Jane's Monthly Dozen: Romantic Dinners
by Jane Garvey

Editor's Note: Jane Garvey has been producing a separate wine column since November 2005 for Atlanta Wine School under the moniker "Jane's Weekly Wines". That weekly column of six (6) wines has become a monthly column of twelve (12). Furthermore, Jane's column will find a new home within this newsletter, so hopefully you will enjoy reading her top picks each month. I'm biased, but I haven't seen a more complete wine review (with food pairings) out there!
>>> This Month's Column

Tour de Champagne WRAP-UP
by Michael Bryan

Atlanta had never seen a wine & food festival built around BUBBLES! Not simply effervescent flute-foamers but the real deal: Champagne. No one compares to the Champenois when it comes to putting bubbles into wine! The Tour de Champagne stopped in Atlanta on January 20th at the Intercontinental to bring us this experience (enjoyed the last 8 years in D.C.). Twelve of Atlanta's finest restaurants, by invitation only, participated alongside top Champagne houses where vintage & non-vintage cuvées streamed into flutes. The evening closed with a "Fin de Soirée" sponsored by Möet & Hennessy. View the Pictures

Introduction to Wine, Part I
Monday, March 5th (Ajax Hall, Roswell)
Tuesday, March 13th (Piedmont Room, Midtown)
Monday, April 16th (Ajax Hall, Roswell)
This course is the beginning of your relationship with wine--it will move you from viewing it as a "social beverage" to one of a liquid encyclopedia. In addiiton to engaging teachers, you'll be tasting at least 8 wines in every class. More Info

• The Oscars of Wine 2007
  Who picks the best wine of the year? You do! Join the distinguished panel of guests (including our own Jane Garvey) who have narrowed the choices and then YOU taste and then vote for your favorites. Food samplings included. Sunday, March 11th, 4-7pm, ENO. $45 (mention AWS and pay $35 advance!)
• Word Has It...
  Green's Package Store on Ponce de Leon is looking for a full-time wine consultant. Interested parties should contact Michael Bishop at the Buford Hwy location. The Green's Website
• Process for Boosting Antioxidants in Grapes (hence wine)
  A new technique that uses ozone to preserve grapes could help prevent allergies and boost healthy compounds at the same time. More
  And in a related story, "Can Red Wine Help You Live Forever?" Full Article
• NASCAR fans choosing wine over others?
  Styrofoam coolers, sunburned shoulders, beer in the can and boiled peanuts are what normally come to mind for NASCAR events. Hold it right there! Avid race fans' consumption is outpacing non-race fans! This article brought to us by subscriber Dan Brohm. Read more
• A New Website featuring American Wineries
  American Winery.com showcases America’s finest wines and vintages. Rate and Review wine from America’s top winemakers and premium vineyards. Visit the site
• Cutting the Alcohol in Wine: Things Wineries Won't Tell You
  The people who remove the alcohol insist that the flavors of the wine remain intact. The winemakers who send their wine to be dealcoholized, say that the procedure – one which is being utilized by a vast majority of California wineries – is just another tool to help them make better wine. More
• 2006 Set Record for US Wine Purchase/Consumption
  "Wine is certainly entering the mainstream of American life." Sales were driven by publicity about the potential health benefits of wine, improved marketing by wineries and increasing acceptance of wine as a part of everyday life. The Full Article
• Wine Dogs
  The last time the Winery Dogs Calendar was released we let you know; now Wine Dogs: USA Edition features man's best friend at all of our nation's wineries. More

A French friend recently told me that for Saint Valentin (Valentine's Day), his brother (obviously a big spender) squires his sweet wife to a certain famous fast-food operation. You know. The one with the arches? (The French call it Mac-Do).

My friend asked me what I thought about that, and after I figured out what Mac-Do was, my eyes expanded in horror. "Pas possible" or something like that was my response. "You people are supposed to have a hammerlock on romance. What's with this?"

Well, there's no accounting for some folks' notion of romantic dining, and although under certain circumstances, I might consider the Varsity somewhat romantic, for the most part I would prefer a spot that would allow for the enjoyment of a little wine. Wouldn't you? What's love without bubbles? Without oysters? Without chocolate? And I, for one, would want wine with all of the above.

