Unfiltered, Unfined

In Europe, delineation of terroir has been a two-millennium exercise. Southern hemisphere commercial winemaking has only hit its stride in the past few decades, and obviously much work remains to be done. But the territories involved in the south are so vast and widely separated that significant regional differences have already evolved. Thus, some trends and generalizations are now evident.

…while seeking out wine thrills may pay my bills, it’s actually much more interesting bringing wines to your attention that are not only delicious but also fun. But what is fun about wine other than a reasonable price per bottle and some vinous complexity and food-friendliness in the glass? While many top wines are also great at the table, one doesn’t need to spend an arm and a leg to procure meal-worthy juice. In fact, in order for the beverage to blend into the meal perhaps the opposite might be true.

Wine has been with us since the early days of civilization. In some ways wine is a shorthand for culture itself, and it is always a profitable use of time to review the tried-and-true. So I thought I’d put together a list of wines I’ve recently tried that will work with various elements of traditional holiday feasts.

The holidays are indeed upon us, and I’ve already received a lot of questions just like yours, asking advice on sparkling wine where food is an integral part of the query. Perhaps this is because we tend to most associate the season with traditional smells and tastes. That’s certainly true this year as well, but the currently shaky economy has also led us to seek value over luxury, even in celebration.

In the next month I’ll be traveling to various places in American wine country, part of the annual extravaganza that public relations/marketing firms put on during what’s known in the business as O-N-D (October-November-December). This past week I was in central California attending the Paso Robles Wine Country Buyers’ Tour, organized by Paso Robles Wine (www.pasowine.com). Not only did I learn a lot about the region, but I tasted a bunch of great wines that won’t necessarily break the bank.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about sustainability in farming. As the world’s climate continues to change, the idea of wine farmed in a way that leaves something for future generations continues to gain traction. This point was brought home to me about a week ago, when I attended a dinner at the Meritage restaurant in the Omni Interlocken hotel that featured sustainably-produced wines from Spain. All of the bottles came from Giuliana Imports, a Denver-based importer run by longtime industry veteran Steve Lewis, and the food was prepared by Omni Executive Chef David Harker and Meritage chef Mario Clapes.

Opportunities often run in streaks. A perfect example in my business are the months of September, October and November, when representatives of public relations firms and wineries tour the world to make sure their products are in the front-brain of their clients, the restaurateurs, liquor store owners and employees who actually sell to the consumer. This procession of lunches, dinners and barbecues has become an expected part of my year-end routine, and I use these opportunities to taste wines that may be right for my audience, which is of course you.

I had no sooner penned a column on red dessert wines (see Consumer’s Corner #4) than I received several emails asking for recommendations on how to pick other, non-red stickies. Upon reflection, this may be an easier task because there’s a surfeit of wonderfully sweet white wines now available.

From: Terry
Subject: Recommendations for a Sweet Red Wine
My dad is a brandy drinker. He’s decided to give it up for a sweet red wine of some kind. Problem is, he doesn’t know what to buy. I told him I knew a famous wine expert I could ask for a recommendation.
What should I tell him?

Hi Terry:
So what did the famous wine expert say? Just kidding. Thanks for the vote of confidence. Here are my three easy rules for successfully enjoying sweet red wines:

First Rule: Don’t Be Afraid to Think Outside the Box.

Last week I wrote about how much I enjoyed wine festivals (see Wine and Food Festivals). But festivals are only a small part of the wine lifestyle. There are many other areas of wine culture, basic areas of enjoyment that most aficionados of the grape would consider part of the package. This week’s installment is about informal gatherings with friends, events which often include shared meals. Such gatherings are ubiquitous in life. They’re also probably why wine and food have become so intricately linked, not only to each other but also to what it means to be human.