PANIC!

Men, we can watch numerous commercials, view bill-boards, read the print ads and yet, February 14^th will catch us unaware, scrambling to purchase cards, flowers and gifts on the way home from work. Restaurant reservations? Who are we kidding, they were booked months ago. Dinner?  Oops, order take-out from that cute Italian place you went to last summer. Plans for the evening?  Oh no, you’re in TROUBLE.

Help is at hand my friends. You can create your own tasting experience at home with an appropriately themed subject: alcoholic libations and chocolate.  You can choose from wine, beer or spirits or any combination thereof. I write this to aid my fellow man and prove once again, the staff at Beltramo’s will go the extra mile to help our customers.

The pairing of wine and chocolate is a contentious subject amongst those in the wine profession. I hold firmly to the ideal that most wine does not pair with cocoa, but I offer you solutions to that conundrum.

We shall have 3 courses tonight. To begin the night’s festivities we shall start with sparkling wines move through to some English beers and finish with two fortified wines.  If time and your constitution permit try all of my recommendations; this will greatly enhance your evening.

Sparkling Wines

I recommend serving milk chocolate with these.

2010 Saracco Moscato D’Asti    $13.99 

The nose reveals pit fruits, vibrant apricots and peaches. The wine is sweet yet balanced and exhibits a fine bubble structure and a silky finish.

 Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco Centenario Amibile Grasparossa di Castelvetro    $10.99 

This is a frizzante wine. A delicious foamy mousse begins and is followed by dark, dark raspberries. Rich and sumptuous, a mouth full of sweet berries. A rich finish.

 Beers

A dark chocolate will work here: one that is around 65% cocoa.

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout    ($3.79 available in-store)

A very dark beer, sweet but not too sweet, with a creamy, milk chocolate flavor and hints of coffee on the finish, nicely balanced.

Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter    ($3.49 available in-store)

Intense flavors of roasted barley, dry and tangy with a slight smoky quality, followed with delicious notes of coffee and caramel.

Fortified Wines

A dark, bittersweet chocolate for this course.

2009 M. Chapoutier Banyuls    $21.99 

From the South of France, abutting the Spanish border comes the world famous Banyuls.  The wine is rich and full-bodied yet delicate and with great acidic balance. Black plums and Bing cherries on the nose with orange rind and raisons on the mid-palate followed with espresso on the finish.

Meyer Family Port NV    $29.99 

Baked plums and cooking spices, mace, cinnamon and allspice on the front. A mid-palate of lush cherries and cassis and a long, lingering finish.

James DB,  Beltramo’s Wine Consultant

Australia

The Yalumba winery produces high quality from $10.00 to $100.00. The Y Series wines across the board are bargains worth your attention. I particularly liked the 2010 Cabernet ($10.99). Winsor Dobbin, Sauce Magazine – Tasmania (Aus) writes: “The Yalumba Y wines are a perfect option when cash is tight and you need a quality bottle of wine. The 2010 Cabernet is a dark purple color with blackcurrant, crushed flower and violet aromas, full-blooded fruit flavors with spice, oak and mocha notes. In short it’s a quality cabernet offering lots of bang for your buck.”

Pewsey Vale Winery continues to turn out some of the finest, juicy, mouthwatering dry Rieslings for value on the planet. The 2011 Eden Valley Riesling  ($14.99) is no exception. Produced from cool climate, high altitude vineyards, this Riesling sizzles with lime/citrus, hard candy and mineral aromas and flavors. Beautiful palate feel, mouth-coating and long.

France

I had the opportunity to taste through the new releases from Domaine Cazes last year in France. The wineries specialties are the delicious sweet wines from Rivesaltes, but they also make tasty table wines. Try the 2010 Le Canon du Marechal Blanc ($12.99). This was one of my favorite whites from my trip through southern France. An aromatic, delicate white blend of Muscat and Viognier made of Certified Bio-dynamic grapes.

Another find from southern France made exclusively from Viognier is Chateau de Pennautier’s  Viognier de Pennautier ($10.99). This winery dates back to 1620 and made their first wines in 1701. If you want to taste what Viognier is like without the influence of heavy-handed barrel spice, this wines for you. Pure, fragrant, floral, peach aromas and flavors. Never heavy or sweet. Clean and fresh. Compare to California Viognier at two to three times the price.

