Date: Fri 28-Mar-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Illustration: C

Location: A14

Quick Words:

Wine-Wisdom-Small-holiday

Full Text:

(planning which wines to go with holiday dinner, 3/28/97)

Wine Wisdom-

Approaching A Holiday Dinner

By Steve Small

As you plan your next holiday dinner, there are two basic approaches you can

take. The first approach is to splurge. After all, it is a holiday, so you

might as well drink that bottle you have been dying to open. The second

approach is when dealing with company that does not know the difference

between Muscadet (a French dry white from the Zaire) and Muscatel (don't

ask!). Even though you would like to drink something good, there is no point

in drinking an expensive wine that only you would appreciate. Of course there

is no need to worry because there are tasty wines available for either

approach.

The splurge approach certainly provides you with a large number of choices.

Because holiday dinners usually have such a large variety of foods, either red

or white wine would be appropriate. One of my favorite white wine producers is

Steele winery. Jed Steele, the winemaker and owner, first came to prominence

as the winemaker at Kendall-Jackson. His prowess at making delicious

Chardonnays led him to start his own winery, called Steele.

The Steele California Chardonnay is a delicious wine. It is loaded with flavor

and has an excellent balance of fruit and acidity. Steele Chardonnay retails

for about $20 a bottle. Steele also produces some top notch single vineyard

Chardonnays in very small quantities.

De Lorimier Sauvignon Blanc is another dry white wine I have enjoyed. Good

California Sauvignon Blancs currently sell for quite a bit less than

comparable quality California Chardonnays. The De Lorimier is medium-bodied,

quite dry, and flavorful. Only 1,350 cases were made. At around $12 a bottle,

this wine really gives you your money's worth.

King Estates is an Oregon winery that has been making some nice wines! Their

1994 Oregon Pinot Noir is a rich red wine with nicely complex flavors and a

long finish. The wine's softness makes it great with a meal and it is worth

its $19 price tag.

One of the great things about wine is that you don't always have to spend a

lot of money to get a good bottle of wine. The wines I will now discuss should

all be available for around $10 a bottle or less. The Turning Leaf Reserve

wines are a good California value. The Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel are

all well made wines. Columbia Crest is another reliable producer from

Washington state.

From France you will not go wrong with wines from Georges DuBoeuf Fortant de

France, or DuLong's new line of oak aged varietals. Finally, there are many

good, inexpensive wines arriving from South America, Spain and Italy. Your

friendly neighborhood wine merchant should be able to recommend some excellent

values from these countries.

Now that the wine questions are answered, I can move on to some of the more

vexing questions of the Easter holiday. Is there really an Easter bunny? Does

anybody actually eat the black jelly beans? Do the chocolate eggs come from

feeding the chickens chocolate?

(Steve Small is the proprietor of Steve's Liquor Store, in Ricky's Shopping

Center at 71 South Main Street/Route 25 in Newtown.)