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Sandy Springs
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December 22nd, 2005
Reception Wines
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While Christmas plans probably are finalized by now, New
Year's Eve and Day loom, the latter with its afternoon of
football games and home-based gatherings. The style of entertaining
on this day is typically casual: Buffet tables are filled
with self-service fare, sometimes with a theme and sometimes
not. Often, too, guests help fill out the offerings, meaning
that what comes to the table is a wide range of flavors, perhaps
even disparate ones, not unlike what one gets at Thanksgiving
table.
So, as with Thanksgiving, this is not the time to bring out
the fine wines, unless the event is designed as a wine-appreciation
affair, and that seems more than a bit incongruous for the
occasion. New Year's Eve and Day simply don't work as serious
wine exploration moments. And I'm all for that. I like football,
too!!
Guests want comfortable fare, foods that are not messy to
eat and that are tasty.
They'll be balancing plates on laps, so provide clips from
which to suspend wine glasses. Or wine identifier paraphernalia,
available in many wine shops, to enable guests to distinguish
their glasses.
What we've suggested here is a variety of wines that will
work well as "greeter" wines that can launch an
elegant sit-down meal as well as wines that will go with a
variety of foods or simply serve as a reception wine prior
to the meal so that one wine can do the whole job from start
to finish. They're refreshing, light on the palate, and food
friendly.
For these events, we suggest avoiding the over-the-top heavily
oaked Chardonnays and overblown high-alcohol big red wines
as they don't go with food, and act like a stun gun to the
palate as they're so alcoholic. Everybody will sleep through
the kickoff. And maybe even the final field goal.
And don't fear a good rose, especially a sparkler. Both still
and sparkling dry roses go with more foods than a quarterback's
got tricks up his sleeve, so do consider them. Yes, I know
it's cold outside, but so what? I've drunk 'em in blizzards
and ice storms, because they go with food, so hang the weather
report.
Hint: Keep guests on an even keel by filling a tub with chilled
small bottles of good water so guests stay hydrated throughout
the day. I think it's more important than coffee at the end
of the party, although that's useful, too.
Jane Garvey
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Where to Get: New in market--provide
wholesaler info (Savannah Distributing) to retailer. |
Codorniu
Pinot Noir Brut (NV)
D. O. Cava, Spain
Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied
dry sparkling rosé wine with a bright medium cherry red color.
Aromas of cherries with a hint of dried thyme, not uncommon
in Pinot Noir. To sniff or to sip 'tis the question? Lovely.
Lovely red fruit flavors, especially red cherry and raspberry.
Tiny citrus not at the end. Good acidity for a clean, crisp
finish. Just 6.8 grams of residual sugar per liter, and only
11.5% alcohol. Great value from a producer that has been absent
from the Atlanta market far too long. Serve chilled to about
45-50 degrees in tulip-shaped glasses. You can get nice ones
for reasonable money, such as the Luigi Bormioli line from Libby.
Food Pairings: Happy with
a wide variety of foods. Go Chinese: Chinese-style barbecued
ribs; pork rolls; barbecued buns; mildly seasoned wings; moo
shoo pork; steamed dumplings with ponzu dipping sauce. Go
Mexican: fajitas; nachos; burritos; tacos; quesadaillas; tortas
(Mexican sandwiches--see Puras Tortas!!). Go American: Fried
chicken with a bit of spice; ribs; pizza; baked chicken breasts
with crumbs and Parmesan cheese; grilled chicken breasts in
sun-dried tomatoes and capers
Price: $14
Wholesaler: Savannah Distributing
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Where to Get: Whole Foods (Briarcliff);
DeKalb Farmers Market; Rathbun's, Wisteria
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Churchill's
White Porto "Dry Aperitif" (NV)
Oporto, Portugal
Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied
medium dry white fortified wine; medium coppery amber color.
Aromas of dried white and yellow fruit, with a slight toasted
nuttiness, suggestion of warm wet hay; rich, complex dried yellow
fruit flavors, toasted cashews. High alcohol, about 20%. Malvasia
fina is grape type. Serve chilled, about 45 degrees, in small
tulip-shaped glasses, or for a refreshing and unusual cocktail,
on the rocks with tonic water and lime. A real palate wake-up
that never fails to please.
Food Pairings: Variety of
snacks and noshes: nut-covered cheese balls or logs; cheese
straws or coins; liver mousses or pâtés; very savory green
olives; assorted nuts; tiny crab cakes; hard cheeses; cocktail
potatoes stuffed with crème fraíche and chives.
