| Shane's Wine Opinions |
| New World Chardonnay & Rose' Wines |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Not “ABC”, but “ATC” (All Things Chardonnay) – I am frequently
asked if there are any grape varietals that I don’t like. My usual response to
this absurd question is that “I love all of God’s children”. But the truth is that I
like some of his children regrettably more than others. Two such red-headed
step children would be Riesling and New World Chardonnay wines (not from
Burgundy). Last year I promised right here on this site to give both of them a
chance or at least a fair shake. Riesling has proved to be a work in progress; I’
ve had some successes and some miserable failures. I think I prefer the drier
ones from Australia or Alsace, France, but I have had some off-dry ones that
were pretty good too. But most of the time I find myself asking, “Okay, what’s
next?”
Then there is Chardonnay. Something happened this year with this varietal and
I completely snapped! Holy cow, what is going on in the world when I can’t wait
to go hunt down the next really cool Chardonnay wine I’ve been reading about.
Why I am actually picking up a bottle of this varietal more often than Sauvignon
Blanc these days and I would have never believed it if you had told me before.
I don’t know if it is that wineries have cut down on the Chardonnay style I found
so obnoxious over the years (Sweet tropical butter-bombs, infused with 2x4’s)
or whether I just have finally acquired a taste for them. The truth is probably
somewhere in the middle of the two theory’s. A chance tasting of Domaine
Serene’s “Cote Sud” at an Oregon Wine Tasting sparked the fire and there
have been many others like Chateau Montelena, Chateau St. Jean, Kistler,
Byron and Trefethen that kept adding the proverbial “coals” to my enthusiasm
for Chardonnay.
Something that I have found that makes Chardonnay wines more enjoyable is to
serve them just slightly cool or below room temperature. The warmer they are,
the more aromas and nuances I taste in the wine. In most white wines, this
would be true, but they still taste better cold. With Chardonnay, it really takes
a little warmth to bring out all of its charm. Is it as good a food wine as
Sauvignon Blanc? No….it will never be as versatile at the dinner table as
Sauvignon Blanc, but if your food consists of creamy, buttery textures, it will
prove to be just the ticket.
Not Every Rose’ has Thorns – My wife, Leslie, does not like white wines. I
don’t know if you have stepped outside lately here in Dallas, but it is freak’n
hot! Something about a big, bold and tannic red around the pool in direct
sunlight at 100 degrees just doesn’t scream “cool and refreshing” to me. I
found a great new recipe for some killer Mojito’s that seemed to do just the
trick, but I found that I was spending more time in the bar inside our house
making each one while she worked on her tan, than I was able to spend outside
with her. Sparkling wine is served cold, but then I remembered my Algebra….
one bottle of Champagne + Direct Hot Sun = Passed Out with Migraine
Headache!
So that started the wheels “a turning” in my head. I had to find something that
would satisfy the both of us for these hot occasions. My solution came to me by
chance while picking out seafood at Whole Foods. While they were wrapping up
my fish and crab-cakes, I spotted a little French Rose from the Provence region
in France and picked one up to take home. After careful ice-bucket
preparation, half ice and half full of cold water, I placed my Rose into the
bucket and headed out to the backyard. What ensued was an hour of cool and
pleasing refreshment that provided much joy and fulfillment.
This was not your mother’s pink wine (or at least my Mom’s White Zinfandel);
it was mostly dry with rich strawberry inflections and whiffs of rose petals.
