Something Warm to Drink on Snowy Day

Almost everything shut down in Indiana today!

A drink doesn't always warm the soul and any health guide will tell you alcohol will not keep you warm.
But if you're locked inside during the heavy snow,  something nice and warm to drink might make the blizzard seem less bothersome.

If you have a bottle of red wine in the house and a few basic spices, you are all set to make warm, mulled wine.

A dark fruity red wine will work best. If you are a big red wine drinker try a fruit-driven Zinfandel or Syrah/Shiraz. Any good Indiana Concord grape wine works great as well.

The fun thing about making mulled wine is you can pick the ingredients you like. A basic recipe for a bottle of red wine would include a small amount of sugar (to taste, if needed), a hint of lemon or orange juice, cloves, and cinammon.

Photo:MyRecipes.com

Get out the sauce pan (no aluminum!) and heat up the wine over low heat. Slowly add your spices and other liquids. Do not let the wine come to a boil. Alcohol will reach the boiling point much quicker than water.
Let the ingredients get friendly for 10-15 minutes until it steams. Pour the mulled wine into mugs with an orange or lemon slice, add a cinammon stick if you have one, and you have a warm evening drink that will delight.

Don't hesitate to experiment with your mulled wine concoction. Just taste your warm winter evening beverage as you try different ingredients.

It won't get the sidewalk shoveled, but you'll care less about the snow!

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Not Many Famous Gertrudes - But That Could Change

There is Gertrude Stein (author), Gertrude Atherton (author), and Gertrude B. Elion (Nobel-winning pharmacist). But let's face it, Gertrude is about the only name that makes Howard feel contemporary!

I was recently introduced to another Gertrude who may not become famous but is quite a shapely charmer. la Maia Lina Gertrude Toscana is also known as Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet.

This uber-value Tuscan blend really, really suprised me. I loved it. La Maialina means little pig - and there is a cute little pink pig on the bottle - she is a charmer.

This wine has wonderful cherry, some hints of pepper and, frankly folks, is crazy good wine for an average price of $12. It is rich, nice acid and all at 13.5 percent alcohol.

This little piggy can come to my market any time. You get big flavor, a nice finish, and even a good second-day wine for $12? Crazy!!!!!

This wine isn't going to overpower any meal but would be great with just about any red sauce dish or even beef.

I've written on previous occasions that inexpensive but drinkable Italian wines are hard to discover. If you find this pink pig, grab a few bottles.Oink! Oink!

la Maialine Gertrude, $12, Very Highly Recommended.I bought this bottle at Indy's Cork + Cracker.

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A Wonderful Bottle from Dry Creek; Guest Reviewed Chard

Okay, so I have enough wine in the house to occasionally go to the wine rack or storage units to look for a bottle for that night's dinner. Every now and then, I find a bottle that I had forgot all about.

Nearly a year ago I visited Carmel, Ind., shop Vine and Table on a Saturday morning and tasted my first Peterson Winery wine. I pulled that bottle out this week. The other wine reviewed here is a nice California Chard, but the comments come from a much better judge of good Chardonnay than this writer.

Peterson Winery 2008 Shinbone - Peterson is a great little winemaker in Sonoma County's Dry Creek appellation. I actually visited there in March of this year and did a very quick tasting. Peterson's tasting room is virtually adjacent to Kokomo Vineyards.

The Shinbone is a big and rich Sonoma blend of 50 percent Shiraz, 20 percent Cabernet, 20 percent Carignane and 10 percent Petit Sirah. Dark fruit, toasted oak, and rich plum dominate the palate. This is a big food wine, make no mistake. It has a sense of terroir, but if that's too geeky for you  - how about earthiness? The deft touch of the winemaker delivers big without overpowering.

The wine is nice and dry with a very satisfying finish. It does come in at 14.5 percent alcohol and it's only fair to note, rather hard to find. Peterson only made 250 cases of this vintage. But I found it in Central Indiana so it's not impossible.

These folk have a nice sense of humor too. I remember an old large-and-in-charge cat in the tasting room and some quirky humor. On the back of their wine bottle is the Peterson philosophy: 1. No soul-less wines; 2. When the land is poor, no one is rich; 3. If it ain't got the root, it ain't got the fruit.

How can you not love that?

Peterson Winery 2008 Shinbone, $28, Highly Recommended.

