Choosing Wine From a Wine List (Part 3)

This post is part of a series of ongoing posts that I began a few weeks ago on choosing a wines from a wine list. If you have not read the previous posts, please first visit:

Choosing a Sparkling Wine
Choosing Appetizers

(NB: I have no affiliation or financial interest in the Sonoma Grille, the restaurant featured in these posts.)

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So here's where we stand:

Aperetif
NV Iron Horse Brut Russian River Cuvee

First Courses
Tapas for Two: Shrimp Tempura, Veal Cheek, Ahi Tartare, Sesame Fried Calamari
Serrano Wrapped Diver Sea Scallops
Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel

Now we need a white wine. We have already determined that we'd like a white wine that will have some or most of the following characteristics (as explained in our previous post): we need a wine that is palate-cleansing; it will cut through fatty fish or greasy fried foods; it should match the spiciness of our foods, be earthy and ripe with good acidity. The wine list is here so that you can follow along.

I'll be honest, instinctively I was going to shy away from a California Chardonnay because many of them are too full-bodied, creamy and/or buttery for a few of these dishes. For example, a full, buttery California Chardonnay would be a terrible choose for Shrimp Tempura or Ahi Tartare. But let's go back to this.

When I think of a palate-cleansing, spicy, earthy, ripe white with good acidity, I think Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. Those are the two wines that are the most likely candidates. We've already determined that we're drinking California no matter what in the first post because we're at the Sonoma Grille. And California doesn't specialize much in Riesling, a fact reflected on the wine list: not one choice above $50. I'm a bit tempted by the Wente because they offer fairly consistent value, but a $40 isn't special enough for this dinner. We're really looking between $50 and $100, $75 would be about perfect.

So let's look at Sauvignon Blanc. Between $50 and $100 we have four choices. Three of four are from the Napa Valley, and the Napa Valley is generally very hot. We don't want to take the chance of getting a rich, full, buttery Sauvignon Blanc an unfortunate side-effect of heat on white wine. That leaves us with the Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc at $97, probably too rich for my blood for a Sauvignon Blanc.

Keep in mind, many of these choices would work perfectly fine with richer dishes, but considering that are appetizers run the gamut from Ahi Tartare to Goat Cheese Strudel, we need a wine with more flexibility.

Let's peak at the Chardonnays, between $50 and $100.

BV Reserve 2001 (Carneros) 15 52
Domaine Chandon 2001 (Carneros) 55
Trefethen 2003 (Napa) 17 56
Talbott "Sleepy Hollow" 2002 (Santa Lucia) 18 57
Marimar 2002 (Sonoma) 63
Simi Reserve 2003 (Sonoma) 64
Ojai 2003 (Santa Barbara) 65
Jordan 2002 (Sonoma) 20 68
Staglin “Salus” 2002 (Napa) 74
Chateau Montelena 2003 (Napa) 223 77
Mer Soleil 2002 (Napa) 78
Kalin "Cuvee LD" 1994 (Sonoma) 82
Sonoma Cutrer “The Cutrer” 2002 (Sonoma) 85
Cakebread 2004 (Napa) 89
Michaud 2000 (Monterey) 90
Rochioli 2002 (Russian River) 95
Grgich 2001 (Napa) 97
Patz & Hall "Dutton" 2003 (Napa) 98

Fair or unfair, we are going to eliminate the Napa wines for the same reason that we elminated them in the case of our Sauvignon Blanc, we don't want to take the chance that the wine is to full. So let's look again:

BV Reserve 2001 (Carneros) 15 52
Domaine Chandon 2001 (Carneros) 55
Talbott "Sleepy Hollow" 2002 (Santa Lucia) 18 57
Marimar 2002 (Sonoma) 63
Simi Reserve 2003 (Sonoma) 64
Ojai 2003 (Santa Barbara) 65
Jordan 2002 (Sonoma) 20 68
Kalin "Cuvee LD" 1994 (Sonoma) 82
Sonoma Cutrer “The Cutrer” 2002 (Sonoma) 85
Michaud 2000 (Monterey) 90
Rochioli 2002 (Russian River) 95

The BV Reserve and Domaine Chandon are probably less than we want to spend, plus Chandon is best known for it's sparklers. They are also widely available. Talbott "Sleepy Hollow" I always love, but it's too rich for our purposes.

I'm eliminating Rochioli because, despite the fact that their wines are delicious, they are also too ripe for our purposes. I'm elimating Sonoma-Cutrer because that wine has skyrocketed in price and really should be $60. Jordan is tempting, but probably also too ripe. Marimar seems interesting, and if it was recommended by my server I might consider it, but I know little about it other than the fact that it is owned by the Torres family of Spain and the vineyards are largely Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. Stylistically I have no idea where it falls, so short of a recommendation, I'm skipping it. Simi is too widely available. I want something that I might not have every day.

