Grapier Wit

Fig Almond Spread

2011-12-22T05:21:00.000-08:00

A Guest Post by Myra Blackmon

Who doesn’t love a good jelly, jam or preserves? What’s not to love about fruit and sugar boiled until it’s thick and gooey, ready to spread on your favorite bread, be it wonder white, whole grain or Alfredo’s incredible artisan olive loaf? The sugar is a perfect all-natural preservative and making jelly is a cost-effective way to save the very best flavors of summer.

Over the years, we’ve become pretty sophisticated with our jams, jellies and preserves, going far beyond the old fashioned cloves stuck in pickled peaches or one of my childhood favorites, red food coloring in watermelon rind preserves.

Today’s flavors run the gamut from subtly-spiced, to herbed to fiery. In my fridge at this moment, I have plain old store-bought strawberry, black cherry, apricot and grape; locally made FROG (figs, raspberries, orange and ginger) and red pepper; gourmet roasted garlic and onion jam and my most recent acquisition. Fig Almond Spread from The Gracious Gourmet.

I popped by Shiraz Friday afternoon to pick up some wine Emily had special ordered for me—a nice dry Riesling called Eins Zwei Drei, which deserves its own post. As usual, I couldn’t leave with only what I came for.

Since sometime last year, I’ve been asking for the Almond Fig Spread we had enjoyed on a mountain road trip back in the summer of 2010. This time, I liked the answer, “It will be here any day now.” Turned out to be better than that, right there under our noses. I grinned while Emily searched the shipment and found what I’d been drooling over for more than a year.

Like many cooks, I have long used jams and jellies in all sorts of ways: with pancakes and waffles, on ginger crisps or graham crackers, over cream cheese on crackers, mixed with mustard and a little olive oil to glaze a pork loin or chicken breast, mixed with yogurt for my morning granola and a couple of times to substitute for honey or maple syrup in a recipe. Indeed, jams, jellies and preserves are a versatile standby in any kitchen.

That’s one reason I was so thrilled to get my hands on the Fig Almond Spread. I have no idea why they call it a spread instead of a jam or jelly, but who cares?

We loved it Friday night with the olive bread and the Tomme cheese Emily’s able assistant suggested. Saturday, I got in a comfort food mode and made, among other things, biscuits—or “biscuit” as they used to call them. A little butter and the Fig Almond spread made them heavenly. We had the same thing for tea this afternoon. I’ll probably have some with my homemade granola (another result of my comfort food binge) in the morning.

Truth be told, though, there is one way I like it best of all: on a spoon straight from the jar.

I should probably go ahead and ask Emily to order me a case.

Champagne Tasting

2011-12-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

Guest post by Myra Blackmon

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away….OK, it was really the 1980s and mostly in New York. Whatever. I dated a Prince Charming who loved the best of everything and had the resources to share that love with me.

He took me to LeCirque , then in the Mayfair Hotel, for an elegant dinner. When time came to order wine with our dinner, he said, “Hey, it’s a special night! Let’s have champagne with dinner!”

I have no idea exactly what we drank, but it was unlike any champagne I had ever tasted. It was light, pale blond and had far less carbonation than any bubbly I had ever run up on. I was hooked, and have loved champagne ever since.

I had hardly thought of that night until last Friday, when I lifted a glass (or three) with Michael McNeill, Georgia’s only Master Sommelier, at a tasting at Shiraz. Just listening to Michael talk about champagne and trying to absorb a tenth of what he was saying, would have been a grand time. Emily being Emily, of course, it went far beyond just listening.

Michael led us through tastings of ten estate-grown wines. These are from small growers, those who produce anywhere from 3,000-18,000 cases per year, as opposed to the millions put out by the big mass production houses. These are those extra-special wines, the ones that will put you off grocery store champagne forever.

My favorites? The light Nigl Brut de Brut, not technically a champagne, but light and refreshing; the Pierre Gimonnet Cuvè Gastronome Brut 2006, made from old-vine grapes, a bit darker in color and richer in flavor (paired with an artichoke, crab and cheese torte) and the A Margaine “Cuvee Traditionelle” Demi Sec NV, a sweeter champagne that would be great with curry or Thai food.

My food task this week? Planning my Christmas Day menu and getting Emily to help me match the perfect champagne with my courses. Before those few special cases are gone far, far away to homes and tables all around town.

