Author: Fred Matuszewski

Lighten up with some rosés

It’s official! Spring is here! It happened at 11:33 a.m., March 20. Mother Nature may not be able to make up her mind as one day the temps rise into the 50s and the next day temps barely rise to the 30s. But spring is a mindset. It is more than the promise of longer days. It is a time of rebirth. It is the time to change from dark, luscious, chewy reds to wines that reflect our wanting to shed the wrappings and trappings of winter and embrace something new and light. It is the time to visit the garden to see what is popping through the last vestiges of winter. Spring is the time to try this year’s offering of rosé wines.

Our first wine is a 2020 Fleur de Mer Rosé (originally priced at $21.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, and on sale with a price of $16.99). It has a brilliant coral pink color and is a medium-bodied wine that evokes aromas and flavors of subtle citrus, lavender and Mediterranean herbs. It is fresh and elegant with a soft texture and mineral finish that is balanced with refreshing acidity. Fleur de Mer means “Flower of the Sea,” and the wine brings to mind the region’s famed fields of flowers and vines that bask in the warm summer sun. Côtes de Provence is an extensive appellation that includes vineyards of the greater Provence region and extends east all the way to the Italian border. Its sites vary from subalpine hills, receiving the cooling effects of the mountains to the north, to the coastal warm Mediterranean of St-Tropez. This wine is a superior rosé, made from high-quality 43 percent grenache, 23 percent cinsault, 12 percent carignan, 7 percent mourvedre grapes, and 15 percent selected other varieties. It can be sipped with hors d’oeuvres of soft cheeses and berries or paired with fish or chicken.

Our second wine is a 2019 Tasca D’Almerita Regaleali Terre Siciliane Rosé (originally priced at $16.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, and on sale with a price of $7.99). Located in the mountainous heart of inland Sicily, Tenuta Regaleali is a vast estate owned and operated by the Tasca d’Almerita family since 1837. Almost 1,000 acres of vineyards thrive between 1,300 and 3,000 feet above sea level. Soils vary from vineyard to vineyard, creating a mosaic of geologic compositions. The microclimate here boasts excellent light and temperatures of hot days and cool nights. Wine Enthusiast named Tasca d’Almerita the 2019 European winery of the year.

Produced from nerello mascalese grapes, grown almost exclusively on the side slopes of Mount Etna, that give Le Rose di Regaleali its class and elegant fragrance and its deep salmon-pink color, this wine offers delicate aromas of cherry, raspberry, blackberry and, appropriate to its name, rose petals. Rich on the palate with refreshing acidity and a long, flavorful finish, it is perfect for pairing to tuna, salmon, poultry, pork and flavorful pasta dishes. This wine is universally food-friendly.

Our third wine is just plain fun! The IGP Pays d’Oc Rosé All Day has us returning to the south of France, but this time we go to the Languedoc-Roussillon region, west of Provence. A quick interpretation of the label: IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) places this wine between table and superior wines. D’Oc, or the Languedoc-Roussillon region, shares many of the terrain and climate characteristics with the neighboring regions of Southern Rhone and Provence, but at a far greater value. A top trending wine hashtag, #RoséAllDay has become a social media phenomenon with hundreds of thousands of rosé lovers sharing their excitement for the wine by posting pictures emulating a trendy, chic lifestyle. Made from grenache grapes, this wine has the nose of watermelon and strawberry, with crisp, fresh notes on the palate, and a long fruity finish. Pair this with fish, chicken and sushi, or salads and appetizers, but always enjoy it with friends! It’s also available in cans for those warm, sunny afternoon picnics.

So succumb to the allure of spring fever, catch a bit of sunshine, and go out and “smell the rosés.”

A look at the wines of Louis Jadot

Louis Jadot is one of Bourgogne’s (Burgundy) most important wine producers and négociants (merchants who buy grapes, juice, and wine to blend and produce under their label). Most Burgundian estates are small and premier and grand cru holdings can be tiny, so négociants play an important role in the distribution of their wine. Louis Jadot has a portfolio that covers everything from inexpensive Bourgogne and Beaujolais to several grand cru wines. The grapes grown in Burgundy are principally chardonnay and pinot noir.

