Wines for BBQ

Laura Malesich has a run down of BBQ wine pairings from Natalie Mclean. Of course, what she really lists is grilled food and associated wine pairings. As usual, Natalie has excellent recommendations but its still not BBQ.

For real BBQ I usually recommend a Chambourcin, the berries and soft tannins complement the vinegar in the BBQ nicely. If you want to stick with North Carolina then you can't go wrong with the Chambourcin from Silk Hope winery, one of the oldest in North Carolina.

Sticking with Virginia wineries, I am partial to the Chambourcin at Fabbioli and Corcoran.

Nat Decants Mobile Matcher

I am a big fan of Natalie MacLean. Her monthly newsletter and columns are always fun to read. Now, she has introduced a new tool the iPhone and Blackberry called Mobile Matcher. From her website:

If you love pairing food and drink, you've just found the most comprehensive, trusted and delicious guide for the iPhone and BlackBerry. Natalie's best-selling Drinks Matcher application gives you more than 380,000 pairings at your fingertips.

You'll find matches for every dish, from appetizers and cheeses, to main courses and desserts. Never get stuck in a liquor store or restaurant wondering which bottle to choose again. It's like having a sommelier and a bartender in your pocket.

The tool looks really interesting...sadly I have a Google Phone (Android), so I won't be able to test it out for you all, but given the depth of Nat's knowledge of wine pairings I am sure it is excellent.

Room 11

There is a new wine bar opening up soon in Columbia Heights. Room 11 will be at the corner of 11th and Lamont. You can follow their progress on their construction blog.

I love the look of their patio...can't wait to do a wine club event there :)

Dry Mill Winery

Dry Mill is one of Loudoun County's newest wineries (if not the newest). Continuing with what seems to be a trend in Loudoun County wineries, Dry Mill is a converted barn. The tasting room retains the rustic feel of a barn with exposed wood beams and two activity rooms that make good use of the original wood.

The owners, Dean and Nancy, have a put a lot of work into restoring the barn and their care really shows.

The wines are made at Hillsborough under the watchful eye of Dean. They currently offer a Cabernet Franc, a Syrah, a Norton and Rose. The Cabernet Franc in particular is a standout wine: black cherries with hints of pepper, nicely aged with medium tannins, a good Cab Franc.

Definitely add them to your next tour.

Review: 2005 Clarendelle

Wine: 2005 Clarendelle Bordeaux



Review: I always like to find good quality, value-priced, Bordeaux wines. This is a wine with a handsome pedigree, it is produced by the same team that run the fabled Chateau Haut Brion.

This is a Merlot-based Bordeaux comprised of 82% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. The winemakers decided to limit the harvest to give this wine a much more forward feel. The nose hinted of dark fruit, almonds and it had a strong oak taste. The wine has a smooth taste that belies its young age, but you start to pick up on the subtle complexities as it sits on your palette. It is a very drinkable wine now, and it should get better over time.

Price: $21

Grade: 90

Wine Is Fragile

In the last few decades vineyard managers and winemakers have developed techniques and processes that can turn out decent vintages from even most bad years. The downside to this is that some wines (I'm looking at you Mondavi) have traded the uniqueness of each vintage and the vineyard's terroir for homogeneity and blandness (another, less annoying, side effect is Bordeaux's infamous "vintage of the century" come along a lot more frequently ;)).

But, even with all of the modern methods, there are some things that can still ruin a vintage:

A week after a series of violent hailstorms struck some of Bordeaux's key appellations, wine producers are assessing the damage to affected vineyards and are predicting decreased yields for the 2009 vintage.

The storms caused extensive damage in the Côtes de Bourg, Premières Côtes de Blaye, Côtes de Castillon and Entre-Deux-Mers appellations, and also hit a few major appellations, including St.-Emilion, Margaux and Graves.

On the Left Bank, vineyards in the southern part of the Margaux appellation were worst affected, including Châteaus Palmer, Brane-Cantenac and d'Issan. Châteaus further north in the appellation, including first-growth Margaux, were largely untouched, according to producers.

Steven Spurrier Tastes Veramar Wines

I mentioned Virginia wines are going to be represented at the London International Wine Fair. This is, obviously, a really big deal and the wineries owners I've talked to are naturally excited.

But, it is not just Virginia winemakers who are excited, it seems the international community is excited as well. Check out what Steven Spurrier said about Veramar wines:

Veramar Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay:
Fresh pale yellow, good broad Chardonnay fruit backed by good acidity, quite high in alcohol, but good fruit. 16-.

Veramar Vineyard 2006 Cabernet Franc:
Good colour and good fleshy fruit, quite forward, nice "earthy" taste,
quite French in style, and a little green on the finish. 16-.

Steven Spurrier works for Decanter and uses their 17 point grading scale...so a 16 is very good!