Describing the sensory characteristics of wine is an inexact science. Rooted, as it is, in subjectivity, accurate descriptions detailing the taste and aroma components of a wine are dependent on the reader (you) sharing some common experiences with the writer (me).

I’m often asked why wine writers feel compelled to go to such great lengths and use sometimes obtuse terms to describe the sensory aspects of wine. My stock answer is that wine has such multi-dimensional qualities that it is helpful to give readers as much information as possible.

On the other hand, if I use non-traditional language to describe the wine, you may end up scratching your head and wondering what “precocious, assertive, or unctuous” have to do with the way a wine smells or tastes.

This all came to mind the other day as I was trying to describe the attributes of a particularly good red wine produced in California’s Sierra Foothills - the 2012 Easton Amador County Zinfandel.

The stuff was so pleasing to me that I was having difficulty describing it without becoming overly exuberant. However, I think there is a difference between using what I will call traditional language to describe wine versus using non-traditional terms.

[caption id="attachment_1121" align="alignleft" width="300"] Easton Amador Zinfandel


For example, if I describe a chardonnay as having ripe green apple flavors, you will immediately use your own memory of the taste, smell and texture of ripe green apples to understand how the wine might actually taste.

If I wanted to be more specific, I could say that particular chardonnay has the taste of ripe Granny Smith apples. Well, you get the point. In other words, the more specific the language used to describe how the wine looks, tastes and smells, the better you will be able to make a decision on whether it appeals to you.

There are descriptors I try and steer clear of because, first and foremost, they sound like words an officious wine snob might use. And secondly, the terms don’t really provide any good information that can be used to evaluate whether or not I should purchase the wine.

That’s not to say I haven’t ever succumbed to the temptation. The rationalization I once used to defend my description of an exceptionally good wine as being “orgasmic” was that most people have some sense of what that word means. Hey, I could have described the experience as having been “ethereal,” but then how many of us have a working knowledge of that transcendent term.

The moral of the story here is that you can benefit from descriptions that are based on solid sensory experiences. In evaluating wine, I have experienced the taste of blackberries, cherries, vanilla, cinnamon, etc. And I have smelled toast, grass, butterscotch, mold, or Limburger cheese.

But when you get right down to it and the adjectives are stripped away, wine is either good, okay, or unpleasant. So here are a few adjectives to describe in –hopefully- understandable language a couple of wines you might wish to try.

2012 Paul Mas Estate Picpoul De Pinet ($12)

From Languedoc in southern France, this ancient grape (picpoul) is grown along the Mediterranean Bay of Thau near the village of Pinet. A clean and refreshing white with fresh tropical fruit flavors, try this with plainly cooked seafood or as an aperitif with fruit and cheese.

2012 Easton Amador County Zinfandel ($18)
This zinfandel has chocolate and teaberry aromas with rich, blackberry and plum notes. It is full-bodied, yet balanced and is a serious mouthful of wine. Aged for 10 months in French oak barrels, this Zin begs to be matched with a pork roast rubbed with garlic and black pepper.

Sometimes it ain’t easy being me. Just the other day I caught a peripheral glimpse of rather rotund chap as I passed what I thought was a glass door. Unfortunately, the glass door turned out to be a mirror and the corpulent image turned out to be ME.

So here is my dilemma: While I try to exercise restraint at the table and exercise more at the gym, I am still obligated to cook, eat, drink and evaluate so I can enlighten you hungry and thirsty rascals about a world full of exceptional food and wine combinations.

Okay. So I will try and moderate the intake a bit, but as Curtis Mayfield so righteously sang in his tune of the same name, I’ll just have to “Keep on Keepin’ on.” And today that means letting you in on a food and wine combination that is a staple in my home, particularly during grilling season.

When I cook for friends and family, I try to use fresh ingredients I can purchase locally and then accompany the meal with inexpensive, no-nonsense wines that taste good and help de-clog the arteries. But with the dish below, you may want to pop a Statin, too.

[caption id="attachment_1126" align="alignleft" width="300"] Seoul Chops


I love to one-stop shop and our excellent Capitol Market in Charleston has just about any consumable ingredient needed to put together a great meal. In this case, the good folks at Johnnies Fresh Meats provided the protein for the dish while the liquid inspiration came from the Wine Shop at Capitol Market.