Louis Jadot has become a force within the wine industry in the Burgundian region and beyond. So wide is the array of wines produced by Louis Jadot that there is a standout vineyard or site in every vintage. New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets alone carry 12 distinctively different pinot noirs, eight different chardonnays and three different gamays.

Our first wine, a 2019 Maison Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé (originally priced at $25.99, and on sale at $22.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), is produced in the Mâconnais region of Burgundy. It has a light straw color and aromas of apples and honey. To the mouth there are nuts, along with some citrus. This win is partially barrel-fermented with six months of aging in French oak, which imparts complexity. This wine is ideal for pairing with roasted salmon, shellfish, or creamy cheeses. For those who shy away from chardonnay, this is a wine to try, as it comes from vines planted in clay-limestone soils. It is incredibly different from a typical chardonnay.

Our second wine, a 2019 Maison Louis Jadot Marsannay Blanc (originally priced at $33.99, and on sale at $31.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), is produced in the Côte de Nuits region of Burgundy, the farthest northern extent of Burgundy. Created in 1987, Marsannay la Côte is the most recent AOC to the Côte de Nuits. It is straw in color, with just a touch of orange that comes from a slightly pigmented chardonnay grape. To the nose there are aromas of pears and almond; to the mouth there is a slight minerality with orange pith and a citrus bouquet that opens in the glass, akin to a good Chablis, another wine derived from the chardonnay grape. This wine can be paired to foods beyond shellfish and soft cheeses to include pasta dishes with a fresh, light tomato sauce, or a charcuterie platter.

Our third wine, a 2019 Maison Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir (originally priced at $20.99, and on sale at $14.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), is a blend of pinot noir coming from Jadot’s relationships with wine growers from vineyards across the Côte d’Or and Côte Chalonnaise, surrounding Beaune, the wine capital of the Burgundy wine region. This is an exceptionally elegant pinot with complex aromas of plums. Raspberries and cherries carry through to the tongue, joined by a slight earthiness of mushrooms, along with mineral notes and a balanced acidity. Paired with chicken, pork, or grilled fish, this wine is an excellent bargain, not to be missed!

Try a bottle of Louis Jadot. There is so much to choose from! You will welcome the new experience.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

A mix of grapes can produce one interesting bottle

We are all familiar with wines classified by the grapes used to make them — merlot, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese — and wines named by their place of origin — Rhine, Bordeaux — but what does a label that reads “red blend” mean?

As its name implies, it is a wine produced from the blending of two or more varietals of grapes. The blending of grapes is steeped in the history and tradition of European winemaking, dating to at least the 17th century with the origin of modern wines as we know them today. Bordeaux wines are classic blended wines, the reds consisting of combinations of merlot or cabernet sauvignon, along with cabernet franc and petit verdot added in smaller quantities, and the whites generally consisting of sauvignon blanc, to which semillon is added to temper the citric, and more specifically grapefruit, notes of the sauvignon blanc. These blends date to the 18th century.

The concept and development of single varietal wines in America in the second half of the 20th century migrated to Europe, South Africa and Australia. To the extreme, some vintners have produced single vineyard varietals to showcase the strengths they feel those particular vineyards have. This is all a matter of opinion, and all these wine-making styles are welcome to the table. In a good wine, the blending of varietals is intended not to cover the deficiencies of the “lead varietal” but to add to the complexity of the whole. The blending of varietals is both a science and an art. The vintner must know the strengths of the grapes before him, but the vintner must also be able to know when to blend — at the fermentation of the grapes, or after they have become wine. The vintner must also have a deft touch to know just how much of which varietal to add to create not only a drinkable wine but a memorable wine.

Our first blended wine is the 2017 Domaine du Grand Montmirail Gigondas ‘Le Coteau de Mon Rêve’ (at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, originally priced at $59.99, reduced to $25.99) is a blend that comes from the Rhone River Valley of Southern France. With a dark red color and nose of cherry and plum, this wine comes to the tongue with a full mouth feel of blackberry, plum and cherry, with notes of chocolate and a bit of leather. It is composed of 75 percent grenache, 20 percent syrah and 5 percent mourvèdre.

