Cheers To You

Brynn writes:

While interviewing David LeClaire, co-owner and general manager of Seattle’s Wine World, for the article we wrote on what sparkling wines to serve for New Years, he asked if I knew the term “Grower Champagne”?

Nope.

Since it’s a term I’d not heard before, I’m guessing it’s one you might not know either. So I’ll define it.

Grower champagne: This is the wine made by champagne houses that is artisanal compared to than the mass production of the product that pops up on our grocery store shelves. Terroir is the focus of these wines — the growers that own the vineyards source the grapes for the wine from a single village, instead of combining the juice from grapes grown across the region.

These wines will be different every year based on the growing conditions, whereas the mass produced wine from the region will be consistently similar year after year. Grower champagnes are released younger than those that come from the larger Champagne houses, likely because the smaller entities don’t have the money to store the wine and age it.

LeClaire described the grower champagnes as having the most character. He said they are “perfect for the enthusiast, for someone who wants to try something new. This is for the geeks.” These wines won’t be found at Fred Meyer or Safeway, you’ll need to go into a quality wine shop. Prices start around $40. LeClaire said his favorites include Gaston Chiquet and Theirry Triolet.

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By now you’ve probably secured your New Year’s Eve plans, but have you finalized what you’ll be drinking?

If you’re like most Americans, Champagne — sparkling wine if it’s made in America, Prosecco if it’s from Italy, or cava if from Spain — is not something you drink every day.

Instead it’s reserved for special occasions, like New Year’s Eve. (Incidentally, in Italy and Spain people drink their sparklers on a daily basis, much like most Seattleites drink coffee every day).

Seeing as we’re not in Italy or Spain, chances are you don’t drink Champagne (or sparkling wine, Prosecco, cava, et al.) except for once or twice a year. If that’s the case, the thought of selecting a bottle, or two, or three, to ring in the New Year may not top your list of favorite things to do.

That’s where we come in. We called David LeClaire, founder and general manager of Wine World and Spirits, located just off Interstate-5 in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. LeClaire is also a certified sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Needless to say, he knows wine.

So what does LeClaire recommend for this year’s celebration? That depends on what you’re looking for, he said.

If you’re planning a party for a number of guests (read: wide range of palates and likes and dislikes), LeClaire recommends serving Italy’s Prosecco.

“Prosecco, to me, is one of the best toasting Champagnes you can get,” he said.

The price is nice too — typically a Prosecco in the $9 to $10 range is going to be good. And it’s widely available.

This wine is favorable for large groups because it has a touch more sweetness to it, without being too sweet. Usually it’s liked by everyone.

If dry wine is more your style, consider cava over France’s Champagne. It’s cheaper, while still a quality wine.

General rule of thumb: look for wines in the $10 range, LeClaire said. Anything below $10 may cause you to regret your purchase, especially if you overindulge this year. That’s because sparkling wines in the $6 range have likely been injected with carbon dioxide, which produces the bubbles and often the headache.

“The saying is: The bigger the bubbles, the bigger the headache,’” LeClaire said.

The smaller the bubbles, the better the wine. During fermentation wine produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct of yeast eating sugar in the grape juice. For non-sparkling wine gas is allowed to escape; to make it tingle on your tongue, the gas is kept in the bottle, producing the bubbles.

If you’re looking for bubbly from France, but don’t want to pay the markup on a wine from Champagne, consider one from the Alsace region that straddles France and Germany.

These wines are available in the $15 price range and are very elegant, LeClaire said. Unlike Champagne, which is made from chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, Alsatian sparklers are made with Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, producing a softer wine. One brand to look for is Lucien Albrecht, which retails between $15 to $20.

A handful of Washington and Oregon wineries also have jumped into the sparkling pool. That includes Yakima’s Treveri Cellars, which was featured in 2011 at the White House for its State Department holiday receptions and was served earlier this year at the James Beard Foundation dinner. Treveri specializes in sparkling wines, offering Pinot Gris, riesling, Gewürztraminer, chardonnay and even Syrah. You can find most of its wines between $14 and $19.

