[wine] Serendipity Sippers

FYI, from the WA Post. The roséhat wasn.t supposed to be By Dave McIntyre, Published: June 4 It happened near the end of last year.s frenetic harvest, as the exhausted vineyard crew at Black Ankle Vineyards near Mount Airy scrambled to get grapes off the vines and into the cellar. Incessant rain from mid-September into October squeezed the harvest from its normal six weeks into three, and the crew worked 16-hour shifts every day of the week in a race to get the grapes picked before they took on too much water . or worse, rotted. Walking through the winery, co-owner Ed Boyce met with vineyard manager Evencio Martinez, who was .bleeding. the last lot of merlot: draining some of the just-pressed juice into another tank in order to concentrate what.s left. The separated juice would be used to make a rosér to top off some of the final red wine blends. Boyce noticed something was wrong. The hose from the merlot tank was not connected to the .bleed tank. but to the adjacent one, which held the winery.s fermenting proprietary white wine blend, coincidentally called Bedlam. By the time he managed to stop the flow, the white wine had been stained by about 120 gallons of pink merlot juice. .Evencio is our star, the best guy we have,. Boyce said recently, recalling the incident with a laugh. .The first thing he did was call Sarah and apologize,. referring to his wife and co-owner, Sarah O.Herron, who.s in charge of the winemaking. On Memorial Day weekend, Black Ankle released its 2011 Bedlam Roséa blend of gruner veltliner, albarino, viognier, chardonnay and muscat, as well as about 10 percent merlot. It.s a wine that wasn.t supposed to be, and, as you might expect with that blend, it doesn.t taste like a typical roséBut it is good, and even at $28 a bottle, Boyce expects to sell out of the 208 cases they produced. (Fans of the Bedlam white blend needn.t fret; after the accident, Boyce and O.Herron blended more Bedlam from their separate white wines.) Some popular wines are created by accident. Others are improvised by creative winemakers forced to deal with what nature offers instead of what the winemaker intended. In 2005, Virginia experienced a large, excellent harvest, and many wineries, such as Cooper Vineyards in Louisa County, had more grapes than they could handle. Co-owners Geoffrey Cooper and Jacquelyn Hogge decided to make ice wines from 2 tons each of vidal blanc and Norton grapes they had left over. So they sent the grapes to a commercial freezer facility in Waynesboro. Gently pressing frozen grapes allows the winemaker to separate the ice (water) from the concentrated juice, yielding an unctuous sweet wine. .We came out with a very nice white wine, which became our Vida dessert wine,. Cooper said. .The Norton grapes, however, produced a wine that was not as sweet as we wanted and had a lot of berry flavors. I believe they had thawed too much prior to pressing. I love berries with chocolate, so I suggested a chocolate-infused wine.. Winemaker Graham Bell set to work with some chocolate extract samples and created Noche, which has won several medals in competitions and is now Cooper Vineyards. most popular wine. .Noche now makes up about 30 percent of our total production and outsells all of our other wines by more than double,. Hogge said. Bernd Jung, owner and winemaker of Chester Gap Cellars near Front Royal, Va., faced a quandary in 2006, when he wanted to make a sweet wine from petit manseng but the grapes refused to ripen enough. So he pressed the wine, blended in some viognier for balance and called the final product Cuvee Manseng. It is a wine unlikely to be made anywhere in the world except Virginia, because that.s the only place those two grapes grow together. A floral, off-dry white, the Cuvee Manseng was a hit, and Jung produced 350 cases at its height. But it won.t become his signature, as his petit manseng vines have been hit by disease and are dying. .The variety will probably go away within a few years,. he says. .I.ve already lost about 30 percent of the vines.. At Black Ankle, Ed Boyce says he hopes the Bedlam Roséon.t become a signature wine. .I don.t want to make it again,. he said before the wine was released. .But we.ve told customers the story and they.re raring to try it. This is a funny business.. Wine Recommendations McIntyre blogs at dmwineline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dmwine . Bargain bottles Published: June 5 Bargain bottles ...Exceptional ...Excellent..Very Good Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor. Here.s my monthly list of bargain wines that outperform for their low price ($9 to $16). Included are two roséfrom southern France, each a bargain in different styles, and a charming red from Portugal that doesn.t even reach double-digits in price. Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier 2011 ..1 / 2 California, $15 Long a great-value white from California, this wine is creeping up in price, which is a shame. But the quality is still there: vibrant fruit and racy acidity that keeps it fresh. Try to save some for dinner. It goes great with a variety of summer foods. Winebow/Bacchus/Country Vintner: Widely available in the District, including at Bell Wine & Spirits, Best D.C. Supermarket, Cairo Wine & Liquor, Calvert Woodley, Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits, Circle Wine & Liquor, Connecticut Avenue Wine & Liquor, Continental Wine & Liquor, Cowgirl Creamery, Dean & DeLuca, Georgetown Wine & Spirits, Local Vines, MacArthur Beverages, Magruder.s, Morris Miller Wine & Liquor, P&C Market, Paul.s of Chevy Chase, Pearson.s, Potomac Wine & Spirits, Rodman.s, Schneider.s of Capitol Hill, Trader Joe.s, all Whole Foods Market locations, Wine Specialist. Available in Maryland at Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits and Eastport Liquors in Annapolis; Blue Wind Gourmet in Lexington Park; Calvert Wine & Spirits in Hunt Valley; Corridor Wine & Spirits in Laurel; Eddie.s of Roland Park, Graul.s Wine & Spirits, North Charles Fine Wine & Spirits and Wells Discount Liquors in Baltimore; Frederick Wine House; Gilly.s Craft Beer & Fine Wine and World Market in Rockville; Grape Expectations in Gaithersburg; I.M. Wine in Fulton; Jason.s Wine & Spirits in Ellicott City; Mays Chapel Wine & Spirit Shop in Timonium; Montgomery County Liquor Stores in Kensington and Rockville; Rodman.s in White Flint; Roots Market in Olney; Wine Harvest in Potomac; Wine Merchant in Lutherville. Available in Virginia at Arrowine and Grand Cru in Arlington; Balducci.s and Unwined in Alexandria; Cheesetique in Alexandria and Shirlington; Norm.s Beer & Wine in Vienna; all local locations of Total Wine & More, Wegmans and Whole Foods Market. Mas de Bressades Cabernet-Syrah 2010 ..1 / 2 Pays du Gard, France, $16 Producer Cyril Mares labels this wine .Les Vignes de Mon Pere,. and his respect for his father.s vines and wines shows through in this lovely, lively red that is ideal for summer grilling. It is another great red from the terrific 2010 vintage in southern France. Kacher/Washington Wholesale/Reliable Churchill: Available in the District at Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits, Dixie Liquor, MacArthur Beverages, Whole Foods Market P Street. Available in Maryland at Carrolltown Liquors in Sykesville, Enchanted Forest Wine & Spirits in Ellicott City, Perfect Pour in Elkridge, Quarry Wine & Spirits and Wine Source in Baltimore, Vineyards Elite in Pikesville. Chateau Grande Cassagne Rosé011 ..1 / 2 Costieres de Nimes, France, $11 A bright red roséhat bursts with juicy strawberry flavors and refreshing acidity, the wine has a hint of sweetness that probably comes from ripe fruit. Think of this in the Tavel style of roséwith its deeper red color. An excellent value that you will probably have trouble keeping in your glass. Kacher/Washington Wholesale/Reliable Churchill: Available in the District at Calvert Woodley, Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits, Dixie Liquors, Pearson.s, Rodman.s, all Whole Foods Market locations. Widely available in Maryland. Coeur de Cep Rosé011 .. Coteaux Varois en Provence, France, $10 More in the style of Provence, this pale pink roséas subtle melon flavors to match its lighter color. It.s a delicious wine, refreshing and with acidity to match even heartier summer dishes. M Touton Selection: Available in the District at Barrel House Liquors, Best in Liquors, Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Market at Columbia Plaza, Paul.s of Chevy Chase, Rodman.s. Available in Maryland at Franklin Liquors in Ijamsville, Old Farm Liquors in Frederick, Silesia Liquors in Fort Washington, Wine Bin in Ellicott City. Available in Virginia at Cork & Fork in Gainesville, Crystal City Wine Shop, Fern Street Gourmet in Alexandria, Marvelous Market in Arlington; on the list at Yves. Bistro in Alexandria. Jean Dumont Muscadet de Sevre et Maine 2010 .. Loire Valley, France, $10 Muscadet, made with the grape melon de Bourgogne (although the area is nowhere near Burgundy), is typically a dry, mineral white that cries out for oysters. This example from the ripe 2010 vintage lives up to the grape.s name with lush melon flavors and a lovely, refreshing finish. J.W. Sieg: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits. Available in Virginia at All About Wine in Tappahannock, J. Emerson Fine Wines & Cheese in Richmond, Unwined in Alexandria and Belleview. Alta Corte 2008 .. Lisboa, Portugal, $9 I.ve made no secret of my love for Portuguese wines, and this tasty little red waves the flag quite well. It.s a blend of caladoc (a rare cross of grenache and malbec) and tinta roriz, the Portuguese name for tempranillo. This would make an excellent house red for the summer, though you might want to break into a chorus of fado. Dionysus: Available in the District at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits, Rodman.s, Wagshal.s Market, all Whole Foods Market locations. Available in Maryland at Bradley Food & Beverage and Montgomery Gourmet Beer & Wine in Bethesda, Chesapeake Wine Co. and Wine Source in Baltimore, Iron Bridge Wine Co. in Columbia, Wine Bin in Ellicott City, Wishing Well Liquors in Easton; on the list at Red Red Wine in Annapolis. Available in Virginia at Iron Bridge Wine Co. in Warrenton, Whole Foods Market in Vienna, WineStyles in Chantilly. -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 * * james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *