Brad Ballinger

It's a losing battle. The French are better off putting their energy elsewhere. Sparkling wine purchases in this country are more seasonal than anything else. And 90% of the people buying it don't care where it comes from. They just wnat bubbles at midnight. Those who don't want to pay much for those bubbles won't look at the French stuff. Those who want to impress will only look at it. I'd rather the French spend effort extolling the virtues of Champagne as a food wine. It is incredibly underrated in this category IMO.

I wish Champagne houses would do a better job with label information. Some will provide information as to assemblage (vintage and variety) as well as the disgorged date. Others don't bother. I don't know why -- unless they feel with NV wines it shouldn't matter. Who knows? The same things you look for in a good wine. Champagne is no different in that regard. You want balance in the flavor profile, acid, and texture. But individual difference comes into play as far as fruit profile, minerality, oak, etc.

A couple come to mind. Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classical Italian Cuisine is probably used the most frequently in my house. I also like Mexico One Plate at a Time by Rick Bayless.

Not really a board expert here, but if VC has indeed added some 1996 reserve wine into the NV blend, than bravo indeed. The conventional wisdom is that 1996 may historically be viewed as one of the best ever vintages in Champagne. I must disclose not having had VC for a couple years (the last time finding it too sweet and completely devoid of any character). Maybe they're responding to similar criticism from people they think matter. Now, if they will make the effort to keep that style going. I don't know what has caused a drop in NV quality of some houses. One might theorize that production increased in advance of Y2K. That could've resulted in using more fruit, some of it being of a lesser quality. Also, if there are stores of unsold wine (from producing too much in anticipation of Y2K), it may be stuff that should've been emptied a while ago. There is a camp of critics who will tell you that NV wine doesn't and should not be aged. A house's NV wine is (in theory, at any rate) supposed to be fairly consistent from year to year. One should pretty much always know what one is getting. Some do a better job at remaining consistent than others. And Krug prides itself in touting that all of it's MV (they call is multi-vintage, not non-vintage) wines are incredibly consistent from release to release. Vintage dated wines will reflect both the house style and the quality elements of the vintage (in the case of 1996, tremendous fruit and acid). Hope this helps a bit. Others will be able to add more.

A number of reactions follow here. First, the article linked by Craig -- More of the same old, same old from the Champenoise. Get over it. You haven't and cannot trademark the Champagne AOC. Rubes in the United States for one are still going to call Andre swill "Champagne" whether or not the actual word is on the bottle. And if you gave them a bottle of authentic Champagne, half of them will put it into a mimosa anyway. Sacre bleu! Regarding sparklers from other French regions -- Great stuff. I've had them from Alsace, Loire, Limoux, Rhone. Many of them represent great value comparatively. And while Scott may have a point that they aim for NV Champagne quality, there are some that surpass it. Huet's Vouvray Petillant is first rate, as is Baumard's Cremant de Loire mentioned by Katie. Both of which are typically vintage bottlings. Sparklers from other countries -- I'm still trying to find a Spanish one that will blow me away. Some German sekt comes close, and they do show variety with sekt from rielsing, pinot blanc, pinot noir, and chardonnay. Some California ones can be quite good (Gloria Ferrer's top shelf wines, Iron Horse's LD wines, and Roederer Estate's deft hand with pinot blanc). But many of these still lack a certain minerality. From Italy, there are many good prosecco frizzante and spumante producers (and the dry ones can be delicious). Bellavista's Franciacorta DOC sparkler can compete with NV Champagne. Giulio Ferarri makes some postively sublime wines that are worth seeking out. I confess to not having had much Ox bubbly. What I have had has seem driven by powerful fruit. And I've had some quite forgettable Latvian sparkling wine.

We can only hope. What this thread is showing is that there's plenty of good, unheralded wine out there. Period. And a good New Year's resolution is to try as many as one can.

I'll still pay that much for the rieslings that command that price than the chardonnays that don't. And your point on Rheingau is well taken. Same goes for the Mittelrhein and Nahe (outside of Donnhoff).

