Argentina's Bonarda Making a Comeback

Argentina means Malbec, right? For many people that is the logical and most accurate perception. But long before Malbec became the rage, Bonarda was the grape of choice in that South American country.

I’ve written many times about Malbec as a great introduction to new varietals and also written about Malbec as one of Argentina’s best-known exports. But it might surprise many to know there is nearly the same amount of Bonarda planted in Argentina as Malbec.

Bonarda has been a staple in Argentina’s wine industry for years, used mostly in blending and for table wines. It is believed the grape came originally from Northern Italy’s Piedmont region. One school of thought was that Bonarda was California’s Charbono but that theory has been dismissed.

There is another faction that believes the grape comes from Savoie, France. But whether it genetically got its start in Italy or France, it’s definitely known as Argentine today.

The wines are easy to drink, fruity and very inexpensive. They have a bright and fresh texture with just enough acidity and even a little pepper. In most cases you’ll get really rich flavor along the lines of raspberries and other dark fruit from this deep purple juice.

The wine is easy to drink and good with grilled meat and red sauces.
A little research shows the grape is frequently described as the “workhorse” grape. It demands heat and sunshine, provides big yields, and is usually less expensive than Malbec.

It’s all over the internet that many of Argentina’s winemakers are taking a second look. Malbec has really taken the world by storm over the last decade. Could Bonarda be next?

I first discovered Bonarda at a wine bar in San Francisco in 2006 and have searched for great ones since. It seems in recent months more Bonarda is turning up in Central Indiana wine shops.

It’s pretty easy to find a Malbec/Bonarda blend. There will even be a little Syrah thrown into some bottlings. It’s tougher to find the 100 percent Bonardas but worth the effort.

I like the wine’s richness, acidity, and it has a certain earthy or smoky characteristic that many wine drinkers will find enjoyable.

Besides my pick-of-the-week below, here are a few names of reliable Bonarda producers: Familia Zuccardi, Altos, Alamos, Argento, Caligiore, Sur de los Andes.

Howard’s Pick:
Durigutti 2007 Bonarda – This is one of the best Bonardas I’ve found since that first one in San Francisco. It has a big, earthy nose of dark fruit. I picked up a little plum and it has an astringency I like in red wine. Although I paid $14 for this at an Indiana shop, the wine is widely advertised for as low as $10-$11.

Many Great Wine Choices for Steak

If you love summer grilling and struggle with a good wine pairing you’re not alone. Too many people fall back to the classic Cabernet Sauvignon or maybe Merlot when there’s beef on the barbeque.

I love a powerful Cabernet with a charred piece of beef tenderloin anytime of the year but many palates aren’t accustomed to the tannins and dryness of a big Cab. Perhaps you’re trying something new on the grill or just want something different.

There are lots of options and it’s fun to pair a familiar food like steak to a new wine. I think that’s a great way to find something you’ll really like.

Argentina is the great beef-producing country and if you have a steak there you’ll be served Malbec. I think Malbecs are a logical match for about any grilled steak. Malbec is almost always lower in alcohol than Cabernet too. The Malbec is going to be smoother, probably less tannic, and a great match for most beef.

How about thinking outside the box with tonight’s steak? If dinner was going to be a red-sauce pasta dish you’d probably reach for an Italian Chianti. If you’re putting a red barbeque sauce on beef ribs why not pair it with the Italian classic wine?

If you like to really coat your grilled beef with cracked black pepper and make a spicy steak, then a peppery California Zinfandel makes a lot of sense with its big fruit forward characteristics and spicy finish. Another alternative for those who shy away from big wines would be a jammy Australian Shiraz.

If the steak flavor is big, try an earthy Cotes du Rhone wine from France. If it’s a special occasion and your budget allows, go all out and serve an earthy but bigger Chateanuneuf-du-Pape from the Rhone. CdP wines were all the rage a few years ago but they’re not cheap. Entry point for a good one will start in the $35 range.