OUR WINEMAKING STYLE IS CONTROLLED IDLENESS

2011-07-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

PFALZ!!

Welcome to day 2 of our magical Riesling tour! I got up early (thank you, jet lag) and went for a run through the vineyards. I think I saw 60 rabbits between the rows of vines, but I stopped counting when I got to 45! At that time, I the town hadn't even started to wake up, so I took a stroll to enjoy this charming village. Our breakfast at Villa Spiegelberg included fresh fruit, lots of good strong coffee, and delicious German yogurt, and the PERFECT hot boiled egg.

The Pfalz region is one of my favorite, and one of the lesser known, regions in Germany. I'm pleased to show you some of the great wines we found or rediscovered:

Off to Darting for a group tasting with Kurt Darting, Eugen Muller, Theo Minges, and Herbert Messmer. We tasted 43 wines over the course of about 3 hours, and then took a break for lunch. Some things new to me: Metewurst is basically ground pork, served sort of as it were steak tartare. There's a pork-based dish called saumaugen that's mixed into potatoes, onions, and peppers, and then baked likemeatloaf. We also had a huge cheese platter that include my own beloved St. Andre triple crème brie.

And thank goodness for the salad! These type of trips always bring out the showcases (ie: meat; see former blog “Here Piggy Piggy” for clarification), so we don't see much in the way of green things besides the vines, so I ate as much salad as I could. And the best thing at lunch was the fresh strawberries! The whipped cream was mixed with vanilla beans and yogurt, keeping it as tangy and fresh as the berries. It was the perfect thing to have after a big lunch.

How do you pronounce this wonderful region? Pfalz is pronounced“false”, as in:

You think all German wines are the same? Pfalz!
Think beer goes better with cheese than wine? Pfalz!
oh, i will think of more...but, next up, Muller-Catoir. pronounced cah-twoaar.
This was a beautiful estate--80% of their annual production is Riesling. It's located in a gorgeous castle that's simply hard to believe if you haven't seen it.
You're going to have to trust me on this estate and just buy the wines. I have no idea to date what they cost, but they're gorgeous.

Slight note: this place was amazing. Beautiful scenery, beautiful wines, and a - oh, let's face it, gorgeous winemaker. But my palate went into a bit of shock here, and the notes will be coming along shortly.

Our last stop of the day was at Von Winning (pronounced Vinning), and our host, Stephan, has been in charge there since 2007. This estate has a long, distinguis hed history, and though many talk about the new wines they are producing as being “new”, Stephan insists that they are traditional rather than progressive. The idea here is to be respectful of the wine (a common theme in the Terry Theise portfolio of wineries)

We took a long stroll through the massive cellar, which was littered with candles from a recent visit by the German president and 180 other diplomats. Huge barrels remain like a museum, and the winery has bottles cellared from every vintage since the '40s. We saw a large foudre with the inscription in German “from birth to death, drinking the very best.”

I liked Stephan immediately because he said things like “we are not producing fast food, we are producing slow food,” and “quality, quality, quality.” The winemaker was mentioned twice by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, which is a big deal. These wines were really in a realm of their own. These are wines where 50% or so is aged in oak, which doesn't seem like a large stretch for a region where most wines are fermented in oak, but the very mentality is what changes here. But the winery insists that "this is not beer or coca-cola"--that with good, very good, and genius parcels of land, some beautiful wines can be made. And they were indeed unusual--and they were indeed good.

Are we craving meat and potatoes because we're not getting enough? Pfalz!

DAY 1, THEISELINGS

2011-06-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

June 3, 2011

I landed in Germany today for the beginning of my trip with Kevin Pike, National Mgr of Terry Theise Selections. This is the first trip I've been on where we received a disclaimer beforehand that if we had sensitive teeth “start using Sensodyne now.” We will be tasting so many high acid wines that our teeth will hurt most nights!

Up to the Rheinhessen...

First stop—Gysler! The name should sound familiar, as his Liter bottlings have become a staple for value on our shelves. I was lucky enough to have dinner with Alex Gysler years ago, but it was even better to get to see his tasting room, a beautiful new facility ca. 2006. Alex opened the windows so we could enjoy the perfect weather.

