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Support your local winery Summertime, and the livin' is easy. Summer has been all too long coming in much of the Eastern U.S. this year, where an exceptionally cool and damp spring has made the belated arrival of warm and sunny weather all the more inspiring. In celebration, I suggest a road trip! Even for those of us who don't reside in traditional wine-producing areas, if you live anywhere in the world that approaches a temperate climate, the chances are that at least one or two small-farm wineries aren't all that far away. Virtually every state in the U.S. has at least one bonded commercial winery, as do most Canadian provinces. England and Wales are awash with wineries, as is Eire. I'm told that you can find a few in Poland, Denmark, even Sweden ... and so it goes. In other words, if you think the only way you can enjoy a winery visit involves an expensive trip to California, Italy, Australia or France, you might want to grab your car keys and a local road map and take another look. As one example of some of the issues facing wine producers in non-traditional regions, today let's review the wine scene in the Eastern U.S. and Canada. If you live elsewhere and really don't care, feel free to skip down to today's Tasting Report or to the intriguing article by our friends at Concha y Toro on Carménère. But I hope you'll stick with us for this short excursion for a peek into a less-traveled byway on the world's wine roads. OVERVIEW: The "vitis vinifera" grapes that make traditional, European-style dry table wines - those that trace their heritage to the great wine traditions of France and Italy - thrive best in the Mediterranean climate that their ancestors enjoyed. Away from Southern Europe, this benign climate with its mild, dry summers and gentle winters is found in coastal California, the southern edge of Australia, parts of South Africa and New Zealand and here and there in other isolated pockets around the world. From Quebec and Ontario down to Florida and west to the Rockies, Eastern North America bears little resemblance to this climate pattern. Classic wine-grape varieties ripen too quickly (but not very well) under the region's searing summer sun, and continental humidity can foster rot and mildew. Tender vines don't enjoy icy winter weather, and periodic "hundred-year freezes" can wipe out entire vinifera vineyards in one quick cold snap. What's a would-be wine producer to do? In my experience on the lightly traveled wine roads of the Eastern U.S. and Canada, I've seen a variety of approaches:
I hope you'll take today's sermon as your invitation to check out a local winery. You may not find next year's cult classic or Wine Spectator "Top 100" wine, but chances are that you'll meet intersting and hospitable wine makers and enjoy an unexpected tasting experience that will pleasantly surprise you ... an experience that few wine lovers can share, since most small-farm wineries sell their wine only at the winery or in the immediate region. If you discover a good one, I hope you'll take a moment to tell me about it, by E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com.
HOW TO FIND LOCAL WINERIES:
For visits to Canadian wineries, the Wines of Canada site is an excellent resource. It's at
Links to information sites about many other world wine regions will be found in our Favorite Wine Links on WineLoversPage.com. Click to the index pages at I won't subject you to a Kentucky or Indiana tasting report today, since most of you wouldn't be able to find the wine. Instead, here's a good, widely available Merlot from just a bit off the beaten path in Washington State. Hogue 2000 Columbia Valley Merlot ($10.99) This clear, medium-dark garnet wine offers heady, fruity cherry-compote aromas, leading into bright and juicy black-cherry flavors shaped by snappy acidity; time in the glass adds sweet cherry-pie nuances with a hint of charred oak oddly reminiscent of Bourbon in the finish. (June 21, 2003) FOOD MATCH: Excellent with a rich stew made from chicken first roasted until brown with onions and garlic. VALUE: Appropriately priced. WHEN TO DRINK: I found this 2000 bottling more appealing now when last tasted in April 2002, so a year in the bottle has done it no harm. It should hold for another year or two, although its fruit may begin to fade.
WEB LINK: Here's the Hogue Website: Today's Sponsor: Concha y Toro Carménère: The Chilean Grape Carménère: Chile's Signature Varietal from Concha y Toro In a case (or two) of mistaken identity, the Carménère grape once was lost but now is found! Carménère avoided total extinction after the phylloxera crisis hit France because it was introduced, along with several other International varietals, to Chile in the 1850's prior to the French blight. Known in France as Grande Vidure and planted widely there in the early 18th century, Carménère was credited with establishing the reputations of some of the Medoc's best estates. Rediscovered in Chile in 1994 by the French ampelographist (grape classification expert) Jean Michel Bourisiquot, Carménère had been mistaken by Chilean vintners for Merlot for nearly a century. Now, after separating the vines and crafting a lush red wine from this unique, fleshy grape, Chile, with its leading producer Concha y Toro leading the way, has claimed Carménère as its own. Considered Chile's signature varietal, Carménère thrives in the Rapel, Peumo and Cachapoal wine valleys where it develops the desired characteristics for the varietal - A deep carmine color, a well-balanced red that offers plum, chocolate and spice in the nose with sweet, round but firm tannins in the finish.
Hand-picked from a single vineyard and aged in French oak for 19 months, Concha y Toro's Terrunyo Carménère is opulent, earthy and lush with hints of chocolate, cigar box and spice and a powerful burst of blackberry. The finish is long and elegant. This wine pairs nicely with game, red meats and cheeses and retails for around $28.
Concha y Toro's Casillero del Diablo Carménère is a nice introduction to the Carménère varietal. With grapes grown in the Rapel Valley, this wine is crimson red with aromas and flavors of plums, black fruit, and chocolate. Well balanced with round tannins, Casillero del Diablo Carménère is a nice match with ripe cheeses and grilled chicken and chops and retails for around $10.
http://www.conchaytorousa.com/wines/diablo.html Wine Lovers' Voting Booth: Drinking and driving: How much is too much? This week's Wine Lovers' Voting Booth takes a hard look at a controversial topic: When it comes to drinking and driving, where is the appropriate place for the community to draw the line that separates appropriate caution from dangerous, criminal behavior? What's your opinion? Crack down on all drinking and driving with a tight limit or even "zero tolerance"? Or leave social drinkers alone while focusing on the repeat offenders and dangerous drunks who cause most of the carnage? You're invited to express your opinion, and compare your thoughts with those of wine lovers around the world, as we ask, "Drinking and driving: How much is too much?"
Click to Sponsorship Opportunities There is no quicker, better or more efficient way to deliver your wine-related message to 25,000 wine lovers around the world than a sponsorship in The 30 Second Wine Advisor! Sponsorships are limited to established wine-and-food-related businesses with a track record of customer service. For more information, write me at wine@wineloverspage.com. Last Week's Wine Advisor Index The Wine Advisor's daily edition is usually distributed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (and, for those who subscribe, the FoodLetter on Thursdays). Here's the index to last week's columns:
Another Greek treat (June 20, 2003)
Random reds (June 18, 2003)
Technology and wine news (June 16, 2003)
Complete 30 Second Wine Advisor archive:
Wine Advisor FoodLetter: "African" Chicken stew (June 19, 2003)
Wine Advisor Foodletter archive: To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Monday, June 23, 2003 |