Celebrating More Than

20 Years of Wine and Food Appreciation

NV Rotari Trento Rosé Brut, Italy $13

In tune with its affection for sparkling wines, Italy’s got a knack for producing not only fruity sparklers like Proseccos and Asti Spumantes but also sophisticated, bottle-aged, yet reasonably priced bubblies like those from Rotari, based at Trento, in the Alpine region of northeast Italy. This cool, high-altitude zone produces high-acid grapes vital to fine sparkling-wine production. My notes: “A good, full red fruit statement with real richness of character while adhering to a fully dry style. One of the world’s best sparkling rosé values. Serve at brunch with morels and scrambled eggs.”

2007 Villa Maria Marlborough Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand $15

Much of New Zealand’s wine industry was begun by immigrants from former Yugoslavia, such as George Fistonich, who founded Villa Maria in 1961 and continues to direct it 47 years later. Today Villa Maria bottles all its wines under screw cap to preserve and convey their inherent varietal beauties. Such as this essence of New Zealand Sauvignon. My notes: “Whoa! Nectarine personified! Plus gooseberry and oodles of tropical fruits. Is this intense, or what?! Serve with fresh asparagus and goat cheeses.”

2006 Travis Monterey Unoaked Chardonnay, California $16

Travis is a project of wine importer Dan Kravitz of Hand Picked Selections. ‘Unoaked’ (or ‘Unwooded’) Chardonnays are quite the rage these days, as American consumers wean themselves of oaky ‘show’ renditions that win high ratings but prove awkward at the dinner table. Cool Monterey County produces racy Chardonnay fruit ideal for unoaked presentation. My notes: “A total Chardonnay experience here. Golden Delicious apple and tangy lemon notes, so very clean and pure and refreshing. Wood lovers, stay home! I enjoyed this with an Indian dish of chicken breasts marinated in spiced yogurt, then poached with onions and spices.”

2006 A To Z Oregon Pinot Gris,
Oregon $14

A to Z Wineworks is a project of Bill Hatcher and partners. Bill’s a former Ann Arbor MI resident and customer of mine. At A to Z, Hatcher creates his cuvees of fruit from diverse microclimates and winegrowing zones in order to fashion a complex, balanced whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts. My notes: “Full, fresh, ideal. Pear and honeysuckle. Soft, easy-going, charming yellow fruit feels and flavors. Tasty, reliable, meal-worthy. Enjoy with poached smoked salmon and new potatoes.”

2007 Ken Forrester Stellenbosch Petit Chenin Blanc, South Africa $10 

Chenin Blanc’s long been a leading white-wine player in South Africa, where it was formerly known as Steen. Chenin Blanc’s original home is France’s Loire Valley, Vouvray the best-known wine. In Stellenbosch, one of the Cape’s coolest zones, Ken Forrester has crafted a remarkable Loire look-alike at a most attractive price. My notes: “Apple, pear, melon, lime, and chamomile aromas and flavors, just like a fine, dry Vouvray. Good, juicy, mouthwatering fruit acidity. Enjoy with a spicy Goan shrimp curry.”

2006 Pierre Sparr Alsace Extreme Riesling, France $14

Most Riesling wines bear some residual sweetness. Lovers of dry, full-bodied Rieslings have long gravitated to the Alsace region of northeast France. Yet even Alsace Rieslings have begun to show some sweetness over the last generation. Not this one. My notes: “I get the point! Very floral, perfumed and replete with a piercing lemon oil quality. It really is extreme! Wow! Like citrus oil. Plus green apple and flambeed orange peel. Full acidity and astringency. There’s nice, soft, ripe fruit too. And ‘06 lift and clarity. Assertive, exotic, ambitious. Serve with pork loin and fruit cooked in a clay pot.”

NV Delicato California Sweet Marie White, California $6

Sensing the market’s moving upscale, Central Valley winegrower Delicato purchased a large tract of vines in Monterey County that would become the basis for today’s best-value range of premium-varietal table wines seen on shelves nationwide. Until recently though, Delicato’s tasting room was the only place to find its Sweet Marie. Of Muscat and Riesling, it’s a little gem: a glorious display of Muscat’s peach-apricot and bitter orange-and-peel aromatics, with Riesling adding an apple-quince complex and racy, balancing acidity. Enjoy with white chocolate-red raspberry mousse.

