State of the Union

Having just returned from Oregon on a week-long wine trip, I’m certainly, and unabashedly pro-Oregon wine. There are a lot of great things happening in this state from large mega producers turning about respectable juice to under-the-radar funky folks making niche wine. Oregon’s Union Wine Company does Riesling well. Riesling is the 4^th most planted grape in the state and they really do have a handle on how to make it sing. I know, I know - I can hear your high-pitched voice now: “I don’t like Riesling, it’s too sweet.” Uh, no, it’s not often that sweet (when I was in Germany I tasted through the gamut of Riesling from bone-dry to coma inducing uber-sweet wines, most of them amazing). A fine example of a value, food-wise Riesling is Union Wine Co. 2011 Kings Ridge Riesling. Soft, viscous with citrus, peach, caramel and a wee bit of sweetness (a mere .73% RS - residual sugar), makes this is a terrific little number that will make your heart, and palate and wallet, happy. It's rare to find quality for around $10 but here Union succeeds very well. They made 1,200 cases, so there’s plenty to go around. Riesling is a wine you need to invite into you rotation, and this is an excellent starting point. So get going!  UNION WINE COMPANY
 

ORIGIN: Willamette Valley, Oregon

PRICE: $13 / 750/ml

ALCOHOL: 12%

BOOZEHOUNDZ SCORE:  89 POINTS

Getting Naked

I love new ideas in the wine world in part because they are so few and far between. Naked Winery in Hood River outside of Portland in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge has always been pushing ideas around to increase sales and get people to not take wine so seriously. Enter their Wanderlust White, a blend of various grapes, in this iteration it’s Gewürztraminer and Riesling, all done in stainless steel then bottled in a BPA-free plastic bottle. Yeah, you read that right...a plastic wine bottle. Gimmick? Not really. Well ok, maybe, but so what? Workable? Oh, yeah. A pleasant acidity, a hint of sweetness, apples, pears and a slight resin, it’s not a complicated white wine, but it is the perfect picnic wine. And if you drop it (frankly why the hell are you dropping wine to begin with?) the bottle will bounce, not shatter, and the happy wine inside will remain unharmed. We’ve all had the experience of buying a bottle only to have it slip and go boom. Bummer, right? At first glance the bottle looks smaller, because it is thinner, lighter and easier to carry on those long treks to your make-out place. Anyhow, the wine is good, the packaging even better. Is this a foretelling of things to come? Time will tell, but this is pretty cool.

$14/ 750 ml – Alc: 13%   NAKED WINERY

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING: 88 POINTS

Is There a Doctor in the Winery?

I visited Germany a while back with a group of wine writers and we were there to immerse ourselves in Germany’s best known wine: Riesling. I love Riesling, a terribly underappreciated grape because many American winemakers and wine drinkers have never sampled it at the source – i.e.; the true holy grail of the grape - Germany. First off, Germany Rieslings are made in a variety of styles: you’ve got bone dry versions, mildly sweet versions, sweet, and what can only be described as coma-inducing rich-sweet which are stunning. OK, long intro into what you can buy here in the Finger Lakes region of New York (yes, a viable wine region) which is – the Dr. Konstantin Frank 2011 Dry Riesling. Though Dr. Frank was originally from Russia,  he helped put the Finger Lakes on the map and this is the closest you’re gonna get to a true German style here in America. Light, clean, with some minerality, lemon, and apple and a wisp of peach on the backend, this is Riesling made for food and with a responsible acidity. You may ask, what is “responsible acidity?” Wines with a balanced acidity work best with food. Many wines have little to no acids in them so they taste flabby, flat, innocuous. Who needs that? Wine and food are companions; two little kids skipping across your plate. Try this Riesling with lunch, dinner, even breakfast (hell I don’t care) and you’ll begin to understand the beauty of Riesling. Trust me, the Doctor knows what to prescribe. Dr. Frank Wines

$15/ 750 ml – Alc: 11.7%

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING

4 Bonz – Good Dog!

Liquid Sex

Some wines are truly ethereal experiences, elevating you beyond what you ever thought a wine could ever be. I recall the first time I had an Inniskillin Ice Wine at a wine trade event in Santa Barbara. I was blown away. Inniskillen ice wines are like liquid sex…and that’s not mere hyperbole. I’ve had many over the years (no pun intended) and the stunning balance between acidity, sweetness, viscosity, honey, caramel and just plain enjoyment are all here. Ice wine is made by leaving the grape on the vines until they freeze--naturally (fake “ice wines” are grapes placed in a freezer…what the?) so their sugars consolidate and concentrate. And, aside from Germany, few places even do it right. Inniskillen makes several varieties, but the 2008 Riesling has this beautifully tart quality adding to the mix of perfection. This is hands down one of the best wines made in Canada. Period. Yes, they are expensive. Yes you need to get some. Yes, this is, well, maybe not better than sex, but seriously just as good. Trust me; you’ll always remember your first one.

$80/375ML, Alc. 9.5%

BOOZEHOUNDZ RATING: 96 POINTS