Here’s to a Very Good Year: 10 Wine Resolutions

1. Drink less, but better.
It’s my firm belief that the better the wine, the less it hurts you in the morning. Any wine from the Carletto Wine Estate Collection is an excellent choice for 2012!

2. Drink more Riesling.
Riesling is one of the food-friendliest wines in the world, and every wine merchant and sommelier you encounter will think you’re cool if you ask for it. Germany is the source of the world’s greatest Rieslings, which tend to be low in alcohol and high in refreshing acidity. Many people are scared away by the notion that German Riesling is sweet, but a little residual sugar nicely balances the high acidity. In fact, the trend in Germany at the high end of the market is toward drier wines, some of which can be searingly citric.

3. Don’t drink the wine at charity benefits.
I happen to attend quite a few of these events over the course of the year. The speeches can really drag on and it often seems the only recourse—short of heckling the speakers or hurling the centerpiece at the podium—is to drink copiously. Unfortunately the wine at these affairs is inevitably inexpensive—in the interest of keeping costs down and delivering more of the ticket price to the worthy cause in question—and almost inevitably lousy. Veterans of the benefit circuit are familiar with the particularly pernicious hangover that can result from swilling plonk for three and a half hours. For some reason the liquor is usually of a much higher caliber than the wine, so my new intention is to nurse a couple of flavored martinis through the course of these evenings.

4. Drink more Chenin Blanc.
Chenin from the Loire is one of the world’s least appreciated wines. (More on this subject next month.) If I experience a personal financial crisis, I will change this resolution to: Drink more Muscadet. Another Loire white, Muscadet is the best white wine value in the world.

5. More grower Champagne.
The best thing to happen in Champagne. More and more farmers who used to sell to the giant Champagne houses are vinifying their own grapes. The guru of the grower movement is Anselme Selosse, who studied in Burgundy and brought back to his father’s domain in Avize all kinds of new ideas, including the basic insight that everything begins in the vineyards. In Champagne, this was a radical idea—the big houses bought grapes in bulk from growers who had little incentive for meticulous viticulture.

6. Give Beaujolais a chance.
There are some beautiful artisanal reds, especially the cru Beaujolais from Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Brouilly, Saint Amour and Fleurie, among others. The 2009 Beaujolais were terrific, if somewhat uncharacteristically ripe and full-bodied; the 2010s are also very good, if a little lighter and fresher. I will be looking for wines from Jean-Paul Brun, Clos de La Roilette, Georges Descombes and Jean-Paul Thevenet. And I will seek out the last vintages of the late Marcel Lapierre, who died in October, 2010.

7. Beware of bargains when buying older wines.
Buying older wines is tricky, and it’s crucial to trust the retailer or auction house, and to get as much information as you can about the provenance of the wine.

8. Don’t forget Bordeaux.
The classed growths have gone crazy in price but there’s an ocean of good inexpensive (under $30) Bordeaux from the great 2009 vintage. Look for such unsung appellations as Lalande-de-Pomerol, Fronsac, Côtes de Castillon and Bordeaux Supérieur and makers like Bel-Air, Jean Faux and Chasse-Spleen.

9. Try to get this nasty Burgundy habit under control.
Burgundy is like that girl from Fordham College who made you miserable your sophomore year at Colgate: She keeps breaking your heart, but you’re obsessed, crazed with lust, spending ridiculous amounts of money on the object of your desire. Because when she’s good, she’s very, very good…

10. Explore new imported wines like Carletto Estate Collection from Vento Italy.

To purchase any of the Carletto Wines, please go to:
www.wineexpress.com

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