Enter Torrontes, the white wine that Argentina has begun to hang their hats on.  It has some of the light crisp characteristics of Albarino’s and Sauv. Blanc’s, but is very much its own varietal.  Some of the most interesting stuff I’ve found is grown at high altitude – over 5,000 feet – in the Calchaquíes Valleys of the North.

Here is a previous review – Nomade Torrontes.

Argentina is also, fittingly, becoming known for their fine wines – the signature of which is Malbec on the red side.

We kicked off Argentina month on Monday night, with our good friend the big cat, by enjoying some steaks and a bottle of Terrazas Reserva 2007 Malbec over a couple of great hours of conversation.

We’re looking forward to going beyond Steak and Malbec in Argentina this month.

As I’ve been learning about BC wines this month, I’ve been skeptical that they would be able to produce red wines of substance due to the northerly latitude.

This bottle, Mt Boucherie Summit, was recommended highly by Taylorwood as a quintessential example of the BC capability to produce a powerful full bodied red wine from Merlot, Cab Franc, and Cab Sauv grapes. I figured it would be a good sample to see what BC is capable of.

While not mind blowing or life changing, I am impressed and encouraged by the potential to ripen these classic varietals this far to the north. Much of this is due to the long summer days and temperate effects of the huge lake Okanagon. With a little more global warming they could really be on to something in the next 50 years.

Mt Boucherie has vineyards in both the Okanagon Falls subregion of the Okanagon Valley region and the Similkameen Valley, all of which they own and maintain themselves.  The Gidda family has been in the BC wine business for over 40 years, and are the largest family owned and operated outfit in BC.

Their winery and tasting room is located in Kelowna and I will definitely be making a stop to visit someday.

The name Champagne is derived from the word Campagna, a region in Southern Italy.  The story goes that the Roman soldiers thought that the hills looked the same.  After they planted grapes , they must have quickly learned that the climate and terroir was quite different from their hot and dry homeland.

The region is located less than 100 miles northeast of Paris and directly west of Alsace at the 49th Parallel North (which is the same latitude as the U.S./Canadian border in Washington state).  The official controlled appellation (AC) contains five distinctly identified districts: the Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne.  Taking a closer look at the above map of Champagne, I’ve circled the general location of these districts, although some smaller ones exist within the region. The Aube is disconnected from the rest southeast of Troyes, making the geography of Champagne rather interesting.

Not all vineyard land is valued the same, of course, and for many years going back to the 1940’s an organization named CIVC rated the grapes from each village and stack ranked them.  The Grand Cru vineyards, the highest classification, got 100 percent ratings. Premier Crus were vineyards with 90 to 99 ratings and the Deuxième Crus in the 80–89 range.  Once the price was set for the grapes, each buyer would pay a percentage of that price to the grower depending on the village in which the land was located based on their classification.  Complex and controlled, or simply French.  In the past 10 years, growers and buyers have moved to a more capitalistic system of trading goods, but many of the previous rating are still honored.

All of the land that was approved for the AC boundaries in 1927 has been planted, and a proposal is currently being reviewed to expand the official boundaries.  This is serious business and has the potential to make a E5,000 hectare soar to a value of over E1,000,000. It’s clear to me that the ability to legally use the word Champagne on a bottle of wine, makes it one of the most powerful words in modern use.

I pulled the picture below from Bing Maps showing the fascinating quilt-like division of properties.  Over 19,000 individual growers take to the fields every year and less than 10% of the land is owned by the big houses.

We went to two wineries: Becker and Torre de Pietra. Critique #1: having a huge tasting room jam packed and with pourers who know little if anything about the winery or the wines is lame. Critique #2: a portfolio of over a dozen wines is a bit much, right? Both places committed these errors.

That said, the chenin blanc and reserve cab from Becker were solid wines at good prices – $16 and $24 respectively. The vintage port from Torre was a nice surprise too.

There still much to be discovered in the world of Texas wines, but my hope is we can find a place that cares more about their craft than simply offering $5 tastings to folks excited about having an excuse to drink before noon.

With a nice little Italian dinner made and my mom in attendance we opened a wine we bought at a wonderful enoteca in Florence a year and a half ago: a 2003 Monterponi Chianti Classico riserva.

Twenty months ago we drank the non-reserve from Monterponi at dinner with our good friends the McIntyres. The manager of the restaurant and wine shop recommended the reserve when we asked him about a good bottle to bring home with us. The wine was excellent: perfectly Italian, just enough dryness but full of deep berry flavors that Sangiovese gives. This was not a simple wine, as I would have a drink, continue in conversation, then stop to have another drink thinking ‘wow, this is really good.’

Like many of the great wines from our memory the Monterponi brought us back to a place and a time – Florence at Christmas, with friends and a table full of great Tuscan food. Therein lies the beauty and charm of wine: it helps us remember truly joyful times.

I’ve had great California and Washington syrahs, as well as the Australia cousin, shiraz, but after having this South African syrah from Gilga I have to say it tops them all! I like a touch of spiciness in syrah, but the Gilga managed to pull off both a touch of spice as well as excellent finesse. Tasting notes: great earthiness – real terroir of the Stellenbosch wine region – and a black currant sweetness to balance.

Odds are you are going to be hard pressed to find this specific wine in your local shop, but I would keep an eye out for it. This was as an outstanding $29 wine that ranks easily with $50+ wines. If you don’t see Gilga take a shot at any other South African syrah you might come across. Ask your local wine shop about this varietal from South Africa or if your are really ambitious, look up some importers or winesearcher.com and see how you can track down this type of wine… it’s worth it!

Even hard-to-impress members of the Healdsburg wine community agree this is a standout wine.  It’s deep (nearly black) purple in the glass with a huge nose of dark fruit, spice, a bit of smoke and great intensity on the palate.  The hint of smoke sticks around alongside very smooth tannins on the finish.

The Dutcher Crossing 2006 Maple Vineyard Zinfandel pairs brilliantly with a herb crusted rib roast or smoked pork loin.  The 2007 was just released and I received a couple bottles last week, so check back for first impressions.  I’m excited to crack that bottle (if you couldn’t tell).

The view from Dutcher Crossing's tasting room

Mazzocco’s winery and tasting room are perched near the Healdsburg municipal airport, right between the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. It’s a picturesque spot, especially on a sunny fall morning. We stepped up to a lengthy tasting of vineyard-designate Zinfandels and a few of their reserve counterparts. All the wines we experienced were expertly crafted and unique, but a couple really stood out. One of these was the 2006 Warm Springs Ranch Zinfandel.

With a blend of 98% Zinfandel and 2% Petite Sirah, the Warm Springs is intensely dark in the glass with black currant, cherry and cedar on the nose. This is an incredibly smooth wine that’s not too fruit forward; tannins are refined and it finishes long with notable spice and smoke on the palate alongside dark fruit.

Only 450 cases of 2006 Warm Springs were produced, so I heartily recommend tracking some down (or better yet, visiting the winery). For food pairing, think roasted and grilled meats. This wine can hold its own and complement meals that might overwhelm other reds.