FOOD AND WINE--WHEN TO BREAK THE RULES

Remember when we talked about the "red wine with red meat" rule, and I
mentioned that all generalizations are suspect?
That's right: There are plenty of tasty exceptions to the "Red wine
with red meat, white wine with white meat" rule.
The rule would seem to call for white wine with poultry, for example,
but the hearty flavor of roast or grilled chicken goes very well with
fruity red wines like Merlot, Zinfandel, or Beaujolais,
and--especially with herbs in tow--it makes a fine match with an
austere Cabernet Sauvignon.
What's more, there's no better match than Pinot Noir for salmon,
shattering the notion that you should never serve red wine with fish.

MODERATION


You don't have to be a dietitian to understand that the traditional
"beer belly" didn't get its name from carrot sticks and dry toast. But
how about wine? If you're trying to shed pounds, is total abstinence
necessary?

Well, moderation and good judgment certainly apply. Wine contains no
fat or cholesterol, but it's far from a zero-calorie drink. The
nutritional analysis of wine varies with its alcohol and sugar
content, so a strong, sweet wine like Port delivers a lot more
calories than a dry table wine.

Based on nutritional data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a
5-ounce glass of dry red or white table wine will pack around 125
calories--not much less than the 150 calories in a 12-ounce bottle of
beer or even the 160 calories in an 8-ounce glass of whole milk. A
5-ounce ration of rich dessert wine can go up to 225 calories or even
more--in the same caloric territory as a 2-inch wedge of cheesecake.

If you're following one of the currently faddish low-carbohydrate
diets, moreover, you'll want to know that a five-ounce glass of dry
white table wine may have 1.25 grams of carbohydrates, while a similar
portion of red may go up to 2.5 grams; sweet wines will have
substantially more.

It's certainly practical to include wine in a good moderate lifestyle
of sensible eating and exercise. Cut back on sweet drinks and fatty
snacks, and you'll have plenty of room in your diet for a little wine;
and if you think you need to diet seriously, consult your physician
for advice.

FOOD AND WINE--BARBECUE


The smoke and spice and often-sweet sauces that make barbecue special
aren't really friendly to your finest wines, which is why cold beer in
longneck bottles or gigantic glasses of freshly brewed iced tea are
called for when you're chowing down on barbecue.
If you want to bring your BBQ dinner uptown with a glass of wine,
though, it's best to turn to the simpler, fruity, and quaffable wines:
Zinfandel is a natural match, a quintessentially American wine with a
traditional American food. Other good barbecue choices include
fruity-peppery Grenache from France, Australia, or Spain; the American
Petite Sirah, or Beaujolais, either the French original or the U.S.
Gamay. These fruit-packed wines marry with barbecue as well as, and
more elegantly than, the traditional grape Kool-Aid.

or MAIR-LOW?

Not long ago, most of us didn't even know what a Merlot was, much less
how to pronounce it.

Nowadays, though, folks who know that asking for Chardonnay is a
with-it way to get a glass of white wine also know that a call for
Merlot brings forth a dry, fruity red that's easy to enjoy. (It's
"Mare-low," if you please, with a French twist and the accent on the
"Mare.")

The Merlot grape has been cultivated for two centuries or more in the
Bordeaux region of France, where its name in dialect means "little
blackbird." Until quite recently, though, it has been used primarily
in blended mixtures rather than standing on its own. While some
connoisseurs shun 100-percent Merlot because it makes a wine that's
soft, fruity, and sippable, it is exactly these characteristics that
make it so popular with casual wine-lovers today.

For the next several weeks, we'll be taking a geographical romp
through the world of grapes and vines, talking about the best and most
popular wine grapes and the characteristics of the wines they make.
Save each day's tip or check the archive on Robin Garr's Wine Lovers'
Page at

http://www.wine-lovers-page.com

and you'll soon have your own personal dictionary and list of wines to
try.

GRAPES AND VINES--TEMPRANILLO

Tempranillo (Temp-rah-NEEL-yo), an excellent red-wine grape, makes
arguably the greatest wines of Spain. Like Nebbiolo and Sangiovese
from Italy, it historically takes a second place to Cabernet Sauvignon
and Pinot Noir in the world "noble grape" sweepstakes, but it probably
deserves more respect than that, as it makes wines in Rioja and Ribera
del Duero that are indisputably world-class. The aromas and scents of
its wines are most often described as "black fruit," although most
Tempranillo-based wines are aged in barrels and thus show spicy oak as
an integral component.

GRAPES AND VINES--SYRAH (SHIRAZ)

Syrah (See-rah) is the classic red-wine grape of the Rhone valley in
France. According to legend, it was brought back from Shiraz in Persia
by the 14th-century crusader Gaspard de Sterimberg, who retired from
the wars to plant a vineyard at the home he called Hermitage. Blended
in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and standing alone in Hermitage, Cote-Rotie,
and other Rhone reds, Syrah makes tannic, complex, age-worthy wines
easily identified by a very characteristic floral black-pepper
fragrance. Syrah is usually called Shiraz in Australia and South
Africa, but it's the very same grape; however, it is not related to
the American Petite Sirah.

GRAPES AND VINES--SEMILLON

Semillon (Say-mee-yoN), a white-wine grape, is native to Bordeaux and
used there primarily in a blend with Sauvignon Blanc. In the United
States and Australia, it is often produced as a varietal wine in its
own right, making a soft, medium-bodied, sometimes pleasantly musky
white wine.

GRAPES AND VINES--SAUVIGNON BLANC

Sauvignon Blanc (So-veen-yawn BlahN) is a noble white grape, native to
the Loire and Bordeaux (where it is usually blended with Semillon). It
is also widely planted in the Western United States, South America,
Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. The wine comes in many styles,
depending largely on canopy management or leaf pruning (shaded grapes
make a "grassy" style while grapes exposed to sunlight make a
characteristically citric style) and whether the wine maker chooses to
age the wine in oak. It is one of my favorite white varietals and
because of its tart, cleansing acidity, I find it generally better
than Chardonnay as a table wine with seafood and fish.

GRAPES AND VINES--SANGIOVESE

As Italian as an operatic aria, Sangiovese (Sahn-joe-VAY-zeh) is the
predominant red-wine grape of Tuscany in Central Italy and primary
player in the Chianti blend; a few wine makers are also experimenting
with it in California. Sangiovese makes a hearty, dry red with flavors
of black cherries, often with a characteristic orange glint in its
ruby color.

GRAPES AND VINES--ROUSSANNE

Roussanne (Roo-sahn) is a white grape from the Rhone, often grown with
and blended with the rather similar Marsanne. Nowadays, it is somewhat
supplanting the latter for economic reasons--it is considered more
productive and easier to grow.

