Kicking Back: Argentina, Brews, and Sherry

You all know I spend a great deal of time tasting as a professional. Dissecting wines, spirits, beers, and any other beverage is just what I do. However, I also like to kick back over the weekend and simply enjoy something without thinking about it (too much). OK, fine…I taste the first mouthful critically, figure out what is going on, then savor it while watching a movie, dining out, or for nothing more than straightforward pleasure.

And what good is it if I taste these wonderful things and then not share them with you? So here we go with a run-down of everything I sampled over the weekend. It will give you something to consider when expanding your drinking horizons.

Domaine Bousquet Virgen Red Blend Mendoza

It is appropriate that I would have this wine during Lent as this Certified Organic Argentinian blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc is Vegan-Friendly (so no animal products were used during the fining process). No oak, no filtration, and no sulfites added, Virgen is packed with blackberry and blueberry fruit flavor and a slight floral/herbaceous note on the nose that complements the fruity fragrance. 14.5% ABV. $15

Firestone Walker Lager, Paso Robles, California

From the Firestone Walker website:

In the words of Brewmaster Matt Brynildson, "Firestone Lager is made for drinking, not thinking. It's about enjoying a good, clean beer."

I couldn’t agree more. When hanging with the family at the Jealous Monk, I wanted something easy to help me wash down the plate of sausage, spaetzle, pierogies, and sauerkraut I ordered for dinner. This German-style Helles has touch of malt and hint of bitterness, which is all I needed. This is a real crowd-pleaser that has lawnmower beer potential. 4.5% ABV, IBU: 17, $10/6-pack

New England Cider Company Passion Fruit Cider, Wallingford, Connecticut

There have been many times I have seen ciders from these folks, and I have passed over them wondering if it would be too sweet. Well, The Greatest Wife In The World ordered this with Fish & Chips, and it was pretty damn tasty. A sweeter cider, but not sticky or cloying at all as it was very well-balanced with a nice zing of acidity. The passion fruit flavor enhanced the fruitiness of the cider, too. Kudos to the New England Cider Company on this seasonal release! 5.2% ABV, $11/6-pack (estimated)

To close out the weekend, I revisited a wine from a recent program we did at the store with Lustau Sherry, the Almacenista José Luis González Obregón Fino del Puerto. Yes, this is a mouthful to say, but you know what? This bone dry, tangy, nutty Sherry is a perfect partner with nuts, olives, cured meats, and a range of hard cheeses. It’s also so good, the entire Lustau evening deserves a post of its own (hint, hint…). 15% ABV. $17/500mL bottle.

I Love It When A Wine Dinner Comes Together

This past Friday, I had the pleasure working with the fine folks at Flanders Fish Market on their 18th Annual Oyster & Wine Dinner. Now, I have had experience with wine dinners, but never on this level of scale; 76 hungry people were ready for not only an outstanding meal, but also a high-quality presentation about wine and aquaculture. In the 2+ years I have been writing on Flight School, it came to my attention that I never discussed just how a wine dinner gets done, so here is your chance to know what goes on behind the scenes. So here we go!

The amount of planning that goes into these dinners is astounding. In order for an event like this to be successful, planning is essential. Many questions are going to be asked internally. From the perspective of Flanders, can they justify using the large room at the restaurant? How many staff members will they have? How will they configure the tables? What will the menu be and which order will the dishes be presented? That is just a few right off the top. Then comes availability of guest speakers. Flanders has someone speak about aquaculture in general and oysters in particular. Typically, The Boss at Divine Wine has done this event, but he had a scheduling conflict, which led to me being the next man up.

With the foundation set, now comes promotion…we have to have guests! Flanders did a bunch on their end in regard to the marketing of the Oyster Dinner. It’s not just about some blanket approach to securing attendees. They are calling customers who have come to past events, but it is also great to have new faces. Email, Facebook, and simple old-school word-of-mouth all do the job fine here. Plus, the event typically takes place at the same time every year, so there’s consistency and an expectation. That’s how you get to do this eighteen years running.

Now while Flanders is running the show with food, The Boss and I are coming up with what will work for wines. A new wine comes into our inventory? Let’s see if we can sensibly have it work. What else do we already have on our shelves? What do we need to order? These are just questions that come up to just get a wine in. We also had to make some assumptions based on ingredients in the dishes and without tasting the courses ahead of time, but we did meet with both the Head Chef and General Manager to taste and discuss how the food and wine will come together.

Notes on pairing some wines with the killer menu…which I left at home, but no matter. The show still went on.

We have to take into consideration how spicy or bitter some foods will be; a wine’s sweetness or acidity can balance these factors, while tannins can amplify them and ruin the experience. With this being an oyster dinner, we also have to account for the preparation of the oyster itself; raw oysters are delicate, but still have some texture. There are also six different types of raw oysters, all of which have different flavors, so we need something to pull it all together. German Riesling with just a touch of sweetness ought to do the trick. Grilled oysters have some weight, especially with butter, so we went with a white Bordeaux blend. A rich pasta like Pappardelle and fried oysters have even more body, so we leaned New World with a Chenin Blanc from Dry Creek Vineyard.

A smoked oyster with green vegetables and pickling is a very complex grouping of flavors, so we went out of the box with a Vermentino from Corsica; Vermentino has some herbaceous flavors and aromas, but also an oily texture and can act like Sauvignon Blanc in leaner examples or Chardonnay in fuller-bodied styles. Braciole is definitely going to have a richness to it, but prosciutto and oysters liven the dish up and we have a bitter green in broccoli rabe. We are trying something a little different with Cabernet Franc, even though the obvious answer could be a Sangiovese-based Tuscan red. Cabernet Franc from Uruguay (an emerging wine region) is ripe but not too heavy on the palate. We’re giving this a try as it will make for fun discussion. Bombolonis are upscale donut holes and yuzu is a Japanese fruit that tastes like oranges and peaches had a baby together. A dessert wine from Southwest France made primarily of the honey-like Semillon ought to be outstanding with this dessert.

