For almost as long as Vine Wine has been open, we have carried the Oremus Mandolás ($24.95) from Hungary, a beautiful white wine made from the grape Furmint with peach and vanilla notes, a bit of spice and an intricate texture. Although it was one of only two Hungarian wines in the store (the other being the out-of-this-world Oremus Tokaji Aszú dessert wine), it wasn't just a novelty wine, it was a good wine at a good price. Now, not only is the Oremus back, but we have three other new Hungarian wines that are tasty, elegant and soooo much more than a novelty . At last night's tasting, Sabina from Skurnik wines led us through these wines and here are some notes on them for all you slackers.





Pannonhalmi Apátsági Rosé | $13.95
A beautiful rosé made from Merlot and Pinot Noir. Yes, you read that right... not all wines from Hungary have strange names with accents all over the place to scare you. The ruby and orange color is enchanting and the nose is all strawberry and a touch of spice and vegetation. Wonderfully light and enough acidity to keep it live and active on your tongue. Definitely suited for summer nights with grilled shrimp and a sunset. But who cares what I say? At last night's tasting, 20 of the 24 bottles we received were sold.







Pannonhalmi Apátsági Tramini | $13.95
A wine that gives a rather true expression of Gewurztraminer that's dry, restrained but still very flavorful. The aromas are still plentiful and rich enough to make you want to hang your nose on the edge of the glass for a good half hour. Once you get to the first sip, the spice greets you on a wave of the slightly viscous texture. The best part, as Meguire pointed out, is how clean and actually refreshing it is. This is no heavy, sweet, coat your throat Gewurztraminer. This bottle begs you on its knees and everything to try it with Indian food. And guess what? It's grown organically ? as is the rosé ? for the Earth's pleasure. These folks have been making wine since 996. No I didn't forget a digit... the year nine hundred and ninety six, folks.


Saint Ilona Tradíció | $19.95
Ok, so this is one of those wines made from crazy indigenous grapes whose names sound like insults or have accents all over them: Hárslevelü, Furmint and Juhfark. All you need to know is that this is an extremely elegant wine that has a lengthy finish and pairs so so so well with nice summer salads (a goat cheese and roasted beet salad floats in front of my eyes whenever I think about this wine). In the glass, Tradíció is golden blond and the flavors include green apple, pear, spice, vanilla and a tasty minerally quality. Not to ride the wine-is-the-fountain-of-youth-and-saver-of-lives bandwagon, but, from the website of Otto?s European and Hungarian Import Store & Deli:

Historically, drinking Juhfark's (Sheep's Tail) on the night on a honeymoon would ensure the conception of a strong and capable male heir for the new couple's family.

So drink with care or whatever.

Labels: hungarian, rose, tasting, whites

It's good to make reasonable goals or, failing that, to make unreasonable goals and be ready to adjust them often. That's all a way of saying that no, that big box of rosé I was planning to have for summer never made it to the summer solstice. But! When I adjusted my goal, hoping only to make the rosé last until June, I achieved my goal and now I feel like a winner. However... I am a winner with no house wine now. So here are three wines that have filled the hole in my heart and my refrigerator.

Skouras White Peloponnese, Greece 750ml $10.95
This wine is the Mediterranean in a bottle (without the smarmy guys and all the tourists). It's has really nice fruit upfront and, especially on the nose, I get lots of peach and some white flower notes. I really love it when this wine gets on my palate, though. That's when the wonderful, creamy texture shows up, along with some nice, light spice. It's great to have a wine that's full of character but really easy going a the same time.

Chateau Benoit Müller Thurgau Oregon, USA 750ml $12.95
Müller Thurgau is one of my favorite grapes. It has a lot of its own character but also responds well to the wine-making techniques of different regions. In northern Italy, wines made from Müller Thurgau tend to be crisp and clean and wonderfully minerally. In Oregon, they are often made with a little (or too often, a lot of) sweetness. Elegant floral notes combine with some tropical notes and that touch of sweetness for a graceful, balanced wine. (Read more about Müller Thurgau at Craig Camp's blog)

Magdala Rosé Provence, France 3000ml $28.95
This is almost too easy a replacement. Sure it looks like wine that you'd get from a pharmacy, but that should only make you confident that these winemakers put more money into their wine than into their packaging. This little better-for-the-Earth box has four bottle's worth of light, very easy to drink and very tasty rosé inside. It's perfect for a weekend with friends or, for that matter, a weekend alone. I'm thinking doctors should start prescribing this rather than pills. (Kidding! Sort of.)