GRAPES AND VINES--RIESLING

Today we meet Riesling (REESE-ling), the classic German grape of the
Rhine and Mosel, ranking with Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and
Pinot Noir among the world's most noble wine grapes.

Germany's great Rieslings are usually made slightly sweet, with steely
acidity for balance, a style of wine so variant from the French,
Italian, and U.S. tradition that it requires a real paradigm shift for
many of us to enjoy. Objectively, however, the top German Rieslings
compare to the best the world has to offer. Alsatian and Austrian
Rieslings are also excellent, though usually made in a different
style, equally aromatic but stronger and usually dry or nearly so.
California Rieslings, in my opinion, are much less successful, usually
sweet without sufficient acidity for balance, although some compelling
"Alsace-style" Rieslings have come from the Eastern United States.

Like Pinot Noir, Riesling can be so complex that it defies easy
description, but I often find fresh apples, sometimes pleasantly
resinous notes like pine, and occasionally an odd mineral quality
that's half-jokingly described as "diesel" or "petrol" or even "bus
exhaust," although it's not at all unpleasant.

GRAPES AND VINES--PINOTAGE

Pinotage (Pee-noe-tahj) is not a true Pinot but a cross between Pinot
Noir and the dark Cinsaut of the Rhone. For all practical purposes, it
is grown commercially only in South Africa, where it makes a fruity,
dark-red wine with an odd earthy character often described as
"paintbox" because the scent can be startlingly reminiscent of a
child's watercolor set.

GRAPES AND VINES--PINOT NOIR

Pinot Noir (Pee-noe Nwahr), a classic red grape, is widely recognized
as the source of some of the world's most noble wines. Burgundy is its
natural home, and it has proven difficult to grow and vinify well
elsewhere, but California and Oregon increasingly hit the mark (albeit
with usually a somewhat different style than Burgundy), and wine
makers in many other parts of the world are still trying. At its peak,
it makes wines of incredible complexity, difficult to describe
(although cherries and "earthy" qualities are typical), known as much
for its velvety texture as its flavor.

GRAPES AND VINES--PINOT MEUNIER

Let's add a relatively obscure grape to our growing glossary today:
Pinot Meunier (Pee-noe Mehr-n'yay), called "the miller's Pinot"
because its leaves look as if they were dusted with flour. Only rarely
used as a "varietal" grape with its name on the wine label, it turns
up frequently as one element in the Champagne blend.

GRAPES AND VINES--PINOT GRIS (PINOT GRIGIO)

Pinot Gris (Pee-noe Gree) and Pinot Grigio (Gree-joe) are the French
and Italian names, respectively, for the same grape. At its best, it
makes dry, crisp, and acidic white wines, often with a light musky
aroma, that go very well with seafood and fish. It's common in Alsace,
Northeastern Italy, and Oregon, where it's the recommended wine to
accompany the excellent local salmon.

GRAPES AND VINES--PINOT BLANC

Let's continue our geographical romp through the world of grapes and
vines through the rest of the alphabet, talking about the best and
most popular wine grapes and the characteristics of the wines they
make.

Today's grape is the first of several that we'll discuss in the Pinot
family, all related to the great Pinot Noir of Burgundy. Pinot Blanc
(Pee-noe BlahN) is a white-wine grape that makes a dry, full white
wine. Some liken it to Chardonnay, but it's distinctively different,
producing a medium-bodied wine that sometimes shows melon scents.

GRAPES AND VINES--NEBBIOLO

Nebbiolo (Nay-BYOH-low) is the noble red grape of Northwestern Italy's
Piemonte region, the source of such powerful and age-worthy red wines
as Barolo, Barbaresco, and Gattinara. Typical aroma and flavor
descriptions include violets and "tar" and "smoke" and intense black
fruit.

GRAPES AND VINES--MERLOT

Merlot (Mare-low): This very good red-wine grape, a key player in the
Bordeaux blend, is increasingly grown as a varietal in its own right,
especially in California and Washington State. Because it makes a
smooth and mellow red wine, it has become an "entry" wine for new
red-wine drinkers, especially those inspired by publicity about red
wine's purported benefits for cardiovascular health. Accordingly, in
recent years, for many people, "a glass of Merlot" has become all but
synonymous with "a glass of red wine." Ripe black-cherry and herbal
flavors are typical of Merlot, which may also add vanilla and
chocolate flavors if it sees time in oak.

GRAPES AND VINES--MALBEC

Malbec (Mahl-bek): Almost anonymously used as a minor element of the
red Bordeaux blend, where its intense color and extract add to the
wine's body, Malbec comes into its own as the primary grape in the
inky red wines of Cahors and in hearty, robust Argentine reds.

GRAPES AND VINES--GRENACHE

Grenache (Gray-NAHSH) is a red-wine grape commonplace in Languedoc and
the Rhone, increasingly popular in Australia and California and, as
Garnacha, in Spain. It typically makes hearty, peppery wines and is
often vinified to heighten the impact of its intense, delicious fruit.

GRAPES AND VINES--GEWURZTRAMINER

Gewurztraminer (Geh-VERTZ-trah-mee-nur): A white-wine grape best-known
in Alsace, Austria, Germany, the U.S. West Coast, and New York; the
tongue-twisting name has been jokingly suggested as a good one to use
in field sobriety testing. Highly aromatic, it makes wines (often
off-dry to sweet, though less so in Alsace) with intensity and
concentration, although the alleged "spice" (literal translation of
the German "Gewurz") may be hard to find.

GRAPES AND VINES--FRENCH COLOMBARD

French Colombard (Cole-um-bar): This productive white-wine grape is
used primarily in California's Central Valley to make cheap, neutral
jug wines. Every now and then, usually flavored by a stay in oak
barrels, it turns up in a premium-quality wine somewhat akin to
Chardonnay.

GRAPES AND VINES--DOLCETTO

Dolcetto (Dohl-CHET-toe) is a delicious red-wine grape of the Piemonte
in Northwestern Italy, where it makes a delightful wine that's usually
light and fruity, but not sweet as the name (literally "little sweet
one") might suggest.

GRAPES AND VINES--CONCORD

Concord (CAHN-curd) is an American native grape (vitis labrusca) used
in making those old-fashioned country-style red wines with the "grape
jelly" aroma and flavor that wine tasters call "foxy."

