Marquee Selections - Green, Global, Grapes - Notes from The Cribb

InTheCellar - "How To Steps on Wine & Cheese Pairing For The Holiday's " Part I & II

2011-12-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

Wine & _____ (if you said Cheese) we are on the same page! The holiday entertaining season is now upon us, therefore InTheCellar is teaching methods of pairing Wine & Cheese! As a two part series we will explore the "brand new" International Gourmet Cheese section at the Hy-Vee Grocery in Liberty, MO with Marquee Selections and In The Kitchen With Bonnie!

In our ninth episode of In the Cellar, we head to the International Cheese Shop at the Hy-Vee Premium Grocery in Liberty, MO and take a look behind the scenes in their show kitchen at a number of lovely wine & cheese pairings!

The first wine we review is the 2008 Capa Rota Monastrell / Syrah blend from the Yecla, region of Southern Spain. Monastrell, also called Mourvedre and Mataro in other parts of the world is a dark red grape known for being cherry flavored with a dry, light mocha dustiness to the wine. For the perfect cheese comparison we stuck with the theme of what "grows together goes together" and choose a Cheese used quite a bit in Spanish cuisine, Manchego to pair with this light red wine. A waxy, semi dry style of cheese, the Manchego is used in many charcuterie plates and finds its way next to another Spanish component, Serrano Ham and olives on many platters. If you are looking for a great pairing to entertain this winter, the Spanish sampler plate with Capa Rota Monastrell / Syrah is a great hit!

For the second wine we showcase a specialty wine, the best of the best from Caligiore Organic Vineyards in Mendoza Argentina, the 2008 Caligiore Organic Legacy Malbec. Described as a big rich red wine wrapped in a velvet glove, we have chosen a very dry aged cheese to pair with this wine, Parmigiano Regiano. The selected Parmigiano for this wine benefits whereby the dry and hard cheese component helps to bring out the subtle spicy notes from the wine and offers a crisp contrast to clean the palate. A delicious discovery, always also try old world Italian wine favorites with the aged Parmigiano like Chianti Classico or Amorone.

Time for Part II - Continue with us in our eleventh episode of In the Cellar, we head to the International Cheese Shop at the Hy-Vee Premium Grocery in Liberty, MO and take a look behind the scenes in their show kitchen at a number of lovely wine & cheese pairings with our partner Bonnie Rabicoff from In The Kitchen With Bonnie!

The third wine we review is the 2008 Marquee Signature Chardonnay, a cool-climate Chardonnay from the Yarra Valley in Australia just North of the city center of Melbourne. This "chardy" has light tropical notes riding alongside lemon flavors, a bit of creaminess and a touch of minerality. To show a similarity in pairing we went paired this wine with a Triple Cream Brie Cheese from France, which accentuates the notes of oak integration and buttery soft notes. The brie is served soft and the Chardonnay also acts as a palate cleanser as the balanced acidity brings refreshes your presentation for a 2nd / 3rd taste. Historically Chardonnay is a great pairing with many soft cheeses, be sure to ask your wine consultant for a lighter style if you are going with strong cheese or a stronger style if you are going with light cheese!

The forth wine we focus on in this episode is the 2004 Silver Wings Old Vine Vincenzao Mourvedre / Shiraz that is also from Victoria, Australia. Beautifully aged for several months in both French and American oak, this wine is a great choice for long term cellaring, and/or decanting to be consumed now. As a cheese accent we have moved to showcasing two different types of blue cheese with this wine, the first a Deep Veined Artisan Blue Cheese that also hails from Australia, the "Roaring 40s" from King Island and the second cheese, a more traditional Blue Stilton Cheese from England. A special note of thanks out to our friends from Paris Brothers Artisan Foods for allowing us a taste of this Australian Specialty cheese! The blue flavor is strong and therefore the wine picked has a backbone of strength, but actually is a medium bodied and not full bodied wine to contrast the cheese/. As shown in our episode the Stilton has more milky, creamy notes and is a bit softer in style, while the Roaring 40s has more blue veins and a stronger flavor. Both profiles work with the wine and will tempt your taste buds, the best pairing, well you need to try that for yourself!

In the Kitchen and Marquee send out a special thank you to our friends at Hy-Vee for participating in this exciting series of wine & cheese shows! The test kitchen is spectacular and we look forward to be coming back for more!

Marquee Selections has partnered up with the award-winning chef focused program " In The Kitchen with Bonnie" (http://inthekitchenwithbonnie.com) to produce an exciting new wine segment entitled "In the Cellar" with Marquee Selections . During each episode we will unravel the wine world one grape at a time! Each week we invite you to join us for an engaging conversation for our food and wine lovers to see why wine has been a worldwide tradition for centuries and how learning more about it can help bring the stories and flavors to life. Learn more about exciting regions, new wine types, varietals, how to pair wines with food, decanting, proper serving temperature, what wine goes best with pizza and more! A great 10 minute break from your day to learn and "wet" your taste buds for more"!

Please enjoy this web-episode of In the Cellar with Marquee and additional details are available below for more information on Marquee Selections! I am a bit new to the HD Camera, so please bear with me as I get my sea legs as an action reporter ( with today's technology you can find the grey hairs if you look) :) and thank you so much for tuning in and supporting Marquee Selections!

Have a great holiday!

~Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
Marquee Selections - Green, Global, Grapes
http://www.marquee.com

InTheCellar - Wines for Thanksgiving!

2011-11-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Give thanks, carve the bird, pile on the stuffing and pop a cork on GREAT WINE to go with it... check out great tips to pair with the hearty fare we serve at Thanksgiving from cranberry sauce to mom's pumpkin pie, we have got the wines for you!

In our tenth episode of In the Cellar, we head to the Club Room / Gourmet Kitchen at the Hy-Vee Premium Grocery in Liberty, MO and unwrap wines to pair for our upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday!

The first wine we review is the 2009 Marquee Classic Riesling - a lovely wine that pairs perfectly with the Thanksgiving meal and is not the "Sweet Riesling" that you may think of when you hear the term. Australia does a more dry style of Riesling and what we find is that this wine pairs well with a variety of foodstuffs, is lighter in alcohol and has lots of lime / lemon acidity to clean your palate between the different Turkey day tastes!

The second and third wines we are showcasing today come from Mendoza, Argentina and are of products of the grape type, Malbec. The first is a bright and fruity "rose", yes rose as in white zinfandel, but mind you this is a lovely wine as opposed to the tangy sweet White Zin's from Sutter Home that you may have tasted once before. The 2010 Pianissimo Organic Malbec Rose is fruity, fresh, has lots of strawberry, watermelon and light rhubarb qualities that make it a great chilled wine for thanksgiving that has enough body to match the sauces, turkey, stuffing and even pumpkin flavors of the season.

For those that prefer to drink red wine we have selected the 2010 Staccato Organic Malbec / Cabernet Blend as a "medium bodied red wine" that will pair well, but not overpower your food at thanksgiving. I like the choice of a lighter bodied wine as it allows the food to stay center stage on this occasion. I routinely also serve Pinot Noir for Thanksgiving, but this year in a tough economy could not think of a better wine for your value at only $9.99 than the Staccato Malbec / Cabernet Blend. PS - Like the family dog at thanksgiving grabbing table scraps, the family dog for this winery in Argentina actually loves to eat grapes straight out of the fields!

In the Kitchen and Marquee send out a special thank you to our friends at Hy-Vee for participating in this exciting series of wine education shows! The test kitchen is spectacular and we look forward to be coming back for more!

Marquee Selections has partnered up with the award-winning chef focused program " In The Kitchen with Bonnie" (http://inthekitchenwithbonnie.com) to produce an exciting new wine segment entitled "In the Cellar" with Marquee Selections . During each episode we will unravel the wine world one grape at a time! Each week we invite you to join us for an engaging conversation for our food and wine lovers to see why wine has been a worldwide tradition for centuries and how learning more about it can help bring the stories and flavors to life. Learn more about exciting regions, new wine types, varietals, how to pair wines with food, decanting, proper serving temperature, what wine goes best with pizza and more! A great 10 minute break from your day to learn and "wet" your taste buds for more"!

Please enjoy this web-episode of In the Cellar with Marquee and additional details are available below for more information on Marquee Selections! I am a bit new to the HD Camera, so please bear with me as I get my sea legs as an action reporter ( with today's technology you can find the grey hairs if you look) :) and thank you so much for tuning in and supporting Marquee Selections!

Check back next week for more exciting wine education from Marquee!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
Marquee Selections - Green, Global, Grapes

InTheCellar - A Visit To Lake County, Califonia!

2011-10-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Travel outside of San Francisco, past Napa to its North neighbor, Lake County, home of Clear Lake the largest freshwater lake in California as we taste the Classy Sauvignon Blanc & Zinfandel!

In our sixth episode of In the Cellar, we listened to Miles from Sideway's and turned our head away from California Merlot, but instead of going to Pinot Country, Marquee turned North and the vineyards of Lake County to find two great single varietal bottlings of Sauvingnon Blanc and Zinfandel . With partner wine company, X-Winery we have two unique wines that show the terrior of the area and focus in on how simple, minimalistic winemakeing can have a true impact on highlighting vibrant wines!

The first wine is a Sauvignon Blanc from just vineyards that surround the largest freshwater lake in California, Clear lake. Two vineyards contributed the fruit to the Classy Sauvignon Blanc to balance natural acidity and peach flavors with a longer palate and juicy mouth-watering finish! Sauvignon Blanc in California (as opposed to other parts of the world that it is also grown in like France, New Zealand, Chile & South Africa), is medium to full bodied with interesting green notes intertwined. A great comparison to try, taste the racy acidity of a New Zealand Sav. Blanc that can make your mouth pucker next to its cousin from the USA where it gets more sunlight, warmth, etc... and you can even fool some experts!

For the second wine we showcase the grape that the USA has adopted as our own varietal, ZINFANDEL. No other place in the world produces as much of this single variety than the US and for today's tasting the Classy Zinfandel shows that great nuance between spicy, rich notes and medium to smooth soft tannins. A great pairing for a ton of the US food supply, Zinfandel can win you kudos as a pair with BBQ, Pizza, Hamburgers and more! Scientific tests have shown this grape to be the same as the Italian grape "Primitivo", another interesting comparison, taste these two side by side to take your wine education to a new level!

Marquee Selections has partnered up with the award-winning chef focused program "In The Kitchen with Bonnie" (and it's lovely host Ms. Bonnie Rabicoff) to produce an exciting new wine segment entitled "In the Cellar" with Marquee Selections ; view our list of topics and videos at the Marquee Selections - Wine Talk Channel on YouTube!. During each episode we will unravel the wine world one grape at a time! Each week we invite you to join us for an engaging conversation for our food and wine lovers to see why wine has been a worldwide tradition for centuries and how learning more about it can help bring the stories and flavors to life.

Learn more about exciting regions, new wine types, varietals, how to pair wines with food, decanting, proper serving temperature, what wine goes best with pizza and more! A great 10 minute break from your day to learn and "wet" your taste buds for more"!
Please enjoy this web-episode of In the Cellar with Marquee and additional details are available below for more information on Marquee Selections! I am a bit new to the HD Camera, so please bear with me as I get my sea legs as an action reporter ( with today's technology you can find the grey hairs if you look) :) and thank you so much for tuning in and supporting Marquee Selections!

Check back next week for more exciting wine education from Marquee!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
cjcribb@marquee.com

InTheCellar - Organic Wines of Mendoza, Argentina!

2011-10-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

Argentina is known for a few great things, the tango, international soccer, incredible beef and now WORLD CLASS WINES - join us as we discuss the Wines of Argentina & explore 100% ORGANIC wines from Mendoza!

In our fifth episode of In the Cellar, we head to looking at one of the world's most dynamic and growing wine regions, Mendoza, Argentina! The wines of Caligiore Ecological Vineyards and the Symphony Organic Series are all produced under strict 100% Organic guidelines where no pesticides, herbicides and minimal intervention were used in their processing. The organic movement in the wine industry is growing and Marquee is proud to present the wines of Gustavo Caligore, Caligiore Ecological Vineyards and VinEcol SA Vinos Organicas as perfect representations of great wines regardless of price-point that also happen to be organic!

The first wine is a Torrontes from the high elevation vineyards of Mendoza, Argentina, the 2011 Grazioso Organic Torrontes. A light and floral grape that is unique to being grown in Argentina, it is #1 in overall white wine production and dances a unique line between the acidity and crisp flavor of a Sauvignon Blanc and the more floral and soft mouthfeel of a Pinot Grigio. Once you have tried this versatile grape varietal, you will keep watching for it on every wine list you see!

For the second wine we showcase the grape that has made Argentina a world wine power, MALBEC. Malbec has its origins in the field blends of Bordeaux, France, and came to Argentina with early settlers to this new world location. A "thin skinned" grape that loves sunlight, Malbec thrives in the high-elevation climate of Mendoza where the long days and cooler nights let the grapes achieve optimum ripeness. The Caligiore Organic Reserve Malbec is a stellar example of the varietal with deep dark raspberry, blueberry and blackberry notes alongside a hint of spice, mocha and dry sandalwood. The luscious mouthfeel / body of this wine comes from the "old vines" that produce it (over 80+ years old) and the long period of skin contact (3+ weeks). Malbec is the most widely planted grape in all of Argentina and Marquee Selections is proud to showcase this award winning Malbec for the mere cost of $14.99 per bottle! Wine & Spirits Magazine awarded this wine one of its Top 100 Best Buy Wines of 2009 and once you taste you will know why!

Marquee Selections has partnered up with the award-winning chef focused program " In The Kitchen with Bonnie" (http://inthekitchenwithbonnie.com) to produce an exciting new wine segment entitled "In the Cellar" with Marquee Selections . During each episode we will unravel the wine world one grape at a time! Each week we invite you to join us for an engaging conversation for our food and wine lovers to see why wine has been a worldwide tradition for centuries and how learning more about it can help bring the stories and flavors to life. Learn more about exciting regions, new wine types, varietals, how to pair wines with food, decanting, proper serving temperature, what wine goes best with pizza and more! A great 10 minute break from your day to learn and "wet" your taste buds for more"!

Please enjoy this web-episode of In the Cellar with Marquee and additional details are available below for more information on Marquee Selections! I am a bit new to the HD Camera, so please bear with me as I get my sea legs as an action reporter ( with today's technology you can find the grey hairs if you look) :) and thank you so much for tuning in and supporting Marquee Selections!

Check back next week as we move around the map and explore new wines!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
cjcribb@marquee.com

InTheCellar - Down Under With Aussie Wines!

2011-09-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

With a "New World" winemaking tradition that mirrors the United States, Australia produces unique wines at great value prices from Shiraz & Cabernet to Chardonnay, Riesling and more... join us for ten minutes of education and fun tasting Marquee Australian Wines with wine expert Christopher Cribb and Bonnie Rabicoff - Host & Food Expert of In the Kitchen With Bonnie!

In our fourth episode of In the Cellar, we move to the Southern Hemisphere and explore two Aussie wines from Marquee that have won outstanding international acclaim and showcase the bright tropical fruit, minimal intervention winemaking and artisan care that are the hallmarks to the Marquee portfolio. The first wine is a Riesling from the high county in the province of Victoria. The Marquee Classic Riesling is off-dry in style with just a slight hint of sweetness that is kept in balance with strong acids and a lovely lime / lemon zest character. Versatile and adept for wine pairings this wine can go with seafood, Asian cuisine, light salads or even on its own as a meal starter!

