January 12th, 2006 Big Chill Reds Where do you find these wines in GA?

Recently, a friend was exclaiming over a well-known wine that, like many wine enthusiasts, he found just ravishing. I didn't. I thought it was huge, raisin-y, tannic and monochromatic. "I dare you to put it with food," I told him. "There's not a plate on the planet that can stand up to this mega-vino."

I like big wines, but I don't like "mega-vino," my personal name for wine that has little complexity but just block-buster tannins or overwhelming fruit to the exclusion of any other characters.. "Mega-vinos" show alcohol that is so high after a couple of glasses, your palate, strained and fatigued by the experience, feels assaulted.

Jammy wines, such as from warm regions in Australia and South America, come in for criticism, and that's understandable from a classic French or Italian perspective. Yet they have some albeit limited food-pairing utility, especially with bold flavors, such as curries (if they're not mouth-searing hot) and full-flavored cheeses. On example is the D'Arenberg "Darry's Original," a Grenache/Shiraz blend that probably tastes best a couple of days after being opened—the other option is decanting/aerating from the start. Then savor it with mild lamb curry. Awesome. These days, much Australian fare is affected by Asian flavors, so it all makes sense. I tried to pair this wine, right after opening it, with ribs, and it was too over-bearing initially.

"Big" also may denote excessively tannic wines that at the end of a single sip seem to draw together the sides of your cheeks as if you'd just drunk an entire quart of over-steeped unsweetened iced tea (that, too, by the way, is full of tannin). Some of these cost way too much money and, I suspect, will yield no softening after years in the bottle, resulting in a wine that's dried out but has no fruit left. I remember buying one such wine many years ago, and the retailer asked me only partly in jest if he thought I'd live long enough to drink it without risking my life. Now I understand what he was getting at, and I haven't opened that bottle yet.

Wines that are either excessively jammy, acidic, alcoholic or tannic lack balance, and that's they key to any wine. Big can be fine, so long as the other components--tannin, fruit, acid and alcohol--are all on an even keel with no single element standing out from the crowd. Otherwise, they're hopeless with food, and will wear your taste buds out after just a few glasses. Although most European wines don't try to emulate this style, those that do so, in a foolhardy pursuit of commercial gain or press coverage, lose all sense of time and place. And if a wine loses it’s regional identity then what’s the use?

As soon as I hear an Italian describe a wine as being the winery's entry into the "stilo internationale" category, my pen goes down and my book closes, because chances are 10 on 10 that the wine will have no character whatsoever. It will just be big and only big., over-oaked, and heavily tannic. Or worse, when a winery representative says that a given wine is "for the American market." This phrase, too, typically denotes a wine that is a fruit bombe with a too-generous application of oak. The folks back home won't drink that stuff, so why should we? Sure, a winery is a business. Amen. But wines that abandon their sense of terroir (or place) are bad business. And ultimately bad FOR business.

The following wines represent the "big but balanced" crowd. They should be served at cool room temperature (not above 65 degrees and preferably a notch cooler) in large-bowled, tulip-shaped glasses. These are babies, so decant them an hour or so ahead of serving to let them develop a bit. And if you forget, grab a pair of kitchen pots, empty the wine into one of them, and go back and forth a couple of times to let the air do its job. Then funnel back into the bottle or a decanter for serving. They're perfect for a cold night and a warm fire.


Jane Garvey

Food Pairings: Casserole-type fare, such as Whole Foods' King Ranch casserole, lasagne, moussaka, pastitsio, beef-filled quesadillas, empanadas, Carolina-style barbecue, smoked beef brisket, black-pepper steak, barbecued meatloaf, grilled steak au poivre or with mild cheese sauce, such as not-too-ripe Brie or Montbriac, grilled chicken with black-bean salsa

Price: $14
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits

Where to Get: At Candler Park Market, Romano's Marketplace (Peachtree City), Ingle's (Dacula Rd.), selected Krogers and Publix supermarkets (Roswell Rd., Hwy. 120, Caroline St., Dallas Hwy., Peachtree St., Cumming Hwy., Monroe, Crabapple Rd.,) Sprayberry Bottle Shop, Publix (Dawsonville Hwy., N. Decatur Rd., Sandy Plains, Johnson's Ferry Rd., Bullsboro Dr., Peachtree Rd., Henderson Mill, Hickory Flat Rd., Cumberland Pkwy., Barrett Pkwy., N. Cobb Pkwy., E. Atlanta Rd.).

Food Pairings: Oil-cured black olives, black pepper-crusted liver pate, steak au poivre or with Gorgonzola cheese sauce, lamb curry (but not hot) with aromatic basmati rice, beef stroganoff, Whole Foods (Buckhead) "Mandarin" beef and King Ranch casserole; big, rich and dry aged (Parmesan, for instance) cheeses, dark chocolate

Price: $18
Wholesaler: Empire Distributing

Food Pairings: Lighter winter dishes: Patak's smoked liverwurst; vegetable ragout with country ham; very mild chicken or lamb curry; grilled ham steak; roast chicken; veal rib chop or boneless turkey breast stuffed with Fontina cheese and prosciutto; grilled chicken sausages

Price: $20
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits

Food Pairings: Bold-flavored foods: Salamis; richly flavored pates; Patak's smoked liverwurst (DeKalb Farmers Market); Whole Foods' (Buckhead) "Mandarin" beef; tamarind-rubbed braised short ribs; mild curry-accented braised lamb; grilled lamb or beef steak; roast duck with aromatic seasonings

Price: $20
Wholesaler: Empire Distributing

Price: $38
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits

Food Pairings: Prefers uncomplicated flavors: Patak's smoked liverwurst; grilled lamb steak, roast duck, grilled steak with a brie cheese drizzle or Gorgonzola cheese sauce, beef stroganoff on noodles, grilled portobello mushroom

Price: $50
Wholesaler: Georgia Crown