Wines For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction

The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame will induct new members on April 14, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio.  It's the 27th annual induction ceremony, the 27th time rock fans get to yell "It's about time!" or "Where's KISS?"  With all that shouting, we're going to need something to soothe our nerves.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the 2012 inductees and pair a wine with each.  Our pals over at the excellent rock music blog 30 Days Out have had this post up for a while now, with some tasty pics and music attached.

Performer category:

Beastie Boys
If you're singing along with “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” it's a good bet you're doing jello shots or drinking beer from a glass with quarters at the bottom.  The Beastie Boys' blend of funky rock, rap and hip hop need not be reserved for the lesser beverages.  In fact, Beastie Mike D has dabbled a bit at wine criticism.  Not surprisingly, he likes wine with a bit of funk.  Root around a bit in the Côtes du Rhône aisle and pop for a Châteauneuf-du-Pape.  You should be able to find a wine that brings enough funk to get a party started without fisticuffs.
 
Donovan
Donovan's music is poetry, a delicate flower at one turn, a handful of psychedelics at the next.  His lyrics abound with references to wine, including a lovefest for the "maroon-coloured wine from the vineyards of Charlemagne."  Sounds like a Burgundy is about to be opened.  Bonneau du Martray should do nicely,  from the Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru.  You may want to select a white wine, as Charlemagne's wife is said to have preferred her royal hubby not mess his beard with the red stuff.  You are probably a much neater drinker than Charlemagne, though.

Guns N' Roses
In the mid-1980s, when Guns N' Roses exploded from L.A. with a balls-out Sunset Strip strut and an Appetite For Destruction, they redecorated a rock and roll landscape that had become rather tired and listless.  G 'N' R offered up a brashness which made other acts seem like they were mailing it in.  You may be tempted to go with a beer for them - a cheap one, in a bottle you can hurl at something - but California has a wine worthy of the Guns N' Roses brand of excess in old vine Zinfandel.  Both winemaker Joel Peterson and his Ravenswood Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel are brash enough for rock and roll.

Laura Nyro
If any one of these inductees screamed for a wine pairing, it would have to be Laura Nyro.  It was, after all, she who suggested we go "down by the grapevine, drink my daddy's wine."  She also suggested "there'll be lots of time and wine,"  but, sadly, her time ran out.  Lift a toast to her with Schramsberg's 2008 Brut Rosé.  It's complex and dry and will fit with anything you bring to a Stoned Soul Picnic.

Red Hot Chili Peppers
BloodSugarSexMagik would be a good name for a wine, if the Red Hot Chili Peppers hadn't already claimed it as their own.  Their funky guitar rock and throbbing sexuality certainly puts one in the mood for a glass of something nice to pair with their spicy gastronominal moniker.  Chili peppers call for something a little on the sweet side, like a nice Spätlese Riesling.  Dr. Loosen' Mosel-Saar-Ruwer efforts in that vein should provide enough ripe fruit sweetness to offset the power of the pepper.

The Small Faces/Faces
This dual-identity entry is remembered more for their hard-rocking, hard-living '70s style than their mod '60s diminutive version.  Rough and rowdy, never afraid to let the rough edges show, The Faces have Tannat written all over them.  Choose a varietal selection from Madiran for that swagger, or pick one blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to dress up the palate like a skinny tie on a sharkskin suit.

Early Influence

Freddie King
The electric blues master known as the Texas Cannonball, Freddie King left his fingerprints all over rock and roll.  He was a huge influence on anybody who ever picked up a guitar and intended to do some damage with it.  So affected by his entire persona, Grand Funk shouted him out in one of their big hits.  Mr. King deserves a vintage Port, full-bodied and luscious, with a whiff of smoke to reference the dance halls and pool rooms of Texas, where the blues is still the king.

Ahmet Ertegun (non performer) Award

The Ahmet Ertegun Award goes to the late Don Kirshner, a songwriter and song seller who played a big part in shaping the pop music side of rock and pioneered the maturation of televised rock concerts.  For good or for bad, he was the creative fire in the hole for The Monkees and The Archies.  Kirshner's wine should be a commercial success - natch - and should carry its years well.  Mouton Cadet is a best-seller from Bordeaux, so you can expect good things from it with age.  It's easy on the pocketbook, too.  A bottle of the current vintage will probably set you back less than a Monkees Greatest Hits CD.

The Award For Musical Excellence

You might not recognize his name, but Cosimo Matassa's New Orleans recording studio was the place from which many great rock hits of the '50s burst forth.  Matassa eschewed gimmicks and audio manipulation, preferring to let the music speak for itself.  The winemaking hasn't changed much at Lopez de Heredia since the 1800s - they didn't like gimmicks and manipulation then, and they still don't.  Their 1991 Viña Tondonia Tinto Gran Reserva is pure Rioja elegance.

As a scientist, Tom Dowd worked on the Manhattan Project that gave us the atom bomb.  As a recording engineer, he worked at the Atlantic Records console and gave us Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers.  Both sides of his career packed a whallop.  Would a fruit bomb be out of place here?  How about a warm-climate Syrah with plenty of depth under all that fruit?  Andrew Murray's 2008 McGinley Vinyard Syrah comes from the hot microclimate of Santa Barbara County's Happy Canyon - and it is the bomb.

