Responsible Indulgence--July 2024
Pressed for Thought
July 2024
It is a steamy one right now, and while the gardens are happily blooming, I feel like I am wilting. I need a dip in the ocean to bring down the core temps, and I am seeking freshness in my wines. You need not switch to lemonade or margaritas, there are plenty of wines that can provide refreshment and still elevate the meals that you share with friends.
Freshness is a result of acidity levels and can be preserved by some simple techniques in the winery. I know, acid somehow sounds unpleasant, but in wine it is a crucial element, and without it the wine is imbalanced, flabby, and will exhaust your palate.
I have heard it said that the two most important decisions a winemaker will make in the process of making wine is when to pick and when to press. These two decisions will determine the freshness of the wine. As fruit ripens on the vine, acidity descends, so finding that balance of phenolic ripeness and sugar/acid levels is critical to the freshness of the wine. Most winemakers I know, myself included, visit the vineyards to taste the grapes and test the sugar levels. It is a task that I enjoy immensely. It is beautiful in the vineyards, and talking to the growers teaches me so much about wine and agriculture. If we are lucky, we get it just right, so that the balance of flavor, fruit, and acidity is that “Goldilocks' just right.”
While the pressing is not as romantic as walking through the sun-filled vineyard sampling the grapes with your farmer, it is equally important and also, generally, dependent upon sugar levels. Timed right, you will preserve that freshness of flavor and expression. There are other decisions along the way that will impact the style and quality of the wine, of course, but these two moments, for me, represent the critical steps for the brightness that I am talking about.
Yes, wine should always be balanced fruit, flavor, and acidity, but this time of year, I like wines that are lighter on their feet, so that is what I chose for our wine club selections for July. I hope you enjoy!
Cheers, Maria
Grab a glass, it’s wine club time!
Responsible Indulgence, July Wine Notes
To begin, we have our value selections, which I often categorize as cheap and cheerful. This is to say that wines are inexpensive and make us happy, simple as that. They are pleasant, tasty, and highlight their primary fruit flavors. I believe that many of them shine beyond their cost! To begin with, the 2022 Vina Zorzal Garnacha is from three distinct vineyard spots in the village of Fitero in Navarra Spain. They used some whole cluster on this one, about 20%, which gives the wine some character and backbone that exceeds the modest price point. It is unoaked, which is also how they maintain freshness. It is a medium bodied red with juicy freshness and a good grippy tension. Enjoy it with grilled meats, or cheeses and charcuterie.
If you are headed to the beach, the Value 3 pack gives you two marvelous choices: the 2022 Saint Peyre Picpoul de Pinet is 100% Picpoul from the Langueduc in the southwest of France. It tastes of sunshine and ocean breezes, with loads of citrus and minerality—that is like wet stone or the briny flavor of an oyster. So eat it with some on the half shell! If you choose the rosé, you will be thrilled with the 2023 Fenouillet Ventoux Rosé. I avoid words like favorite in the shop, as the other bottles get so jealous, but it is hard not to tell you how much I love this wine. It has that watermelon sugar nose, fresh berry on the palate, and a soft luscious texture. The acidity is there—you can tell because your mouth waters when you swallow, but it is subtle because the fruit is abundant. Enjoy this with a fresh goat cheese and some of the fruit & nut Toasts for Cheese.
Don’t confuse “fruit” with “sweet,” as these are two different things. “Fruit” or “Fruity” refers the intensity of the flavor of fruit, aromatics of grapes and the associated flavors and characteristics; whereas, “sweet” refers to some residual sugar that was purposely not fermented into alcohol, leaving a touch or more of sweetness derived from sugar. Both are great, just wanted to clarify.
The 2023 Isle Saint Pierre White a great example of ample fruitiness on a wine. It is aromatic with notes of white flowers, exotic fruits like lychee, but also peaches and pears. They press without oxygen exposure to give the wine optimal freshness. It is perfect with our local cod, or any light fresh white fish. It can also handle challenging green vegetables like asparagus and greens because of its intense acid. I might just crack this one on the beach with some slices of Manchego!
