Great Wine Made Simple - Andrea Immer [88]
Vintage 95 percent of grapes must come from the specified vintage
* These apply to wines from the vinifera grape species—basically, all the classic, high-quality European grapes you’re used to.
WHERE TO FIND BEST OF THE BIG SIX
BEYOND THE BIG SIX VARIETALS This is fun stuff, because what Americans lack in tradition, we make up for in our healthy taste for the new and different, and that includes grapes. Here are the best ones to try. I have listed them from light to full, rather than alphabetically, to help you remember their body style.
WHITE Like the other classic whites, these are French transplants.
Pinot Gris This is Oregon’s white wine specialty, between Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc in body style. Although it is the same grape as Italian Pinot Grigio, Oregon Pinot Gris usually has a lot more vivid fruit character—to my taste a marked pear scent and flavor that is delicious, and no oak here, just pure fruit. Adelsheim, Ponzi, Sokol Blosser, King Estate, and WillaKenzie are good ones to try.
Sémillon A few wineries specialize in the Sémillon grape from Bordeaux. A rich, barrel-fermented style (as full as Chardonnay) is a specialty of California’s Kalin Cellars and Washington’s Columbia Winery blend. Most of the big Australian wineries bottle blends of these two grapes, often called Sem-Chard for short. They’re tasty and inexpensive. A great value from Washington is Columbia Crest winery’s Sémillon-Chardonnay.
Viognier Although plantings of this exotically scented grape from the Rhône in France are sparse, there are definitely several Viogniers worth trying. My favorites from California are Joseph Phelps, R. H. Phillips, Callaway, Westerly, Arrowood, Iron Horse, Stag’s Leap, Cline Cellars, Andrew Murray, and Calera (a very full, barrel-fermented style). Believe it or not, Horton Vineyards in Virginia and Becker Vineyards of Texas also make good ones, available in their home states and a few big cities.
RED Now it gets really exciting.
Cabernet Franc I love the California versions of this grape from Bordeaux, where it is usually a blending partner to the dominant Merlot and Cabernet. In California, it really holds its own as a varietal wine, with slightly less weight and a lot more aromatic complexity than Cabernet Sauvignon. The best include Pride Mountain (tiny production, but find this wine!), Chateau St. Jean, Crocker & Starr, Ironstone, Smith-Wooton, Lang & Reed, La Jota, and Chappellet. Although it is too soon to make a definite conclusion, all of these examples are from Napa’s mountain vineyards, which are planted at higher altitudes where the soil is poor, the wind strong, and the sunlight unfiltered by the fog that usually creeps up the Napa Valley from San Francisco—“above the fog line” as the locals say. Stay tuned. Outside the Golden State, Cabernet Franc is finding a niche in Virginia near Monticello, where Thomas Jefferson first tried (and failed) to make fine wine. Look for bottlings from Gabrielle Rausse and Williamsburg Winery.
Zinfandel They call us Zin-heads, we who are addicts of this beautiful wine, which ranges in style from medium-bodied, with bright and juicy raspberry flavors, to lush and full-bodied, with decadent fig, blueberry, and even chocolate flavors. Many of the best vineyards are old-vines, original pre-Prohibition plantings. The gnarled old vines, often “field blended” or interspersed with other grapes (formerly a common Old World practice, brought to California by immigrants from Italy), produce some unbelievably complex wines. The best regions and wineries for California Zinfandel are:
Sonoma (especially the Dry Creek Valley AVA)—Ridge (which also makes a Paso Robles AVA bottling from outside Sonoma), Rosenblum, and Ravenswood (known lovingly among Zin-heads as the Three Rs), plus Rafanelli (easily their equal), Seghesio, Andrew Murray, and DeLoach.
Sierra Foothills (especially the Amador AVA)—Renwood, Joel Gott, and Montevina
Napa Valley Frog’s Leap, Grgich Hills, Robert Mondavi, Mt. Veeder, Franus, and Chateau Montelena. Collectors covet Turley Zinfandels,