We Open Our Mailbag and Let It Breathe

By Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Last month we promised to devote more time and space to your wine-related questions. This week we make good on our promise.

About two weeks ago, my wife served a 2005 Tortoise Creek Pinot Noir to some houseguests. The wine had been given to us by a guest at an earlier get-together. As my wife and guests really enjoyed the wine, I have been trying to find someone in this area who sells it. Can you help with my search?

Many of the questions we're asked have to do with where to find a particular wine at retail. Our first stop typically is WineSearcher.com, which drew a blank on this pinot but indicated that Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits in the District carries Tortoise Creek's syrah. Another Web site, WineFetch.com, showed that Tortoise Creek's ros¿ is carried by Planet Wine Shop and Gourmet in Alexandria. Either of those stores, or your own local favorite, might be willing to order the winery's pinot noir for you via its local distributor (the Henry Wine Group, http://www.henrywinegroup.com).

Tortoise Creek's importer says its pinot noir is carried by Dupont Market, Hayden's Liquor Store and Rodman's Discount Gourmet & Wine. Those stores confirmed that they indeed have the wine in stock: Dupont has the 2006 for $9.99, Hayden's the 2005 for $8.99 and Rodman's the 2006 for $8.99.

I have 2-year-old twins and have decided to buy them each 12 bottles of wine from their birth year and will ask them to open them at the 12 most important moments in their lives. Today I found 2005 Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc -- and, as my boy's middle name is Stone and my girl's middle name is Leigh, it seemed meant to be. However, I have read that some wines are not cellar-able. I want to know if this wine would be good 20 or 30 years from now if the bottles are stored properly.

-- Lloyd Walters, Winston-Salem, N.C.

We applaud your sentimentality but caution that buying wines to cellar long-term is not for the faint of heart. Nine out of 10 wines are meant to be drunk fresh -- that is, typically within a year or two after purchase. Less than one wine in 100 will benefit from being aged for several years. As for the Stoneleigh, the winery's Web site advises that "this wine is best enjoyed young and exuberant, or may be cellared over the next two years."

Wines with the greatest aging potential tend to be tannic reds, such as cabernet sauvignon. Red wines get their tannins from remaining in contact with the skins of the grapes during the winemaking process, which imparts color as well as flavor and texture. (Tannins make you want to pucker; think of the sensation you get from tasting a strong tea or walnuts.) Among its reds, Stoneleigh advises that its 2005 merlot and 2005 pinot noir be consumed within four and five years, respectively.

The good news is that 2005 was such a great vintage year that you can find both dry (including red Bordeaux and Burgundy) and sweet wines with aging potential. The bad news is that 2005 was such a great vintage year that it's driven prices sky-high. Moreover, despite the experts' best educated guesses, there's never a guarantee that the wines will in fact be good at the time the twins decide to open them.

To cellar wines, you (and they) will want a controlled space that maintains a constant temperature of about 55 degrees and is light-controlled (that is, away from bright light). Even wines with great aging potential don't stand much of a chance of achieving their promise if they are improperly stored.

Have you ever done a feature on the best Virginia wines? There are now some really good ones (Chrysalis Viognier) and some fun ones (Chrysalis Sarah's Patio White/Red, Horton Norton and Eclipse, etc.) to consider.

-- Ron Cori, Centreville

In honor of Queen Elizabeth II's historic state visit last year, we wrote about our visit to some Virginia wineries ("Virginia Vintages That Can Hold Their Own," May 9).

We've since mentioned a number of our other favorite Virginia wines, including Barboursville's Bordeaux-style Octagon and Kluge Estate's sparkling wines and chardonnay-based Cru. We're always interested in tasting the best wines coming out of Virginia, which now ranks as America's fifth-most-prolific wine-producing state, behind California, Washington, Oregon and New York.

I believe it is still true that a sparkling wine can be called champagne only if it emanates from the Champagne region of France. (Please correct me if that is no longer the case.) However, I notice that both domestic and foreign sparkling wines incorporate the word "Brut" on their labels. What does that mean?

-- Sharon Hyde, Lorton

You're right that only sparkling wine made via the traditional method (that is, with secondary fermentation taking place in the bottle) in the Champagne region of France has the right to be called champagne. Otherwise, it can be seized as counterfeit. In fact, there are signs that enforcement of international laws is getting stricter: Last month 3,288 bottles labeled "California Champagne" were seized and destroyed by Belgian customs agents for misuse of the name.

"Brut" means "dry" and refers to a sparkling wine's sweetness level. The levels, in order from driest to sweetest, are: extra brut, brut, extra dry, sec, demi-sec and doux. As non-vintage brut accounts for about nine of every 10 bottles of champagne sold, it's no wonder you're so often seeing it labeled that way.

I'm making cumin-rubbed lamb chops tonight with a garlicky tahini sauce, and spinach and tomatoes on the side. What would be a good wine to drink with this meal?

Karen's wine pick this week is a 2006 Paul Jaboulet A¿n¿ C¿tes du Rh¿ne "Parall¿le 45" Rouge ($13). We thought it sounded like such a great match with the meal you described that Andrew made cumin-rubbed lamb chops at home so we could confirm our hunch. Indeed, the earthiness of the cumin played off that of the wine, while the wine's tannin was balanced by the richness of the lamb.

Andrew's pick this week is a splurge 2005 Ferrari-Carano Alexander Valley Chardonnay ($28). From his first sip, he wanted to taste it with pork and applesauce that would echo the chardonnay's ripe apple flavors. He paired pork cutlets with an unsweetened earthy, organic applesauce, which brought out even more apple fruitiness from the wine.

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, award-winning authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat," can be reached through their Web site,http://www.becomingachef.com, or atfood@washpost.com.

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