Friday, April 10, 2009

Vintages Release - April 11, 2009

Happy Easter!

The Vintages release this Saturday has a feature on organic wines, as well as food and wine pairing for traditional Easter foods.

Organic Wines

For some reason, there used to be a widely held, if misconceived, view that organic wines were in some way inferior to wines made from grapes which had been treated with pesticides, fertilizers and God knows what else. If that was ever true, it is certainly not true today as some of the world’s best known and most successful wineries describe themselves as “organic.” At least one that I know of was experimenting with a return to the use of horse-drawn equipment in vineyards, as being preferable to mechanical vehicles that might produce unwanted vibration.

It is, however, less clear that organic wine is necessarily better than “non-organic.” For one thing, there is no generally accepted definition of the term “organic,” and many of the different organizations which certify wineries as organic have different, although often exacting, standards. Although there is general agreement that the reduction or elimination of chemical pesticides and fertilizers is a good thing, there can be sharp disagreement as to what constitutes a chemical, as opposed to a natural, substance. And, although almost all winemakers agree that the fewer chemicals the better, not all would agree that the elimination of chemical pesticides is preferable to losing a large proportion of the crop or, worse still, the vines, to insects or disease.

Finally, there is the question of sulphur as an additive. Some definitions of the term organic would not permit the use of sulphur, but, in powdered form or as sulphur dioxide, it is added to almost every wine at the end of the fermentation process in order to kill extraneous yeasts and bacteria. Because organic wines are more likely to contain bacteria, they are often subjected to higher concentrations of sulphur dioxide than are non-organic wines.

I must confess that I have never really paid much attention to whether a winery is organic in my choice of wines. While, as a matter of principle, the reduction or elimination of chemicals from my food sounds like a good idea, most winemakers that I have met, whether designated organic or not, are truly concerned to put as good a product as possible in the bottle. Their reputations depend upon it, and they know that the overuse of additives of any kind places those reputations in jeopardy.

Matching Food and Wine for Easter

Switching topics to Easter food pairings, I have some minimal suggestions. Bear in mind that the wine should be paired with the strongest tasting food on the plate – which is not always the meat. Still, I hope that these few ideas will help:

Turkey (white meat) – look for a lighter, more fruit forward wine. Chardonnay or Riesling would be a good choice as a white. A gamay, American pinot noir, a barbera, or even a rosé, would work as a red.

Turkey (dark meat or with gravy) – Many of the same wines (not the rosé) would work, but something with a little more weight and acid (especially to counterbalance the additional fat in dark meat) would be my choice. Try a Burgundian style pinot noir.

Ham – Once again, there is a fair amount of fat in the meat, so a wine with a good bit of acid will balance it best. You can still have a white if it’s a rich chardonnay or older Riesling, but I’d look for a red. Anything from a light pinot noir to a Rhone-style Shiraz, depending on your taste, would work. A Barolo would be delightful.

Lamb – The strong flavour of lamb will overpower most wines, so you need a big red, a new world Shiraz, a cabernet sauvignon, or an amarone would be best. A malbec would work too.

Chocolate – The ultimate Easter food. Chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, works so well with big red wines. Try the same wines that you would have with lamb.

WHITE WINES

The best white wine buy in this release, in my mind is the Gracia de Chile Reserva Chardonnay 2007 ($14.95) from Chile. Served chilled but not cold, this wine has good complexity with notes of pineapple, pear, fig, almond, grapefruit and gooseberry. It is quite dry and refreshing, with enough acid to go nicely with turkey, or even ham.

For a more traditional chardonnay, try the Leaping Lizard Chardonnay 2007 ($17.95) from California. This is a somewhat more buttery wine, with some caramel and vanilla to balance the Granny Smith apple and lime flavours. Drink on its own, or with turkey, but ham isn’t out of the question.

The Hugel Gentil 2006 ($15.95) is a blend of Alsatian grapes, and the winery has left us to guess which ones. I’m inclined to think that I taste pinot gris and Riesling, but there may be others (sylvaner and gewurtz) as well. The end result, however, is a rich, pleasant, slightly off-dry, wine with honey, stone fruit (especially peach), tropical fruit (pineapple and lichee), a touch of mineral, and a long, satisfying finish. A good match for turkey or ham.

