Vintage Story

Epistemological epiphany:
Life must be lived forwards,
but can only be understood backwards
Mercifully, life may be enjoyed sideways!

Full Moon: January 3, 2007. Allen Dale Olson a/k/a the Pontiff of Palate, Story Inn’s Wine Connoisseur. Copyright 2006 Story Bed & Breakfast, LLP, d/b/a Story Inn, all rights reserved.

HIGHWAY TO THE SUN 

            Those of you who have driven out of Lyon toward the Mediterranean Sea know the thrill of driving a highway that edges the Rhone River where its banks rise sharply on either side terraced with vineyards. OK, we can’t replicate that at Story, but if you come to the January 26 Wine Dinner, you’ll sample wines from those terraces – along with some the Rhone Rangers of California use to mimic them – and quite possibly sense something of what it’s like to drive the Autoroute du Soleil out of the cold of winter.

            Rhone Valley vineyards form one of the largest wine areas in France, and their wines range from merely inoffensive to the equivalent of a free trip to the Riviera. In fact, Cote-Rotie and Hermitage from the Northern Rhone Wine Zone are whispered by connoisseurs in the same hushed tones they use for Mouton and Romanee-Conti.

            Except for Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the southern zone, the northern zone claims prestige and is home to the Syrah grape, the only red grape authorized in the north. Thirty-some miles south, the Syrah yields to the  Grenache, which loves company, and is blended with various amounts of Carignan, Mouvedre, Cinsault, and Syrah. It’s the southern Rhone that gives us the most Rhone wine and is surrounded by other wine districts such as Luberon, Ventoux, Vivarais, and Tricastin.

            Syrah, by the way, is not the same as Petite Sirah, an upstart imposter. It is the same as Shiraz, the Australian name for Syrah. Romantics claim the name comes from the grape’s discovery in ancient Persia; pragmatists say that the cuttings were tagged “Scyras” when they were shipped to Australia. No matter, even some of the California Rhone Rangers use the Aussie designation. Whatever you call it, the grape makes one of the easiest wines to drink. It requires little care, no aging (though it ages well), and pleases almost any palate, offering berry and pepper flavors of varying intensities. Even vintners like it, as it ranks among the least difficult vines to work with. And because there are no benchmarks for Syrah, producers are free to experiment, to search for the best it can offer.

            Since the early 1980s, Rhone Ranger innovators such as Randall Graham (at Bonny Doon) and Bob Linquist (Qupe) have led the way in California, at first at some risk because their friends and neighbors did not want anyone to stray far from tried and true Cabernet Sauvignon and  Chardonnay. Thanks to them, we are now seeing splendid Rhone-style wines coming out of the Golden State – from Paso Robles to Sonoma County.

            What about white wines from the Rhone?  Too bad we don’t see more of them in our part of the world. In the northern zone they are mostly blends of Marsanne and Rousanne, also being cultivated in California; the base grape in the southern zone is the Ugni Blanc, the grape used to distill cognac and armagnac, which helps explain why it’s always blended with half a dozen or so other white wine grapes.

            For top quality Rhone wines, watch for those produced by Jaboulet, Chapoutier, Delas, and Guigal. The Rhone Valley family Perrin now produces a fine wine at Tablas Creek in Paso Robles, readily available in these parts.

            Fine wines are pouring in from all parts of the world and from most continents. It is all but impossible to keep up with wine developments. “Wine List” has become a language in which fewer and fewer people are fluent. At the Story Inn we try to keep the list manageable but representative. At our wine dinners, we aim to give you a sample of what’s out there in a specific area or grape variety. It’s a rewarding effort.

Vintage Story is an e-newsletter authored by Ole Olson and published by the Story Inn, and is available free of charge to all who appreciate good wine. Vintage Story is published at each full moon. The author and the Story Inn specifically authorize the republication, reprinting and circulation of any issue Vintage Story so long as due credit is given to the author and to the Story Inn (which holds the copyright).

If any newspaper or website desires to make use of any issue of Vintage Story, we do request that you notify us. Thanks, and here's to your health!