It's OK to blush!

George's favorite!

George has many great qualities, but we wouldn’t necessarily call him “hip.” However, there is always an exception, so it's a good thing he knows his wines because it brings his cool factor way up!

Case in point: Sixteen years ago, if people saw pink wine, they assumed white zinfandel (for the record, white zinfandel is not rosé). Sensing something big, Shubie’s was one of the only stores then in the Boston area to sell real rosé. George had an opportunity to be not just cool, but really really cool: so he ordered twenty-six cases of Chateau Pesquié Rosé direct from France - he was the only one in Massachusetts with this rosé (and probably the only one who sold 26 cases of rosé that year - Marbleheaders were way ahead of the curve!) In time, Chateau Pesquié has become George’s all-time favorite rosé.

Fast-forward to 2011 and the attitude toward rosé has changed for the better. Most people know the difference in taste between white zin - a bland, slightly sweet concoction from California - and real rosé - crisp, almost always dry, fruity and refreshing.

How does rosé get that way? There are a number of variations in the rosé making process, but in general, you begin by making red wine, crushing red grapes and letting the juice macerate on the skins. You then simply remove the skins after two to three days (red wine will macerate on the skins for up to several weeks). Provence in southern France is the home of rosé, but other regions are getting into the mix now, including, Spain, Italy, California and even Oregon.

Food Pairings

Fun and uncomplicated, with relatively low alcohol and a pleasant acidity, rosé is the ideal summer party wine. Goat cheese pairs great with rosés, and blended milk cheese also pair well with fuller-style rosés.

In general, the lighter colored rosés tend to be softer and pair best with delicate dishes like salad, cheeses and fish. The darker, bolder styles pair well with grilled meats and spicy dishes (BBQ time!)

So next time you’re standing in front of the wine cooler deciding what to cool down with, just ask yourself, “What would George do?” 

"Bleeding" rosé from a vat of red wine

This year's New Year's resolution: drink Champagne!

What bubbly are you drinking when the ball drops this year? Champagne, perhaps?

Most people would say yes, but while they probably are drinking a sparkling wine, they may not actually drinking Champagne.

So what's the difference? You may be expecting a bunch of wine lingo here, but the distinction is actually very simple: all Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. Sparkling wine is exactly what it sounds like: wine with bubbles. Champagne, on the other hand, is a geographic region in France, more or less due east of Paris, famous for making sparkling wines (a small amount of still wine is made there, too, but we'll ignore that for now).

But sparkling wine is made all over the world--in just about every country where wine is made--and a lot of it can be very good. What's more, it is often much less expensive than real Champagne. (One of the unfortunate side-effects of Champagne's world renown has been its frequently inflated prices.)

I get plenty of requests in the store for "Champagne," and most of the time, the person is really just looking for an inexpensive sparkling wine. A lot of people make this mistake, and you shouldn't be embarrassed if you have yourself. It's a common misunderstanding (and pretty trivial, really), and we're used to it in the wine business. But this NYE, sneak a peak at the label of whatever bottle your friends pop open--it may be the most delicious sparkler you've ever had, but if it's not from France and doesn't say "Champagne" on the label, it isn't Champagne.

Thanksgiving Wines Made Easy

It's not easy picking out wines for a Thanksgiving meal--even for us wine pros it can be a challenge! One wine may go well with the turkey, but does it mesh with the sweet potatoes and the brussels sprouts? Another may be great with the first course, but will you still want to be drinking it by the time the dishes have been cleared and dessert is on its way? There's a lot to consider when pairing wine with a complete Thanksgiving dinner. A good rule of thumb is to have lots of different wines around--that way there's something for everyone (and isn't variety more fun, anyway?) Here's what we're drinking for the holiday this year:

Hugel Gentil: A longtime Shubie's favorite, this soft, dry and delightfully aromatic Alsatian white has the flavor to stand up to all the fixings on your plate. We always recommend having at least one Alsatian/German wine on the Thanksgiving table--they have the flavors, aroma, and structure to stand up to almost any food. The only trouble with this one is that you may drink it all before dinner!

Raymond Chardonnay, R Series: If you're having a crowd over for dinner, it's almost inevitable that someone will want a Chardonnay. This is a great pick: smooth, dry California Chardonnay, with just the slightest hint of oak. It's got great balance, and has quickly become one of our most popular whites. 