Price: $18
Wholesaler: Grapefields
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Where to Get: Beverage Super
Store (Suwanee) Dixie Beverage (Woodstock), Parman's (Sandy
Springs--2002 vintage--Abernathy Square); Sherlock's (East Cobb) |
Konstantin
Frank "Salmon Run" Chardonnay 2003
New York
Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied
very slightly off-dry white wine; medium greenish gold. Clean,
fresh scent of tropical fruits--pineapple especially--with a
clean, bracing fruit-filled (pineapple and crisp apple) palate.
Quite long finish. sweet fruit flavors. A notch of residual
sugar with good acidity. Well-integrated fruit and oak (French
barrels--about half the blend--the rest stainless steel). Gold
medal 2004 Dallas Morning News competition. Moderately chilled,
about 50 degrees, in tulip-shaped white wine glasses.
Food Pairings: Well-seasoned
white meat dishes: chicken pot pie; French onion dip and potato
chips; garlic-accented white pizza; creamy garlicky dressings
on pasta salads, cous cous salad with dates and chick peas;
lightly curried chicken dishes, fried chicken tenders with
honey mustard dipping sauce, cornmeal fried catfish with tartar
sauce.
Price: $12
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits
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Where to Get: Jax (Sandy Springs),
Toco Giant, Whole Foods (Buckhead); Athens: Five Points |
Bodegas San
Alejandro "Las Rocas" Rosado 2004
Calatayud, Spain
Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied
slightly off-dry rosé wine; very pretty medium red, slightly
salmon edges. Very fruit-centered aromas of red cherry and light
strawberry; flavors tilt toward strawberry and raspberry. Finish
is dry and crisp. Quite long finish. Chewy sweet fruit. Grape
type: Garnacha (Grenache). Serve moderately chilled, about 60
degrees in white wine glasses.
Food Pairings: Chinese barbecued
ribs; barbecued meatloaf, deli meats; wraps, tortas or other
sandwiches; fajitas; wings; spicy fried chicken; cous cous;
paella with chorizo and chicken, lamb braised with ginger
and tomato (from Whole Foods, serve over rice), ham croquetas,
grilled pork or lamb sausages, picadillo.
Price: $12
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits
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Where to Get: Duluth Package.
Cumming: Jax; Gainesville: Vine & Cheese; Athens: Gosford
Wines; Shiraz (Pulaski St.), Wine & Spirits Warehouse, Blue
Ridge) Out of the Blue |
Quinta de
Aveleda Casal Garcia Vinho Branco 2005
Vinho Verde, Portugal
Tasting Notes: A medium-bodied
dry white wine; medium pale straw color. Aromas suggest lime
blossom, with flavors of lime and pear. Acidity crisp and palate-cleansing.
Mouthwatering, with a very long finish. Slight petillance. Grape
types all traditional in Portugal: Trajadura, Loureiro, Pedernã
and Azal. Crowd pleasure at recent class on Portuguese wines.
Always drink vinho verde young, within two years of bottling.
Serve well chilled, about 50 degrees.
Food Pairings: A perfect apéritif
wine: Asian fare, such as steamed dumplings and other assorted
dim sum type dishes; shumai; etc., but skip the sweet, hot sauces
and condiments. Also mild wings; stuffed cocktail potatoes;
white pizza; pasta salads with garlicky creamy dressings; shellfish
and mild fin fish.
Price: $10
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits
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Where to Get: Sherlock's Buckhead
and Brookhaven. |
Clos Baudoin
Aigle-d'Or 1993
Vouvray, France
Tasting Notes: Full-bodied dry
sparkling wine; medium gold. Aromas of honey, quince, ginger,
backed up by fresh white fruit flavors made more interesting
by notes of quince and ginger. A little touch of the taste of
honey (not sweetness). Clean, crisp, long, palate-refreshing
finish. Nice acidity. Clos Baudoin wines, including the still
wines, age beautifully, and this is no exception. The 1993 is
current release. Grape: Chenin Blanc. Serve chilled, about 50
degrees, in tall tulip-shaped glasses. Proprietor Prince Philippe
Poniatowski fought in the Résistance and the French Free Forces
in WWII. Both polished and down-to-earth in style, he gets the
title as a great grand nephew of the last king of Poland.
Food Pairings: Starter for
an elegant meal: Seafood and fish pates and terrines; cocktail
size quiche; Asian fare, such as dim sum and Japanese dumplings;
grilled brochettes of bacon-wrapped scallops with honey mustard
dipping sauce; chicken livers with country ham and Madeira
sauce; crab cakes.
Price: $25
Wholesaler: Lynda Allison Cellar Selections
(678-290-5552)
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