Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels

In the US, Chinese food has evolved from being a novelty ethnic food to a virtual staple of the American diet. Nowadays Chinese cuisine permeates the restaurant landscape with a presence ranging from the local shopping mall food court to upscale (almost) fine dining. With this seemingly ubiquitous presence in mind, IntoWine.com asked its panel of wine experts to suggest the best wine to pair with chinese food:

OK, if I’m not allowed to recommend Tsingtao beer, wine it will have to be. Naturally, Chinese wine makes most sense and, guess what, it is now available in the US. Although I recommend Riesling, believe it or not, in China, the Chinese drink almost exclusively red wine with their food. Dragon’s Hollow Cabernet Sauvignon is ideal for Chinese food. The wine is picked early, not only does this result in a nice low alcohol which makes any wine more food friendly but it is less opulent in fruit. Opulent fruit and Chinese food don’t sound right. Dragon’s Hollow Cabernet Sauvignon has an appropriate amount of green bell pepper character which makes it match a large variety of Chinese dishes. The low alcohol [though it states 12.5% on the label, it is actually lower than that], makes it even more versatile. Well, ok, if you want to stick with a white wine, Dragon’s Hollow also produces a wonderful dry Riesling. - Bartholomew Broadbent, CEO, Broadbent Selections, San Francisco

Vermentinos are not native to Italy; they were originally brought by the Spanish.  At the beginning of summer, I discussed the Vermentinos of Sardinia.  There is another region of Italy that excels in Vermentinos, the region of Liguria. 

As wine enthusiasts know all too well, great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon's are often priced north of $100 and out of reach for many buyers. Of course, price by itself is not a good indicator of a great wine. Moreover, the price of a wine is likely to be impacted by scarcity and marketing as much as the quality of the wine. As such, we asked our panel of wine experts to recommend great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon's priced under $100:

Napa Valley makes some of the best Cabernets in the world.  While they can be pricey, in the scheme of the great wines of the world, I think they can be fairly priced.  One hundred dollars should buy a bottle of wine that makes you sit up and take notice.  It should be special.  It may not be the best bottle you ever had, but it should make you think of those.  I would like to recommend a wine that often is a bit under the radar.  The Forman Cabernet Sauvignon while not 100% Cabernet has enough (at least 75%) to carry the designation on the label.  It straddles the wine between the structured long ageing Napa Cabs of yesteryear and today’s lush fruit bombs.  This is a wine that drinks well on release, yet ages wonderfully for 20 years or more in the better vintages.  It is usually around $65 on release.  You can expect great cassis, cedar, cigar box and spice aromas.  It drinks lush but with plenty of tannins young, so I would recommend decanting.  With ten or more years, the wine obtains wonderful complexities.  Better than a lot of wines at twice the price. - Loren Sonkin, IntoWine Featured Writer

I must admit, I didn't know much about Campo de Borja when I first read about the results of this year's San Francisco International Wine Competition.  I was surprised to learn that Masia de Bielsa's 2007 Garnacha won the "Best Grenache" award – quite an honor for a $12 bottle of wine from a DO with only 17 wineries.

The fourth most widely planted grape in Italy is Barbera.  In the Piemonte, it is the most widely planted grape and accounts for over 50% of the annual DOC red wine production and 35% of the vineyard area.  Thought to be native to the Piemonte, Barbera has been grown there for centuries.  It is most likely the grape written about by Paul the Deacon in his description of the Battle of Refrancore in 663 when the Longobard troops of Grimaldo defeated the Franks after getting them drunk on wine.  He confirmed that the Longobards filled amphorae with wine and scattered them around the surrounding fields.  The Franks found these jugs and drank voraciously from them making them unfit for battle. 

Most wine drinkers have never heard of Saale-Unstrut, unless they happen to live in Germany.  That's understandable, since nearly all the wine produced in this small German wine region is consumed locally.  Wine production varies here, because Saale-Unstrut lies so far north.  In particularly harsh years, crops are lost and production declines accordingly.  Still, Saale-Unstrut has a proud winemaking history, dating back over a thousand years.