Anyone in the writing business knows sometimes there are ideas that don’t quite add up to individual columns. So, the following items are shared as Wine Briefs.

New Fishers Wine Shop
Any time a new retailer opens an Indiana wine shop, it’s worth a mention. Small retail is tough but wine shops and gourmet grocery stores really have to fight to find a niche.

Tasteful Times, at Olio Rd. and 116th St., Fishers, is a delightful shop with a big supply of gourmet grocery items and an eclectic wine selection. The store was opened by Ian and Linda Sadler along with their son Jonathan.

“We wanted to combine offering the finest products with having some fun,” Ian Sadler said. “We’re passionate about good food and good wine as a family and with friends.”
The British couple are delightful hosts. The grocery includes a wide mix of meats, cheeses, dairy products, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, flavored oils, and I was told a very popular Bloody Mary mix.

The wine selection included many labels not seen in other Indianapolis shops. “We’ve been very selective because we don’t want to carry wines that everybody else has,” Sadler said. “We also want to carry wines that we’d be proud to serve in our home to family or friends.”

Wines with Funny Names
Many a wine critic or writer will bash “critter” wines or wines with cute names. Much of the criticism is well founded. But I continue to stumble across some worth consideration. “Sassy Bitch” wines are available throughout Indiana.

Tami Fricks, a Macon, Ga., native started the company after talking with friends about how confusing wine buying can be for the average consumer. She and her husband wanted a good product with a catchy name and seem to have found both. They traveled to Chile and found boutique winery Casa del Bosque and then launched Sassy Bitch wines.

They are currently producing four wines right around the $10 price point – Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and a Merlot. The Cab was named a Wine Enthusiast “Best Buy” this year.

I received media samples of the Cab and Pinot. I would describe them as good $10 wines. The Cabernet is rather soft without much of a finish but better than some I’ve tasted at the price point. The Pinot Noir was the better of the two. It’s hard to find a Pinot under $15 that is drinkable. This one doesn’t have big fruit but it is nicely balanced and drinkable.

Obviously, they wanted to have fun with the name (enough said), but the wines are good $10 values.

Stand up for Shipping Rights
You’ll be reading a lot about Sunday liquor sales over the next few weeks. But nothing is stranger than wine shipping laws and Indiana’s laws may be the most ludicrous in the nation.

Did you know if an out-of-state winery has a Hoosier distributor it cannot directly ship to you if you visit their tasting room? Did you know it can cost more than $500 to get an Indiana license if they don’t have a distributor and want to send you the 12 bottles you just purchased? It goes on and on.

Sen. Phil Boots, R-Crawfordsville, introduced the bill to allow Sunday sales. His quote, as reported in the Indianapolis Star, is what really caught my eye.
“No government, in my opinion, should create a monopoly in any one area,” Boots said. “We need to have a free-market society. We need to have a free-market environment where everybody can compete.”

Well said and I couldn’t agree more. Write your U.S. House representative and ask him to oppose H.R. 5034 which would cripple wine producers from all states. Write your state representatives and senators to ask them to tear down the antiquated three-tier system and to allow direct wine shipments to Hoosiers.

Welcome Aboard
Just a quick shout out to new readers in Monticello, Indiana. Editor Trent Wright has added Grape Sense to the Herald-Journal!
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I subscribe to a number of online wine sites and get daily e-mail updates on wine news headlines.

A couple of interesing news items hit the inbox this morning. I realize not everyone reading Grape Sense has the same level of interest that I do, so sometimes those story are worth repeating.

I was somewhat surprised to see this Wine Spectator story announcing the Fiji water people had purchased Justin Winery. Justin and Deborah Baldwin will continue to run the winery but won’t have the financial commitment of owners and winemakers.

You can read the full story at the link in the paragraph above.

During my October Paso Robles visit I had dinner with a group of Paso Robles Pioneers, including Deborah Baldwin. She was charming, knowledgeable and poured Justin’s great 2008 Cabernet. It’s really one of California’s best.

