Monthly Archives: March 2014

Climbing the Pyrenees to Andorra: Capdevila Pujol, Brut, Cava, Spain NV

Posted on March 31, 2014 by waywardwine

After a month of drinking our way through western France, we shift our EU Austerity Drinking Adventure south. But before bathing in Spain’s wine culture, we tack on three days in Andorra. We have no idea what Andorra will be. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Andorra, Capdevil Pujol, cava, France, Perelada, Pyrenees, Spain | 2 Comments

Calling Summer: Picpoul de Pinet, Gérard Bertrand, France 2011

Posted on March 27, 2014 by waywardwine

Drink Picpoul, any Picpoul, and summer will come early. The shear pulling of your cork will turn the Earth a little closer to the sun. Snows will melt. Frosts dissipate. For you will be drinking sunshine.

While Monday’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour dipped its toe in Toulouse. A bit further to France’s coast sits an appellation called Picpoul de Pinet.

Hot-hardy red grapes dominate the land. But the village of Pinet has held resolutely to the green grape Picpoul.

Named for stinging (Pic) lips (Poul), the grape exudes saline, mouthwatering, citric acidity: perfect with seafood. It helps that below its vines spreads France’s second largest lake: the Étang de Thau: the only place outside of Normandy that France certifies oyster production. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged France, Gerard Bertrand, oyster pairing, Oysters, Picpoul, Picpoul de pinet, summer, White wine | 5 Comments

Fronton, Gaillac, Madiran: Red Wines of Toulouse, France: Day 98 EU Austerity Drinking Tour

Posted on March 24, 2014 by waywardwine

This Monday’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour finds us 98 days into our alcohol-on-a-dime traipse through Europe’s famed regions. We leave glitzy but wet Bordeaux for southern France. Our hub will be Toulouse: a city surrounded by ignored but extreme value wine regions.

We leave Bordeaux still drenching in Atlantic rain.

But as the TGV speeds East, the sun emerges, mossy trees trade fade to gnarly shrubs, and the world becomes dry, calm, and continental in climate. Here the mellow Mediterranean holds more sway than the wet churn of the Atlantic. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Chateau Bellevue la Forêt, DURAS, Fer, France, Fronton, Gaillac, Jacobin Church, Madiran, St Thomas Aquinas, Syrah, Tannat, Toulouse | 3 Comments

Suburban Vineyard: Finding Haut-Brion in Bordeaux’s Pessac-Léognan

Posted on March 17, 2014 by waywardwine

It is our last day in Bordeaux. We had visited Graves and St-Émilion. But we have yet to see Pessac-Léognan.

medoc-map-2010In 1855 Bordeaux merchants ranked the top houses. Of the Premier Grand Cru (best of the best), all were in the Médoc save one in Pessac-Léognan. Now we could debate the validity of an 164 year-old classification, but Pessac was just a bus ride from our apartment.

Famed wine-focused (and graffito-tagged) Bordeaux University passes us by.

We get off the bus and hike, expecting suburbia to turn into farmland. It doesn’t. Just past a gas station and apartment we find this: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1855, 1855 Classification, Bordeaux, grapes, Haut-Brion, Medoc, Pessac-Léognan, vines, Winery | 4 Comments

Thirsty Thursday: Arneis, Seghesio, Russian River Valley, CA 2012

Posted on March 13, 2014 by waywardwine

Spring has sprung, at least where I live. Time for an odd, snappy white.

The grape in question is Arneis: roughly translated, it means “little ass”. Either the vine is a pain to manage, or the resultant wines tastes just as prickly. Etymology aside, the grape comes from NW Italy’s Piedmont.

Folklore claims Arneis drew birds away from the prestigious Nebbiolo vines of Barolo and Barbaresco. It made for a decent white. But once wines became 100% Nebbiolo, Arneis disappeared.

While Arneis declined in Italy, the Seghesio family left the Piedmont and started making Californian wine in 1895. By 1992, Pete decided to plant Arneis. He had already upped their game with hand-harvesting and small lot batches. Seghesio’s Zin and Sangiovese were garnering respect. But Arneis was a risky throwback. 26 vines remained more than any in the US for years.

Today, 8 acres of Russian River Valley, Sonoma County real estate fill our glasses. Continue reading →