| Trivia question: While some vineyards keep dogs as pets or mascots, and some sources say that when a dog nibbles the grapes, they're ready to pick, grapes are generally considered to be bad, even toxic, for a dog to eat in any quantity. What is a wine-related task that some dogs have been trained to perform? |
My new companion in my dogged pursuit of affordable excellence
A late start to the dog days
It's common knowledge that the term “dog days” refers to the hottest and muggiest part of the summer. Merriam-Webster online defines dog days as "the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere."
Many people think that the name came because dogs are uncomfortable and listless in the heat, but in reality, there's another explanation. In ancient times, people from various cultures saw images of what they fancied to be animals in the night sky, simply by "connecting the dots" between the stars. They saw Orion the hunter, the large and small bears and even dogs — Canis Major and Canis Minor, in Latin.
The brightest star in Canis Major, the "great dog", is Sirius, the dog star, which is the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that it packed some "serious" heat — that the earth received warmth from it. And in the summer, Sirius rises and sets with the sun. The ancients believed that its heat added to that of the sun during that time, and they named the stretch of hot, steamy weather from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after “dog days,” after the dog star.
This has nothing to do with wine, I know, but my wife and companion Trina recently got me a great early birthday present — a beautiful and loving black Labrador retriever named Alex. So forgive me if I'm a little preoccupied with him. Like the hearty red wines I love, he is dark and joyous and a little mysterious. And like wine, he is easy to enjoy immediately but he will take a lifetime to get to know in all his nuances. And most of all, like Trina, like wine, like my writing, he is another passion. Please join me in welcoming Alex into our world as we head into autumn.
Down, boy: Stop talking dog and start talking wineFortunately, Alex is not the only good fortune that has graced me lately. Thanks to my beloved local store, The Wine Merchant, I have become acquainted with South Africa's Kumkani Wineries. Recently, the distributors for Kumkani sent me six of their excellent wines for a taste test. I had only had one of these before, and all were quite good. Here are my impressions:
Kumkani Viognier/Chardonnay, 2005, $9.99. Spice on the end of the tongue, pronounced peach, honeysuckle and light butterscotch aromas and taste. The Viognier adds a breezy floral aroma. It finishes satisfyingly with a hint of melon. An excellent wine for patio sipping or with food.
Kumkani Chenin Blanc, 2005, $9.99. My favorite white from Kumkani, this has an aroma you might expect on a chardonnay, foreshadowing the foretaste of pineapple, violets and juicy fruit. Good acidity in midrange, ripe on the mid-palate and tangy, lingering, straw-dry finish. This wine is as summery as sunshine and a bright breeze.
Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc, 2005, $9.99. The Kumkani wines all have a pleasant but pronounced earthy, gamy taste. That's really unusual in a Sauvignon Blanc, and my wife even says that the aroma is "gamy, like old socks." But oddly enough, she means that in a good way. There's a lot going on here, with smoky, meaty kielbasa notes and pineapple and gooseberry. One of those wines that you can drink all night trying to figure out how much you like it and what the tastes are.
Kumkani Shiraz, 2004, $9.99. Earthy dark fruit with the characteristic gamy aroma and taste, peppery and dark berry giving way to coffee, smoke and vanilla. Nice spice, with a distinct finish — a blast of tannins and a lingering and pleasant tarry aftertaste with a hint of violet. Reminds me of an old-world French Syrah.
Kumkani Viognier 2005, $9.99. An amazing wine with aromas and tastes of cut grass, herb, muskmelon, grapefruit and tropical fruit. Strong backbone and a citrusy aroma and finish, loaded with gingery spices. Grassy and herbaceous, with a high alcohol content (14.8 percent) that is perfectly suitable for standing up to the pronounced flavors.
Kumkani Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004, $9.99. My favorite Kumkani red. Bright, summery berry aroma and splashes of vanilla bean and that distinct touch of game that I've come to expect from Kumkani wines. An intriguing wild snapped briar and blackberry flavor pervades this robust, outdoorsy wine. Aroma is more like a Cabernet but the taste is predominantly Shiraz. Lots of tobacco and leather in both the aroma and on the tongue.
Featured winery: Adega Cooperative de Borba from Portugal
On a recent trip to The Wine Merchant, I encountered two great and incredibly affordable Portuguese red wines from Adega Cooperativa de Borba. The first, Convento da Vila, 2005, comes from the Alentejano region and contains Trincadeira, Aragonez and Castelão grapes, quite an unusual mixture. I suspect that like Beaujolais, this fruity and smooth wine is best drunk young. A bright ruby-color pleases the eye and there is a pleasant vegetable aroma that comes from the Trincadeira. It's a fruity wine with lots of strawberry and balanced tannins that offer a pleasantly astringent finish. And guess what? It only costs $7.50 a bottle — what a steal!
The other red from Adega Cooperativa de Borba is a little more pricy at $9.99, but hey, you can grab a bottle of both for under 20 dollars and you'll have two outstanding wines. This one, named after the Web site adegaborba.pt, is 75 percent Aragonez and 25 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. It's got a deep crimson, almost purple color and for a 2004 its aroma is incredibly intense and smacks of mature fruit and nutmeg. Nicely balanced and medium-bodied, with good acidity and fruit, with spice and tannin providing an intriguing and astringent finish.
