Women in Wine
May Wine Club Selections
Not that we’ve conducted serious analyticalresearch on the topic, but lately as we’ve perused our aisles, we’ve noticed that our shelves have been graced with quite the plethora of impressive bottlings from talented women wine makers. Now we won’t enter into the debate over whether women really do have superior taste-buds and olfactory sensors (although there is some evidence to support the theory of “female supertasters”), and we won’t get into the glass-ceiling politics behind women on this career path as opposed to that. But we will say that more than a fair share of our own favorite wines are being produced by winemakers with two X chromosomes, and we think these ladies may be on to something. So in celebration of women and all their super-tasting ingenuity, we’ve selected a roster of wines made or inspired by women this month, from all regions and all walks of life. From amother-daughter winemaking team on the Mediterranean coast of France, to an Argentine trailblazer and a few very talented Californians, these are the women at the forefront of the wine industry today: scientists, artists, cultivators and culinary masterminds wrapped into one. We couldn't think of a better month for this lineup than the one in which we honor our mothers, so be sure to share a glass with your mother or your lady, and tell her what great taste she has. Cause you know she does. And because she does, she’ll love these...
Vintner Selection
2009 Domaine Gaujal de Saint Bon Picpoul de Pinet Cuvee des
Dames
Grape variety: Picpoul Blanc
Region: Coteaux de Languedoc, France
Food pairing: Bagna Cauda (see recipe)
While the world-famous regions of Bordeaux and
Burgundy take most of France’s winemaking limelight, the small sub-appellation of Picpoul de Pinet remains relatively unknown in the Coteeaux du Langeudoc. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t pride themselves fiercely on their local varietal, Picpoul Blanc. Picpoul is a Mediterranean grape that thrives in the hot climate of Southern France, and retains its crisp acidity well. (The name literally translates to “sharp lip stinger.”) Domaine Gaujal de Saint Bon is a small estate run by a mother-daughter team of Simone and Virginie Gaujal (rather fitting for this month, we think.) Their white wine made from 100% local Picpoul Blanc is extremely refreshing served chilled on a hot day, with aromas of fresh melon, citrus and mineral and a crisp, clean palate.
Vintner Selection
2008 Torremoron Ribera del Duero
Grape variety: Tempranillo
Region: Ribera del Duero, Spain
Food pairing: Grilled Spanish sausages
The sub-appellation of Ribera del Duero is made up of some very small towns in the Castilla y Leon region of Spain. The town of Quintanamanvirgo, in which this wine is made, boasts a population of 106 people. The Torremoron winery supports most of the families in this tiny town.Bodegas Torremoron is a collective founded in 1957, comprised of 300 associated vine growers and encompassing 500 acres of vineyards. Winemaker Sandra Ayuso is the one who pulls it all together, bringing 300 growers’ grapes together to make a comprehensive blend of 100% locally grown Tempranillo. You’d think a wine hailing from 300 different growers might lack harmony, but Ayuso brings it all together in a balanced fashion, marrying the flavors with four months in French oak barrels, for a finished wine that offers notes of savory black fruit and spice box and a smooth finish.
Reserve Selection
2009 Lail Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc
Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Napa Valley, California
Food pairing: Bagna Cauda or Humboldt Fog cheese
When we talk about forefathers of our country, we have endless numbers of people to thank for pioneering different industries. But for Napa winemaking, one of the true forefathers was Gustav Neibaum, the great-great grand-uncle of Robin Lail, steward of Lail Vineyards. Neibaum founded Inglenook vineyards in 1879, making history in this still-young winemaking region. Today Robin carries the torch with Lail Vineyards where they make this Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc (an homage to her husband’s profession of architecture) from a single vineyard in St. Helena. With the help of well-known French winemaker Philippe Melka (Vineyard 29, Bryant, Melka Metisse), Lail produces this beautiful Sauvignon Blanc in the style of Sancerre, crisp and mineral-laden but with a decidedly Californian ripeness of fruit. Look for notes of Florida grapefruit, citron, honeydew, toast with lemon curd and just a hint of ginger spice.
More Information: 2009 Lail Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc
Reserve Selection
2008 Susana Balbo Malbec
Grape variety: Malbec (90%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%)
Region: Mendoza, Argentina
Food pairing: Beef ribs with cocoa-spice dry rub
Susana Balbo isn’t the only female winemaker in a country dominated by male winemakers, but she’s certainly among the most accomplished. She has been making wine since she earned her enology degree in 1981, and in that time has probably worked on a larger variety of wines than any other winemaker in Argentina. She was the first Argentine winemaker to be hired as a consultant outside of Argentina, and has made wine in Australia, California, Chile, France, Italy, South Africa and Spain. After 20 years of making wine for others, she finally decided to make a wine with her own name on the label, and her signature Malbec represents everything a good Malbec should be: ripe, plummy, accented by hints of vanilla and chocolate, rich and velvety but never heavy or alcoholic. Serious but fun wine, just the way Susana likes it.
Cellar Selection
2007 Viader “DARE” Cabernet Sauvignon
Grape variety: Cab
ernet Sauvignon
Region: Napa Valley, California
Food pairing: Cedar-smoked pork loin
Argentine-born winemaker Delia Viader has always lived by the motto, “Dare to be different.” An innovator from the time of her very first plantings on Howell Mountain in 1989,
Delia was among the first to bring the Bordeaux style of vineyard cultivation to California. Against some pretty vehement criticism, Delia decided to plant her vines in rows going up and down the steep mountainside, following the path of the afternoon sun to optimize exposure. Today she honors that tradition of “daring to be different” with her “Dare” label of Cabernet Sauvignon. With the help of her son Alan, she has crafted a bottling flavored with dark, ripe black cherries, currants, cassis and tobacco, with a finish of caramel and a hint of cedar imparted by its 21 months in French oak. An approachable but nicely finessed bottle now, this should drink well for three to five years more.