In what now seems like a previous life, I frequently bought wine from wine.com. The online wine retailer lost its Indiana distributor so no longer ships here. (Insert profanity-laden tirade here about shipping laws.)

You can check out the P.R. Newswire story here.

Anyway they just announced their Top 100 wines of the year. It’s significant because they are the nation’s biggest online sales site. There should be lots of recognizable wines.

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I’ve used the line before – but every now and then you open a bottle of wine that is just really special. It’s a wine that reminds you why you like wine, drink wine, read about wine, talk about wine, and visit wine country.

I had an exquisite Syrah over the weekend that I’m still telling friends about after the fact. The wine was a Clos du Mont-Olivet 2007 Varene. It is 100 percent Syrah from the Cotes du Rhone region in France. The label is known for its Chateauneuf de Pape wines but this moderately-priced Syrah is memorable.

It’s big, rich and beautifully balanced. You want more wine geek? I give you more wine geek. The Varene is an intence, black fruit wine that has strength and richness that combines for an elegant feel in the mouth. Still the spice, the tannins, the sheer power of this Syrah is beautifully intoxicating. There is an earthiness that reminds regular wine drinkers of the best Cotes du Rhone has to offer.

The winemaker, Thierry Sabon, is hailed as one of the area’s best. Here is a blog post from the Watertown Press in Needham, Mass. The writer visited Sabon at the winery.

I paid $23 for this wine at Vino 100 in Columbus, Ohio.

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It can be hard to find a really good bottle of wine at the supermarket or local liquor store that delivers great quality for under $15. That’s why this column is about a single bottle of wine.

J. Lohr Vineyards is one of the iconic names in California wine, particularly the central coastal region. The chance to share comments from Steve Lohr, Jerry’s son and COO of the company, made it easy to focus one column on J. Lohr’s Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon.

The wine is a rich and well-structured bottle of Cabernet for its mid-teen price. The wine can be found online anywhere from $13-$17. It can be picked up at one of Indiana’s biggest grocery chains for $14.99.

The chance to share Lohr’s comments on the Cab adds a little education rather than a simple review.

“With over 20 years of experience in growing grapes in Paso Robles, we know what it takes to coax the best flavors from our vineyards,” Lohr said. “Our Paso vineyards receive only 12 to 14 inches of rainfall per year, with almost none of that occurring during the growing season. Thus, we are able to limit how much water each vine receives, encouraging the vine to put more energy into fruit maturation than cane and leaf growth. We work diligently to allow just enough sunlight to penetrate the grapevine canopy. If there is too much light, the clusters will suffer from sunburn and turn rosy or raisin – just like humans! If there is too little light, they will not develop their full berry flavors.”

A recent trip to Paso Robles, CA., provided the opportunity to talk with many of the area’s pioneers.

“We feel Paso Robles is ideally suited for Cabernet in part because of the large diurnal changes in temperature (the difference between the daytime high and nighttime low) that occur here,” Lohr explained. “Cabernet needs warm days to bake out the (chemicals) that can lead to green vegetable aromas and flavors, and cool nights to preserve the acidity and color in wine grapes. With a daily swing of 40 to 50 degrees during the summer, Paso has the largest diurnal shift of any winegrowing region in the country.”

The great thing about this inexpensive wine is it tastes like a $20 or $30 bottle. The mouth feel is comparable to a more costly wine.

“We don’t over crop our vines since that dilutes flavors; however, we don’t under crop our vines either since that leads to aggressive vegetal growth and a reduction in the length of time the cluster remains on the vine, leading to sugar accumulation before flavor development,” Lohr said.

