FYI
At the Corner of Hollywood and Vine
By Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Wednesday, July 2, 2008; F05
Due to open in theaters across America in August, "Bottle Shock" is bound to be the next "Sideways": a dramedy that not only fuels the wine craze in America but also creates new demand for featured wineries and their bottles.
We'll use our next column to report on our screening of "Bottle Shock," a film loosely based on the historic 1976 "Judgment of Paris" tasting that saw California wines vanquish the French in a blind competition. But first we want to explore the impact that even a fictional story depicted on film can have on wine fortunes.
Case in point: Vermont Restaurant is a neighborhood place in Los Angeles featuring a limited but impressive list of selections from small, high-quality wineries. In 2002, several of those selections were from nearby Santa Barbara, including the Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Highliner Pinot Noir. Back then, "we were told by Gray Hartley and Frank Ostini that Vermont Restaurant was the largest purveyor of Hitching Post wines, second only to the winery itself," co-owners Michael Gelzhiser and Manuel Mesta recalled in a recent e-mail.
Then the popularity of 2004's "Sideways" brought scores of tourists to this once-overlooked wine region and to Hitching Post's namesake restaurant, where they ordered the Highliner (one of protagonist Miles's favorites in the film) by name.
Hartley and Ostini started having a hard time getting the Highliner and saw prices rise before learning that it was "Sideways," a film they still haven't seen, that led to the winery's inability to keep up with demand, which quadrupled within a year.
The film's continued popularity has also spiked demand for other featured wines, most famously all of the pinot noirs that fare so well in the region's cool and mild oceanside climate.
Is the rise of Santa Barbara wines merited, or just lucky? We tasted several from wineries featured in the film to find out.
Sanford Winery & Vineyards: Before "Sideways," this pioneer of the Santa Rita Hills region took a full 12 months to sell its annual production, according to the winery. This year, Sanford expects to sell the same amount in seven months.
Made in accordance with its "seven standards of sustainability," the barrel-fermented 2006 Sanford Santa Barbara County Chardonnay ($25) has delightful tropical-fruit flavors with perceptible minerality and a long, toasty, lemony finish. The wine is a blend of grapes from four esteemed vineyards, and its resulting complexity shone most brilliantly with roasted chicken while also working with shellfish and fish.
Sanford's pinot noir is Karen's pick this week. The 2006 Sanford Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir ($34; $30 at Total Wine), which is aged for 10 months on French oak, still manages to stay on the light-and-fruity side of the varietal's spectrum. It's ideal for serving this summer with cold poached salmon, tuna tartare or baby lamb chops.
Foxen Winery: Foxen makes some stunning wines. With its notes of apple, the 2006 Foxen Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard Chenin Blanc ($20) is an ideal match for chicken or fish. The 2006 Foxen Block 8 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir ($54) is an earthier pinot with a tart cherry finish. The 2005 Foxen Range 30 West ($35) is a merlot-dominant Bordeaux-style blend (also containing cabernet sauvignon, malbec and petit verdot) that is delicious with baby lamb chops, yet full bodied enough to stand up to grilled steak.
Firestone Vineyard: One of the original wineries in Santa Barbara County, Firestone makes offbeat versions of several varietals. The 2007 Firestone Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($14) is a California-meets-New Zealand-style SB with light grassy notes accenting its bright, tart grapefruit flavors. The 2007 Firestone Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Gewuerztraminer ($13) is uncharacteristically low on floral qualities and high in acid and citrus flavors, but still compelling. Pair with either salads or seafood.
Fess Parker Winery (called "Frass Canyon" in the film): Andrew, who had a prized coonskin cap as a kid, was especially happy to taste the quality coming out of the former "Davy Crockett" actor's winery. Andrew's pick this week is the velvety, full-bodied 2006 Fess Parker Santa Barbara Pinot Noir ($25; $22 at Total Wine). But even the NV Frontier Red Lot No. 81 California Red Wine ($10) delivers impressive quality for the price, so this red blend is one to consider buying by the case to accompany grilled red meats at summer parties. With its toasty notes and nice acidic balance, the light-bodied 2006 Fess Parker Santa Barbara County Chardonnay ($18) is a refreshing accompaniment to summer seafood and chicken dishes. The 2006 Fess Parker Santa Barbara County Viognier ($22) is such a deliciously lush, full-bodied wine, with flavors of peach cobbler (peaches, vanilla, hints of caramel), that we'd prefer saving it to enjoy this fall or winter.
