Flipping You The Bird: Improper Wines For Thanksgiving

There is this weirdly compulsive thing these days to pair wine with your food, as if searching for and experiencing the “perfect pairing” is tantamount to Indian Jones discovering the Covenant of the Ark. Yes, I admit I’ve written about that too (uh, the pairings, not the Ark), and certainly wine and food are crucially important – not to mention I’ve reviewed restaurants professionally for a decade. The point being…drink whatever the hell you want with whatever the hell you want to eat. No more elusive pairings and “ideal” wine for turkey day. Having said that…I would like to see these wines on your table.

2014 IL Tascante

Soft and quiet, this is not a loud wine; it’s understated and you’ve probably never had this grape before – Nerello Mascalase. Grown on volcanic soils on the north-east slope of the volcano Mt. Etna in Sicily, there is an earthiness, a mineral note, a chalkiness with this wine. There is muted raspberry, cranberry, and rhubarb with back notes of Bing cherry. Though aged in Slovenian oak barrels for 18 months, you hardly notice any oak at all, more a testament of the lithe but structured fruit. And it is this subtleness that makes this wine so compelling. Well, that and the fact the family has been doing the wine thing for two centuries. ($50)

2015 Sonoma-Loeb Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch

Out of the Russian River Valley the good folks at Sonoma-Loeb turn out a lot of great wine and this Pinot, from a well-established vineyard is part of a great lineage. All Pinot all the time this make-up of clones 667, 777 and 115 was fermented using native yeast and aged for just 11 months in French oak. 11 months is correct because you don’t want this beautiful fruit to get lost in some kind of cedar box. Black cherry, red currant, candied cranberry, star anise, cola and soft baking spices round out this rich, but pure iteration of Pinot. Great acidity and mild tannins make this work with damn near whatever you put on the table, or, better yet, get some cheese and have at it. ($40)

2016 Ritual Chardonnay

Chardonnay, again, really? Yes, really. This bright crisp Chardonnay from Chile is expressive, young, and fresh with a tanginess and food-worthy acidity. You’ll easily pick up on the lemon curd, kiwi, gooseberry, lime kefir, and green apple notes, and more subtly the hazelnut, mango and quince. The fruit hails from the Casablanca Valley, just 18 miles from the coast, and is whole cluster fermented in concrete eggs (which helps immensely with viscosity) and then gets a wee bit of oak time, so you’re left with a robust white wine that plays well with others. ($21.99)

2016 Steele Viognier

Viognier, the odd named grape most people mispronounce, is one of those, cool-if-it’s-done-right wines. And Jed Steele does it right. All the way from Lake County, this offers lychee, honeysuckle, Meyer lemon, lime curd and sugared almond. A beautiful viscosity and silkiness makes the floral components of this wine that much more provocative. It’s fermented in stainless steel so it retains a bright buoyancy but is not too heavy and flowery. A mere four month of oak time allows this wine to achieve a balance of fruit, acidity and wood. ($19)

The Donn Abides – The Passing of Donn Chappellet

I didn’t know Donn, at least not personally. We had never met. He lived in Napa, and I in Santa Barbara. He started a winery and I started wine writing. My most recent mention of Chappellet wines was May 13th, in a Tweet about the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, which hit over 1,000 impressions. Donn Chappellet passed away on May 22nd at age 84 – too young by my estimation.

I have included Chappellet wines in a variety of articles; for The Hollywood Reporter, IntoWine.com, and most recently for Planet Experts about wineries that support earth-friendly practices writing, “In Napa, Chappellet Vineyard began in the early 1980s (long before the term ‘sustainable’ was even used), to plant cover crops for soil conservation and erosion prevention. In 2012, their 102-acre vineyard earned its organic certification from the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). Chappellet has a 20,000-square-foot solar photovoltaic system that generates 100% of the winery’s energy needs. They also installed a state-of-the-art water processing system that allows the winery to return nearly 100% of their processed water (about one million gallons each year) to the vineyard for irrigation.”

I included Donn in my IntoWine.com’s Second Annual “Top 100 MostInfluential People in the U.S. Wine Industry,” listing him as #94, writing, “Chappellet was the first winery to pioneer high-elevation vineyard planting, establishing mountain-grown Cabernets as some of California’s most coveted wines. The winery has also served as an incubator for some of California’s legendary winemaking talents, including Phil Togni, Joe Cafaro, Tony Soter, Helen Turley, Mia Klein, Cathy Corison and current winemaker Phillip Corallo-Titus. Chappellet has been lauded by every major wine magazine.”

“Dad was the kindest, most thoughtful person,” son Cyril Chappellet said in a press release. “He was our rock, our mentor, and an inspiration, not just to our entire family, but to so many others as well. He was also humble beyond belief. Despite everything he accomplished, he never took the credit. He always preferred to give others the stage. Along with my mom, my dad created the foundation that our family has been building on for the past 50 years. He believed that the best was still yet to come for Chappellet. Now it is our turn to honor that dream, and his wonderful legacy.”

