The Loire Valley is a pastoral land of magnificent chateaux and humble goat cheese makers. The range of wines made across its 250 mile expanse is just as dramatic: sparkling and still, dry and sweet, and everything from almost-clear Muscadet to deep purple Chinon. There’s a wine here for almost every taste, and our new Loire Sampler showcases the impressive range of wines from the region.
Sommeliers often tell us of their search for a by-the-glass Chardonnay to please everyone. Chardonnay is both easy to like and ubiquitous, but the styles range widely from soft and buttery to crisp and mineral. “A glass of Chardonnay” can mean a dozen things to a dozen people.
Sparkling wine is one of the world’s great culinary innovations. Who deserves credit remains unsettled. Is it the monks of Limoux, who mark 1531 as the genesis? Or the Champenois, who in turning a “fault” into a feature certainly won the publicity war? Or perhaps the Brits, who invented glass bottles thick enough to contain the pressure, and who by the numbers enjoy it more than anyone else?
Gevrey-Chambertin is the largest appellation of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or. And because of its clay rich soils, its wines are of a similarly grand scale. Known for power and longevity, Gevrey-Chambertin often shows dark, intense fruit and a sturdy tannic structure.
The Languedoc is the world’s largest wine producing region, with over 700,000 acres of vines. The region traces its winegrowing history back to 125 BC, making it one of the oldest as well. For many years it has been known for abundant, cheap, and largely uninteresting wine.
“Minerality” is a hard word to define. It appears throughout the wine world, but nobody can quite say exactly what it is. Last year wine writer Lettie Teague called it “a helpful word to describe wines that aren’t fruity, spicy, or herbal.” That’s still a bit vague, but it’s a good start.
For a universally crowd-pleasing red, it’s hard to beat Côtes du Rhône. Guests with New World leanings will appreciate the richness and full flavor. Those with Old World inclinations will appreciate the balance and traditional style. (Your great aunt who likes drugstore merlot might turn up her nose, but you weren’t going to please her anyway.)
In Burgundy, Grand Cru is as good as it gets. Making up just the top 1.3% of wines produced, these are the finest wines Burgundy has to offer. Their correspondingly high prices mean that most wine drinkers enjoy them only occasionally, if at all.
As recent temperatures rival the equities markets for precipitousness of decline, the bottles on our dinner table continue to come from more southerly appellations. Cold weather calls for rich wines, usually made in the lower half of France, and from grapes such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre.
The year is 1895. The United States number 44, and the president is Grover Cleveland. J Edgar Hoover and Babe Ruth are born, and inventor George Selden receives a patent for the automobile. Across the ocean in France (then a six-day crossing by boat), a vineyard of grenache is planted just outside Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
Some of the best values in Burgundy are from towns just off the beaten path. Last week we wrote about St-Aubin, a hidden gem up the valley that stretches west between Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. This week we’re focusing on another valley about 5 miles to the north, which features the town of Auxey-Duresses.
We’re finally getting a dose of real winter here in New England. With cascades of wind and snow hitting the coast this week, we’re opening bottles from a bit further south, in an attempt to channel a bit of that clear Provençal sun.
Some wines are meant for occasions — wines you’ve picked out specially, on which you’ve spent a bit extra, and for which you’re waiting until the perfect moment. With Burgundy representing half of our portfolio, we have no shortage of these back-of-the-cellar bottles.
Americans don’t drink enough sparkling wine. By restricting its use to special occasions, we ignore its many other capabilities: a classy way to welcome guests, a gentle start to a meal, or a versatile pairing with an enormous range of foods. The French are more apt to treat sparkling wine as just that — a wine that sparkles, to be enjoyed like any other.
“How do you find your winemakers?” is probably the most common question we’re asked. The best answer is that we trust the locals whenever we can. Sometimes this means recommendations from vignerons we already work with; sometimes it is customers with vineyard connections. But our favorite source is often the local wine list.