (yes I did just whip out a name from your 7th grade history class. Deal with it) planted the first vineyards here near Johannisberg (if you've heard of Johannisberg Riesling, this is the origin). And of course, no great European vineyard area was left untouched by the monks -- there's evidence that three orders had their hands on Rheingau, including the Cistercians who made two major contributions -- studying the best sites and plots for vines and documenting them, and bringing Pinot Noir to the area.

Yup, I said Pinot Noir. Although cold climates usually can only support white wine grapes because red grapes can't get enough sun to ripen, 12% of Rheingau's grapes are Pinot Noir or Spatburgunder (SHPATE-burg-under), as it's known here. Because I'm so immature, I'll point out that the town of Assmannshausen (I laugh EVERY time I read that) makes lots of Pinot and apparently it doesn't taste like what the town sounds like -- it's fruity and delicious and not at all like ass.

The Pinot factoid aside, 80% of the grapes grown in Rheingau are Riesling and the producers here don't mess around. The VDP, a quality growers association that denotes membership by a black eagle on participating wineries' labels, has classified the vineyards of Rheingau in a way similar to Burgundy. There are the top quality first growths, which are called Erste Lagen and other classified wines in something called the Erste Gewachs system (I bring this up so you can look for it on the bottle, and know that it's a quality designation, don't worry about memorizing it though!).

The wine we were lucky enough to have was from Peter Jakob Kühn, a top notch producer in the area. The Weingut (winery in German, and not to be confused with beer gut, a truly American phenomenon) been around since 1786 -- 11 generations of winemaking. The property is in the prestigious Oesterich area on the right bank of the Rhine, on a steep slope with clay soils that hold moisture and create acidic Riesling that can age for decades. Kühn's vineyards are Biodynamic and organic and the winemaking is hands off -- they let the grape express itself.

Kühn is so focused on quality that they have their own ranking system. The label has zero, one, two, or three grape bunches on it, indicating basic wine (zero) to outstanding wine (three). Details, details -- very German indeed.

The wine we had the pleasure of trying was a two grape rating and was absolutely amazing. If you like dry Riesling, make sure you look for "Trocken" on the label when you're buying German...it always means dry and usually guarantees that you're going to get something special!

The Wine: Peter Jakob Kühn Trocken Riesling, Quarzit
Where It's From: Rheingau, Germany
The Grape: 100% Riesling
Alcohol: 11.5% (I love that German Rieslings are always low in alcohol -- great for sipping because they don't get you sloshed!)
Vintage: 2008
Price: $46 (a worth-it splurge)

Color: Much paler than I expected, it was almost clear with just a light straw tint to it. I expected high acid, which is right on with what I've read about the 2008 vintage in Rheingau -- it was a little less sunny than other vintages, so the acid was high and the alcohol was low (not a lot of sugar in the grapes because they were less ripe, so lower alcohol). There were small bubbles, probably from a last minute squirt of sulfur into the bottle before they capped it with a screw cap, my favorite closure for a white wine to keep it fresh.

Smell: This is a benchmark for what dry German Riesling should be like. Unmistakably there was the smell of a crashing waterfall -- minerals and wet rocks, with a very typical note of what wine dorks call petrol (my dad pointed out that this sounds unappealing, but somehow in the wine this gasoline-type thing is interesting not nasty. Look for it in German Riesling and you'll see what I mean!). Awesome sweet lemon, peaches, and clementines (sweeter than regular oranges) with a white jasmine smell that was so intoxicatingly delicious.

Taste: If you love dry Riesling, you will LOVE this wine. If you don't know if you like dry Riesling, this should be your litmus test! A great wine. That mineral smell carried over in the taste and was so interesting. The quartz soil was apparent in the flavor -- terroir matters so much here! There was searing, tooth-enamel stripping acidity -- a great match for the fat in the Brie we had because it lightened up the double creaminess of the cheese. The lemon combined with a bread character and made the wine a little like a cookie (although not sweet).