GRAPES AND VINES--CHENIN BLANC

 
Chenin Blanc (Shay-naN BlaN): This noble French grape rarely gets the
respect it deserves, especially in France's Loire country, where it
makes very fine white wines that range from bone dry to sugar-sweet.
It's also found in California, South Africa, and elsewhere, although
it rarely reaches the same heights as in the Loire. It's variable in
the glass, although pleasant honeydew, cantaloupe, and persian melon
flavors and light muskiness are common.

GRAPES AND VINES--CHARDONNAY

 
Chardonnay (Shar-doe-nay) is one of the world's most well-known
white-wine grapes. It originated in Burgundy, where many argue that it
still reaches its pinnacle, but is widely planted in the United
States, Australia, and all over the world. In modern times,
"Chardonnay" has become almost synonymous in the mass market with a
generic "glass of white wine." Apple and green-apple aromas are its
classic style, although tropical fruit and pineapple show up commonly,
especially in American and Australian Chardonnays, and when run
through wine-making tricks and aged in oak, it often adds butter and
fat, vanilla, spice, and tropical fruit flavors.

GRAPES AND VINES--CHARBONO

 Charbono (Shar-BOE-noe) has an Italian name and a hearty Italian
style, but you're most likely to find it in simple, robust red wines
from California.

GRAPES AND VINES--CARIGNAN

 Carignan (Cah-reen-yawN) is a red grape from Southern France, once
lightly regarded but coming into its own as quality wines from
Languedoc become well known around the world. It often shows flavors
of red fruits and fragrant black pepper.

GRAPES AND VINES--CABERNET SAUVIGNON

 Cabernet Sauvignon (Cab-air-nay So-veen-yawN) is one of the noblest
red-wine grapes. It is the chief grape of the top wines of Bordeaux in
France but also appears on its own or in red blends in the United
States, Australia, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, and wherever wine
grapes grow. The traditional description for wines made from Cabernet
Sauvignon is "blackcurrant," or "cassis" in France), although its
complexity shows--particularly when it's aged in oak--in such aromatic
nuances as cedar, tarragon, dark chocolate, vanilla, and spice.

GRAPES AND VINES--CABERNET FRANC

 Cabernet Franc (Cab-air-nay FrahN) is a French red-wine grape that
traditionally has been used in a blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and
Merlot in Bordeaux. It's also grown in the Loire and California. It's
probably best blended, but it's increasingly trendy as a wine grape in
its own right. Blueberry and "leafy," "mossy" aromas are often
descriptive of Cabernet Franc.

GRAPES AND VINES--BARBERA

 
Barbera (Bar-BARE-ah) is another immigrant grape that's used to make
hearty red wines in the Piemonte of Northwestern Italy and has
migrated to sunny Northern California.

GRAPES AND VINES--ALIGOTE

 Aligote (Ah-lee-go-tay): Although this Burgundian white-wine grape is
considered unimpressive and very much secondary to Burgundy's classic
Chardonnay, it still may turn up in modest white Burgundies of good
value.

GRAPES AND VINES--ALICANTE BOUSCHET

 
Alicante Bouschet (Ah-lee-KAHNT Boo-SHAY) is a red-wine grape of
Southern France and California's Central Valley, usually used in
hearty jug wines.

GRAPES AND VINES--ALEATICO

 Today's grape, the Aleatico (Ah-lay-AH-tee-co), is a rather rare red
grape used in Italy, and by some wine-makers of Italian heritage in
California, to make a ripe, sweet dessert-style wine.

GRAPES AND VINES--ALBARINO

 
Today's grape, Albarino (Ahl-ba-REE-n'yo), is a Spanish white-wine
grape from Galicia. It makes delicious fruity, crisp, and tart wines
that go as well with seafood and fish as a squirt of lemon.

WHAT'S THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE FOR SERVING WINE?

The conventional wisdom on this one is simple: Serve white wines cold.
Serve red wines at room temperature. Period. Why? Tradition,
mostly--and the simple reality that experience shows most people
prefer them that way.

If you're skeptical, try a simple test: Chill a red, and serve a white
warm. I predict you'll find that the cold red will taste dank and
one-dimensional, while the white will seem overripe and bland.

So my advice is to follow the rule, but don't be obsessive about it. A
good white wine may taste better LIGHTLY chilled for instance, around
45 degrees, but not so icy-cold that it stuns your taste buds. On a
hot summer day, on the other hand, you may find a red more refreshing
if you chilled just enough to bring it down to a "cellar" temperature
of around 65 degrees Fahrenheit--a half-hour in the refrigerator ought
to make it just right.

WHY AREN'T THERE SWEET RED WINES?

I get this question a lot from folks who want to try red wine but
don't like a drink that's not sweet. The bad news for them is that a
sweet red table wine--as opposed to a dessert wine--is a rare thing.
Over many years, wine lovers have learned that dry (unsweet) wines go
much better with food than sweet ones do, and just about everyone who
drinks wine regularly has acquired a taste for the dry variety.

If you're interested in enjoying red wine, it would pay you to develop
a taste for drier wines. I'd start with a light, fruity red, such as
Beaujolais from France or the rough equivalent from California, Gamay
Beaujolais, or a reasonably priced Merlot or Zinfandel. These wines
aren't sugar-sweet, but their mellow fruitiness makes them an easy
introduction to the tasty world of dry red wines. Try one, not sipped
by itself as a cocktail but sipped with a meal, and I think you'll
begin to see that the marriage of good food with a quality dry red
wine is a match made in heaven.

GRAPES AND VINES--TOCAI FRIULANO

Tocai Friulano (Toh-KYE Fr'yoo-LAH-noe), the aromatic Italian
white-wine grape, is grown in the far Northeastern region, not far
from Austria and the old Yugoslavia. No kin to the Hungarian Tokay
dessert wine, it is capable of producing a delightfully distinctive
white wine with a unique floral scent; it is also occasionally grown
in California.

GRAPES AND VINES--ZINFANDEL

The letter "Z" brings us to the end of the alphabet and the conclusion
of our survey of the world's top wine grapes. Zinfandel
(Zin-fahn-DELL) is called "the American grape" because it is primarily
grown in California and reaches its highest level of quality there.
Its origin is shrouded in mystery, but Zinfandel has been shown to be
the same grape as the Southern Italian Primitivo, and it's thought
that both may go back to an earlier Balkan progenitor. At its best, it
makes an exuberantly fruity, ripe, and full red wine with exuberant
blackberry and raspberry scents (known botanically as "bramble
fruit"). You'll sometimes see a WHITE Zinfandel, a pink, sweet
California wine made by removing the grape skins from fermenting
Zinfandel juice before they have had time to impart much color to the
wine.