And what better words can be said of someone’s passing – the idea that the best is still out there, perhaps just beyond reach, but likely within reach of another generations. If you haven’t had any of Chappellet wines, do try one, from their Chennin Blanc, or Malbec, Petite Sirah or Chardonnay to the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon ($60), and raise a glass to a man you never met, one who made the world better in a number of ways you never knew about – something we can all strive for. Godspeed Donn.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider donating in the name of Donn Chappellet to the Wildlife Rescue Center of Napa County or to the St. Helena Hospital Foundation.

Wildlife Rescue Center of Napa County

PO Box 2571 Napa, CA 94558

www.napawildliferescue.org

St. Helena Hospital Foundation

10 Woodland Road

St. Helena, CA 94574

https://foundation.sthelenahospitals.org

1040 Good Buddy: Taxes, Wine & Those Pesky Deductions

We all know the old saying that nothing is certain in life except for death and taxes. While certainly this is true a good wine can somewhat ward off death, well, maybe not exactly but at the very least makes taxes bearable. I’m not a CPA, so any deductions listed here should be run by your accountant for approval. Time to pair a wine with a given tax deduction.

Lifetime Learning

Our convoluted tax code offers a number of deductions geared toward college students, but that doesn’t mean those of you who have already graduated can’t get a break too. The Lifetime Learning credit can provide up to $2,000 per year, taking off 20% of the first $10,000 you spend for education after high school, all in an effort to give you new or better job skills. This phases out at higher income levels, but it also doesn’t discriminate based on your age – and we should all keep learning! Any Pinot Noir fanatic will tell you it’s a lifetime grape - a wine that educates you about subtly, beauty, nuances and ethereal qualities. The Sonoma Loeb 2014 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir is classic Russian River Valley Pinot with cranberry, pomegranate, strawberry, huckleberry and back note of cola and black cherry, rich yet calm with plenty of acidity RRV is known for. Spending time with this wine is an education in itself. ($40, Sonoma-Loeb.com)

Charitable Giving

You can deduct money or goods given to charitable organizations, which makes giving more fun! Out-of-pocket expenses for charitable work also qualify. So, if you make brownies for a charity fundraiser for example, you might be able to deduct the cost of the ingredients you used to bake them. Always save receipts or itemize the costs in case of an audit. Donations to your local library or the value of goods given to a charity are also considered viable. Of course it helps to be charitable with yourself too, so I think the Domaine Carneros Cuvee de la Pompadour will give back to you. This a brut rose - a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with delicate hints of strawberry, pomegranate, apricot, peach and lime, a whisper of sweet honeysuckle and with fine pinpoint bubbles. It’s a gift that will keep giving. ($37, domainecarneros.com)

Health Insurance Premiums

Medical expenses can easily kill your budget. Aside from the health benefits of wine (no, you probably can’t write off your expensive Burgundy) for most taxpayers, medical expenses have to exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income to be deducted. However, if you’re self-employed and responsible for your own health insurance coverage (like yours truly), you can deduct 100% of your premium cost. That gets taken off your adjusted gross income rather than as an itemized deduction. Got it? The Magsitrate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (NV) from Sonoma offers an inexpensive, cash-friendly wine, and it’s red so you’re keeping healthy, right? There is muted blackberry, blueberry, resin, dusty cedar, this offers decidedly middle of the road tannins that subdue any overt fruit along with a mild acidity and richness that’s tame and ready to drink now. And given it’s tax time, you’ll want to drink it now. ($17, magistratewine.com)

Unusual Business Expenses

Don’t overlook deductions that seem odd. As a wine writer I push the boundaries of what can be deducted related to wine, all within the parameters of the law, of course. If something is used to benefit your business and you can document the reasons for it, you probably can deduct it from your business income as long as it is a viable part of doing business. I’m able to deduct winery tasting room fees for example because my primary income is from wine writing. Which gets us to the 2014 Patz & Hall Hudson Vineyard-Carneros Chardonnay. I’m not saying you can deduct this lovely wine, but it is unusual in that this straddles the line of Chardonnays out there, not too oaky, not to stainless. Using native yeasts and malo-lactic fermentation in barrel this does not push oak on you, but gives up green apple, lemon lime curd, honey, pineapple and a back note of sweet biscuit and almond. So go ahead, think creatively about your deductions while you sip this. ($55, Patzhall.com)

Job Searching

If you were looking for a job in 2015, you may be able to deduct costs related to your job search – even if you didn’t get a job – because at least you tried! Job search expenses such as preparing and sending résumés (expenses and mailing, if you actually use snail mail), fees for head hunters or temp agencies and even travel related to the job search can be included. But searching for a job is tough so you need a wine that will support the long view. The J Lohr 2012 Cuvee St. E is a St. Emilion homage wine made in Paso Robles crafted from Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cab Sauvignon and Malbec. It offers robust black cherry, huckleberry, blueberry and boysenberry with a sharp acidity and a resin note, a hint of earthen vegetable and minerality. The dominate Cabernet Franc holds up against the oak and makes a play for a new world cuvee – bold yet restrained. This is how to reward yourself after a long day hitting the pavement. ($50, jlohr.com)