As an aside, I think it's important to note that the winemaker used a process called sur lie aging, where after the yeast eat the sugar and turn it into alcohol, they die and settle to the bottom of the tank. If the winemakers don't remove the wine from the yeast, the yeast cells break up over time and create a richer, nutty, yeasty taste. The contrast of that flavor against the acid and mineral flavors was such a sensory treat (hence the cookie thing).

Pairing: You couldn't do much better than to match this with a white food that's got some fat. The Brie was a great match, but anything that has cheese, or a butter sauce should be great. Salads, flaky fish, light chicken dishes, pasta with cream sauce or primavera -- all would be ideal.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink! I know it's expensive and a little hard to get, but I think it's well worth seeking out on the internet if you have the cash. It won my dad over instantly and I think he'll be seeking out more dry Riesling now. Again, this is a benchmark for Rheingau Riesling and it's one of the most delicious ones I've ever had.

Please comment below or join the daily conversations on Facebook!

A Reliable Pinot Noir For A Great Price: Oyster Bay From Marlborough, NZ

There are some wine regions that are like good friends. They're consistent, amazing, make you smile, and never let you down. For me, New Zealand fits the bill. This small country produces some of the finest Sauvignon Blanc on the planet (as discussed in the podcast), and for the money, the most consistently solid quality Pinot Noir around.

If you drink wine from New Zealand, most likely you've noticed that most of it (50% of all wine, to be precise) comes from a place called Marlborough. New Zealand is a country made up of 2 main islands -- inventively named the North Island and the South Island (I'll let you figure out why). Marlborough is on the northern tip of the South Island and it has proven to have a picture-perfect climate for certain grapes.

Marlborough has two main valleys -- the Wairau Valley and the Awatere Valley -- and each have different characteristics. The Wairau is where most of the premium wine grapes are grown, with good reason. It's got the grape magic formula in it's pocket: long, sunshine-filled days, cool nights, and a dry fall for harvest time. Why is this magic? Because long days mean the grapes ripen well but cool nights mean they can build acidity and not get overripe. This is such the key to what makes New Zealand wines so unique -- they are fruity, yet have amazing acidity and moderate alcohol. The Awatere is hotter and more suited for warm climate grapes. Each area has enormous variation in soil types, and producers blend grapes from different vineyards with different soils to achieve complexity and layered flavors in the wines.

New Zealand has built quite a reputation for Sauvignon Blanc, but you may not know that it makes some real kick ass Pinot Noir too. If you read the blog, you know that I'm not shy about saying Pinot is frequently mishandled, allowed to get too ripe, and is made in a style that is over the top and that I think is just plain wrong for the grape. But on the South Island this pain-to-grow grape flourishes. Here it's fruity but still has acidity. It's earthy, but not thin. It's a style in the vein of Burgundy, but all its own.

Central Otago, on the South Island, makes some of the most amazing Pinot Noir I've had outside of Burgundy but it can be expensive and hard to get. The Pinots from Marlborough, where most of the larger producers of Sauvignon Blanc are situated, are far more affordable, accessible, and, although a little lighter, are still delicious.

I buy Oyster Bay's wines all time, both in Sauv Blanc and in Pinot Noir because it's a great value and is so reliable. I like that the winery has been around for 20 years, which is kind of old for wine companies in Lord of the Rings country, where new producers seem to pop up every day.

Given my penchant for chugging the stuff, I should have reviewed it earlier, but I guess it's never too late:

The Wine: Oyster Bay Pinot Noir (there is an actual Oyster Bay in Marlborough, BTW)
Where It's From: Marlborough, New Zealand
The Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 13.5%
Vintage: 2010
Price: $12.99

Color: A beautiful deep rose color in the center with a bright pink, watery edge. A little darker than I'd expect from Pinot, but the rim was the right color for me so I held hope that it wouldn't be overripe (a lot of times when the producers allow the grapes to get too ripe you get dark skins, so the wine is super dark from the juice being in contact with the skin). The legs were not too gloppy -- 13.5% alcohol is right on the border for me in terms of being a little too much so I was concerned this would be off balance, but I reserved judgment.

