Fear and Loathing in the Liquor Store

“Can you pick up a bottle of wine? I’m making chicken.”

Hearing those words is all it takes for the facial tics to begin. Pick the right one and I’m the hero. Pick the wrong one and it’s like I’m the guy wearing white socks with the tuxedo. Too much pressure! I step into my local liquor store, gazing at the labyrinth of wine racks, feeling the same dread as when I look at the mountain of snow that the plow makes at the bottom of the driveway. I take a few more steps past the Argentinean wines, and my brain begins to make that noise the car makes when you try to start it after it’s already turned on. My heart beats faster. I walk further, past the Malbec and I see that scary clown from Stephen King’s movie It standing by the Chianti. Through brown and crooked teeth he spits out the phrase, “Red with beef! White with fish and chicken!”

Does that old rule still apply? I begin to lose my nerve. With sweat pouring down my face, I panic. I bolt past the Merlot, past the Chardonnay, and past the clown. In a few short seconds I’m safe once again in the beer section. Looks like it’s beer with chicken again tonight.

It shouldn’t be this hard. Choosing a wine for dinner shouldn’t feel like a meeting with the IRS guy. Below is a quick guide that will get you through many common dinners.

Steak/Cabernet Sauvignon: Many times Cabernet goes with food like cats go with vacuum cleaners, but steak and Cabernet is a classic.

Salmon/Pinot Noir: Yes, a red with fish. Pinot goes with most anything so if you’re on the spot in a restaurant in front of the in-laws, Pinot is a safe bet.

Italian food/Chianti or Zinfandel: A good rule of thumb is to drink wine from the same region that the food comes from. Chianti works with most tomato sauces. Zinfandel is spicy enough to pair perfectly with spicy sausage.

Pork/Chardonnay: Pork just works with Chardonnay. In addition, so many creamy sauces and rich herbs used with pork do, too. If it doesn’t pair with one, it’s likely to pair with the other. It’s like the guy dating the cute girl. If it doesn’t work with her, there’s always her hot sister.

To read more of Kris Barber’s insights on wine, visit his blog at winerogue.wordpress.com

A (Very!) Brief History of Washington Wine

I’ve been running around the state trying to capture the stories of some of Washington’s wine industry pioneers. The video below is one I made for a recent WSU viticulture and enology program fundraiser, so its very short — but a lot of fun. Hopefully I’ll find the resources to produce a full-length documentary on this subject.

Robert Ramsay Cellars 2006 Syrah, Horse Heaven Hills

His friends call him Bob.

Although his enthusiasts have designated him a “Syrah specialist,” Robert “Bob” Ramsey has flown under the radar from critical analysis and heavy representation on search engines since Robert Ramsay Cellars (RRC) popped their first cork. Grooming his hobby from craft brewing to hard cider and taking his garagiste fermentation to another fruit, Bob cut his full-time winemaking teeth with Coeur d’Alene Cellars in 2001.

Now with RRC, Bob calls himself the chief bottle washer as well as a lesser known role as the sole winemaker.

His modesty can only go so far when his wines boast the title names from vineyard sources like Boushey and McKinley Springs, two of the more revered sites in Horse Heaven Hills. Rightly so, this appellation is riding on the coattails of a few 100-point vintages for Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignons as its only source, with more wineries sprouting up and wanting to soak up a bit of their own Horse Heaven Hills glory.

For the triple-H, long-winded southward-facing slopes hit the chilling breeze from the Columbia Gorge just at the right elevation to kill off rot and fungi, which also manages to stilt the fruit to get balanced acidity from the cold, 50-degree nights yet establish concentrated fruit during the days that average around 100-degrees.

Elisabetta Geppetti Fattoria Le Pupille 2007 Morellino di Scansano

*Bottle #106: Elisabetta Geppetti Fattoria Le Pupille 2007 Morellino di Scansano

*Price Tag: $11

*Retailer: McCarthy & Schiering, Queen Anne

Apparently, a broad heading up the winemaking department at an Italian winery is rare. More typically seen in the old world wine arena is sons of sons of sons (all with the same Christian name that is passed down with the winery itself, mind you), who pick up what their daddies gave them, work until they are no longer physically capable then give it up to the next in line male to do the same thing and carry on tradition.

Apparently, Elisabetta Geppetti did not branch from such a lineage. She started her own.

After discovering a farmhouse blessed with a bounty of  Sangiovese vines, Geppetti single-handedly bought out and revamped the original five-acre property in the late 1970′s, then adding to its size over time. Alongside of the creation of the DOCG dubbed Morellino di Scansano in 1978, Geppetti released her first vintage of the wine under the identical name at the restored winery, Fattoria Le Pupille

French Wine Scholar™ Program, taught by global wine expert, Joel Butler MW (Master of Wine)

December 7, 2010
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
December 14, 2010
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
December 21, 2010
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
December 28, 2010
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
January 4, 2011
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
January 11, 2011
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
January 18, 2011
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
January 25, 2011
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
February 1, 2011
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
February 8, 2011
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
February 15, 2011
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm
February 22, 2011
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm

WineKnow LLC, Seattle’s newest wine appreciation and education company, is the sole provider of the excellent and nationally praised French Scholar Program, a nine week intensive course (including exam) for those who really want to get at the heart of the most highly acclaimed wine country in the world for the last 2 centuries!

Classes include Course Manual, visual presentations, Wine tasting and Final “exam”. When you pass the exam (optional but strongly recommended), you will have the right to the wine-industry recognized post-nominal: French Wine Scholar (FWS) AND on line support. Go to Registration section on mywineknow.com website for class details/dates

WineKnow LLC is: Joel Butler MW (Master of Wine), one of the first two Americans to hold this distinguished Certification, the highest in the wine business (1990), and one of only two MW’s in Washington,and former Director of Education for Ste Michelle Wine Estates, and a global wine judge and writer. He also instructs Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) courses (Look for WSET courses offered by WineKnow starting soon!), the most widely recognized global wine education program.

Karen Graf is: currently Director of Retail operations for DeLille Winery in Woodinville, holds the Advanced Certificate from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, and has worked in the Washington wine industry for over a decade.

Urban Enoteca
4130 1st Ave. South (south of West Seattle Bridge overpass about 2 blocks)
Seattle, WA 98115
ph. 425-765-4080

ONGOING December 7 2010 – Feb. 22, 2011