The Wine Curmudgeon

Roses: The good, the best, and the better

If it’s summer and you have $10, you can buy a pretty good rose – and sometimes even get change back. In fact, this may be the best rose season in memory. The Wine Curmudgeon can’t remember when he has seen more quality pink wine at an affordable price.

For some reason, the slowing economy and the weak dollar, which have pushed up a variety of other wine prices, haven’t done the same for rose. In addition, the “rose is hip, so let’s charge $20 a bottle” trend, which has been big the past couple of summers, seems to be running out of steam. There are still pink wines that cost that much, but the focus has returned to where it should be – quality stuff for $15 and much less.

Wine of the week: Rene Barbier Mediterranean White NV

My specialty is $10 wine, but even I'm surprised when I find quality wine for much less than $10. Below that price, producers are more concerned with profit margins than with quality, and much-sub $10 wine tastes like it. The reds are harsh and raw, and the whites are green and unripe. The alternative is sugaring the wine to mask those flavors, and that brings unpleasantness all its own.

Which is why I was stunned to find the Barbier ($4.99 at World Market) during my research for a $6 wine story that will run in the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth next week. It's terrific -- clean and crisp, with lemon, some minerality and a floral aroma. It’s made with the same grapes used in Spanish sparkling wine like Cristalino, though it tastes quite different. Serve it as a porch sipper or with anything made with garlic and parsley. It will also pair well with Fourth of July grilled chicken. One caveat: Make sure it's well chilled. The warmer the wine gets, the thinner and less interesting it tastes.

Technorati Tags: wine reviews,white wine,Rene Barbier,wine of the week,Spanish wine

Fourth of July wine

Wine on the Fourth of July, you ask? And the Wine Curmudgeon asks, why not? What pairs better with barbecue, grilled chicken and other July 4-style foods?

Here are three wines that will go with whatever is on your Independence Day Menu:

Pairing wine with fast food

One of the most common questions I get in my Cordon Bleu classes is whether wine can be paired with fast food. This usually comes from students, trying to be wise guys, who do not yet realize that the Wine Curmudgeon is all knowing and all powerful in the classroom.

Actually, I welcome the question. Showing how to pair wine with a Big Mac (think inexpensive California merlot, with some tannins and acid but lots of blueberry fruit) helps demystify the subject for the students. It also helps change their way of thinking, since most don't realize that wine is something to drink every day, and just not on special occasions.

Wine of the week: Solaz Blanco 2007

The Wine Curmudgeon has a closet full of free wine, samples from producers who want me to try their stuff and write about it. But I use my money to buy Solaz -- and a lot of it. And why is that?

Because it's cheap, around $7. And it's well-made. And it tastes good. What more can a wine drinker ask for?

Solaz, as regular visitors here know, is the wonderfully inexpensive wine brand from Spain's Osborne, one of my favorite producers. The various red blends have long been in the $10 Wine Hall of Fame, and the white has been in a couple of years. It's made from the viura grape, a mostly Spanish varietal that produces clean, crisp and floral wines with just a bit of apple fruit. Serve this chilled with salads (I had it the other night with a chef's salad with Russian dressing), Mediterranean food like hummus or bulgur salad, or on its own.

Technorati Tags: Solaz Blanco,Osborne,Spanish wine,$10 wine,cheap wine,white wine

A handy guide to wine regions, part I

This is the first of two parts looking at ways to decipher the world's wine regions without making your head hurt. The second part will run on Monday.

One of the most difficult concepts to get across about wine is the idea of wine regions. You can get someone to acknowledge  that wine is different depending on where it's from, but understanding that it is something else entirely. And I won't even mention there are more than 3,200 wine regions in the world.

Yes, they'll say, they realize cabernet sauvignon is different from merlot which is different from chardonnay. But doesn't all French wine (or California wine or whatever) taste the same?

No, it doesn't. But given how complicated wine regions can be -- Quick: Name the sub-AVAs within the Sonoma AVA -- and it's easy to see why people give up in confusion.

Which is why the Wine Curmudgeon exists. Wine geography does not have to be a barrier to buying and enjoying wine. It's helpful to know that the Rhone is divided into north and south, but not essential.

Wine of the week: Torreoria 2006

People often ask how I can tell whether a wine is good, especially inexpensive wines. And the best answer I can give is to paraphrase Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart, who was discussing obscenity: "I know it when I see it."

And, literally, that's what happens. I take a sip, and I know. The quality of the wine does all the work. That was the case with this $8 red, a tempranillo from the Utiel-Requena region of Valencia, which is hardly Spain's best known wine area. But this is one of the best cheap wines I've had in a long time. It's not as sophisticated as a Rioja, even an inexpensive one. And the cherry fruit was a bit muted and it was a little too vanilla-y. But this is nitpicking. I paired it with grilled Cornish hen, and it worked like a charm. This wine is a terrific value, and is almost certain to enter the $10 Hall of Fame in 2009.

Technorati Tags: Torreoria,tempranillo,$10 wine,cheap wine

Wine of the week: Freixenet Cava Brut Rosé NV

Freixenet, once one of the best cheap Spanish cavas, has been more or less a grocery store wine in the past several years. Brands like Cristalino, Perfect and Extra offer more bang for the same or even less bucks.

So when I saw this during my New Year's bubbly expedition, I picked it up. It was $8 -- certainly worth a try. I'm glad I did. This was dry and bubbly, but with a subtle red berry fruitiness that comes out the longer the bottle is open. It's not as rough as the Freixenet Brut, but it still has that distinctive cava tightness. Highly recommended, either for sipping on its own or with salads and even seafood.

Technorati Tags: cava,sparkling wine,Freixenet

The 2008 $10 Wine Hall of Fame

Take a peek at the upper left hand corner, and you'll find the new Hall of Fame. What makes a Hall of Fame wine? There’s not necessarily a precise explanation. It’s better than it should be, and it’s consistent from year to year, just like more expensive wines with better reputations. That’s one reason wines have been dropped from the Hall of Fame, and several were this year.

Several other notes:

• These wines are generally available in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so I don't have to get involved in the Two Buck Chuck debate. There are no Trader Joe's in this part of the country.

• I am not enamored of Yellow Tail, which doesn't rise above the level of grocery store wine. They may represent good value, but they aren't Hall of Fame wines.

• I’m still searching for that terrific $10 Argentine malbec. Most of the malbec I’ve tasted in this country is $15 or so; good wines, certainly, but not eligible for the Hall of Fame.

• And there is no pinot noir in the U.S. for less than $10 that is Hall worthy. The French labels like Red Bicyclette and Lulu B are easy to drink, but not especially pinot like. And most of the $10 U.S. I have tasted has some varietal character, but almost nothing else.

Sparkling wine for New Year's

Keep three things in mind when you're picking sparkling wine and champagne for New Year’s Eve. 

First, there is plenty of quality wine from places other than France, especially from the New World, Spain and Italy. There is also plenty of quality wine from France that isn't the same old stuff. Please, please try something other than Veuve Clicquot and Nicolas Feuillatte. 

Second, vintage isn't especially important. NV on the label stands for non-vintage – that is, the grapes used to make the wine come from several years instead of just one. It’s a common practice, even for the most expensive brands, to ensure quality. 

Third, only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France can be called champagne, thanks to a 2005 trade agreement (though some California brands, like Korbel, are grandfathered in). But if the label says methode champenoise or méthode traditionelle, it was made in the Champagne style 

And cost? There is more than acceptable bubbly at almost every price, and even some expensive wines are good values.