LAYNE’S WINE GIG
YOU NEVER KNOW…
By Layne V. Witherell
For me, wine and food aren’t a predetermined, preordained, sales-rep induced experience beginning with the admonition, “Wow, you should try this wine, and smell the rock that it is grown in.” I prefer to plunge headfirst into the unknown. Today, it is totally about unknown wines.
GRAPE ABDUCTION BLAUFRANKISCH, SLOVENIAN RED, $20.00
Terez, the owner of Port City Blue at 650 Congress Street (as in the venue for Layne’s Wine Gig), and I picked out this red from a distributor’s wine list sight unseen. The grape is an old Austrian-Hungarian variety commonly called Lemberger (which translates into a hard sell in the US). Four thousand acres are grown in its homeland. It’s an indigenous, popular grape.
Tasting it live onstage for the first time, I found it had “newest hipster enclave” written all over it. Archaic, artisanal, it glowed in the glass just like the label. Ah, the label. It was a pastiche of the great Le Cigare Volante label (California Red Table Wine) created by the wildly eccentric vintner, philosopher, winemaker, and wine writer extraordinaire Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon. Flying saucers, okay sure.
The other influence in taste is Josko Gravner, late of Collio in Northern Italy. He became the shining light of reviving the ancient 6,000 BC tradition of using Georgian clay amphora for fermenting and macerating of grapes until they resemble their skins instead of the wine itself. This is a glorious example of Randall Grahm and Josko Gravner having a baby. There is a sense of metallic whirligigs and acrid smack. The back label says to “serve slightly chilled, with grilled meats, light cheeses or light fare.”
But… there is more.
The audience always participates in the Wine Gig and our ever inciteful pal Bruce Couillard suggested that it had a character and taste resembling salad dressing. That got us thinking and rooting around in the pantry. Ah, add a little grilled chicken and Trader Joe’s Strawberry Basil Vinaigrette as an accompaniment to the acidic, acrid smack. The white balsamic in the dressing is a knockout accompaniment that must be experienced to be believed. With the pairing, the wine is livelier as is the dressing. Perfection. There is new life in that “newest hipster enclave,” and a great alfresco dinner to boot.
CIRELLI WINES OF ANARCHY, TREBBIANO, ABRUZZO, FRIZZANTE, $22.00-$25.00
Discovered at the Maine Wild Wine Fest in Freeport, Maine. There are a whole lot of problems with this wine once you get beyond the adorable snarly label. I looked up the blurb on “Rock Juice Monthly Wine Selections.” They are either an importer or P.R. agency, or both.
It is a simplistic white frizzante to throw down by itself or with briny snacks. Muscadet from the Loire Valley in France does it better for less money and less hype. In spite of the native yeast, organically grown grapes, spontaneous fermentation, pet nat style, and the morally improving hype, it is just mildly enjoyable.
The Oyster River Winegrowers Morphos White pet nat made in Maine at $22.00 is also actively fermented in the bottle and would provide a more interesting, lively tasting comparison side by side with local oysters and a hearty side of seaweed.
From the overtly friendly blurb, “Francesco would stand out as a rising star in any of Italy’s big famous regions … but in Abruzzo, his aura is almost blinding.” Whew. When you look him up in “Gambero Rosso Italian Wines” (the authoritative Italian wine guide) they say good things – blinding aura is not one of them.
His Cerasuolo d”Abruzzo Amphora (a classic Abruzzo rose) is his highest rated wine. His production is small at around twelve acres. I wonder if that Cerasuolo is available here? He is “trying to make authentic wine, not important wine.” I wouldn’t worry about that with the likes of shining stars Luigi Cataldi Madonna, Dino Illuminati, Tiberio, and the astonishingly great Emidio Pepe and Valentini as your neighbors. Just don’t change your label designer or you’d have to get a different schtick.
HORSESHOES AND HANDGRENADES, AMERICAN RED TABLE WINE, BOTTLED IN DUNDEE, OREGON $16.99
I purchased this wine in a local fine wine store thinking it was made by the legendary Charles K. Smith of Washington, who dabbles in Oregon a bit. There is a close resemblance to his graphics, that are, of course, always catchy. The person working there didn’t have a clue about this wine. But this article is about taking a chance. So why not?
I chose not to look anything up first, but I do know Wine Labeling 101, having run a winery and submitted labels to the Feds for approval. Catchy labels get you in the customer’s basket. Quality keeps you there. What is with the horseshoe and hand grenade anyway?
What’s in a label?
BRAND NAME: Required.
WINE TYPE: Must be 75% of a single grape variety to list it on the label. Red table is a “mendo blendo” of the winemaker’s choice.
These are pieces of knowledge, but they are only pieces. It is like having a key in your hand and trying to unlock your front door in the dark.
AMERICAN: On a wine label this means grapes or wine can be shipped from state to state. It is common in the Eastern US due to harsh grape growing conditions and crop instability. You never know about this on a label. Wines can range from The Prisoner, a great genre defining red at $50.00 to Our Dog Blue (Chateau Morrisette, Virginia) the perfect combo with fried bread at the fair.
BOTTLED BY: This person is bottling wine or grapes and having a “blendidly” good time.
Totally fun… Lots of sunshine!
I opened it on the deck with a rib eye steak on the grill. Interestingly, this was a “gotta try it before I know much” moment. It was totally fun, hanging out on the deck with my wife Judy, and a rare moment of respite from being in front of an audience. Nice to take a little time off.
What hit the glass was one of the most extraordinary wines that I have had in years. Piles of fruit. Balance. Layers of complexity. It tasted like a thrilling Oregon wine with more meat on its bones… and sunshine. Lots of sunshine. After a few weeks tasting the novelty act acidic creatures, each working and trying to stumble their way toward creating a pastoral vision, this was IT. THE BIG IT. Loaded with luscious, juicy fruit.
You simply must get out of the wine books and indulge in a bit of John Keats: “How I like claret. When I can get claret, I must drink it… it fills one’s mouth with a gushing freshness.”
There is a talent for sourcing grapes, and then there is a genius for sourcing grapes. Southern Oregon Syrah and Red Mountain Washington Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot combine to become ripe cherries meets saddle leather. Run, don’t walk to find a bottle of this wine.
You get to look up Andre Hueston Mack, wine guru extraordinaire, for yourself as you should taste this wine first before being wowed by a person’s curriculum vitae. This guy is as serious as wines get for the money. Also, his tee-shirt schwag is downright delirious!
LAYNE’S WINE GIG – JULY 7th – FIRST THURSDAY THIS MONTH!
For an afternoon of snark, fun, and wine come to Layne’s Wine Gig on the 1st Thursday in July from 5:00-6:00 p.m., at Blue, 650 Congress St., Portland. Four pours of 3-oz each for twelve bucks. Best to check the website for vax and mask requirements. Visit portcityblue.com.
Layne has been a professional in the wine business for many decades as a teacher, importer, writer, competition judge, and winery CEO. He was awarded the Master Knight of the Vine for his pioneering work in the Oregon wine industry. He can be reached at lvwitherell@gmail.com.
