Cocaine, goes down like a fine wine

Why would you ever compare Cocaine to Wine? I asked that question when I read a quick note about it on Vinography regarding this story from the UK Telegraph.

It really never crosses my mind when I pick up a bottle of wine just how much cocaine I could have had instead. I consider the wine to be enough of a drug to appease the side of my personality that requires mind-altering intoxicants.

Really, what I want to know is what editor decided that title was the one they were going with. Is the UK so progressive in their drug habits that cocaine is now on the menu? Yes, I would like the Beef Wellington with a Chianti Classico and a side of cocaine. No, I have my own snorting straw, thank you.

I also read a New York Times article today about Brazilians taking an excess of ecstasy. Evidently instead of only a stamp on the hand when you enter a nightclub, you also get a party pill.

There was another article on Argentina becoming softer on drugs for personal use. Personally, I think they have the right idea, even if they are doing it for the wrong reasons.

For a subject that in the US has lost a lot of its national focus, it seems that the rest of the world has begun to focus on dugs. I’m just glad that the rest of the world isn’t comparing its drug problems to wine.

Then again, check out this old story about someone smuggling cocaine into Australia in bottles of wine.

Wine Blogging Wednesday – Piedmont

I am so far behind in this one. For the last WBW (Wines of Breakfast) I was so good, I had reached out to the PR world and asked for input (and got LOTS). I thought about the meal I would prepare, I thought about the wines.

For this one, hosted by David McDuff, owner of McDuff’s Food & Wine Trail is all about Piedmont. I know a little about the region in Italy, and a little about the wines from Alba. I just need to get my butt in gear and find something.

So, Wine Blogging Wednesday is coming up on February 18th. We’ll see what I pull out by then.

Sometimes a wine is just a wine

During the tasting I had of some sparkling wines I was able to taste a Lambrusco. Lambrusco is the name of both a red wine grape and an Italian wine made principally from the grape. The grapes and the wine originate from four zones in Emilia-Romagna and one in Lombardy, principally around the central provinces of Modena, Parma, Reggio nell'Emilia, and Mantua. The grape has a long winemaking history with archaeological evidence indicating that the Etruscans cultivated the vine. In Roman times, the Lambrusco was highly valued for its productivity and high yields with Cato the Elder stating that produce of two thirds of an acre could make enough wine to fill 300 amphoras.

The most highly-rated of its wines are the frothy, frizzante (slightly sparkling) red wines that are designed to be drunk young from one of the five Lambrusco denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regions: Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Lambrusco Reggiano, and Lambrusco Mantovano. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Lambrusco was the biggest selling import wine in the United States. During that time the wine was also produced in a white and rosé style made by limiting the skin contact with the must. Today, Lambrusco is still one of the most consumed wines in the US, although there is plenty more Merlot and Cabernet than any other wine.

The Lambrusco I tasted was the Cleto Chiari Pruno Nero Lambrusco NV, from the DOC of Grasparossa di Castelvetro. It was slightly sparkling, not the full bubble that one would expect in regular sparkling wines. It was actually closed with a regular cork and foil, with no cage to hold it.

The smell turned me off. It had lots of sticky sweet liquorish, with little else. When I tasted it my face made such a reaction that it stopped other people as they were lifting the glass to their lips. It was extremely astringent. There was a thin prune juice flavor, kind of like a proem that had too little sugar in it.

Not a great experience, but hopefully I’ll try another Lambrusco soon to show me that good wines can be made from this grape.

What does Cheval Blanc, Krug, and the Andes Mountains have in common?

At this point it’s a winemaker, Nicolas Audebert, who worked with each of the great Champaign houses to learn the art of blending and then landed in Argentina to create a blend at the new South American property for Cheval Blanc and an Argentinean producer, Terrazas de los Andes.

Last night, at the retail store Sherry-Lehman, I was able to taste the 2005 and 2006 vintages of the Cheval des Andes and they do not disappoint. Both had a great character to them, showing off the skills of a talented winemaker and what the financial backing of one of the great French properties can do.

The 2005 was velvety, very smooth tannins with an impressive concentration of dark fruit flavors. The 2006 was rich and fleshy, really impressive for a young wine that has not hit the market yet. The tannins were light, with just the right amount of energy and brightness. Absolutely delicious. Both are made primarily of Malbec, with Cabernet Sauvignon and some Petit Verdot mixed in.

However, a bit of a pretty penny. Try $75 a bottle. Still almost $900 cheaper than the current release of Cheval Blanc, but a bit out of my price range for things to bring home for dinner…

Be Right Back

Sorry everyone, it's been a busy week and it doesn't look better this week. I'll be back to writing and blogging in the near future.