I admit it.  I’m easily bored.  So the other evening when I descended to my cellar to pick out a wine for dinner, I searched for something other than the same old, same old. I gotta say, it was tough finding something other than cabernet, pinot noir, zinfandel, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, etc.

After considerable rooting around, I found a dusty bottle of 2004 Vietti Barbera D’Asti and paired this little lovely with meatballs and faro in marinara sauce.  What a great combo!  Barbera is the lesser-known little brother of Barolo and Barbaresco  - the more famous reds from Italy’s Piedmont region  - and it is the perfect match for spicy, tomato-based dishes.

At about $15 a bottle, barbera is also a great value. Rich, medium-bodied and chock full of dark cherry flavors, barbera also has a good dollop of acid to balance it out. In addition to Vietti, look for producers such as Chiarlo, Prunotto and Pio Cesare.

If variety is the spice of life, then changing up your varietals can spice up your wine life too.  Here are some other alternatives for your consideration which are not only excellent in their own right, but will also make your palate fonder for the usual wine suspects when you return to them later.

Valpolicella can be a light to medium bodied wine full of bright fruit flavors that can successfully be paired with chicken, veal or pasta dishes.  However, Valpolicella made in the Ripasso style, is a fuller-bodied version of the wine. Ripasso is produced by adding the left over skins and seeds from Amarone into the fermenting Valpolicella producing a wine similar in body to zinfandel.

Look for producers such as Allegrini, Bertani, Masi and Zenato for both regular Valpolicella and those made in the Ripasso style.  The Ripasso style wines are more suited to being paired with heavier-flavored dishes such as stews or garlic-enhanced roasted meats.

Finding alternatives to the ubiquitous chardonnay, pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc whites can also take a little searching.  Marsanne and Rousanne, both grapes indigenous to the Rhone region of France, are excellent alternatives especially to chardonnay.

These grapes, often combined in a cuvee, can be full-bodied and rich as well as balanced and can be matched with fuller-flavored dishes spiced with curry, cumin and even peanut sauces.  In the US, look for producers such as Cline, Qupe and Tablas Creek all of which make the  wines in combination or as single varietals.

Arneis, from the Roero region of Piedmont in Italy, is also an excellent substitute for pinot grigio.  Arneis is the actual name of the grape and it is usually a very delicate, sometimes slightly spritzy wine with citrus and melon flavors.  Pair it with plainly cooked seafood or even salads with ranch –type dressings. Look for   producers such as Gallina, Giacosa or Pio Cesare.

And for an excellent alternative red with a local connection, look for Vu ja de Vineyards “Our Journey Together”  ($25). Not sure who is on the journey or where they are going, but the blend of 82% syrah and 18% cabernet sauvignon is a full-bodied mouthful of wine with hints of mocha, chocolate and dark fruits.  Pair this baby with leg of lamb rubbed with garlic, black pepper and kosher salt.

There must be capsaicin in my DNA because I have an insatiable addiction to spicy foods!

Peppers are my crack cocaine, the monkey on my back and the refuge I seek when I am forced, over an extended period of time (say, one day), to eat foods prepared by aliens from the planet of Bland.

So concerned am I about the prospect of having to endure Casper Milquetoast meals, that I regularly and surreptitiously carry a miniature (one ounce) bottle of Tabasco with me at all times. Sometimes those mashed potatoes need a little zing, don’t you think?

At this point, you’re probably wondering how the incessant assault of spicy foods affects the wine judgments of a cultured and sensitive palate. Obviously, you would be asking the wrong person since I cannot remember a time when I did not consume spicy foods (nor am I in any manner cultured or sensitive).

However, I do admit to toning down the heat a bit over the past several years to what might be considered moderate on the Scoville scale (which is a measure of the heat or piquancy of peppers). Still, I readily acknowledge that my predilection toward spicy foods does influence my wine suggestions.

Ah, but that’s the point of today’s lesson, class! There are indeed wines that enhance and compliment spicy foods.

This past weekend, I prepared a dish made famous by David Chang. Chang is a Korean-American chef who has taken the culinary world by storm over the past few years with his all-inclusive brand of “new” American cooking. To be sure, he leans heavily on Korean and Asian foods as a base, but he applies those influences to standard American fare like slow cooked pork or fried chicken.

And while his style is not particularly spicy, I did up the heat-ante on his Bo Ssam roast port shoulder recipe and on his sauces. Incidentally, the sauces are magnificent and easy to prepare. Many of the ingredients for the sauces are available in grocery stores or at the Asian Market on 7th Ave. in South Charleston.

