The David Bruce Pinot and I go back many years, you must understand.  I first met this darling while slinging vino at Fleming’s in Boston.  By act of God, the good folks at the Franklin Cafe carried it, as well, which meant that I got to know it well.

So what’s all the fuss about?  A good Central Coast Pinot benefits from the cooling breeze off the ocean–something you don’t get in Napa and wouldn’t want for a Cab necessarily.  And yet the DB has a tremendous amount of fruit that don’t necessarily find in Oregon Pinots, succulent as they may be.

Bottom line? If you need a break from wines that shout but don’t want to sit down with something wishy-washy, this wine is a lot more like that friend you have that sits quietly but pleasantly most of the night while we loud folk are telling stories with wild hand gestures and air kicks…but then he sneaks in the perfect line at just the right time and wins everyone over.

For the winos out there, I would add that this is my first tasting of the Santa Maria Valley label, which isn’t even listed on his website.  Said Valley is in Central Coast, of course, so it would seem the grapes are just sourced a bit more specifically than in his broader Central Coast blend, which I understand is no longer available in NYC.

The nose is full of fruit, particularly cherry, and the finish is long but gentle on the characteristic Pinot strawberry “heat.”  After my first class, I elected to pair the sucker with a young Fontina, and I thought it went spectacularly well, but I always like slightly more acidic wines with soft cheeses.

Here’s to an old friend!

Updated: Just read a review from the Wine Cask Blog, and writer PB says, “It was positively spoiling and ruining my palate for the inexpensive Pinot’s I am used to. Oh well; I’ll survive.”  Couldn’t agree more!

The fine art of wine pairing is a much-debated topic, and in various roles over the years, I have been asked to contribute my take.  As a starting point, I subscribe heartily to the “drink what you like” school, and I would never condone instructing someone that the pairing he or she enjoys is “wrong.”

That said, I do think wine pairing “theory” isn’t out there for no reason.  For one thing, if you’re not bringing a strong preference to the table, and you want to know what might be a good match for what you’re eating, well, wine pairing guidelines can really help.  Matching acidity levels in the wine to fat content might be a bit advanced, but let’s keep it as simple as flavor intensity levels.

Flavor intensity levels?

Sure! In one sentence, you want the intensity levels of your wine to be roughly in line with that of your food so that one doesn’t walk all over the other.  Let’s take a couple extreme cases.

If you’re eating a delicate piece of Halibut without any sort of rich sauces (perhaps some herbs and a squeeze of lemon), you don’t want a heavy, oak-rageous California Chardonnay (though I love them with other foods!) beating your fish up.  You will walk away thinking your fish tasted strangely like vanilla and missed opportunity.  Try something light like a Pinot Gris from Oregon, or if you like something a touch sweeter perhaps a California Voignier.

But let’s not forget the other side of the spectrum.  Never mind  steak, which we agree pairs classically well with a gorgeous Bordeaux (yes, a red one!).  I am talking about spicy food.  What about the darkest, murkiest, unholiest curry in India?  What about the four-star spicy Thai dish your foodie home-boy is cooking up with his wife next Friday?  What do you bring then?  What wine goes well with a dirty Texas chili cook-off?

Bottom line: If you’re food is going to punch it, make sure your wine punches back.

They say wines have different tasting profiles with food than without.  Believe me that this is twice as true with the spicier flavors, as the entire profile of the wine changes when you are in those dark caves of chaotic flavor.  Try the St. Francis Merlot or Zin (every ounce a step-on-the-gas style American red).  Open up a weighty Shiraz from McLaren Vale in Australia.  The D’ArenbergDead Arm is an absolute beast, albeit a beautiful beast.

Or, try one of the biggest styles of Chateauneuf-du-pape that you can find.  I like Beaucastel as a stand-by, but I am open.  A good Chateauneuf-du-pape tends to have an earthier character than, for example, an American Zin, so pair that with a rich spectrum of spices found in South Indian and North Indian food alike.

I encourage you to be bold with your cooking as well as your drinking (speaking of flavor here, not necessarily quantity–enjoy in moderation).  So go out there and get after it!

I was pub-crawling through Brooklyn with Chris Kuhn, a good buddy of mine and a distributor for WineLite, a couple nights ago, and the topic of Malbecs came up. He knows how passionate I am about the varietal, and that I might even be buying land down in Mendoza before long to launch my own brand, and we stopped to ponder the appeal of Malbec.

Positioning
For me, I think a major part of the positioning has to do with uniqueness. When Chile started making great cabs, they had Bordeaux and California to compete with. If I sit down for a steak and want a fantastic red to pair, why go to Chile when there are domestic options and old world options I know and love? But the Argentine Malbec competes with no one within the same varietal. They are known for it, and when people hear the grape they think of the region. Boom. Forget that it is only a blending grape in Bordeaux. California has been using Cab Franc and Petit Verdot on its own for just as long, and with similar enological success. As Chris notes, nowadays every restaurant he approaches asks him if he’s got a good Malbec from Argentina. In Brooklyn, at least, the people demand it.

Profile
But there’s something else in the whole “small-grape” thing. There is something exciting to the American palette when a grape can spend a lot of time in the run getting all inky black and deliciously tannic. Think about the Stag’s Leap Petit Syrah. Just dark and delicious, the product of smaller grapes and experienced craftsmanship. Malbec has the potential for that, and I think the best Malbecs coming out of Mendoza these days (cannot lavish enough praise on Achaval, but I have a love affair with Ruca Malen just the same) are doing it in style.

I want to write a separate post on the idea of aggressive flavors and wine pairings, but I thought a brief Malbec tribute post would be fun. Let me know what you think!