GRAPES AND VINES--VERDICCHIO

Verdicchio (Vehr-DEEK-yo), the Italian white-wine grape, is grown on
the Adriatic coast of Central Italy, where, at its best, it makes tart
wines suffused with an appealing bitter-almond quality. One popular
mass-market bottling comes in a green bottle shaped like a fish.

GRAPES AND VINES--VALPOLICELLA

Valpolicella (Vahl-poe-lee-CHELL-ah) usually makes a lightweight but
refreshing red wine from the Veneto of Northeastern Italy. Vinified as
Recioto della Valpolicella, however, it becomes a totally different
wine, powerful and robust and capable of aging for many years.

WHITE WINE AND FISH

I like red wine. I probably pull the cork from five or six bottles of
red wine for every white. But when there's fish on the table, that's
another story.

In my opinion, there's no better way to improve a glass of white wine
than this: Serve it alongside a fresh fillet of sea bass hot off the
grill, a bowl of linguine studded with clams and garlic, or a mound of
bay scallops seared in a little sweet butter. A crisp, acidic white
wine puts the same happy chemistry to work as a squirt of fresh lemon
when there's fish or seafood on your plate.

BARGAIN WINE--VALLE DELL'ASSO 1997 GALATINA ROSSO ($8.99)

Dark garnet, with spicy aromas of cloves and nutmeg over shy red-fruit
scents, this modest Italian red shows big, ripe red-fruit flavor with
just a hint of fresh-fruit sweetness easily brought in line by crisp
acidity.

FOOD MATCH: Demonstrating the affinity of tart Italian reds for pesto,
it makes a natural marriage with a Ligurian dish of pesto over
linguine, green beans, and new potatoes.

FOURTH DOWN AND PUNT

Pick up a wine bottle sometime and take a close look at the bottom.
Chances are that you'll find a deep, conical indentation rather than a
flat surface. This dent is called a "punt" in English (just like the
kick on fourth down in American football).

An obscure word, unknown even to many wine enthusiasts, its origins
are lost in history. But wine fanciers have plenty of theories:
- In the early days of modern bottle making, glass blowers learned
that a deep indentation made the bottle sturdier.
- The mechanism that glass blowers used to hold the bottle while it
was being made left this indentation when the job was done.
- Bottles were made this way intentionally so the sharp crease around
the conical shape would form a crevice where the wine's sediment could
collect and solidify.
- Finally, if you're a cynic, you may suspect that the indentation
serves the same purpose as the cardboard packaging inside a candy bar
wrapper: It makes the bottle look like it has more wine in it than it
really does!

BARGAIN WINE--CLINE 1997 CALIFORNIA ZINFANDEL ($8.99)

Clear, dark reddish-purple, with jammy blackberry fruit aromas and a
touch of a green, herbaceous scent. Big and ripe, "bramble" fruit and
oak flavors are fruity with just a touch of fresh-fruit sweetness.
Simple, straightforward, a wine to drink up soon, but it definitely
gives a budget-priced example of what Zinfandel is all about.

FOOD MATCH: Perfect with hickory-smoked baby back pork ribs, sizzling
from the grill for a picnic feast.

WINE TASTING NOTE--A FINE ITALIAN RED

Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona 1996 Ateo ($22.99)
Named "The Atheist" ("Ateo") not for religious reasons but as a
tongue-in-cheek dig at the strict Italian wine laws, this blend of 90
percent Sangiovese and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon must be sold as a
"red table wine" because it doesn't meet the traditional grape-variety
requirements for its region. Like many other Tuscan "table wines,"
however, it may just be the better for it, and although it's not a
cheap wine, its price is at the lower end of its pricey genre, making
it a very good buy.

Dark reddish-purple in color, it offers generous black fruit and spicy
oak aromas that lead into sweet oak and ripe fruit flavors,
mouth-filling and jammy, well structured with lemon-tart acidity and
marked but accessible tannins. A little gangly and awkward now, it
comes into perspective with rare red meat and shows real promise for
improvement with time.

FOOD MATCH: Fine with a pepper-crusted grilled T-bone.

HOW LONG WILL WINE KEEP ON YOUR WINE RACK?

This, the obvious follow-up to our last tip's topic ("How long will
wine keep in an open bottle?") doesn't have a clear-cut answer,
because so much depends on the specific kind of wine in question and
on the storage conditions under which you are able to keep it.

In fact, very few wines are meant for aging. About 99 percent of the
world's wines--particularly those from the budget shelf--should be
drunk up soon after manufacture and purchase, while they are young and
fresh. Most wines don't mature gracefully with age but simply lose
their fresh fruit and become dull and tired. They are best enjoyed
within a year of purchase.

The few wines that do merit "cellaring" are the sturdy reds, ranging
from French Bordeaux and Rhones to the high-end Cabernet Sauvignons
from California and Australia and some of the best Italian and Spanish
reds. These are the wines most likely to mellow into a memorable,
balanced complexity, given careful aging under good cellar conditions.

Fine wine should be kept in a cool, quiet place, lying on its side so
the cork stays wet. A constant temperature of 55 F (13 C) is strongly
preferred but hard to attain in a modern home unless you have a
natural wine cellar or expensive wine-refrigeration unit. Lacking
this, if you can't keep your wine below 70 F (21 C), I don't recommend
trying to cellar your wines for longer than five years or so. (Keeping
wine in the refrigerator is not recommended for the long term, because
it's too cold, and the frequent vibration of the compressor motor may
be bad for the wine.)

HOW LONG WILL WINE KEEP IN AN OPEN BOTTLE?

How long will wine keep once the bottle has been opened? This may be
the one wine question I hear most often, and the short answer, I'm
afraid, is, "not very long." Wine, like fresh fruit, is perishable,
and air is its enemy. Once you've taken out the cork and exposed the
liquid to oxygen, it starts to deteriorate pretty fast.

Wine shops sell a variety of preservation systems that suck the air
out of opened bottles or squirt inert gases in, but in my opinion,
it's just about as effective simply to jam the cork back into the
half-finished bottle. It will hold at room temperature for a day or
two before its flavor starts to deteriorate seriously. Pop it in the
fridge, and it might last for a week or more. Fortified wines like
port or sherry may last a little longer, but much more than a week is
pushing it.

Your best bet is simply to finish your wine within a couple of days,
use the leftovers for cooking, or invite friends over to share.

One reassurance: Even if your wine gets too old to enjoy, it can't
hurt you. It may lose its flavor and become flat, dull, and
unenjoyable, but it won't turn toxic.