Thanks for the replies. It's sort of a "jelly roll" with lemon curd as the fillng. I can't recall the exact name; I don't have it handy at the moment. It's from a book on British Isles cooking.

I'm looking in a 1960s recipe book, and I found one that called for self-rising flour. Is this still something that's labeled as such? Is most "regular" flour now self-rising? What should I do with this recipe?

Re: Vacqueyras. For quite a while now, it and Gigondas have been the two prominent Cotes-du-Rhone Villages wines on the market, with (as you mention) the latter getting more attention and commanding higher prices. But there are many other villages starting to surface - Rasteau and Sablet for instance. And I do like Vacqueyras - Domaine de Amourieres makes a nice one. Re: cru Beaujolais. Many share your opinion. I don't get to try many from non-Dubeouf producers. But friends with trusted palates certainly love the gamay wines coming from other Beaujolais producers, and some in the Loire.

Craig, I agree. It's hard to buy any non-vintage NM Champagne anymore. I think there are a handful (in the "affordable" category -- i.e., no Krug) that still show some character and interest. Notably Taittinger, Bollinger, Lanson. But the quality has gone down with many other producers. I don't know if they're putting more effort into vintage and prestige cuvee bottlings or what. Veuve Clicquot NV yellow label has to be some of the most insipid stuff out there. Last night, my wife and I had a NV J. Lasalle Brut Rose, Chigny-les-Roses. Gobs of mushrooms showing in this wine. Active mousse that sent the earth and fruit to every reach of the mouth. Citrus and berry notes. Not much dough/yeast. This was really a mineral-mushroom wine. Great character. $37.

This is such a no-brainer IMO. Germany. If I need to narrow it down, I'd probably lean toward the Pfalz since the Mosel gets plenty of attention already. And there are even some decent spatburgunder coming from the Pfalz. Maybe I'm picking it because I was just there a couple months back. But I was impressed with a lot of trocken and QbA wines - many of which, unfortunately never reach U.S. shores. But even the pradikat wines are underrated, great values, terrific food wines, etc. etc. etc.

These are what I paid retail in Minnesota (with the exception of the last one) Romano Clelia FdA - $29 Correggia Roero Arneis - $18 Valdicava RdM - $24 G. Mascarello Monprivato - $40 (but years ago, when it was released) Rocca di Fabbri SdM - $24 La Spinetta Oro - $30 for 500ml Avignonesi - $225 for 375ml on the wine list at Babbo (someone else buying)

I'll add some Italian ones as well. I'm not looking at a database of notes, but the fact that the wines are bubbling to the surface of the morass that is my brain may mean something. 1999 Romano Clelia "Colli di Lapio" Fiano di Avellino. Anyone looking down their nose at Italian whites needs to try this wine. 2001 Matteo Correggia Roero Arneis. And this one. 1999 Valdicava Rosso di Montalcino. The harmony of fruit, spice, and mineral here was a joy to experience. This RdM dwarfed many CC Riservas for me this year. 1990 G. Mascarello Barolo Monprivato. Good on the first day. Incredible on the second. 1995 Rocca di Fabbri Sagrantino di Montefalco. Terrific structure. Purity of fruit. 1998 La Spinetta Oro. This moscato passito wine has incredible perfume, and vitality. What just about every dessert wine should be. 1991 Avignonesi Vin Santo. Unless the dessert wine happens to be this one.

This is an attempt to make valid point, but I wonder if it's misguided. It appears as if the campaign (sweepstakes and all) is targeted toward adults, to be sure. I would guess that the company has some pretty good market research that shows more adults than kids eat M&Ms. I know I eat more now than I did as a child.

