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Acidity: Over the decades in which I've enjoyed wine, the one dominant theme has been that good wine must have acidity in balance with its other characteristics.
We all know that an overly acid wine is unpleasant, but a wine with too little acidity, whatever its other virtues, tends to taste flabby and short. The main offenders seem to have been in California, maybe because of a propensity for powerhouse wines from very ripe grapes.
The huge zinfandels of the 70s and 80s certainly suffered from that.
The wines that I tend to favor, like New Zealand sauvignon blanc, most California pinot noir, German riesling, chardonnay in the French style, all have the acid balance that makes wine enjoyable with food or by itself. - Wines are for drinking. I don't understand collectors who buy, store and then sell wine as a collectible from which to profit. Basically they are removing fine wine from the place where it should be used, the dinner table.
- For the most part, wines should be for drinking with food. Tastings are fine for expanding horizons, for comparisons, and for sampling a number of wines in a short time, but all too often, that winning highly-rated, over-powering wine at a tasting does not go well with food.
- Drink the wine, not the label. No matter how much you pretend, that famous label can be an expensive disappointment, while the unknown wine is a real delight. Have the courage to let your taste guide you, not your eyes.
- Don't bow to the ratings tyranny. This one is difficult because it's hard not to be swayed by a rating of 90 or more from Robert Parker or the Wine Spectator. But consider how one can summarize the complexity of a fine wine into a single number, and also that the rating criteria may not match up with your own.
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Aim for a high quality to price ratio.
And a good way to make your dollar go even further is to have the some patience: wait for sales and close-outs.
The local stores here have 20% off 6 assorted bottles from some selected region each month, and every so often they sell off their overstock of certain wines at substantial discount.
Since 2003, several stores have had close-out sales with even greater discounts. Close-outs are great for trying new wines that ordinarily cost a lot more (such as $18 instead of $30 or more) as well as stocking the cellar. Decisiveness counts because there are generally only a few bottles of a given wine, and there are other knowledgeable bargain hunters.
I also prefer to put a price limit on what I buy, which of course has increased some over time, and also varies with the wine. For example, I consider zinfandel at $20 to be too expensive, but will easily buy pinot noir at the same price. There may be people out there who'll put down $50 or $100 for a bottle, but that's far too steep for me. - Pay attention to wine you're drinking, and learn from it. Like anything else, if you invest some time and interest, you'll become an expert too. Unless you have a very good memory (and taste memory too), it's worthwhile to keep a wine journal of some sort.
- Experiment - keep tasting new wines. There are so many countries, grape types, producers, vineyards and vintage years that it seems a pity to limit oneself to a few favorites. My preference has been to buy single bottles rather than cases, and so to keep trying new wines. If I find one that's very good, I might go as far as buying half a case; these wines also become good choices for bringing to a dinner invitation.
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Don't be cowed by wine experts and their fancy descriptions.
I've read a lot of wine writing claiming to taste a myriad of exotic flavors; I wonder how many of the wine writers that claim to smell or taste gooseberry would recognize a gooseberry if they fell over it.
And "mushrooms" too - those of us who know mushrooms also know how different the smell of different types can be.
Some decades ago, the taste of zinfandel was often associated with "brambles", which I always thought of as fairly peculiar. But if we were talking about a patch of ripe blackberries in the summer sun, then I'd know what that means. - Aging: As with people, aging wine can mature and develop charm, complexity and nuance, or it can deteriorate to become harsh and unpleasant. Red wines can generally handle age better than whites; many may not improve but will at least hold. But do expect that, for example, the strawberry fruitiness of a Beaujolais-Villages will disappear over a year or two. White wines are another matter - only the very best can tolerate more than a few years. I've bought 2002 white burgundies in 2007 that were at their peak, but passed up California whites of similar age. The key again is acidity - wine must have sufficient acidity to age well.
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Mosel Valley (May 2004)
Northern Sonoma (June 2004)
New Zealand (Feb. 2005, with 116 wines tasted))
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That touch of sweetness, however, is balanced beautifully by a bracing acidity. This acidity keeps the wine lively and refreshing, while that tinge of sweetness matches a lot of foods which have a hint of it themselves.
Click on the picture of the Riesling grapes to continue with a concise description of riesling categories, regions, food matches and much more ....
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My acquaintance with NZ SBs didn't start well. There was a 1983 Gisborne SB from Chateau St. Philippe which was awful. But a number of 1993s showed promise: A Marlboro SB from Stoneleigh had some mild SB character but was too acidic, and a Hawkes Bay SB from Nautilus was fuller but very grassy. Cloudy Bay established NZ SB as a world-class wine.
Since then I have made NZ SB my dry white wine of choice (having gone from California chardonnay to California sauvignon blanc). Some of my favorites, especially for quality/price ratio, are:
Stoneleigh, MarlboroughAll of these were in the $10-$15 price class. The 2000 vintage was one of the best; several wines had more balance and depth in 2000 than in other years. Some others didn't make the best impression: Brancott consistently had subdued intensity (although that may have changed); and Ponder Estate didn't have much SB character.
Babich, Marlborough
Coopers Creek, Marlborough
Chimney Creek, Marlborough
Villa Maria, Marlborough/Hawkes Bay
Fairhall Downs, Marlborough
Thornbury, Marlborough
Giesen, Marlborough
C. J. Pask, Hawkes Bay (that was back in 1996)
More recent finds have been Huia, Matua, and Drylands. They just keep on coming.