A miniscule 500 cases of the delicious 2010 Chateau Astruc Ste Eulalie Minervois ($10.99) is produced. An impressive blend of Syrah, Carignan, and Grenache, this wine is a knockout. Sophisticated aromas of violets, gentle smoke, spice and berries. Fleshy, impeccable balance. A top-notch alternative to more expensive Rhône wines.

2010 will be another very good to excellent year for the Rhône and Southern France as you can tell by my enthusiasm for the afore mentioned wines. Domaine Paul Autard’s Côtes du Rhône ($12.99) is good barometer of the quality produced from the region in 2010. Importer Russel Herman writes:”The Côtes du Rhône is made from 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah grapes just outside the Châteauneuf du Pape appellation in Courthezon. It’s a smoky, complex wine loaded with warm raspberry fruit, showing many of the best attributes of Châteauneuf du Pape. It is ready for current drinking… and represents one of the best values from southern France.”

Another tasty value from the Rhône in 2010 is the Les Vignerons d’Estezargues d’Andezon Côtes du Rhône ($10.99). Robert Parker The Wine Advocate rated this wine 91 points and says: “The classic cuvee, which has long been selected by importer Eric Solomon, is their 2010 Domaine d’Andezon, a blend of 90% Syrah and 10% Grenache. While there are critics of Syrah grown in the southern Rhone, even the cynics agree that the old-vine Syrah from the Gard has a special character to it. This wine comes from 40+-year-old Syrah vines and 60+-year-old Grenache vines, bottled unfined and unfiltered after being aged in both tank and concrete. Dense ruby/purple, with a stunning nose of blackberry liqueur and jus de viande (beef/meat juices), it’s thrilling, intensely pure, full-bodied mouthfeel, good freshness, and striking floral character all combine for one of the very best bargains in dry red wine that readers are likely to find anywhere in the world. This is super and should continue to drink well for another 3-4 years.”

Italy

I wrote about  Cleto Chiarli’s Lambrusco ($10.99) in an earlier article in November 2011. It’s worth noting again the merits of this delicious fizz, in this context as a value sparkling wine: “Obtained by a careful grape selection of the ancient “Grasparossa” vine cultivated on the hills surrounding Castelvetro village in the Modena province. Deep ruby red color with a pink froth. Fruity aroma and palate, typical of this varietal, which are very pleasant indeed. Thanks to a rational and slow fermentation the wine has a distinct softness and delicacy. It can be a wine for dessert as well as a wine for the typical dishes of the local cuisine.” Dalla Terra Importer 

Argiano hit it out of the park with the new release of the 2009 Non Confunditur ($15.99). “Non Confunditur” is the Latin term written on Argiano’s crest and was the motto of the former owners, the Lovatelli Gaetani d’Aragona family. A blend of Tuscan and French grapes, the 2009 might be the best vintage for this wine I’ve tasted. Clove/allspice, savoury aromas. Black fruit, spice flavors. Juicy acidity adds a nice punch to the wine.

Two wines I’d highly recommend from Vietti winery in Piemonte are the 2009 Barbera d’Asti Tre Vigne ($15.99) and the 2007 Barolo Castiglione ($39.99). Vietti winery writes about the Barbera d’Asti Tre Vigne: “Ruby purple color with ripe red cherry aromas with hints of mineral and vanilla. A dry, medium bodied red wine with refreshing acidity and soft tannins. Well balanced with good integration of oak, good complexity and a finish of red cherries.” You might say $40.00 for a bottle of wine a value?  But hold on. The Barolo Castiglione bottlings from Vietti can, in most vintages, represent the best value in Barolo. The 2007 again, might represent the best value in Barolo. This wine is flying off the shelf and will easily eclipse the phenomenal success of the 2004 vintage. Rated 93 points from Antonio Galloni at The Wine Advocate, he writes: “The 2007 Barolo Castiglione deftly balances the open, radiant personality of the vintage with considerable underlying structure. Warm, dense and full-bodied, the 2007 Barolo Castiglione flows effortlessly across the palate with generous fruit and fabulous overall balance. The wine was even better when I tasted it from bottle a few months later. It is another overachieving wine from Vietti and a bottle that is exceedingly fairly priced.”