British recording engineer and producer Glyn Johns helped nuance storm out of the speakers with acts as diverse as Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Joan Armatrading and The Who.  He could coax a heartfelt ballad out of the recording session as well as bring the thunder and lightning right through those gold-plated wires.  Merlot here, with a silky, mellow side playing counterpoint to the rock and roll smoke and leather notes.




This article ran originally on the excellent music site 30 Days Out.


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EXPLORING BEAUJOLAIS: BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES

Jadot's Beaujolais Villages 2010 is labeled as red Burgundy wine, even though the Beaujolais region is its own appellation.  Beaujolais is situated in both Burgundy and the Rhône, and  the Beaujolais Villages region is located in the southern Beaujolais, near Lyons, between the Beaujolais appellation and the Crus.  Beaujolais Villages is a little more Burgundian in its terroir.  The soils are mostly granitic. 

The Jadot maison was founded in 1859 and bears the founder's name.  It's customary in Burgundy for winemakers to work with single varieties, and Jadot follows that plan.  They utilize Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in their Burgundian bottlings and Gamay grapes for their Beaujolais wines.

Commenting upon the Jadot methodology in the vineyards, their website exclaims,  "we have, for the past 20 years, banished all use of synthetic products (fertilisers, herbicides, etc) on our vineyards soils and have taken up traditional practices instead.  Our work is done either by tractor or, for the most inaccessible vineyards, by horse.  We don't work our soil deeply but prefer to concentrate on surface actions in order to preserve its innate structure.  We encourage our vines to grow their roots in such a way as to enable them to mine the soil's minerality.  This allows them to fight disease naturally and more efficiently."

Jadot's 2010 Beaujolais Villages is a wine which is available widely in the U.S., at price points well under the $20 mark.

The nose offers an aromatic fruitiness, with cherries and strawberries in the forefront.  Rich ruby hued, the wine is not dark.  Light passes through easily.  The palate shows the same red fruit with the mark of minerals on it.  The tannins are subdued - elegant, if you will - and the acidity is wonderful.  It's very easy to drink, at 13% abv, and is quite light on the palate.

Pairing the Jadot Beaujolais Villages with cheese is a natural.  If you pick up a bottle at Trader Joe's, grab some Madrigal cheese to go with it.  Light meats will also pair quite well with it.

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ALL THE WINE IN CHINA

While Wine Spectator reports that Burgundy is replacing Bordeaux as the most sought-after wine in Chinese auctions, one Chinese man is bringing California Cabernet to the party.

France has a 47% market share of bottled wine imports in China, so selling California wine to a nation enthralled with French wine may seem like a tall order.  The Wall Street Journal says former NBA star and Chinese legend Yao Ming feels up to the task.

Yao Family Wines is being launched solely for the Chinese market.  Made by Napa Valley winemaker Tom Hinde, the Yao Cabernet will sell for the equivalent of $289 American, per bottle.  Yao aims to put California wine on a higher plane in China, but despite his fame there, it won't be a slam dunk.  Wine from the United States currently ranks sixth in Chinese imports, behind France, Australia, Italy, Spain and Chile.  

Yao does not own any vineyards presently, so the grapes will be sourced for his line.  He does, however, have plans to purchase some Napa Valley land in the near future.

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LE JARDIN DE CHARLOTTE BOURGOGNE PINOT NOIR 2007

Domaine 547 is a boutique wine store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.  I don't know why it took me so long to check it out, but I'm glad I did.  All the choices seemed to be the kind that are hand-selected by a careful owner, not just product stacked on the shelves.  The store seems to always have one of L.A.'s ubiquitous food trucks parked outside during tastings, and they don't seem to mind if you bring your eats inside while you shop.  The day I was there, LudoTruck was serving on the side street.  Quite a crowd was inside the store, lounging in the open area, noshing and talking.

As usual, I wanted everything I saw.  Fortunately, Denise helped me whittle the choices down to one Bourgogne Pinot Noir that caught her eye.

Le Jardin de Charlotte carries an alcohol level of only 12.5%.  It cost $18, if I remember correctly.

The nose is abundant with fruit - blackberry, blueberry and mostly plum, but an earthy quality frames the fruit and a streak of spice runs through it.  It tastes of earth even more significantly than on the nose.  Plums dominate the fruit of the palate, but the minerality supersedes it completely.  It’s definitely not a "fruit-forward" wine.  The extreme earthiness may not be everyone's delight - I wasn't that taken with it while merely sipping.  Pair it with food, though, and it kicks into high gear.  I had it with figs from the Santa Monica Farmers' Market and a mild Alsatian cheese from the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills.  It was delicious with both, triple that for all three combined.

LOUIS JADOT CHARDONNAY MACON-VILLAGES 2008

Since the maison's founding in1859, Louis Jadot has been a well-respected name in Burgundy.  Producing a number of different Chardonnay wines - and red wine, of course - the house of Jadot is one of the largest wine producers in the region.