So…got all that? Good. Now let’s gather eight cases of wine, tasting and order sheets, and wine accessories like corkscrews and drip-stoppers and get set up for a hungry crowd of 76.

With any wine dinner I have ever done, I love starting with a sparkling aperitif wine. If you ever want to guarantee getting things off to a good start, give a crowd some bubbles, because I have never seen an unhappy face with a glass of sparkling wine. Plus, it is a great way to allow the back of the room to finish coordinating the timing of courses as well as getting that first plate ready, which was this beauty right here:

There better be a plate of raw oysters at an oyster dinner, right? Now…this was not my area of expertise, but fortunately Flanders Fish brought in a guest speaker to talk aquaculture. You can tell he is passionate about the topic, because this is the least amount of blur I could get in a picture of him schooling us all in the sustainable farming of oysters.

Atlantic oysters tend to be smaller in size, briny and taste like the sea, while Pacific oysters have a sweeter, meatier profile; I learned something new while sipping the 50 Degrees Riesling. It was also pretty awesome to discover that with each sip of the wine with a taste of each oyster, a different flavor was left behind on my palate (something the crowd confirmed as well). One pairing left a grapefruit flavor, another apricot jam-like sweetness, another amplified the saline qualities, while yet another left a minerally/stony sensation.

Now, while we are hamming it up during presentation of one plate, another is being worked on in the kitchen. It takes considerable coordination to get 76 plates out in a timely fashion. Meanwhile, my job is to keep the conversation flowing; talking wine, answering questions, and generally “filling air time” during transitions from cleanup to the next dish where possible. Also from a service standpoint at these wine dinners, I am typically served first so I can taste components of the dish with the wine. This way, I can prepare for feedback, because going through my head are these kinds of thoughts:

“…people are going to notice the rosemary with the grilled oyster right away with the wine…”

“…what happens if I taste the pasta with the Chenin Blanc on its own vs. with the fried oyster? Will we lose anything in the overall effect?”

“…the smokiness of the oyster in the salad is really enhanced by this Corsican wine. People will either love that or hate it. But it seems like the wine pairs beautifully with the salad without the oyster…made the wine taste fruity and the tarragon in the dressing popped…”

“…the Cabernet Franc fades behind the braciole…I forgot to account for the pine nuts and raisins in the stuffing…maybe Southern Italy would have worked best here with a Primitivo from Puglia…”

“…we nailed the dessert pairing…can’t wait to talk about this…”

By the way, I spoke these thoughts out loud once our attendees provided their opinions and commentary on the pairings. As the one doing the most interaction with the room, not only do I have to be prepared to speak about the wines themselves, but I have to react quickly and intelligently, make my notes, and most of all be transparent about the food and wine experience for each dish. I have to anticipate questions. I have to be prepared for which sensations will be off-putting to some that could be amazing for someone else. 76 unique palates, all picking up something different across six courses…that’s a lot of impressions being made!

Here’s another thing that I didn’t account for…acoustics of the room! I initially did not realize the folks in the back were having a hard time hearing me, so I started to move around the center of the room rather than stand up front, especially after going around the tables to see how everyone was doing; I wanted to get feedback on the fly so I could make adjustments to my presentation as necessary.

After what felt like continuous talking for three-and-a-half hours, it all came to a close and we sent 76 people home happy and feeling like they got their money’s-worth for the evening. And once everyone heads out, it’s time to clean up, gather up any leftover wine, clear away any other utensils and service items, and arrange the tables and chairs in the room back to the way it was for regular service in the restaurant.

It’s an awesome experience to present the potential of different food and wine combinations, and Friday night reminded me just how much work goes into making a wine dinner successful. I hope I was able to give you a glimpse into the preparations that go into having it all come together. Get in touch if you have any questions!

*Big thanks to Chef Liv, GM Jennaya, Mr. Paul Formica, Will (who represented Fishers Island) and the entire staff at Flanders Fish Market who busted their tails from start to finish to make the 18th Annual Oyster Dinner a memorable one.

Wines "&" Spirits "&" Beers...Oh My!

How come these letters never made it into the English language? Credit: Dr. Seuss' On Beyond Zebra

I can't get enough of the National Days of the Year Calendar. I am always amazed at what topic or category deserves our attention and awareness. There are some that are for a good cause (HIV awareness, POW/MIA Recognition) and some that are simply out there (National Crush a Can Day?). Did you know that tomorrow is National Ampersand (&) Day?

Yes! This little symbol that supposedly used to be the last letter of the alphabet has its own day. The symbol that is supposed to be "e" and "t" mashed together, where the Latin word "et" in fact means "and," is to be celebrated on September 8th every year! My goodness.

Let's have some fun today. Go ahead and give recognition to the ex-27th letter of the alphabet. Let's do this by grabbing a bottle of your favorite alcoholic beverage with a "&" on the label. Need some ideas? I have some outstanding producers for you to seek out.

Here's to you & whoever else is celebrating National Ampersand Day!

Moët & Chandon: The legendary wine you see from this Champagne house is the Dom Perignon range, but you don't have to reach for the top shelf if you don't want to. Brut Imperial will do you just fine.

Bouchard Pere & Fils: This Burgundy negociant offers a wide range of expressions from many villages throughout the region. Here in Connecticut, we have access to many of their Chardonnay wines from the Côte de Beaune region, but a white or red wine simply labeled "Bourgogne" will help you stay under $20.

