The Silk Road of Wine

Food Pairing: Mexican with Sauvignon Blanc

When the weather heats up, Mexican cuisine always seems like a great (and festive) way to get together with friends.  If you are interested in something a little more exciting than another night of lime-infused cerveza and margaritas (not that there is anything wrong with that ...), stretch the wrinkles out of your brain and take a tip from our friends at the Food Network -- a snappy Sauvignon Blanc will give just the right balance whether you like your guacamole mild or spicy:

Mexican meals can make a wine pairing difficult. Those wicked chiles knock out the flavor of any wine or strong beer. So you need to choose a good wine and tailor the menu. The tailoring's easy: Conspire with your waiter, unless you're afraid of being thought a wimp; find out what's low-key on the menu, in a hot-chile sense, and order it. Then go for the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Background
This remarkable wine -- stuffed with green, herbal flavors, a green-apple/grapefruit/passion-fruit fruitiness, and wrapped in a zippily acidic frame -- started to draw world attention in the 1980s. Before long, wine gurus around the planet were calling New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc -- particularly the ones from the Marlborough region, at the north end of New Zealand's South Island -- the best Sauvignon Blancs being made in the world today.

But a little trouble in paradise developed, from my point of view. One of the most successful labels was Cloudy Bay, which received enormous attention and praise. The makers allowed their fruit to get a little riper, and their wine to come to the market sweeter rather than bone-dry. Seeing their success, other Marlborough wineries started to follow suit.

Shopper’s Tip
Ten years ago you could pick up just about any Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc for your enchilada feast, but today you have to be more selective. The wines, on average, are higher in alcohol and sweeter, with less of that tingling acid zap that enables them to buzz-saw through rich Mexican food.

Recommendations
So, let's say you want wine rather than margaritas with your chips, guacamole and salsa. That's when it’s time to go even more south of the border and pick up a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

2001 Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc
2000 Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc
2001 Framingham Sauvignon Blanc
Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc, the 2001
The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc
2001 Jackson Estate Sauvignon Blanc

   

THE SOMMELIER COULD BE GOING THE WAY OF THE DODO

From Yahoo News, the invention that will strike fear into the hearts of Luddite sommeliers everywhere -- a talking microchip in the label that provides the wine's history and how to enjoy it.  Where will technology take us next -- a microchip that functions like an invisible fence if you try to pair the wine with the wrong food (haha)?

ROME (Reuters) - Who needs a sommelier? A "talking" wine label could soon tell consumers in Italy everything they want to know about a particular bottle -- from its production history to the kind of food it should accompany.

"The idea is to bring the oenologist to the table so that each wine can explain itself in the first person," said Daniele Barontini, whose Tuscan company Modulgraf is putting the final touches on the product to be launched in November.

"We envision our talking wine label in restaurants, wine stores and at vineyards that offer wine tasting," he told Reuters on Wednesday.

The new "label" would consist of a chip implanted in the bottle that could be listened to with a small device about the size of a cigarette package in the wine shop or the restaurant.

"It could tell you how to enjoy the wine, where it came from, everything you'd hear from a sommelier," Barontini said. "You could even have music."

He said producers of some of Italy's finest wines, like Brunello, had already expressed interest.

Modulgraf, a company specialised in wine labels and products aimed at preventing counterfeit, plans to launch the "talking wine label" -- which still doesn't have an official name -- at Milan's prestigious wine fair in November.

The label was patented by German engineer Florentin Doring, who works with Modulgraf. It could also help prevent counterfeiting, say its creators.

   

SPIDERS & WINE -- THE CLOWNFISH & THE ANEMONE?

Came across this Sunday morning in the NY Times in an article about what to do when one's wine collection outgrows the humble wine rack.  "Shouldn't we all be so lucky" is the first response, usually followed by "Throw a party!" or similar sentiment.  The article delves into various storage options ranging from a wine fridge to a full-blown basement conversion to a wine cellar -- turns out that those ancient, dusty, cobweb-infested cellars you see in the movies are that way for a reason:

Whether you choose a high-tech vault or a low-tech closet, Mr. Kolpan at the Culinary Institute suggested that you spare any spiders that might take residence, because they feed on the mildew that rots corks and can ruin wine. "When it comes to wine storage," he said, "spiders are a very good thing."

Full article here (free NYT reg'n required).

