Pierre et Antonin deliver delicious sustainability through hybrid grapes in Languedoc

Pierre Caizergues and Antonin Bonnet having been pioneering the use of sustainable hybrid grapes in the Languedoc region of France and making flavorful, approachable wines that satisfy today's more eco-conscious consumer. At a media dinner at Juliette restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the pair showcased current vintages with French bistro cuisine.

With an estate in sight of the Pyrenees and close to Carcassonne, they've planted resistant varieties - or "cepages resistant" - such as Souvignier Gris, Grenache Bouquet, and Cabernet Cortis. The hardy hybrids don't need sulfites or copper spraying in the vineyards, and that leaves plenty of native yeast on the grapes to encourage natural fermentation in the winery. All bottles are sourced from local suppliers and no alumninum is used in the packaging, reducing the carbon footprint of the effort. Starting with a modest 5 hectares a few years ago, they've sinced added 50 more as they have seen wine lovers embrace their natural wines. 

Our tasting included:

Pet-Nat Vivant - A delicious and fresh white wine of Souvignier Gris with light carbonation that occurs naturally. 

Pet-Nat Vigne Sauvage - Pale pink, lightly sparkling rose of Grenache noir - perfect for summer parties. 

Bouquet - A fresh rose with strawberry aromas and flavors made from the Grenache Bouquet grape.

Petit Sauvage! Blanc - Fresh apple and pear flavors in this white wine made from Souvignier Gris. 

Petit Sauvage! Rouge - A fruit-forward, low-tannin red from Cabernet Cortis.

Petit Sauvage! Orange - Savory notes of clove and orange peel in this skin contact wine of Souvignier Gris. 

Check out Pierre Antonin to learn more about their sustainable wine projects! 

La Nuit en Rose sails on the Hornblower Infinity

This year La Nuit en Rose was aboard the beautiful Hornblower Infinity Yacht, which sailed from Pier 15 near South Street Seaport onto the Hudson and East Rivers.

This year’s sold out event, which bills itself as “The World’s First Rose Wine Festival,” was a wonderful showcase of what seems to be everyone’s go-to summer style of wine.  In fact, the Infinity was packed stern to bow with rose wines from all over the world – France, Spain, United States, South Africa and more.  There is not a more fun way to sample the many styles, colors, and flavors of rose wine than at this annual event.

The event included delicious food, including melt-in-your-mouth croque monsieurs, rich cheeses, an olive bar, and -- in the VIP area -- mountains of shrimp cocktail and tiered displays of petit fours. 

An informational booklet at the event explained some cool facts about rose, and included a world map that pinpointed where it is consumed the most. No surprise to anyone who’s been to the Hamptons that it’s the U.S.!  France is the largest producer of rose wine, followed by Italy and the U.S.

So, who comes out for a full-rose event?  There was an elegant crowd, many of whom got into the spirit by dressing in every shade of pink imaginable.   The event received major sponsorship from Wine Enthusiast, and copies of their latest issue were available to attendees. 

Top Ten Bojo Tips

Beaujolais Nouveau is released today, but there’s more to this region than that fresh and fruity youngster. 

   

1) The Beaujolais region is located in southern Burgundy just north of the French gastronomic capital of Lyon.  

2) The French drink their Beaujolais chilled.  

3) Ninety-nine percent of Beaujolais is made from 100% Gamay grapes.  

4) Beaujolais is made with an unusual fermentation process known as carbonic maceration.  

5) Beaujolais Nouveau—which is fermented, bottled, and released just six to eight weeks after harvest -- has pronounced fruity, candy-like flavors, high acid, very low tannins, and relatively low alcohol.   

6) The highest quality Beaujolais wines come from ten villages that are designated as Cru Beaujolais production areas. They are:  Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Cote de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à Vent, Régnié, and Saint Amour.  

7) While many wine drinkers think Beaujolais should be drunk young, the more full bodied Cru Beaujolais wines can often age longer, especially in good vintages.   

8) There is a wine known as Beaujolais Blanc; it’s made from Chardonnay.