But there are lots of great Cotes du Rhone wines at reasonable prices. My top wine of 2009 was a $12 Patric Lesec Bouquet bottling from the Cotes du Rhone region that would be really good with grilled beef.

If your dinner guests are big Pinot Noir fans, yes Pinot can work with beef, use a Pinot Noir you know. The California Russian River Valley Pinots and some from the Monterrey area tend to be big wines that will hold up.

Traditional Burgundy and Oregon Pinot Noir made in a more delicate style are probably going to be a better pairing for a lighter grilled meat - think lamb!

And if your beef is hamburger don’t think the beverage has to be beer. Frankly, a grilled burger may give you the greatest flexibility to match a great wine. Hamburger and Cabernet will work just fine! A mild Italian Valpolicella would make great sense with a burger. If you want something even lighter, especially if you don’t know your guests’ tastes, try a French Beaujolais or South Africa’s Pinotage.

Howard’s Picks:
Alamos 2007 Seleccion Malbec – This is one of the best Malbecs I’ve had under $20. It has rich flavor and intensity you just don’t get in most value wines. It’s deep purple with hints of caramel and cherry. You can find it in bigger wine retail outlets for $16-$20.

Follow Along: I’ll be traveling Michigan’s wine country July 13-16 and blogging daily about the wineries and experience. Most of the visit will concentrate on the beautiful Leelanau County area in northwestern Michigan. Follow along on my blog - Grape Sense - A Glass Half Full.

The Rise of South African Wines

Sports have long been a catalyst for economic development. You don’t have to look any farther than Indianapolis. Indy city leaders built the RCA Dome, Conseco Fieldhouse, and now Lucas Oil Stadium not just for the sports teams but to lure business, improve the economic climate downtown and create new business.

As the eyes of the soccer world look to South Africa, the South African wine industry is trying to capitalize on all of the attention.

Wine production dates back to at least the 1600s but the years of apartheid stymied any international expansion. Right now South African wines are one of the “hottest things” in the wine world.

The World Cup has been the necessary impetus to build the wine brand in South Africa and around the world. Project Laduma started in 2008 aiming to create 2010 wine stewards by this summer’s World Cup. The wine industry’s marketing arm, Wines of South Africa, came up with the job-creating idea to welcome World Cup guests.
WSA funded the drive by having members create specific red wines to be sold to finance the steward training. The red wines sold to the consumer at the $15-$20 price point. About half of the 2,000 workers were identified as restaurant workers but the other half came from the nation’s unemployed.

But the country hasn’t been looking inward only. South Africa exports more than 10 million gallons of wine annually. Nearly 300,000 people are employed in the wine industry. The country produces less than four percent of the world’s wine, ranking it eighth in overall volume.

The country has nine wine regions with the most recognized being Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Constantia. The country grows a lot of Cabernet, Shiraz, and Pinot Noir. Riesling, Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc are also plentiful. Chenin Blanc, sometimes called Steen, is the most widely grown grape in the Cape region. It is often cited as South Africa’s best white.

South Africa’s signature grape is Pinotage. It’s one wine many people have heard of and perhaps never tried. It is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. The Cinsaut grape normally adds a certain softness and fragrant nose to wine. Pinotage dates back to 1925 and has had its ups and downs. It’s not the most widely planted grape but it is South African’s best known original.

The wine has smoky, earthy, tones that are usually quite smooth. As a point of reference, I’d compare the taste of Pinotage to France’s Gamay grape. Gamay is the grape behind Beaujolais wines.

Now a bit of advice before you rush off to the wine shop, ask for advice. I had not purchased much South African wine before preparing to write this column. My purchases were hit and miss. Fairview is a big and consistent producer. Other names to look for are Neil Ellis, Nederburg, Ken Forrester, Kanonkop, and De Wetshof Estate. Those are just a very few.

Howard’s Pick:

Nederburg 2007 Pinotage: A beautiful, deep purple wine that has great dark fruit on the front of the palate, a solid mid plate that will keep you interested, and a little bit of oak on the finish for a well-balanced wine! Nederburg makes a very drinkable introduction to South African wines. You can find this bottling at many places in Indiana at $10-$14 a bottle.