Explaining the need to walk, not drive, to dinner at the Hitching Post on their first night in Santa Barbara wine country, Miles told Jack in "Sideways" that "with the wine list these people have, we don't want to hold back." Like the owners of the Vermont, we were won over by many of the region's impressive wines. So don't hold back.
Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat" and the forthcoming "The Flavor Bible," can be reached through their Web site, http://www.becomingachef.com, or at food(a)washpost.com.
KAREN'S PICK
2006 Sanford Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
RATIONALE This light-bodied and brightly fruited pinot is a delightful option with summer fare. Give it at least 20 minutes to breathe before drinking, and this wine's sharply spicy notes will round out.
COUNTRY United States
REGION California's Santa Barbara County
WINEMAKER Steve Fennell
PRICE $33
GRAPES pinot noir
COLOR dark purplish-red
AROMAS ripe black cherries and blackberries with notes of powdered ginger
FLAVORS juicy black cherries and blackberries with firm tannins and notes of vanilla and gingerbread
ALCOHOL 14.5 percent
PAIRS WITH poached salmon, rare tuna, baby lamb chops
DISTRIBUTORS District: Washington Wholesale
Maryland: Reliable Churchill
Virginia: Virginia Imports
ANDREW'S PICK
2006 Fess Parker Santa Barbara Pinot Noir
RATIONALE This pinot is as big and bold as Karen's pick is light and bright. Decant it, or at least pour it into glasses so it can breathe, and the hot, jammy flavors will become velvety smooth.
COUNTRY United States
REGION California's Santa Barbara County
WINEMAKER Blair Fox
PRICE $25
GRAPES pinot noir
COLOR dark reddish-purple
AROMAS black cherries and plums with baking spice and licorice notes
FLAVORS earthy black cherries and blackberries with a velvety texture and a dark-chocolate-covered cherry finish
ALCOHOL 15.5 percent
PAIRS WITH beef, even rare steaks; lamb; salmon; tuna
DISTRIBUTORS District and Maryland:
DOPS
Virginia: RNDC
--
------------------------------
* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
July 2, 2008
The Pour
Reds on Ice? It.s Not Heresy
By ERIC ASIMOV
BROTHERS and sisters, I am feeling the heat. I am feeling the sweat on the back of my neck and the hot, wet air pressing against my chest like a rock on my heart.
My collar is open, my sleeves are pushed up, and when I look out into the glare of the sun I ask you this:
Do I want something hot to drink? No, I do not.
Do I want something served to me at what the ill-informed call room temperature? No, I do not.
Do I want something cool and refreshing, something that will revive my spirit, stir my soul and go hand-in-hand with outdoor grilling? Yes, indeed.
Now, nobody needs a sermon promoting the joy of a cool drink in the summertime. But I.m talking about red wine.
Sometimes a glass of white wine is not enough. Nor is a beer, an iced tea or a lemonade, though heaven knows few things are better than a tart lemonade in a beaded glass on a hot summer.s day.
While it is well understood that these beverages are served chilled, for maximum sustenance in the summer we do have one more river to cross, and that, my friends, is red wine.
It may be hot, but . repeat after me . we want red wine. It may be humid, but . say it again . we want red wine. It may be oppressive, but . louder, now! . we want red wine.
Yes, we want red wine. And how are we going to drink this red wine?
That.s right, chilled! Cold, cool, brisk, whatever you want to call it, we are going to enjoy this red wine at a temperature that refreshes, restores and revitalizes even the most exhausted soul.
Now, I.m sure you.ve been told that you cannot chill red wine, that you must drink it at room temperature, whatever that means.
These people who give you these rules, do they tell you that room temperature is as fluid as a sinner.s conscience, depending on whether said room is in a Louisiana bayou in July or in a stone cellar in Scotland in November? Of course they do not.
But even stone cellar temperature is sometimes not cold enough. Sometimes we demand right-out-of-the-refrigerator cold, and yes, my friends, we can enjoy a red wine like that.