9) Beaujolais makes a great "bridge wine" at restaurants, as it can work with meats, poultry, and rich seafood such as salmon.  

10) Beaujolais is a beautiful area to tour with rolling green hillsides, charming small restaurants, hospitable bed and breakfasts and the Hameau Duboeuf -- a Disney-like wine tourism destination that offers animatronic skits and many interactive and entertaining displays. 

Whether nouveau or a more mature style, let's celebrate all the moods of Beaujolais today!

Bordeaux Legends explores fascinating saga of First Growth wines

In the world of wine, certain names are held above all others.  While any rube with a whiff of sophistication knows Bordeaux, few people understand the scale of this region: 8,000 wineries produce 700,000,000 bottles of wine annually.  Despite this massive production, only 160 of these wineries are designated as classified growths.  And then there are best of the best:  the five first growth chateaux of Bordeaux: 

Haut-Brion

Lafite Rothschild 

Latour

Margaux 

Mouton Rothschild

Wine educator and journalist Jane Anson has written BordeauxLegends to trace the 500 year history of this illustrious  quintet.  I met Jane on my first trip to Bordeaux in 2007, when I attended her class at the Bordeaux Wine School.  We maintained a cross-continent friendship that has included dining on oysters on the quays of the Garonne River and sipping Oregon Pinot Noir at Corkbuzz in New York City. From Jane’s writings and Twitter stream, I have followed her to En Primeur tastings and learned the inside scoop on the comings and goings of Bordeaux’s elite.  She has been my window on this rarefied world. Her expertise as a Bordeaux correspondent for the British wine magazine Decanter and her residency in the city of Bordeaux give her a close perspective on the region.

Bordeaux Legends is beautifully illustrated with many luminescent photographs by Isabelle Rozenbaum. The book brings the reader straight into the world of Bordeaux, grounding us with the history of the region and sharing the excitement as the chateaux increased in renown and ultimately became a superpower in the world of wine.  Jane’s astute observations and her careful, yet approachable, prose make the region, its characters, even the terroir itself, come vividly to life.

With a foreword by Francis Ford Coppola, this beautifully published hardbound book is a welcome addition to the library shelves and coffee tables of any wine lover – especially those for whom the very names of the first growth Bordeaux chateaux inspire something akin to reverence.   

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Les Petits Monts - ballerina of wines

We wine writers can be justly accused of taking flights of fancy when it comes to describing wine.

Disclaimer: I will do nothing to improve that questionable habit in this post.

Instead I want to propose a metaphor for the 2008 Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Les Petits Monts from Domaine Robert Sirugue a Vosne-Romanee. We often speak (to the confusion of "regular people") of wine being feminine or masculine. I'll go one better. Not only is this wine feminine, but a certain type of woman. No curvaceous earth mother here. This wine is a ballerina - elegant, lean, balanced, and ethereal. And, with the fame Burgundy enjoys, she dances on a world stage.

She looks thin - tilt the glass and you'll see the translucent ruby of Pinot Noirs from this chilly climate. But she is not weak - while lithe, there is an inner strength. She knows who she is. Premier Cru Burgundy doesn't want to be big and brash--in certain vintages it is exquisitely delicate. Imbibers who regularly pour California or South American reds may have no appreciation for the restraint she shows. That's a shame, because just as a ballet dancer communicates deep emotion with the smallest turn of her wrist, Burgundy such as this is expressing profound Pinot Noir flavors, but in a delicate way.

While most people will acknowledge the grace of ballet, it's not everyone's thing. And so it is here. But for those people who appreciate subtlety and a centuries-old tradition of beauty, the ballet and this Burgundy are most satisfying.