Oh, by the way, this is not a food choice for the sodium or sugar averse folks out there.

In a nutshell, the Bo Ssam recipe calls for an eight to ten pound pork shoulder which is rubbed all over with a cup each of white sugar and Kosher salt. The roast is then covered in plastic wrap and placed over night in the fridge. I spiced up the recipe by adding one teaspoon each of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika.




The next day, the pork is slow roasted at 300 degrees for about 6 hours, allowed to rest for an hour and then rubbed with seven tablespoons of brown sugar and one of salt before placing it in a 500-degree oven to carmelize for about 10 minutes. The meat is then pulled apart, placed in bib lettuce wraps, drizzled with sauce and consumed. Spectacular !

Check out Susan Filson’s article and Chang’s recipe in the “Daily Loaf” at:
http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2010/03/03/momofukus-bo-ssandaumlm-recipe#.T0zx-l0j5Jg

Okay, so what’s this have to do with my jaded and heat-infected palate, and how is it possible to match wine to spicy dishes? Granted, you could take the easy way out and pour yourself a cold one (which I have often done), but, hey, this is a wine blog and anyway I believe wine offers a broader selection of liquid alternatives.

For the pork shoulder with two different spicy sauces, I actually paired the dish with an Alsatian gewürztraminer that was slightly sweet. The sweet, tart and flowery flavors of the gewürztraminer melded with and enhanced the salty and spicy pork dish. Look for Alsatian gewürztraminer from Trimbach, Pierre Sparr or Hugel.

You might also try riesling or gewürztraminer from Washington State such as those produced by Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Valley or Pacific Rim.

Pinot noir and rose are also good accompaniments to spicy foods. For the dinner, we opened a 2009 Concannon Central Coast Pinot Noir ($15) and a 2009 Crios Rose of Malbec ($14) from Argentina.

I would also suggest sparkling wines for heat-infused foods. I love the flavor and value of Spanish Cava’s such as Freixenet Cordon Negro ($11), Dibon Cava Brut ($12) or Segura Viudas Brut Reserva ($11).

So, the next time you need to feed ten of your most rabid heat-seeking foodies, try the Bo Ssam recipe with a flagon or three of the above-mentioned wines.

I am often asked what prompted my interest in wine. The answer goes back to my childhood and the influence of my Italian immigrant grandparents and relatives. As I have recounted in this space before, wine was a part of everyday living back then, and an integral component of family meals, particularly the large gatherings after Mass on Sundays at Grandma Iaquinta's home.

Since my family produced their own homemade wine each year, I was able to observe and sometimes assist in the menial labor aspects of wine making.  These experiences certainly formed the foundation for my life long affair with the vine.  However, one particular (almost magical) incident involving wine, food and sport may have been the catalyst.

A stroke of genius! That’s what I like to think it was that sunny afternoon in the fall of 1956.

I had been trying to find something that would provide just the right weight to form the core of a tape ball. Stones or rocks were simply too heavy, paper too light and soft. I had just stroked the tape ball we had been using along the ground and into a curb storm drain. In rather colorful language, my two older cousins graphically described the consequences that would ensue if I did not immediately replace the lost orb.

A golf ball would have been perfect but, because the socio-economic roll of the dice had not favored our fathers and uncles, Maxflies or Titleists were not an option. No sireee. If it wasn’t a baseball, softball or bocce ball, we weren’t playing it.

This was beer drinking, homemade wine-swilling and parlay betting country where Mickey Mantle and Rocky Marciano were the heroes of the day, and where kids like us spent warm afternoons playing our version of the National Pastime along the streets of North View, the working class and ethnically diverse neighborhood of Clarksburg, West (By God) Virginia.

A Tape ball game required only one pitcher and one batter, but no more than two persons per side.  The rules mimicked  baseball with a few caveats.  Cleanly fielded grounders and caught fly balls  counted as outs as did one swing and a miss. There were three outs to an inning, but no bases.

It was simply a nine-inning game of pitching, hitting and keeping score with disputed calls settled by the loudest and largest players.  Hitting the ball over Mrs. Mazza's five foot hedge was an undisputed  home run. A minimalist and inexpensive sport, the game only required  a homemade ball, a broomstick and players.

