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Howard W. Hewitt

~ … The "W" stands for wine!

Howard W. Hewitt

Category Archives: France

A Few Days In Paris Wraps Trip

18 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by Howard in Burgundy 2016, Food & Travel, France, Uncategorized

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Arc di Triumphe, Eiffel Tower, Paris

PARIS, France – The wine tour/Burgundy portion of the trip I’m leading ended Thursday. The trip is wrapping up this weekend with the group having three free days in Paris.

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I hate selfies, but what the heck – it’s Paris.

This is my fifth time to visit France but just second time in Paris – unless flying through Charles DeGaulle airport counts. Check out two days of walking around Paris.

It’s a cliche of sorts but Paris really is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The architecture is stunning, food and wine superb, and the people – at least the ones in hospitality – are generally very nice.

There is so much to see and do. We’re staying in the 16th Arrondissment (neighborhood) about half way between the Eiffel Tower and the Arc di Triumphe. As part of their registration costs for the trip, each participant was provided a museum, bus, and train pass. If you’re coming to Europe its the most affordable way to get around. A two-day pass was just over 100E per person but well worth it.

I’ve let the group go on their own during the day because that’s the way trip was billed. I’ve explored which I really enjoy.

We wrap up tonight with a group dinner cruise – one of those flat boats on the Seine down the heart of Paris. The river is not as high as some photos you’ve may seen but it remains hight and moving pretty fast. Still, I got a call from the tour company yesterday and they assured me they were sailing.

There are about a dozen photos in the album linked above. I’ll probably have a  few more to add later today. It’s back home for most everyone tomorrow.

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White Wine Diversity in Chablis

15 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Howard in Burgundy 2016, Food & Travel, Uncategorized

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Billaud-Simon, Chablis, Didier Seguier, white wine, William Fevre

CHABLIS, France – Who makes the world’s greatest white wine? Is it California’s buttery Chards, the complex white Burgundys, or perhaps the mineral-driven Chardonnay from Chablis?

Chablisiens are rather unabashed saying they make the greatest white wine in the world. While that’s debatable, most would argue they deserve to be in the discussion after tasting the delightful Premier and Grand Cru wines.

Our tour group took a two-hour ride from Beaune north to Chablis Tuesday to learn more about the iconic wine. Our trip has had a great mixture of terroir, large and small producers, and a few in between. In Chablis, we saw one of the biggest in Domaine William Fevre and one of the best known, Billaud-Simon.

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Didier Seguier, Fevre winemaker.

Our visit to Fevre included a winery and cellar tour, tasting, and delightful lunch at the winery’s on-site restaurant. One of the nice surprises was during our tasting with intern Adrian, I spotted winemaker Didier Seguier and asked him if he’d speak briefly to the group.

Seguier was more than gracious and talked about the importance of terroir, not the winemaker. He said his primary goal, as often stated in Chablis and other regions, was to reflect the terroir.

After our lunch, where I had a great hamburger, we were off to Billaud-Simon where I had tasted on a 2012 press tour. I thought those wines were the best I tasted during that visit and they were excellent again yesterday.

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Faviely, the new owner of Billaud-Simon, will renovate the old Chateaux to accommodate guests.

Catherine Leseur led us through a tasting of 4 Grand Cru, 3 Premier Cru, and the lesser Chablis wines.  The Billaud-Simon were again my favorite of the day but much of the group made split evaluations of the two winery stops.

The story about these two wineries isn’t complete without noting they’ve been sold by their namesakes to bigger wineries or corporations in recent years. Selling the family business in France is difficult but happening more and more. Often times there is no next generation interested in the difficult work of farminga nd ups and down of the wine business. Additionally, there is the lure of a huge financial windfall in selling these iconic properties.

Here is a photo album from Tuesday’s Chablis visit.

Today is really filled up. We being our day by touring and tasting at the iconic Maison Joseph Drouhin cellars in the heart of Beaune. Then it’s off to the countryside this afternoon to taste at two small, quirky, and interesting wineries.

I’m hoping to have a more detailed post for tomorrow.

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Domaine Leclerc the Day’s Highlight

14 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by Howard in Burgundy 2016, Food & Travel, France, Uncategorized

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Beaune, Burgundy, Clos Vougeot, Cote de Nuits, Domaine Rene Leclerc, Francois Leclerc, Marchand Tawse, Pete Auberge, Pinot Noir, wine travel

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My travel group, and I hiding in the back, at the vineyards of Romanee Conti.

Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France – For any real oenophile is there anything better than starting your day in one of the premier wine regions in the world? Or starting your day in a wine cellar built in 1692 sipping Burgundy?

Debate among yourselves but that’s how my eight Burgundy tour participants and I started our week Monday morning at the north end of Burgundy just south of Dijon. Monday’s story is probably best told in my photos from the day.

The group got its first lesson in Burgundy appellations and more Sunday afternoon with Pierre. (see previous post.) But Monday we all got a first-hand education in the Côte de Nuits region.

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Chateaux Clos Vougeot

We started our day at one of the icons of Burgundy Clos Vougeot. The historic Chateau and property showcases the history of Burgundy wine. Whether one cares to think of the Romans or the Cistercian the monument is a living history lesson.

After alter an hour at Clos Vougoet learning the history and seeing the huge old wine presses, it was off to our first morning tasting at Marchand Tawse.

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Guillame led us through the Marchand Twase wines.

The wine caves and tasting room in Nuits Saint George is how we kick-started our wine tasting in the caves of the old property. Current ownership is two Canadian business men but the cellars date back to the 15th and 16th century.

They make a wide range of Pinot and Chard from many different appellations. I think it’s fair to say our group found the wines solid and an interesting start to our day.

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Lunch at Petite Auberge

At mid-day we had another highlight meal, this time at La Toute Petite Auberge in Vosne-Romanee. It might be called a wine-tasting lunch. We were served up a plate of Burgundian specials like snails, Oeufs en meurette (an egg poached in a red wine sauce), pressed ham, and some small sausages in a pastry wrap. One white and three red wines were poured with lunch.

The highlight for many of us the past two days has been discovering another regional product, cassis. The dark, rich berry is delicious on its own. Our lunch concluded with a Cassis Tiramasu. There were gasps at the table!

After lunch we really enjoyed a ride through the countryside seeing the vineyards. We made a brief stop at the vineyard of Romanee Conti. For those who may not recognize the significance of that, Romanee Conti is probably the most expensive wine in the world. Their wines are impossible to acquire and hit the market anywhere from $8,000-$13,000 a bottle. It was fun seeing this bit of Burgundy lore; we took a group shot.

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Francois Leclerc talking about his vineyards.

Our final stop of the day was nearly unanimous among the group the best wines of our trip thus far. Domaine Rene’ Leclerc in Gevrey Chambertin was a lot of fun. Rene Leclerc has retired and turned the winery over to his son Francois who gave us a tour and led the tasting.

The younger Leclerc was a fun guy leading us through the caves, dating to the 1400s, talking about his different vineyards and pouring the great Pinot Noir. The uniqueness of this tasting is that all four bottles poured were Gevrey Chambertin wines but from different parts of the region  (or AOC). The group thought Leclerc’s wines were some of the best of our trip. I agreed!

Today (Tuesday), we are off to visit two of the top Domaines in all of Chablis – William Fevre and Billaud-Simon.

Au Revoir.

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Pierre Charmed Our Hearts, Palates

13 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by Howard in Burgundy 2016, Food & Travel, France, Uncategorized

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Alain Hess, Burgundy Wine, Hospice de Beaune, La Cave de l"Ange Gardien

BEAUNE, France – An innovative dinner, fantastic wine-education lesson, tour of the Hospice de Beaune, and lunch at Burgundy’s most-prominent frommager’s highlighted the first full day of my group tip to Burgundy.

I am leading four couples, two from Indianapolis, one from Boston, another from Illinois through five nights in Beaune and three nights in Paris June 11-19.

See an album of photos from our Sunday activities.

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Pierre sharing his Burgundy insights.

There really were so many highlights but the best might be two-and-a-half hours later Sunday afternoon with Pierre, owner of La Cave de l’Ange Gardien. Tasting with Pierre or Nicole is rated as the No.1 or 2 tourist experience in Beaune by TripAdvisor. After Sunday afternoon, I’m not sure that’s high enough rating.

We were fortunate to have the charming, humorous Pierre as our guide through a Burgundy education that helped everyone better understand the web of regions within one of the world’s most famous wine areas.

Pierre has us taste six whites and then six reds blindly, make notes on each and then rank them. Then he would reveal the producer, region, and cost per bottle. It was a wonderful experience.