More Information: 2007 Viader “DARE” Cabernet Sauvignon
Cellar Selection
2008 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Hands of Time”
Napa Valley Red Wine
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,
Syrah (3%)
Region: Napa Valley, California
Food pairing: Beef and fingerling potato kebabs
Many wine enthusiasts know that Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was founded by Napa pioneer Warren Winiarski, and that their Cabernet famously won the Paris tasting of 1973 against the most highly regarded Bordeaux. What many don’t realize is that in subsequent years, Warren has mentored and ushered into careers dozens of Napa’s finest winemakers, including Paul Hobbs, Dick Ward, John Kongsgaard, and their present talented winemaker, Nicki Pruss.
The Hands of Time Meritage blend was made to commemorate all the hands that took part in making Stag’s Leap what it is over the years, overseen of course, by Nicki herself. Like all of Stag’s Leap’s wines, it strikes an artful balance between ripeness and restraint, softness and structure, and is a real pleasure to enjoy.
Premiere Selection
Grape variety: Merlot, Cabernet (6%), Malbec (2%)
Region: Napa Valley, California
Food pairing:Organic dry-aged ribeye steak
Annual Auction trip to Napa, February 2011. Eight a.m. on the second day. Gary, Brian, and I are getting ready for a full day of back-to-back winery visits when the first vintner on the docket cancels at the last minute. It looks like it’s shaping up to be a bad morning. That is, until Bill Deem calls. How fast can we get down to Napa?
Forty minutes and one quickly scarfed Bouchon muffin later, we’re all sitting around a conference table in a nondescript industrial park, tasting the 2008 Buccella Cabernet, Merlot, and Reserve Cab called Cuvee Katrina Eileen. We had fallen in love with Buccella’s heady, hedonistic but gorgeously balanced Cabernet when we bought the 2007 vintage, but we had never met proprietor Bill Deem or his full-time winemaker Rebekah Wineberg, and we had never tasted their Merlot. We did, however, know consulting winemaker Celia Welch (of Scarecrow fame) quite well, and we knew that any project she worked on was one to keep our eyes on. So this was a tasting not to be missed. To say that was one of the most fortuitous changes of plans we’ve ever had would be an understatement. On that annual trip, we spend the week tasting easily hundreds of Cabernets, and for a Merlot to blow us away it truly has to be something special. Their Merlot, sourced from the famed Hyde vineyard in Carneros (known mostly for Chardonnay) is as lush as they come, and could hold its own with any Cabernet. Prior to February, I didn’t even know that the famed Hyde vineyard in Carneros produced Merlot at all. Now I’m wondering why they don’t plant more of it. This relatively new wine is notoriously hard to find on the East Coast, only 233 cs made, so we consider ourselves very fortunate to share some with you.
“Very lush on the palate with dark fruits, chocolate ganache and a shot of great espresso. Though it is decadent there is still enough acidity to lift this wine off its feet. Possibly California’s best Merlot.” (Brian Maxwell, Wine Buyer)
More Information: 2008 Buccella Merlot
Premiere Selection
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot
Grape variety: Merlot
Region: Napa County and Sonoma County, California
Food pairing: Black tea poached duck breast with black cherry reduction
High at the top of Spring Mountain, on the crest that straddles Napa and Sonoma Counties, sits a 235 acre estate originally planted to grapes in 1869. The original stone winery built in 1890 was mysteriously destroyed by a fire during prohibition, but today it has been rebuilt on the original foundation and restored to its glory. Today 83 acres are planted, all above the fog line allowing for sun exposure from sunrise to sunset. And because the winery spans two counties (a brick inlay on the crush pad literally represents the county line), winemaker Sally Johnson gets the best of both worlds when blending her grapes.
Merlot is the really the pride of Pride, produced each year from roughly half Sonoma county fruit, half Napa, all from their estate. Robert Parker called it a “sexy, full-throttle, heady Merlot”, full of “abundant aromas of black cherry and mocha-infused fruit intermixed with hints of white chocolate, roasted herbs and coffee.”
More Information: 2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot
Recipe
Hot Veggie Bath (Bagna Cauda)
Serves: 4 as an appetizer (approx. 1 cup)
Wine Pairing: Lail Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc or Domaine Gaujal de Saint Bon Picpoul de Pinet Cuvee des Dames
This simple dipping sauce or “bath” for raw vegetables and crusty bread is adapted from a recipe in the famed revolutionary chef Alice Waters’ classic “The Art of Simple Food.” One of the most influential female chefs of all time, she taught us to delight in the simple things rather than fussing them up too much. I take the liberty of adding fresh parsley to this classic dish, but it’s equally good without.
5 salt-packed anchovies
6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Assorted raw vegetables and crusty Italian semolina bread
-Soak anchovies in water for 5 minutes, then debone and finely chop.
-Heat water to simmer in a double boiler. In the top pot,
combine all ingredients. Heat and stir until butter is melted. Salt to taste.
-Serve warm as a dipping sauce for bread and vegetables.
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