If all this talk about bubbles has your head spinning — and you haven’t even had a sip yet! — don’t stress. Go to your local wine shop or grocery store and ask the wine steward for help. If you’re in Seattle, stop by Wine World, they’ve got wines you won’t find anywhere else, and staff eager to help.

Tell the steward how much you want to spend, what you typically drink and let them do the work. As LeClaire pointed out, most people who ask for advice will walk away with a better wine than what they would have selected on their own.

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To punt or not to punt, that is the question.

Punt is an option in football. It could be getting a sticky problem off your desk and onto some other desk, or as it relates to wine, it is the indentation found in the base of a bottle, particularly those holding sparkling wine.

The reason for the punt is to take the pressure off the sides of the bottle. Sparkling wine is under an enormous amount of pressure, anywhere from 60 to 90 pounds per square inch.

The depth of the punt can sometimes relate to quality, with better quality wines having a deeper punt. In wine circles, we call it good glass.

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A memorable Christmas brunch can only be served with bubbly! It’s celebratory, it’s designed to make you grin and we’ll be honest, what other wine can you sip with breakfast that is acceptable?

That’s why for Ann Vogel’s Italian Baked Egg Casserole recipe bubbly is our answer for the perfect wine pairing.

The vegetables included in this recipe have us yearning for a wine with some body to it, which is why we recommend a Rosé or a sparkling Shiraz from Australia.

Roederer Estate Brut Rosé NV ($26) is located in Mendocino and owned by Champagne producer Louis Roederer of Cristal fame. This winery is located in northern California’s cool Anderson Valley.

Its tiny bubbles, biscuit aromas and strawberry-flavored Rosé is a real charmer.

If you’d prefer the sparkling Shiraz from Australia, we recommend Shingleback’s “Black Bubbles” Sparkling Shiraz from McLaren Vale. It’s a blend of several vintages, like most non-vintage bubblies.

This is a darkly colored, deep purple Shiraz. Blackberry and blueberry flavors are lush and sweet and are balanced by the acidity.

For the Spiced Praline French Toast Breakfast Casserole recipe, all that sweetness demands some acidity.

We’ve come to the conclusion the best wine for this dish is a Mimosa. A nice dry Cava from Spain for around $8 and a freshly squeezed juicy orange or tangelo will set this one off nicely.

Or you could bring this celebration to another level by trying this recipe for Morning Glory Mimosa, made with pineapple-flavored vodka. The combination of citrus, bubbles and exotic pineapple have enough acidity and sweetness to cozy up to those praline French toasts.

• 1 bottle of sparkling wine
• 1 carton of orange juice
• Pineapple vodka

Preparation:

Pour 2 ounces of chilled sparkling wine into a Champagne flute and allow bubbles to settle. Pour 2 ounces of orange juice into flute, stir gently. Top with half a shot of pineapple vodka, stir gently.

Merry Christmas!

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The pairing for this tasty fresh raw oyster dish is easy. Go with the wine that you “cook” with (the oysters aren’t really raw with all that acidity from the vinegars, but real close).

This recipe calls for Champagne Mumm, which comes in several flavors. We recommend using one that best suits your palate.

This specific Champagne also has some history tied to it. It’s the story of the cordon rouge, or red ribbon, which started with winemaker Georges Hermann Mumm.

He was driven by the motto “only the best”. In the late 1800s he decorated his champagne with a red silk ribbon. As a result, today any good Frenchman knows the red silk ribbon is a symbol of the Grand Cordon de la Légion d’Honneur.

As we said earlier, Champagne Mumm has several styles to choose from. The Cordon Rouge is a brut made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Munier grapes. The Brut Rosé has a rich fruitiness and pleasant roundness from the Pinot Noir grapes used. If you’re a red wine lover, try this one.

The Demi-Sec style is for those who enjoy a bit of sweetness in their bubbly. There is a creaminess to this wine that we think would contrast nicely with the vinegars in Vogel’s raw oyster dish.

These Champagnes range in price from $30 to $38.

If you’re hesitant to use a Champagne of this price range in your recipe, don’t worry, Mumm also makes a wine out of California called Mumm Napa.

Very similar in style and about $10 to $20 less in price, this wine would also suit this recipe perfectly. We recommend the highly awarded Brut Prestige or the Brut Rosé.