Labels: american, french, greek, rose, whites

At the beginning of May, I brought home my 10 liter box of Domaine Roger Perrin rosé and introduced it to its new home on the top shelf of my refrigerator. Then I had a housewarming party for it and drank two bottle's worth of it. It's kind of a rite of summer to have more than a case's worth of Rhone rosé available, crisp and cold, ready for drinking anytime. So when two weeks had passed and I was having to tilt the box to fill my wine glass, I got a little concerned. What if the ultimate summer treat never even made it to summer, much less June? I don't know if it'll still be around another three weeks, but I've tried to diversify my drinking a little more as part of my Rosé Conservation Program.

When my girlfriend and I got back from a long bike ride and needed a wine to drink on the fire escape, rather than dipping into the rosé reserve, I cracked open a bottle of Muralhas de Monção Vinho Verde. Vinho verde is another one of those wines that go so well with spring and summer because it is light and crisp and usually slightly sparkling (and cheap!). Much of the vinho verde from the Monção subregion, where this one is from, has a higher amount of alvarinho in the mix, is typically a little higher in alcohol and has more body. (I've talked about my love of alvarinho (known in Spain as albariño) before. But because prices for European wines have been jumping higher, it has been hard to find a reasonably-priced bottle to carry in the store for some time.) I had heard reports that other people had really enjoyed this wine, but my palate had been concerned exclusively with rosé for weeks and I wondered if I'd be interested in anything else.

I stuck my allergy-addled nose into the glass and instantly picked out those great alvarinho notes that I enjoy: beautiful creamy jasmine notes and a little almond nuttiness. I didn't expect those notes to be so present, so I couldn't wait to get the wine on my palate. The creamy texture of the alvarinho combined with that vinho verde bubbliness is exquisite. It is both very refreshing and very satisfying at the same time. I love my rosé, don't get me wrong. But for this moment, watching the clouds get colored by the sunset, feeling a spring breeze and sipping this wine, I realized that this vinho verde was exactly what I wanted right then. At only $11.95, it's possible that my rosé could last a while longer... maybe.

This vinho verde would go really well with shellfish and other seafood dishes and salads. For a more typical style of vinho verde, you could also try the C. Mendes Vinho Verde, which is only $7.95.

Muralhas de Monção Vinho Verde, Portugal | $11.95
C. Mendes Vinho Verde, Portugal | $7.95
Domaine Roger Perrin Rosé, France | $91.95

Labels: albarino, portugal, rose, whites

I've recently been suffering from wine drinker's ennui, that strange affliction that makes most wines — even your favorites — seem uninteresting & ordinary. I started a palate rehabilitation program and as I had been drinking a lot of American wines, I followed these steps.

Step one: Cut down on American & new world wines & increase intake of old world, primarily French wines.

I jumped right into this step & went for the French, hoping to get rid of this affliction quickly. I cracked open the Montvac Cotes du Rhone that's been in my wine rack for a couple months. I have enjoyed this wine before & I know I like it's style & range of flavors. My palate perked up a bit during the first glass. What I had been missing most was right up front — that great old-world earthiness, a really evident terroir. And with it's supple texture & berry notes, I felt confident that the Montvac had cured me. But by the second glass, the ennui returned. Every sip seemed to lay on my tongue like Gogurt, and everything seemed disjointed. I was truly sick & needed to up my presciption.

Step two: Drink wines from less common regions or from less common grapes, or both.

