What's Going On in the World of French Wines

I’m working on a post on Bordeaux for later this week, but I had a really interesting wine last night and so I wanted to share it with everyone on the blog. A few months ago, I was in a wine store in my area when I spotted an interesting looking bottle of wine. The first thing that caught my eye was the label – it was one of those labels that grabs your attention – not because it is showy or there’s a cute animal, but because it was, well, so very pretty. Intrigued, I picked it up and was even more interested to see that it was made with organically grown grapes and that, best of all, it was priced at $9.99. So, naturally, I had to buy it!
So what’s funny about this is that the Les Chemins de Bassac Isa Rouge has been sitting in my wine fridge in my kitchen untouched since that impulse purchase. Every time I’ve gone to pull out a wine for dinner, I’ve looked at it and then thought to myself, am I really in the mood for this wine? I’m not really sure what made me hesitate to open the Isa – I think I was so excited to find it that I was worried that drinking the wine would be a bit of a let-down…amazing how sometimes you can be your own worst enemy!
Well, last night I made spaghetti and meatballs and when I went to grab a wine to serve with dinner, lo and behold, I discovered that I was out of my stash of everyday Italian wines. Yes, I keep a selection of inexpensive Italian red wines on hand to serve with my red sauce – I find that my tomato sauce tends to go best with either a Valpolicella or a Chianti. But I digress…so, unfortunately (or fortunately) for me, there were no Italian reds to be had. So I went searching through the other shelves to see what I could find. And that’s when I spotted the Isa, which had been languishing on the top shelf of the wine fridge for way too long.
What the heck, I thought – why not open it? I’ll admit it, I didn’t have high expectations – not only because of the potential problem of pairing it with my red sauce, but also because I had stupidly convinced myself that something that pretty, that reasonably priced and made with organically grown grapes wasn’t going to be all that tasty – it seemed just too good to be true. Well, silly me. The Isa was lovely, with soft earthy black fruits, notes of spicy plums and hints of ripe cherries. The tannins were fairly soft and the acidity and alcohol were balanced, but somehow the wine went very nicely with the sauce. Perhaps it was the addition of the meatballs to the sauce, but the combination was really enjoyable, and the wine that was left in my glass was equally delicious with my dessert of chocolate chip cookies.

The Les Chemins de Bassac Isa Rouge is a Vin de Pays des Côtes de Thongue, which is located in the Languedoc, in the South of France. The wine is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir and the grapes are all farmed organically. If you would like more information about the wine, I recommend checking the estate’s website.
So what did I learn tonight? Well, first off, it was a great reminder that I need to take my own advice when I spot something interesting – I need to not hesitate to open the wine once I get it home! I foolishly made some assumptions about the wine (the label’s too pretty and the wine’s too reasonably priced for it to be really good) that were definitely without merit. And this was a great reminder that there are wines made with organically grown grapes that can be found for under $10. So for all those people who say you have to pay extra for grapes grown without synthetic chemicals, the Isa is a terrific example of the value wines that are available these days. Finally, it was definitely a treat to discover a delicious wine that stood up to my red sauce – and I bet it would be great with a whole bunch of other dishes too!

Thursday, January 22

Today is one of my all-time favorite holidays – the feast day devoted to the patron saint of winemakers, St. Vincent. While many winemakers mark the day, those in Burgundy are particularly well-known for their St. Vincent day celebrations. This year there will be parties taking place in a number of villages in Burgundy, including one in the village of Chardonnay (Yes, Virginia, there is a village called Chardonnay in Burgundy!).

