In Vino Veritas.....

Occasionally, logic is on the short end of life’s stick. It’s neither a good nor a bad reality. Intermittently, logic merely gets trumped by that crazy, go-lucky chieftain we call “luck.”

Luck intervenes without rhyme or reason, often times when you least expect it. A favorite CD resurfaces after years in hiding. A sale on airfare coincides with a needed respite from work. A prospective boss thinks your rubbish is slightly less appalling than the last applicant.

This last reference describes the circumstances by which I became a waiter at Scholar’s Inn Wine Restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana during my final year of college. I arrived for the interview knowing one nugget of something about wine: that Shiraz was the same grape as Syrah. I was a one-trick pony and my thirty seconds were gonna be up in a hurry. Yet somehow, before the owner got to asking about my palate (which at the time I would have mistook for a dish in the kitchen), I buzzed-in with my Shiraz factoid and garnered a nodding smile. Thirty minutes later I held a corkscrew and a training schedule.

Inexplicably, I was in.

A decade and a globetrotting collection of wine later, my gratitude to Scholar’s Inn (and luck) is endless. The 80-bottle wine rack in my kitchen is evidentiary proof of my affinity for all things vine-related. Thankfully, my palate has managed to trickle northward over the years as well.

Wine has become the sister I never had. Ever-present. Disappointing at times. Never out of favor. And hers is an epic tale of monks and monarchs, plagues and peasants.

Homer's Odyssey and Iliad both contain detailed descriptions of wine, and the Greeks were thought to be avid consumers by 1600 B.C. Near the birth of Christ the Romans supposedly ordered far away territories to pull up their vines, so serious were they about protecting their own wine industry.

In latter day times, the French would have to be considered the most deeply rooted purveyors. Many French winemakers insist their terroir (a word synonymous with climate, soil, and topography) is superior and sets their wines apart. I view that as only partially true, if true at all. On the other hand, numerous Frenchmen have influenced the advancement of wine and are largely responsible for its quality and place in society today.

In my opinion the most important figure in wine’s mercurial history is the monk at the Abbey of Hautvillers, Dom Perignon. Contrary to popular belief, Perignon did not invent champagne. Rather, champagne invented itself.

In colder winemaking regions, like Champagne, the fermentation process stops during the winter before the grape’s sugar can entirely convert into alcohol and carbonic gas. It resumes the process in the spring, resulting in more alcohol and carbonic gas (the latter comes to the surface as bubbles). In Perignon’s day winemaker’s would have given anything to make the bubbles stop: infinitely unpredictable and costly. Bottles would often explode in the springtime from over-fermentation.

Dom Perignon did propel winemaking forward in other, permanent ways. Perignon decided he would only use superior grapes in his wine, knowing it meant less production. Perignon was also religious about pruning the vines in the spring, and he only harvested grapes in the cool of the morning. Thanks to Perignon, the Abbey was also one of the first vineyards to adopt corks as opposed to wooden pegs, which were noticeably inferior.

Finally, the Monk at Hautvillers exhibited a master craftsmanship when it came to blending: taking grapes from different vineyards (and vintages) and blending them together to make the best wine possible. His keen understanding of the importance of blending is perhaps his greatest gift to every winemaker who followed.

At the time of Dom Perignon’s death there were no recordings of champagne in the Abbey. It wasn’t until the 1920s that the house of Moet et Chandon named their prestige cuvee after the renowned monk, forever linking Dom Perignon to champagne. Moet did so with hopes of marketing their prestige champagne to Hollywood and the nouveau riche overseas.

Suffice is to say they succeeded.

Beyond Dom Perignon, several French rulers played a vital part in wine's biography. The Sun King, Louis XIV, was fastidious and incessant about his love for champagne. Under the Sun King’s reign, champagne, for the first time, began to compete with the legendary houses of Burgundy. An ageless rivalry ensued.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a childhood friend of Jean-Remy Moet, the grandson of Claude Moet (the first winemaker who solely made champagne). Moet’s business grew during Napoleon’s reign, largely due to patronage from the Emperor. Napoleon frequently stopped by to see Jean-Remy after military battles, seeking champagne. The Emperor offered the following rationale, “In victory you deserve it, in defeat you need it.”

