Wine at lunch?

I love having a glass of wine at lunch.  I have touched on this topic before, but today with a new angle; politeness.  Just this morning I caught part of a discussion about politeness in our current society.  Are we more or less polite than we used to be was the basic question. The consensus seemed to be that we are less polite, mainly to due to the electronic device that is now semi-permanently attached at the end of our arms. Well, I have a solution; Wine!Go to any of our local wine tastings and you are going to find people talking, to each other! And they are enjoying themselves! A cell phone comes out every now and then, but a wine glass has temporarily surmounted its place. It is such a novel and amazing concept, talking to one another, that I want to foster it.Most wine tastings are in the evening, causing many to be stuck in this modern, non-polite world for hours on end. Therefore an intervention is needed, right in the middle of the day. The solution:Lunch!Many, due to occupation, are not allowed to consume alcohol while on the clock. I feel you, I spent 12 years in that kind of hell, and I’m sorry. For everyone else who can [have Wine] at lunch then this is for you. There are only two rules to Lunch Wine.First rule: Don’t let someone in your lunch group order a beer. If you are allowed to drink during your work day then don’t have a beer. This is one of the few times when the perceived “sophistication” of wine is to your benefit. Having a beer in the middle of the day gives the impression of laziness and poor decision making. Wine does not come with that baggage. Don’t believe me. Try your own experiment and ask the folks around your work place how they feel if they hear a co-worker had a beer at lunch. Then ask the same if they had a single glass of wine.Second rule: Do not have more than one glass. The stigma that surrounds alcohol at lunch roots itself in the possibility of you getting drunk or at the minimum not performing upon your return to the office. One glass of wine will not make you “sloppy.” If it does then don’t drink. By all means have a coffee and don’t mess it up for the rest of us.Having a glass of wine at lunch does many good things. It will help keep you off of your phone, thus you will be more social and attentive to your lunch guests, a very polite gesture indeed. Also people drinking wine look better than those not, and it has been proven that red wine aides in digestion. Therefore the result of you having wine at lunch is that you will physically feel better and come off as more positive and more polite.My favorite place to have a glass of wine at lunch in Pensacola is Carmen’s Lunch Bar & Tapas. The last time that I was there I was fortunate enough to try a wine that was soon to be but not yet on the menu; Cabriola by Borsao 2019 Spanish red blend. It paired perfectly with my lunch choice, and my lunch guest, who had the same wine, was impressed with my recommendation. We spoke about the business at hand and I only interrupted the occasion once with my cell phone to take the picture for this post. So, if you can, do us all a favor and have a glass of wine at lunch.  You just might make the world a better, slightly more polite, place.

Wine Too Hot or Too Cold?

Several of my wine friends recently returned from trips to Italy. Most were on separate trips and all of them sounded like they had a great time. One was recounting their journey through Tuscany and brought up the temperature of some red wine that they were served…and how cold it was. “Is that normal?”

No.  9.9 times out of 10 I get that question posed in the opposite way: “How cold should [that] wine be?”

“Red wines should be room temperature, right?”

I have preached the Sermon of Wine Temperature from my swirling pulpit for quite a while; Almost all red wines should served between 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit (18-20 Celsius). That “Room temperature” is the temperature of a bottle coming out of a wine cellar. Most wine cellars are around 60 degrees. The bottle is brought out and opened, allowing for some aeration as the temperature raises to around 65 degrees or so. Then the wine is poured into a glass that is close to the temperature of the room you are actually in, probably around 75 degrees, or even higher if you have been holding that glass for a while. Hopefully you see where this is going.

We, especially along the Gulf Coast, have a chronic problem of serving red while too hot!  When red wine is poured into your glass then the glass should feel cool to the touch, not cold, with NO condensation. If the outside of your glass starts to condense with water, then your wine is too cold! White wine SHOULD cause your glass to form condensation, assuming you are in a similar climate to that on the Gulf Coast.

It is okay to put your bottle of red wine in the fridge.  Assuming your bottle of red is around 75 degrees you can put it in for a short time, 30 or so minutes, opened, and it will be ready to drink almost immediately upon exit. Or, if you leave the bottle of red in for longer, with your whites, then it will just take longer outside of the fridge to be ready.  Wine is served wrong either because of ignorance, laziness, or a combination of both.  Don’t let that describe you.