For the second wine we revert to the grape/style that has allowed Australia put its name back on the international wine scene in the last twenty-five years, Shiraz (yes the same grape as Syrah, but the stubborn Aussies have stuck to changing that trend). The Marquee Signature McLaren Vale Shiraz is a rock star wine, that has very smooth tanning, a rich, full bodied character and tons of flavor (raspberry, dark cherry, mocha, toffee and more...)! Shiraz is the most widely planted grape in all of Australia and this single vineyard wine showcases why so many vineyards are devoted to Shiraz production! 91 Points from Wine Spectator Magazine along with a list of other awards and accolades allows our confident assertion that this wine may only cost $20.00 but it tastes like $50.00!

Marquee Selections has partnered up with the award-winning chef focused program "In The Kitchen with Bonnie" to produce an exciting new wine segment entitled "In the Cellar" with Marquee Selections . During each episode we will unravel the wine world one grape at a time! Each week we invite you to join us for an engaging conversation for our food and wine lovers to see why wine has been a worldwide tradition for centuries and how learning more about it can help bring the stories and flavors to life. Learn more about exciting regions, new wine types, varietals, how to pair wines with food, decanting, proper serving temperature, what wine goes best with pizza and more! A great 10 minute break from your day to learn and "wet" your taste buds for more"!

Please enjoy this web-episode of In the Cellar with Marquee and additional details are available below for more information on Marquee Selections! I am a bit new to the HD Camera, so please bear with me as I get my sea legs as an action reporter ( with today's technology you can find the grey hairs if you look) :) and thank you so much for tuning in and supporting Marquee Selections!

Check back next week as we move around the map and explore new wines!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
cjcribb@marquee.com

In the Cellar - A Visit To Yecla - Bold Wines of Southern Spain!

2011-09-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

Spain has been crafting fine wines for centuries, visit Yecla in the Southern Highlands of Murcia for 10 minutes of education and fun tasting the wines of Bodegas La Purisima with Managing Director of Marquee Selections, Christopher Cribb and Bonnie Rabicoff - Host & Food Expert of In the Kitchen With Bonnie!

In our third episode of In the Cellar, we move to the dry windswept plateau of Yecla in southern Spain where in 1946 a large group of local grape growers banded together to form Bodegas La Purisima to show the best wines of their region of Yecla, We will explore two indigenous grapes to Spain, the first is Macabeo (also called Viura) in other parts of Spain, a light white wine with a profile similar to a Pinot Grigio as we taste the Capa Rota 2010 Macabeo. This fresh, floral white is a great pair with the spicy elements of Spanish cuisine as well as a lovely match with many seafood dishes.

The second grape we will dive into is Monastrell, also called Mourvedre or Mataro in other countries. This rich, hearty red has a lovely long pallet, dark blueberry and blackberry fruit that is layered over leather, spices and a dusty, earthy note. We open up the 2006 "Trapio" Old Vine Monastrell from un-grafted 50+ year old vines that is the TOP Cuvee for Bodegas La Purisima, a real treat and lovely wine for your next grilled steak or pork chop (awarded in the prestigious Top 50 - Penin Guide to Spanish Wine)!

Marquee Selections has partnered up with the award-winning chef focused program "In The Kitchen with Bonnie" to produce an exciting new wine segment entitled "In the Cellar" with Marquee Selections . During each episode we will unravel the wine world one grape at a time! Each week we invite you to join us for an engaging conversation for our food and wine lovers to see why wine has been a worldwide tradition for centuries and how learning more about it can help bring the stories and flavors to life. Learn more about exciting regions, new wine types, varietals, how to pair wines with food, decanting, proper serving temperature, what wine goes best with pizza and more! A great 10 minute break from your day to learn and "wet" your taste buds for more"!

Please enjoy this web-episode of In the Cellar with Marquee and additional details are available below for more information on Marquee Selections! I am a bit new to the HD Camera, so please bear with me as I get my sea legs as an action reporter ( with today's technology you can find the grey hairs if you look) :) and thank you so much for tuning in and supporting Marquee Selections!

Check back next week as we move around the map and explore new wines!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
cjcribb@marquee.com

In the Cellar - Learning the Wines of Portugal!

2011-09-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

Portugal is now creating some of the world's best values for table wine, take 10 minutes and learn about Portuguese wines with Managing Director of Marquee Selections, Christopher Cribb and Bonnie Rabicoff - Host & Food Expert of In the Kitchen With Bonnie!

In our second episode we bring you a brief introduction on Marquee and dive into two wines from the Iberian Peninsula, specifically Portugal! Learn about the award winning Clemen Reserva Vinho Verde - a white table wine from the North of Portugal that is 2010 was featured as one of Wine & Spirits Magazine's Top 100 Wines (regardless of price... and it is only $12.99) as well as a red blend, the Lua Nova Em Vinhas Velhas (Old Vines) from the Douro region, an outstanding value at only $14.99.

Marquee Selections has partnered up with the award-winning chef focused program " In The Kitchen with Bonnie" (http://inthekitchenwithbonnie.com) to produce an exciting new wine segment entitled "In the Cellar" with Marquee Selections . During each episode we will unravel the wine world one grape at a time! Each week we invite you to join us for an engaging conversation for our food and wine lovers to see why wine has been a worldwide tradition for centuries and how learning more about it can help bring the stories and flavors to life. Learn more about exciting regions, new wine types, varietals, how to pair wines with food, decanting, proper serving temperature, what wine goes best with pizza and more! A great 10 minute break from your day to learn and "wet" your taste buds for more"!

Please enjoy this web-episode of In the Cellar with Marquee and additional details are available below for more information on Marquee Selections! I am a bit new to the HD Camera, so please bear with me as I get my sea legs as an action reporter ( with today's technology you can find the grey hairs if you look) :) and thank you so much for tuning in and supporting Marquee Selections!

Check back next week as we move around the map and explore new wines!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
cjcribb@marquee.com

In the Cellar - Visit to Northern Italy - Piedmonte

2011-08-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

Marquee Selections has partnered up with the award-winning chef focused program " In The Kitchen with Bonnie" (www.inthekitchenwithbonnie.com) to produce an exciting new wine segment entitled "In the Cellar" with Marquee Selections . During each episode we will unravel the wine world one grape at a time! Each week we invite you to join us for an engaging conversation for our food and wine lovers to see why wine has been a worldwide tradition for centuries and how learning more about it can help bring the stories and flavors to life. Learn more about exciting regions, new wine types, varietals, how to pair wines with food, decanting, proper serving temperature, what wine goes best with pizza and more! A great 10 minute break from your day to learn and "wet" your taste buds for more"!

JCCCF2F Cellar from In the Kitchen with Bonnie on Vimeo.

In our initial episode we bring you a brief introduction on Marquee and dive into two wines from Piedmont, Italy the Quattro Leoni Monferrato Bianco and the Quattro Leoni Barbera D'Asti by Castello Di Gabiano! These wines are both perfect for back to school and the fresh harvest bounty available at markets as farmers start tidying up for fall. Castello Di Gabiano last year was awarded the prestigious "Best Barbera" medal at VinItaly and focus its red wines on this signature grape as well as doing an elegant blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cortese for our white wine drinkers! Please enjoy this web-episoded of In the Cellar with Marquee and additional details are available below for more information on Marquee Selections! I am a bit new to the HD Camera, so please bear with me as I get my sea legs as an action reporter ( with today's technology you can find the grey hairs if you look) :) and thank you so much for tuning in and supporting Marquee Selections!

Check back next week as we move around the map and explore new wines!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
cjcribb@marquee.com

Five “Go To” Methods of Food & Wine Pairing that just DON’T MISS!

2011-07-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

When I talk with an event planner, chef, or even my family about pairing up food and wines for whatever the special occasion, I first start by asking good questions…

Is it a daytime event or an evening event?
Are you going to have a cocktail hour or might there be a silent auction that you want people to look at?
What is your theme for the night, casino; masquerade ball, Italian castle, a night in Paris?
Will you be inside or outside (and accordingly what is the temperature / season of year)?
How many courses are you serving and what type of staff and what do you want to be the focal point of the dinner, the food, the wine, both?
What is the main course?

Answers to questions like these will help you move forward and narrow down your overall search. Simple knowledge of having a Saturday afternoon grilling party (something similar to a 4th of July event) will sway you towards serving more light alcohol, less tannic wines at the event. At this point, I tend to rule out things more than make choices, for example – I would pass on the Cabernet Sauvignon for my grilling party, most are heavy, higher in alcohol, with oak and tannin and look towards lighter reds like a Pinot Noir, Rioja, Grenache, Barbera or Red Blend.

Back to the Meat & Potatoes – FIVE “Go To” Food & Wine Pairing Tips

ONE - MATCH THE WEIGHT – One of the best tactics and the central approach I take to pairing wine with food is to pair and serve lighter wines with more delicate foods and heavier wines with richer, more robust items. This simple approach ensures that neither the food, nor the wine overtakes the other and allows the diner to appreciate the nuances and flavors in everything. A big fan of examples, think about Sea Scallops and Beef Brisket; one is light, one is heavy. I would pair a simple grilled Sea Scallop with a lighter wine such as the Blue Fin Vinho Verde from Northern Portugal. The lime and stone fruit flavors, high acidity & 11% alcohol pair well with a delicate dish. For the Beef Brisket, I would first hope that the grill master used my favorite KC BBQ Sauce in cooking it, Gates Original in slow cooking the beef, and then move to a robust red wine to pair with it, the Caligiore Organic Reserve Syrah would be a nice choice, the spicy notes in the BBQ would bring out more of the white pepper, clove notes in the wine.

Takeaway – Delicate Food = Light Wine; Hearty/Rich Food = Big Robust Wine

TWO - LET THE SAUCE SPEAK LOUDLY – The accoutrement sauce to your dish can significantly change the food’s compatibility with wine. A lighter fish like poached sole loves a delicate white wine like a Pinot Grigio but this same fish swimming in a rich, creamy butter sauce or pan fried with a thick batter would become a great candidate for a heavier white wine as in a rich Chardonnay. In many cases I look first at what the sauce is and then find a nice wine to match up to it. One example of this I find is very effective, think Chicken Breast and plan your wine pairing by the sauce. If done in a light lemon sauce with capers this to me screams for medium bodied wines with citrus fruit but a bit of depth, the Castello Di Gabiano Quattro Leoni Monferrato Bianco would be a great choice (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Coretes Blend). The 2nd chicken breast has been used with a rich cream alfredo sauce to transform a plate of pasta into a hearty meal. I would stick with Californian or New World Chardonnay for this wine pairing, the Marquee Classic Chardonnay a great choice. If you are at home, try using just a bit of your wine in the sauce, most of the alcohol will burn off in the pan and it is another trick to tying your dinner together with flavor!

Takeaway – The Sauce is king, match the flavor and wine to the sauce 1st, the protein – main portion second!

THREE - LET OPPOSITES ATTRACT – Think nuts in chocolate or peanut butter and jelly, a great way to find a lovely wine and food pairing is for a flavor or textural contrast to transport a meal to new heights! Contrasts in acidity of a crisp white wine with the grease of fried foods or with the smooth creaminess of soft cheeses are interesting direct pairing. One chef I know makes a delicious pan Fried Chicken that the restaurant has been known to pair up with different types of Sparkling Wine! The acid and fizz in the bubbles help to cut through the grease and cleanse the palate. Likewise, I have had other success with the Grazioso Organic Torrontes from Mendoza Argentina with Tempura fried vegetables; the contrast makes the pairing work. The time honored food and wine pairing of this type I must mention is a late harvest honeyed “dessert wine” such as Sauternes with a salty richness of foie gras or Roquefort cheese!

Takeaway - There are reasons why different sides of a color wheel look good together, this same principal applies with food and wine, just think what you want to Contrast against!

FOUR - SPICY FOOD CAN BE TAMED – The key to taming the heat in some spicy foods is to balance that heat with the sweetness found in “Off Dry Wines”. In particular I have found that there is nothing better than a slightly sweet Riesling or Gewurztraminer to tackle mildly hot Asian food. One fondness I have in particular is for Kung Pao Chicken, and the Marquee Classic Riesling from Victoria, Australia is the perfect wine to quench the heat. With a touch of sugar, it pairs well and the acidity allows you to taste more exciting flavors in the Asian fare. If you want to see something that doesn’t work, next time you see somebody with Cajun shrimp, hand them a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, the hot spices make the dry wine seem harsh and metallic and unfortunately the food spicy factor also goes up in the food!

Takeaway – An off dry, low alcohol, white wine like Riesling is the choice for Spicy Ethnic food.

FIVE - PEPPER & SEA SALT PACK A GREAT PUNCH – Despite it being a very pungent spice, pepper is far more wine friendly than people give it credit for. A small sprinkling of freshly ground pepper on food will sensitize your taste buds and make many wines taste more vivid and flavorful. As restaurants and home kitchens have access to greater varieties of course salts, such as traditional sea salt, these can also assist in bringing the natural flavor out of your dishes and enhancing the notes you find when pairing with wines.

Takeaway - One or two cracks of the Pepper Shaker or Ground Salts will enhance your meal!

Have a great day!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
Managing Director & GM
Marquee Selections - Green, Global, Grapes
1.888.MARQUEE (627.7833)
www.marquee.com

Just A Brief Break from Wine - Baby Cribb Has Arrived

2011-06-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Ready to change my world and warm my soul from Day 1 until eternity, our baby, Elizabeth Lynn Cribb has just arrived and wanted to say hello!

Have a great day!

The Cribb's

Announcement generated with Smilebox

Five Wines to "Class Up" the Movies for the VIP Theater Treatment

2011-06-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night I went with friends and family to not just our local theater to see a movie, but instead for the VIP movie theater, a great experience! With the change in habits since our 2009 Recession, people are doing things differently and that now includes movie theaters! We had quite a blast at the theater and Watched Hangover 2, which in my opinion was just about as funny and distasteful as the original. The whole crew got it right in a remake on this, use what works (the great lines and character roles) and MAKE US LAUGH (yes, the story was basically the same, but I did laugh out loud several times).

Today’s digression to the movie theater brings us to the new trend in movie theaters, providing great food with more of an “Applebee’s” feel / menu than the standard fare that I had growing up as a kid (hot dogs, popcorn, candy and carbonated beverages “soda” or “pop” depending upon where you were raised. I am all for the idea of making going to the movies a big thing, and I think in doing so you need to make the food and beverages equal to the task. I would be happy to have my chef/foodie friends plug in some entrée’s, but I will stick to the wines and here are five versatile wines to bring to the movie theaters as we “Class up the Theater”. I choose all wines here that can be sold both BTG (by-the-glass) and BTB (by-the bottle) and range in price from $10.00 to $25.00 Retail. Theater price points will range, but there is hope that theaters will not go quite as far as a few restaurant cousins in the wine mark-up area. I have estimated below a BTG price for these wines based on current market trends and what I would happily pay.

First on the list must be a GOOD, Solid New World Chardonnay. In terms of white wine there are varietals making headway, but Chardonnay is the king and your list will need a good one. Now that the global wine world has arrived we have more options and pairing a white wine with just a hint of oak, and malolactic fermentation will do wonders for that person that is also grabbing a few bites of buttery movie theater popcorn! I would tend to go “New World” so that they are fresh and fruity (who’s kidding, they also cost less than stuff competing with the Euro).

