WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Syrah? You bet Shiraz!

See, for that to sound right, the way I meant it, it needs to be spoken, or thought, with a long “A” sound. Like “spazz”, “razmatazz”, or “Fran”, like Fran Drescher. In fact, imagine Fran Drescher speaking it. “Syrah? You bet Shiraz!” Good. Now that we’re on the same page, I’ll continue.

This week it’s one of my favorite red wine varietals. To review what we’ve learned from my previous newsletters, Syrah is the same as Shiraz. Shiraz got its name from its original home, the city Shiraz in Persia, which is now modern-day Iran. Knowing that, technically it should be more of a mystery why people call it Syrah. Traditionally, only Australian and African wine growing regions called it Shiraz, but marketing moves in other regions have been capitalizing on the reputation of those regions and using Shiraz on labels instead of Syrah. To make things even more confusing, some of the regions that traditionally use the word Shiraz, now sometimes call it Syrah. If only we could make it a hemispheric thing. North gets Syrah, South gets Shiraz. The only real difference is 7 points in a Scrabble game.

Sometimes you hear people refer to it as “Sheerah”, a blend of the two words, which is entiely wrong and usually only occurs after drinking too much of that “Sheerah”. (She-Ra is the warrior princess counterpart of He-Man. She is not a grape, but may be as strong and full-bodied as some wines I’ve had.)

At any rate, it’s mostly the same juice, grown in differerent regions. Every place has different growing conditions, and every winemaker has a different way of doing things, so not every Syrah/Shiraz (Sheerah) is the same. I’ve thrown together a great cross-section of different Syrahs/Shirazzes from around the world. Ravenswood, an American producer we all know and love, has flown across the ocean to produce an Australian Shiraz that I just had to try (If for nothing else, for the Kangaroos on the label in place of the Ravens.) Also featured are examples of the American wine regions, as well as the traditional French Syrah region Crozes-Hermitage of the Northern Rhone, and the not-so-traditional Spanish Syrah of Mallorca.

Are they all good? You bet Shiraz!

So Friday, June 25th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Sheerah! Warrior Wine Grape of the World!
Ravenswood 2002 Vintner’s Blend Shiraz, Australia
Graffigna 2001 “G” Syrah Don Santiago, Tullum Valley, Argentina
Willow Crest 2001 Syrah, Yakima Valley, Washington
Seven Sinners 2002 Syrah, Incahouts-Paso Robles, California
Jezebel 2002 Syrah, Columbia Valley, Oregon

The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
Finca Son Bordils 2000 Syrah, Mallorca, Spain
Jaboulet 1999 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert, Northern Rhone, France

Next week is Northwest White Wines!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Portland Current Conditions: Hot.
Tomorrow’s Forecast: Really Hot.
Wines At Carpe Vinum Tomorrow: White, Chilled, Cool and Refreshing!

Yes, tomorrow I’ll be pouring a whole slew of refreshing, summery white wines, selected from around the world, in a stunning cross section of wonderful varietals and blends. It appears to be just in time, considering the rising mercury. I mean, we haven’t seen weather like this since.. .well, since March. . .but it’s been a very odd year.

Now, we know it isn’t hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. That’s a myth. It is, however, possible to fry an egg on the hood of a car on days like today. I wouldn’t recommend it, as it’s bad for the car, and not so good for the egg considering the cleanliness of most cars. But for the sake of arguement, say you cleaned your car really well, and buttered up the hood nicely, and made sure to use a plastic spatula to avoid scratching up the paint job. . .it would, theoretically, be possible to fry and egg worthy of eating on the hood of your car.

And which of these wines would be the best pairing for car-hood-fried-egg? Quite honestly, I haven’t had wine with breakfast before, barring maybe a mimosa (bubbly-sparkly wine with O.J.). And what luck! I have a bubbly in here (Trevisiol Prosecco) that would make a great mimosa, although it works just fine on its own. Of course, there are a few other egg dishes that may be served with wine: Quiche, for example. I would say with all certainty, though, that it would be difficult, if not impossible to make a quiche on a car hood. Should someone prove me wrong, I would serve that with Pinot Blanc, a wine also in the tasting (Walnut City).

Vehicular cusine aside, all of these wines are just what we need to escape the heat, and I’ll keep them chilled here all night! I’ll also have the air conditioning cranked all day to keep everyone as cool as a car hood in Canada. (I mean really far North in Canada. . .Y’know. Where it’s really cold. . .I know. . .Lousy joke.)

