The Wine's the Thing
Mitch Kornfeld
11/24

A New On-Line Paper, A New Column, And Les Nouveaux C'est Arrivé. Shall We Talk  Nouveau Beaujolais? Maybe Just A Bit.


Certain topics in wine columns are obligatory, such as what bubblies to have on New Year's Eve, and what wine to have with the Thanksgiving turkey. By French law the Nouveau Beaujolais of the just harvested vintage are released on the third Thursday of November, so now would be the perfect time for the obligatory review column about them but obviously I'm taking a pass, and saying, as they do in Queens, "Wait 'till next year!" (As it turns out I'll just miss Thanksgiving too. It's too bad because that's a subject I could really sink my teeth into.) Baseball fans, dare I say it, of a certain age, will recognize a saying associated strictly with Brooklyn. It has been forty-three years since the Dodgers left town and I think that it's obvious that the Mets should inherit the saying. They have a good team and can be a contender every year, but to do that they have to re-sign Mike Hampton. I'm a Yankee fan but I think the guy's terrific. I say put him in there every fifth day and bat him eighth, otherwise it's "wait 'till next year."

Now, back to the Nouveaus. I don't have anything against Nouveau Beaujolais. They're not bad by any means. They have their place. They're fine for what they are, but what they are are baby wines. They're nice, they're fruity, they're easy to drink (maybe too easy to drink), and they're good about once a year, but they're not complex and they're just not that interesting. Also in all fairness I have to mention that I haven't tasted one in years. I'm a serious red wine drinker (the wines not me) and I wouldn't feel right pontificating about wines that I haven't drank.

Before I leave the subject of Beaujolais completely I should recommend some wine here. I can see where this is going and if I don't do it now I'm probably going to miss it completely. Now in the Union Square area there are some very good wine stores. Among them is the eponymous Union Square Wines and Spirits (USQ, as they like to be called), which is on the west side of the square, conveniently located in between The Blue Water Grill and Heartland Brewery. It is a fine establishment and I'm sure I'll be saying more about it in the not distant future. (In fact their recent Mega-Tasting will provide the material for column number two.) Walk in, go all the way towards the back, past the half-bottle section, and bear left. Just past the Loire Valley bottles you'll find the real Beaujolais.

They currently have a dozen selections. Seven of them are from the well regarded firm of Trenel et Fils, and six of these are Beaujolais "crus." "Cru" translates as "growth." Beaujolais has a fairly well-defined hierarchy starting with the (surprise) Nouveaus, then moving on to the "plain" Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, and then the crus. That much everyone agrees on. The order of the crus one assumes is the topic of heated debate in Paris bistros, but in generally ascending order of excellence they are: Régnié, Chiroubles, Saint-Amour, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Juliénas, Fleurie, Chénas, Morgon, and Moulin-à-Vent.

USQ has the Trenel 1998 Moulin-à-Vent at only $15. Moulin-à-Vent is considered the "king" of Beaujolais. Why mess with the pawns when you can have the King?

One last thing about these Beaujolais, they go well with a wide variety of foods. They'll be fine with all but the most delicate and most flavorful of foods. Serve them with a light chill. They're also a good choice in restaurants, where they can be found for under forty dollars. These days it's all too easy to double that when ordering say, a Pinot Noir or a Cabernet Sauvignon.

And now this wine column becomes the first in recorded history to discuss Beaujolais without using the word "charming." Trust me on that.

What will this column be about every week? Well first off I'll be writing a journal of opinion. We're talking about matters of taste here, and I'll be giving you one man's opinion. It's an opinion that you can take or leave as you see fit. That's just the way things are with matters of taste. All wine reviewers are just giving you one person's opinion. The Wine Spectator's reviews are usually done with panels of only two or three people. Sometimes you'll see a set of initials after a Wine Spectator review. That means that it was done by just one guy. (It usually is a guy thing. I've managed to stumble into another field that's about two to one men to women. In my next life I'm going into nursing.)

I've been a student of wine for a quarter century. I've even read almost every issue of the Wine Spectator since it began publication. I attend tastings all the time, and tour wine country annually. I've been to virtually every wine growing area in New York and California.

Now, what will I write about? Well, the whole subject, and it's a big subject, and it changes too. There are all the different wine producing regions, all the different grape varieties, all the different wines, all the different styles of wine, all the different vintages, the grape growing, the wine making, and even the politics and economics of the industry. All of that, with my own take on things and my own stories, hopefully lively, entertaining, and enlightening, all to guide you through the world of wine, the greatest beverage of pleasure on the planet, an immeasurable aid to the good life, and when used well and wisely, a true aid to your happiness and well being.

© Mitch Kornfeld 2000 All rights reserved