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By The Glass
Chuck Furuya
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Summer wines share quality of 'deliciousness'
EARLIER this year, I wrote about looking for and appreciating "deliciousness" in wines. What can be more important?
Even with bigger red wines, we look to cellar them, hoping their edges round out and that they become more harmonious, textured -- and delicious. As a restaurant professional, I can readily for vouch how delicious wines seem to work with a wide range of foods.
Here are a few that meet that qualification, especially well-suited to the hotter summer weather:
2006 Domaine Fontsainte Corbieres Gris de Gris ($15): As frequent travelers to the Mediterranean basin will attest, regional pink wines are totally in season during warm summer afternoons. This time of year, at least every other umbrella-ed café table in southern France is topped with a carafe of delicious, dry- to off-dry pink wine, looking like some kind of abstract centerpiece. It is very much a part of the lifestyle. Because the locals tend to gulp their wine in order to quench their thirst or wash down the day's fare, (nicoise and other colorful, crisp salads, simply prepared fresh seafood and light pastas), the most apropos rosés need to be well chilled and delicious. This newly arrived 2006 is such a wine.
2005 Hugues de Beaulieu Picpoul de Pinet ($15): It wasn't too long ago that we in Hawaii were hard-pressed to find an interesting, dry, brisk, alive-and-kickin' white wine from Southern France. I always thought the French just kept the good ones to themselves and did not export them. And it is quite possible that these much more fragile wines simply did not travel well and lost their bright eyes and bushy tails somewhere along the trip over. Whatever the case, here is a quintessential example of what an absolutely delicious, completely refreshing summer white should be. I have seen this terrific discovery at less than $15 a bottle in a few of the finer wine shops around town. Stock up.
2005 Fillaboa Albarino ($17): Really good café wines are not limited to southern France, as this dry, riveting, crisp and lively white Spanish wine will show. The 2005 is the fifth or sixth vintage that I have had the pleasure to taste and it is as interesting and delicious as any white wine that I have had from anywhere on the Mediterranean basin. Wonderfully thirst-quenching, food-friendly and delicious, this is a wine well worth seeking out.
2005 Pure Evil Chardonnay ($10): Here is a tasty, very crisp, refreshing recommendation from Down Under. I believe the word "pure" partly refers to the fact that this chardonnay is un-oaked. I also think that Pure Evil refers to how easy this wine goes down. See for yourself. At less than $10 a bottle, you really can't go wrong.
2005 Tres Ojos Old Vine Garnacha ($12): For red wine lovers, this is a lighter, lovely, easy-drinking red from Spain. Recently, more and more value-driven Spanish red wines are being offered in more progressive wine stores throughout the state. Makes sense, as in many cases, the quality for the dollar is really in the bottle. What separates this one from the rest, at least for my palate, is deliciousness.
Chuck Furuya is a master sommelier, a partner in the Sansei restaurants and a consultant to Southern Wine & Spirits.
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