Wines for a Spring Feast

Just in time for the Easter Holiday or your secular-humanist Spring Feast, Foster & Dobbs is making room for new wine with a Spring Cleaning Wine Sale. Save 15% on selected wines or 20% on mixed cases of the sale wine (while supplies last). Sale wines include dozens of fabulous selections and great deals for every course and dish on your menu. For example....

German Rieslings (for a perfect pairing with your ham or cheese course)
A beautiful Tempranillo from legendary Spanish winemaker Alexjandro Fernandez (for your lamb or roast beef)
Godme Blanc de Noir, a grower Champagne from Verzenay (oysters anyone?)

The sale begins Wednesday, April 4 and lasts until the stock is gone or April 15 which ever comes first.

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Un Petit Primer on Grower Champagne

At the holidays and special occasions, many of us turn to Champagne to add a celebratory note to our gatherings. And while Champagne is certainly festive, this custom of occasional use leads us to underestimate the versatility of this great wine. Champagne: it ain’t just for celebrations anymore. Nowhere is this truer than with the grower-producers of Champagne.

A quick primer for those who may not be familiar with grower Champagnes. Grower Champagne is exactly what it sounds like…Champagne made by farmer/winemakers who work their own land. Grower Champagne is really the analog of farmstead cheese, and like farmstead cheese, this wine is produced on a very small scale with a focus on quality and expression. Unlike Champagne made by the Grandes Marques or “big brands” (Moët & Chandon, Mumm, Veuve Clicquot, etc.) which blend juice from many vineyards to produce wine in the “house style,” grower Champagne is highly idiosyncratic—expressing the nature of the vineyard’s soil and climate, and the personality of the maker. The result is Champagne that varies dramatically from village to village and maker to maker. The fun of grower Champagne is getting to know the “voices” of these talented winemakers.

Grower Champagne is serious wine—that is to say it is wine first, sparkling second. Like any still wine, these estate champagnes lend themselves to food pairings based on the varietal and style. Now this may seem obvious but we Americans have been conditioned through the marketing prowess of the Grandes Marques, to think of Champagne as the toasting, apertif, or party wines, not something you would serve with the main course. So with a little knowledge of the constituent fruit, we can begin thoughtful pairings of Champagne and food. For minerally wine such as blanc de blanc (100 percent Chardonnay), think oysters, scallops, or caviar. Pair a more robust wine—those with a larger percentage of Pinot Noir or Meunier—with roast chicken, veal, or even rabbit.

There are four main sub-regions of the Champagne region: the Montagne de Reims, famous for its Pinot Noir; Vallée de la Marne (the Marne Valley) home of the Pinot Meunier (aka Meunier), the Côtes des Blanc (guess which grape les Côtes are known for), and the Aube, another Pinot Noir growing area and the least celebrated (but perhaps a better value as a result).

At Foster & Dobbs we have a small selection of grower Champagnes in a range of fruit and styles to suit most any palate. We have something from each of these districts with a couple of examples in some cases. Our shelf-talkers list the sub-region and fruit for each selection, but if you have questions, please ask one of the staff.

Salud!

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Don't give me none of that Merlot attitude--this is Riesling

Riesling has to be one of the most under appreciated wines in the United States. First, it’s a white wine and everyone knows that serious (that is to say, manly) wines are red. Second, it is generally pigeon-holed as “sweet” and Americans don’t like sweet wines. Third, the label on Old World Rieslings can be hard to read and understand. Okay, this third concern is one that I can appreciate, but all in all, I love Riesling—and I don’t care if the whole world knows it!

Riesling is versatile, food friendly, and true. One of the great gifts of Riesling is the quality of reflecting its terroir and/or the hand of its maker. A wine from Germany’s Mosel-Saar-Ruver is off-dry, floral, with fabulous acidity and great minerality—you can taste the slate of the Mosel Valley. Here in the Northwest, where the best U.S. Rieslings are made, the wine lends itself to vinification techniques that preserve the pure Riesling flavors and qualities (acidity and minerality), but yields wines that are often drier than their Old World counterparts. If Riesling were an actor, we would say that it is very good at taking direction.