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Sparkling wine and beer for that matter, sparkle because they go through two separate fermentation processes. The first is what makes the alcohol and the second creates those tiny bubbles that tickle your tongue.

The big difference between these two fermentation processes is what happens to the flatulence produced by the yeast. In primary fermentation, it’s allowed to escape; in secondary fermentation, it’s trapped in the bottle by a bottle cap.

After the sparkling wine has fermented a second time and the dead yeast cells are removed from the bottle, the wine has to be topped off before putting the cork and the bale on. This is a job for dosage!

Dosage is the liquid that replaces those dead yeast cells. It is made up of sugar which determines the sweetness, and a little neutral wine. When that is done, a cork is then inserted, with a capsule and wire cage securing it in place.

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This Friday is the “Strawberries, Chocolate and Champagne Evening” fundraising event for the YWCA ALIVE programs.

The event is being held at the Silverdale Beach Hotel from 6 to 10 p.m. All proceeds directly benefit the ALIVE programs, which provide temporary emergency housing, transitional house and a wide range of other services for survivors of domestic violence and their children. According to YWCA numbers,  more than 6,000 people access these programs annually.

Beyond bringing people together to support the YWCA and of course enjoy some delicious Champagne with strawberries and chocolate, the event will serve to honor three local organizations: Soroptomist International Clubs of Port Orchard, Bremerton, and North Kitsap and Housing Kitsap (formerly KCCHA) and the Kitsap Credit Union.

According to the release from the YWCA, the organizations are being honored because: “The YWCA has built longstanding partnerships with these organizations in providing supportive services for families affected by domestic violence.” 

The evening includes a buffet, music, dancing, a jazz performance by Eugenie Jones, a raffle and of course: “Strawberries, Chocolate, and Champagne”.  Tickets are currently on sale. Contact the YWCA to RSVP or for additional information at (360) 479-0522 or info@ywcakitsap.org.

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Wine and watermelon? This week’s wine pairing might border on the impossible.

Watermelon lovers enjoy the fruit because of its simplicity, its juice and refreshing quality.

Similarly, wine lovers enjoy wine because of its juice and in the case if white wine, because it’s refreshing. Unlike watermelon, wine is often enjoyed for its complexity.

So, how do you make watermelon and wine perfect companions?

Find a wine that will highlight all the things we love about watermelon, while still offering enough complexity to stand up to Ann Vogel’s Watermelon Salad and Summer Soup recipes.

In keeping with the pink theme, we recommend a Provencal-style Rosé.

We’ve recommended Rosés before, but this is one of the few wines that could go with a watermelon salad or soup. It also is the best wine to enjoy during the summer because it balances the complex character of a red wine, with the crispness of a white.

There are different styles of Rosé, depending on the type of grape used and how the winemaker chooses to make the wine — will it be dry or sweet?

The best match for Vogel’s dishes is a Provencal Rosé. These wines are typically made from Rhone varietals, and offer a dry palate that quenches thirst and leaves you wanting more. They’re also food-friendly wines.

While we’d love to tell you to head to France’s Provence region — especially Brynn’s former temporary home of Aix-en-Provence — to find the best Rosé, airfare and travel expenses sadly prevent most of us from getting to experience Rosé in true Southern France fashion.

But the good news is, you may only have to travel as far as your local wine shop or grocery story to find a good French Rosé. According to the Provence Wine Council, an organization representing more than 600 Provence wine producers and 72 trade companies, the number of Rosés exported from France’s Provence region to America have reached record-setting levels in the last year.

Exports of Rosé and red wines from Provence to America went up 132 percent by value and 85 percent by volume last year over 2009, according to customs data released by the council in June.

“These percentages represent greater increases than ever previously seen, and rank Provence as the fastest-growing French region in wine exportation to the U.S.,” according to the council.

The next time you’re in the store, ask the wine steward to direct you to the French Rosé section so you can peruse what made its way across the Atlantic, and the continent, to reach Washington. If you find a Rosé you love, share it with us.