Nickel & Nickel: This Napa Valley winery specialized in many single vineyard expressions. These are excellent New World wines that are going to be pricey, but they will deliver.

Cooper & Thief: These folks are capitalizing on the newest winemaking craze, aging red wine in Bourbon barrels. Of all the producers making this style of wine, I find Cooper & Thief does it best.

Wells & Young's: I didn't find many beer producers with the "&" in its name, but one thing I remember about Wells & Young's is their delicious Double Chocolate Stout.

Wray & Nephew: Their signature product is the Overproof White Rum, clocking in at an astounding 62.75% abv (125.5 Proof). It is pungent, fiery, and great in any rum-based cocktail like a traditional Daiquiri or a Mojito.

Gordon & Macphail: For 123 years, Gordon & Macphail has sought out casks from Scotch distilleries to bottle as single malts under their own labels. The portfolio is comprehensive, with non-traditional age statements and individual "vintages" dated on the labels.

The Obligatory Wine With Halloween Candy Post

It's that time of year! Get ready for (if you haven't seen them yet) the blitz of articles about pairing wine and other booze with Halloween candy.

Before I get into the meat of this topic, let me start with this: Halloween is quite the production in my neighborhood. Everyone around here understands we have a window of time to celebrate and generally just have a good time. When it's done, it's done; people have jobs to get to and life to deal with the next day. During that time, however, the neighborhood has fire pits and music. Some houses have some tasty beverages for the adults to sample while kids get the traditional range of "fun size" candies, along with a sprinkling of full-size confections from the really awesome houses.

So whether you end up enjoying Halloween with the neighborhood for a few hours, or end up coming back from trick-or-treating with the kids to knock down a beverage or two, there's always one thing to remember if you are going to pair your booze of choice with candy:

Make sure your drink is (or seems) sweeter than the candy you are eating.

I can't stress that point enough. Dry wines and light beers are going to taste very thin and harsh with just about any type of candy, whether it is fruit flavored, chocolatey, peanut buttery, or anything else. Sorry, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and many Italian white wines...you are out. IPAs and (Insert macrobrew here) Lite? So are you. High-tannin or light-bodied red wines? Brutal. Your beer and wine will just taste astringent and tart. These are all mighty fine adult beverages and I love them all...just not today.

However, there are some ways to get around this rule of thumb when it comes to drinking with candy, especially if you just don't like sweet wine or other alcoholic beverages. Sometimes playing around with flavor composition, illusions of sweetness, and texture can help make a pairing work.

Less than an hour away from home, Two Roads has always delivered on just about any beer I have had from them. The Oktoberfest is no different.

Let's start with the beer-drinkers. While most beers aren't necessarily sweet, there is a component of a brew that can give you the impression of sweetness on your palate: malt. That's right...most malty beers feel full-bodied and creamy with a caramel/chocolate/toffee flavor profile. These are all the aspects of a malty beer that can play nicely with your Twix, Kit-Kats, and Butterfingers. Newcastle Brown Ale and other English Brown Ales work nicely with these candies. Additionally, go for what is readily available at this time of year: Oktoberfest/Märzen style beers. These are a little lighter and not quite as malty as a Brown Ale, but has some of the sweet fall baking spice notes. Whether you go with the ubiquitous-but-steady Sam Adams or a local craft brewery, you can't go wrong (assuming you like the style, of course). If you prefer to steal the fruity candies like Starbursts and Skittles from your kids, try a Fruit Lambic; Lindemans tends to be the most readily available of this style and finishes sweeter than other producers.

Now, what do we do about wine? If you are not a sweet wine lover, then we need to find wines that are full-bodied, fruity, and assertive. Oaked Chardonnay does the trick with the bold, tropical fruit flavor, butterscotch and cream (the byproduct of malolactic fermentation), and sweet spices. Look no further than the outwardly named "Butter" by JaM Cellars. It's going to have all of that for about $15. Great for popping the candy corns or even milk chocolate.

Fruit-forward, full-bodied reds can work wonders with candy.

For a "dry" red, Australian Shiraz and California Zinfandel can be so ripe, full-bodied, and jammy, the wines will leave you with a sweet sensation on the finish. Yalumba Y Series Shiraz ($15) or Bogle's Old Vine Zinfandel ($10) keeps things simple and straightforward. The red fruit bomb that is the Zinfandel and the raisiny/figgy/peppery character of the Shiraz will each give you what you need for dark chocolate candy.

A little off the beaten path, but worth trying if you find it. Alvear offers terrific value with all of their products.

For the sweet wines, Port and dark chocolate has long been an essential pairing; the complexity of each feeds off of one another. You can also consider the syrupy, chocolatey, and mouthcoating Pedro Ximinez ("PX") Sherries; PX can be poured over ice cream for some serious indulgence if rummaging through Halloween candy isn't good enough. It will just overwhelm any confection you throw at it, though it will play well with a Snickers or Reese's since Sherry generally has a nutty character to it. Bodegas Alvear's Solera Cream ($18) is made with 100% PX grapes in the region of Montilla-Moriles, a production area more inland with a hotter climate than the traditional Sherry regions. As a result, the wines are less expensive.

We haven't touched on enough wine to drink with your fruity candies. Go big or go home, I say, with the Hungarian sweet wine known as Tokaji [toe-KYE]. Royal Tokaji Wine Company Red Label Tokaji is peachy, citrusy, and full of honey. There is always Ice Wine from Canada, the Finger Lakes, and Austria that are delicate, fruity, and sweet, but with plenty of acid to prevent the wine from feeling sticky sweet on your palate. Inniskillin is a well-known Canadian producer as is Nigl of Austria. If you are willing to spend $40 for a 500mL bottle, dive in (then save whatever is left in the bottle to enjoy with fruit tarts and cakes on a later date).

