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The Rhone Valley has two part: the Northern Rhone and Southern Rhone.  Northern Rhone is known for 100% Syrah or Viognier wines whereas the Southern Rhone is known for Grenache based blends.  Gigondas is an area within Southern Rhone, which means the wines are predominantly Grenache blends, but have a unique characteristic all their own.  The 2005 Duc de Montfort from Maison Bouachon is a great example of typicity.

APPEARANCE

Color: Clear
Brightness: Star Bright
Red Color: Ruby
Rim Variation: Pink representing a few years of age
Viscosity: Medium Plus with minor tear staining

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NOSE

Condition: Clean
Intensity: Medium Plus
Aroma: Youthful
Fruit: Black Cherry, Red Cherry, Plum
Earth: None detected
Other: Violets, Cola, Leather

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PALATE

Sweetness: Dry
Body: Medium
Fruit: Black Cherry, Red Cherry
Earth: None Detected
Alcohol: Medium
Acidity: Medium Plus
Complexity: Medium Plus
Finish: Medium Plus

Black fruits and red fruits come together one one of my favorite wine regions.  Gigondas is like the little brother to Châteauneuf-du-Pape with a little bit of Rosé production, but dominated by red wine.  Gigondas has a Mediterranean climate, unlike Northern Rhone, which has more of a continental climate.  The main geographical identifier of Gigondas is the Dentelles de Montmirail, which is a small mountain range dividing the region into two areas.  One area is hotter, while the other is cooler.

I found the 2005 to have just the right amount of age (although it’ll get better).  Food pairings with this wine can be fairly easy—tonight we opted for grilled pork tenderloin with balsamic fig reduction sauce, and it was off the hook!  Let me know your suggestions in the comments below.

Cheers!

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The Loire Valley is a beautiful, scenic area of France known for appellations like Touraine and Anjou.  Grapes like Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc do well in this area because of the maritime climate and chalky limestone soils.  The Loire river meanders 629 miles through the valley to the Atlantic ocean with tributaries giving life to wine growing regions along the way.   Winemaking history in the Loire goes back to the 1st century with viticultural records dating back to the 6th century.

Domaine Sylvain Bailly is a family run business based in village called Bué.  Marie Héléne and Jacques, along with daughter Sonia have been tending to the winery for over twenty years.  Over 70% of the vineyards are covered with grass to keep the limestone and Kimmeridgian marl soils from eroding.  Protection of the environment at the winery is a continual focus.  Here’s my notes from this wine:

APPEARANCE

Color: Clear
Brightness: Day Bright
Red Color: Straw with a tint of green
Rim Variation: N/A
Viscosity: Medium

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NOSE

Condition: Clean
Intensity: Medium Plus
Aroma: Youthful
Fruit: Tree fruit- pear
Earth: Chalk
Other: white flowers, spices

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PALATE

Sweetness: Dry
Body: Medium
Fruit: green apple, grapefruit, lemongrass
Earth: Chalkiness
Alcohol: Medium
Acidity: Medium Plus
Complexity: Medium
Finish: Medium length

One of the giveaways for Sauvignon Blanc is the grapefruit note.  It’s part of the Sauvignon Blanc’s personality, no matter what region it’s grown in.  It’s usually apparent on the nose, but with this wine you might not detect it straight away.  I didn’t pick up any grapefruit, but there was some nice tree fruit in the form of Bartlett Pears on the nose.  Sauvignon Blancs from the Sancerre region of France are grown in Limestone soils, which give the wine a chalky/earthy note.  On the palate, the grapefruit came through with a slightly higher acidic and chalky texture.  I found this wine to be a good weekday wine, and a good example of Sancerre at $19.

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Two of the important things to look for in a wine are the fruit and the acidity.  There are a few easy ways to detect these markers in a wine.  You may have heard a wine described as “New World” or “Old World”.  When you hear that, it’s another way to say the wine is fruit-driven or acid-driven.

Basically, hot temperatures raise sugar content, and cold temperatures raise acidity.

But what do those things taste like?  Sugar content is perceived in New World wines via fruit-driven structure, and can describe wines from regions like the U.S., Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.  Acidity drives the structure in wines grown in colder climates like France, Germany and other European regions.  Many of those soils tend to be Limestone or gravel, rather than a volcanic soil like you might find in the U.S..  The way you sense acid is on the roof of your mouth towards the back.  If you swallow the wine and you get a lingering sensation in that area, you are picking up acidity.  Fruit driven wines tend to be sweeter and jammier, showing up on the front of the tongue (or palate).

In Napa Valley, there’s a nice mix of temperatures that give the wines heat during the day, and cold temperatures at night.  The fruit and acidity live in concert with each other, but overall the wines are fruit driven.  This year, however, Napa is experiencing one of the coldest summers on record.  Know how you know that?  Well, besides the weatherman telling us so, Napa is usually starting harvest at this time of year.  But this year, grapes are still hanging on the vine because the fruit isn’t ripe enough yet.  Harvest may not start for another three weeks  almost a month behind schedule!  That could be perceived as a bad thing, but it’s not if you have the right wine maker.  What Napa may end up with is a rarity they don’t have very often, which is higher than normal acid levels in the wines along with the higher sugar levels.  A winemaker who knows what they’re doing may find their fruit has the best of both worlds.

