September 14th, 2006 American Rhônes: The Next Chapter in American Winemaking

Many consumers associate California exclusively with the Bordeaux and Burgundy varietals, that is, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in the former instance and Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the latter instance. But the California story is way bigger than that.

In Southeastern France sits a long and narrow region that runs along an important river, namely, the Rhône. The region divides into southern and northern, with specific varieties associated with each segment.

In this country, a small group of wine-focused people began to experiment with Rhône varieties about 20 years ago. John Alban, of Alban Vineyards, claims to be the first American vineyard conceived and designed exclusively for Rhône varieties. Certainly others, such as Randall Grahm at Bonny Doon with his Cigare Volant, and Cline Vineyards, were devoted to Rhône varieties, but not exclusively.

Alban's influence in the matter is far reaching, including attending a Viognier luncheon at Mossy Creek Vineyard in North Georgia in 1993 and serving as best man for Mat and Amie Garretson at their wedding in 1998. Mat, a native of Dunwoody, GA, and north Georgia vintner David Harris of BlackStock Vineyard, organized the luncheon and drew a crowd that included not only Alban, but also major growers, such as Virginia's Dennis Horton, whose Viognier has garnered much praise, and writers, such as Barbara Ensrud. Today, Harris is a major grower of Viognier in north Georgia, and Garretson owns Garretson Wine Company in Paso Robles, CA. Besides Horton, Virginia's Vallhala Vineyards outside of Roanoke, which also does delicious Syrah, does a lovely Viognier as does Williambsurg Winery.

If I had to pick the one region in France whose wines I would want for the rest of my life, it wold definitely be the Rhône Valley. The varieties now are familiar: Syrah for reds and Viognier for whites are the grapes of the norhtern Rhône. People guessed Americans wouldn't take to Viognier, because they wouldn't pronounce it, but that proved untrue. Early in Atlanta, Bacchanalia, at its first location on Piedmont Rd., had a section on its wine list entirely devoted to the variety. Since then, the variety has been mainstreamed into most Atlanta wine lists.

Besides Viognier, the Rhône whites include Marsanne and Roussane in the southern Rhône, along with Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Bourbelanc. These are seen in France, but not in the U.S. For reds, besides Syrah, we have Grenache (or Garnacha as the Spaniards call it), Mourvédre (or Mataro in Australia and Monastrell in Spain), Counoise, and Durif in the southern Rhône. The reds also make great rosés.

Enjoy this taste of American Rhônes. While our history with these varieties is only about two decades deep, it's a continually evolving story, one that will be delightful to follow over the course of the next two decades and beyond.

Jane Garvey

Food Pairings: Exotically flavored (but not spicy hot) foods; veal cooked with braised onions and raisins, mango, red pepper chicken salad; sautéed soft-shell crabs with a bit of curry powder in the flour used for dusting; ginger-flavored salmon covered with vegetables; creamy slightly spicy pastas (hot or cold), aged mild cheeses, such as aged Gouda, Gruyére or Emmentaler

Price: $22
Wholesaler: Atlanta Wholesale Wine/NDC

Food Pairings: Thai-style cold shrimp or chicken with lemongrass (but no heat), sushi, Chinese and Vietnamese that's not wicked hot made with seafood or chicken; lots of Southern fare, including curried chicken salad, collard greens, fried chicken with honey mustard sauce; barbecue with full-bodied spicy (but not hot) sauce; salmon croquettes, creamy mild goat cheese

Price: $16
Wholesaler: Georgia Crown

Food Pairings: Fried chicken with honey mustard; grilled shrimp and scallops; smoke salmon terrine; mild curried chicken salad, mildly seasoned Asian seafood and chicken dishes, deep-fried catfish; paella; salmon croquettes, chicken pot pie, pork steaks with mustard cream sauce, creamy mild goat cheese

Price: $19
Wholesaler: United Distributors

Food Pairings: Pâtés and terrines; Chinese pepper steak (or tofu, chicken or pork); beef satay; smoked meats; light curries (really good); simple roast duck or Chinese duck; such as Peking duck, moo shoo pork; teriyaki; Provenзal beef stew (with black olives, etc.); braised beef ribs; pulled pork barbecue with a brown, spicy (but not hot) sauce; grilled Cornish hen brushed with seedless blackberry jam thinned with some of the wine, aged nutty cheeses (Parrano, Emmentaler, aged Gruyиre), dark chocolate

Price: $40
Wholesaler: Empire Distributing

Writer's Block Grenache 2005
Lake County, CA

Score: 85 Points

Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied dry red wine; translucent ruby red. Aromas of A bit tight, shy in the aromas, but what's there suggests ripe red fruits. Flavors focus on red currants, cherry, and red raspberry. Alcohol's a little ahead of the fruit, but cooling it down will boost the fruit and suppress the burn. Very gentle oak, wisely resisting the temptation to oak it up to make up for light fruit, but a little too much vanilla in the finish (American oak?). For Grenache, this one's a mite light, but that lightness supplies opportunities for interesting food pairings that a heavier version wouldn't permit. Vines quite young. Grapes: Grenache; Syrah; Counoise. Jed Steele's son Quincy is making his first forays into winemaking before going off to Dad's alma mater (U.C. Davis) to study the subject. Tweaking this very fine start should be his master's thesis.

Food Pairings: No spice, as that only kicks up the burn. But great with lighter fare, such as tapas, veggie lasagna, pork steaks with port/cream sauce; pasta (either hot or cold) with creamy but not spicy sauces; pimento cheese, fried chicken; braised oxtails, smoked beef brisket with mild barbecue sauce, red beans 'n' rice (yum!), Asian hangar steak with Ponzu dipping sauce, teriyaki, roast pork loing with apricot chutney and mashed sweet potatoes (another yum!)

Price: $16
Wholesaler: Atlanta Wholesale Wine/NDC

Food Pairings: Full-bodied foods: Braised oxtails or short ribs of beef, perhaps cooked in Grenache; prime rib; roast pork loin6 or duck stuffed with croutons and dried dark fruits; pâtés and terrines; meat pies and casseroles; smoked meats

Price: $25
Wholesaler: Ultimate Distributing