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By The Glass Jay Kam |
California central coast’s
Rhone varietals are treatsHaving just returned from a trip through the central coast of California, I can tell you that the area around Paso Robles (halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on Route 101) is really exciting.
The central coast is the new hotbed of pinot noir, and both red and white Rhone varietals. Several wineries are on the cutting edge in producing some of America's most outstanding examples of these wines. And the best are even finding their place on the world stage.
While I'm excited about the pinot noirs and red Rhone varietals, I find the white Rhones most intriguing. The major white-Rhone varietals are roussanne, marsanne and viognier. On occasion you can find these grapes bottled singly, but more often they are blended.
Roussanne is powerful, rich and firmly structured, with qualities of apricot, honey, almond, nutmeg and honeysuckle. Marsanne is soft and rich, with qualities of peach, nectarine, stone fruits and sweet nuts. Viognier is big-bodied, aromatic and complex, with qualities of apricot, peaches, grapefruit, papaya, mango and tropical flowers.
While I doubt the white Rhone varietal wines will ever knock chardonnay from its throne of popularity, I do think people should be drinking more of this type of wine.
These varietals sometimes taste of oak, but not nearly as much as most chardonnays, which means they are usually better with seafood. As a wise person once told me, "It is hard to taste the sea, when you are sucking on oak."
Recently I had a 2002 Kongsgaard viognier and roussanne blend ($75) with a lobster and abalone dinner, and enjoyed it more than the usual chardonnay that I would serve. The clean and delicate flavors of scallops also are a more natural pairing with marsanne, roussanne or viognier than chardonnay.
The white-Rhone varietals also go well with chicken, veal and even pork dishes. They are really versatile. Here are some names to look for:
Tablas Creek Cote de Tablas and Curtis Heritage white, both blends of roussanne, marsanne and viognier that cost $15 to $20).
For a 100 percent viognier, try Renwood Viognier for around $12.
While these aren't from the Paso Robles, Calera Viognier from Napa ($35) and Karly Chateau Blanc ($15) from the Sacramento area are also very good examples of this style.
Jay Kam is president of Vintage Wine Cellar.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals. Write to features@starbulletin.com