It is Riesling’s acidity that makes it so food friendly. The acidity tempers the residual sugar and keeps the wine from being cloying. Its racy acidity, spice, and honey notes really compliment cheese. (Max McCalman of Artisinal/Picoline in New York recommends pairing it with washed-rind cheeses, but you might also try it with a Gouda such as the Willamette Valley Aged Gouda or Coolea.) It pairs beautifully with charcuterie, and of course it is one of the go-to wines for spicy Asian dishes. Riesling gets along well with others. We have sweet, off-dry, and dry styles, truly something for every palate.

Foster & Dobbs has a small but well chosen selection of Rieslings. From Oregon we have a couple from Brooks, the 2005 Riesling ($18) and the Ara Reserve Riesling 2005 ($26.50).

The Ara is a beauty—aromas of slate, flowers, apple and honey. It is sweet and rich, but balanced perfectly by the acidity. This is very special wine made by Chris Williams, Brooks’ new winemaker, along with pals Cheryl Francis and Sam Tannahill. They only made 91 cases, so come and get it.

One of my Old World favs is the Donnhoff Estate Riesling 2005 ($20). Riesling from Germany’s Nahe region typically shows more weight and spice than its more famous Mosel counterparts. This wine is shot through with layers of pear and red apple, and of course, layers of elegant acidity.

We also have excellent selections from legendary German makers Dr. Loosen and J.J. Prum. From Austria, we have a tremendous value in the Minges Haltbrocken (“half sweet”) at $15.75 for a one-liter bottle.

Let us know if you would like to special order any wine and as always, there is a 10% discount on case purchases. Enjoy!

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Dominio de Tares Albares 2004

Winemaker Dominio de Tares is located up in the Northwest Corner of Spain—in the Bierzo region of Galicia. With the success of winemakers in the Bierzo and the Rias Baixas (RIAS BAY-CHAS) nearby, Galicia is quickly becoming one of the most celebrated wine regions of Spain.

Galicia is remarkable in several respects—it more closely resembles Ireland and Scotland and, interestingly enough, was invaded by the Celts in 600 BC. The Romans came along 650 years later and brought winemaking to the area, but the Celtic influence remains strong. As evidence (and for tunes to accompany this wine), check out one of Galicia’s best known musicians Carlos Nuñez—the Jimmy Hendrix of the bagpipes. Galicia is also one of the wettest parts of Spain—the green northwest of Spain.

The Domino de Tares Albares features a relatively unknown grape native to Spain, Mencia, no relation to Carlos of Comedy Central. However, the Mencia grape may be related to Cabernet Franc and shares its aromatic qualities. Mencia beautifully expresses the terroir of the Bierzo’s chalky clay soil and slate substrata and is widely considered to make the best red wine in the Beirzo. Dominio de Tares uses 100 percent tank fermentation to focus the grape’s fruit and malolactic fermentation for balance and finish. The Albares shows ripe red fruit on the nose, with woodsy and mineral notes. On the palate it offers flavors of plums and black fruit on a rather firm structure. Pair with grilled meats or, better yet for this time of year, stews. Enjoy!

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2005 Penner-Ash Oregon Viognier

Viognier (vee-on-yay), the distinctive white grape of Condrieu in the Northern Rhone, is in vogue right now. Viognier is known for its full body and aromatics (especially apricots, pear, honeysuckle), but these aromatics don’t really emerge unless the fruit is allowed to fully ripen. The winemaker’s trick then is to let the fruit ripen enough to develop its heady aromatics, but not so much that the wine is too alcoholic — all the while keeping a firm grip on acidity in the process.

Lynn and Ron Penner-Ash blend fruit from several outstanding vineyards in the Rogue River Valley to make this delicious Oregon Viognier. All stainless steel fermentation and aging and no malolactic fermentation put the focus on the purity of the fruit. This wine shows the creamy body of classic Viognier and throws aromas of ripe pear, honeysuckle, and white pepper. Very limited production.

Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, famous in these parts for their Pinot Noir and Syrah, is committed to sustainable practices and works closely with growers who share this commitment. The 2005 Oregon Viognier makes it clear how well these partnerships are succeeding.

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