Unlike Champagne, Cava isn’t from a particular region in Spain, rather it’s a term used for Spanish sparklers made in the traditional method (known as Méthode Champenoise) used in France.  While there are some other regions in Spain that also make Cava,  about 95% of the production  comes from the traditional home of Cava, the Penedes region in Catalunya (a.k.a. Catalonia)  The basic rules for making wines that may be called Cava are:

• Must be made in the traditional method.
• Must age on lees in the bottle in which it will be sold for a minimum of 9 months, 18 months for Reservas and 24 months for Gran Reservas.
• All the grapes used must be white grapes – the 3 most common being Macabeo (a.k.a. Viura), Parellada (pronounced pa-re-yada), and Xarel.lo (pronounced cha-rel-low) – unless you are making a Rose, in which case certain red grapes are permitted.

The producer of this sparkler, Raventós i Blanc, is the only Cava producer to estate grow (on about 200 acres of land that has been in the family since 1497!) and bottle all their wines.  Their Cavas are all vintage dated, which also sets them apart.

2008 Raventos i blanc Cava L’Hereu Reserva Brut

2008 Raventos i Blanc Cava “L’Hereu Reserva Brut

Region: Spain>Catalunya>Cava

Variety - 60% Macabeo, 20% Xarel.lo, 120% Parrellada

Residual Sugar – 8g/Liter

$20, 12% a.b.v.

Production method: Traditional Method;

My tasting notes follow:

Very light straw yellow color with plenty of tiny bubbles, and yeast, green apple, and mineral aromas. On the palate, it shows a wonderfully creamy mousse uncommon at this price point.  It is dry, refined, and approaches medium-bodied with apple, mineral and a hint on citrus flavors. Medium finish – 90pts

Pair with: The beauty of sparkling wines is their versatility with food because of their crisp acidity, and effervescence (think scrubbing bubbles)  This paired surprisingly well with one of my favorite ethnic foods , Jerk Chicken with Red Beans and Rice, and Fried Plantains.  When I took a bite of the spicy Jerk Chicken, et al , and took a sip of the Cava, it became ever so slightly sweeter in my mouth.  Then the acidity and effervescence cleansed my palate and invited me to take another bite!

Recommendation: So far, this is my favorite Cava.  It cost $20, and easily drinks like many $40 sparklers I’ve enjoyed in terms of complexity and refinement (including some entry-level Champagne)  I highly recommend! Click here to find this wine, or the 2009 vintage, which is currently available.

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• T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…2007 Raventos i Blanc Cava L’Hereu Reserva Brut (enofylzwineblog)
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12 Most Picnic Friendly Wines

After a couple of weeks of much-needed rain, Spring is finally getting “Spring—ish” here in Northern California. For the first time this year, temperatures in the 80s are being forecast and my thoughts have turned to warm temperatures and al fresco dining, especially picnics.

Picnic wines are different than BBQ wines. BBQ is all about bold and spicy flavors, whereas picnic foods compose a broader range of lighter foods like salads of all kinds, cold fried chicken, charcuterie, cheeses, ripe fruits etc., mostly served cold.

Great picnic wines are 1) Light and refreshing, 2) A good match for a variety of foods, and 3) Inexpensive ($20 or less).

Image courtesy of thriftysolutionsforanurbangal.blogspot.com

1. Rosé

A dry Rosé would be my first choice. Rosé combines the best of white and red wines, while maintaining their own unique charm. They possess the crisp acidity, delicacy and freshness of white wines, and the body, and flavors of red wines. Look for Bodegas Muga Rosado.

2. Cava

Cava is perfect for picnics. It’s produced using the traditional style Champagne method, which can lend a bit of complexity to it. And bubbly will add that extra celebratory feel to your picnic. Here’s another advantage of sparkling wines — Forget the corkscrew? — No problem with sparklers!! I recommend Segura Viudas Gran Reserva Cava.

3. Rose Sparkling Wine

For some vinous synergy, go with a Sparkling Rose wine. They go with virtually anything you serve for your picnic. I recommend Mumm Napa Brut Rose.

4. Vinho Verde

Vinho Verde is a wine from Portugal. Vinho Verde isn’t a grape variety. While it literally means ‘green wine”, it translates into “young wine” – as in it’s meant to be consumed within a year of bottling. It’s made in white, red, and rose styles. Vinho Verde has a hint of effervescence which is further enhances its refreshing qualities. Go with either a white or rose Vinho Verde. Look for Quinta de Aveleda.