Denis Cheron acquired the Domaine du Grand Montmirail in the 1960s. The estate vineyards are 59 acres, set on terraces, planted in 50-year-old grenache vines, along with 20-year-old syrah and mourvèdre vines. This is a sophisticated, plush wine to be enjoyed with beef, lamb or game, now, or it can be cellared over the coming decade.

Our second blended wine is the 2016 Darcie Kent Vineyards Firepit Red (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, originally priced at $40.99, reduced to $19.99), a blend that comes from Livermore, just east of the San Francisco Bay. To the nose we sense raspberry, blackberry and cherry flavors that carry to the tongue with additional notes of oak and spices. Gentle tannins persist to a long finish of cassis and nutmeg. The oak nuances come from 24 months in new and used French oak barrels.

This is a blend of malbec, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, petite sirah and merlot. The proportions may vary from year to year. The zinfandel gives the wine its spiciness; the petite sirah its concentration of tannins. In fact, many makers of zinfandel add petite sirah to quiet the pepper in the zinfandel. It should be noted that the petite sirah grape has nothing in common with the syrah grape of our first wine!

So the blending of grapes and of the wine from those grapes opens new opportunities, new flavors, and other characteristics to be explored and savored. Try a blended wine with your next purchase. You will welcome the experience.

Featured photo: Gunner’s Daughter by Mast Landing Brewing Company. Courtesy photo.

Rediscover the wines of Germany and Austria

German and Austrian wines are often “forgotten wines,” wines that are not typically a “first choice” among those selecting wines, and that is unfortunate. The New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets carry a paltry inventory of these wines. My wife and I gather with a group for a monthly wine tasting. It is both a social event and a lesson in exploring lesser-known wines. When we decided to try out German and Austrian wines, we had to travel to the Boston area for a more expansive inventory of what is available here in New England. The wines offered in this column are two of the more readily available wines to be found in New Hampshire.

Our first wine, the 2020 Landhaus Mayer Grüner Veltliner (originally priced at $13.99 and reduced to $11.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets until Feb. 27), is a good example of an Austrian white wine from Wien (Vienna), Lower Austria. Some critics of wine coming from this part of Austria consider the residents and tourists of this area to be undemanding of their wine, leading to “sloppiness” in its quality and production. Landhaus Mayer is a winery that runs counter to this perception. It has established a cooperative with the vineyard owners of this region to properly care for and cultivate their vineyards from pruning to the optimal harvest time. Gerhard J. Lobner, production manager of Landhaus Mayer, is a force in the production of quality wines, including riesling, rosé, zweigelt, and, of course, grüner veltliner.

This is a medium-bodied wine with elegant spicy aromas. It is refreshing and is perfect for pairing with dishes, including grilled chicken or pork, or to enjoy with a snack or sandwich. The color is light straw and to the nose there are notes of grapefruit. To the tongue there is a pleasant citric acidity with some herbal spiciness. It should be served cooled and would be perfect with Wiener schnitzel as its citric notes will complement the butter and lemon in the dish. This wine is a young wine and as such lacks aging potential. It should be consumed within two years of its vintage. Therefore, in purchasing this wine to serve at your next dinner party of Austrian cuisine, plan early, as this 2020 vintage is at its prime today.

Our second wine, the 2020 Valckenberg Gewürztraminer (also originally priced at $13.99 and reduced to $11.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets until Feb. 27), hails from Westhofen, along the Rhine River Valley, in the Palatinate region of Germany. Westhofen is known for its vineyards, with almost 2,000 acres planted, 69 percent in red wine varieties and 31 percent in white wine varieties. It is Germany’s fourth-biggest wine-growing region after Worms, Nierstein and Azey, all located along the Rhine. The soils of this region are gravelly limestone, which add a trace of minerality to the grapes.

For over 230 years P.J. Valckenberg has acted as an ambassador for wines of this region; that is, they purchase wines from 33 of the best vineyards of the Rhine and Mosel River regions. They provide these small vineyards, mostly consisting of well under 100 acres each, a worldwide market for their fine vintages.

