Winter warmers
Port, red wines will chase away the chills
HERE WE ARE in January, the holidays are behind us and the money is tight because most of it is going to pay those holiday bills. (Did you overspend like I did? Hey, it’s for the ones you love, right?)
The weather outside is turning even more frightful than in the Let It Snow song and there’s promise of even more. There has got to be something we can do to brighten up these shorter days of winter, make them palatable and get us through to spring.
In my job, wines and liquors come to mind, but not for the reason one might think: it’s not about drinking to forget the winter blahs. It’s about making those short days and long nights the best they can be by sipping on some interesting wines and engaging drinks.
We’ve just come through party season and I’m willing to bet you drank more than your fair share of plonk. Well, the plonk stops here! You’re going to enjoy the rest of the winter with a quality glass of wine in your hand, and you won’t be overpaying for it.
My wintertime go-to beverage of choice always begins with Port. I know there will be readers who don’t like the sweet elixir from Portugal, but nothing warms the cockles better than a nice glass of Port. Could it be the 20-per-cent alcohol? Sure, but it’s also so decadently yummy when sitting in front of the fire, curled up with a book or just socializing with a few friends; and it also pairs with some of life’s greatest pleasures like blue cheese and dark chocolate.
Most folks think of Port in its Vintage variety: rough around the edges, toughto-swallow tannins and requiring 10 to 20-plus years to mature. But most of us never had that kind of forethought. That is why the folks in Portugal have come up with an array of ready-to-drink styles, from the light-and-easy-drinking, cherryplum style of Ruby, to the more spicy and chocolatey (but still with cherry and plum as its base) Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), to the caramel, orange peel and dried cherry experience under the cap of Tawny.
The older they are (10, 20, 30, 40 years), the more complex the flavours, and these all pair with dried fruit and nuts as well as the aforementioned cheeses and chocolate. I’ll leave it to you to experiment.
But I know there are still those opposed to Port, and you and I will never see eye to eye. Too bad. But I’m willing to move on if you are.
As Canadians, we are seasonal drinkers — we drink white in spring and summer and flow more to the reds in fall and winter. We crave refreshment in the hot months and warmth in the cold months. It really does make my job easier when recommending wines.
Since we are in the throes of winter, most of you will be craving wines to warm your toes and that will pair well with heartier winter fare like stews and meat dishes.
The top of my list is a wine that most people will chuckle over until I break it to them gently that it’s not what they think: Zinfandel. When I say that, most people think pink – and Zin lovers cringe.
Zinfandel is as far removed from the pink-candy-floss known as White Zinfandel as my cat is from a tiger. Zinfandel will set your tastebuds abuzz with its cacophony of flavours, and after you’ve tasted a good
one, you’ll wonder where real Zinfandel has been all your life.
The grape came over with Italian immigrants as one of their native grapes known as Primitivo, but it is not actually native to Italy but originated in Croatia under the name Plavac Mali. Perhaps that explains why they changed the name to Zinfandel: who would want to ask for a glass of Plavac?
A great place to start your Zin-ducation is with one of its great producers: Ravenswood, and their readily available Vintners Blend Zinfandel ($17.95; #359257), it has everything a Zinfandel fan craves: fruit, chocolate, cola, vanilla and cherry.
Zinfandel pairs beautifully with ribs, so what you don’t drink this winter, you can save for a summer barbecue.
Winter is also a time to experiment with wines you may never have tried before. You’re cooped up indoors, going out into the cold, maybe shovelling snow … you need warmth from both your dinner and sipping your bevvy of choice … and just to keep your cranium sharp, you’ll want to try something new.
Kaiken Malbec ($14.95; #58339) is a surprisingly good way to get to know the Malbec grape without spending a lot of dough to do so. Kaiken is a property owned by Montes, a big name in Chilean wine – and they have been making quality wines in their own country for years.
They brought that same quality/price ratio across the Andes to Argentina, so expect a good full-bodied wine when you pop the cork.
Finally, when most people think about warming wines, Australia pops into their head. Again, the reason is the high alcohol content that has been the common denominator in all these wines I’ve mentioned, from the 20-per-cent Ports to the 14- to 15per-cent Zin and Malbec. Aussie wines fall into that same category because of the hot climate, and they have no problem reaching those robust alcohol levels because of the sugar in their grapes. (The more sugar or brix in the grapes the higher the alcohol.)
There are two wines that kick around the Vintages Essentials list that really sum up what Australia is all about: Shiraz – and these Shirazes are as good as any you’ll have this winter. Kilikanoon Killerman’s Run Shiraz ($19.95; #925453) and the Mitolo Jester Shiraz ($21.95; #659607). One is fun and playful, the other is serious and layered (and the names will help you figure out which is which). Both are just what the doctor ordered on a seriously cold winter’s night.
So don’t let the dead of winter deaden your sense of vinous adventure. Get out there, buy something big and get ready to curl up with a good book or share with good friends and have a good time.
Michael Pinkus, president of the Wine Writers’ Circle of Canada, is a wine writer and educator and the so-called Grape Guy behind OntarioWineReview.com.