Premier: Wine Made Easy

"Do you drive a car that’s no longer imported into the US? Are you waiting to purchase your iPod Nano® until after you’re certain this digital music thing is going to catch on? Have you refrained from trying Yellow Tail® because you secretly believe that the psychedelic label colors are used to hypnotize buyers? Do your friends say you’re different? In a world of look-alike, sound-alike and taste-alike wines, sometimes it’s important to find one that doesn’t have a single recognizable word in its name. This dry white from the extreme southern French region of Collioure is produced primarily from Grenache Gris and it tastes like nothing else. Rich and spicy, briefly aged in used oak, with a long, nutty and slightly honeyed finish, it’s fantastically complex and utterly unique — just like you!"

"Looking for something sparkling? Something with a blast of ripe fruit flavors? Something to serve before dinner or with a fresh fruit salad? Jaillance is the premier producer of sparkling wines produced from Muscat and Clairette in this obscure appellation. Drier than Italian Moscato d’Asti, but with all the peach, apricot and strawberry flavors that make those wines so likeable. Only 7% alcohol, so don’t worry about having more than your share."

"Yes, I’m cheating a bit with the addition of the S(hiraz) and M(ouvedre), but the G(renache) is the star of this threesome. Opening night, the spotlight first hits the riper red berry fruit flavors, then swings stage left to pick up the licorice, clove and cinnamon notes, then pans back to center stage, allowing the black cherry to take a bow, to thunderous applause and an epic finish. So good you might consider TIVO®-ing it, just so you can taste it again."

"When I was young, we had a garden that we let tend itself; we called it “Darwin’s Garden.” The tomatoes were ugly, but intensely flavored. Forced to fight for water, sunlight and attention, it seemed to concentrate their flavors and only the fittest would survive. I suspect this is the idea behind the 60 year-old Grenache vines in this “Plan du Dieu,” or “God’s Will” cuvée. We elected to purchase this wine because of its incredible flavors — blueberry, raspberry, cassis, licorice, leather, thyme and lavender. Naturally I selected it for the same reasons. Think of it as the evolution of that species called Côtes du Rhône."

"Some of you may already have tasted wines made from this indigenous Sicilian grape variety. Others may have heard of it and wondered what it was like. Still others could care less. I’m talking to you, the third group, the late adopters, the brand-namers. This grape has the same potential for great quality-to-price ratio as do Argentine Malbec and Spanish Grenache. Its flavors fall somewhere between Syrah and Zinfandel and the best examples, like this one, are reasonably priced and see no oak at all. Bright fruit, zesty acidity and spicy nuances combine in one utterly perfect Chianti alternative."