Spring

Spring is upon us and as trees bloom and birds resume song, there can only be one question on the minds of wine advocates everywhere: what to drink? Indeed, this is more than a lark to those of us who realize restaurant menus in Central Ohio and nationwide are increasingly seasonal in nature and, as diners become more sophisticated in their selection of well-prepared foods, there is a certain lag time in judging which of the season’s wines will best compliment their food choices. (I have always thought it interesting that many restaurants with continuously evolving menus maintain static wine choices from season to season, year to year,and from vintage to vintage.) This wine blog will be presently dedicated therefore to ending the gray winter of your wine drinking, and helping you blossom into that which is fresh, bright, and new. At last, it is spring.

Spagio has recently been running risotto specials (a daily feature at the restaurant since its inception some 14 years ago) that showcase the time honored Italian tradition of rice preparation but with a bit of an Asian twist. One such dish featured wonderfully textured Ahi Tuna atop vegetable risotto and alongside a Vietnamese style spring roll and fresh baby bok choy (perhaps seasoned with a bit of rice wine vinegar). Knowing at once that I’d order this dish, my mind quickly began to ponder the wine choices at hand. The lightness of the dish largely disqualified Chardonnay as a choice (I think of the varietal as a better seasonal choice later in the year), and the fresh spring vegetables and presence of mint (an essential in Vietnamese spring rolls) narrowed my focus to Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Having sampled the Giesen Sauvignon Blanc several times (it’s a great value wine available at several restaurants about Columbus and as a glass pour at Spagio), and knowing its grapefruit and lemongrass qualities well, I decided to go in the direction of Riesling. Many wine drinkers assume Rieslings to be sweet, and many are; but to those with a preference for drier wines, dry and medium dry Rieslings are not to be missed. One such wine is the 2004 Pike’s Clare Valley Riesling ($18.99). Widely available, this wine is notable for its grace and finesse on the palate, a nice dose of bracing lime and mineral flavors, and a lingering, tangy finish that has made it an excellent choice for selected food pairings for several years. According to the winemaker, this, his twentieth vintage Riesling, should age for 6-8 years and unfold into one of his best Rieslings ever.

Also of note, but a bit harder to find, is the excellent Grosset Riesling “Polish Hill.” (No, it’s not actually a cavern, smartaleck!). Jeff Grosset has been making wines under his own name since 1981, and in the course of a long and distinguished career has been named both ‘International Riesling Winemaker of the Year’, and ‘Australian Winemaker of the Year’ with each honor coming in 1998. Grosset’s most recent “Polish Hill” is the 2004, and, in what is shaping up to be a very good if not great year for Aussie growers, it provides specific insight into the complexity of the vintage and stands as a beacon for the potential of Australian winemaking in general. In placing this wine among his top 100 wines of 2004 and awarding it 96 Wine Spectator points, James Halliday had the following to say about the Grosset :

"Often slower to open up than its Watervale counterpart, this year the roles seem to be reversed, but without compromising the cellaring potential of this wine. Potent lime and apple blossom aromas flow through into the palate, where flecks of herb and slate add to the complexity of the long finish."

I cite Mr. Halliday’s tasting impressions as I largely agree with them, but also because they raise the interesting question of how much the matter of what the French term terroir really has to do with wines, and whether ‘Old World’ ideas about such apply to ‘New World’ wines. Such, along with a continuing exploration of Spring’s best wines will be the subject of my next post.


Miscellany:

• Jeni’s Blueberry-Lemon is back! (Available at Jeni’s Fresh Ice Creams in the North Market and elsewhere)
• Crisp, fresh baby bok choy has hit the city’s Asian markets and can be found for $1.00 per pound at Three Seas and Crestview markets (each on High St. in Clintonville)
• Turkish Cuisine (2653 N. High St. in Clintonville) recently obtained a liquor license, and has just installed a new bar - the perfect complement to an already outstanding (and inexpensive!) restaurant
• The Winds Café in Yellow Springs will host “An Evening in Southern France” on Tuesday April 26th ($55.00 per person)
• Spagio Cellars will be featuring a range of wines from France in an extensive tasting to be hosted by Sunny Brown the following Thursday, April 28th ($60.50 per person)