made in america - Total Beverage

FALL 2008
THE MAGAZINE OF FINE WINE, SPIRITS, AND LIVING
Made In America
Homegrown
vodka hits
the big time
STAFF PICKS
FOR
FALL
See Page 35
Chilean Cabernet
The king of reds gets the
royal treatment
New ClassicS
­43
$3.99
Surprising twists on
favorite drinks
Wine Country CookS
Seasonal recipes and
wine pairings
CHEERS!
Together Again
W
elcome to the fall issue of Drinks magazine. We at Westminster Total
Beverage truly look forward to putting out each new issue, and one of
the best parts is that it gives us one more reason to connect with you, our
valued customers (and readers!). As the leaves turn and swirl and the
temperatures cool, nestle into a cozy place and enjoy the magazine from cover to cover.
We’ve got much to share with you.
Our first feature uncovers the history of Grenache, one of the most widely used blending
grapes. If you enjoy Rhône Valley reds, you’re already a Grenache fan—you just might
not have known it. Get more familiar with Grenache with Gary Hall’s wine picks at the
end of the story—stop by Westminster Total Beverage and pick up a bottle or two!
As we shift from summer’s fruity, frozen, or light beverages, it’s time to think full-on
cocktails once again, but now with some creative twists. Classics are called such for a reason,
but some mixologists just can’t help tinkering. David Wondrich, author and drinks writer
for Esquire, showcases successful spins on some of the best-loved cocktails.
Everything old can be new again!
In our “Southern Exposure” feature, wine writer and correspondent
Laurie Daniel highlights how Cabernet Sauvignon—the king of red
wines—has found a home worthy of its regal reputation in Chile.
If fall’s arrival finds you back inside the kitchen ready for fresh culinary
inspiration, you’ll love the autumnal recipes from renowned chef Joanne
Weir’s new book, Wine Country Cooking, along with suggestions for ideal
wine pairings. California’s wine country is indeed as much a mecca for lovers
of fine dining as it is for fine wine enthusiasts.
Then, take a trip to Spain’s Galicia province with accomplished wine, food, and travel
writer Roger Morris as he explores the other side of Spanish wine—the white side. We tend
to see red when we think of Spanish wine, but lately its white wines have been coming on
strong, with food-friendly Albariño leading the charge.
Come back home as Anthony Dias Blue, author of The Complete Book of Spirits, examines
the recent success of boutique distillers who are earning America some bragging rights when
it comes to their vodkas.
In our final pages, you’ll find information-packed wine recommendations from
our expert staff members along with seasonal beer picks and an interesting profile by
Derek Ridge about Boulder Beer Company. Westminster Total Beverage is committed
to providing you with the best information possible about fine wines, spirits, and beer.
We look forward to seeing you in the store soon—we’re here to guide you to the perfect
selection for every meal or occasion you’re planning.
Here’s to you!
Jim Dean, Store Manager
[email protected]
“Drinks Are What We Know”
9359 Sheridan Boulevard, Westminster, Colorado 80031 • 303-426-4800
www.totalbev.com
drinks Grenache
Mix Master
Grenache shines as the dominant grape in many blends.
I
f you enjoy Châteauneuf-du-Pape
and other southern Rhône Valley
reds as well as Spanish Rioja,
chances are you’re already a fan
of Grenache—you just may not know
it. Grenache, the second most widely
planted variety in the world, is usually
blended with other grapes. But these
popular wines often owe their reputations to Grenache, as it tends to be the
dominant grape in the mix.
“Grenache” typically refers to
Grenache Noir, a red grape. (The
white version is Grenache Blanc.) It
originated in Spain, where it’s called
Garnacha, and then made its way to
France. Grenache does well in hot, dry
regions, and its ability to produce well
in these warm climates has made it a
workhorse variety not only in Spain
and France but also in South Australia,
South Africa, and California.
While its main role is as a mixer in
both France and Spain, it has enough
character to play the lead in many of
these red blends. It can be made into
almost any style of red wine, from
dark big wines with a lot of tannin to
spicy young wine to light wines with
a touch of sweet oak. It can also make
a good fruity rosé. Grenache-based
wines tend to be high in alcohol with
high concentrations of fruit, tannin, and
acids. Wines made predominantly with
Grenache are often described as having
flavors of jam, spice, dried fruit, licorice,
earthiness and some pepper, depending
on where the grapes are grown.
In its homeland it is mainly blended
with Tempranillo, to which it imparts
a spicy depth. Navarra, Penedés in
Catalonia, and the central Spanish plain
of La Mancha all rely on Garnacha for
their wines. It’s also widely grown in
the large southeastern portion of Rioja
drinks
www.totalbev.com
known as the Rioja Baja, where some
varietal Garnacha is bottled. Rosés, or
rosados, are likely to be partly or wholly
Garnacha. In Ribera del Duero it makes
rosado wines with cherry fruit notes.
Some of the best Grenache-based
wines come from appellations in the
Rhône Valley of southern France—
Vacqueyras, Gigonadas, Côtes du Rhône,
and Châteauneuf-du-Pape—where
Grenache softens harsher partners such
as Syrah and Carignan. Fans of big
and burly reds should enjoy the wines
of Gigondas, which are usually high
in alcohol and tannins. Châteauneufdu-Pape has more Grenache in it than
anything else; these highly regarded
wines are known for being big, rich, and
full-bodied with spicy raspberry flavors.
In the Midi, or Languedoc-Roussillon
region, Grenache dominates Corbières,
Minervois, Fitou, and Faugères.
Grenache is gaining ground outside
Europe as Rhône-style blends from
California and densely concentrated
wines from Australia attract attention.
In California, Grenache has been used
in blends since the 1850s. Today the
group of winemakers known as the
Rhone Rangers has sparked interest with
their Rhone blends. The hot climate of
South Australia’s Barossa Valley is ideal
for producing some of the world’s most
powerful Grenaches. In the hottest parts
of Australia, Grenache can have flavors
such as tar, chocolate, and licorice similar
to a concentrated Shiraz, with a sweetness almost of vintage port.
Some winemakers are producing 100
percent Grenache varietal wines in the
Rioja region of Spain and from some
old vine plantings in California. On its
own, Grenache makes fleshy, very fruity
wines that tend to age rapidly and so are
best when young.
Grenache pairs with a range of foods,
from spicy Asian dishes to veal. Try it
with roasted duck, chicken, pork, hamburgers, lamb, or sausage, or with
grilled or barbecued steak. It’s also good
with pasta and pizza, as well as eggplant
rolled around creamy ricotta filling and
baked with a fresh tomato sauce.
Total Beverage
Recommends
Cruz de Piedra Garnacha 2006
(Calatayud, Spain)
Regular: $9.98 Green Tag: $7.98
Boisson Côtes du Rhône Villages 2005
(Rhône, France)
Regular: $15.98 Green Tag: $12.98
Dom des Roques Vacqueyras 2003
(Rhône, France)
Regular: $16.98 Green Tag: $13.98
Barrot Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005
(Rhône, France)
Regular: $29.98 Green Tag: $22.98
FIRST ROUND
[ WHAT’S NEW IN THE WORLD OF WINE & SPIRITS ]
FIRST ROUND
The New
Pomegranate
PHOTO BY JD HAVENS
Move over, pomegranate. Step aside,
blueberry. There’s a new superfruit
on the block—and in the bottle. Açaí
(pronounced ah-sigh-ee), a purple berry
loaded with antioxidants and other
nutritional goodies that grows on palms
in the Brazilian rainforest, has followed
pomegranate’s path from the juice
bar to the cocktail bar. VeeV, a new
açaí liqueur, can be used like flavored
vodka in cocktails—though, at only 60
proof, it’s a kinder, gentler spirit. Its creators—two investment banking brothers
who came up with the idea for VeeV
on a surfing trip to Brazil—claim that
it’s gentle on the planet as well, with a
dollar from the sale of each bottle going
to rainforest preservation.
drinks FIRST ROUND
Drinking & Drying
Bubbles from Below
Reluctant to entrust your wine glasses to the dishwasher but tired of having to dry the glasses with a dishtowel after hand-washing them? The new
AirDry from Architec may be the answer to your dilemma. A brushed stainless-steel stand supports four rubber-coated hooks that gently grip the
stems of inverted wine glasses, allowing them to dry evenly in the air. And it
separates into two compact parts for storage when not in use. It’s available
online for $14.95 at broadwaypanhandler.com.
The next time you pop the cork on
a bottle of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne, you may be tapping into a treasure from the deep.
Roederer, one of France’s oldest and
largest independent Champagne
houses, is the first to experiment
with aging its bubbly underwater.
