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Alameda and Oakland Magazine Article on Argentinian Wines

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Here’s an article that I wrote for Alameda and Oakland Magazines

Malbec is King in Argentina by Jeff Diamond
Look South for Value and Quality Wine

Wines from Argentina are quickly becoming one of the hottest segments in the U.S. wine market. Why? A combination of great quality and stupendous value. Consumers can find great Argentine wines for as little as $10 per bottle, and these wines have a rich, plush and fruit-forward flavor profile.

Argentina’s wine exports to the United States have been growing by leaps and bounds, making Argentina the fifth largest wine producer in the world. According to wine importer Fran Kysela, M.S. and Kysela Père et Fils, “About 28 percent of our volume now comes from Argentine wines. Prior to 2005 this figure was less than 5 percent.”

Kysela imports more than 30 different wines from Argentina, most priced between $10 and $15 per bottle.

Before 1990, Argentina consumed more than 90 percent of the wine it produces, although much of it was bulk wine and considered unexportable. Argentine winemakers started to travel to other wine regions around the world, hiring consultants and modernizing their growing and vinification techniques. New wineries were built, and now Mendoza Province, the heart of Argentina’s wine region, is one of the country’s top tourist destinations.

For red wines, Malbec comprises the bulk of Argentina’s wine production, with more than 25,000 acres planted, followed up by Cabernet Sauvignon, Bonarda (called Charbono in the United States), Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah. Red wine comprises more than 65 percent of production.

Torrontés, thought to be either a cross between Muscat of Alexandria and the Mission table grape or a relative of Malvasia, is far and away the most popular white grape planted, followed by Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc
and others.

In Argentina though, Malbec is king. Malbec originally comes from Southwestern France where it is still grown. Argentine Malbec is different than its French cousin — the clusters are smaller and tighter, and the berries are smaller, producing a wine with deep color, intense fruity and sometimes chocolatey flavor with a
velvety mouthfeel.

Malbec production is centered around Mendoza Province, which has a micro climate that is phenomenal for wine grape growing. Set hard against the eastern side of the Andes in the high desert, Mendoza has little rain, high daytime temperatures and a long ripening cycle. The high elevation brings great daily temperature swings of up to 40 degrees, ideal for growing grapes; the dry climate provides less mold, mildew, insect and fungal problems than other growing areas, bringing a more consistent harvest with less reliance on chemicals.

Torrontés is mostly grown to the north of Mendoza in La Rioja and Salta provinces and produces an aromatic wine characterized by floral, fruity, Muscat-like aromas and a spicy, dry finish. Torrontés has been favorably compared to Gewürztraminer and Viognier, but with a decidedly drier finish.

Pinot Noir is also becoming an Argentine specialty, with production centered around Rio Negro and Neuquén in northern Patagonia. The wine industry in Patagonia is relatively new, with the Argentine government investing some of the income from the area’s substantial oil and natural gas reserves to create what could be called a wine homesteading program.
Here are a few of my favorite wines from Argentina:

Maipe Malbec($11) — This Malbec has a deep purple color with violet tints, complex plum, fig, strawberry, spices and floral aromas; rounded and velvety tannins, excellent length with a distinguished character. Excellent when paired with game, roasted red meats, pasta or pizza.

Tiza Malbec ($20) — Contains fruit from some of the oldest vines in Mendoza more than 150 years old. Aged in new French oak barrels for 12 months. This wine offers a great intense and complex nose of wild berries and red ripe fruit with subtle spicy notes. Superb fruit flavors combine perfectly with toasty notes providing great structure, character, and a long finish.

El Felino Malbec ($22) — Made by famed California winemaker Paul Hobbs, this deep and rich wine has a wild cherry tinged nose and gobs of flavor.

Bramare Marchiori Vineyard Malbec ($85) — Single vineyard, new French oak, long extraction; an amazing wine with great depth, length and finish.

Maipe Torrontes ($11) — A great introduction to Torrontés. Bright acidity, flowery nose and a dry finish.

Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes($18) — More concentrated nose and finish than the Maipe, this wine is one of the benchmarks for the varietal, displaying a bouquet of spring flowers, honey, and tropical aromas.