The Value wines offer two additional reds for your enjoyment in the summer swelter. The 2022 Corvidea “Lenore” Syrah is a value driven second label for Owen Roe, but this wine maker, David O’Rielly, is damn good at making wines for both labels, so second label is where we find value! This Syrah offers an option for a more robust red that still finds a seat at the summer table. There is freshness and earth characters comingled in a smooth medium to full bodied red that remains bright. I suggest pouring this with your burgers on the grill. Yes, a mushroom burger will work, just as well. The 2022 Antonio e Raymondo Piemonte Barbera would work equally well with both those dishes, offering a bit more berry fruit and a touch less tannin than the Syrah. These value wines will out perform the modest price points and continue to prove that we don’t have to spend a boat load of cash to enjoy a delicious wine!
For those seeking a bit more complexity and finesse, you will find it in our second price tier that is absolutely worth the jump from a mid-teen price point to the mid-twenties. Yes, value wines still exist and will give you good bang for the buck, but if you choose to spend a few more dollars on a wine in our Select Tier, you will have the “a ha” moment!
Let’s start with obvious choice, everyone loves rosé this time of year, and while I enjoy them year round, the 2023 Gavoty La Cigale Var is perfect to beat the summer heat. It is that classic Provençal style that is wildly popular. It is charming with a nice balance of juicy fruit flavors and a salty dry finish. The finesse in this one is on the length—it just lingers with a beautiful citrus note that invokes lemon curd, albeit on a salted crust. Try it with some grilled fish or a fresh salad. The 2022 Mas des Vinas Albarino would also be a great pick for a big fresh crisp salad. It is 100% Albarino grown from thirty plus year old vines in the Rias Baixas region in Spain. The wine has a surprisingly complex texture which gives the bright, lime zest and lemongrass a backbone of minerality and acidity. The lees aging (3 months on the sediment that is thrown off during fermentation) gives the wine tension and a strong core, which makes it more than just its zesty smile suggests. Try this one with your next lobster roll!
For a white with more body and richness, but still loads of acidity to keep it bright and refreshing, try the 2023 Teutonic Jazz Odyssey. This is Barnaby’s Tuttle’s white blend that is a little different each year, as the vintage determines the blend, but it is always a crowd pleaser. The 2023 is 65% Riesling, 25% Gewurztraminer, and 10% Muscat. Let me start with, “no, it is not sweet,” but it is fruity. This is a wine that will give you a sense of that difference. These grapes are known for being very aromatic, fuller bodied, and fruity with super high acidity to balance them. In other words, these are red wine drinkers' whites. It has a tangy, quenching stone fruit start with fresh citrus and just a hint of thyme. It would be ideal with spicy foods, but would go down easy with a bag of the Torres Jamon Potato Chips that I just got back in stock!
For Select reds, the 2022 Fleurot Passetoutgrain is my pick for the best value in the bunch. It is complex with berry and cherry fruit that is delicate and balanced by earth and mushrooms. I love the wines from this region for the blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir from Burgundy that remains affordable and also approachable. It is juicy but firm, fragrant and silky, but still rustic. A bit like a chameleon, the character of this one changes as you pair it with different foods. It is that food friendly, and shows different character with different dishes. I enjoyed it with a white wine coq au vin with mushrooms over jasmine rice.
Regardless of the heat, in the summer there are a lot of grills fired up with the mix of vegetables, fish, and meats—sausages, steaks, burgers, and lamb chops with a lovely char on all of them, and we cannot ignore the need for some reds with depth of flavor to hand that intensity. For that I suggest a couple 2021 Casa Castillo Jumillo or the 2021 Oracle Cabernet Sauvignon. The Jumillo is 80% Monsastrell and 20% Garnacha from the younger vines on the property in this coastal region of southeastern Spain. This wine pours with a visual intensity that you will compel you to take that first sip with a smile. It is dark red with black raspberry and plum, earth and leather notes, that all come together with a spicey finish that keeps this wine bright and tense.