FOOD PAIRING: SPARKLING WINE & SUSHI

Ever wonder how to combine two of the greatest "date foods" of all time?  The Food Network has the answers, and they are quite tasty. 
Enjoy ... but remember to get your seafood fix on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday only (per Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential)!

• With sashimi -- slices of raw fish -- French Champagne will interfere least. It's generally drier and less fruity than other sparkling wines. Look for Brut Champagnes; don't choose labels that say Extra Dry or Demi-Sec.
• When choosing your fish for sashimi, avoid those that are oily or too fishy. Mackerel and salmon roe (ikura), for example, may play havoc with your Champagne. Remember that in the world of sushi-and-wine matching, tuna is always your friend.
• If you're having rich-textured sashimi, such as yellowtail, toro, and salmon, you might want to choose a richer-bodied Champagne (Krug, Bollinger, Roederer Cristal).
• With sushi, I love drinking sparkling wines from places other than Champagne -- such as California, northern Spain and northern Italy. The bit of sweetness in sushi rice helps along the match with fruitier, less dry sparkling wines. If you can find a way to slip an avocado into your sushi somehow, so much the better.
• Don't go too far on the sugar meter. Less-dry sparkling wines are still not particularly sweet and will not go well with sushi items that are. I love ending a sushi bar binge, for example, with a hand roll of glazed eel -- but it wouldn't go well with, say, an elegant sparkler from Iron Horse in California, or Bellavista in Italy. Now's the time to go back to Champagne; close your meal, and your eel, with that fairly sweet Extra Dry or Demi-Sec you rejected before.

SB 118: A POTENTIAL DISASTER FOR THE CALIFORNIA WINE INDUSTRY

A nod to K&L Wine Merchants for the note below in an effort to raise awareness of this -- see what this proposed legislation means for you and what you can do about it.   
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Part One: Reintroduction to SB 118...

The CA Senate passed a bill on June 17th (SB 118) that is now before the Assembly and soon will go to the Governor. The new law will PROHIBIT direct shipment of wine from California retailers (and retailers anywhere) to California consumers.

California law currently allows ANYONE (including the anti-alcohol forces and the wholesalers) to ENFORCE the prohibitions of the ABC Act, which would include the new law. This new law endangers the ability of every merchant in the state (over 70,000 retailers) to sell wine for shipment to consumers and could in one fell swoop send the industry back to 1935. It cuts off consumer wine shipments from licensed and respected wine merchants all over the United States; that is as anti-consumer and anti-business as one can get. The recent amendment to SB 118 seals off California from interstate commerce in wine from the retailer tier of the industry.

Part Two: What You Can Do...

Cut and paste the template below (or create your own message) and send it to your legislators. At the end of the template we've provided contact links to your State Senator, Assembly Person, the bill's committee members, and Governor Schwarzenegger.

Dear [ name of legislator ] and Governor Schwarzenegger:

We have been told about SB 118, which makes it a crime in California to ship wine direct to a consumer unless the shipper has a direct shipping permit, which are ONLY issued to wineries throughout the US. We are not opposed to permits, but the fact is that retailers in California and elsewhere in the US are PROHIBITED from getting a direct wine shipper permit by this bill. That is WRONG.

This new law takes away our right to receive fine wines from wherever we can locate them. This new law seals off the California consumer from wine merchants in the rest of the country, and potentially from wine merchants in California because the new statute says that California retailers can't ship wine to consumers either. Wine merchants are the only source of older vintages and all of them are reputable and licensed and would be willing to pay California taxes, register with the state and assure that no wine is delivered to a minor.

We support the amendments to SB 118 proposed by the California Grocers Association. If this bill doesn't get fixed, we urge Governor Schwarzenegger to VETO the bill. This is anti-consumer and anti-business. If the system needs to be fixed, we urge you to fix it right and not to harm the entire wine industry in the process.

Sincerely,

[ your name here ]

Part Three: Contact Links...

Your Senator: http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp (there is a link on that page to a map that will help you find your State Senator if you are unsure)

Your Assembly Member: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp (use the "Find My District" link on that page to help you find the appropriate person, or the "Member Directory" link if you already know)

SB 118 Committee Members:  http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/act/billletter.html?bill=sb_118&cmtehouse=A&cmte=GOVERNMENTAL+ORGANIZATION

Governor Schwarzenegger:  http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_contacts.jsp?