Marquee Classic Chardonnay – 2008 Vintage – Victoria, Australia – Perfect Aussie complement of cool climate and a touch of oak, WS -88 Points - $7.00 Glass

Sebastiani California Chardonnay 2009 Vintage – Sonoma Coast - A larger producer that keeps the lid on quality for price - $9.00 Glass

Second on the list it is time to go lighter and stay with the white wines, choose an Alternative White Wine Blend – I personally love Spain or Portugal white wines, or could have my arm twisted for Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, South Africa or California depending on mood, so I submit this is a great wine to let it change with the seasons! Start off with summer, right now it’s hot so I am concentrating on lower alcohol levels and something that is refreshing to take the bight out of the spicy or fried foods coming my way, at the movies. Come winter I might think of something a little heavier with more body (Pinot Gris for example), but on the light side for summer I have two great selections:

Blue Fin Vinho Verde – 2009 Portugal – Light blend of Alvarinho & Trajadura (yes, Alvarinho like the Spanish grape, Albarino – same varietal different countries) with a hint of fizz and only 11% alcohol (you can have two glasses at the movie and not need to take a cab home) – $6.50 Glass

Nobilio Sauvignon Blanc – Marlborough New Zealand – 2009 Grassy and zesty, but not so much acid that you feel like you are having alcoholic limeade. A lovely bit of citrus, a nice choice if your movies have a summer salad or are experimenting with Sushi! - $9.00 Glass

Third the ease of finger foods in the new movie theater will keep us more limited in terms of offers, but another “go to, must have” wine on this list is a Great Red Wine for Pizza! Small slices, little flatbreads, and even the large appetizer brochette is lovely when made well with perfect ingredients. Let’s hope the staff can move those TV trays around to accommodate our new space, & pizza offerings. The other good news about a lovely Pizza wine is that it can also be a great cheese sticks, pretzels with mustard and meatball wine (if you make the right choice). I look for a lighter bodied wine with lots of red fruit, a hint of spice and smooth, mouth coating tannins when looking to pair with my pizza pie. Two great choices:

Staccato Malbec / Cabernet Blend - 2010 Vintage – Mendoza, Argentina - Cabernet grown at higher altitudes gives lighter bodied red flavors and the Old Vine Malbec smoothes out the palate and coats any places burned form melting cheese - 100% Organic and $6.00 Glass

Castle Rock Pinot Noir – Carneros - 2009 Vintage – California A fruit driven pinot that has lots of raspberry and some smoky tones that make you think of a big stone pizza oven. Seek out Castle Rock, the quality to price ratio is high - $9.00 Glass

Fourth in our top five is a big red winethat may have been made for food, but it stands out when enjoyed by itself! What we are looking for here is to find a wine that do change with food, gets better with a few swirls of the glass, allows for more taste, tertiary aromas start coming out and this wine is at its best when on center stage, in a big red glass. I call this selection the BIG BAD Velvety Red Wine and when narrowing down this category I thought of wines with bold dark fruit flavors, wines that can start to turn your teeth a bit purple like, Caberent Sauvignon, Petit Sirah, Monastrell, Malbec, or Zinfandel and two of my favorites might cost a bit more, but if you are only going to have one glass, lets’ make it one “big bad” glass of wine to savor & sip!

Charles Smith – “Chateau Smith” Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 2008 Vintage Rock star Winemaker Charles Smith of K Vintners has done an outstanding job with this sweet Cabernet from Washington State. Big, bold and best of all SUPER SMOOTH! - $12.50 Glass

Trapio – Bodegas La Purisima - 2006 Vintage Old Vine Monastrell – Yecla Spain Like a bold crimson fist wrapped in a smooth glove, un-grafted 80 year old vines and time in small new French make this a real bargain, one of the top 50 Wines in Spain! - $14.00 Glass

Fifth - Bubbles, Sparkles, Fizz, or Champagne… nothing says it’s time to celebrate quite like a glass of sparkling wine and why should the movies be any different! I highly suggest a reasonably priced bubbly needs to be on the wine list and it will pair wonderfully with almost all of the food! All grown up and still wanting a bit of that fizz from the soda fountain, try it in your vino for fun and class! Sparkling wines are a real success with a light cheese / fruit plate (which also gives someone an option besides fried items on the movie menu)! Two of my favorites for value & quality are:

Segura Viduras – Brut Reserve - Cava – Spain Non-Vintage Light, medium dry, / brut style with lots of green apple flavor, this is a very refreshing and reasonably priced sparkling! - $900 Glass

Greut Brut Rose Non Vintage Sparkling Wine – New Mexico – A lighter style rose from New Mexico. I love the bit of watermelon notes, and yes I said New Mexico, these guys are doing a great job – try a taste & you will want a second. - $12.00 Glass

Our movie going experience is changing, we now have 3D, IMAX, luxury all around and it is time for our movie theaters to step up to the plate and class up our beverage and wine choices to match! I recently watched the movie Annie (a blast from the 80s past) for the first time in years and noticed when Daddie Warbucks took Annie to the movies it was a BIG DEAL! He bought out the entire theater, but in the 30s the cinema was really the golden screen and watching Mr. Warbucks at his picture show, I just kept thinking to myself that the only thing he was missing was a nice big glass of vino! One aside, watching Annie as an adult, the humor was really very funny and I think Carol Brunette deserved an award (if she didn’t get one).

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW - GM/ Managing Director
Marquee Selections - Green, Global, Grapes
E – cjcribb@marquee.com M – 816.223.9201
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@Marqueewines on Twitter Christopher J. Cribb on Facebook & LinkedIn
Marquee Selections Blog - Notes From The Cribb

Using Beer and Beer Styles as a Guide to Wine – Part I – White Wines

2011-01-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Over the past weekend I was out with some good friends that are more into beers than wines, but truly enjoy the best of both. We were discussing a few wines that were on an Italian Wine List and I had just ordered a glass of Barbera D’Asti. Asked, “What is that wine like?” I thought about the style of the wine, the medium body and flavors and quipped, “Well if it was a beer I would think of it sort of like a Brown Ale, not the really nutty kind, but very smooth, easy drinking, but one I probably wouldn’t have more than a couple of before switching to something a little lighter or to have with food.”

The more we discussed the concept I decided to write this piece for all of my beer loving friends that get handed a wine list and could use a little “Cliff Notes” version of Wine 101 to help them to choose a wine that their palate will like. I do have to make a small caveat before I dig deep into this subject, just like with beer, every wine is different and finding producers / importers you can trust will make choosing wines that you like much easier. There is a ton of wine out there and 80% of it is average – some good , some not so good… choosing the 20% that is above average is a talent that can be learned, the first lesson is to choose a wine that is in the style that you are looking for you will be more apt to be happy with the results. Here we go…

The Light Stuff

Bud Light is to Beer as Pinot Grigio is to Wine… Sometimes what you are looking for is light, easy drinking and simple. The alcohol content is usually a bit lighter in this wine and some may find it “a bit watered down”. There is nothing wrong with Bud Light or Light beer in general, but we had to start somewhere and this is it. Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are they same grape type / varietal, but most Pinot Grigio is from Italy and is typically “unoaked” (a term for not having a buttery or toasty flavor) and has tropical fruit flavors. If you are a Coors Light fan or have another light beer you like that has more flavor, you might try an Oregon Pinot Gris that is grown in a cooler climate to show a more robust taste profile. A stalwart for many wine lists is the Santa Margeherita Pinot Grigio and for an Oregon Pinot Gris I like the King Estate wines that are also widely found. Check out a picture of the Pinot Gris grapes up close and you will be surprised to find that the grapes are not “Green” or “White” but rather a light copper colored in most cases and the reason that the finished wine is white is because it doesn’t have the long skin contact that other wines have…

Pilsner – Pale Lagers = Similar to Chardonnay (Chenin Blanc) – OK, so this is the softball because this is one of the largest categories for both beer and for wine and it also is allowing for the most wide ranging flavor profiles in each. Chardonnay is the white wine equivalent of the middle of the road, it can go fruity, or have a lot of oak, it can be very round in the mouth with unctuousness and oily tones or it can be light and crisp… just as you can go with many different styles of Pilsner. I grabbed a couple notables on each to highlight this area, one Italian Pilsner I like is Peroni, it doesn’t have a ton of flavor, is slightly bitter, but is still rather refreshing. I liken this to an Australian Chardonnay, fairly fruity goes well with a lot of different foods and two I like under $15.00 a bottle are the Marquee Classic Chardonnay and to a lesser extent the Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay.

To peel this onion back a layer deeper, I think another great Pilsner I like, Pilsner Urquell from The Czech Republic is a good example of comparison with a good California Chardonnay. In years past I would have used the Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay as my example for this, but I contend this has gone downhill quite a bit, I actually think a better comparison these days would be the La Crema Chardonnay It is made in rather large quantities, but it has good flavors and shows a balance between fruit and oak.

For Chenin Blanc and very “oaky” chardonnay, I think this wine is the highly similar to a beer that I first found in the Pennsylvania area, but later have been also enjoying across Florida, Yuengling. The lager flavor is there and to accompany it is a very rich mouth feel that you get with wines like Chenin Blanc. A recommendation would be to try some Chenin Blanc from Vouvray in the South of France to taste this style. I mentioned Bud Light earlier, but think that another good comparison here exists in the country’s largest production beer, Budweiser and one if its highest production wines, the Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. Both can be good and in the relatively large quantities they are made, but when giving a gift of wine to a friend, think of the bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay in the same light as handing off a six pack of Bud… it doesn’t scream awesome gift!

Wheat Beers or Hefeweizen– Similar to Sauvignon Blanc – Kansas City has a great local brewery, Boulevard that makes a very tasty wheat beer, that I would highly recommend anyone check out. In some cases, wheat beers come with a lemon or orange on the glass to give the beer a bit more spritz of juice and complement the beers flavor. The reason that I compare wheat beers to Sav. Blanc (and to a lesser extent some Portuguese White Wines like Vinho Verde) because they have a more pronounced acid content and flavor profile. The same pucker that you get when you suck on a lemon is what some Sav. Blanc from places like New Zealand can lend you to (often thought of as gooseberry and grapefruit juice). The wheat beer has a lighter body, just like these white wines and concentrates the flavors on crisp, refreshing tones, even creating a mouth watering sensation. I would recommend picking up a glass of the Peju Sauvignon Blanc if you like the Boulevard Wheat Style (one of my wife’s favorites) or trying the Quattro Leoni Sav. Blanc blend as a good comparison if you like wheat beers like the Blue Moon that are often served with an orange on the glass.

Belgian Style Ales – (Viognier, Marsanne/Rousanne & Torrontes) – The main string that I see tying these two disparate entities together is “florality”, or a floral note that is highly predominant in the nose or bouquet of the wines (and to a lesser extent in the Belgian Styled beers). The site, ratebeer.com calls this category Belgian Session as opposed to the specific wheat beer style this category has more of a “Sour Ale” style. The wines that I see as a good comparison to these are known for a great smelling wine, almost perfumed in nature and have a bit of a sharp, acid based profile. Off the top of my head I can’t name my favorite Belgian Session beer, but a couple great Torrontes (A white grape that hails from Argentina) are the Bodega Colome from the North and the Grazioso Organic Wine from Caligiore Organic Wines in the Mendoza Region.

Viognier, Marsanne & Roussanne are white wine grapes that you can find in several places in the world, but I have found some of my favorites in the Rhone Valley in France and the Central Coast of the California, USA. Viognier by itself has been popping up in new regions and I have been particularly impressed with some from Virginia including Jefferson Vineyards, Barboursville Vineyards, and The Winery at La Grange.

A fun exercise, I think to do this write-up justice this post will need to be released in two parts…
Part I – The White Wines and Part II – The Red Wines.

Thank You!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW

GM / Managing Director

Marquee Selections – Green, Global, Grapes

Five Great Ways To Use a Coffee Filter - Most Food/Wine Related!

2010-11-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

Five Great Ways To Use a Coffee Filter - Most Food/Wine Related!

This is not a revolution of hope for America, nor a condemnation of the current political scheme, this my friends, is good common sense that just happens to touch on the world of food and wine. I blog and write about many things some plain, others a bit more esoteric, but this knowledge can be passed along and make life a little better, a little easier, and comes with a great price tag… FREE.

Use a Coffee

Filter to Remove Pieces of Cork / Cork Crumbles From Wine

I was down in Florida recently with a large group

of friends out for dinner on Atlantic Avenue in Del Ray Beach at 32 East Restaurant and encountered a wine related problem. I selected a nice value red wine from the list that had a bit of age to it (Rioja 2002) and the waiter proceeded to rip into the cork like it was a $8.99 synthetic… the cork started to crumble right away and those chunks went into the bottle as the other half of the cork was removed. No problem I thought, but the server went ahead and poured me a glass with large chunks and said “Sorry, there is nothing I can do with these older bottles…”

Ok, so I was annoyed, but here comes lesson one, I told the server this wasn’t going to work and kindly asked him to go get me a coffee filter from the kitchen. In these circumstances slowly pouring the red wine from the bottle kept the crumbling cork bits in the filter and out of my wine, a vast improvement to having a “cork mustache” after a few sips. I don’t recommend using this technique alone or on bottles with large amounts of sediment, but if the goal is to remove floating pieces of destroyed cork a simple coffee filter between the bottle and the glass will do the trip nicely!

Use a

Coffee Filter to Clean / Dry Wine Glasses / Crystal

Coffee filters are “lint free” so when you use these for cleaning on crystal, mirrors, windows, wine glasses etc… they pickup what they are supposed to without leaving behind extra fibers or lint. Each year in the fall I am involved with a great wine competition in the Kansas City area coordinated by Doug Frost (MS/MW) called The Jefferson Cup that looks to find the best wines from around the US (grapes of all varietals). As this blind tasting completion moves forward a team behind the scenes has to turn hundreds of racks of glasses to be ready for the next flights, the next day, etc… it just won’t do to have your glasses with lots of water spots on them or streaky and this is where I have seen the coffee filter (also called the glass cleaners best friend) do its magic so that the vessel to judge the next wine is inert with no spots, smears or

fibers… Your glassware need not be a Riedel big bowl if it is sparkling clean and dried correctly with no streaks!

Use a Coffee Filter to Protect Your China

With my wife, mother, and mother-in-law all “china addicts” (the plates / teacup type – not the country), you learn to live with lots of breakable things around you. As Megan and I have started to utilize some of our own fine China for dinner parties and various events I take special care in not doing ANYTHING careless that could lead to a chip, scratch or broken plate. If you have the nice felt inserts that go between the dishes that works very well, but let me say if you are looking for another great use for the Coffee Filter then use them to separate fine China when stacking. Doing this simple setup helps to prevent the possibilities of chipping or scratching as the dishes are stacked up and put away. I also use this trick when it comes time to pack boxes for a move across town or across the country. Compared to the price of the felt versions, coffee filters serve the same purpose for pennies instead of dollars. PS – Thinking about China got me dreaming of dinner at one of my favorite places, Staker’s Reserve on the Plaza in Kansas City drop in to find beautiful China all around the dining room (maybe even a coffee filter) and stop over to Halls Plaza China / Crystal to fill up your cabinet!

Use a

Coffee Filter to Line the bottom of a Potted Plant

With potted plants you need for them to be able to breathe and let out excess water, but the problem is that the soil rolls right out the bottom with it. If you take and include a coffee filter at the bottom of your potted plant before adding the potting soil and plant, you place a nice permeable layer in place that lets the water out, but keeps the soil In. Yes, I did just give advice on potted plants… I don’t have a green thumb, but this one was pretty easy.

Use a Coffee Filter to make GREAT COFFEE!!!

I might get called out by a bean baron on this one as I know that in making specialty coffee barista’s are not really using coffee filters a pot at a time, but if you buy good coffee from someone like my friends over at The Roasterie in Kansas City – you can also put that good coffee into a filter and make a great cup for everyone at the table. My preference is to grind the beans immediately before placing them into the filter and keep everything as “airtight” as possible. Grind away, make a great cup and enjoy; perfect for a Sunday morning to read the paper!