Spain

Celler Pinol’s Ludivicus Tinto ($10.99) is a must buy. A blend of Garnacha, Syrah and Carinena from the Terra Alta district in the Tarragona province of northeastern Spain. Lovely, pure, fresh berry flavors that possess a hint of tension in the finish. Delicious.

The 2010 Bielsa ‘Viñas Viejas’ Garnacha ($10.99) is another stellar, value offering from  this producer from Campo de Borja. Easy to like, uncomplicated aromas of raspberry, cranberry and cherry kirsch. Fleshy, seamless texture.

Howard Padgett, Imported Wine Buyer

Why the sad demise?  There exists, a world of bubbly goodness that is easily available, less expensive and utterly delicious. I refer to a wine that is produced by the grower, from his own fruit and is geographically distinctive! Think terroir. A wine that, if from the Napa Valley would be of cult status, grower owned and produced, and sold in defiance to the ‘Big Guys.’ In France these Champagnes are called grower-owned.  Elsewhere they have been coined Farmer Fizz.  Everywhere, they are sublime.

Champagne is a region; Champagne is a drink; and Champagne is also an occasion. The region and industry are dominated by names of world renown such as Moët, Roederer and Veuve-Cliquot. The wines they produce are iconic and as a consumer you can be assured that the Moët consumed in Hong Kong will taste the same as the Moët in Berlin. Consistency in some cases is welcomed but I find the wines non-distinctive. Grower Champagnes, on the other hand, offer unique flavors that are imparted by the specific parcels they are grown in. The wines have personality, depth and character.

How do you as a consumer recognize a Grower Champagne from the wines of the larger houses?  On close inspection the label will show two letters, RM, meaning Récoltant-Manipulant. I have listed some of my personal favorites below:

Champagne Chartogne Taillet NV Cuvee ‘Saint Anne’  ($39.99)   

The wine opens with layers of luscious golden fruit, orange blossom and apricots, round, soft and supple.  There is a touch of brioche and a racy edge, with a hint of allspice. The mouth feel is silky, with a long finish.  Reminiscent of Krug without the weight.

 Champagne Chartogne Taillet Brut 2000  ($59.99)

Creamy brioche! The 2000 vintage shows the depth and elegance a grower-producer can achieve. The wine is simply brimming with flavors of baked apple and candied orange peel. Unusually crisp on the front, but finishing with a supple, silky texture and extraordinary length.

 Vilmart & Cie Grand Cellier Brut ($64.99)

70% Chardonnay.  30% Pinot Noir. A truly fabulous Vilmart. The wine opens with a fine mousse, subtle, delicate. An exquisite texture on the mid-palate with flavors redolent of lemon, nutmeg and a slight smoky tone. The finish is long and lingering, haunting.

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut ($44.99)

Good acidic grip right of the bat, subtle hints of green tea, and chalk followed with a salty tang. Flavors of young plums and zesty citrus. A thirst quenching finish, with a fine snap!

 James D-B,  Beltramo’s Wine Consultant

Below is a snapshot of some of my favorite new releases:

I’m sure most of you have had Modena’s balsamic vinegar, Parma’s Prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, but have you tasted the local “fizz” from that region?

Lambrusco is an Emilia-Romagna specialty made in a frizzante  (semi-sparkling) style. Try the Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco Centenario Amibile Grasparossa di Castelvetro ($10.99) for a real and affordable treat. Gorgeous pink mousse erupts atop bubbling purple liquid. Delicious, delicately bittersweet. Try with salumi, dim sum, or with your holiday roast turkey.

Of all the sparkling wines we carry from Italy, Prosecco is by far the most popular category and Sorelle Bronca Prosecco di Valdobbiadene ($14.99) is easily the best seller. The vinification is unusual for Prosecco. Instead of two separate fermentations, (grape juice to still wine, then still wine to sparkling wine), the Bronca Sister’s Prosecco grapes are pressed, and the juice is held at very low temperatures until it is ready to be made into sparkling wine.  They do this periodically throughout the year to maintain the freshest possible stock, and once it is ready, the must is put into a special fermenter and fermented directly to sparkling wine. This more costly single fermentation process retains more of the classic pear aroma that makes Prosecco distinctive. No sugar is added, all of the sweetness comes from the must. A number of batches are produced during the year to ensure freshness. If you feel like splurging, try the Particella 68 ($19.99). This wine is made from the Bronca Sister’s best vineyard perhaps 500 yards from the edge of the Cartizze boundary, the most prized growing area in the Prosecco zone.