Divers placed several bottles of the
Brut 50 feet below the surface of
Saint-Malo Bay, off the coast of Nor-
mandy, where the water temperature
is a constant 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
After a year of aging, the wine will
be tasted to see how it compares
to Champagne aged in Roederer’s
cellars in Reims.
Pernod Redux
Ave Agave
Looking for more bang from your tequila
bump? Try the new 1800 Select Silver, the
first 100-proof tequila. Made from 100 percent agave, it’s double-distilled and blended
with a little aged tequila. And it even comes
with a stopper that doubles as a shotglass,
making every bottle into a premium tequila
delivery system.
Vodka? Ja!
Although Russia may be the country most strongly associated with vodka, it
lags far behind Sweden and France in imports to the United States.
Vodka imports to the U.S. in 2007, in millions of proof gallons:
SWEDEN
12.6%
3.9%
NETHERLANDS
drinks
FRANCE
8.3%
1.8%
UNITED KINGDOM
RuSSIA
4%
1.7%
Poland
Source: Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
Is it the end of the world as we know
it, or just an inevitable relaxing of
regulations to keep pace with market
realities? France, which is notorious
for maintaining strict control over the
specific grape types allowed in wines
from different parts of the country,
recently created a new national appellation—Vins des Vignobles de
France—that allows wines from different regions of the country to be
blended together in one bottle.
The Castel Group has quickly
taken advantage of this seismic shift
with its new “bicoastal” line of MedAtlantic wines. The Med-Atlantic
Merlot and Chardonnay are each
blended from wines originating in the
Languedoc and Bordeaux regions
(on the Mediterranean and Atlantic
shores, respectively). Whether the
varietal labeling—unusual for French
wines (which tend to bear the name
of the relevant region rather than the
grape)—bears fruit in the brave new
world of global wine distribution remains to be seen.
Pernod Photo Courtesy of AbsintheBuyersGuide.com
From Sea to
Shining SeA
From the dawn of the 19th century through the first
fifteen years of the 20th, Pernod Fils set the standard for absinthe, the potent green spirit notorious
for fueling the creative fires of Parisian writers and
painters. Its popularity came to an abrupt end when
France banned absinthe in 1915 (it was banned here
in the United States three years earlier), though the
Pernod name lived on as an anise-flavored liqueur
that lacked the prohibited wormwood component.
Now, with absinthe once again legal in the United
States, Pernod Absinthe has been revived, wormwood and all. Produced by Pernod Ricard, which has
grown into one of the world’s largest spirits companies,
Pernod Absinthe can be mixed in cocktails or enjoyed
in the traditional manner, with cold water dripped over
a sugar cube held on a special perforated spoon.
drinks T
75
How to Make a French 75
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 1/2 ounces London dry gin
4 to 5 ounces brut Champagne
Combine lemon juice and sugar in a 12-ounce highball glass
and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add gin and fill glass with
cracked ice. Top off with Champagne and stir once or twice.
PHOTO BY ERIC MOORE
[
he spring of 1940 was not a good time for lovers of
freedom and civilization. On May 10, Adolf Hitler
thrust a panzer-tipped rapier deep into the heart
of France. Two and a half weeks later, the battered
British Expeditionary Force fell back on the tiny
Channel port of Dunkirk. On May 27, the evacuation began.
When Tallulah Bankhead, Queen of the American Stage and
one of the cursing-est, drinking-est, smoking-est Americans who
ever lived (she even scared Alfred Hitchcock!) heard the news,
she vowed that she would not take another drink until the British
were back in Dunkirk. First, though, she put in a call to room
service. Her order? Three French 75s, which she proceeded to
drink by herself. A little low-grade cheating aside, she pretty
much managed to keep her pledge until Dunkirk was finally
liberated at the end of the war.
Now, most might attribute that feat to willpower, but anybody
familiar with the French 75 will know better: It was the hangover. For those not familiar with the drink, it consists of a shot
of gin, a little lemon
juice, and some sugar,
An early variant of the French
in a tall glass filled with
75 calls for Cognac instead of
Champagne. Three of
gin, thus bringing the drink
these taken in rapid sucback to its supposed French
cession will fill the holorigins. While it might not be
lowest hollow leg. That
the original version (good
said, treated with the
Cognac was as scarce during
respect it deserves, it’s a
Prohibition as bathtub gin was
most delightful drink.
abundant), it’s not bad.
It also has the distinction of being the only member of the cocktail pantheon to come
out of the Prohibition-era speakeasies of America, although, like
any “legitimate businessman,” it takes great pains to disguise its
true origins. This has led to a good deal of loose talk and speculation, which can be threshed out into two main schools. The
first, looking at the Champagne and the drink’s name (which
alludes to the iconic French field gun of World War I) claims
it as a Gallic creation. However, no actual evidence of a French
origin has ever turned up. The second school, looking at the
gin, claims the drink as English and points to its supposed first
appearance in print in the canonical Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930
as proof. But this ignores the fact that Harry Craddock, who
compiled the Savoy book, pinched his recipe for the drink from
Here’s How!, a cheeky little cocktail compendium put out in 1927.
More importantly, it ignores the testimony of Ms. Marty Mann,
who recalled winning a drinking contest in 1921 where the drink
was “a French 75, a highball consisting of homemade bathtub
gin plus expensive Champagne.”
I say “more importantly” because Ms. Mann went on to become
the first female member of Alcoholics Anonymous and the founder of the National Council on Alcoholism. So, Tallulah has three
French 75s and doesn’t drink again for five years. Marty Mann has
considerably more than three (one would think) and swears off
the stuff forever. The moral: Don’t have more than two.
[
trÉs franÇais
BY DAVID WONDRICH
The French
mixology
drinks
crack attack
Cracking ice vastly increases the amount of surface area
that comes in contact with the liquid in a drink, which
means that it will get cold much faster. The best way to
crack ice is to put it in a canvas coin sack and whack the
bejeezus out of it with a wooden carpenter’s maul.
LIQUID ASSETS
Catch
Some Air
The Versovino wine
decanting system
not only aerates your
wine, it also measures
out precise portions
for each glass in its
glass sphere; $45 from
redenvelope.com.
Give your wine a
breather with
these innovative
aerating devices.
Hold the Vinturi aerator over
a glass and pour your wine
through, allowing your wine
to breathe instantly; $40
from vinturi.com.
L’Atelier du Vin’s elegant carafe
has an aerating device in its neck
with grooves that channel wine
along its inner walls; $235 from
deananddeluca.com.
PHOTO BY TERRY BRENNAN
This Danish-designed
decanting pourer
from Menu optimally
oxygenates wine as
it flows from the
bottle; $20 from
speranzaonline.com.
drinks
drinks If a venerable drink was good the
first time around, it may be even
better with a few judicious changes.
By David Wondrich
I don’t like remakes.
Show me some movie or TV show from the 1960s or 1970s that has been
subjected to the modern Hollywood makeover—complete with frenetic,
overpaid stars, unfunny pop-culture references, sexual innuendo, and
gratuitous hip hop—and I feel like Queen Victoria. Not the tipsy-onBordeaux-mixed-with-Scotch Queen Victoria (although someday I hope
to work up the nerve to try that challenging combination), but rather the
I-am-so-not-amused Queen Victoria.
And yet if you take a classic cocktail and start monkeying around with the
ingredients, the proportions, or the way it’s assembled, you’ll find my foot on
the brass rail and a look of eager expectation on my face. But maybe that’s
not hypocrisy—maybe it’s just recognition that modern mixologists are more
likely than film producers to exercise restraint and have some sense of proportion. Plus, when they make alterations they generally also have the good
grace to change the name of the thing they’re altering. If only Hollywood
did the same. (If they had to call it, say, “Creep in Green” instead of “The
Grinch,” they might actually make an original movie for a change.)
But why not see for yourself? Simply rent, say, “Starsky and Hutch,” and
start mixing your way through these modern twists on classic cocktails.
When you start laughing, you’ll know you’ve had enough.
10 drinks
Left to right: Chrysanthemum Club,
Poona Club, and Northern Spy
PHOTOS BY
Maki Strunc Photography
Fresh thyme and honey syrup add
depth to this classic gin cocktail.
Red Hook
makes 1 cocktail
The Brooklyn Cocktail might not be in the first rank
of classics, but with the resurgence of the borough it’s
named after, this 1910-era mixture of rye whiskey, dry
vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and the French apéritif
Amer Picon has been receiving a fair amount of attention. Of course, it would probably get a lot more if Amer
Picon were actually available here in the United States (it
stopped being imported a few years ago). But this cloud’s
silver lining came about when Enzo Errico, bartender at
New York’s Milk & Honey, took the apéritif’s disappearance as an opportunity to tinker. The result is the Red
Hook (named for a Brooklyn neighborhood), which has
become something of a modern classic in its own right.