Ranga Ranga Sauvignon Blanc: With all the full, rich flavors of a Thanksgiving meal, people usually need something a little refreshing by the end of it, and nothing says "refreshing" like a glass of cold New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Crisp and citrusy, don't be afraid to serve this wine at the end of the meal, when palates are getting a little exhausted. Another reason to like the wine: the winery is owned by Marblehead resident Ed Barker, and his winemaker brother Simon. Hooray for local business!

Shoo Fly Shiraz: the sweet potato solution

Ninety Plus Cellars French Fusion: Tons of flavor, not too heavy. Just what you need in a red for Thanksgiving. This one is a delicious blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre from the south of France. Its bright fruit makes it perfect both before and during the meal. 

Cartlidge & Browne Pinot Noir: No Thanksgiving meal is complete without a Pinot Noir. With its relatively high acidity and undertones of cinnamon and other fall spices, this grape is ideally suited for Turkey Day. This is one of our best selling California Pinots: medium bodied, with bright cherry flavors, it's a bargain for any Pinot lover. 

Shoo Fly Shiraz: Wines greatest nemesis on the Thanksgiving table: sweet potatoes. Their sweet flavor coats the palate, making almost anything you drink afterward taste just a little bit wrong. The solution: Shoo Fly Shiraz. A rich juicy Aussie red, it's always a crowd-pleaser, and can stand up to anything. Even sweet potatoes!

The People Have Spoken (and they like our wines)

Whew! It's been a busy couple of weeks getting ready for our annual Fall Food and Wine Festival (so busy the blog had to take a back seat). We had a great time, as always, as did our many fans. And while we didn't hold any official vote that day, we figured that with the national election season coming to an end, we'd do our best to tally up "the will of the people." And what better way to gauge the people's will than by looking at what they actually bought? Here's a little bit about our top selling red and white from the tasting, unofficially voted number one at this year's tasting:

BZ working the crowd at the Fall Festival

Red: Nero Negroamaro, from Puglia Italy

If I had been asked to predict the top-selling red at the beginning of the day, I almost certainly would not have guessed this southern Italian gem. Something more recognizable, like a Malbec, maybe, or a Cabernet, but Negroamaro? I love the wine, but you probably could have counted on one hand the number of people who walked into the store that day and knew anything about the grape. And yet we sold several cases of it that day.

Why did this obscure red beat out some more obviously popular choices at the tasting? First and foremost, it's delicious: dark and fruity, with notes of roasted plums, prunes, and mocha, it is incredibly well-balanced--not too fruity, but not too dry. Easy to drink on its own, but an obvious match for cold-weather fare like roast meats, lasagna, and other pasta dishes. I think the price had something to do with it, too--at just $10 a bottle, it's an incredible value. Kudos to our savvy customers for picking this one out!

White: Frisk "Prickly" Riesling, from Victoria, Australia

If I was surprised by the people's choice of red, I was blown away by the choice of white. I love good Riesling. LOVE it. Sweet or dry, doesn't matter--if it's well made, I'll have some. But a lot of people shy away from this great white these days. I think the reason goes back to the 70s, when German wine makers would mass-produce low-quality sweet Riesling (stuff the Germans themselves would never drink) and sold it in the US market. Fast-forward to 2010 and a much more sophisticated American consumer, and the bad taste left in our mouths from a few years of bad wine in the 70s still affects our palates: Americans don't want sweet Riesling. (Historical note: hundreds of years ago, before the French were even growing grapes in Bordeaux, the world's most acclaimed and coveted wines were German Rieslings.)

Friends of Shubie's enjoying the tasting

Which is why I was so shocked to find that this was the top-selling white. It's a great wine, with lemon and white flower aromas, and an incredibly fresh, crisp, "prickly" feel on the tongue (there's just the slightest hint of fizz in there). But it's also a touch sweet, a deal-breaker for sure, I thought. Wrong again! While the wine is sweet, it's just barely sweet ("off-dry" is a better term), and the crisp acidity and "prickliness" balance the sweetness perfectly, keeping it feeling light and refreshing. People loved it, and I'm crossing my fingers that this indicates a more widespread trend that Riesling is in again!

Things you always wanted to know about Port but were afraid to ask...

The cellars at Graham's Port

A lot of people coming into the store saying, "I want to buy a gift for a friend. I know they drink Port. I don't know anything about it, but do you have any?" It seems that a lot of people have friends who drink Port, but are too shy to ask about it (or maybe their friends aren't offering a taste!) With Rupert Symington, a member of the family that owns Graham's Port, coming to the store next week, we thought this would be a good opportunity to catch up on some Port basics. Here are some of the most common questions people ask:

What exactly is Port?