So Friday, June 18th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Summery CHILLED Whites!
Trevisiol NV Prosecco, Veneto, Italy
El Coto 2002 Blanco, Rioja, Spain
Walnut City Wineworks 2002 Pinot Blanc, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Jean Leon Terrasola 2002 Muscat/Parellada, Catalunya, Spain
McManis 2003 Viognier, River Junction, California

The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
J. Christopher 2002 Sauvignon Blanc, Croft Vineyard, Oregon
Sineann 2003 Pinot Gris Wyeast Vineyard, Hood River Valley, Oregon

Next week is Syrah/Shiraz!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Now onto some more of my favorite wines in the world! The French Rhone! Throwing together a tasting of these fine gems could almost be done blindly, since there are so many great Rhone wines out there. Although the focus here is on the Cotes du Rhones, and the Villages, I couldn’t help visiting some of my favorite regions within the Rhone: Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas. I don’t think I’ve ever found a Chateauneuf that I din’t like, and I really haven’t had very many Gigondas, but loved every one.  For this tasting, I thought I might do something a little different and try a WHITE Chateauneuf.

As for the educational aspect of the newsletter, the Rhone region has 23 different grape varieties available to be used in any one wine, in any different combination. Some grapes are white and some are red. The white wine styles use the same grapes as for the red. Chateauneuf du Pape has allowed only 13 different grapes into its blend, and again, in any different combination. This makes for quite a variation in styles all over the map. And all tasty. Certainly a good answer to the blah weather here in Portland. I think I’ll have some wine and take a little nap.

Now as an extra bonus for this tasting, and something I’ve been thinking about doing for some time, is adding a “Sweet Pour”. I thought, since every region has their own desert wine, and since they tend to be a bit too far off the map to include in the regular tasting, A Super Sweet Bonus Premium Bonus Thingy might be in order for a little dessert with your flight. This week, I’m adding the Muscat de Beaumes de Venice, the best known Rhone sweet wine, if not the only one. There’s also a screwcap wine in the collection here that I just had to add to show that even the French are starting to use them too. Viva la Revolution!

So Friday, June 11th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Rhone, Rhone, Rhone Your Boat!
Saint Cosme 2001 Cotes du Rhone Blanc
La Vielle Ferme 2002 Costieres de Nimes
Cave de Cairanne 2001 Cotes du Rhone Villages, Cairanne “La Laune”
La Font du Vent 2002 Cotes du Rhone
Domaine de Durban 2000 Cotes du Rhone Villages, Beaumes de Venice

The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
Vieux Mas des Papes 2002 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc
Domaine de Cassan 2001 Gigondas

The Super-Special Dessert Pour:
Domaine Beaumairic 2002 Muscat Beaume de Venice

A good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.
Also, $4 for the Super-Special Sweet Bonus pour!
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next week is Summer Whites!
M

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

We’re flying back to Spain again for the Friday flights. Why? Because it’s good! And there is tremendous value in Spain about now, as the wine industry spreads its roots. This means now it’s a good deal, but I imagine demand will push the prices up, just like Walla Walla, and even down home here in the Willamette Valley. So let’s explore while it’s cheap!

So in the past I’ve done Spanish tastings. Right, now that we have that established, as most of you already knew that, I feel that all the wines included were good, although some had very surprising (even better) results. I’ve always enjoyed the dark horse in the running: the great winning wine that pops up from nowhere. Or at least it comes from nowhere you recognize. We’re going that direction again. I’ve found a list of the official wine regions of Spain, and checked to see which ones we haven’t tasted here, yet. (Rioja, of course, was out of the running after the second week this shop was open.) We all know Rioja. Yawn. . .what else ya got. . .?

So out of the 50-or-so official wine regions in Spain, I have only served 11. That opens up a world of opportunity for this tasting. (Or at least a world the size of Spain.) It kind of hurts me to not be pouring a Ribera del Duero, as it is one of my favorite Spanish regions, but look what we get instead: The Txakoli de Guetaria region with the wine Txakoli Txomin Etxaniz 2003 Txomin Etxaniz! It’s got more eXes and Zees that a traditional Science Fiction planet name. Imagine the Scrabble score! (It’s actually a Basque wine region, and the “TX” parts of the names make a “Ch” sound.)

With the exception of the white Albarino of Rias Baixas and the aforementioned unpronounceable Basque wine (also white), most wine regions I am featuring here have the Grenache grape as one of the majority grapes. (Think of Southern Rhone). Another good point of note is that the second of the Premium Pours, is one of the highly-esteemed Priorato wines! (What Amarone is to Italy, is what Priorato is to Spain. . .in reputation, not stylistic winemaking.) It’s a monster, and I worked extra hard to get it in there, just because they’re that good. The primary grape variety is Cabernet Sauvignon in that one. Also of mention is the Domino de Tarres which was #67 on the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines last year with 90 Points. With all that excitement, see what else we got!

So Friday, June 4th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Dark Horses of Spain!
Vina Nora 2002 Albarino, Rias Baixas
Domino de Aranleon 1999 Reserve, Utiel-Requena
Camparron 1999 Crianza, Toro
Domino de Tarres 2001 Mencia, Bierzo
Guelbenzu 2001 Azul, Ribera del Queiles, Navarra

The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
Txakoli Txomin Etxaniz 2003 Txomin Etxaniz, Txakoli de Guetaria
Alvaro Palacios 2001 Les Terrasses, Priorato

Next week is Mmmmm. . .Wines of the French Rhone!

M