The pork chop is the centerpiece of this recipe and features a Korean marinade. Have your butcher cut thin (one-half inch thick) pork blade chops which are a bit fattier than other cuts. You can also use the leaner pork center loin chops that have a T-shaped bone, but I find that these do not absorb the marinade as well as the blade chops.

These grilled chops are great when paired with a medium-bodied red wine. In this case, I am suggesting a northern Italian red along with a pinot noir from California. Check out my recommendations below.

Seoul Chops
What you will need:
(4 servings)

Eight one-half inch thick pork blade chops
One cup of light soy sauce
One-fourth cup each of white sugar, and Mirin (a sweet rice wine)
Two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar and sesame oil
Six cloves of garlic finely chopped
One small chopped onion
Three chopped scallions
One tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
One teaspoon of red pepper flakes
One-gallon plastic baggie

How To:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir marinade
Reserve one quarter of marinade and use to baste the pork chops later
Place pork chops into gallon baggie
Pour marinade into baggie, seal and place in the refrigerator for at least four hours
Prepare a charcoal fire or gas grill
Grill chops directly over heat source turning regularly to prevent flare-ups
Baste the grilling chops with the reserved marinade until cooked – approximately five minutes
Serve and accompany with roasted red skin potatoes or wild rice

Wine Suggestions:

2012 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Scaia Corvina ($12) I first tasted this wine last year in Verona on a trip through the Alto Adige region of northern Italy. Made from 100 percent corvina – the primary grape used to make Valpolicella and Amarone – this is a delicious mouthful of medium bodied red wine that has flavors of tea, cola and ripe dark cherries. While it flourishes as an accompaniment to the dish above, it goes equally well with other grilled dishes such as chicken, salmon and Italian sausage.

2012 Adler Fels “The Archivist” Pinot Noir ($20) This is a juicy, spicy, and earthy Monterey County Pinot Noir. With just a touch of new oak, this well balanced wine has flavors of ripe plums and makes a great partner to the Seoul Chops.

The abrupt change in weather from relatively comfortable – if wet - days to frigid,
windy conditions has prompted me to adjust my consumption of that elixir we all love from lighter wines to fuller bodied whites and reds.

[caption id="attachment_1137" align="alignleft" width="279"] Hearty foods = full-bodied wines


I also need an attitude adjustment due to the almost depressing diminution of daylight. So here’s what I’m doing to lift my spirits and alter my mood - without a prescription.

My over the counter solution involves selecting wines that go with the types of hearty meals that late fall and early winter demand. With stews, soups and casseroles along with roasted meats accompanied by potatoes, squash and root vegetables on the menu, you will need wines that stand up to and enhance these heavier dishes.

The wines I am suggesting below should meet the requirements of this culinary transition quite nicely and also allow you to smoothly segue into the even more substantial foods and wines of the holiday season to come.

2011 Jean Sigler Gewurztraminer ($21)- From Alsace, this gewürztraminer is a full-bodied wine with a complex flavor profile showing tropical fruits and spices like anise. Very aromatic with hints of flowers and melon, this gewurztraminer pairs beautifully with spicy dishes and strong cheeses. It is particularly good with Vietnamese, Thai and Indian cuisines.

2012 La Bastitde Cotes du Rhone Blanc ($17)– Comprised of mostly viognier and marsanne, this southern Rhone white is medium to full bodied. Citrus and apricot flavors are buttressed by good acidity and make this wine a great match to Bouillabaisse or other hearty fish stews.

2012 Steele Cuvee Chardonnay – ($22) This medium-bodied chardonnay has everything – fruit, oak and acidity - in balance. From three different vineyards in three distinct appellations (Sonoma, Mendocino and Santa Maria Valley), you should pair this baby with Chilean Sea Bass basted with a beurre blanc sauce and roasted in the oven.

2011 Easton Monarch Mine Cabernet Franc ($19) – Cabernet franc has not been a very successful wine in California with a few exceptions and this is one of them. Grown in the Sierra Foothills at about 2500 feet, this wine has peppery, ripe plum flavors, a slight hint of vanilla from the oak and good balancing acidity. I would serve it with roast pork tenderloin in a mustard crème sauce.

2010 Mercer Estates Columbia Valley Merlot ($22) – Full-bodied, but very balanced, this Washington State merlot is more akin to the Right-Bank wines of Bordeaux than to anything in the new world. Ripe dark cherry and minty cola flavors combine to make this a good match to a spicy Chicken Cacciatore dish.

