Vindulge

My Cougar Town Wine

But first, why I like Cougar Town (bare with me, I do have a point here)

I’m not afraid to admit it; I like the show Cougar Town. There I said it.  It’s out there to the world.  One of my oldest and closest friends, Allison, got me into the show last year during its first season.  She said to me, “Mary you have to watch the show. Courtney Cox's character reminds me of you, plus they drink wine in every episode”.  This is the same friend that told me that my husband and I remind her of Chandler and Monica from Friends (which is actually quite true), but that’s another story… It was enough to get me to tune into an episode. Then I became hooked.

Yes, I’ll admit, I first started watching the show because I loved the fact that they drink red wine in every episode (yes every single episode).   How could I not support that?  But then I started appreciating it for more reasons.  For me the show is just stupid funny.  It reminds me of the older sitcoms from the 80’s I grew up on.  It’s not a very deep show, nor a really smart or clever modern comedy (like my favorite comedy currently on TV, Modern Family).  Instead it is just simple, fun, and silly.  Watching the show is a pretty brainless activity.  And it always gets a good chuckle out of me.

The show follows the story of Jules, a successful real estate agent, divorcee, and single mother in her 40’s, as she enters the world of dating again.  But more than just that it revolves around Jules and her friends and neighbors in a silly comedy about dating, friendship, and family.  It’s not a complicated storyline.  You don’t have to think too much about it. The characters are lovable and easy to like.  To me, it’s just a simple, no-brainer, and likable show perfect for the middle of the week (when it airs).  You know what you’re going to get, and if you don’t have really high expectations it won’t disappoint.

This got me thinking.  If I were Jules, what wine would I be drinking in every episode?  Well I am not Jules, but much like her I do drink a lot of mid-week wines (when I'm not pregnant of course), and for me, the show reminds me of one of my go to everyday wines, Argentinean Malbec. I’ve written about Argentinean Malbec before, so y’all know I like it.  For a refresher, click here. 

For me, when shopping for a decent everyday red at a good price Argentinean Malbec is just something of a no-brainer.  It’s typically a great value (decent bottles range from $8-$20) so I know I’m not getting ripped off no matter what.  Many lower priced Malbecs are usually pretty uncomplicated, yet tasty and satisfying, and I trust that I’ll be picking up something that I’ll probably like.  I can simply walk into a wine store check out their options, and even if I have never tried the wine nor heard of the producer I’m not afraid to just pick up a bottle and give it a whirl, because I know it usually won’t disappoint, especially for the price you’re going to pay for it, and if it does you’re barely out a ten spot. No big loss. 

Now some people may be offended by comparing the simplicity of Cougar Town to Malbec, but to me they are indeed similar.  They are good to get you through a midweek slump, trustworthy, no-brainers that are likeable and uncomplicated.   Yes there are many rich, complex, and wonderful Argentinean Malbecs on the market, but for the most part, the majority of the ones you see in the market or wine shops are the ones in the $8-$20 range, and for those ones, they are good, trustworthy, everyday wines that you can’t really go wrong with.  They won’t blow you away with their complexity but they will leave you satisfied and you didn’t have to invest much time, energy, or money into the experience.

So if you want to try something new, and don’t want to stress too much about your wine choice, or you just want to drink it without analyzing or thinking too deeply about it, go for an Argentinean Malbec.  For the price range of most on the market you really can’t go wrong.  Many of the producers you see on the market do a fine job, but ones to keep an eye out for in the value range ($8-$20) are:  Gouguenheim, Tomero, Alamos, Ben Marco, Crios De Susana Balbo, Altos Las Hormigas, Trapiche, Doña Paula, Colomé, among many others.

As I’ve been exploring the candy shops (er I mean wine shops) here in my new town I bumped into an old favorite, Tomero.  A wine I bought bottle after bottle of last summer in Portland and thought I’d pick it up over a year later to see if I still enjoyed it just the same. 

2008 Tomero Malbec 

Deep dark cherry and black berry fruit aromas on the nose with some chocolate, figs, vanilla and spice.  On the palate, the boldness of the fruit is still there with some additional spice, evident toast, and a lingering juicy and spicy finish.  Yup, this is still a great mid-week value wine in my book!  Definitely still recommend this one.