BARGAIN WINE NOTE--WYNDHAM ESTATE 1996 BIN 555 SOUTH EASTERN AUSTRALIA
SHIRAZ ($7.99)

Inky dark reddish-purple, with jammy blackberry fruit aromas and spicy
oak, cloves, and cinnamon. Big, full-bodied, "chewy," textured black
fruit and snappy acidity. A real mouth full of red wine, showing a lot
of character for a modest price. U.S. importer: American Wine
Distributors Inc., San Francisco.

FOOD MATCH: Fine with a grilled chicken suffused with wine, olive oil,
and thyme.

FOOD AND WINE--RED WITH RED, WHITE WITH WHITE

Generalizations are always suspect, especially in the world of wine.
Still, the old saying "red wine with red meat, white wine with white
meat," works quite well as a simple guide. A powerful, tannic red wine
would simply overwhelm delicate white fish, for instance, while a
light, ethereal white like a fresh Viognier would seem mighty wimpy
alongside a joint of rare roast beef.

BARGAIN WINE NOTE--VINA BORGIA 1998 CAMPO DE BORJA ($4.99)

Another very low-price Spanish wine that offers surprising value, this
one is dark garnet in color, with fresh berry fruit and black pepper
in its ripe and forward aroma. A big blast of red-fruit flavor, almost
soft and sweet on first impression, firms up with crisp acidity in the
finish. It's a simple, fruity wine but far from boring, a
characteristic that makes it a standout at this low-end price.

FOOD MATCH: Fine with a simple shepherd's pie made with leftover steak
and mashed potatoes with Mexican farmer cheese and a whiff of ancho
chiles.

BARGAIN WINE NOTE--DOMINIO DE EGUREN 1997 PROTOCOLO RED TABLE WINE
($5.99)

At $6, this generic Spanish red from a respected Rioja producer may be
one of the cheapest "quality" wines currently on the market. Very dark
reddish-purple in color, it offers a ripe, fresh strawberry aroma
leading into bright and juicy berry fruit flavors backed by
lemon-squirt acidity and a whiff of fragrant black pepper. Quaffable
and quenching, it may not be a classy wine, but it shows structure and
balance surprising for the price.

FOOD MATCH: A spicy multi-ethnic risotto of Thai sausage and collard
greens goes surprisingly well with this simple, hearty red.

PEELING THE CAPSULE

Getting that colorful plastic or foil "capsule" off the end of your
wine bottle before you pull the cork can be a pain--literally so, if
you happen to catch your finger on a sharp edge of the foil variety.

Wine shops sell an inexpensive accessory called the "FoilCutter" that
will snip off the end of the capsule in a neat circle, and of course
you can always peel it with a knife.

But the simplest tool of all for this minor but essential procedure is
probably already in your kitchen pantry: A simple potato peeler, run
up the side of the bottle so it takes a vertical slice out of the
capsule from the bottom to the top, will remove the pesky item in
seconds.

TASTING NOTE--TOPOLOS 1995 CALIFORNIA OLD VINEYARD RESERVE ($9.99)

Is it from California, or is it from Southern France? The earthy,
barnyard-like aromas of this robust red wine would make it a startling
"ringer" in a tasting of wines from Provence or the Languedoc, but
it's pure California, showing the funky character for which Topolos is
known.

It's a hazy, inky garnet in color, with an aggressive aroma full of
herbal and leathery scents. My wife, who likes it less than I do, says
it reminds her of shoe leather... from hard-worn shoes. Bright and
juicy red-fruit flavors are more ripe and fresh than the nose might
suggest, with herbal notes of oregano and earthy qualities that mirror
the aroma. The label calls it "Bold red," and this is no exaggeration.
It's idiosyncratic to the max, but pleasant if you like this kind of
thing, as I do.

FOOD MATCH: Holds up well to a flavory stir-fry crafted to meet the
wine: Beef and broccoli with lots of garlic, ginger, and savory
black-bean sauce.

FOOD AND WINE--RELAX!

Worried about finding the right wine to go with a special dinner?
Don't fret! Humans have been making wine for more than 5,000 years,
and since Bronze Age days, it has been made for the primary purpose of
washing down food. Most wines go very nicely with most foods. Drink
what you like, eat what you like, and you won't go far astray. In the
next few weeks, we'll discuss some general principles to serve as
guides, but don't forget this basic rule: The only taste buds you have
to please are your own.

RED WINE AND FISH

As I said in our previous tip, it's hard to find a happier
wine-and-food combination than fresh seafood or fish and a crisp, dry
white wine.

But every rule has its exceptions, and this is certainly true of the
rules about matching wine and food. To try one particularly delicious
exception for yourself, I suggest uncorking a decent Pinot Noir the
next time you have grilled salmon. It's a marriage made in heaven! In
fact, just about any dark, oily fish--salmon, tuna, bluefish, or
mackerel--will go very well indeed with any fruity red wine that's not
too tannic. Keep the Cabernet on the shelf when fish is on your plate,
but try a Zinfandel or Merlot sometime with your tuna steak

FAVORITE WINE LINKS


Warning: Follow this link only if you have a lot of time on your
hands! The Vine2Wine.com directory seeks to catalog every wine-related
site on the World Wide Web. User-friendly and stylish in its design,
it subdivides wine sites into several categories, each listed
alphabetically.

http://www.vine2wine.com
FAVORITE WINE LINKS


Chateau Musar, the most famous winery in Lebanon, produces world-class
wines despite its vulnerability in one of the most war-torn nations of
the decade. Musar's Web site, available in both English and French, is
somewhat slow to load, being graphics-heavy and located far down the
Internet pipeline. But as a window into a very unusual byway of the
world of wine, it's well worth the visit:

http://www.chateaumusar.com.lb/start.htm
ZINFANDEL: MORE OF A MYSTERY THAN EVER


Zinfandel is a quintessentially American wine grape, even if--like
most American citizens--its roots are found in Europe.

The origins of this grape are shrouded in mystery and considerable
legend. For many years, the standard story held that Count Agoston
Haraszthy--a notable and colorful figure in Northern California during
Gold Rush days and indisputably a key figure in the development of the
Napa Valley wine country--brought this rare grape to the U.S. from his
native Hungary sometime after 1849.

As it turns out, however, very little research was needed to show that
Zinfandel (or, sometimes, "Zinfindal" or even "Zeinfindall") was
widely planted as a table grape in the Eastern U.S. decades before
Haraszthy set foot in Napa, turning up on exhibit in a horticultural
fair in Massachusetts as early as 1834.

