Gift-Worthy Wines That Seem More Expensive Than They Are
Posted on by Mark Oldman

gift wine

There are few things in this world more satisfying than finding yourself in the wonderful circumstance of discovering wine that is inexpensive, but perceived expensive. This happy valley includes a broad swathe of bubbly, especially the various non-Champagne sparklers in the Crémant category, which manages the trifecta of looking expensive, tasting delicious, and calming the wallet. See my suggestions for the best of this serendipity and just how to spot them.

Roederer Estate Brut, Gruet Brut from new Mexico (but owned by French expatriates), and Segura Viudas Aria Brut (with its silvery metal crest) are three key picks in the sparkling category.

Other wines that drink and dress above their price include Muscadet, the oyster-worshipping white from France’s Loire Valley, which often carries an old-fashioned, aristocratic-looking label.

Beaujolais cru is another winner in both respects, its packaging prominently displaying a Beaujolais cru village – such as the chichi-sounding Morgon and Brouilly – rather than emphasizing the overall region of Beaujolais, which often gets confused with much-maligned Beaujolais-Nouveau.

Moderately priced Bordeaux such as Chateau Talbot, Château Greysac, and Château Gloria also offer cachet for less, with elegant labels featuring noble chateaus and coats of arms.

Another dependable deal, Rioja from Spain, can have impressively gothic labels and sometimes a wrapping of gold fishnet mesh, which was historically a feature to prevent counterfeiting but now adds a dose of gilded glamour.

Another way to lend illustriousness to your bottle is to deliver it in a wooden box, available at finer wine merchants and homeware stores; a gift wine encased this way is like adding a beautiful frame to otherwise humble artwork.

Finally, consider personally labeling gift bottles with a tag that suggests food pairings or a cheeky “drink-by” date; a little bit of handwritten effort glows brightly in the digital era.

For more about wine and ways to find my best inexpensive suggestions, check out my book, How to Drink Like a Billionaire. Take advantage of the Gift Like A Billionaire Giveaway while supplies last!

8 Gluttony-Enabling Thanksgiving Wines
Posted on by Mark Oldman

If, like me, you are determined to engage in unadulterated, Al Rokerian (pre-stomach-band) gluttony this Thursday, you need wine that is bright and lively enough to the clear the way for each and every gravy-bathed spoonful of excess.  Here are eight recent discoveries, one for each major wine category, all overachievers in delivering high pleasure for the price.  Track them down at your local wine merchant and/or via Wine Searcher.

gluttony

BUBBLES:
Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley (California, $23)
vibrant with notes of baked apple and spice, and a fine bead

LIGHTER WHITE:
Arnaldo Caprai Grechetto Colli Martani Grecante 2012 (Italy, $19)
glowingly fresh, with a vein of grapefruit zest

MEDIUM-BODIED WHITE
Fox Run Finger Lakes “Lake Dana Vineyard” 2012 (New York, $38)
bursting with flowers and juicy green apple

RICHER WHITE
Truchard Roussanne 2012 (California, $25)
peachy, creamy, but clean and lip-smackingly crisp
order direct here

LIGHTER RED:
Bourgueil Cuvée Alouettes 2011 (France, $16)
light, bright, redolent with lilacs and buzzy with acidity

MEDIUM-BODIED RED:
La Cabotte Côtes du Rhône-Villages Massif d’Uchaux Garance 2011 (France, $20)
juicy, velvety, plummy, medium-to-full bodied

RICHER RED
Norton Malbec Reserva 2011 (Argentina, $20)
cassis, blackcurrants, and smoke on a lively frame

DESSERT
Vietti Moscato d’Asti Cascinetta 2011 (Italy, $14)
lightly sweet, with pears, orange blossoms, and a cleansing fizziness

Wine and Wheels on Valentine’s Day
Posted on by Mark Oldman

valentine's dayReprint of a Q&A with Mark about lovable wines for Valentine’s Day and his beloved “El Tigre.”

Q: What is the perfect Valentine’s Day wine?
Mark: For those willing to endure its vertiginous pricing and notorious inconsistency, the answer, unequivocally, is red Burgundy from France. It has a splendidly shimmery glow, a kind of ruby translucence that is a world away from midnight dark wines like Zinfandel and Syrah. The best examples have an intoxicating fragrance of berries and rose petals as well as a satiny coating that seems to leave a talcum trail across your palate. They often show an underlying hint of earthiness — think mushrooms or forest floor or autumn leave piles — a kind of primal sexiness that stands it apart from any other wine, especially on Valentine’s Day. You’ll earn extra points if you secure a bottle from the Burgundian village of Chambolle-Musigny and the perfectly-named but hard-to-find “Les Amoureuses,” i.e., “The Lovers,” premier cru vineyard.

For love on a budget, go with a cru Beaujolais, which is a slightly more serious cousin of the more familiar Beaujolais Nouveau. You’ll say it all with a “St. Amour,” the northernmost of the cru Beaujolais villages. Like most wine from Beaujolais, it is irresistibly light and fruity and costs less than $15 a bottle.   Excellent producers include Georges Dubeouf, Marcel Lapierre, Mommessin, Château de la Chaise, Jean Folliardand Michael Tête. Perfect for

Q: Tell us about your television show.
M: I’m a judge on PBS’s The Winemakers, which features 12 folks competing to have their own wine label. It’s compelling television; you’d be surprised at how intensely people yearn to break into the wine industry. We filmed the first season in California’s beautiful Paso Robles wine country and will soon be shooting the new season in France’s Rhone Valley. You can check out clips of the show at: www.TheWinemakers.tv.

