I chose this wine because with the unofficial start of summer Alsace is perfect. The white wines here are well known with the Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, and their sparkling wines prosper as well. Another key point is these wines are not expensive at all. Alsace is respected but it doesn’t have the same prestige as Champagne, Burgundy, or Bordeaux. This is great for you. In the US a typical bottle will be between $12 to $20.

This wine is from Rene Muré, a Cremant d’Alsace. On the nose is a wave of fresh pears and peaches. Keeping with the farm stand pattern it’s granny smith apples that take over the palate. This wine is a Brut, so it’s going to be dry, but with a slight sweetness upfront. Overall it is fresh and bright.

Now if anyone was wondering, yes, Cremant does taste delicious with Cassis Liqueur or perhaps orange juice. Did someone say Mimosa? I could swear I heard someone say it. Well either way, this is a fantastic way to liven up Sunday brunch and to Wine Your Diet. It’s light, refreshing, an excellent source of calcium, and one way to stay cool in the hot sun. There is one problem with Mimosas though; they go down way to fast. Pace yourself, there is something called too much calcium.

From Pars I say au revoir, but soon I will be greeting you from New York in hopes of bringing back pride to Long Island wines. For now go grab any bottle of sparkling wine, it doesn’t even have to be from France, pop it, enjoy it, and as always don’t forget to Wine Your Diet.

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This Bordeaux in particular has predominant Merlot character to it. The jamminess of it takes over, with subtle tannins and a body leaning between medium and full. But the Cabernet Sauvignon comes through on the end. For what I’m about to say, French winemakers everywhere are probably planning their attack on me, but this wine actually reminds me of a wine from the Santa Ynez Valley, California, Three Saints Merlot. Three Saints has 96% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc to it, but because of this 4% Cabernet Franc added, this Merlot drinks more like a Cabernet Sauvignon.

The French take pride in their regions, so they don’t display on the bottles what the percentage, or for that matter what grapes are present. The downfall of this is that you don’t know what you are drinking, unless you have a good deal of knowledge of the region and it’s different characteristics. Or there is the other alternative, you may be a wine geek such as I am and you read many wine books and articles for the mere fun of it all. To the natural wine consumer it becomes more of a guessing game. I could easily be mistaken by saying that Cab. Sauv. is present when actually it may be Cab. Franc. Both are present in this region. And on steps the confusion.

There is a slight smoke on the end, which becomes more apparent after leaving it to breathe for a bit, that reminds me of a South African Pinotage. It’s not as full force as a Pinotage, but the qualities are there. Which this one isn’t too much of a stretch since the more popular grapes of the wine world in South Africa originally came from France.

With all this said, am definitely interested to see what else 2005 has to offer. Now if you would excuse me I have a phone call to make.

-Meghan

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You have to check out these Champagne Onion recipes we found over at The Gilded Fork. I’m going to make them tomorrow, and have a good idea at the different flavors I can create by using different combinations of sparkling wine and onions. I figured we would make these 3

• “Sweet Vidalia Champagne Onions” – This recipe will make a great chip dip. We’ll cook the onions and some freshly minced garlic in Andre Blush Pink Champagne (a $4 bottle of delicious sparkling rose), and then add sour cream, chives, fresh ground pepper, and some sour cream and onion dip mix.
• “Purple Champagne Onions” – We’ll cook the onions with Hardys or Leasingham (both are a sweet sparkling Shiraz from Australia) or Leasingham then mix with cream cheese, and maybe a little roasted red pepper for spice. Put some sun-dried tomatoes and smoked salmon on a piece of toasted baguette along with a dollop of our extremely colorful sauce, maybe even garnish with a sprinkle of green onion.
• “Champagne Braised Cipollini Onions” – This recipe got me thinking about an entrée , like this beef tenderloin. We’ll cook the onions using Freixenet Spumante (a fruity, dry Cava from Spain) or Mionetto Prosecco Brut (a light Italian Prosecco), then slice them thinly and pour the reduced sauce over them. We’ll either cook a small tenderloin, or grill a filet, then thinly slice it; make sure you let it for 5-10 min. before slicing so it stays tender and moist. On each slice, place some onion sauce and horseradish cream (horseradish and sour cream). If I have a hard time finding Cipollini Onions, I’m sure the Vidalias would also work great.

