Three Recent Really Great Bottles of Wine

It's time to catch up on a couple of recent bottles of wine I've found to be outstanding. Two Italians and one California Cab rate highly in my book.

Ca de Rocchi Montere Ripasso - This 2009 Valpolicella Superiore is fabulous Italian wine. The wine is a blend of three varieties grown in Italy's north-east. Corvina, and Rondinella are the trio primarily involved in the blend.

The wine is lighter than many Italian choices but the wine drinker is rewarded with big beautiful fruit and a rich smooth finish.

I went back and bought more of this beauty after trying just one bottle. This big heavy bottle of wine comes in around $20. I'm not sure the significance, but this might be the heaviest bottle I've ever picked up with 750ml of grape juice inside. Pinot Noir often features big heavy-bottomed bottles, but this one was even heavier than most. Talk among yourselves!

This Ripasso might be my all-time favorite for under $20.

Ca de Rocchi Montere Ripasso, $18.99, Very Highly Recommended

Attems Pinot Grigio - I've never been a big fan of Pinot Grigio. It never matches up to Oregon's Pinot Gris which I like a lot. I find most Pinot Grigio (particularly the Italian version) to often be thin or uninteresting.

I've now tasted the exception to that stereotyped characterization. This trade sample Attems had an unusual richness that really set it apart from so many other Grigios in the market. It had apple and pear hints on the palate.

The big difference here for  me was the use of some oak. Plenty of Pinot Grigio, Gris, Blanc, etc are often stainless steel only. And generally, I don't care for much oak in my white wine, but it really made this wine standout.

The tech sheet for this wine indicated 15 percent of the production spends time in barrels while the rest is done in stainless steel.

Attems 2011 Pinot Grigio, SRP $18, Trade Sample, Highly Recommended.

Franciscan 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon - There are well-known names and a second tier of names when it comes to Napa Cabernet. And, come to think of it, there are probably three or four or six more categories.

Franciscan is name known to most wine lovers because it is widely distributed. I find their wines to be consistent and good wines at the price point.

The 2010 Cab has all of the characteristics of great Cabernet. I decanted this wine and even saved a little for the next night. It's really good Cab but it needs some time on the wine rack. For me, the wine was just too big with some astringency. But, the more wine you drink the easier it gets to identify what the wine is going to be instead of what it is the day you open it. Did that make sense?

This is going to be a really great Cabernet in another 5-10 years. I liked the herbs, black currant, tobacco, and dark chocolate hints. It had really big tannins, but again - give it some time.

This is a blend with 85 percent Cab, 11 percent Merlot, 3 percent Syrah, and 1 percent Malbec. The wine gets 20 months in oak barrells while 25 percent of that sees new oak. So the tannin structure is huge now but there for great aging potential.

It is a mild 13.5 percent alcohol wine. Franciscan distributes a lot of this wine so you should be able to find it at a good nearby wine shop. For the price point, it's a great wine to go buy two bottles and experiment a little. Open your first bottle and make sure it gets a good decant. Put the other bottle away and don't open it for at least five years.

Franciscan consistently scores 90-plus points for its Cabernet. When aged or decanted properly, this is tremendous value for $28.

Franciscan 2010 Cabernet, SRP $28, Trade Sample, Recommended

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Indy: Fountain Square Finally Taking off Big Time

My Coquille St. Jacque

When I find interesting food shops or restaurants I think it's probably of interest to all my wino friends. If you're a foodie, there is a good chance you like wine. If you're an oenophile, there's an even better chance you love good food.

The near-downtown area called Fountain Square in Indianapolis has been an up-and-coming region for too long. I remember back around the turn of the century (does that make me sound old?), hearing that Fountain Square was the next big thing. Unfortunately, the infrastructure and overall appearance of the area was a mess.

The bar is open to the dining area - note the old typewriters above the booze

Indy's cultural trail - a walking trail through the city highlighting culture and diversity - finally found its way south of downtown and now Fountain Square is hopping.

A short walking tour Saturday afternoon was delightful capped off with a fabulous dinner at Bluebeard.

A friend and I walked a great antique shop, eclectic home decorating business, tasted mead at the New Day Meadery.

I had visited Pure Eatery on a couple of occasions and we decided to stop in for a drink. We each had a nice glass of Malbec and then decided to split an appetizer. We settled on the pita BBQ chicken pizza and it was fabulous. I suggested we simply order another and forget dinner, but that would have been wrong. Turns out, that would have been very wrong.

I'm one who is always curious and cautious about the greatest, hip, new places. Bluebeard has been getting largely very positive press and reviews on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.