Hosting Your Own Wine Tasting Party

One of the great joys of wine is sharing it with others. Not only do you enjoy the companionship but you’re likely to learn something about the wine you’re drinking. You can read and even study about wine but drinking it and sharing your thoughts with friends is one of the best ways to improve your wine knowledge.

Hosting a wine tasting might sound pretentious or something you’d do in a fancy wine shop or fancy home. But all you really need for a great and unique evening is a few friends and a plan. I’m here to help with the plan.

Here is what you’ll need besides the wine: wine glasses, unflavored cocktail crackers, mild cheeses, napkins, paper plates, and a great sense of humor.

The wine obviously depends on the group. But for first-time wine tasting party, I’d suggest keeping it simple. There is no great guideline to how many wines. From experience hosting and participating in wine tastings, I would suggest that 6-7 wines are the maximum before the palate starts to go flat. Pour about a two-ounce amount into each glass and let the fun begin.

Someone has to lead your group through the tasting. If you have a friend who knows wine that’s great but anyone really can do it. Think of your leader as more of a discussion stimulator and less of a real oenophile.

Provide small notepads and pens so your guests and write down a few thoughts and ask them to rate each wine on a 1-5 scale.

Keep your wines consistent in price. A good starting point is the $12-$15 range. There are many choices of good wine at that price point. And choose some variety and new wines. There isn’t much use in hosting a tasting and doing nothing but Chardonnay, Merlot, and maybe a Cab. Try a Malbec, Shiraz, or Zinfandel. Be sure to include at least one white – A.B.C. – anything but Chardonnay!

Start by introducing the wine. What is it? Who made it? Where was it made? What is the alcohol percentage? The notes on the back of most bottles can be very helpful. Encourage your guests to swirl the wine in their glass and look and think about the color. The next step is one of the most pleasurable for me – really get your nose into the glass and enjoy the smell. Can you identify certain smells in the wine? Start with something easy. Get a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and ask if they can smell the grass. (They’ll think you’re a genius!)

When tasting the wine suggest your guests think about the wine as it hits their mouth, travels mid-palate, and then the finish when they swallow the wine. Do they taste fruit up front? Do they get something different as the wine lingers? Is it acidic or do they feel a bit of heat (alcohol) as they swallow the wine? Get everyone involved in the discussion. There are no wrong answers. If the bottle says the taste has dark cherry and currant, and someone tastes melon just encourage them!

Then it’s time to evaluate the wine. What did the group like or dislike about the wine? Have everyone make some notes and move on.

Having some plain crackers, bread, and cheese to cleanse the palate. Most supermarkets have Swiss Gruyere which works well with most wines.

The evening ends with a final discussion. Which wines did they like the best or least? You’ll find it fascinating to see the differing opinions.

Leading a group of friends through some new wines is one of my favorite activities. If you give it a try, I think you’ll agree.

Howard W. Hewitt, Crawfordsville, In., is a former career journalist who writes about wine. Read his blog at: www.redforme.blogspot.com

Young People Moving to Wine

As anyone even mildly interested knows, wine sales have been on a steady climb since the early 1990s. One trend which has been well documented by the sales people and through ever-increasing anecdotal evidence is younger people are drinking more wine.

The Nielsen Company recently issued reports on the drinking preferences for “millennials.” Millennials are generally described as the generation born in the late 1970s and into the 90s.

The first thing to keep in mind is that generation grew up with choices the Baby Boomer generation never thought possible. While Boomers were thrilled to choose from Pepsi, Coke, 7-Up or Dr. Pepper, the millennials have enjoyed convenience stores with a wall full of coolers with many choices of beverage.

For decades the adult beverage of choice has been beer within this age group. That’s still true but the numbers are changing. The beer numbers have decreased for more than a decade – though a frosty cold one still comes out on top. Millennial consumers spend 47 percent of their alcohol dollars on beer, 27 percent on spirits, and 26 percent on wine.

