This wine-lover may hate to dress up for Halloween (it’s just not her thang!), but she does have an eye for the more frightful wine headlines of late. Check out this devil of a line up!

We’ve talked about Chinese Tiger wines… now we may be talking about the flavor profile of wines that spent time in Chinese oak barrels. No joke, the Tonelería Magreñán coooperage in La Rioja, Spain took a little trip to China and came back glowing with the prospect of making barrels from Chinese oak, Quercus Mongolicus. More precisely, this oak comes from a forest in Mongolia that is actually two times the size of Spain. Apparently this oak is not for the faint-hearted! No one yet knows what this oak will really offer… Are you scared at the prospect? Or are you all for further advancements/changes in the wine-producing world?

Next up we have a sad, but no less frightening story of life and death. Have you ever made your own wine? If not but you are an aspiring winemaker, experience shows you must ventilate the fermentation area!  Two friends helping an amateur winemaker died recently due to Carbon Dioxide poisoning.  Check out the story for yourself here.

Our final report on this Halloween day is about dear Dr. Frankenstein, who has been at it again.  Or well, at least another celebrity wine monster has been created… Routers reported on Tuesday that “Sopranos Wines are being produced under a licensing agreement between the TV network HBO and New-York based Vesuvio Import Company. The wines will be distributed by Duggan’s Distillers Products Corp.” Yep! That’s Vesuvio as in the name of the restaurant from the series we all came to know so well. Clever perhaps. But do you think the wine will be worth any snuff?

White wines aren’t just a summer thang. (One of the best turkey wines is actually Pinot Gris from Alsace or Oregon!) And this time of year it can be really fun to expand your white wine horizons by looking into fabulous white blends. Think of old favorites like Evolution 9. Conundrum. Luna Freakout. The list goes on and on! The trick is finding fun white blends that have a little extra oomph to get you through the colder nights. A little residual sugar might not hurt either (think Anne Amie Cuvee Amrit!).

Since last week we talked about the awsome red blend SNAFU put out by the Local Wine Company, its only fair for me to let you in on the goodness that is their white wine blend: ‘06 JuneHog Oregon White. Yum. Oh wait, but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself…

Ever heard of Mueller Thurgau? Mueller is another one of the man-made varietals we’ve talked about lately. Back in the late 19th Century Dr. Thurgau created this hybrid varietal. His goal was to create a grape with the intensity of Riesling but with the ability to ripen earlier; he used Sylvaner to achieve the latter.  He didn’t quite get an A+ on his project, but he didn’t do too badly either. Mueller wines are fruity, but low in acidity. They are medium sweet, too, and very smooth.  This varietal makes up the greatest component of the JuneHog, coming in at 33% of the wine’s juice.

The next largest component of the JuneHog is Gewurtztraminer, or the “spicy white grape” that actually got its start in Traminer, Italy, but happens to have a German name. Go figure! Gewurtz is sweet, spicy, fruity, full-figured and has gorgeous floral aromas. (Trade “secret”: Gewurtz is actually sweeter than Riesling!) This grape brings 22% of the juice to the JuneHog blend.

The third largest component of this fun blend is Pinot Gris (21%). Recall from earlier posts Pinot Gris is the genetic mutant of Pinot Noir. Alsatian-style Pinot Gris is full bodied and offers ripe-fruit sweetness on the palate.  These wines are down right lovely on their own, let alone in a blend!

Pinot Blanc clocks in at 16% of the June Hog blend, which gets finished off with just a touch of Riesling (5%, if I’ve done the math right). I’m not sure how much time we’ve spent on Pinot Blanc together. But the thing to know is when winemakers don’t oak it, or stir it on the lees or otherwise “interfere” with it, PB offers terrific apple and almond flavors. As such, it can be one of the softest yet lightest (read: high acid) white wines on offer. A treat on their own and perhaps even better in some blends.

What do all these various components mean for the JuneHog experience? Let’s put it this way: this is the wine I want to drink on a cool fall day when I’m sitting in my Adirondack chair on some beach or even on my front porch – glass of wine in hand, a blanket at the ready and my book propped on my lap. Something mouthfilling yet clean you don’t have to think twice to enjoy. Warm sun, crisp air, relaxation. (Snacks optional – but with this wine you won’t go wrong with the pairing you choose!)

What’s your favorite fall white (blend) this year?

Last weekend I went out to dinner at one of my favorite local spots. They change their somewhat small, but uniquely satisfying menu frequently, ensuring they always offer the best seasonal fare. What’s even more fun for me is their enormous wine list. Thinking about it now (chuckling), there are probably 10 different red and 10 different white wine options that could pair with every one dish!  I always enjoy navigating their extensive list to pair a wine for both me and my date to enjoy with our different meals.

On Saturday night my date was having grilled veal chops, with couscous and a fried onion. I was having the rosemary chicken breast, with fingerling potatoes, leeks and roasted garlic. Each of these dishes was a great example of tasty American fare. Nothing pretentious about either. No unique dressing or gravy. Just good ole fashioned, albeit beautifully prepared, comfort food.

Sometimes you just want something that’s easy drinking. Sometimes your meal is classically satisfying and delicious enough you don’t need to spend the extra cash on a truly remarkable bottle of wine. Better yet, sometimes you just can’t spend the extra few dollars.