2012 Penfolds Hyland Shiraz ($16) –From the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Upper Adelaide regions of Australia, this shiraz is not at all like some of the high alcohol versions of the syrah grape produced Down Under. The wine is made in a fresh style with juicy berry flavors, soft tannins and just a touch of oak. Oven slow -cooked beef brisket slathered with a spicy red barbecue sauce is just what the gourmand ordered for this shiraz.

2011 Frescobaldi Nipozzano Vecchie Viti ($31), Produced from old vines in one of the best regions of Chianti, this silky red is rich, yet structured, with black cherry, tea and cola flavors. Just enough tannic background to justify additional aging, I would allow it to breathe in a carafe for a couple of hours and serve it as an accompaniment to roasted rack of lamb that has been brushed with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, coarsely ground black pepper, Kosher salt, Dijon mustard and lemon.

So this week, warm your body, lift your spirit and adjust your attitude with some hearty food and really good wine!

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, it is time to select the wine for this distinctly American feast. And while I will always use a wine or two from the good old US of A among those I uncork, the Thanksgiving meal can accommodate a diverse variety of both whites and reds from all around the globe.

The reason is that turkey is blessed with meat that has a variety of flavors, colors and textures which present opportunities for us to try with a variety of different wines. And, when you add the dishes that traditionally accompany Thanksgiving dinner, things really get interesting.

It is always safe to use a white wine for the main course. Whether you use a light, slightly sweet German riesling, Alsatian pinot gris, a fruit forward Gruner Veltliner, an herbal sauvignon blanc or even a rich and full-bodied chardonnay, you will find that traditional oven- roasted turkey will pair nicely with each of these white wines.

The type of stuffing you use adds a whole other flavor dimension which — depending upon the spices and ingredients used in the dressing — opens up even more wine possibilities.

But what really surprises some folks (particularly those who adhere to the rigid view that you should only pair white wine with white meat) is how well turkey matches up to red wines. In fact, the “national bird” can go quite well with even fuller bodied red wines, particularly when the bird has been grilled or smoked. We’re talking cabernet sauvignon, Chateauneuf Du Pape, zinfandel, syrah, malbec and even Barbaresco can be an excellent match to turkey prepared in this manner.

[caption id="attachment_1147" align="alignleft" width="288"] Grilled turkey needs fuller-bodied wines


While the traditional oven-roasted turkey with sage-flavored dressing does wonderfully well with the whites mentioned above, lighter to medium bodied red wines like Beaujolais, Chianti Classico or cabernet franc are also good choices and do not overpower turkey prepared in this manner.

My mother would oven-roast her turkey, but her dressing recipe excluded the use of sage. Rather, she would season with salt, pepper and garlic and then add roast chestnuts and Italian sausage to her bread dressing. In years past, I have used a full, rich chardonnay or a medium-bodied pinot noir to accompany this meal, and both have worked exceptionally well.

But this year, I’m going to place the bird on the grill and concoct a stuffing with southwestern flavors. Here’s how:

Ingredients
One 15-pound turkey
One large container to hold turkey and brine
One cup each of kosher salt, brown sugar and one gallon of water, one quart each apple cider and/or beer for the brine
One large package of corn bread stuffing
Two 12-ounce cans of turkey or chicken broth
Two rehydrated and diced dried ancho peppers (optional)
One tablespoon each of cumin and chili powder
Two finely chopped chipotles in adobo sauce (available in small cans)
Eight ounces of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
One-half pound of cooked and chopped chorizo sausage
One-half stick of butter

How To
Mix brine (water, beer, apple cider, salt, sugar) and place turkey in brine
Allow turkey to soak in brine for at least four hours or overnight
Mix stuffing (cornbread stuffing, sausage, broth, spices, etc)
Pat turkey dry, rub butter over all turkey inside and out
Stuff turkey or place stuffing in a separate pan to cook in oven
Light charcoal fire, place coals to either side of grate,
Place a pan of water on the grate in between coals
Put grill over the grate, place turkey over water, affix lid to grill and cook
Add charcoal to grill as necessary to maintain heat
Grill for three to four hours or until turkey reaches 165 degrees

This grilled turkey and spicy dressing would overpower lighter styled wines and requires varietals that can stand up to intense flavors. And while I plan to use red wines this year, I could easily have chosen an Alsatian gewürztraminer or riesling to tame and complement the spice and smoke in the dish.

