There is one trend in Charlotte that we see first hand, that is undeniable – the growing passion of Foodie’s in the area. However we see one key difference with Charlotte’s Food scene than with other cities’. Simply put, Charlotte’s Foodies are independant in their thinking, and are forming their own tastes. I travel a lot – every day basically – and one annoyance I have with supposed cultural centers is that for all their reputation of being avante garde, the people in those cities are passionate about the things that a few loud voices in their areas tell them that they ought to be passionate about. The New York Times does a review of some retaurant specializing in “everything but the oink” cooking, and suddenly everyone on the Upper East side is an expert in Stewed pork brains. In San Francisco a local food critic says the hottest new place in town is a small chef owned space with about 10 tables, and goes on to describe the restaurant as “eye-poppingly” expensive but a must-try. Well I tried this must-try and the food was mediocre and the service was ambivalent, but the waiting list continues to be months long. My own read is that the customers are there not for the food and wine, but to be able to tell people the next day that they dined there the night before.

Not so for Charlotteans – Charlotteans seem to be content to make their own independant decisions on their Food and Wine passions. Further, Charlotteans have a much better opportunity to indulge their passions than they did 10 years ago. In the late ’90’s Charlotte’s food scene was dominated by chain restaurants with little if any unique character. Today the landscape is much friendlier – Charlotte has dozens of chef owned restaurants, local entrepreneur owned establishments, and a Johnson and Wales campus that will ensure the continued growth of cognoscenti in the area. To be sure, we still have far too many faceless chains worried mostly about how many pieces of flair its servers wore to work, but the progress has been great and the opportunities have been expanded.

So while every region is unique, Charlotte thinks independantly about its Food passions.

We get a ton of questions around the idea  of how to host a wine party. It seems our guests sense they are onto a great idea, but want some help fine tuning it. This question is an easy one – there is no wrong answer.

The key to an enjoyable wine party is the selection of a theme. And the possibilities are literally endless.

Here are some great ideas for themes for your next wine party!

Best Bargain wine – Each guest brings a wine priced below a certain level. Good place to start? Best wine under $15. Hint – come check out our secret weapon for this tasting – the Montalito Nero d’Avola/Cab Sauv blend. $10.99 and it will blow you away.

Best Pizza wine – with this one, nobody needs to cook!

Blind Tasting – cloak each guest’s bottle in a plain paper bag, taste blind, rank them, and see what wine wins!

Best Southern  Hemisphere wine – with Australia, South America, and South Africa to choose from, there are some real winning possibilities

Recreate the 1976 Paris Tasting – have half of your guests bring California wines, and the other half French wines. Taste test them – blind or otherwise!

The list is endless. If none of these ideas appeal, stop by and ask our Wine Stewards for more.

It seems to have become sport for some to criticize Napa these days – quite en vogue for wine writers to say the Chards are too oaked, the Cabs too tannic, growers keep pushing hang times further and further, everybody is shining on Parker, yada yada yada. We read and hear it all.

But one thing about Napa is irrefutably quite positive – and that is a small but growing number of relatively new wineries, with second generations of the founding family taking the lead in piloting them into the new Century.  Call it Wineries 2.0.

Long and distinguished is the list of wineries that have been sold to lumbering conglomerates – most frequently of course because the values get so large that the family can’t responsibly ignore them. But occasionally the sale is driven by family matters – simply stated the Founders’ need a succession plan – somebody has to take the reins when the Founder needs (or wants) to move on.  In my view one of the greatest tragedies in the wine industry in recent years was the sale of  Spring Mountain Vineyards in Washington State. The ‘new’ Spring Mountain was being run by a wine-loving couple, whose adult son was being groomed to take over. The owners had visions of a long future of independant high-quality wine production by Spring Mountain Vineyards. Sadly their son was killed in an automobile accident, and, with no remaining heir apparent, the winery was sold to a larger holding company. True, they are still making great wine, but as you all know we have a special penchant for smaller family run operations, and it was painful to see the family’s vision be changed.