The wines showed well, with standouts from his Scheurebe and Weinheimer Rieslings. And THEN we got a treat—someone made a joke that we needed to try some older vintages, and Alex disappeared for a bit, only to return with 3 bottles for us to share.

We had a 1999 Weinheimer Holle Riesling Kabinett (his first vintage since taking over from his father), a 1989 Eiswein Weinheimer Mandelbert, and a 1976 TBA. Although the dessert wines were absolutely phenomenal and memorable, the 1999 is drinking perfectly right now. Unbelievable, actually, how light it was on its feet despite the 12 years laying down.

Also present at the tasting room—Elizabeth Geil. Wne ran through Geil's current vintages, with their Silvaner Spatlese Trocken, Scheurebe Kabinett, and Rieslaner Beerenauslese ranking tops for me. The Rieslaner dessert wine tasted like lime ice cream with crushed gravel as a topping, and a hint of dreamsicle. But most of the wines were dry, and great food wines.

Alex's wife made us pretzels and a trio of dips to go with them. All in all, we tasted 17 wines.

Next up—Strub! Margit and Walter Strub are favorites of mine, both their wines and themselves. And theirs was the very first wine out of the Terry Theise portfolio to grace our newsletter. So what a treat to spend a day with them in their vineyards! We took a trolley of sorts up to these extremely steep slopes,

The most famous of Strub's wines is Hipping, which is also the most famous (and expensive) site in the Rheinhessen. It's a very! steep slope, and the soil is red from an intense amount of iron. It's all harvested by hand, of course (any machine would tip over), and has a special flavor from the soil. Look closely at the pictures and see if you can tell how steep it is!!

I have always loved Strub, but this year was particularly balanced—perhaps due to the addition of their son, Sebastian, to the winemaking team. We tasted 8 wines, and I have my eye on the favorites (it occurred to me after my earlier tasting notes that maybe I shouldn't mention too much about best-of-shows, no matter how true, because the wines won't be here until October at the earliest) anyway...

We had dinner at Strub in the tasting room. That lady of the house is really talented when it comes to food, and we had a fantastic spread to add to the steaks they grilled out on the back porch. Pasta salad, slaw, almond cake, panna cotta, cheese, pork cheeks... delicious! We had a lovely dinner, but the night wasn't over yet.

I had mentioned to Walter about our having some older vintages during the day, and he promised to do the same. Sure enough, here he was with goodies from the cellar, including a 1975, my birthday! It wasn't the best of the bunch, but I like seeing how long these wonderful wines will make it.

Also need to report a delightful stay at a beautiful hotel in downtown Nierstein, which I highly recommend. We'll be back at it tomorrow!

Welcome to the 2010 Clare Valley Vintage Tasting!

2010-05-20T17:23:00.001-07:00

This tasting kicks off the Gourmet festival every year. Participants pay for a glass to do the tasting and then keep the glass for the remainder of the events--or if they don't come to the tasting, buy a glass at the first winery they go to and keep it for the weekend.

It's a mix of winemakers, consumers, and people who work with or for the wineries. It's easy to pick out the ones that aren't in the trade, as we are all spitting! Remember, these are young, raw, unfinished wines. Great to try to see what the finished product will resemble, but not really want you want to sip over dinner.

AND we are spitting because there are 144 wines here! The tasting is 2 and a half hours long and I want to get to as many as possible. As you can see, it wouldn't be hard to spend a couple of days going through all of them. I am doing the best I can to speed taste, with just a quick moment to shoot a picture of me in the middle of the Riesling table!

If you remember, I like to talk about how this section of the country is world renowned for its Rieslings. Well, the proof is on the table--there are 33 Rieslings here from the 2010 vintage! Which means out of the 100 or so other wines, that's divided among all the reds from 2 different vintages, plus a smattering of other whites and roses.

Speaking of famous Rieslings, I was able to meet Jeffrey Grosset (of Grosset Polish Hill fame). His wines are oustanding even in this young form, as is his Gaia red blend. His wife, Stephanie, is the winemaker for Mt Horrocks, a winery across the road from Grosset--and she was here too! Neil Pike didn't make it but his wines showed tremendously well -- and Kilikanoon showed great! I know I'm biased, but they really were jewels in the middle of a lot of really good wine.