So here are the wines that will complement my Thanksgiving dinner this year. To toast the holiday before dinner, I plan to open a bottle of Domaine Carneros Brut Rose. With the main course, I will uncork two different red wines: 2002 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel and a 1998 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf Du Pape. And at the conclusion of dinner, we will pair the pumpkin pie dessert with a bottle of Chateau St. Jean Late Harvest Riesling.

Then it’s off to the recliner for football and a tryptophan-induced nap.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My maternal grandparents landed at Ellis Island in the late 19th Century, following others from their home state of Calabria to West Virginia. After more than 15 years working in the mines, my grandfather built a bakery in the North View section of Clarksburg that, to this day, my cousins continue to operate.

Sunday family dinners at my grandparents’ home, replete with dozens of cousins, aunts and uncles, are happily and indelibly seared in my memory. Those Calabrian-inspired feasts, washed down with jugs of home made red wine, would begin shortly after noon and proceed until early evening.

I think of those family gatherings, particularly this time of the year, as I peruse the family reunion cookbook to select the menus for the holidays to come. Italian-American families can eat and drink like elite athletes run and jump, and the multi-day Christmas season is truly the Olympiad of all gustatory holiday celebrations.

[caption id="attachment_1165" align="alignleft" width="300"] Feast of the Seven Fishes


I know this because as a youngster, growing up in my little corner of north-central West Virginia, I learned from the accomplished eaters and drinkers in my large family the difference between a sprint and a marathon. You had to be in it for the long haul to enjoy it, so it was essential to savor the feast in moderation, a term with an elastic definition - kind of like spandex.

This was particularly important given the family’s tradition of visiting each other’s homes beginning Christmas Eve and extending through New Year’s Day. In a one- hundred yard block, there were eight separate homes or apartments where my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins lived.

Five of the eight surviving adult brothers and sisters conceived by my grand parents, along with three married cousins lived, loved, argued and (especially) ate with one another in this small space.

It all began with a visit to Grandma’s home where you risked bodily harm (from Grandpa) if you refused to eat something. It really didn’t matter what you ate – an olive, a piece of cheese or a crust of bread - just that you ate it and had something to drink – usually wine.

Then it was off to visit each family abode and that could take several days to accomplish since we were hosting family visitors in our own home during that same time frame. And while each family’s dining room table was heaped with the edible bounty of the season, certain family members were noted for the special dishes they “owned.”

For example, no one would dare prepare squid lasagna. That was one of Aunt Notie’s culinary masterpieces –her piece de resistance - and it would have been considered a serious affront for some other family member to feature the dish, particularly on Christmas Eve when everyone cooked their version of the “feast of the seven fishes.”

That’s not to say that our family was shy about claiming superiority in the preparation of just about any other traditional Italian dish. To suggest to Uncle Frankie, for instance, that your stuffed artichokes could in any way compete with the ones he prepared was to elicit an epithet-laced tirade that could shatter crystal.

Oh, yes, we would argue – and on just about anything! But food topped the list. Who had the most unique dish? Was it Aunt Katie’s braised rabbit in red wine… Uncle Johnny’s home made Italian sausage… cousin Gloria’s spinach and cheese stuffed leg of lamb…?

By the end of the day on January 1st, most of us required the Italian version of Alka-Seltzer – Brioschi - which was prescribed to the rest of us by  the women in the family who practiced a form of moderation less elastic than the rest of us.

Merry Christmas!
It is traditional in the holiday season to give, receive or sip Bordeaux (also known as Claret), Cabernet Sauvignon or a Bordeaux-style blend. Here are a few Christmas Clarets for your consideration:

2009 Chateau Palmer; 2012 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon; 2011 Joseph Phelps Insignia; 2010 Chateau La Dominique; 2010 Spring Mountain Cabenet Sauvignon; 2009 Chateau Montrose; 2010 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve; 2000 Chateau Brainaire Ducru; 2010 Merryvale Profile; 2010 Chateau Cos d’Estournel; 2010 St. Supery Elu Red; 2010 Cain Five Cabernet Sauvignon; 2010 Pontet Canet; 2005 Leoville Las Cases; 2009 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon; and 2010 Guado al Tasso.