This wine had a dry growing season from start to finish resulting in a near perfect grape to create a near perfect wine. With its light straw color and floral notes to the nose, it comes to the tongue with notes of pear and peaches. It is slightly sweet with just the right finish. It is ideally suited to pairing with pork or rich fish such as salmon or tuna, and its slight sweetness is ideal as an accompaniment to spicy foods. This wine is a great value and because of its semi-sweetness it can be cellared for up to five years.

These are two decidedly different wines worthy of exploration. Broadening our palates with new and different varietals and wines will not only lead us to new experiences but may spur the industry to expand inventories to satisfy our curiosity and expanded knowledge of wine.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Fancy up the traditional dessert

In the fall of 2020 I wrote a column about port wine varieties and their pairings with s’mores. The article spoke to evenings, gathered around the campfire, savoring fine port wines and how they can pair to the welcoming warmth of both the fire and the gooey s’mores.

It is winter and the crisp air and snow are to be enjoyed. So get out and strap on those touring skis or snowshoes. Break out those skates and take a spin on the pond. After your “walk in the woods,” gather around a warm fire and break out the s’mores. But this time try a different spin on the s’mores. Ramp up with a few changes to the mainstay of graham crackers and marshmallow and pair those new s’mores to different wines.

For the traditionalist who likes their s’mores the way they have always had them, I offer the 2019 Sixth Sense Syrah, by Michael David (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $17.99). This wine hails from their Lodi, California, winery and vineyards planted in 1982. With a color of dark violet and nose of black cherry, plum and espresso, it is a perfect complement to the toast of the brown, melted marshmallow. Flavors of ripe raspberry and licorice, along with a bit of spice, carry through to the finish, pairing nicely with the dark chocolate in the s’mores. This is a real treat for the child that still remains in our adult bodies.

Time for a change-up? Add a little chocolate-covered bacon to the marshmallow, and you get that salty smokiness we all love. What to pair with this combo? The 2019 Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $17.99) brings the fruit-forward experience of the wine to the fore. With notes of strawberry, along with coffee and chocolate, there is a full mouth feel to the experience. The wine was aged on new and used oak, which brings notes of leather and vanilla to the mix. Coming from ancient vines planted in Contra Costa County, east of San Francisco Bay, this wine can be enjoyed now or in future outings for another five years.

Looking to resurrect that child wonderment still within you? How about baking a batch of snickerdoodle cookies and replacing those store-bought graham crackers with the cookies in your s’more? Any of your favorite homemade cookies will do, sugar or chocolate chip, but the cinnamon in the snickerdoodles complements the fruit in the riesling I suggest here. The 2019 Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard Dry Riesling (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $17.99) is a perfect match! Estate bottled, from grapes grown on the west bank of Seneca Lake, New York, it is true to an old-world Riesling. With a 300-year family history of winemaking in the Mosel region of Germany, Hermann Wiemer came to New York in the 1960’s and found the cool climate and gravel soils of the western shore of Seneca Lake to be like that of the Mosel Valley. The layers of citric and other tropical fruit, along with a slight minerality, complements the sugar and cinnamon of the snickerdoodles.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, a romantic, snowy afternoon outing must end at a fire pit with s’mores made with chocolate-covered strawberries, paired with a sparkling rosé wine. Mumm Napa Méthode Traditionnelle Brut Rosé (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $22.99) is the perfect complement to those lush strawberries. It has a beautiful pink color with rich fruit flavors that culminate in an elegant finish. A blend of 80 percent pinot noir and 20 percent chardonnay, it has aromas of black cherries, raspberries, along with citrus. It has a delightful full mouth feel as it bubbles over your tongue. As the label states, this sparkling wine is produced the same way as classic Champagne, that is with a double fermentation, and with a minimum of 18 months of yeast aging.

So release that inner youthfulness and play in the snow and on the ice. And after that, kick back over some adult-themed s’mores, made all the more interesting by changing up the recipes and pairing those new discoveries to different wines.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Pairing wines with NFL playoff chicken wings

It is the NFL playoff season and time to have those football-centered house parties. The mainstay of those parties is, of course, chicken wings! Deep-fried chicken wings have southern roots, but coating the wings in a spicy butter-based sauce reportedly has its roots in Buffalo, New York, the home of the Bills, who just halted the New England Patriots in their pursuit of advancing in the playoffs. Recipes for preparing those cherished wings can vary from a lemony-pepper sauce to a Sriracha-based sauce to a myriad of mustard- or vinegar-based sauces with varying amounts of sweetness and spice.