(whatever! told you Kevin was the man--here he is as the speaker that day, to a crowd completely enthralled by what he had to say about the vintage)

And here I am with Katie and Anna from Kilikanoon--note the black teeth! And we were spitting! Told you these were concentrated. All in all, I sampled a total of 100, trying all of the whites and roses and all of the 2009 reds (since Kilikanoon was my favorite of the 2009s and I'd had their 2010s, I opted to cut out for lunch instead! Wood fire pizza, anyone??

tastings, tastings...

2010-05-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

We're busy at Kilikanoon today! The Clare Valley Gourmet Festival starts tomorrow, and the gang has to select what will be the representations of several wines for the taste of vintage.

Katie, assistant winemaker, and I are looking for samples. We have a list of 2009 and 2010 Shiraz, Cab, and Grenache that we need to find and taste. Our instructions are to find as many as we can of ones formerly rated highly by Kevin and Tim, and then to taste some of the others to see what makes the cut into the next tasting to determine the winners. Katie and I are armed with a siphon, a flashlight, and mini bottles, along with tape and a sharpie to mark what we found and what barrels they came from. Watch Katie climb these barrels! We're joking about how she is a monkey, but I'm really impressed while I watch her scale the barrel mountain to get enough for us to try.

And here are our notes--Katie is making sure that we have enough examples. We could only find one 2010 Grenache, so we hope the boys like it! But we have over half a dozen of most of the examples.

And now here is another tough project--we have to taste all those barrel samples again! But this time we are looking at them side by side. Tim and Katie left the room, and I poured them blind and then we all took notes on what we liked. The goal = to find good examples of what the final blend will look like. They will take note of what we included, but the final blend could be a completely different group of vineyards, depending on what the wine does in barrel over a longer period of time. But it is so fun to be included in the selections!

We are going to submit to the tasting: Morts Block Riesling '10, MB Reserve Riesling '10, Chardonnay '10, Oracle Shiraz '09 and '10, Prodigal Grenache '09 and '10, Covenant Shiraz '09 and '10, and Blocks Road Cab '09 and '10. If we can find a single vineyard, that's great--if we have to blend some that works as well.

So just to clarify--we are not blending Oracle 2010. We are simply looking for the best representation of what Kevin wants the 2010 to look like by the time it is bottled and on the way to my shop and our customers. We should have taken a picture of me when Ian picked me up from work--we all had black hands and purple teeth!! But the '10 vintage from Kilikanoon is going to be beautiful. We tried dozens of wines and there will be some insane juice coming from the vineyards this vintage.

Another plate of food that we love--olives with Clare Valley Olive Oil, Dukkah, and fresh crusty bread! Dukkah is a middle eastern-inspired dip or coating, depending on how you use it. It is based on almonds, with sesame seeds, spices, and sometimes other nuts as well. It makes for a wonderful fish or pork coating, and is delicious when you dip bread in oil and then the Dukkah.

lunch & tasting

2010-05-12T16:14:00.001-07:00

What delicious stuff the Duke is!

Here we are in the lab. Tim, Kevin Mitchell, and I tasted the new vintage of Duke Grenache to see what vineyards made the cut to make the bottling.

The guys measured out the blends in a number of ways, and we ended up with 99% of the Grenache blend and 1% Shiraz added in. It was delicious, considering it was a raw wine.

All of the tastings you do in a barrel room have to be taken into consideration differently than when you're trying a finished product. They're rougher, more masculine, and the oak jumps out at you. If you can get past the edginess, you have a chance to see what the wine is going to be about. And this wine is going to be GOOD.
You'll see the medicine bottle-looking collection behind the glasses, with the different selections of barrel samples we were trying.

Our break for lunch in Sevenhill included salt and pepper calamari, a beautiful chili plum dipping sauce, and salad. The Knappstein reserve lager was delicious!

Here are Nedd, proprietor, and Andrea, chef at the Sevenhill Hotel.

Nedd and I went down to check out the wine cellar and he showed off his Kilikanoon 3 liter. Diners at the Hotel can go downstairs and pick out their own bottles. Seems he's selling some Special K--he had to order a little of everything for the upcoming Gourmet festival.

Tomorrow we start getting the wines ready for the festival, but for now I'm going to have a glass of the Charles Melton Rose of Virginia I snagged at the hotel. It is delicious!

barrels and other glamorous undertakings

2010-05-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today I got the start of my short internship here. Tim McNeil, head winemaker at Kilikanoon, apologized for giving me a "non-glamorous job"--I'm just so happy to be here!