A mere ounce of this stuff instantly boosts the flavor of any beverage. Feel free to go inexpensive on the vodka. I won't tell.

Now, what if you are into spirits? Well, one of the easiest things you can do is hook yourself up with a flavored vodka of choice, mix with lemonade, and be on your way to gorging on Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Jolly Ranchers, and Gummi Bears/Worms/Other Creatures. One concoction we enjoy in the summer is blueberry vodka with lemonade, and honestly you can get away with that year round. Or, grab the magic Cognac and raspberry liqueur known as Chambord ($35-ish) and add that to your flavored vodka. No Twizzler stands a chance.

Here are some others you can work with as well in the spirits department: Bailey's Irish Cream and a Milky Way, El Dorado 12 Year Rum with any caramel candy (or even those banana Laffy Taffy things), and Champagne and pretzels (there will be pretzels in the candy bag, I promise you...and that's a good reason to drink Champagne).

Hey, have fun with this. I have seen some posts out there on the topic that give zero explanation as to why any of the pairings work. Hopefully, I make some sense with my line of thinking, but I would also love to hear what you enjoy with the Halloween haul. Just remember this: alcohol and sugar dehydrate you. Consume both for long periods of time without some water or other food in-between shoveling in the sweets can lead to some wretched hangovers. Enjoy the evening in moderation and, of course, be safe!

Grapegrowing and Winemaking is a Hazardous Passion

A before and after of Signorello Vineyards in Napa. The winery was destroyed by wildfires, but fortunately it sounds like vineyards are intact (Image credit: Suzanne Espinosa/Twitter)

I will admit that I have lived the month of October with tunnel vision. I often forget how loaded my fall schedule gets, both personally and professionally. However, global catastrophic natural disasters are difficult to ignore. It has been a busy hurricane season, where Puerto Rico and the Gulf Coast regions and have been hit hard and are still recovering. There have been devastating earthquakes in Mexico. Then there are the raging California wildfires that are ripped through the heart of wine country in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino, and new blazes started to the south in the Santa Cruz Mountains area.

From the viewpoint of the wine drinker, this is really difficult news to hear. Some of us have visited Napa Valley or the Russian River Valley, taken tours of wineries, and enjoyed the romantic, peaceful landscapes of the manicured vineyards. We have made mental and emotional connections to these places, so when we read about a winery being decimated or fields on fire it hurts a little.

Now...take that unsettled feeling you have and multiply it by 100 or 1,000, and you can feel the same way a winery owner does. Or a vineyard worker. Or a tasting room manager.

Frosted grapes: great for some, terrible for many.

Sometimes, we take things for granted when we go pick up that California red blend in our local wine shop. Remember, it is an agricultural product that we enjoy. Grapevines are subjected to a range of weather conditions (wet, dry, cold, hot, sunny, windy); some grapes are built for excessive heat (Grenache) or cooler tempratures (Riesling), others aren't. Rain close to harvest time can lead to diluted grapes and humid conditions can lead to moldy grapes. Springtime frosts can damage tender shoots and buds that have yet to become grapes. Early fall frosts can kill off leaves that are necessary for photosynthesis to help grapes fully ripen. The vineyard manager will watch weather reports religiously to make a decision on when to pick grapes. Even during harvest time, making sure grapes are picked in cooler temperatures is paramount to preserving a grape's refreshing acids and preventing early oxidation.

The evil little monster that destroys vineyards: Phylloxera

Vineyards are also subjected to a variety of pests and diseases. Phylloxera is the most infamous in history; it is a louse that feeds on a vine's roots and slowly kills it. The Great French Wine Blight happened in the mid-1800s thanks to these evil little SOBs. 40% of French vineyards were wiped out, crushing the economy. This led to an important discovery that French vines could be grafted onto American roots to resist phylloxera's attacks. Vineyard owners also have to deal with birds and other animals trying to eat ripe grapes.

You also have other specialty producers who need perfect or near-perfect conditions to make the wines they want to. Champagne producers want less-ripe grapes, since the high acidity in those grapes is essential in quality sparkling winemaking. Icewine producers need frozen grapes on the vines; if they don't get that, no Icewine is made. Same goes for Sauternes, the nobly rotten sweet wine region. Sauternes needs consistent cool morning mists followed by warm dry afternoons in the fall to create the environment for a benevolent mold to set into healthy grapes, which concentrates sugars. If Sauternes doesn't get this defined weather pattern, no Sauternes wine is made. If the weather is too damp for several days, the bad mold can set in. Grapes have to be discarded and the harvest is lost.

I didn't want my first post in two weeks to paint this doom and gloom picture, but the truth is that there is a lot riding on natural conditions for vineyards and wineries to have a successful vintage. There is so much to account for and some of it is completely out of a winery's control. It's a constant battle to fight pests and disease. When large-scale events like wildfires enter the picture, the situation becomes so much more stressful for the wine producer. Fortunately, over 99% of the harvests were completed prior to the outbreak of the fires, and by the way...don't let anyone tell you the 2017 harvest is tainted by smoke getting into the grapes. Your wine will be fine when it gets to the bottle.

So today, I ask you to grab a bottle of California wine and enjoy it as a way to support the folks working hard while dealing with a massive amount of chaos. Not a wine person? Try some Texas whiskey, Florida microbrew, or Puerto Rico rum. If anyone is looking for another way to help California wine country get back on its feet, my colleagues at SevenFifty have set up a GoFundMe page. Here's hoping recovery happens sooner rather than later.

What You Are Drinking For NFL Week 3

What the heck does a California middle school and Thomas Jefferson's estate have to do with football? This isn't a flashback to my history class, is it?

