If you want a good wine recommendation ask a food expert–maybe even a gourmet cook. People who put together exquisite meals understand how flavors work together and have a keen sense of smell–perfect skills for recognizing exceptional wines and magical food and wine combinations. After all, what is wine but one the world’s greatest food products?
Therefore it is not surprising that some of the best–and luckily most affordable–wines tasted at the recent Society of Wine Educators (SWE) annual meeting were assembled by Michael Green, consultant to Gourmet magazine. As a consultant and wine educator, Michael lives and works in the world of gourmet food and wine. He presents around the nation at epicurean events and has been featured on Food Network’s “Emeril Live,” “Sara’s Secrets” and “Cooking Live.”
In a SWE session titled “Rediscovering Chile,” Michael presented several wines–all of which are worth buying and some available at local D.C. wine shops (listed below). During his session, Michael offered a well-informed and entertaining presentation that helped other wine educators understand what makes Chilean wines so great.
He explained that Chile is a land of extremes. It’s an extremely vertical country, running a length that is equivalent to the distance between Alaska to Mexico. All this land lies close to the water and contains many mountains—providing myriad microclimates for growing a wide variety of grapes. In addition to high altitudes in some areas, hot temperatures are moderated further by the “Humboldt current”–a cool wind coming from off coast–along with night drafts that emerge from the Andes mountain range.
All these factors ensure that many of Chile’s wine regions experience hot summer days and cool nights. Warm to hot days help ensure ripe grapes with complex flavor and sugar levels, while cool nights help slow the process enough to balance the sugar (which establishes the alcohol levels) with acidity to ensure integrated favors and crisp qualities.
Wines tasted during Michael’s session that are available in the D.C. region include:
2008 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley. This is a light crisp, dry wine with herbal and citrus notes. It is a bit less aggressive than a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but similar in style. It is a great summer wine that would be great with everything from grilled chicken to seafood. Veramonte recommends pairing with “fresh salads, goat cheese, poached fish and more.” It is a very food friendly wine. The Wine Spectator rates it an 85 and describes it as: “Light-bodied and forward, with refreshing lemon peel, thyme and asparagus notes.” It is available at McArthur Beverage for $8.99, at Calvert Woodley for an amazing $6.66, at Total Wine for $8.49, and many other places in the D.C. region.
Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Carmenere, Colchagua Valley Chile. Aged a year in combined French and American Oak, Michael Green described this 100 percent Carmenere wine as “elegant” and “versatile” with “dried red fruit, coffee, and spice.” The Wine Spectator rates this wine a 90 and describes it as: “Quite toasty, with cocoa powder and espresso notes up front, followed by muscular macerated currant and fig fruit flavors mingling with a maduro tobacco hint.” This one is available at McArthur Beverage for $28.99 on sale, and usually retails it for $32.99.
2006 Los Vascos Reserve, Colchaugua Valley. This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (65 percent), Carmenere (20 percent), Syrah (5 percent) and Malbec (5 percent). It is a lovely wine with a complex, relatively long finish. It is fruity with cedar and cigar-box qualities. The Wine Spectator rates this one as an 87 and describes it as: “An elegant style, with cherry and currant fruit laced with tobacco, vanilla and mineral hints. Has nice length on the slightly dusty finish.” It is available at Calvert Woodley for $18.99 and Total Wine for $14.99.
Originally published on Examiner.com.
