Date Wines

Deciphering the list

Looking at a wine list can sometimes be daunting task, especially if you’re clueless about wine. So many regions, styles, varieties and prices stare you in the face. Red or white? Cheap or expensive? French or Italian? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Whether you’re a girl or a guy, choosing the right bottle can earn you a couple of notches of respect. If you’re going on a dinner date, lack much wine knowledge, and don’t want to look like a fool when ordering a bottle, you might want to do a little research first. See if you can check out the restaurant’s wine list online to gain some prior knowledge. Similarly, finding out what type of wine your date likes (fuller or lighter, fruity or earthy, oak or no oak) will make choosing much easier. The bottom line in choosing a “good” wine is taking the initiative—and knowing about what’s available, what your dining companion enjoys, and what all those names on a wine list mean. If you can’t access an online wine list, then you are going to have to wing it.

Step 1/Preferences: Ask your date his or her preference before you place the order. Never pick the cheapest or the most expensive wine; go for something in between.

Step 2/The Wines: I often like to start out with some Prosecco. It’s youthful, fresh and bubbly character is perfect match for conversation and appetizer, and its residual sugar makes it user-friendly; you really can’t go wrong. White wines offer lots of options for you and your date. For a fuller, low acid, creamy wine, look to California and Australia for some Chardonnay and Viognier. If you’re in the mood for an aromatic, expressive, lean wine with sassy acidiy and a natural affinity for food, head to France’s Loire Valley’s Sauvignon Blanc wines or to Germany for their dry Riesling. It’s expensive, but Burgundy’s take on Chardonnay is sexy, seductive, and elegant. Try Friulano, Ribolla Gialla and Pinot Grigio from Italy for whites that fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. More expansive than whites are reds, and if you’re date favors wines from the ruby end of the spectrum, you might choose a full, warm and viscous, oak scented wine from California, Australia, or Spain. It’s tough to go wrong with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir. Out of these varietals, Pinot Noir would be the friendliest because of its gorgeous fruit, elegant stature and polished mouth feel. It’s definitely a great date wine, and it’s always a smart way to gauge the tastes of your partne, because you can always hop up to a Merlot, a Cabernet, or Syrah—or dial it down with a Gamay from Beaujolais.

Spain’s Tempranillo, Grenache, Graciano and Mourvedre are full-bodied wines with higher alcohol and bolder fruit. The Provence and the Languedoc Roussillon region of south France give hearty, full wines with great value. Elegant reds require you to head to the Old World of France and Italy. Generally lighter in body, and higher in acidity and earthiness, these wines are great to pair with food. Italy’s Barbera and Dolcetto will satisfy your tastes for tart, berry fruit, a medium body and a low level of tannin, while the Cabernet Franc grape from the Loire Valley offers earthy fruit and fresh acidity. For optimal pairing with pasta, you don’t have to look any further than a nice, lean Chianti; its typical Sangiovese bite and dusty tannins make pasta sing.

Step 3/Confidence: No matter what you do, try to look confident when ordering wine, even if you are clueless. If lost, you can simply ask the waiter to choose a wine that would go nicely with your meal—there is no shame in asking for help. Above all, remember that drinking wine will help you learn and help you choose. Whether the date goes splendidly well or tanks epically well, you can always count on the wine to teach you something new and tasty.

The Brightside of Controversy

Authentic products on your table and in your glass

Italy isn’t exactly shy of controversy — and few people would have the doughtiness to classify Italy as a strict and rule-ridden country. However, when it comes to food and wine, controversy seems to arise, oddly enough, precisely from the strict geographical and production regulations.

A country supported and admired by epicureans, Italy doesn’t take their food and wine production with the proverbial grain of salt. The land of gourmands and winos, the proud home of the Slow Food movement, and the world’s best wine, Italy takes their food and wine seriously, but is the exclusivity and rigidness creating grounds for detrimental PR? Or, in other words, are scandals always bad for business?

Until recent years, the food and wine industry has managed to stay pretty clear from headlines. This all changed though in 2007 when the scandal known as “Brunellopoli” took the front page. (Selected Brunello producers were being investigated for allegedly adulterating their 2003 vintage by using grapes that fell outside the DOCG standards.) Then, in 2009 a new scandal arose—and created the need for an investigation into adulterating wine for Chianti production zones. While no particular producers were publicly cited guilty in either investigation, the controversies at the very least must create skepticism in consumers’ minds.