We learned so much from Pierre. It started with a few statistics including that 61 percent of the wine from Bourgogne is white wine – not the red most would expect. Village wines represent 36 percent of production, premier cru is 10.5 percent, while Grand Cru is just 1.5 percent of all Burgundy land. The rest are simple Bourgogne wines.

What often confuses newcomers to Burgundy is that Grand Cru is often considered the very best wines and they often are a top choice. But the designation is for the vineyards. As Pierre explained, if a winemaker owns a Grand Cru vineyard he can still make terrible wines but it’s still a Grand Cru.

He made several fun and interesting observations comparing Bordeaux to Burgundy and his perceived Bordeaux sell-out to “Saint Parker.” That, of course, being the world’s best known wine critic Robert Parker. His biggest criticisms of Bordeaux and U.S. wines was that more than half “are not made to be good but made to be profitable”

There are pricer and nicer-looking places to taste than La Cave de l’Ange Gardien – but none better. Locals heartily recommend Pierre and Nicole for the most-authentic experience for learning about Burgundy.

We started our day with a self-guided tour of the famous Hospice de Beaune. The Hospice, or hospital, was started in the 14th century by one of the Dukes of Burgundy Nicolas Rolin. It’s easily one of the most recognizable structures in all of France outside of Paris.

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The ladies in our group tasting the cheeses of Alain Hess.

At noontime we stopped by Alain Hess Frommager – or cheesemaker. Hess is Burgundy’s best-known maker of all things cheese. We had a fantastic light lunch in the Vin Cave below the popular retail store. French cheeses are really remarkable fresh and run from the silk smooth triple cremes to all sort or stinky creations.

We capped our evening with dinner at Le Benaton, one of Beaune’s Michelin-starred restaurants. Le Benaton is known for creative and very innovative presentation in its cuisine. It did not disappoint. The photos in the accompany album illustrate the dishes better than my words can describe.

Today (Monday), our group is off to Clos Vougeot to learn more of this great wine region’s history. There, we’ll see Burgundy’s largest walled vineyard. We’ll visit two wineries and have another innovative lunch in the village of Vosne-Romanee. Tomorrow (Tuesday), we’re off to Chablis.

Au Revoir!

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Dinner in a Grand Beaune Cave

11 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by Howard in Burgundy 2016, Food & Travel, Uncategorized

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Beaune, Burgundy, Caveau des Arches, wine travel

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There are two rooms in an old wine cave beneath the city streets. This one is really beautiful.

BEAUNE, France – I’ve found my way around Beaune just in time for my eight guests to arrive this afternoon for “The Charms of Burgundy.” The trip is five nights in Beaune with wine education, domaine visits, great food, and – we’ll probably taste a few.

Of course, the French are known for their cuisine as much as they are for their wine. I had my first real dinner Friday night at Caveau des Arches, very close to my hotel.

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The chilled mackerel

The restaurant was highly recommended on a number of online sites, I read the reviews, checked out the website, and made a reservation before leaving the UW. Like most French restaurants they have a standard menu and a fixed-price menu. At Caveau des Arches, the fixed-price options are a Burgundian (25E), Traditional (34E) and Gourmet (54E).

My primary waiter’s broken English was only a minor challenge. I can read parts of the menu but not all. I chose the Traditional menu with the option to have the appetizer of the night, mackerel.

The mackrel was served cold, almost as though it had been pickled, with salad. It was a bit fishy, as any raw fish can be, but quite delicious.

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I should have taken the pic when the fish was looking at me! My bad!

I decided to stay with the seafood theme and ordered the trout with mixed baby vegetables. The beautiful, and good-sized, fish arrived whole which my waiter promptly offered to de-bone. I took him up on the offer and he masterfully removed the fish head and center bones.

The fish was cooked just right. The firm white fish was delicious in a brown butter sauce with crunchy almond slices. The veggies tasted fresh as well.

When in France, you eat cheese. The ‘cheese course’ was next with a choice of traditional Burgundy or fresh cheese. I went traditional and was rewarded with a soft, mild, and creamy goat cheese that was quite good.

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The best Creme Brulee ever!

Dessert really knocked the meal out of the park. Ordering Creme Brulee is a bit like going to Italy and having the cannoli – but it sounded good. It was the best I’ve ever had. The vanilla was intense and incredibly smooth. The potato chip-thin, warm chocolate chip cookie was out of this world.