“This attention to detail is carried through the winemaking process. We ferment in small to medium size tanks which allows us to closely monitor color, flavor and tannin extraction from the grape skins and seeds. Our focus on traditional winemaking techniques, such as the exclusive use of 225 liter oak barrels to age our Seven Oaks, is more akin to a boutique winery than a winery with good national distribution. Balance in blending occurs with the addition of other Bordeaux varieties to our Cabernet such as Merlot and Petit Verdot, as well as other red varieties which grow well in Paso such as Petite Sirah and Syrah. The finished Seven Oaks is a wine that expresses rich blackberry, black cherry and vanilla aromas and flavors with a plump, softly textured mouth feel and finish.”

J.Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet is easy to find. Try it with the next big beef dish you have planned.

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I’ve spent the past two weeks writing and talking a lot about Thanksgiving wine. I hope you enjoyed the “Dudes” videos. We got together this week and tried more Beaujolais – all Cru quality, no Nouveau!

Whatever you choose for your turkey day I hope you enjoy – Pinot to Beaujolais to Gewurzt to Sauv Blanc or soft drinks, coffee, or water – Happy Thanksgiving.

I brined a turkey overnight which is about to go in the oven. I am trying something new with turkey – one of the Beaujolais Cru wines we didn’t try the other night. I’m going to open a 2008 Georges Duboeuf Chateau De Grand Pre Fleurie.

I may log back in later today with a short paragaph on the wine.

Happy Turkey Day!

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November 18 – yesterday – was the third Thursday of November and the official celebration of the biggest wine marketing coup of all time, perhaps.

Beaujolais Nouveau is released each year at the same time, thanks largely to Georges Duboeuf. I read a marvelous book this summer – “I’ll Drink to That: Beaujolais and the French Peasant Who Made It the World’s Most Popular Wine.”

The book is fun, great story telling, and educational. You’ll see why and how Duboeuf became one of the biggest names in French wine by selling this inexpensive and simple drink.

I had to be near a wine shop yesterday and so I picked up a bottle of Duboeuf’s 2010 Nouveau for $11.99. I consumed it with a couple of friends last night and remembered quickly why it just doesn’t do much for me. Indeed, if you’re serving guests who are not regular wine drinkers Beaujolais Nouveau just might be a great pick. But there is no finish on the wine and a bit of funk that I find off-putting. And by the way, my friends agreed.

For the newbies the Nouveau comes straight from the vineyard, through the fermentation process, bottled and onto shelves – no time, no oak, and not much going on.

With that being said, there are 10 Cru regions in Beaujolais growing Gamay and producing wonderful wines. The remarkable thing is the price range is so narrow in the Beaujolais region. An unremarkable Pinot Noir can cost $15 but a great one can easily be $50 or more.

The Cru wines are aged and present an entirely different and delicious alternative. And one of the great things, as opposed to my Pinot Noir example above, is you can go $5-$20 above the Nouveau price point and get great Beaujolais wine.

The Nouveau is always around $10-$12. But if you buy a Beaujolais Cru – Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Cote de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à Vent, Régnié, and Saint Amour – you’re going enjoy it much more.

I recently had a Duboeuf Juliénas for $14.99 and it totally changed my attitude toward the Gamay grape. It had structure, tannins, and nice acidity. It was a great bottle of wine.

Beaujolais is a great Thanksgiving wine but go for a Beaujolais Villages or one of the 10 Cru wines. The difference is small in price and substantial in value.

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Note: This was my last newspaper column written mostly from the series of videos found below. My friends, or the Dudes, tasted six wines one evening. The column appears in 12 Indiana newspapers reaching more than 200,000 homes.

What wine to serve with the Thanksgiving turkey? It’s the most frequently asked question of the season and one with plenty of answers.

Let’s talk some turkey about white and red wines which will really highlight your holiday meal.

Chardonnay is a really easy choice. But if it was that simple, who needs a wine columnist? The way food is seasoned, cooked, and side dishes should always figure into the equation of wine-food pairing for any meal.

Recently, I gathered four good friends to evaluate six wines to pair with turkey and the trimmings. It’s a great way to pick holiday wines and great fun.