An ideal pairing for both of our dishes may have been a very earthy, more robust New World style Pinot Noir. But none jumped out at me on the list. We had also been spoiled by a truly gorgeous bottle of Pinot with the same characteristics the night before. (We had homemade chicken marsala with rosemary mashed potatoes; we splurged on the Reynold’s Family Pinot Noir – and it was a tremendous delight). I decided to turn my attention to their basic red table wine offerings.

I know some of you out there may be timid to opt for such a selection when out to eat at a nice place. Here’s my thinking on the matter: If the wine buyer at the restaurant is going to take the time to pick out so many beautiful offerings, you can be almost certain their table wine option(s) is/are solid. Will the wine knock your socks off? Not necessarily. But will it be food friendly (having solid acidity and/or tannin) and otherwise scratch the itch? No doubt.

Wine shopping tip: My favorite every-day table wine is the Cayalla Red with fruit from both Washington and Oregon. Keep an eye out for it! Since that wasn’t on the list, we ended up with Fenestra True Red Lot 22. For this wine Fenestra blends French and Spanish varietals, 56% from the Rhone Valley, 25% from Bordeaux, and 19% from Spain. I have to say too, this wine is an example when ‘vintage’, or each year they make it, matters. Technically it is a non vintage wine, but their previous release (Lot 21) was not exactly my favorite…. When I tasted the Lot 22 a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised. It offers terrific red raspberry aromas, and delivers black cherries and raspberries on the palate. A hint of earthy leather comes to fruition as it opens. The Lot 22 is medium-bodied, its acidity is dead on and the tannins are delightfully smooth. These elements make the wine enjoyable on its own, too – before your meal even arrives.

Was my date blown away by my selection? Not this time. Was that my goal? Not entirely. I wanted something that would split the difference for us, perfectly palatable where the food could shine and our thirst would be quenched. It did both.

I’d argue a good table wine comes in a notch or two above “plonk” – reasonably priced for reasonably good juice.

What’s your favorite, go-to Table Wine?

I feel I owe your eyes a bit of a rest after my exuberant postings of late. (I know I can get carried away with my enthusiasm!) And today I’m curious what you think….

In the world of wine “trends” I often find myself consulting on wine-related fundraising events. And, ’tis the season for them! Once the wine trade season is over (early October) it’s as if the entire wine-drinking community takes the ball and runs with it – for great causes, too!

So today I hope you’ll share with me and your friends…

Which type of wine fundraisers have you attended in the past (dinner, gala, informal tasting/auction, etc)?

What was your motivation – the good deed, the merriment, or both?

Is there an upcoming event you want others to know about?

Today the rain and leaves are swirling and the sun isn’t due to show itself.  On burly fall days like these, there’s nothing better than an awesome bottle of wine to hunker down with and lift your spirits!

The last few weeks I’ve broken down the nerdier nuances of cool red varietals perfect for fall. While fabulous on their own, sometimes the best of the best are actually blends of a few – or several – different grapes. Given the circumstances outside my office window, it’s only appropriate that we start exploring these finds with the 2005 SNAFU red blend.

SNAFU? Yep! That would be translated as Situation Normal All F***d Up. This wine is the brainchild of both Paul Moser (Winemaker) and the Local Wine Company, a group dedicated to bringing us some of the coolest blends from the Pacific Northwest and California. I get the sense that the Chicago-based wine geeks at LWC get an idea for a wine and then send their general, and no doubt entertaining, musings to one of the folks in their winemaking contingency….

I can’t help but think for the 2005 SNAFU red wine the LWC Powers That Be gave Mr. Moser notes that said something like, “we want a wine with tremendous chutzpah that sources as many grapes from as many subregions in California as possible – and still maintains a sense of place…. You know, the wine you want to come home to at the end of a long day that reminds you of something familiar, but gives you a little something more, too.”  Moser did their ‘request’ justice, though from the sounds of it, what’s tucked inside that bottle wasn’t necessarily what was originally planned; they did call it SNAFU, after all!

SNAFU is a blend of 42% Petite Sirah (the monster grape) & 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 8% Merlot and Syrah, 6% Zinfandel and 3% Petite Verdot (the late-bloomer on the playground this fall). What’s noteworthy about this wine is how well each of the grapes in this blend harmonize. It’s tremendous, in fact! It’s greatest component, Petite Sirah, is cold soaked for four days and then pressed to concentrate the fruit. This technique offers the wine fabulous depth (that “oomph” and backbone we spoke about earlier), but manages how much tannin (dryness) remains in the final product. The Cabernet, also cold pressed, offers classic flavors of currant, black fruits, and spice. I argue the Merlot contributes a softer, more elegant edge, and brings home the (similar) fruit flavors you get from the Cab. The Syrah adds a touch of earthiness and herbaceousness; the Zin provides berry sweetness, and the Petit Verdot offers its color and floral aromatics.

I know I don’t offer my own wine notes that often on this site, but I do have quite a bit of fun writing them for myself and my clients and their guests. Here’s what I came up with the last time I gave this wine a whirl!

This wine’s name says it all: Situation Normal… and it is wonderful as a result! This is a killer blend of Petite Sirah (42%), Cabernet Sauvignon (33%), and other red varietals sourced from various vineyards throughout California. SNAFU opens with all the panache you can imagine, fresh blueberry and raspberry fruits explode onto the stage. Then you taste its earthier side, as if it had to take a quick walk through a wet forest to collect itself before the curtain went up. And yet it all comes together easily, delivering a well-executed, perfectly delightful performance. Buy your tickets to this show early!

What red blends are you a fan of this fall season?