That seems like more than enough useful info about coffee filters for one day! In addition we need to share some Marquee Selections news that we are very excited about…

First, Marquee Selections has just gotten in the new vintage Marquee Classic GSM 2008 and Marquee Cla ssic Riesling 2009 from Keith Brien at Marquee Australian Wines, two wonderful wines that are in stock and available right in time for your Thanksgiving feast!

Second, we keep having continued success as we delve deeper into the wines of Spain and Portugal… just this past month we had the Rio Real Reserva win “best in tasting” for a group of sommelier / buyers down South and it also received a 91 Point Score from Tastings.com, Top 10 wines under $15.00 Retail, Top Rated Portuguese wine! Finally let me pass along kudos and congratulations to our friends at Quintas Das Touquineras and Wines & Winemakers by Saven as the Clemen Reserva Vinho Verde was selected by Wine & Spirits Magazine as a part of their Top 100 Value Wines for 2010 – 92 Points! A very high honor (that last year Marquee Selections was a part of the list with the Caligiore Reserve Malbec), two years in a row to have part of our small/focused, green global portfolio in this list was a very nice honor!

Finally, Marquee is doing updates to our www.marquee.com website and brand imagery + has opened up our own Cellar door – “The Marquee Cellar” at www.themarqueecellar.com for direct sale purchases. If you are ready to put together a mixed case for the holidays – drop by The Marquee Cellar and place your order – Promo Code “MQBLOG” will get you 10% off. Also now available we offer cellar door pickups / deliveries in the Kansas City area… so send great wines to friends or for yourself across the globe/ bring it home, we aim to please.

Have a wonderful start to fall and you will be seeing more things soon from your friends at Marquee Selections including, new regions, additional wines and of course great information like out new WineWOD “Word of the Day” on FB & Twitter! Please share us with friends, there will be prizes along the way for those that help recruit others to the Marquee social media army!

Ciao!

~C.Cribb

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW

Marquee Wines
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Tasty Food & Wine Insights from Aspen 2010!

2010-07-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Food & Wine Classic in Aspen 2010 has just completed and Marquee Selections was proud to be a participant in this great event for the first time! Ma rquee hosted our partners, Castello Di Gabiano from Piedmont, Italy for the three day affair and rubbed elbows with some of the culinary elite in the US during the trip. At the conclusion of the grand tasting during the first two days of the show, Marquee was proud to host our own private event at The Little Nell Residences, thank you to all who came by to meet our friends Giacomo and Emmanuela Cattaneo during the weekend events!

While spending the majority of my time behind the Marquee Selections booth pouring Quattro Leoni and Castello Di Gabiano I did get a chance to get out and about during the four day affair and met a ton of wonderful people. A few highlights that were worth mentioning:

The Full range of the Castello Di Gabiano Reserve Wines…

“Wow!”, is what most people first uttered as they came to the Marquee booth and got to try the best of the best in Barbera and the other artisan wines from Castello Di Gabiano, followed quickly by “Is that really Barbera, I did not think that Barbera could be that intense and taste that good!” I had the chance to talk one on one with Giacomo Cattaneo about this exact quandary and I was delighted to hear his straightforward response.

“In our region of Piedmont, we are bound to the DOC and DOCG restrictions to only produce certain grape varietals that are of the authorized selection whereas other neighboring areas in the North of Italy have a bit more flexibility. The estate vineyards at Gabiano cannot plant Nebbiolo to make Barolo and Barbaresco in our vineyards like other regions, Alba for example, and therefore we plant the best parts of our vineyards to Barbera grape. In looking side by side at $20.00 Barbera D’Asti from Quattro Leoni / Castello Di Gabiano and one from the Barbera D’Alba region we show more bright fruit with increased depth of flavor because these wines come from the best part of the Gabiano vineyards whereas the Barbera D’Alba has the best part of the vineyards planted to the more profitable and expensive Barolo and Barberesco productions.” Explained Dr. Cattaneo.

The light bulb went off in my head and I understood exactly where they were coming from in their philosophy! A simple idea that Jack Welch would have been proud of (I still love his business mantra’s – be #1 of #2 in your industry applies here) as Castello Di Gabiano has set out to be the best worldwide producer of Barbera! During this year’s VinItaly 2010, Castello Di Gabiano was given a special recognition - Diploma Di Grand Menzion for the Best Barbera at VinItaly on their Adornes Barbera D’Asti Superiore, cogratuations! !

Starbucks with something I had never tried before…

Yes, this was not a typo, with this being a long event where Marquee had tastings each night I made my way over to the Starbucks booth each morning for a little pick-me-up to help get the day rolling. In the afternoon’s Starbucks served only iced coffee, nice and refreshing each day, but the real winner at the Starbucks booth was the barista serving up espressos’ made with beans from the Galapagos islands! The same Galapagos islands that Charles Darwin made famous so many years ago, Starbucks is not sitting on its laurels as the #1 coffee chain in the US, but has sourced this absolutely stunning set of coffee from just off of Ecuador and will be bringing it as a special promotion to coffee lovers this fall. If you see this on promo, try a cup as the quantities are limited and I was told that even with Starbucks buying ½ of the islands export available, it will only be around for a few weeks each year! Yum!

ASPEN is an Awesome Town…

In the last ten years I have had a chance to travel quite a bit and see large and small towns worldwide. In those travels I have a short list of some of the best places I would recommend anyone make sure to visit at least once In your life (Nice, France – Melbourne, Australia - Miami, USA - St. Thomas/Water Island – USVI’s to name a few) and now Aspen is on my list. The drive up from Denver was absolutely stunning all along the way, bright blue skies with puffy clouds and a crystal clear view in every direction. We took the “Continental Divide Route” via Independence Pass to be able to slip through a town with family ties (Twin Lakes) and slowly wound our way up and down the mountains until the majestic “Aspen Trees” started to appear.

Once we had arrived I found that this tight

mountain town had the best mix of culture, respect for nature, friendly people ( pets), and sophistication that I have already been talking about making the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen into a annual trip! Having foodies and the top wine pros from around the globe in this wonderful & private environment for three days made it even more memorable, but I believe without the Classic going on I would be (almost) as impressed. We had wonderful dinners out and about at Il Mulino, Pacifica Griil, Ellina (so good we actually went here twice) and kept gathering back at The Hotel Jerome while grabbing supplies at Carl’s Pharmacy on Main Street. I met food and wine pros, sommeliers and restaurant owners, foodies, mountain men, and residents of Aspen and many other places during the stay and the underlying thing I found during this trip was that everyone possessed integrity and treated each other with respect. If you get a chance to go to Aspen in the summer I would highly suggest it, maybe you can join me out there for the Food & Wine Classic 2011!

Celebrity Chefs with Good Advice…

I had a chance to chat with several celebrities & up and coming chefs during the trip to Aspen and to taste some new items coming out of their kitchens.

What were some of the trends you ask well… here are five:

The use of organic and sustainable foods/wines wherever possible is truly “en vogue”.

I heard the term “locavore” (one who eats and drinks exclusively or at least primarily from items in their local area) on the tip of tongues’ from the east coast to the west.

Pair the wines with the sauce, not necessarily the food! A great piece of advice that I have been supporting for years, dig into and pair your wines with the sauce and you are more likely to make both the wine and food better in the process.

Infuse your creations with bold flavors that are not always center stage. Be it a touch of rosemary when making lamb chops, or fresh basil in a lemon veal sauce, try using different spices to accentuate the positive in traditional fare.

The world of food & wine can be complex, interesting, a million things, but if you have a PASSION for the culinary world, go for it and make your mark inspired chefs & winemakers produce individual works of art, not mass produced products!

To finish off I must pass along that as Giada De Laurentiis signed “Happy Anniversary” to my wife, she smiled and handed me back her book and asked me “Well, what is she going to be making you for dinner?” I laughed and replied, “I don’t know tonight as we are dining out on the town, but I will ask her to pick out a recipe from your book for a special meal soon!”

Ciao!

~C.Cribb

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM – Marquee Selections
cjcribb@marquee.com

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Five Great Cheese & Wine Pairings!

2010-05-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I was given the opportunity to pair up the wines for two different charity events going on in the same city, at the same time. Both parties handed me lovely menu’s that were catered by great chefs and wanted a theme to their evenings, a lovely challenge that I was happy to rise to the occasion for. A week after both events I had feedback from the attendees at both parties that they loved the food and wine pairings, that the wines were very well received and that they are excited to make plans for doing something similar next year (now if I can just get them to not plan the events on the same evening)!

What were the hardest items to get a handle on, not the themes, the appetizers or the entrees, the hardest part for was for sure pairing up the desserts and the cheeses. We will save desserts for another time and concentrate this month on Cheese!

In preparation for writing this blog I dug out a great gift I got from my wedding, the book “Cheese & Wine” A guide to selection pairing and enjoying by Janet Fletcher. Desserts I feel confident to handle without a lot of extra advice, but with Cheese, there is a real art to finding wines that balance in a harmonious way without being overpowering.

Let’s separate the two and start with a bit about the world of Formaggio and Vino!

PS – I may be a bit biased towards Italian Cheeses at the moment because of my recent trip to Castello Di Gabiano in Italy where I was taken on a multiple day adventure into the culinary world of Italy, but I do not forget going to the local market in Nice, France and picking out some delicious Charcuterie and Cheeses for an afternoon snack! If anyone has trip plans that bring them to Piedmonte, contact me for a tour and treat of seeing our friends making Quattro Leoni!

Two Great “Dry Cheese” and Wine Pairings

Parmigiano – Reggiano – A dry, raw cow’s milk cheese from Italy that belongs on a cheese board. This is not just a grating cheese, nor does the good stuff come in a plastic can or pizza shaker… the good stuff comes in large eighty-five pound wheels (trimmed down of course for one serving) and has been well aged (between 12 and 36 months usually). This lovely cheese gets a bit crystallized over time breaking into chunks. A couple lovely wine pairings for this are: as part of an aperitif with an unoaked sauvignon blanc based white, at the end of a meal with a rich medium bodied to full bodied red wine such as a Nebbilo based red or Zinfandel. From the Marquee portfolio I love the complexity shown with pairing either the 2008 Quattro Leoni – Monferrato Bianco or the 2006 Classy Lake County Zinfandel. We aren’t carrying one yet, but a dry amontillado sherry also makes a fine match!

Manchego – A dry, raw sheep’s milk cheese from Spain. Originating from La Mancha, this cheese does make me think of Sancho Panza ridding across the high plateaus in Central Spain with windmills in the background. At first taste this cheese usually brings up a sea-salt character that moves to a bit nutty. Some versions have very small holes in the cheese and the wheels are small and drum shaped – about four to eight pounds. If you are out and about at a local Spanish Tapas bar you will likely find this treat, a few good pairings I recommend would be a rich, Spanish Albarino or Portugese Alvarinho or at the end of your meal with a big red wine such as a Rioja or Monastrell . Try the 2008 Clemen Reserva Vinho Verde or 2007 Old Hands Organic Monastrell from Bodegas La Purisima in Yecla, Spain and you will not be disappointed!

Two French Classics and an International Favorite

Brie – A raw or pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from France. A lovely cheese that combines an interesting texture with loads of flavor when served correctly. There is not one true Brie but several and they are controlled by the AOC governing board just as stringently as wines are. Brie de Meaux is generally considered the “bee’s knee’s” and in most cases the type exported to the US are pasteurized versions (the finest raw milk Brie’s do not meet the FDA’s import regulations because they are too high in moisture and insufficiently aged to the US standards). Brie is known for it’s rich, supple inside, buttermilk flavor and in many cases a hint of mushrooms. Small and disk shaped, the wheels are generally have a white downy exterior that is aging the cheese from the o utside in. As to wine pairings with this classic, I look to white wines with some body / texture, a rich Chardonnay such as the 2008 Marquee Signature Yarra Valley Chardonnay or a Loire Valley Chenin Blanc are good choices, as well as a more full bodied Pinot Noir (one from Oregon I love is the Penner Ash Pinot Noir) or something with a medium body and lighter tannins like a mellow Syrah or Merlot are a great pair. A new wine for Marquee that also fits this bill is the 2008 Rio Real Reserva from Lisboa, Portugal; Syrah based, but it has a bit of Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz included with it for a more complex finish.

Mimolette – A pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from France. I could not write an article about wine & cheese and skip one of my favorites! This cheese is a bright orange /pumpkin in color and makes a striking statement on a cheese board! Shaped like a flattened ball this cheese comes in various sizes from five to nine pounds and is characterized by a thick, rind with small pockmark s. This cheese is semi-hard and with time brings out a bit of caramel or butterscotch that leaves a lovely finish. A great mix with apricots on a tray (note the similar orange coloration), I tend to usually only pair this wine with rich whites like white burgundy, oaked chardonnay’s or something with a nutty character like a light tawny port. My go to for under $15.00 retail is the 2008 Marquee Classic Chardonnay, the tropical flavors are a great compliment.

Blue Cheese – OK so this is a stretch category because Blue cheese is really a general classification of either cow’s or sheep’s or goat’s milk cheeses that have had Penicillioum cultures added to them to become spotted, blue cheeses I thought I would concentrate on particular cheese in this category and some wines that pair well with it. One interesting cheese that I love in this category is the “Roaring 40’s” Blue Cheese from King Island, Australia. If you ever see this cheese for sale and are looking for a treat, go for it. King Island is a small island just North of Tazmania and this is a handcrafted cow’s milk cheese made from that location. Encased in a thick wax for shipping it is noticeably sweet, mild, creamy and complex with a bit less saltiness than other well veined blue cheeses, this cheese exhibits a real nuttiness that keeps you coming back for more. After tasting this delight down in Australia over ten years ago I think the perfect companion for this wine is a smoky Australian Shiraz! Two lovely wines that take you back to Australia to compliment this wine are the 2007 Marquee Signature McLaren Vale Shiraz and the 2004 Silver Wings Old Vine Vincenzo. Both are complex wines and the spice with a smoky, rich backbone goes deliciously with Roaring 40’s.

My last bit of information and assistance with your cheese and wine pairing advice is that to spice up any cheese board or plate you are making, toast / bake a few nuts in the oven for a lovely pairing on your plate. The caramelization from oven baking on the outside of the nuts makes a delicious treat that your guests / patrons will appreciate.

~C.Cribb

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW - cjcribb@marquee.com
GM – Marquee Selections

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Pairing wine with unique food combinations…

2010-02-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

Pairing wine with unique food combinations…

Over the last few weeks I have been challenged on a few different occasions as to how to find wines that pair nicely with a variety of different and spicy foods. There are a number of things that come to mind that are just plain HARD to pair with, try an artichoke or asparagus, what about things that you associate with other beverages like good beer or even milk.

On a recent trip up to the Chicago area I had a chance to eat out at two different Mexican locations; The first was the Frontera Grill, one of chef Rick Bayless’s hot spots in Chicago that is know for being 1st class authentic Mexican fare, and the second was a quaint little taco shop just minutes from Midway airport. Two very different experiences, but both lead me down this path of how do you find good wines to pair with unique food combinations.