My first task is to wash out barrels. I imagine that the 28 barrels we have out in the warehouse are from the new vintage of the Duke Grenache, as it is in the process of going into the bottle.

The contraption used has a long arm and then a nozzle that turns, shooting hot water out in every direction to get the entire barrel clean. It takes 3 minutes for each barrel, so I was equipped with a stopwatch so there was enough time to get the barrels clean but not waste precious water. Yep, that's really me--stopwatch, barrel gloves, and "gumboots".

You spin a barrel around so the hole for the stopper (or bung) goes from the top to the bottom, draining a little wine. Then turn a bit more so the nozzle can fit in, then straight down and turn on the water. After 3 minutes, angle up to get the nozzle out and then back down one more time for the rest of the water to drain out. Those gloves became important in a hurry!

It smelled rich and sweet as the first bit of wine came out of the barrel, and then the hot water took over--I had my very own steam facial going on!

Good news--after I finish washing 28 barrels, I get to TASTE some Duke--yes, I will work for wine!

airports and wine

2010-05-12T16:10:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Australia!! Before I even boarded my connecting flight to get to the Clare Valley, lo and behold, there was a tasting in the Sydney airport. These forward-thinking wine sellers, from a company called Wine Selectors, let the locals taste a few wines and place an order--and then deliver it to their doorstep. Unfortunately, the shipping would be a bit much for those of us in Georgia, but I loved the concept! Oh, what the future could bring. . .

For right now, what the day is bringing is a little bit of sparkling Riesling from Knappstein winery right here in Clare. It's a bit chilly out but I'm really enjoying the farm life outside my window when we "knock off" of work. For anyone who hasn't heard, the Clare Valley is Riesling central--some of the best in the world are made within 15 minutes of where I'm sitting in this picture!

pictures from day one

2010-05-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hi there and G'day!

I forgot my camera cord to show pictures of the early stages of the trip so here are a few:

First off, the cottages are lovely. We're thoroughly enjoying them. but here is our view in the morning of Mount Rufus.

And here's a shot of that fabulous first meal in the Clare Valley too. This is the seafood salad and the Trillian's sparkling red from Pauletts.

more to follow!

Kilikanoon: Week One of My Australian Adventure

2010-05-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

The destination is, of course, the glorious Clare Valley, my particular favorite in Australian wine country. I am working at Kilikanoon, my dream job, for the week. Now, keep in mind, I say that it's my dream job, but so far the description is “pulling hoses around the cellar.” So we'll see how hard Kevin Mitchell has me working and how much dirt gets under my nails this week! I'll keep you in the loop.

So far, I've just gotten settled and am starting this morning at the winery. I'm about to take off for it from my beautiful bed and breakfast, Riesling Country Cottages. It is a lovely pocket of 2 cottages next to a farm house right here on the Riesling trail in Clare Valley. The view here is remarkable—the name of our place is Mount Rufus, named for the view of the mt. just outside our back porch on the other side of the hills full of sheep grazing. We've enjoyed a morning of watching scissortails flying all about the back, keeping guard over a nest on the back of the house. We're already at home here, and are grateful to the owners for a great dinner recommendation last night.

We ate at Clare Asian Cuisine in the small downtown of Clare. It was absolutely wonderful. My dinner of a Seafood salad (with scallops, prawns, squid, and giant mussels) with cabbage and chilies along with Tom Yum Goong, shrimp with chilies, lemongrass, and mushrooms, was fantastic, and husband Ian loved his lamb mansala curry—he couldn't resist getting lamb as soon as he could.

And my first wine I ordered here? Oh, you KNOW it was sparkling red! I am so predictable! Next on the list is sparkling Riesling. Pretend you're surprised. One of the things I love here is that the local restaurants are loaded with wines from the area on their lists. There are so many to choose from, you don't miss the lack of international selections. My sparkling last night was Cabernet, Merlot, and Shiraz from a vineyard I'd never been to. Well, off to work! Wish me luck as I bring a little Georgia style to a great Aussie operation.

Outside the Prado

2009-06-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love being outside the Prado. When in Madrid, my favorite museum is actually the Reina Sofia, which is the modern art museum there, famous as the home for Picasso's Guernica. As a big Pablo fan, it's the obvious choice for my painting-hopping that I consider a necessity while traveling in Europe.