Happily two of our favorite wineries are enjoying Winery 2.0 – the second generation of the founders is taking the helm. Over in the far western reaches of Napa Valley, high up in the Spring Mountain District, Marston Family Vineyards traces its roots back to the middle of the last century, when Michael and Alexandra Marston became involved with what was called the Menasco Ranch, where grapes had been grown since at least the 1890’s. For years the Marstons grew some of the most coveted grapes in the Valley. But in 1998, after much urging from friends and colleagues, they began to produce a limited amount (in 2005, a fairly prolific year for grape production, they released a mere 500 cases) of Cabernet Sauvignon under their own label. And this is no trifling effort – they hired a rock star winemaker in Philipe Melka to do the honors. And now , the Marstons adult children, Elizabeth and John, are taking on management of the winery, seemingly ensuring many years of stunning Cabernet under the Marston label. We receive a paltry amount of the wine each year, and frequently it is spoken for before we receive it, but for the lucky guests who take a bottle home the wine is a memorable prize. I attended a vertical tasting, hosted by Elizabeth, a couple of years ago, and am still blown away by how each vintage reflects the unique characteristics of the growing season, and by the amazing job Melka does in coaxing the absolute best wine the fruit can possibly offer.

One the far opposite side of the Valley, DR Stephens Estate was created, almost by accident. Don Stephens had recently completed a second home high in the mountains on the east side of Napa Valley. I am told that making wine was not initially part of the vision, but when a tall stranger ambled up the driveway, offering to pay all of the associated costs and purchase the eventual fruit if he could plant grapes on the property, Don realized it might be something he should consider doing on his own (I have never been able to confirm the identity of the stranger but I have always been told it was Robert Mondavi, who knew a little something about where to place great vineyards). Like the Marstons, Don would be satisfied only by doing things in the best way possible. The Stephens team includes Jim Barbour’s efforts as Vineyard Manager, and winemaking by Celia Masyczek.  And now Don’s son Justin has taken over managing DR Stephens. Like many of the 2.0 wine figures, Justin started learning the business at the bottom, working the 2001 harvest for Miner Family Vineyards. Almost immediately after taking over DR Stephens, Justin expanded the family’s wine business by starting production under his own label – Hunnicutt. DR Stephens wines continue to be stunning, and Hunnicutt’s early efforts are showing the same promise. In 2007 operations of DR Stephens and Hunnicutt were combined, creating a porfolio of award winning wines. The highlight of my last visit to Napa was a dinner for 4 at Press, one of my favorite restaurants in the area, which included a bottle of Hunnicutt Cabernet Sauvignon and a bottle of DR Stephens Cabernet.  Both wines were outstanding, reflecting the unique characteristics of each vineyard and winemaker.

So amid the whining from The Wine Dictator about whatever it is they are complaining about this month, it is gratifying to know that the future of the Wine Industry is indeed bright. Those of us with a passion for wines from family – owned artisanal wineries should continue to have plenty to choose from.

We get this question a lot  – and we understand it. It is a reasonable inquiry – it is always comforting to buy a wine that an expert has rated highly. However, as many of you have noted, we almost never focus on the ratings of The Wine Dictator when we highlight wines in our store. It isn’t that we don’t respect their opinions – many wine critics are legitimately talented, and their reviews can be helpful. However, their reviews reflect their tastes, and their palate. They don’t reflect yours. Maybe your taste lines up with theirs – but it might not. Which is why when you browse the racks at The Wine Shop, you will hear us talk much more about your taste, than about the tastes of The Wine Dictator. Our goal is to get to know our guests, and to understand their tastes. That way, we can recommend a wine that will be a 100 point wine for that particular guest – regardless of what another taster rated it.  Your independant wine merchant is your best source of wine information – and the expertise is free. Make sure you use it!

One of my favorites little quick pastimes is to walk into my cellar and just peruse the bottles that are there. So many of them bring back terrific memories – a meeting with a winemaker, a tour of an estate, a trip, a meal, weekend houseguests, etc. It really is one of the ancillary benefits of a wine cellar – when I look across the racks at the bottles, memories flood in, as I recall the circumstances in which I acquired, or consumed, some of the wine.

One bottle brings a different flood of memories – a bottle of 2000 Chateau Latour Bordeaux. Obviously, it is a spectacular wine – one of the 5 first growths of Bordeaux, produced in the vintage of the century, a vintage that brought such a perfection of conditions in Bordeaux that wine experts believe it to be repeated only once every 100 years or so.  It is, to say the least, a trophy bottle.  It is a bottle of wine that will not reach its peak of maturity until 20 years after its bottling, and will continue to hold until the middle of this century.

