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By Chris M. Hoel, CSW
Published: February 2008
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and I hereby propose a change of scenery: Bag the restaurant reservations,
and prepare that special someone’s favorite meal in the fire-lit coziness only your home can provide. (And if Tom Shane
has his way with you, splurge on a diamond for dessert.) An ever-important accompaniment to dinner—wine—should
match the occasion as well as the meal. So here are several suggestions for an at-home February 14. Now you have a
friend in the wine business.
Published: February 2008
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and I hereby propose a change of scenery: Bag the restaurant reservations,
and prepare that special someone’s favorite meal in the fire-lit coziness only your home can provide. (And if Tom Shane
has his way with you, splurge on a diamond for dessert.) An ever-important accompaniment to dinner—wine—should
match the occasion as well as the meal. So here are several suggestions for an at-home February 14. Now you have a
friend in the wine business.
Price: $12
Description: This light white displays hints of green apples and peaches with a zest of orange and lemon. The beautiful floral note calls to
mind a well-made perfume—one that piques your interest but doesn’t knock you down. A great “play around” wine you can drink while you,
well ... play around.
Description: This light white displays hints of green apples and peaches with a zest of orange and lemon. The beautiful floral note calls to
mind a well-made perfume—one that piques your interest but doesn’t knock you down. A great “play around” wine you can drink while you,
well ... play around.
You’re serving: Lobster, prawns, scallops, double crème cheese or truffled French fries
Price: $80
Description: If you splurged on dinner, you might as well spring for one of my all-time favorites. Lightly pink with a fruity nose of strawberries,
white cherries and baked bread, it has a myriad of tropical citrus flavors on the palate with a light vanilla kiss—which is just what you’ll get if
you bring this stuff home.
Price: $80
Description: If you splurged on dinner, you might as well spring for one of my all-time favorites. Lightly pink with a fruity nose of strawberries,
white cherries and baked bread, it has a myriad of tropical citrus flavors on the palate with a light vanilla kiss—which is just what you’ll get if
you bring this stuff home.
You’re serving: Beef, short ribs, hearty pastas, braised meats—or even better, lamb
Pair it with: 2004 d’Arenberg “Love Grass” Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia
grace with power. Serve this to your sweetheart, and he or she might just want to dance.
Pair it with: 2004 d’Arenberg “Love Grass” Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia
grace with power. Serve this to your sweetheart, and he or she might just want to dance.
You’re serving: Chicken, salmon, duck, tuna or veal
Pair it with: 2005 Foley “Rancho Santa Rosa” Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, Calif.
Price: $32
Description: This wine covers them all. A nose of strawberries and cherries on steroids matches well with the taste of dried
bananas, ripe peaches and a whisper of balanced oak. Hey, my little peach, come over here and whisper in my ear
Pair it with: 2005 Foley “Rancho Santa Rosa” Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, Calif.
Price: $32
Description: This wine covers them all. A nose of strawberries and cherries on steroids matches well with the taste of dried
bananas, ripe peaches and a whisper of balanced oak. Hey, my little peach, come over here and whisper in my ear
Liquid Assets - Gin Goes Back to the Future
By Chris Hoel, CSW
The current rage in the spirit world is vodka, specifically vodkas infused with exotic fruits
and berries. Little known is the fact that gin, the spirit that somehow became
associated with martini-drinking grandmothers everywhere, was actually the first
infused vodka. It should be no surprise, then, that with 70-plus varieties on the market,
gin cocktails—from the classic to the supermodern—are back in style. Raise one to
grandma.
By Chris Hoel, CSW
The current rage in the spirit world is vodka, specifically vodkas infused with exotic fruits
and berries. Little known is the fact that gin, the spirit that somehow became
associated with martini-drinking grandmothers everywhere, was actually the first
infused vodka. It should be no surprise, then, that with 70-plus varieties on the market,
gin cocktails—from the classic to the supermodern—are back in style. Raise one to
grandma.
Due to the bland and tasteless nature of vodka, gin has always been the choice of cocktail connoisseurs as well. Ted Kilgore, mixologist
from Monarch, tells us that “you will start to see more gin-based cocktails, because they present a greater challenge to the bartender
as well as offer more depth and character than even the best infused vodkas.” Kilgore has also taken the unusual step of infusing gin
gins that were quite approachable and absolutely mind-blowing, especially when mixed and shaken by a hand as experienced as
Kilgore’s.
Hendrick’s Gin was one of the first new-style gins to hit the market more than five years ago (from Scotland, of all places); it uses
cucumber and rose petals along with other botanicals. Kilgore’s “Xanadu” combines this gin with pomegranate juice, cassis and fresh
lime to produce a massive cocktail with bright red cherries, orange zest, lime oil and a delicately tart finish.
No. 209 is distilled in pot stills in Napa Valley using only the finest juniper berries, citrus and exotic fruits and spices. It’s extremely floral,
with notes of sweet pine, fresh herbs and hints of licorice.