My first impression of Fronterra was definitely a good one; a great staff, exciting atmosphere and a very knowledgeable sommelier. Sharing dinner with another wine and food professional (one of Chicago's best wine distribution companies, Artisan Beverage Company) we were excited to try different fare and ordered up three different appetizers that were not similar in profile. We started with a Mexican ceviche as our first course that needed a wine with zip to balance the lime and acidic nature of the dish; our go to wine choice was a young Albariño from Spain, the Pazo San Mauro Albariño, Rías Baixas, Galicia, Spain usually a very good value wine with enough acidity to balance the zest of the appetizer. The pairing was perfect, in this case, the green apple and clean un-oaked cut and balanced the spice from the habinero, orange, and limes in the Ceviche Yucateco. Good job, batting 1000 so far on the food and wine pairing’s but as we move on to our second appetizer it was time for a change.

Our second appetizer was Tamal de Chorizo "Manchamanteles” a corn husk-wrapped tamal of fresh-ground corn masa studded with homemade chorizo and bacon. Nut-thickened fruity red chile sauce (manchamanteles), grilled pineapple (description and details thanks to http://www.rickbayless.com/). A great appetizer, but it just did not fit with the Albariño. In this instance the food and wine clunked against each other like two young kids in their first ballroom dance lesson (it wasn’t pretty).

We had previously ordered a bottle of the Albariño, (aka we had plenty left after the first course) and it wasn’t like I was going to pour it out just for not matching well with the delicious food (offering ½ carafe’s of wine is another blog in the future), but suffice it to say tasting these two together was not 1 + 1 = 3. Just when I had resigned myself to my water glass only during the second course, in swooped the talented Sommelier Jill Gubesch. with two glasses of Rhinegau Riesling Kabinett from Germany, Thank you Jill! (Balthasar Ress “Hattenheimer Schützenhaus” Riesling Kabinett, Rheingau, Germany)

Miss Gubesch offered a quick commentary that she thought that this wine would bring out the sweetness of the pineapple in the tamale’s and also compliment the richness of the Mexican Style Quesadillas that we had coming next! Wow, was she ever right… this wine fit well with both dishes and because of the touch of residual sugar in the Riesling and rich mid palate, it really complimented the cheese and pan fried aspect of both appetizers. Lesson well learned; acidic foods pair well with acidic wines, richer, fried foods need a richer more full bodied wine to balance out the flavor.

Our final part of the meal allowed us to enjoy an outstanding Crane Asada tacos with an elegant and soft red wine, the 2000 B odegas Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva, this wine worked with the perfectly grilled meat because it was medium bodied and light on the palate, like a nice French burgundy. Made entirely of Tempranillo, the spices of pepper & clove came out as the wine opened up. Choosing a ten year old bottle in a restaurant might seem like a risk (or an expensive hobby), but this bottle rewarded us nicely and I must say that the last glass was definitely more complex than the first. Overall I believe this pairing worked because the dinner had the spiciness and complexity that played well with the Tempranillo, but that would have been overwhelmed with a BIG, young red. Too much tannin would have taken this part of the meal out of balance and called for a graceful and elegant red with a lighter body. The wine benefited from decanting and topped of a lovely meal.

One last note for the Frontera Grill experience, low and behold as we took our seats I glanced over to find Rick Bayless eating in his own restaurant for dinner. I was encouraged to see three wine glasses in front of him, two reds and a white because he realized, just as we did, that each dish he was having deserved a different wine pairing. I believe it is always a good sign to see the owner / proprietor eating in their own restaurant, yet on this occasion after receiving his two appetizers; he promptly picked up his seafood dish and headed straight back to the kitchen.

Yes, the owner headed straight through the kitchen doors with a Chef Ramsey style grimace on his face determined to get to the root of whatever problem he encountered (I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the back for that visit). 20 minutes later the nights head chef, all in whites, headed out with a replacement dish for Mr, Bayless, it passed the once over and was followed with a bevy of quick bows and apologies. An interesting encounter to witness, my hats off to you Rick Bayless for a fine establishment & for expecting only the best from everyone on your time.

During the second day of my trip after traveling all around the Chicago area I got a chance to drop into the Whole Foods Lincoln Park, and I must say, WOW… what a store! You can find almost anything in this store including a full bar downstairs so you can pick up a nice glass of vino or a $2.00 premium bottle of beer to enjoy during your shopping experience. At 75,000 square feet this is the third largest Whole Foods location in the world (right behind their Austin store and the London location).

As their flagship store for the Midwest region I can definitely tell Whole Foods may be in a rapid expansion mode, but they are keeping their eye on the details with their new store role outs. On sale now at this great store we have a nice display of Staccato Malbec / Cabernet ready for eager shoppers and are planning a great event at this location in June with our winemaker, Gustavo Caligiore making a visit up from Argentina. PS – This is also a free WI FI hotspot.

As the day of sales in Chicago wound down, we had one last culinary visit in store, Zacatacos, located just minutes away from Midway airport in the Cicero area on Pulaski. A small authentic Mexican walk-up with an open fire grill with Charbroiled tacos, great prices and a loyal following. Across the street from a pet adoption center, tattoo parlor and truck driving school, I walked up to the counter and put in my order, not knowing what to think of the fare, but the location came with a good recommendation. A day zooming across the city it was time to choose a wine from the Marquee Selections bag to pair up with Mexican fare… and see if I learned anything the night before.

We had been sampling the Old Hands old vine Spanish Monastrell wines from Bodegas La Purisima, and Argentinean wines from Caligiore Organic Vineyards with accounts all day and from my experience last night I was keen to try out my taste matching skills. I got a lovely carne asda – char broiled burrito and paired it up with the Caligiore Reserve Bonarda., and BAM, I picked a winner! The red fruits and lower level of tannins in the Bonarda worked great with the burrito and the bit of extra spice from the Green Chile tomatillo salsa just helped to bring out the spicy pepper notes in the wine! Zacatacos, you may not have a very intriguing website, but you definitely find a place in my dinners, drive in’s and dives for the next visit… who knows maybe I will take that Truck drivers lesson I have been thinking about before grabbing lunch!

A few fun pairing suggestions:

Artichokes -Gruner Vetliner from Austria or Portuguese Vino Verde
Salmon – Pinot Noir or Rich Chardonnay
Dry Sliced Parmigiano Reggiano – Barbera or Mourvedre / Monastrell
Scallops – Albariño or Sauvignon Blanc
Oysters – Sauvignon Blanc or Sparkling Wine
Burgers – Syrah / Shiraz or Bordeaux Blends
Tacos - Tempranillo or GSM Grenache/Shiraz Mourvedre
Pepperoni Pizza – Syrah/ Shiraz or Zinfandel

Next week I am off to Europe for a visit to Stockholm Sweden and Northern Italy I will hypothesize to have an even more intriguing set of tales for you next month… we shall see what pairs well with Swedish meatballs or Reindeer!

Till next month, have a wonderful day and for your next party, don’t forget the Marquee!
Email me if you have any other great pairing suggestions that you would like to share for next month!

Ciao!

Today’s Cribb Note – Just announced – 2007 Quattro Leoni Barbera D’Asti – 90 Pts. – BEST BUY - from The Tasting Panel Magazine!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/
Email – cjcribb@marquee.com
Blog – marqueewines.blogspot.com

Top Ten Marquee Selections of 2009!

2009-12-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

To all of my friends, family and fans,

Have a great holiday season & a wonderful new year!

Top Ten Wines from Marquee in 2009

1. The 2004 SilverWings Old Vines Vincenzo - 91 Points from Wine Spectator, rich and multi layered this wine is unfiltered and deserves decanting to understand its nuances! Keith Brien, Winemaker for the Marquee Collection and Silver Wings calls this wine his 5th child and we are eager to taste the new vintage later this year! PS - This wine also won Best of Show at the 2009 Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Convention.

2. The 2007 Quattro Leoni Barbera D'Asti - What a delictious wine, it pairs well with everything and has a rich and robust flavor. Marquee is proud to have added this wine to our portfolio in 2009 and are excited to hear what the critics think of our inaugural vintage - thanks Castello Di Gabiano!

3. The 2008 Caligiore Reserve Malbec - WOW, WOW, WOW - Marquee's addition to the Top 100 Wines of 2009 in Wine & Spirits Magazine, this is what Old Vine Malbec can taste like when it is brought gracefully forward with minimal use of oak. Gustavo Caligiore has an upcoming feature in Sommelier's Journal - watch for it!

4. The 2008 Clemen Reserva Vinho Verde - Yes, Vinho Verde's can be graceful and deserve the title, Reserva. A winner in several contests this year for both the 2007 and 2008 vintages, this wine has just a tiny hint of spritz to tingle on your tongue!

5. The 2007 Marquee Classic GSM - Grenache, Shiraz, and Mourvedre blended together that is much more complex than you would ever imagine for a wine that retails for under $12.00. Marquee is proud to announce this is our Number 1 selling wine for all of 2009, taste it and you will understand why!

6. The 2008 Staccato Malbec / Cabernet Sauvignon - Only with a company like Marquee setting out to find the best bargains the wine world has to offer will you be able to find an 88 Pt. gem (Wine & Spirits) like Staccato that retails for under $10.00! Medium bodied and a delicious blend with the hints of Mocha and dark berry fruits.

7. The 2006 Old Hands Monastrell - Monastrell or Mourvedre as it is know in other parts of the world is king down in the Southern Spanish region of Yecla and Marquee is delighted with our 87 Pt. Best Buy from Wine Enthusiast that delighted them enough they sent out an email blast to over 250,000 readers showing praise of this wine. A great value at $10.99, Marquee is looking for good things from our friends at Bodegas La Purisima in 2010!

8. The 2008 Marquee Classic Chardonnay - Can I say delicious, too many times? Just landing in December this wine is outstanding for its vibrant and fresh tropical flavors with just a hint of oak aging. Well worth its $11.99 price tag, I foresee some great press on this wine in the coming months, kudos to our friends in Victoria on a smashing follow-up to the Best Buy, 89 Pt. 2006 Chardonnay!

9. The 2007 Caligiore Reserve Bonarda - Several times this year I have heard the call and explained the story of "What is Bonarda ?"This up-and-coming grape in the last five years has started to be be vinified on its own in Argentina. For the wine intellectuals this grape is said to be what in the USA is called "Charbono"; it is known for having a medium red body focused on raspberries with smooth tannins. Just our luck, the Caligiore family has vineyards of Bonarda that are over thirty years old, keep them coming Gustavo!

10. The 2006 Trapio Old Vine Monastrell - Fitting that this list should start and end with big old vines, our partners at Bodegas La Purisima found, in their vineyards, a set of vines that gave a distinguished flavor a bit different than the rest of their surrounding brethren... the difference, these vines never faced Phyloxera and are therefore on their original Monastrell rootstock! Taste the wines like they did 100 years ago by enjoying Trapio! Marquee has just sold out of our first vintage (2004) and we are hearing all of the gold medals and great scores coming in on this wine already. 90 Points in the Penin Guide to Spanish Wines, this is a blockbuster wine!

I must lament at this point that 2009 has been an outstanding year for Marquee and we are very thankful for all of our partners, fans and customers! We will keep bringing you the best wines we can in 2010 and have some outstanding vintages just on release from our wine-making teams across the world!

Have an great day!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/
Blog – marqueewines.blogspot.com

Holiday Tips - The Most Useful Wine Websites!

2009-12-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

As a wine “expert” and a confessed “techie” I thought I would share with our loyal fans a few websites I use in the wine industry on an everyday basis to make life easier. Marquee is no way related to any of the sites and my recommendation is just that, a recommendation… if anyone has other sites they would suggest, drop me an email at cjcribb@marquee.com or post a comment to the blog and we will keep adding to the collection. To keep it simple you will find below a category and then the site that I routinely use for that purpose, thanks for tuning in and remember, if you have any holiday wine needs, don’t forget the Marquee!

Wine Events in your Hometown – If you are looking to find out what is happening in the wine world for your enjoyment in your home city start with Local Wine Events. This site is based around consumer events, charity tastings, wine dinners, wine classes, etc… and is a totally free service. If you are a wine professional this is also a great tool to help get the word out about what is happening about your upcoming events. For the people that like to be fed their information instead of searching it out, their newsletter, The Juice, allows you to get an update about wine events in your city every month! This site also keeps track of the national food and wine festivals in case you want to get out of town for a great food and wine event. If you are looking for a great getaway trip, come down to the Miami Wine Fair during the fall, you will not be disappointed!

Wine Reviews and Expert Opinions – Marquee works to have all of our bottles in the hands of the top review companies and magazines with every vintage because we are confident that our selections beat and exceed our competition in terns of value for the price. I use all of these sites regularly to find out more information about the wines, to keep up-to-date on reviews/ news and over time find which wine writers have a palate that is similar to my own. If you can find a particular writer that loves the same style of wines that you love, it will really help you with stocking your cellar with wines that you want to drink! Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast (also has a good shopping site and catalog), Wine & Spirits, Robert Parker, and The International Wine Cellar are my top review sites. They all have great free content if you are not a magazine subscriber and a ton of extra content if you are a subscriber.

If you are looking for less “expert opinions” and more, peer reviews, social networking style check out Snooth, Cork’d, Cellar Tracker (see collecting software below) and The Wine Lovers Page (they are experts, but the presentation is low-key and more informal than the large magazines). I expect that there will be some new tools crop up on Facebook and Twitter shortly that help with this space as well, but for now, make sure and become of Fan of your favorite wineries and importers (like Marquee Selections!)

Wine Industry News – For the latest industry scoop I take five minutes daily and check and see what is on the wire at Wine Business Monthly. A great site that aggregates data from press releases, industry news, the top wine blogs and more in one place. Their original content that appears in the Magazine with the same name is top notch and is my most reliable source as to consumer purchasing macro trends.

Wine Collecting Software – When it comes to a website or tool for managing your own inventory of bottles, cases, differing vintages with tasting notes and tools to help keep track of your collection I utilize the Cellar Tracker website. After graduating from my Excel spreadsheet this site allows me to access my collection when out on the road, has a great price tag (normal usage is free)! There are some bells and whistles you can get if you sign on for their premium service, but the basic works just fine for me. There is a collaborative feature that allows you to share your tasting notes and read others tasting notes that is also helpful, especially with some of the older bottles that you may want to know what others think about the wines maturity level and peak drinking age.

Finding Unique Wine Bottles Online – Just read a great review and want to know where to get the wine, had a bottle out a restaurant that you don’t see in your local store but want to get a few more of, I go to Wine Searcher as the start of my pursuit of where to find a single sought after unique/esoteric bottle. If you are lucky enough to live in a state that allows wine to be shipped directly to your home you will find this option available and in most cases you will see the prices so that you can find the best deal possible.

Wine Podcasts and Audio Shows – This category for me is really a tie so I am offering up two shows that I listen to on a regular basis that come from differing perspectives to the world of wine. The first is The Three Wine Guys, a humorous collection of wine professionals based in the Chicago area that do what I do in regards to wine; have fun with it. The shows are not PG rated, but all three of the gents have a good sense of humor and know a lot about wine. If you have never heard somebody use terms like Tootsie Roll, Listerine, and Kirsch liqueur you are in for a treat with these guys! On the more educational side of things I really enjoy listening to Grape Radio, a podcast that focuses most every episode on a key interview and subject matter expert to share with the team. There list of processional interviews includes some of the greats in the wine world, and their archive is growing, if you have a vineyard, wine writer, etc… that you like, check and see if the Grape Radio team has done an episode with them, you will be impressed!

Please let me know what other great resources you use to keep up-to-date with the wine world and have a Happy New Year!

