As you know, I really enjoy the sensory aspects of wine appreciation. Observing the beautiful hues and shades of wine and the myriad aromas and tastes of the fruit of the vine is truly a blessing. I also love trying to match a specific wine with a complimentary dish because, in my estimation, a good combination provides greater enjoyment than either the food or wine by itself. I count my self fortunate to have the time and resources to engage my passion for good wine and food.

Others in our town, state and nation are not so fortunate. Each day is a challenge for them. Many of our fellow citizens are dealing with debilitating physical, emotional and mental issues that make each day a struggle to survive. Their goal is simply to find food to eat and a place to sleep. Fortunately, there are agencies in our communities that exist solely to assist these people, many of whom are homeless.

One such agency is the Roark-Sullivan Lifeways Center (RSLC) with facilities in Charleston and St. Albans. RSLC and other such organizations exist because of state and federal programs funded by your taxes and through your generous personal contributions.

As a board member of RSLC, I can tell you this is a special organization with a great group of dedicated employees and volunteers. The center assists individuals experiencing homelessness with services that help them become self-reliant. RSLC operates the 60-bed Giltinan Center on Leon Sullivan Way (formerly the Charleston Men’s Emergency Shelter) and the 16-bed Twin Cities Center in St. Albans and provides comprehensive services such as healthcare maintenance; substance abuse and mental health assistance; outreach; and transitional and aftercare services. RSLC is also building a Veterans Transitional Center adjacent to the Giltinan Center that will be completed later this year.

Wouldn’t it be great to help programs like Roark-Sullivan and enjoy good wine and food, too? Well, you can. Join me and about 100 other thirsty wine lovers at the third annual Roark-Sullivan Lifeways Center Wine and Roses event. Wine and Roses will be held indoors at the Capitol Market from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 17. Partnering with RSLC is the Capitol Market, Soho’s and the Wine Shop at Capitol Market.

There will be wines from all over the world which are once again being donated by area wine distributors. I’ll be there to answer your wine questions (even if I don’t know the answers). If you find a wine you like at the event, you can purchase it immediately from the nice folks at the Wine Shop.

Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. You can call RSLC at 414-0109 and give them your credit card or send a check to: RSLC, P.O. Box 8957, South Charleston, WV, 25303.

I hope to see you there.

August 8-10: Taste of the Mountains Food, Wine & Jazz Festival
Looking for a great getaway wine and food weekend? Travel up to Snowshoe in August, take in the cool mountain air and partake of great wine, food and music. This wine and food weekend (Aug. 8-10) offers wine tastings, excellent food and live jazz entertainment. I’ve attended a couple of these festivals in past years and can tell you it’s a whole lot of fun. Bring your palate ready to taste some of the area’s finest foods complimented by wines from around the world.

The highlight of the weekend for me has always been Saturday’s Grand Tasting from 2-6:30 p.m. You’ll have access to 100 different wines from around the world matched with delicious edibles and you’ll hear some great jazz too. Prices for tastings, receptions, etc., can be purchased individually, or you can purchase a two-night all-inclusive package. Call Snowshoe for pricing and more information: (877) 441-4386

It’s almost 2010 wine lovers! As you get ready to toast the New Year, I have some last minute sparkling suggestions to help you celebrate the end of the first decade of the new millennium in style.

Sparkling wine and Champagne are delicious and appropriate wines to sip as you bring in the New Year and today I’ll share with you some of my favorite bubbly picks. While many sparkling wines are made in the Champagne method, none can be called by that famous moniker unless they are produced from grapes grown in region of Champagne in northern France.
If you recall, the Champagne method (or methode champenoise) is a process where still wines (traditionally pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier) are blended and then put in a bottle to which yeast and a small amount of sugar are added. This causes the wine to go through a secondary fermentation and the result  is a bubbly wine like Champagne.While Champagne is regarded as the gold standard, many other countries produce excellent sparkling wine using this method.
So here are a few of my favorites you might consider sipping New Year’s Eve and any time you get a hankering for a little bubbly:
Champagne under $40:  Perrier Jouet Grand Brut; Moet & Chandon Imperial; Veuve Clicquot Brut; and Michel Arnould Grand Cru Brut.
Sparkling wines under $25: 2005 Domaine Carneros Brut; Vigna Dogarina Prosecco; Roderer Anderson Valley Brut; 2005 Vilarnau Brut Nature (Spain); Parxet Cuvee 21; Domaine Chandon Brut Rose; and Gloria Ferrer Brut.

