I can’t speak about Red Zinfandel without mentioning its evil twin White Zinfandel. Yes, it’s the same grape, but White Zinfandel spends less time on the skins (which gives wine its color) and rather than fermenting it dry like most wines, sugar is left in the wine. White Zinfandel was made famous in the 70’s by Sutter Home…it was created by accident when Bob Trinchero was making a rosé from Zinfandel and the fermentation stopped, leaving more sugar in his wine. Bob decided to put some of this juice aside, tasted it a couple weeks later, and decided to sell it. BOOM! Thus began the White Zinfandel craze, and it hasn’t stopped since! Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a hater to anyone drinking White Zin! I started there just as many other people have and will continue to do in the future. It’s a perfect gateway to start developing your palate for wine.

Let’s get away from the “non-serious” Zinfandels—those with the clever, over-the-top names or the wild, eye-catching packaging; I’m want to spotlight the people that are making crazily complex Zins in their sacred home in Dry Creek Valley. Famous names include Dry Creek Vineyards (a pioneer in Dry Creek), A. Rafanelli (only available on fine wine lists) Dashe, Seghesio, Pezzi-King…and the list goes on. These are not the over-heated, super-ripe wines of Lodi, these are the complex, nuanced, fine wines of a cooler climate. The morning fogs from the Pacific help retain the acidity in the wines, yet it’s still warm enough here to get the grapes fully ripened without being “overcooked.”

The Dry Creek “Beeson Ranch” Zinfandel has such an explosion of potpourri, pepper, anise, damp earth, black and red fruits on the nose and has even more of these on the palate. It keeps evolving and surprising you with each sip you take. Finding wines like this for a $35 price point can be difficult, especially when you think of the Cabernet family and how much you’d normally have to spend to get this kind of complexity. Next time you are thinking of BBQ ribs, for example, pick up a bottle of a Dry Creek Zin, then sit back and let the magic happen!

Wine writer Maggie Bernat Smith contributes to the Strongbox blog each Friday.

Champagne usually makes special appearances at celebratory occasions, but it’s really just wine with bubbles in it! I think you can drink bubbly with any occasion, and so do other people that appreciate it. It’s the perfect way to start a meal—the acidity livens up the palate to get you ready for dinner. It’s perfect during the meal—champagne can accompany anything from fish to steak filet. It’s perfect after the meal—it pairs wonderfully with a cheese course for dessert. As you can see, I’m very much an advocate for bubbly, but it can be difficult to understand all the nuances of purchasing and enjoying it. Here’s a start to your bubbly education!

The most revered—and therefore most pricey—is true Champagne from the Champagne region of France. This is where bubbly was first developed. The French wineries of this region perfected the methods to make it, and they still make the best bubbly in the world. True Champagne starts in the $40 price range, and the sky’s the limit for a ceiling price. If you really want the most flavor, finesse, and elegance then buy true Champagne.

If you want really good Champagne at reasonable prices, then I suggest asking for a good “growers’ Champagne” the next time you’re shopping at Binny’s. These growers are small producers that make great tasting, high quality bubbly at lower prices, because they don’t spend all their money on marketing like Veuve Cliquot or Moet Chandon.

If you don’t want to go the true Champagne route, take the Cava highway. Cava is from Spain and makes excellent sparkling wine for the money you spend. Cava is made in the traditional manner, however, they use different grapes than those from Champagne. The climate is warmer in Cava, which produces a different style. Cava is my favorite substitution for true Champagne. It’s dry, crisp, clean, has apple and pear flavors, and also comes in rosé. Good Cava starts at $12 and goes up from there, but there’s no need to spend a lot for this bubbly.

If you like a slightly sweet or riper style of bubbly, then I suggest Prosecco from Italy. It’s not made in the same way as Champagne or Cava, but it is light, on the sweet side, and has of course plenty of bubbles for your enjoyment!

Whichever bubbly you choose, remember that you don’t need a wedding or other celebration to pour yourself a glass. Champagne can be its own special occasion!

Wine writer Maggie Bernat Smith contributes to the Strongbox blog each Friday.