I bought a bottle of the Hai Cabernet from Israel & the Erste & Neue Schiava from Alto Adige, Italy for a party I was supposed to go to (I didn't even want to *give* ordinary wine anymore). When I ended up not going to the party, I quickly opened the Schiava, knowing, again, that this is a wine I have enjoyed & it's from a region I love. It's an interesting wine as soon as you pour it, as the color is unlike most wines. It's definitely darker than most rosés, but lighter than most reds. It is beautifully floral on the nose & that's about the last time I saw this wine. It is dangerously easy to drink & I could barely keep my glass full. It's a very fruity wine & the fruit is balanced out with an interesting slight nuttiness that I noticed as the wine raced down my gullet. I was definitely on the road to recovery, but just to make sure, I went on to step three.

Step Three: Drink a higher quality wine from a reputable region.

I had a bottle of 2004 Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer that I'd been holding for a few years. This is a $25-35 bottle from Alsace that I've had a few times before. I was making Indian food which is usually an ideal pairing with Gewurztraminer, so I was going all or nothing. I poured the beautiful blonde yellow wine into the glass and caught a whiff of those enchanting Alsatian scents — nutmeg, jasmine, honeysuckle. I took my first sip & I could feel the ennui slipping away for good. This wine was intricate & nuanced and demanded my attention. There was so much good in this wine, a 750ml bottle seemed like a bad tease, but it was a big enough dosage to solve my problem.

Now that I'm cured, I'm following a regimen of somewhat eccentric wines & soon I will be able to drink a wine from anywhere and enjoy it again. If you too are sick with winedrinker's ennui, the doctor's office hours are every Wednesday from 5:30-8:30pm.

Labels: american, french, israeli, italian, reds, whites

to dry.

there i had you for a second, what the hell could she be talking about. So I sit outside in our unseasonably cold yet delicious August weather drinking Muscadet, cheap and delicious Muscadet. Aha fooled you I am sure you expected me to wax poetic about reds for this 70 degree weather but rather I am drinking a silly, delicious white. While I await my hair and it's finished state.

I spent most of the evening reading now defunct blogs that mostly related to the LIC that used to exist and it made me sad. When I opened Vine I was hoping beyond hope that there were a number of like minded people who wanted to buy inexpensive wine on a regular basis, to supplement their lives, from a place that cared about that very idea. Hell when I opened I wanted you all to drink Gruner Veltliner and now I only want you drinking Beaujolais. Lovely silky clove cigarette laden Morgon and old beefy Clos de Fers, or for that matter practically any gamay that we have in the store. Come on guys get with the Gamay it will change your drinking habits.

So anyway, here I am with a Muscadet and I love it; forceful acid followed by crazy thickness on the palate and a length that is almost unbelievable for a ten dollar bottle of wine. And so there that is what the owner of the store drinks on a random waiting for her hair to dry night.

Labels: french, whites

Unless you have your own clairvoyant groundhog, it's hard to know these days whether to fire up the grill or the crock pot for dinner. Equally difficult is the task of deciding which wine to pair with whatever kind of night we get. I keep thinking that maybe if I keep bringing home the heftier reds — California zinfandels, Haut-Médocs, Priorats — that mother nature will get the idea and actually give us some winter. Mother doesn't pick up on the subtlety so well all the time so my palate still seeks some lighter wines.

By far, my favorite not-just-in-summer white wine is albariño. Albariño is, in contrast to almost any other Spanish wine, referred to by its grape name rather than its region and is often ridiculed by other wines because of it. But all that bullying only helps put hair on albariño's chest. Hair, in winespeak, meaning well-balanced flavors and aromas. Its nose has a bit of citrus, some vanilla and sometimes a touch of jasmine or honeysuckle. Once it reaches your palate, the albariño opens up with even more vanilla, some nice almond notes and some spice — sometimes even a little ginger — and is both crisp and creamy at once, like a cannoli. Grill up some shrimp or throw together a potato stew... either way, the albariño will treat you right. So there, mother nature.

2004 Pazo San Mauro $19.95
This albariño is the crisper of the two and overall seems a bit more assertive. There are more lemon & grapefruit notes present, though the vanilla still balances out the acidity quite well.

2005 Margadío $17.95
This is the elegant, deep sibling of the Pazo San Mauro. A little more balance between the crispness & the creaminess and just the silkiest mouthfeel ever. Also a better conversationalist.

