When people
are looking for something interesting in wine I commonly turn them on to a
different varietal—a grape they never heard of—perhaps Friulano or Aglianico.
It’s also fun to suggest wines from unexpected places—and some real treasures
can be found.
Looking for
bubbly? An obvious choice is one from New Mexico. Yes, New Mexico. Gilbert
Gruet, a successful Champagne producer from France, was vacationing in the
American Southwest with his family in 1983 when he happened on some European
winemakers who had planted successful vineyards near the town of Truth or
Consequences, New Mexico. He stayed, planted a vineyard at 4300 feet, and
released his first bottle of Brut in 1989. The rest, as they say, is history.
His sparkling wines rival those from California and France, often selling for a
lot more. For about $15.00, you can enjoy his wide array of sparklers, and I
guarantee you’ll be amazed at the quality.
Looking for
an interesting white? If you are looking for a match to go with your asparagus
soup and chicken with anchovies, it is not easy, as these foods release a
chemical which can make wine taste a bit metallic. You’ll find your answer in
the Austrian section. Gruner Veltliner is probably the most food friendly white
wine on earth and goes with almost everything. Fresh and bright with beautiful
minerality and acidity, these are wonderful wines. Nigl makes a really nice one
for $21.99, but Berger makes a one liter bottle with a crown cap that is a really
great value at $12.99.
There are a
couple of really interesting whites that’ll make you look really smart when you
bring them to dinner. Malvasia Bianco is a very aromatic, minerally dry white
that is round and full bodied with wonderful flavors of stone fruits. You can
find it in Italy, Greece, and various other countries, but one I really like
comes from that other country you must be thinking of. Yes—Slovenia. Rojac
Malvazija (Malvasia in Slovenian) is delicious at $18.99.
Now let’s do
an exotic grape and an unusual place! The Royal Tokaji Company from
Hungary is well known for its dessert wine, which I will describe in a few
paragraphs. However, they make a mineral driven dry white from the Furmint
grape that has aromas of lime and gooseberry and similar flavors on the palate
with a little smoke and pear thrown in. It sells for $16.99.
Looking for
a new red to go with that game bird, stew, or roast? Naturally, I would look at
Lebanon. Chateau Musar was founded in 1930 in the Bekaa Valley where
viniculture has flourished since biblical times. Fifty-odd vintages have been
produced with the occasional interruption by gunfire and bombs (actually I’m
not kidding here). The Hochar is a single vineyard wine that is an unusual blend
of Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, and Grenache. There are wonderful
flavors of sour cherry, plum, and earth supported by supple tannins in a medium
body. It is a tasty wine that tells a great story priced at $30.00. There is
another great wine made by Slovenia’s Rojac that would fit the bill. Refosco
(Rofosk) is a rare grape found in parts of Italy and Slovenia that makes a
medium-bodied, spicy, racy wine with lots of red fruit and earth for $18.99.
Finally, as
winter approaches, dessert wines can become more interesting. Ice wines (Eisvein)
are famous in Germany, where the grapes are allowed to freeze on the vine. They
are then crushed, releasing the ice, resulting in extremely concentrated sweet
wines. The other place these wines reach their zenith is, of all places, the
Niagara Penninsula of Ontario, Canada. Here the grape varietal is Vidal, and
the wines are extraordinary, with flavors of nuts, rich stone fruits, and
caramel, with a beautiful underlying acidity. Inniskillin is probably the most
famous, but a half bottle will set you back $55.00. Jackson-Triggs is a very
good alternative at half the price. Probably the most famous dessert wines are
the botrytized wines from Sauternes in Bordeaux. Here, sauvignon Blanc and
Semillon grapes are infected with a fungus known as “noble rot” and they shrivel
to look like raisins. The sugars and flavors become dramatically concentrated,
and the resulting wines are incredibly sweet and complex with acidities to keep
them from being cloying. Hungary’s famous Royal Tokaji Aszu is a great example
of this type of wine and is not as pricey. The quality is measured in
“puttonyos” and the three puttonyos costs about $22.99 while the six (highest)
costs about $47.99 for 500 ml bottles. That may sound expensive, but this is
about half the price of Sauternes.
Wine seems
to be produced everywhere. I’ve enjoyed local wines in Zimbabwe, Morroco,
Mexico, and Switzerland as well as many states in the U.S. Having barbecue
tonight? How about a good Texas Zinfandel?
Cheers!