But it's the spirit AROUND the Prado that gets me. If the walls contain past accomplishments by the country's artists, then the land surrounding it is the living, breathing pulse of Madrid's art scene. I absorb more about this city by wandering through the sidewalks here than I did in hours walking through the hallways.

At first glance, it simply looks like hawkers trying to sell as many cheap trinkets to tourists as they can—but if you get past the enormous collection of Don Quixote and bull images, you can actually meet local artists as they guide you through their collections or paint new additions.

I was happy yesterday to meet Yonathan Haroch again, an Israeli who has adopted Spain as his home. Yonathan started by painting the more generic Madrid scenes and has branched out into more abstract, colorful expressions featuring Hebrew letters. I have bought from him before, and I am glad to say that I made additions to my collection of his art. Over a coke in the plaza, he introduced me to Carlos Alvarez, who does limited edition prints made with thin pieces of metal that he etches and then presses into the paper.

Walking around with my new acquisitions, I took some time to watch about a dozen other artists with their easels set up, deeply intent on creating their first (or next) masterpiece. Undisturbed by the onlookers, they spend all day soaking up the sun and the atmosphere. I told one woman I liked her work, and she jumped at the chance to tell me about several of her paintings, some with acrylic, others of watercolor, and some with both mediums intertwined.
One of the gentlemen on a bench got his current project and showed me how he used his black, grey, and cream paints and small pallette. A thick layer of paint was applied in a block, and then he would cut back through with the tool and the ridges added the contrast. It is the definitive Spanish spirit; they bend over backwards to be friendly to everyone.

I love to take a few extra minutes while there in the warm Spanish sun; see the artists; be in the midst of the lovers on picnics all around; watch the tourists waiting for the newest temporary exhibit. The atmosphere can't be beat.

Here Piggy Piggy

2009-06-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't eat a whole lot of meat on a regular basis, and I'm definitely not a huge fan of pork—but when you are in Spain you do as the Spaniards do. In this case, you eat jamon.

I have had ham every day. Almost every meal. And it is delicious! The thing to do here on a special occasion is buy a whole leg of air dried Iberian ham, prop it on a special serving piece, and cut paper-thin slices to eat as an appetizer. I am with a small group of folks from the U.S., and while we will visit a total of 14 wineries while we're here, each of the proprietors only has one impression to make. So they all bring on the bacon.

Iberian ham is delicious. The most famous kind is pata negra, or black-hoofed pig, and it's a couple hundred dollars for one of them (not one pig, mind you, one hoof). I wish I could cash in the total of what I've consumed and put it into my IRA account.

If I owned a bed and breakfast, we would serve something very similar to the spread I've seen in every Spanish Parador—there is always fresh fruit and fresh-squeezed juice, shirred eggs on toast, and cafe con leche; fresh local queso, aged manchego, and membrillo always starts the day off right.

But at each buffet, there is one more major component: you can have pork eight different ways before you even touch your first cup of coffee. Maybe you're in the mood for sausage; prosciutto; salame; with or without paprika? The list appears to be endless.

I'm not complaining—it is certainly worlds better than the baked beans and tomatoes I was served for breakfast in England. I simply find it hard to fathom that most of the Spaniards I have seen are skinny. Proof indeed that they're doing something right. And while I don't know exactly WHAT the secret is, I'm going to start by having a big plate of ham. Ole!

Six Burgundies Worth Trying This Fall

2008-10-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

18 wines before lunch? Sometimes we just have to take one for the home team. But when we're talking about flights of Burgundy, the task is always easier. Last week, Michael McNeill, resident wine guru (director of education and master sommelier) at Quality Wine & Spirits, came to Athens to show us some of the great Burgundies available currently in Georgia.

I was actually on a serious time constraint, so was able to garner an awful lot of information from Michael, but missed the end of his talk. However, I WAS able to taste through the lineup, and I have to tell you that this particular morning re-awoke my interest in one of my first favorites in the wine world.

First of all, Pinot Noir is of course one of the most noble grapes and a stellar example of what can be done in the bottle. Chardonnay, on the other hand, sometimes gets a bad reputation from people like me because we are so busy trying to wean people off California Chardonnay that we can miss the fabulous Chardonnay grape in its prettiest form from France.