With kind regards,

~CJC

Today’s Cribb Note – Great Writeup of “Grazioso” a wonderful pick for the Holiday’s on The Kansas City Examiner!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/

Ten Tips To Building Your Personal Wine Cellar

2009-11-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

This month I wanted to pass along to you some simple wisdom about how to build your own wine cellar. Since I was “bitten by the wine bug” almost ten years ago I have been struggling to build up my own personal wine cellar. Mistakes have been made along the way and I learned a few simple tricks that I wish someone had told me ten years ago. In no particular order have a read of these great tips and please remember to pair up some great wines with your Thanksgiving Turkey!

I also have included five of my favorite wines from the Marquee portfolio to have with your Thanksgiving meal:

Marquee Classic Riesling – A lovely pairing white with great acidity!
Clemen Vinho Verde – A hint of sweetness and slight spritz are great palate cleansers!
Pianissimo Malbec Rose – Yes, rose with turkey is a great pair!
Quattro Leoni – Barbera D’Asti – For the red lover and perfect with rich stuffing!
Marquee Signature Pinot Noir – Fall flavors, cherries and cranberries abound!

Tip #1 – Try new things – The world of wine just keeps getting bigger and bigger and there are thousands of great bottles of wine out there (there are a few duds as well), but if you keep trying new wines you are going to find great wines to go back to.

Tip #2 – Take a few notes – We are not talking about a Science lecture, but jotting down when you like something and when you don’t in a small notebook can really help point you in the right direction. If you can find a small wine journal to keep all of the notes in, it just makes it that much easier (and for all of you shoppers out there, Christmas is right around the corner and Wine Journals could be within a down economic budget).

Tip #3 – Give yourself a budget – There are great bargains galore and some things that never go on sale. If you start by giving yourself a simple budget of a few dollars it makes a great game to go to your local wine retailer and come back with a case for the cellar.

Tip #4 – Buy more reds – Ok, I am not just saying this because I might happen to really like red wines; the reality is that white wines don’t tend to age quite as well and should be only cellared for a few years. My rule of thumb is to try and keep whites in my cellar to have for less than five years from when purchased. If you end up buying a few more reds this helps you balance out your cellar and keep the whites nice and fresh.

Tip #5 – Buy at least two bottles – Once you have found a wine that you are interested in adding to the cellar, perhaps it would be the Silver Wings Mourvedre / Shiraz from Australia, if you buy at least two bottles, you are setting yourself up to enjoy one earlier and then to be able to enjoy a second with additional aging for comparison. With buying the two bottles you are also giving yourself an instant backup if there was anything wrong with the first bottle.

Tip #6 – Talk to your retailers – If you go to a local wine shop frequently, you will find that there is a plethora of information available from a likely source, the staff. If you start to talk with them about what you liked and disliked, take a few recommendations and even find out what is on sale you can be in for a real treat. Use this fountain of knowledge and will be thankful!

Tip #7 – Figure out a way to stay organized – In an electronic world, spreadsheets, pictures from your iPhone, or great sites like http://www.cellartracker.com/ are wonderful resources for you to list what you have in your cellar + to connect with great tasting notes from others. In my case I started with a simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and that is working fine for me. My advice, find a nice way to keep organized and then when you are looking for additions, that special bottle, etc… you will be in a better place.

Tip #8 – Sign up for a wine magazine – Grab a nice issue of Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Robert Parker, etc… as something to help you find out the best vintages, new information about upcoming wine regions, food and wine pairings, etc… They are all great in one way or another, but just a bit of reading before your trip to the store will help you in the long run.

Tip #9 – Travel and Ship – One of the most rewarding parts I find to wine collecting is actually visiting a vineyard, talking with the winemakers, sampling wines in their tasting rooms and more. If you take advantage of the fact to buy wines during these travels these will be some of your most prized possessions in a great wine cellar. Most wineries, importers and even many retail shops will ship wine directly to your door to ease the travel burdens. It is a welcome present on the front door when you return.

Tip #10 – There are no rights or wrongs – Buy and collect what you enjoy, yes, wines have a value and if you buy the right wines at the right times they might go up in value, but truly the idea behind a good cellar should be to enhance your wine experience. There is no right or wrong wines to buy, just have fun along the way and after a few short years opening that bottle that you have been savoring will be a delicious treat!

Thanks!

~CJC

Today’s Cribb Note – Check out what the Premier Guide to Miami had to say about the Miami Wine Fair and Marquee...

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/

Cell - 816.223.9201 - Office - 913.663.9416
Fax – 913.663.9416 – Blog – marqueewines.blogspot.com

Welcome to the NEW http://www.themarqueecellar.com

Tips for Cool Weather Cooking and Hearty Wines

2009-10-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

Tips for COOL Weather Cooking & Hearty Wines

When the weather gets cold, it is the perfect time to warm yourself up from the bottom of your toes with hearty food (and wines)!

This past weekend, the leaves continued to fall in my yard and when you stepped outside you really wanted to have a jacket on. As a kid I always remember in this time of year my mother would start up something delicious on the stove or in a crock-pot that would slowly cook all day long sending delicious aromas around the house. Whether it was a hearty chili, vegetable soup, pot roast or beef bourguignon, the smell itself was a joy, but the hearty fare was even more satisfying on those cold fall nights. When you are getting ready to make your next home cooked meal remember these great pairing tips for hearty wines and foods:

1) Cooking with good wine is not a sin… if you go to the store and buy the best cuts of meat you can find is it fair to take out a bottle of wine that you would rather not drink to use while you are cooking? I give you an emphatically no answer, you don’t need to raid your cellar for the best you have to offer, but look towards your great value wines that you would serve at a dinner party to cook with, these will compliment your fare without breaking your budget.

2) Using the same wine to cook meats and sauces as you serve on the table with dinner is a great pair. On Saturday my wife made a delicious set of Boneless Short Ribs that absolutely melted in your mouth. The recipe called for a hearty red wine (Shiraz, Zinfandel or New World Pinot Noir) to pair with and be used in the preparation of the dish, I selected one of my favorites in our Aussie portfolio, the 2004 Silver Wings Vincenzo, an old-vine blend of Shiraz and Mourvedre from North Eastern Victoria.

As a foodie himself I am sure Keith Brien, owner of Silver Wings Winemaking would be happy to hear that Megan and I were cooking with his Vincenzo, but only if we saved enough to also pair it with the actual meal later… long story short we did and it was amazing! Upon cooking the short ribs in the rich sauce and reducing it down when you tasted the Vino with it at the dinner table it brought out a bit more spice and a loving familiarity with the food that can’t be matched. Try this one to impress your friends and pour with your meal the same wine that you used in preparing it with.

3) Add a bit of a rich red wine to your chili... it gives it a nice kick without turning your creation hot or alcoholic. Most people put enough hot things in their chili (peppers, seasonings, Tabasco sauce, etc…) that you don’t want to add wine to make your chili even hotter, but what this can do is add a bit more of a richness and elegance to the meat in the bowl. If you want to go even further, brown cubed steak in red wine, sea salt and freshly ground pepper to add to your chili. The sauce soaks up a nice flavor from the wine and imparts it right back into the chili base. I have got my recipe all lined up for football next weekend, a hearty chili with a secret ingredient, the 2007 Caligiore Reserve Bonarda, I might just get an MVP trophy from my friends for this one!

Enough tips for now; I can’t give away all of my secrets in one blog!

Ciao!

~CJC

Today’s Cribb Note – Watch out Malbec Producers… Caligiore Organic Wines from Mendoza, Argentina was just awarded an amazing 91 Points – “Best Buy” from Wine & Spirits Magazine for the 2008 Reserve Malbec and 88 Points “Best Buy” for the equally fetching 2008 Staccato Malbec / Cabernet Blend, outstanding scores for wines that retail for $14.99 and $9.99 respectively.

Keep up the great work Gustavo, you are truly making artisan, organic wines!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/

Blog – marqueewines.blogspot.com

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Wines for Fall 2009

2009-09-17T12:13:00.001-07:00

Wines for Fall 2009

In September, the kids have headed back to school, football is back in action across the US and everyone is anticipating the start of the fall season. The nights get shorter and as days pass a chill begins to catch on after the sun goes down. As for foods, the choices moves from summer fun like barbecues, corn on the cob and watermelon to fall themes like pumpkins, squash and a good hearty roast. I personally find myself better off cooking indoors, rather than on the grill (yes, a man did say this). As summer comes to an end I reluctantly grab my grill cover and put down tongs, but this does open the door for more rich, earthy and food friendly red and white wines with body. In the spring and in summer I like my wines a bit lighter with lower alcohol and a crisp acidity. Room temperature is bound to bring out the alcoholic heat on a hot summer day, but it doesn’t punish us as harshly on a cool fall evening.Think about what the foods that you like to warm up your nights in the fall. It is harvest time in many places so look for fresh apples, pears, raspberries and blueberries. You are likely to see pumpkins not only around All Hollow’s Eve, but multiplying in your grocery store with gourds, squash and even some cranberries. The fresh tomatoes from the summer garden are now being put to good use in homemade salsa and spaghetti – Bolognese sauce. Peppers are in season and spicy food, hearty chili and pasta comes back into favor. Meat and potatoes reappear to help fill up the healthy fall appetite while the richness of Italian inspired meet and cheese dishes open your door to two great wines to pair with fall flavors

1) the lovely Barbera grape (mostly from Italy) &;
2) its spicy cousin know in Italy as Primativo and in the US as Zinfandel.

Two great examples of these wines that offer delicious parings with many foods are the Quattro Leoni 2007 Barbera D’Asti from Piedmont Italy and the 2006 Classy Zinfandel from Lake County, California. Two distinctly different wines these both offer a rich palate to complement the complexity in their fall dish partners, but also an earthy component that goes quite nicely with the more hearty vegetables and fruits of the fall.

This Barbera has a lean texture with a long finish and lots of raspberry fruit. Hailing from the northern Piedmont region of Gabiano, the Quattro Leoni Barbera D’Asti pairs wonderfully with a rich and hearty Italian red sauce, but equally can complement Lasagna or even a hard Italian Parmigano cheese. A bargain at only $15.00 a bottle, you will sing the praises of this wine to all of your friends.

Several years ago scientists set out to find the origins of what most wine consumers consider “the American Grape” Zinfandel and low and behold a few DNA tests later it was proven to be the identical grape as the Italian Primativo grape. U.S. winemakers have adopted this variety as their own, and make bold and spicy Zinfandels all across the state of California that are worthy of taking notice of…. My cellar keeps a place for Rosenblum, Ridge, and a few others, but for a more moderately priced wine, the 2006 Classy Zinfandel offers blueberry, currant and spice notes that make it a winner to pair with pot roast, flank steak, and a rich Osso Bucco.

Wow, all of these great fall flavors have left me ready to head home, pop the cork on a bottle of wine and turn the kitchen into a lovely cooking show. We all may not be Bobby Flay, but pairing your wines correctly, can at least turn you into the star of your own party!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/

Email - cjcribb@marquee.com Office - 913.663.9416
Fax – 913.663.9416 – Blog – marqueewines.blogspot.com

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Wine Shipping & Storage - Part One - Temperature

2009-08-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

Avoiding The Pitfalls of Wine Shipping & Storage – Part One - Temperature

Sorry folks, parks closed (a little National Lampoons humor)… really I do apologize for my lapse on the blog front, I went just took a month off in the Caribbean and married a wonderful woman (thank you Megan)!

What a great setting and place to have a special occasion, the sunset on our wedding night was amazing and after our fantastic wedding week stay on Water Island in the USVI, we got to go island hopping on the British side of the Virgin Islands (BVI’s). At times it felt like the paradise that the team of LOST lived in, but more often it seemed like paradise found. Either way you are in a great place, one just has a little more conveniences than the other… which brings me back around to wine and the point of this column. While down in this lush environment, it was HOT, like boil an egg on your engine block hot, and I observed a great number of things being done to wine that really should not have been. This inspired me to produce and share info as to the main ways you can provide a safe environment for your wines and avoid the unnecessary pitfalls.

Winemakers across the world want you to taste what their bottle was intended to taste like, not a damaged version.

TEMPERATURE

WATCH THE HEAT – Heating up or “cooking” wines by having them sustain temperature levels above roughly 85 degrees Fahrenheit / 30 Celsius is rough on wine and can even be disastrous. OK, disastrous is a harsh word, but leave a big red wine in your car on a hot summer afternoon for a couple hours and you might just have a new Burgundy colored interior. In the interior of a parked car on a hot day the temperature can easily reach 120 degrees and will cook your wine. The heat pushes the cork out and up out of the bottle, sometimes all the way for a really big mess. Leaving a bottle for a few minutes when you are running into a store should be fine, just don’t leave it there too long.

Heat can also happen in your house, in a warehouse, in shipping, really the ideal setup is to not have your wines exposed to strong heat levels and look for the warning signs when purchasing or opening wines. The easiest ones to spot are when corks are pushed up out of the bottle, when you see any leakage in the case, on the capsule or along the side of the bottle, and when you open a wine (red is easier to spot) if it has a long red line of wine stain up the side of the cork instead of just on the bottom of the cork that should have been in contact with the juice. The resulting flavors or effect of “cooking a wine” varies; in most cases the wine actually tastes cooked or baked. The fruit aspect moves toward a stewed/jammy fruit flavor instead of fresh flavor and you might find some roasted, burnt or caramel notes. In a number of cases this process can also have an effect on the color of a wine, changing it from a deep red to a brownish or bricked red coloration.

Heat during the storage process can prematurely age wines. As aging is an organic process it stands to scientific reason that if you have twice the heat, you literally will age the wine twice as fast. Be wary about locations that you don’t think about that get hot, a few examples to watch are: a garage or shed with little insulation that heats up during the summer, we already mentioned the car, but this can also happen in trucks, suv’s or your RV headed to the lake (a bit overboard here), avoid storage next to furnaces or major appliances that get hot, and finally watch out for storing in a spot that gets heated up during the day by a tone of extra sunlight (window light/heat).

FREEZING ISN’T GOOD EITHER – It doesn’t happen as frequently as when wine gets cooked, but in reality exposure to extreme cold is also a very bad thing. Wine can freeze, if you put a bottle in your freezer for a long period of time, it can quickly tell you how cold your freezer actually is. Wine freezes below 32 Fahrenheit / 0 Celsius at roughly half of its alcoholic strength (usually about 20 Fahrenheit / -6 Celsius. I still will always use and love the tip “to get a wine chilled quickly, stick it in the freezer for just ten minutes”, it brings the wine down in temperature to a perfect level for immediate consumption. The key to good use of this tip, be sure not to forget about your bottles. If a wine freezes, the same effect happens to the warm bottles where the liquid expands and it pushes its way out of the bottle, breaking a screwcap seal or pushing a cork up and out of the bottle. For safety’s sake (especially in cool climates buying wines from the outstanding importer Marquee Selections), again watch storage in shed’s/garages that are unheated, left outside or in a car on extreme cold evening, and your icebox.

JUST PERFECT – THE RIGHT STORAGE TEMPERATURE – Not too cold, or too hot is the key, wine is a hearty beverage and if exposed to a lot of shaking, some mild heat, etc… given a period of rest before consuming (could be a week to a couple months) damage to wine seems to wear off and the beverage bounces back to taste like the winemaker intended. The ideal storage temperature and the common rule for cellar storage and room temperature dates back hundreds of years (yes, even before air conditioning). In the 1800’s and 1900’s houses, castles, and wineries did have a cellar on the property, the location all wine was stored, safely underground. A few feet underneath the earth’s surface it cools nicely and provides a stable environment with light humidity in which wine can age gracefully over long periods of time. The normal cellar temperature to age wines to be consumed during your own lifespan is between 50 Fahrenheit / 10 Celsius and 60 Fahrenheit / 15 Celsius. A few degrees higher and lower than the suggested temp matter very little (unless you plan to age wines for a number of years before consumption).

