Making resolutions at the start of the New Year is generally an empty ritual for me. Resolving to lose weight never works. Getting more exercise only lasts about a week or two. The list of things to work on around the house just gets bigger and nearly impossible to accomplish.
Resolutions in America also involve maintaining peak fitness and vitality or appearance. Some people resolve to eat more sensibly or become more environmentally responsible.
For 2008, I have decided to turn the usual list of unattainable goals into a list of 10 fun things to do that relate to wine. So, here are my 10 wine resolutions for 2008. You might want to try some of them as well.
Resolution 10: Host a wine and chocolate party. Or go to a wine and chocolate festival. Matching chocolate and wine is an exercise in creating harmony that elevates food and drink to a higher level of taste experience. It involves picking out just the right wine so the wine refreshes the palate as the sweetness of the chocolate starts to wear off.
Milk chocolate and dark chocolate go well with dense and strong Cabernet Sauvignons. Mediterranean dessert wines such as sherry, Madeira or Marsala are a great match for Swiss chocolate. Vintage ports go well with dark chocolate wafers, bringing out the spices in both.
White chocolate is mellower and has a buttery flavor. Sherry or a Moscato d’ Asti (from Italy) enhance the creaminess of white chocolate.
Resolution 9: Go to at least one barrel tasting or major wine festival. This is not hard to do in our wonderful state, with more than 500 wineries. The Winter Wine Gala in Wenatchee is coming up Jan. 20, and the Red Wine and Chocolate Festival sponsored by Yakima Valley Wineries is set for the weekend of Feb. 17-18. Taste Washington! at Qwest Field happens on April 5-6. The Spring Barrel Tasting in the Yakima Valley features 55 wineries on April 25-27.
Check out the Washington Wine Commission Web site (www.washingtonwine.org) from time to time for an up-to-date calendar of wine events all around the state.
Resolution 8: Taste at least three new wine varietals with names that are hard to pronounce, such as chasselas (an elegant white wine from Switzerland that is great as an after-skiing drink), gruner veltliner (the star of the wine scene in Austria, a superb white wine great for a dinner party) or Cote de Nuits (from Burgundy, a red wine that is elegant, complex and silky).
Resolution 7: Try a wine from a state that no one would ever call “wine country,” such as Texas or Kansas. Wine is now made in every state in the Union.
You probably never imagined tasting a chardonnay from Virginia, a port from Texas or a sparkling wine from Michigan, but in the last decade the American wine making scene has exploded in every region. Check out the chardonnay from Pennsylvania at the Chaddsford Winery (www.chaddsford.com).
An Italian conglomerate is now growing great Sangiovese, Rhone varietals, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in Barboursville, Va., (www.barboursvillewine.com). In Texas Hill Country, there are “wine trails” linking several wineries. Check out the Alamosa Wine Cellars (www.alamosawinecellars.com) where the focus is on hot-climate grape varieties such as viognier, sangiovese and grenache.
Resolution 6: Have at least one Sunday Champagne breakfast every month. You may substitute Italian sparkling wine such as Prosecco, which I believe is even better for delivering a Sunday morning breakfast in bed to your significant other. Prosecco has seductive bubbles that rise up slowly in the glass with lots of flavors like apples and flowers. Wine doesn’t have to be for big meals or only after the sun goes down.
Resolution 5: Join a wine club. Hundreds of wine clubs are connected to wineries and wine shops as well as stand-alone clubs. I have been in several wine clubs, mostly winery-based. It is a pleasant surprise to receive a couple of bottles of red and white wine every quarter at home because I’ve usually forgotten about special things such as wine club deliveries.
There are Web sites devoted to reviews of wine clubs, but they seem to just hook you into a select group of wine clubs they are promoting. I suggest visiting as many wineries as you can and pick out a club to try because you really like their wine. They will send you wines that only wine club members will get (usually at a discount) and often have special winery events for wine club members only.
Resolution 4: Learn to cook with wine. I would love to go beyond the only dish I know how to cook with wine, risotto Milanese, which requires a glass of dry white wine about half way through the recipe. My wife has about 100 cookbooks with many recipes that include wine, so I have many resources.
Resolution 3: Try to figure out which what wine goes with what cheese. The French have 350-400 cheeses and lots of great wine. Certainly they have figured it out. While I haven’t tried it, I have been told that the French believe that pairing the pungent Roquefort cheese with a French sweet Sauternes wine is heavenly. Whoa! Instead, I will start with some Monterey Jack and see if it goes with my favorite chardonnay.
Resolution 2: Try all the wine bars in Snohomish and King counties. Or even the whole state of Washington. Take your significant other on a weekly adventure — a wine bar date — seeking out all the best wines of our state and beyond.
The Web site www.winesnw.com lists 32 wine bars in Washington State. I suggest starting at the Tasting Room in the Pike Place Market, which has wines from seven Washington growers, and work your way north into Snohomish County.
Resolution 1: Pick out 10 new wines to try in 2008. I hope to try wines that I have never tasted or only sampled once in the past, like a Chilean malbec, Australian shiraz, a Spanish white wine such as a verdejo from Rueda, a French white Sancerre, all the wines of Tuscany that I did not drink while I was there, red wines from Argentina, some great Rioja from Spain and new American red blends from California and Washington. I may even sample German riesling in 2008. After all, it’s a New Year. Salute!
Michael “Gino” Gianunzio is a local lawyer, wine maker and artist who lives on Camano Island. He can be reached at theislanditalian@yahoo.com.
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