However, when I glance at the bottle, it isn’t the hype of the 2000 Bordeaux campaign, or the orgasmic, breathless reviews that every wine critic heaped upon the wine, or even the fact that the bottle is worth well into the 4 figures at this point. The memory that floods back is of the circumstances around my acquiring the bottle. You see, it was a gift, from my best friend in the entire world.  Knowing well my passion for all things wine-related, Doug sent it to me to celebrate the birth of my son. His strict direction was to drink it with my son when he reached his 21st birthday. The wine had received a perfect 100 points from several leading wine critics, and Doug wanted us to have a perfect bottle to mark a momentous occassion. Amazingly, he paid about $500 for the bottle (and this in January of 2005).  I received it graciously , with the stipulation that my son and I might drink it to mark his 21st birthday, but that we would insist on Doug’s joining us. A reasonable stipulation it would seem – but one that became complicated. Doug passed away unexpectedly in 2006 – a reminder of the importance of cardiac care for men, as he had the same event that claimed Tim Russert. And while Doug’s passing was not met with the same public note that accompanied Russert’s, its effect on the people who knew him was no less profound. For those of us who knew Doug – his siblings, his neices and nephews, his fiancee, and all of the others – there was at once a tremendous hole in the world, with nothing even closely suited to filling it.

And so, the bottle of 2000 Latour that is in my cellar will stay there – at least until I have also shuffled off this mortal coil, which I have no intention of doing until well after that bottle has begun its slow inexorable decline. It is a warm pleasant memory of a departed friend – a gesture imbued with generosity and thougtfulness, intended to help transfer my love of wine to my son. And it will fulfill its intent – not through its consumption, but through the story it carries inside. It will provide the perfect context for sharing a love for wine with my son, and for explaining the value of friends so unique, that they are one-handers (you will have so few in your life that you can count them on one hand). And probably more effectively than anything else.

Next  time you open a cherished bottle from your cellar, afford yourself the luxury creating new memories. You never know the value they will eventually accrue.

At least once a week, we get a derivation of the following question: “I really love this wine, but it has a screw cap, and I thought screw caps were for cheap wine. Is this cheap wine?”  First the answer, but then let’s delve into the matter. No, screw cap closure (known in the industry as Stelvin, after the maker of a large percentage of the closures) does not indicate cheap wine. In fact, a majority of the wines coming out of Australia and New Zealand these days come under screw cap. So rest easy  and focus on the juice inside.  How screw caps effect the aging process for wine is still unknown, but to be fair the vast majority of wine purchased is consumed within a few weeks of its purchase.

But why the rising incidence of screw caps? Two reasons -

One is cost. A cork can cost a winery 25 cents to more than a dollar. Add in a couple more dollars for the bottle, label, and case, and before the first drop of vino flows in a winery can have $3 or more in the vessel. So saving some of that is appealing to wineries. But don’t chastise them for it – the wine within is still high quality.

The second reason rests with a particularly prickly writer at The Wine Dictator – who some years ago claimed (and the claim has never been substantiated) that one of every twelve bottles of wine he sampled was “corked” – had an off-taste due to contamination carried on the cork. The fear of tainted corks led many wineries to explore alternative closures. But like much of the self-interested holier than thou drivel spouted by The Dictator, this one is just not true. In our experience, MAYBE one bottle in one hundred has cork taint, and to be honest, most of the time even the most experienced noses and palates cannot detect it. So we just don’t buy this argument.

An additional theory was offered a couple of years ago – namely that screw caps were a “Green” solution. So went the argument that all the corks we were using for wine was decimating the world’s population of cork trees. This one is complete bunk. A cork tree is not killed when its bark, which makes wine corks, is harvested. So in fact if someone wanted to preserve the world’s cork trees – which are not in fact in danger – one would insist on using cork, since the market would ensure their preservation.