Personally my cellar is not separated and cooled more than any other part of my house, but I intentionally have it in the basement (below ground) to avoid temperature changes and to provide a bit more humidity. I do realize that not all houses have basements across the country (shout out to my friends in Florida), but several alternative locations do exist that provide a dark, cool area such as interior closets or refrigerated wine storage units.

SERVING/TASTING TEMPERATURE - Now that we have made sure our wine is stored in a great location, have avoided the heat and cold in transit and our wine is ready to be consumed, we need to serve this tasty beverage at the optimum temperature. Serving wines at the right temperature is not a real science, but instead is an application of common sense, insight about the wine, and knowing the tasters palate. Long ago wines were brought up from the cellar at 55 Fahrenheit / 12.5 Celsius and allowed to gracefully warm up to room temperature for serving. In today’s world not everyone has a cellar, but we do have the advantage of refrigeration! Here is my cliff notes version of what I serve and why.

· Serve Tannic/Big Reds at room temperature in many places around the globe; 70-75 Fahrenheit / 22-24 Celsius. This is achievable and simple, some suggest that chilling down to a bit colder level would be the optimum, but I find that it rather hard to ensure you achieve and a bit impractical. The palate is a sensitive creature and with the big reds you want to be cognoscente of a few key items. One, at higher temperatures it is easier to find sweetness, and two, warm wines effect the tannin perception making the wine taste hot or alcoholic. Please be aware that room temperature outside in Las Vegas during summer, is nowhere near the same as summer in Quebec. Vegas would need a definite chill down before going outside.

· Serve Lighter Reds with a slight chill, just a touch under room temperature 70-75 Fahrenheit / 22-24 Celsius. Wines with a lighter/fruitier structure such as Pinot Noir or Beaujolais benefit from a slight chilled touch because it brings out more complex tannins and allow you to find more of the good (and bad things aka wine faults) in your reds. Taking a light red and putting it for 10 minutes in the refrigerator before serving is a common practice I use.

· Serve Complex Dry Whites at with a chill, but allow them to warm up after the first pour to 55-65 Fahrenheit / 13-18 Celsius. The right chill makes wines in this category taste refreshing, while still showing off the subtleties necessary to pair more rich foods. I like to have my bigger whites like Chardonnay, Semillion, and Alvarinho chilled in a fridge/cellar environment and then put out on the table in a normal environment for 10 minutes to warm up a bit before serving. After pouring the wines will warm up in your glass, therefore I advise putting the bottle into a chilled location again until you are ready for more (ice bucket, fridge, etc…)

· Serve Lighter Whites, Sparkling & Roses at the coldest temperature 50-55 Fahrenheit / 10-13 Celsius. Crisp is my favorite word for light whites and roses served at the right temperature. The coldness/chill allows the wines to show their acidic backbone without making you pucker. Avoid serving the wines TOO cold, because you may rob them of the nose and taste that were intended (alternatively if you have wines with off flavors, flaws, or aromas serve them cold to mask this quality). If you serve sparkling wines TOO warm, you are increasing the amount of Carbon Dioxide produced and they can appear fizzy or frothy when consumed. Serve straight from the fridge or ice bucket and return there.

For all of those that made it to then end, I applaud you and your reward is a Cribb Note about two exciting scores on our Caligiore Organic Wines…
Cheers!

~CJC

Today’s Cribb Note – Watch out Malbec Producers… Caligiore Organic Wines from Mendoza, Argentina was just awarded an amazing 91 Points – “Best Buy” from Wine & Spirits Magazine for the 2008 Caligiore Reserve Malbec and 88 Points “Best Buy / Extreme Value” for the equally fetching 2008 Staccato Malbec / Cabernet Blend, outstanding scores for wines that retail for $14.99 and $9.99 respectively.

Keep up the great work Gustavo, you are truly making artisan, organic wines!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/

Cell - 816.223.9201 - Office - 913.663.9416
Fax – 913.663.9416 – Blog – marqueewines.blogspot.com

THE MAGIC OF A LONG FINISH

2009-05-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

THE MAGIC OF A LONG FINISH

One of my favorite things about the world of food, wine, coffee and desserts is the unique and pleasurable experience that occurs when your palate is left with an ever-long, smooth and lasting finish. The experience doesn’t happen all of the time and quite frankly it doesn’t happen enough, but when it does, with a great flavor, it is a true joy. Recently I found a couple items that highlighted the magic of the “long finish” and I thought I would take a couple minutes to share them with you. Three experiences, three different items (very literally), but they all shared in common a long and magical finish…

Silver Wings 2004 Vincenzo Old Vine Mourvedre / Shiraz Blend - Estate grown just outside the town of Shepparton in Victoria, Australia, the Vincenzo is a great tribute to Old Vine Aussie fruit complexity that has been hand-crafted by Marquee’s head winemaker Keith Brien. As Keith will tell you, the Vincenzo, is like his fifth child because he puts in all of the extra time and effort necessary to work and age this wine so that it has been cared for delicately from its youth through its long barrel aging and extend bottle aging. A hot year (another in the record of drought years in Victoria), this wine gives you a beautiful balance of dark fruits (raspberries, blackberries and currants) and rich spicy mocha tones. It has a bit of white pepper, but what I keep coming back to when tasting this wine is that its long, drawn out finish has a dark chocolate and licorice fade that lasts for 30 or 40 seconds… Wow, it is ever a delight and a fun wine to share with friends!

Marquee is proud to announce that at the 2009 WSWA (Wine & Spirits Wholesaler s Association) Convention the 2004 Silver Wings Vincenzo O.V. was awarded the Best in Show prize for the new entrant brand, Rhone Varietal or Blend! I am sure the long, luxiourious finish of the Vincenzo is what won over these judges just as Keith has been wining over our palates with Marquee for years. To have a small house like Marquee wine this prestigious awarda at a huge convention with all of the world’s biggest brands present, Marquee and Keith in particular continues to outdistance the competion by overdelivering on quality! Kudos mate!

Tea Forte – White Ambrosia – OK, so coffee is usually my thing, but I do also really like a good cup of tea, and the folks at Tea Forte know what they are doing. With their signature “tea infusers” and great flavors I usually jump at a chance when I can grab one of these cups if they are in the room. My latest Tea Forte experience was at home on a chilly Saturday morning that just didn’t strike me as a coffee day. Instead of the joe, I picked the biggest cup in my kitchen; got the water boiling, seeped my infuser and when I had my first sips I was amazed at the elegant flavors and aromas, mmmm… wow was this some great stuff or what! Warming my hands on the edge of the mug on the cold day helped as well, but the most memorable part was the long, coconut infused white tea flavors that tingled on my taste buds for an eternity from sip to sip. If you like mild teas, try this one it’s worth the time.

Christopher Elbow Artisinal Chocolates – Christopher Elbow is a small artisan chocolate maker based from my home town, Kansas City, with an international reputation for divine quality chocolates that are both delicious and works of art. Recently I was involved in the March of Dimes fundraiser at Union Station, Winefest pouring wines in benefit of this great cause and had a chance to sneak over to the artisan chocolate makers table and sample a bit of the requisite fair. Lovely these delicious treats are and on another occasion I think I would tell you my favorite is the Passion Fruit, but this evening I tasted the Venezuelan Spice that has a dark ganache base that is infused with a chili spice blend. Oh, my it was a treat and the long crescendo of a finish was at the same time sweet and hot with the chili adding just enough punch to make you not reach for another piece, but savor the long finish of the last before moving on to a sip of vino.

In the same light these chocolates and this one in particular were a great compliment to a number of the lovely wines in the fundraisers Premier Room, I loved pairing the C. Elbow Russian Tea with Dark Ganache and hints of Black Tea, Citrus and Spices with the Caligiore Reserve Malbec, mmm, good stuff, a complimentary batch of Dark Berry flavors and spices.

Yes, you can pair red wines with chocolates, just do so carefully!

Keep searching out those foods, wines, teas, coffees and more that bring a long finish and pass me back some details.

These three are a real treat in that area, but thousands more are out there, we just have to find them and share with good friends!
Cheers!

~CJC

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
cjcribb@marquee.com
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/

Fifteen great wines under $15.00 Retail

2009-03-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

CRIBB NOTES – MARCH 1, 2009
FIFTEEN GREAT WINES UNDER $15.00 RETAIL

Take the list for what it’s worth, great value wines from my own personal experience. You will find wines I produce on the list; I included them because I can honestly tell you these are wines I consider a “top value”

Cheers!

~Christopher J. Cribb, CSW

Sparkling Wines

NV Gruet Blanc de Noir Sparkling Wine – New Mexico, USA
$13.99 Retail – Yes, New Mexico, but Bubbles for Under 15$
Crisp, beautiful and easy to drink sparkler!

White Wines

2007 Veramonte Reserva Sauvignon Blanc – Casablanca Valley
$10.99 Retail – Product of Chile
91 Points – Top 100 Values of Year – Wine & Spirits 2008

2007 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Gris – Oregon, USA
$12.99 Retail - 87 Points – Wine Spectator 2008
Aristocratic Wines at Democratic Prices

2007 Clemen Reserva Vinho Verde – Product of Portugal
$11.99 Retail – (50% Trajadura / 50% Alvahrino)
90 Points – BTI World Wine Championships

2007 Sterling Chardonnay – Central Coast Collection, CA, USA
$9.99 Retail – Great value for CA Chard that tastes very ripe.
88 Points – Wine Spectator. Great Value!

2007 McManis Vineyards – Viogner – California
$10.99 Retail – Product of California
A great value grower, all of their wines are very solid!

Rose Wines

2007 Les Vignerons Des Tavel – Les Lauzeraies – Tavel
$13.99 Retail – Product of Tavel, (Southern) France
88 Points – Wine Spectator 2008

Red Wines

2006 House Wine Red – Magnificent Wine Co. Cabernet Blend
Washington State, USA - Cabernet Blend w/ Merlot, Syrah, Sangv., Malbec & Cab Franc
$9.99 Retail - Famous Winemaker Charles Smith, K - Vintners

2007 Marquee Classic GSM (Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvedré Blend)
$11.99 Retail - Product of Australia
4 Vintages in a row 87+ Points Wine Spectator

2005 Concannon Petit Syrah Limited Release
$11.99 - $13.99 Retail Central Coast, CA, USA
85 Points – Robert Parker “Big, Bold and only will get better with a bit of aging/time.”

2007 Hogue Cabernet Sauvignon – Washington, USA
$9.99 Retail – Columbia Valley, Washington, USA
89 Points Wine Spectator – Juicy and Delicious!

2007 Castle Rock Pinot Noir – Sonoma County, CA
$12.00 Retail – Castle Rock makes several good value Pinot’s this happens to be the largest production. 86 Points – Wine Spectator.

2007 Bodegas Ateca – Garnacha De Fuego Old Vines – Spain
$6.99 to $8.99 – Old Vine Grenache from Spain
89 Points – Wine Spectator – Buy a Case – Only 7500 Made!

2007 Caligiore Reserve Malbec – Mendoza, Argentina
$14.99 Retail – Product of Mendoza, Argentina
100% Organically Grown from over 75+ Yr. Old Vines

2007 Red Truck Red Wine Blend – California
$9.99 Retail – Blend of Syrah, Petit Sirah, Cab. Franc & More
Food & Wine Magazine – Best values under $15.00

Marquee Blog - Heading to Portugal

2009-02-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

My fiancée is big into white wines (great for her, but also good for me)!

Megan's love of white wine also challenges me to reach out for new wines and push the red wine till later in the evening. Why do I tell you this... because I have a LOVELY white wine just added to our portfolio that is going to knock your socks off.

Last year I became aware through a mutual friend about a group of winemakers in Portugal that have teamed together to start a worldwide export group... that group is called Saven and more information can be found about them by checking out http://www.winesandwinemakers.com/. Marquee has only started with one wine from this group, but it is a knockout wine and a real treat to bring to the US market.

Our first wine imported to the US from Saven is called "Clemen" and is a Vinho Verde made from two differnent grapes, Tradjadura and Alvarhino. This wine is crafted by winemaker Anselmo Menedes and has a bright acidity and rich palate that is hard to find in un-oaked white wine. Mr. Menedes has taken to using Alvarhino from this Northern Portuguese region as the backbone for an outstanding set of wines. Just last month from the heart of Spain (the location of Albarinho which happens to be the same grape as Alvarhino), the famous wine writer Jose Penin of Sibaritas Magazine was praising what Anselmo has been doing with Alvarhino in Portugal. Penin wrote that "Anselmo was crafting from Alvarinho, wines of superior quality to most of the Albarinio from the Rias Bias region in Spain" (simply put one heck of a compliment)!

This wine is absolutely refreshing, has a long and complex finish, and is one wine that will leave you wanting to go on your own quest to Portugal. We received a few hundred cases of the 2007 vintage which has already "sold out" worldwide and are getting in line for our allocation of the 2008 vintage.

Check out the Clemen Vinho Verde if you are ready to impress your white wine drinking fans; I know that Megan was impressed!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - Marquee Artisan Wines
cjcribb@marquee.com

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Marquee Blog - Let's Kick off 2009 with a Spanish Fiesta

2009-01-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

Marquee Blog – Let’s Kick off 2009 with a Spanish Fiesta!

I got my fill of holiday parties, cheeseballs, and mixed nuts over the last month and am happy to now be signing my checks 2009 without having to scratch out 2008 first. With the start of the new year comes new year’s resolutions, a clean slate to keep score on and more and more snow (at least for some parts of the world).

Kicking off 2009, I am proud to let all of my partners know that Marquee has added a great new lineup of wines to our portfolio from the region of Yecla, Spain. Yecla is located in Southern Spain, in the state of Murcia and is home to some of the highest vineyards on the entire Iberian Peninsula. After a long search we found our partner, Bodegas La Purisima doing wonderful things with Monastrell (one of my favorite varietals), producing a number of wines in the certified organic methodology and making crisp white wines from high elevation Sauvignon Blanc.

What is high elevation in this region; good question, the simple answer is that a large amount of the La Purisma vineyards are located at elevations over 3000 ft. above sea level that produce warm days with abundant sunshine and cool evenings. With the start of the New Year we have introduced the:

2007 Old Hands Sauvignon Blanc
2007 Old Hands Organic Monastell
2006 Old Hands Monastrell
2004 Trapio Old Vine Monastrell

Each of the Monastrell wines has a unique and rich flavor that is accented with the use of oak aging to show lush smoky tones over the top of a dark berry & cherry base. Hints of cocoa and bits of spice keep these wines interesting and true to their old vine roots.

The 2004 Trapio is the star of this showcase, coming entirely from un-grafted Monastrell vines, the winemaker gives you a unique view into what this grape varietal tasted like before the behemoth phyloxera wiped out most European vineyards and made grafted vines the norm for modern “old world “wines. Not to be outdone, the Sauvignon Blanc has a restrained, yet racy acidic back bone and tons of bright peach fruit. The heat of the regions also brings forward the passion fruit and apple notes in our Sauvignon Blanc, you will be impressed!

Spain is a country that can over deliver on value if you know the right producers, and I am happy to have these exciting new wines as a part of the Marquee portfolio.
Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM – Marquee Artisan Wines
cjcribb@marquee.com

Marquee Bites and Delights – December 2008 – Ring in the Holiday’s!