5. Torrontés

Wine made from this grape (Argentina’s only truly indigenous grape) produces a juicy fragrant wine with citrus pineapple and spice flavors. This would be a great match for a seafood, or spicy Asian salad. I recommend the Bodegas Colome Torrontés Estate.

6. Riesling

It’s probably the most food-friendly white wine. Choose either a dry or off-dry (slightly sweet) style. Look for Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling.

7. Chardonnay

Look for a lighter style, either an un-oaked or a lightly-oaked, chardonnay because it will be a better match for a broader range of foods than the heavily oaked style. I recommend Joseph Drouhin Macon Villages.

8. Sauvignon Blanc

This is a classic picnic wine because it’s fresh and crisp, with a citrusy flavor profile and lively acidity. It’s a great match for goat cheese! Look for Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc from Chile.

9. Moscato

If your taste in wine leans toward the sweeter side, try Moscato. It’s like summertime in a glass with its fruity orange blossom, tropical, citrus, or melon aromas and a touch of effervescence. If you’ve got something spicy in your picnic basket, the sweetness will tame the heat. The best are from Italy. I recommend Martini and Rossi Moscato d’Asti.

10. Albariño

Albariño is a refreshing light, juicy and aromatic Spanish wine. I like it because, along with some citrus, it brings melon or peach to the party. Look for Burgans Albariño Rias Baixas.

11. Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir, a.k.a. the “Chef’s wine” is so named because it goes with such a wide range of foods. It’s also a red wine that takes a bit of a chill well (put it in an ice/water bath in your cooler for 10-15 minutes) if the alcohol level is not too high (preferably below 14%). It’d be great with anything with mushrooms. Look for 2008 Gloria Ferrer Pinot Noir.

12. Sangria

For a bit of home-made flavor, make your own sangria. It’s easy to make and can be made with either red, or white wine. Sangria is a great way to capitalize on the bounty of fresh fruits coming into season — and make sangria that’s all your own! Click here for some recipes.

Happy picnicking! What are your favorite picnic wines?

This article was previously featured on 12 Most and is republished, by the author Martin Redmond

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This week’s word/phrase is Estate-bottled

According to Karen MacNeil‘s The Wine Bible:

 Exact definitions of estate bottled differ depending  on the country…In the United States the term may be used by a winery only if its wine is entitled to use a viticultural area  are or appellation of origin on its label and only if the winery is located in the area; grew all the grapes used in the wine on land owned or controlled by the winery within that area; and completely produced the wine, aged it and bottled it at the winery.

In other words the grapes used to make the wine are from the wineries property, and is produced, bottled and aged at the winery.  It’s good information to have.  I think it’s important to know the source of grapes used to make wine.  However, I think it’s often used to impart a certain prestige to a wine (and often a corresponding price premium).  As if being “Estate-bottled” in and of itself makes for a better wine.

An “Estate-Bottled” label from Halter Ranch (image courtesy of Wine Searcher.com)

Sure, it great that the grapes are grown on the property, etc., but there are many factors that determine the quality of a wine beyond where the grapes are sourced,  and where the wine is bottled and aged.  Having said that, I’m a firm believer in the maxim that great wine is made in the vineyard.  It’s just that “Estate-bottled” doesn’t necessarily equate grapes produced from a great vineyard.

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The three media samples I received were:

• 2009 Buried Cane Chardonnay White Line No Oak
• 2009 Ad Lib Chardonnay Hen & Chicken
• 2010 Ad Lib Chardonnay Tree Hugger

I did my thing (sampled, wrote up my tasting notes, and scored the wines, which were tasted non-blind) before my friends arrived.  When my friends arrived, I simply asked each to tell me their favorite wines in order.

