Italian Sparkling Wine

Sparkling wine is too often relegated to "special occasions," due in part to its festive appearance and in part to its sometimes hefty price tag. This is a splashy and affordable bubbly that can be used to celebrate every day, regardless of its special nature. After all, every day is special and should be greeted as such.

Italy's alpine Trento DOC is a sparkling wine region in Trentino. Rotari, along with Ferrari and Cavit, are one of the larger producers in Trentino. They use the traditional method of making wine bubbly - Metodo Classico - and conduct a second fermentation in the bottle. There, the wine ages for 24 months. This Brut is vintage dated 2013.

It’s a Blanc de Blancs, meaning it’s made from 100% Chardonnay grapes grown in the Dolomites area, "in the shadow of the Italian Alps." It has alcohol at the sparkling standard of 12.5% abv and sells for under $20.

This Italian sparkler has bubbles for days. Well, at least for the good part of a minute. The pour produces a white, frothy head that looks like it won't dissipate, although it eventually does. The nose and palate both evoke crisp apples and the acidity is as fresh as the proverbial daisy. The toast note is more like a good piece of sandwich bread or boule. It paired well with my wife’s delicious autumn vegetable soup and a crusty bread.


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Somm Tips

101 Cider House: India Pale Cider

We had a hankering for some healthy food recently - yes, that does happen now and zin - so we went to one of the longest-running vegan food restaurants in Los Angeles, Real Food Daily. It features a menu full of items you’d find in many restaurants, but they are made meatless, eggless and usually anything but tasteless. There are lots of soy-based products to take the place of meat in dishes like lasagna, tacos, tuna salad and barbecue. Yes, meatless barbecue. Welcome to Los Angeles.

I broke the water tradition I usually employ at RFD and went with an alcoholic beverage to pair with my La-La lasagna. It was a hard cider from L.A. suburb Westlake Village. 101 Cider House uses "apples and quince grown up and down the 101" freeway that runs along the California coast like a fault line.

The version I had - they make a handful of different varieties, all sour - was called India Pale Cider and is dry-hopped. It hits 6.9% abv on the alcohol scale.

It’s a cloudy yellow - the probiotics, I'm told - with a quickly dissipating head. The nose is fruity and crisp, with a strong sense of apples. It is reminiscent of Prosecco or Albarino, except with a more floral element. It's super dry, very refreshing and loaded with citrus, apples and hops. There is also a lovely, dry finish.


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Pushy Central Coast Syrah

Winemaker Randall Grahm notes on the Bonny Doon Le Pousseur label that Syrah's aroma will stay with you a long time. "One will wander the world till the end of one’s days," he writes, "its sublime, haunting fragrance gradually displacing all thoughts and memories, including the knowledge of one’s own name." I don’t see myself getting quite that carried away, but I will admit to a slightly stunned and displaced look on my face as I sniffed Grahm’s Central Coast Zahir-apparent. That is, a little more stunned and displaced than I usually look.

What does "Le Pousseur" mean, en Francais? Grahm writes a bit about the feminine qualities of Syrah, the grape's elegance. However, "le" is a masculine article. When I looked it up, a translating website said "Le Pousseur" means, "the pusher." The label art makes me think of the Steppenwolf song by that name. I delved deeper. "Tugboat?" "Bulldozer?" "Booster rocket?" That’s some fairly masculine imagery right there.

As far as the wine goes, it is well-mannered, to be sure, but it does not strike me as elegant. In fact, Le Pousseur uses hands of steel to wield Grahm’s trademark savoriness for the purpose of blunt force trauma. Which is a good thing, and accounts for that slightly stunned and displaced look.

The grapes for the 2013 Le Pousseur came from three cool-climate Central Coast vineyards: 63% from Santa Maria's Bien Nacido Vineyard, 34% from San Luis Obispo County's Alamo Creek Vineyard and 3% from Ventana Vineyard in the Arroyo Seco AVA. These vineyards each bring an earthy element of their terroir to the wine, a rich, mineral-laden display that makes wine savory. And, for my money, makes wine great.

The wine's notes explain that Grahm likens this Syrah to a northern Rhône offering, specifically one from the Saint-Joseph region. Rhône ambassador Christophe Tassan calls the wines of Saint-Joseph "gutsy, rugged, demanding by nature." In this regard, the comparison is on the money. A "pushy" wine? Maybe so. It certainly has plenty to push. Le Pousseur hits a modest 13.5% abv and sells for $26

The wine is dark, as in black, and the nose is savory. There is dark fruit, yes - plums, blackberries, etc. But there are black olives and dirt and rocks and licorice and spices all competing for attention. The palate brings a smooth mouthful of minerals and acidity to the taste buds. It’s a deep and moody wine that "will not be ignored" and calls for similar food to be paired with it. Lamb chops are recommended, and I'll go with that.


