The most common question

Wine is a subject that generates interest and passion for many of us, so it is predictable that whether it be here in the shop, via email, or just when we are out in public we get a lot of questions. While the questions asked span a wide range there is one question we are asked more than any other, "What do you drink?" Which may also be no big surprise is the toughest to answer.

As a wine professional our focus is on what you as a wine consumer likes to drink. Our job and the job that most everyone in the industry takes very seriously is to find the right wine for you more than for ourselves, after all you are the customer so it matters more what you are looking for.

We also taste 30 - 40 wines per week. So while it would be an overstatement to say we never met a wine we didn't like, we do have the opportunity to find new favorites all the time and we do. Much of our wine enjoyment too has much to do with the food we are enjoying with it, the friends we are gathered with and the weather and occasion for "pulling the cork". So with all of that in mind here is our attempt to answer what we really like to drink, complete with context!

At the risk of being redundant after our annual review of dry rose last week, when the weather warms dry rose is our go to late afternoon choice. We can recall so many afternoons in the summer months sitting with close friends on their deck overlooking Hayden Lake drinking great dry crisp rose while enjoying burgers off the grill with other summer foods. We have found pink wine we love from every wine region and countless producers with the only requirements being no RS (residual sugar), no malolactic fermentation, no oak and good crisp acid.

Staying with the summer theme I can never get my fill of "California style" Sauvignon Blanc. I say style because I have found SBs I love from the Northwest, Europe, South America, and New Zealand that are done in the style of the great California producers. Again using no oak, not allowing malolactic fermentation, avoiding the blending of Semillon in the wine, and using vineyard practices that ensures even ripening to avoid green grassy notes in the wine - this is the style I love where flavors and aromatics are loaded with pink grapefruit.

French Chardonnay remains one of my favorites! Chablis, Pouilly - Fuisse, Meursault and the other appellations from Burgundy are all great but can be wallet busters. So even some of the Chardonnay being made in the Loire Valley and other areas where great French Chard is frequently made and sold under $15 are pleasing to my palate with minimal oak, high acid, modest alcohol and lovely stone fruit flavors.

Another seasonal favorite for us is great French Champagne at the holidays. Many times we will have it with celebratory foods like caviar and our big holiday meals, but the festive nature of the bubbly along with the caliber of the great French producers is an annual treat we rarely miss.

When it comes to reds we prefer lighter bodied varietals. We love Pinot Noir from either the Russian River Valley appellation in Sonoma County California or from Burgundy in France. My draw to Pinot from "the Russian" dates to my time working at a winery there; I love the richness and depth of the wines from this area. Burgundy in France is where Pinot started and where many of the best are still made, red Burgundy with age is simply a rare but most enjoyable treat.

Grenache is another light bodied favorite, and the ones from the Northwest are some of the best. Rhone varietals have found a home in Washington State that really works for the grapes. Grenache is one of those varietals that go great with grilled meats so come this time of year but also in the winter months is a go to varietal for us.

Finally, our favorite casual red is Zinfandel. We like the cool climate style that shows low alcohol, and those from producers who use oak sparingly on this grape allowing the more subtle character of this native California varietal to shine.

I have avoided naming producers for each of these, our favorite wines, as there are simply too many doing great winemaking work to single any out. For you as wine consumers too it gives you the chance to chat with your favorite wine professional about which producers best fit your palate which again is the most important criteria of all, far more important than what we choose as our favorites to drink.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and is the wine editor for Coeur d'Alene Magazine (www.cdamagazine.com). You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.