Prize picks include $8-$10 chards
Wine's a great holiday gift. But it must be given properly. The first thing you have to think about is price. Give your father-in-law too cheap a bottle and he'll think you're miserly; pay too much and he'll think you're trying to soap him up.
It's not hard. Just plan to spend about the same amount as you would on a nonwine gift for the folks on your list, whether they're best-seller, sweater or set-of-golf-clubs kinds of guys and gals.
With that settled, the choices are endless. You'll find below a selection of wines I've liked this year in three price ranges.
The French have an advantage over Americans in making pinot noir -- a 1,000-year head start. The hallowed 4 ½-acre plot in Burgundy where the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti makes its $1,000-a-bottle pinot noir wines was first planted in 1040. California didn't get into the grape in a big way until the 1970s and '80s
Even then, it's been so hard to grow and quirky to make that winemakers call it ``the heartbreak grape.'' Which is one reason the wines are relatively expensive.
To make things worse, California growers at first planted many pinot noir grapes in the wrong spots -- places that were too hot with too much California sun.
With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, it's time to think about the most important part of the feast. And Turkey Day wine pairings are a challenge. I mean, what wine goes with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, cranberries, green bean casserole, creamed onions and pumpkin pie?
I think I've found an answer. How about a wine made with five grapes? Or seven? Or even 10? With all those flavors swirling around in both food and wine, something's bound to click. So today we talk about ``super-blend'' wines.
It might sound like winemakers are cleaning out their bins, getting rid of dribs and drabs of this and that, but some of these blends are marvelously rich and complex -- great matches for multi-flavored meals.
No matter how long they argue, winemakers never will agree on how to make sauvignon blanc. One camp believes it should be sweet and full of pineapples, like chardonnay. Another contingent seeks the green, feline flavors of France's Loire Valley. There's the grassy style, the flinty style and so on.
So when you buy a sauvignon blanc, you never know what you're going to get. That's why California sold 46 million cases of chardonnay in 2007 and only 7 million cases of sauvignon blanc.
It's a shame. I've always believed sauvignon blanc goes better with food than chardonnay. I've recently tasted two contrasting styles, from New Zealand and California, and found them both great. Simply a matter of taste. In warmer California, sauvignon blanc takes on flavors of pink grapefruit and ripe melons; in cooler New Zealand it tends more toward minerals and gooseberries.
Here are some wines you don't see every day. But they can be delightful, so I want to tell you about them. These aren't supermarket wines, for the most part. You'll have to visit your local wine shop -- which is a nice idea anyway on a hot and steamy Saturday in the doggiest days of summer.
PETITE SIRAH
I've been a wine judge a time or two at the Indiana State Fair, where they make you pay your dues by judging a couple of flights of amateur wines made in kitchens and garages before you get to the good stuff.
It's an abundance of riches: The annual San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition gives its 60 or so judges a chance to sample wines from all over the country, with 4,913 wine entries from 23 states. And it gives us a chance to tell our readers about some really nice wines.
SWEEPSTAKES PICKS
Dry Sparkling Wine: Nonvintage J Vineyards Brut Rosé, Russian River Valley, Calif.: active bubbles, red apple flavors; $35.
White Wine: 2008 Keuka Springs Vineyard Gewürztraminer, Finger Lakes, N.Y.; crisp, dry lychee flavors; $20.
Pink Wine: 2008 Bray Vineyards Barbera Rosato, Shenandoah Valley, Calif.: intense, sweet-tart strawberry flavors; $17.
Red Wine: 2007 Graton Ridge Cellars Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Paul Family Vineyard, Calif.: intense black cherry aromas and flavors; $40.
Dessert Wine: 2008 Watermill Winery Late Harvest Gewürztraminer, Walla Walla Valley, Washington; medium sweet, intense lychee aromas and flavors; $14.
Here are some of my favorites among the gold medal winners:
SAUVIGNON BLANC
($14-$20)
• 2008 Robert Hall Sauvignon Blanc, Paso Robles; intense feline aroma, French Sancerre style; $14.
• 2008 Dry Creek Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Creek Valley, Calif.: intense lemon-lime aromas and flavors, crisp; $16.
• 2008 Navarro Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Cuvée 128, Mendocino, Calif.: sweet, spicy grapefruit flavors; $18.
• 2008 Hess Collection Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Allomi Vineyard, Napa Valley, Calif.: sweet cut-grass aromas, lemon flavors; $18.
• 2008 Brassfield Estate Sauvignon Blanc, High Serenity Ranch, High Valley, Calif.: dry, tart-pineapple aromas and flavors; $16.
RHONE (all prices)
• 2007 Sarah's Vineyard Carignane, Santa Clara Valley, Calif.: black cherry and sweet chocolate flavors, very rich; $30.
• 2008 Black Sheep Vintners Cinsault, California; sweet red plum flavors; $20.
• 2007 Kenneth Volk Vineyards Mourvedre, Lime Kiln: intense black plum and bitter chocolate flavors; $36.
PINOT NOIR ($20-$25)
• 2008 Willowbrook Cellars Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, Calif.: black cherries and sweet chocolate; $24.
• 2008 Rodney Strong Vineyards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Calif.: tart black cherries and bitter chocolate; $20.
• 2007 Carmel Road Winery Pinot Noir, Monterey County, Calif.: sweet black cherries and milk chocolate; $20.
CHARDONNAY
($8-$10)
• 2008 McManis Family Vineyard Chardonnay, River Junction, Calif.; tart lemon-lime aromas and flavors; $10.
• 2008 Round Hill Chardonnay, California: intense tart pineapple aromas and flavors, tart finish; $8.