Archive for the 'Regions' Category

Man o' War's vineyards on Waiheke Island

Something like 90% of the New Zealand wine imported to the U.S. is Sauvignon Blanc, which makes it easy for American wine drinkers to completely disregard the other 10%. Sure, some folks go on about Pinot Noir–the latest flavor du jour in the U.S. and New Zealand’s most prominent red wine grape–but what’s remarkable is the diversity of grape varieties now being grown in this remote corner of the world.

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As a wine lover, there are certain region/varietal combinations that I hang my hat on. Dry Creek Valley is good for Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is good for Pinot, Malbec in Argentina, Chardonnay in Burgundy, the list goes on. It serves as a blueprint for making wine selections. But sometimes I can get so bogged down by these preconceptions that I fail to see the larger picture. It has led me to be unfairly judgmental at times, something that I’m not proud of. These are the moments when wine lovers can get that bed reputation. It’s the moment when wine “lover” turns to wine “snob” because these concepts turn from points of guidance to points of judgment. So I love when some of my deep-rooted dogmas are challenged.

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Of all the experiences I had on my recent trip to Seattle and Oregon, one theme rang true: the importance of slowing down. Being a New Yorker, I tend to rush from here to there, focusing more on the schedule and less on the moment. I think this transcends a lot of Metropolitan area East Coasters. The truth is, great things can happen when you pause, think, and let the juices flow.

One of the most eye-opening (and hilarious) experiences was on a morning when my friend and I were leaving Portland for an appointment at Scott Paul Wines. We were already running late, but had to taste some real Portland coffee before departing. Locals highly recommended the Portland chain, Stumptown,  so we decided to check it out.

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When an esteemed colleague of mine writes about Chenin Blanc, he can’t resist anthropomorphizing: The Chenin, she is changeable, she is flirty. She requires patience. She reveals her secrets in her own time, and just when you think you know her….

I think we can all agree, that’s quite enough of that. But I see what he means. He views Chenin in a feminine light because it’s a lovely name to pronounce (shuh-NAN or SHEH-nen); because certain women will always befuddle certain men with their unpredictability, their inscrutablility, their je ne sais quoi. (It’s true: Chenin Blanc is a befuddling grape.) But mostly, he just loves a well-made Chenin Blanc. I do too. And if you enjoy white wine with good acidity along the lines of Sauvignon Blanc, you should seek out Chenin Blancs.

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Traveling to emerging wine regions such as South Africa, Greece and Cyprus and tasting wines in New York from everywhere from Hungary to Long Island, I’ve thought a lot about how an under-the-radar region can make its mark in a market flooded with wine choices. Consumers are already accustomed to finding good wines at reasonable prices, and from places they recognize. So how can a country or region perceived as exotic or “foreign” to Americans find a place on domestic tables?

To start, by perfecting and promoting their own unique varieties, and marketing them realistically. This sounds easy enough, but it’s quite a challenge on many levels. The first is financial: it’s tempting for wineries to plant familiar varieties like Cabernet or Chardonnay—wines they know sell in other markets—instead of upholding the indigenous tradition of a Pinotage or Furmint , no matter how noble or worthwhile an endeavor. In their minds, they know there’s a real chance those indigenous varieties won’t ever gain serious, bankable traction in the highly competitive international markets.

I would never fault a smaller winery for trying to make solid business decisions—money is a real issue for these producers and a few missteps could put them out of business quickly. But in general, I think it’s dangerous for emerging regions to jump into the huge pool that is international-style winemaking. I’m not denying that sometimes great mainstream wines come from unlikely places (just try a South African Chenin or Cypriot Syrah sometime) but the real strength of a rising star region lies in its native varieties.

These are the wines that are best suited to the soil and the climate of the region, that in many cases have been made for decades, even centuries, by local winemakers. Found nowhere else, they embody the essence of the place in which they are grown, offering a truly unique experience to wine drinkers often lost in a sea of commercial, homogenous-tasting wines.

Despite this cultural allure of the wines, how do wineries get the message out to the American public? That requires a difficult balance of “unique, but not too foreign.” Blending native wines with mainstream varieties is one way to introduce wine drinkers to an emerging region and its local grapes. Consumers are more likely to grab a bottle of Xinomavro and Merlot because at least one of those words is familiar to them and it feels less like a risk. Eventually, one hopes they will graduate to exploring single varietal Xinomavro and all of the diversity expert producers can offer, but let’s take it one step at a time.