Dinner did not include wine but I had two choices by-the-glass. I didn’t see the labels and our struggle with language did not motivate me to push it. I had a 1st Cru Beaune white that was rich and wonderful. My red was a Pommard that was just ok. But at 7E a glass, the wine was a bargain. The wine list was quite extensive running from great buys to crazy prices.

The service was good. I was dining as a single  and in these places you never know what’s going to happen. For the most part, I was pleased. There were times when tables with two or four people got more attention but that was to be expected. The wait staff were all wonderfully trained young men in white shirt and tie. Two of the waiters spoke some English.

So I left after paying a bill of 50 Euro. Honestly, that was a great value for a nice French restaurant. If you’ve never traveled Europe before, 50E with today’s exchange rate is $56.50. Everything was beautifully prepared and presented. The staff struggling a bit with their English. The atmosphere is really beautiful.

For any wine fan making the Burgundy pilgrimage, Caveau des Arches is a good one to add to your restaurant list.

I should note my group will dine Sunday night at Le Benaton and Wednesday at Loiseau des Vignes – both awarded one Michelin star. I’ll try to get similar posts up. Even if you’re not likely to visit Burgundy, who doesn’t like delicious food with nice photos?

Here are my photos from walking around Beaune Friday afternoon and evening.

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Gaseous Woman, Stinky French boy & Me

09 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by Howard in Burgundy 2016, Food & Travel, France, Uncategorized

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Beaune, Burgundy, Charles Degaulle Airport, French, Travel

Germain Au Mont D’ OR, France – I wrote of the joys of wine travel for my latest newspaper column but I was maybe too focused on the wine part.

I am leading a small tour group in Burgundy France June 11-19. I flew in a day and a half early to get a feel for Beaume – the heart of the Burgundy wine growing region. I visited Chablis in 2012, at the north end of Burgundy, but never beyond that small commune’s boundries.

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Bedroom of my two-room apartment for two nights.

So yes, this is a bit of a travelogue – today at least. It’s been eventful getting here. And I’ll quickly add, I think I have a few helpful travel tips along the way whether you’re headed for wine country or elsewhere.

It all started in early March when I booked my flight from Chicago to Paris. Most fares were showing at $1,500-$1700, and that is economy friends. I discovered CheapOair a discount site. They have great prices with airlines you’ll seldom give second thought. The flights are cheaper but often feature grueling layovers of 10-12 hours. So I was thrilled to find a flight on Iceland Air from Chicago to Iceland to Paris, a one-hour layover, and it was mid $1,200.

So my adventure began Wednesday afternoon (June 8) leaving my Indiana home about 2 p.m. I separately booked a flight from Indy to Chicago instead of leaving my car at O’Hare for nearly two weeks. All went well until boarding the plane. After locking down, we spent 45 minutes setting at the gate waiting for a mechanic’s paperwork on a small repair.

But into Chicago, over to the International terminal and my first surprise. I checked in with Iceland Air only to learn my flight was re-booked on Air France direct to Paris. I sort of wanted to enjoy my hour in Reykjavik, but hey I’ll take that disappointment any time.

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Chassagne Montrachet white and charcuterie.

Oh, on the way to the airport I first learned, or paid attention, to the France rail strike. My attention was focused with an email noting my particular connection was cancelled due to the strike. But the French are delightfully civilized about such things – and they do like strikes – but only one in three trains are affected.

The Air France flight was uneventful. My seatmate was a very nice gaseous Muslim lady who ate stinky food. Not sure that I slept much at all. The meal was pretty crappy.

I was proud of my effort at Charles DeGaulle airport. If you’ve never flown through Chuck’s Paris spot, let’s just say it’s big – really big. I picked up my one checked bag, found the terminal with the train station and made my way to a ticketing office. That re-book on Air France got me in earlier and proved to be a blessing.

My original train was 4 p.m. south to Lyon then back up to Beaune with a 9 p.m. arrival. That’s sort of like leaving Crawfordsville and driving to Bloomington to get to Indianapolis. But the only direct train to Beaune was like 7 p.m.

So I booked a 2 p.m. train instead with the same crappy route. I can’t sing the praises of the French TVG hi-speed rail service enough. It runs on time, all of the time, and darn they do go fast. I sat with a French teenager who was very quiet despite my efforts. Maybe he was fully concentrated on the shower he was going to take when he got home because those close train seats know no lies.