I had the chance to go to two of our local wine events this past week: a tasting at Beyond the Grape that was supporting the Pensacola Opera, and the monthly tasting of our local chapter of the American Wine Society. Beyond the Grape featured a fun full tour of Italy with some fantastic charcuterie boards and the AWS chapter taught a class on Spain, followed by an awesome Paella! The Crowd Favorite at Beyond the Grape was a fascinating Cabernet Franc from Umbria (Paolo e Noemia d’Amico Atlante), and there was a Wine of Note at the AWS tasting, Pazo La Moreira Albariño.

Other than the white wines, ALL of the red wines, at both events, were served too hot!  There are very few rules in Wine…but; Rule #1, don’t serve hot wine!  Temperature matters.  Wine served at the wrong temperature makes it taste worse no matter how good that wine was supposed to be, and life is too short to waste it on bad wine.

Value of Wine Tasting

Why should you bother going out to wine tastings, especially during the week? There are so many valid reasons to not go. They almost all occur right after work, when most people need to get home to the family, make dinner, let the dog out, go work out, etc. Or you might just be “peopled out” and could not imagine talking to, or interacting with, anyone else.

These reasons and more may prevent the occasional wine drinker to the avid wine enthusiast from going out to a wine tasting, and at no point should you feel bad about it!

But if you in the market for some wine let me give a few reasons to consider the value getting out to a wine tasting every now and then, perhaps one or two reasons that you haven’t considered.

"It's just so easy to grab a bottle of wine while I am already at the grocery store." That is the single biggest comment that I hear.  It is also the best way to get BAD wine!

The first value to consider is the ability to buy a wine that you got to taste! If you are buying a wine at a tasting, after tasting it, that probably means that you liked it. You can then rest assured of the value on the dollar amount that you spent for that wine, I.e. you didn’t just waste money, and most importantly, you didn’t waste your time on a wine that you won’t like once you get home. Why buy a wine that you might be anxious about, concerned whether or not it will be good? The answer is don't!

Second is the Dollar amount.  In addition to you getting to taste the wine before you buy it, all of the paid wine tastings offer discounts on that wine, anywhere from 10% up to $5 off a bottle. The free tastings all offer a loyalty discount, such as Aragon’s “buy eight bottles and get $20 off the ninth.” Therefore the actual dollar value of the wine is better than, let’s say, the grocery store. That may surprise you!

So if you are going to buy wine then going to wine tasting, even for just a short amount of time, will yield you with a better and cheaper wine than you may have otherwise obtained. Oh, and you have, overall, saved some time. I call that a 3win; a win win win!

Two of this week’s Crowd Favorites; Izadi Rioja Reserva 2018 and Mettler Albariño 2021, saved me time, money, and any anxiety. So even if your weekly schedule is often against you getting out to the local wine tastings, maybe considering the actual valve of buying wine at a tasting.  Perhaps that will persuade you to reconsider.

Hacienda Zorita’s Unamuno Vineyard

We travel for so many reasons. To see, to experience, to learn, to have fun. For the wine traveler you can add; to discover.  To discover for both the soul and the palate.

During my summers as a kid on the Portuguese side of the Duero River (Douro in Portuguese) I would look at the landscape of rolling hills and steep canyons, of Olive and Almond trees, of Cork Oaks and Vineyards, and stare across the border to Spain.

The Duero River in our region forms the border between Portugal and Spain. Our house in Portugal, on the edge of a tiny village just four-ish kilometers from the Duero River gorge, allows for one of the best views on the planet. The view imparts the feeling that you are looking at the Earth, as you would look at another intriguing person while at a café.

The view is an experience by itself! Yet one of the things that you can see from our small backyard, on the Spanish horizon ten miles away, is the tower of Hacienda Zorita’s Unamuno Vineyard and Estate.

Both sides of the border here form one of the largest Natural Park Reserves in Europe. Called Arribes del Duero Natural Park in Spain and the Douro International Natural Park in Portugal, it was formed in 2002 to protect several UNESCO recognized natural spaces and several endangered species. It is expansive, encompassing roughly 410 square miles.

The Arribes del Duero area is not “known” for wine, even though quality grapes have been growing in this part of Spain for thousands of years.  The reason for this area not being well known by the modern wine word is very low yield and production. The Hacienda also does not export, and does not ship outside of the Iberian Peninsula and France. Because of this you are not going to find wines from here next to your favorite Rioja. The other surprise at this Estate; superb Syrah!

Yet if you venture to this far edge of Spain you are going to discover what all wine travelers want: an experience! That experience includes exceptional wines in an amazing landscape, and ZERO tourists. Eureka!