So as I  struggled to resolve the problem and avoid bodily harm,  I was struck by an idea so novel that I was confident I had the perfect solution. Sneaking into the kitchen of my Aunt Notie’s apartment, I opened the small freezer compartment of the old Kelvinator and extracted the perfectly cylindrical answer to my problem.

Aunt Notie was a gifted cook whose meatballs were the stuff of culinary legend. It was said, she could make a garlic clove sing. Surely, she would not miss one frozen meatball, I thought, and sacrilegiously snatched the circular little treasure that had sealed my aunt’s reputation in our neighborhood as the “meatball queen.”

It felt just right and, as I wrapped the white adhesive tape around the frozen meatball, I realized that with stealth, cunning and courage I could provide our gang with an endless supply of tape ball cores. Proudly, I returned to the game where the new tape ball was an immediate and literal hit. For an hour, we pounded it, smacked it and sent it soaring through the air, and it performed flawlessly.

But then fate stepped in. Standing at the plate, I whacked a hanging curve (meat) ball with a tremendous stroke and lofted it at least 100 feet in the air. At the apex of its trajectory, the ball began a rapid descent toward earth.  Like some miniature asteroid with my future etched on it, the small round object streaked into a vat of fermenting red wine.

My grandfather, who was stirring and punching down the cap of the fermenting grapes, was startled by the impact which immediately splashed and stained his upper torso purple. Reaching into the vat, he fished out the broken, meatball- oozing tape ball, sniffed it and said in his broken English:

“Eat-sa rain meat-a–balls!

The rest is history.

Opus One at The Greenbrier
Wine lovers will get a unique and tasteful opportunity to whet their respective wine whistles Easter weekend when the Greenbrier Resort showcases the renowned Opus One Winery. While the grapes for the wine are grown in Napa, the finished product is a collaboration intended to stylistically feature the influence of both Napa and Bordeaux.

For those of you who may not be aware, Opus One was the brainchild of Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild - two of the most legendary vintners of the 20th century. Rothschild was the owner of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which is one of only five First Growth wineries in Bordeaux. Robert Mondavi was the respected founder of the winery in Napa which bears his name. While both men have since passed on, Opus One continues to produce highly sought after cabernet-based wines.




Michael Silacci, winemaker at Opus One, will lead Greenbrier guests through two days (April 6 and 7) of tasting both current releases as well as older vintages of the wine. In addition, Greenbrier Executive Chef Rich Rosendale will prepare a multi-course meal on Saturday evening to match the wines.

Incidentally, Rosendale was recently the winner and recipient of the prestigious Bocuse d'Or award after a cooking competition in January at the Culinary Institute of America.

The weekend package, which includes two night’s lodging, a vertical wine tasting on Friday evening, dinner at Howard’s Creek Lodge on Saturday evening and a $100 resort credit, is $1410 for two or $1075 for single occupancy. There are also a limited number of ala carte tickets for both the Friday tasting ($85 per person) and the Saturday dinner ($250 per person).
This is a great opportunity to experience one of the world’s most storied wines. Call 888-781-0528 for reservations.
Opus One, Chili and Me
Opus One’s first vintage was 1979 and I can truly say that it had a profound effect on yours truly. I was on my first visit to Napa in the fall of 1981 that was the culmination of a rather interesting week for me and the coterie of friends who were in my party.

And believe me – party was the operative term.

Earlier that year I became the inaugural winner of the WV Chili Cook-off at Snowshoe Resort which continues to host the event annually. The International Chili Society sanctions the cook-off and my win entitled me to compete in the World Chili Championship held that year in Los Angeles at Hollywood Race Track.

While I did in fact cook chili that day, I can assure you of three things: I did not win, I did not drink wine and I don’t remember much else.

My attending sous-chefs included my long-suffering wife and two other couples who came along to participate in a skit that we were to perform in an attempt to win the “Best Skit” award at the event.

Our skit was entitled: “Hillbilly Chili – The Real McCoy,” and was a take-off on an old TV series “The Real McCoy’s.” For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it featured a family of goobers from Smokey Corners, WV who moved to California to set up dirt farming.

To put it mildly, the skit would not have been approved by the West Virginia Commerce Department as a way of changing widely held stereotypes of our beloved state.

I reprised the role of Grandpa McCoy (played in the series by a limping, whiny-voiced Walter Brennan) and my cohorts took on the personas of Luke, Little Luke, Pepino, Hassie and Kate respectively.

