Taking the edge off…

It’s only the start of October and an intense autumnal cold front has transformed Lake Michigan into a boisterous, unfriendly seascape, reminding anyone who lives near it why Chicago is indeed called the “Windy City.” Here in Hinsdale, these brisk winds seem to make even the trees shiver as leaves start falling in earnest, and we are forced to bring out sweaters and soft, warm clothes much sooner than we would have liked. The first real chilly weather of the season is always a bit of a jolt to the system, but Hinsdale Wine Cellars has two October “inspired” club selections that will likely take the edge off this gusty weather and provide the perfect calm in these storms. Here is a rich, almost heavy white wine that most definitely is not the white you’d choose on hotter days. Additionally, a soul-soothing Zinfandel provides heartiness and needed warmth after a day in dreary weather. The Hope family produces both wines, which seems amusingly apropos during these times when we could use a little extra “hope.”

2008 Treana White

An intense yellow color, this blend of 55% Marsanne and 45% Viognier provides a flavorful, exotic experience from a northern vineyard in Santa Lucia’s highlands. The Treana White is wonderfully tropical on both the nose and palate.  A Rhône-style wine, it carries bright floral and citrus blossom aromas with hints of jasmine. A slight oakiness augments papaya, guava, mango and other tropical flavors that have clear accents of honey and honeysuckle. This is a surprisingly rich, even viscous white wine with a long finish and full mouth-feel. It’s also wonderfully food-friendly and is a perfect match for those aromatic meals we love at this time of year like a garlic-rosemary roast chicken or savory apple and sage pork roast.

Candor Zinfandel Lot 3

The Hope family aims for perfection with its Zinfandel, opting to mix vintages to create fresh, bright wines that exhibit youthful, vibrant flavors while possessing the rich complexity of more mature wine.  Candor Lot 3 blends the unique characteristics of 2008, 2009 and 2010 vintages from the Paso Robles and Lodi appellation. The result? Another gorgeously rich wine with those strong berry flavors that accompany good Zinfandel.  On the nose, you’ll sense licorice and vanilla. To taste, it’s a mix of strawberries, cherries, chocolate, toasted spice and pepper with a zing of acidity. Silky tannins provide a lush, full mouth-feel and long finish. And with a red wine this luscious, it may serve as the centerpiece to your dinner after a cold-commute home – able to stand up to strong, flavorful cheeses or upgrade even ordinary carry-out pizza into a little bit of heaven.

 

Cowabunga! Perfect wines for summer’s end

Ah, Labor Day weekend…you come upon us so quickly…too quickly, in fact. It seems like just yesterday that we were rejoicing in the long days, but complaining about humidity that really just gave us a good reason to sip our favorite ice-cold beverages more eagerly. Sure, we can see the tinge of brown on the Horse Chestnut tree leaves, and we see our rose gardens starting to falter a bit, but it’s hard to say goodbye to our dear friend, summer. Autumn may pledge to us artful landscapes and more sensible temperatures, but it doesn’t hold the same promise of leisure. And, are we really ready to see swimming pools close, the kids begrudgingly resume homework and our work commute be awash in moonlight?  Of course, the answer is “no,” but thankfully, Hinsdale Wine Cellars has prepared for this eventuality.

September’s Inspired Wine Club offers the perfect wine coupling to ease you into autumn. Just as you are performing your final cannonball dives of the season, we present two of Cannonball Winery’s finest. These wines will comfort the soul with their iconic childlike diver on the label placating your last pangs of summer nostalgia. Yes, two wines that happily accompany your grill fare as well as your renewed autumn stews—perfect for Hinsdale weather as it too tries to settle into the upcoming cooler season.

2009 Cannonball Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County

If you believe the winemaker (and why shouldn’t you? It’s the beloved, skillful Dennis Hill), this Cab may be the winery’s very best vintage ever, and that’s coming from a winery that prides itself on its Cabs. Thanks to Mother Nature, all the conditions were right for creating fantastic Cabs in 2009. And so, here we have a gorgeous, smooth, full-bodied specimen that pushes the fruit forward with just a small addition of Syrah. In addition to the jammy dark berry, cherry and plum flavors is a wonderful bit of warmed dark chocolate, some autumnal spiciness and softened toasted oak. The tannins add dimension but don’t overwhelm, and the acidity makes for a balanced wine with a long finish. Match it to a Porterhouse steak on the grill, a warming beef Bourguignon, or on its own as a sipper. Red wine lovers won’t be disappointed.