Intimate togetherness is not the moment for waxing analytical about a bottle of wine. It's time to enjoy the wine and the occasion. The meal. Oh, yes, and the significant other with whom you're marking the moment..
Pink is the color of love, so they say, and pink wines can be perfect for this purpose. Yes, I know it's cold out there, but so what? A good rosй will support many of the dishes we might like to have on this occasion.

Bubbles can go with everything from appetizers through the meal and on to dessert, but one should abandon the brut in favor of a demi-sec for dessert. Or slip into a sparkling Shiraz from Australia, and let it go from appetizer through the meal and finish with the chocolate.

For reds, we should look for wines that are soft-textured, silky in tannins and easy on both purse and palate. What would be more perfect than a Beaujolais St. Amour? It's one of the cru Beaujolais--the top of the Beaujolais ladder--and it's another wine that will handle that chocolate finale.

As it's plenty ripping cold outside lately, Ports come to mind. Light the fire, get out the Stilton, walnuts and chocolate, maybe some figs, and settle back for an at-home evening as a meal ender.
Try these, and savor the occasion with wine and romance all month long.

Full-bodied dry sparkling wine; medium pale gold. Intense aromas of yeasty brioche and honey, followed by yeasty doughy flavors that burst with brisk acidity as the wine moves into an explosive mid-palate, then finally into its long, crisp, clean finish. Rich, elegant, detailed, small persistent bead. Grapes: Pinot Noir (60%); Chardonnay (25%); Pinot Meunier (15%), plus some reserve wine. Fruit comes from vines in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages, plus the winery's own estate. House established in 1829, supplier of Champagne to Queen Victoria. Ok. Even if you DON'T look like 007, you can at least assert what Champagne James Bond preferred. Serve chilled, about 45-50 degrees, in tall flutes.

Chilled raw oysters, slight lemon; shrimp with Rémoulade, seafood mousses, seafood sausages with a beurre blanc; bay scallops with white wine sauce in puff pastry; baked Sockeye or other wild-caught salmon; beef or tuna tataki, creamy mild cheeses. With this much red wine grapes, probably good also with filet mignon and demi-glace or rack of lamb.

Georgia Crown
$45

Medium-bodied dry white wine; medium straw. Initial citrus aromas and flavors are made complex by almost chalky minerality that stays with the fruit through the finish. As the wine opens, aromas display a hint of bee's wax, while flavors project pear and apple. Good acidity. Grape type: Melon de Bourgogne. Stainless steel. Vines are 55 years old, and the chвgteau has clocked four centuries on the planet. Drink now; not for keeping. Serve moderately chilled, about 50 degrees (although I like it at 55 degrees) in tall, narrow tulip-shaped glasses.

Oysters are essential for Valentine's right? So here's the wine for raw oysters with lemon, but also fried with Rémoulade sauce, smoked salmon; grilled shrimp or scallops, lobster, crab cakes; steamed king crab legs, steamed mussels with white wine, garlic and fresh herbs or even mussel salad; lobster, crab-stuffed flounder or tilapia, sole, potato with caper, scallions and lemon juice

Bacco Fine Wine
$15

Medium-bodied dry rosй wine; deep amber-edged light red. Pink grapefruit and passion fruit meld on the aromas, which simply don't quit. The palate showcases luscious fruit, again the passion fruit/grapefruit profile. The finish persists, and carries the fruit flavors through to a lingering finale. Distinctive, different, an utterly awesome entry in the category. Just flat, slap delicious. Fairly hefty alcohol for the genre, 13.8%, but there's no heat. Grape types: Cabernet Sauvignon (80%) and Merlot (20%). Serve moderately chilled, about 55 degrees, in medium-sized tulip-shaped glasses.

