The Rhône Valley.

That’s all I have to say, it is a region that does not need a proper introduction. South of Burgundy, here is where we start to leave the Pinot Noir, Gamay, Cabernet Franc dominated reds and move into deeper Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre and Carignan.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the big stand out in this region, as well as the way to my heart. Of course such quality and recognition is also accompanied by a prestigious price. If you are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy this treat of a wine on a regular basis, then give me a call and we’ll start hanging out. To the rest of us, there are great alternatives within the Rhône without going into debt.

Côtes du Rhône is the most popular of these alternatives and is available at a great value. A typical bottle will range form $12 to $20. A Côtes du Rhône is, generally speaking, a blend of Syrah, Grenache, and then sometimes Mouvedre and/or Carignan, but Grenache is the dominant force here. It’s centralized within the Rhône, displaying characteristics of the North and the South. Côtes du Rhône Villages are within Côtes du Rhône, but a bit more specific. French wine can never be simple; there always has to be a break down and then possibly two or three more after that.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sour-grapes for Hillary Clinton, whose rotting cynicism is no match for Obama’s sparkle. There’s no doubt that if politicians were wine - Hillary is vinegar and Obama is champagne.

How dare Senator Clinton come out against Senator Obama, after his over rated comments about small-town America being bitter, with a series of photo-opportunities, going through the motions with a camera crew in tow - and in one audacious clip, pausing to have a sip of beer and drink a shot!

Oh sure Hillary, you drink beer so that makes you working-class.

The idea that a certain product can dictate one’s class is especially infuriating to a real wine-drinker, who recognizes wine’s essentially humble and agricultural roots - much the same as beer. That Clinton thinks that she can relate to the working class man with a photo-op drinking beer demonstrates that she is in fact far more derisory of the working class than she would dare let on. Although Obama may be on record saying that people cling to guns and religion because of economic uncertainty (which may not be entirely untrue), for Clinton to respond by taking a sip of beer and drinking a shot means that she thinks the best way to get the attention of the working class is to show an affinity for the bottle (which is slanderous.) Unwittingly, and thus tellingly, she implies that middle-class America are a bunch of drunks.

Read the rest of this entry »

To kick-start my new program I enjoyed the 2006 Gadais Pére et Fils Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from the Loire Valley. Something interesting was happening here, there was a sweetness on the nose of vanilla and chocolate chip cookie dough. When I tasted it though, there was a slight sweetness upfront, but then the dryness came out with a mild effervescence. On the palate I was picking up a gummy bear fruit flavor ending with sugar cookies. Sounds delicious, well it was, and this certainly has Wine Your Diet written all over it.

For those of you not familiar with Muscadet, it is a region within the Loire Valley in North West France. The grape is Muscadet, but if outside of this area will go by Melon, such as Melon de Bourgogne. This wine can be both white and red. Though the name is similar to Muscat, it is not related.

If you are looking to eat something with this, I would go with something light such as seafood. This is great wine with Read the rest of this entry »

One of the highlights of the Morocco trip my wife and I recently took was staying with La Baraka Auberge just outside of Merzouga, on the border of the Sahara, about 100 km’s from Algeria. Our host, Hassan Outaleb, was a film-star cum philosopher Berber of nomadic heritage who has run La Baracka for several years.

Rather memorably - if not because it was highly rehearsed, he would impart his own cultural wisdom onto us between meals and volleys of mint-tea ‘Berber Whisky.’ I think the point he made most strongly was ‘what’s bad for the rest of the world, is good for Berber.’ Primarily - at the heart of it, he was referring to the perception Read the rest of this entry »

The 2005 Bordeaux reviews have not been unkind to the region. And with that said I decided I wanted to find out what everyone is talking about. I choose a wine from Graves, Albert Duran, 2005, Chateau Beauregard Ducasse. With Graves‘ dignified reputation, and eloquence about it, it seemed like a good way to start. I wouldn’t say that 2005 is a year of extra outrageous wine, but I would say that it does bring together. I certainly have tasted the same quality in a table wine at a café in Paris. It has an easy drinking-ness around it that makes you want to open a bottle with friends and just chill out. I would say that this is a conversation wine, not for the fact that you will be discussing the wine, but you will be talking amongst yourselves and indulging in each others banter. This wine makes me want to call up a friend and chat. I just might, actually.

Read the rest of this entry »