Myth information

Spitting out a mouthful of misconceptions

by Thor Iverson

UNCORKED

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Where do you get your wine information? Whether it's from critics, tastings, or retailers, there's a glut of authoritative pronouncements on wine out there. The problem is, some of them are wrong. The culprit may be bad research, word-of-mouth canards, or the commercial self-interest of the source. But either way, wine lovers are the recipients of a lot of BS.

Wine myths are dangerous, because as long as people remain insensibly scared of being "wrong," bad information with the air of authority can close our minds to the unfamiliar or unexpected in a glass of wine.

Let's start with a biggie: great wine is dry. As I've mentioned before, America's post-Prohibition experience with nasty, sugary wine-like concoctions has caused many wine lovers to swing 180 degrees in the other direction. But the problem was never sweetness, it was just that the wines themselves were terrible. Anyone who's ever tasted supremely elegant, seductive demi-sec (off-dry) Vouvray or majestic, steely German riesling at the spätlese or auslese levels knows that there's nothing second-rate about these wines. And other than Port and the occasional Sauternes, the great dessert wines of the world (Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux, Tokaji, Moscatel de Setúbal, and many others) are treated as oddities simply because they're sweet.

If the taste alone doesn't convince you, then consider this: off-dry wines are fantastic with food, whether spicy, sweet, or bone-dry. And sweet wines have their food uses, too. Port, after all, was once the wine to serve with steak; "cab and cow" is a relatively modern phenomenon. Try just about any sweet white wine with cheese (especially salty blue cheese) and you'll see what I mean.

A related misconception: all German wines are sweet. Even if it were true (it's not: trocken wines are bone-dry, though I have yet to find one to my taste), it misses the point of German wine, which is the balance between sweetness, ripeness, and acidity. Newcomers to German wine will usually go for bargains at the kabinett (least-ripe) level, and those are indeed wines that come off as lightly sweet. But tasting a much riper auslese wine is a whole different ball game. The acidity does battle with residual sugar to give an overall impression of dryness. Most California zinfandels, merlots, and chardonnays actually taste "sweeter" than a good auslese. Furthermore, the better ripeness in auslese wines makes them more flavorful than inexpensive German kabinetts.

Don't let anyone tell you that all great wine improves with age, either. Some does, and those who have a taste for aged wine can really rhapsodize about the stuff. But some wines are at their best young. Zinfandel, for example, rarely ages well . . . and even when it does, many people prefer its youthful exuberance. Yet no one could ever argue that zinfandel doesn't make great wines. Ditto Condrieu and other wines made from viognier, the wonderful sweet and slightly sparkling Moscato d'Asti from Italy, and refreshing Beaujolais or Beaujolais-Villages.

Two more myths -- bigger is better and the more expensive, the better -- are at least partly the fault of wine writers. "Big" wines -- those with lots of fruit, oak, tannin, and alcohol -- stand out in the large-scale tastings where critics most often encounter new wines, and so we often write about them to the exclusion of more elegant and subtle wines. And although the idea of a direct relationship between price and quality is not unique to wine, the spiraling prices for wines that are deemed high-quality by a particular journal or critic certainly contribute to the perception.

In any case, the key for any wine lover is to recognize the essential difference between "the best wine" and "the best wine right now." Often, the best wine for a given situation will be a simple, inexpensive, yet delicious wine that harbors no pretensions of greatness . . . or a food-friendly wine that doesn't stand out or hog the spotlight. The moment wine lovers stop chasing trophies and start focusing on the pleasure to be found in a bottle, we'll all be drinking better wine.

Speaking of wines that bring pleasure:

1995 Gallo of Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County ($9). Yes, that's right, Gallo. In the unlikely event that you've missed the blitzkrieg of print and TV ads, this is the new entry-level wine from Gallo's higher-quality Sonoma operation. (Its huge Modesto facility still makes jug wine, and both facilities churn out many mediocre "stealth" Gallo-produced wines, like Turning Leaf and Gossamer Bay.) This is inky, dense, and fantastically structured, with Bordeaux-like undertones. There's huge fruit, but the balance is exquisite. I'll be blunt: I've never tasted a higher-quality California cabernet at anywhere near this price. Drink it now, let it age, whatever . . . it's an incredible value. (Note: this wine's label is white with a drawing of a barrel. Don't confuse it with Gallo Sonoma, which carries a gold label and is of much lesser quality.)

1998 Michele Chiarlo Moscato d'Asti "Nivole" ($10). Delicate spritz, and exuberantly floral and tropical, with some orange blossom and mint. There's a brilliant balance between sweetness, acidity, and fruit, and there's even a touch of light tannin on the finish. Serve it chilled just about anytime of the day or night . . . maybe even with a breakfast of fresh fruit.

1997 Wiengut Bollig-Lehnert Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese ($19). Moderately sweet, but the strikingly high acidity makes this anything but sugary. Nectarine, pine, and red apple dominate the flavor, but this has a long petrol and mineral future ahead of it. Give it 5 to 10 years in the cellar, and then serve it with sausages and sauerkraut.

1995 Clos Baudoin Vouvray ($19). Deceptively soft, with honeyed peach, sweet lemon, and chrysanthemums. Then the mineral backbone sharpens and defines everything, structuring the flavor into citrusy richness. A truly gorgeous off-dry wine, to be served with fish or white meat in cream sauce.

Thor Iverson can be reached at wine[a]phx.com.

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