Let me be honest...getting adjusted to the back-to-school routine has been difficult. The combination of that plus some other classes I am working on at the store are taking up a good portion of my time. That being said, I have no excuse for not continuing to share how you can drink well when you have the window to enjoy an adult beverage. Fortunately, the football season helps write the script for me, and this week we have any easy inroad to include wine! Sunday night's matchup features the Oakland Raiders and the Washington Redskins; each city is a reasonable drive to several quality vineyards in Northern California and throughout Virginia (yes, I realize the Washington stadium is in Maryland, but whatever. It's my site).

Look, we can go to so many wineries for our choice to represent the Raiders, but understand something about this franchise. Late owner Al Davis always did things his way, and one of the things he had established in 1996 was to hold his team's summer training camp in Napa, Redwood Middle School to be exact. Yes, this is the same Napa where pristine, well-manicured vineyards that produce some of the most opulent and rich styles of wine found anywhere on earth are located. This brings me to a visit I took for my work-study trip after claiming my WSET Diploma. I never actually made a recommendation on what to taste from Cuvaison, which was one of my two winery visits. It is not easy to do, especially when my visit involved tasting a lot of different clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (which led to the different cuvées that are now the finished wines available to you for purchase) inside of a brand-spanking new facility. The options are all solid. In the end, if you have a chance to get your hands on a Cuvaison Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, you are getting a shimmering New World example of pure fruit meeting intelligent use of barrel-aging, where the wine is not overwhelmed by oakiness and woodiness.

Virginia may not be well-known nationally along the lines of the west coast regions or even New York's Finger Lakes. However, the next batch of states that includes serious winemaking and viticulture know-how includes Virginia. Need proof? You can visit any of the 17 wine trails and have yourself a very good time. But for our purposes, it is difficult to discuss wine, especially Virginian wine, without including Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was a wine-lover and President George Washington's Secretary of State. Prior to that role, he was a Minister to France; his trips to Europe opened his eyes to the world of wine, becoming quite knowledgeable to the point where he took such comprehensive notes and purchased so many wines to bring back to the United States, he helped build the President's wine cellar. Jefferson also had the dream to grow European grape varieties (the popular ones we all know and love) in the Eastern U.S. The goal never panned out before his passing, but today the Monticello wine trail might be the heartbeat of Virginia wine with the state's most popular winery of Barboursville leading the way. There is a great story on how a multi-generation Italian wine family left a lasting impact on this property's fortunes in the wine industry.

So today will be one of the few weeks I can make straight wine recommendations. No beer. No whiskey. Just great-tasting adult grape juice. Enjoy what should be another entertaining game along the lines of last week!

Cuvaison Spire Carneros Pinot Noir ($55): Carneros is one of the cooler parts of the North Coast, with fog and mist that can linger until lunchtime, before giving way to warmth and abundant sunshine. The Spire Pinot Noir offers a foil to the brute force of a football game with elegance, liveliness, and ripe fruit. All of the berry fruits are in this wine, with baking spices and a touch of cola and smoke. It will give your senses something to focus on during the commercial breaks.

Barboursville Viognier ($22): No barrels. No malolactic fermentation (the process leading to buttery/butterscotch flavors in wine). Just pure fruit expression of the aromatic white Rhône variety, with some aging on the lees to add a layer of complexity akin to fresh baked bread. With Viognier's apricot, tropical, and floral aromas, this is a great example of what Virginia is capable of and it is totally worth the price tag. Drinking this wine is like enjoying jam and bread...really easy.

Building A Case For Value

It's not that often these days where I am actively working the sales floor at the store. However in the past and when I help out on the big holidays at Divine Wine, a customer presents me the following:

"Hi! I would like to buy a case of wine, but I am not sure what I want. Can you help me?"

Yes! This is what I do. It's my livelihood. I always get excited at the opportunity to send customers home with 12 bottles of wine that (hopefully) they will enjoy with friends, family, colleagues, or just by themselves on a random Wednesday night.

Now, there is a key component to the statement above: "I am not sure what I want." In general, wine drinkers know what they like, but in this instance I get the impression that my customers are hesitant to step outside of their comfort zone. After all, they are buying a full case of wine so people are investing their hard-earned dollars in me and my recommendations. Of course if you choose to make your own choices, which you are perfectly capable of doing, I won't treat you as if you were having a touch time choosing a dozen donuts:

No matter whether you decide to choose specific wines on your own or ask me for help, I have a way for you to structure how you go about purchasing a case of wine. For today, I am focusing on the everyday/value bottles. Consider this to be the $120-$150 range when all is said and done. Keep in mind that many retailers will take anywhere from 10-20% off of a purchase of a case of wine with the ability to mix and match how you see fit. Let's dive into some things to consider when building your case from a perspective of seeking value.

Find your brands:

As much as I love to show you something from a small artisanal producer from some remote corner of France, the fact is that your larger, well-known brands will be easy to come by. Additionally, depending on the size of the retail store, their purchasing power will dictate how low they can keep prices. So you might encounter that Alamos Malbec, Blackstone Merlot, Concha y Toro Chilean red blend for a very inexpensive price already, all of which make great house wines or something you can offer a guest at a party who is looking to have something familiar. You can score some of your favorite brands for as little as $7 per bottle in some places. However...

Include some lesser-known regions and grape varieties:

Know what Corbieres is? In context of this post, who cares? Just know that some great Cinsault-based pink wine is being made here for $12.