So now I’m writing this on more of a “local” train headed back north to Beaune. In train-speak “local” means old and slow. It’s sort of like a Greyhound Bus ride – we stop at every town. Oh, we’re stopping now in some burg called Villefranche-sur-Soane and a lot of people are getting off.

We’re stopping AGAIN – Saint Georges De Reneins! And now we wait those five minutes in middle of nowhere with no one getting on or off. It doesn’t seem very efficient but hey, did I mention they run on time?  Well, five minutes after our SGDR stop above we’re stopping in Velleville Sur Saone (no hyphens on this one, hmmm). Okay, enough of that but you get the idea.

Beaume is still just under an hour up the road. It’s 5 p.m. in Burgundy, or about noon EDT. So I’m going to make it to Beaune, that’s the good news. I’m staying at a bit of an apartment/hotel for first two nights before tour begins. Don’t be afraid of the off-the-beaten-path spots. They can add character to your trip – not to mention Euro. I’m paying something like 80 Euro a night compared to more than 300E at the spot our group will stay in starting Saturday.

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A peak where our group is staying next week. Click to enlarge.

My host, Ines, could not be more gracious. She communicated every step of the way with all my changes and promised to personally pick me up at the train station.

What’s coming up? Well Friday and Saturday is exploration days. I will wander around Friday and find the restaurants, and stops we’re making in Beaume before group arrives. I’m looking forward to the farmers market Saturday morning. Then my group starts to arrive Saturday afternoon.

I’m going to try to get something up on the blog daily while in Beaume. I will have postings throughout the day on Facebook and Instagram!

Follow along – au revoir for now.

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Summer Whites for Hot Days

30 Monday May 2016

Posted by Howard in France, Indiana, Newspaper Column 2016, Oregon, Uncategorized

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Entre-Deux-Mers, Lange Winery, Pinot Gris, summer whites, Vignoles

One lesson from eight years of wine writing is recommending types and style of wine instead of specific bottles. Many often think of summer as a time for big Cabernets, Syrah, or Malbec with outdoor grilling.

Grape Sense LogoThe annual pitch for readers to try dry Rose’ was the previous Grape Sense column. Today the topic is summer white wines by varietal and style. A good, chilled, white wine is great with summer foods and perfect for late evenings on the patio or porch.

Let’s start with French whites. One of the greatest values of the wine world is Bordeaux white wines. The traditional white Bordeaux is a mix of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon and/or Muscadelle. Sémillon is used in dry and sweet wines in the south of France.

It’s seems odd that a region known for the world’s most expensive reds would offer up the most drinkable and affordable whites but that’s just part of the paradox of French Bordeaux. It’s unlikely you’ll find Bordeaux Blanc in most liquor stores. But better wines shops will have a few different labels. Really good Bordeaux Blanc is often found for $10-$18.

The wines are refreshing and often described as light and fruity. White Bordeaux pairs really well with salads, seafood-stuffed ravioli, grilled tuna or shrimp, and try it with asparagus or sushi. A personal favorite is the Bordeaux Blanc from Entre-Deux-Mers and the Saint Emilion region.

They’re light and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day. Just look for Entre-Deux-Mers on the label.

langeOregon Pinot Gris is much easier to find in the Midwest than Bordeaux Blanc. Pinot Gris is equally affordable with plenty of choices in most wine shops. The most notable characteristic of Oregon Pinot Gris is a bright and pronounced acidity. That makes the wine a good pairing with seafood. Most bottles offer bold tropical citrus flavor with balance achieved from that pronounced acidity.

Most Oregon Pinot Gris wines are in the $14-$20 range. For years Oregon winemakers had a hard time giving the stuff away. But in more recent years many wineries have upped their Pinot Gris production. Chardonnay has also been hot in the Willamette Valley. Most are made in a Burgundian style with little or no oak.

The classic Oregon Pinot Gris or the stylistic Oregon Chardonnay are great summer white wines.

Finally, a plug for Indiana. One of the most under-appreciated whites is the hybrid grape Vignoles, originally from France. Vignoles is grown and produced by many Hoosier winemakers. The wine scares some people off because it’s often categorized as a semi-dry or semi-sweet wine. When Vignoles is well made the wine has pronounced fruit with a dry finish.

On the palate Vignoles offers up hints of pineapple, melon, peach, and if you concentrate on the mid-palate and finish you might find a hint of banana. Vignoles won the Indy International Wine Competition top wine in 2012 and 2013.