RED HOOK AND HOUNDSTOOTH
2 ounces 100-proof rye whiskey
1/2 ounce Punt e Mes
2 teaspoons maraschino liqueur (preferably Luxardo)
Garnish: Lemon twist
Add ingredients with ice to a cocktail shaker and stir well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and twist a swatch of
thin-cut lemon peel over the top.
Houndstooth
makes 1 cocktail
The Brooklyn wasn’t the only cocktail back-bencher named
after a New York State municipality. There was also the
Tuxedo (named after Tuxedo Park, where the sawed-off
evening jacket was introduced to America), the Queens,
and the Saratoga, which was simply equal parts rye
whiskey, Cognac, and sweet vermouth, with a dash of bitters. I’ve always considered this last to be as elegant and
understated an example of old-school mixology as there
is. So when, not too long ago, I was asked to come up with
a cocktail for the elegant and understated old New Haven
menswear firm J. Press, it was to the Saratoga I turned,
substituting a rich sherry for the Cognac and dry vermouth
for the sweet (the sherry is sweet enough). The result is just
as rich in flavor, but not quite so intoxicating.
1 ounce 100-proof rye or bourbon whiskey
1 ounce Lustau Solera Reserva East India sherry (or
other medium-sweet amontillado)
1 ounce Noilly Prat white vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
Garnish: Lemon twist
Add ingredients with ice to a cocktail shaker and stir well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and twist a swatch of
thin-cut lemon peel over the top.
Northern Spy
makes 1 cocktail
Not all old cocktails are classic, or for that matter
even particularly good. Take the Sonora: apple brandy
and white rum in equal parts, with dashes of lemon
juice and apricot brandy. Nothing but a glass of mixed
booze, with little to recommend it—except for the fact
that somehow it wormed its way between the covers
of the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, one of the foundational texts of the bartender’s art. But Josey Packard,
a talented bartender then working at the Alembic in
San Francisco, saw something in there worth saving,
and proceeded to excavate it. (The name of her new
drink? It’s a kind of apple, plus it sounds “money,” as
Ms. Packard points out.)
2 ounces Laird’s applejack (or calvados)
1 1/2 ounces fresh-pressed apple cider
1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 ounce imported apricot brandy, to taste
Garnish: apple slice
Add ingredients with ice to a cocktail shaker and shake
well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a
thin slice of apple.
Summer thyme clover club
12 drinks
12
drinks 13
Old Cuban
makes 1 cocktail
Nobody’s better at making alterations to a cocktail
than Audrey Saunders, queen of modern mixologists.
So it should come as no surprise that the Old Cuban,
her retrofitting of the Mojito, is another modern classic. Like all good tweaks, it has the advantage of
simplicity: You just make your Mojito with a mellow
old rum, add a couple of dashes of bitters, and fill it up
with Champagne instead of fizz water. Easy. Delicious.
2 ounces well-aged rum
3/4 ounces fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
6 to 8 mint leaves
Chilled Champagne
Garnish: Mint sprig
Add ingredients with ice to a cocktail shaker and shake
thoroughly but gently to avoid shredding the mint.
Strain into a large Champagne coupe. Fill with chilled
Champagne and garnish with a mint sprig.
Poona Club
makes 1 cocktail
Speaking of Audrey Saunders, she is the proud proprietor of the Pegu Club, one of the finest cocktail
dispensaries on the planet. It’s not the first famous bar
to bear that name, however: For almost a century, it
belonged to a British social club in Rangoon, Myanmar
(although they called it Burma then), which was known
the world over for the cocktail that it had spawned,
also called the Pegu Club. Just to further confuse
matters, I offer the Poona Club, a red and toothsome
twist on the Pegu Club I came up with for Manhattan’s
popular Fatty Crab restaurant. (Yes, there is an actual
Poona Club, in India. No, the cocktail has no connection to it—I chose the name because, I blush to admit, it
sounded vaguely dirty.)
Old Cuban
1 1/2 ounces Tanqueray Rangpur gin
3/4 ounce Martini & Rossi red vermouth
3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed blood orange juice
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Garnish: blood orange wheel
Shake ingredients with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail
glass. Garnish with a quarter of a blood orange wheel.
14 drinks
Chrysanthemum Club
makes 1 cocktail
As long as we’re doing clubs and their cocktails, we
might as well take on the Clover Club. Back around
the turn of the last century, this group of Philadelphia
journalists used to meet at the Bellevue-Stratford
Hotel to eat the hotel’s excellent cuisine and listen to
speeches, making sure to always heckle the speaker.
Assisting in the heckling was the club’s eponymous
cocktail, a smooth-as-silk blend of gin, dry vermouth,
lemon juice, and raspberry syrup, with a touch of egg
white to give it froth and body. Now, gin and raspberries is a fine combination, but so is Cognac and
raspberries. So let’s make the switch. We don’t need
to use syrup: Just throw some fresh berries into the
shaker and let the back-and-forth with the ice extract
the juice. But that means we’ll need some sweetening.
The venerable Japanese Cocktail, from the 1860s,
pairs Cognac and orgeat, an almond-flavored syrup
to excellent effect—why not use that? (Oh, and you
can lose the vermouth—it’s great with gin, not so great
with Cognac.) Once the dust has settled, we’re left
with a Clover Club/Japanese Cocktail mashup that’s
shockingly tasty, if not downright sinful. Let’s call it the
Chrysanthemum Club, that flower being the symbol of
the Japanese throne.
2 ounces VSOP Cognac
1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon orgeat (almond syrup)
1 teaspoon simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar)
1 fresh egg white
6 to 8 whole raspberries
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake hard to
froth the egg white, then add ice and shake hard again.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, using a fine-mesh strainer to catch the raspberry pulp and seeds.
drinks 15
SOUTHERN EXPOSU E
R
The king of red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, has
found a home worthy of its regal reputation in Chile.
I
f you think of Chile as the home of $10 Cabernet Sauvignon, you’re
only half right. Cabernet is the country’s most widely planted grape,
and much of it goes into value-priced wine. But as more vintners
target the best vineyard sites and pay attention to improving quality,
Chilean Cabernet increasingly is climbing into the luxury category.
Vineyards are being planted on hillsides,
which are more costly to farm, and on lessfertile soils. Yields are being reduced, and
grapes are being harvested riper. There’s
increased attention to quality in the wineries, too, with more meticulous sorting of
grapes and gentler handling of the wines.
Foreign investment has poured into the
wine industry, and consultants from
abroad are adding their know-how.
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for about
a third of Chile’s total vineyard acreage
and about 40 percent of its red grape
plantings. Cab acreage has more than tripled since the mid-1990s. As grapes have
been planted in a range of sites, a range
of styles has emerged, too, from fresh and
fruity to riper, structured versions—more
“serious” wines.
Some of Chile’s best-known Cabernet
Sauvignons are from the warm, sunny
Maipo Valley, on the outskirts of the capital, Santiago. (Indeed, some vineyards in
the Maipo have been swallowed by urban
sprawl.) Much of the Maipo has deep, rich
soil that is really more suitable for fruit
trees than for high-quality grapes, and
many of its vineyards produce large crops
that are used in inexpensive wines.
The elevation climbs at the eastern
edge of the valley, into the foothills of the
16 drinks
Andes. This part of the Maipo is known as
the Alto (“high”) Maipo, and it’s cooled at
night by breezes that flow down from the
mountains. Some of Chile’s best Cabernets
come from the Alto Maipo, especially the
region known as Puente Alto.
“For me, the top Cabernet is Puente
Alto,” says Marcelo Retamal, head winemaker at De Martino. His focus in Maipo
is Carménère rather than Cabernet, but
Retamal—named winemaker of the year
in 2004 by the Guia de Vinos de Chile, an
annual guide that ranks Chile’s wines—
has a lot to say about all the Bordeaux
grape varieties, and he makes a very good
Cabernet called Gran Familia.
By LAURIE DANIEL
Photos by ERIC MOORE
18 drinks
Cabernet
accounts for
about a third of
Chile’s total
vineyard acreage
and about 40
percent of its red
grape plantings.
Reds
on the Rise
average to poor fertility. In these sites, he
says, “the vigor is naturally controlled.”
Another Cabernet region of note is to
the north of Santiago, in the Aconcagua
Valley. Most of the valley, which runs
east to west, is quite warm, though the
heat is tempered in the afternoon and
evening by cool air from the Andes as
well as sea breezes from the coast. The
terrain is also fairly mountainous, and
the best and most innovative vineyard
sites are on hillsides.