Below, a science exploration show takes the principles of resonance to show, in super slow-motion, the way that sound waves bend the very structure of a regular wine glass, and how these glasses shatter.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now, it’s probably unlikely that you keep your sound system right next to your wine goblets, or that you have virtuoso opera singers practicing their high notes in your dining room…but just in case you find your wine glasses suddenly exploding, you’ll know what to start looking—or listening—for.

I still can’t get over Wine Spectator’s #1 wine of 2009: the Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. That decision made me lose faith in the scoring system entirely and it hasn’t been restored as of yet. However, despite my reservations about the reviewers and their reviews, I do believe that scores are a good thing. You just need to remember that a high score alone does not mean that you personally will love the wine.

Here’s an explanation of the 100-point scale that most reviewers use today. This is Wine Spectator’s score card, which will give you an idea of what the reviewers mean with their scores.

If a wine receives a score of 88 points or higher, the winery will begin to claim bragging rights; below that score you won’t see it mentioned. In Chicago’s retail wine industry a wine that scored over 90 points was an easy sell. A high score makes a consumer feel warm and fuzzy—especially if the wine ends up costing less then $20—but it’s no guarantee that the consumer will actually enjoy the wine. A large segment of the wine-drinking population will get intimidated by a high-scoring beverage and won’t trust their own palate, deferring instead to what the critics think. I do feel that scores are a great tool, but I come across more and more of these 90 point wines and I just ask myself: “Who tasted this wine and scored it as Outstanding?”

I tasted a Carneros Chardonnay in Sonoma Square yesterday and the man pouring his wine was bragging about the 90-point score they received from The Wine Enthusiast. Always interested in tasting good wine (and curious about scores), I gave a swirl, a sniff…and a grimace. The nose was pure oak, vanilla, and butterscotch with just hints of banana, guava, and apple. The palate confirmed the nose, while adding softened margarine to the mix. Most of these tasting notes are a result of what the winemaker did to manipulate the wine; the varietal expression came second. When you encounter wines like this (whether you love oaked and buttered wines or not), the wine is very much out of balance. How could this be labeled a 90 pointer?

Because I do think that this type of rating is not the norm—although I am coming across it more frequently—I still love a good score. You should always defer to your own palate. Just because Tom Collichio likes his steak cooked rare (and so do I), it doesn’t mean that you’ll like it the same way. You should have faith in what you love in wine just as you have in your favorite foods, restaurants, clothing, etc. My advice to you is to put a wine’s region of origin into your memory bank. This can guide you to more wines you may like.

It’s also a good idea to keep track of descriptors: do you like or dislike spice (pepper, cinnamon, allspice, etc.)? Do you like wines that are jammy, or more subtle? Do you like earthy wines? Do you like red fruits, black fruits, oak, herbs or floral notes? All these adjectives can help you identify what you like or what you don’t like and help you narrow down what you will like again. I always jot down the names of wines in my phone with a couple of tasting notes and the region it hails from. This way, I can always access it at a restaurant or wherever I may be, and a good sommelier or retailer can take my notes and point me in the right direction.

My wine ratings are as follows for my customers. I wouldn’t sell anything I didn’t deem as good quality, so my ratings start at:

1. Good
2. Delicious
3. Amazing
4. Mood altering, life changing, transcendent, unforgettable (unfortunately, this typically costs the most)

Wine writer Maggie Bernat Smith contributes to the Strongbox blog each Friday.

Nearly ten years ago, prompted by a graduate student’s newfound interest in wine, UC-Davis researchers, led by professor Matt Augustine, began developing a “wine scanner” using the principles found in a medical MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine. After years of fine-tuning, the scanner has been able to accurately determine whether a sealed wine bottle still contains potable wine or whether that wine has degraded into vinegar.

As all air travelers are aware, a 2006 attempt by terrorists to blow up commercial airliners using liquid explosives prompted the Department of Homeland Security to adopt strict regulations on the size of any carry-on liquid containers, including beverages and toiletries. Augustine and his team are currently working to adapt the wine scanner so that it might be able to detect other liquids. The ideal situation, of course, will be to finally remove these restrictions due to a foolproof system that instantly differentiates between dangerous chemicals and harmless shampoo or fruit juice.

