Wine Giques

Ain't too proud to drink pink!

If you are my age, then perhaps you remember Mateus Rose. Okay, let's not go there. I never drank it but I remember Mateus with the curvy bottle, and Lancers, and when wine was either Chablis or Burgandy, white or red...it just didn't get more complicated than that.

We all have to walk before we run. Everyone I knew started with Pink wine - Sutter Home White Zin to be exact. It got our taste buds ready for other stuff. We drank dry whites and then went on to light reds. And for a time, we got the idea that red wine was the only wine for "serious" wine drinkers (aka wine snobs).

Well, I'm here to tell you that you should drink what you like first, and then you should drink everything else. Winemakers, Sommeliers, and people in the biz drink everything from Gewurztraminer to Nebbiolo and in the summer and late fall they drink dry Roses.
Far and away the best summer drink - great with barbecues and pool parties, great for sipping with cheese or sumptuous dinner parties - Rose is a delicious and versatile libation.

I just enjoyed a bottle of Soter (as in Tony Soter, formerly of Napa and now in Oregon making wine with his own grapes) Rose of Pinot Noir. This wine has a nice Pinot-bacon quality about it...smokiness is what I'm getting at. There is cranberry and orange zest, too. In fact, this wine would be great at Thanksgiving but, I'm enjoying it now with grilled, pancetta-wrapped shrimp and Rosemary roasted potatoes (which can also be done on the grill). We used to say (and they still do at Bouchaine) that "where there's smoke, there's Pinot". So, drink this Rose with anything off the grill: pork tenderloin; salmon, and the ubiquitous Lamb.

Last year the press said that 2004 French Roses were the bomb. I had to agree and I drank my share. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find something pink, of the liquid variety and made of grapes, buy and drink it. Report back to me.

Pink looks good on just about everybody!

If the bottle's pretty, it must be good!

How many times have you chosen a bottle of wine on looks alone? Long, tapered neck; cool colored label, fun closure. Women do care about packaging as is evident in our personal care purchases, but what about wine?

Certainly don't let dazzling looks be the only criteria but, don't let it be a deterrent either. Your first thought should be about what you want to drink. Do you want to match wine with food? Drink for the season? Dazzle friends with your wine prowess? Let the label be your guide. Generally the label will help you with some of these decisions. Often there will be wine and food pairing suggestions on the back label or cute little symbols that indicate whether to drink the wine with fish, meat, or fowl. I say "drink what you like" is the first rule of thumb. If you must pair, make it easy: bigger wines,  hearty foods; fruity with spicy; lighter wines (in body, not necessarily color) with lighter foods.

If you want to impress, go boldly where you've never gone before. Pick a  new variety - Temperanillo, Brunello, or Viognier. The labels and packaging of Italian and Spanish varietals tend to be a little more daring. The French labels tend to be more classic in style.

Sometimes you may choose by label alone. Go the way of Warhol and choose a wacky label or one with a story to tell. Bonny Doon wines from Santa Cruz, California are known for their fun, whimsical, and often "out there" packaging and story behind every wine they produce.

I usually buy a certain style or variety of wine but, not always. Just the other day I chose a wine called 'Pink Knot'. I was looking for a summer Rose and just couldn't get past the fun pink package and cool closure (a pink plastic top that peeled off to reveal a cork-type reuseable seal). The wine wasn't so bad either.

So, let the bottle dazzle you - if it looks that good, it was meant to. Read the label, if you must, to  glean some other fun or important information. And, by all means try an "ugly duckling" every once in a while - you might like what you find.

C'mon Ladies! Put down that 'TAB'

Who’s to say that wine is just for men to enjoy?  Smooth, velvety Merlot; swarthy Cabernet; big, strapping Brunello: it’s enough to make a girl…well…lick her lips…and get out a corkscrew.

First

This is the first test post so I can actually SEE my new blog. No wine involved in this post . . . but sure to be involved in all the ones that follow!