It goes without saying that beer certainly has a place at the table with all those wings, sour cream and celery, but there are several types of wine that can also be seated next to those revered wings, and we will explore a few of them. When considering which wine to serve, there should be a balance between the buttery sauce coating those wings and a slightly acidic wine that refreshes the palate.

Our first wine, the 2017 Château de Fesles Anjou Chenin Sec (originally priced at $59.99, and reduced to $21.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), comes from the Anjou region of the Loire River Valley of France. The color of this chenin blanc is straw that somehow has a sparkle even though it is a still wine. It has a floral nose of citric blossoms that transform to the palate with dried fruit, honey and toasted bread. This slightly citric wine will clean the tongue of the rich, complex, sweet and spicy notes of those wings.

Our second wine, the 2017 La Grand Comtadine Premières Vendanges Vacqueyras (originally priced at $64.99, and reduced to $22.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), is a classic Mediterranean Southern Rhone red wine. Produced as a blend of 50 percent grenache, 40 percent shiraz/syrah and 10 percent mourvedre, it offers texture and complexity with ripe fruit that works nicely with the warm, red sauces coating the wings. The color is a deep red with a nose of dried plums. To the tongue, the fruit recedes with good, strong tannins of leather. This is a wine with body that will complement those wings.

Our third wine, the 2020 Vigne Regali Rosa Regale Brachetto D’Acqui Sparkling Red Wine by Banfi (originally priced at $19.99, and reduced to $14.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), is an interesting study of pairing the slight sweetness of this wine to a tomato, mustard, vinegar-based sauce. Castello Banfi is a family-owned vineyard estate and winery located in the Brunello region of Tuscany. Fermentation of 100 percent brachetto grapes takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats, with bottling immediately afterward. This careful attention to time and temperature results in its slight effervescence and a rich garnet color. To the nose it is full of raspberries and strawberries. To the tongue there is a slight delicate softness that settles to a clean, dry finish. While this wine is frequently paired to desserts, it holds up well to barbecue-style wings.

Our fourth wine, Comte de Saint Aignan Crémant de Loire Brut Première Étoile (originally priced at $28.99, reduced to $14.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), is a blend of 60 percent chenin blanc, 35 percent chardonnay and 5 percent cabernet franc). The grapes for this sparkling wine come from the Crémant-de-Loire appellation of the Loire River Valley in central France, producing a color that is light gold (almost clear) with persistent but sparse bubbles. The nose is slightly nutty with notes of dark honey. To the mouth there are bold citric notes that will complement the freshness of a lemon-pepper sauce on your wings.

So, in settling in to watch your next almost favorite team roll through the playoff brackets, consider these alternatives to beer in pairing with those ubiquitous chicken wings.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Get to know claret

The Wine Lover’s Companion, a compilation of “nearly 4,000 wine-related terms,” defines claret as a term used by the English when referring to the red wines from Bordeaux. It’s derived from the French clairet, which refers to a Bordeaux wine with a style somewhere between a red and a rosé, or a light refreshing young wine. It originated in the Middle Ages when, as a dark rosé, spices were added to increase its complexity. “Claret” continues to appear on some labels, but to the French it has no legal definition.

Claret is known as a name for sweet, red wine sauce, poured upon spumoni or ice cream. August Escoffier, the noted 19th- and early 20th-century French chef and cookbook author who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods, created a cocktail called the Claret Cup, a concoction of red wine, sugar, oranges, lemons, cucumber peel and brandy; something to warm you on a cold winter’s day.

Times and tastes change, and today a claret is known as a blend that favors the way Bordeaux are composed, that is with a base of merlot or cabernet sauvignon, with additions of cabernet franc and petit verdot, but today’s blends are not limited to just those varietals.

Our first claret, the 2018 Francis Ford Coppola Winery Diamond Collection Black Label Claret (priced at $19.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), is a true Bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, malbec and cabernet franc. Presented in a dark bottle with gold netting, this wine is the flagship of the Coppola Diamond Collection. The inspiration for this wine came from a bottle of 1906 claret found in the cellar of a Napa Valley property purchased by Coppola in 1975. While not fully understanding the origin of the term “claret,” Coppola liked the word because it implied something clear and pure; however, he was discouraged at first from using the term because Americans wouldn’t know what it meant.