If you are shopping at a good store offering the combination of knowledgeable and friendly customer service, chances are high that the overwhelming majority of wines on the shelves will be at minimum, drinkable and at best, very exciting. So if you see a red wine from Portugal made with Touriga Nacional for $10, grab it. A rosé from Languedoc, France made with Cinsault for $12? Get it. A South African Chenin Blanc for $10? Go for it. There are tons of examples from Italy and Spain, too. Piedmont and Tuscany get tons of love (and accompanying higher prices to match) in Italy, but Puglia, Sicily, and the Veneto regions can frequently offer you significant value. Additionally, Spain still has an incredible quality-to-price ratio, maybe the best of any country right now. There is a ton to choose from.

Find "declassified" wines from a European producer:

Naming conventions and labeling rules for wines in Europe will often refer to a geography, which is most evident in the wines of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Lets say you have a producer of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a specific wine zone in the Rhône Valley of France with a set of rules for making wine. Chances are that the same producer might make a wine from a larger area, different grape varieties than are permitted in the "Grand Vin" of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, or less stringent production rules to make a Côtes du Rhône wine, costing you a fraction of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Côtes du Rhône is a broader geographical area with more flexibility in rules for producing wines.

Another example comes from the Loire Valley. Sancerre's white wines are made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc in the Sancerre region. However, if the wine is made from vines outside of Sancerre, or don't adhere to technical aspects like vine age or yield control, then the wine might be labeled "Vin de France Sauvignon Blanc" such as the example below from Domaine de la Perriere.

Both wines are made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the same property owner, but the Sancerre is costing you $25. The one labeled Sauvignon Blanc? $10. This is a great way to go value-hunting. It might take a little digging around and a bit of research, but finding this kind of information will help save you several dollars.

Don't forget sparkling wine!

Look, we can't drink Champagne all the time, nor should Champagne and other sparkling wines only be reserved for special occasions. A bottle of bubbly as part of your case is a must-have. Best of all, you can find a fruity sparkling wine like Prosecco, or you can find Cava (Spain's sparkling wine made using Champagne's process, but with native grape varieties) can often be found at a bargain. For less than $15, you can spot one of each without a problem. Then you can pop the cork anytime you see fit, because you will have a bottle on-hand and ready to go, special occasion to celebrate, or not.

Why don't we do this...let's take some of these wines and stick them in the box. Then we'll add a few more, total it up, and you will see how you can build your mixed case of goodies to take home. Prices are approximate, and I will use 10% as the case discount as a conservative estimate. These are all wines I have tried and would recommend to anyone looking for a solid variety pack case that includes many styles of wines.

Mionetto Il Prosecco Brut, $11, a simple, easy-drink bottle of fruity sparkler, great for casual parties and Mimosas.

Fonseca Twin Vines Vinho Verde, $8, Vinho Verde is a light, low-alcohol, slightly fizzy citrusy wine from the northeastern corner of Portugal.

La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc, $10, this is the declassified Sancerre from above

Cantine Paolini Sicilia Pinot Grigio, $10, this Sicilian Pinot Grigio has some flavor to it, with melon and tropical fruit.

Tormentoso Old Vine Paarl (South Africa) Chenin Blanc, $13, try some Chenin Blanc as a Chardonnay alternative, plus a wine from South Africa. A region and a grape that deserves your love and attention.

Domaine Sainte Eugenie Corbieres Rose, $12, an unbelievably fruit-but-dry rose wine from southern France. Provence, for all of its delicate fruit and herbs that I really enjoy, does not have the fruit-forwardness of this wine.

Parolvini Barone Nero Veneto Red Blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Refosco, Malbec), $12, an interesting blend that includes the native northeastern Italian variety of Refosco, which has a leathery, violet-scented character. It plays so well with the deep, dark fruit of the other two grapes, and it's not every day you see Malbec being grown in Italy.

Azul Portugal Douro Red Blend, $11, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, and Touriga Franca. All of these grapes go into Port wines, but when vinified as a dry wine, it gives you plenty of structure and fruit with a bit of smokiness.

Domaine Bousquet Mendoza Malbec, $11, there is a proliferation of Argentine Malbecs out there, and for the money Bousquet delivers so well.

Bodegas Atalaya Almansa Laya Red Blend, $10, this is a blend of Monastrell (a powerful, dense, chewy high-alcohol red wine variety), and Garnacha Tintorera (one of the few red varieties whose pulp and juice is red also).

Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Winemaker's Red Blend, $10, an easy-drinking staple in the large Chilean Concha y Toro winery's lineup. Fresh black fruit, licorice, and a touch of green bell pepper.

Gnarly Head 1924 Lodi Red Blend, $10, an opulent, blackberry jam and raisiny wine that is very soft on the palate.

Total for the 12 wines is $128. Take 10% off, and that's $115.20. Connecticut sales tax is 6.35%, so that gets us to a grand total of $122.52. That puts us in the lower range of what I categorized above. You are getting a nice spread of regions and grape varieties in this, too. Keep in mind that I have also listed these in order of how you might want to taste them if you were to do an absurd 12-bottle flight!

Hopefully, this gives you a great starting point in building your own case, but as always you know where to find me if you have questions. Good luck!

Drinking Through Disney: Hollywood Studios Edition

In our last installment of Drinking Through Disney, we stopped in one of the countries of Epcot's World Showcase. This week, we head to a park that has almost become an afterthought in Hollywood Studios.

A lot of attractions closed since we were last here. No more Phineas & Ferb. The Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show is gone. The Honey, I Shrunk The Kids Playground disappeared, too. There was maintenance going on in other portions of the park, too. Thank goodness for the resurgence of Star Wars!

I'm not sure what it is about this typeface, but it always makes me want to drink something old-school.

