The Wine Curmudgeon

Labor Day wine 2013

Labor Day means two things: The Wine Curmudgeon’s annual appearance at the Kerrville wine and music festival and a reason to write about rose.

On Saturday, the Kerrville panel will do Texas wine and cheese, and we’ll have an opportunity to see – once again – the tremendous strides the Texas wine industry has made over the past decade. Sometimes, it even surprises me. Say hello if you’re there; there’s a slight chance the ebook version of The Cheap Wine Book will be ready, so I’ll probably natter on about that as well.

So what about wine for Labor Day? These suggestions are a good place to start. The goal is wine that is food friendly and doesn’t get in the way of the holiday:

• Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc 2012 ($10, purchased, 13.9%): California-style sauvignon blanc doesn't get much better than this, and it's even more stunning at this price. The wine is varietally correct (grassy-ness and citrus), has flavors in the front, middle, and back, and is crisp and refreshing to boot. Highly recommended and a candidate for the 2014 $10 Hall of Fame.

• Bodegas Castano Monastrell Yecla ($10, purchased, 13.5%): Nicely done red made with monastrell combines New World-style red fruit with Spanish terroir -- acid and tannins to balance the fruit. Tremendous value, and a great barbecue wine.

• Cortijo III Rose 2012 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): One of the most interesting and sophisticated roses I've tasted in years, which is saying something given my enthusiasm for rose. More fruit (cranberry and watermelon playing off each other) than a traditional Spanish rose, but still not New World-ish and as dusty dry as it should be. An amazing wine that will almost certainly be in the 2014 Hall of Fame.

Finally, don’t overlook regional wine for Labor Day weekend. It’s as good a time as any to try it if you haven’t. If you have, then enjoy one of your favorites, like I will in Kerrville.

For more on Labor Day wine:
• Labor Day wine 2012
• Labor Day wine 2011
• Wine of the week: Domaine de Nizas Rose 2011
• Wine of the week: Dibon Brut Reserve NV

Fourth of July wine 2013

I'm drinking a less alcoholic, less tannic red wine because it's hot out. But I can't show my face, because that's not a manly wine choice.

It’s hot. It’s sticky. So how many of you will drink the biggest, most tannic, most alcoholic red wine possible to celebrate July 4?

Which, of course, is fine with the Wine Curmudgeon, since I believe that everyone should drink what they want, and rules be damned. But, if you don’t mind a suggestion, live dangerously. Try something lighter and, dare I say, more pleasurable – a porch wine, even. Because the only thing I ask is that wine drinkers be willing to try something different.

Which leads to these suggestion, after the jump:

Expensive wine 51: Stags' Leap Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2010

One of the the things that California winemakers rarely have to worry about is weather. It’s almost always ideal for growing grapes, and is one reason why the technical quality of California wine is the best in the world. Never a flaw, never a missed beat.

That wasn’t the case in 2010, which was unusually cool and even wet. This meant that winemakers couldn’t let the fruit stay on the vine until it ripened and then ripened some more, the process that helps produce the telltale richness and fruitiness that expensive California wine is famous for.

Some winemakers made up the difference with their bag of tricks; I’ve tasted reds and even whites with high alcohol and extracted fruit from the 2010 vintage, which wasn’t supposed to happen. But we need to get those scores, don’t we?

And then there are wines like the Stag’s Leap ($53, sample, 13.9%), which tastes like one would expect given the weather: less fruity and less rich (though, in keeping with the winery’s style, still reasonable alcohol levels). It smells like typical Napa Valley cabernet, fruity and spicy, but it doesn’t taste like it. The black fruit is subdued and the tannins are  subtle and stay well in the back. The wine lacks a red Bordeaux’s earthiness, but tasting this blind might confuse more than one person.

This is red meat wine for Father’s Day -- and especially for dads who don’t judge wine before they taste it or expect all pricey California reds to taste the same every time. Vintage difference is not necessarily a bad thing.

More about Father’s Day wine:
• Father's Day wine 2013
• Father's Day wine 2012
• Expensive wine 44: Patricia Green Yamhill County Pinot Noir 2010

Father's Day wine 2013

Periodically, someone will ask me why I do these posts. Who, they ask, buys wine for Father’s Day? My answer: Who wouldn’t buy wine for Father’s Day, especially if Dad is a wine drinker?

In this process, keep our wine gift-giving guidelines in mind -- "Don't buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like."

Some wine to get you started:

• Bonny Doon Clos de Gilroy 2010 ($18, purchased, 13.1%): Dark, earthy and spicy, with the syrah and cinsault in the blend playing off the fruitiness of the grenache. Another winner from Randall Grahm.