So what is the right answer? Well as always we focus on the juice inside, rather than the packaging. Having said that, I will confess that I have an abiding preference for corks in my wine. I enjoy the ceremony and anticipation of opening it, and I believe that wines simply age better under the miniscule amounts of air that pass in and out of a bottle of wine under cork. However, that is not the end of the argument. I mean, I still drive a car with a real stick shift and three pedals on the floor (accelerator, brake and clutch for those with Automatic only experience). So maybe I am just Old School. Decide for yourself – but don’t hesitate to try any wine simply because of the closure.

One of the more frequent questions we field is “What area makes the best wines?” The answer of course lies on the palate of the beholder, and almost certainly must come with an extensive qualifier. Many would argue to the bitter end that the best Pinot Noir comes from Burgundy – with some evidence, as DRC continues to command $1000 a bottle (!) even in a challenged economy. Some would argue the best Pinot Noir comes from Oregon. Cab fans have their favorites, Malbec fiends can’t get enough of Argentina’s finest – you get the point. But one thing is certain- you don’t have to go to such exotic locations to find great wine. In fact, there is some downright terrific wine being made less than an hour and a half from The Wine Shop at Rivergate. I spent part of last Saturday with Charlie Shelton, one of the two founders and owners of Shelton Vineyards in Dobson NC. And as much as I enjoyed the conversation with Charlie, and learning about what drove him to this “Hobby Gone Wild” called Shelton Vineyards, I clearly enjoyed tasting the fruits of his passion above all else.  After tasting through Shelton’s wines, I meandered over to The Harvest Grill for lunch – and the meal was outstanding. Executive Chef Paul Lange is a CIA graduate, and has brought sophisticated talent to the restaurant. Personally, I thought the Crab Cakes were almost as good as The Wine Shop’s – high praise indeed from Yours Truly. And the Duck Quesadilla was unusual, nuanced, layered, and sublime. I was a little worried about the Jalepeno Jelly served as a condiment - that could have gotten out of hand – but I was pleased to find it was subtle, had plenty of flavor, but fortunately did not overwhelm the rest of the dish. Really nice work.

After tasting the portfolio I can enthusiastically say that Shelton’s wines are all quite good – and among the range I have some clear favorites. The Sauvignon Blanc is light, crisp, offers nice grapefruit and citrus essence, and a balancing minerality. I was grateful that Charlie offered a second taste before I had to break Tasting Room Etiquette and ask for a second taste. And while I honestly go back and forth on the whole “Oaky Chardonnay” debate (drop in and ask us – we can demonstrate the whole argument in two sips), I do not waffle on the fact that Shelton’s un-oaked Bin 17 Chardonnay is outstanding. I think in a less bountiful year the fruit might come through a bit more clearly, but it is still outstanding. If you like a sweeter style Riesling, Shelton’s is quite good, and is a tremendous value. Honey, apple, and pear are the defining flavors, and work together in impressive harmony. On the Red Wine Tasting Bar, the Cabernet Franc has surprising structure, and the Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and elegant. The highlight of the Tasting for me was the Family Reserve Claret, a blend of 4 of the 5 Bordeaux varietals. It is a rich red blend, and is elegant and sophisticated. In a unique twist which certainly wouldn’t be found in California wines, the most prevalent grape in the blend is Petit Verdot. It offers hints of lavender, black currant, and cassis. It also is refined, avoiding the upfront and overbearing tannin of some Cali blends. There is nice tannin and acid to balance the fruit, but they prefer to stay in the background and let the fruit take the melody. It has a wonderful pervading finish, which left me craving another taste when it finally faded gently away. It is very Bordeaux in style – and is only $40.

Shelton is only an hour and half up I-77, and is well worth the trip. The estate is beautiful and worth a tour – it is as aesthetically pleasing as most of the wineries I love to visit up and down Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail in Napa. Many of the wines have won numerous awards, and as an added bonus the tasting room staff is terrific. A visit to Shelton is a great day trip for us here in Charlotte.

So while there is no clear cut answer to the ‘where are the best wines made question,’ I can offer clarity on this point. There are some outstanding wines that represent a great value made in the Yadkin Valley right here in North Carolina. Come on by and try a few out.

Cheers!

Welcome to the Blog site for The Wine Shop at Rivergate. We will occassionally provide thought on all matters related to Food and Wine – and occassionally they will be interesting. Perhaps best of all – you can provide your own comments as well. Let us know what you think – we value your feedback.

Cheers!