It doesn’t seem easy to find a silver lining of, say, a betting scandal, political corruption or organized crime, but when it comes to food and wine, I think that good can fall from these scandalous rainclouds. Much of the controversy affecting the wine industry arises from deviations of the strict appellation system (for information on one such appellation see Frank Sansotta’s post on Prosecco’s new DOCG). If the Italian Ministry of Agriculture weren’t so passionate about abiding by the system, and thus protecting their consumers, they would pay little attention to these sorts of adulterations and modifications. Brunellopoli incidents wouldn’t become world shaking controversies if the Ministry of Agriculture wasn’t so particular and regimented. It is, and that’s a good thing.

Similar standards are applied to the Italian food industry—the protected domination of origin ensures that Parmigiano-Reggiano can only be produced in a specific stretch of land. Since taking office in 2008, Italian Minister of Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies Luca Zaia has spent his tenure fighting counterfeiting of Italian food products. Zaia and the Italian government are working to ensure the high quality reputation and authenticity of Italian products, and that when we buy Italian we are in fact getting “the real thing.”

So, sure, it may cause cognitive dissonance to try to wed the idea of Italy with that of stringent rule-keeping; however, when we give that idea the context of the food and wine, we can see how Italy can take the form of a strict disciplinarian. Scandals may erupt, but they also show that Italians are serious about what’s on their tables and in their glasses. And ultimately, these guarantee that we, the consumer, receive only the best.

Winebar, Burger, and Recent Wines of the Night (WOTN)

Plus, New York Wine Tips

At the recommendation of Melissa, our Creative Director, and in the service of finding Manhattan’s next amazing wine bar, I stumbled onto an even more elusive find: a great burger and an incredible red. It was an “OMG,” “WOTN” and “w00t” discovery, all rolled into one.

I experienced what many of us wine enthusiasts look for –that moment when a little patience is rewarded, and that time when the primary and secondary flavors of a wine have evolved and meshed to create a spectrum of tastes. The wine in question was a 1996 Sociando-Mallet, and thanks to Bar Henry’s new “Marketplace” approach, you don’t have to pay the full bottle price to have a glass of vintage wine. Typically, it’s prohibitive to enjoy a respectable thirteen-year-old Bordeaux by the glass at a restaurant. However, when you order half of a bottle of the Sociando-Mallet, Bar Henry opens a fresh bottle, pours half to satisfy your order and then places the remaining half on their “Marketplace” board for others to enjoy. In essence, you are sharing the cost of buying a full bottle of wine. It’s not a bad idea, especially if you are coming in to retrieve the second half after it has had a little time to breathe and open up.

Wine and burgers at Bar Henry

To accompany this unclassified and often unsung wine of Bordeaux’s Left bank, we ordered the La Frieda Burger (named after Patrick La Frieda, the meat master behind some of Manhattan’s landmark burgers at joints such as Shake Shack, Minetta Tavern, among others). Bar Henry provided a tasty and sizeable burger: fresh, juicy, perfect for some vino, and a welcomed change from the 2:00AM Corner Bistro-Bud combo. From the Sociando-Mallet, we moved on to the 2006 Tempier Bandol, which could use a decade of aging, some German beers and more. However, this night belonged to Sociando-Mallet; it’s a wine that’s currently peaking and joins my list of value performers or “WOTN” for the month.

The WOTN List: Value Wines of the Night (December)

1. The 1999 Fontodi Flaccianello: While everyone is focused on buying the 2006s from this Tuscan estate—and with good reason—I have been pouring the 1999. With ten years of age, the wine can be better described as a masculine Brunello. I poured this wine in the company of aged Barolos and single vineyard Pinots for a group of eight enthusiasts two weeks ago. On tasting the Flaccianello, three of the eight stopped what they were saying, stared backed down in their glass for a second take, and then returned their attention to me to say, “I will take a case of that.” This wine is simply on.

2. The 2001 Castello di Cacchiano Chianti Classico Riserva: It’s the little wine that’s capable of changing the perception of Chianti. While most of us consume the Tuscan red within five years of the vintage date, this is a great example of a Chianti Classico showing maturity and providing tertiary notes of mushroom, underbrush, and cherry. We poured this wine at a tasting event for 100 guests outside of Philly, with emphatic responses like “what is that?” and “that’s Chianti?” I completely recommend this wine.

3. The 1996 Chateau Sociando-Mallet: Thanks to Bar Henry, I was able to share a half bottle of this with a friend without a premium, and I am now in the process of asking our Wine Acquisitions Director Christy for some bottles to enjoy at home. This is a classic Bordeaux blend and one of the great values in the overpriced region. I also think this 1996 is great example of how the rating and point system can dissuade enthusiasts from experiencing a great bottle. This wine over-delivers in price and reviews. Visit Bar Henry and try this wine while it’s in its moment, and be sure to ask Patric the bartender-sommelier for his well-prepared and seasonally appropriate Tom and Jerry cocktail. It’s the perfect ending for an evening of wine and burgers.

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