Taste The Adventure

This January, I resolved to give up making promises I can keep only until that first gooey lemon bar winks at me. Or, until my cozy flannel sheets seem much more inviting than the treadmill at the gym.

Still, I like to start the year by refreshing my commitment to learn something new every day. It’s easy to do in this biz, where you could never know all there is to know about food and wine.

There’s always some surprise, some gift waiting to be discovered, some exotic new grape to pluck.

I started filling my brain with new information during the holidays, when I dug out a book I’ve been meaning to read for years. It’s Alexis Lichine’s “Guide to the Wines and Vineyards of France.” (My edition was published in 1983, so you can see it’s been on my list of things to read for some time.)

This New York-based importer, who also lived near Bordeaux, gives life to all those famous names on those expensive bottles of French wine. It’s part travel guide, part readable reference book.

Of course, this kind of reading gives me a powerful thirst. And the best way to learn about new wines is to taste them.

You could join an organized tasting group. For the first time in years, the Spokane Enological Society has a few spots available for new members.

The society - which president Loren Morgan says isn’t stuffy despite its rather formal-sounding name - meets for monthly tastings and plans various events throughout the year, including a summer picnic.

“One of the advantages of being in the enological society is that you get to taste a lot of wines that you might not necessarily be able to afford,” Morgan said.

The group mostly focuses on wines that won’t strain your budget, though. For instance, next month, cabernets from four different parts of the world will be sampled and compared. In March, the folks from the Preston Winery near Pasco will be guest speakers.

“It’s just a good way to make contact with other people who enjoy wine,” Morgan said.

Ditto with the North Idaho Enological Society, which was established about 15 years ago and has many members from Spokane.

“It’s pretty informal,” said member Arne Michalson of Hayden Lake, Idaho. “We meet the third Friday of the month and take a look at different varieties or different wineries.”

Next month, the group will taste releases from Robert Mondavi.

Annual dues for the Spokane Enological Society are $20 a couple, with monthly tastings running between $10 and $15. For information on joining the group, call Morgan at Latah Creek winery (he’s winemaker Mike Conway’s assistant), 926-0164.

It costs $15 to join the North Idaho Enological Society. The tastings are priced according to the wine sampled, but average around $10. At Christmas, the group throws a gala champagne party, which costs more. For membership information, call Vicki Leuthold in Spokane at 448-7433.

Or, you could also organize your own gang and pick a wine region to explore or a variety to taste and talk about. I get together occasionally with some wine-drinking friends at restaurants, so nobody has to play host.

We sample the wines blind, which means their identity is hidden behind a paper bag, and then try to outdo each other with witty tasting notes. What makes this process so enlightening is that everyone has such different experiences. One man’s bliss is another man’s rotgut.

That’s what makes it so tricky to recommend wines, whether you’re a sommelier in a fancy eatery, a wine merchant or a columnist. The best you can do is relate your own experience.

And, by the way, did I tell you about this dynamite ‘94 syrah I just tried from Columbia?

Well done

The ‘96 merlot from Spokane’s Caterina Winery was selected as the best Northwest merlot by a panel of judges at a prestigious tasting done recently at Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle. It was singled out from a field of more than two dozen merlots.

This annual sampling of releases from 1998 also recognized Mountain Dome’s ‘95 brut as the best sparkling wine in the Northwest, and Arbor Crest’s ‘95 Cameo reserve cabernet sauvignon was chosen as the best in the cab category.

With just six “best of” wines selected, Spokane wineries made an incredibly strong showing. Way to go, guys!

Kids these days

I get such a kick out of reading Wine X, the publication written by and for those budding enthusiasts. The young contributors (nobody’s over 30) have turned tasting notes into the wackiest of prose by describing wine in terms like: “A peppercorn-coated Mars bar melting on the stove.” Or, “Like a truckload of `Hee Haw’ girls.” (Now, why didn’t I think of that?)

In the current issue, the kids trip around Washington. They talk about the rain in Seattle (natch), then cruise over to the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla.

Among their raves were Barnard Griffin’s ‘97 semillon, Gordon Brothers’ ‘97 chardonnay, everything at Chinook, Woodward Canyon’s ‘96 chard made with Idaho-grown grapes, the ‘95 Waterbrook merlot and everything made by Canoe Ridge.

At the end of the writers’ whirlwind tour, they gave this state’s wine country the big “XXX” seal of approval.

In other words, Washington rocks, man.

To check out Wine X for yourself, call (888) 229-4639 for subscription information.

Fill ‘er up

Now there’s a place on the South Hill where you can get gas and pick up a nice bottle of wine at the same time.

Fugazzi’s new High Drive store is being remodeled, to add seating and give the setting a little more style. But it’s already selling the signature rustic breads, soups, salads, sandwiches and pastries, along with a selection of wines.

The lineup of some 30 different wines from around the world includes affordable chardonnays from J. Lohr, William Hill and Waterbrook on up to the elegant ‘95 Clos du Bois reserve called Marlstone and Roederer brut.

Erika Steinhardt, formerly with the Spokane Wine Co., is overseeing the selection. She’s happy to place special orders.

Fugazzi at High Drive is located at 726 E. 43rd. The phone number is 742-5970.

Whoops

I mistakenly lumped Korbel champagne in with cheaper bulk bubbly in my last column. I’m sorry if that caused any confusion.

Korbel, this country’s top seller of methode champenoise wine, has just come up with the world’s largest bottle of sparkling wine.

To mark the turn of the century, it commissioned seven expert glass blowers to create a 120-liter bottle that holds around 1,000 glasses of wine. The cork will be popped on this puppy at Times Square on Dec. 31.

To mark the occasion, Korbel is having a contest to find the world’s wittiest toast.

Submit your glass-raiser (50 words or less) with your name, address and phone number to “Korbel’s Search for the Ultimate Millennium Toast Contest,” 200 E. Randolph Dr., Suite 6300, Chicago, IL 60601. Entry deadline is Oct. 15.

The grand-prize winner gets a trip to New York for the big year-end celebration.