Ones To Watch: Food and drink pros with promise The old adage goes something like, “the holidays are all about family.” If your family is anything like mine, however, you know that family translates into two things: conflict and competition.
These wines solve both issues this holiday season. They’ll appeal to everyone at the table and wow even the most serious wine collector. Though these wine labels may seem esoteric, they’re knock-out winners for any holiday gathering.
2008 Albert Boxler Edelzwicker Reserve – Alsace, France. Available at Robust Wine Bar; $19.50. This complex and delicious white blend is sure to end all distention among sweet and dry wine drinkers. The wine is dry, but its purity and richness of fruit masquerades as savory sweetness.
Edelzwicker is not a grape, but a style. They’re legally (yes, these things are regulated by the government) allowed to be blended from up to 10 different Alsatian grapes. The majority in the bottle will usually be made up of the ‘noble’ varieties – those grapes proven to make the best wine in Alsace.
The Boxler is a perfect marriage of three ‘noble’ grapes: Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Blanc. The Riesling offers enough acid to cut through white meat dishes, while the Gewürztraminer adds a luscious mix of floral notes and spice. Pinot Blanc flavors sweep in at the end, adding a supple pear texture. It’s mellow enough to be easy drinking, yet layered enough for sip after sip of consideration.
2005 Domaine de Nerleux, Saumur-Champigny — Loire Valley, France. Available at Robust Wine Bar; $20.00. Anyone can bring Pinot Noir to the party. This time, try something far more impressive and mouth watering. Cabernet Franc, which is usually used in red blends, gets big time play in the Loire Valley. Taste the purity in this 100 percent Cabernet Franc from the small village of Saumur-Champigny.
The Nerleux is a perfect combination of tender blackberries and fresh pink roses. A touch of mulch, orange peel and coffee bean sweep in on the finish, giving it a perfect balance of structure and finesse. It’s weighty enough to stand up to the cold chill of winter, but lively enough to dance with a huge variety of foods.
Imagine loading up your plate on Thanksgiving – the turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet and mashed potatoes, cranberries. Now take your fork, run it diagonally across the plate to pick up every single flavor. The Nerleux would pair perfectly with that.
This article appears in Oct 1-31, 2010.