Avalon wine report

Always pleasant to spend a couple of days at The Lemon Drop in Avalon with my mother. And always wine around, too, making it even more pleasant, even if the weather largely was not.! A brief report:

Donnhoff Oberhausen Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2011
Safe to say I have never had anything else than an outstanding wine from Herrmann Donnhoff's brilliant domaine in the Nahe region of the Rhineland. This is a 'basic' wine of his, but one brimming with life. Pale, a tad sweeter than many Kabinett wines, with all of what the great Michael Broadbent likes to call "fruit salad" in the winem, and grapey, mouthfilling midpalate. Elegant and refreshing. Long, fruit finish, with a hint of austerity right at the end. 10 percent alcohol. A steal at $23. With Galatoire's Crabmeat Maison and a pork roast. Now-'2020. ****  (at the The Lemon Drop, Avalon, N.J. 3/2008).

Chateau Les Fromanteaux Clos du Poyet Muscadet Sevre et Maine "Vielles Vignes" Sur Lie 2010
Just perfect. Citrus yet earthy nose, some golden color, lemony and crisp and lots of complexity on the end from the "Sur Lie", I am sure. Palate-sweeping finish. All-purpose seafood wine, thought good with chicken too. Just 2 bottles left in my case - sigh. 12 percent, perfect for food. With deviled clams and Brad's Shrimp Tarragon. $16, a bargain. Just wish there were oysters. Now-2017. ***1/2 (at the The Lemon Drop, Avalon, N.J. 4/2008).

NV Ferriera Ruby Porto

Bought for a dessert  - peaches soaked in port, then ladled over ice cream -- and drank with it. Those used to aged tawnies, LBVs or Vintage Port will be disappointed here, but this is fine for the basic item: darkly purple color, spirity nose, not itensely sweet, satisfying fruit, good strong alcoholic, but not too much, finish, not cloying. Probably could pay less than the $16 I did at Fred's Avalon Liquors. Once opened, 2 weeks at then most. Good with English farmhouse cheeses or dark chocolate And with a dark chocolate Easter bunny -- always eat the ears first!. ** 1/2 (at the The Lemon Drop, Avalon, N.J. 4/2008).

Why I will never buy another bottle of white wine from the Pennsylvania state stores

I've had it.
In the last two months, I purchased four bottles of white wine that turned out to be oxidized and undrinkable.
One, a Macon-Villages, was from Fred's Avalon Liquors near my mother's house in Avalon, N.J. Fred's is a reliable shop with a good selection, if a bit pricey due to being on a resort  island. I have bought dozens of wines from them over the years and had one or two bad bottles. So, a corked Macon was upsetting, but it happens.
The other three  -  another Macon , a Vouvray and a Trimbach Riesling, all 2010 or later - all came from the Pennsylvania LCB operation, indeed from one store, the rather spiffy one on  Columbus Boulevard  in South Philadelphia. All were awful. All poured down the sink, along with about $60 of my money. My lovely homemade choucroute garnie had to be paired with an inappropriate wine rather than that Trimbach.
I suppose it's possible all three wines were bad from the time left the domaines in France, but I suspect  that's not so. All were from quality producers with long histories of success.
What I suspect is that the dunderheads of the LCB have no idea how to store white wine. Red wine can take a bit of a beating and still be OK, but not whites; temperature and proper storage are critical. Look at the 1994 Ampeau Meursault that I have been drinking that is heavenly -- stored properly in  Burgundy, in transit, in Moore  Brothers' store and in my wine cellar.
So no more whites at the State Store for me! No reason to gamble that much cash on potential garbage.

Making do: when there's no choice

A few Sundays ago I found myself at The Lemon Drop in Avalon, New Jersey (my mother’s house, one block from the Atlantic Ocean) around 8 p.m. on a Sunday night, ready to cook up some chicken thighs with rice and asparagus. I like thighs browned, then poached in red wine, with cloves and rosemary and some garlic, with the extra sauce spooned over the rice.

On hand wine-wise was a bottle of Yellow Tail Shiraz, which somebody must have brought, Lord knows I wouldn’t buy Australia’s alcoholic answer to Pepsi and I am surely not going to let its obvious vanilla flavors ruin my chicken. Hmm, there’s also a bottle of Domaine Ste.-Michelle Brut from Washington State, an unchilled bottle of 2005 Vin de Pays Rose that really should be drunk up, and my vins de garde I keep in Avalon, which are not being touched for this.

Well, off to the Avalon liquor store, Fred's Avalon Liquors, open until 10 on Sundays and blessed with a very good wine selection. I’m thinking a Chinon or Cotes du Rhone … uh-oh. Fred's is closed, staff crisis. And there’s no other store easily accessible.

Back at the house, quandary. The rose would be acceptable to drink but not, I think, to cook in and it's not chilled anyway. I won't touch the Shiraz. That leaves the Washington State sparkler.

It's not ideal. It's not what I wanted. But if I want wine with dinner, and I do, it's the best choice. Besides, I always proselytize for sparkling wine with food, and here's a chance.

So a change of plans on the preparation, now it will be thighs in an olive oil- onion-garlic-vermouth-parsley sauce finished with butter. I always keep dry and sweet vermouth around, and Martini & Rossi dry (other acceptable brands: Noilly Prat, Cinzano, Stock) makes a lovely light sauce.

The chicken came out delightfully flavored and the sauce sparkled with flavor. The wine, well, the tasting note is below; it was refreshing and a decent quaff.

The point here is don't let a non-perfect wine/food match set you back. Take what you have and improvise -- don't deny yourself pleasure because it's not textbook. Wine's more versatile than you might think – it can compliment almost anything. Just be prepared to take another path.

NV Domaine Ste. Michelle (Washington State) Brut
Fabulous, effervescent mousse, positively fizzy, tickles the nose, crisp lemony taste and then … nothing. It goes poof. Disappears on the tongue. Amazingly bland. Not much finish, if at all. No body or structure. Weird. Refreshing enough with my vermouth/onion chicken thighs, the fizz made it enjoyable, but just not much to this. Even in this price range ($10) you can do a lot better. It did make a good base for Kir Royales as a digestif to follow, I must say, with G.E. Massenez’s mouth-puckeringly and lusciously tart Crème de Cassis from Dijon. Give Massenez ****, the wine *1/2.