Growing up with all those choices mean the young adult consumer isn’t afraid to try Micro-Brew beers or wine from New World producers.

The younger consumer also likes the better-known and more expensive brands while Boomers are more likely to buy the value labels – at least when it comes to spirits.
The Millennials are red wine drinkers by a 51-44 percent margin. It’s not difficult to figure the favorites would be Cabernet and Pinot Noir. Chardonnay remains the favorite white. But the younger age group does buy more Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling than the older consumer.

Here is the opening for wine retailers and educators. One of the interesting facts I read in the story about the Nielsen report was many young consumers believe they know something about wine but more than one-third wanted to learn more!

Here are a couple of other interesting things in the wine news world:

- A recent report by the Wine Market Council reports women have surpassed men as once-a-week wine drinkers. The report said 53 percent of the wine drinkers in the U.S. are women.

- Guess who is buying up all those Bordeaux wine futures? If you guessed the Chinese, then you’d be right! The San Jose Mercury-News recently reported that California is gaining ground, though. China wine consumption has doubled since 2004.

The Chinese don’t bat at an eye spending big money for French Bordeaux and are a major players in Bordeaux wine futures. But California wine exporters are trying to target the middle class with California wines.

Still, the staggering numbers belong to the French. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, China imports 46 percent of its wine from France, 20 percent from Australia, 8 percent from Italy, and then comes the U.S. at 5 percent.

- I wrote a column in early March about all of the great values available, particularly through the internet, due to worldwide wine supplies and the economy. And, that’s still true. But the U.S. market seems to be recovering. Wines & Vines, a wine industry news site, reported U.S. sales of off-premise table wine increased 6.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago. That followed a four-week period of increases just over 5 percent.

Howard W. Hewitt, Crawfordsville, is a wine enthusiast and former journalist. Read his wine blog, updated throughout each week, at: www.redforme.blogspot.com

Warm Weather Means Time for Light Wines

Warmer weather is time to break out the lighter and refreshing wines. That means it’s white wine time even for you non-white wine drinkers.

If you are one of those people – and I admit to former membership – who ‘only’ drink red wine, it’s time to expand your palate. Instead of the usual suspects, today’s column is about exploring which might be new to you.

Let’s start with Pinot Gris. The grape is thought to be a clone of Pinot Noir and it’s also known as Pinot Grigio. I’d recommend you try Oregon’s Pinot Gris. Pinot Gris/Grigio is fast becoming one of the more popular white wines in the United States. It’s great with chicken, pork, and about any fish dish.

Pinot Gris is a light- or delicate-flavored wine with nice floral scents and the expected lemon citrus. Much of the wine from Oregon is stainless-steel aged so you get a clean, crisp, and slightly acidic white wine.

You can buy a Pinot Grigio from Italy and find an even lighter and drier white wine than many of Oregon’s examples. But you’d be missing out on some of Italy’s best white offerings. Soave is a personal favorite perfect for warmer months. It is close to Pinot Grigio but still has different taste characteristics. It’s grown largely in the Veneto region and is Italy’s best-selling white wine.

If you think of Spanish white wines, the signature grape is Albarino. This grape is much closer to a crisp and acidic Sauvignon Blanc than the others already mentioned. It’s very light in body, with hints of mineral, and its fabulous white wine with about any fish. Albarino will be acidic, but when paired with seafood you’ll find an enjoyable match.

If you want something not quite as dry or acidic, then I’d suggest Argentina’s Torrontos grape. This wine has a much sweeter mouth feel than matches my palate, but many are going to like it. It is intensely floral and a terrific bargain. You can find many great Torrontos wines at $9-$12.

If you’re a traditionalist and willing to spend a few more dollars, then you should be trying the really awesome Chablis whites from the Burgundy region of France. Remember Burgundy only grows two grapes – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Chablis is Chardonnay that is often done in a light style without ever seeing oak. Some of the higher end Chablis will have a combination of juice aged in vats and wood. They are beautiful wines but at a higher price.

