Newport Wine Cellar & Gourmet    

Responsible Indulgence—February Wine Notes

Early in January, I was bemused by a New Yorker cartoon entitled “Year at a Glance” that depicted the calendar year in a pie chart with January taking about 40%, February  a comparably slim 25%, and the remaining year crammed into the rest.  I laughed, but I also made a note to myself to even that out in ‘23.  I feel already that January went swiftly, so we are off to a good start!

There is much to be excited about in February—love, Winter Fest, football, and not dry January, to name just a few.  We have likely gotten into the swing of our resolutions, and for me that has meant a lot more cooking at home.  Admittedly, I love going out and my work often encourages that activity, but nothing satisfies like cooking at home. The other big change is a return to wine classes in the shop.  It is time to resume gathering around the table and having some fun conversation about wine. 

As you stop in this week to grab your wines, you will notice some rearranging.  We have been busy getting the shop ready for in store events and classes.  I can’t let all my studying be for not! We need to talk about wine, share the experience and the exploration, taste together and just generally get excited about beautiful wines and the people who bring them to us. I have loads of stories to share, and I trust that you do to. 

To being with, let me tell you about the wines for February! I have a hankering for sunshine, so I was seeking warmth in the wines.  Warmth for me comes from ripeness that gives me a sense of the sunshine and the warmth of the earth, which is a direct result of the level of sugars in the wine. These elements need to stay in balance, not overwhelming the palate or overshadowing the other parts of the wine.  Certainly not seeking simply big, but wines that are fleshier, a bit more full bodied, but still balanced by acidity, alcohol, and tannins.  Done right, we don’t really notice the last three, but the fruit doesn’t get jammy, instead it remains alluring and refreshing. With that in mind, here are my February picks.

Kermit Lynch Vin de Pays, Vaucluse Rouge kicks off the Value 3 pack.  This wine is the result of Lynch’s commitment to building relationships with his wine makers. The Leydier family at Domaine Durban in Gigondas never classified the land adjacent to their vineyards as this was just used for growing wines sold to a consortium or for their personal consumption. This bottling is a 2nd label created with the intent of creating a value driven wine for the market. The wine is made with organic Grenache and Syrah with a pinch of Merlot and a local grape called Marselan from 3 hectares of clay and limestone soils planted at low yield rates.  There are the classic flavors of the Southern Rhone ripe from the intense sunshine tempered by the aromatics if the garrigue—dusty thyme, herbs, and earth, and a brightness that cleanses the palate. This one is ideal for a grilled cheese and a big salad of winter radicchio.

I always prefer balance over intensity of flavor, and I refer to it often.  What that means to me is that the wine has ripe aromatics and flavor, acidity, and structure from alcohol and tannins, which is just what you get from the Guntrum Trocken Riesling. This wine comes to us from the 11th generation of wine makers in the Guntrum family.  Planted by the Rhine River, the 25 plus year old Riesling enjoys the moderating effect of the river, providing temperatures and light, allowing for full ripeness. Gentle and naturally fermented slowly at cool temperatures, all results in an elegant, dry Riesling.  Cirtus, peach, and stone fruits, balanced by minerality. Enjoy it with a big bowl of ramen with some spice!

If sunshine is what you need, grab the 2021 Christophe Avi Rosé, Agenias, a blend of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon from that comes to us from the sunny climes of the south of France.  This is a small IGP established in 2011 to celebrate the typicity of the Lot-et-Garrone.  You can feel the heat emanating from this wine in the most wonderful way.  The aromatics bespeak the sun’s intensity, the flavors  of berry and cherry have a strength that invoke the clay and limestone soils in which these vines struggle to survive, but the savory finish with citrus offers reprieve from the intensity of weather, which is exactly what rosé is intended to do.  Enjoy this with quiche for brunch, with a dinner of egg in the hole with salad, or pan roasted fish…or just pop it and drink it.