That being said, there is still something about this park that is still fun for us. The Star Wars attractions are a lot of fun and Indiana Jones is still prominent. We also always make sure we get ourselves to Toy Story Midway Mania, the most fun shoot-'em-up moving arcade game ever. I also love the art deco classic movie fonts on signs throughout the park...it makes me feel like I should be having a six-Martini lunch. So before heading off to Jedi training with the little ones, what better place to stop than the Hollywood Brown Derby?

The Brown Derby's elegant, classic look with movie star caricatures hung all over the walls is the sort of place where The Greatest Wife In The World and I wondered if we should be eating here with three young children. After remembering that it is Disney World and that kids are everywhere, of course it's fine to have a fancy lunch...and booze, to boot!

A very cool place to grab a bite to eat in Hollywood Studios. It's as if you stepped back in time.

With this being Flight School and all, The Greatest Wife In The World and I each chose to go with a flight of wines. The two we requested had to be edited as the restaurant was in the midst of changing over some wines in their inventory. She went with the Sparkling Wine flight (I am not calling it a "Champagne flight" for reasons I have outlined in the past), while I went with the Belle of Hollywood Pinot Noir flight. With Taittinger Champagne and Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard no longer in the inventory, they were replaced with Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial and Skywalker Marin County Pinot Noir. No complaints from us.

The Cabernet flight was intriguing, but with duck breast and duck confit on my plate, the Pinot Noir flight was going to be a better food and wine experience.

To sum up the flight experiences on the wines' own merits, let's start with the Pinot Noir. Las Alturas was the lightest and freshest of the group. Skywalker was deep and earthy in comparison to Las Alturas. Dairyman had the deep, dark fruit of the Skywalker, but with additional layers of complexity that I was having a difficult time pinpointing. Once my duck with farro risotto came out, Las Alturas became very fruity with the duck breast and the risotto. Skywalker tasted outstanding with the duck leg confit. A whole range of baking spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom) came out in the Dairyman with the duck breast. 

The Belle of Hollywood Pinot Noir flight. From left to right: Belle Glos Las Alturas Vineyard, Skywalker, and Belle Glos Dairyman Vineyard. 

As for the sparkling wine flight, Iron Horse has always been reliable with sparkling wines coming from the cool pocket of the Russian River Valley known as Green Valley. The Celebration Cuvée is fresh, vibrant and citrusy. Rosa Regale from Banfi is one we have always liked. Its sweet strawberry flavors are great with desserts, chocolate-covered strawberries in particular, but it is also a nice way to close a meal. The Moët & Chandon Champagne has bright white peach and pear flavors with a touch of fresh-baked brioche bread.

Luke...I am your Pinot (I know...lame joke)

We have never eaten here in our many years of coming to Disney World, and this really hit the spot when we needed to get out of the heat and refuel. I encourage you to go here for either lunch or dinner and explore their extensive wine and cocktails list. We could have spent the day here, but Jedi training waits for no one.

Raise A Glass To Freedom: What To Drink On Independence Day

As you know, I spend a lot of time on this blog promoting the virtues of adult beverages from all over the world. You have seen all kinds of unique grape varieties show up in wines I want you to check out from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, South America, and all throughout Europe. There is an enormous range of spirits out there; you can find plenty of whisk(e)y and vodka from just about any country, and you know how highly I have spoken of Tequila and Gin, too. I am even trying to be good about giving beer some love here on top of all of that.

But as we approach The United States of America's 241st birthday, it's time to celebrate in style with some fine native drinks. America was founded on being bold and daring; I do that here by getting you to consider drinking something you may never have thought to seek out on your own. Yet for this celebration, I want you to stay close to home. Drink something from America with bold flavors! Chances are, those intense flavors are going to play nicely with your barbecues this long weekend. For instance...

Wine fans: drink up our classic regions like Napa Valley, which put the United States on the map for serious wine production. Live on the East Coast? Now is a good time to try something from New York or Virginia. Additionally, try one of your local wines; maybe it isn't even made from grapes. For instance, when I worked in New Jersey, blueberry and cranberry wines were very popular for casual wine lovers.

Whiskey fans: nothing is more American than Bourbon. It can't be made in any other country and call itself "Bourbon." You could even take things a step further with Rye whiskey, which was very popular way back in the Colonial days in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Not a whiskey fan, but you like spirits? There is nothing wrong with spiking your beverage with some local craft gin, rum, or vodka

Beer fans: you have more choice than ever before when it comes to craft beer. Again, seek out a local brewery, or if you want to play to the American Revolution, Sam Adams has always delivered for me when I get paralyzed by choices.

I am going to give you an option in each category and share a cocktail that we love making at this time of year. Have a friend in North Carolina or Washington state? Raise a glass to them. Have an enemy in Texas or Illinois? Raise a glass to those folks, too. Chances are that while they are driving you crazy, they are helping you stay on your toes. With that, have a safe 4th of July holiday and enjoy these beverages responsibly.

7 Moons California Red Blend ($12): I poured this at our store's 15th Anniversary Tasting and it went over incredibly well thanks to its jammy red and black fruit along touch of vanilla and spice. This is made up of seven grape varieties: Zinfandel, Merlot, Grenache, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec. It's a tasty "wine stew" that will go very well with a simple beef burger.

Russell's Reserve 10 Year Old Bourbon ($40) and 6 Year Rye ($40): Go big, or go home. Part of the Wild Turkey range, Russell's Reserve has bold flavor, spiciness and richness. The Bourbon is like caramel-coated cherries and vanilla. I enjoy the citrusy aromatic intensity of the 6 Year Rye on its own, but mixed with equal parts Regatta Ginger Beer, it is a simple cocktail to help you beat the heat.

Two Roads No Limits Hefeweizen ($8/4-pack of 16 oz cans): Some love for a Connecticut brewery! The Hefeweizen is great for the summer with just 5% abv, tropical fruit flavor and a refreshing citrus kick on the finish.