Most people will go out this holiday season and buy bottles of Andre and Cook’s, both from California, which are a great and inexpensive way to bring in the New Year. The Cava, Prosecco, and Sparkling Shiraz mentioned in the recipes are also great imported wines for toasting a New Year, plus I don’t think any of them are over $20.

So go out during the Holidays and buy any bottle of Champagne or Sparkling White Wine, pop the cork if you feel the need because whatever you find enjoyable whether it be a loud or soft pop, is your preference. If hanging out with a cultured crowd the flamboyant procedure might not be advised. Sit back and let the bubbles tickle your throat and get jazzed about a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Quick Lesson: Champagne is a wine region in France located about 100 miles east of Paris. It is legally divided into 5 wine producing ‘districts’: the Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. Champagne/Sparkling Wine is generally marked as Extra Brut, Brut, Extra dry, Sec and Demi-sec, depending on how sweet they are. Extra bruit is extremely dry, while demi-sec is the sweetest.

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The article is from 1876, and is a report on the Californian wine industry where the author advises ‘great caution to those who may think of putting their money into vineyards’ in California, and states one of the problems of the industry as being ‘remoteness from the market and want of railways.’ More classic still is the quote about Californian red wine where the author states ‘but owing to the fact that it requires impressive skill and experience to produce good red wine and an abundance of certain varieties of grape, this branch of viniculture has not yet met with such success as it promises in the future.’ My, my, how time has changed things!

Indeed, we may look back on the last 10 years and marvel at how much change there has been, and anyone familiar with history would advise that nothing stays as it is, and the only thing we can ever be certain of is change itself. Critter wines came in hard and fast about the same time that French wines dropped in popularity, but my general prediction is this.

Now that Sarkozy has won, French wines are going to come back with a vengeance and win back their lost market share, giving California a run for its money, and deflating the over-inflated prices of Napa. Critter labels will drop in popularity, and good value/ high quality wines from Argentina, Spain and South Africa will begin to dominate the $7-$13 category. We’re going to see Australia depart from silly pictures, and will see a solid effort to tackle the wine glut by placing emphasis on more high-end Aussies.

Another point that I strongly believe is that there is a huge market for an online national wine retailer that stocks low cost, high quality and diverse global wines, challenging the perception that there are 4 types of white wine and 4 types of red. I think the Internet is the railway that the producers of over a century ago were longing for. Whilst a century ago, the lack of high-speed/ low cost and efficient means of transport to get wines to market left a lot of wines in cask without a buyer; today there are plenty overseas stateside wines that go unsold because of lack of cost-effective efficient means to get them to the consumer.

I’m all about tradition, but only insofar as tradition is based in culture, and is not a resistance of much needed modernization.

The full article I referred to appears below:
The Times Saturday, Apr 22, 1876; pg. 12; Issue 28610; col E

London Times

Wine Making in California.

(From an Occasional Correspondent.)