Some notes from tasting recent New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, in the Wine Diary.
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Besides specific wineries, the best regions to look for in California pinot noir are Santa Barbara, Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Maria Valley, Carneros, and the Russian River area.
Some wineries with pinot noirs that don't exceed the above-mentioned price and that are worth pointing out are
Lincourt Vineyards, Santa Barbara - The 1997 is a rich complex wine that became a personal favorite.There are other wineries that put out pinot noirs with reasonable varietal character at low prices
Buena Vista, Carneros - a winery with a high quality to price ratio, and a very good wine at a good price.
Beringer, North Coast - and this is another.
Rodney Strong, Russian River Valley - and another one very good one.
Note added 9/3/07: Unfortunately, Byron, Santa Maria Valley, which had been one of my favorites, has declined by leaving in too much residual sugar. Altogether, I really need to update these favorites, since the ones listed date from years ago.
Hacienda, California, Clair de Lune - at less than $10, a great deal.A recent discovery has been Echelon Pinot Noir, put out by the Chalone group, certainly a name with cachet. It's relatively light-bodied but well-balanced with that nice perfumed bouquet; it's a red that would go well with fish like salmon.
Meridian - another perennial bargain, as are their other wines.
Rosemount Estate, Australia - An Aussie pinot noir that's quite good for the price.
On the other hand, the best pinot noirs I've tasted so far have been 1996 Whitcraft, Santa Maria Valley, Bien Nacido Vineyard, and 2000 Sanford, Santa Barbara.
Some notes from tasting recent Pinot Noir, in the Wine Diary.
A recently-discovered site where a number of Pinot Noirs are evaluated and rated:
http://www.beveragenet.net/cheers/2003/0302/0302wne.asp
So what is it about a fine pinot noir that I find so appealing compared to other reds? It's the perfumed bouquet, the silky smoothness without sharp edges, the depth without heaviness, the complexity that makes one savor one sip after another, all seductively drawing one in.
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Chardonnay?
Australian chardonnays, at least at the lower end, are often even more agressively Californian in style, so I've learned to stay away from them.
My own appreciation of fine chardonnay came from some Meursaults and Puligny-Montrachets back in the 1970s when I could still afford them. There was also a wonderful 1971 Rully 1er Cru Raclot from Hubert, which was very rough when young, but smoothed out over about five years to an intense wine with superb fruit-wood-acid balance. All that and the local wine store was selling the wine at $3 a bottle on their bargain table.
Recently (2003) I've had the good fortune of once again tasting chardonnay-based wines that taste as they should. Two local stores have had close-out and red-tag sales that put white burgundies which usually cost $25 to $40 into the affordable range below $20. Four 1997 white burgundies, exhibiting that wonderful balance of fruit, acidity and wood in wines fermented totally dry, are described in my June 2003 Wine Diary. Only the French seem to achieve this kind of balance consistently.Over the years, I have found some chardonnays that go easy on the oak and have refreshing acidity too. Fortunately, they have often been at the lower end of the price scale.
Fortunately, the close-out specials continued into 2004. I've also learned to look for North Berkeley Imports Barrel Selections which have become, for me, a seal of approval for very good white Burgundy. They've become affordable to me through the close-outs, and I now look for their back label as a confirmation of quality.
And maybe there is some hope for California chardonnay. On a trip to California in June/July 2004, I had the good fortune to sample a 2000 Robert Mondavi Reserve Chardonnay that had the white Burgundy characteristics.
Penfolds Koonunga Hill, South Australia - generally available at about $11 or so. Many other Aussie chardonnays are even heavier than the Californians.
Louis Martini, California - also about $11, and what a surprise. Martini has historically been known for robust reds, but this chardonnay is intense, with good balance. A real find, which shows the value of keeping an open mind.
Sagpond Vineyards Domaine Wolffer Reserve, Long Island - The 1993 was being sold off at discount at a local store, but it was not only a great deal, it was an excellent wine. The wine was very much in the French style, balanced in all its aspects. It may be that Long Island is a good place to look, since some Pellegrini chardonnays have had some of the same character.
R. H. Philips Dunnigan Hills, California - not a great wine, but easy-drinking and not over-bearing, with a consistently high quality to price ratio (the same goes for their sauvignon blanc).
Babich Hawk's Bay, Unwooded, New Zealand - Leave it to New Zealand to understand that many people might like a flavorful chardonnay with refreshing acidity, but without wood. Part of what I hope to become a growing trend.
My alternatives to chardonnay had been sauvignon blanc/fumŽ blanc and pinot blanc from California and Oregon, Sancerre and Pouilly-FumŽ, and an occasional pinot gris from Oregon, until New Zealand sauvignon blancs came along. Pinot blanc is a good choice because it has some weight, but is generally not over-oaked: Mirassou has an relatively inexpensive one that used to be labeled "White Burgundy".
An illustrative little chardonnay story: A few years ago we visited The Hess Collection Winery in Napa Valley, which features an impressive art gallery along with the winery. After looking at the art, we went to the tasting area where, for a nominal charge, we could taste a couple of Hess wines. It was at the end of a slow day, and as we chatted with the young woman at the counter, she offered us a trip to the cellar for a taste of a chardonnay in barrel. It was elegant and well-balanced, the kind of chardonnay for which I look, but I was sorry to hear that it was yet to undergo malolactic fermentation (which would reduce the acidity, and change the balance).
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