This white Burgundy wine is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes grown in the Mâcon-Villages area in Burgundy's Mâconnais region.  The alcohol level is 12.5% abv.  This wine was purchased at Trader Joe's for $12, if memory serves me.

The wine is colored very lightly in the glass.  There is a funky little nose unchilled, which is diminished only slightly when chilled.  Herbal, spicy aromas join a restrained citrus note in the bouquet.  This white Burgundy is clean and crisp on the palate, with a nice acidity and a somewhat tart taste of lemon zest that plays big on the palate and even bigger on the finish.  Did I mention the minerals?  They show up by the truckload, as the the chalky soil of the Mâconnais is on display.

Naiades Bodegas Naia 2005

Spanish wines always seem to amaze me.  I see images of smallish vines growing out of clumps of dusty rocks set about 10 feet apart from each other so there will be enough water for them all.  It seems a miracle that they grow at all, let alone produce fruit from which such wonderful wine is made.  I purchased this wine at a Spanish wine tasting event at Santa Clarita's All Corked Up some time ago.  I ran across my notes and thought I'd post it here because I loved it so much.

The bottle is a relatively big and clunky Burgundy-style container.  The label tells us the wine is from the Rueda region in northwest Spain.   It's 100% Verdejo from vines that are 90 years old, and sold at this event for $23, although it usually runs a bit more in stores.

Naiades has a golden-green tint in the glass, it's really a beautiful wine.  The citrus on the nose is a mixed plate of lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit.  There is a strong scent of minerals in there, too.

On the palate, it's mainly a grapefruit show, but not in an overpowering way.  That's good for me, as I'm not a huge fan of grapefruit.  There's enough peach, pear and even honeysuckle coming through to make it a lively and varied taste, and the minerality keeps things crisp and fresh.  It's not a favorite wine of mine for sipping, but pair this with a woven wheat cracker and some of that strong Danish Castella cheese from Trader Joe's, and it absolutely rocks.  I'm sure seafood of all sorts would find this a good mate, too.

Acquisition disclaimer:  Purchased by the author at a discounted price during a tasting event. 

Domaine de Valmoissine 2007

My wife and I were out and about, flitting from one Sunday chore to another.  A lot of people find it tedious to spend a Sunday shopping - at the grocery.  We manage to get endless enjoyment from the simple things we do.  I got a great deal on a California Zinfandel in the wine department, and was sending out a message about it on Twitter (@randyfuller1, in case you're interested.)  My wife found me and asked what I was doing.  "Tweeting about this Ravenswood," I answered.  She rolled her eyes and began searching for the perfect pineapple.

Later we drove to the Westside and stopped into a discount wine place that is actually located in a storage facility.  Yeah, they've got a roll-up front door.  They also have some great prices.  And no, not everything my wife and I do has to do with wine.  She bought plenty of non-wine things at Ralph's.

Anyway, by the sheer fluke of timing we ran into a couple we know.  They were also wine shopping at this little place, and we enjoyed our brief visit at the checkout stand.  Nicolas is very knowledgeable about wine, and we made dinner plans and talked about the purchases he was making.  They left, and we went in, me asking my wife what she thought we should buy.  "Get that French wine Nicolas was buying."  To cut a long story off at the point probably just after you doze off, we did.  To no one's surprise, it was a good choice.

The Bottle:  A classic Burgundy bottle contains a Pinot Noir from the Vin de Pays des Côteaux de Verdun appellation.  After tasting it, I feel this is under billed as a "red table wine."  13.5% abv.  I purchased this at a Los Angeles discount shop for the pittance of $10.  A steal.

The Nose:  There's a lovely purple color with a red tint at the edges.  A sniff of the glass reveals a dark and earthy nose.  Quite a wonderful cherry fragrance.  My wife and I collaborated on the nose and decided it was cherries and blackberries on the forest floor, trod upon, with some wet stones thrown in for substance.

The Taste:  Soft tannins and a very well-rounded feel in the mouth make this wine feel right at home on the palate.  The fruit is right up front and loaded with ripe flavors of cherry and berries.  It's a very smooth wine.

Tasting Notes: Chamisal Vineyards Stainless Chardonnay 2008

The Bottle: A slim Burgundy bottle belies the wine inside. No big, fat, overblown Chardonnay bottle here. This lean, unoaked wine gets a container that's lean, too. Chamisal Vineyards - formerly Domaine Alfred - is in California's Central Coast appellation, near San Luis Obispo and Edna Valley, home to some very fine white wines. The abv on the label states 14.1%. I'm ready for the pure taste of Chardonnay.

The Nose: Pure fruit, no oak at all. This is a really beautiful smelling wine. Apples seem to dominate for me, but there's a tropical or citrus angle at play, too. The aromas are quite vibrant, giving me the impression the taste will be amazingly fruity.

The Taste: Apples, then peaches, then a zippy, zesty flavor on the finish give my taste buds an E-ticket ride. The acidity is quite nice; not overwhelming, but definitely able to handle some swordfish or cod. The finish is rather lengthy, and the clean, crisp minerals linger after the fruit has finally faded.