A word from the Wise about Wine
By Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady
In my fantasy life I am organized. So I buy things that are considered organizers. I just bought a beautiful wine rack that reaches up to the ceiling and put all my wines in it. It looks neat. Professional. Organized.
After all that work, I just could not mess up the symmetry of my extensive wine collection (based on the fact that it almost filled the big wine rack). So I asked my first guest to choose a wine. He was a good choice because he knows more about wine than I do (based on the fact that he drinks more than I do).
He looked through my organized wine rack and quickly chose the Gloria Ferrer Casneros Pinot Noir 2002.
I liked the guy. I liked the wine.
So I decided to do a little more research.
Did he know that on their 335-acre estate in Carneros, no less than eleven soil types and a wide variety of clones and terrain combine with the daily fog and wind to produce exceptional Pinot Noir. For nearly twenty years the Gloria Ferrer people have studied Carneros and its relationship to their vines. With this knowledge of the terror as a guide, the estate Pinot Noir gains complexity and consistency with each passing year.
The 2002 Pinot Noir displays a great deal of aromatic and flavor complexity, which is knit together by a firm structural element—a hallmark feature of the vintage.
A mild spring with low rainfall opened to a warm summer, with periodic heat spikes tempering the cooling aspects of the Carneros region. Cluster thinning, leaf puling, judicious irrigation and other attentive vineyard practices during the heat spells were applied. This assured that each block emerged with striking textural and structural elements and without overripe characteristics.
If only my date had been this careful and considerate, it might have been a good year for us, too.
But the wine held up better than the guy did.
I don’t think I will go out with him again.
WWW.gloriaferrer.com
I Think It Might Be Easier to Study Wine Than Men
OLDMAN’S GUIDE TO OUTSMARTING WINE: 108 Ingenious Shortcuts to Navigate the World of Wine with Confidence and Style
By Mark Oldham
Penguin Original $18.00
Received the Georges Duboeuf Book Award of Year at the annual Beaujolais Nouveau luncheon in New York
RENAISSANCE GUIDE TO WINE AND FOOD PAIRING
By Tony Didio and Amy Zavatto
Alpha Books
How to Pronounce French, German and Italian Wine Names
By Dianna Bellucci
They also include a bonus of Austrian, Spanish and Portuguese Wine Names
Luminosa Publishing
www.howtopronounce.com
THE LITTLE BOOK OF CHAMPAGNE
by Christian Pessey
Flammarion Publishing
THE LITTLE BOOK OF COGNAC
by Christian Pessey
Flammarion Publishing
Australian Wine Vintages 2005
The Gold Book
By Robin Bradley
www.gold-book.us
The Guide to Colorado Wineries
By Alta and Brad Smith
Fulcrum Publishing
www.fulcrum -books.com
DISCOVERING WASHINGTON WINES
By Tom Parker
An introduction to one of the most exciting Premium wine regions
Ranconteurs Press
www.reconteurs.com
Hidden Wine Country
By Marty Olmstead and Ray Riegert
Ulysses Press
www.ulyssespress.com
TOURING TEXAS WINERIES
By Thomas M. Giesla and Regina M. Giesla
Scenic Drives along Texas Wine Trails
Lone Star Books
www.texaswinetrails.com
ACCESS CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY
A guide that leads you street by street into the Heart of the Wine Country
Updated by Donna Peck
Harper Resource
www.harpercollins.com
GREAT TASTES MADE SIMPLE
By Andrea Immer
(author of Great Wine Made Simple)
www.broadwaybooks.com
WINE FOR WOMEN
A guide for buying, pairing and sharing wine
By Leslie SBrocco
William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers
www.lesliebrocco.com
www.harpercollins.com
Cocktails
Low-carb Cocktails
All the fun and taste without the carbs
By Marlene and Chuck Koch
Madelyn Miller is executive editor of www.travellady.com and just founded a new website www.chocolateatals.com about her other passion (besides the guy she mentioned above).
She might be drinking a lot of wine alone and eating chocolate bonbons for awhile