Here is the cocktail we love at this time of year: Rosé, Bourbon, and Blue, which comes from Bon Appetit's The Grilling Book, an unbelievable book I received one Father's Day that has killer food recipes and some interesting cocktails (non-alcoholic versions, too!). Even if you aren't a Bourbon fan, I will bet you anything that you will enjoy this.

Ingredients (Makes 8 cocktails):

7 Tbsp raw sugar

2 cups fresh blueberries, divided

The finished product.

2 cups freshly brewed unsweetened black tea (orange pekoe is highly recommended)

1.5 cups of fruity rosé wine (We used 90+ Cellars Languedoc rosé for $9.99, but a rosé from the Navarra region of Spain works nicely here, too. Sorry...we included something non-American.)

1 cup Bourbon (Our choice was Knob Creek 100 Proof. It's loaded with flavor and stands up to all the ingredients you will be adding)

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

8 lemon slices

Stir sugar with 7 Tbsp hot water in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved; transfer to a food processor. Add 1.5 cups blueberries and purée until smooth. Set a fine mesh strainer over a large pitcher. Strain blueberry mixture, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Add tea, rosé, Bourbon, and lemon juice. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Cut remaining blueberries in half; add to pitcher. Fill Old-Fashioned glasses (or any sturdy glasses) with ice. Divide cocktail among glasses and garnish with lemon slices.

The Obligatory "Wines To Go With Your Barbecue" Post

Memorial Day weekend has often been called the "unofficial start to summer," but something else happens over these upcoming few days. We are also told that we are at the start of "grilling season." Now, look...I will be the first to admit that I was very lazy about firing up the grill throughout winter, but with our most recent heat wave that struck at a house with no central air conditioning, cooking outside was a must in the heart of spring. For the grilling and barbecue die-hards, they are out on their decks charring animal proteins (and maybe a vegetable or two) around the clock, day after day, season after season.

With that said, Memorial Day weekend is the first one on the calendar that makes sense for larger-scale outdoor entertaining, so chances are high that you may be hosting or attending a day of boozery with gas flames or charcoal embers being your chief heat source for food preparations. Along with your choice of food, you need some fine libations to enjoy. Even though cracking open a cold beer while tending to fire is very rewarding, if you are reading this blog you are likely a wine drinker and you need some answers on what to buy for your gathering. Fortunately for you, I have some easy guidelines to follow.

Stay casual

Now is not the time to bust out the fancy luxury wine (at least, not until all your guests leave). In many cases, the larger the gathering is, the simpler the food will be. That classed growth Bordeaux isn't going with your casual foods and the subtleties of the wine will be lost. Keep things simple; there are tons of wines out there less than $20 that will deliver.

Bold is beautiful

Grilling leads to quick caramelization of food. Charred beef, pork, and chicken adds a lot of flavor intensity. If you are playing with game birds, lamb, bison, or venison, you are dealing with very strongly flavored meat. If charcoal enters the equation, then intense smoke imparts your food. If you are grilling vegetables, their sugars caramelize very easily. All of this amplified flavor calls for complementary, strongly flavored wines. Washington State wines, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, California oaked Chardonnays and Zinfandels, Chilean Carménère, and southern French white and red blends are all great options for big, bold flavors.

Consider geography/culture

Vegetarian? Don't move to Argentina.

Keep in mind that National Braai Day is September 24th! Don't lock away your barbecue after Labor Day!

Argentina is known for its beef and culture of cooking meat over open fire. South Africa is known for braai, which in Afrikaans translates to "to grill." Many parts of Australia have great weather to cook and entertain outdoors year-round. Seek out Argentine Malbec, nearly any South African wine, and Australian Shiraz

Think pink

What's great about rosé is that it can be a great unifier of many foods on the table. This holds true further if you have a lot of cold salads on the table (potato salad, pasta salad, green salad). Rosé's refreshing qualities won't overwhelm lighter foods and its fruitiness can generally stand up to any meat not named steak or lamb.

If all else fails...cheat

Sparkling wine is the easiest work-around if you don't know which direction to head in. Go with something fairly neutral in flavor like Cava or Prosecco. The bubbles and refreshment it offers acts like seltzer, which will cleanse your palate. The beauty of taking a sparkling wine means you can make plenty of cocktails, too.

So how about some choices for you? This is by no means an exhaustive list, because there are so many ways you can go. Instead, it is a way to find something to go with some of the basics that you might have on the table.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay ($14): Columbia Crest is a large brand from Washington, but I have to say if you are looking for an easy match with grilled chicken or a sturdy white fish, the buttery rich texture, tropical fruit and nuttiness will do each of those dishes justice. Keep in mind that there is an unoaked version of this that costs a few dollars less, so read your labels!

King Estate Acrobat Rosé of Pinot Noir ($14): Straightforward and fruity, you get all the red fruit in this (watermelon, strawberries, and tart cherries). This will be a versatile wine to handle white fish with a salsa or herbs on it, or even a simply seasoned salmon. Get your side dishes in, and you'll be all set with this one!

Lapostolle "Casa" Grand Selection Carménère ($15): Juicy and spicy, this Chilean red berry-scented wine has a fruity/savory finish and is a nice alternative to Merlot. A fine match with a burger!

Alexander Valley Vineyards "Temptation" Zinfandel ($13): If you are cooking something "low and slow," such as baby back ribs, pork shoulder, or even brisket, this is what I want. Jammy, peppery, and earthy flavors provide enough character to counter the smokiness of your meat.  

Thorne Clarke Milton Park Shiraz ($12): Loaded with dark plums, chocolate, and spice, there is a ton of flavor at a great value. Great with steaks and lamb chops.