In wine terms, Port is a fortified wine. That's just a hoity-toity way of saying that extra alcohol (usually a fairly flavorless brandy) is added to the wine during the fermentation process. Generally, they add enough to put the wine at about 20% alcohol by volume. This stops the fermentation by killing off the yeasts before they have been able to consume all of the grape sugars, and what's left is a sweet wine with a relatively high alcohol content. And that's Port!

I've seen lots of different kinds of Ports out there. What's the difference?

There are a lot of different types of Port out there. But there are two broad categories that they all fall into: Ruby and Tawny (there are also White Ports, but they're pretty unusual, so I won't go into them here). Ruby Ports look like any other dark red wine (hence the name "ruby"), and their flavors are pretty familiar, as well. Think of a rich California Cabernet with lots of dark berry and spice flavors--then add a little sweetness and some extra alcohol to balance it.

Tawny Ports are a bit different. They're made by aging the wine for several years in enormous oak vats (like the ones in the picture) that are open on top. This exposes the wine to oxygen, which gives it different flavors and, yes, a tawny complexion. These wines are lighter bodied than ruby Ports, and typically have nutty aromas, with hints of oranges and honey.

I'm afraid the details of all the different types of Ports will have to wait for another post, but the best way to learn about the differences between ruby and tawny Ports is to taste them!

How do you serve Port?

Port falls squarely into the after-dinner category, either on their own, or with cheese or dessert. You may have heard of the classic Port with Stilton cheese pairing, and I absolutely endorse it--both Ports pair wonderfully with a wide variety of cheeses, especially blue cheese. Both are great with sweets, as well. Ruby Port, with its wonderful richness, is one of the few wines that I would ever serve with chocolate. Tawnies are a bit lighter, and so they're not as good a match with something as mouth-coating as chocolate, but they do great with other desserts, especially ones with some citrus or nuts. Serve ruby Ports at room temperature. Tawnies work well at room temp, too, but are great with a slight chill.

Once I open a bottle, how long does it last?

One of the great things about opening a bottle of Port is that, unlike a bottle of table wine, it won't go bad if you leave it open for more than a couple days! With the exception of vintage Ports (the really expensive ones!) Ports usually last a couple of weeks at least. Tawnies are already oxidized, and so will last even longer. Best way to know if the bottle is still good: taste it! If it still tastes good, drink up. If not, oh well--buy another bottle!

If we didn't answer your most pressing Port questions, post a comment here and we'll answer them!

Veni Vidi Veneto

Nadia Zenato’s upcoming visit to Shubie’s reminded me of a couple things:

• I love Zenato’s wines. 



The best radicchio I have ever tasted!

• I love the Veneto region of Italy, where the wines come from. 

I was lucky enough to spend a 6 or 7 days in the region once, and they were some of the best days I ever spent in Italy. The weather was perfect—despite the fact that it was the middle of January. The landscape was picturesque everywhere I went. The food was, of course, fantastic—I still think longingly of the loose-leaf Radicchio di Treviso that they grow there (yes, after five years, I still think about the radicchio—it was that good!) And I got to visit Zenato’s estate.

Conditions were perfect for tasting their amazing wines, but even now, on a dreary New England day in October, without a Roman ruin or piece of radicchio in sight, I still love to drink them. Here are some of the highlights: 

Grapes drying to make Amarone

1. Zenato Lugana: Zenato’s winery is located on the southern end of Lake Garda. Aside from being one of the most picturesque places in all of Italy, this is a perfect place for growing the local Trebbiano di Lugana grape, which is what they use to make the local Lugana wine. It's a wonderfully fresh, soft, floral white, and Zenato has done a lot to bring it out of the depths of obscurity. Pinot grigio fans beware—this could be a new favorite.
   
2. Zenato Valpolicella (pronounced “val-po-lee-chel-a”): Made from indigenous grapes grown in the Valoplicella region, a little bit east of Lake Garda, this light red is a classic from the Veneto. With notes of cherries, violets, and even almonds, it’s great with chicken and polenta. Actually, it's good for just about any occasion--a perfect "house red" for anyone tired of pouring cabernet or pinot noir.
3. Zenato Amarone: The granddaddy of wines from the Valopolicella, made by drying the grapes out for four months or so before crushing them. This yields an incredibly rich, powerful wine, with dense dark fruit flavors, and notes of dried fruit, smoke and spices. These are amazing wines that can be cellared for many years (if you have the patience). 