Smell: And this is why I love New Zealand Pinot Noir. There was a rich red berry smell -- like raspberry and strawberry parfait -- with a musky spice note to it. I thought of a campfire when I smelled the wine. It smelled earthy and like dried dirt, but with a note of sandalwood or Indian-type spice. A really outstanding blend of earth, fruit, and spice that's hard to find in a wine at this price!

Taste: Yum. It tasted just like it smelled -- red berries and exotic spices. The French oak, which contributes that spice flavor, made the fruit taste better, rather than overpowering it. The tannins and acid were in balance -- very medium and didn't overtake the wine by drying out my mouth/making it water too much. My only criticism: the wine was a little hot on the back of my throat from the alcohol. Again, 13.5% is right on the fringe of being a little too high (except in very rich, fruit wines like Zinfandel or Cabernet 14% is kind of my threshold for alcohol) and although it didn't ruin the wine or throw it off balance, I would have preferred that the burn wasn't there.

Pairing: We had this with a ginger sesame rubbed grilled chicken breast and it was a great pairing. The spice and fruit went well with the ginger -- everything tasted warm and spicy-sweet. I think it would be great with an Asian stir-fry that was ginger-heavy too, although this is a great Pinot to have with grilled salmon, pork, and roast turkey. Super versatile.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink! I love this wine. What a value for the price and so reliable that it's a standby for me when I want a good Pinot that's widely available. Go for it...and while you're at it, pick up the Sauvignon Blanc too! Can't go wrong for $12 or $13!!!

I love your comments! Please let me know your thoughts below!

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 018 The Grape Mini-Series: Merlot

This week we talk about the Goldilocks of red wine -- Merlot. The crowd pleaser of the reds, this versatile grape has a style for just about everyone. There are haters out there, but keep in mind, this is a main grape of Bordeaux and is responsible for one of the finest, most expensive wines in the world from there...it deserves some respect!

Show notes:

Shoutouts to friends on Twitter, Facebook, iTunes, and commenters on email (elizabeth(at) winefornormalpeople (dot)com) and on the blog

Main Topic: Merlot (yes, the "t" is silent)

• The Goldilocks wine -- medium and great because of it!
• Descriptions of different styles of Merlot and why some of it is kind of bad and some is outstanding
• Merlot's relationship with Cabernet Sauvignon
• A bit of background on this lovely grape -- where it came from
• Growing regions and styles: France (Bordeaux), Italy, the Balkan states (there is an error in the podcast -- I mis-speak and call them the Baltic States, this is wrong! Thanks to listener Tanya B for catching that!), New Zealand, Australia, and US (Washington State and CA)
• A little on food pairing
• Prestigious producers of Merlot
  

Click here or download the 'cast below...

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 018 The Grape Mini-Series: Merlot

Please leave us your feedback here (including show suggestions!), on the Wine For Normal People Facebook Page, and on Twitter @normalwine

Thanks for listening!

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Must-Have, Affordable Bubbles for Summer: Seguras Viudas Brut Reserva

Sparkling wine is a confusing subject for a number of reasons. The most puzzling thing to me: Why do we save it just for special occasions? With a bunch of normal priced options, we should be chugging the stuff the way we drink Chardonnay, yet the bubbles give us pause.

Well, even though I'm guilty of not drinking my fair share, I think not enjoying the bubbles on a regular basis is kind of dumb. Especially when there's Cava for $11.99 sitting there just waiting for you.

You may ask: What is Cava? It sounds like a cave. Is it cave wine? Like cave men? And isn't all wine aged in a cave? Kind of. It's good thinking, but in this case, I'm talking about sparkling wine from Spain that's made in the same way Champagne is made. You know: Cava.

Before I continue, I need to express a very important caveat about bubbles: Sparkling wine is only called Champagne if it is from the Champagne region of France. Otherwise it has a regional name (Cava, Sekt, Spumante) or it's just called sparkling wine. Had to get that off my chest because it's a common mistake and I don't want anyone making it and then having some jackass wine snob correct them.