Here’s a short news report on this still developing, but exciting story…

Click here to view the embedded video.

A lifelong wine connoisseur, Jefferson was a man of the wine world at large, collecting bottles from all across Europe and sharing them with his friends, while extolling at length about wine’s superiority to other liquors. He was especially enthusiastic about finer French wines—which were probably only magnified by his six-year tenure as American envoy to the royal court of France. It was believed that, while President, the majority of his salary actually went towards the purchase of these fine French wines, which he preferred to buy personally and directly from the chateaus that produced them.

Jefferson did not merely appreciate wine, however. A scientist as well as a gifted politician and philosopher, Jefferson yearned to bring the vineyards of Europe to American soil. At his estate of Monticello, he dedicated two large patches of land to a years-long experiment in cultivating the vitis vinifera—the cornerstone of European grapevines. Unfortunately, a number of conditions in the American environment stymied his attempts to bring the European vine to America, although in 1985 the Thomas Jefferson Society finally succeeded in producing a grafted version on the grounds of Monticello. Not one to be discouraged, of course, Jefferson also experimented with growing New World vines such as the fox grape. Although Jefferson never made his own wine from his estate, his obvious love of wine was infectious, and as a highly influential and respected statesman, it’s very likely that his tastes sparked a trend in American society towards wine just as the country was still in its infancy.

Jefferson believed that wine was a necessity of life—it would be easy to assume that a glass of a fine Bordeaux immediately came to mind for him when he considered that famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence: “the pursuit of happiness.” Indeed, taxation on wine was something he considered distinctly un-American, as evidenced in the below quote:

“I think it is a great error to consider a heavy tax on wines as a tax on luxury. On the contrary, it is a tax on the health of our citizens.”

Even if you don’t celebrate President’s Day, if you decide to have a glass of wine, consider raising it to Jefferson…one of the nation’s true wine heroes.

As with food and wine pairing in general, there are rules, but rules are meant to be broken…everything has an exception. For instance, Cabernet Sauvignon traditionally pairs with Sharp Cheddar. However, this doesn’t mean that all Napa Valley Cabs or French Bordeaux taste the same from every producer and every vintage. At the same time, Brie will have many different possible tastes, depending on that particular Brie’s origins. Wine and cheese are living, changing products, which is why people all over the world are fascinated by these delicious partners.

But despite my “no rules” policy, there are general guidelines to use when you go shopping:

• White wines generally pair well with soft cheeses and stronger flavors
• Red wines pair best with hard cheeses and milder flavors
• Dessert wines match best with blue cheeses and pungent flavors
• Using these guidelines will help you get past the intimidation you might feel from wine and cheese pairing. You’ll also feel freer to experiment with different wines and cheeses. Both the wine and cheese together are supposed change each other’s tastes, thereby heightening both experiences. I recommend tasting the wine before the cheese, and then tasting them together so you can clearly notice the differences in both when they are paired.

To be even more specific:

• Sauvignon Blanc & Chenin Blanc: Try goat cheese (Chevre). The high acidity and mineral undertones of these wines from Loire Valley (and beyond) love the richness and earthiness of chevre.
• Chardonnay: Taste this with Brie, Camembert, Gouda, or Provolone. The full-bodied, rich Chardonnays work well with washed rind cow’s milk cheeses as well as many cow’s milk blue cheeses. The apple, pear, and citrus flavors of this grape usually meld with the acids found in goat’s milk cheeses as well.
• Champagne: In my opinion, champagne can pair with anything and everything! Its high acidity cuts through rich and creamy cheeses such as triple-cream Brie but also pairs perfectly with Edam and Gruyere.
• Pinot Noir: If you have a “stinky” wine then pair it with a stinky cheese! Pinot Noir from a region such as Burgundy is heavenly with Epoisses (pronounced ay-PWAHSS). Epoisses has a pungent flavor and washed rind, and comes as spoonable, silky paste. Spread onto a French baguette and enjoy!
• Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon: These wines tend to favor cow’s milk cheeses. The high acids in goat cheese tend to clash with the tannins in these wines, making for an unmemorable experience. Try hard, aged cheeses such as Cheddar, Stilton, aged Gouda, Parmesan, or some milder blue cheeses.
• Port: Port with Stilton is one of my all-time favorite combinations. This sweet wine seems to cut through the creaminess and saltiness of the cheese and classifies this pairing as a rule-breaker in every sense of the word. For dessert wines, the more pungent cheese flavors pair best.