Then wine sleuths noticed that Primitivo, a traditional grape from
Apulia in the "boot heel" of Southern Italy, looked a great deal like
Zinfandel and produced a somewhat similar fruity red wine. Sure
enough, DNA studies at the University of California at Davis show that
Zinfandel and Primitivo are identical! So, is Zinfandel Italian? Not
likely. Zinfandel apparently was known in the U.S. before Primitivo
grew in Italy. Did Zin make its way back to the old country, or do
both grapes simply share a common ancestor? This is the latest path of
inquiry, and scientists thought they might have found Zin's parent in
Plavac Mali, a wine grape of Dalmatia in Croatia. Once more, though,
the mystery deepens, as DNA testing indicates that Plavac Mali is a
cousin, not a parent.

It's most likely that a rare vine grows someplace in the Balkans, an
anonymous ancestor that gave birth to Zinfandel, an immigrant grape
that came through New England on its way to become California's
trademark wine, a grape that produces big, fruity, and memorable wines
with characteristic "bramble fruit" (blackberry and raspberry) aromas
and flavors. (It's also used to make a modest blushing pink wine,
White Zinfandel, that's popular in the bargain bins, but Zinfandel's
amazing fruit simply doesn't come through when it's subjected to this
treatment. I say stick to the red.)

FAVORITE WINE LINKS


Five major California wineries--Beringer Wine Estates, Clos Du Bois,
Kendall-Jackson Vineyards, Robert Mondavi, and Sebastiani
Vineyards--have invested in a Sonoma County synthetic-cork producer,
Neocork Technologies, and are aggressively testing its product.
Neocork's Web site is really aimed at wineries, not the general
public, but it's open to all, and you might enjoy this online peek
behind the scenes as the industry struggles with the cork problem.

http://www.neocork.com
DOES VINTAGE REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE


There's a certain mystique about judging wine on the basis of its
vintage--the year in which its grapes are grown. Unfortunately, this
can be one of the issues that makes some people decide wine
appreciation is too complicated to be worth the effort. On the other
hand, learning about this kind of nuance--like keeping up with
statistics in your favorite sport--adds an element of interest to wine
that's not found in other beverages.

One thing's for sure: Vintage variations demonstrate that wine really
begins with farming. Vine growers are farmers, and like all their kin,
they pray for good weather. Hard freezes in the springtime can kill
the blossoms that produce the grapes; a terrible winter freeze can
actually kill the grapevines. Hailstorms can batter the vines and, at
worst, destroy an entire year's crop. You don't want too much rain
during the growing season, which can induce rot in the grapes and, at
the end of the season, puff up the grapes with water, diluting their
juice. If the summer is too cool, the grapes may not ripen fully at
all. If it's too hot, the grapes may not thrive, or they may become so
overripe that they produce weird and one-dimensional wines. A perfect
vintage demands a season in which the weather consistently breaks to
the farmer's advantage, and that doesn't happen every year!

In modern times, winemaking technology has made it easier for
winemakers to make palatable wines in vintages that would have utterly
disastrous in our grandparents' time. But vintage remains important,
and part of the fun of wine appreciation as a hobby is learning to
taste the differences between a wine from a great vintage and one from
a year that's only so-so.

Don't make the mistake of rejecting every wine from a so-called "poor"
vintage, or assuming that you can't go wrong with any wine from a
great one. Even off years--like 1987 or 1992 in Bordeaux or 1989 in
Napa--can produce good wines, and they may offer especially good value
because so many consumers reject them on the basis of the conventional
wisdom.

If you'd like to review online vintage charts, take a look at our
graphical charts designed by Dutch wine expert Pim van Ravesteijn:

http://www.wine-lovers-page.com/vintage
FAVORITE WINE LINKS


Light, fresh, and quaffable, Beaujolais isn't just about the wintry
Nouveau of November. It's a wine to enjoy all year, and you can learn
a lot about it from "Beaujolais," the official site of the Union
Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais (the Interprofessional
Beaujolais Wine Union) and Le Pays Beaujolais (Association for the
promotion of tourism in Beaujolais). The page is a little slow to
load, at least from across the Atlantic, but it's worth the wait.
Available in many languages (click the appropriate flag on the opening
page), it contains substantial news and information about Beaujolais
the wine and Beaujolais the region, with links to geography, history,
economy, its wines, "gourmanderie," tourism, and organizations.

http://www.beaujolais.net
FOOD AND WINE--WINE WITH DESSERT


Sweet wines are generally better sipped by themselves and not with
food.

There are a few traditional sweet-wine matches, including foie gras
with Sauternes and other great dessert wines; Stilton (or other fine
blue cheese) and walnuts with Port; and a creamy, not-too-sweet creme
brulee with a fine dessert wine.

But most sweet dishes seem to throw dessert wines out of balance and
accentuate their acidity rather than their sugar. It's best to have
your dessert wine BEFORE the dessert rather than serving it WITH
dessert; hold the dessert wine for contemplative sipping after the
meal has ended.
WINE IN THE BIBLE


Does the Bible condemn the consumption of wine or does it endorse it?
In fact, it appears to do both.

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise," according to Proverbs. But the Book of Judges
notes that wine "cheereth God and man." And in his letter to Timothy,
Paul advises, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy
stomach's sake and thine often infirmities."

For every verse about wine that "stingeth like a serpent," there are
two more that speak of the joys of wine and that allude to Christ and
his apostles--not to mention the Old Testament kings and
peasants--enjoying it.

I would respectfully submit that the seeming contradictions simply
represent an honest evaluation of a beverage that was a part of daily
life for the people of the Holy Land in biblical times, a
wine-producing and wine-consuming land. Its people drank wine with
every meal and knew it as both a happy element of daily life and a
potential source of pain.

>From the Old Testament, which has Noah beginning his new life by
planting a vineyard and making wine (and suffering the embarrassment
of overindulgence) to the lovely Gospel story in which Christ turned
water into excellent wine for the enjoyment of the wedding guests at
Cana, the Bible both warns of the dangers of overconsumption and
expresses gratitude that God made the wine that gladdens the heart of
man.

The key, of course, is moderation, and that's something that some
people have (more or less) understood from ancient times to the
present.

 FAVORITE WINE LINKS--WINETASTERS SOCIETY OF TORONTO


You don't have to be Canadian to enjoy Peter Curran's and Ted
Richards's Winetasters Society of Toronto page. It's got meeting and
tasting information for locals, and clear, comprehensible tasting
notes for the rest of us.

http://www.winetasters.on.ca
A WINE FOR THE LONG HAUL


How to choose a wine that will last for 20 or 25 years, as a
long-range plan to celebrate the 21st birthday of a newborn child or
the silver anniversary of a newlywed couple? This is one of the wine
questions I hear most often, but unfortunately, it doesn't have an
easy answer.