Q: Word on the street is that you have a muscle car – do tell.
M: Ah, you mean “El Tigre,” which is one of 500 “Grabber Orange,” 400-horsepower street-legal racecars made by Saleen, a boutique manufacturer-modifier of high-performance Mustangs. In power, color, and form, the car pays homage to race legend Parnelli Jones’ 1970 Boss 302 Mustang, which ruled the SCCA Trans Am Series in the early seventies.

Q: So the car has a 70’s feel?
M: Undeniably. It’d be right at home in Starsky and Hutch or a Beastie Boys video. It comes complete with a “shaker scoop,” a cannon-like pipe protruding through its hood and “window louvers,” which look like black venetian blinds screwed into the back window. Besides giving the car an exquisitely menacing, Stegosaurian rear, I haven’t figured out a purpose for the louvers beyond making would-be tailgaters imagine that the driver is a once and future felon.

Q: What is it like having a muscle car in Manhattan?
M: In a city of solemn sedans and generic SUV’s, El Tigre is a mobile joy machine, a retro representation of West Coast tire-burning culture. Unlike your typical animosity-generating exotic car, I get the sense that El Tigre engenders goodwill in those it rumbles past. It has a certain democratic appeal: cops smile, street hustlers wink approvingly, and buttoned-up business types get Matchbox flashbacks. European tourists often stalk it with their camera phones, as they seem to take special pleasure in its unapologetic Americanness.

Q: Are people surprised to learn that a wine expert has such a car?
M: Often they are, and I like that. Life, like wine, is most interesting when it embraces the complex. The ability to experience many dimensions, some them pleasantly unexpected or seemingly contradictory, can be greatly satisfying.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day, and remember to drink bravely!

This Father’s Day, Wine for the Lion-Hearted
Posted on by Mark Oldman

Father’s Day might be the day you expect to be exchanging neckties, but no longer. These kingly wines are perfect for the paterfamilias in your life:

father's day wine

Amarone: You’ll free papa of his Viagra habit with Amarone (Ah-ma-ROW-nay), a powerful Italian red made from dried grapes. Its intense raisin-and-espresso flavor will put a macho swagger into anyone’s step. Try Masi, Zenato, Domini Veneti, and Santi.

Zinfandel: For grill meisters, this rich, peppery red has never met a rib it didn’t like; Look for the Ridge, Ravenswood, Rosenblum, or Rancho Zabaco. Unleash a Zinfandel from California’s Amador County for an especially high-alcohol, brawny version.

Coppola: From the man who brought us Apocalypse Now and The Godfather, we have equally arresting wines from Francis Coppola’s Rubicon Winery, such as the flagship Rubicon Estate, the RC Reserve Syrah, or the dependable and affordable Rosso Shiraz.

Pol Roger: There’s no better way to express your admiration for Dad than through the powerfully flavorful delights of Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, a Champagne named for this paragon of courage and determination.

Port: While other fathers finish dinner with a chocolate parfait, treat yours to a bottle of port, the powerful fortified wine that soothes the soul with the taste of sweet black fruits.  Track down Dow, Fonseca, Graham’s Quinta do Noval, or Taylor Fladgate.

Nine Ways to Seduce With Wine This Valentine’s Day
Posted on by Mark Oldman

Valentine’s Day may seem like a cliché day filled with flowers and chocolates. But you can impress your date beyond their wildest expectations with these wines. If you aim to make pulses race this Valentine’s Day, head straight for one of these choices:

valentine's day wine

1) Rosé (pink) Champagne: Its color blushes with excitement, its bubbles tickle the palate, and its price — high because of its scarcity — says that you care enough to pour the best. Try Veuve Clicquot, Billecart-Salmon, or Laurent-Perrier.

2) Sofia: For more casual bubbles, consider the Coppola 2004 Sofia Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine, about $20 on shelves.  Named for the famous director’s daughter, it is light, refreshing, and faintly redolent of pears and peaches.  With its Valentine’s Day -appropriate, girly-chic label and pink wrapping paper, it is the vinous equivalent of a hip bed-and-breakfast.

3) Red Burgundy: If chosen carefully, a bottle from the Burgundy village of Chambolle-Musginy (especially the perfectly-named “Les Amoureuses”) or Volnay can coat your tongue with more velvet than the walls of Mae West’s bedroom.

4) Château Calon-Ségur: Tailor-made for seduction, this red Bordeaux features a lover’s heart — fat and curvy like a child’s drawing — smack in the center of its label.

5) St. Amour or Fleurie: These well-named Beaujolais wines are also well-priced, at under $15 a bottle, and they are irresistibly light and fruity. Go for Duboeuf, Drouhin, or Jadot.

6) Shellfish with Rich White Wine: Whether it’s lobster with Meursault or crab-stuffed avocado with California Chardonnay, this creamy pairing has a long history of making people reach for the “Do Not Disturb” sign.

7) Prozac-co Smoothie: Mix Prosecco (the Italian bubbly, try the Zardetto), vodka, and lemon sorbet together in a blender, serve in a champagne flute, top with fresh mint. Valentine’s Day as never tastier!

8) Chaucer’s Choice: Gently simmer a light red wine with a small amount of honey, nutmeg, and cinnamon (based on the medieval spiced wine called hippocras).

9) Cleopatra’s Bliss: Drink a cold glass of late-harvest dessert wine in a hot bath of powdered milk.