Usually, Napa Valley gets a morning fog influence from the San Pablo bay that cools the grapes at night.  That blanket of fog is consistent almost every day in the summer months as the center of California heats up.  By mid day the fog burns off providing the right amount of heat and sunshine to increase sugar levels.  This is different than say, Walla Walla, Washtington where longer days at a higher latitude provide more sunshine for ripening, and cool temperatures at night.  At that latitude you’re getting closer to Alaska, where summer days seem to last until midnight.  The sun is lower on the horizon, which means the heat isn’t as intense.

So when you get to try any 2010 vintage wines from Napa, look for the acidity on the roof of your mouth toward the back.  The verdict on vintage 2010 will be out until the reds get released into the marketing some time in 2013.  Cheers!

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Ever walk into a trendy restaurant where all the furniture looks futuristic and the decor is hipster, and notice how beautiful everyone is? You just feel like you’re hanging with the “it” crowd and that’s the place to be. Maybe it’s on the 26th floor of a new skyscraper in Manhattan or in downtown San Francisco where the founder of Twitter like to been seen.

Thistle is the complete opposite of that. The glassware and silverware look like they were purchased from a garage sale and the weathered wood floor creaks. Located in the heart of Oregon wine country, Thistle is the perfect anti-trendy place to eat.
When James Beard award-winning chef Eric Bechard and his equally qualified front-of-the-house wife/wine buyer Emily Howard opened Thistle, it was all about the good stuff.

I sat at the counter, which felt like sitting in my Grandma’s pantry. There were jars lining the wall and a tiny kitchen tucked in the corner.  There were all the things I remember about my Grandma’s kitchen, except my Grandma didn’t have a stellar wine list.

I loved Thistle.  Sitting at the bar was cool because I was able to chat with Chef Eric throughout the entire meal.  It was also cool because it was located in the heart of downtown McMinville, OR.  So many cool places are just steps away, including McMenamins Hotel Oregon.  Thistle was unpretentious and all about relaxing with a good meal.  How often do you get to chat with the chef during and after dinner?

sorry the light is low on this

If the food wasn’t impressive enough, the wine list was equally as impressive.  I liked that Thistle didn’t have Oregon wines only on the list.  Emily put together one of the most impressive wine lists I’ve seen in a long time.  There were esoteric wines from all over the world, and they were all high quality as well as well priced.  I took her suggestion and did a glass of wine with each course.  Here’s what I had:

First pairing: 2008 Auxerrois from Adelsheim, Ribbon Ridge with Chioggia Beets, Arugula, Chevre & orange

Second pairing: 2003 Alicante Bouschet from Esporao, Portugal with Flat Iron Steak w/ spicy Chimichurri, Potato and Brocoli

It was hard to pick from the menu because everything looked SO good.  Even the bread was good—fresh baked down the street.  You gotta love a restaurant that has the menu up on a blackboard that changes every day.  Each time you go into Thistle, you can expect a unique experience.

The whole time as I’m licking my chops, Chef Eric kept coming over and chatting with me about this, that or the other thing.  He talked about working in Seattle and how it is working with his wife in a new business.  Chef was rocking a faux hawk that day.  You kinda get the sense there’s no rules for employees at Thistle, other than good authentic food.

The beet salad stood up well to the Auxerrois without overpowering it.  Auxerrois is not much unlike Pinot Gris, so it has some similar notes, especially (in this case) wet rocks, mineral notes and asian pear.  I thought the acidity or tartness might be too much for the salad, but the beets and orange danced together nicely.

But what really blew my hair back was the beef with Chimichurri sauce.  I’ve made flank steak with Chimichurri a few times, and it was good.  But this one was completely different.  There was a tangy spiciness that lit up my taste buds like a pinball machine.  The steak was cooked perfectly, only to be perfected even more with the Portuguese red.  Seven years of age was perfect for the Alicante Bouschet grape. There was enough sweetness to offset the spicy flavors on the beef.

this might look like a turd but it was amazing

Thistle has been featured in national and regional publications with good reason.  Check out the Yelp reviews to see for yourself what patrons think of Thistle.  If you ever find yourself in Oregon wine country and want a wine and food experience that’s unpretentious and against the grain, Thistle is the place.  Cheers!

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Catherine and Pierre Breton are leading a new movement of organic viticulture in the Bourgueil appellation of the Loire Valley.  I’ve had a few of their wines and have been impressed each time.  Their sparkling wine made from Chenin Blanc is one not to be missed.

I came across Domaine Breton wines at Kermit Lynch, one of my favorite wine shops in Berkeley.  The 2009 Domaine Breton Bourgueil Cabernet Franc demonstrates why this producer is gaining popularity in trendy shops and restaurants in Paris.  There was some distinct chalkiness in this wine as there is in wines grown in Limestone soils.  Limestone is prevalent in the Loire valley, which is nice.

It’s a red and it’s 2009 vintage.  Do the math and you’ll see this wine was harvested about 10 months ago, give or take.  Although young, this Cab Franc was singing like a bird right out of the bottle.  Rich, full and well made.  Here’s a few notes:

APPEARANCE

Color: Clear
Brightness: Star Bright
Red Color: Garnet
Rim Variation: yes, pink at the edges
Viscosity: Medium

NOSE

Condition: Clean
Intensity: Medium Plus
Aroma: Youthful
Fruit: Red fruits, black cherry, quince
Earth/Chalk/Forest

PALATE

Sweetness: Dry
Body: Medium
Fruit: Black cherry, stewed plum, cola, olive
Earth/Chalk/Forest
Alcohol: Medium Minus
Acidity: Medium
Complexity: Medium Plus
Finish: Medium

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