The vast majority of the world's wines are meant for immediate
consumption, not for aging; and most of the rare beauties that will
hold out for 25 years require specialized storage at a constant 55F
(13C)--too cold for air conditioning but too warm for a
refrigerator--in order to show their best after all that time.

Luckily, however, one relatively affordable wine is almost
indestructible: Madeira. This strong wine, fortified with brandy, was
developed to survive, and even improve, during long ocean voyages from
its island source off North Africa to thirsty markets in East India
and the New World. Strong and warming, Madeira ranges from dry to very
sweet, with burnt-sugar, earthy, and caramel flavors, always with a
firm, even steely acidity, and it will almost literally last forever,
even under very poor storage conditions. What's more, Madeira remains
surprisingly affordable for an age-worthy wine, generally ranging from
$20 to $35 for a recently produced bottle sold in the U.S.

So if you're looking for a wine to hold for a celebration in the
distant future and you don't own a wine "cellar," you can hardly do
better than a Madeira for a wine that's likely to last.
FAVORITE WINE LINKS--GARNET WINES & LIQUORS


One of my favorite New York City wine shops is Garnet Wines & Liquors,
where you can almost always find something of interest at a reasonable
price. Garnet's Web site resembles the bricks-and-mortar store both in
its selection and in its good, no-nonsense wine commentary by Robert
Callahan, one of the most knowledgeable wine experts I know.

http://www.garnetwine.com
POPPING THE CORK--SAFELY


Planning to pop a cork on New Year's Eve? Make sure you do it safely!
Letting the cork fly out and hit the ceiling may make a joyful noise,
but there's a chance that you could break something or hit somebody in
the eye with the flying cork. What's more, some wine often spews out
of the bottle, making a mess and wasting good wine.

Here's my method for opening bubbly:

First, make sure the wine is cold. Champagne is much more likely to
foam out of the bottle if it's too warm. For the same reason, try to
avoid shaking the bottle before you open it.

Carefully peel off the foil that covers the business end of the
bottle, and then unwind and remove the wire "cage" that holds the cork
in place. If there's any dirt or gunk around the cork, wipe it off
with a damp cloth or paper towel.

Now, here's the trick: Assuming you're right-handed, grip the bottle
with your right hand and hold the cork tightly with your left. (You
can use your bare hand to hold the cork, or a cloth or paper towel.)
Hold the cork steady while you gently twist the bottle. The cork
should ease loose with a gentle hiss, and you'll find yourself holding
the cork in one hand and an open bottle in the other!

ICE WINE


The onset of winter, months past normal harvest time in the world's
vineyards, brings us ice wine ("Eiswein" in German), one of the most
rare and delicious of dessert wines. It is made by leaving the grapes
on the vines for many weeks after the usual harvest, allowing them to
become extremely ripe and, if all goes well, shriveled by the
beneficial fungus called "botrytis." Then the winemaker waits for a
hard freeze, rushing to the vineyard to pick and crush the grapes
while they are actually frozen. The freezing literally distills out
most of the water in the grapes in the form of ice, so the liquid that
remains to make the wine is rich and intensely sweet.

Because this process is so difficult, and so much of the grape juice
is lost in the form of ice, these wines are EXTREMELY rare and
expensive and may cost as much as $100 or more for a bottle!

The ice wine custom originated in Germany, but fine ice wines are also
made in tiny quantities in Ontario, Canada, and in the Finger Lakes
region of New York.
FOOD AND WINE--STEAKING YOUR CLAIM


Hearty red meats like steaks and roast beef absolutely require dry red
wine. Cabernet Sauvignon (Bordeaux), Pinot Noir (Burgundy), and the
Syrah-based red Rhone wines are the classics, and naturally the
equivalents from the United States, Australia, South America, and
South Africa work as well. The big reds from Tuscany and the Piemonte
in Italy--Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Chianti--make great marriages
with red meats and even wild game, as do the very inky and robust
American reds like Petite Sirah and Charbono.
THE ACID TEST


Acid is perceived as nasty stuff, which makes it difficult to explain
why acidity in wine is not merely desirable but prized. Think of
acidity as yielding not pain but zest, a pleasant sharpness that adds
a dimension to what would otherwise be flat and bland--a lemon-squirt
of flavor on your fish, a tart piquancy that turns sugar water into
lemonade--and you'll be on the right track.

Acid occurs naturally in wine, with dozens of variations: malic acid,
which tastes of green apples; citric acid, as in lemons; tartaric
acid, which sometimes creates those pesky crystals that stick to the
cork; and the milder lactic acid, which makes your Chardonnay taste
"buttery." Tannic acid shows as astringency in young wine but gives it
the substance needed to improve with age.

There's volatile acidity, the acetic acid that turns spoiled wine into
vinegar (from the French "vin aigre," or "sour wine"), and fixed
acidity, the clean, fresh tartness that adds snap and zing to wine.
Put it all together and you've got total acidity, which is distinct
from pH, the quantitative measurement of acid intensity.

So what does all this science mean to us as wine drinkers? Simply put,
a wine without acidity is like a body without a skeleton to hold it
up: Acidity gives structure and balance to wine, and wine without
sufficient acidity is flabby and fat and just doesn't hold together.
Acidity adds dimension and complexity to wine, and--just like that
lemon-squirt on fish--makes it go well with food. Sugar and acidity
are the yin and yang of cookery, from Germany's sauerbraten to China's
sweet-and-sour pork, and it's the same in wine: Sweet fruit and sour
acid together make a combination that's more than the sum of its
parts.

WINE POURING RITUAL


Does the wine-pouring ritual at a fancy restaurant make you nervous?
Relax! It's really all based on common-sense traditions, and you're
not required to do anything but sit and wait for the wine to be
poured.

Let's go through it step-by-step: After you've chosen your wine, the
server will bring out the bottle and show you the label, to ensure
that you're getting the exact wine you ordered. Then he'll pull the
cork and offer it to you for inspection. Don't worry--you don't have
to DO anything with it! If you want to pick it up, sniff it, look at
it knowingly, and put it in your pocket as a souvenir, feel free--but
all you need to do is put it down, out of the way.

The waiter then pours a small taste into your glass. Swirl it, sniff
it, nod and smile--if you like it--and he'll then pour around the
table, returning to fill your glass last.

