Jane's Weekly Wines from the Atlanta Wine School PRINT AND GO VERSION May 25th, 2006 Off-beat Whites *************************************************************************************** RETAILERS WHO SUPPORT THIS COLUMN AND HAVE HAD THIS LIST OF WINES IN ADVANCE. Corner Wine & Art, 1402 N. Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306 -- 404-875-8810 Home Town Wine & Spirits, 4856 Hog Mountain Rd, Flowery Branch, GA --770-965-6058 The Colors of Wine, 2355 Cumberland Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339 -- 770-432-2828 Sigman Bottle Shop, 425 Sigman Road - Conyers, GA 30012 -- 770-929-8797 Shiraz, 675 Pulaski Street, Suite 400, Athens, GA 30601 -- 706-208-0010 Windward Beverage, 12915 Hwy 9, Alpharetta, GA 30004 -- 678-566-3301 IS YOUR WINE SHOP NOT LISTED HERE? HAVE THEM CALL 770-668-0435 *************************************************************************************** Stellenbosch Vineyards Kumkani Chenin Blanc 2005 Stellenbosch, South Africa Medium-bodied dry white wine; pale straw. Aromas of white melon, wet hay, pear and honey; mineral-enhanced white fruit flavors, with a touch of the taste (not the sweetness) of honey in the finish. Kumkani is a Xhosa (one of South Africa's 11 official languages) word for "king," which explains the chess piece on the label. Vinified in stailess steel, which keeps fruit freshness. Grape: Chenin Blanc, an important grape from the Loire Valley, especially Vouvray, and often known as "Steen" in South Africa. Great value! Exotically flavored foods: curried chicken salad; Moroccan tagines with fish or chicken; cous cous (but hold the harissa); paella; Malaysian dishes (roti, lightly curried fish or chicken); chicken or pork with mustard cream sauce; chicken pot pie; South African curries (they're not wicked hot) Quality Wine & Spirits $11 91 ************************************************************************************* Bleasdale Verdelho 2005 Langhonre Creek, AU Medium-bodied dry (very tiny..02 residual sugar) white wine; pale yellow. Aromas of white melon, white stone fruit, citrus notes (lemon--even a bit like a lemon drop), suggestion of crushed coriander. Flavors focus on lemon, melon and fresh herb. Clean, brisk, long finish. Very low ph (3.25) and good acidity (6.9) signal balance. Acidity may have been adjusted, as it seems to burst at the end of the palate. Very nice value. Oysters with lemon; cold cooked shrimp with lemon Pommery mustard; shrimp-and-red pepper paté (Summer Sweet); chicken tenders or pork steaks with creamy whole-grain mustard sauce; crawfish salad with rémoulade; garlic grilled shrimp; grilled scallops with honey mustard sauce; lemon olive chicken; mild curries (Whole Foods' curried chicken salad is awesome with this); crab cakes. Atlanta Wholesale Wine $13 90 ************************************************************************************* Peter Lehmann Semillon 2003 Barossa Valley, Australia Medium-bodied dry white wine; medium greenish gold. Aromas of citrus and white blossoms, with flavors that suggest citrus, a touch of the taste (not the sweetness) of honey, and minerals. Crisp, clean, brisk, zingy finish. Delicious now but will evolve with proper cellaring at 55 degrees. Semillon may go into a "dumb phase" at about five years, then emerge a few years later with all motors running, exhibiting a bright neon-backlit yellow jello color and a pronounced citrus/honey flavor. Amazing. Great value. At this point, savor it as an aperitif wine with light appetizers, such as Boursin-stuffed cocktail potatoes; oysters; tabbouleh or hummus with pita bread; taramosalata; cocktail-sized quiches or onion tarts; seafood mousse of all sorts. Also pasta with cream and clams; pasta with hefty garlic; Caesar salad; chicken salad wraps; chicken tenders with whole-grain mustard cream sauce; fish 'n' chips with tartar sauce; scallops; shrimp Rémoulade Enoure Dustrubytung $13 90 ************************************************************************************* Domaine Weinbach "Clos de Capucins" Sylvaner Réserve 2004 Alsace, France Medium-bodied dry white wine; medium greenish straw. Aromas of citrus peel, attractive, intense citrus-kissed fruit flavors with good acidity. Silky texture and a long, clean, brisk finish. A wine to enjoy, not to fuss over or to stimulate intellectual wine-ese small talk. Slurp. Grape: Sylvaner. Sylvaner, also the grape of Germany's Franken wine, is best drunk young. Lots of dishes: Grilled vegetables (including wine-challenging asparagus); Alsace onion tarte; quiche; mild (not hot) curries; crab cakes and soft-shell crab; chicken or pork in creamy whole-grain mustard sauce; roast pork loin; cold Asian noodles and other Asian seafood and chicken dishes if not too spicy hot; fried catfish or other seafood with rémoulade Empire Distributing 89 $17 ************************************************************************************* Sigalas Santorini 2004 Santorini, Greece Medium-bodied dry white wine; pale greenish straw. Fresh, clean citrus-kissed scent; mineral-rich citrus flavors. Silky texture, good acidity, and zingy fruit flavors, plus the minerality, make this a very special wine experience. Great summer wine. Grape type: Assytiko, a native Greek variety. Stainless steel, although there also is a barrel-fermented edition (but personally I prefer this one). Santorini is a Greek island whose volcanic soil is the gift of an eruption more than a millennium and a half BC. Vines are cultivated in low basket-shaped crowns. All sorts of Greek appetizers and meze, from green olives to taramosalata to stuffed grape leaves to hummus to grilled seafood to Greek salad to feta cheese. Also a wide variety of non-Greek fare, such as cold soba noodles with sesame; mild curries (curried chicken salad or Indian biryani); Whole Foods' chicken with lemon, onion, garlic and olives (awesome); grilled scallops or shrimp with Rémoulade Quality Wine & Spirits $19 90 ************************************************************************************* Terre Rouge Roussanne 2002 Sierra Foothills, CA Full-bodied dry white wine; medium gold. Fairly oak affected with aromas of sweet vanillin from oak and flavors that reflect the barrel fermentation and aging, applying custardy crème brûlée and vanilla notes to the wine. Underneath the oak, you'll find spicy quince fruit flavors. High alcohol (14.5%) and ph (3.75) so not much sense of acidity, even though it's high at 6.5%. Integration of fruit, oak, acidity fairly successful. Too much oak for my tastes, but it might appeal to those who prefer this approach to winemaking. Grape type: Roussanne, a white variety, grown especially in the Rhône. Assertive flavors: Dishes with cumin and saffron (such as risotto milanese or paella); mild curries with chicken or other poultry; vegetable, dishes with hefty cumin; arroz con pollo; veal or chicken with substantial exotic spice. Steer clear of shellfish with this much oak. Quality Wine & Spirits 87 $25