110837 Tue Jun 04 10:47:01 -0700 2002 19 7 Chicago Area 0 598887 Last night, with a meaty smoked salmon and dill cucumber salad, I had a Palliser Estate/Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc 2001. From New Zealand. Got it for around 14 bucks at Famous Liquors in Forest Park (7533 W. Roosevelt Road). It was outstanding -- I'm headed out this afternoon to buy a case. With age, as the taste buds shrivel, I require a more full-bodied wine, and so I’ve tended toward the reds – but in summer, sitting on the veranda as the cicadae hum and humidity hugs, red seems wrong. Unfortunatly, many whites, to me, turn out to be vapid, their flavor diminishing after the first few sips. The Palliser Sauvignon Blanc, however, has full and lasting flavor, and an exquisite explosion of fruit – grapefruit, specifically. This wine is dry and tart, with a clean finish and a lingering nose that satisfies with subtlety. Yet for all its flavor, it’s light on the tongue, with a peach-toned glow – just right for June through August. It’s what I’m drinking this summer. Attached is a link to the Palliser website (they have wine prices at this site, and this bottle is available outside the US, directly from the vintner, for $20 – more than it costs at Famous). Link: http://www.palliser.co.nz/ Tue Jun 04 10:47:01 -0700 2002 0 David Hammond 1 598889 For a nice citrus-y s.b., my summer wine is Kenwood's sauvignon blanc @$9-$10. Last summer I was hooked on a mineral-y Italian white recommended by the excellent wine woman at Convito-Cavalchina--also in the $10 category. Tue Jun 04 11:46:01 -0700 2002 598887 0 E.G. 2 598892 If you can remember the name of that "mineral-y Italian white," I'd love to hear it. My preference in reds is towards the Italian, but Italian whites have left me very unsatisfied (I cringe when yet another waitron recommends I try the "excellent" and "popular" Santa Margherita Pino Grigio -- thin, faintly colored liquid that couldn't stand up to bread). Tue Jun 04 12:00:42 -0700 2002 598889 0 David Hammond 3 598897 The name of it is Cavalchina. It's available at a lot of stores. the women in the Italian wines section at Sam's and the woman at Convito Italiano in Wilmette are all great, informative winepeople (I'm sorry I don't remember their names). I've always received good recommendations from them--usually based on my vague "I'd like something green-tasting" kind of queries. Tue Jun 04 14:07:30 -0700 2002 598892 0 E.G. 3 598900 I really enjoyed the Arneis "Blange" Langhe by Ceretto last year. They make a number of really nice Piedmont reds, and I thought this was just fantastic with some fresh goat cheese and crusty bread. It might not have the body that you're looking for, but it sure as hell beats Santa Margherita for about the same price. 1999 was good-haven't tried the 2000 now available, though I'd be surprised at a marked change. Tue Jun 04 15:03:38 -0700 2002 598892 0 Aaron D 1 598905 Also very nice is the Omaka Springs Sauvignon Blanc, from New Zealand. About $12.99 at Wine Discount Warehouse. Tue Jun 04 18:29:48 -0700 2002 598887 0 annieb 1 598910 The key to finding a good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is looking for a producer from the Marlborough region. I like Goldwater,Isabel and Cloudy Bay. The other Sauvignon Blanc I enjoy are Pouilly Fumes from the Loire.As far as Italian Whites I recommend Bruno Giacosa Arneis and Pieropan Soave Classico Superiore Vigneto La Rocca. Tue Jun 04 18:44:05 -0700 2002 598887 0 howardS 2 598911 Hey Howard, Palliser is from Marlborough, but what is it about that region that makes it so favorable for wine? Or is it that you've just had great luck with bottles from there? Thanks for the recommendations for Italian whites. Tue Jun 04 18:53:51 -0700 2002 598910 0 David Hammmond 3 598919 Reasons often offered for the success of Marlborough SB are: cold climate, hole in the ozone layer allowing different spectrum of light than we have in the northern hemisphere, relatively new wine industry with clean, modern practices, and focus on a signature grape variety. Tue Jun 04 21:25:30 -0700 2002 598911 0 Melanie Wong 4 598921 Wow, Melanie, thanks for your very complete explanation of Marlborough's unique micro-climate. I love the fact that the wine from this region might be what it is because of a hole in the ozone layer! Hey, if