My love of St. Vincent’s Day goes back many years to my days as a wine student preparing for the Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s Diploma at the International Wine Center in New York City. At some point in my studies of Burgundy, I came across some references to St. Vincent and how vignerons hold services and celebrations in his honor each year in hopes of being rewarded with a good year in the vineyards. I loved the idea of marking the beginning of a new year in the vineyards with a celebration of vintages past. While I didn’t have a vineyard, it occurred to me that I could create my own holiday honoring St. Vincent by throwing a tasting party for my friends and that our enjoyment of past vintages would also help me make room in my cellar for some new vintages.
My party was a huge success, in fact I think it remains one of my very favorite parties that I have ever thrown. I served a variety of foods – lots of different cheeses, shrimp, mini roast beef sandwiches, various desserts, vegetables, mini quiches – you name it. The idea was to give people an opportunity to pair a wide variety of wines (I think I opened somewhere between 50 and 60 bottles of wine) with a wide variety of foods. The most exciting part of the party though, was that I had the chance to open so many different wines for my friends – some of whom tasted grape varieties that day that were completely new to them. While it wasn’t an educational tasting per se, I did want my friends to be able to learn about wine that day in a fun and relaxed way.

So today, in honor of St. Vincent, I encourage you to do one of two things. Either open up a bottle of wine tonight that you have never tried before, or invite some friends over and celebrate St. Vincent with a tasting party of your own. Whatever you do, though, be sure to say a few words wishing all of the vintners around the world good luck as they embark upon the 2009 vintage. And as for me, I’m planning on calling up a few of my neighbors to see if they want to stop by for some drinks after work. I think I’ll open up a few different French wines made with grapes that most people are probably not familiar with, such as Chenin Blanc, Colombard, Gewurztraminer, Mourvèdre, Semillon, Ugni Blanc and Viognier. If some of these grapes are new to you, you can check through my top picks list by grape variety to find specific wines. Enjoy!

The other day I had the pleasure of lunching with Ray Isle, who is the Deputy Wine Editor at Food & Wine magazine. I’m a fan of Ray’s work and his musings on his Food & Wine Magazine Blog, so it was a lot of fun to have a chance to sit and chat.

We had lunch at a great new restaurant in NY called Allegretti. The food was delicious and the staff exceedingly friendly. Ray and I both had the Autumn Salad with assorted greens, anjou pear, gamonedo cheese, candied walnuts and a white balsamic walnut vinaigrette and for a main course, I choose a roasted chicken while Ray went with the lamb shank. I had brought along a few wines from my list for us to taste with lunch and we also decided we would select one wine from the restaurant’s list. The list has a great selection of French wines and they range from the very affordable to the super-duper-supreme-special occasion wine.

Given our mix of lamb and chicken, we settled on the 2004 Domaine Gauby “Vieilles Vignes” Cotes de Roussillon Villages. Domaine Gauby is a biodynamic producer and I had recently read some very interesting things about them in Monty Waldin’s outstanding book, Biodynamic Wines. The wine was, in a word, delicious. A blend of Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Syrah, it showed notes of violets, black fruits and minerals. The wine was elegant and balanced with juicy acidity and it went beautifully with both my chicken dish as well as the cheeses we sampled for “dessert.” I was so impressed it was all I could do not to take the rest of the bottle home with me…

But the biggest thing that stood out about the Domaine Gauby was that it was served at the right temperature. I’ve talked a lot about this on the blog before – about how we tend to drink our whites too cold and our reds too warm. This red, which was probably served at somewhere around 60 degrees, was perfect. The coolness enhanced the minerality and the acidity of the wine and made it seem more refreshing than any of the other wines we had on the table. Two of the wines I had brought along were some of my favorites on the list, but when served next to the Gauby, they seemed a bit too hot and dull.

My hat is off to Allegretti not only for a lovely lunch, but also for serving its red wines at the right temperature. This was a very good reminder to me of just how important serving temperature really truly is. If you have a chance, at your next get-together, I encourage you to try sampling the same red wine served at two different temperatures. Try opening one bottle that has been out on your kitchen counter all day long and the other that you have chilled in the fridge for 20 – 25 minutes prior to opening. See if you taste a difference between the two wines and be sure and let me know which wine tastes better to you. I’ll be waiting to hear from you!