We tasted three whites and three reds with some sliced turkey, bits of cheese with cranberry, pecans, and crackers. We started with a Michigan Riesling – a classic choice. The wine offers nice fruit and acidity and will pair well with nearly everything on the dining table. Riesling is widely available, just check out a few because the wine does come in sweet, semi-sweet, and dry versions. It’s also acidic (a good thing), but if that turns you off – just read on.

One of the most popular Thanksgiving wines in recent years has been Gewurztraminer. The French and German versions are widely popular for their strong floral and spicy nose and taste. In Indiana, you can buy a Traminette at your local Indiana winery and get essentially the same flavor profile. It is a great choice. But note, the Indiana versions tend to be on the sweeter to much-sweeter side.

Our final white was a very nice California Sauvignon Blanc. The group was pleasantly surprised how well the wine went with the turkey and trimmings. Ask your wine shop for a Sauv Blanc with mild acidity. Many California Sauvignon Blanc wines will go really well.

Still, there are those who want red wine with food regardless of the occasion and there are plenty of choices that won’t overpower the bird. My wine buddies first tried a nice Beaujolais Villages gamay-grape wine. The Beaujolais Nouveau is a fun wine, but for better taste pick up a Villages or Grand Cru Beaujolais. The difference is only a few dollars for much better wine.

The Georges Duboeuf Villages wine was beautifully crafted, light, and balanced nicely against food. It’s also a wine even your non-wine drinkers are going to really enjoy. You’ll look like the sophisticated host serving one of the beautifully-labeled Beaujolais wines.

The final two wines were both Pinot Noir, but from different regions. The first was a light and tasty California Central Coast Pinot at $14. Pinot Noir and Beaujolais are probably the most frequently recommended Thanksgiving red wines. The light Pinot not only pairs with turkey, but again is a good choice if you’re not regular wine consumers.

We also tasted an awesome $30 Oregon Pinot that might be a bit much for non-wine drinkers but will really impress regularly red wine fanatics. The Oregon Pinot is more Burgundian, or lighter in style, but earthy and aromatic wine that is made to impress.

The cook in the house invests a lot of time on Thanksgiving dinner for family and friends. So take a little time to get to a wine shop, ask some questions and pick a really great wine for the holiday.

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This is the final installment of Dudes on Wine, a production of “Dudes on the Porch” wine guys. As I have written on the previous installment, it’s really a great example of just getting some friends together to taste different wines.

This group has been getting together since earlier this year and agreed to let me videotape a session for the blog. We had fun, so I’m guessing we’ll do it again and perhaps have a few variations on the concept as well.

The final wine was a totally different price point. Our first five wines were all in the mid-teen range. The Pinot Noir tonight is a $30 wine from Oregon. Cooper Mountain 2005 Old Vine Pinot is no longer available. But they have plenty of other Pinots available on their site.

I’ve long been a big fan of Oregon Pinot and written about it extensively. These are bigger and richer wines than some you’ll find but would be beautiful with Thanksgiving if you’re entertaining serious wine drinkers.

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The “Dudes on the Porch” wine reviews for Thanksgiving will conclude Monday night. I had planned on putting up the last video tonight, but technical reasons have messed with the plan.

I was unable to access the video I produced so will have to post it Monday evening. The final episode features a $30 Pinot Noir and a great discussion between the “Dude” after we go around the room to ask each guy’s opinion.

Sorry for the change in plans, the but the final “Dudes” wine review will be posted Monday night.

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The next to last episode of Dudes on Wine …. or Dudes on the Porch … focuses on Pinot Noir. We tasted a Monterrey County Estancia Pinot Noir which sells for around $15.

Pinot is really a great choice for Thanksgiving dinner. This wine was a lighter one that would pair well. But watch the video for the Dudes take on this tasty, light red wine.

Our last wine, hopefully, tomorrow night will be a higher price point Pinot Noir. I only say hopefully because I had some trouble getting the video uploaded. I’ll update Saturday night.

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