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L.A. Producer Up For "Winery Of Year"

Wine Movie: "A Year In Port"

When I see a picture of a vineyard in France, Italy, or Spain I may not recognize it as such. A vineyard in Portugal, or anything in Portugal for that matter, is unmistakably Portuguese. David Kennard's movie, "A Year in Port" brings that point home solidly. The camera work captures the innate beauty of Portugal perfectly in some scenes, while displaying its lovely capriciousness in others.

Following "A Year in Burgundy" and "A Year in Champagne," this film makes a wonderful trilogy of wine movies. It presents the feeling of Port wine as well as the tradition of it.

While opening on the activity in the coastal city of Porto, where Port wine is blended and marketed, the film quickly moves into the valley of the River Douro, where Port wine is grown. That starts about a hundred miles away and goes all the way to Spain. There, we get to see how young winegrowers are trying to carve out a place for themselves by growing, and making, table wines instead of Port.

The movie shows that the way Port is made is so expensive that young winemakers can't hope to get a foot in the door. The blends involve barrels that are as much as a hundred years old. These upstarts are putting their future into table wines. This makes a way for them to get into business, but it also means lower prices for the growers in a region where it is very expensive to grow and harvest grapes.

Is the future of the Douro Valley in Port, or is it in table wines? The Port producers are certainly trying to hold onto their traditions - and market share - while debating whether table wines are the wave of the future. It's an "old world" versus "new world" battle unfolding within the same small wine region.

The movie is definitely worth a view for anyone who has an interest in Port, or for anyone who has an interest in how tradition adapts itself to the future.

:A Year in Port"is also available as a trilogy with the other two companion films. iTunes is offering the trio for a special price of $14.99, which I assume will go away at some point. Find it here.


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Battle Of The Buzz: Booze Looks To Stifle Pot

Single-Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

The Owsley Single Block Pinot Noir 2014 is the latest in Sonoma-Cutrer's Winemaker's Release Series. It's an estate bottled, Russian River Valley Pinot that has alcohol at 14.3% abv - a little lofty for my Pinot money - and retails for $50.

Sonoma-Cutrer notes that their Director of Winemaking, Mick Schroeter, "wanted to explore the effect on the wine if you controlled all of the terroir elements while applying unique winemaking practices." He opted to refine the single-vineyard selection to a single block of grapes within a vineyard. The terroir of the Russian River Valley is well-known to Pinot lovers. That marine layer that rolls in almost daily keeps the region cool, the way Pinot Noir likes it. The grapes come from the K Top block, which they say is the lowest-yielding block of the ten that make up the 90-acre estate.

The wine was fermented three different ways - oak tank, stainless steel tank and new French oak barrels. The winery says of their wood that the oak has been under their control since they first sourced it from the Gauthier family three decades ago.

The barrel aging for this wine was done in one-third each new, once-used, and twice-used French oak. The wines sit for 16 months, then are blended. Another eight months of bottle-aging follows.

This Pinot is Sonoma, to be sure. It is rich, with a nose displaying blueberries, chocolate, tea bags and anise. The palate is full with a sincere acidity on the dark fruit, sweet spice and leathery notes. I want to call it brawny, but that would be going a step too far. There is certainly an undeniable strength, but also a gentle elegance that keeps the muscle in check.

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Spanish Wine: Albariño

The Spanish Albariño grape is the reigning king of varieties in the country’s Rias Baixas region. Related to the Alsatian Riesling grape, Albariño makes a white wine that usually offers a nice touch of sweetness amid a ton of citrus minerality.

The wine’s importer notes that Bodega Don Olegario was started some 60 years ago in the place that Albariño calls home.  Don Olegario is a 12-acre single vineyard with vines averaging 30-years of age growing in granitic, sandy soil that drains well. It is one of only a few single estates in Rías Baixas, where vineyard land is often divided among hundreds of growers. The growing is sustainable and harvesting is done by hand. The grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks.

The wine sells in most places online for under $20 and has a well-restrained alcohol content of only 13% abv.