Producer:  Tomero
Region:  Mendoza, Argentina
Grapes:  100% Malbec
Retail:  $12-$15 (I used to buy this in Portland for $12, and just found it in CT at Spiritus Wine Store for $14) 
Alcohol: 14.5%  
Food Pairing:  Great for grilled meat dishes (steak, ribs, burgers) or just sipping whilst watching your favorite mid-week TV shows.

For more information about Malbec click here.
And for more information about Cougar Town, tune into ABC tonight at 9:30pm (just after Modern Family).

Cheers and happy mid-week wine drinking!

Ideas To Get You Through Winter

It’s no big secret that I’m not a fan of winter.  The Holiday Season? Yes, of course I love that, but once January hits, it seems as if it’s just long months of cold, darkness, and long hours spent anxiously awaiting next summer to arrive while daydreaming of tropical beaches and Mai Tais.  A couple of months ago, however, a good friend and I were talking about creative ways to get through this upcoming winter (she shares my extreme dislike for winter) and one of her ideas was to form a book and wine club (a little twist on your traditional wine club if you will).  Along with the chosen book of the month we would also have a wine and each member would bring a bottle of the pre-selected varietal (or theme) and one person would be nominated to speak about the wine. 

I love wine, and books, so I thought this was a brilliant idea… and thus the Wine & Book Club was created.  Since the two of us were discussing the idea she decided to host the first month at her house and asked me to present the first wine, which we decided to be Malbec.

We had an excellent turnout for our first meeting, with around 13 guests.  Guess you don’t have to twist a lady’s arm to come to an event filled with girlfriends, good food, good books, and good wine.  Once everyone arrived and poured herself a glass of Malbec I spoke for a few minutes on the wine of the month.

A little story about Malbec:

Malbec, once popular in Bordeaux, is still permitted by all major red Bordeaux appellations, but it is now usually more of a minor blending grape (usually less than 10% of the blend).  The grape became less popular in Bordeaux after 1956 when frost killed off around 75% of the crop, becoming replaced with other varietals less susceptible to frost.  Malbec, which was at one time planted in nearly every area of France, began losing acreage to other more popular varietals, like Cabernet Franc in the Loire.

Although Malbec (which has hundreds of local synonyms) has lost significant popularity in France, it still remains the backbone grape in Cahors (located in Southwest France), where the grape is known as “Côt”.  Here “Côt” must constitute a minimum of 70% Malbec (with Merlot and Tannat usually making up the remainder).
 
These days the word Malbec is synonymous with Argentina where it is the major red varietal planted.  In fact, Argentina is the worlds fifth largest wine producer with over 60% of wine production being red wine (and a majority of that being Malbec)… basically, there’s a lot of Malbec being produced in Argentina!

Malbec was introduced to Argentina by French agricultural engineer Michel Pouget in 1868.  However, for the next 100+ years the wine being made was basic jug wine, with no real worldwide popularity or accolades.  In the late 20th century things changed when Argentinean wine producers shifted their focus to exporting and Malbec there increased significantly in quality and finally hit its boom. 

Today, Malbec is most widely planted in Argentina with Mendoza being the most important wine growing province, accounting for about 70% of all Argentina’s wine production.  The grape grown is different from Malbec in France in that it has smaller, tighter, clusters and creates dark color with intensely ripe fruit flavors with a velvety plush texture and light tannins and goes down way too easy.  One of my personal favorite things about Argentinean Malbec is its incredible value!  You can find absolutely delicious bottles easily for around $10 a bottle making it one of my favorite everyday wines year round. 

Outside of Argentina and France, Malbec is also planted in Chile and small amounts in Australia and the US where it is more often used as a blending grape in Meritage (Bordeaux style) blends.

So there you have it.  Malbec, in a nutshell.

At the book club I had actually made a false assumption that most people would bring an Argentinean Malbec, but instead we had quite a variety represented.  I brought a Cahors (since I’m such a French wine whore), and surprisingly we also had a Seven Hills Malbec from Walla Walla, WA, a Steltzner Vineyards from Napa, along with a selection of five different Argentinean producers.  This provided a nice spectrum of flavors of Malbecs grown in different regions.