I haven't read the article posted above, but I've downed plenty of 1995 Champagne. IMO, the Champagne producers are enjoying a great duo of vintages from 1995-96. The jewel in this crown is 1996, and those wines will be around for a long time. Krug may not even disgorge and release for over ten years yet. So while people wait for the 96s to tame some of their ferocity, they can enjoy the 95s, which are just starting to enter their premiere drinking window. They will not be as powerful as the 96s, but they do show great balance and finesse.

Absolutely. It's freakin' lobster. It'll be harder to pick a bad pairing than a good one. I last had lobster a few weeks ago, and paired it with a 1996 J.M. Boillor Rully La Pucelle, which worked very well. My only caution if you are considering a Mosel wine is that you pick one from a fatter vintage (like 1999). The richness of the lobster and the butter will tend to make highly acidic wines seem even moreso, I'd also go spatlese or riper.

Part of the answer depends on what you are hoping to learn, and what you like in other wines. Personally, I would go with two wines -- one in the traditional style and one in the modern style. For the former, Marcarini. For the latter, Conterno-Fantino, while not ultra-modern, is more modern in its approach (this means these use some barrique) than Marcarini. None of the wines you list are what I'd call ready to drink now. But I'd get a couple from the 1990 vintage, and aerate them for a good 3-4 hours.

Katie, I don't see it as a problem at all. I was just bracing Steve for the improbability that he'd find many online wine lists for the places Bruce was mentioning.

Nope, not corked. Just off (or maybe the first one I had was off, and this was how it's supposed to be ) I'm pretty TCA sensitive. thanks for the welcome. Craig Camp was after me about a year ago to check out this site, but Bruce Schneier really put the screws to me. I'm still trying to figure out the forum software, and all the features of the web site. Non-wine geek. I can't speak to the techie or foodie tendencies, but one of them was a cheese shop manager, so I would think she's food-geek material.

Taittinger - I like the wine for its refinement and finesse. There is nothing to possibly offend. But, for me, it's a wine that's better as an aperitif on its own than paired with food. And I like drinking Champagne with food. For the "regular" NV bottlings about $24-$35, give or take. This puts them in the same price range as the larger houses, but I think you'll find more character and variety for your dollar. But each producer also has vintage wines and prestige cuvees, which can run up to over $60, but usually fall somewhere in the $30s for vintage to $50s for prestige. If you are truly looking for value and are willing to go outside the geographical boundaries of Champagne, there is a great thread here on "alternative" sparklers.

This was an odd Christmas. Typically we get together with my wife’s immediate family around (never on) Christmas, and that did happen this year. Typically, we get together with my brother’s family on Christmas Eve, and that did not happen. Typically, we get together with my wife’s extended family on her mother’s side on Christmas Day, and for the first time in my 14 years of knowing her and her 43 years of life, that did not happen. Christmas day is all about Grandma (who will turn 95 in January), and each year it seems the great-grandchildren are growing exponentially in number. This year, the event was just too huge for anyone to host, and we’re all getting together in a week for Grandma’s 95th, so a tradition comes to an end. Compounding all of this, my mother is staying with us. My stepfather passed a few days before Thanksgiving, and my mother wanted to get out of the house around the holidays. So we’ve had her since December 20th, and will until January 7th before she flies back to Colorado. My brother is relieving me of some of the sonly duties for a couple days. My mother likes to visit or have me visit because it means she will get to try wine that isn’t of the jug variety. She had never had a dessert wine before, so after the candlelight service a church on Christmas Eve, we set out some cookies we had baked earlier in the day, and I opened a 1998 A. Kracher Muskat Ottonel Trockenbeerenauslese No. 5, Burgenland. She has never had a wine from Austria either. If I had to pick a grape that would be a terrific perfume, a strong case could be made for muscat. Pronounced orange blossoms and orange oil on the nose, and I said to myself, “this wine is going to be killer with the cookies.” I’ve had some of Kracher’s wines that have amounted to little more than syrup. Not this one. While there is that initial cloying of vanilla anc viscosity upon crossing the lips, the acidity quickly takes over, and the wine is a pure explosion of oranges and honey, with just enough undercurrent of floral and spice to keep this from being a low-alcohol version of Grand Marnier. Held in the mouth, the wine seems to gain power. It’s one that can be ignored for at least 10-15 years, but it’s hard to ignore it when it’s so damn good right now. Merry Christmas, Mom. On Christmas Day, I carted mother over to my brother’s, and Marcia and I faced a two day back-to-normal respite. I built a fire downstairs, set out some DVDs I had procured from Blockbuster, and set out a spread of what we call “fun food” – a pate, a terrine, some fruit, some cheese. With this particular spread, I picked up a jar of something called “pear mustard” – 85% pears, 15% sugar, and a little mustard essence. I figured it would go great with the goat cheese, and I was right. I’ll be picking up two more jars of this stuff today. With the spread, I thought a mature Rhone white would do the trick, and I opened a 1992 J.L. Chave Hermitage Blanc. The color was on the borderline between a rich golden and a light amber. The nose showed some oxidation, which was not entirely unexpected. The nose also showed some roasted hazelnut, lemon, and minerals. On the palate, the wine was full of life. The acid level was incredible. The fruit, although obviously fading, hadn’t yet tipped out of the canoe. There were some nice citrus and dried fig elements here. Finally, a nutty/resiny texture. The wine finish with power and showed sleek minerality, and a skosh of lemon pith. We had the bottle opened for two hours, and the integrity didn’t fall off one bit from start to finish.