Markham 2010 Napa Chardonnay - So I've written here often enough that most might guess I'm not a big Chard fan. I do like some of the unoaked Chardonnay wines and love Chablis. I'm just not a fan of oaked Chardonnay.

So I often hand over a few of my traditional Chardonnay wines to my boss, Jim, who is a Chard afficionado. He has provided me a few notes before and is really getting a knack for identifying tastes, texture, and all those wine geeky things we imbibers enjoy.

Here are his thoughts on the Markham Chard:

"We really enjoyed this wine. It has a beautiful light straw color — not overly yellow and is very easy to drink with or without food. There is plenty of toast and spice on the nose, and maybe a hint of butter or butterscotch. We tasted apple and vanilla. It has a silky texture and enough oak for those who like it, but not too much.

"We had a taste straight out of the refrigerator, where it had chilled for six hours or so. It was okay, but it improved greatly as it warmed. I'd recommend drinking it between 50-60 degrees, which seemed to be the sweet spot. It flattened out a little as we drew near the end of the bottle.

"Typical alcohol content for a Chardonnay -- think the bottle said 13.8 percent.

Drinks like a $20-30 bottle. Much better than the $12-15 grocery retail Chardonnays I've had. But very much worth the suggested $18 retail.

Markham 2010 Napa Chardonnay, SRP $18, Highly recommended.

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How About Splurging for the Holidays

If there is ever a time to splurge on something special, it’s the holidays for most of us. For five years now Grape Sense has focused on value wine under $20. That’s not going to change. But for one column, here are some suggestions that will range $10-$20 higher than the wines normally mentioned in the column.

One of the great adventures in a wine education is discovering price point differences relative to quality. There are many differences of opinion. My experience is that when you break about $15, there is a difference in quality.

Here are some wines for a special occasion that should deliver a real bang on the palate for just a 10 or 20 spot more than the usual $12-$15 bottle. It may take a wine shop to find them, but all should be available in Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. 

Lange Willamette Valley Pinot Noir – The Lange Pinot at about $22 is one of the best ‘entry level’ Oregon Pinot Noirs on the market. Jesse and Don Lange deliver better fruit than most at this price. 

The wine remains light bodied and well balanced the key characteristics of great Oregon Pinot Noir.

Klinker Brick Zinfandel – There are plenty of under $15 Zins on the market but few under $20 that provide the bang for the buck that Klinker Brick delivers. This is on my all-time list for great wines under 20 bucks. This is old vine Zin which delivers big fruit that balances the higher-than-usual alcohol. It’s dynamite red wine for winter meals.

Tamarack Cellars Merlot – The oft-maligned red grape is making a comeback of sorts. Washington state producers have been leading the pack in developing interesting Merlot wines with dark fruit, spice, and chocolate flavors. This wine has been a 90-point-plus entry from most of the critics. It can be found at $20-$25.

Ca’ De’ Rocchi Ripasso Montere – This is the best value Italian red wine I’ve ever tasted. Ripasso style wines from the Valpolicella district have been hot. It’s made from the Corvina, Rondinella, and Moliara grapes. The combination creates a fruit wine with some real depth. It’s perfect for food and friends who may not always be big wine drinkers. Look for it at $20-$24. The wine is an incredible value buy.

Obra Prima Reserva Malbec – As much as the Ripasso above is good for wine novices, the Obra Prima isn’t for newcomers. For the wine drinker who likes big dark fruit, dark chocolate, wonderfully balanced acid and tannin, here is a pick for you. The 2007 vintage in current release sells for $17.

Fleur Cardinale Grand Cru Saint Emilion – If you want to go all out for a special night or impress your friends, reach for Bordeaux. Wines from the world’s greatest regions are famously wonderful and expensive. This Merlot driven blend is a great way to see what the wine world swoons over when it comes to the iconic French region. Robert Parker rates it at 90 points, and I think it’s even a tad bit better than that. It really does taste well above the not-so-cheap price point of $45.

Billaud-Simon Premier Cru Montee de Tonnerre – Taste the terroir of Burgundy with this great bottle of Chablis (Chardonnay) from one of the region’s greatest producers. This wine is stunning with poultry or smoke salmon. Chablis has long suffered from poor imitators. It’s rare you can enjoy a bottle of some of the world’s very best wine for the average price of $25.

NEXT COLUMN: Check out the annual list of Top 10 Value Wines of the Year!

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