It Starts With A Grape

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Many people are not yet familiar with the tannat grape.  It got its start in the South West of France, but you could say it got its big break in Uruguay, where it is now one of the most widely planted grapes. This dark beauty in particular opens with a nose of dark chocolate, toasty vanilla, and a hint of baked pineapple. Its super deep, inky color only builds anticipation until it hits your lips, where it delivers a hefty dose of dark cassis. Soon there after follows thick molasses, and dried prunes, with a touch of black olives. Its finish is one of intense oak and mild sweet tobacco. Overall, in case you haven’t gathered, this is one very dark, inky wine and would stand up  nicely to smoked foul. Don’t even try it with anything light, you wont even taste the food.

I was driving down Route 20 in Sheridan New York about a week ago, and around there, its wine country. I heard news a while back that there was a new winery in town, but until recently I haven’t had the time to stop in. Well it just so happened that I had about a half hour to kill, and what better way to spend it than stopping in for a taste?

Upon entering the tasting and sales room, which though of modern design was absolutely beautiful, I was greeted by a friendly voice from behind the tasting bar, who turned out to be Beth, the owners daughter. I have to say even though the decor displays a fairly high level of sophistication, the mood is definitely relaxed, my kind of place. (more…)

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I wish i could tell you exactly what grapes went into making this refreshing Portuguese white, but the most I could find on its contents was its made with white varietals native to the Beiras region in Portugal. That being said…it is an enticing shade of golden hay, with interestingly thick, long legs. There’s fresh granny smith apples on the nose, accompanied by prickly pear, hay, thyme and white pepper. Right off the bat it fills your mouth with its creamy texture, but transitions quickly to a more mineralistic, crisp white. It showcases flavors of red tea, papaya and fresh squeezed lemon, with a finish made of slate and lemongrass. I would recommend that you don’t serve this one super chilled, it was only once that it came down in temp a little that it really opened up. This peculiar white would pair famously with hearty white fish in a light lemon and herb sauce, or simply done crab legs with lemon-butter sauce and a side of rice pilaf.

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From the Languedoc region in France comes this terrifically blended red, consisting of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Carignan. It opens with a nose of blackberry jam, blueberries, and mild oak, with subtle aromas of roasted green peppers. Its medium-heavy in body, and a deep shade of cranberry in color. Plenty of blueberry carries over to the palate, along with a surprisingly fair amount of oak, given its subtle presence in the bouquet. It has an interesting layer of earth to it, reminiscent of a wet decaying tree covered in moss, but in a good way, if you can imagine that. Though i could see it standing up well to something as heavy and simple as grilled steak, I think it would be better suited paired along side grilled pork in a medium-sweet/savory tomato based sauce.

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Cotes Du Rhone (Coat-do-rone) is traditionally a blend made of any of the fallowing grapes: Syrah, Grenache, Mourverde, and Carignan. Its called Cotes Du Rhone because of where its grown in France, as is the case with the majority of French wines. This particular Cotes Du Rhone, Saint Esprit, is made up of 75% Syrah, and 25% Greanche. Its a beautiful deep shade of garnet, and opens with a nose of black cherry and tart plumb. Fallowed by light smokey oak and just a hint of cinnamon. With a medium body, its tannins are silky smooth, but maintain enough oomph to give it a fair amount of backbone. Flavors of juicy raspberry and an array of black fruit glide over your taste-buds, moving you gracefully into a finish of soft, smooth oak finish. This is one very well balanced red, that would lend itself well to a number of foods, or could be drunk on its own. Broiled, juicy steak in a garlic sauce with a side of herb-ed red mashed potatoes comes to mind, but it would go just as well with a mild cheese. One word of caution with this wine, I would recommend either decanting it or just giving it a while to open up in your glass, the tannins and acidity were a little much the first time around, but they calm down fairly quickly when aerated.

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frugally yours,

It Starts With a Grape