Bay Area Bites Article on Rosé

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By Stephanie Rosenbaum. Bay Area Bites, KQED's Food Blog http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2010/06/13/roses-for-summer/

rose wine

Welcome to National Rosé Month! Or so it seems, to scan the wine section of any newspaper in June. Wine writers treat rosés like Emily Post treats white shoes: dusted off for Memorial Day, retired on Labor Day, perfect for summer but verboten from September to May. Even as they tout the growing popularity of rosés among both consumers and winemakers, the once-a-year rose roundups rarely appear in any month but this one, making drinking pink synonymous with the reappearance of Speedos on Dolores Beach and speedboats on Clear Lake: a drink for vacationland and summer shares, poured poolside, lakeside, out on the deckside.

And with good reason, frankly: while a good rosé is worth drinking any day of the year, there's no denying that their strawberry hues and Jolly Rancher bouquets are best enhanced by long, sunshiny afternoons that postpone the twilight until deep in the evening. Like a summer romance, these are wines of instant enchantment, capturing the bliss of a moment. There's just something kissable about a rose, something that makes you want to pucker up, put the glass to your lips, and laugh.

Fresh, light, a little racy, with a jazzy red-fruit profile that dips from strawberries to cherries to thirst-quenching watermelon: that's your typical Mediterranean-ready rosé, and the type I like best for my summer sipping. For one like this, look no further than Domaine de la Fouquette's Cuvee Rosée d'Aurore ($16.50), made in Provence from a blend of 65% grenache, 35% cinsault, and 5% rolle grapes. Pale salmon in the glass, it balances its watermelon bounce with a smooth white-linen crispness that keeps it fresh and pleasing from sip to sip.

Jeff Diamond, owner of Farmstead Cheeses and Wines in Montclair and Alameda, drinks rosé at home all year round. 85% of the time, if I come home and my wife's got a glass in her hand, it's going to be a rosé," says Jeff, pointing out her particular favorite, the Domaine de la Mordorée Tavel ($28). Tavel, of course, is an A.O.C. region in southern France where nothing but rose is made, and the grapes for this wine are not just grown in Tavel but grown biodynamically by what Diamond dubs "the best Rhône producer on the planet." The end result? A supple, meaty rosé, nearly magenta, that's a smooth, suave dinner-party companion to grilled lamb or salmon. It's a rosé to convert even the hardiest of red-wine drinkers. "In our house, we probably go through 7 or 8 cases a year of this," notes Diamond. (More for weekday drinking is the Domaine de la Mordoree's Cotes du Rhône: light and balanced, a very nice food wine, and at $18, ten dollars further down the splurge scale.)

Alameda Magazine Article = Spanish WIne

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Taste of Spain by Jeff Diamond

I’m bullish on Spanish wines. Whenever a customer asks me for a great bargain red wine, more often than not, I’ll suggest a Spanish red.
Why would I do this when we’re only a few miles from some of the best wine grape growing regions in the world? Well, for starters, Spain has more acres planted to wine grapes than anywhere else in the world; the average age of Spanish wine grapevines is more than 35 years old; and Spanish wineries are able to produce, bottle, market and ship wines to California
for a pittance.

Spain has a long tradition of viticulture and winemaking dating back thousands of years. Wines made on the Iberian Peninsula during Roman times were exported around the empire. Spanish winemaking technique suffered during the Middle Ages, and not much wine of note was made until the mid-19th century, when phylloxera decimated French vineyards.

French winemakers crossed the Pyrenees and discovered the winemaking regions of Rioja, Navarra and Catalonia and brought their expertise, winemaking skills and the 225-liter barrica, or French oak wine barrel. (Eventually phylloxera reached Spain, but its relatively slow progress was due to the fact that many of the Spanish wine regions are far from each other.)

While Spain has more than 600 varieties of wine grapes planted, most production is focused on 20 or so varieties, and many are familiar to wine-savvy Americans: Garnacha (Grenache), Monastrell (Mourvèdre), Tempranillo, Cariñena (Carignan), Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Spanish wines are regulated by a classification system similar to France, Italy or the United States, with all wine regions regulated under the Denominación de Origen, or DO, system. Red wines can be labeled as Crianza (aged for two years), Reserva (aged for three years) or Gran Reserva (aged five years or more).