Cheese and wine should act as a symphony playing in unison—delicate cheeses go with lighter wines, strong cheeses with more powerful wines. Experimentation is key. Try multiple cheeses with multiple wines and see what you like best. Pastoral, in Chicago, is a wine and cheese shop with a good handle on pairings—they really understand both wine and cheese. They have a small but well-thought-out selection of wines and amazing off-the-beaten-path cheeses to choose from. Use the guidelines I mentioned above, and let them know which wines you are pairing—they can help make the best choices for you!

Wine writer Maggie Bernat Smith contributes to the Strongbox blog each Friday.

California wines, in particular, owe a great debt to Olmo, who first established a quarantine facility for the state. This facility allowed foreign vines to be imported and planted. By expanding the variety of vines available to California growers, the wine industry of the state was able to begin developing into the powerhouse it is today.

Olmo also created over 30 different varieties of grape, which are today known as Olmo grapes. The most famous of these include the Ruby Cabernet, Emerald Riesling, and Rubired varietals, as well as the Symphony grape, which took Olmo nearly 30 years to develop and is today the principal grape used in wines from Hawaii.

Viticulture remains a lively and exciting science, and there are surely new pioneers working on their own discoveries right now. Even if the details of that work doesn’t strike your interest, though, you can expect to enjoy the fruits—quite literally!—of their labors.

Click here to view the embedded video.

But maybe there’s some hidden wisdom here for romance as well: who hasn’t felt their significant other needed a little “training” at one time or another? Or that their love life might occasionally benefit from a little “selective pruning”?

If you want to make your own wine and you don’t have millions of dollars to invest in a winery, then this is where you want to go. These custom crush facilities have often been the key to Napa’s most sought after cult wines, and have launched many celebrity winemakers. They provide everything you could need to make your own wine and distribute it: equipment, labeling, bottles, even a staff if necessary. The Napa Wine Company is located right on the main drag of Hwy 29 and has a tasting room where you can sample a wide variety of lesser-known and also well-known brands at one stop.

Speaking of lesser-known brands; I have recently had the privilege to discover some gems that have never made it to the Chicago market, but come highly recommended by people “in the know” out here in wine country. Relic Wines, created by husband-and-wife team Mike Hirby and Schatzi Throckmorton, started in 2001 with three barrels of Pinot Noir. Mike is the chief winemaker for Relic but also acts a consulting winemaker for highly regarded wineries such as Winter, Realm, Husic, and D.R. Stephens (whew, what a busy man)! Mike regularly receives high scores on not only Relic wines but for all of the other wines he makes as well.

If you don’t feel like shelling out $200 for Winter ultra-luxury Cabernet, Relic is such a great deal. Relic’s 2009 Ritual is a statement of pure decadence. It’s a blend of southern Rhone varietals, but I just think of it as “ginormity” at its finest. If you like huge red wines, then this is for you. It’s packed with big red fruits but combines the complexity of forest floor and red meat. It’s a very intense wine with tannins that are just crying out for a Kansas City bone-in ribeye. His Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir stays true to the Sonoma Coast style of dark fruits, with lots of spice and amazing acidity that is so nicely integrated that it just glides around your palate gracefully.

I was really impressed with all the wines in his portfolio that I tasted, and for the price this wine is hard to beat. Relic wines are wonderfully approachable now but also built to last and gain more complexity with age. You can easily buy from Relic’s website to get a taste of what the insiders—and now myself—love about their wines.

Wine writer Maggie Bernat Smith contributes to the Strongbox blog each Friday.