WINEMONGER -- A GOOD FIRST STEP IN DIRECT SHIPPING

As I've posted before,the Supreme Court's recent decision to legalize direct wine shipping to customers is going to have a major positive impact on everyday consumers.  Thought it might take a while to really kick in, but Winemonger seems to be taking all the right steps, especially in the delicious but decidedly under-represented sector of Austrian wines.  You can check out their press release here -- but don't miss the heartwarming anecdote (even if apocryphal) on their site:

In fact, our story began when one of our founders, an Austrian living in California, had ventured out to get his hands on bottles of wine from the climes of home. What he found, when he found some at all, was an extremely limited selection with some heavily inflated prices. We quickly found out why: the wines had been imported to the East coast, sold to a distributor, who then sold them to a wholesaler on the West coast, who then sold them to a retailer (who then tried to sell them to our Austrian.) By the time the wine landed on the shelf it had not only increased its price tenfold, it had also decreased in value due to improper handling and storage. 

Bravo to them and all other wineries and importers who finally have the shackles off and can compete on a level playing field! 

HOW A FAT BASTARD RIDING A RED BICYCLE CAN START AN INTERNATIONAL TRADE WAR

Talk about politics making strange bedfellows -- small French farmers are supporting the US government against the EU.  While I can't say I like the practices they are advocating (e.g., oak chips in wine), it really demonstrates the dire straits in which the struggling small European producers find themselves if they are willing to consider these measures -- I wrote more about it here and here.

The US administration is threatening a wine war with Europe as French producers target American consumers with new brands such as "Fat Bastard" and "Red Bicycle".

Washington is demanding a new wine accord by July 15 to replace one which expired in 2003 and which would enshrine American wine-making practices banned in Europe.

These include adding oak wood chips to barrels of wine to hasten the ageing process, adding water to must (the grape juice before fermentation is complete), and the use of ion extractors to reduce acidity.

Representatives of struggling French wine producers appealed at the international Vinexpo wine fair in southwestern Bordeaux this week to Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau and External Trade Minister Christine Lagarde to protect their interests in the negotiations.

European Union officials, pushed by traditionalists, are so far refusing to extend a current dispensation allowing the American practices, but US officials say that if no agreement is reached they will tighten application of the Bioterrorism Act.

Yahoo News has the full story. 

THE AUSSIE ENERGIZER BUNNY JUST KEEPS GOING ...

No wonder the French are pushing to liberalize their wine laws -- another record harvest down under:

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia posted a record wine vintage of 1.9 million tonnes in 2005, boosting production of white wine and keeping volumes of red varieties steady in the face of a world glut, industry figures released Tuesday showed.

The Wine Federation of Australia said the overall vintage was up by 100,000 tonnes or six percent in 2005, building on the record set last year.

But surprisingly Chardonnay, not Shiraz or Cabernet, was the varietal that showed the most growth (up 34%) ... worldwide tastes change slowly, I guess:

White wine grapes harvested increased 13.5 percent to 855,000 tonnes, with chardonnay intake surging 34 percent, while the reds rose 0.5 percent to 1.07 million tonnes.

Yahoo News has the details. 

France finally embraces "Wine of Freedom" (une espace de liberte)

Decanter magazine has a great article about how the French national vin de pays is being revived  -- this is vital, and an important step in stemming France's well-documented slide in market share relative to New World varietals (Australian and South American wines in particular).  Nice to see the authorities are willing to address the heart of the problem in reforming their archaic and overly restrictive wine-growing and labeling regulatory framework.

The concept of a national vin de pays - one that will allow blending between different regions and which may be called Vin de Pays de France or Cepage de France - is anathema to many growers. They see it as diluting regionality, and - especially in the south of France - vigorously oppose it.

No surprise, but apparently supermarket sales were the factor that tipped the balance:

Kessler said that the survival of France depends on selling wine in the supermarkets. While 30% of wine is regionally labelled, the vast majority is branded. France has to take its share of that market - but at present it does not have the means.

'If you're not on the shelves you can continue to dream your dream. The reality is market share. In France we don't have the tools to adapt our wines to all markets.'

The key issue, Kessler said, is the idea of 'wine of freedom' - une espace de liberte. Negociants and those responsible for selling wine should be free to market it without interference from growers. 'We will decide what is good for the market. A grower with 10ha of grapes should not tell me how to market wine in Germany.'

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