I came of age during a time when beer was… well… just beer. Oftentimes, the suds were chased with a shot glass full of cheap hootch. Heck, if you ever wanted something other than cold, yellow, pilsner in my neighborhood, you had to wait until Christmastime when a regional brewer produced something called “Old Frothingslosh.” One of the taglines in the commercials for Old Frothingslosh read: “A whale of an ale for the pale, stale, male.” Another one read: “A beer so light the foam is on the bottom.”
Aside from unconventional (and apocryphal) brews like Old Frothingslosh, beer remained predictable (and boring) in this country with most of the suds mass-produced by large industrial type breweries. That is, until the past couple of decades when enterprising beer lovers re-invented the business by creating a new category of products called craft brews.
Since then, craft breweries have sprung up in great numbers all over the US with more than 25 such businesses now operating in West Virginia. These new businesses have taken beer to a whole new level by qualitatively improving traditional brews like pilsners, stouts and ales, and by developing unique products using non-traditional ingredients such as fruits and herbs.
Okay, you’re probably thinking: why is this wineaux (that’s French for wino) spending so much time on beer? Well, I have confession to make, I actually like beer, especially the stuff being made by West Virginia craft breweries such as Stumptown Ales in Davis and Weathered Ground in Ghent. But, let me be clear, I do prefer the taste of wine over beer, particularly when it comes to pairing either beverage with food. However, I must give credit where credit is due. Simply stated, the wine industry is stagnant and seems content to appeal to those of us who are predominately long in the tooth.
Craft brewers, conversely, have captured the imagination and palates of people who, statistically, will be on this planet much longer than those of us to whom the wine industry, stubbornly, continues to market. I certainly hope that my intuition and subjective assessment of the situation is wrong, but I don’t see many young adults at the numerous wine events, such as tastings and dinners, that I attend on a regular basis. And that’s unfortunate because I’ve never witnessed a more extensive variety of good to great wine that’s now available in the marketplace – and at very reasonable prices.
I’m not sure what advice to give to those institutions charged with the long-term survival and growth of the wine industry except to suggest they somehow find a way of making the product less intimidating. A good place to start might be to improve the information on the wine bottle’s label. Instead of the usual mumbo-jumbo label info (most of which is written in a foreign language), wineries could provide food pairing suggestions, appropriate serving temperatures and/or ways to preserve leftover wine to enjoy another day.
If all else fails, maybe we can appeal to the younger generation by developing a wine version of Old Frothingslosh. We might call it “Old Bacchus Sauce “– a wine so heavy the sediment settles on top! But hey, brothers and sisters of the vine, you can be assured I’m not letting up on my evangelistic zeal for wine. As a matter of fact, here are two wines I’ve tasted recently that have pleased my palate. Give them a try. I think you’ll like them too.
2019 Gary Farrell Russian River Chardonnay ($36) -With aromas of green apples and lightly toasted bread, this Sonoma County chardonnay is both rich and well-balanced. Tropical fruit, spice and nuances of vanilla characterize this lovely mouthful of wine drawn from vineyards close to the Pacific Ocean. Try it with sauteed crabcakes drizzled with a remoulade sauce.
2016 Chateau Laforge ($40) – From Saint-Emilion in Bordeaux, this Grand Cru blend is comprised of merlot with just a little touch of cabernet franc. The wine is ripe, rich and full of dark berry flavors with velvety tannins. It drinks more like a Napa merlot than something from Bordeaux. Pair this wine with grilled lamb chops marinated in olive oil, lemon, rosemary, garlic and Dijon mustard.
John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book Augie’s World, is a sequel to his debut novel, Augie’s War. Both novels are available in print and audio at Amazon. You can find out more about his novels and wine columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com