The wines were tasted in order of my tasting notes, which follow:

2010 Ad Lib Tree Hugger Chardonnay

• 2010 Ad Lib Chardonnay Tree Hugger - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
  Light straw color with fruity citrus, and a hint of floral aromas. On the palate, it’s light-bodied, fruity and clean with apple and citrus flavors. Short finish. 12.5% alcohol. Fermented in Stainless steel. Lees stirring and MLF in neutral oak. (85 pts.)  Retail: $17; Media Sample

• 2009 Buried Cane Chardonnay White Line No Oak - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
  Yellow straw color with lightly aromatic with hay, tropical fruits, and a hint of citrus aromas. On the palate it approaches medium-bodied, with crisp acidity and apple, mineral and vanilla spice flavors. Medium+ finish. 95% Arete Vineyard from Columbia Valley AVA and 5% Champoux Vineyard from Horse Heaven Hill AVA. 13.3% Alcohol. 3,460 cases. Nice value at $14! (87 pts.) Retail – $14; Media Sample

2009 Ad Lib Chardonnay Hen & Chicken

• 2009 Ad Lib Chardonnay Hen & Chicken - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Pemberton
  Light straw color with butter, apple and slight mineral aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and somewhat creamy with good acidity, and apple spice flavors. Medium finish. 100% Chardonnay. Aged in new and 2-year old French oak for 10 months. 13.5% alcohol. 100% MLF. (86 pts.) Retail-$17; Media Sample

• 2008 Bjornstad Chardonnay - USA, California, Sonoma County
  Light yellow color and a bit cloudy owing to the fact it’s unfiltered and unfined with citrus, and butter aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, and well-balanced with nervy acidity and lemon and vanilla spice flavors. Medium + finish. 14.2% alcohol (89 pts.) Retail – $25

As we were tasting and chatting, we also enjoyed some cheeses, along with Tandoori Chicken, and Tandoori Shrimp.  The wines went surprisingly well with the Indian foods, though I would give a bit of an edge to the un-oaked Chards (the Buried Cane, and the Ad Lib Tree Hugger), in terms food friendliness.

As for the results?

The Bjornstad, despite being late to the party, was the unanimous favorite.  I knew that before polling my friends because while it was the last wine opened (45 minutes or so after the first three), it was the first wine finished!  The Buried Cane was overwhelmingly the second favorite wine (and a very nice value at $14!), while the Ad Libs were a split decision for third and fourth.

We enjoyed all the wines, and it was the first time tasting Chardonnay from Australia for us all.  I look forward to trying other Aussie Chards.  Also, while my wife and I have enjoyed unfiltered and unfined Chardonnay before, it was another first for my friends, who found they enjoyed it very much.

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That’s where Redtree, the maker of this wine comes, comes to the rescue.  According to Redtree’s website:

Redtree offers consumers fresh, fruit forward, distinctive varietals of consistent quality and exceptional value that are ready for immediate consumption. These wines are ideal as an aperitif and complement everyday meals as well as special occasions

Redtree is one of three Cecchetti Wine Company brands (along with Line 39,and Backhouse).  To the wine!

2010 Redtree Petite Sirah

My tasting notes follow:

Inky purple-black color with earthy, baked dark fruit aromas. On the palate it’s light-bodied,  smooth, and fruity with soft tannins,  and blackberry, black cherry, and vanilla flavors. Short finish.  Great price-performance, especially for P.S.! – 86pts

Recommendation: I enjoyed this wine, particularly as a value play!  It’s fruit forward, but not jammy, and an easy drinker.  And at 12.5% alcohol, it’s lower than most Petite Sirah you’ll come across.  If you’re a fan of Petite Sirah, (or for that matter Cabernet Sauvignon, or Syrah) and are looking for an everyday wine, give this one a try.  Media Sample

Here’s the wine geek stuff:

• Appellation: California
• Alcohol: 12.50%
• TA: .62
• Ph: 3.78
• Winemaker: Bob Broman
• Cases Produced: 3,416
• Suggested Retail: $8.00
• Release Date: Nov. 2011

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The Winery

Dashe Cellars founded by Michael and Ann Dashe in 1996, is an urban winery located near Jack London Square in Oakland, CA.   Michael Dashe is the Winemaker, and Anne Dashe is the General Manager.  Between the two, they have 40-plus year experience in the wine business including experience at  some big-time wineries such as Ridge Vineyards, Far Niente, Chappellet, Schramsberg Wine Cellars in California;  Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château La Dominique in France,and  Cloudy Bay in New Zealand.   The winery produces about 10,000 cases annually.

This week, there’s a bit of a back story for the Wine of the Week (“WoW”) in that this is one of a couple of bottles of wine I took to the Dominican Republic (D.R.) for vacation (there’s a 3 bottle limit on bringing wine into D.R. but we thought there was a 2 bottle limit)  It’s a good thing I brought it along too.   The wines of the D.R….well let’s just say they leave a LOT to be desired.  After days of drinking what tasted like grape cherry juice or white grape juice (depending on whether it was red or white) with some alcohol in it,  I was seriously jonesing for some better wine.