Errázuriz, owned by the Chadwick
family, is Aconcagua’s most important
winery and has pioneered the area’s
hillside plantings. The winery’s most
famous bottling from the area is Don
Maximiano Founder’s Reserve, a blend
dominated by Cabernet, with most of
the grapes grown on well-drained slopes
that face north and northeast.
Errázuriz chief winemaker Francisco
Baettig says that Aconcagua is warm
enough to ripen Cabernet properly but
not so hot that the grapes lose their freshness and fruitiness. “Aconcagua is a nar-
Illustration by Joe Lemonnier
Puente Alto is where well-known
Cabernets and Cab blends such as
Almaviva—a joint venture between
Baron Philippe de Rothschild and
Concha y Toro—and Concha y Toro’s
Don Melchor originate. The soils are
well-drained, with a high content of
alluvial stones. In Maipo, Retamal says,
“Quality is dependent on the alluvial
terraces.”
Retamal also notes the importance
of exposure to the sun. “Chile has a lot
of light, a lot of sun—sometimes too
much,” he says. Vineyards with a northern exposure get sun all day long, and
Bordeaux reds planted on these sites can
lose their typicity and become overripe,
he says. He likes a southern exposure,
saying that he can work with the shadows to avoid any overripe character.
Colchagua, which is challenging Maipo for Cabernet supremacy,
has a terrain that offers a variety of
exposures. That’s particularly true in
Apalta, which resembles an amphitheater of hills. All of Colchagua, including Apalta, is a warm growing region,
but in Apalta there are numerous good
sites with a cooler southern exposure,
as well as meager soils that naturally
limit vine vigor.
One of Chile’s top producers,
Montes, draws on estates in Apalta
and Marchihue, also in Colchagua,
for Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaker
Aurelio Montes thinks that Colchagua
reds are more powerful than those
from Maipo. Power certainly is a hallmark of Montes’ highly regarded Alpha
M, a Bordeaux-style blend based on
Cabernet.
“The soil quality and the outstanding
temperature conditions” are what make
Apalta so good for Cabernet, Montes
says. “The most important part is the
big gap of temperature between day
and night.” He notes that “the highest
temperature of the day is not so high to
burn the fruit, and not so low to obtain
unripe fruit.” And the low nighttime
temperatures, he adds, help the fruit
ripen slowly and develop good flavors
and color.
The best sites in Apalta for Cabernet,
Montes says, are those where the soils have
row valley that has a cool ocean breeze
influence, which moderates maximum
temperatures,” he says, adding that
Aconcagua’s location to the north of
Maipo and Colchagua means that it gets
a more direct sun angle, which helps the
grapes achieve better ripeness.
Aconcagua’s soils, Baettig says, “are
excellent to grow Cabernet Sauvignon.’’
In general, they aren’t excessively fertile
and have enough stones to ensure good
drainage, he says. “All these features
guarantee a moderate growth of canopies and medium vigor.”
Errázuriz also has some sites in
Aconcagua that are closer to the coast
and thus cooler. That includes the hillside vineyard for Seña, a Cabernet-based
blend that began as a joint venture with
Robert Mondavi but now is controlled
by the Chadwick family. The cooler surroundings at Seña, Baettig says, give the
Cabernet a fresher character, with more
acidity, and the wine emphasizes elegance
over power. The Don Maximiano Estate,
on the other hand, “displays stronger,
full-bodied wines.”
As Chilean vintners continue to finetune their site selection, high-quality
Cabernet Sauvignon might very well
be planted in some other areas. A stilluntested hillside or valley may be the
next place to add luster to the growing
reputation of Chile’s most successful
red wine.
Although Cabernet Sauvignon is Chile’s most widely planted grape,
other red wine varieties have also been gaining attention.
Carménère is often called Chile’s signature grape. It was brought
to Chile in the 19th century from pre-phylloxera Bordeaux, where
the grape has since been phased out. In Chile, Carménère was
interplanted with Merlot, and much of it was actually thought to
be Merlot until fairly recently; the difference between the two
grapes was officially recognized in 1996. Carménère ripens much
later than Merlot, so Chilean “Merlot” (usually a blend of the two
grapes) was often green and weedy. Now that Carménère is vinified separately and allowed to ripen properly, it’s producing some
good to outstanding wines. (Separating the two grapes has
improved the Merlot, too.) Carménère wines typically have a spicy,
somewhat peppery character.
Despite Merlot’s improvement, it rarely produces a truly exciting
wine in Chile. Casa Lapostolle is one winery that has paid a lot of
attention to Merlot, blending it with Carménère in Clos Apalta, the
winery’s flagship. The key may be vineyard location and vine age:
The dry-farmed vineyard is on a south-facing site in Apalta, and
most of the vines are 50 to 80 years old. Merlot from the site also
goes into the winery’s Cuvée Alexandre Merlot.
Pinot Noir is an up-and-coming variety, and plantings are expanding in cool spots like the Casablanca Valley. Wineries that produce
Pinot Noir are importing specialists from abroad to help boost
quality: Cono Sur, for example, has a consultant from Burgundy,
Martin Prieur of Domaine Jacques Prieur, while Kingston Family
Vineyards works with Byron Kosuge, who spent much of his career
at Saintsbury in Carneros.
As recently as the early 1990s, there was no Syrah planted in
Chile, but the grape has quickly shown great promise. There are
cool-climate versions from places like Casablanca and Limarí, but
the best-known wines are from the warm Apalta region: Montes
Folly and Ventisquero’s Pangea. John Duval, longtime winemaker of
Australia’s iconic Penfolds Grange, is a consultant on Pangea.
drinks 19
Eating well comes with the
territory in the wine country.
Recipes by Joanne Weir
PHOTOS BY Terry Brennan
Food styled by lara miklasevics
Reprinted from Wine Country Cooking by Joanne Weir.
Copyright © 2008 Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA.
20 drinks
Cannellini Bean Soup
with Rosemary Olive Oil
(recipe on page 24)
“Wine country” connotes a way of life as much as it does a place. It conjures up a bounty of fresh
seasonal foods, simply yet flavorfully prepared to complement the wines of the region—whether that
region is Napa Valley or Tuscany, Sonoma County or Sicily. Acclaimed cooking teacher and cookbook
author
Joanne Casey
Weir has a particular affinity for this approach to food, as she demonstrates in her newest
By Kathy
book,
Wine
Country
Cooking. We’ve rounded up a sampling of her recipes—along with recommendaPHOTOS BY Earl Kendall
tions
for wines
to go with
them—that are guaranteed to put you in a wine country state of mind.
Styled
by Jennifer
Dickey
Salad of Frisée, Radicchio,
and Autumn Fruits
Serves 6
Some people say that wine and salad don’t go together
because the acids compete. This recipe uses a trick that
really works to solve the problem: Pour a little Riesling or
Gewürztraminer wine into a saucepan and reduce it until
it’s syrupy. Use that wine syrup in place of some of the
vinegar in your salad dressing and serve the same wine
to drink. The flavors will match perfectly, as they
do here.
Salad of Frisée, Radicchio,
and Autumn Fruits
1/2 cup dry Riesling or Gewürztraminer
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large bunches frisée, ends trimmed
1 small head radicchio, torn into 2-inch pieces
1 Fuyu persimmon, cut into thin slices
1 red Bartlett pear, halved, cored, and cut into thin slices
6 figs, halved
1 small pomegranate, peeled, with seeds removed
and separated, for garnish
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted (see note below), for garnish
In a small saucepan over high heat, reduce wine until 1 to 2
tablespoons remain. Let cool. In a small bowl, whisk together
vinegar, reduced wine, and olive oil to make a vinaigrette.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place frisée, radicchio, persimmon slices, pear slices, and figs
in a bowl. Add vinaigrette and gently toss together. Place on
individual salad plates. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and
walnut halves and serve immediately.
To toast walnuts, place them on a baking sheet in a 375°F
oven until light golden and hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.
Wild Mushroom and
Blue Cheese Crostini
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
1 cup coarsely grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
12 slices coarse-textured country-style bread
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons lemon juice, for drizzling
Whole leaves of fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
To Drink: Riesling or Gewürztraminer
Wild Mushroom and
Blue Cheese Crostini
Serves 6
You can find fresh wild mushrooms at the market during
the fall and again after the spring rains. Combine their
earthiness with blue-veined cheese and fontina to make
a delicious crostini topping. At the last minute, slide them
under the broiler until the cheese oozes and bubbles and
the mushrooms are hot.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound wild mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 pound cultivated mushrooms, thinly sliced
22 drinks
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add
mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, and
liquid has evaporated, 7 to 10 minutes. Add parsley, thyme,
and mint, and toss together. Season well with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Let cool and add both cheeses. Toss
together.
