Charleston Area Wine Events
Mark your calendars for two wine-related events over the next couple of weeks. On Wednesday October 13, from 5 to 8 p.m., the Liquor Company will have a special tasting of Joseph Phelps wines at their location in the Patrick Street Plaza. Phelps is one of the most prestigious and historically significant wineries in the Napa Valley and their wines are renowned around the world. Cost of the tasting is $5 per person.

The Wine Shop at Capitol Market will host their annual Harvest Tasting on Sunday October 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the outdoor farmer’s market (weather permitting). The Harvest Tasting will feature an international array of more than 25 wines that will be specially selected to match the foods of fall. Munchies will be available and cost of the tasting is $15 per person.

By the way, if you haven’t had a chance to visit the wine shop lately, you will be pleasantly surprised to note that the location has been moved down the hall of the market to a greatly expanded space which features a special temperature controlled room for fine and rare wines. In addition, there is now a designated tasting area where wines can be sampled on weekends. Congratulations and good luck to the fine folks at the wine shop.




Canaan - Wild and Wonderful Wine and Food Weekend
It’s always both a pleasure and a learning experience to work with culinary professionals, and that’s why I love to be a part of the semi-annual Wild and Wonderful Wine Weekend at Canaan Valley Resort. These food and wine events have become a tradition at the Tucker County facility where you’ll also revel in the visual beauty of fall in the Potomac Highlands.

Join me and a whole host of other wine and food lovers on October 22- 24 for an entertaining and educational gourmet extravaganza. I select wines from the best vineyards on the planet that will be matched to culinary delicacies prepared by Canaan Valley Resort’s executive chef. The event will begin Friday, October 22 at 7 p.m. with a “taste-around reception” where wines from the world’s most prestigious regions can be sampled with matching culinary treats from food stations featuring, Italian, Mediterranean and Mexican delicacies. And for the sweets folks, there will also be a dessert station featuring custard and berries, chocolate cheesecake balls and mini apple dumplings.

On Saturday, guests will participate in a tasting of wines I will select that will be followed by a scrumptious four- course Mediterranean-inspired luncheon with matching wines. After lunch, guests will be free to hike, bike, nap (what I plan to do) or just enjoy Mother Nature’s purple mountain majesty! The evening’s activities begin at 7 p.m. with a six-course grand gourmet dinner with accompanying wines.Guests have the option of attending the entire weekend for a package price, or choosing to participate in individual events ala carte.

For pricing and additional information or reservations call 800-622-4121 or visit online at www.canaanresort.com.

I really do enjoy the change of seasons, particularly the transition from summer to fall. I am aware that autumn is more than five weeks old, but my internal thermostat is just now registering the change. I also know it’s fall because my body is getting urgent messages from my brain to start ingesting fuller flavored wine and food.

Hey, you gotta listen to your body, right?

Well, nothing says full-flavor to me like pasta and red wine, so after a little rumination, I came up with a lovely culinary inspiration: why not combine my love of grilled vegetables with pasta and accompany the dish with a purple whopper?

You might remember a piece I wrote last summer extolling the virtues of grilled vegetables. Well, this recipe uses many of those same veggies, but in a whole new way. Listen up.

The first order of business was to visit the Purple Onion produce emporium at our own Capitol Market where I was able to procure a diverse selection of vegetable goodies that would be the centerpiece of this concoction. A little further down you’ll find my wine selections for the meal, but first, here’s the recipe for what I call “Smoky Linguine.”

Shopping List

1 red and one yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut lengthwise into thirds
2 peeled zucchinis cut lengthwise into half-inch wide, two-inch long rectangles
1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarter inch circles
2 poblano peppers, cut into long strips one inch wide
2 Portobello mushrooms cut into one-inch wide strips
4 Roma tomatoes cut in half length-wise
6 cloves of garlic peeled and left whole
3 ounces of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons each of chopped fresh basil and Italian parsley
1 teaspoon each of kosher salt, black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
4 ounces of grated parmigiano reggiano
1 pound of linguine (you can use whole wheat or spinach linguine if you wish)




Prepare a marinade for the vegetables by combining the olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Place veggies in a large bowl (or gallon plastic bag), add the salt and pepper and mix, allowing the vegetables to marinate for one hour

Fire up a charcoal or gas grill to medium heat and place the vegetables on the grill surface and turn them regularly to avoid burning

When veggies are charred (not burnt), allow them to cool to room temperature
and place half the veggies in a food processor and process into a paste

Cook linguine in boiling water until al dente, drain pasta (reserve one-half cup pasta water) and place pasta along with all veggies into a large sauté pan and blend the ingredients

Add the pasta water to the pan and heat the mixture

Remove and plate the Smoky Linguine, adding the red pepper flakes, parsely and basil along with the parmigiano reggiano to each plate

So, what about wine matches for this dish? Well, the key here is to use a wine that has some element or component flavor that pairs well with the smokiness and spiciness of the grilled vegetables. You might consider wines such as a zinfandel or something from Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.