It was Dashe to the rescue! As I was savoring this captivating Rosé, this song popped into my head and in my mind, I changed the chorus to…“A Dashe saved my vinous life”…;-)

The Wine

2011 Dashe Vin Gris

Cost: $14 Retail

Alcohol: 13.9%

75 cases produced

My tasting notes follow:

Light red color with a hint of orange hue and strawberry, cherry, and aromas. On the palate medium-bodied, and dry with nicely balanced fruit and acidity with ripe black cherry, and spice flavors. Long finish. – 89pts

Pairing with food

I love Rosés.  A dry Rosé such is as this is so versatile with a variety of foods.  What I appreciated about this one is that unlike a lot of Rosés that are light-bodied, this one had some weight, and was medium bodied so it was a great match for with the Yucatan Fish Tacos, Poblano Cream Soup & Goat Barbacoa (Goat Ribs with a mildly spicy cream sauce) I enjoyed it with.

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This week’s word/phrase is Fermentation

According to Karen MacNeil‘s The Wine Bible:

 The process during grape fermentation whereby yeasts convert the natural sugar in the grapes to ALCOHOL and CARBON DIOXIDE.  The alcohol will remain a constituent  of the wine that results, but in most cases the carbon dioxide will be allowed to escape as a by-product. 

In other words, it’s how grapes juice gets turned into wine. Essentially yeast, either naturally occurring in the vineyards and the grapes themselves, or cultured yeasts, interact with the sugars present in the grape juice and consume the sugar.  The byproduct of that consumption is ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Image of Cabernet Sauvignon must interacting with the skin during fermentation in the maceration process. Photo taken at Mountain Homebrew in Kirkland, WA on October 14th, 2007 with a Kodak z650 camera Category:Wine-related images (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yeast are naturally little suicide organisms, and will gorge themselves on sugar until they die.  If the yeast consumes virtually all of the sugar, the result will be a dry wine.  On the other hand, if a sweeter wine (more residual sugar) is desired, the winemaker may elect to stop fermentation by either adding more alcohol to kill off the yeast (e.g. dessert wines like Port, or Madeira), or adding certain chemicals to the fermenting wine.

Still wines undergo one fermentation, while some sparkling wines, including Champagne, and others undergo a secondary fermentation.

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The Winery

Ridge Vineyards  is a California winery with two estates, Monte Bello in Cupertino, and Lytton Springs in Healdsburg.  They are best known for producing single-vineyard premium Bordeaux style Cabernet Sauvignon Blend (“Monte Bello”), Zinfandels, and Chardonnay.  Ridge was established by three engineers from nearby Stanford Research Institute (SRI).  They produced its first commercial wine in 1962 after purchasing the winery in  1960.

It wasn’t too long after that Ridge gained an international  rep when the  Ridge Monte Bello, under the direction of winemaker Paul Draper , took fifth place in the “Judgment of Paris” in 1976 against nine other French and California wines.  Here’s what’s really cool though, the 1976 Monte Bello unanimously took first place in The Judgment of Paris 30th Anniversary when it was tasted against the same wines thirty years later!

I came to know Ridge, when I naively when to the Monte Bello estate hoping to taste the 2005 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay after reading it was the #2 wine in the 2007 Wine Spectator Top 100 list.  It was long gone.  But the other wines I tasted blew me away.  Every wine I tasted was balanced and elegant.  It’s not too often I go to a winery and every wine I taste gets an “A”!

The Wine

This wine is 100% “old vine” Carignane.  Carignane is not a grape varietal you find very often as a single varietal bottling.  That’s because it’s mostly used a blending grape (often with Syrah, and Cinsault) for its color,  and acidity.   It’s that acidity, along with its tannins that give Carignane a reputation for being a challenging grape to work with for winemakers.

Ridge first produced its varietal bottling of Carignane in 1999.  The grapes for this wine were sourced from Buchignani Ranch, which is located in Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, an area renown for Zinfandel.  The vines are from 5 acres planted in 1927, 7 acres planted in the 40′s, and 4 acres planted in 1952.  All the grapes were hand harvested , fermented on native yeasts and aged 12 months in 100% air-dried American Oak (5% new, 35% 1-2 years old, and 60% 3 years old).

