Thursday, January 31 2008

Cupboard Crawling

Fancy a fancy glass?

I have a confession to make. I actually don't like talking about what I've been drinking. It's not because I don't love a darn good discussion about the subtleties and nuances of various wines, food pairings, vintages, producers, varietals, fashions, tastes . . . it's like really great gossip, actually.

What bugs me is telling people how much I drink.

Not that I'm embarrassed, or that I'm trying to conceal a problem. It's just that I drink professionally, and as a consequence there are times when there is more than one open bottle in my house. A lot more. And it's difficult to explain to a neighbour that just because you're lugging your third case of empties down to the recycling, you're not a lush. Of course, when the neighbour comes over and I ask if they'd mind trying some wine with me, and they watch me open the fifth or sixth bottle, they generally have a better perspective. Or at least they're glad they're getting in on it.

Having prefaced all that, it's important for folks in my industry to watch how much they consume. We are literally awash in inexpensive or even free wine, and it's all too easy to drink that third glass at the end of a long day, even if you don't really need it. It really helps to have a support system, like a loving spouse (hi Honey!) who's smart enough to keep their eye on you. Funny how after a while your wife becomes like a secondary memory, reminding you of all the things you could forget, like, "You don't eat cheese dip, it gives you heartburn", or, "No, you don't want to jump in the pool with your clothes on". What would I do without her?

In any case, this is the lineup from last week at Chaos Vineyards (aka, my house):

Seven bottles, seven days, yes?

Starting from the left, Pol Roger, my favorite 'everyday' Champagne. There is simply nothing that doesn't taste better with good sparkling wine, and the house of Pol Roger makes one of my favorites. When I can find it in this province I generally go for Bollinger, but that's a bit thin on the ground right now. Pol Roger Brut Reserve (this bottle) is a pale-straw colour, with creamy bubbles, a bit of nuttiness and a nice crisp finish of apples with a hint of bread dough. We had it with oysters and lobster claws, and it was a great match.

The next bottle over is a Hogue Terroir bottling. I've visited Hogue every year since the early 90's. They used to be one of my favorite wineries (the founder is a really great guy who has opened up a new venture over in Horse Heaven Hills, my favorite new appellation) but they've got a bit generic and spoofy since they went corporate. Still, an nice bottling with good tannins and only slightly too high an alcohol content, decent finish and clean fruit--not too much fruit either so it wasn't a jam-and-vodka bomb.

Beside that is a bottle of Spanish Albarino. It's not a grape you hear about very often, but it soon will be. Best way to describe it is kind of like Pinot Blanc if it was made by an Italian madman--dry like a rock, crisp but with some nicely developed fruit. It was a bit pricey at 22 bucks, but worth trying, and great with some grilled spicy squid.

Beside that is a bottle of Sandhill Small Lots Syrah. This is an effort from Howard Soon, and the mother corporation, Andrew Peller Limited, through Sandhill Winery. This bottle was a 2005 from Phantom Hills, and it was a bit too soon to drink it: Howard is partly made from plywood, so his wines tend towards a very heavy oak presence. Still, it showed some nice spiciness, typical of cool-climate syrah with cloves and a whiff of anise, along with some ripe blackberry under the load of vanilla and toast.

Next in the line is a bottle of Chateau Pontensac. It's a Bordeaux, from the Medoc, but it's not a first or even a third-growth. It's just a Medoc, albeit one run by the same folks who run Leovilles las Cases, a tremendously good (and expensive) producer. I bought it because I had just had a half-dozen new-world reds and was sick of sugar and fruit, and it was the perfect antidote: tannin, subtle fruit, minerals, medium body, appropriate alcohol to the weight of the wine and a brilliant balance of acid and tannin in the finish. Why can't more reds be like this, tasting of wine and not grape fudge?

Next to that is a bottle of Beringer Knight's Valley Alluvium. It's a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, replicating white Bordeaux. Not bad, but a bit more residual sugar than I think it needed. Initially it seemed a bit overwhelmed by the oak, but that dies off, leaving a well integrated hint of vanilla to chase the melon fruit and grassy notes. Good with shrimp tacos.

Finally, a bottle of Grey Monk Ehrenfelser. For those not familiar with the grape, it's a hoot: a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner first bred in Germany in the thirties. There's a wee bit in Washington and a little bit more in BC, but not much anywhere else--most growers regard it as inferior to Riesling, but I think it makes zesty and exciting white wines, especially if they're off-dry (like this one was) with good acidity to balance. We had it with pork chops with spicy coconut-peanut sauce, and it was wonderfully refreshing and fruity.

Right. Now it's off to cart away more empties and open some new bottles . . .

Posted by Tim AT 1:23AM

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