Slightly spicy fare, especially creamy crawfish salad on delicate lettuces, stuffed in an avocado half or in a tomato; grilled shrimp with garlic or mild Rйmoulade; grilled vegetables or shrimp with Romesco sauce; Cuban chicken or seafood dishes with black beans and rice; grilled bacon-wrapped scallops; calamari with marinara sauce; grilled ham steak

Atlanta Wholesale Wine/NDC
$16

Full-bodied dry rosé wine; Aromas of fresh raspberry with an underlay of red cherry, and flavors that echo the same notes. Raspberry drives the clean, crisp, dry finish. Layered, balanced, and rich with minerals. Good acidity keeps the fruit in check. Grapes: Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah. Co-winemaker Jeff Morgan (with Daniel Moore) has authored a book on the subject: Rosé, A Guide to the World's Most Versatile Wine (Chronicle Books, 2005, $19.95). The pair only does rosés. Serve moderately chilled, cool really, about 60 degrees, in tall tulip-shaped white wine glasses.

Escalivada (a Catalan vegetable dish of eggplant, tomato and zucchini), ratatouille, not-too-hot crawfish étouffée, rock shrimp, seafood or vegetables with Romesco sauce, roast chicken with mashed potatoes and natural jus, grilled lam or pork tenderloin, braised beef brisket with carrots, Cuban fare (such as chicken with black beans and rice), mildly
seasoned Indian and Thai dishes. Morgan says it will do steak, too, and I believe him, but would go for a lean fillet. Also the fish soup and braised rabbit recipes in Morgan's book.

Ultimate Distributors
$16

Medium-bodied dry light red wine; medium amber-edged light red. Somewhere between a rosй and a light red. Aromas of freshly pressed red fruits, raspberry and strawberry, with a hint of strawberry caressing the finish. Easy on the palate, but not boring. Made in the saignée method, that is, by "bleeding" some of the free-run juice from the red grapes that compose it, namely Shiraz (36%), Cinsaut (30%), Merlot (23%), Malbec (9%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (2%). Moderate alcohol (12.6%). Stainless steel fermentation and aging (9 months).. Serve moderately cool, about 55-60 degrees, to preserve best flavors, in a tall sulip-shaped glass, Great value.

Simply seasoned light foods: Smoked salmon mousse; grilled shrimp or bacon-wrapped scallops, grilled vegetables, Romesco sauce; seafood or chicken salads; fried oysters, grilled ham steak, lamb or pork tenderloin, roast chicken; lobster; cold noodles with sesame peanut sauce; grilled vegetables; ratatouille

Bacco Fine Wine
$14

Full-bodied sparkling red wine; deep purple crimson. Lively aromas of dark fruits with a hint of fresh mint. Flavors gather a basket of blackberries, black currants, and black cherry. Super long finish is crisp and dry. Awesome example of the genre. Base wine spends 2 years in French oak. Serve chilled, but not too cold, about 55 degrees, as too much cold suppresses the fruit. Use tall flutes. Bottle is finished with a crown cap (as is Champagne before being disgorged), so re-seal with a sparkling wine stopper.

Smoked liverwurst or coarse-textured terrines; roast turkey, duck, rabbit Catalan style, with chocolate/tomato/cinnamon sauce; mole poblano, spiced dark chocolate. In Australia, they said to serve with scrambled smoked salmon/cream/chive eggs, bacon and well-buttered toast. Didn't believe it, but it's great. Also would try with corned beef hash and poached eggs, country ham, steak or portobello mushroom Benedict.

Unique World Wines
$18

Medium-bodied dry red wine; medium ruby red. Spicy red fruit aromas, with fresh red fruit flavors. Simple, easy tannins, with a soft, round texture. To be drunk, not discussed.
Perhaps the perfect choice for Valentine's Day, St.-Amour is the most northern of the nine Beaujolais' crus. Grape type: Gamay noir а jus blanc. Legend holds that a Roman soldier converted to Christianity, established a mission, and was canonized as St. Amour. Cupid revisited? Only at Green's (both stores). More widely available, the 2004 Beaujolais St.-Amour is more widely available, and still drinks nicely, with fresh red fruit flavors and moderate spice. Serve either at cellar temperature, 55-60 degrees, in medium-sized tulip-shaped glasses.