Some of you may have heard me preach of lambrusco, the foaming, almost purple sparkling wine from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
No, not the semi-sweet fizzy stuff that was so popular in the 1970s, but the real, dry, earthy lambrusco, from producers like Medici Ermete, Vini, Vittorio Graziano and Villa di Carlo. Served icy cold, it.s wonderful with just about any simple dish, be it fried chicken or pizza or burgers.
But you say you want a real wine (as if lambrusco weren.t real enough)? You say you want an American wine because it is, after all, practically the Fourth of July?
I wouldn.t argue with you, not one bit. I.d reach for the zinfandel.
Yes, indeed, though you must be careful about which kind of zinfandel, and which red wines in general, you chill in the fridge. Big, heavy red wines like most zinfandels are not suited to the cold. They close up so all you can taste is oak and alcoholic heat. Oak and alcohol do not work in the cold, so avoid them.
But if you choose a more graceful type of zinfandel, like something from Dashe, Nalle, Sky or Quivira, then, my friends, you.ve got a wine that takes to a chill.
Of course, you wouldn.t want to overdo it. Unlike the lambrusco, which you can drink straight out of the fridge, you want to take the zinfandel out and let it sit for half an hour or, if you.re starting from scratch, just stick it in the fridge to cool for 45 minutes before drinking. If chilled but not ice cold, you.ve got yourself one refreshing beverage.
The same lighter-bodied principle holds for pinot noir. I recently tried an experiment with a 2004 Calera Mount Harlan Cuvé I had a glass at room temperature, which was about 72 degrees, and the wine was flat . as weighty as a flannel shirt in a sauna.
But after chilling for about half an hour, the wine was set free, offering a pretty cinnamon scent and lithe fruit.
As I said, heavier wines don.t take to the cold, nor do wines that promise subtlety and complexity. So save your Barolo and Barbaresco, your Bordeaux, Napa cabs and Burgundy . although, come to think of it, a nice Bourgogne might be just the thing chilled.
But temperature is a funny thing. The cooler a wine is, the less aromatic it gets, and the fewer complexities emerge. If it gets too cold, all you taste is tannins. So you.ll want to choose your wines for chilling carefully, looking for generous wines that find greatness in their capacity to offer simple pleasures rather than profundity.
I don.t mean you should drink great wines warm, though. Even the best red wines need to be a touch cool to flourish . 65 degrees maximum, not 75. If only more restaurants understood that ice buckets are better suited for cooling off reds than over-chilling whites. Yes, an especially hot place is reserved for those who serve their reds too warm and their whites too cold.
But, my friends, let us not stray from our subject. Instead, let.s think of this weekend, when you.re grilling your burgers and steaks, your salmon and chicken and ribs, and you want your red wine cool.
Can I get a barbera? Yes, indeed, a good straightforward barbera, like a 2006 Paitin Barbera d.Alba, is a wonderful thing chilled, when its bright fruit pops right out.
Likewise, cabernet francs from the Loire Valley can be so refreshing lightly chilled, like a 2006 Chinon Les Granges from Bernard Baudry, which was smoky, pliant and fruity with a plate of spicy kung pao shrimp, or a Rioja crianza.
And let us not forget Beaujolais, especially from the lighter crus like Brouilly, Chiroubles or St.-Amour, or even a Beaujolais Villages: the 2006 vintage is just right, right now. Nor should we forget the gamay wines from other places . like the gamays from Clos Roche Blanche in the Loire . just beautiful chilled.
You might take a chance on something unknown, a zweigelt from Austria, for example. I recently had a chilled cabernet sauvignon from the Spanish region of Navarra that was light, juicy and oh-so-refreshing on a steamy night.
I found an unexpected red, a 2006 CuvéGranit Vin de Pays from Domaine de la Pepiè, better known for its exceptional muscadets. This wine was earthy and light, perfect chilled though it may have a lot more to offer in a few years. And it was $12.99.
Possibilities abound, like a frappato from Sicily, ruby red and full of fruit.
Dare I mention merlot? Especially the herbal, earthy merlots from the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia?
I would not steer you wrong. Can I get an amen?
--
------------------------------
* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