This 2015 Albariño pours up pretty in the glass - yellow-gold and a touch of bubbles. The bubbly sensation doesn't last too long, but it's festive while it’s there. The nose brings some citrus - of course - and a smattering of stone fruit and ripe apples. In the mouth, the magic really begins. The acidity is razor-sharp and a complete delight. The bottle should come with a dozen oysters. Flavors of apples and Meyer lemons grace the palate and you simply don't run out of minerals. There's a lot to like here, and it lasts long beyond the sip.


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Booze Spending

A Marriage Of Malbec And Tannat

Sitting in companionship with the varietal Malbec and Tannat Troon wines, the 2013 Troon Black Label MT Reserve puts the two together.  The wine is a co-ferment of 55.67% Malbec and 44.33% Tannat. Those specifics come from Troon Vineyards' general Manager Craig Camp, who calls it  "a true marriage of these two complementary varieties."  He says they indicate a new path for winemaking at Troon, "including natural yeast and malolactic fermentations and minimal use of new oak."

The two grape varieties make Camp think of Cahors and Madiran, and the "black wines" that come from those French regions. They work together as well as they do separately. This wine has an alcohol content of 13.7% abv and retails for $50.

The Troon Black Label MT Reserve is dark and foreboding, not just in its blackish color but in its nose and palate. The aromas are savory and earthy; campfire smoke, baseball glove, cedar chest and Kalamata olives chase the blackberry smells around the glass. As for the flavors, black fruit, spices and licorice dominate. A healthy whack of tannins and a vibrant acidity make for some excitement in the mouth. The experience is not soon forgotten, as a lengthy and savory finish just won't go away.

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Wine Snobs

IPA At The Museum

Here's a really good IPA from the desert, where they know a thing or two about refreshing beverages.

The Coachella Valley Brewing Company makes the Monumentous IPA, a West Coast-style India Pale Ale, double rye and 7% abv.

I had it from the bottle at Ray’s and Stark at LACMA, the perfect aperitif for the Guillermo del Toro exhibit. The Thousand Palms product would serve well on the hottest low desert days. It has a nice head, frothy and a piney, hoppy nose that shows elements of caramel, although they are very faint. The hops come from the Pacific northwest and New Zealand.

It went well with my tomato and fruit salad, but also fit in with the fries and aioli from the other side of the table.

By the way, the name of the beer references the Joshua Tree National Monument nearby.


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Moruno: Spanish Wine, Food And A Little SBC Vermouth

"Get something you've never tried before," said my wife as we scanned the wine list at Moruno, the Spanish restaurant in L.A.'s Original Farmers Market. It’s a great place, with delightful Spanish dishes and an adventurous wine list that leans heavily in the Iberian direction.

Since most of the plates we get there are new to me, it makes sense to go with a grape that’s under my radar as well. Hondarribi Beltza, f’rinstance. I have heard of Hondarribi's white counterpart, but was unfamiliar with the red version. It comes from a place called Bizkaiko.

Located in Spain's Basque Country, on the nation’s north coast, the Bizkaiko Txakolina region is a collection of more than 80 little communities all growing wine grapes. They make Txakoli wine largely from the white Hondarrabi Zuri grape. This wine is made from the less common red grape, Hondarribi Beltza, grown primarily in the coastal town of Bakio.

Gorrondona Bizkaiko Txakolina Hondarribi Beltza 2015

The waitress at Moruno offered the red Basque wine, and I could not resist. The wine's nose brings dark fruit layered with black olive and bell pepper. Its palate is just as savory, with some earthy blackberry in the balance.

The red Txakoli wine was great with the artichokes a la plancha - salty, caramelized exterior with a tender inner.  The music that was playing in the restaurant during our meal got high praise from my wife - big Eddie Kendricks fan.

But Wait, There's More...

I hate to relegate this to a postscript, but I asked for a taste of a vermouth that Moruno has on the menu. It's made by Steve Clifton of Lompoc's Palmina Wines and comes in both red and white. It's on tap in the restaurant from five-gallon kegs. The label images come from Palmina's Twitter feed.

The organic Vermina vermouth is a collaboration between Clifton and L.A. restaurateur David Rosoff. It’s part of Rosoff’s effort to bring European bistro dining to Southern California. Clifton reportedly digs around himself in Santa Barbara County to find the herbs he uses in the vermouth. According to the L.A. Weekly, the white vermouth is a blend of pinot grigio and malvasia wines, while the  red vermouth adds a touch of Sangiovese for its color.

It has a nose of violets and botanicals and shows wonderful freshness on the palate with a strawberry flavor that is carried along by the slightly medicinal notes of the botanicals.


