As wine drinkers we all have our favorites, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Merlot. Looking outside our normal delights opens an entire new wine world to us. Here are a few out of the ordinary grape varieties to consider.

 

Whites

Albariño: This grape is grown in the northeastern province of Galicia, Spain and northern Portugal. There it is spelled alvarinho. It makes a delicious, light, lemony, and often slightly spritzy wine.

 

Grüener Veltliner: An Austrian grape that packs a punch! It carries spicy and musky flavors, with a peppery finish.

 

Macabeo: This grape hails from Northern Spain and is also known as viura. It’s one of the three grapes used in making Spanish cava or sparkling wine. It’s the primary white grape of Rioja.

 

Cortese: A grape that is grown in Northwestern Italy, it makes a medium-bodied wine called Gavi. Traditionally, it’s been the most prized wine of the Piedmont region.

 

Roussanne: A French Rhone variety, often blended with Marsanne, considered elegant and floral. Both Roussanne and Marsanne grapes produce dry white wines.

 

Reds

Carmenère: Once grown in Bordeaux, now this grape finds a home in Chile. Often, Chilean wines labeled as Merlot are made in part from carmenère.

 

Monastrell: A widely planted Spanish grape often used to make rosés and red wines. This is the Spanish name for what the French call mourvèdre.

 

Nero d’ Avola: This grape is also called calabrese. It creates full-bodied and complex wines from Sicily.

 

Petit Verdot: Commonly known as a Bordeaux blending grape, it adds spice, depth and color to wines.

 

Pinotage: A South African cross between pinot noir and cinsaut.

The origins of Chardonnay grapes are difficult to trace, but historians believe they are a product of cloning the little known Gouais Blanc grape with a Pinot grape. Chardonnay grapes emerged in the Burgundy region of France, but they are now grown in many parts of the world. Chardonnay is the only grape permitted in the Chablis region and is a major varietal in making Champagne. It’s the most widely planted grape in California, comprising over 40% of all white varieties in 2000.

 

Chardonnay grapes are small and thin-skinned. They are extremely fragile grapes and therefore expensive to grow and harvest. Chardonnay grapes like warm climates with cool nights. The climate and soil variations affect the flavor and aromas of Chardonnay grapes. These grapes easily adapt to most soil types, but seem to prefer chalk, clay and limestone. As Chardonnay grapes ripen, they lose acidity so it’s important for winemakers in warmer climates to keep a close eye on the sugars and acids.

 

Chardonnay wine displays a wide variety of flavors including vanilla, buttered toast, butter, oak, apple, pear, citrus, and melon, while showcasing a full-bodied, creamy and lush texture. Chardonnay wines are often fermented in oak barrels, enhancing the finish, texture and complexity of the wine. However, if the wine is left in the barrel too long the wine tastes flabby and overdone. The oak should compliment and enhance the wine, not be the main element in the wine. Chardonnay pairs nicely with chicken, seafood and cream based dishes.

 

An important component of sparkling wines and Champagne is Chardonnay. When Champagneis made from 100% Chardonnay, it’s labeled Blanc de Blancs or white of whites. Another style of Chardonnay is the unoaked Chardonnay or “naked Chardonnay.” These wines age in stainless steel barrels and feature a sharper, edgier more acidic taste. All Chardonnay wines are served at a moderate temperature of 50-55 degrees, and not straight out of a wine cooler. They should be given a few minutes to warm in order to enjoy the full flavor.

 

Winery: Baron Philippe de Rothschild

Wine: Mouton Cadet 2006

Location: Bordeaux, France

Purchased: Shnuck’s Grocery Store

Price: $8.49

 

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to do more of the daily cooking. So far I’ve done pretty well. For a recipe I made last week, I needed a half cup of white wine for the sauce. Generally, we keep one or two bottles on hand for this very reason, but I ended up making a quick dash to the store to grab a bottle of white wine. Since I only needed a half cup, I knew we could enjoy the rest with dinner. I wanted something I hadn’t tasted before, but looked intriguing. This was the perfect chance to sample a white wine from a region known for their reds.