Franciacorta is Italy’s most noted area for méthode champenoise sparkling wines. This is the traditional Champagne method, in which the secondary fermentation of the wine is carried out in the bottle. I’d highly recommend the Monte Rossa Saten Brut ($34.99).  Saten indicates the wine is made only from white grapes in a crémant style, meaning that the wine has slightly lower atmospheric pressure than a traditional méthode champenoise sparkler. This wine has had the honor of receiving the most prestigious award offered to Italian wines, the “Tre Biccchieri” (Three Glass) Award from Gambero Rosso. Delicate, floral aromas, soft, complex and elegant.

Spain’s contribution to sparkling wine is Cava. Cava, meaning cellar, must go through secondary fermentation in the bottle (méthode champenoise ) and must be aged a minimum of six months on the lees before being disgorged and sold. The main grapes used in Cava are Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada. Foreign grapes have been approved including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir.

Rimarts ($18.99) is a small, family run operation by two brothers, Ricard and Ernest Martinez. Production is roughly 5,000 cases of Cava per year. Compare to Freixenet whose production is over 200 million bottles annually. Riddling and disgorging are done entirely by hand. The grapes come from old-time contracts their father worked with before them. Importer Beaune Imports writes “It is clear from the start that these guys know what they’re doing, no frills, just hand-made Cava that would put many top-name Champagnes to shame.” I agree: high quality and highly recommended.

Venturing outside of the Champagne region, you can find méthode champenoise sparkling wines from many other regions in France. Burgundy, Alsace, Loire Valley and Limoux, to name a few, are areas more than capable of producing terrific “bang for the buck” sparkling wines.

Vitteaut-Alberti “Cuvee Agnes” Cremant de Bourgogne ($21.99) is the finest Cremant de Bourgogne I’ve tasted this year. Cuvee Agnes (named after their daughter) is the winery’s top wine made from 100% Chardonnay from The Côte d’Or and Côte Chalonnaise. This would be my top pick as an alternative to more expensive Champagne.

The Domaine Albert Mann estate is located in Wettolsheim, a small village in the heart of Alsace. The philosophy of the Domaine is to make a wine nourished by the elements of the soil and not by fertilizers. The estate wants to produce a wine in harmony with nature while realizing an agriculture whose finality is not to treat, but to strengthen the vitality of the soil. The whole estate realizes biologic and bio-dynamic viticulture. The Cremant d’Alsace Brut 2008 ($21.99) is a blend of Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris and Riesling. Green apple, citrus and chalky mineral aromas. Pure flavors with orange notes; finishing tangy and mouthwatering.

Two wines I’d highly recommend from Piper-Heidsieck are the Brut non-vintage ($29.99) with its new, stately label upgrade and the newly released Rare Brut 2002 ($149.99). The Brut non-vintage continues to represent one of the best values in Champagne.  A high quality and sophisticated bottle at this price level. The Rare Brut 2002 is one of the finest Champagnes I’ve tasted this year. A blend of Chardonnay-mostly-and Pinot Noir. The 2002 is the most recent bottling in a trilogy (1988-1998-2002), born out of the oenologist’s inspiration. Wine Spectator writes “A classy Champagne, all about the silky texture. The Pinot Noir component shows now, with red berry and graphite flavors and a firm structure influencing the balance. Honey, toast and seashore notes complete the picture. Fine length. 95 points.”

The new releases from Pierre Gimonnet & Fils are worth your attention. Gimonnet’s vineyards come from the northern Côte des Blancs. The majority of the vineyards are more than 40 years old, the oldest parcel  in Cramant is 100 years. We chose three bottling from this estate in 2011. If you’re not familiar with the style of Gimonnet Champagnes, the Cuis 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut ($44.99), would be a good starting spot. Peter Liem from his Champagne Guide Website writes “Gimonnet’s wines are pure, sleek and lithe, demonstrating a classical character of the northern Côte des Blancs. They are polished in the best sense of the word, demonstrating a fine elegance and sophistication while remaining highly individual in personality and true to their terroir origins.” The 2004 “Cuvee Oenophile’ Extra Brut ($64.99) is the most naked expression of Champagne from this producer. Non-dosage, pure, delicate yet intense. The 2004 Special Club ($74.99) kicks into another gear. Gorgeous aromas and flavors, sophisticated with gentle toast notes, and tremendous length: highly recommended.