Well, the love affair is back. Roux makes a regular Chard that is fine, but their St. Aubin 1er Cru '04 was smoky like a fireplace the day after you first use it in the autumn. The fruit from this vineyard next to Montrachet is rich, deep, and pretty. And the Pernand Vergelesses "Les Combottes" V.V. from Chateau de Chorey '05 held my attention with these notes in my book: mineral coated candied fruit and yellow apples and pears sprinkled lightly with stones. Even the regular Bourgogne from Thierry Pillot '06 was above the average, with pepper that trips on the tongue balanced with an apricot-like richness.

As if that wasn't enough, I got to taste the reds too! Out of the 9 exceptional wines we tried at varying prices ($18-86), my favorite far and away was Herve & Anne Sigault Chambolle Musigny '06, weighing in at $45. Remarkably stinky on the nose, I was inundated with purple flowers as if I was standing in the middle of a field, with delicious red and yellow plums on the finish. The Taupenot-Merme Passetoutgrains Bourgogne '06 was also nice, with hints of bacon fat and velvety dark fruit; Domaine Muergets Savigny Les Beaune Narbontons '05 had a classic nose of pencil, dirt, and peppered raspberry, along with a note of raspberry jello before it sets.

Since I've highlighted my favorite 6 of the 18 we had, I thought I'd give you a heads up on current and upcoming vintages from Burgundy, since Michael passed this along: since '05 was the best vintage since 1990, these can obviously be hard to come by and are sometimes more pricey. The '06 vintage therefore carries with it better values (not true 100% of the time, but this is common after a classic vintage--the good, even great, vintage afterward is often overlooked to the betterment of those who can see past hype).

2007 was a difficult vintage, so it might be a good idea for you Burgundy lovers to grab a few bottles of the '05s and '06s while the getting is good. And if you're not a Burgundy lover yet--well, that just gives us one more thing to talk about, doesn't it?

After all, as Michael says, "Burgundy is about participation." And I think that's my favorite thing about it, all told--that the most exciting part about finding a good bottle is enjoying it over different stages as it ages, watching the wine mature, and most importantly, opening it up with a friend.

A special thanks to Michael McNeill for taking the trek up to Athens to taste with us last week! (and to Rose Adams for setting the whole thing up beautifully)

Pooles Picks: Top Four North Georgia Wineries

2008-10-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

The staff and I recently took a tour bus of customers up into the North Georgia mountains for a tour of some of our state's premier wineries. I picked out 4 facilities that I think are great examples of what Georgia wine has to offer, and we worked out the long day of touring with our guide Keith of Hargrave Motor Coach. Lots of planning, tons of phone calls, and a few months later, we were finally ready to go for our second ever tour. . .

Mama's Boy prepared a delicious breakfast for us, and we armed ourselves for the long drive with strawberry lemonade mimosas and bloody marys with our special skewers we sell at Shiraz. We handed out bags with the itineraries, notepads, and snacks. We had quite a cheerful group as we headed up the road toward Dahlonega, our first major stop.

We've gone to Wolf Mountain twice with customers now, and Karl Boegner never fails to impress. His family is so hospitable, and the winery was compared to a European chateau by many of the guests we had with us. The Boegners set us up in their patio below the dining room, and Karl's son Brannon, the assistant winemaker, guided us through a tour, later to come back and discuss the wines. We also had our own buffet lunch station set up for us inside of the barrel room, along with a wine tasting as we ate lunch. Some of the customers climbed up to see and smell Chardonnay fermenting, and we also tried the first vintage of their sparkling wine.

We hopped back into the bus again to head over to Blackstock Vineyards and Winery, where we were greeted by winemaker David Harris. We clustered within their tasting room and together went through a lineup of wines while David told us about Blackstock's history in Georgia winemaking. We also tasted 5 different cheeses offered in their gift shop, and I was impressed to see that 4 of the 5 we had were creameries that we carry at Shiraz. We have 3 of those cheeses in stock at the store right now, in fact. David also walked the group out to the vines and let them take a look at them up close.