The 2020 Legado del Moncayo Garnacha “Montanna” is seeing its second showing in our wine club.  I love this wine.  This is a new vintage for you, but with the same quality and character as before.  The bright, playful quality on the front palate gives this old vine Grenache a freshness that suggests younger vines, but then its intensity increases as the plummy, berried fruit carries itself gracefully across your mid-palate.  I love Grenache for its surprising complexity.  After the fruity freshness, we get fennel, and blood orange, with earthy flavors of mushroom and herbs.  Yes, subtly oaked, the texture is smooth, rich, and alluring.  Campo de Borja is just south of Rioja, somewhat off the beaten path between the Iberian ranges and the Erbo Valley, lesser known, but growing the indigenous varietal so well, and these two wine makers collaborate seamlessly, creating a wine that far exceeds its value price point.  I suggest stews for this one—chili and Superbowl, perhaps!?

You don’t need to go big to get warmth, and the 2020 Valario Zenato La Morette Bardolino is proof of that.  The wine is like a slow dance at the end of the night.  It is sexy, smooth, and you can feel the heat…invoking Gloria Esteves for you? Or perhaps Frank Azaria in Birdcage? Yes, then you are getting my drift! It is light on its feet, playful, and this wine can shake its hips! The color is lighter, but don’t underestimate its power. Fresh red berry, sour cherry, blueberry—all fruits that balance freshness, depth of flavor and ripeness with a touch of bright sour notes that will swirl around your palate.  The spice and black pepper on the finish is where the heat comes in.  Enjoy it with pasta tossed with garlic, wintergreens, and semi dried cherry tomatoes, drizzled with a really good olive oil and shaved parm.

Since it is the season for cleansing, do that, but make it a palate cleanser.  The 2020 Teutonic Gruner Veltliner has a fresh, abundant fruit, round and soft, with a bracing acidity that will cleanse your palate to prepare for the next bite.  What shall we enjoy with it? The pear and stone fruits make me want to contrast that with some bitter greens, quickly sautéed, salted, and drizzled with olive oil.  The wine also has a wonderfully fierce acidity that wants some fat, so toast some thick cut bread, take a raw piece of garlic and rub it on the bread until all of the clove is taken in by the small holes and toasty peaks. Smear a little butter on that and then slide those greens on top.  I am not done yet…then fry an egg, and while it is still runny, place it gently on top.  Salt it liberally with some Newport Sea Salt…Need I say more?

If you are seeking big and bold, grab the 2019 Owen Roe’s Abbot’s Tale.  With its unique blend of Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Blaufrankisch and Merlot, this is an international man of mystery! What a creation, but in the end it works.  The Abbot’s Table is, of course, the most fundamental form of hospitality, coming around the table for the meal.  This wine is for sharing with food and friends.  The flavors of dark fruit, brooding earth, hints of bitters with a charming texture makes it ideal for the rich winter meal.  Make a stew, call your friends, light a candle, and enjoy.

2021 Enrico Blanco Valenti Etna Bianco is made by a father and son team who want to make wine that exhibits the typicty of their Sicilian terroir. The name Henry IV is a reference to the opera by Luigi Pirandello, and it is a testament to their love of music and literature. I tell you that because I believe that culture and personality shape the taste, style, and quality of wine.  This wine approaches gently, its fruit—apples, nectarine, and melon, but them there is an interesting layer of earth and herbal notes, followed by soft citrus and minerals, even a saltiness that reminds me of sheep’s milk cheeses. It rises to a crescendo as it rushes over the mid-palate to arrive gracefully with a resounding finishes, like the orchestra that inspired it.  You here the strings reverberating on the finish.  I think of roasted lamb tajin with loads of beans, tomatoes, black pepper, which is counter to white wine, but this is my blog, so there it is.  You have all the power in the kitchen, perhaps that is why so many of us like it there. Eat what makes you happy!