 

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This quick little test lets you check how well you know your wine. Test yourself!

http://www.delish.com/food-fun/quizzes/wine-iq-quiz-102308?GT1=47001

*Note: I do not agree with the question and answer about Champagne.

I read the wine column in The Wall Street Journal each weekend, but I’ve kept a few around to share on my blog, along with my thoughts on the topic.

 

Italy’s Zinfandel Pretender

Genetically, Zinfandel, Primitivo and Crljenak Kastelanski are the same grape. Primitivo is the 12^th most popular grape in Italy and is mostly planted in Pugliaor the “boot-heel.” Scientific evidence of the connection between these grapes has existed for over a decade, yet labeling restrictions are complex. Some imports are labeled as Primitivo. While others are denoted as Zinfandel, and still others have both names on the bottle. Italians see a new market for their “Italian Zinfandel” and want to capitalize.

 

I’m a huge fan of the spicy, peppery, big Zinfandel. If I could drink Zinfandel for the rest of my life, I’d be happy! However, the Primitivo I’ve tasted in the past were more characteristic of jug wine than my favorite American Zinfandel. Primitivo was very fruit forward and flabby with hints of vanilla. I haven’t found one I truly enjoyed and would purchase again.

 

For 2009, a To-Do List for Wine

Since its still January, I thought it worth mentioning Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher’s suggestions for wine in 2009. I wrote a few of my thoughts along with their ideas.

 

*Try a wine from a different country

*Go to a wine bar and have a flight of wine

*Order the cheapest wine on a restaurant’s wine list

*Open a sparkler at home for no reason at all (I like this idea! Too often we think there has to be a special occasion for Champagne or sparkling wine. I think I’ll try this more often)

*Take notes on a fine wine from beginning to end

*Have a Sauternes (Since we’re headed to Bordeaux in a few weeks, I think I can take care of this one. Sauternes is a sub-region within Bordeaux and produces a sweet wine.)

*Organize your labels (This was one of my New Year’s Resolution’s. Jonathan has really been the go getter on this project, but I’m hoping to become more motivated!)

*Visit the closest winery to your home (We researched this and plan to head that way in the spring. Granted, it’s Illinois wine, but it should be fun to visit.)

*Attend a winemaker’s dinner at a restaurant

*Have fun with stemware (We received some wonderful Bordeaux glasses for Christmas so we’ve been “testing” them out. We’ve been extra careful not to break them in the dishwasher!)

*Find a new wine store (http://wine.woot.com/ – Thanks Andy!)

*Try a varietal you’ve never had from a U.S. winery

*Either: Have 12 different bottles in the house at once (Pretty standard in our house.)

*Or drink up (Again….pretty standard.)

*Go crazy on a wine pairing for dinner some night

*Try an older white

*Try a type of wine you think you don’t like (I did this last night! I tried a white from Bordeaux. I’m usually not much of a white drinker, but I needed white wine for the meal I cooked. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the bottle!)

*Get a new corkscrew

*Serve a dessert wine to guests

*Shatter your price limit (Going to Paris, this should be pretty easy!)

 

Nouveau: The Comeback Continues

A November favorite, Beaujolais Nouveau is turning a corner. For several years, this wine celebrated a new harvest and grew in popularity, as did the price. While the price grew the quality of wine declined, sending consumers in a different direction. In 2007, winemakers regained focus improving quality and dropping the price back to a reasonable number. The 2008 production continued the trend, but winemakers must work to repair the damage of previous sub-par years. Winemakers are thinking creatively to market their wines. Georges Duboeuf received permission from the French government to ship his wine by boat, thus lowering the price of his wine and the carbon foot print caused by transportation.

 

This was the first year I bought into the Beaujolais craze. I did buy a bottle to drink with our Thanksgiving meal. While, it’s not something I would drink everyday. It’s light, fruity and pairs nicely with turkey. It’s made from the Gamay grape and is harvested just a few months earlier so it’s a very young wine. Beaujolaisshould not be cellared but drink it immediately.