[wine] Rhone Grapes at Auriga

Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 17:01:17 -0500 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Subject: [wine] Australia at Bobino Greetings, This week, Rhone style grapes from anywhere at Auriga. Sparkling/white/ringer/dessert wines always welcome. Auriga Rest. 1930 Hennepin Ave, Mpls, 55403 612-871 -0777 Who: (mostly guesses) Wine Pro Bob Wine Pro Lori Betsy Bill Jim Nicolai Karin Annette S. Other events. 7/21. Zin and Ribs at Bob's place. Make or buy something interesting and bring it to Bob's party room. Cheers, Jim Delicious Syrah is made just about everywhere - W. Blake Gray, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, May 5, 2005 As Australia asserts itself on U.S. supermarket wine shelves, Americans are finally getting to know and love the Aussies' signature grape, Shiraz. And it's about time, because it's often one of the best buys in red wines. Syrah -- as the grape is known in its native France -- is thought to have been producing fine wines in the Rhone region since the Roman era. It's one of the most fascinating of the great French wine grapes because it can taste so different depending on where it's grown. In France, Syrah is often quite peppery, with strong aromas and flavors of roast meat. The 2002 Caves des Papes Heritage Cotes-du-Rhone ($10) is a good example of this style. It's so peppery that, sipped with barbecued meat, it could work as a condiment. Black fruit -- black currants and blackberries -- stay in the background. Scottish-born James Busby, called the father of Australian viticulture, is credited with taking Syrah Down Under in 1831 as one of 680 different vines he collected from botanical gardens in Montpellier, Paris and London. Fortunately for the Aussies, he did it before phylloxera arrived in Europe from the United States. The grapevines of the Rhone had to be replanted on American rootstock because of that epidemic, so Australia holds the oldest Shiraz vines in the world. Daily use Down Under Like kangaroo steak, Shiraz was treated casually by Aussies for decades as a daily-use food without serious pretensions. The large producer Penfolds did the most to change that impression with its Grange wines, which began winning consistent international acclaim in the 1980s, just in time to alert the Aussies not to graft everything over to Cabernet Sauvignon. Nowadays, Australian Shiraz is so ubiquitous on supermarket shelves worldwide that producers have to take steps to stand out. The 2004 the Little Penguin South Eastern Australia Shiraz ($8) is packaged to attract younger customers with the cute waterfowl on the label. The flavors of cherry with an herbal note are somewhat shy, but it's innocuous and easy to drink. California was slow to embrace Syrah. In 1991, there were only 413 acres of Syrah planted in the entire state, according to the California Agricultural Statistics Service, out of more than 320,000 acres of wine grapes. Twenty different red grapes had more acreage, including now-obscure Mission, Centurian and Royalty. By 2004, Syrah was up to 17,151 acres (out of almost 467,000 overall), making it the fifth-most-planted red grape. And it's not just volume. The Chronicle tasting panel loves West Coast Syrahs, picking 17 among its Top 100 wines for 2004 -- more than any other varietal. Eight were from Washington state, while nine were from California, placing California Syrah just behind California Pinot Noir and California Chardonnay as The Chronicle's top-scoring wines by state. American consumers are starting to catch on to how good domestic Syrah can be. Sales tripled between 2000 and 2003, according to Impact Databank. The 2003 Screaming Jack North Coast Syrah ($10) shows why people are excited. There's a lot going on in this wine, starting with toast, cherry, dust, earth and mushroom in the aroma. On the palate, it's spicy with some earth and persistent cherry and a tannic backbone that carries through a medium-length finish. And it's bottled with my favorite closure -- a screw cap. The 2001 Martin Ray Angeline Paso Robles Syrah ($12) is another superstar wine worth a couple extra bucks. The fruit-forward aroma is full of distinct blackberry, raspberry and cherry, as well as some leather and earth. It's big- bodied, with good blackberry and raspberry fruit, decent acidity, hints of leather and earth and a medium-long finish. The 2003 Castle Rock Central Coast Syrah ($9) is simpler, with a shy aroma of cherry, red currant and some barnyard, and persistently tart flavors of cherry and red currant. This wine would be easy to match with most meat or poultry dishes. One for lovers of oak Oak fans will be delighted by the 2002 Forest Glen California Shiraz ($10), one of many bargain wines made by Bronco Wine Co. Its strong flavors and aromas of vanilla and cherry could just as well have been coaxed from Cabernet Sauvignon, but the moderate tannins and decent acidity make it more food-friendly than many wines in this style. Now that the world market for Syrah has been established, it's coming in from all over. The 2003 2 Brothers Big Tattoo Colchagua Syrah ($10) from Chile is more in the French style, with aromas of earth as well as blackberry. The tartness of the black currant flavors balances the big body and tannins, while flavors of earth and pepper lend complexity. Speaking of the French style, if you didn't know where the 2003 Handpicked Langhorne Creek Shiraz Viognier ($10) was from, you'd have to guess the northern Rhone. The winemaker of this unusual Aussie wine is French native Dominique Portet, whose brother Bernard Portet founded California's Clos du Val winery. Dominique has created a very peppery wine with raspberry fruit in the background and a slight floral hint from the 2 percent Viognier, which is often similarly used as a blending grape in the northern Rhone. If you prefer your Viognier by itself, here are two good ones. The 2004 Smoking Loon California Viognier ($9) has light flavors of Golden Delicious and green apple with floral and citrus accents. Try it with difficult-to-match Thai salads. I love the artificial cork, which reads, Whooh Whooh Whooh Whooh Cough. The 2004 McManis Family Vineyards California Viognier ($10) is richer, with flavors and aromas of pear, golden apple, apple tart, vanilla and slight floral hints. Chill it and serve it with simple salads garnished with shaved cheese. ________________________________________ Shopping list These are the best deals The Chronicle found for this week. WHITE 2004 McManis Family Vineyards California Viognier ($10) 2004 Smoking Loon California Viognier ($9) RED 2003 Castle Rock Central Coast Syrah ($9) 2002 Caves des Papes Heritage Cotes-du-Rhone ($10) 2002 Forest Glen California Shiraz ($10) 2003 Handpicked Langhorne Creek Shiraz Viognier ($10) 2004 The Little Penguin South Eastern Australia Shiraz ($8) 2001 Martin Ray Angeline Paso Robles Syrah ($12) 2003 Screaming Jack North Coast Syrah ($10) 2003 2 Brothers Big Tattoo Colchagua Syrah ($10) E-mail W. Blake Gray at wbgray(a)sfchronicle.com. Page F - 10 URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/05/WIGRECJJRJ1.DTL -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *