Chappish!

The zinfandel is the best of California-grown wine grapes. That is not to take away from the acres and acres of wonderful chardonnay, cabernet, or have-your-say, but the zin is special. Americans of Italian extraction introduced the zin into California sometime around 1850. They needed a dependable cash crop to support their Gold Rush-era winery startups, a hardy grape, maturing reliably if the climate fluctuated. After a few moments' thought, and a look at the weather, they planted the zin. Now, about a hundred and eighty years later, it's pretty clear they guessed right. It was kismet all the way. The fruit grew to be plump and flavorful, just loving the new terroir. California zinfandels are fruity and piquant, dense enough to stand up to robust food flavors, yet round and smooth. Soil, climate and grape genetics met in rare harmony. This Wine of the Week comes from the Frank Family Vineyards, Napa, California, and so is, of course, well made. Garnet color...

It's from France, but it isn't Champagne. It also doesn't cost like Champagne. It is a cremante de Bourgogne, a sparkling chardonnay. It's quite good for the price, better than some sparkling wines costing half again or twice as much as this unpretentious offering. In the USA, this wine currently sells for about ten dollars a bottle. Pale gold in color, and bubbly, this wine has a nose of apples and lime with a whiff of yeast. The flavor follows the apples and bread profile typical of Champagne, but with a bit of pineapple in the background. There is a lack of the depth and resonance Champagne's mix of grape varietals gives, leaving this wine a bit one-dimensional, but it is tasty and well made. The finish is a trifle sour, but not unpleasantly so; think green apple skins, not vinegar. If you think of this as a white table wine that happens to sparkle, not a festive wine for special celebrations, you will find many things to pair it with. It's a natural...

It's unusual, unconventional, surprising, and along with that, it's very good. Its color in the glass is a deep pink, tending toward dark fuschia. The nose is like the ambiance of barrels of aging wine, along with a vivid impression of cherry lollipop. The lollipop motif continues in the flavor, with an added dimension of pomegranate and an herbal hint: bison grass, or near enough. The finish is sweet, long, herbal and slightly floral. The grapes used to make this wine are touriga franca and tinta roriz, with none of the touriga nacional that is the usual mainstay in making Port. That contributes to the unique character. The wine, quite sweet, is fortified to an attention-getting 20%. Pairings: My first thought is that this wine is good enough, and peculiar enough, to merit serving on its own as a sipping wine and a conversation piece. Serving it with ice cream or custard would be good too. Experiment. This wine is not usual, so no usual rules apply.

This is an outstanding value, a well made, quite drinkable brut sparkling wine in the style of Champagne. It is from New Mexico, of all places, is made from chardonnay and pinot noir, and gets 24 months of bottle fermentation. The pale straw color and tiny bubbles are attractive in the glass. The nose is rather simple, tart apples and bread, and that combo is reiterated in the flavor. This wine is not complex but it is well harmonized, tasty and easy to like. The flavor on the finish lingers and is--once again--of a tart apples motif, with a mineral, wet stone hint. Serve this as you would any brut, as an aperitif or with hors-d'oeuvres, with shellfish, poultry or cream-sauced pasta, with egg dishes, or (brut is very versatile) with a seared steak. If you are fond of Champagne cocktails, such as the French 75,  ixnay on using the expensive stuff, for in a mixed drink Gruet will work quite well, while the greater sophistication of a costlier wine would be dilu...

Mostly I skip the chardonnay and serve something else, thinking the type too typical: It is popular because it is safe and nondescript. But there are some chardonnays that stand out for being particularly well-crafted and tasty, worth drinking because they are examples of winemaking excellence. Rombauer's is just such a one. It comes from Carneros, Napa Valley, California, and follows the usual pattern of California Chardonnays, fruity and oaky, but does it better than most. The wine shows a pale gold color and is lightly scented with melon and tropical fruit notes. The flavor is pleasingly complex, apple and peach, with grace note of butter, pineapple and vanilla. The finish is agreeably tart, with a mineral hint. My review is of the 2017 vintage, but this is a very reliable label: good every year, consistently fruity, smooth and rich. This wine cries out to be paired with seafood, but if you are having roasted fowl, I would never say you were wrong for siding it wi...

The wine's appearance in the glass is bright and clear, of a pale straw color, with steady streams of tiny bubbles. Fruit, a floral hint and yeast are evident to the nose. This is a delightful nonvintage cava, with delicate fruity flavor notes, apple and pear, with a hint of lemon peel, amid a surrounding impression of brioche. The finish is crisp and fresh. Ordinarily, I shy away from wine in a fancy bottle, but in this instance the wine is not a disappointment after the showy presentation. Serve it as an aperitif or as a dinner wine alongside fish, poultry or pastas in creamy sauces. The grapes in this wine are macabeo and parellada; the method of production is the traditional one with secondary fermentation in the bottle. Unlike some cavas these days, this one is processed by hand, not by robot, in the critical step of degorging the expended yeast from the bottle. It's a fine example of traditionally crafted sparkling wine. It would be a good o...

