Scarcely have we become used to wine lists or wine-bar offerings being dominated by chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon when several less-familiar grape names have begun to intrude on their space.
The hot grapes of the moment are the white viognier from France and the red sangiovese of Italy. The acreage devoted to both in this country has expanded remarkably; both have burst on the marketplace and achieved an overnight celebrity; and both will be considerably more visible as acreage planted early in the decade begins producing usable wine this year and next.
If you’ve ever drunk Chianti, you have tasted the sangiovese grape. It is unlikely, however, that the grape (notorious for clonal variations) will produce wines in California that are as dry, as high in tannin, as “earthily rural” (British wine writer Jancis Robinson’s phrase) as the classy Tuscan wines of Chianti Classico, Montalcino and Montepulciano.
Nonetheless, spurred on by the current infatuation with Italian food and cooking, California winemakers can’t resist making sangiovese or blending it with cabernet sauvignon.
According to Chicago wine consultant Henry Bishop, who has become a specialist in the genre, American-made sangiovese wines are lighter, softer and fruitier than the best Italian bottlings. “It can taste similar to merlot or remind you of a juicier, fuller pinot noir,” he says, “so they may catch on.”
Wineries producing sangiovese or sangiovese blends include such familiar names as Benzinger, Bonny Doon, Estancia, Ferrari-Carano, Flora Springs, Robert Pepi and Shafer, plus Viansa, Martin Brothers, Boeger, Montevina and newcomers Atlas Peak and Swanson.
Bishop recommends caution in purchasing California sangiovese retail-priced at more than $14 or $15.
Viognier is highly regarded for its haunting, perfumed bouquet and its full body and fruit character linked to apples, apricots and peaches. It is less familiar to consumers because there is so little of it. A longtime resident of the northern Rhone, until recently it was grown almost exclusively in and near the town of Condrieu.
Joseph Phelps, who includes viognier in his lineup of “Vin du Mistral” wines from Rhone grapes, and Josh Jensen, at Calara, were pioneers in California. Other producers include Qupe, McDowell, Preston and Sobon Estate. Actor Fess Parker’s Santa Barbara winery is reported to have the largest plantings of viognier, though none has reached Chicago and the grape is also being grown in Oregon and Virginia.
Bishop, who compares viognier to “an opulent, buttery chardonnay that can match up to the spiciness of Mexican or Oriental dishes,” is high on Renwood and thinks Kunde, Rabbit Ridge and Callaway viogniers represent good value for money.
It will come as no surprise that sangiovese and viognier are prominently displayed on San Francisco wine lists. During a recent visit to the vibrant new restaurant Rubicon (558 Sacramento St., 415-434-4100), Larry Stone (who spent several years in Chicago as sommelier at Charlie Trotter’s) recommended the following dishes from chef Traci Des Jardens as good matches for them.
WARM OYSTERS WITH CUCUMBER AND CAVIAR BUTTER
Four servings
1 box whole black peppercorns (for garnish)
1 box kosher salt (for garnish)
8 ounces seaweed (for garnish)
24 small oysters, shells scrubbed
1 seedless gourmet cucumber
4 ounces (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Salt and pepper
1/4 lemon
3 large shallots, peeled and finely diced
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 ounces caviar, osetra preferred
1. Mix enough peppercorns and salt to cover 4 oven-proof plates. Place a generous handful on each plate and spread it evenly. Top with seaweed. Set plates aside.
2. Shuck the oysters (or have the fishmonger shuck them). Refrigerate oysters and place six bottom shells atop the seaweed on each plate. (Recipe may be prepared ahead to this point.)
3. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Peel cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, then slice crosswise into 1/8-inch half-moon pieces. Place in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon butter and cook over low heat until just tender but not soft. Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Keep warm.
4. In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the shallots with 1 tablespoon butter. When the shallots are soft, add the wine and boil until it is almost entirely evaporated. Working on and off the heat, make a beurre blanc by whisking in the remaining 6 tablespoons butter-a tablespoon or two at a time, making sure it does not liquefy. Hold in a warm place but not over direct heat.
5. In each shell, make a bed of several cucumber slices and top with an oyster. Place plates in oven until oysters are warmed but not cooked, 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, season beurre blanc to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
6. Remove plates from oven. Spoon 1 tablespoon butter sauce over each oyster, top with caviar and serve at once with a viognier wine such as Joseph Phelps, Preston Vineyards or Sobon Estate.
PAN-ROASTED SQUAB WITH SALSIFY
Four servings
4 squab (substitute Cornish game hens if squab are unavailable)
1 large carrot, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 quarts chicken stock or reduced-salt broth
1 branch fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
3 large shallots, diced
1/4 pound bing cherries, pits removed
1 cup red wine
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound salsify (substitute parsnips)
2 tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 bunches fresh spinach
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut (or have the butcher cut) legs and breast meat with wings attached from the carcass of each squab. Cut off wing tips. Cover breast and leg pieces and refrigerate. Place carcasses and wing tips in a roasting pan and cook in the oven until well browned.
2. Add diced carrot, celery and onion to the pan and continue to roast until vegetables are soft. Reserve 3/4 cup of chicken stock and add the remainder to the pan along with the thyme. Lower heat to 375 degrees and simmer stock for 2 to 3 hours. Strain through a fine sieve. There should be about 4 cups of strained stock. If there is more, pour the stock into a saucepan and boil atop the stove until reduced to 4 cups.
3. In a saucepan, cook shallots in 1 tablespoon butter until softened. Add cherries and cover with red wine. Raise heat and boil wine until almost completely evaporated. Add strained squab stock and cook at a brisk simmer until reduced to sauce consistency, about 2 cups. This will take an hour or more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
(Recipe may be done ahead to this point. Let sauce cool, cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Return squab and sauce to room temperature before continuing.)
4. Peel salsify, placing peeled stalks in water with 2 tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar. Slice salsify crosswise into thin rounds and dry on paper towels. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large sauce pan. Add salsify and turn to coat with butter. Add 1/2 cup reserved stock and simmer until salsify is tender. Keep warm.
5. Return oven to 450 degrees. Place remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil in an oven-proof skillet large enough to hold the squab pieces in a single layer. (If necessary, use 2 skillets.) Brown pieces on all sides, then remove breast pieces. Place skillet in the oven and cook legs for 5 minutes. Add breast meat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until medium rare. Remove from oven and let meat rest, loosely covered for about 5 minutes. (If using Cornish game hens, cook until completely done.)
6. Meanwhile, return salsify to the heat. Add spinach and remaining 1/4 cup stock, cover pan and steam, tossing once or twice, until spinach is completely wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Make a bed of spinach and salsify in the center of each plate. Pour or spoon cherry sauce around the spinach bed and arrange 2 squab breasts and 2 legs atop sauce on each plate. Serve with a sangiovese wine such as Atlas Peak.
