Winter recommendations

The calendar says February, despite the spring-like temperatures and rain all weekend. We will leave the unseasonable weather to Cliff Harris to let us know when it will end, but we will take care of recommending some great new wines we have found to take us through the shortened days and cool nights.

Fermented dry with light floral and tropical notes on the nose, the 2012 Goldeneye Confluence Vineyard Gewrztraminer 17, wine club price 15.30 is a joy to drink. The palate is dry and crisp, with green apple flavors backed up with more tropical essence. Gewrztraminer is one of the least requested varietals, but when you find one like this, it can truly be one of the ah ha moments in wine. Pair it up with some hard cheeses and cured meats for a great winter snack.

The most popular wine we have ever placed in our wine club was the 2011 J Scott white Pinot Noir ($23, wine club price $20.70). 2011 in Oregon was a very cold growing year, and the folks at J Scott could not get the Pinot Noir ripe enough to make red wine. So as creative winemakers do, they kept the wine off the skins, fermented it dry and bottled a white Pinot Noir. The wine is textural in the mouth, with flavors and aromas of apples and pears. It is delicious, and we are down to the last case we were able to pry out of the winery.

We have always been suckers for great white Burgundy. French Chardonnay is just one of those wines that always grabs us. The 2012 Les Magny from Domaine Bernard Millot ($25 wine club price $22.50) is one that does just that. The wine shows enough racy acidity to hold in balance all the traditional Chardonnay components of butter and oak that underpin great flavors of apple and citrus, leading to a clean finish that maintains all of the texture and flavors with length.

Petite Sirah is one of the toughest grapes to find bottled varietally. The 2013 Line 39 Petite Sirah ($12, $10.80 wine club price) was recommended to us by a customer. We tried it, and wow, what a treat! The wine is jammy and juicy, with a modest oak profile and firm but smooth tannins that are the hallmark of this grape. The wine has all the heft needed to stand up to winter stews and roasts.

Trentandue Winery out of Geyserville in Sonoma County has always been a source for really great Zinfandel for us. This past week, we had a chance to try the 2012 Old Patch Red ($14, wine club price $12.60) from them and put it on the shelf immediately! The wine is mostly Zin but also has Carignane, Petite Sirah and Syrah in the blend. Like so many wines from the warm 2012 growing year, the wine is rich, lush and ripe, loaded with berry flavors and a smooth, long finish. Forever roasted pork shoulder would be the perfect meal for this fruit bomb on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

We have talked to many customers about the Christopher Michael red blend ($14, wine club price $12.60) and covered in previous columns. Well, we just recently tried their Oregon Pinot Noir (same price), and it is now in the shop as well. Lovely notes of cherries and earth highlight the aromatics and palate flavors. This Pinot hits all the right notes for classic Pinot without the overly amped acids that have become too common with Oregon. Time for a roasted chicken, duck or turkey, and yes, this Pinot Noir.

Airfield Winery from Prosser was out of the market for a bit, but we are happy they are back. Their 2012 Syrah ($15, wine club price $13.50) is one of the great bargains we have recently found. The wine has all the quality and characteristics of the best Washington Syrahs, and could easily be commanding a price twice this. It is dense and rich, with "bacon fat" aromatics on the nose, and lovely cherry noting on the palate.

We do not find a lot from Australia we enjoy these days, but the 2011 Clancy's blend from Peter Lehman ($16, wine club price $14.40) winery sure impressed us. The wine was number 59 in The Wine Spectator's top 100 and 90 points. The blend of Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot shows none of the normal Australian eucalyptus aromatics, instead highlighting bright red and purple stone fruit flavors and a nice dry finish.

There are always great new wines showing up in the market, so stop by the shop or consult with your favorite wine professional to see what has arrived that will fit your palate.

If there is a topic you would like to read about, or if you have 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 tabletop decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George has also worked as a judge in many wine competitions; his articles are published around the country, and he is the wine editor for Coeur d'Alene Magazine (www.cdamagazine.com).

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