The wine has a nose of dark cherries, and, to the tongue, berries, plum and anise emerge, accompanied by smooth tannins. As a blend, this wine varies from vintage to vintage, made from grapes that are grown across California to Oregon. The 2018 vintage is predominantly based on Napa Valley-farmed cabernet sauvignon grapes and has an alcoholic content of 13.9 percent.

Our second claret, the 2017 Ramey Wine Cellars Claret (priced at $46.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets), is a blend of 44 percent cabernet sauvignon, 20 percent merlot, 14 percent malbec, 12 percent petit verdot, 8 percent syrah and 2 percent cabernet franc. Ramey Wine Cellars is located just off the square of downtown Healdsburg, California. The dream of David and Carla Ramey, the winery seeks to produce wines of the highest quality, sourcing their grapes from vineyards with which they have worked for many years. This claret follows the Bordelaise model of blending the different Bordeaux varietals, with fermentation occurring in the barrel and the blend assembled early so it is “elevated” as the finished wine. This claret rested on its lees 12 months in French and American oak barrels, of which only 24 percent were new. The wine was then lightly fined with egg whites and bottled without filtration and released in March 2020. Alcohol content is 14.5 percent.

Robert Parker gave this wine a score of 92 points, deservedly, given its highly structured notes of dark chocolate-covered cherries and tobacco, derived from the time spent on oak. It has a medium-bodied, plush feel to the tongue, with an exceptionally long finish.

These two wines, from opposite ends of the spectrum, are both called clarets, a moniker we discovered that evolved from the Middle Ages to today’s blends. They are examples of the wide diversity of wine structure, body and taste that can be experienced from attention given to the detail of blending certain varietals, coupled with divergent methods of production.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Sweet wines for holiday giving and drinking

The holiday season provides us with the opportunity to exchange gifts with those who mean so much to us. Therefore, this time of year with feasting on savory and sweets alike, why not select that bottle to pair with fruit, or cheese, or with a sweet dessert? Past the bottles of chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, past the bottles of pinot grigio there lie countless options available to us. Pick out a bright sparkling sweet wine, or a “fizzy” red wine. Try a wine normally reserved for cooking or try a truly luxurious sauternes from Bordeaux. Whatever your choice, you will be rewarded with a wonderfully new experience.

Our first wine is a classic. Martini & Rossi Asti Sparkling Wine (originally priced at $14.99, and reduced to $9.95 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets) is a label familiar to many. A couple of decades ago we were pummeled with TV ads for Asti Spumante. In late 1993 Asti Spumante was promoted to the top-level DOCG classification, at which point the “spumante” was officially dropped, resulting in the same great and inexpensive wine with a much shorter name. This wine comes from the Piedmont region of Italy and is made from the moscato bianco grape. It is produced by cold fermentation under pressure and is created to be enjoyed immediately. This is a slightly sweet, bubbly wine with notes of peach with some herbs that transform on the palate to pear and tropical pineapple notes. As a very approachable wine that is low in alcohol, it appeals to those who are just being introduced to wine.

Our second wine is another classic. Roscato Provincia Di Pavia Rosso Dolce (originally priced at $12.99, and reduced to $8.95 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets) is a delicately sweet and gently fizzy red wine from the northern Italian region of Lombardy. Made from three grape varieties — croatine, teroldego and lagrein — this is a slightly sweet wine that can also be paired to entrees such as classic tomato-based Italian dishes. However, this chameleon of a wine can also be paired to cheeses or just sipped when slightly chilled. It has notes of raspberries and cherries.

Our third wine is frequently thought of as reserved for cooking. Colombo Sweet Marsala Wine ($10.99, and available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets) is a hidden wonder. Marsala is a Sicilian wine, fortified, with a spectrum of sweetness, conditioned on the preferences of the region and winemaker. Marsala grew in popularity at the time when the British were becoming invested monetarily and in taste in fortified wines such as sherry and port. While its popularity has waned over the last century, it can be savored in front of the fireplace with its dark amber color, and hints of dates and apricots. It is full, warm and satisfying to the palate, a wonderful wine to be sipped after dinner.