Technically, yes, it was the first night of Hanukkah. But this wasn’t a “Hanukkah” event. I’m not Jewish, and the Jewish people present seemed to treat this being the first night of the festival of lights as an afterthought. But I couldn’t come up with a better title for the post. Marcia and I had dinner plans out at a newer restaurant that has made quite a splash in the Twin Cities. One knock against it, however, is that it is loud, making it difficult to have a conversation. And we were going to be two of a group of ten. So when we received an invitation to dinner with Bruce and Karen Schneier and whoever else they happened to invite, it was a no brainer. “What can I bring?” “What would you like to bring?” Bruce emailed me the menu and I packed up a stash of wines, some of which I figured we’d open, some of which we wouldn’t. But it’s always nice to have options. The other guests were Lee Short, and some non-geek friends of Bruce and Karen. For starters, there was a rabbit terrine on crostini, and we pulled the cork from a NV Francois Chidaine Brut Methode Traditionale, Montlouis. Extremely tiny and extremely active beads. They leant to just a little spritz in the mouth. Not really creamy, not mousse-y. Although the label was limited to what I’ve indicate in bold font above, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the word “petillant” would have been there – it was really at that classification, if you will, of spritz. A bit of a biscuit aroma with some wet stone and quince. Flavor profile was quince, pears, and minerals in a chalky package. For about $13, it can go toe to toe with most sparklers in its price range, and come out on top more often than not. We then moved on to a crab (Dungeness?) in a wine sauce on more crostini. We pulled out a 1999 H. Donnhoff Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spatlese, Nahe that I had brought. The wine was disappointing, and I think the bottle was off. I had the same wine about three weeks back and it was glorious. This bottle came nowhere near approaching the other one. Some of the other diners thought it was okay, and I wanted to think it was getting better with air and warmth, but it never fully approached the quality of its cellarmate. Lots of latex on the nose underscored with sulfur. While some of this blew off, it never went away entirely. An odor (I can’t bring myself to use the word “aroma” here) that never went away, though, was something that I can only describe as “trumpet spit valve.” I used to play, so I know (and if you’ve ever played, you know as well). On the palate, there was little acid to speak of (definitely not the same wine). The slate, apple, lime flavor profile was muted, and the wine finished short. I left some in a glass and kept coming back to it with hope, but it was hope unfulfilled. Our next course was lobster bisque (minus any tomato in the liquid). Accompanying it was a 1999 B. Morey Puligny-Montrachet, La Truffiere Premier Cru. This wine had the richness to do battle with the lobster – barely. It had an attractive (to me, at any rate) earth and mineral component. Butterscotch notes, also, on the aroma and even on the palate to a lesser degree, which balanced nicely with a crisp apple element. Teriffic acidity, and a multi-dimensional finish of fruit and earth. This wine still has some maturing to do, and I’d revisit it in a year or two. We followed up the bisque with an angel hair pasta in a porcini paste/pesto. I hesitate to use the word sauce. The porcini concoction was a jarred product that Bruce and Karen brought back from Italy. Whatever it was, it had a terrific flavor. With this, Lee opened a 1959 Antoniolo Gattinara. I’ve had one of these from Lee on a previous occasion. When the rubber capsule