• Beronia Gran Reserva 2006 ($25, sample, 14%): A bigger and fruitier wine, with more vanilla, than a traditional Rioja (the red wine made with tempranillo from Spain). But it’s well done and not as New World as so many others. Plus, a terrific barbecue wine.

• Charles & Charles Rose 2012 ($10, sample, 12.9%): This is one of my favorite roses, dry but fruity, with lots of strawberry. It’s made in what can only be described as the classic New World style, and is one of the best reasons I can I think of to drink rose. And only 12.9% alcohol – take that, California.

• Maxwell Creek Sauvigon Blanc 2011 ($10, purchased: Not quite as spectacular as the 2010, but still a value and worth drinking. Look for some grassiness and citrus fruit, though the the finish is a bit short.

More about Father’s Day wine: 
• Father's Day wine 2012
• Father's Day wine 2011
• Wine of the week: Velenosi Quattro Mani 2011
• Expensive wine 40: Pio Cesare Barbaresco 2007

Memorial Day and rose 2013

The Wine Curmudgeon has bad news for those of you who go out of your way to ignore rose – the statistics say rose sales are up. Lots, even.

Wine drinkers, as part of an overall shift away from oakier, more alcoholic wines, are turning to rose. This is especially true of younger wine drinkers, who see rose for what it is – cheap, well made and food friendly.

Which offers hope for my otherwise cranky outlook. I’ve been preaching the gospel of rose for years, but rose posts are always among the blog’s worst read items. Maybe not this year, and especially not for the annual rose roundup in honor of Memorial Day and the start of summer. More, after the jump:

Expensive wine 50: Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut NV

The Wine Curmudgeon has never been able to figure out Italian sparkling wine, all those Proseccos and Astis, despite Herculean efforts from people like the Italian Wine Guy. And if those wines baffle me, you can imagine what I think of the newish sparkling moscatos, many of which are made with all the finesse of a 7-Eleven Slurpee.

Not all sparkling wine needs to taste like Champagne (long live cava!), but I appreciate the Champagne structure and style – firm, tight bubbles; a clean, long taste; and the balance between acidity and fruit.

That’s what makes the Castaldi ($21, sample, 12.5%) different from other Italian sparkling wines. It’s made with a couple of Champagne grapes (mostly chardonnay) and made using the Champagne method. The Franciacorta region, near the Swiss border, is the only area in the country where this is done.

And, as with well-made sparkling wine from Spain and elsewhere, it uses those techniques to make a terroir-driven wine. The Castaldi tastes like it comes from Italy  -- crisp, small bubbles and a bit of clean apple fruit that’s not a Champagne knockoff that oozes of caramel. Excellently done and much better than I expected.

This is Mother’s Day wine, whether for brunch on Sunday or to toast Mom for another year well done.

More about Mother's Day wine:
• Mother's Day wine 2013
• Mother's Day wine 2012
• Mother's Day wine 2011
• Wine of the week: Domaine du Tariquet Classic 2011
• Wine of the week: Casteller Brut Rose NV

Mother's Day wine 2013

Yes, you can buy Mom wine for Mother's Day. Why not? Doesn’t Mom like wine? Don’t you think she should have some? Keep the wine gift-giving guidelines in mind -- "Don't buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like," as well as these suggestions:

• Regional wine: Mom can drink local, too. St. James Pioneer Red ($11, sample, 12%) is great, cheap regional wine from Missouri. Lots of black fruit, but also earthiness and acidity. Limited availability, but there’s likely a local wine near you that will do the same thing.

• Cune Rioja Monopole Blanco ($12, purchased, 13%). The Cune Rioja Blanco is a Hall of Fame candidate, and this Spanish white is even more impressive. Terrific food wine, especially if you're tired of chardonnay, with white fruit, some white pepper and a pleasant, if shortish, finish.

• Tormaresca Chardonnay 2011 ($12, sample, 12.5%). Italian white is amazingly consistent from vintage to vintage, with lemon and apple fruit, a hint of sweetness and a sort of stony finish. Clean and well made, without any of the excess of chardonnay -- fake oak, overripe fruit -- at this price.

• Trivento Amado Sur 2011 ($14, sample, 14%). Well-done malbec blend from Argentina, with lots of sweet red fruit, a little black pepper and even a bit of citrus in the middle. Balanced, but firmly in the new world style.

More about Mother's Day wine:
• Mother's Day wine 2012
• Mother's Day wine 2011
• Wine of the week: Domaine du Tariquet Classic 2011
• Wine of the week: Casteller Brut Rose NV