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Urban Vineyard

Wine Book: A Perfect Score

There is a wine book available for those who like to immerse themselves in the written word about the subject. And who doesn't? A Perfect Score by Craig and Kathryn Hall traces their 20-year path from amateur winemakers to the recipients of the celebrated 100-point score from Robert Parker's "The Wine Advocate." The hit the magic number twice, in fact, in 2013 and 2015.

The book is subtitled as "The Art, Soul, and Business of a 21st-Century Winery," and their tale encompasses all those aspects, with an emphasis on the business end. After all, a book touting your 100-point wines is not written as a matter of idle chatter. It's written to raise awareness of the winery through one the use of the best-possible "shelf talkers."

The Napa-Valley couple both come from the business world, but Kathryn's family has roots in Mendocino wine. The HALL wines are Bordeaux varieties, while the WALT line covers the Burgundy grapes of California's cooler regions. Their wine shops are bursting forth with highly-rated bottles from both sides of the vineyard fence.

In A Perfect Score, the Halls give a breezy look at how they came to make wines that would win over the critics. They also touch upon the Napa Valley's tug-of-war between localism and tourism. That's probably one of the more interesting threads to follow as California's first great wine region still struggles through its growing pains.

Art comes into play, as the Halls use artwork to enhance the winery experience. At their St. Helena location, there is a 35-foot-tall Bunny Foo Foo sculpture greeting visitors, one of the many works of art adorning their wineries.

The book also discusses how the Halls have created a completely organic, green winery. They say their St. Helena winery was the first LEED Gold Certified Winery in California.


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Pairing Wine With Indian Food

A Red Wine For Indian Food

Which wine to pair with Indian food is always a hot topic. There's a lot of debate on the subject, with many people, myself included, usually opting for beer. And why not? Beer is just about perfect with spicy cuisine, especially India's pale lagers like Kingfisher or Taj Mahal.

Most Indian restaurants seem to recognize the challenge of pairing wine with their food and give up. Some present a thoughtful wine list full of great choices to complement the meal. In Los Angeles, Cardamom does it that way. Sommelier Stewart Prato's choices are decidedly Francophile, and they all seem to hit the intended target in the bullseye.

On my last trip there I had a Côtes du Rhône with my lamb and spinach dish. I usually go with a white  wine at an Indian restaurant because I feel they work better with spicy food. Since this dish didn't advertise a lot of heat, I tried the red. I'm glad I did.

The 2011 Domaine de la Janasse Reserve is a Grenache-heavy blend that also includes Syrah, Carignan, Mourvedre and Cinsault. Winemaker Christophe Sabon apparently put this cuvée together especially for an importer and is available only in the U.S. It is said to better than the one he sells in France, and it costs under $20 retail.

The Janasse Reserve shows a medium-deep ruby color, and delivers aromas of bright cherry, with a touch of tar and meat. Flavors of blackberry liqueur meet earth and minerals. Tannins are low and the oak is barely noticeable, musts for an Indian food pairing.


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White Wine: Mardon Quincy

The Quincy AOC of France’s Loire Valley only produces white wines. The village is located on the Cher River, which feeds into the Loire. Sancerre is close by, and so is Pouilly-Fumé, so you get the idea. There is good stuff there.

Quincy - it rhymes with "Nancy" - has been an AOC longer than any region except Châteuneuf-du-Pape. World War II interrupted viticulture in the region as the Cher River was a natural barrier between occupied and unoccupied France.  As a result, most of the vineyards were abandoned and not replanted until the 1980s.

Domaine Mardon Tres Vieilles Vignes 2014

The wine’s importer, Skurnik Wines, has this to say about the winery. "Current owner and winemaker Hélene Mardon is the 5th generation of her family to make wine in Quincy. With some of the oldest holdings in all of the Loire, they are undoubtedly the top producer in the appellation. The village of Quincy is located about 50 miles west of Sancerre on the left bank of the Cher river and has composed of more gravel and sandy river debris, yielding a particularly juicy and minerally Sauvignon Blanc. 50-80 year old vines made and aged in tank." Also, the Mardon family practices organic farming and they don’t use any herbicides. They employ only natural yeasts during fermentation

This 2014 Tres Vieilles Vignes sells for under $20 online. It hits a pretty reasonable alcohol content of 13% abv.  The wine looks pale greenish gold and has a nose of citrus and minerals. The palate shows herbal notes, grapefruit and a green quality that is very fresh.


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