I recently wrote about Indiana’s signature grape, Traminette - a great summer ‘sipper.” More than half of Indiana’s 40-plus wineries produce a Traminette wine. Most of those are on the sweeter side. They are all under $15 and great on the porch with friends.

Other great summer whites: Try a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, Italy’s very dry Gavi, an unoaked Chardonnay from New Zealand, or Gruner Veltliner from Austria. And, don’t forget the Reisling!

Howard’s Picks:
Lange 2008 Pinot Gris – This winery has been one of the pioneers for Pinot Gris in Oregon. This limited-production white wine has hints of orange, lemon, and a zesty citrus feel in the mouth. ($16)

Burgan’s 2007 Albarino – I love this wine. With strong lemon and a floral bouquet of a nose, you’ll have a hard time putting this down before the food hits the table. It’s extremely well balanced and affordable. ($12)

Howard W. Hewitt, Crawfordsville, is a wine enthusiast and former journalist. Read his blog at: www.redforme.blogspot.com

Time to Stop "Dissing" Boxed Wine

There’s boxed lunches, Jack-In-The-Box burgers, and boxed wine.

What do those three things have in common? Generally, they are best all avoided.

But that has changed with recent innovations in boxed wine. Yes, it’s okay to drink your Chardonnay, Cabernet, or red wine blend from a tap on the kitchen counter.

Now, before the purists drop their newspaper and wonder what wine that guy must be drinking, consider the uproar 20 years ago when screw caps started turning up on wine. Today the screw cap has become common place in the value wine market. As a matter of fact, I purchased a $40 California Pinot Noir a few weeks ago with a screw cap! That would have been unthinkable just a decade ago. And it was a great $40 wine.

Franzia, long the standard bearer for box wine, is one of the biggest selling names in wine. The good news is companies now pack wine in vacuum sealed containers that preserve the wine for up to six weeks.

I recently tasted two different wines packaged in the Octavin Home Wine Bar system. Ten different wines are being offered in the three-liter containers – or about 20 five-ounce glasses of wine. The price for the boxed juice runs $22-$24.

The Octavin system is a patent-pending design which prevents oxidation. Another huge upside to the wine box according to the Octavin folks is its green efficiency. By choosing boxed wine over heavy glass bottles, you reduce packaging waste by at least 85 percent and carbon emissions by 55 percent.

There are other innovations going on in the wine world. Wine is turning up in cans and experiments are going on with plastic bottles and how that might impact the wine. A revolution takes time but consider the possibilities. Anyone who has ever picked up a great bottle of Pinot Noir probably thought they were getting a bicep workout.

Another big advantage to box packaging systems is the convenience. For those who just want a simple glass of wine, the boxed wines provide just that without wondering what to do with the rest of the bottle or how to preserve it.

I was sent two different boxed wines by the marketing company for the Octavin Company. I have been sampling a Monthaven 2008 Central Coast Chardonnay since March 31. I last tasted the wine April 21. While Chardonnay isn’t my favorite varietal, and this one is a tad thin, the wine tasted no different over that four-week time frame.

I also have a box of Big House Red which I just opened recently. It’s a blend of Syrah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and about a half dozen more grapes. Big House Red is widely available and a nice every day wine. It usually lists around $11, but the Octavin box sells for $22.

I’ve tasted other box wines in retail shops in the last year and, frankly, been blown away at the quality of the wine. Now, make no mistake this isn’t wine you’re going to be reading about in Wine Spectator or from the nation’s top critics. But the wines I’ve tasted make a nice single glass of wine from a container which will keep it fresh for up to six weeks.

The idea is catching on across the nation. Last year box wine sales went up 24 percent, according to the Nielsen research folks.

Boxed wine is no longer a punch line for wine enthusiastists. Now, if we could just do something to reduce the calories in those great Jack-In-The-Box burgers!