We started by sharing the grilled bread appetizer with a small tray of herbed butter, roasted garlic and olive oil and a anchovy spread.

I had scallops (flown in fresh) or "Coquille St. Jacque" - scallops, chanterelle mushrooms, grape tomatoes, leeks, gruyere, and Pea Shoots. It was a medium plate for $18.

My dinner companion had the frog legs in white wine and garlic, parmesan and butter for $15. I thought the scallops were some of the best I've ever had, which is saying something sitting in landlocked Indy. My friend loved her frog legs but were a bit heavy with garlic for my taste.

That's blueberrys between the yummy pudding and rosemary cookies.

We elected to share a dessert and it was really great. We had chocolate and valpolicella pudding with rosemary shortbread chocolate cookies and cocoa nibs. ($9)

With one cocktail and a quartino of Spain's Ostatu blanc, the total bill was $95 before tip and well worth it for this gastronomical gymnastics meet in your mouth.

The restaurant has suffered some criticism for service in online reviews but we were very well taken care of during our Saturday night visit.

The accompanying bakery offers the kind of hard-crusted breads that are just hard to find in Indiana. I brought home a half loaf of multigrain for $3.50.

The restaurant is beautiful and quirky. It's decorated with old books and older manual typewriters. They have a small, medium and large plate concept. The smalls are similar to other restaurants and ranged $11-$18. The medium plates are considered a single serving and were $15-$18 Saturday. The large (two portions) plates ran from $25-$35 the night we were there.

Bluebeard also features a very inventive cocktail lineup and one of the best wine lists I've seen in Indianapolis.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Christmas Gift Ideas For the Wine Lover on Your List

My most recent newspaper column (posted below) focused on aerators as a nice gift for the wine lovers on your holiday shopping list.

But, as most know, there are many other goodies for that oenophile besides an aerator or bottle of wine. I did this quick video at home looking at a few of the goodies!

Here is the video:

Put Some Air in It for Winelovers on Your Gift List

From left: VinOair, Soiree, Vintrui Aerators

Buying wine for the wine lover on your Christmas shopping list is fraught with peril. Do you know their tastes? Do you know their favorite varietals? Can you afford their favorites?

A gift certificates for a nearby wine shop is a nice gift. But unless you are certain of the person’s wine tastes, stick with wine accessories. Glassware makes an outstanding gift. For wine drinkers, you can never have enough wine glasses or a good decanter.

There are lots of gizmos on the wine market. You can buy all sorts of devices to remove the cork, to chill wine, and more. There is one gadget though which can be a nice addition to any vino lover’s wine accessories. 

Consider buying an aerator. While the gadget isn’t new to the wine world, it hasn’t been around all that long. And now there are several types, models, and price points. Aerators can be found at better wine and liquor stores and some household stores that carry wine glasses and decanters.

For years wine drinkers would pour their wines into a decanter to soften the bite of the tannins on the finish of the wine. But in our ‘no patience, no time, and can’t wait’ society sometimes that’s not good enough.

Enter Vinturi  the manufacturer of the original wine aerator. Essentially, you pour wine through an aerator and oxygen is infused into the wine as it enters the glass and softens the taste.

Vinturi offers a base model and a Vinturi Tower model (which holds the aerator), a white wine aerator, and a travel model. The base aerator is usually priced around $35-$40. The aerator with the tower holder will cost from $50-$60.

The success of aerators has resulted in more entries into the market. 

The newer in-bottle aerators have an advantage as less messy. Both of the samples I tried have a rubber-sealed neck which goes right into the wine bottle.

Soiree has a number of party and wine home supply gadgets. The Soiree is a bubble with a spout. When you turn a wine bottle completely upside down the wine swirls over the bubble and into your glass. The Soiree offers a less expensive alternative at $20-$25.

The third aerator was an in-bottle type with a sleek spout for pouring. VinOair from CorkPops would be great for travel or taking to a party. The VinOair is the least expensive of the three at $16.

But do these things really work? Ask any regular wine drinker with aerator experience, and the answer may vary.

For me, they do a nice job of making a big red wine ready to drink. And I’ve been surprised an aerator  actually helps on some white wines that have a real acidic finish.

I received samples of all three aerators and tested them with wine drinking friends. All three worked just fine and definitely softened the wine. The Vinturi is elegant; the VinOair is the most convenient, while the Soiree was the pick of my wine buddies on taste. 

An aerator is a gift a wine friend might not have in their collection yet. All three companies have good websites where you can find local retailers.

EDITOR'S NOTE: All three aeration products were provided as trade samples.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com