Wide food friendliness: Creamy textured pвtйs; rillettes; smoked pork ribs or beef ribs; roast chicken or duck; pork tenderloin; grilled ham steak; grilled salmon or tuna; coq au vin (made with Beaujolais), legume dishes with pancetta; creamy mild cheeses (Dйlice de Bourgogne; Fourme d'Ambert), dark chocolate

Georgia Crown
$10

Medium/full-bodied dry red wine; deep, intense inky dark ruby red. Aromas of dark cherry and black raspberry, with almost kirsch-like (cherry brandy) flavors. The easy tannins make for a lovely texture, while the finish is full of juicy sweet fruit flavors. Grape types: Grenache (50%), Syrah (30%), Cinsault (10%); Carignan (10 %). Serve cool, about 60-65 degrees, in tall tulip-shaped glasses.

Rich pâtés and terrines; grilled bacon-wrapped chicken livers or chicken livers grilled on rosemary skewers; roast duck; beef stroganoff with noodles; mushroom and pancetta ragoыt; root vegetable stew; grilled lamb steak or filet mignon;

Bacco Fine Wine
$17

Full-bodied dry red wine; deep inky purple. Somewhat shy aromas but flavors are full of rich black fruits, from black currants to black berries, with a touch of vanilla from oak and a suggestion of cola. Elegant, with firm fruit-derived tannins, and a long fruit-filled finish. Grape type: Tempranillo, or Tinta del país, as it's known in some parts of Spain. Aromas catch a whiff of vanilla, which is more prominent on the palate. New French oak for 24 months, plus another 12 months in bottle. Needs decanting, about an hour ahead of serving at cool room temperature, about 65 degrees, in large tulip-shaped glasses.

Black olives; pвtйs and terrines; braised pork chops; well-marbled steak (so the fat edges off the tannins); roast leg of lamb, roast duck; game; braised meats and stews; rich aged, firm cheeses, root vegetable stew with country ham; dark chocolate

Grapefields
$26

Full-bodied off-dry sparkling wine; medium gold. Aromas of toasted nuts and honey, while the palate offers honeyed candied fruits, especially pear, and the suggestion of marzipan. Layers of flavors stay through the lingering finish. Round and elegant. Grapes: Pinot Meunier (55%); Pinot Noir (35%) and Chardonnay (10%). Reserve wines included are Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir only. Dosage is 44 g/l, whereas brut is 15 g/l or less. Serve chilled, 45-50 degrees, in flutes.

Delightful as dessert, but also with creamy rich chesses (awesome with Dйlice de Bourgogne); Alsace-style apple tarte on a cookie dough crust with slivered toasted almonds on top; or classic tarte tatin; pecan sandies; any nut-rich dessert that's not too sweet; fresh fruit tarts. Winery suggests Asian, Thai or Indian cuisine.

National Distributing Co.
$40

Medium-bodied sweet white wine: pale straw. Aromas of ginger and aromatic brown spice, with fresh pear and a hint of white peach. Lighter bodied and less viscous than most, making it very dessert friendly. Grape: Riesling. Residual sugar: 8%. Serve moderately chilled in small tulip-shaped glasses. Winery just five miles west of Clayton, GA. Bronze medal at 2007 San Francisco Chronicle competition.

Classic Italian cream cake, either New York or Italian (ricotta) cheese cake; apple almond tart; tea cookies, simple butter cookie; panna cotta with simple fruit topping; chilled poached fresh pears with crème anglaise; maybe make a late-harvest Riesling ice cream with the wine?

Persimmon Creek
$28/375 ml.

Full-bodied sweet red wine; deep ruby red. Aromas of dark fruits (plums, dark cherries, blackberries) and aromatic brown spices; rich dark fruit flavors, adding dried dark fruits to the mix and continuing the aromatic spices. Layered, complex, rich. Supple tannins. Grape types: Touriga Nacional; Tinta Roriz (a/k/a Tempranillo); Tinta Franca and Tinta Barroca. Ready to drink when release. Substantial alcohol: 19.5%, so serve in small t ulip-shaped glasses at cool room temperature, about 65 degrees, to showcase the fruit and suppress the alcohol. Superior value.

Candied pecans; walnuts; Stilton cheese (or other firm blue-veined cheeses); dried dark fruits; peanut butter-chocolate candies; dark chocolate with truffle chocolate filling; dark fruit-dark chocolate combinations

Georgia Crown
$19