Ok...back to Cava and it being made the same way as Champagne. How is that you may ask? Although I'm a nerd about winemaking, I know that it's kind of boring to read about, so I'll give a very brief description of how sparkling wine is made so you can just get a feel for it.

To make dry sparkling wine, you pick grapes that are high in acid and low in sugar, making a disgusting, bitter, mouth-puckering base wine that can withstand aging and handle a second fermentation. To get the bubbles, you need to trap carbon dioxide in a bottle and then make it mesh into the liquid. To do this, you put the gross base wine in a heavy Champagne bottle with a mixture of sugar and yeast to spur a second fermentation. The yeast eat the sugar, turning it into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which can't escape because the bottle is sealed, so with months of aging it becomes part of the wine.

There's a pesky problem left after this process, which is that the yeast die and they need to come out of the bottle before we drink the wine. So, to clarify the wine and rid if of those corpses, the bottle is slowly turned until it's on it's upside down and all the yeast collects in a cap which is popped off and replaced with a little of the original base wine and a proper Champagne cork.

There are other ways to get bubbles in wine, but this way is the most expensive, time consuming, and it leads to the smallest, longest lasting bead or bubble, which is better than having big Coke-like bubbles in your wine that die out quickly. Not every region or sparkling wine uses this method, if they do the bottle usually says it's made in the Traditional or Champagne Method and that's how you'll know.

You'll always see Método Tradicional on a bottle of Cava. By Spanish law Cava, meaning "cave" in Catalan (which is the language of the Catalonia region in the Northeast corner of Spain, where most Cava is made) and "cellar" in Spanish, is made in the Champagne Method. It's a government regulated Denominación de Origen (DO) that covers eight areas around Northern Spain that are permitted to make sparkling wine in the traditional method. The eight regions go as far west as Rioja and Castilla y Leon (Ribera del Duero), generally considered red wine country.

Cava is mainly white sparkling wine, although there is a rosé version that incorporates a little Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha (Grenache), and Monastrell. Some producers use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the traditional grapes of Champagne, but for the most part, the native Spanish varieties of Parallada, Xarel-lo, and Macabeo are the standard.

Before I get to the wine in question, a note on the history of sparkling wine in Spain. Apparently it's not correctly reported often, so I'm going to rely on one of my favorite wine reference books: The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson to clear up the story.

The tale, spread by Codorníu, the biggest Cava house in Spain, is that its founder made the first bottle of Spanish sparkling wine in 1872. The truth: there was sparkling in Spain as early as 1851 and by 1872 the Lab Directory at the Agricultural Institute of Sant Isidre in Catalonia was experimenting with sparkling production. The experiment turned to reality when three of his former students entered their bubbles into a wine competition in Barcelona in 1872, winning gold medals for two of the versions. Codorníu didn't release their first wine until 1879, so their story doesn't really jibe with the facts. That said, their claim to fame is that they came up with the now traditional blend of Spanish grapes -- Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo. Not a bad innovation.

Interestingly, even though Codorníu came up with the blend, they are totally open to using Chardonnay and other grapes to give their wines more richness. Freixenet, the second biggest Cava house, is very traditional, refusing to use anything but the big three Spanish varieties for fear they would dilute the indigenous character of the wine. It's funny how that works -- the follower is more pious than the originator, but I digress.

Freixenet owns a number of brands distributed in the US and one is Seguras Viudas, which I had the other night. I've had this wine many a time, but never posted on it so I thought it high time...

The Wine: Seguras Viudas Brut Reserva
Where It's From: Cava/Penedes, Spain
The Grapes: 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada, 15% Xarel-lo
Alcohol: 11.5%
Vintage: Non-vintage (most traditional method sparkling wine is a blend across several vintages to maintain a "house style" from year to year. That way a too hot or too cool year won't throw off the flavors in the wine)
Price: $11.99

Color: When you evaluate what Cava looks like, you need to look not just at color, but also at the bead or bubble. This wine was a nice pale straw color with a tinge of green -- a good hallmark that it would be pretty high in acid from the looks of it. A great thing for sparkling wine -- especially when it's Brut, or very dry. The bead was small and continuous, it went on and on. Good stuff!