Trivia question: While some vineyards keep dogs as pets or mascots, and some sources say that when a dog nibbles the grapes, they're ready to pick, grapes are generally considered to be bad, even toxic, for a dog to eat in any quantity. What is a wine-related task that some dogs have been trained to perform?
Ushering in autumn with deep dark affordable reds
Two other staples in my wine rack are also worth mentioning: Bulletin Place Shiraz, Australia, $7.50 and Falling Star Merlot/Malbec, Argentina, $5.99. Both are inexpensive, both are screwtops, and both drink like wines three times their price. The Bulletin Place — the 2003 vintage rated 88 points from the Wine Spectator — it is a peppery, full-bodied dream with lots of black currant and berry. The Falling Star is aromatic and chock full of dried fruit and jam and soft but pronounced tannins. Both are great for fall drinking, whether you're watching football, enjoying the leaves falling or just hanging out with friends.
Another great value is the incredible Southern Italian red wine made by Tenuta del Portale called Starsa, from the Basilicata region. It’s made from the little-known Aglianico grape from vineyards on the slopes of an extinct volcano called Monte Vulture. The soil there is volcanic and ashy and the wine is lovingly aged in Slavonian oak casks to preserve the grape’s unique fragrance. I would call the delectable aroma a cross between a booming Zinfandel’s cherry vanilla and a syrah’s plummy, sweet spice. Same for the taste, filled with intense fruit and tobacco, full-bodied and with perfect tannins that mellow to a long and rich finish.
Speaking of Italian varietals, I'm going to go a dollar over my self-imposed limit and strongly recommend Montalto Nero d'Avolo/Cabernet Sauvignon (2004)
from sunny Sicily. The grape is the most predominant in Sicily and the taste compares favorably to a New World Shiraz — plummy, peppery and good balanced tannins. It's a dark, slightly brooding and full-bodied wine that goes great with roasts or pasta. And it's a screwcap, which to me is a plus at the end of a hard day when I'm too fried to master the intricacies of a corkscrew.
Pick for Charlie
Last time, my pick for Charlie Hart was Mi Villa 2004 Rioja ($8.99),an unoaked wine with lots of fruit — cherries, blackberry, raspberry and that peppery spice that Tempranillo is noted for. For only a dollar more, there's another 100 percent Tempranillo that may offer even more. Marques de Riscal (2005), from Spain's Castilla y Leon region, is made using grapes from the best vineyards located on the gravelly soils of in the Duero region. The wine is beautifully balanced even in its youth, full of energy and displaying a dark cherry color. You'll be hooked on the aroma, with berries and cherries and a little smokehouse hint and balanced oak. This is an amazing intro to what Tempranillo is all about for the price, full-bodied, fruity and with firm tannins and a strong backbone.
Digging deeper
I repeat: If you're stepping up in class a little for that special meal or that special someone, spring for the Spanish spectaculars from Vina Olagosa. Vina Olagosa Rioja Gran Reserva, 1997 offers an incredible complexity, with aromas and tastes of spice, tobacco and light oak. That lovely vermillion color at the edges speaks of its age. Let it breathe for a few hours before serving, then enjoy — it's elegant, with great structure and fruit and a long, complex finish. You'll be thinking about this one for along time after tasting. Incredible with marinated, grilled London broil. If you want to spend about half as much and enjoy a less mature but still excellent wine, try the Vina Olagosa Rioja Reserva, 2002 and you'll be quite satisfied.
Surf in for more Tastings next time …
Let's finish off with a beer that is suspiciously wine-like. It's Quelque Chose, billed on the label as "ale brewed with cherries." And sure enough, this is made from "juicy sun-drenched cherries" that are steeped in ale for months. It was developed as a winter beer and can be warmed and sipped like a toddy. But you can also drink it on the rocks or neat. According to the Web site, "Quelque Chose is made with dark roasted malts, and the end result is something commonly known as an authentic nectar." It's great for wintry days by the fireside and I'm planning on drinking some around the Christmas holidays.
But Christmas is a long way off. For now, let's look forward to Halloween and AMC's Monsterfest and long walks in the cool autumn air. And maybe even a new Ten Dollar Tastings column in November? Sure enough!
Until then, in vino veritas … and que syrah, syrah!
Answer to trivia question: Thanks to the starchefs.com Web site for this answer. In California, wine growers are using the keen canine sense of smell to sniff out disease in the vines. According to the site, "… vintners donated $33,000 to a project to train golden retrievers to sniff out and identify the vine mealybug, which can contaminate grape clusters with larvae and egg sacs, killing the vine itself within five years. The dogs are being trained to detect the pest early by smelling out its sex pheromones; once trained, they are expected to bark when they encounter the smell in the vineyards." My dog does the same thing when he encounters squirrels and I didn't have to pay a cent.
If you’d like to talk more about wine, dogs, wine dogs, or wines that are dogs, contact me at HarryC13@aol.com.
If you’d like to talk more about wine, dogs, wine dogs, or wines that are dogs, contact me at HarryC13@aol.com.
Thanks as always to The Wine Merchant for providing excellent wines, wine education and support. Prices are based on the author’s experience and may vary.
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