The Many Moods of Beaujolais

Beaujolais has a reputation as a simple wine, but maybe it’s got more going on than meets the eye.
I never thought of the grape as very age-worthy, but last night at a tasting at Snooth headquarters on Madison Avenue organized by Gregory DalPiaz, I heard tell of 10 year and older Beaujolais showing very well, comparing favorably with younger Burgundies. Well, I haven’t tasted old Beaujolais, and I’m not in a big rush to do so, because, frankly, I like Beaujolais very much for its youthful, fresh taste.
When it comes to Beaujolais, I subscribe to the Kevin Zraly school of thought. In his Windows on the World Wine School, he talks about it as a great choice for a bottle when out to dinner with friends. It’s the red that can work well enough with both fish and red meat. He also likes to drink it at the end of a long day, when he doesn’t want to analyze his wine.
But analyze we did, at least enough to figure out that there are some substantial differences in the Cru Villages. While wine marked Beaujolais Village is a blend of grapes from across the region, Cru Village Beaujolais (it will have the name of the village on the label) comes from one of the ten small towns that have earned this designation.
The wine that stopped me in my tracks was the 2007 Thenevet Grain & Granite from the village of Régnié. This was a darker, fuller bodied Beaujolais with greater tannins than any I had ever tried. I enjoyed the wine, but felt like it wouldn’t be my first choice if I wanted to reach for a typical Beaujolais. The Domaine des Terres Dorrees Jean-Paul Brun Cotes de Brouilly was also a bigger version of the wine.
More in line with my expectations were the wines from Fleurie, Chenas, St. Amour & Julienas. This were lighter in color & flavor and offered the fresh, strawberry goodness that I love in Gamay.
My personal preferences: when I want a typical Beaujolais that still has a bit of character, I’ll go for Fleurie or Julienas, two of my favorites, and serve them chilled, as they do in France. However, I won’t turn down a glass of the bigger Beaujolais if I’m in the mood for a heavier red wine.
No matter what the style, one thing to love about Beaujolais is the price. You can buy the best ones for under $25. Now how many wine regions can you say that about? I think of Beaujolais as a spring wine—when temperatures rise it’s often nice to have a lighter red. I recommend sampling wines from several of the cru villages in order to find the mood of Beaujolais that suits you.

One Night in France

Last night I taught French Wine: An Evening of Tasting & Discovery for the South Orange-Maplewood Adult School. 24 wine lovers came to drink, eat & learn about the pleasures of French wine.
Our host was Papillon 25, where chef Yanick Ramieri whipped up chicken dumplings, fried calamari, and spicy skewered chicken to accompany the drinks. Our night began with a modestly-priced ($28) Champagne from the house of Duval-Leroy . This light-flavored Champagne was satisfying, but, to me didn’t compare to some of the more expensive ones, including Moёt Chandon or Veuve Clicquot. One piece of trivia I learned recently: it’s good to dry your champagne glasses with a cotton bar towel. The reason? The bubble trains that shoot up from the glass are formed around tiny pieces of lint. This is one time when it doesn’t pay to have pristine glasses. Sure enough, our flutes were just out of the dishwasher and the bubbles were a little disappointing.
We next moved on to Sancerre Delaporte Loire Valley 2006 Chavignol. This was a softer version of the classic Sauvignon Blanc with citrus on the nose and less acid than usual. Reactions were mixed to this pour. Another trivia: the town of Chavignol, where this wine is made, is also the namesake of spectacular Loire goat cheese that’s comes in thick discs. Chavignol cheese is a fantastic pairing with Sancerre.
We moved southwest to explore Bordeaux next. Papillon had supplied us with their house Bordeaux, which was Baron de Rothschild Lafite Reserve Special 2007, a jammy wine, deep garnet, that was 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet. This wine was palatable but quite simple and young: I showed my class the shine on the wine’s surface which indicated its youth. I would have wished to serve something older and more complex: maybe next time.
We moved east across the country to end my lecture in Burgundy. From this region, we enjoyed the hit of the night: Domaine A.F. Gros Hautes Cotes de Nuits 2002. Earthy on the nose and palate, but balanced with rich fruit that’s mellowed nicely with age, this wine was a steal at $20 from the Wine Library.
By this time, the group had grown quite convivial. I turned off my powerpoint and poured our last wine, a bonus, Fleur Des Pins Graves 2006, made of Semillon 70%, Sauvignon Blanc 30%. With aromas of marmalade and an appealing golden-orange hue, this was a sweet and delicious way to end a wonderful evening. As my happy students left, they thanked me and asked when the next class would be. We’ll see. For now, I’m pleased that my first foray into the world of conducting wine classes—with wine--went so well.