2005 Lícia $13.95
The younger cousin is a bit louder, a bit more aggressive, but also sweeter than the other two. She will charm you with the sugar and impress you with the sassy citrus. A good companion at a dinner party.

Labels: albarino, spanish, whites

As we roll right in to the thick of all of the holidays the question keeps on coming up ; what should I drink for Thanksgiving? In some worlds being that Thnaksgiving is truly an American holiday (okay I know about the Canadian one but still...) there is a belief that only American wines should be consumed. While I hold to that belief for many reasons; good silky cabernets disguise dried out turkey, rich creamy chardonnays stand up to mashed sweet potatoes, and of course the age old Zinfandel is the way to be. I have been finding that it is actually all about the Italians for me. I am not sure why since I have never actually eaten a turkey in an Italian restaurant or in Italy for that matter but it really seems to work. So in that vein here are a few of my faves for the turkey day:

Chiorri Rose, this one is made for Thanksgiving and what a great reason to drink rose
Squinzano Rosso, big earthy rich and interesting, almost like a sauce in its own right
Terre di Gioai Sauvignon Blanc, lovely lingering flavors of melon and a white that actually just gets better as it warms up.

Maria, Troy and I will be tasting these and other wines in the store on the Wednesday before so stop by. As for Christmas time well that is whole different story.

Labels: american, cabernet, holidays, italian, reds, rosé, sauvignon blanc, whites, wine culture, zinfandel

We are starting a new thing here at Vine and asking our friends and cohorts to do their own wine reviews and wine pairings. Thus allowing all of us to expose our own internal Robert Parker, watch out you might be next.

So without further ado I present one 'experts' opinon on Heirloom tomatoes and the Morgadio Albarino:

This pairing was definitely influenced by the exciting final episode of Hell's Kitchen. We hate and we love. We try and try again.

I hate tomatoes but 10 percent of the year. I can't stand the mushy, cardboard-tasting sodden lumps that sit forlornly in the supermarket in, say, March. As a kid I looked forward to the few weeks of the summer when the miraculous Venn diagram of garden lettuce, cukes, and tomatoes would converge, allowing for a sandwich that, larded with mayo, proved to be the best lunch of the year.

Have you ever seen 40 pounds of tomatoes? It's a sight to behold. Talitha gave me a selection, and with those and the bottle of Morgadio Rias Baixas 2004, I trotted home to begin the pairing.

We were very organized. First, we tasted the wine (to make sure it wasn't poisonous, of course). Tart, crisp. Floral nose. Light but with a nice, long finish. Not bad. We decided to let it breathe. In the meantime, I lovingly examined our heirloom tomatoes. We had your standard red, a green with red highlights, and a gorgeous yellow shot through with red. Slicing them up, I tasted each on its own. Good heirloom tomatoes are like oysters. They don't really need an accompaniment.

So we set it up in stages. Tomatoes and wine. Tomatoes and basil and wine. And finally (and perhaps the most potentially calamitous), tomatoes and mozzarella (or, as my Brooklyn Eyetalian family says, muhtzarrelle).

A good tomato has more to offer than just acidity. It should be sweet and fulsome. The green variety was sharp and matched the acid and the texture of the wine. And it really brought out the minerality. The salt and pepper enhanced this. The yellow was sweet and soft and after the wine had a chance to breathe it paired nicely with the wine. Adding a bit of the basil brought out the wine's natural herbaceous notes. The red tomato was red. No less delicious, but compared to its more vibrant counterparts it seemed...mundane. But the tomatoes and the wine: a perfect zen pairing.

Now, scientists will tell you that cheese will alter your ability to truly taste wine. That's why I saved it for last. Because as much as I believe in chemistry and science and all that other gobbeldygook, let's be real: we don't eat meals in a vacuum. And basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomatoes are like my holy trinity. Tasting this combo with the wine, though, proved a bit disappointing. The wine doesn't stand up to the milky richness of the mozz. I went back to the kitchen to try a few more experiments.