And if flavorful whites make you happy, look no further that the 2017 Louis-Antoine Luyt Gorda Bianca.  It is a fun and unique wine that may challenge you a little. Don’t worry, it is deliciously interesting.  This blend is sourced from a 250 year old vines in granitic red clay soils, dry farmed, no chemicals, all hand tended, harvested and vinified.  For those seeking an unfiltered and unfined wine, it doesn’t get more natural than this.  That said, Luyt is insanely careful in his wine making, so the wine remains elegant, fresh, and satisfying.  This Chilean blend is complex, has a nice full mouth feel, and finishes with surprisingly racey acidity.  Apples, apricots, almonds, and some grassy, herbal notes.  I am thinking about a charcuterie board with this one, lots of jamon, mustards, cornichon, salty hard fruity cheeses, and som anchovies in oil, but no crackers, I need bread and butter with this meal.

If you are courageous enough to be grilling, which is a sport that I am fully aware attracts a committed following all year round, then grab the 2016 Quinta D’Aguiera Arco and prepare yourself for a serious treat. This wine is remarkable. It comes from the northern part of Barraida in Portugal with a Maritime climate, so while it is hot and dry, the ocean provides a moderating, cooling effect that allows for the grapes to ripen at a more gentle rate, so it is not too ripe.  That said, the flavors are intense.  For you Napa Cab lovers out there, this is your wine! Big brambly fruit is balanced with fennel and sage and mint, and the tannins give texture and a little grip along with nice lasting fruit and acidity.  It will pair beautifully with some char, so throw what you like on that grill, but for sure, I want grilled onions and some balsamic with it!

The 2020 Domaine Durban Gigondas rounds out the Select wines for February, and it is the cherry the on top, for certain.  This wine is elegant, so beautifully made, and it drinks like a wine of twice its price point, easily.  Gigondas still remains a bit unknown compared to the neighboring Cheateauneuf de Pape, and sometimes that means a deal for the consumer. This family has been making wine on the site of an ancient Roman healing ground at the top of a picturesque plateau in the Vaucluse region of the Souther Rhone.  It is breathtaking, but also so woven into a history of the land and the people.  It is a magical space, protected by fierce local Mistral winds by the natural pines that grow around the vineyard, as if it is destined to be there.  The Leydier family is the benchmark for quality in the region, so much so that the Oxford Companion to Wine lists them as the definitive example of the dessert wine for which the region is known.  Their reds are no less precise and exceptional. This one, sourced from a single vineyard of particular quality is a blend of Grenache and Syrah, aged in cement, unfiltered, so it is flavorful and textured, and delicious.  This is a wine that I try to emulate.  It has ripe brambly fruit and cherry, with dusty herbal notes, which bespeak the chalkiness of the soil.  I enjoyed this wine recently with roasted duck breast a poivre with smashed potatoes, sautéed kale; a divine regional match. Whatever you cook, keep it simple, and let this one shine.

For the collector level, I went for the crowd pleasers.  I often try to find the unusual, as you are knowledgeable wine connoisseurs, who want to transcend.  That said, you also know that sometimes a grape is popular because it is damn good! Examples? White Burgundy and Napa Cab….let’s be honest.  I believe the reason is that when the grape is well suited for the soil and climate, something magical happens and the wines are truly remarkable with force.

The 2020 Maison Matisco Viré-Clesse and the 2018 Goldschmidt The Conspirator seeming have little in common, but in fact, that is not true. These two wines and the wine makers that produce them share an ethos that allow these premium wines to remain accessible.  They are not inexpensive, both retailing above $50, but for wines that come from two of the most expensive regions in the world and made from two of the most sought after grapes, the wines remain arguably affordable. How? I would argue that these producers have a commitment to quality and affordability.  These are family run wineries, with vineyard holdings in some of the most costly regions known in the wine world, their terroir is considered exceptional, and yet, they remain low yield planted, hand harvested and vinified, organically farmed and  produced, and promoted and marketed on the merits of the quality of flavor and style.  One could argue  that some of these choices may not make a wine taste better (I believe it does but that is I suppose subjective), it does, however, make me want to support their efforts.  Good people making good wine.

The  Maconnais Chardonnay is stunning and elegant with loads of exotic fruit and quince, green apple, pear, melon and a little banana.  It also has a brightness of acidity and a touch of tannins for texture and lean precision. It invokes the freshness of the sunrise over the ocean after a fresh cold rain, warming you with its light and promise.  I will enjoy this with a piece of sole prepared a la Julia Child, sole meuniére, pan seared with butter and capers and white wine.