Another candidate for the top Champagne released in 2011 is Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne 2000 ($119.99). Kobrand Imports writes:  “This superb Champagne, produced only in years exceptional enough to declare a vintage, is appropriately presented in an antique-style bottle of XVIIIth century design. Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is the ultimate expression of the Taittinger style, a Champagne of great refinement, elegance and delicacy. The clean, aristocratic Chardonnay fragrance is offset by warm, toasty nuances, which carry onto a palate of finely- balanced, generous white fruit flavors underscored by a fine, crisp acidity and subtle mineral notes. The refined, toasty finish is lasting and complex.”

I encourage you to try any of these selections.  You won’t be disappointed.  Happy holidays!

Howard Padgett, Imported Wine Buyer

Before tasting the wines, our special guest, Valentina Cirasola, gave a great presentation on the “The ItalianTable and Dining Etiquette.” Throughout the event Augustine and Angela Buonocore of La Biscotteria in Redwood City provided authentic and delicious focaccia, biscotti, and grissini to accompany our wines. Lastly, they treated us with delicious cannoli, to enjoy as a conclusion to our tasting.

The tasting itself was terrific, featuring selected Italian wines from lesser known regions and/or varietals. The theme, “Italian Wines, The Roads Less Traveled,” showcased our imported wines buyer, Howard Padgett’s, efforts in expanding our unique selection.

We started with the beautiful and very classy NV Monte Rossa Saten ($34.99) sparkling wine from Franciacorta in Lombardia, a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco fermented in bottle. Then followed the 2009 100% Petite Arvine white wine by Les Cretes. The texture is rich, but not heavy, floral nose, citrus and passion fruit with an obvious minerality. The Petite Arvine wines are terrific if you want something on the exotic side. We recommend the excellent 2009 Swiss bottling from Cave du Vieux-Moulin ($32.99) which we currently have in stock.

We tasted the 2010 “Praepositus” Kerner ($27.99) by Abbazia di Novacella from the Isarco Valley in the far northern region of the Alto Adige. Kerner, a cross-bred grape of Riesling and the red Schiava, purportedly gets its name from the name of a German writer of drinking songs. The Riesling influence is obvious with a subtle pear like character as well as minerality followed by fresh clean acidity.

The first red of the evening was a 2009 Pelaverga “Basadone” from Castello de Verduno ($21.99) in Piemonte. A lighter bodied wine, it reminded me of a cross between Nebbiolo and Bourgogne Rouge in weight and texture and had spicy overtones. The superb 2006 Tuscan red, Villa di Capezzana’s Carmignano ($25.99), located just west of Florence is a blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.  This wine showed good density, elegance, sweet red fruit, and a very persistent finish.

We had the opportunity to taste a grape that most people have never heard of, the 2006 Tazzelenghe, produced by Conte d’Attimis-Maniago ($32.99) in the Colli Orientali del Friuli. This was a fairly hearty and robust wine of dark red fruit and bright acidity. It is definitely a good wine for grilled or roasted meats and game. Then we tasted a Nebbiolo, but with a twist. This was the 2007 Sforzato di Valtellina “Albareda” ($54.99) by Mamete Prevostini, a wine made by drying the grapes (about 30 days) before fermentation. It was one of the overall favorites with beautiful dried floral and red fruit character. The last red, 2004 Montefalco Sagrantino by Terre de Trinci ($49.99), definitely made a bold statement. From the region of Umbria, the aromas and flavors were broad and complex, ranging from black fruit, slight vanilla and spices.

Then came the finale, and what a finale it was! We tasted the fabulous Sicilian 2007 L’Ecru Passito by Firriato ($34.99), a dessert wine which is a blend of Zibibbo and Malvasia. It showed scents of honey, orange peel and dried figs with a texture that really glides. It really is a fascinating exotic wine, and I highly recommend this for the upcoming holidays, or just anytime.

Gary M.,  Beltramo’s Wine Consultant