This is a hugely deep and rich zin. Its color in the glass is deep garnet. The nose is heady, alcoholic and cherry- and blueberry-like. The flavor is big and yet subtle, with undercurrent leathery and woody hints and a dollop of vanilla. The leading flavors are cherry and raspberry. The finish is heavy and lasting, with a tannic tang, but appropriate for a wine of this strength and gravitas. Pairs well with roasts, chops or steaks.

I lately reviewed a rather good wine that would get my vote at twenty dollars. But its liquor store price is thirty-five dollars a bottle and its restaurant price above a hundred. I do not pay for the wines I review. That is an inescapable fact of the industry. Things work that way for a reason. The purpose is to prevent a riot in which people chase each other down the street, reporters demanding their money back from wine sellers, followed by editors hounding reporters about expense accounts, followed by publishers and accountants shouting about the bottom line, and advertising men whining about everyone spoiling their "campaigns." Perhaps one wine in four gets my mention, which is what I do instead of reviewing three wines negatively. I owe good language to the vintners and distributors who have avoided riots by pulling the cork gratis. I hope to offer a good turn, in return, as they say. Let me tell you a story. In the nineteen-nineties, Carribean cigars w...

Deep amber color greets the eye. Raisins, currants and citron present themselves to the nose. The flavor is mellow but not terribly complex: mainly raisins, but with a hint of figs. The finish is remarkable: clean and surprisingly light, without the cloying heaviness found in some other ports. This is a well-made port that has been well aged. Pair it with pastries or with chocolates, or--though I have quit smoking--with fine cigars. Another good pairing for port is any tangy strong cheese of the blue-veined variety such as blue cheese, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort, so forth.

This is a wonderfully versatile side dish. Decrease the quantity of garlic to complement mild-flavored main courses. Increase it to accompany strongly savory dishes. Cook 1 pound of spaghetti according to the package directions. While that is cooking, Sautee 5 minced garlic cloves  in  1/2 cup olive oil,   in a large skillet. Don't over-cook the garlic, for that produces a bitter flavor. You want the garlic just beginning to turn golden. When the garlic is done, halt the sauteeing by taking the pan from the heat and adding  1/4 cup water.  Stir into the skillet: 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste) 1 teaspoon salt Add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet and toss to combine the ingredients. Adjust the seasoning. Serve the seasoned spaghetti alongside the entree of your choice. Some cooks liven up the presentation with some diced tomato sprinkled atop the spaghetti, or with sun-dried...

"Everyone does it" is not a good reason.

This nonvintage California sake is of the nigori type, that is, unfiltered. The producer leaves the lees in the wine bottle. You upend the bottle to mix the cloudy fermentation residue into the wine and drink it that way. Cloudy wine is thoroughly a grievous fault in the European winemaking tradition, but give this a chance. It's traditional in Japan and gives a creamy appearance and yeasty and nutty flavors to the sake. I like the unique character of unfiltered sake, and an experienced sake drinker who sampled this one with me pronounced it a good example of the type. Yaegaki Cloud has light fruity and nutty hints on the nose and a flavor reminiscent of cashews and pears. It is slightly sweet and would pair well with spicy food or a light dessert. Serve chilled.

This is a very fine example of Willamette Valley, Oregon pinot noir. It has a deep garnet color and a nose of berries with a hint of smoked meats. The dominant flavors are black cherry, plum and a trace of chocolate or perhaps coffee. An elusive hint of something like pencil shavings or oregano flits in the background. There's a mineral hint to the lasting, fruity finish. This wine is now getting toward the time limit of good aging for a pinot noir, so plan to enjoy it soon. I think it goes superbly with bread and cheese.  That's a favorite luncheon chez Chap, a good pinot noir with several kinds of good cheese and some tasty and dense bread. Some other good pairings are salmon, pork roast, lamb or stuffed mushrooms.

Introducing a new weekly feature on the blog: short-form wine reviews. The idea: I attend numerous wine tastings so you don't have to. You're welcome. If my guess is right, the practical chaps who read this blog don't want long flowery reviews or anything to do with wine snobbery: instead, the once-over on what the wine is like and what it is good with. As a broad average, just one wine in four makes the cut to be written up here, and sometimes I go through ten without finding one worth mentioning. If a wine appears as the wine of the week you know it is good to drink, with no outstanding flaws.