Preheat broiler.
Toast or grill bread on both sides. Rub each side of toast
lightly with garlic. Distribute mushroom-cheese mixture on top
of toasts. Place toasts on a baking sheet in a single layer and
broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Transfer to a platter
and drizzle with lemon juice. Serve immediately, garnished
with parsley leaves.
To Drink: Nero d’Avola
drinks 23
Cannellini Bean Soup with
Rosemary Olive Oil
Serves 6
Perfect for a chilly evening, this soup is hearty enough
to serve as a main course. All you need is a loaf of crusty
sourdough bread, a garden salad, and a bottle of Chianti
to make it a meal. You can prepare this soup a few days
ahead, and store it in the refrigerator until needed. Then,
to serve, all that’s left to do is reheat it and ladle into individual bowls. Note that the dried beans must soak for four
hours or overnight before using.
1 1/2 cups dried white navy or cannellini beans
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium-size yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
9 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
1 red bell pepper, roasted (see note below)
1 yellow bell pepper, roasted (see note below)
1/4 cup imported black olives, pitted and diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Pick over beans and discard any stones or damaged beans.
Cover with cold water and soak for 4 hours or overnight.
Drain and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large soup pot over
medium heat. Sauté onion, carrot, and celery until soft, about
12 minutes. Add garlic and chopped rosemary and continue
to cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add drained beans and stock,
decrease heat to low, and simmer slowly until beans are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine red and yellow bell
peppers, olives, parsley, red wine vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of
the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper; reserve for
garnish. With the spine of a chef’s knife, tap rosemary sprigs
gently to bruise stems slightly. In a small skillet, warm remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil with rosemary sprigs. As soon as
oil sizzles, remove oil-herb mixture from heat and let cool for
1 hour. When cooled, strain oil and discard rosemary. Reserve
for drizzling.
Purée one-third of the cooked and slightly cooled beans in a
food processor or blender. Return purée to soup pot. Season
to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with rosemary oil.
In center of each bowl, garnish with a spoonful of the chopped
peppers and olives and serve immediately.
To roast peppers, halve peppers lengthwise and remove
stems, seeds, and ribs. Place halves, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Broil until skins are black, 6 to 10 minutes. Transfer
peppers to a paper or plastic bag, close tightly, and let cool for
10 minutes. Scrape off skins with a knife. Cut peppers into 1/4inch strips and then across into 1/4-inch dice.
To Drink: Sangiovese
Pot-Roasted Leg of Lamb
with Garlic and Olives
Serves 6-8
Who would have thought of pot-roasting a whole leg of
lamb with loads of garlic, tomatoes, olives, and wine? Lulu
Peyraud of Domaine Tempier Vineyard in Bandol, a small
town near Marseilles, is famous for this dish, and justifiably so. The lamb is so tender that it literally falls apart.
Serve with roasted potatoes, tender young green beans,
and a big gutsy red Bandol wine.
Pot-Roasted Leg of Lamb
with Garlic and Olives
24 drinks
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 whole bone-in leg of lamb (5 1/2 to 6 pounds)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes, fresh or
canned (see note below)
24 garlic cloves, crushed
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc, divided
1 cup imported black olives, such as niçoise or kalamata
Olive Oil and Orange-Essence
Cake with Soft Cream
Olive Oil and Orange-Essence Cake
with Soft Cream
Serves 8-10
This is the lightest, most delicate cake you can imagine,
made with olive oil, Muscat, orange zest, and orange
flower water (available at Middle Eastern groceries or
online). Olive oil is used in place of butter, so it’s a “healthier,” lighter, more delicate cake. The wine gives it a subtle,
floral sweetness with hints of orange blossom and honeysuckle that pairs beautifully with the orange flower water.
It’s a single-layer cake that doesn’t need frosting. You’ll
find it’s a perfect cake to enjoy with coffee or tea.
In a large, heavy pot, warm olive oil over medium heat. Season
lamb with salt and pepper. Add lamb to pot and cook, turning
occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 30 minutes. Add onion and, stirring occasionally, cook until golden,
about 20 minutes. Decrease heat to low and add tomatoes,
garlic, thyme, and 1/4 cup of the wine. Cover and cook, turning
lamb occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Add another 1/4 cup
of the wine and continue to cook for 30 minutes. Add olives
and another 1/4 cup of the wine and continue to cook, turning
lamb occasionally, for 30 minutes more. Add remaining 1/4
cup of the wine and cook for a final 30 minutes.
Remove lamb from pot, cover with aluminum foil, and let
rest for 10 minutes. Remove and discard thyme.
To serve, slice lamb and place on a platter. Spoon garlic
and sauce over lamb. Serve immediately, passing remaining
sauce separately.
To peel and seed tomatoes, have ready a bowl of ice
water. With a small paring knife, cut a cross through skin
on bottoms of tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a
boil. Add tomatoes and boil for 30 seconds. Remove with
a slotted spoon and immediately place in ice water to
cool. Remove tomatoes from water and, with a small knife,
core tomatoes. Remove skins. Discard skins and cores. Cut
tomatoes in half crosswise. Cup tomato halves in hand and
squeeze to remove seeds.
To Drink: Red Bandol
5 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup sweet Muscat, late-harvest Riesling, or
Gewürztraminer wine
2 1/2 tablespoons orange flower water
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Preheat oven to
350°F.
Beat egg yolks with half of the granulated sugar until well
ribboned, about 2 minutes. Beat in orange zest, then slowly
whisk in olive oil in drops. Add wine and flower water. Mix
together flour and salt and beat into egg mixture.
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until they hold soft
peaks. Beat in remaining granulated sugar until whites hold
stiff peaks. Stir 1 cup of the beaten whites into batter and
then gently fold in the rest of the whites. Pour into prepared
pan and bake for 20 minutes. Decrease heat to 300˚F and
continue to bake another 20 minutes. Turn off oven, cover
top of the cake with a round of buttered parchment paper,
and leave in oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven
and let cool in the pan on a rack.
To serve, whip cream to soft peaks and add 1 tablespoon of
the confectioners’ sugar and the vanilla. Slice cake and serve
a wedge of the cake with a dollop of cream on side, dusted
with some of remaining 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar.
To Drink: Muscat
drinks 25
If
you think of Spain’s Galicia province as the American Northwest,
then you can imagine the Galician
wine region of Rías Baixas (ree-ahs
buy-shuss) occupying the same location as the
Oregon coast. In this land of hillside vineyards,
waves from the Atlantic crash onto the rocky
coast, rain is often in the air, and the vineyards
and the forests are verdant green.
This has been the home for centuries of Albariño,
a grape that almost disappeared through neglect,
but whose wine has now taken American drinkers by storm. In 2001, about 240,000 liters of
Albariño’s success
has proven that
Spain can make great
white wines, too.
By Roger Morris
The Lighter
Side of
26 drinks
© Cepahs/Laura Knox/Fernando Briones
Spain
the spicy, racy white wine were consumed by
Americans. By 2007, that number had skyrocketed to more than 1.7 million liters—half of the
region’s total worldwide exports. The annual
jump from 2006 to 2007 alone was three-quarters
of a million liters, at a time when many new
wines from all over the world were competing
for the attention of American drinkers.
“The success of Albariño is due in part to the
fact it is an aromatic grape with great acidity, which makes it a great food wine,” says
Katrin Naelapaa, Director of the Wines from
Spain promotional organization, referring to
Granite posts in an Albariño vineyard
near Cambados, in the Val do salnÉs
subregion of Riax Baixas.
Albariño’s floral fragrance and crisp citrus finish. “If you let people try it who
like buttery Chardonnays, they may
say, ‘No.’ If you give it to those who
like unoaked Chardonnay—‘Maybe.’
And those who like Sancerre—‘Yes!’”
Classically, Albariño has accompanied
seafood, particularly shellfish, but it is
often paired in restaurants with Indian
cuisine and even some of the milder
Mexican dishes.
keep out wild horses that frequent
the area. “There’s not a lot of marine
influence up here in the mountains,
either from the river or the Atlantic,”
Canas says, which affects the way he
makes wines.
Most Albariño is fermented in stainless-steel tanks, Canas explains, without a malolactic or secondary fermentation, to help the wine maintain its
fragrance and crisp acidity. But in
those areas with warmer climates and
the presence of granite and slate soils,
which provide more minerally tastes,
some winemakers have been lured to
making bigger, longer-aging Albariños
through use of oak casks, time on lees,
and blending in other grapes.