Zinfandel usually shows spiciness and dark fruit flavors while the Languedoc has a smoky, black cherry character. Never one to take a chance, I chose to open one of each of the following wines and both, for different reasons, paired well with the pasta dish.

2008 Chateau Coupe Roses (La Bastide, $15) – From the Minervois region in Languedoc Roussillon of Southern France, this blend of old vine carignan and grenache has ripe plumb flavors with nuances of smoke. Excellent accompaniment to the grub.

2007 Marietta Old Vines Zinfandel ($20) – A great mouthful of blackberry spiciness, this purple zin is a killer match to the dish.

Okay, fellow gourmands, on your mark…get set… go – to the nearest wine shop and begin stocking up for the marathon eating and drinking season which is about to commence. Thanksgiving is the beginning of this forty-day holiday season which includes Chanukah and Christmas, and culminates with the New Year’s celebration.

It is also a time when you will spend about seventy percent of your yearly wine budget purchasing bottles for parties, gifts and holiday dinners. For me, it’s the most exciting time of the year. I’m like a kid in a candy store! The shelves of local wine shops are overflowing with bottles of every type and pedigree.

But, first things first. It is likely that turkey will once again be the featured main course for Thanksgiving at your house. The culinary versatility of turkey to be successfully paired with red or white as well as light or full-bodied wines makes picking a winner an easy proposition.

The reason? The bird is blessed with meat that has a variety of flavors, colors and textures which present opportunities for us to try a lot of different wines.

The type of stuffing you use adds a whole other flavor dimension which, depending upon the nature of the dressing, opens up even more wine possibilities. Thus, the holidays also offer we wine lovers a rare opportunity to sample a virtual sea of wines. Here are a few wine recommendations to match your holiday turkey and associated culinary accoutrements.

The traditional oven-roasted turkey with sage-flavored dressing does wonderfully well with sauvignon blanc, especially the wines that exhibit herbal characteristics. You might try Dry Creek Vineyards or Kenwood from California. Another of my favorites, particularly with sage dressing, is semillon. Try L’Ecole No. 41 Semillon from Washington State

Alsatian wines, such as riesling or gewürztraminer, will also work well with this more traditional treatment of Thanksgiving dinner. Look for Pierre Sparr, Trimbach and Zind Humbrecht wines from this often overlooked premium wine producing region.

But you can choose to accompany the bird with red wine too. Any number of medium bodied wines will fit the bill. For something different, ask you wine purveyor for a bottle of Chinon (pronounced She-non) which is a red from the Loire region of France made from cabernet franc.

Sangiovese from Italy ( I love the 2007 Banfi Centine) as well as tempranillo from Spain (try Martin Codax) are also excellent choices. Medium-bodied California or Washington State cabernet sauvignons such as Guenoc, Alexander Valley Vineyards or Chateau Ste. Michelle will also fit the bill.

I’ll probably try to re-create my mother’s Thanksgiving recipe this year. She would oven-roast her turkey, but her dressing had no sage flavoring. Rather, she would season with salt, pepper and garlic and then add roast chestnuts, celery and Italian sausage to her bread dressing. I have used full-bodied , rich California chardonnays to accompany this meal in the past,.

This year, I plan on opening up a 10 year old magnum of Patz & Hall Alder Springs Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Mendocino County. If pinot noir is on your list, you might try an Oregon wine such as Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee or one of Patricia Green Cellars’ wines.

On those occasions when I smoke or charcoal grill the “national bird,” I’ll usually create a stuffing of ancho peppers, chili powder, cumin along with chipotles, corn bread, chorizo sausage and cheddar cheese. This dressing will get your attention and it demands wines that can stand up to the more intense flavors.

My favorite wines with this spicy, smoky treatment are full-bodied Sonoma or Amador County zinfandels such as Ridge Lytton Springs or Terra D’Oro. I’ve also used French Rhones such as Chateauneuf Du Pape or Gigondas from producers such as Beaucastel, or View Telegraph.

We can’t forget dessert (or as we call it in my home “prelude to the couch”). Of course, Champagne is always my default option, but there are some other goodies you might consider too.

Make your pumpkin pie (and you) smile with a late harvest riesling or moscato with the final course. Look for Ch. St. Jean Late Harvest Riesling or Nivole Moscato D’Asti.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Is it possible to love something, but be tired of that very same thing?

I emphasize the word “THING” to make sure the animate objects of my affection do not get the wrong idea. As you might suspect, I speak of wine. And not just any wine, but one of the greatest of all– chardonnay.

Too much of a good thing? Yes, that’s part of the problem because there’s no doubt the stuff is all around us. It seems someone is always handing me a glass of chardonnay at every event I attend or every bar I frequent. But that’s not the problem either.