Because so much of the the grape is lost to evaporation in the process, though, Amarones are pretty expensive wines. If you want to get a feel for what Amarone is all about without spending the big bucks, you can try Zenato’s Ripassa. To make this, they take the regular Valpolicella and add the left over pommace from the Amarone, giving the wine an Amarone-like character, without an Amarone-like price!

Lake Garda

Music for Your Mouth

If you read DeMorgenzon's website, the first thing that will probably jump out at you is the fact that they play Baroque music to their vines and wine. Yes, that's right: every bottle of DeMorgenzon's wine has been "listening" to Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and many others from vine to bottle. They cite a number of studies that draw positive connections between music and plant growth.

It's a fun story--and certainly a memorable tidbit that will be fun to bust out at cocktail parties--but there's another method of winemaking that they talk about that really caught my attention. The vineyards are right in the middle of one of South Africa's greatest ecosystems, and they are actively encouraging this ecosystem to flourish within the vineyards (they've also set aside 10% of the estate to a nature conservancy, to preserve this biodiversity). This is where DeMorgenzon's real virtuosity lies.

Modern agriculture is all about growing only the crop you're trying to grow, and basically eliminating the rest. This is where we get all those pesticides, weed-killers, and other chemicals that are starting to sound so scary. The idea was to make it easier to grow the crops without all that other stuff getting in the way.

Of course, we're starting to learn that there are some consequences to these methods, and so a lot of winemakers have turned to biodynamics as an alternative to these farming techniques. I won't bore you with the details of biodynamics, but the principle behind is pretty fascinating: it treats farmland, including the land's natural habitat, as a living organism, and so everything that's a part of this land must be encouraged to flourish in harmony. So if you kill off all the beetles, or wipe out all the weeds, it's like cutting off an arm or a leg--the land will survive, but it will be crippled.

Winemakers who have turned from chemical treatments to biodynamics report amazing changes. The vineyards "come back to life," they say. The vines become healthier as other plants and animals return to replenish the soil with lost nutrients--in essence, the vineyard becomes an ecosystem again. The upshot is that healthier vines produce better wines! It's no surprise that many of our favorite wines at Shubie's are made by producers that employee biodynamic practices.

I should make it clear that DeMorgenzon doesn't claim to be a biodynamic producer. There's a lot that goes into biodynamics (including some practices that seem a little hocus-pocus, like harvesting according to moon cycles), and it may simply be that they don't want to employ all of tenets of biodynamics (I haven't had a chance to ask them about this myself). However, their main goal is essentially the same: encourage biodiversity within the vineyard. It's a wonderful philosophy, and there's a vibrancy to their wines that I like to think comes from the health and vitality of their vineyards. And I bet the music helps, too!

Go to their website to read more about their farming practices, and the amazing things they're doing to preserve what sounds like a truly remarkable ecosystem (after reading it, I certainly want to visit!)

Pairing Cheese with Wine: The Acid Test

“What wine would go well with this cheese?”

We get this question a lot. Everyone loves the classic combo of wine and cheese, and serving the two together is pretty much a no-brainer. But picking out which wine goes with which cheese is much more challenging. There are so many cheeses and wines to choose from, how can you tell if the ones you’ve picked out are meant to be together?
 
And make no mistake—there are a lot of unhappy cheese and wine couples out there. Sometimes the cheese is the culprit: some cheeses are so flavorful that they overpower most wines. Epoisses, a great French stinker, is traditionally paired with red Burgundy (always made from Pinot Noir), but I’ve never been able to make the pair work. The Epoisses always overpowers these delicate Pinots, and I’m left tasting nothing but cheese the whole way through. Frankly, I think the best wine to go with this cheese is probably beer! A nice, full-bodied ale, such as Ommegang Abbey Ale, would probably do the trick.
 
Sometimes the culprit is the wine: some wines just aren’t very cheese-friendly. I have a hard time finding a match for some California Cabernet, the real fruity, oaky ones. In wine-speak, I would say that they lack some of the structural elements necessary to pair well with cheese. In normal-person-speak, I’d say that they just don’t play well with others, and I end up with an exhausting mish-mash of cheese and wine flavors in my mouth.
 
So what’s the key to a happy cheese and wine marriage? There are no hard and fast rules, and trial and error plays a big part, but with our many years of hard work and research (read: drinking lots of wine and eating lots of cheese!) we have some suggestions to help you along. I’ll be sure to post more later on, but here’s one to start you off: high acid wines tend to be cheese-friendly.
 