Our fourth and fifth wines are luxurious sauternes. The 2016 Michel Lynch Prestige Sauternes ($19.99 for a 375 ml bottle, and available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets) is liquid silk in a small bottle. Also available in New Hampshire is another sweet sauternes – Château Guiraud Sauternes 1er Cru Classé (originally priced at $27.99, and reduced to $24.99 for a 375 ml bottle at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets). Why are two sauternes noted in this column? The answer is simple: The state stores do not inventory a wide selection of these cherished rare wines. These aromatic wines are produced from semillon grapes that are botrytized. When conditions are just right, nature can hold a usually nasty fungus in such check that something special happens. Instead of destroying a crop, the fungus creates grapes with incredibly concentrated flavor that can make some of the world’s sweetest, most precious wines. Botrytis cinerea is more affectionately known as “noble rot.” It’s the same kind of rot that spoils strawberries and soft fruit with greyish fuzz. So what makes this mold noble? A fine balance of moisture, sunlight and temperature. Ripe, healthy grapes must still be on the vine as fall begins, when misty mornings provide the moisture that the fungus needs to thrive. The fungus pierces the grape’s skin to feast on its juice, but after a few hours, sunshine and otherwise dry conditions follow to evaporate the moisture and stop the fungus in its tracks.

Try these alternatives to the all-too-familiar wines. The experience will be rewarding.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Celebrate with some sparkling wine

As the song goes, it is “the most wonderful time of the year!” as we partake of seemingly endless gatherings, indulging in calorie-laden savories and sweets to bring on those well-intended New Year’s resolutions.

What is the perfect beverage to go with all sorts of food? Bubbles, or more specifically, my favorite — Champagne! There are other sparkling wines, cava from Spain, prosecco from Italy, but Champagne has a well-deserved cache. And thanks to Champagne houses like Mumm, Taittinger, and Moët et Chandon, we can savor sparkling blends made in America in Méthode Traditionnelle manner, that is by double fermentation, at a fraction of the price we pay for imported Champagne. So, when you buy a bottle of Mummthat is produced in Napa, California, the label cannot contain language referring to “Methode Champenoise” as it does on the imported bottle. However, the production is the same.

Champagne can be paired to appetizers, including caviar and moderately spicy Asian food. It is excellent with chicken, seafood (especially oysters or lobster), eggs, hollandaise sauce, foie gras, gravlax and smoked salmon. It is among the most versatile of wines, whether it is brut (dry), demi-sec (sweet) or doux (sweetest). It can be blanc de blanc, made with 100 percent chardonnay grapes, or blanc de noirs, made with 100 percent pinot noir grapes. When preparing carpaccio, very rare beef, ham, prosciutto or rare lamb, a rosé, made with pinot noir and/or pinot meunier grapes, is a tasting adventure not to be missed.

Our first wine is Champagne Pommery Brut Royal, regularly priced at $44.99, on sale at $36.99, at the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets. Located in Reims, wool trader Alexandre Pommery’s widow, Louise, inaugurated the Champagne house in the mid-19th century. Per the website, she initiated the idea of storing wines in temperature-controlled caves carved from the chalk deposits of the region. An innovator, she created the first brut Champagne in 1874 — a dry version of the wine when Champagnes were largely much sweeter than they are today. A blend of grapes from 40 selected villages in the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims and other areas in the Champagne region, this wine is produced from 35 percent chardonnay, 35 percent pinot noir and 30 percent pinot meunier. Its color is pale gold, with an abundance of tiny bubbles. Its nose is of yellow to green apple, some citrus and vanilla. Its taste is very “fruit-forward” with notes of apple, with a very soft creamy long finish. As a dry wine, it pairs well with appetizers, creamy dishes, seafood and shellfish.

Our second wine is Domaine Carneros Brut, by Taittinger,regularly priced at $29.99, on sale at $25.95, at the New Hampshire Wine & Liquor Outlets. Domaine Carneros was established in 1987 when Claude Taittinger selected a 138-acre parcel in the heart of Carneros, California, to grow and produce a sparkling wine made in the Méthode Traditionelle manner. The winery, pictured on the label, is modeled after the grand châteaux of France. All the wines produced at the winery hail from the Carneros appellation, with 100 percent of the fruit coming from the six estate vineyards of the chateau, now comprising 400 acres.