the planet is going to be destroyed, might as well gather all available collateral benefits and enjoyments on the way down. Tue Jun 04 22:22:32 -0700 2002 598919 0 David Hammond 5 598939 The ozone idea is an unpublished quote from the controversial viticulturist Richard Smart ("Sunlight into Wine") in response to a question asking exactly why he thought NZ wines had so much flavor development despite the region's lack of heat. Wed Jun 05 03:00:20 -0700 2002 598921 0 Melanie Wong 3 598990 Marlborough probably does produce more good Sauvignon Blancs than any other region of New Zealand, although its very pronounced charater will not be to all tastes (it certainly is to mine, and to yours as well, it sounds). But the prominence of the name "Marlborough" is probably due just as much to effective marketing as to the estimable quality of the wines. In contrast, the finest wine region of New Zealand, Otago, is comparatively unknown. (Jancis Robinson once famously named central Otago as one of the new world's five greatest wine-producing regions.) Otago does not produce much if any Sauvignon Blanc, it should be noted. There is an unfortunate tendency among some wine lovers to fetishize certain place-names. For example, I know a fellow who will not drink any Bordeaux but Medoc, nor any Burgundy but Beaune and Nuits, nor any California wine but Napa; etc. I hope this injudicious glamorization does not befall Marlborough. ... Come to think of it, maybe I should hope that it does befall Marlborough - so that non-Marlborough New Zealand wines might remain the terrific bargains they so often are. By the way, thanks very much for the wine recommendation. I'd love to see more of that here. (Although probably more of a General Topic, not all wines are available in every market, thus it might be considered plausible to discuss here wines that are known to be available in our local markets.) Wed Jun 05 16:57:21 -0700 2002 598911 0 Harry V. 4 598995 Hey Harry, Actually, I "mis-spoke" in an earlier post -- it's not Marlborough (though that is certainly a well-known English name -- probably why I made the mistake) but Martinborough. This wine is, as you say, highly "charactered," but after having consumed zillions of "anonymous" wines, I appreciate a little idiosyncracy. So do others, apparently: Famous Liquors on Madison in Forest Park is sold out of this selection, and doesn't anticipate getting more in anytime soon. Thanks for all your recommendations -- I think I probably have enough good "leads" to last me all summer. David Wed Jun 05 17:31:20 -0700 2002 598990 0 David Hammmond 5 599026 >>... it's not Marlborough ... but Martinborough.<< Shhhhh. Thu Jun 06 13:34:34 -0700 2002 598995 0 Harry V. 1 598922 a thought - the French drink lots of rose wines. Over there the rose is a much more flavorful wine than we have had here. We drink rose a lot in the summer. The other night we had a fantastic Rose from Bourgueil (Loire valley) vintage 1998 by Pierre-Jaques Druet. It's imported from (and probably only sold by) North Berkeley Wines, but they do ship to IL. (we got it last year, so who knows if anyone has it this year...) Link: http://www.northberkeleyimports.com/Mailer/roses1.htm Tue Jun 04 22:30:57 -0700 2002 598887 0 leek 2 598933 Try Domaine Tempier.More expensive then most Rose's but very good intensity and depth of flavor. Wed Jun 05 00:01:57 -0700 2002 598922 0 howardS 1 598989 Another tasty N.Z. sauv. blanc is the 2001 Giesen, also from Marlborough. I also recommend for summer drinking the Pine Ridge [Calif.] Chenin-Viognier [2000, I think], and, speaking of roses, as someone below was, I look to those from Sancerre in the Loire. Wed Jun 05 15:59:42 -0700 2002 598887 0 wayno 2 598992 We recently tried the 2001 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier at Atlantique. It was not easy to find something with enough body to pair with rare salmon, which at the same time would not overpower Dover sole. The Pine Ridge worked pretty well. Wed Jun 05 17:05:47 -0700 2002 598989 0 Harry V. 1 599063 Anyone here a Muscadet fans? Do you think Sam's would carry it? It is a nice light, tangy, refreshing wine that is easily quaffable on a hot summer day. Fri Jun 07 13:41:45 -0700 2002 598887 0 Nazerac 2 599068 Whole Foods has a couple of that variety. Fri Jun 07 15:42:05 -0700 2002 599063 0 wayno