2007 Angove’s South Australia Nine Vines Grenache-Shiraz Rosé, Australia $11

Founded at Adelaide in 1886, Angove’s is a family-owned Australian enterprise producing traditional, full-bodied wines. Australia makes a lot of hearty rosé. Exports to the U.S. have increased in response to America’s growing appreciation for dry, full, meal-worthy rosés. This one’s modeled after the great rosés of Mediterranean France. Superimposed on the French model is that frank, hearty, garrulous Aussie personality driving this wine’s fruit intensity and power beyond European norms. Chicken from the “barbie” beckons.

2006 Carmen Rapel Valley Classic Merlot, Chile $8

Carmen began in 1850, when it imported rootstocks from Bordeaux that predated the invasion of phylloxera, a louse native to North America that is deadly to European vines and can be combated only by grafting vines on American rootstock. Phylloxera never made it to Chile, thanks to natural barriers that surround it. Today Chile, unlike Bordeaux, grows Bordeaux grape varieties on their own rootstock. My notes: “Sweet cherry-berry fruit leather plus wood spices and perfumes. Tea and olive notes. Racy acidity-very cool and mouthwatering. Charming, well-balanced, mouthfilling experience. Great with leg of lamb and a Cumberland sauce.”

2006 Alta Vista Mendoza Premium Malbec, Argentina $14

Malbec is Argentina’s signature red grape, thriving around Mendoza, where vineyards climb Andes foothills to elevations above 5000 feet. Thanks to international investment and the cooperation of talented winemakers from home and abroad, the Mendoza winegrowing industry has become thoroughly modernized, with emphasis switched from quantity to quality. My notes: “Outstanding fruit darkness, depth, clarity, purity. As lovely as Malbec comes. And there’s nice, understated oak seasonings too. Yes, a fat, sassy, sexy, creamy mouthful of fruit, oak and nuts offering balance and depth. Right for aged filet mignon, charred on the outside, red in the center.”

2005 Mcmanis Family Vineyards River Junction Zinfandel, California $11

After growing wine grapes for 60 years, the McManis family began, in 1998, to make its own wines. These wines have proved special from the start thanks in part to a unique microclimate. McManis’ estate lies at the junction of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers east of San Francisco Bay. Here, as at Lodi farther north, the Bay has a cooling effect on the growing area. My notes: “Such a lovely expression of zinfandel raspberry every time I taste it. Totally harmonious and come-hither. Calls for nothing fancier than burgers from the grill.”

2006 Lurton Oc Les Salices Oak-aged Pinot Noir, France $11

The dynamic Lurton brothers have long outgrown their family’s Bordeaux-wine empire, exporting their talents to other areas of France such as Oc, the greater Languedoc-Roussillon region. While Oc was once considered too warm for growing Pinot Noir, the Lurtons and others discovered that high-altitude, north-facing sites foster attractive renditions that help fill the market’s unquenchable post-Sideways thirst for Pinot. My notes: “Ripe Pinot Noir nose with a nice dash of oak character. Pinot’s inherent sweet smell. Fresh, showing the bright fruit character of whole-bunch fermentation. Terrific fruit acidity gives wonderful relief and vigor. Serve with coq au vin, adding a second bottle to the pot.”

2007 Opera Prima La Mancha Tempranillo, Spain $4

The high, dry plain of La Mancha south of Madrid, where Don Quixote tilted at windmills, is to Spain as the Central Valley to California, Midi to France, Riverina to Australia: a vast producer of inexpensive, everyday wines. Tempranillo, the noble grape of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, yields La Mancha tintos well above the region’s norm. My notes: “Rich, ripe, hearty, plentiful, deep. Not juggish, not roasted like La Mancha’s rabble. Just very intense, warm, generous fruit. Cranberry and more. Soft and juicy. Lots of sweet, southern Tempranillo expression. Fruit-driven, uncomplicated, well-balanced. Braised saddle of rabbit will enjoy this mate.”

2006 Caldora Abruzzo Montepulciano. Italy $12

Across the Apennines spine from Rome lies Abruzzo. Vineyards blanket the zone, climbing from Adriatic plains to Apennines ridges. The leading red grape variety is Montepulciano. High-yielding plains vineyards produce jug-wine Monte, low-yielding hillside sites superior fare. My notes: “Fine acid ring, clarity, and crispness is the first impression to strike the nostrils. Then the aromas: fresh fruit, dried fruit, hard salami. Deep and rich. Yes, it’s racy, with lovely, abundant red and black berry flavors. Well balanced. Positively lithe, and ready to enjoy with an Italian meatball hoagie.”