Similarly, the Cabernet Sauvignon is from Mendocino also benefits from the coastal effect, which helps to keep grapes from over ripening and having a flabby style. On the contrary, this California Cab proves that nuance and character in a food driven wine exists in New World Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines is bright with red fruits, some drak herbal notes, a touch of green pepper and cocoa. It has a soft texture but the tannins support the fruit. It is way to easy to drink, and will compliment those grilled choices this month, so get out there and fire up that grill!
If you are splurging, and seeking elegance and want to try something a bit different, the Collector Level wines this month are ready for you. The Roh family has its roots in Alsace, but arrived in the Swiss region of Valais during the 17th century, settling in Conthey and beginning to make wine. It wasn’t until the mid-twentieth century that they began to make their own label in the heart of the Valais.
The 2022 Fendant comes from an ancient strain of Fendant (also known as Chasselas) which produces this intensely mineral wine marked by a gunflint character and precise focus. No destemming and a soft pressing help preserve the true character of the fruit. Because of its consistently high quality, Roh declares this as one of the Grand Cru bottlings of the Cave des Ruinettes. Roh’s Fendant is vinified without barrel aging and the wine does undergo a malolactic fermentation to provide additional roundness to the texture. The citrus notes give character and zest to this elegant, full bodied dry white. I recommend this with food for certain, and something that has a bit of richness, like lobster or grilled sea bass, even lighted meats like fowl of pork.
The 2021 Dole is a blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir and Diolinoir from very small parcels in the Vétroz. The wine is hand-picked, very carefully sorted and fermented in stainless stell to maintain freshness and lightness of body. It is not, however, delicate, instead it has a remarkable intensity. Red fruits, berries, and citrus, a tartness, almost cranberry, surprises me, and then this herbal character with gentle tannins. The wine is precise with some tension but also increasingly pleasant and ideal for game or alpine cheeses.
Cheers! All the wines this month are available for reorder, should you just adore one & want to grab a few!!
Coq Au Vin Blanc
Coq au Vin Blanc
Should you feel like it, the White Wine Coq au Vin is a nice summer time meal that is ideal for a dinner party because it can be prepared fairly easily and in advance, so you can relax when your guests arrive. I modified the recipe from the New York Time by Florence Fabricant.
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 pounds chicken thighs, dried, and air chilled in the fridge
1 medium sweet onion, small dice
2 shallots, small dice
2 celery stalks, small dice
2 large garlic cloves, small dice
2 carrots, small dice
4 sprigs of thyme
1# mushrooms, your choice, I used oyster and I like them sliced thin
2 cups white wine, again, your choice, I used Chardonnay
2 lemons
Heat a heavy bottom sautée pan over medium to high heat, add olive oil, add your chicken skin side down, and leave it alone! You want it to brown, and it will release when it is ready. Season with salt and pepper now, to your taste. Cook until skin is crisp and brown, turning once, and then remove from the pan.
Leave the fat in the pan, and add onions, shallots, celery, garlic, carrots, and cook on low to medium heat, covered, for 7-8minutes until soft.
Turn up the heat to medium high and add the mushrooms. Cook until they are lightly browned, then add the wine.
Cut your lemons in half, squeeze them a little to release some juice and put the lemon halves into the pan. Add the chicken back in and simmer and baste occasionally. The chicken thighs should be snuggly arranged in the pan, skin up. Don’t stir, just baste the juicy sauce over the top.
After 20 minutes, taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper as needed. Simmer an additional 20 minutes.
Remove chicken to a serving dish and increase the heat to medium high, add a tablespoon of butter, allow sauce to thicken, about 5-8 minutes. You can spoon the sauce and mushrooms over the chicken to serve. I like this dish over jasmine rice, but leave that up to your discretion😉
Open that Passetoutsgrains & enjoy!