Until recently, it was thought that the more time a wine spent in cask and bottle, the better it was. Some of these wines might be a bit staid for the California palate, but there are many wineries making wines that have a more modern New World approach to winemaking that produces wines that are balanced with fruit, terroir and wood.

Article in Midtown Monthly

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Wine

Alameda Daytrip
Antiques, Snacks and More
By Becky Grunewald

When you think about heading for the Bay Area you probably think of San Francisco foremost, and then maybe you’ll make a side trip to the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley, or to Chinatown in Oakland, but have you ever thought about spending the day in Alameda? Alameda is sunny, cheap, and friendly, and you won’t have to wait in line or spend an hour trying to find parking.

The Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire is held the first Sunday of every month at a former naval station. This huge collection of goods is a little overwhelming, so I suggest that you stop and have dim sum at East Ocean Seafood Restaurant to fortify yourself to fight the crowds over that perfect Danish Modern coffee table. East Ocean serves dim sum from carts every day from 10 AM to 2:30 PM. The quality of the dim sum at East Ocean is on par with New Canton (which is high praise). I recommend keeping your eyes peeled for a fresh (that is key) plate of salt and pepper squid, which is their specialty, and which they make hundreds of pounds of on Chinese holidays.

After you are full of dumplings and properly caffeinated with green tea, you can head to the flea market. The day I went it was chilly (even though it was Summer), and my party hadn’t dressed properly so we all became obsessed with buying warm clothing. I scored a sweet 60s era preppy plaid jacket that I built my Summer look around. This proved to be a costly look because it entailed me buying a yacht, but that’s a story for another time. This flea market has everything, from taxidermy to top-notch furniture. Bring cash and don’t be afraid to bargain.

If you’re chilled and you would like to sit in an overstuffed armchair and sip some tea like a proper English lord or lady, your next stop should be Julie’s Coffee and Tea Garden (1223 Park St.) Park Street is pretty much the main drag, so you can leave your car here and walk after you finish your cup of lapsang souchong or wild tree pu-erh.

Next stop for a snack? The Pampered Pup (1401 Park St), which has a super cool old sign with a rotund, lounging pup who sports a multi-carat diamond on her finger. Alameda is abounding in kitschy, campy old signs and dive bars, and spotting them is part of the fun of cruising around. The Pampered Pup has juicy, delicious dogs with a real snap.

When you enter the Alameda Marketplace (1650 Park St), you will lament the fact that Sacramento can’t get it together to have a place like this downtown. It’s a gathering of multiple independent food purveyors under one roof. There’s a natural foods market, an outlet of Baron’s Meat And Poultry (opened by a Culinary Institue of America graduate who learned his trade at Niman Ranch), a seafood purveyor, a bakery, and, my favorite, Farmstead Cheeses And Wines.

Farmstead specializes in small production and unusual wines and artisanal cheeses. Their website states that they, “provide superlative customer service in a convivial and educational environment”, and I think that aptly sums it up. They cut and wrap cheese to order and each time I’ve been there the employees have been happy to let me taste the cheeses and answer all my questions. Much of the wine is on the pricey side, but they always have bargains on the table out front, and I’ve bought some excellent wines here on a budget. I recommend that you bring a cooler with you on your daytrip because you’ll probably want to pack it with cheeses and sausages to bring home.

For a last stop, you may want to swing by Kevin Patrick Books (2170 Encinal Ave.) This place is crammed floor to ceiling with books. If digging through dusty books for an hour or so is your idea of fun, as it is mine, you could unearth a treasure at this place. They have a good selection of vintage paperbacks and art books. Just be sure not to make any sudden moves, or you could find yourself underneath a giant pile of ’86 Toyota Camry manuals.

So, if Alameda isn’t quite as urbane as San Francisco or Oakland, it has a dreamy charm all its own. As you make your way home with your carload of taxidermied cougars and delicious treats, you may, like me, find yourself already planning your next trip to Alameda.

Bay Area Bites article on Farmstead

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By Cyrus Musiker, KQED

I'm a wine devotée, so I'm also a habitué of wine shops, and a seeker after their treasures. The best stores are often cool, warehouse-like spaces, with cases of wine stacked precariously, row upon row. The wine shops where I've worked--in Northampton, Mass., New York City, and San Francisco were all modest establishments, but in each one a customer could find a small masterpiece, a miracle of art and nature.