What it gets down to is searching for quality and avoiding the boring plonk that so many wine makers are producing from this world-class grape.

With any wine, particularly one as ubiquitously produced around the world as chardonnay, the soil, climate and overall geography of the vineyard site, along with the wine making style of the vintner, become critical. These elements all define the style of the wine.

While it may be an oversimplification, I classify chardonnay as “new” or “old” world. New world chardonnays are those from North and South America, Australia and South Africa, and they are decidedly different from the old world wines produced with great success in the White Burgundy region of France.

For example, many new world chardonnays are rich, buttery and oaky with the intensity of a red wine. Many of these wines also have tropical fruit or butterscotch flavors and some have a good dollop of residual sugar.

In Burgundy, there are three basic regions where chardonnay is produced. In Chablis, the wine can show stony minerality and sometimes tart green apple flavors. In the Macon region, the best wines (such as Pouilly-Fuisse) can be aromatic and slightly buttery.

In northern Burgundy, the greatest chardonnays have creamy textures and ripe apple flavors with a kiss of oak. These wines, such as Corton-Charlemagne and Puligny Montrachet, can cost anywhere from $150 to more than $500 a bottle.

My own preference in chardonnay runs to the northern Burgundian variety, but my pocketbook leads me to California. In particular, I prefer chardonnay grown in the cooler areas such as Carneros, the Russian River Valley of Sonoma and the Santa Y’nez Valley near Santa Barbara where sunny days are followed by chilly nights to produce wines with excellent balance.




My favorite style of chardonnay combines ripe fruit richness, good acid balance and just a touch of oak. Wineries such as Chateau Montelena, Talley Vineyards, MacRostie, Acacia, Wente Riva Ranch, Talbott and Cakebread are among my favorites and range in price from under $20 to about $40 a bottle.

I actually took matters in my own hands (literally) a few years ago by making my own chardonnay from grapes grown in the Carneros region of southern Sonoma County. As a matter of fact, I’ve got 20 gallons of 2010 chardonnay fermenting in my cellar right now. I just bottled the 2009 chardonnay and I am sipping a glass as I finish this column.

I am not bored with this wine!

‘Tis the season to be (get?) jolly! Well, in that spirit, it’s time for my annual Christmas wine gift recommendations. In addition to providing you with a few ideas for the important wine lovers in your life, you might also wish to pass this list along to those inclined to remember you on December 25th.

But before I get to the wines, I have a few other wine-related gift ideas.

Books: The Oxford Companion to Wine – Third Edition ($65) by Janice Robinson is the most comprehensive compendium of wine information you will ever read. It is the ultimate reference guide to anything to do with the liquid we all love.

Been Doon So Long ($35) by the zany, clever, irreverent wine maker-satirist Randall Graham is a hilarious romp through winedom. Owner of Bonny Doon Winery, Graham’s views on the state of wine are delivered with zinging tongue-in-cheek wisdom and humor.

Wine Vacation:Solage is a 22-acre uber-spa located at the northern terminus of the Napa Valley in the town of Calistoga. Surrounded by mountains and vineyards, I had the pleasure of reposing at Solage earlier this year and was blown away by the experience. With an incredible restaurant on the premises, a world-class spa and even mud baths, this is a spectacular destination for any food and wine lover. Check out the packages at http://solagecalistoga.com/ or call 866 942 7442.

Okay, so let’s get to the wines. These goodies are arranged in no particular order (other than price) and include just about all the major wine regions and varietals.

Under $20: 2007  C&B Cabernet Sauvignon Chalk Hill Reserve; 2006 Chateau Greysac; 2009 Terra Andina Cabernet Sauvignon; 2009 Alexander Valley Vineyards Gewurztraminer; 2008 D’Arenberg Hermit Crab; 2009 Ferraton Tavel Rose’; 2007 Bogle The Phantom; 2008 Banfi Centine Rosso; 2008 Vinosia Aglianico; 2009 Palo Alto Sauvignon Blanc; and 2008 The Stump Jump.

$20 to $40: 2007 Newton Claret; 2008 Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay; 2006 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Pinot Noir; 2007 Falcor Henry Ranch Chardonnay; 2007 Chalk Hill Chardonnay; Domaine Chandon Brut; 2007 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs Zinfandel; 2007 Evidence Cabernet Sauvignon; 2008 Tantara Pinot Noir; and 2007 Talley Vineyards Chardonnay.

Over $50: 2004 H Block Cabernet Sauvignon; 2006 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir; 2004 Banfi Brunello Di Montalcino; 2004 Taittinger Comtes Champagne Rose’; 2005 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa; 2005 Catena Zapata Malbec; 2008 Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay; 2005 Chateau Lynch Bages; and 2005 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf Du Pape.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!