We recently had the chance to try a Central Coast Rosé by California winery Boony Doon Vineyards. It’s one we loved, so we’re recommending it for Vogel’s watermelon recipes.

Winemaker Randall Graham has styled his wine after France’s traditionally dry, salmon pink colored wine.

We recently tasted Boony Doon’s 2010 Vin Gris de Cigare at the Rhone Rangers trade show in Seattle. Unlike the winemakers of France, Graham adds “a dollop” of white wine — Roussanne and Grenache Blanc — to his red varieties.

In case you forgot, Rosé comes from red grapes that, after pressing, only stay in contact with grape skins for around 24 hours. That’s what gives the wine its pink color.

Boony Doon’s Rosé is reminiscent of a Côtes de Provence Rosé with its hints of strawberry, white cherry and apple blossom. The wine is dry, which makes it a great pair for the watermelon and sweeter red onion notes of Vogel’s salad. It retails for around $15.

If you’re looking to add a little pizazz to the soup or salad, also consider a Rosé Champagne or Sparkling Wine. The bubbles will add yet another refreshing twist to the already light soup or salad. (It’d also make a nice addition to Vogel’s Watermelon Slushies, just make sure you select a dry, or brut, Sparking Wine or Champagne.)

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Brynn writes:

In case you haven’t checked your calendar recently, Easter is Sunday.

As a a holiday often filled with the company of friends and family, and of course good eats, we thought it appropriate to ask readers what meals they enjoy on Easter. And of course, to provide any wine recommendations you might be seeking, to help make the perfect meal even better.

So, what’s your favorite recipe? Does it include ham? What about lamb?

In my household, once I got old enough to voice my opinion — which was at about 4 years old — we did not do the traditional ham dinner. For whatever reason, I have never liked baked ham. (I know, insert exasperated look here).

So, instead of doing a traditional Easter dinner or afternoon meal, we often did an Easter brunch. Now granted I didn’t get the chance to enjoy wine with this meal until I turned 21, so I don’t have a lot of wine recommendations for the perfect Easter wine.

On the flip side, Mary, in her 20-plus years as the owner of Grape Expectations in Old Town Silverdale, repeatedly fielded this question every year around Easter.

She says her go to wines for an Easter meal include Merlot, Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer.

The Merlot goes great with lamb, the Pinot goes with “really anything” and the Gewurzt is the best accompaniment for the salty ham, balancing it with its sweetness.

And for those of you like my family that prefer Easter brunch, don’t pass up the chance to enjoy mimosas with your Eggs Benedict.

Got a favorite Easter wine, or recipe? Share it here and we’ll offer you some wine pairing suggestions to try out this year.

Cheers!

Brynn and Mary

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Brynn writes:

Wishing you all a wonderful end to 2010 and a fabulous start to 2011.

Just in case you’re still looking for a good Champagne or sparkling wine to pop the cork on tonight, here’s a few more suggestions, courtesy of the Lake City Fred Meyer wine steward.

Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut: This sparkling wine is from Spain and is a blend of three Spanish varietals: 35% Macabeo, 25% Xarel-lo and 40% Parellada. Flavors of apple, pear, orange peel and honeysuckle make it crisp, clean and very dry, yet quite smooth. It’s priced at $9.99 or less at Freddy’s. Try it with bruschetta, shrimp or ahi tuna.

Segura Viudas Brut: Also a sparkling wine from Spain. This wine is described as clean and delicate with flavors and aromas of honeyed apples, orange peel, grapefruit and baked pears — perfect for pairing with cheese plates, chicken skewers or potstickers. It’s priced at $6.99 or less.

Veuve Clicquot (Yellow Label Champagne): This is true Champagne — meaning it’s from France’s champagne region. It’s pricier than the other options, coming in at $41.99. But, it’s worth the money if you’re looking to start the year off with a splurge. And according to the Freddy’s wine steward “it’s a great value and worth the price.” The Champagne is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, giving the wine a full-body with a rich, soft and creamy texture. It’s well-balanced with notes of fresh apple, toast, butter, lemon curd and orange blossom, plus the Veuve Clicquot trademark of doughy, yeasty aromas on the lasting finish. It’s a fantastic pairing for crab cakes, sushi or caviar.

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