was removed, there was no cork to be found. The question was whether the bottle ever had one, or if it fell in. I suspected the latter, and that turned out to be the case. The only thing we couldn’t tell was when it fell in. At any rate, the wine was unaffected. It was lively, with active acids. The fruit seemed to be dusty, but not over the hill and tired. There was some oxidation on the nose, but not so that it got in the way. Another descriptor that might be used here is raisiny, but, again, not all bad. Also, there was a very attractive dried floral component. After 30 minutes, it still had stuff to show, but was starting to fade. Our next course was pheasant with black rice and broccolini. The pheasant was shot by a friend or relative of Karen’s and one had to look for buckshot. With this dish, I opened a 1999 F. Magnien Fixin I had brought. Fixin is a Cotes de Nuits village in the far norther reaches of the region. This wine accompanied the dish serviceably enough, but was otherwise unremarkable. It seemed a little awkward and unfocused, and maybe needed more time to get over the awkwardness of its adolescence. There was some oak that was noticeable on the nose. Solid red cherry fruit enveloped in some licorice/molasses spice on the the palate. The acid was present enough, but the texture was more creamy than snappy. A wine that, at the end of the night, would come up in conversation along the lines of “oh, I almost forgot – we also had a Burgundy.” Our final hearty course was broiled tenderloin served with a mélange of mushrooms and greens. Bruce offered Lee and I a choice of several Rhones to look at beforehand, and we decided upon the 1989 Champet “La Vialliere” Cote-Rotie. Quintessential Rhone syrah. Spicy (and more than just pepper). Black and blue fruit profile. There was a little bit of sweet corn on the nose, and I have no idea where that came from. Good texture. Fully matured. Tannins probably started to lose their grip about a year ago, and just in time to allow some fruit to share the stage. This wine went down very easily. If it’s a dinner with Bruce and Lee, it means a cheese course. Lee opened another wine I’ve shared with him on previous occasion, this time a 1962 Antoniolo Gattinara, and this time with cork in place. This wine by far upstaged it’s older sibling, and also was better than the other 62 Lee had opened a year or so ago. The balance was unbelievable. No oxidation, or anything that could even be considered it, whatsoever. Strong red fruit and floral core. Tannins are still holding the wine together, and the acidity gives it a terrific lift. This wine was in a well-knit package, but didn’t have the legs of the 59. It faded more quickly. But it was a helluva wine while it was around. Cookies for dessert. No wine. No problem. Great dinner and a great evening.

I'm going to be a bit of a jellyfish and say that, of course, it depends on your definition of value. But I believe your first post addressed the lack of character or complexity issue. And that's what I can address more certainly than whether or not a particular wine or price range is a value. Here's my short list of small producers making distinctive wines of character. For me, at any rate, they are a comparative value when placed dollar for dollar alongside the big houses. Larmandier-Bernier (the Nombre d'Or uses ancient grape varieties) Pierre Peters Diebolt-Vallois Fleury Jean Milan Lallement H. Billiot Egly-Ouriet (particularly the rose and V.V.) Rene Geoffroy Tarlant Ployez-Jacquemart Those are just off the top of my head.

www.heartlandrestaurant.com is one. The problem is most will end up changing their inventory (they're not buying mass-produced wines), and the wine list, much like the menu, changes frequently.