Smell: For some reason whenever I smell Cava I always get a hint of what reminds me of a pencil. I've had Macabeo and Xarel-lo on their own and don't get an overwhelming sensation of #2 from either of those so it's either the mix of the three grapes together or Parellada. Who knows? The wine also smelled like lime, green, fresh cut herbs, and a little bit of outdoor-after-it-rains-in-a-meadow grassiness (but not like Sauvignon Blanc, where it's in your face). Very subtle and it smelled refreshing. Smelling it made my mouth water.

Taste: This is a very light Cava and very true to the smell. It had a citrusy, lime scent and tasted a little like chewing on a pencil, in a good way. It was super refreshing and bright. This is summer sipper for the hot weather if ever there was one but be careful, it goes down easy. Even with a little lower alcohol than you may be used to (most wines are around 12.5% - 14%), this can still do a number on you the next day if you chug it (not that I have personal experience or anything).

Pairing: A common misnomer is that sparkling wine is just for sipping. Although it's awesome for that, it's a damn good match for light food too. Flaky white fish, salads, and mild cheeses are fabulous with Cava. It was a great accompaniment to my tomato, mozzarella, and avocado salad (dressed with a little olive oil, salt, and balsamic vinegar).

Drink or Down the Sink?: For $12 this is a DRINK all day long. My only criticism of the wine is that it's a little light. That said, it's a great bottle of wine for the price, one you can easily bring to someone's house if you're going for dinner or drinks, and something I'll be swilling all summer long!

Before I sign off... I want to dedicate this post to my friend and client, Barbara Hughes. Hope this answers your questions on Cava and makes your trip there extra special!!!

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 017 The Grape Mini-Series, Installment 1: Sauvignon Blanc

FINALLY -- we are back in action after the move from hell and the inability to locate the microphone in the face of it all!!! So, hopefully this 'cast will be a hit!

In homage to the great TV trend of the 1980s, M.C. Ice and I begin a mini-series on the big grapes from around the world. We're moving beyond Grape of the Week to go in depth on the wine major league that you ask the most questions about. This week's episode is on Sauvignon Blanc, just in time for the warm summer weather!!

BTW-- you HAVE to listen to this 'cast. M.C. Ice and I had a "Muffin Moment" just like when Betty White hosted SNL. If you haven't seen that clip, please watch this...hilarious.

Show Notes:

Mea Culpa -- we forgot shout outs (let's face it, we're lucky we found the microphone post our big move)! We'll be sure to double up next week!

Main Topic -Sauvignon Blanc

1. The Sauvignon Blanc grape, its origins, flavor profile, and why methoxypyrazines and cat pee aren't such bad things in this grape.
2. We then drilled down into the main regions that produce Sauvignon Blanc and talk about differences in styles:

• Sancerre/Pouilly- Fume for minerally wines that strip the enamel off your teeth (but are delicious)
• Napa, California for a softer, floral style, sometimes with an oaky twist
• Marlborough, New Zealand, for excellent grapefruit flavors, acid, and even a jalapeno kick
• Bordeaux for a softer blend with Semillon and Muscadelle, and the sweet wines of Sauternes
• South Africa and Chile for styles in between the ones we already talked about

Please leave us your feedback at the Wine for Normal People blog, on the Wine For Normal People Facebook Page, and on Twitter @normalwine

Episode 017 -- The Grape Mini-Series Installment 1:
Sauvignon Blanc

To listen, download the podcast from the iTunes store (and if you like it please add a comment or rate it so we can make sure to stay on the radar, which helps other folks find us easily that would be great!), click the link above, or use the player below! Thanks for listening!

Podcast Powered By Podbean