The Food Maven Diary
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Three Wine Buys
Here's a little catch-up on Carol Berman's wine buys, which she presents on Food Talk every Wednesday, at about 12:30 p.m.
Salice Salentino is a big-flavored, deeply colored wine from the Puglia region of Italy, which extends into the "stiletto heel" of the Italian boot-shaped peninsula and is itself called the Salento peninsula.
There are Salice Salentinos from several producers in the New York metro market. Taurino is the one you are most likely to see. This wine buy of the week example comes from Candido, and it is a Riserva 1997, which only means it was aged longer than the bottles not labeled riserva.
Salice Salentino is a somewhat rustic wine, and it is full of character. Candido captures the luscious qualities of this blend of negroamaro and malvasia nera, two local grape varieties. The wine has nuances of rich, ripe, dried cherry fruit, leather and tobacco, perfectly wrapped in balanced soft tannins. If I found myself stranded on an island (even Staten Island), this is a wine I would be thrilled to drink daily, as it is sippable on its own, yet great with roasted and grilled meats, as well as tomato-based fish stews. Indeed, Arthur noted that when he was visiting Puglia recently, the locals drank their red wine with everything.
The retail price is $7.99. It is imported by Palm Bay Imports, Syosset, NY, and Boca Raton, Florida
From my first sip of Porca de Murca, Reserva 1999, I knew this lovely white wine was worth a mention. It has a mellow, almost melon-like aroma and a rich mouth feel. It's perfect for warm weather quaffing.
It comes from the Douro region of Portugal, which is mostly known for its Port
production. We don't hear much about Portuguese white wines, except for Vinho Verde, which is refreshing, crisp and very low in alcohol. It was therefore exciting to find a Portuguese white wine with this complexity.
The three grapes in this blended wine are Bual (Semillon), Verdelho, and Cercial. Semillon is one of the two white grapes found in the white wines of Bordeaux, so to some extent Porca de Murca is reminiscent of those wines.
Average retail price $10.99. Imported and distributed by Admiral Wines, Irvington, NJ
Bodegas Oliveres, Altos de la Hoya Monastrell, 2000, from Jumilla, Spain, is one beautiful, whoppingly huge wine. From its deep purple color and juicy plum palate, on through its lastingly rich finish, the wine is most impressive.
It is made from 92% Monastrell, otherwise known as Mourvedre, which is widely planted in the Rhone region of France, and 8% Garnacha (Grenache). One of the reasons for its richness, is due to the fact that the grape vines from which its fruit comes, are 30 to 40 years old. The older the vine, the deeper its roots go into the ground, and therefore, the more minerals and earthy goodness are extracted. This creates the super concentration which we find in Altos de la Hoya.
It is because of wines like this, that Jumilla, which is one of Spain's emerging wine regions, is gaining attention these days.
A great retail value at approximately $9.99. Distributed by Douglas Polaner Selections, NY