At Fillabao winery on the banks of
the Tea River, for example, some cuvées are fermented in the standard stainless-steel fashion, but are left on fine
lees for up to nine months with regular
stirring, or battonage. The wine maintains its crisp finish, but the middle
taste is more complex, with hints of
brioche or even cheese whey.
“Everyone thinks that Albariño
always has to be fresh,” an official at
Fillaboa told me, “but this may be the
style of the future.” (Terras Gauda
also makes fuller wines by blending in
small amounts of other grapes.)
Fillaboa also practices a regional
style of viticulture that is seldom seen
outside of Spain. It is a type of arbor or
pergola planting where concrete posts
support large, interlocking canopies of
vines that can connect a dozen or more
rows of grapes. The purpose, according to Fillaboa—which uses pergolas
for 80 percent of its vineyard and
single-row trellising for the rest—is to
provide ventilation to prevent mildew,
as well as to give better exposure to the
dangling grape clusters. It also makes
for easier picking during harvest.
I
t’s mid-September in the Miño
River valley, which traces Spain’s
northwest border with Portugal,
and the grape harvest has been underway for over a week. I’m walking
through a mountainside vineyard above
the Morgadío winery in Condado de
Tea, one of the five subregions that
make up Rías Baixas, with Augustin
Lago, technical director for the Rías
Baixas designation. The landscape is
rural and sparsely populated, although
only a few miles inland from the sea.
Lago points to the mountains of
Portugal on the other side of the
Miño (which the Portuguese spell as
“Minho”) and discusses the crazy-quilt
appellation. “Rías Baixas was created
in 1986 and was first conceived of
as a special designation for Albariño,
and that was its [the region’s] original
name,” he says. “Its name was officially
changed to Rías Baixas in 1988 because
the European Union wouldn’t allow a
wine region to be named for a grape.”
The name Rías Baixas, he explains,
comes first from “rías,” which means
“bays” or “inlets,” and “baixas” which
means “lower,” as in the southern inlets.
The Albariño grape was widely planted
in this part of Spain a century ago and
was noted for the excellent wines it
made. Then the phylloxera epidemic
struck, wiping out most of the vineyards of Europe. When the vineyards
of Galicia were replanted, it was mainly
28 drinks
in Palomino and other lesser grapes.
While Palomino is noted as a base for
Sherry wines much farther south, the
grape tends to make dull table wines.
It was not until the 1950s that government incentives caused growers to
pull up Palomino and replant it with
Albariño. Today, Albariño accounts
for more than 90 percent of vineyards
in Rías Baixas, which is almost totally dedicated to white grapes. Other
local white grapes include Treixadura,
almost always used as a blending grape,
and Loureiro and Caiño Blanco, which
are also usually blended, but are sometimes made into varietal wines.
“Caiño Blanco gives more body and
intensity,” says Emilio Rodriguez
Canas, winemaker at Terras Gauda,
“while Loureiro is more floral.” Terras
Gauda plants both varieties in addition
to Albariño.
A wine must be 100 percent Albariño
to be called that on the Rías Baixas
label. A wine simply labeled “Rías
Biaxas” is normally a blend of Albariño
and other grapes.
Of Rías Biaxis’s five non-contiguous
subregions, the oldest and the one with
the most wineries is Val do Salnés, also
known for its shellfish, on the Atlantic
Coast. O Rosal is also bordered by the
Atlantic where the Mino River joins
the sea, but it includes mountain as
well as seaside vineyards. Ribeira do
Ulla, located in an alluvial plain southeast of the regional capital of Santiago
de Compostela, is the newest subregion. Two areas are located farther
inland: Soutomaior, the smallest, and
Condado do Tea, named after the river
Tea, a Mino tributary.
Trees ring the Terras Gauda vineyard in O Rosal, and fences help
Photo © Getty Images
Classically, Albariño has accompanied seafood, particularly
shellfish, but it is often paired in restaurants with Indian
cuisine and even some of the milder Mexican dishes.
W
hile Albariño has been
grown in Galicia since
at least the Middle Ages,
there is some doubt as to its true origin. Popular legend has it that when
pilgrims from throughout Europe
made their way in the thousands
across northern Spain to Santiago de
Compostella en route to be the tomb
of St. James, they brought with them
grape seeds— seeds from the Riesling
vines along the Rhine or the Mosel.
Although there are some similarities
between the two and although vines
change in different climates over
centuries, scientific studies have shown
no relationship between Riesling
and Albariño.
However, there is a kinship to another
popular wine grape variety—Alvarhino,
which grows across the border in
Portugal. While the two grapes are
essentially the same, different terroir,
vineyard practices, and winemaking
techniques have resulted in divergent styles of wine. And, partly
due to marketing campaigns and
drinker preferences, Albariño has
clearly done the better job of establishing itself in America.
“We started the first Albariño
campaign in the United States in
1994,” says Wines from Spain’s
Naelapaa. “One of the early pioneers during this period was
Martín-Códax, which let other
growers know that you
could be successful with
the wine in the American
market.” There are now
more than 50 wineries
exporting Albariño to the
United States.
Another pioneer in selling Albariño in America
is the family-owned Maior
de Mendoza bodega. But
Marcos Berros, the winery’s proprietor, believes
in looking ahead.
“When we approach a
market, we are welcomed
by consumers because of
the freshness and fruit
experience of Albariño,”
Berros says. “I think the
natural tendency is then
for the consumer to expect
more. The good news is
they will find more styles
because the variety is
so versatile.”
spain’s other
white wines
In spite of its generally hot climate,
Spain is gradually shedding its reputation as being only a “red state”
when it comes to wine. While Albariño
has been largely responsible for this
re-evaluation, other white wines have
also contributed to the cause.
For vino blanco lovers, a special
area of interest is Rueda, a major
white appellation located between
the red wine regions of Ribero del
Duero and Toro. Rueda has in recent
years been making delicious
white table wines from the
Verdejo grape, but increasingly
Sauvignon Blanc is being planted
there as well. One of the best
examples of a Rueda white
comes from Marqués de Riscal,
the renowned Rioja winery,
which chose Rueda over its
home region for making a white
wine. (Other wineries do make
Rioja blanco, however, mainly
from the Viura grape.)
For those looking for the
“next big thing” white, a
Spanish surprise that is
creeping onto the restaurant wine scene and
into retail stores is
Txakoli, from the Basque
region along the Bay of
Biscay. Generally a crisp,
low-alcohol wine with a
slight spritz, it’s often
served with tapas.
And what’s next? Look
for more white table
wines from the Penedès
region, where the sparkling cava is king, made
from a primary cava
grape, Xarel-lo.
drinks 29
Having leaped across
the Atlantic, vodka is
thriving on our shores.
By
ny
o
th
An
e
lu
B
as
Di
Russia
and Poland
may still be tussling over the bragging rights for
the
, but the clear,
invention of vodka
strong spirit left the confines of Eastern Europe long ago
and started to make a name for itself elsewhere on the Continent.
Brands from the Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden’s Absolut, have been extremely successful. More recently France has
honed its vodka chops with class-act stunners such as Grey Goose and Cîroc, and the Netherlands has won fans with the likes
of Ketel One. The American taste for quality vodka has made these European brands stars of the bars. ¶ But good old
American enterprise knows a hot commodity when it sees one. Premium American-made vodka is now big business
for domestic producers, from large corporate players to do-it-yourselfers with hand-built stills. And these homegrown vodkas are giving their Old World counterparts a run for their money. Continued on page 33
Photos by terry brennan
30 drinks
drinks 31
Cocktails,
American-Style
Skyy Rise
American vodka meets French
Champagne in this diplomatic cocktail, served at Rise Bar at The RitzCarlton New York, Battery Park.
2 ounces chilled Champagne
2 ounces Skyy vodka
Splash of passion fruit purée
Pour the Champagne into a cocktail
glass. Shake the vodka and passion
fruit purée over ice in a cocktail shaker; strain over the Champagne.
Cranberry Dram
At the chic, neo-classic bar Rye in
San Francisco, American vodka
shows up in a variety of creative
cocktails, including this autumnal
cranberry-studded dram.
1 1/2 ouncesSquare One Organic
Rye Vodka
6 to 8 fresh cranberries
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice
Dram (a Jamaican liqueur)
Dash of organic simple syrup
Lime wheels for garnish
Stir ingredients over ice in a tall
glass. Garnish with lime wheels.
“We’re fighting
against the myth
that foreign-made
vodka is better
than domestic.”