You know that tingling you get on the side of your tongue when you drink some wines? That’s the wine’s acidity, and it helps a wine from being overpowered by a cheese. We often pair lighter, high acid whites (like Picpoul de Pinet) with rich and moderately flavorful cheeses (like Moses Sleeper)—the acidity cuts through the milk fat and cleanses the palate, and the richness of the cheese actually adds a little extra body to the wine. The two complement each other well.
 
More on wine and cheese pairings to come later. There are so many great combinations out there, so be sure to experiment, and let us know what works for you!

Why don't people drink more Chablis?

A couple of us from Shubie’s went to a seminar on Chablis a few days ago, and an interesting question was raised that no one had a very good answer for: “Why don’t people drink more Chablis?”

A number of reasons were suggested, but I think we missed the most important one, which is this: people like me have been remiss in recommending Chablis. So here it is: You should drink more Chablis!

Why? Because good Chablis is exactly what Chardonnay ought to be but rarely is: fresh and clean, with zesty notes of lemons, limes, green apples, and even sea salt and minerals. It’s absolutely perfect with seafood (and we New Englanders love our seafood!) but can also be served with many cheeses, chicken dishes (especially those with a little bit of butter or cream), and makes a great aperitif.

I’m a huge fan of Chablis (in case you hadn’t already guessed), but I think it suffers from a couple of misconceptions that have prevented more people from trying it. Hopefully I can clear that up here:

• Real Chablis is always Chardonnay, always from France (I've posted a couple pictures of the town and vineyards here). Chablis is not one of those California jug wines from Almaden or Gallo that you used to see in the 70s and 80s. Wipe those wine-in-a-box laden memories from your mind.

• Chablis is never “oaky.” A lot of people seem to be tiring of that heavy, oaky style of Chardonnay that used to be very popular. Those of you who are will love Chablis. Most Chablis sees no time in oak barrels at all (the best wines of the region spend time in used oak barrels, which impart little or no flavors to the wine). So it stays crisp, bone dry, refreshing, and never heavy.

Finally, the wine geek in me needs to explain one more aspect about Chablis—the thing that makes these wines so incredibly unique. And that is: dirt.

Seriously, Chablis’ soil famously contains significant deposits of limestone and fossilized oyster shells. I’m not making this up! It sounds crazy, but some of that calcium makes its way into the grapes, giving the wines that sea-salty minerality I mentioned earlier.

Taste it for yourself—we have a great selection of Chablis in the store now, and I’m happy to guide you through it. Ask for me next time you’re in, and say: “I want to drink more Chablis!”

Bill Shube

A Great Father's Day, and My New Favorite Red

I was spoiled for Father’s Day this year. I went for a bike ride with my grand-daughter to Hawthorne Pond to look for ducks. After a quick stop at the store, I was back home for lunch and a nap, and I woke up just in time for a great family dinner. Carol made burgers, hot dogs, corn, and a salad, and brought home some of our favorite side dishes from the store (the chickpeas and rock shrimp salad is just too good); and I got to share a bottle of my new favorite red, Le Loup dans la Bergerie, with Dougy and Billy. 

(the winery)

I’ve been a fan of southern French wines for years now. The weather is just right for wine making, and the land is plentiful, which translates to good wine at a good price. Le Loup dans la Bergerie (pronounced, more or less, “luh loo dawn la bear-jurEE,” but feel free to just call it Le Loup), from the Languedoc region in southern France, is a perfect example. It packs a lot of wine for just $12, with layers of pure blackberries and raspberries and a streak of anise on the nose. Clean and perfectly ripe on the palate, I can’t think of another red I’d rather be drinking this summer. It went great with the burgers last weekend, but I can picture drinking it with chicken dishes, pastas, salads, or simply on its own at the end of the day. I’m sure the Shube household will go through at least a case of it this summer. 

(vineyards, and the Pic Saint-Loup mountain in the background)

It comes from Domaine de l’Hortus, a fantastic winery run by the Orliac family, in a small region in southern France called Pic Saint-Loup. Billy took some photos when he visited the winery a few years ago, posted here. The region is stunning, with the Pic St.-Loup and Hortus rock formations marking the landscape, and the wines can be very distinctive when done right. The Orliacs are among the best winemakers in the Languedoc, and this wine is done absolutely right—it was the cherry on top of a perfect Father’s Day! 

George Shube
Shubie's Owner