G’Vine was the first grape-based gin to hit the market, with delicate flavors of sweet bubble gum, ripe bananas, white cherries and
what came off as the flavor of Del Monte fruit cocktail. In his “Last Words” cocktail, Kilgore combines G’Vine with yellow Chartreuse,
maraschino cherry liqueur and fresh lemon juice. The effect is bright citrus notes of lemon and lime, perfectly balanced with a rock
candy–like finish that seems to go on forever and that as you sip grows tarter and tarter.
from Monarch, tells us that “you will start to see more gin-based cocktails, because they present a greater challenge to the bartender
as well as offer more depth and character than even the best infused vodkas.” Kilgore has also taken the unusual step of infusing gin
gins that were quite approachable and absolutely mind-blowing, especially when mixed and shaken by a hand as experienced as
Kilgore’s.
Hendrick’s Gin was one of the first new-style gins to hit the market more than five years ago (from Scotland, of all places); it uses
cucumber and rose petals along with other botanicals. Kilgore’s “Xanadu” combines this gin with pomegranate juice, cassis and fresh
lime to produce a massive cocktail with bright red cherries, orange zest, lime oil and a delicately tart finish.
No. 209 is distilled in pot stills in Napa Valley using only the finest juniper berries, citrus and exotic fruits and spices. It’s extremely floral,
with notes of sweet pine, fresh herbs and hints of licorice.
G’Vine was the first grape-based gin to hit the market, with delicate flavors of sweet bubble gum, ripe bananas, white cherries and
what came off as the flavor of Del Monte fruit cocktail. In his “Last Words” cocktail, Kilgore combines G’Vine with yellow Chartreuse,
maraschino cherry liqueur and fresh lemon juice. The effect is bright citrus notes of lemon and lime, perfectly balanced with a rock
candy–like finish that seems to go on forever and that as you sip grows tarter and tarter.
Liquid Assets - Is Cork On the Ropes?
By Chris Hoel
Illustration by Danny Elchert
It is truly amazing that the wine industry continues to plug its product—literally—with a porous, bacteria-prone
piece of tree bark. It’s estimated that 5 to 7 percent of wines suffer from “cork taint,” the common name for the
rogue fungus that can live silently inside a cork, only to later contaminate a wine. “Corked” wine has prompted
many wineries worldwide to take action and find alternative closures to alleviate the problem.
Plastic, synthetic and composite corks have their devotees, but it’s that lowly closure from the other side of the
tracks, the one we remember from our Boone’s Farm youth—the screw cap—that has taken the lead, mainly due
to its near–0 percent failure rate. Over time it has been refined and even picked up a pedigreed name—the
Stelvin closure—but it’s still an unromantic, ill-sounding screw cap.
By Chris Hoel
Illustration by Danny Elchert
It is truly amazing that the wine industry continues to plug its product—literally—with a porous, bacteria-prone
piece of tree bark. It’s estimated that 5 to 7 percent of wines suffer from “cork taint,” the common name for the
rogue fungus that can live silently inside a cork, only to later contaminate a wine. “Corked” wine has prompted
many wineries worldwide to take action and find alternative closures to alleviate the problem.
Plastic, synthetic and composite corks have their devotees, but it’s that lowly closure from the other side of the
tracks, the one we remember from our Boone’s Farm youth—the screw cap—that has taken the lead, mainly due
to its near–0 percent failure rate. Over time it has been refined and even picked up a pedigreed name—the
Stelvin closure—but it’s still an unromantic, ill-sounding screw cap.
The tide turned in 2001, when forward-thinking wineries in New Zealand formed the “Wine Seal Initiative” and placed many of their best wines under
the Stelvin. Not surprisingly, New Zealand and Australia still lead the popularity contest, but what is surprising to me is that the Old World countries—and
even France—are now embracing such an “uncivilized” New World idea.
Missouri wineries have long believed in the screw cap. St. James Winery has 15 of its current release wines under Stelvin, Stone Hill has eight, and Mt.
Pleasant has five, including the Taster’s Guild International Double Gold Winner (its highest award), the 2005 Mount Pleasant Claret.
Sommeliers, myself included, love screw caps because it just pains us to uncork a bad wine. Even though the average “cellaring” time in the United
States is only about 6 hours, it makes no sense for you to do so either. Finally, it looks like more wine drinkers are catching on—a recent Nielsen survey
showed that national sales of screw-cap wines were up 25 percent in 2006.
I know from personal visits that several higher-end California wineries have been bottling their personal stock under Stelvins—some for 30 years! If these
big boys are believers, you should be too.
the Stelvin. Not surprisingly, New Zealand and Australia still lead the popularity contest, but what is surprising to me is that the Old World countries—and
even France—are now embracing such an “uncivilized” New World idea.
Missouri wineries have long believed in the screw cap. St. James Winery has 15 of its current release wines under Stelvin, Stone Hill has eight, and Mt.
Pleasant has five, including the Taster’s Guild International Double Gold Winner (its highest award), the 2005 Mount Pleasant Claret.
Sommeliers, myself included, love screw caps because it just pains us to uncork a bad wine. Even though the average “cellaring” time in the United
States is only about 6 hours, it makes no sense for you to do so either. Finally, it looks like more wine drinkers are catching on—a recent Nielsen survey
showed that national sales of screw-cap wines were up 25 percent in 2006.
I know from personal visits that several higher-end California wineries have been bottling their personal stock under Stelvins—some for 30 years! If these
big boys are believers, you should be too.