2008-11-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

The holiday jingle bells are ringing, Christmas music has hit the airwaves and Marquee is putting little Santa hat’s on our wine bottle’s to dress them up for the holiday’s… well, not really, but we are hard at work like little elves this time of year. For 2008 Marquee decided to make gift giving a little easier by pairing up some useful and exciting small gift items with our wine to make the perfect holiday baskets.

Click here Marquee Holiday Program 2008 to check out our gift basket selection that includes you customizing the wine selections and sending your own greeting / thank you card along with the gift baskets.

Let me give you a quick sample of the outstanding values we have with the gift basket program; our “All American Basket” includes one bottle each of the 2006 Classy Sauvignon Blanc and 2006 Classy Zinfandel paired up with one of the best BBQ sauces on the planet, the Haywards Pit BBQ sauce and Hayward’s own special blend of spices. The Zinfandel should pair very nicely with a set of Smoked BBQ ribs and the best part is the mouth-watering package price, only $39.95!

My two holiday tips for the month…

1) Plan for everything to take twice as long as you think it will and you should be sitting pretty! This time of year things tend to slow down a bit more than everyone expects, if you start off by planning for things to take longer than you think you will be pleasantly surprised when you finish early. What does this do with wine, nothing specifically, I just think it’s a good tip for this time of year!

2) BOTTLE EXCHANGE - If you want a fun activity for a holiday party, think about doing a gift bottle exchange. It can either be a challenge to find the best wine under a price point (say $15.00) and have all of the participants bring a bottle to the exchange (wrapped of course), or you can do it as a traditional “white elephant” exchange where everyone is challenged to bring a white elephant bottle / gift that is “just for fun”. I love both ideas because they allow for a bit of inexpensive fun for a holiday party and let everyone take home something unique that they otherwise would never have seen / tasted.

Marquee thanks our partners participating in the 2008 Holiday gift program, Hayward’s BBQ, The Roasterie Coffee, Indigo Wild and is proud to say we can ship to almost any (some states are still behind on this) US location with these gift baskets and are happy to customize them for you.

Please contact Marquee Cellar Master Craig Skopec if you want any additional information on the Holiday Program at cjcskopec@marquee.com and have a safe and happy holiday season!

Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW

S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G Your Wine Dollars

2008-10-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Stretching Your Wine Dollars

I really don’t think it matters much if you are in shipping, tourism, politics, stock brokerage or the wine business, the world’s economic woes are being felt in most every direction. With a big election coming up in November in the US, retailers already talking about how there are “only” 80 shopping days left until Christmas and much more, I thought this would be a good time for me to pass along a few gems of information to help your wine dollar S-T-R-E-T-C-H just a bit further.

Idea # 1 – When in a restaurant with more than three people, talk with your tablemates and order a bottle…

Most restaurants drop off at least $5.00 or more per bottle when they add a wine to their bottle list vs. the By-The Glass (BTG) pours. Don’t get me wrong, I love exploring wines on BTG lists, but if you are out with a couple people this is a great way to save a few dollars and also have a wine that you all can enjoy + discuss the nuances of. If you choose wines that are versatile for food matches, you can still compliment the fare and have enjoyable wines in the process; great examples might be a Grenache Blend (Mmmm possibly the Marquee Classic GSM), Spanish Tempranillio’s, or an Oregon Pinot Noir.

Idea # 2 – Find a good local wine store and use their case discount program…

One of my favorite wine buying activities is choosing a local wine shop that I know has a good selection and stopping in to buy a value case of wines to try. Many great shops offer discounts on cases that range from 5% to 10% and even up to 17-20% if you buy a full case of 12 wines at a time. Sure, the idea of choosing 12 wines and spending $15.00 per bottle on each of them sounds like you aren’t going to save money, but make a game out of it. OK, you splurged and chose a single-vineyard Chardonnay for $20.00, round it out by getting a bargain bottle of Riesling on sale for $10.00 and ask the staff for a couple suggestions. In the end you will have a unique box of 12 wines to try and choose your favorites from plus you saved yourself another $1.50 on each bottle. Every little bit counts and if you want to get picky about it, you may have also saved a few more dollars by not going to the liquor store three times in one month.;)

Idea # 3 – Put a little gas on it, take a little off, or just let it develop and test the results…

I am not going to speculate as to what the best option is, but the fact of the matter is that there are several market solutions available to help you preserve the wines you have tasted one day, but did not consume the entire bottle. I find that many wines actually improve with a bit of time being opened and exposed to air. My advice is to have a couple options in your wine “toolkit” and test out what works well with the style of wines you are used to drinking. One option, that I routinely use is the vacuum pump wine seal… you literally are pumping out additional air to keep a wine sealed more tightly. Other people prefer the use of an inert gas that is sprayed into the bottle and because it is heavier than oxygen, it settles below normal “air” and on top of the wine creating a barrier to wine oxidation.

Frankly I don’t use these techniques all of the time, because in many circumstances I taste/consume the wines in the next day or two where they have still retained freshness, but also have been allowed to breathe and develop secondary flavors. It may come as a surprise to some, but one of Marquee’s newest wines is a light, lively Sauvignon Blanc, that I really like at first sip, but ADORE after having put the bottle away and opening it on day number two. Have a taste of the 2006 Classy Sauvignon Blanc and you will understand perfectly!

OK, I hope I stretched your dollar a bit further and will keep my fingers crossed that the markets bounce back before we start hearing Christmas carols~Email me any helpful hints and tips at cjcribb@marquee.com!
Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - www.marquee.com

The Backyard BBQ and Wine Pairing

2008-08-13T15:07:00.001-07:00

A recent beautiful weekend allowed my culinary side to shine; courtesy of my old reliable BBQ Grill. Yes, I am by no means a gourmet, but grilling is great fun, and most men (and women) can play a good chef if the grill is involved. Summer can be melt your shoes hot at times, but thankfully this day allowed for a perfect 85 degree high and a graceful arc that took many hours to turn day into night.

I fired up the grill, got the coals roasting, and took a quick peek down the stairs into the cellar to find a couple good wines to pair up with my fare. On the menu;
grilled corn on the cob, a fresh summer salad with mandarin oranges and roasted almonds, and the centerpiece, a juicy Kansas City Strip steak. Make of it what you like, but I am a big fan of bringing a couple wines to the table to taste with a nice dinner. One red and one white allows you to have more versatility to match up the wines with your meal and not sip on flavors that are just not meant to go together.

For tonight’s affair I couldn’t resist a nice Aussie Chardonnay that would go great with the citrus flavors in the salad and also handle the rich and buttery notes from the sweet corn on the cob. (Hint here – pick corn that isn’t huge kernels all the way to the end of the shucks because those ears are usually “overripe”, you want to see a few small kernels at the top of your choices). Winning great awards recently and being selected as a Vintages release by the LCBO, the 2006 Marquee Signature Chardonnay from Yarra Valley was a great hit with the corn and salad. The smart and balanced use of some oak aging and good acidic backbone brought out notes of lemon zest with the salad and creaminess with the corn; two different sides of the same wine, flexing its style to match the foods.

I must confess, I love steak, not quite sure exactly why… but I do. I usually don’t use steak sauce, I rarely do much with rubs or spices before grilling, and think there are only three items a good steak needs to turn out nicely; One/Two a bit of salt (sea salt is nice) and fresh cracked pepper before grilling and a nice red wine paired up for the meal. Just released to the general public, I had my eye on trying the 2006 Classy Zinfandel from Lake County, California with dinner and was well rewarded for my choice. The KC strip steak is not quite as lean as some other cuts, yet I love the way the fat content in this cut of steak cooks off into an almost caramelized exterior that locks in the juicy interior contents. Classy shows a great bouquet of rich raspberries, with spicy hints of cloves and dried roses, the wine has very smooth tannins and a medium/full body that allowed the fruit to shine, but with a less aggressive mouth feel than some other big reds (that I also happen to enjoy, aka King Cabernet). Final summary, the taste was a great match because it was also not “hot feeling” from having an uber high alcohol content (there are several 17% Zinfandel’s out on the market if you are looking around), try it with your next grill party and you will be impressed!

Ciao for now!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - cjcribb@marquee.com

3 Things I Learned In Vermont - 2008

2008-06-04T13:35:00.001-07:00

After a three day adventure in the mountains of Vermont I am ready for an escape back to my own bed!

For its third year, Sante Magazine - http://www.santemagazine.com/ held a wonderfully informative and engaging Restaurant Symposium. The caliber of attendees was a strong group of food and beverage professionals that are into food, wine, spirits, education and FUN!

Sante has done a great job each year increasing the depth of its attendee roster as well as highlighting new trends in the culinary arts (aka mixology for one).

Three great things that I learned from the symposium that think all of my friends should know:

1) With great, fresh ingredients, you can make wonderful and exciting food! On attendee at the event was The Chef's Garden, a true eclectic farm that has taken small batch artisan greens and vegetables to a true art. Its not readily apparent in all environments, but when you use the best in quality (just as with wine) you get VIBRANT flavors. The farm is located in Huron, Ohio and it is well worth the visit for any foodie or wine lover alike.

Check them out on the web at http://www.chefs-garden.com/.

2) Mixology is really coming into its own as a culinary science and art form that will continue to grow and grab up an ever larger share of the pie with each coming year.

3) Morel mushrooms are Great! I was unsure about these tasty treats before from other preparations, but cooked with the right background ingredients they offer a tasty distinct flavor that is only paired with their unique texture.

Long story short, Vermont might not seem like a place to unveil culinary experiences, but my friends at Sante do know what they are doing when they put together a great room of PROFESSIONALS.

Cheers and I'll get back to more wine info soon!

PS - Bottling of the first vintage "Classy" wines from Lake County, CA has just occurred!

Ode to Blind Tasting

2008-05-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

I recently completed a Sommelier Course that included a great piece on blind tasting and using a systematic approach to review wines. Coming from a computer background I am the first to tell you that anything can be broken down into a "system" if you try, but this approach was well presented and allowed for a new experience for me in the wine world; having 75 people in one room looking at the same wine without any pre-conceived notions about it.

Without the bottle to look at, without your frame of reference as to where you purchased it, without your normal peer group to influence you, the reality brought you home with exactly what your senses could tell you and thereafter, what your mind tied it back to.

One wine took me back to a medicine cabinet in the Nurse's office at elementary school, another made me think of a banana peel and the time I tried to see if I could get my sister to slip on it just like I had seen in many cartoons. ;) By bringing the blind aspect into the wine tasting experience it made my senses flex and reach back into my personal history to allow for a frame of reference.

Next time you want a challenge, get 3 friends to each bring a bottle for a round table tasting, four different wines, put them in the bags and try the tasting blind... use a simple and honest approach (As my training would attest I prefer the Court of Master Sommelier's, http://www.mastersommeliers.org/), but whatever your approach just make sure that you allow objectivity and the time to review the look, smell, taste and essence of the wine.

I am putting this on my list of things to do during the next month and if anyone else in the Kansas City area would like to join me, please drop me a line and I will let you know where the group is going to put down our roots.

All my best,

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - Marquee Artisan Wines
cjcribb@marquee.com

Bring On The Whites!

2008-05-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Bring on the Whites!

When I think of Spring time, I think of green grass, flowers blooming, and in general the outdoors. After a long and cold winter in Kansas City (Marquee headquarters), I am ready for some good weather and some nice light white wines to pair with it. From a taste perspective, lighter white wines have a tendency to show many of the same flavors that Spring itself brings about… some of my favorites are: freshly cut green grass, the floral scent of lilac, mint, basil, dill, and even the smell of dandelions.

Yes, I am actually writing about the fun and ever present yellow flowers that magically turn into a white and wispy seed. At one time or another we have all been tempted to blow the seeds off these fun forms of nature’s beauty… When the weather turns warm and the grass wakes up from its winter slumber, one week behind the grass (at least in my yard), are these hearty yellow flowers that if you pull one and rub it on a piece of paper leaves a vibrant splash of color. When gardening last weekend I managed to pull a ton of these little yellow creatures out of my lawn, my hands had a bit of a green tinge and I was at once hit with a smell that was both recognizable and different, dandelions.

I thought back to my wine portfolio at Marquee Selections and in my head ran the mental list of wines to find any association that fit. I checked the cellar and, it hit me; our newest white wine, Grazioso, a blend of un-oaked Chardonnay and Torrontes, the floral white grape most well know in Argentina, has just a little bit of that fresh dandelion smell that makes me think of Spring! Grown at high altitudes in the Northern part of Mendoza , the roots of this fun association likely stem from the Chardonnay grape that makes up 60% of this white blend.

I pulled the cork a few minutes later and sure enough, whether by association or coincidence, the flavor stuck out just as if you had taken iceberg lettuce in your normal salad and switched it with wild greens. The smell and flavor is both tangy and savory at the same time. The wines acidity lets this flavor come out while still being nicely balanced by the more luscious and floral aromas in the Torrontes. Floral notes were there, but not overpowering like you find in a potpourri, they are more mellow, understated and clean as in a tulip. Delicious, thirst quenching and a delight to enjoy as the sunset closed on my back porch.

My challenge this month for you is to let me know of your next “common scent” the everyday average smell that you enjoy so that I can associate it back to the fun world of wine. Whether it’s the scent of laundry fresh from the dryer, or the cherry smell that is not bing or maraschino, but sure enough it’s cherry cough syrup… send me a line at cjcribb@marquee.com and I will share it with more friends.

Till next month, cheers to the coming of spring!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW

Wine & Chocolate Mmm...

2008-05-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

WINE & CHOCOLATE MMM...

When it comes to talking wine and chocolate, my mind immediately drifts to dark chocolate and deep red wines… but that could be because "most" of my favorite wines are large, bold red wines. ;) To ring in the grand month of February on this leap year, let's take a deeper look into pairing wines with Chocolate and other sweets.

Wine Myth - Red wine pairs perfectly with chocolate

Some red wines go well with chocolate but the rule doesn't guarantee wonderful results with many wines. Try to consider that you want your wine to be a hint sweeter what you are paring it with. Chocolate that contains a ton of sugar can make the wine it's being consumed with seem too bitter. Opt for dark chocolate with a high cocoa content (more than 50 per cent) and choose a wine with lots of sweet fruit or oak characteristics, such as a Bordeaux blend of Merlot & Cabernet, or a good example from the Marquee portfolio is the Marquee Signature Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine spent over 18 months aged in new American Oak and therefore has a innate sweetness that pairs beautifully with a deep, dark Chocolate.

New Idea – Chocolate covered strawberries & Champagne or Riesling

Well maybe its not that new of an idea, but it is definitely a good one!. Having nice, ripe strawberries dipped in both dark and white chocolate are a delight in and of themselves, but choosing a demi-sec sparkling and or an off-dry Riesling to pair with them allows the strong acid backbone in the wines to pair wonderfully with the juicy strawberries. You could go the traditional route and just do strawberries and Champagne, yet why add a new touch to an old classic. The just released 2007 vintage of the Marquee Classic Riesling would pair wonderfully!

For the Adventurous – Dessert wines and Desserts with Chocolate

On this, I love to either pick a flavor profile in my wine and then try and match it in the dessert, or to pick my wine and use it to help concoct the actual dessert. For the first style, take the Marquee Signature Dessert Chardonnay, it is brimming with apricots, pear, and marmalade flavors… pear is a bit hard to find in the chocolate world, but a brief look around finds many citrus infused chocolates…The hint of citrus in the chocolate is a fun match to the wine, or this beautiful wine is also great to pour over ice cream and garnish with a white chocolate square. Two minutes and you have a beautiful, classy dessert! Whatever your flavor for the month, enjoy it with style and let me know about your new and interesting subjects in the wine and sprits world.

Till next month, Cheers!

Christopher J. Cribb, CSW