A blend of 53 percent pinot noir, 44 percent chardonnay and 3 percent pinot gris, this sparkler is aged nearly four years in the bottle. Fruity and balanced in acidity, it offers rich notes of pear, green apple and melon that contrast against notes of praline and toasted almonds.

This holiday season, celebrate with a wine that can traverse all your culinary delights, from appetizers to desserts. Explore this bubbling creation of that Benedictine monk, Dom Perignon. Legend has it that upon his discovery, he was quoted as saying, “Come quickly! I am drinking the stars!” Indeed, he was! And so can you!

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Wine to serve, gift and save

The holiday season is upon us, a time to gather with family and friends around a tree with a dinner table laden with a lavish assortment of food and special wines.

I have selected three wines to give, receive and possibly store for the future. These wines are more than appropriate for the hearty fare, the endless buffets, the snowy evenings. A gift of one, or all, of these wines to someone special to you not only enforces your love and caring for them, but also exhibits your exceptional knowledge and taste in wine.

If you are lucky enough to receive one, or all, of these wines and are not ready to open them on the spot, what do you do with them? Long after you have drafted your last thank-you note, you may have one or several of these superb wines nearby, and you may be wondering, “How do I store these for the short, or perhaps long, period of time before I open the sangiovese for a rich Italian meal of pasta in a red meat sauce, or the red Bordeaux alongside a roast duck, or the ‘Cadillac’ Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon accompanying a thick grilled steak with bearnaise sauce?”

First, even though the New Hampshire State Liquor & Wine Outlets have their retail inventory standing up, do not store your wine standing up! Exception: Fortified wines like ports and sherries can and should be stored standing up. The corks in wine bottles need to be kept wet. Second, find a location in your house or apartment that is dark and has a comfortable to cool temperature, without drastic swings. If you have a basement (or a part of it) that can maintain 55 degrees and 60 percent humidity, take advantage of it. That is the ideal temperature and humidity for the long storage of reds that age well. You will likely not keep your wines for decades, so the perfect temperature and humidity is not a requirement; however, the control of humidity is important, and if it falls below 50 percent corks tend to dry out. When you open a bottle of red and the wine has begun to creep up the sides of the cork, it may be likely due to storage in an environment of low humidity.

Our first holiday gift wine, the 2013 Petroni Estate Sangiovese Poggio Alla Pietra (originally priced at $74.99 at New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, reduced to $32.99), hails from the Moon Mountain District of Sonoma County. Grown throughout Italy, this grape is well suited to the steep and arid soils of the south-facing Petroni Vineyards. This wine is made in the style of brunello, the coveted wine of Tuscany. With a deep red color and notes of red cherries, along with some leather from the barrel aging in new French oak, this is an ideal wine to pair with a rich red pasta dish or game, like venison. This wine needs to be decanted or opened at least an hour before serving.

Our second wine, the 2016 Château La Gorre Cru Bourgeois Médoc (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, originally priced at $49.99, reduced to $23.99), hails from where else but Bordeaux, France. It is a classic blend of 60 percent merlot, 35 percent cabernet sauvignon and 5 percent petit verdot. This is an outstanding value, as similar wines cost upwards of $50 a bottle. With a deep ruby color and silky notes of cassis, blackberry and plum joined by the oak from barrel aging, this is an ideal wine to pair with beef or to accompany a roast leg of lamb or casserole after decanting.

Our third wine brings us back to the Napa Valley of California. The 2015 Stewart Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (available at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets, originally priced at $69.99, reduced to $34.99) has deep red-purple color. I call this wine a “100 percent Cadillac Cab” as it has a thick, fruity mouthfeel. It is rich in black currants and blackberries to the nose and taste, and has medium tannins, perfect for that porterhouse steak!

These are impressive wines with subtle but distinctive differences, one to the other, to pass on to a good friend or family member, or to simply treat yourself, purchase and store for a couple of years to enjoy at future holiday seasons.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.