Happy New Year!!

A few decades ago, in another life, I spent a week “Down Under” courtesy of the US Army. What I remember of that R&R week in Sydney is a bit fuzzy, but one aspect of Australian life was crystal clear: those folks liked their adult beverages! While my beverage of choice that week was beer - (which came in 10W-40-like cans or large mugs called “Schooners”), years later I came to appreciate another consumable liquid ably produced by the Aussies – wine.

Over the last 20 years, I have seen the Australian wine market grow from a few recognizable quality brands like Penfolds, to hundreds of excellent wineries from several growing regions in that vast country. Of all the wine regions in the country, the Barossa Valley in southeastern Australia is the most prestigious and -- meteorologically speaking -- is very much like northern California with vintages that are consistently very good.

While Australia is known mainly for its shiraz (which the rest of the world calls syrah) along with cabernet sauvignon, the Aussie wine makers also produce excellent chardonnay, riesling, semillon and grenache. I particularly enjoy the old vine Australian grenache. While Australian grenache is sometimes made as a single varietal, it is most often blended with shiraz and sometimes mourvedre, a deeply purple grape used to provide color and weight to the finished wine.

I’ve often wondered if the cultural diversity of Australia has played a role in the ubiquitous practice by wine makers from “Down Under” to blend different varieties of grapes to produce their wine. Whatever the reason, I’m glad they continue to blend because the resulting wines are not only very good, they provide complex tasting experiences. Here are some Australian wines you might try along with food suggestions to pair with them.

One of my favorite wineries is d’Arenberg whose wines go by some very strange and humorous names such as The Lucky Lizard Chardonnay, Dead Arm Shiraz (photo at right - click to enlarge) and The Hermit Crab Viognier, just to name a few. Try the old vine grenache from d’Arenberg called The Custodian ($15). This wine is from ancient vines – some more than 100 years old – and yet it is soft, approachable and full of spicy blueberry flavors. It would be a wonderful accompaniment to grilled baby back ribs.

D’Arenberg also makes a delicious blended wine comprised of shiraz with just a small amount of viognier (that’s right, viognier – a white wine) called The Laughing Magpie ($25). This wine has excellent aging potential and is full of dark plum and blackberry flavors that emerge after about one hour in a carafe. Try it with marinated and grilled top sirloin.

An absolutely delicious white is the aforementioned Hermit Crab Viognier ($14), which is a Rhone-like blend of viognier and marsanne. This wine is very will balanced and chock full of ripe pear flavors with a pronounced minerality. Its great as a porch-sipper or with lighter fish dishes such as flounder and sole plainly cooked and sauced with lemon and butter.

Another of my favorite shiraz’ is one produced by Torbreck called The Woodcutter’s Red ($22) This is a spicy, elegant wine with hints of blackberries that is pulled together by excellent balancing acidity. Grilled salmon with a southwest seasoning would be a good choice with the Woodcutter’s.

Hewitson’s Miss Harry ($24) is another great blend of grenache, mourvedre and shiraz that is a stunning wine full of complex dark fruit flavors. It is a full-bodied, round and rich wine that will definitely benefit from two or three years in the bottle, and would be a superb accompaniment to grilled rack of lamb that has been basted with garlic, rosemary olive oil and lemon.

Australia also does a wonderful job with non-traditional white wines like semillon. Semillon originated in the Graves region of Bordeaux and is blended there with sauvignon blanc to produce an austere and dry wine that is a great match with simply prepared seafood dishes.

In Australia, semillon (which, often as not, is blended with chardonnay or sauvignon blanc) is made in a much richer style, yet it exhibits a mineral quality that allows it to go quite well with oysters on the half shell as well as pasta dishes with a pesto or asparagus sauce. Try the Semillon from Simon Hackett, Rosemount and Peter Lehmann all of which retail for under $20 a bottle.

Riesling is also a good choice from Down Under and the following wines are in the $10 to $20 range: Pikes Clare Valley Riesling, Wolf Blass Adelaide Gold and Grant Burge. Slightly sweet, these are great aperitif wines or good matches to lighter foods like seafood salads or brunch grub such as omelets.

My name is John and I am a hedonist!

This is a declaration I feel compelled to make after attending – for the second consecutive year - the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC). The event is held annually the last weekend of July in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley - the acclaimed American Viticultural Area (AVA) where pinot noir is king.