32 drinks
Sky’s the Limit
As Maurice Kanbar stared out his apartment window in 1992 on one of San
Francisco’s rare clear days, the name for
his new vodka struck him like a bolt out
of the blue: Skyy. (The extra y, he knew,
would enable him to trademark the
name.) Kanbar—an engineer and prolific inventor who had already conceived
and built the first multiplex cinema and
patented a device for de-fuzzing sweaters,
among other brainstorms—had created
an American-made vodka that was quadruple-distilled and triple-filtered, a process that made it exceptionally smooth.
Strutting out in a signature cobalt blue
bottle and backed by Kanbar’s savvy sales
force, Skyy soon became the darling of
the burgeoning ‘90s cocktail scene. Clean,
fresh, and racy, with dry, spicy flavors,
Skyy’s claim to purity resonated with a
demographic that hydrated religiously
with Perrier quaffed by the liter bottle.
Now owned by the Italian Grupo Campari
(makers of the well-known bitter apéritif),
Skyy is still the leading American vodka in
the super-premium category, selling more
than 2.5 million cases a year globally.
High-end American vodka was a novel
idea in the early 1990s, but since then Skyy
has been joined on the top shelf by a host
of other upscale domestic vodkas. Many of
them are crafted at Distilled Resources, a
custom distilling facility in Rigby, Idaho.
Its owner, Gray Ottley, is the go-to guy
for anyone seeking to create an American
vodka from scratch.
“We’re fighting against the myth that
foreign-made vodka is better than domestic,” boasts Ottley, who started Distilled
Resources in 1988 with a concept for a
spirit made from Idaho’s famous Russet
Burbank potatoes. That product eventually
launched in 2001 as independently-owned
Blue Ice vodka. “It takes nine pounds of
potatoes to make one bottle of Blue Ice,”
Ottley explains. “Potatoes are more costly
and less efficient than other raw materials. Still, the myth persists that all vodka is
made from potatoes.”
In fact, only a tiny fraction of vodkas is
made from spuds. Aside from Blue Ice, with
its lush, slightly sweet tones, other American
potato-based vodkas include the appropriately-named Spudka, creamy Teton Glacier,
and velvety Zodiac. All are made at Distilled
Resources, but the company now produces
vodkas from other raw materials as well.
Green is a Go
Spirits industry veteran Allison
Evanow’s vodka brand has a unique
distinction: The company is owned
and operated by women. But that wasn’t
the main consideration when Evanow
decided to create Square One, an organic rye vodka that debuted in 2006. “It
was more about starting an organic
spirits company, incorporating an
eco-conscious mindset, and bringing more organic ingredients into the
glass,” says Evanow. Like every successful product, Square One—which is rich,
lovely, and balanced—was carefully
thought-out, right down to its organic
rye raw material.
“I realized that if we were going to
convince consumers that organic is
viable, we had to start with the spirit
drinks 33
that’s the purest: vodka,” Evanow
recalls. “And if we were really starting
at ‘square one,’ we needed to go to the
origins of vodka. The research I did
showed that the original vodkas were
rye.” Evanow has also just introduced
Square One Cucumber—a companion
version flavored with organic cukes.
Elegant, polished Rain vodka begins
its life as organic corn grown on a single
1,500-acre Illinois farm; it’s produced
at Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace Distillery
(home to several bourbon brands) in a
process that involves seven distillations.
Fresh-off-the-farm Crop vodka has
just arrived; the organic grain-based
line includes tomato- and cucumberflavored versions as well. Then there’s
Ocean, a splashy new organic vodka
Flavor-Go-Round
Vodka’s notorious neutrality is effectively an invitation to add flavors, and
American distillers have certainly been
keen to explore the possibilities, which
are proving nearly endless. Fruit is a nobrainer match for vodka, as in Orange
V, which is flavored with Florida-grown
tangerines and oranges. The anythinggoes artisanal lineup from Napa Valley’s
Charbay includes blood orange, Ruby Red
grapefruit, Meyer lemon, and pomegranate. Other contenders in the flavor arena
include 44° North (huckleberry and cherry), San Francisco–based Hangar One
(kaffir lime, mandarin blossom, citron,
and raspberry), and the always sophisticated Hamptons (banana, chocolate-raspberry, and cherry-vanilla).
category is exceptionally mellow Blue
Lotus, enhanced with caffeine, taurine,
guarana, and other natural flavors.
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
Like craft brewers, craft distillers have
become commonplace in the United
States. In Texas, Tito Beveridge (yes,
that’s his real name) owns one of the
rising star vodka brands in America.
A geophysicist by training, Beveridge
is a self-taught distiller. He makes the
lively, charming Tito’s Handmade
Vodka one batch at a time in a prefab
aluminum shed in Austin. “I like tinkering with things,” says Beveridge in
his leisurely Hill Country drawl, “so
I build all my own stills and condensers. Mine was the first legal distillery
Vodka’s notorious neutrality is an invitation to add flavors,
and American distillers have certainly been keen to explore
the possibilities, which are proving nearly endless.
from Hawaii. Just now reaching the
mainland, this newcomer is made from
certified organic grain and blended with
desalinated deep-sea water, sourced
3,000 feet down off the coast of Maui.
Riding high on the environmental
bandwagon is 360, a new vodka from
venerable McCormick Distilling, which
has been making American spirits in
Weston, Missouri, since 1856. Billed as
an “eco luxury vodka” (although not
certified organic), the silky, lush 360 is
as crystal-clear as any other brand, but
it’s also green to the core: McCormick’s
environmental responsibility program
offsets 100 percent of the company’s
electricity, transportation, and natural
gas emissions with renewable, clean
energy. Packaged in a unique fliptop recycled-glass bottle with labeling
made from chlorine-free post-consumer
paper, 360 has become a banner vodka
for the green set in very short order. “We
went from concept to shipping in just
eight months,” brags McCormick chairman Ed Pechar. Mail back the flip-top
in the prepaid envelope attached to the
bottle and the company will donate $1
to environmental causes.
34 drinks
“We put about two years of research
into these,” says spokesperson David
Karraker of Skyy about the delicious
new Skyy All Natural Infusions (citrus, grape, passion fruit, raspberry, and
cherry). “The feedback we got both
from bartenders and from consumers
was that flavored vodkas tend not to
taste like the fruit that’s on the label. So
we wanted these true to the fruit, but
the all-natural angle was also a big cue
for us.”
In a recent and growing trend, infusion enthusiasts are turning toward
more savory flavor profiles based on
herbs and spices rather than fruits. The
tasty Herb’s Aromatic Vodka line draws
on dill, fennel, and rosemary, while 267
Infusions offers olive and pearl onion
flavors that include the edible produce
right in the bottle. The Modern Spirits
portfolio goes even further afield with
intriguing celery-peppercorn, tea, and
black truffle offerings. And for vodka
lovers seeking extra club-night zip,
there’s hip Zygo, a peach-flavored vodka with herbal stimulants guarana and
yerba maté as well as nutrient D-ribose
and the amino acid taurine. In the same
in Texas. Everybody thought I was
crazy.” Starting in 1994 with fewer
than a thousand cases, Beveridge has
turned the corn-based brand into a 50state phenomenon with an avid cult
following.
“Back in 1992,” Beveridge recounts,
“I went out and bought every vodka
on the shelf—83 in all—and put them
in Kerr canning jars, stuck numbers
on the lids, and blind tasted them
with my friends. I was amazed at
how bad almost all of them were.” In
spite of the fact that Stolichnaya was
one of the brands he wound up using
as a benchmark, Beveridge has some
strong opinions about Russian versus
American vodka. “That stuff about
Russian vodka being the best is a fallacy,” declares the outspoken distiller.
“I’ll put my vodka up against theirs any
day of the week.”
His opinion of other American vodkas, especially craft brands, is far more
generous. “The whole American distilling movement is great,” he enthuses.
“I like seeing all these people making
their own spirits. I’m not scared of any
competition, the market is so big.”
STAFF picks
Staff FAVORITES
Here are some handpicked favorites straight from our wine staff. Whether you’re looking for a great gift, something to serve
when entertaining, or just something new, we’ve got a vast selection from which to choose. For questions or more recommendations, e-mail Wine Manager Gary Hall at [email protected].
GARY HALL
Wine Manager
So much for the rarities, here is an affordable, plentiful wine
you’ll enjoy.
In the Fold
Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2006
In an era when many Australian releases
resemble cough syrup and grain alcohol as much
as they do wine, the venerable house of Penfolds
stays the course making wines of character and balance. From
the universally revered Grange down to the value-priced
Rawson’s Retreat, this winery seldom misses. Penfolds itself
says it best. “Penfolds focuses on creating uniqueness through
meticulous fruit selection–a luxury resulting from our vast
old-vine vineyard holdings across South Australia.” Long-time
Penfolds employee and current head winemaker Peter Gago
was in Denver recently debuting the 2008 Luxury Release
collection. All of the following are extremely limited.