A year ago I wrote about Hacienda Zorita’s other, main location; their Luxury Hotel and Wine Estate located about 65 miles to the east (15 miles to the west of Salamanca). It is an exceptional place, full of amazing history (King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella hired Christopher Columbus in the current wine tasting room!!!) and you can find all of their wines in the hotel wine shop and stop there.

But if you pride your travels on discovery and true Immersion of the palate, you are going to want to journey into the Arribes del Duero, to Hacienda Zorita’s Unamuno Vineyard Estate, and get the full experience for yourself!

So Gourmet 7 June Tasting

Wine tastings that allow you to compare different levels of a single grape/style are extremely fun and educational. You can compare such things as “sourced” grapes vs “estate” grapes, find out if you liked that extra aging, and then determine if it is all worth the price.This past week So Gourmet featured a line of Tempranillo wines from the Spanish region of Rioja, all from the same producer. With the exception of a semi-sweet wine (which was very unique) the others compared the different quality of grapes and the benefits of aging those grapes.Age doesn’t help every wine, so aging wine doesn’t guarantee it being better, and there are several types of aging; in the barrel and in the bottle are the main two.In this case, the Wine of Note, had both forms of aging. Finca Penamayor Gran Reserva from 2005, at only $40, is a deal! I know that’s a little more than most people like to spend on a bottle, but if you peruse down the Spanish wine isle at your favorite wine shop and look at Grand Reserve Rioja wines that are 15+ years old you are going to see some much higher prices.This wine had all of the things that you look for in a good Rioja; that deep red fruit flavor that is equaled with soft leathery tobacco and round tannins. Drink or have with dinner, this is a do-both wine.So be sure to check out our calendar and Instagram for wine tasting previews. If you see tastings that can focus on a great comparison then you should make every effort to go.  As the Spanish say; "Bali Bali!"

East Hill Bottle Shop 31 May Tasting

Even though Summer hasn’t “officially” begun it’s summer here on the Gulf Coast. Yet we are barely into our Summer and I have already heard, twice, the phrase: “I can’t drink red wine during the Summer!”Really?What a bold wine statement! I still have yet to get an actual logical answer when I ask why. The answers usually revolve around “not refreshing enough” or “it makes me hot.”I am the biggest advocate for drink what you like, but to artificially cut red wine out of your repertoire seems holistically silly! There isn’t much that I can do if you say that red wine makes you hot. Either come prepared for what the Brits call a “Randy Evening,” or take a cold shower before leaving the house!  I mean really!I take it as a challenge to refute the “not refreshing enough” reason. 97% of red wine, especially down here on the Gulf Coast, is served too hot. Red wine should make your glass feel cool to the touch. If it doesn’t then it’s too hot. Just doing that will probably make 9 out of 10 red wines “refreshing.”Tonight’s Crowd Favorite, Atteca Old Vine Garnacha 2019 from the Calatayud region of Spain, was served at the right temperature and sold down to the last bottle. The region of Calatayud is very dry, the grapes get a lot of ripening sun. That along with the age of the vines gives the wine its full complement of complex flavors; black plum with red cherry, deep earth yet with soft tannins. To me a great bold summer red wine.So if you are one who doesn’t drink red wine during the summer do me a favor; try some reds at the correct temperature and see if your opinion changes.

Anna’s Last Thursday Tasting Aug 25

It is hard to get to all of our local wine tastings, and we have some great ones, weekly! Summer is my busiest time of year which forces me to get a little selective on which tastings I go to. Luckily my schedule allowed me to get to Anna’s Wines & Craft Beer August tasting. Almost always held on the fourth Thursday of the month, it is definitely one to try and get to. Plus the food is catered by one of the best restaurants in town, Alices. 16 wines, all from Spain this month, plus tapas to pair! Actually, you know, don’t come to this tasting, then I don’t have to share as much. All of the wines from the tasting are in the back of the shop (see picture). There were five Wines of Note from this tasting, so I am just going to list them and not go into our usual discussion. All five were also great buys, under $20! The wines were (in no order, just in order that we tasted them): Finca Penamayor Tempranillo Blanco white, Fya 8m Rioja Tempranillo red, Marques de Caceres Garnacha red, and Sangre de Toro red blend. Next week we will touch on classifying Spanish wines and why/how sometimes a Grand Reserve might not be as good as a non-reserve.