Wine Lovers x 22 in South Orange

On Tuesday, March 24, I will meet 22 wine lovers at the elegant Papillon 25 for my South Orange-Maplewood Adult School class, French Wine: An Evening of Tasting and Discovery. I am excited to have such a robust registration for this class, in which I will discuss the wine regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and the Loire Valley. This is the first class I’ve taught in which we will have wine tasting, and I’m selecting at least four representative wines from the regions, so it should be lots of fun. Attendees will be able to learn about what grapes grow where, how the winemaking techniques differ in the regions, and view photos from my recent trips to France. Can’t wait to bring a little bit of la belle France to South Orange, N.J.

Bordeaux Fête le Vin Video

Hope you enjoy this video from the 2008 Bordeaux Wine Festival.

Drink (and eat) French at Brasserie Les Halles

I first learned about Brasserie Les Halles when I read Anthony Bourdain’s riveting memoir, Kitchen Confidential. While Bourdain has moved on to bigger things (his TV show No Reservations), the Brasserie where he got his groove on, cooking-wise, is still a staple of the New York restaurant scene.
I dined at the Park Avenue location (there’s also one downtown) on a recent Friday night and was immensely pleased. The large wine list is printed on laminated, broadsheet-sized paper: whites and by-the-glass menu on one side, reds on the other. The bar is beautiful white marble and, trés français, there is a silver punchbowl filled with icy water chilling bottles of champagne on it. Their menu includes some wonderful wines that aren’t usually featured in single pours. I choose the 2003 Louis Latour Puligny Montrachet at $17.50 a glass. This goes on record as the most I’ve ever paid for a glass of wine. However, compared with buying an entire bottle (an extravagance I couldn’t justify at the restaurant-markup price), getting a glass for under $20 was a relative bargain. They’ll also pour you a glass of Taittinger Brut or Prestige Rosé Brut for $16.50 or $19.50 respectively. Other treats include a Pessac-Léognan Chateau Larrivet-Haut-Brion, a red Bordeaux, for $19.50, and branching out beyond the French stuff, Californian Cabernet from Provenance for $17.50 and a Chardonnay from Hanzell for $19.50. Yes, there are much cheaper pours, but I was tickled to see such exciting by-the-glass options.
But, back to my wine. I remember well that 2003 was the year of France’s deadly heatwave. When I was in Burgundy in 2007, I tried a lot of red 2003s, which were richer than normal due to the tremendous ripeness of the fruit that year. But when I tasted the Puligny Montrachet (a white Burgundy) there was no overabundance of fruit. It was very well balanced: the fruit was there, but restrained, and the influence of the oak enhanced it beautifully. It had the fragrance of candied walnuts. Two of my friends who joined me that night were dyed-in-the-wool red wine drinkers, and even they were wowed by this expressive white wine.
Our dinners were wonderful—steaks are heavily featured on the menu, and my friends and I all ordered different cuts. My hanger steak with shallot sauce was delicious, and the Bernaise sauce that my friends enjoyed with their steak was perfect. We naturally had a bottle of red wine with our meals, and I choose a 2003 St. Emillion “Les Halles”, bottled for the restaurant from Chateau Toinet Fombrauge (a reasonable $38). This was a big wine (once again the heatwave vintage) dark in color (although difficult to judge in the dimly lit restaurant) with lots of tannin and fruit. A delicious accompaniment to the juicy steaks.
The red wine section reads like a wine map of France: Alsace, Bourgogne, Beaujolais, Provence, Languedoc-Roussilon, Sud-Ouest, Vallée de la Loire, Vallée du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Bordeaux are all represented. A few other countries have wines listed, too, but honestly, with so much delicious French wine to choose from, and while eating all the classic French food from the menu, I don’t know why you’d bother. This restaurant has all the French brasserie specialities: steak and moules frites, cassoulet, a house paté, and much, much more. If you long to eat and drink French, and are in the mood for brasserie fare (rather than break-the-bank gourmet cooking), Brasserie Les Halles fits the bill.