The red is bold with fierce blue and black fruits, brambly and rugged, but with acidity to balance which suggests to me that they pick a little early than others in Napa to help maintain the freshness.  The tannins are supple and provide support should you want to age this one.  If you decant, you will soften those even more and enjoy this classic Napa Cab with a pan seared rib eye!

Enjoy this time of winter rest, not rushing to the spring or even summer, they will be there soon enough. Pour a glass and allow it to wrap you up, rejuvenate your spirit, cleanse your palate and your mind. And, please continue to eat, drink, and think.

Cheers, Maria

Regardless of the source of the emotion or even the direction it takes, Italians cook to feel better. I have a friend who is seriously ill, and there is very little I can do to fix his condition. He will recover, but I am deeply concerned and in the absence of any purposeful way that I can contribute to that recovery, I am cooking. I suspect he would appreciate that.

It is Sunday, so it is a nice day to devote myself to the alter of the kitchen—chopping, slicing, cleaning out the fridge and freezer, cooking for anyone who will eat it. I found some escarole at the grower’s market yesterday and some ground beef, so Italian Wedding Soup it is. Like most of the things that I like to cook and that also bring me comfort, I return to the recipes of my youth and family. This is a soup that I loved when my mom made it for two reasons; first and foremost, hot meatballs straight out of the oven. There is nothing more satisfying than bitesize freshly roasted meatballs.

Say what you like, I roast them. Many people fry them first. I like those, too, but I prefer the texture and the thin layer of crust that forms when I roast, so that is the recipe I will provide. If your prefer to fry, then make them as you would.

Prep your soffritto, this is a simple aromatic mix of onion, celery, carrots, and garlic (if using), which you dice fine and start soups, sauces, stews, braised dishes with. It is not unlike its French cousin the mirepoix, though ratios and ingredients vary slightly. (You can look it up, but use what you like, and dice it your liking.) Honestly, you cannot mess this one up.

That said, here is how I make it: 2 small onion, 1 shallot, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk. All diced.

Make your meatballs (again, you probably have a way, but here is mine, and it is directly from Judy with little modification because if she did anything perfectly, it was her meatballs.) Mix, 1# ground beef, 1/2# ground pork, 1/2#ground veal, 1 heaping handful of bread crumbs, a little of your onion and garlic from above (to your taste), an egg, a heaping handful of parmesan, salt and pepper liberally. Mix and form small, bite size balls, place on a half sheet pan and roast at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until they are nicely and evenly browned. Remove from the oven and let them sit while you make the soup. (yes, eat some of them, it is a sin not to!)

1. Heat your soup pot, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom well.

2. Add the onions and shallots, cook over low heat covered until soft. You are sweating not browning. (While this is cooking open a nice aromatic white wine—I chose an the 2019 Meyer-Fonné Gentil. Pour a glass for yourself to sip on while cooking)

3. Add the celery and carrots, cook again covered, low for another 8-10 minutes.

4. Add the garlic, cook for 2 minutes, and then add the escarole. I large head is enough. Turn the heat to high.

5. Add your escarole, which can be chopped roughly, stir over high heat for a minute and then add a 1/2 cup of wine. It will quickly bubble and deglaze any bits on the bottom of the pan.

6. Add 6 cups of stock—I used some chicken stock I made last weekend and had in the freezer.

7. Allow to heat through and sit on simmer for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to meld. I added a few pinches of finely ground sea salt and a lot of freshly cracked pepper. Taste it first, then season as you like.

8. Serve with some bread and a glass of the wine.

The soup pairs nicely with the Gentil, which is a blend of Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, and Pinot Gris. The wine has a dry expression, though I suspect it has a pinch of RS. You cannot tell, its acidity leaves your mouth watering and wanting another bite. It has wonderful exotic fruit and pear and citrus, loads of acidity, and a little coriander spice; it matches and complements the flavors of the soup beautifully.

This makes a substantial pot of soup, so share it! I brought some to friends because as much as I love to eat, I prefer to feed and nourish others.