Buyin' Oeno: The Unusual Suspects
In our first installment of Buyin’ Oeno introduced you to a few “need to have” summer wines. Now that we’ve covered a few topics (and the end of summer is quickly approaching), we feel you’re ready to break out and be a little more daring. Therefore, we have come up with a list of some of you not-so-ordinary summer wines. We are always intrigued when we come across a varietal we’ve never heard of or tasted. Since there are thousands of them that span the globe we will never run out of wines to try.
The science behind crossing varietal species and creating hybrids is one way to add to the long list of grapes we need to try; but that’s not what we’re focusing on today. We’re more curious about grapes that have been around for ages but for some reason or another are under appreciated, have faded into the background behind more “popular” types, or perhaps just never caught on in the first place.
Let’s start with Italy. Some wine experts claim that this is one of the hardest countries to keep track of when it comes to grape varieties. One of our favorite wines to sip on a hot summer day is Verdicchio, commonly found in the Marches region. Somewhat similar to an un-oaked Chardonnay with high-acidity (meaning fuller in body but still crisp), Verdicchios maintain mellow mineral and citrus flavors. This particular type of wine is easier to locate in a wine store because they are normally bottled in an unusual green amphora (two-handled, urn-shaped) bottle. Verdicchio grapes also tend to make good candidates for sparkling wines because of their high acidity.
Photo from lramiro0520.
Another Italian wine we adore has gained an unfortunate reputation due to an excess of wine that has not been properly tended to, resulting in a white that comes off as unexciting: Soave Classico. When properly cared for and presented right, Soave Classico is a great wine to try if Pinot Grigio leaves you less than satisfied. It still maintains that refreshing acidity you find in Pinot Grigios but offers up much more character and mouth feel. Soave is the region, located in Veneto, and the grape used is Garganega.
Another good way to find uniquely styled wines that don’t cost a lot, is to look into lesser-known wine regions. We’ve come across many interesting and great-for-summer whites that hail from Southern France. One particular region we've noticed is Gascogne. Many of the whites there incorporate Colombard, resulting in zesty wines that are more prominent in mineral and grassy notes, as opposed to fruit. If you are looking for something with a little more fruit to it, we recommend trying the Macabeo grape from Spain. They tend to have more orange, grapefruit, and pineapple flavors to them.
These are just a few examples of the many “unusual suspects” out there. We always love a new discovery, so we challenge you to go out there and try a wine that you aren’t familiar with. The best way to approach this is to go to your local wine shop, tell them what style of wine you usually prefer and ask them to suggest a less typical varietal that you may enjoy as well. This will prevent you from buying completely blind and will hopefully they will weed out the unimpressive ones so that you don’t have to.
Wines to Try:
Inama Soave Classico from Veneto, Italy $20 - Lemon, grass and minerals grace this splendid summer white. It’s a perfect accompaniment to all your grilled veggies.
Domaine de la Salette from Gascony, France $9 - If “zesty” and “dry” are two words that fit the description of your perfect summer sipper, then this may be the wine for you. It’s a great value so there is no reason not to try this wine!
Cornarea Roero Arneis from Piedmont, Italy- $18 - Arneis is truly a unique white grape that gives off scents of flowers and lime zest, but tastes of licorice and almonds with a clean finish.
Legado Munoz Macabeo from Castilla Spain-$10 - This is lively and fruity with characters of peach, grapefruit and pear. If you’re looking for something not as dry as the other suggestions but still not too sweet this may be an option for you.
The authors work at Best Cellars and Schneider's of Capitol Hill. You can likely find these wines at those stores, or you can ask your local wine shop if they have these bottles or something similar.