Labeling is important too—the bottle should have character but be readable and distinguishable. And then of course there’s education—tastings at wine stores, articles in wine magazines like Wine Enthusiast, getting the wines on restaurant lists and inspiring servers to learn about them and promote them—all will help wine lovers embrace the unfamiliar. It’s not easy maintaining one’s cultural identity in a market so flooded with familiar, and in some ways easier, wine choices. But thinking strategically, producers can uphold the character and tradition of their own native wines, while at the same time staying in business. What do you think?

Growing up in northern Michigan, I was certainly no stranger to the concept of outdoor sports. Fishing, hunting, waterskiing, hiking, skiing—it was all around me. I’ll admit though, I was more of an indoor creature—more likely to have my face stuck in a book than chopping wood or ice fishing. So when I traveled to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York last weekend on a wine tasting trip and was told that we’d also be dropping some lines in Cayuga Lake, I was somewhat wary.

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For centuries, Bordeaux wines have stood among the world’s best. Such historic figures as Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Pepys applauded them, and even today, top Bordeaux wines are regularly featured in international wine publications.

But only a tiny proportion of Bordeaux’s wines live up to these exalted standards. Today, Bordeaux is in crisis. Growers are giving up, unable to make a living selling their grapes to the local cooperative and without the resources to improve quality and change over to estate production.
Even at the top of Bordeaux’s quality pyramid, there are cracks in the foundation. There’s a popular perception that Bordeaux is full of fat-cat chateau owners charging exorbitant sums for their wines and completely out of touch with reality. Rumors persist that first-growth Château Latour is for sale. And there’s talk that the 2008 en primeur campaign may be eliminated or at best abbreviated.

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We’ve all noticed the boom in imports from such value regions as Chile, South Africa, and most notably Argentina (for more on this, be sure to check out our upcoming May feature “The Argentine Tiger”).  These countries have been categorized as having excellent wines at a tremendous value, something that almost every wine lover is desperately looking for given the current economic climate.  No one wants to sacrifice quality, and finding the best bang for your buck seems to be the wine buyer’s motto these days.  

So, when you’re tired of drinking the same Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, South African Pinotage, or Argentinean Malbec, where do you turn to next?  The answer, my friends, lies in the largest wine-producing region in the world: Languedoc-Roussillon.  With more than one third of France’s total wine production coming from the region, it is truly amazing that more people don’t know about the fantastic and widely varying wines of the Sud de France.

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Once upon a time, a working knowledge of moo shoo pork, California roll, and pad thai got you through most Asian restaurant experiences.

Today, if that’s all you’ve got on your mind’s menu…..your little white take-out carton is intellectually empty.

There are now more Asian restaurants than ever in the U.S.–indeed, more kinds of Asian restaurants than ever!–and, as the movement rolls, more of us are patronizing them more frequently.

But the anchor dishes we once depended on are increasingly surrounded by waves of other things. And, for most of us, sticking with General Tso, no matter how you feel about loyalty, seems positively antediluvian.

So the crunch is on: to get maximum enjoyment, we need to know more about Asian cuisine. How to acquire it? Precisely at this delicious moment, along comes a fine way to do so: a new book by super-foodie Steven A. Shaw, the eGullet founder, called Asian Dining Rules (William Morrow, 2008).

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Australia, anyone? Sydney Opera House? Great Barrier Reef? The big red rock in the desert? Nicole Kidman’s flat?Please. Leave those to the tourists. Last week I found a whole other reason to go to Oz….namely, the wonders of the sea-surrounded Eyre Peninsula (pronounced like “air”), a locus of major gastronomic activity that is, currently at least, off the usual tourist radar screens.In fact, the whole state in which the Eyre Peninsula sits–the beautiful state of South Australia, which takes up a geographical position in Australia roughly equivalent to the position of Texas in the U.S.–is ripe for exploration.Now, I know that you’re not about to drop everything and fly halfway around the world tomorrow. And I know that the products I’m about to describe do not have current American distribution. But this is not purely a “vicarious thrill” exercise: I would love you to note all of this carefully, to be among the first Eyre Peninsula visitors from America, when you’re ready…..and to be on the lookout for some of the outstanding comestibles and potables that may be coming this way soon.

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