I cut open a clove of garlic. And this is how I made my discovery of the perfect pairing for the Rias Baixas and the tomatoes. Take some slices of fresh Italian semolina bread (or baguette--we're not picky), drizzle them with oil, and them with garlic. Plop some slices of heirloom and basil a la chiffonade and really, there is nothing better. (If you're a die-hard cheese fan, though, my recommendation is this: Trader Joe's pizza crust, slices of heirlooms, some basil and thin slices of garlic, and a generous sprinkling of the pecorino romano, in the oven till it gets all warm and crispy.)

Something about the tomatoes, the hint of garlic and the Morgadio Rias Baixas 2004: really, so much more satisfying than the results of the Hell's Kitchen competition.

Labels: albarino, food, spanish, whites

It's August. It's hot and it seems like everyone I know is too broke to go on that vacation or long weekend they planned earlier in the summer. What to do?

Treat yourself right with a fancy bottle of wine. Not pretentious fancy. Not break-the-bank fancy. Just something you haven't tried before that costs a little more than you would usually spend. Make a night of it. Buy some cheese and bread and bottle (or two) of wine and have yourself a little "I'm broke (tired of summer, sick of my job, irritated with my significant other, freaked out by the world), but I still treat myself right" party. Invite friends. Have everyone bring a bottle of wine and something fancy to eat. The funny thing is, you'll probably spend less than if you went out to a bar, had three drinks and took a car service home.

What to get?

At $15.95 Flying Cloud Pinot Gris from San Luis Obispo County in California is an affordable luxury. This crisp white has lovely notes of Asian pear and a long clean finish. Perfect chilled with a soft ripened goat cheese like Le Chevrot or Lingot de Quercy.

What else?

Try Bandol Rose from Domaine la Suffrene. A full bottle will run you $20.95. It's also available in half bottles for $10.50. Bandol is a wine making region in Provence, on France's Mediterranean coast. Mourvedre, Grenache and Cinsault are the main grapes in this rose, and, with the addition of Syrah, of the Bandol region as well. It's a sturdy but supple rose, with nice raspberry lushness and sprightly lemon notes. Get yourself some aged sheep cheese from the Pyrenees like Abbaye de Belloc, Ossau Iraty or Vermont Shepherd (admittedly, from Vermont but in the Pyrenees style). Better yet, get some Brin D'Amor - an herb covered soft sheep cheese from Corsica. You will be in heaven.

Feeling really fancy? Want a wine with some real substance?

Crank up the ac and get yourself a bottle of Domaine Ligneres Notre Dame. It has a sleek modern label, is from Corbieres, France and if I was made of money I would drink a bottle of this wine twice a week. At $29.95 a bottle it's not an everyday wine for most of us, but worth every penny and more. The Notre Dame is big and silky with a beautiful warm, round fullness. Really go for it and buy yourself the most gooey, stinky, delicious cheese you can find. Brie de Meaux or Brie de Nangis would do it. A triple cream would also be appropriate. Invite someone you love, or think you might like to love, to drink it with you. You know those blizzard babies? Consider yourself warned.

Labels: american, californian, food, french, reds, rosé, whites

For those of you who were unable to attend Wednesday's Wine Tasting Wine Cocktails Extravaganza
due to the overwhelming heat or lack of energy, don't fret. The fabulously tasty recipes follow. Tailored by Talitha, specifically for our diverse neighborhood stores' selections. She scoured the local delis and specialty shops for the ingredients. The result: four delicious twists on classic cocktail recipes, personalized for our microclimate.


Vine Cola
4 ounces Bandit Cabernet
2 ounces white grape juice
1 ounce lemon juice
splash soda
Serve in a collins glass



Pomegranate Mimosa
4 ounces Paul Cheneau Cava
2 ounces Pomegranate juice
Pour ingredients into champagne glass
you may substitute mango juice for a tropical twist



Elderberry Spritzer
4 ounces Le Mazet Blanc
1 ounce elderberry or blueberry syrup
2 ounces seltzer water
start with the berry syrup, then wine, and finish with seltzer



Vine Wine
3 ounces Bandit Cabernet
2 ounces lemon juice
2 teaspoon simple syrup
shake well and serve strained into a wine glass

Labels: events, french, reds, whites, wine culture