Grange 2003
Amazing that such a huge wine can be so well integrated at
such a young age. Six bottles available.
Regular $349.98 Sale $299.98
Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
From Barossa, Coonawarra, and Padthaway fruit this 100
percent Cab has become quite rare. Six bottles available.
Jay Miller gives a nice summary of this wine (78 percent Shiraz,
22 percent Cab) in The Wine Advocate. “Purple-colored, the
wine offers meaty black currant, blackberry, and blueberry
aromas. On the palate, the wine exhibits remarkable focus and
structure for its humble price. The fruit is grapey and primary
as well as intensely flavored. It should evolve for several years
and drink well through 2022 if not longer. It is a fantastic value.
(91 points) $8-$13.”
Regular $10.98 Sale $7.98!
Josh Luhn
Assistant Wine Manager
Soap Box Time
How many times have you said, or heard, “We
had such great wine when we were in Europe,
and it was so inexpensive. Even the local table
wines were outstanding.”
Regular $59.98 Sale $49.98
I don’t know why value wines from the new world (United
States, Australia, Chili, Argentina) outsell European wines.
In my opinion, most low-priced Euro wines have much more
character and display higher quality than their new-world
counterparts. Also, if you look at our selection of new-world
wines you may notice the amount of brands in the American
and Australian sections. These are faceless corporate wines
that display only fruit-juice qualities and are a delivery system
for alcohol more than they are wine. So, if you have been buying wines that are color coordinated by varietal, and display a
marsupial on the label, you may want to save your money and
buy Hawaiian Punch and Everclear. If you want to try some
wine, pick up one of the following.
Yattarna Chardonnay 2005
Botromagno Gravina 2006
Regular $114.98 Sale $94.98
RWT Shiraz 2005
Made “from fruit selected for its aromatic qualities and fine
texture rather than sheer intensity or power of flavor.” Twelve
bottles available.
Regular $99.98 Sale $79.98
St Henri Shiraz 2004
The counterpoint to Grange, St Henri sees no new oak. Gago
says this is the best-ever St. Henri, surpassing the 2002, which
we also have in stock.
Bin 311 Chardonnay 2005
This is a wonderful, floral white with pronounced mineral
notes that mix well with the white peach flavors and crisp
focused acid. It’s a blend of 60 percent Malvasia and 40 percent
Grecco from Puglia, the heel of the Italy’s boot. Try with white
fish, chicken, pasta with seafood cream sauces, and shellfish.
Regular $29.98 Sale $24.98
Chateau Lagarosse
Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux 2005
The goal here is to produce a white wine that will one day rival
the standards of Grange. Six bottles available.
Regular $94.98 Sale $69.98
Produced from an alpine vineyard, this wine, in my opinion,
is as close to Chablis as Australia is likely to make. Twelve
bottles available.
Bin 28 or Bin 128 Shiraz 1996
Rare mature bottles of these classic staples in the portfolio.
Limit one bottle per person.
Regular $24.98 Sale $19.98
Regular: $10.98 Sale: $8.98
2005 is one of the best vintages ever for Bordeaux and this
modern, smoky, coffee-laden, Merlot-dominant steal is proof
the petite chateaus are worth our attention. Try with beef,
lamb, stews, and soft cheeses.
Regular: $16.98 Sale: $11.98
www.totalbev.com
drinks 35
Staff Picks
Rachel Eastwood
Wine Staff Member
Autumn’s a strange time, especially in
Colorado. We can have 80 degrees followed
by blizzards—sometime in the same day. As
such, here I’ve chosen wines that complement
this frenetic season.
St Supery Sauvignon Blanc
On nice days when you’re thinking about what a blast this
past summer was, try this soft, prettily styled Sauv. Light but
still with a friendly tartness, it has lime, honey, and pineapple
notes, and just a hint of that grapefruit that’s become the main
flavor associated with Sauvs. $16.98
Thorne-Clarke Shotfire Cabernet Sauvignon
On days when you’re curled up with a thick book, this wine
will go well with a convoluted plot. Thick and jammy, its dark
flavors of blackberries, cherries, and spicy earthiness will keep
you warm until the last page. $18.98
Pol Roger Non-Vintage Champagne
For fall celebrations, pick up this wonderful Champagne.
This is fresh but elegant, showing a nice toastiness and apple
flavors. Very elegant but not stuffy. $45.98
Elizabeth Ngo
Wine Staff Member
Champagne
Often, we think of autumn as a time to move
away from the light, refreshing summertime
wines that taste so satisfying on hot summer
days. In the case of Champagne, for instance, we tend to think
that sparkling wines should be relegated to summer wedding
toasts and New Year’s celebrations. However, the best thing
about sparking wine is how wonderfully it goes (any time!)
with food—fried appetizers, light, salty cheeses, and best of
all, popcorn. It is an every day, every season beverage.
Gruet Brut (NV)
Brews News
The Best of Boulder Beer
Derek Ridge BEER Manager
One of my favorite breweries around is Boulder Beer, where
not only are the beers great but the people are awesome too!
For those of you who don’t know much about Boulder Beer,
here is a short history of this brewery, which will be celebrating
its 30th anniversary next year.
In 1979, two CU professors applied for and received the
43rd brewing license issued in the United States, creating
Boulder Beer Company. The original site of Colorado’s first
microbrewery was on a small farm northeast of Boulder,
the brewhouse sharing space with a few goats. Early on, the
brewery won industry and consumer accolades for its Porter,
Stout, and Extra Pale Ale lines of beers. Five years later, the
brewery moved to its current site in Boulder and has since
expanded from an original one-barrel brewing system to a 50barrel brewhouse. The facility has capacity to produce 43,000
barrels of award-winning beer annually.
In 1990, Gina Day and Diane Greenlee bought the brewery
and soon expanded the small tasting room into a full-service
restaurant and pub. Brewmaster David Zuckerman has
overseen brewing and production of all brands. Since 1992,
Boulder Beer has received more than 40 awards and citations
for excellence in brewing, packaging, and business.
By the spring of 2003, the complete family of Boulder
Beers had been reintroduced and repackaged, followed by
the successful launch of Hazed & Infused. Hazed, which is
now the brewery’s top seller, spawned a new line of specialty
brews called the Looking Glass Series, including MoJo IPA,
Sweaty Betty Blonde, and Killer Penguin Barleywine. Try
some today!
FALL FAVORITES
With fall right around the corner, many breweries put out
some excellent beers. Although it’s not quite as splendid as
winter, there are several releases that get people jacked.
This wine is made by a French winemaker who relocated
to New Mexico. There, he found the perfect climate to make
a traditional sparkler in the methode of Champagne—a blend
of 70 percent Chardonnay and 30 percent Pinot Noir.
Dogfish Head Punkin
Lucien Albrecht, Cremant
D’Alsace Brut Rose (NV)
Shipyard Pumpkinhead
Regular: $15.98 Sale: $12.98
This wine is also made in the methode traditionelle out of 100
percent Pinot Noir grapes. The light skin contact creates a
fresh, light, red berry flavor. Wonderful with fruits, cheeses,
and salmon.
Regular $19.98 Sale $15.98
Dante Rivetti, Riveto Moscato D’Asti (NV)
A sparkling wine from the Asti region of the Piedmont in
northern Italy. Moscato grapes have a wonderful sweetness
and light body. The bubbles on this one are bigger and sweeter.
Pairs well with melon wrapped in prosciutto and, of course,
milk chocolate.
Regular $15.98 Sale $14.98
36 drinks
www.totalbev.com
This is my fave, a full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of
pumpkin and brown sugar. This brew can hit hard, so make
sure you’re not carving while drinking.
$10.48 12oz/4pk
This has been described as pumpkin pie in a bottle. The
Sleepy Hallow inspired label makes this beer a special
Halloween treat.
$9.48 12oz/6pk
As a special trick or treat, our T-Bev in-house mixologists (Bess
and Tristan) have adapted the traditional Irish Car Bomb for
your holiday drinking pleasure. The Pumpkin Bomb offers
cocktail-time deliciousness akin to a slice of pumpkin pie topped
with whipped cream. To start, fill a beer glass half full (6 oz) of
Shipyard Pumpkinhead or another pumpkin beer of your choice.
Next, fill a 1-ounce shot glass with Jago Vanilla Vodka Cream
Liqueur. Pour liqueur into beer and enjoy—quickly!
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Sauza® HornitosTM Tequila, 40% alc./vol. ©2007 Sauza Tequila Import Company, Deerfield, IL.
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