We had rehearsed the skit many times and felt confident that we would wow the judges with our acting skills and creative prowess. Alas, someone (me) forgot their lines and began to adlib. This completely screwed up the skit and left our audience of several hundred onlookers unamused and embarrassed for us.




With the failed World Chili Cook-off in the rear view mirror, we drove our van all the way up to the Napa Valley where we visited several winery tasting rooms and where we had a fateful visit at Robert Mondavi Winery.

One of my friends was a state senator at the time and through his influence we were actually met at the winery by Robert Mondavi himself who led us through a tasting of his impressive wines. At one point, we were ushered into a subterranean cavern where Mr. Mondavi pulled the bung out of an impressive looking barrel and extracted a deeply purple wine.

This was – in fact – the 1979 Opus One which was still being aged in barrels. We were privileged to be given a taste of this wonderful wine by the legendary winemaker.

While I had begun to make the transition away from beer and John Barleycorn to wine, tasting this glorious elixir was an absolute epiphany. It was a seminal moment and launched my life-long interest in the wonderful world of wine.

And I have chili to thank for it!

We’ve had an earlier spring than normal which has prompted me to lighten up on the body of the wines I’m drinking now. For the time being – at least – I am switching to lighter textured wines that fit more with the increased activity level the nice weather has precipitated for even a lummox like me.

 While I am not one to forgo use of my charcoal grill even when snowflakes are falling, I find it much more comfortable to stoke up the old Weber Performer when Mother Nature smiles on us. Lately, I have been grilling a wide variety of animal parts and also as many veggies as possible, including that lovely little lily of the mountains – ramps.

 Yes, I said ramps.

 Most folks smother the flavor of these wild leeks by covering them up in dishes like pinto beans or fried potatoes, but not this mountaineer. No siree, Jim Bob. I simply toss them in a little olive oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and throw them on the grill being careful not to set them ablaze.

 Then, I use them to spark up whatever grilled meat or vegetable comprises the main entrée for the meal. It may surprise the uninitiated, but cooked ramps, like their leek and onion cousins, shed a lot of their eye-watering pungency.

 



I am not suggesting that ramps become sweet when cooked or grilled, but they sure are tender and marry really well with roasted meat. Cooking them will also eliminate the rather odoriferous effects of consuming the little buggers raw.

 If you ever do eat them in their natural state, make sure the people who live within a mile of you have fair warning. This is to prevent them from: a) losing consciousness; b) murdering you; or c) calling in an airstrike on your home. The first time I consumed ramps, I was still living with my parents. Home from college for the weekend, I ate a mess of ramps raw and washed them down with several cold ones.

 For once in my post adolescent years, my mother allowed me to sleep in (she actually locked me in my room) while she proceeded to fumigate the premises. She was not amused and when I emerged stealthily from my bedroom window, she was waiting with hose in hand. After de-lousing me, she sent me packing, back to torture my classmates at WVU.

 So what wine goes with cooked or grilled ramps? That largely depends on what main course with which you accompany them. Actually, sauvignon blanc is an excellent pairing for ramps, especially if you are mixing them with veggies like asparagus, green beans or broccoli and pasta.

 Regardless, here are a few lighter styled wines for you to sip with your springtime meals. Enjoy!

 2010 Remy Pannier Vouvray ($15) – This lovely chenin blanc from the Loire region of France can be enjoyed as an aperitif or with brunch foods such as omelets, roasted vegetables or creamy salads. It has just a touch of sweetness and is very well-balanced with flavors of tropical fruits.

 2010 Buil & Gine’ Joan Gine Blanco ($26) – This rustic white wine from Spain’s Priorat region is round and ripe with just a touch of (good) funkiness. How’s that for a descriptor? Anyway, this blend of mostly grenache blanc is a complex wine with orange rind and lemon peel flavors, and great minerality to balance the finish. Excellent accompaniment to roast cod or Chilean Sea Bass in a lemon butter sauce – with a few sautéed ramps on the side.

 2011 Domaine Sorin Cotes de Provence Rose ($15) – What a delicious strawberry and cherry flavored wine from the southern Rhone. Excellent fruit, slightly orange color and ripe – yet dry – flavors, this wine will make a great porch sipper or a nice match with grilled sausages.

 2010 Santa Rita 120 Carmenere (($12) – This semi-obscure red from Chile is a smooth, medium-bodied alternative to cabernet sauvignon or merlot. Blackberry flavors and mocha tones give this wine just enough body to marry well with roasted pork tenderloin.