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Say Summer Refreshment with a Whisper

22 Sunday May 2016

Posted by Howard in France, Newspaper Column 2016, Uncategorized

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Oregon, Pinot Noir, Provence, Rose'

Spring is upon us and summer just a few weeks away. Just like the change of seasons, it’s time to sing the praise of dry rosé.

Grape Sense LogoAlmost every year for the 8 years of this newspaper column dry rosé has been featured a time or two in warm weather. The columns usually start with a disclaimer that these pinks are not sweet but rather dry, satisfying, and delicious wines.

Rosé is one of the greatest porch-sipping wines of summer. But good dry rosé also is a great food wine and is spectacular with seafood.

The wine is diverse in that it’s made around the world and made with many different grapes. Breaking it down in the simplest of terms, red wine gets its color when the juice is left in contact with the purple skins. Rosé gets its signature pink color from greatly less time mingling with its own skin.

RoseloresThere are so many to choose from but I strongly recommend two in particular. First, are the Rosé wines from Pinot Noir. Many of the great Oregon Pinot Noir labels are now making a Rosé. More and more California wineries are adding a pink wine to their lineup as well.

Instead of a laundry lists of recommended wines, I’ll offer up just two.  The first is Martin Ray Rosé of Pinot Noir. The Sonoma Russian River Valley wine is one of the best examples you’ll find of the Pinot version. It’s very reasonably priced at $15-$16 and can be found in better wine shops.

The other recommendation is Chateau d’ Esclans “Whispering Angel” Rosé from Provence, France. Provence, in the south of France, is often considered home of the holy grail – the world’s best Rosé wines. Most of those wines are made of various blends of Grenache, Cinsaut, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and a local grape, Tibouren.

The first release of Whispering Angel was in 2007 with approximately 150,000 bottles. Rosé sales and consumption in the U.S. continue to have remarkable growth year after year. The 2016 production of Whispering Angel, alone, has exploded to more than 4.5 million bottles.

Good, drinkable Provence rosé can be found at $12-$18. But Whispering Angel, at about $20 and several others under $30, really show off the best of Provence. Another great Provence producer is Domaine d’Ott.

 

 

 

 

 

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Chardonnay’s Multiple Faces

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by Howard in California, France, Newspaper Column 2016, Uncategorized

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Bernard Billaud, Cahblis, Chardonnay

Mention Chardonnay and images of little old ladies sipping the yellow-ish wine at Tuesday card club comes to mind. Or the world’s most planted white grape may conjure up mental images of the wine-country Bachelorette party.

Grape Sense LogoNo grape is more loved nor hated than Chardonnay. For many years, often still prevalent, is an entire group of wine drinkers identifying themselves as ABC consumers – Anything But Chardonnay!

Chardonnay is even more dominating than many would guess. If consumers think of wine and California, they generally think of the king of grapes Cabernet Sauvignon. But guess what, Chardonnay is the most planted grape in California with Cabernet second.

Chardonnay is popular, in part, because it offers an array of flavors. Depending on style, the palate might discover lemon, pear, apple, pineapple, peach, citrus, honeysuckle, minerality, almond, and the list goes on and on. If the Chardonnay is oaked then expect vanilla, butter, butterscotch, and caramelization.

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Bernard Billaud of Billaud-Simon

Winemakers around the world grow and produce Chardonnay in a multitude of styles to appeal to consumers or to represent the area – think terroir – where the wine grapes are grown.

So for a bit of education let’s compare the two extremes – California’s iconic oaked chardonnay versus the mostly-unoaked Chablis of Burgundy, France.

While the trends, even in California, is somewhat away from the big, buttery, and oaky Chards, there is still a market for those classic wines. What has happened in recent years is a mixture of oak and stainless steel to create a somewhat softer version of the taste you know.

In addition to oak aging, Chardonnay often undergoes malolactic fermentation. But let’s not make this chemistry or complicated. Malolactic fermentation means using a different type of yeast to create a softer tasting wine than one which is more acidic. Those creamy, round soft Chardonnays from Napa most likely underwent malolactic fermentation.

Traditional oaked chard pairs wonderfully with chicken, soft cheeses, herbed fish, pork, and turkey.

In the small village of Chablis, in northern Burgundy, chardonnay is Chablis. Chardonnay is all about minerality and acidity – no butter and creamy sips for the traditionalists.