All in all, wine was an excellent addition to a book club and I’m already debating wines to bring for the next one, where we will actually have two featured wines during the evening - Sparkling Wine & Pinot Noir!  I have a feeling the book discussion may take a far second in importance to the wine discussions for this next event. 

So, if you’re looking for a way to spark up your gloomy winter months, I highly recommend something like a Wine & Book Club!   It’s a great excuse to get together with friends and enjoy an evening together.  And you DON’T have to know a lot about wine either.  Start with a grape or region you are interested in and do a little bit of research.  Or have somebody volunteer to do the work and speak about the wine.  Or if you don’t even want to go that far, just assign a type of wine and have everybody bring a bottle and just sip and discuss the different flavors and enjoy while talking about your book.

Finally, just in case you were curious, here is a list of the wines we had represented at our inaugural Book & Wine Club.  As for where to purchase these wines, I am not positive on all of the wines, as I did not get the information from each member.  The prices below represent average retail prices I found online.

Argentinian Malbecs:

2008 Gouguenheim Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina,  $10.99 (Whole Foods downtown Portland & cork • a bottle shop)    3 bottles (highly recommend for this price point)

2008 Gascon Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, avg. retail approx $10.00

2008 Altos Las Hormigas Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, avg. retail approx $12.00

2006 Vistalba "Corte C" Malbec-Merlot, Mendoza, Argentina, avg. retail approx $12.00

2008 Doña Paula Estate Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, avg. retail approx $13.00

Outside Argentina:

2005 Cosse Maisonneuve le Combal, Cahors, France, $18.75 at cork • a bottle shop

2006 Seven Hills Malbec, Walla Walla Valley, WA, $28

2005 Steltzner Vineyards Malbec, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, CA, retail approx $36

It's not all about the white wines in the summertime

I’ve realized that most of the wines included on my “quest for the best summer value wines” have either been bubbles or whites.  Although it is true that I do drink a lot of white wine in the summertime I also indulge in my fair share of red wines as well, especially due to the increasing quantity of smoked meats we have been cooking up this summer (deep spicy red wines and spicy smoked pork ribs, mmmm).  I do, however, find it more difficult to find great red wines in the $10 range than great white wines (don't fear they do exist).   But seriously, when it’s hot outside, damn, it’s just so nice to have a refreshing, cold, crisp wine to quench my thirst!  Am I right?  

This week, however, we have had a stream of weird cold weather in Portland… even some rain!  Shocker… rain in Portland, OR… nooo! How could that be?!
So, yesterday, I just gave into the gloomy weather, pretended it was winter, cuddled up with a movie, and popped open a bottle of Malbec. 

Ever since I started studying for my Sommelier exams I have become more in love with Argentinean Malbecs.  Not only can they be rich and delicious wines, but many are also in a price range almost unbeatable by most North American reds of the same quality standard!  I have found some fantastic everyday drinking Malbecs for $10 or under!  You show me some North American wines of that caliber and I’ll shut up! Until then, I’ll continue to preach about my new South American obsession.

    Wine #6 in my quest for the perfect summer wines

2008 Gouguenheim Malbec Valle Escondido

This wine was very fruit forward with lots of rich chocolate, black berry, black cherry on the nose.  The mouth had a nice light spice with more chocolate, vanilla, rich, juicy plum, black berries along with medium tannins on the finish.   For the price point this wine had a very nice balance of fruit, earth, and richness.   The wine wasn’t anything super complex or mind boggling, but for $10 bucks I would certainly be happy having a supply of this wine as an everyday red…  one of those wines you can rely on, but don’t think too much about when you’re drinking it.

Although we consumed this wine alone, I think it would go great with any of the delicious smoked meals we’ve been making lately, like our BBQ smoked pork ribs! Yum!  Will I buy this wine again?  Most certainly!  Like I said it’s hard to find a wine of this caliber for $10!

Winery: Gouguenheim Winery
Region:  Mendoza, Argentina
Grapes:  Malbec
Retail:  $10.99
Alcohol: 13.5 % vol.
As seen locally at Whole Foods Market, Downtown Portland