That's all there is to it! It takes longer to explain than it takes to
endure at the table. Most important, bear in mind that the purpose of
the "ritual" isn't to embarrass you or show you up as a non-expert;
it's really all just tradition, based on giving you, the diner, every
opportunity to make sure that you get the wine ordered and that it's
good. And, in the unlikely event that you feel something is wrong with
the wine--particularly if it has that dank, musty, "wet cardboard" or
"damp basement" aroma that indicates it was afflicted by a bad
cork--you have the right to send the wine back for a replacement.

GETTING OUT THE CORK


When I was young and didn't know much about wine, I hated to buy wine
with a cork in the bottle because it was such a chore to get the thing
out.

Naturally, I was delighted when I discovered the "two-winged" style of
corkscrew with the twin levers you could work to make the job look
easy... and later, as I developed a reputation among my pals as a
serious wine fancier, I learned to use the "Ah-So," a two-pronged
device that you work down the sides of the cork, then twist to get it
out without using a screw at all. Later came the pocket ScrewPull, a
trademarked device that's made of sleek, hard plastic and that makes
the cork-extraction process just about foolproof. You can even buy
lever-type models, hand-held or table-mounted, that pull corks in an
assembly-line process. There are even such odd accessories as
compressed-air devices that inject air into the bottle through a
needle and gently push the cork out. (Warning: Some authorities
caution that a bottle with a flaw in the glass could explode under the
internal pressure generated by this device.)

Nowadays I've got a fair-sized collection of corkscrews of various
types, but you know what? More often than not, I use a standard
waiter's corkscrew, the kind that looks like a pocket knife, with a
handle, a fold-out screw, and a lever that swings out from the end to
help pry the cork loose.
FOOD AND WINE: SALADS


Vinegar is the natural enemy of wine, so it's wise to push back your
wine glass when you're digging into the salad bowl, unless you've
selected a salad topped with chicken or seafood or dressed with
something less acidic than vinegar.

Appetizers, on the other hand, may run the entire gamut. Consider the
primary ingredient of the appetizers and apply the general principles
that you'd use with an entree. Or go the festive route and accompany
your salad with champagne!
"CLEANSING" THE PALATE

What is the best way to cleanse your palate between tasting different
wines? Good white bread is the standard palate-cleanser at tastings
because it's neutral in flavor. If you watch professional wine buyers
doing their work, they'll take a piece of bread and a drink of water
between wines in order to judge each one from a standing start.

At social wine tastings, you'll often see cheese or even more
substantial snacks like shrimp, roast beef, meatballs, or
bacon-wrapped chicken livers served, but this is not such a good idea
when you're evaluating wines for purchase because wines tastes
different with food than without it. You'll sometimes see apples and
other fruit served with wine, but I don't recommend it, because fruit
may make the wine taste a little sour.

FAVORITE WINE LINKS--HISTORY OF WINE

If you enjoy reading about wine history, you will not want to miss The
Origins and Ancient History of Wine, a presentation by the University
of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. One of my
absolute favorite wine-related sites, thoughtfully and intelligently
"curated," it is nothing less than a thorough yet readable overview of
the history and archaeology of wine in ancient times.

http://www.upenn.edu/museum/Wine/wineintro.html

SPINNING THE BOTTLE

I frequently get questions from folks who've heard that wine bottles
aging in the cellar should be rotated periodically, a procedure that
is thought in some mysterious way to improve its development.

In fact, this is simply not so! Wine is best left undisturbed as it
ages. Rotating the bottles would serve no purpose except the negative
one of stirring up the sediment that gradually forms along its lowest
side.

So if you're aging wine, please don't turn your bottles. There's no
need for it in the short term, and if you're saving bottles for the
longer term, it can be bad for the wine.
FAVORITE WINE LINKS--BROOKLYN'S DELVINO WINERY

The Delvino Winery was founded by Louis Birner in Brooklyn, New York.
According to the accounts gathered from the remaining family, in the
early 20th century Birner and his family left their home in Romania to
escape persecution. After trying the horse and harness business and
then selling supplies for home beer and wine making during
Prohibition, Birner opened a small winery in New York City. This
charming Web site tells the family's story and showcases a few images
of its old equipment:

http://www.mtechpub.com/delvino/
FOOD AND WINE--WHEN TO BREAK THE RULES

Remember when we talked about the "red wine with red meat" rule, and I
mentioned that all generalizations are suspect?

That's right: There are plenty of tasty exceptions to the "Red wine
with red meat, white wine with white meat" rule.

The rule would seem to call for white wine with poultry, for example,
but the hearty flavor of roast or grilled chicken goes very well with
fruity red wines like Merlot, Zinfandel, or Beaujolais,
and--especially with herbs in tow--it makes a fine match with an
austere Cabernet Sauvignon.

What's more, there's no better match than Pinot Noir for salmon,
shattering the notion that you should never serve red wine with fish.

GREAT for the MEMORIAL or PASSOVER--KOSHER WINE


Does kosher wine have to taste like Manischewitz or Mogen David? Not
at all!
Although many people associate "kosher" with this syrupy-sweet,
grape-jelly style, this is in no way a requirement for kosher wine,
which in fact may be made identically to other dry table wines in the
European tradition, the only issue being that it is produced under
rabbinical supervision.
You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy HAGAFEN 1997-5758 NAPA VALLEY
MERLOT ($16.99), a delicious Merlot that's dark-garnet in color,
showing ripe black-cherry and chocolate scents. Ripe, fruity, okay
fresh-fruit sweetness appears in the flavor at first, drying out in a
pleasantly tart and tannic finish. It's the only wine I've ever seen
that carries its vintage in both the civil and Jewish calendars.

HOW BIG IS A BOTTLE


Ever since the modern wine bottle was invented some 300 years ago,
wineries have marked special occasions by putting up their product in
impressive, oversize bottles, some big enough to serve the proverbial
army. For reasons lost to history, most of these bottles were given
the names of Biblical figures like the evil king Nebuchadnezzar and
the long-lived Methuselah.

The naming conventions vary among wine regions, but the two standards
are Champagne and Bordeaux in France. In case you run into a big
bottle on a festive table, here's a quick field guide to the larger
bottle sizes:

CHAMPAGNE
Magnum: 1.5 liters (two bottles)
Jeroboam: 3 liters (four bottles)
Rehoboam: 4.5 liters (six bottles)
Methuselah: 6 liters (eight bottles)
Salmanazar: 9 liters (12 bottles)
Balthazar: 12 liters (16 bottles)
Nebuchadnezzar: 15 liters (20 bottles)

BORDEAUX
Magnum: 1.5 liters (two bottles)
Marie-Jeanne: 2.25 liters (three bottles)
Double Magnum: 3 liters (four bottles)
Jeroboam: 4.5 liters (six bottles)
Imperiale: 6 liters (eight bottles)