You’re walking through your favorite wine shop, looking for a perky little chardonnay to serve at an upcoming dinner. The sheer amount of labels you see is mind-boggling. So how do you go about choosing a wine you’ll feel comfortable serving to your guests?
Some of you will buy a brand you’ve had in the past, disregarding the fact that crafting a competent wine in a previous vintage is no guarantee of a good wine in the current vintage. Some of you will simply look for a pretty label. And the rest will look for a “reserve” designation on the bottle.
That’s a horrible idea.
In a perfect world, a reserve would indicate a wine that’s made from top-quality grapes and aged longer than a “normal” wine. Unfortunately, there’s absolutely no legal definition for how the term is used, and many wineries (knowing the public is willing to fork over extra money for it) use terms like “Proprietor’s Reserve,” “Special Reserve,” “Vintner’s Reserve,” or just “Reserve” as a marketing hook. And some truly do use it to designate a special wine. But you’ll never know unless you ask.
Argyle: Not just for socks anymore
You just knew I’d review a reserve, didn’t you? Here’s one that’s done correctly: the ’98 ARGYLE PINOT NOIR RESERVE ($27). A special blend from Argyle’s better vineyards, this charmer delivers sweet perfume up front, then fills the mouth with spicy plum, plus velvety vanilla and chocolate flavors. What’s even better than a reserve wine? The tremendous ’98 ARGYLE NUTHOUSE PINOT NOIR ($38), with seductive Cherry Coke aromas followed by smoke and chocolate flavors. Terrific now, and has the guts to age well.
DENNIS,
I’ve been enjoying wine steadily for over 20 years, and I’ve seen a lot of changes in that time. One example is the foil thingy that covers the cork: It used to be easy to peel off, but now they’re made of plastic or tin and are harder to remove. What’s the deal with that?
KLAUS
KLAUS,
Good god, man, you must be totally shit-faced. That foil thingy is called a “capsule.” Its sole purpose is to keep dirt and other contaminants off the cork. Once upon a time, it was made of lead and was very easy to tear from the bottle. Of course, lead is very toxic, and the world’s wine makers got a tad weary of children dying from handling the things. So they switched to plastic or tin. Now kids die only from choking on them.
DENNIS
E-mail: wine@seattleweekly.com.
