Muscat is an ancient grape poised for new attention from adventurous wine lovers looking for a fragrant wine that comes in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet. Chicago-area retailers have seen the wine growing in popularity. Tracy Lewis Liang, wine and spirits director at Treasure Island Foods stores, has noticed a recent uptick in sales. She said the renewed interest is because people are getting over the idea that fruity means sweet and unsophisticated. “Muscat is one of those grapes like riesling and chenin blanc that can make any style of wine from bubblies to dry dinner […]
Grapes & Regions
Sparkling Wine 2
When Rhoda Nussbaum was a little girl, she used to spend the night on Manhattan’s ritzy Upper East Side visiting a wealthy aunt whom she described as an “incredible snob.” Before Nussbaum would go to bed, a maid would bring her a glass of Champagne on a silver tray. Today Nussbaum, who lives in Clayton, says sparkling wine is the only alcoholic drink she likes, but she never spends more than $15 or $20. “My aunt would disown me if she was alive and knew I bought the cheap stuff,” said Nussbaum, adding that inexpensive bubbly is her specialty. Nussbaum […]
Sparkling Wine
The sound of champagne corks popping is about to ring over our land as New Year’s Eve approaches. But if you love the sparklers, why limit yourself to one kind, boringly passed around at midnight? Break out of the bubbly rut this year. Host a festive champagne tasting as a different kind of celebration. Organizing a tasting at home is simple, with a little knowledge and advice. Some wine shops will even put together private tastings for you. Because you’re tasting small amounts, you could splurge on that more expensive bottle you’ve always wanted to try. Foods to complement the […]
Meritage Wines
You can argue that winemakers were wagging the dog when they came up with a catchy name for California wines made with traditional Bordeaux grapes. They even hosted a competition in 1988, looking for a name that would brand their high-quality blends. More than 6,000 names were submitted. The winner: Meritage, a compound of the words “merit” and “heritage” and pronounced like heritage. The Meritage Association, which protected the name with the U.S. Department of Trademarks and Patents, established the criteria: To be a Meritage, the wine must be made from two or more Bordeaux grapes. The red grapes are […]
Kosher Wines
Please note: This story has been edited for length. Jewish people around the world have something extra to be thankful for during the upcoming High Holidays: fine wines. For too long wine has been an afterthought (except for the sacramental variety) at the Sabbath table. That’s changing. Joan Nathan, the grand doyenne of Jewish cookery in North America and author of seven bestselling cookbooks, says kosher wine used to be synonymous with syrupy cough medicine — not exactly food-friendly; really more prayer-friendly. She recently visited the Judean Hills in Israel. “I always thought of the Golan Heights as having good […]
Burgundy
Price-conscious consumers are understandably a little shy of the 2005 Burgundy vintage. Praise has been nearly unanimous, and prices have shot skyward. While most attention has been on the reds, the whites are great, too. Still, not everybody will cheerfully drop $50 on a village-level Meursault, much less $150 for a good Corton-Charlemagne. As ever, the Mâconnais region rides to the rescue. For decades, the Mâconnais, south of the Côte d’Or but part of Burgundy, has overflowed with inexpensive whites. The best were tangy, refreshing and satisfying. The problem was that few achieved even this modest level. But for the […]
Champagne
Trying to master the terminology of Champagne is like learning an entirely new language. What does brut mean? Is that different from brut nature? What’s the difference between Spumonte and Champagne? What do the little tiny initials on a Champagne label, like NM, mean? Let’s take a look. The word Champagne can be used only on sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region in France. In 1891 the Treaty of Madrid was signed, declaring that only wines made in that region could legally be called Champagne, and this was later reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles. There are a […]
Riesling
Summer has arrived in the United States, which means thousands of bottles of Chardonnay are being uncorked or unscrewed across America. But Chardonnay’s near stranglehold on the American palate may finally be facing its first serious challenge in years from a fellow European ancestor: Riesling. The grape which London wine merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd says accounts for 20 percent of total plantings in Germany, has already made strong inroads among the vineyards of the New World like Australia and the United States. Now Riesling is getting a grip on a share of the drinking market that Chardonnay used to […]
Biodynamic Wines
Gena Nonini pops open her favorite French oak barrel and siphons off a little brandy. She cuts it with a little water, gives a swirl and then offers a drink. It’s smooth on the palate, with a pleasing hint of caramel, or maple, as Nonini likes to say. She talks of the flavor imparted by barrels with light, medium and heavy toasts. She shows her copper still, which lends a better taste to brandy than a still made of stainless steel, she says. All common talk for a brandy maker, but Nonini isn’t typical at all. This Fresno-area farmer is […]
Champagne 2
Rappers pay homage to it. Marilyn Monroe was rumored to have bathed in it. And it’s probably what’s in your glass when you’re toasting the new year, your anniversary or any other special occasion. Champagne has long been synonymous with luxury. Although it is a sparkling wine, make no mistake — not all sparkling wines are Champagne. The only wines that can bear the name are those produced in the Champagne region of France — an area particularly primed (thanks to cold weather and chalky soil) for creating the more earthy taste that Champagne is known for. (Other types of […]