2010 Cannonball Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma County

This limited-release wine promises the perfect send-off to summer during your Labor Day celebrations. The long, cool growing season in 2010 produced flavorful grapes with balanced acidity. The nose overflows with the fruitiness of honeydew, papaya, citrus and a smidge of white pepper. In the mouth, its minerality juxtaposes so nicely with the honeysuckle and melon flavors. This wine won’t weigh you down. It is smooth, refreshing and a great accompaniment to seafood, your favorite pastas and salads, or for quaffing alone as you enjoy those diminishing picturesque summer sunsets from your backyard deck or screened-in porch.

 

Montalcino’s Brunello: A Taste of Tuscan Perfection

Perhaps sheep, goats and a cowbell-clad donkey don’t greet everyone heading down the dirt and gravel road to La Magia vineyard in Montalcino, but they should. Even as a particular long-horned goat unflinchingly stared into our car, my four wine-loving friends and I had to chuckle at the setting’s perfection: a Tuscan sun illuminating the verdant pastures and vineyards, a charming cowbell clinking in concert with the leaves that gently swished in the breeze, the smell of lavender and herbaceous air – how could fabulous wine NOT be produced in this environment?

And sure enough, as we made our way to the unassuming vineyard known as Fattoria La Magia, we were soon to learn just how great that wine could be. Winemaker and owner Fabian Schwarz greeted us and casually took us to a hillside overlooking his grapes with a breathtaking view that also included a distant Benedictine St. Antimo abbey that Charlemagne built so many centuries ago. While it is far from being the biggest vineyard in the world (approximately 52 hectares of which you can see all of it from this one vantage point), here is a winery that has flourished, exporting its wine around the world.

“Do you ever get sick of this view,” I said while transfixed by the gentle vineyards with the abbey beyond and a backdrop of the majestic Apennine Mountains.

Fabian chuckled and said, “No, but sometimes they look even better after I have been away traveling.”

The Brunello everybody loves

Most wine experts will say that Brunello is Tuscany’s greatest wine varietal; others say it is the best in all of Italy. Roughly translated as “nice dark one,” this is a red wine lover’s dream with its smooth tannins and robust dark fruit and leather flavors. Brunello di Montalcino was awarded with the first DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) in 1980, which means it can only be grown and produced in Montalcino, that everything used to make the wine must also come from Montalcino and that it can only be made from 100 percent Brunello grapes, which are a perfected clone of the Sangiovese grape that dates back to the mid-19^th century. Fabian explained that Brunello must age at least two years in oak barrels and a minimum of four years overall as part of the DOCG rules. Riserva Brunello ages at least two and a half years in oak barrels and five years overall.

Like many of the local winemakers, Fabian and his wife offer tastings and tours by appointment, and depending on what you taste and whether you would like some charcuterie alongside your wines, the price ranges between 10 and 18 Euro ($14-25 US).  The tour starts in the vineyard, goes through the cellars and finishes outside under a shady tree, where the family dog is quick to nestle herself comfortably under the tables as well.

It’s this kind of environment that allows one to learn about the challenges a winemaker has and see the parts of winemaking that drive his passion. My friend’s simple question about Fabian’s wine label revealed that when he was just four years old, an artist had come to visit his father to design that year’s label for the Riserva wine. However, on that occasion the four-year-old created art that proved to be longer-lived, still adorning all of La Magia’s wine bottles rather than just one vintage like the work from the more experienced artist.

A satisfying tasting

So, La Magia, like most of the wineries in Montalcino has found the benefits of location and have clearly specialized in Brunello. Like most winemakers in this area, Fabian specializes with the three wines of Montalcino: Rosso, Brunello and Brunello Riserva. While winemakers save their best quality grapes for Riserva and lesser quality grapes for Rosso, a lot of the rules can change depending on a good or bad vintage. Many reviewers will note that in bad vintage years, these wines can prove to be exceptional values. As winemakers downgrade their best grapes, the Rosso’s quality improves. Asking Fabian about which years were good years for Rosso and good years for Riserva proved mind numbing. Compounding the confusing list of vintages was the fact that as we tasted his three wines, they all had impressive aroma, taste and color, despite ranging in price from 12 to 45 Euros/bottle.

Bad quality Rosso?  Not from this place was the conclusion we drew. Yes, the Rosso lacked some of that depth and tannins in which the Brunello and Riserva bathed your tongue, but it definitely held its own as a hearty, earthy, robust red wine. We bought two bottles of each wine for the rest of our Tuscan vacation. However, we couldn’t resist opening them in threesomes to continue comparing and contrasting.

My husband likes to say that the best wines are always best because of context – you’re having a good time, surrounded by friends or family, or the setting is just perfect. Well, for six traveling friends in Tuscany, we decided La Magia has some damn fine context.

– Ivy F. Kupec

 

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