2009 BUCHIGNANI CARIGNANE

Cost: $26 Retail

Alcohol: 14.1%

My tasting notes follow:

Deep almost inky purple violet color with aromatic earthy, black fruit, and floral aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with well-behaved tannins and blackberry, black currant, and vanilla flavors, and a lengthy finish. 100% Old Vine Carignane. This is a very nice value at $26! – 91pts

Pairing with food

Pair with foods that traditionally work well with medium/heavy bodied red wines, like Syrah, or Cabernet Sauvignon.  Such wines work with fatty dishes because the tannins and acidity “cut” through the fat, and “weight” of the dish.  I think this wine would be fantastic with a charcuterie platter, beef stew,  jambalaya, a hearty chili or BBQ.

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This week’s word/phrase is Fining

According to Karen MacNeil‘s The Wine Bible:

 A process of clarifying wine by adding one or more agents such as gelatin, egg whites, BENTONITE, or ISINGLASS, to wine.  As the clarifying agent slowly settles to the bottom of the container, it carries along with it unwanted particles suspended in the wine. 

Image courtesy of Sparkling Rhiannon

Fining wine is part of the clarification process whereby organic insoluble stuff in the wine like dead yeast cells, phenolic compounds, pieces of grape skin, pulp, stem, etc are removed from the wine.  This is done not only to clarify the wine (especially white wines), but may also be used to adjust the aromas/flavors of the wine.  Fining happens near the end of the process of making wine.

Fining is mostly done for cosmetic reasons.  And the process could happen completely naturally via gravity if the organic compounds are allowed to settle in bottom of the storage vessels the wine is in.  The wine could then be siphoned or “racked off” of the solids in the bottom of storage vessel and moved to a new container.  However, this is a time-consuming process.  Thus fining agents are introduced to accelerate the process.

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Here’s what the website says…

Traditionally, restaurateurs have looked to France for wines like Muscadet and Chablis to accompany oysters on the half shell. There aren’t many wines that work with oysters but when one does…bingo!…it’s a beautiful thing. In a unique wine competition where judges taste each wine with at least one oyster and then rate the “bliss factor”, 25 top food and wine experts have selected 10 West Coast wines for prestigious “Oyster Awards”…Each wine is blind tasted with at least one Kumamoto oyster. The judge first smells and then chews the oyster well, then smells and tastes the wine, then rates the “bliss factor”, the wine’s affinity for the oyster

I think tasting the oyster first is a subtle but important point because otherwise, the judge could fall in love with the wine, and not the oyster and the wine together.

Fresh Tomales Bay Oysters

Here’s a list of the 2012 winners (listed alphabetically) from the website, which were announced April 30, 2012 (click here for full press release):

Brandborg Wines 2010 Pinot Gris (OR) – $16

**Cedergreen Cellars 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (WA) – $14

**Dry Creek Vineyard 2011 Dry Chenin Blanc (CA) – $12

**Foris Vineyard Winery 2010 Pinot Blanc (OR) – $14

**Hogue Cellars 2010 Pinot Grigio (WA)  - $11

Kenwood Vineyards 2011 Pinot Gris, Russian River (CA) – $16

**Kenwood Vineyards 2011 Sauvignon Blanc – (CA) – $12

Millbrandt Vineyards 2010 Traditions Pinot Gris (WA) – $13

Sockeye 2010 Pinot Gris (WA) – $10

**Van Duzer Vineyards 2011 Pinot Gris (OR) – $17

**Prior Multiple Oyster Award Winner 

What I found interesting about this list is that it’s dominated by Pinot Gris, a wine that isn’t admittedly “top of mind” when it comes to oyster and wine pairings.  Top of mind for me are Muscadet, and sparkling wines (see my post below).  But that’s one of the things I enjoy about the drinking wine – keeping my mind open to trying new wines, and combinations of wines and foods I enjoy!  As good fortune would have it, we’re planning an outing to the Tomales Bay Oyster Company next month.  I’ll try to find one of the winners and report back!

It’s also good to know the wine aren’t expensive.   The most you’ll spend on one of the winners is $17 (although it seems as if the competition is oriented toward restaurateurs, which means you’ll probably pay at least twice as much as the prices listed above for a bottle – I shutter to think about the per glass price).

What wine(s) do you like with oysters?

I leave you with this quote from Ernest Hemingway..

As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.

A Moveable Feast , Ernest Hemingway

That my friends, sounds like a plan to me!

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