SAN FRANCISCO, April 6^th 1876

One of the most rapidly-increasing industries on the Pacific Coast of the United States is the manufacture of wine in California, and, probably, before many years have gone by the grape crop will be only second in importance to the wheat crop of the Golden State. To the English consumer this increase in the source of supply for the markets of Europe and America is a matter of considerable importance, for the capital of the Old World, seeking remunerative investment, will soon be attracted to this comparatively new field for its profitable employment. Of course, in this as in other enterprises which have successfully been undertaken by some in the Far West, those who know the country and its variations of soil and climate best would recommend great caution to those who may think of putting their money into vineyards, for while many have made a good deal of money out of grape-growing, either for wine or for raisins, some have lost, having started in situations ill suited for the purpose either for reasons of the soil or of remoteness from the market and the want of railways. This last need of the country is fast being met by the construction of narrow gauge railways, and the farmers and ‘vineyardists’ will soon be able to send their wheat to San Francisco for shipment and their grapes to the towns either to be used at the table or made into wine or raisins. Perhaps a few figures will enable you to form a clearer idea of the extent of the grape culture in the State than mere generalities. It is computed that in the vineyards this year there are between 35 and 40 million vines under cultivations, and these are usually planted so that there are from 700 to 1000 vines to the acre. The vines at maturity, or, any, six years of age, will produce about 60 lbs. of grapes each, and, after deducting the quantity sent to the towns to be eaten or cured as raisins, the vintage is estimated to have yielded from eight to nine million gallons of wine. The value of the wine at the vineyards, not including the cost of the casks, may be taken to average 25c per gallon.

Extensive experiments have been tried to determine what kinds of grapes are best suited to the climate, or, to speak more accurately, climates, of California. There are now in the State over 200 distinct varieties of the grape raised from cuttings imported from Europe by Colonel A. Harasthy, all of which thrive and reproduce their distinctive qualities of fruit, and from these different kinds of grapes many distinct qualities of wine can be made. All are not, however, equally well suited for the making of wine and it has been the business of the California ‘vineyardists’ to experiment with the grapes of these many varieties, and to select those best adapted for the production of wine, for table use, or to be made into raisins. One thing remarkable about the numerous varieties of Californian wine is how well they thrive under normal care Another thing that ought to commend these wines to European wine consumers is that they will support a sea-voyage without injury, and, indeed, be improved by it. This particulate soundness of constitution- if the phrase is admissible, is attributed by some of the cognoscenti to the very small proportion of albuminous and nitrogenous substances they contain and also the great proportion of saccharine matter in them. Still another factor in the result is probably the climate, to which everything otherwise inexplicable may be safely referred and to this cause is ascribed the very fermentation they undergo.

(In California) Red Wines are made in small quantities and impressive quality, but owing to the fact that it requires impressive skill and experience to produce good red wine and an abundance of certain varieties of grape, this branch of viniculture has not yet met with such success as it promises in the future.

Compared to the older wine-making industries of Europe, this of California is but in its infancy; yet is has already attained dimensions which must attract attention. In the year 1874 this one firm, Messrs. Lansberger and Co., sold about 10,000 cases of Champagne, and last year their sales were about 12,000 cases. In the years 1871-4 and ten months of 1875 the exports of Californian wines of all kinds by sea amounted to 2,484,417 gallons, valued at $1,828,523; an in the same period, including Brandies, 2,252,996 gallons, valued at $1,370,000, were sent overland. As this does not account for the large quantity now consumed in the State, it will be seen that wine-making bids fair to become one of the staple industries in California.

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It is amazing just how selective memory can be, and in this instance, I refer to the American pistol whipping of France for their opposition to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which culminated in the bizarre use of the term ‘freedom fries‘, which I never quite understood. However, history is kind to the righteous, and France has made it through their election with Sarkozy in power, who I’ve been rooting for; whilst America is close to the end of its war on terror, and the decision to invade Iraq is as unpopular as ever. Indeed freedom fries seems a peculiar thing for the American public to have embraced, especially seeing as much of America’s initial freedom is owed to France for their support during the civil war when America was but a baby.

Sarkozy winning will have numerous impacts on the wine industry, as the man has vowed to take numerous steps toward reinstating French national pride in his first 100 days. Sarkozy has thus far broken many conventions, and with unconventional campaigns to win popularity like the Disco Sarkozy website, lovers of French wine can look forward to his promise to allow French wines more advertising, and to make the strategy for all AOC wines more modern and less restricted in their marketing approach.

Grape Thinking would like to say a heartfelt ‘salut!’ to Nicholas Sarkozy, and looks forward to France regaining its much deserved stature.

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