Chablis

Chablis Vineyards

The Chardonnay grapes of Chablis come from a relatively small area. The wines are aged in stainless steel or decades old cement vats. Some of the wine is oaked but it’s usually neutral oak that does not impart the strong vanilla and woodsy taste. And often Chablis is a blend of the traditional and oak aging methodology.

There are wine writers and Chablis old-timers who will vehemently proclaim Chablis as the greatest white wine in the world. One of my most memorable wine experiences was centered on this discussion during a 2012 fall visit. Wine icon Bernard Billaud was meeting with a small group of wine press folks and being pushed on the younger winemakers uses of some oak.

The older statesman of Chablis became a bit aggravated and said, “If you’re not talking about acidity and minerality,” and then he growled, “you’re just making Chardonnay.”

Chablis, or unoaked Chardonnay, is a better match with shell fish and sharp cheeses. The best sipper is debate centered on stylistic preferences.

To suggest California and Chablis are the two primary styles of Chard isn’t too much of a stretch but there are many wines made in styles at all points between the two.

There are interesting Chards from California’s Central Coast, Oregon, South America and New Zealand.

It’s loved. It’s hated. There are many types of Chardonnay to try and one to match your palate.

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Think French to Upgrade Your Vino

16 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by Howard in France, Newspaper Column 2015

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Cru Bourgeois, French wine, QPR

There are those who believe if you continue to drink wine over a number of years you will eventually drink more French vino than others. Those folks just might be right.

There are many affordable choices in French wine, well-balanced wines which deliver great QPR – or quality to price ratio. The Old World style of wine making often offers more balance, less alcohol, and a smoother taste than found from many of the world’s other regions.

Grape Sense LogoThe French set the worldwide standard for great wine long before other countries planted a vine. The great French Rhone wines are some of the finest values and best drinking wines in the world. It’s not difficult to find an awesome Cotes du Rhone in a decent wine shop for $15.

The Languedoc, or Southern France, offers even more choices with wonderful red blends of Syrah, Grenache, and Carignan. The wines offer an earthier characteristic or perhaps more rustic appeal than the silky Rhones. Languedoc wines also come with a mid-teen price point. Even though it’s a large producer, try the wines of Gerard Bertrand as an outstanding introduction to the Languedoc.

The French’s best known wine regions are Bordeaux and Burgundy. Getting into those wines at a reasonable price point has always been a major challenge. An experienced wine drinker can pour a student of wine a $15 wine and then a $50 wine and few may be able to tell the difference. The taste difference between those price points in Bordeaux and Burgundy is much wider than most other regions.

If wine drinkers want to drink, arguably, the world’s greatest wine it means drinking Bordeaux. There are two problems with drinking great Bordeaux wine. The first is the confusing labels and the French’s hard-headed policy of making those labels difficult for the rest of the world to understand. Just try to find the words Cabernet or Merlot on a bottle of Bordeaux. That isn’t going to happen.

CruBourgeoisThe second problem is price. The top Chateau of France’s Left Bank Medoc wine region, can earn anywhere from $500-$1,500 per bottle. A more concrete example would be a winery of one of the five first growths classified in the 1800s – Chateau Margaux. Margaux’s varied offerings start at just over $500 a bottle up to $2400 a bottle for its best Grand Cru Bordeaux blend.

It has taken decades for French winemakers to address its consumer problem and still be profitable. The top Chateau will always be selling that expensive wine. But that leaves many properties fighting for a growingly smaller piece of the wine consumer dollar or Euro as the worldwide wine market expands.

The Cru Bourgeois was first drawn up in the 1930s and it has come and gone a few times since. The current version of Cru Bourgeois has grown and expanded by finding a niche with a value wine market for more serious wine drinkers.

The Cru Bourgeois du Medoc wines are produced in one of the eight prestigious regions on the Garonne River’s left bank – Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis en Médoc, Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac, or Saint Estèphe. The difference with Cru Bourgeois du Medoc is that the average price point is $25.

The wines are made from the same grapes as the great examples from the Medoc region – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Most Cru Bourgeois are Cabernet-Merlot Blends.

The French got serious about the category in the last decade while market share continued to dip with the emergence of great wines from other growing regions outside France’s borders. At last count, nearly 200 different labels were distributed in the U.S. as Cru Bourgeois. So they’re out there folks, you just have to go looking.

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