Simply delicious! You know what else? It would be fantastic with Burgers,
BBQ and cold cut sandwiches, all of which you can find surprisingly served
during the dog days of summer. We tried this little experiment once again just
to make sure it wasn’t a fluke and low and behold….it was fantastic again! Try
some Tavel, Provencal French Rose’s or some from Spain that are made from
either Tempranillo or Grenache. I bet you will be just as pleasantly surprised
as we were. I bought a South African one from Mulderbosch that I haven’t
taken for a taste-drive yet. Who knows, maybe this weekend we’ll give it a
swirl.
asked if there are any grape varietals that I don’t like. My usual response to
this absurd question is that “I love all of God’s children”. But the truth is that I
like some of his children regrettably more than others. Two such red-headed
step children would be Riesling and New World Chardonnay wines (not from
Burgundy). Last year I promised right here on this site to give both of them a
chance or at least a fair shake. Riesling has proved to be a work in progress; I’
ve had some successes and some miserable failures. I think I prefer the drier
ones from Australia or Alsace, France, but I have had some off-dry ones that
were pretty good too. But most of the time I find myself asking, “Okay, what’s
next?”
Then there is Chardonnay. Something happened this year with this varietal and
I completely snapped! Holy cow, what is going on in the world when I can’t wait
to go hunt down the next really cool Chardonnay wine I’ve been reading about.
Why I am actually picking up a bottle of this varietal more often than Sauvignon
Blanc these days and I would have never believed it if you had told me before.
I don’t know if it is that wineries have cut down on the Chardonnay style I found
so obnoxious over the years (Sweet tropical butter-bombs, infused with 2x4’s)
or whether I just have finally acquired a taste for them. The truth is probably
somewhere in the middle of the two theory’s. A chance tasting of Domaine
Serene’s “Cote Sud” at an Oregon Wine Tasting sparked the fire and there
have been many others like Chateau Montelena, Chateau St. Jean, Kistler,
Byron and Trefethen that kept adding the proverbial “coals” to my enthusiasm
for Chardonnay.
Something that I have found that makes Chardonnay wines more enjoyable is to
serve them just slightly cool or below room temperature. The warmer they are,
the more aromas and nuances I taste in the wine. In most white wines, this
would be true, but they still taste better cold. With Chardonnay, it really takes
a little warmth to bring out all of its charm. Is it as good a food wine as
Sauvignon Blanc? No….it will never be as versatile at the dinner table as
Sauvignon Blanc, but if your food consists of creamy, buttery textures, it will
prove to be just the ticket.
Not Every Rose’ has Thorns – My wife, Leslie, does not like white wines. I
don’t know if you have stepped outside lately here in Dallas, but it is freak’n
hot! Something about a big, bold and tannic red around the pool in direct
sunlight at 100 degrees just doesn’t scream “cool and refreshing” to me. I
found a great new recipe for some killer Mojito’s that seemed to do just the
trick, but I found that I was spending more time in the bar inside our house
making each one while she worked on her tan, than I was able to spend outside
with her. Sparkling wine is served cold, but then I remembered my Algebra….
one bottle of Champagne + Direct Hot Sun = Passed Out with Migraine
Headache!
So that started the wheels “a turning” in my head. I had to find something that
would satisfy the both of us for these hot occasions. My solution came to me by
chance while picking out seafood at Whole Foods. While they were wrapping up
my fish and crab-cakes, I spotted a little French Rose from the Provence region
in France and picked one up to take home. After careful ice-bucket
preparation, half ice and half full of cold water, I placed my Rose into the
bucket and headed out to the backyard. What ensued was an hour of cool and
pleasing refreshment that provided much joy and fulfillment.
This was not your mother’s pink wine (or at least my Mom’s White Zinfandel);
it was mostly dry with rich strawberry inflections and whiffs of rose petals.
Simply delicious! You know what else? It would be fantastic with Burgers,
BBQ and cold cut sandwiches, all of which you can find surprisingly served
during the dog days of summer. We tried this little experiment once again just
to make sure it wasn’t a fluke and low and behold….it was fantastic again! Try
some Tavel, Provencal French Rose’s or some from Spain that are made from
either Tempranillo or Grenache. I bet you will be just as pleasantly surprised
as we were. I bought a South African one from Mulderbosch that I haven’t
taken for a taste-drive yet. Who knows, maybe this weekend we’ll give it a
swirl.