We're left with these choices:

Ojai 2003 (Santa Barbara) 65
Kalin "Cuvee LD" 1994 (Sonoma) 82
Michaud 2000 (Monterey) 90

Ojai can be pretty nice. Earthy and with good acidity. I'm going to pass on Ojai only because I have found in the past that their wines take a little bit of time to fully integrate the oak and the primary flavors. In two years, especially if the price remained constant, this might be my choice, but not today. Michaud Winery is owned by Michael Michaud, former winemaker of Chalone. The vineyard is way up in the mountains - mountain vineyards are cooler and have better acidity. This is an excellent choice. But I'm taking Kalin. I have always loved Kalin's wines. First of all you'll notice the vintage on the wine - 1994. Kalin always holds bottles, only to realease them much later. This very well may be the current release for all I know. Kalin wines tend to have good structure (+1); because of their age they show a variety of complex earthy and developed charcteristics (+1) without sacrificing fruit (+1); and Kalin Chards tend to fall on the light- to medium- side in terms of body (+1). This is my choice, but if you're uncomfortable with the Kalin, a unique wine when compared to its peers, you can get the Michaud.

Next we're going to pick our main courses and reds...

California Dreamin...

As the checkered flag dropped on yesterday's Auto Club 500, a 500-mile race in Fontana, California, I couldn't help but think to myslef that I wish I had made a weekend of it. I could've left Fonatana in the early evening following what was a pretty exciting race, caught some zzz's and been off early this morning to head down Route 15 to Temecula. Temecula is a great starting point for one's exploration of California's relatively unknown South Coast wineries, and one couldn't do better than beginning the morning at Temecula Hills Winery.

Admittedly, Temecula Hills winery is quite a bit larger than the micro-wineries we normally represent, but that doesn't mean there still isn't that homey feeling. The reason most wineries in the surrounding areas are on the larger side is part geography, part history. First of all, it is generally less mountanous here, and as a result there are less obtrusive geographical boundaries that naturally separate tracts of land. Secondly, this area is relatively new to commercial planting, and so a small number of (in my opinion very wise) investors were able to walk in and find the space to plant vineyards without restriction. This is not unlike what happened in the "lesser" AVA's located in the Central Coast in the 1960's.

Here's the difference. There are several ways to make the "rich, buttery" Chardonnays for which California wineries were long noted. The two most common are through full malo-lactic fermentation and the other is through the use of oak. If a winery employs both techniques without care, the result is an opulent, blowsy white that is more of a meal than a refreshment, and not entirely what I want.

This needs explanation. When Chardonnay grapes ferment - that is, turn their natural sugars into alcohol - that is called primary fermentation. The wine that results has a lot of green apple flavor and acidity, something known as malic acid. There another conversion that takes place, malo-lactic or secondary fermentation, that changes this more biting acidity into a creamier textured acidity, lactic acidity. (Think malic - milk, it is the same acid.) So there is a smoother mouthfeel. Winemakers allow malolactic fermentation to occur in varying degrees, some may choose no malolactic, full malolactic or somewhere in between. If the grapes are ultraripe, ultrasweet and high in alcohol (alcohol adds apparent sweetness to alcoholic beverages such as wine) then the wine becomes too "soft" in the mouth, very full, too creamy and overall not that friendly with most foods.

The same thing can happen with oak. Oak adds a certain vanilla, coconut flavor to the wine (in varying degrees depending on a lot of factors, a topic I hope to explore in the future). With the vanilla, coconut flavoring from oak and full malo-lactic fermentation and a lot of heat (and hence ripeness and alcohol), the wine becomes unbearably clumsy, weighty and sweet.

Luckily, one of our favorite stops in Temecula, where it is quite warm, is Temecula Hills Winery. Realizing that balance is always required in a wine (balance, as my regular readers already know, is what I most prize in a wine), Temecula Hills makes their Chardonnay sans oak, offering instead, pure, natural Chardonnay flavors and the essence of sunny Southern California. They opt for an unoaked Chardonnay, skipping the sweet oaky flavors that might throw the wine out of balance. The wine that results is fresh, flavorful juice that has a nice backbone.

Those of us on the east coast about now could probably use a bit of sunny, Southern California in a bottle. If you do, like I do, I recommend 2004 Temecula Hills Winery Unoaked Chardonnay without hesitation. Sunshine in a bottle - without the sunburn: Enjoy!

Trust me...

A recent post by our CEO, William Bellomo gives further details on Silver Mountain owner Jerold O'Brien.

Selling wine is a tough job in some ways. My clients who have known me for five or ten years get used to trusting me and know that I will do my best to bring them the best wine for them. Those long-time customers, who I prefer to think of as friends, understand my sometimes simple and straightforward words. For those friends of mine, I tell them "listen buy Silver Mountain wine".

The pinots are great. The chard is great. These are wines that are priced well below what they are worth and deliver. Given the facts that William has presented in his blog, it is clear that Mr. O'Brien is an interesting an accomplished gentleman. But more than that, we have a great time in Santa Cruz when we visit him. He is extremely pleasant anmd very welcoming. When I can sell great wines, at great prices, made by great people, my job suddenly becomes easier.

I would love to have you visit Silver Mountain's product page. Our inboxes and phones are always waiting for you. If you have any questions, give us a call. These are great wines, at great prices, made by great people. Trust me.