Next we went to a big highlight of the trip, a trip up to Tiger Mountain Vineyards' owners Bill and Leckie Stack's house for a tasting in their orchard (last trip, Bill and Leckie's partners, Martha and John Ezzard, tasted the wines with us at their winery)

We had arranged to have the tasting there, but even I was impressed and surprised at how well it turned out. Not only did mother nature cooperate superbly with the weather, but the Stacks had bags for our guests with asian pears to enjoy, and they let them roam the property and pick apples. The orchard also borders on part of the vineyard, and we could pick and try some of the grapes. I actually picked some of the concord grapes growing on the edge of the Viognier rows, which were probably the single best-tasting grapes (as in, to eat!) I've ever had. Not only did everyone enjoy the wines, but we loved exploring everything else there.

One more stop, and definitely not the least of the visits, was Persimmon Creek. Mary Ann Hardman and her crew split us into groups and took us all on a tour of the winery, along with tasting the wines near the rows where the grapes were grown. Then we moved into the tasting room, where dinner was ready for us. We enjoyed a low country boil and salad with Riesling and Merlot, and then moved on to their winery-only Icewine, made in the traditional method and without shortcuts.

It was the end of a very long day as we rolled back into the parking lot here in Athens, but everyone agreed that it was an enjoyable, informative, and tasty trip! Cheers to all of you who went--and we'll see the rest of you in a couple of years!

A Taste of My Favorite Spanish Importers: Olé!

2008-06-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

I was very privileged this summer to participate in a national trade tasting with my favorite Spanish importer, Olé. This is just the kind of thing I live for in my business—a small group sitting around a table and tasting a new slew of wines about to be brought into the country before anyone else has a chance to see them.

I have to mention that before I went to the show, I made a little time to explore the city of Chicago, home base for the event. Since I only had a little time, I decided to do the architectural boat tour of the city. I highly recommend this to anyone traveling there, as it was interesting, informative, and different. I also took a walk down the magnificent mile and took in a couple of art galleries. I did eat at 2 nice restaurants during the trip but the company I was with far overshadowed any memory of where or what I ate. But I digress; back to the main event:

The setup itself was simple—a long banquet table with a projection screen at the end for the lineup of guest speakers who had flown in from Spain. 15! winemakers and other representatives of some of the best peddlers of vino from the home country were there to teach us about their new vintages and different labels they are making. The table was, of course, covered in wine glasses, spit buckets, and water bottles.

But the perfection in the simplicity of the tasting was the size of the group; there were only 25 people invited to taste and take notes during the 6-hour event. What a joy to have Carmen from Etim fill my glass; to have David Sampedro from Bodegas Diaz Bravo chat with me about the new vintage of Cortijo; to get a hug from my friend Juanjo from Vinos Pinol. It is a completely different experience to be up close and personal with our heroes and their creations, instead of the normal trade show, which is littered with hundreds of wines and just as many bodies.

And what beauties! I found several new favorites in the mix: Avan wines from Ribero del Duero, 100% Tempranillo that shows what the grape is all about; Dignus from Vina Magana, home of the best Merlot in Spain; Pelta, one of the best inexpensive reds I've seen in a while; plus many more old faves that I've grown to love.

For me, the best part about the whole process was being able to place an order afterwards to bring some of my favorites from this tasting down to my little store here in Georgia. We deal specifically in smaller production wines, so the trick is to get them early on, while they are available, and advance showings are more than a little helpful to me in my buying.

So why am I writing about this now? While the show is still fresh in my mind 2 months later, the real reason that it was brought to the forefront of my memory is because the new Robert Parker Spanish book has just been released. My good friends, Patrick Mata and Alberto Orte of Olé imports have done it again! They are plastered all over the new reviews with stellar ratings—no surprise to anyone who has tasted a few of the wines from their lineup.

I do have to say, as someone who constantly tastes wines and picks them out, it is always a very justifying experience when good scores are given to wines I happen to like a great deal. For instance, we had a Txakolina in September's wine club from Berroia, which garnered 90 points out of 100. Hey, it's not just me! We've already chosen several new wines for the fall that got rave reviews.

At Shiraz, we have a lot of wines from this fantastic importer to choose from—and lots more down the pipeline soon, as my orders from the special tasting are still arriving this fall and winter. If you are in Athens or elsewhere in Georgia, I encourage you to come see us for some of our favorites. If you're too far away to visit the shop, call 1-888-ole-vino for the coolest thing to hit the wine sales industry in years—call the number, pick a wine, and the system will give you its description. It is a great way to find out more about great wines, and to use the only sense we don't use when we taste—our ears.