Wine has experienced its share of defeat as well. Phylloxera, a parasitic insect which attacks and kills the roots of vines, was prevalent in France during the late 1800s. By 1884, 2.5 million acres of France's vineyards had been destroyed and another 1.5 million were in the grip of the parasite.

Through a series of grafting experiments, phylloxera was finally bested in France around 1900, but it occasionally resurfaces even today. In Oregon, thirty and forty year-old vines are now being destroyed by the insect. Vines will have to uprooted and replanted, grafted to a resistant rootstock.

Two world wars have also threatened wine’s ascent. The First World War, which took the lives of 25% of French infantrymen between the ages of 18 – 25, brought casualties to wineries as well. German bombings destroyed much of the towns of Epernay and Reims, and with it their vineyards. Some never recovered. The deep caves of Champagne were converted from wine cellars to schools and sleeping quarters. The winemakers could only pray as the bombing overhead destroyed their beloved soil.

Thankfully, winemakers have fought on through war and parasitic threats, trumping every assault. If anything, the vine and its planter, grow more resilient with age.

For me, wine is about discovery. Every so often I will taste a wine and instantly now its being and its joy. An unrivaled sensation. Fortunately, technology has improved not only quality, but also consistency; the end-product now varies less from year to year. There are still great vintages and uninspiring vintages. More commonly, a vineyard will produce a similar result from one year to the next. Once you’ve been consumed by a vine, there’s often good reason to return to its roots.

From Malbec to Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc to Chardonnay, I now have a grape for most occasions. For summer evenings on the patio and winter nights reading in bed, I’ve found wines that resonate with my seasons and my moods. Better still, I know that next year I will have an affinity for new grapes, which will bring new associations.

The wine industry expands with zeal and vigor with every passing hour. Exciting vineyards offering affordable wines are sprouting up in every corner of the globe. Wines from New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, New York, and China (yes, China) will be in your grocery store before long, if they’re not already. Wine enthusiasts everywhere are the benefactors.

With a world of options to choose from, I must be an old soul. I'm still devoted to those pesky bubbles. Nine times out of ten I’m drinking something else, but the bottles which sparkle are my grand dame. I side with the Oscar Wilde who said, “Only the unimaginative can find reason not to drink champagne.”

Touché.

As the Memorial Day weekend nears and the summer Bar-B-Q season begins, I wanted to share some of my favorite wines. I hope you will enjoy these and send me your favorites in return, whether they lead to truth, or merely another glass.

All of these will be under $20 and are intended as summer fare. Most are available at Sam’s Wine in Chicago. Hopefully other retailers around the country are stocking these vineyards as well.

Aurelo Cabestrero 1 + 1 = 3, Brut (my favorite cava)
Domaine Ste. Michelle, Brut (just put a bottle in my fridge)
Gloria Ferrer, Brut (flavorful and light, I never grow weary)
Vietti Cascinetta, Moscato d’Asti (perfect for any starry night)
Campbells (Rutherglen), Muscat (intense, amazing dessert wine)
Edna Valley, Chardonnay (a steal for $12, available everywhere)
Trevor Jones (Virgin), Chardonnay (a crisp, delicious wine)
Stone Paddock, Sauvignon Blanc (a new SB sensation)
Tohu, Sauvignon Blanc (the best $15 of your summer)
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris (tougher to find, worth the trouble)
Jaffurs, Viognier (A lesser known grape which rewards)
Boony Doon (Pacific Rim), Riesling (a sweet option, cool bottle)
Paul Hobbs (El Felino), Malbec (a red for meats from the grill)
Seghesio, Zinfandel (same as above, a spicier red)
Argyle, Pinot Noir (an Oregon staple, light enough for summer)

Editor's Note: much of the historical information cited in this entry comes from Don & Petie Kladstrup's wonderful book, Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times.