For some reason, the Frogpond Farm Organic Riesling 2006 ($11.95) comes in a 500 ml. bottle instead of the standard 750 ml, but that certainly shouldn’t deter you. This is an interesting Riesling which starts off with tart lime, mineral and green apple; evolves into a richer tropical fruit blend, with some oak, in the middle; and then to almost a steely quality on the finish. I’d match with whitefish or shellfish in a rich broth or even a cream sauce, but ham would be good too.

RED WINES

The first thing you should know about this release is that there is no reason to rush off to the liquor store. If your wine cellar is running short, there are a few worthwhile offerings, but there’s nothing that you need to lose sleep over missing.

The Chateau Saint-Roch Chimeres 2006 ($19.95), from France’s Midi, is a very new world style wine. It’s relative light, soft and pleasant, with bright red fruit, white pepper, plum, and leather. It would go well with turkey, or even ham, but it won’t rock your world.

The La Vigna Vecchia Barbera d’Asti 2005 ($15.95) from Piedmont is also fairly soft, but medium bodied, with soft tannins, cocoa and cooked plum. It took a while to open, but was worth the wait. For the price, this is a good wine. Match with beef, lamb or dark chocolate. One drawback – the plastic cork.

The Castellani Vignetti di Campomaggio Rosso 2003 ($22.95) from Tuscany is also a very pleasant wine, medium bodied with soft tannins, cassis, and cooked meat. There’s a juicy, mouth filling, long finish, that will go well with beef or lamb.

The Clos Saint Jean Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2006 ($49.95) is well priced for a wine from this well-known region. It’s a big, chewy wine with flavours of black cherry, smoked meat, green pepper, tobacco and leather, with a long, glycerol finish. Can be drunk now, but will keep for at least five years.

The Evans & Tate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($19.95) from Western Australia is a reliable cabernet with good complexity, and flavours of cassis, vanilla, leather, followed by a long, mouth filling finish. This is one of those Australian reds that I buy often, and, while they’re perfectly drinkable now, are even better if I forget about them for six months to a year. Will go well with beef.

I think that the Kaiken Malbec 2007 ($14.95) from Argentina could be the sleeper of this release. Unusually for a Malbec (which are normally approachable upon release), it’s far too young to be opened yet, but this is a big, brooding wine, with masses of tannin, dark cocoa, fig, cassis and blueberry. It has not come together yet, but when it does, in a year or so, this could be a real blockbuster.

DESSERT WINES

At $19.95 for a 375 ml. bottle, the Konzelmann Special Select Late Harvest Vidal 2006, from Niagara, would be a very good wrap up for Easter dinner. Expect a well balanced wine, with enough acid to keep the sweetness in check, and with flavours of honey, baked apple, pear, lime, apricot, pineapple and kiwi. There’s a long, mouth filling finish. Yes, it will go with chocolate. Or cheese.

Also at $19.95, the Pellegrino Pantelleria Passito Liquoroso 2007 from Sicily can be used as a dessert wine, but would also go with an appetizer, something like foie gras or even steamed mussels. Expect a bouquet of white flowers on the nose (sorry, but pun intended) together with flavours of ripe stone fruit – peach and apricot – with just a hint of minerality to balance the sweetness.

CHAMPAGNE

I didn’t mention champagne at the beginning of this column, but there are those (especially), including my spouse, who will credibly insist that there is virtually no dish that cannot be improved by a champagne complement. If that’s your feeling, the Jacquart Extra Brut Champagne ($49.95) will work for you. This is an extra dry champagne, with green apple, lemon/lime, pear, and brioche notes, that will indeed go with almost anything (or by itself). Try it with seafood (of virtually any description), turkey or ham.

ROSÉS

Regular readers of my little missives will know that rosés are not generally my favourite wines, and that I dislike plastic corks (I’d far rather have a screwcap). The Clos du Bois Rosé 2008 ($14.95), from California, is (obviously) a rosé, and has a plastic closer. Nonetheless, it is a pleasant, very light, wine, with enough acid to balance the ripe strawberry and cherry flavours. This is not a complex wine but it would do well by itself on a hot day, or with turkey. Vintages recommends it with salmon, and that might work also, but I think it’s a little on the light side for such a strong tasting fish.