While my affection for pinot noir and its versatility was the primary catalyst for the return trip, I must admit that memories of the “incredible edibles” prepared by a host of talented chefs from all over the northwest made the decision easy.

In fact, in a few short days we participated in and consumed wine and food at three multi-course dinners, two luncheons (all outdoors in perfect weather conditions) and a Champagne brunch featuring food almost too visually appealing to eat – almost! In addition, we attended and sipped wine at four seminars and two evening receptions, featuring more than 100 wineries from Oregon, Burgundy, New Zealand and California.

Now, before you get the impression that this was an out-of-control bacchanalian orgy, let me emphasize that the more than 400 people attending this event were under control. I saw no evidence of stumbling, bumbling or slurring. I did, though, observe many people spitting wine into Styrofoam cups or pouring their wine into dumping vessels. (By the way, spitting is an acceptable practice in wine tasting, particularly when the taster must evaluate multiple wines.)

And no, I didn’t observe anyone drinking from the dump bucket like the actor in “Sideways.” However, I do think we West Virginians have genetic advantage when it comes to accurately expectorating. It comes from generations of our kinfolk who were adept at hitting a spittoon from great distances in saloons where such feats were commonplace and necessary to avoid bodily harm if the expectorant missed its target.

So, what were we discussing? Oh, Oregon pinot noir.

While Oregon boasts 16 other AVA’s, the Willamette Valley and its sub-regions such as Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains and Eola-Amity Hills, represent the best of the best producers of pinot noir. And while pinot noir is the mainstay of the area, wine makers are justly proud of whites such as pinot gris, pinot blanc and chardonnay which are also widely produced.

But pinot noir was the feature of this trip and I came away from the event with a major epiphany regarding this wine. In the past, I’ve always thought of pinot noir (particularly the wines produced in America) as being ready to drink when they reach the market. While this is generally true, I also discovered that pinot noir can benefit from years of aging in the bottle.

At one of the evening al fresco dinner events, I was served two 20-plus year old pinot noirs from Oregon. Both of them were delicious and still full of life. The 1987 Adelsheim exhibited caramel aromas along with cola and cinnamon flavors while the 1988 Elk Cove had a bouquet of leather and earth with flavors of ripe cherries and nuances of spice.

Other wines throughout the weekend confirmed this impression of the age-worthiness of pinot noir as I sipped excellent older wines from Burgundy. In addition, we were served several white Burgundies (chardonnay), including ones from Chablis and Beaune which were both more than eight years old and still drinking quite young.

I also drank absolutely stunning wines from Domaine Serene, R. Stuart, Chehalem, Ponzi, Bethel Heights, Domaine Drouhin, Scott Paul, Patricia Green and Van Deuzer. From Australia, Bindi Pinot Noir was excellent as was the Felton Road from New Zealand. From California, I loved the wines of Hirsch (Russian River), Laetitia, and Robert Sinskey.

Next time, I’ll focus on the theme of the IPNC event: “Sustainability Without Sacrifice.” While that kind of sounds like a description of my work ethic, it really deals with issues in the vineyard.

Last week I discussed a recent blind tasting I conducted where tasters were asked to evaluate six cabernet sauvignons (or cabernet blends). I suggested that you might wish to sip a few of the wines and judge for yourself before I revealed how our group viewed the order of preference.

So far the only feedback I've gotten has come from a few disgruntled wine lovers who have taken me to task for not letting you know which wines were judged best.

Okay, okay, I get the message. Here are the results along with the country of origin and the retail price:

1. 2006 Marques Casa Concha (Chile $19)

2. 2003 Falcor Le Bijou (Napa Valley $32)

3. 2007 El Portillo Cabernet Sauvignon (Argentina $14)

4. 2006 Larose De Gruaud (Bordeaux, France $35)

5. 2007 Guenoc Victorian Claret (California $15)

6. 2007 McWilliams Hanwood Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia $11)

As I mentioned, all of the wines were enjoyable with none eliciting serious criticisms. In fact, wines four, five and six were pretty much in a dead heat. My own evaluations tracked right along with the group except my number one choice was Le Bijou and second was the Casa Concha. Le Bijou and the Guenoc Claret were wines which had various other tradlitional Bordeaux blending grapes such as merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot.

I generally prefer the cabernet blends to 100 percent cabernet since they seem to have more layers of flavor and are less "in your face" than full throttle cabernet sauvignon. I must admit, however, that the Marques Casa Concha is an excellent wine and will continue to improve with a few years of bottle age.